OK, here is the home truth. The vast percentage of my flight simulation experience is quick circuits of all of my addon airports in my PMDG 737 and 777F aircraft. Very short flights from pushback at the gate to parking at the gate. Maybe 30-45 minutes each, depending on the size of the airport. In other words, I visit all of my addon airports regularly. I fly all of my PMDG aircraft (737-600/800/900 and 777F) in sequence, so I get to enjoy each of them on a regular basis. I do this because the start and end of flights are more enjoyable to me. Soaking up the view at those wonderfully detailed airports. The thrill of take offs and landings. Looking at the scenery below from no more than 6000 feet. That is what I enjoy the most in flight simulation. Cruising at 35000 feet is not my thing. VFR flights in small GA planes is not really my thing. I like to get the airliner experience, but adjusted to suit my requirements.

The point of that paragraph above is that I get value for money out of all of those addon airports, and all of my addon aircraft. I get to see those internal views of airport terminals frequently, because I am at those airports frequently. I get to enjoy all of the variations of the 737 that I own frequently, because those quick flights mean that I get to switch between each of them constantly. I do not feel that I have wasted money on any of them. Even the handful of city packs that I own are seen and enjoyed on a regular basis, because they are all very close to addon airports that I use. I always look down at them as I fly past, and I am always glad that they are there.

Yes, I have spent a lot of money on addon airports for MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024. I do not know how much I have spent in total over the past three years, but it will be a significant amount, even though a large percentage of them have been purchased in discount sales. Of course, some of them (like the handcrafted airports, and UK2000 airports) are essentially free, but there are still a lot (probably around a hundred) that have been paid for. Even at discount prices, you can probably do the maths. Having said that, I do not waste money on alcohol and night clubs over the weekend, and I hardly spend anything else on myself (apart from clothes/trainers that need to be replaced from time to time).

To be honest, it is probably the cost of a new PC that has increased the most over the years. The PC that I purchased in December that encouraged me to finally upgrade to MSFS 2024 cost around £2000 in total (including the 20% offering to the tax gods), and it would have been even more if I had not been generously offered a half decent GPU for peanuts. In short, I am not convinced that flight simulation costs much more than in the past. It's just that there are a lot more products available, covering a vast range of different experiences. I guess we can thank the new generation of Microsoft Flight Simulator for that 

1 hour ago, jcomm said:

And, apparently the RAM costs are already getting down, faster than expected !

Because the huge deal that started the cascade is apparently dead.....

https://youtu.be/gr6T4ZS7M4c?si=9p2licmtNJrTVeUy

Try my other hobby 🙂

 

The 'danger', if you think it is a danger, is that of simming becoming a service. Instead of buying a product, one has to rent it, perhaps monthly. This, of course, is not limited to flight simming. 

On the plus side, for example, both Navigraph and SI allow one to cancel the contract. Things would be far worse if one had to sign up for a longer period. 

As I pointed out to the content creator in that video:

Original PC to run Flight Simulator 1.0 cost $5000 + $50 for the software circa 1982.  Joystick support was not an option until Flight Simulator 2.0.  Correct for inflation to 2026, that would be equal to about $17,000.

XBOX S is $800 + MSFS 2024 $70 + XBOX controller $200 = $1070. 

So NO, Flight Simulation has NOT become more expensive.  There are more options available that can make Flight Simulation more expensive but certainly NOT required to enjoy the experience.

Edited April 7Apr 7 by SayAgain

1 hour ago, Jude Bradley said:

Try my other hobby

Indeed, flight simulation is not even a blip on the radar relative to my other hobbies.  A more informed video of flight simulation would be how much more “available” it has become to those that don’t have a lot of disposable income to spend on this hobby.  I’m not a console fan, but opening the door to that market on both XBOX and PS5 was an excellent move and good for the hobby in every sense.

1 hour ago, Jude Bradley said:

Try my other hobby 🙂

 

Is it collecting vintage Ferraris'?

The reason I buy payware airplanes is to master new airplanes.

The reason I buy airports, is to master new airports.

Then there are the endless cities & POI that I want to explore so I need to buy.

For me, with MSFS 2024, it's all priceless. 😀

BTW, I mostly buy add-ons when their on sale, but I have made made some exceptions.

Meh, I'm unconvinced.  Flight simming, like just about every other hobby is as inexpensive or expensive as you want to make it:

 

Fishing: from a $20 Walmart rod and $20 worth of hooks, sinkers, etc to $2000 of custom graphite rods on a $75,000 bass boat with $5,000 of onboard electronics.

Ham radio: from a $50 Chinese Baofeng VHF walkie talkie to a $15,000 HF radio feeding a $2,000 antenna on a $10,000 tower.

Quilting: from a $200 Singer sewing machine to a $25,000 Bernina sewing/embroidery machine and a $35,000 long-arm quilting machine mounted on a $5,000 quilting rack.

Guitars: from a $200 Epiphone to a $4,500 Paul Reed Smith to a $15,000 Gibson Super 400.

Golfing: from a $300 set of Ray Cook clubs and $40 green fees at the city course to a $4,000 set of Mizuno clubs, $2,500 annual club membership and $250 a round green fees every weekend.

 

 

46 minutes ago, CFIJose said:

The reason I buy airports, is to master new airports.

Interesting - what do you mean? I understand about the planes, but when you say you master a new airport, are you talking about landing and mastering the various approaches? or taxiing? Or something else?

I ask because I've never thought of mastering an airport, and maybe learning what you do will add some new fun to the sim. 

Speaking of buying airports, I wanted to buy n43 easton, and it's not showing up in the 2024 marketplace. I guess I have to settle for the freeware. I'm not going to re-install v2020 to buy an airport.

2 minutes ago, JonathanC said:

Interesting - what do you mean? I understand about the planes, but when you say you master a new airport, are you talking about landing and mastering the various approaches? or taxiing? Or something else?

I ask because I've never thought of mastering an airport, and maybe learning what you do will add some new fun to the sim. 

Everything from learning the buildingds, to freequencies, to taxiways, to lighting, to approaches, etc. It's facinating to learn the history of an airport!

Edited April 7Apr 7 by CFIJose

Flight sim is by far my least expensive hobby. 

You want expensive? Buy a BOAT (any boat!) 😂🤙

I got started with a $700 Dell gaming laptop, a $35 Logitech combo flight stick, a $60 copy of X-Plane, and the wonderful freeware Zibo 738.

one can still regularly find the same pricing today, almost a decade later!

the other guy said it right: any hobby is only as expensive as YOU make it. 

17 minutes ago, JonathanC said:

Interesting - what do you mean? I understand about the planes, but when you say you master a new airport, are you talking about landing and mastering the various approaches? or taxiing? Or something else?

I ask because I've never thought of mastering an airport, and maybe learning what you do will add some new fun to the sim. 

A small uncontrolled airfield in daytime VFr is no big deal.

BUT, running all the approaches to a major Intl can be quite the exercise, esp with live weather.  

Then throw in the ones where significant terrain closely surrounds the airfield (eg Aspen or Paro)…

Then add in IMC/Night arrivals and it’s at least 2x the fun 🤩 

It’s crazy how many ways there are to experience a single airfield. 
 

eta: I live close by a major. About every quarter, the FAA flies a biz jet around the area for most of the day. 

Theyre running about 2,000’ at 200+ kts, validating all the navaids and routes, etc. 

their track on flight aware is quite the trail of spaghetti! 😂

Must be pretty cool!!

Edited April 7Apr 7 by UrgentSiesta

I had to make substantial upgrades to my hardware (not for simming) but for my semi-retired part-time business (multimedia production).  I found that it did a fine job of running MSFS2020 (which I'm still doing).

As I move slowly into MSFS2024, I realized I needed to make a single extra expenditure, so I dug into my wallet and obtained a much more capable nVidia card - outside of some additional RAM (if needed), that should be the only additional expenditure I add to what I already needed anyway.

As a side note, I did most of my RW flying in the '70s.  During flight-training, my solo C152 rental time (1972) was $15/hour wet - dual was $25/hour wet.  I think I paid $40 the last time I rented a C172.  The costs for flight-training today (and plane leasing/ownership) are astronomical.