6 hours ago, cobalt said:

That this feature has gone unrecognized by the OP for so long (rather astonishing), points up something I have long suspected. Many users of MSFS2024 are so hung up on career mode and all its idiosyncrasies, that they fail to appreciate what a great sim this is just for flying, anywhere in the world, under any conditions, with amazingly real-life scenery and ground textures that are mind-blowing. To those who are just discovering this, welcome to the club!

That is kind of me for sure and 24 is prying me out of that...slowly!  I use the sim nearly the same day in and day out starting w/ route selection often thru A Pilot's Life, then setup Self Loading Cargo and BATC.  I started out with this hobby 30y ago and it learned how to navigate in light GA and slowly morphed in to airline piloting.  But indeed there is so much more to explore and even will have a look at 24' career and role modes at some point.

7 hours ago, cobalt said:

something I have long suspected. Many users of MSFS2024 are so hung up on career mode and all its idiosyncrasies

I don't care about the career mode. Some idiosyncrasies ring true, especially when you expect something to work a particular way, and it doesn't. Like loading into a flight for example...and the sim just hangs there, or the audio issues, or lack of 3rd party products. The short of it is, it can be difficult to discover new features when you're hung up on trying to get the sim to work properly. I agree, it is a beautiful sim, it really is. Just did a fun flight in a default plane through the Grand Canyon, and it's mind blowing. But personally, I prefer a more robust experience for daily driving. For now, it's nice to have both options, and learning how the new sim works in the process is a plus since I'm not spending 100% of the time in FS24.

8 hours ago, bobcat999 said:

No but come on...

And the April sarcasm award goes to..... 🤣

I must admit I never knew about this. I've always started on one of the designated parking spots or the runway.

21 hours ago, V1ROTA7E said:

I didn’t know about this….but it does make flying opportunities much cooler. 
 

 

I dont get it...we've been doing this in fs2020 since it released (starting on any chosen parking spot)

5 minutes ago, hangar said:

I dont get it...we've been doing this in fs2020 since it released (starting on any chosen parking spot)

But now you can click anywhere on the map and start on the ground with engines on or off. In MS2020 if you clicked on the map you could only start in 1500ft AGL.

 

But still remains a mistery to me why this needs a YouTube video. The feature of clicking anywhere on the map to spawn there was already in MS2020 and if you tried that in 2024 you'd immidiately see that there is now two more options for that spawn.

20 hours ago, toucanair said:

It's great for floatplanes and custom water starts, helicopters and bushplanes as well.

I was surprised to find that the old Flying Boat "runways" at Honolulu Int'l are active in the sim 🙂

Well, from the vid graphic, I thought this was a tongue-in-cheek video in response to all the hate Career Mode gets...

But I'll give the guy the benefit of the doubt as he specifically pointed out being able to pick any spot on the airfield, not just pre-defined parking, and he seemed most excited that he could start parked but with the aircraft Ready for Taxi.

Maybe I'm just too relaxed today 😉

eta: I checked the comments. This is indeed a REVELATION for the majority of commenters (I think only 2 respondents knew it's been there since forever...)

Edited April 20, 20251 yr by UrgentSiesta

This makes me wonder if I could use pmdg 737 in msfs by going go the gate already started up.

 

Hmmmm.

Well I'll be darn tootin. Thx.

5 hours ago, FlightSimToday said:

This makes me wonder if I could use pmdg 737 in msfs by going go the gate already started up.

 

Hmmmm.

Disable the pilots, walkaround and avatars in the content.xml under proceduralgeneration, and the PMDG wasm won't crash. You can start cold and dark in 2024 if you want with PMDG. The only bug is TCAS and inconsistent logo lights.

Great idea for my flying.  I'm a low and slow scenery GA flyer.  I always start on the runway so I don't have to go through all that startup procedure.  But then I miss seeing the terminal and surrounding scenery and being able to taxi out to the runway.  So now I can begin my flight in the terminal area with it running and I don't want to use CTL-E.

On 4/19/2025 at 9:18 AM, Flic1 said:

Wait, this dude just now figured out how to start on an apron??  I have been doing this since the first day 2020 came out.....am I missing something??

On 4/19/2025 at 12:06 PM, Christopher Low said:

How can Free Flight be a secret feature? I mean, surely that is the primary feature of a flight simulator?

On 4/19/2025 at 8:27 PM, hangar said:

I dont get it...we've been doing this in fs2020 since it released (starting on any chosen parking spot)

Maybe actually watch the video next time before posting. You're making yourselves look silly.

Edited April 21, 20251 yr by Tuskin38

On 4/19/2025 at 8:34 AM, Michael Moe said:

🙂 i think i had the same feeling like you. No big surprice here

 

Now does anyone have a worldmap  airport "gate"  only for sea planes ?

Thanks

michael Moe

yes 

 

On 4/19/2025 at 8:18 AM, Flic1 said:

Wait, this dude just now figured out how to start on an apron??  I have been doing this since the first day 2020 came out.....am I missing something??

yes I am that dude ... but I said it right from the beginnng , "if I can help just one guy other than me learn this my mission is complete." haha now my 10k views on youtube makes me think they're more than 3 of us... 

Cool video, thanks. I didn't know this either - I assumed it worked just like 2020 where it put you 5000 ft AGL, and never bothered to see if it was different in 2024.. TIL. 

Just goes to show how much we are missing GOOD documentation for this sim. I'd easily pay $50 for a comprehensive guide that explains every last feature in this extremely complex piece of software. Heck, the EFB alone could use a detailed manual.