How do you keep FSX interesting?

[Rebrecs]

Here, in this set of activities I refer to as "my life," FSX bubbles to the top from time to time, and manages to keep itself interesting. There is a lot to do in FSX and I'm not in a hurry. And, there is a lot of related spin-off learning. That means, as I learn more about flying it sparks investigations in other areas.

And the places. My goodness, I am very sure I won't see the Himalaya range in real life. I have however explored there extensively in my Sim airplanes. I know a lot more about where things are in the world than before I took up the practice.

 

Going forward, I think it is time to get some skills involving actually flying the planes. Up until now- I operate the computer (or autopilot) and it operates the airplane. 

Recently someone was watching. Eventually, it was time to land. They saw me grab the stick. Their remark was - "that is the first time you have touched that thing in the whole flight." 

I said, "yeah, you gotta get the nose just right during landing, and sometimes that stick is the only way. Otherwise it is best to leave that thing alone. You can get killed messing with that. If you touch that stick, you are taking your life into your own hands." 

After seeing his twisted and grimacing face , and listening to all sorts of accusations, I agreed I should actually do more manual flying.

 

Regarding manual flight, I would first like to ride along (multiplayer) someday with somebody who knows what they are doing. I wonder, is there such a thing as Sim flying lessons?

I have hundreds of questions, especially when it comes to the rudder!

 

 

 

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

2 hours ago, Rebrecs said:

Otherwise it is best to leave that thing alone. You can get killed messing with that. If you touch that stick, you are taking your life into your own hands

Unfortunately many many sim pilots (and a few real pilot) believe this to be true. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I think that if any sim pilot wants to be a better pilot, do not use the autopilot at all for a while.

Get out and fly the planes, fly the pattern and do some touch and goes, try some aerobatic, go crazy all over the sky,

The more you physically use the controls, the more you get a feel and understanding of how they all work.

This is why real training aircraft do not have autopilots. YOU are the pilot.

Happy simming!

[Nels_Anderson]

If you're actually afraid of the stick, you are missing out on the joy of actually flying the plane. Learning to operate an autopilot properly is not easy and is certainly a fun challenge, but it's not really flying.

 

I'm guessing you're using jets now. Switch to something like a Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee and actually fly it manually, takeoff to landing. Learn the maneuvers that real pilots do, like turns around a point or S-turns across a road, slow flight, etc. Once you can do no-wind landings, set up a cross wind and learn to use that rudder. I think you'll find all of this very rewarding in the end.

 

Taking on new challenges is what keeps flightsimming interesting in the long haul (i.e., see my recent article on my taking up learning to fly helicopters).

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

46 minutes ago, Nels_Anderson said:

I think you'll find all of this very rewarding in the end.

 

Taking on new challenges is what keeps flightsimming interesting in the long haul

+1

[loki]

5 hours ago, Rebrecs said:

I wonder, is there such a thing as Sim flying lessons?

 

FSX comes with lessons built-in. Go to the Learning Center, and then Lessons. Definitely don't need to be afraid of flying in the sim, at worst you just have to restart the flight.

[Rebrecs]

5 hours ago, loki said:

 

FSX comes with lessons built-in. Go to the Learning Center, and then Lessons. Definitely don't need to be afraid of flying in the sim, at worst you just have to restart the flight.

 

Thank you. I did some of those lessons!  Then got cocky - " I got this."

Since the thread is about keeping FSX interesting, part of what makes it interesting to me is maintaining the pretense that it is REAL ! So yeah, fear adds excitement etc.

 

woo-hoo !

 

 

 

[Rebrecs]

8 hours ago, PhrogPhlyer said:

 

The more you physically use the controls, the more you get a feel and understanding of how they all work.

This is why real training aircraft do not have autopilots. YOU are the pilot.

Happy simming!

 

Yay! Newly inspired!  

Of course, you are exactly right.

[Rupert]

On 7/16/2023 at 8:49 AM, Nels_Anderson said:

If you're actually afraid of the stick, you are missing out on the joy of actually flying the plane. Learning to operate an autopilot properly is not easy and is certainly a fun challenge, but it's not really flying.

 

I'm guessing you're using jets now. Switch to something like a Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee and actually fly it manually, takeoff to landing. Learn the maneuvers that real pilots do, like turns around a point or S-turns across a road, slow flight, etc. Once you can do no-wind landings, set up a cross wind and learn to use that rudder. I think you'll find all of this very rewarding in the end.

 

Taking on new challenges is what keeps flightsimming interesting in the long haul (i.e., see my recent article on my taking up learning to fly helicopters).

 

I agree with Nels,

 

Choppers are another whole world to explore!  And at least when I was in the Corps, learning to fly choppers, was like going to a pilot's graduate school. 

 

We had already gotten our wings.  Then we had to learn another totally different form of flying.  A hover, side-slip, and even flying backwards were all alien to what we had learned.  And what you have learned as a fixed wing sim pilot as well.  And yes, those actions are all controlled by you, not an autopilot.   

 

Even if you only "fly" fixed wings there are so many different landing areas all over the world to explore.  High altitude, short field, water landing, IFR weather, etc.  Not to mention a ton of different aircraft to learn. 

 

I also enjoy flying to airports I hear about on the news or read about in travel brochures and especially Flying magazine.  As well as destinations I've visited throughout the world.  How about a flight around the world in a small aircraft??  That challenge will take a ton of planning for such things as planning fuel stops etc. if you do it accurately with failures enabled!! 

[Rebrecs]

On 7/16/2023 at 7:49 AM, Nels_Anderson said:

If you're actually afraid of the stick, you are missing out on the joy of actually flying the plane. Learning to operate an autopilot properly is not easy and is certainly a fun challenge, but it's not really flying.

 

I'm guessing you're using jets now. Switch to something like a Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee and actually fly it manually, takeoff to landing. Learn the maneuvers that real pilots do, like turns around a point or S-turns across a road, slow flight, etc. Once you can do no-wind landings, set up a cross wind and learn to use that rudder. I think you'll find all of this very rewarding in the end.

 

 

 

I have benefited immensely. I tried out the 172, the Barron, and the King Air. I liked the 172, and the King Air. The Barron? Not so much. Obviously the Skyhawk and the King Air are very different. I thought the Skyhawk was the best overall for what I had chosen to do. The King Air caused me to learn more about propellors than I thought I ever would. For now, I'm going to trick with the Skyhawk. Please note, I am not claiming any real expertise. Heck I barely survived the landings. But I accomplished my mission and had fun. I did use the VORs and Nav when I got done and wanted to hurry up and get back to the airport. So, I cheated a little. 

 

I flew out of Cumberland, Maryland following the train tracks through the mountain passes. These are routes I am intimately familiar with from my other hobby, Train Sim World! My mission was to locate and fly over the tunnel in the Allegheny Pass, known to train drivers as the Sand Patch. 

I was so disappointed with the scenery, I can't resist exploring what goes in to making add-on scenery files. But the track was there, just none of the venerable landmarks. Thats what I needed. 

 

OK. I just stopped in here to thank you guys again for giving me new ways to Keep FSX interesting. I will be using it for a long, long time.

[PhrogPhlyer]

19 minutes ago, Rebrecs said:

I accomplished my mission and had fun.

That's what it's all about. Thanks for sharing!

Happy Simming...

[PhrogPhlyer]

2 hours ago, Rupert said:

flying to airports I hear about on the news or read about in travel brochures and especially Flying magazine.  As well as destinations I've visited throughout the world.

Simming is a great way to explore regions you may never visit for real, and as you said, revisit places you have been to. Brings back lots of memories.

[Rupert]

1 hour ago, Rebrecs said:

 

 

I flew out of Cumberland, Maryland following the train tracks through the mountain passes. These are routes I am intimately familiar with from my other hobby, Train Sim World! My mission was to locate and fly over the tunnel in the Allegheny Pass, known to train drivers as the Sand Patch. 

I was so disappointed with the scenery, I can't resist exploring what goes in to making add-on scenery files. But the track was there, just none of the venerable landmarks. Thats what I needed. 

 

There is a ton of add on scenery available both for free and for purchase.  I personally am a huge fan of ORBX scenery, which is mostly payware.  It fills in a ton of gaps with detail.  ORBX scenery is not as impressive as the new Microsoft scenery.  But it's very good and much more flexible to use,  Plus you don't lose hours at a time waiting for updates as often happens with the new Microsoft.  Plus you cvan continue to use the control inputs you already are using with FSX, P3D, etc.

 

Go to the ORBX site online and wander around.  You'll find several areas around the world available as freeware.  This will help you decide whether to invest in their payware.  And either way, you can keep the freeware.

 

Michael

[Ryubunao1478]

Purchase payware planes like aerosoft a320/a321, pmdg b747, virtualcol q300, etc. then purchase Ezdok Camera. Also buy any addons that can make the game more realistic. Then make full flights with these payware aircrafts while looking at the beautiful skies. You could also make cinematic views. But if you wanna make people interested at fsx, make FSX Films like what JRSchipol and FSXAviation1 used to do in early 2010s. If you want to something cheap, buy ChasePlane, it's half the price of Ezdok. Download Project Airbus A32x, Project Opensky B777, DreamWings Q400, etc. Download ENbseries, HDE v2, FS Water Configurator, TreeX, etc. So even if you fly with freeware aircrafts, the game would still be accurate to real life.

[kalizzi]

I found that getting FS2004/FS9 historical aircraft port overs to FSX very rewarding indeed. These are found on the FSX download library on here. The original models -Microsoft stock FS9- are nothing short of perfect with beautiful outlines and fully working in a very stable way, and beautiful fully functional virtual cockpits too.  The added bonus is that they are so easy on computer resources. Each one has an interesting story and historical significance so you can dig out the routes they flew and the feats they achieved and try to tackle these yourself. Below are some screenshots of just four of these examples: 

(Click on images to enlarge)

 

Lockheed Vega 5c

Vega Cockpit

 

De Havilland DH88 Comet

Comet cockpit

 

Ford TriMotor

TriMotor cockpit

 

Curtiss JN-4 Jenny

Jenny's cockpit

 

Hope my two cents' worth helps.

 

Best wishes.

 

Khalid

[Rupert]

WOW!  What sweet aircraft!  Even more planes to learn about and enjoy.  Great post Khalid!  I can't believe I hadn't noticed it before now!

 

Michael

[jamarogers]

I'm a "Missions" freak, since you can include all of the above likes within one.  I'll also say that Jim Keir's SimVar is the most underrated addon I know of.  Simply put it gives you access to the "hundreds" of Sim variables not otherwise accessible via Property Triggers.  With the OPT (FSX's included Object Placement Tool) coupled with SimVar, the sky is literally the limit for any Challenge, Tutorial, Scenic, or Just For Fun flight.  Check it out you won't be disappointed, as I am with FS2020, which still lack the same capabilities, 4 years after release. 

[kalizzi]

On 10/9/2023 at 3:43 PM, Rupert said:

WOW!  What sweet aircraft!  Even more planes to learn about and enjoy.  Great post Khalid!  I can't believe I hadn't noticed it before now!

 

Michael

Thank you Michael for your kind words. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Sorry for belated reply wasn't online much lately.

 

Khalid

[FrankPilot]

All the above is great stuff.  I’m in MSFS, but the same applies to FSX - love researching and going to historic aviation places, and visiting unique/spectacular places. Cheers.

[Relaxmodapk]

I like learning how to make missions, learning how FSX work and playing around with the aircraft and other files. The most fun is learning how to navigate the old-fashioned way using general aircraft. There is so much information and add-ons, freeware and payware, that I have yet to be bored and oft times don't have enough time to do everything that I run across and would like to investigate further. Always need to leave enough time for flying.master royale infinity

[jamarogers]

On 12/30/2023 at 2:27 AM, Relaxmodapk said:

I like learning how to make missions, learning how FSX work and playing around with the aircraft and other files. The most fun is learning how to navigate the old-fashioned way using general aircraft. There is so much information and add-ons, freeware and payware, that I have yet to be bored and oft times don't have enough time to do everything that I run across and would like to investigate further. Always need to leave enough time for flying.master royale infinity

 

[jamarogers]

Check out FSXMissionsHangar.com if you're wanting any details on Mission Creation.  It literally has over 10 years of documented experiences, tutorials, guidance and MANY Missions of all categories. 

[Sirrus]

Try the 2024 Australia Challenge...either as a timed contestant or an untimed participant. Fun is almost guaranteed.

 

[Lazerson]

Scenery development keeps FSX fresh for me. My projects, either adding in long-gone or abandoned airstrips and detailing and updating existing fields makes FSX fun and exciting. Where would I be without ADE!

[PhrogPhlyer]

7 hours ago, Lazerson said:

Scenery development keeps FSX fresh for me.

In addition to repainting aircraft. writing articles, and doing me best as a CFI answering questions in the forums, I have to thank Lazerson for getting me interested in and now developing scenery. Another way to keep FSX fresh and new.

[PhrogPhlyer]

On 12/23/2023 at 11:07 AM, jamarogers said:

I'm a "Missions" freak, since you can include all of the above likes within one.

Never really looked at this aspect in the past, will have to read up and see what I'm missing.