36 minutes ago, jon b said:

You’re really not helping 😂

🤣🤣 At least I didn't mention A2A's Legacy RG550 or PMDG's 747. 😉

We've all been there, done that. Flight simming is all about quality time. If you don't have much time for simming, only fly those aircraft that actually are worth it.
These days - unless it's something safe like Fenix Neos or PMDG 747 - I will not buy any more addons unless all reports coming in make it sound like it could actually be better than one of the aircraft I already fly regularly.
I do have a couple of hours for simming almost every night, as it's my only hobby, so I do have a couple more aircraft I use regularly. Fenix, PMDG, iFly and the A350. Even then I e.g. use the PMDG 777 maybe once or twice only a week. Now imagine I'd only have one day a week to fly - I'd have to cut that list down to 1-2 aircraft.

So tldr: Whenever something new comes out, just think "It's not going to be as good as what I already have, so I will not buy it." If that turns out wrong, you'll (happily) find out soon enough. If not - saved some money and even more important precious simming time.

3 hours ago, 787flyer said:

I have a few airport addons "on the shelf" myself so to speak, but one of the things I "force" myself to do is plan routes between them.
I am using Google's MyMaps app on desktop PC and whenever I purchase a new add-on airport I add an airport pin to the map. I started doing this primarily because Orbx Volanta airport scanning routine misses some installed airports I have but it also serves another purpose now.

I get a lot of newer airports ( I just love looking at the details, I guess) but often find myself unsure of just eaxctly who flys from where, or what a good destination would be within an acceptable range.

I posted an app here I found recently Called VECTOR - MSFS 2024 Flight Dispatcher, and its made things a lot easier as I wander around trying out new locations and no longer have to do tedious searches of end points. It even sends the data to Simbrief for me, removing my reluctance to do the work required to easily roam beyond the rut of my comfort zones.

Indeed a great topic and i've enjoyed reading what other simmers do and their approach to simming...and the impact such a hobby has on them..

I must admit, i used to be in the camp of 'must get that when it comes out' particularly after seeing endless YT reviews, glimpses, first impression etc.. and imagining I would enjoy do that flight or what ever... for example, all the hype about the A220... it peaked my interest but meh...now days, after having built my home cockpit for the A320, I tend to limit myself to flying Airbus aircraft as it fits my setup and hardware... do I miss GA flying? No... I made my bed and now i lay in it happily...

When it comes to choosing payware airports, because i fly on a VA, the destinations are already selected so narrows down what i should buy... I like that as dont want to spend money an an airport ill visit once...

Im nearly of retirement age myself and looking forward to it... I still have plenty of time to sim during the day (work stupid hours in the mornings) and have busied myself in exploring the more complex systems of the A320 etc... its a nice challenge and for me brings the immersion factor up...

Recently started fiddling with Reshade and must say im enjoying the difference optically that has made...

What a great (and can be expensive!) hobby this is... means something different to each person i think.. a top bunch of guys and gals!

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by vonduck

2 hours ago, Noel said:

ultimately it is a game.

Thems fighting words lol - I don't know how much I agree, and I say that as a old hat who's played probably thousands of videogames, since the early days of DOS and mIRC pre-torrent era piracy. I've would wager I've either played, pirated, or purchased nearly every PC game, MMORPGs to Racing Sims, though not as much from the more recent era of gatcha games/seasons pass style of multiplayer games. It was starting to get very stale, lots of games but not a lot of new mechanics, new challenges, new ideas. Plenty of new graphics, sure, but an over-the-shoulder action shooter is always going to be that - a top down isometric ARPG is always going to be that.

Since I got into flight sim back at the start of this year, I have barely touched other games. A few indies, some hyped up big releases, but I keep coming back to flight sim, keep feeling the itch to fly, there's always something else to try, some new place to fly to or from, some new add-on or aircraft to try. Instead of learning how to min-max my character or memorize a boss attack pattern, I feel like I'm actually learning something real, something maybe not applicable, but certainly more tangible than what I learn playing other games.

I play guitar, I play piano, I play playstation games, etc but I wouldn't say I play flight sim? You play games, I'm not so sure what flight sim is yet. Maybe I'm in denial - the wife would probably call it 'play' lol

Just the HJET and now the Phenom since 2022. I gave up on props years ago due to noise complaints from the neighbors. 😆

dd

I'm good with it. Flightsim is akin to collecting baseball cards at times haha!

I occasionally actually fly for fun but 90% of what I do is

Painting

Screenshots

Beta Testing

I'm good with it. Flightsim is akin to collecting baseball cards at times haha!

I occasionally actually fly for fun but 90% of what I do is

Painting

Screenshots

Beta Testing

If I want something for my sim, I get it. Money isn't an issue, so why not go for it?

53 minutes ago, Kristofski said:

Since I got into flight sim back at the start of this year, I have barely touched other games. A few indies, some hyped up big releases, but I keep coming back to flight sim... I feel like I'm actually learning something real, something maybe not applicable, but certainly more tangible than what I learn playing other games.

This has long been and will continue to be an argument btwn the two camps, but I'll have to vote in this direction. I do occasionally play a couple of games with my computer, but this isn't one of them.

I stopped flying for real at the close of the '70s as marriage and career (that was outside of aviation) made it impossible to afford (in money or time). When I got my first little PC in the '80s and found Flight Simulator, it was like the old world I used to enjoy so much opened up again - it seemed amazing (even in wire-frame).

Ironically, several years ago my wife said that if I wanted to take up flying again (for real) she would support it. That was an amazing thing for her to say, but being into my mid-70's I wasn't going to put undue stress on my survival if I had a health emergency or put her in danger if she was with me. Simulation let's me not only fly some of the aircraft I operated in my old flying days but lets me go far beyond it - learning about higher performance aircraft, IFR techniques and the amazing technology of modern flight management systems.

7 hours ago, kerosene31 said:

This is why I became a GA only flyer. I'm never going to find the time to learn complex airliners and fly longer routes. My flights are something 100 miles or so, usually with a Black Square or A2A GA plane. I recently bought some business jets and modern fighters, and I don't have time for them. I have BATC and like it, but chances are this weekend I'll just fly some short flights into smaller airports and just use the default ATC.

The Black Square and A2A stuff is perfect for me. While it is a "complex" addon, the planes themselves are simple enough for a single pilot to fly. I can fly the Comanche and Bonanza just from memory and a quick checklist.

100% for me too.

From 2004 until 2020 I was as hardcore a tubeliner flyer as anyone. I built a 737NG cockpit in my attic in 2007 🙂 Then I just found myself getting impatient and somewhat bored with all the pre-flight prep for airliner ops, that I used to enjoy so much. This did coincide with my family growing, career progression and other life 'busy-ness'.

The other factor for me is that, as a RW private pilot, with GA simming I can closely simulate the flying that I do in the real world. I can revisit real world days out and routes that I've flown to farm strips and lovely airfields in the UK (and in southern Ontario before that). This is what I find most enjoyable in the sim now. The fact that GA addons have become so high quality and complex in their own right really helps (thank you A2A, Black Square, FSW, SWS and COWS 😎 ).

For me, realistic GA flying in the sim with high quality aircraft feels quite immersive and real. Simulating airliner legs feels like a 'simulation', not linked to reality (naturally, as I'm not an ATPL).

😊

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by JYW

13 hours ago, History said:

Anyone else buy addons faster than you actually use them?

I just hope my wife never finds out how many addons I’ve bought and only flown a single hot start joyride!

I don’t feel guilty, though, because a., I wait to buy almost all my addons on some major holiday sale, and b., I look at each one like a book. I learn about at least the basics of the aircraft and how it compares to others, and always about its history.

But IMHO, it’s recently more that a slew of high quality AND highly desirable addons have released or gone on a big sale in a very short span of time, and across several Simulators, as well.

So while I tend to mainly fly just a few addons, they do gradually change over time. And it’s always fun to have the option to just kick the tires and light the fires in the others as the mood strikes.

9 hours ago, Republic DC9 said:

A2A Aerostar - a great plane, ugly but fast,

Yep 👍

My favorite things about it are the great visibility and it overheats so fast you really have plan your approach. (TBH, I generally cheat and fly a military overhead break to keep both the speed AND fun high 😎)

“Trueconfessions - I can’t start any of them from cold and dark. I’m 51 and have simmed since 1998 and no longer know how to fly an ILS approach!?”

Who cares…? It’s all just checklists, anyway! 😁🤙

I usually reserve cold starts and full shutdowns for DCS World. Unlike the civ sims, I find them to be great bookends for the missions.

ILS is a big thing for me, but I only fly them by hand, and only in a bare handful of aircraft. And while I genuinely enjoy IMC recoveries to aircraft carriers in DCS, here the civ sims are more fun due to real time weather and better atmospheric effects like turbulence, gusts, etc.

Edited 45 minutes ago45 min by UrgentSiesta

31 minutes ago, UrgentSiesta said:

“Trueconfessions - I can’t start any of them from cold and dark. I’m 51 and have simmed since 1998 and no longer know how to fly an ILS approach!?”

Who cares…? It’s all just checklists, anyway! 😁🤙

I

On a new aircraft I’ve not flown before I employ the H.M “ howling mad” Murdock technique of spending 5 seconds looking around the flight deck pointing at things I’ll need then just blasting off.