Do you sometimes just fool around...

[TheGrunt]

...or always take your sim "seriously"?

I do.

I like to do things properly and the more detailed the model is, more I like to get into the machine and how it really works and is operated. Though I have flown couple of years with FSX and for the last year with P3D solely, I'm not probably among the hard core of the simmers. I also prefer vintage stuff, especially WW2 birds, because they are simple in their own way (I love A2A B377 CotS, so simplicity is not the key here) and after knowing how to fly one, you pretty much can jump from the P-51 to P-40 after some update on the systems. And those powerful pistons, oh boy! However, with modern airliners for example, I just don't have all the patience. Like Aerosoft Airbus Extended I have, it pretty much stays in the hangar without any air time, because I find it quite boring to through the FMC, flying most of the route with AP and so on. Also learning all that is somewhat tedious. But perhaps during summer vacations rainy days I will dig deeper into that, who knows.

But that is not exactly my point.

Point is that sometimes, especially after a few brewskies, just getting in the air with interesting plane is THE thing. A while ago, I jumped on the Piglets A-1H in Da Nang on a beautiflul REX Essentials OD dawn and just took some low level flying on the beaches without any special meaning. On the backround (my A-1 sound is aliased to Aircraft Factory F4U and it fits quite nicely) I looped CCR Fortunate Son. It was just amazing! I have about 1.8m of horizontal display width (three 27"'ers) and sense of movement is amazing. It really felt like beeing inside of some Vietnam War movie. And I stress that inside a movie, not experiencing the hell of the war itself, thank god.

Simming is leasure for me and I can, and in many occasions like to, take it lightly and have just some quick fun. How about you?

[bstolle]

Like Aerosoft Airbus Extended I have, it pretty much stays in the hangar without any air time, because I find it quite boring to through the FMC, flying most of the route with AP and so on.

FMC? AP? Who needs that. My average touch & go pattern in the real A320 sim usually takes less than minute! No need to program anything. FADEC and FBW are taking care
The A320 is actually a very nice handling and very capable airplane. Last time I had so much with manual flying was back in my PA-18 times.
In the sim I always start on the runway with the engines running. It's a FLIGHT sim, and flying should be fun

[rdaniell]

In the sim I always start on the runway with the engines running. It's a FLIGHT sim, and flying should be fun

I'm glad to know there's at least one FSX simmer like myself. My flights very seldom last over 5 minutes. Maybe a little longer if I do a few touch and goes.

RD

[TheGrunt]

FMC? AP? Who needs that. My average touch & go pattern in the real A320 sim usually takes less than minute! No need to program anything. FADEC and FBW are taking care
The A320 is actually a very nice handling and very capable airplane. Last time I had so much with manual flying was back in my PA-18 times.
In the sim I always start on the runway with the engines running.

Perhaps I should take this kind of approach, at least for the starters Somehow I always feel that I waste a good model not using all the beautiful features devs have put into it.

It's a FLIGHT sim, and flying should be fun

True Yet, I have learn't HUGE amount about aviation and aviation history just by simming (and reading books inspired by simming and hanging in the community like SOH!), so for me this is also a learning process. But surely, I like to have fun with it as it is part of my spare time and it competes with watcing TV, movies or listening to music. I get enough of the dull routines in my "non aviation" job so I don't want it with simming hobby, though mostly my work is quite fun too

[pilottj]

I think one of the major appeals of FS is that it is so open ended, you can fly whatever you want, whenever, and can fly it in a style you enjoy most. In real life flying, there is no shortage of regulations, in FS you can choose to adhere to them or not...you will not go to FS Jail or be fined for barnstorming through a major city, you know the type of flying that would make the Blues Brothers proud:mixedsmi:

Operationally as far as my 'realism' goes personally, I try to follow aircraft operational procedures realistically as possible..ie following checklist procedures...at least for GA aircraft since that is the extent of my real world training. This helps keep my 'brain' somewhat current, while my real world flying is not current. As far airliner/transports, military jets and so on...planes beyond my real world training, I follow enough procedures to safely operate it from point A to B, but usually don't go through all the checklists and such.

I don't really care too much about having the correct paint scheme for a given type of flying. If it is a nice paint scheme, I will fly it regardless of the type of aircraft it is on. I don't care about a paint scheme not being period specific and such. Some of those folks over at the PMDG forum would have you believe it is sacrilege to fly a modern airliner in an airline scheme not currently in real world use. Trust me, you won't go to FS Jail if you fly a DC-6 in JetBlue colors in New Zealand...and you wont go to jail for flying it under a bridge or two Same with military aircraft. I fly them for the enjoyment/reward of flying them. If it happens to be an F-18 in WW1 Jasta colors...who cares, if it looks good, I'll fly it

Likewise with vintage airplanes and warbirds. I love flying those planes. Since I will likely never get to fly them for real, the experience of successfully flying a P-40, FW-190, AN-2, B-17, Waco...etc is real fun. Again I don't care too much about having a correct period specific scheme. It is the challenge and act of flying the plane that thrills me the most. Since there is no combat in FS, warbirds essentially become GA planes too.

As far as genres, there are so many ways to 'fly' in FSX, try them all. Try soaring, try choppers, try warbirds, try military jets, try old airliners, try freighters, try vintage planes using their vintage technology, try state of the art glass cockpit aircraft...try it all, its all good. You might find something you haven't thought of before. It is your virtual FS world, make it what you want.

[WarHorse47]

Hmmm... this is going to take some time to answer, and break down my actual time in percentages. Let's see if I have all the key activities..

-- Research my next purchase, aircraft or scenery
-- Acquiring and installing the purchase or freeware that I select
-- Learning how to fly the new aircraft
-- Searching for and installing new repaints
-- Searching for and testing tweaks and modifications on new aircraft
-- Taking short flights to view tweaks, modifications and new textures
-- Taking short flights with morning coffee just to flip switches, listen to the sounds, and view the scenery
-- Taking longer flights with adult beverage to flip more switches, test navigation skills and get away from doing chores, watching the evening news, etc.

And to think that I've only had FSX since February this year... :salute:

BTW - I've had a crummy week, so I'm at the computer with my vodka martini getting ready for that last item.

[EMatheson]

For the past... all year... I've been testing scenery I've downloaded. Got about a hundred gigs of the stuff, all over the North America, Europe, and Australia. Probably at least 500 airports added. I've been testing each and every one of them to see how badly they affect my frame-rates. If it isn't flyable without stuttering, it's edited and fixed or it's tossed.

Simple as that sounds, it means I've been taking longer flights! I've discovered that the best way to see if an airport eats FPS is too start somewhere else - maybe 10 to 20 minutes of flying away - and approach and land there. So every day, I take fly about 30 minutes. It's very calming, and I've been learning too. Maybe I'm just a little slow, but I'm FINALLY understanding how to lean my engine properly! I'm also beginning to get the hang of trimming my plane right the FIRST time around, instead of having to tweak it continually...

In doing so, I've also discovered that I really like small planes. The Cessna 172 is a sweet flyer! Not so fond of jets, though I do break out the military hardware for low-altitude flying, like the OP describes... there is nothing quite like the rush of screaming up a narrow canyon at tree-top level with the afterburners lit!

[JimmyRFR]

I find that regardless of what I'm flying, I do prefer to be in a 'plausible' situation - I seldom take up a plane that wouldn't be realistic for the type of flying I'm doing, and I prefer to have a paint that matches the where and when. Doesn't have to be perfect, but plausible is preferred.

As much as I love Dino's F-14, I rarely do anything that's not plausibly navy / carrier related with it - I would never take it across western Canada, which is where I do the bulk of my flying. That said, I'm never strict about procedures when flying a military jet -but I do feel that it's somewhat realistic to push them hard!

I fly the Dodosim 206 quite often. I've considered that beyond the reason that it's simply fun to fly, I enjoy it because it's something that isn't always intended to be going from point A to point B - I can take it up at PAKT for example, go do some sightseeing with it for 30 minutes, come back for a landing - still feels sorta realistic. I do this as well with smaller bush planes. Usually with this kind of flying, I'm semi-realistic about procedures - I like to start 'em up from cold and dark, and shut 'em down at the end of a flight.

The only plane I fly where I'm serious about everything, from procedures to planning, is the Q400. I will admit though, that I have to be in the right mood to do all that!

[MCDesigns]

For me the fooling around part of starting and stopping when testing scenery or aircraft. I like flying 'scenarios". I flew lots of the missions when FSX first came out and did lots of the AOTD in Flight, plus I used to run a VA, so having a reason to fly and a point A and point B and any other points is really preferred also. I am not s systems guy, as long as I can get it started rather quickly and the graphics and the modeling keep the immersion going, I am good. Being a developer also ties in with the flight usually. i plan out the scenario and if the things I need for the flight are not avaliable to add in to the sim, i go about making them if possible.When i ran the VA i did all the FBO scenery and scenery for missions and such. Now I think about a scenario I think would be cool and create it. I did lots of photoreal areas in Afghanistan with scenery for military flights, I did photoreal wildlife preserves in Africa with lodge and wildlife scenery, I did photoreal tropical island getaways with scenery, I did detailed FOBs in Vietnam with custom scenery so I would have places to fly my huey, I even did photoreal areas around the southern U.S. border and did Border patrol offices, people and vehicles for me to investigate, LOL.

Flying a sky bus for several hours and landing at a big hub full of AI really doesn't interest me at all. tried it many times and never "got it". I do enjoy the occasional biz jet flights into major hubs, but that's about it.

[stiz]

i'm 50/50, i like the plane to be modeled well with systems like the real thing (though thats not a "must" if the plane "feels" real) but i dont stick to any sort of flight rules. Just load up the plane and fly out in whatever direction i want, no ATC, no avoiding airspace's, no GPS programed in etc etc

[Blackbird686]

I tend to just "wing-it" with a fast jet like Dino's F-35. That plane is pure fun for me, though I try to stay within the limits of the FM. Milton's Avia 57 and Dash-7... I fly "by the book". Compleat with ATC, Flight Plans, IFR, and shooting approaches to minimums. I also do this with the Flying Stations Westland Wyvern. Just sayin...

BB686:USA-flag:

[T6flyer]

I can never treat it like a game. Suppose been flying for so long that this rubs off in the simulator. Always try to stick to the types that I know in real life and if I'm ever not too keen on a new one, always make sure I get it back on the ground before removing it from my virtual hangar. Sim has been a godsend when trying out new routes or reliving a past memorable flight.

Martin

[strikehawk]

My thing is to take a helo and fly NOE to the sounds of Agent Oranges surf punk renditions of Pipeline,Miserlu and such. Surf music and helos are ment to go together. Now where's that Dick Dale CD I have?

[mfitch]

Yes, I sometimes pull up a plane and fly crazy. I will flight see terrain I have never seen (WWII warbird around Pacific islands) or enjoy aircraft I could never fly (F-22, F-35).

Other days I want maximum reality. This includes flying Flight1's T182 with G1000 or Carenado's T210 with RealityXP GNS430/530. Often I fly locally practicing flights and procedures I use here. Some of this is practice for real world flying for me.

However I rarely have enough time for anything more in depth or complicated.

[CWOJackson]

For just relaxing, I occasionally fly the DC-3 over North Africa listening to Glenn Miller and the sound of the engines.

[robert41]

Mostly fly as close to real world as possible, but sometimes I'll get a little crazy. Take my RR Merlin powered Wright Flyer up to 40000ft and check out the sights. Cuban eights in a 747. Hang glide off of Mt Everest.

[napamule]

Yes, I do (mostly) fool around unlike any other simmer, I am afraid. For example I downloaded 'cc10taf.zip', which is Lyon's Travel Air, but has a PT Cruiser vehicle inbedded in zip. I extract, add sound, add panel and drop into FSX. Then I go work on cnt pts. After that I find a suitable FDE from some simular vehicle and trial & error EVERYTHING that is adjustable, which usually takes me 3 or 4 days of 4 hr simming per day. Then I enjoy driving it on FSX roads. I might learn something new, so I go back to my other vehicles and tweak on those. Keeps me busy.
Chuck B
Napamule

[Delta_Whiskey]

for me it's about pushing the engine.
I know it's a simulator and it can be extremely procedural and task precise but, for me that is restrictive
i NEVER use an autpilot , ( i removes me from the loop and i could just go make a sandwich instead )

I treat it as a sandbox most of the time.

- how can i make a ( float plane ) look and (taxi ) like a cigarette boat, a hovercraft, a submarine
- how can i turn an airplane into a skydiver
- how can i make an (aircraft ) look and drive like a tank, a dunebuggy, a porshe
- how can i make and airplane become a hot air balloon, a lunar lander, a star ship

i have made myself all these wonderful toys
and i play with them all the time


What if I could taxi up to the FBO and turn into a person and walk inside and have a coffee ... with other simmers that flew in for some coffee ? ... hmmmmm
already thinking of the animations , visibility scripts, fde ... but that's another project

[MCDesigns]

What if I could taxi up to the FBO and turn into a person and walk inside and have a coffee ... with other simmers that flew in for some coffee ? ... hmmmmm
already thinking of the animations , visibility scripts, fde ... but that's another project

THAT is what I want in FSX! One of the main things I loved about FLIGHT, was the first person mode. I would land at an airport, jump out of the plane and run all around the airport. I swear I ran all over Hawaii in that sim.