winpies Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 When I am flying, I always fly in "Real Time". Meaning that I do not speed up the rate. Even if it is a long flight I get up to cruise level then let the flight continue and go and do something else for a few hours. (periodically checking how it's going of course). If I don't have a lot of time I will do a shorter flight. I also always depart from the last airport I landed at so if my last flight was in a GA plane and I want to fly the 737, I have to use a smaller aircraft to get to an airport that can handle the 737. I am just curious to see how others tend to fly. Cheers Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek McAllan Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Whenever, wherever, whatever the mood takes me. On long hauls I'll happily use time compression - just because this is a simulator doesn't mean that I should have to watch clouds tick by at 37,000' for 4 hours, where's the fun in that? That being said, I do nearly all of my regional flights up to 2 hours in real time. Cheers, good to see another Perth guy on here, putting aside your choice in footy team Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie P. Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I personally really enjoy making things as realistic as possible (much like yourself). I will typically use accurate weather, time, almost always fly from last location using a flight tracking system (unless checking out new areas or aircraft). I have recently drifted away from flying anything but what would be considered a "bush" aircraft, so I don't exactly make my way to different airports in order to fly other aircraft like yourself. But I do like that idea and can certainly appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosariomanzo Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I only fly online over IVAO network. So, real time, real weather (using IVAP servers), real ATC (when available, of course). I also belong to a virtual airline, which will soon have two hubs down under. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Kane Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I tend to start my flights in Real Time, Real Weather and mostly avoid time compression on short haul flights, but use time compression on long haul flights. Truth is in the real world their are multiple people managing a flight. In FSX it is just me managing a long haul flight which is not realistic compared to real world. Therefore I have no problem using Time Compression on a long haul flight as in the real world you do not have one pilot managing a 747 alone for 8 to 14 hours. So why would I do that in FSX. The reality is managing an airliner alone is not realistic so I have no problem using tools like Time Compression to speed things up and focus on the departure and arrival portions of the fight. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I must admit to being completely haphazard as to where I fly; Europe, Australia, America, Canada...wherever I have reasonably correct scenery actually. But, I never fly for more than two hours and in fact, try to limit the flight to one to one and a half. Long haul flights are out for me. I tried to do one once but got bored, started fiddling around at about two hours and crashed the computer at two and a quarter! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockliffe Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I fly a little like Derek. I choose a flight depending on my mood. Sometimes I just want to fill fifteen minutes and so will load up some challenging weather and fly locally at some small strips. Then sometimes I will put aside some time simply to do what I call tweak flights, where I may be testing cfg tweaks or changing aspects in inspctor. But what I really enjoy, is having a couple of hours to fly, generating a flight plan and flying as close as possible to the real thing. Although, I've never been a real advocate of real time weather as there are times I want to perhaps have a challenging flight in a thunder storm and this is likely not to be present in real weather. Alternatively I often enjoy a beautiful clear sky when bush flying around Oz. Although I fly heavies in Oz, I prefer to fly shorter hops in my 737 or Airbus around Europe. Usually flights of about an hour or so. It's an interesting topic, as we all share the same passion but all have a different way of doing things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sizel Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Another Perth resi here I admire the sticking through a long haul in real time and it's something i would consider or should i say like to do as i'm not a fan of time compression. It sort of defeats the point of getting from A to B for me, the thought of travel. I think i would get more satisfaction from doing the actual journey in real time. I don't do long haul though. Fours hours may have been my max once. Of course, real time long haul flights are a big time consumer and what with work and all that getting in the way . Cheers Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanTenner Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Well, I also choose airports depending on my mood and the weather. I also change day time. But I always fly with the actual weather. I dont use time compression. When I dont wanna fly that long I choose another route. I start with cold and dark aircraft or shut it down when there is no option for cold and dark and set the aircraft into the cold and dark state after arriving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normandean Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 These days I tend to fly mostly VFR, so as to view the wonderful scenery that is available to us now. Much of this flying is on line but I also have to do quite a bit of testing out new products. For the big iron I normally fly VATSIM, which is always real time. I once flew a 747 around the world, all with real weather and in real time and all flights from gate to gate for each leg. It took me 84 hours, mostly in 4 hour stints, and I flew 33000 miles. Norman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Wright Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I've never used time compression. The longest flight i've done was London Gatwick to Barbados in the PMDG 747, which took about 9hrs. During the flight I busied myself doing other things and checked back periodically, taking over about 20 minutes prior to top of descent. More recently i've been doing more VFR flights. Around the UK as I know the area well i'll just takeoff from my local airport and navigate using the photographic scenery, following the roads, rivers and railway lines I use in the real world. Most recently i've been using Orbx PNW and Australia, they're not regions I'm familiar with, so i'll set up an FSX flight plan between two airports (say Darrington and Orcas) and roughly follow the GPS course. Nowadays I like to fly the Carenado PA28 Archer II - an aircraft I fly in the real world, and the Aerosoft DA20 Katana 4X most often. I don't use ATC, I find it too restrictive. I always fly with real world weather (from REX) though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robmw Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I only fly GA and mostly VFR so I tend to use FSX to tour parts of the world I've never been too or that I'm likely to have the chance to visit! OrbX and other good payware scenery is what makes this worthwhile. I always fly real-time with accurate weather so you'll occasionally find me looking through weather site archives for the date of the type of conditions I want (although these are often fair weather). I generally fly for around 1-2 hours at a time although occasionally I've done longer flights in aircraft like the Lancair or PC12. I was almost tempted to use time compression in the Australian Outback though. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5055100597 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I have a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser and am flying that to Hawaii someday, maybe next weekend, but I'm usually flying big jetliners long-haul (those propliners are a fuss). I however, seldom use my PMDG 747 because its too fussy, VNAV doesn't stay on, and it doesn't like me entering the fixes for an ILS approach, which I liek better than the default inserts. It is also an ass when trying to autoland. So I'm currently flying over the small atlantic routes in teh 757, and 767 waiting for the Captain Sim 777 to become a full product, so I can have extra range and speed over my 767, which goes Salta Lake City-Paris in 9-10 hours. I have a PMDG MD-11 which is much better than teh PMDG 747, which is an FS9 product edited for FSX, but I am yet to take the AOA training in the MD-11. The MD-11 will be my big long-hauler until I get the full Captain Sim 777, and hopefully a Captain Sim 747 comes out, because PMDG's newer FSX one is due in about (8 years! maybe...) 2 years. When I'm not airlining, I'm usually flying my Bonanza F33A around the PNW, mostly VFR but as teh PNW goes, I'm IFR a lot doing precision approaches into places, sicne I like selecting real world weather (big mistake for this region). I also like my Wings of Power B-17 sometimes, but the Bonanza is becoming my main GA plane now, single engine simplicity and is still fast, and lands quite short for its type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lthendrix Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 How do you fly?.........3 cans of Fosters Bitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5055100597 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 How do you fly?.........3 cans of Fosters Bitter. If this was facebook; total like button status! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sightseer Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I havent left PNW in quite some time. I havent been above 7,000 feet or faster than 200knots in a very long time. The Christen Eagle is the fastest plane I fly I think. I generally use the user defined weather becasue it gives me better clouds and more realistic arrangement of clouds. I have tried real weather that updated and I cant stand it when all the conditions just suddenly change. FSXs built in real weather doesnt produce as nice of cloud for some reason and the visibilities are wrong. Its just easier to define some weather and choose an airport and a time and then save that flight. From there I often develop several flights by flying from the same starting point to different destinations and then saving those as 'fly from here' flights. I change weather conditions and time of day (and plane) as the mood hits me but I try to stay within two weeks of the current date/season. Im most concerned with the enjoyablity factor. I take off, turn on the autopilot, and then go outside and spend the flight watching scenery and taking far too many pictures. In FS9 I flew with ATC all around the country but with FSX and places like PNW, I just fly where and how I want. (often skimming just above the countryside) I fly in real time 99% of the time. Sometimes extreme boredom/frustration hits me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanMlt1 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Mostly choppers so... Short hops and challenging landings on windy heli-pads around PNW! And sometimes buzzed which makes it fun and interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6297j Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Wow, I haven't flown for more than half an hour for many years, I simply don't have the time any more. And weeks can go by sometimes when I don't fly at all. When I do fly it's either somewhere in the PNW or in Arizona where I go on holiday and have flown quite a lot for real. I didn't reinstall GEX Europe when I had to reinstall the lot a couple of years ago and haven't flown around the UK for a very long time. I tend to pick a weather theme and time of day depending on the mood and it's enough for me to just escape vertically in something fast or sight see in something slow for 20 minutes or so before my mind wanders and I think of something else I'd rather do. The biggest drawback with FSX for me is how long it can take to start it up, choose an aircraft and location and fly. It's far, far too long for a spontaneous, spur of the moment whim. Sometimes it's much more appealing to click on Need for Speed instead as within just a few seconds I can be away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normandean Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hi Rob and Tom, you might like to join the VFR Flyers. We fly on line every Sunday morning and also some evenings during the week. If you are interested you can see what we do on our page of the Visual Flight forum. If you would like more information then PM me. Norman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonyla1 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'm like a kid in a candy store. I chop and change, and rarely fly for more than 20 minutes per flight. There is so much to see and so little time to enjoy it all. Come to think of it, I have so many great add on planes that I often change aircraft mid flight. I guess I'm too spoilt for choice with all the great orbx, ozx sceneries and amazing aircraft available. But at the end of the day, I can say that I totally enjoy myself Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Wright Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hi Rob and Tom, you might like to join the VFR Flyers. We fly on line every Sunday morning and also some evenings during the week. If you are interested you can see what we do on our page of the Visual Flight forum. If you would like more information then PM me. Norman Hi Norman, thanks for the heads up! I might take you up on that - I'll have a look into it! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winpies Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 Cheers, good to see another Perth guy on here, putting aside your choice in footy team Derek Another Perth resi here Gudday Derek and Simon, good to see a few Perth flight simmers around. Derek, can't help but follow a good footy team Thank you to everyone for your comments. Cheers Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZanderMiller Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 This reminds me of a survey conducted by MS a few years before they released FSX. They asked several similar questions, and I was surprised at some of the results. I wish I remembered where I put the results. Anyway... Real Time - Always. Real Weather - Almost Always. FS9 - Predominantly flew ASA routes in 737 variations. This allowed me to fly from Hawaii to Boston, Miami to Barrow, and a lot of PNW in between. Yes I'm guilty of setting the AP and going out mowing the lawn and doing some yard work during those 5 hour flights. FSX - I have to say the Orbx scenery has changed my flying habits of late. A lot of shorter flights, in much smaller aircraft, flying a lot lower, to see the detail you can't pick out at FL350. It really has been a pleasure to see the detail and craftsmanship delivered by the great Orbx team. It has allowed me to enjoy a whole different (lower) level of flying. Happy Simming MK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_A Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Most of my flying is of the "touring" variety. I'll fly from A to B, but quite often the "long" way (ie if B is West of A, then I'll head off East). I fly almost exclusively light GA, so it can take many months to get from A to B! My rules for flying a tour are that the next flight must start from where the previous flight finished. Normally it's in the same aircraft, but now and then I'll 'rent' something different, and rely on the support crew to bring the regular plane with them (What, you don't have a support crew? Well who else do you think takes all those 'spot view' screenshots?! ) I do try to limit flights to around two hours, although some flights are as short as 15 minutes and one recent flight ended up at around 6 hours thanks to very strong head winds (it was across the Bering sea to Kamchatka, so there were not a lot of options). I always fly real weather (usually ASE), and once a flight has started, then whatever happens happens. If the plane goes down, the tour is over, DNF. Failures though are allowed for, with repairs sanctioned as appropriate. I never fly on 'unlimited fuel', but I do allow have a system for ferry tanks (extra fuel can be loaded as cargo, and transferred to the fuel tanks in flight). No time compression allowed, but I don't force myself to stay in front of the PC if its a long flight on the autopilot. I'll often have several ongoing tours 'active'. So at the moment I have a Beech Duke, flying from KORS back to England. The plane is currently in Nagasaki, Japan and will soon be heading into South Korea. It started in England late last year, and flew across the Atlantic for a Vatsim event in San Diego. It then went up to the PNW for a while, and is now heading back (like I said at the top, the "long way"). I guess it counts as a circumnavigation, although it probably doesn't qualify as a RTW. I have an ongoing tour of Australia, where I plan to visit every airport on the continent, state by state (TAS, VIC & NSW completed); the plane is currently in Brisbane, "resting". I'm also prepping for an East Africa trip. I prefer to hand fly, VFR, using a mix of pilotage and dead reckoning to navigate, but I'll use the GPS as backup (I have an RXP 530 fitted to many of my planes), and I do fly IFR if the weather dictates. Plan-G of course is usually running somewhere in the background. I'll often fly on Vatsim, especially if there's a controller in the area, but I don't normally bother with FS ATC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt sl Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 prefer to do short hauls mostly( 2-3 hrs). mostly around oz at the moment. longest ive done so far would be NZ to Aust .will probably be doing more once orbx graces that part of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John York Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 That was a very interesting description of your flying pleasure Tim. Its somewhat similar to mine except that I tend to stick to places I have the scenery for. Perhaps I should get out more as the saying goes, but I'm not sure I could put up with too much FSX default in the places I would like to visit i.e. China and India. Still, you never know and I suspect Plan-G has the details of places I can link to in 100-200 mile hops. I'll have a look. Incidentally, I've got it working fine now with Radar Contact. It was my fault. I hadn't realised there was a 'Go to' option that I can use when I'm a little off course and they try to send me back to the last waypoint instead of forward to the next one! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sizel Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 But at the end of the day, I can say that I totally enjoy myself Quite right Tony. However we fly, as long as we enjoy ourselves and get good satisfaction. Job done . Cheers Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Houston Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I personally really enjoy making things as realistic as possible . . . accurate weather, time . . . I have recently drifted away from flying anything but what would be considered a "bush" aircraft . . . Charlie pretty-much nails it down for my perspective on FSX flying. When I look back a couple of years or so ago, I was strictly doing kerosene burners at 35,000', big airports, many long , international flights, incessant ATC. But I'm sure it was the arrival of Orbx on the scene that quickly and drastically changed everything for me -- as doubtless most everyone else here. The trip I'm doing now is near to typical, these days: Orcas Is. area, tiny little Ozx aerodromes within about 20 miles of each other, using Ant's Sierra. Altitudes in the 1200' range at best. But the thing of it is, I'm enjoying my Sim-flying much more than in the high-fast days, and it just keeps on getting better, thanks to JV and his mighty team of talented benefactors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Scharnowski Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I only used time compression during my world tour back with FS2004. Even with time compression it took me about a year, because I flew up and down the continents and used slow(er) aircraft like the default Baron, Goose and DC-3. Now I only fly in real time and relatively short hops of 1-2 hours. I think my longest solo haul was a 3 hour flight in the B-17 from Port Hardy to Klawock: 360nm with quite a bit of headwind. Most multiplayer flights are also 2-3 hours long. I don't use the FSX ATC and can't be bothered yet to fly on VATSIM, but I tend to make the proper radio calls all by myself just to keep it real. Also I pretty much only fly GA and warbirds. The closest thing to tubeliners that I have is the J-41. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_A Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 That was a very interesting description of your flying pleasure Tim. Its somewhat similar to mine except that I tend to stick to places I have the scenery for. I get the wanderlust. Orbx, for all their grand ideas, only cover a small part of the globe (whatever happened to the stated aim of global coverage?), and so of necessity I spend a lot of time in default and other scenery, although you won't hear about it here. Yes I know Orbx scenery is good, but regardless, as I say, after a while I get the wanderlust and I'm off again. I'm planning to go through China on my current trip home from Orcas. I've been through India several times before, and lets just say that as with most default scenery, you can use google to see what it should have looked like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bosch Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I'm planning to go through China on my current trip home from Orcas. I've been through India several times before, and lets just say that as with most default scenery, you can use google to see what it should have looked like. That is the bit that I just don't understand. I never used FS2004 or earlier, it was all combat sim back then. This was partly because the terrain, which I consider to be an important part of a non-combat sim, was nothing like reality. When I first saw the FTX scenery it inspired me to buy FSX and give it a go. I also bought AU Blue and fired up the sim at my birth town of Broken Hill. Imagine my disappointment when I saw a landscape that looked like the town was built on a beach, complete with Palm trees and about 5% of the buildings! I then realised that Broken Hill is just outside of AU Blue and was in awe when I moved in to a more appropriate area. Sure FTX isn't a perfect representation, no landlcass based system can be, but I can accept it better than the idea of flying over default terrain that looks nothing like reality. To be honest, I find flying in the sim difficult at the moment, FTX or no. Now that I have tasted the real thing I have spoilt my simming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lthendrix Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 that is not good salesman ship John... You are supposed to say it looks as close to reality as you can get in that sentence .. ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caaront Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Mostly low and slow. When I'm mad I'll hop in an ultralight and pester and harass the tubeliners at the airports, block their paths and let them move a little at a time, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilottj Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I get all sorts of different flightsim 'moods' I have my old biplane kicks, glider kicks, warbird kicks, GA kicks (lazy taildraggers to high performance IFR), bizjet kicks, airliner kicks(classic and modern), fighter jet kicks, heli kicks...I think most time I am in the GA relm as that is my real world level of training. Last week I was in a biplane kick messing around in the Wacos, lately have been doing high performance IFR in the Lancair and T-Duke. Right now flying the Turbine Duke low and fast through the thunderstorm plagued midwest, watching it bounce around and the rain driving against the windshield. I also like to mix things up too, turn a warbird into a bush plane...etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontworry Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 GA flying only; low and slow or low and fast . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winpies Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 My rules for flying a tour are that the next flight must start from where the previous flight finished. Normally it's in the same aircraft, but now and then I'll 'rent' something different, That is exactly how I treat my flying. Sometimes I can be away from my home base (Perth) for a few weeks as I generally only get to fly on the weekends. Cheers Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5055100597 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 My longest flight is in the upcoming Captain Sim 777-200LR, in which I will recreate the world's longest passenger airliner trip, from Hong Kong to Heathrow, the long way, a 11,664NM voyage that will take me approx 22-23 hours, if I can replicate the proper fuel burn. I'm gonna have one heck of a trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricky76 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 How do I fly. Hmm. I tried running up and down the runway at CYPK while flapping my arms and all I got was a ride to RCMP HQ's Seriously. I tend to do flights that are within ~2 hours at a time. During weekends when the weather is less than desireable (RW) I do a flight or two and go out for a walk, get groceries or work on my 737 pit. I find sitting for too long really messes my back up. GA VFR flights can last up to 3-5 hours hand flown within PNW, PFJ, NRM regions bouncing from airport to airport. But when I get the need for some 737 action, I usually do short regional flights around 1-1.5 hrs long. CYVR-CYLW and CYVR-CYYC are common flights for me. I never fly usuing time compression. During the cruise phase, I will usually plan my next leg. I use a 52" lcd in my livingroom, so I fly it to T/C then I can either tidy my house or get laundry done. By then, I'm at T/D and I then take my seat and finish my flight. I love this hobby! And will be continuing it till I either go blind or ............ Aviation nut since birth, PPL since 1994 and Simmer since 1985! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean (PC Aviator) Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Hi Jeff, Good question... I am similar to you in that I fly mostly in real time... Rarely do I time warp. I dont fly running legs (i.e. depart from the same airport I landed at previously) but I do often like to string flights together in a single session in the one area/region. You should give FSEconomy a look as it would probably suit your flying style perfectly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Meson Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 My 2cents worth, Mostly airlines (just landed in Qantas iFly 737-800 at YSTW from YHBA with FS2 Crew Voice, real time and Orbx weather No.5), great flight. Sometimes Realair T-Duke on short regonal flights and Lancair or Dod just for fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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