Why do you play FSX ?

[paulwilko]

I am just getting into FSX

I have watched vids on youtube but one struck me as a weird thing to do, basically it was a landing with all aids on and he did nothing but adjust power, the plane did the rest. That to me is no fun at all and not something i will practise.

So my question is, what do you do when in Flight sim ?
Do you set yourself a flight and just get on with it, do missions etc etc

I am interested because, the thought of setting up long flights does not excite me but i can also see that doing lots of small ones wont be too overly interesting either.

Now for me at the moment there is a learning curve, but for you pros, what makes you turn FSX on ?

Cheers

Paul

[flyerBoy]

For the love of flying
Also learn about the systems, dynamics - replicate what you cant do in real life

I enjoy the commercial side of things - jets. Love my haul flights ie MEL-LAX in real time. Some say its sad but I enjoy :-)

I love the amount of fantastic addons now, GTX,GEX,ORBX,PMDG,REX so many go on and on to give a more realistic immersion factor

[Bikertrashdude]

Well I always wanted to learn how to fly, and at the present point in my life, I really don't have the expendable cash (ie 10 grand) to get a pilots license.
I love both the GA and the commercial parts of FS, I like trying to take a bigger jet on short hall flights of an hour between different hubs. I also like trying to find little airports and taking a 172 there and enjoying the view from 5,000 ft.

I like trying to understand alittle of what real pilots go thru when flying,

[tres2]

Oh dear me, what have you started!

I have a hunch you're going to find out that there are many many answers to that question, but I think fylyerboy nailed it on his first line; the love of flying.

There are many real world pilots in this community. I am one, but I was only a private pilot and I lost my medical many years ago. There are plenty of ATP airline pilots in this community also. Hopefully, that will tell you something about the validity of this simulation. Some people call it a game; I am not one of them. One of the most senior and respected guys around here refers to it as an addiction.

I believe that the range of potential answers to your query is as broad as the range of activities in real world aviation. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Tres Pierson

[Gigahertz]

For me it started out as a curiosity and it's now becoming an obsession. I think I wanted to see for myself how hard flying was, virtual or otherwise. In all honestly, what inspired me to fly FSX was anime. No seriously, Rescue Wings is about a JASDF rescue pilot who flies a UH-60 Blackhawk.

Like that video you saw, I'm learning that planes are built to land themselves. By increasing power at a certain elevator trim, the aircraft will climb and lowering the throttle will make the aircraft descend. If it's descending at a level altitude, then plane can indeed almost completely land itself. You also need to cut the throttle and flare. So you see, there is skill in doing almost nothing to land a plane.

[stanp]

I don't PLAY FSX. That would presume it's a GAME. To me, it is not! It is a SIMULATION. I fly FSX because it is a realistic rendition of actual flying. With geographical accuracy, weather accuracy, and aircraft behavior accuracy, it is the closest thing to actual flying and learning to fly. I've been simulating for many years, and I've never equated Microsoft Flight Simulation to a game.
Stan

[nicksnook]

I can do all the things I wasn't allowed to do in real life!

[Foxtrot789]

To impress the ladies.

[dave1812]

I don't consider it a game, but rather a simulation. When I get on my PS3 and kill opponents in MW2 or Black Ops, THEN I am PLAYING A GAME.

When using FSX, I fly various planes to and from a variety of airports. What I need to do now is learn ILS on the sim. In real life, I used to be a student pilot, but getting diabetes in the 70's put the kibosh on getting my pilot's license ( the rules are far less stringent now). Now it's so darn expensive to fly (or train for a license) that I have to content myself with sims.

[Jorj]

I have always loved aircraft...almost an obsession. I grew up an air force brat, around military aircraft all through my childhood. Now..I am a working but not rich musician. FSX is as close to learning to fly I will ever get. Unless I hit the lottery. I've always liked maps and planes, so.....this sim is a joy to fire up. I've learned and continue to learn about flying and navigation with this this terrific software. and the great community that supports it.

[MasterJericho85]

I just love to fly, anything from little ultralights to huge jumbo jets to high speed fighters. I also love history so getting to fly something like a Henley Page Halifax or a F-1 Mirage or a Pan Am 707. I just have so much fun.

[sleightflight]

I always wanted to be a raf fighter pilot but due to wearing glasses was refused, but failing that I would love to fly anything , I can't afford the training costs of a full blown license so I learned to hang glide in 1996 then converted to power on my hang glide in 2000 but due to 60+ hour weeks at work & family commitments I seldom get to fly , then I discovered fsx & photo real scenery, & all the planes I would love to fly & now I can't get enough. I love it.

[Jorj]

Over one weekend...

Sail plane over Lake Tahoe...carrier ops in the Solomon islands...Bush flying in Canada...Concorde from New York to Paris...

Grab a cold beer and take plenty of screenshots.

[Gigahertz]

To add to what I said earlier, my single favorite part of FSX is the ability to fly anywhere to see what other parts of the world look like. REX and photoscenery enhance the experience a hundred fold.

[lefu]

My father had the chance in the seventies to come to canada, when he went back to colombia he brought the must unforgettable toy
i ever had... A 3D view cam with lots of 3D images and most of it was airplanes ! concorde, airbus, boeing, tupolev, small aircrafts, space aircraft, motors, wings, cockpits, airports, aircraft models....thats how it started. So now short flights, long flights, small aircraft, big aircraft, autopilot, easy flights, hard flights..just bring'em to me baby ! ;)

[elitheman]

I Love flight simulator !!
I wish I could fly real aircrafts, but as I don't (yet) have the finances for for it, then I do il virtualy

[Daveo]

I don't PLAY FSX. That would presume it's a GAME. To me, it is not! It is a SIMULATION. I fly FSX because it is a realistic rendition of actual flying. With geographical accuracy, weather accuracy, and aircraft behavior accuracy, it is the closest thing to actual flying and learning to fly. I've been simulating for many years, and I've never equated Microsoft Flight Simulation to a game.
Stan

1000% Agreed !! Trix and games are for kids.

[Tim_A]

I'm an explorer; I like to go to new places and "discover them". Most recently I've been exploring Central Europe, and Poland in particular. I'm in the planning stages of a trip to "discover" parts of East Africa. Earlier this year I spent time island hopping in the Aleutians... :cool:

Invariably I learn an awful lot about these places. Sadly far too often one of the things I learn is that "FS does not look like that, even if you squint with one eye shut" :(

[flybynite777]

I also would like to have been a pilot myself. I grew up looking at airplanes fly by, and still do, and wanting to join the air force, and guess what I
end up doing? Engineering, yeak!
I enjoyed FS9 since 2004 and now FSX. To me it is not a game and if I crash, I kick myself.
To all you guys out there keep the simulation going as it is as close as I will ever get to fly a real aircraft.
South Africa

[Jugador]

I like to live in a fantasy world. I've always thought having a job as contractor flying back and forth across the Hawaiian islands doing hot shots for Fed Ex or UPS would be a great job. :cool:

[alaskancrab]

I like to refer to it as a hobby and a simulation. It did start as a game though and I've been playing for over 20 years now. But with a modern 3D engine, a decent joystick, and quality addons from PMDG and Flytampa, it is a simulation in every sense of the word. I play all sorts of games, but it's sad the general public doesn't want anything more complicated than a gun simulator.

[Captain Leonardo]

Microsoft Flight Simulator X has it's simulation more realistic than any other simulator. The controls are almost the same like the real airplane but just some buttons cannot be used in flight simulator. The world 3D scenery makes flying very real in it. Multiplayer features are awesome. You can share your plane with other people internationally.

[kingnorris]

Because I can be a Blue Angels pilot......or a helicopter pilot........or a Learjet private pilot.....or captain of a United Airlines 747 and a Delta 737......all in one day.



And no FAA licenses required! :)

[uriahms]

I have been flying Flight Simulator since 1994 and have accumulated more than 20,000 hrs. I am not a real pilot but earlier on I wanted to be an airline pilot. Flying is a passion. It's a bug you either you have or don't. It seems to me like you don't have it so you like many others who've looked over my shoulders just won't get it. I remember the first time I flew a VOR/DME approach down to minimums (1/4 mile vis) as as I broke through the ceiling there was the runway right in front of me where it should be. That was one of the greatest feelings of my life. It seems to me that you don't have the flying bug so Flight Simulator is not for you.

[erau2012]

I use it for two reasons:
1- It is a great hobby to get into
2- I will be going to college for the flight program, where MSFS serves as a good training/proficiency tool. Plus, I need something to do on my Friday nights in the dorm room :)

[Blades]

The LOVE of Flying, the obsession of Aircraft...the sheer moments of joy and relaxation. This includes those times when you have to work and get the Simulation tweaked just right.

[chief95]

I enjoy flight simming for most of the same reasons listed above. Plus for me what I enjoy the most is flying in Multi-player sessions. Our group flies once a week and we fly only in Alaska (we are Bush Pilots). Bush flying in my opinion is one of the most challenging type of flying: ( no auto pilot) , short runways , most are gravel, rugged mountains, etc,etc. come fly with us some night check out our site http://alaskanwinds4.proboards.com/index.cgi
I hope you get to enjoy simming as many of us have.

Regards,

Chief

[mqy]

I am just getting into FSX

I have watched vids on youtube but one struck me as a weird thing to do, basically it was a landing with all aids on and he did nothing but adjust power, the plane did the rest. That to me is no fun at all and not something i will practise.

Cheers

Paul

This is one of the main reasons I fly FSX/FS9. Today I flew KORD-KMIA (FS9)with a perfect ILS Runway 12 landing with the plane doing all the work. Later tonight I'll fly the same route in FSX because the scenery is for lack of a better expression a lot more eye candy than FS9 which I really enjoy. I really like flying a plane up to cruse level then figuring out on my own when to decend and what path to take to lead the plane to the perfect ILS landing. It still appeals to me after 20 years. Of course climbing into the extra 300 and doing barrow rolls and spins till I can't take it anymore (this sim actually makes me motion sick)is just as fun!

[75nova]

im diabetic faa will never give me a license this is as close as i will ever get to solo flight

[jomni]

Because I want to fly but don't want to die. :o

[grover149]

I enjoy "flight simulation" because it is something I can't afford to do in real life. My nephew made it through private pilot training up to the cross-country portion. He then had to have a vision test which he failed because of a problem he'd had all his life, therefore he lost all he'd invested. Yes, flight simulation is fantasy, but I love it dearly. One day I'll fly in an ultralight for a low and slow flight around the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Another day I'll fly a single engine around for a couple of hours and practice VFR flight on one occasion and IFR on another. Sometimes I like flying a B737 or B747 Queen of the Skies with FS2Crew for the realistic ambiance. Another day I'll take off from a nearby local airport and land in the field across from my parents house to pay a virtual visit. Why do I do it? I guess for the fun and the challenge of it all. It may be fantasy but I always think of the poem:

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941

[clutchcargo]

Even some enjoy the hobby for years and never actually fly. There are so many niche areas of interest that one can get into. For example:

Creating flightsim videos
custom screenshot photography
scenery design
aircraft design
ATC
creating aircraft "paints" or textures
contribute to forums as moderators or reviewers

and I am sure there are dozens mores. There are so many directions one can take.

Clutch

[freddy]

So many good answers, and nearly all of them apply to me. Why do *I* do it? For me, it is easy to just make a quick list of many of the responses that have already been written and maybe expand on a few ...

For the love of flying, the hobby, the passion.

To learn about the systems and understand aerodynamics.

Short hops on the domestic routes to fill in a few hours.

Long hops MEL-LAX, SYD-HKG, SYD-LHR, etc for the understanding of how long it takes and what it involves. If your friends have the bug, then they get why you are happy to spend 10+ long hours in front of a computer screen ... if they don't have the bug, then they do not understand you and think you are mad.

Lack of real funds to obtain a real licence.

Fly a 737, a Lear, a Cessna, a float plane, an ultralight, a glider - all without having to do any checkrides and be signed off on each one.

As an explorer to go to new places and "discover them". To land somewhere and then use Wikipedia on a virtual sight-seeing tour ... as if I was really there ... to learn about that location, the people, the culture, the world. I've learnt more about cities, towns and places from Flight Simulator than I ever did at school or just through simple curiosity. Small towns, large regional centres, the world's capital cities, etc.

To live in the "fantasy world" and pretend that one is a real-world pilot flying as a contractor, or carrying packages, or taking passengers.

To be challenged in the fog, the rain, the wind ... the excitement of that runway appearing out of the fog, at minimums, on finals cannot be beaten ... (although I bet it is even MORE of a thrill [no, relief would be the better word] when that happens in real-life).

To add/edit flight plans and repaints in an effort to keep up with real-world changes.

I have a real-world glider licence, but usually don't have the funds or the time to go often ... so Flight Simulator fills in the gap nicely.

For me, my enjoyment of Flight Simulator can change daily, weekly, monthly or yearly ... depending on what mood I'm in and what I want to use the sim to do today.

[Brett_Henderson]

I use FSX to keep the piloting part of my brain current, between real flights. I try to simulate ALL aspects... including flight-planning.. ala how huch can I carry and still carry enough fuel for each leg.. planning the navaids to use, and then using them.. using real weather, so the flight having to end under instrument flight rules is a possibility, and en-route altitude changes trying to find decent tailwinds.. etc.. and operating the airplane safely and realistically.. never abusing the engine, or wasting fuel..

Just as in real flying.. you learn or experience something new, most every time you take to the virtual skies.

Probably the most tangible use for me, was to calm my nerves before my first real flight in to Oshkosh.. I downloaded the arrival procedures.. and flew it dozens of times in the sim, to the point where all the visiual references were in my memory, and all the contingencies already well practiced.

[chris34]

Brett got what I was gonna say EXACTLY!

[davecat14]

On-Line flying on VATSIM. Enjoy learning and employing real world procedures with live ATC.

[cat]

Because I can be in any sunny part of the world in an instant!
Peter Sydney Australia

[Mogget]

With respect to "landing with all aids on", surely that is something that real world airline pilots do on many occasions? I actually enjoy landing approaches, although I prefer to hand fly them. Nevertheless, part of the thrill is enjoying the view as I fly over a realistic representation of the real world (I use Horizon VFR UK photographic scenery), and land at a super detailed airport. It's the best part of flight simulation (IMO), so I don't think that wanting to create YouTube videos of auto approaches is quite as strange as you might think.

[DHC120]

I am just getting into FSX

I have watched vids on youtube but one struck me as a weird thing to do, basically it was a landing with all aids on and he did nothing but adjust power, the plane did the rest. That to me is no fun at all and not something i will practise.

So my question is, what do you do when in Flight sim ?
Do you set yourself a flight and just get on with it, do missions etc etc

I am interested because, the thought of setting up long flights does not excite me but i can also see that doing lots of small ones wont be too overly interesting either.

Now for me at the moment there is a learning curve, but for you pros, what makes you turn FSX on ?

Cheers

Paul


Paul;
My Dad was a career Army Air Corps/Air Force Pilot & Officer (flew B-17's, B-24's, & B-29's during & Post WWII, C-119's during Korea). As a "Military Brat" raised in, on & around air bases, I've always wanted to fly.. but my eyesight would not "allow" me to become a military pilot.. Then Computer Flight Sims got "realistic" and (in the scheme of things) affordable for the average Joe (as long as the "Joe" is 'Papa Joe' Kennedy ;-} )..
Plus, in keeping with my military upbringing/background, I have no interest in flying "hair-driers" and souped-up leaf-blowers.. It's Radials and (for the most part) tail-draggers.. No GPS, but an E-6B and a Sectional Map, instead.
I basically started "Flight Simming" in FS9, although I "played" a couple of "flight games" (push arrow key up to take-off, etc.).
I went thru my Dad's flight Log Books and his "Form Fives" (I have all twenty years of his military records) so I was able to find, download and "fly" the planes he learned on (the PT-19, BT-13A, AT-10's, 11's, etc.) and the locations where the flight schools were located (Cuero, Texas, Brady, Texas, Randolph Field, Texas, Big Spring, Texas, etc.)..
I now fly with a B-17 group (using the A2A B-17 w/AccuSim in FSX).. I'm still learning "Formation Flying".. Not as easy as it looks in the newsreels (and 16mm film my Mom took when we were at North Field AAF, Guam [later Anderson AFB])..

Besides, it keeps me out of the pool halls, beer joints and bawdy houses >;-}