I was never a fan of flying small, prop aircraft in fs for two reasons-one, my joystick sucked and it made controlling it a bitch (that's been resolved now). Two, I was always more into commercial aviation.

Anyways, with my solo coming up, I figured I'd load up a flight at my airport (Wings-in the game it's N67, in real life it's KLOM) and do a curcuit or two.

And man did I suck.

It was terrible, I was all over the place. The very first time I flew a traffic pattern in real life I nailed it, and I've probably flown like 30 since. And you mean I can't get one good pattern in on fs?

I was wondering if any other RL pilots here had noticed that they flew better in real life than on the sim.

True Charlie, but the insurance is much cheaper on FS, and the way you drive Harvards that HAS to be a good thing

YES, flying is MUCH easier in real life. Especially aerobatics and helos! Here are some of the advantages:

Being able to look around
Peripheral vision
Being able to feel movements
Things are much easier to see
Real controls, no mouse clicking or keyboards to slow stuff down
better instruments (more detailed and easier to see)

There are more but I'm short of time.

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I sure as hell don't!

Plus I'm quite fond of the ATC, they've helped me too many times for me not to be!

i think the thing about real life in comparison of the sim is the complications. �Its easier to fly in real life because you can feel your airplane. �However, theres a lot of factors you have to worry about, and at times it feels like you can't always fly the way you want to fly. �At the airport, im busy feeling the push because theres airliners holding short waiting for me in my little cessna 172 to get off the ground for example! �  Gotta love class B airspace    Though I kinda wish I didnt live so close to the city at times.

I could, but i need money to move out too 

It made my training kinda slow in certain areas, but its a good learning experience to operate in a busy airport.  Dodging heavies, avoiding jet blasts, talking to ATC whose always yabbing away, tuning so many different frequencies,argh hehe

Yes, the feeling is great of real flying.

I am with Mobius. Flying a 172 around in FS gets old fast. The municipal airport I fly out of sits right on the line (literally it bisects the airport) of the Class-B airspace around Dallas, Texas. So our takeoff procedures either way involve a quick turn to the east before climbing above 4,000 feet. In FS, it's no big deal, I can fly over Dallas VFR with my radios off and ATC is like "whateva." And I miss the controller in the tower at my airport, he is a nice guy lets us do a lot of fun stuff and throws a joke in occasionally. Big change of pace to finish an airline flight with those serious busy controllers at DFW then come home and be laid back.

Just, FS needs more depth. More real world feel, not the perfect enhanced robot feel it has right now. But it's a sim, what are we to ask of it? It's pretty good for the technology available. And, if all else fails, rent a 172. Nothing is as beautiful as sunrise in an airplane.

lol beautiful beef. Ya it didn't take me long to figure out that controllers who read you you're taxi clearance were perfectly satisfied if you replied with "taxi 35, 3 tango bravo". Fair enough. But no, the sim it would be, "Taxi to and hold short of runway 35 using taxiway Charlie, Delta, Tango 1, Tango 3, Delta, Foxtrot, Mooney November five five three tango bravo."

You got any bird stories to tell? 

Im pretty good at flying in FS, especially landing if I do say so myself. So does that mean Im going to be really good at it in a real plane when I start taking lesson this spring/summer? surely not, but we'll see.

As a side note, Ive always found it odd that planes have such a big problem with hitting birds. A bird is like 6 inches long (give or take) and planes can be anything 20 feet to 100 feet or more, you would think it would be easy for the bird to see it coming and get out of the way. but then again, the last time I ran over a raccoon in my car, it stood up and made eye contact with me right before I hit it...

oh yeah, forgot about the flocking. LOL, I saw a hawk (bird, not a fighterplane) dive into a flock of birds and get knocked uncontiouse once.

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Well I tell ya, learning the real plane takes time.  In flight simulator, it doesnt teach you everything about the plane you are flying.  Theres lots of procedures to follow, controls to get used to, where everything is etc.  However, to answer your question, i mean, i found that being able to land in FS definately helps for sure.  Ive started in flight simulator since I was 8, and i know what the runway should look like when I do an approach.  When I did my third lesson in the real deal, my instructor let me do pretty much 90% of the landing, and I tell ya, it was right down the centerline.

The FS9 Skyhawk is SO hard to trim... man, it sucks. And taxiing-! Never seen a real Skyhawk turn like that, even a new one.  I've played with all the settings, and it still sucks. And it's hard trying to look around- like you have a stiff neck. Makes pattern work interesting...
  But I've been getting into it, as I'm not flying in RL again for a while. Just re-flew (in FS9)  a solo trip I took  from NJ to Lousiana a few years ago (just posted caps in the "Freeware" gallery), mostly in normal time, and I actually enjoyed it! Wound up using the autopilot to hold altitude, but it wasn't any more boring than doing 4-hour legs in a real 172...

Well once you figured out he was going to peel off at the last second, that would be quite cool to see. But I guarantee the first time I saw it, there would be words said in the cockpit!

Hey rottydaddy, you are from NJ!!

Where did you use to fly from??

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Maybe its because its an SP model, I dunno!  Im probably wrong hehehe!  I fly around in an old 1977 model lol, which is as old as my friend's ole buick.  And sure enough, it turns like a rock

With ya MarcoAviator.

And WOW, suddenly having a bird bounce of the nose of my 737 seems minor.

Ill bet that pilot had to perform an EPC (Emergency Pants Change) 

Holy crap, saratoga- is that a donkey? Wait, no... just checked the link... a bittern. Kinda looks like a donkey's head, though... nasty, whatever it is.  Looks like he got the worst of it, though- good ol' "Hershey Bar"!

No doubt it would have Saratoga... I'm lucky that the time I hit a bird I only hit it's wing .

WOW! Impressive. I have heard of a military pilot who caught glare the wrong way and blinded himself. He had lots of hours in the F-15 I want to say it was, haven't heard the story in a while or told it, and knew the cockpit so well he was able to program the autopilot to fly to Barksdale AFB and fly the ILS approach and land.

I dunno I need to call my former squadron commander and see what the actual story was, been a LONG time since I have heard it.

That's a poo reason to make that decision, I've caused far more damage than that to a plane (and payed for it) and still love to fly.

PS

I'll give you my house for that cherokee!

I am blessed by a good mechanic. He's a good guy, reasonable prices, great work and timely response.

A new pump is 400-500 bux ...

the thing is that my VOR  1 broke 2 months ago ... and I just got it fixed. That was only 100 bux for a new wire.

my passenger seat broke 1 months ago ... 2000 dollars to replace both (cause they don't come in singles... you gotta buy BOTH passenger AND pilot) ...

And I was just about to get that fixed.

Now this ... there's no rest.

it seems like on airplanes you get 1 thing to break every month or so ... it's like a tax. The Murphy Law Tax.

To begin with , there is nothing like flying for real .  Taking off on a hot bouncy day and finally getting to cool smooth air is heavenly .  I was just a private pilot and flew many hours just " around " and never got an instrument rating .  A dear dear friend of mine who lived in Ft. Worth , Texas and flew for American told me that instrument flying is the real " plum of flying "  .  I can now appreciate what he was saying .  I love this simulator and has been so fascinating to fly an ILS for the first time and break out of the overcast to find the runway -- somewhere !! HA !!
For those of us who cannot afford to fly for real , or have physical conditions which preclude piloting a real plane ( or both as in my case )  , the simulator is quite a blessing . 
I recall how much trouble it was to open up heavy hangar doors , attach tow bar and pull the plane out , clean all of the plexiglass , check tire pressures , check oil level , check fuel qty . , drain fuel and check for debris or water , check battery water level , check controls , etc.  Not all had to be done each time , but all safety procedures had to be followed .  Then there was vacuuming the plane , washing , topping off the tanks after each flight so as to avoid moisture condensation , annual inspections , flight review every two yrs. plus a flight physical , dreaded AD notes which were usually expensive such as shot peening the propeller hubs on some aircraft , AD  notes on mags , and on and on and on . 
I would finally take off and it was either too hot , too cold , too windy , too bouncy , too noisy , or ??  Noise is a real fatigue factor  !!  I kept wishing they would invent some sort of little black box that would " absorb " some of that racket !! Then you always have to consider some sort of failure which might necessitate a forced landing so I found it difficult to relax completely .  You gotta love it to do it and I did for 39 yrs. !!!  I almost forgot that I also had to mow my runway and be careful of wildlife while flying from a country strip .

As I said , the simulator is quite a blessing and I do enjoy it so very much .  MY dream was to be an Airline Pilot , but that may have been a disappointment because I am sure most of the sheer joy of flying would have been consumed by procedure and computations .

Jamie

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I let the flight computer do the computing and AP flying the procedures 

Aren't I spoiled 

Saratoga ,

I am delighted to hear that being a professional commercial pilot does not take the fun out of flying .  I have never experienced anything like the feeling one gets in a jet on takeoff ( like the ones you fly ) when the wheels leave the runway .  Nothing like it !!!! 

The dear person of whom I thought so very much , and is now gone ,  was Randal Loftis who flew for American .  His son John now flies for American and was another like yourself -- born to fly .  I had two other friends who flew for American & with whom I have lost contact -- Joe Mitchell and his wife ( a hostess ) - -Jackie .    I miss them all . 

The point I was trying to make about the Simulator is that it truly is a marvel and wonderful for those of us who can no longer fly .   We need to appreciate it for what it is and also appreciate the efforts of the many tireless programmers who help to make it so fantastic .
Deep appreciation for this extraordinary web site , and those who contribute to make it all that it is ,  is also in order .

Thanks to all ,

Jamie

Saratoga ,

Wish I could have been your co-pilot .

Jamie

Saratoga ,

I am sure I would have loved either with SSP ( Saratoga the Superb Pilot ) , but I am more the airline type .  I was just now flying the wonderful Rockwell commander 500 Shrike .  Years ago I owned a 520 and loved to fly it , but the noise level was horrendous !!!

Jamie

Well, nothing really approaches reality. But for the sim, that's top of the line flying right there. Something airplane pilots can do that isn't simulated, small most people would think but we notice it, is feeling the nosegear lock down. Nice little bump, no need to check that light! Other little things, the one that comes to my mind is the incessant buzzing Embraer 120 pilots are so familiar with. The captain's altimeter has a habit of randomly buzzing. Something that is annoying and entertaining at the same moment.
One of the things that really makes the approach seem wonderful is being able to have full vision. You know sitting in your computer room, you can see that screen and runway in front of you. But sitting in my cockpit, I can see everything from the runway, to the autopilot, the main gauges, my copilot's gauges, the overhead panel, throttles, sides of the runway, all of that without ever looking around. That's probably the biggest thing I notice, the lack of surroundings.

Ahh up the realism some more!

Something else I love doing, renting a 152 Aerobat (that was the best rating I ever got) and just playing around. Going and having some fun. Or going for a ride in the Extra 300 the mechanic at the airport owns. Beautiful plane.