Typically 1-2 hour flights in the A320, using FlightAware to create the route for a Delta (US) or EasyJet (UK) route.
Sometimes I’ll fly the C208 on FedEx feeder routes into and from MSP.
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I mostly do short flights under an hour. But I also do group flights that last between 2-3 hours. I have done a few long flights. The one that comes to mind is the Asobo to Microsoft Flight Challenge I think called Saddle Sores.
I think that was about 10 1/2 hours. Most flew on AP. I took off and shortly after that engaged the AP. I then went and watched last years Supper Bowl (that’s when I did the flight). I came from time to time to check on the flight and the Super Bowl game ended about 45 minutes before landing.
I finished out the flight with an ILS into Seattle at night with great live weather. Mostly clear skies and very little wind.
Great flight, very enjoyable while watch on the onboard entertainment 
Short and medium hauls for me.
Nowadays I use the Pilots Life addon that generates real world routes for me through simbrief. Currently I operate the Ryanair schedule in Europe with a lot of medium hauls of around 3 hours flight time with the A32NX and I very much enjoy that. I like how the light and weather changes during flight. Leaving in the early misty morning from Frankfurt and head out to the sunny Canary islands. Seeing (and feeling) Europe wake up around me and getting in the holiday spirits. Before this, I was flying one-hour-regionals with the CRJ from Skywest out of Salt Lake City which was cool too.
While I don’t leave the pc for hours on end, I do find it easy to bring the aircraft up to cruise myself and start working on other stuff at the pc, leaving the co pilots instrument in the background to keep an eye on while I regularly check in.
I like the shorter flights, and I find myself flying back to my old hometown many many times. Its a flight in the 320 just under 1 hour. I miss living there, and this feels like actually going there somehow. I find it really relaxing.
I also like to go a little further to southern europe, mainly Greek Isles, spain, france. All the places we would visit for a holiday.
I was actually flying the King air on a lower altitude flight to Nice the other day. And I found myself passing the pre-alpine mountains, where we used to hike all the time when I was little. I could see the exact rock formations. The fact that it really comes close to reality really blows my mind!! Just amazing! It really is more than a game.
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I started MSFS journey with short flights, usually last between 1 and 4 hours then I started enjoying long haul flights mostly between Europe and U.S but since I have been experiencing FPS drops in long flights, I stopped doing that, unfortunately.
One to two-hour flights, on the FBW A320NX (always cold-gate to cold-gate). But I must confess that I “cheat” and use 2x (or 4x for longer distances) sim-rate during final climb, cruise and beginning of descent, to keep total flight time within my free hobby-time slot.
Since I own a VR headset (last Xmas) I use less sim-rate acceleration, as now I really enjoy just looking at the views of the world from the virtual cockpit, which are stunning even when flying at FL390.
According to my MS-EXCEL personal logbook I have flown this way 829,000 km since MSFS was launched in 2020. Not bad…
I’m currently doing a round the world tour. So combining longer haul IFR flights in jets or airliners (max. 5 hours) with VFR sight seeing flights in props (max. 1 hour).
Always trying to depart from the airport where I arrived during the previous flight.
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1 to 2 hour flights GA vfr
Ok - I must be an outlier - I only fly for a few minutes at a time.
GA, VFR, weather and time within the margins, point to point - sometimes with the GPS and sometimes without when flying between known airfields or TnG’s.
If I pick a destination more than 45 minutes away I often opt out and land somewhere closer.
Having a lot of work to do along with some other obligations make it hard for me to sit here longer than that. I probably only fly once or twice a day anymore. Being able to just pick a plane and a location anywhere in the world and fly anytime I like - especially with MSFS looking and performing as well as it does now - let’s just say that I am very grateful to MS / Asobo (and all the 3rd party developers) for providing this incredible entertainment platform. A way to go anywhere in the world and just fly for a while.
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I’m confused. Why the conversation?
Depending on circumstances longer flights. What I usually do is set up a decent short to mid range flight 2.5HRS + and go do housework etc. I can track my flight via Android App VATSCAN. Then housework usually done and can come back for the descent. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
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I usually prefer to hand fly and VFR most of the time, although if I spawn in bad weather IFR. 1-1/2 - 2hr flights.
Well technically I do the same. I probably end up actually sitting for 0.5-1 hour max in total, regardless of the flight time. Because once I got it airborne, I set autopilot and Copilot ATC assist. And I just leave to go do something else (work, cooking, having meal, watching TV, sleeping, etc). Only after when it’s time for me to come back, I come back to the sim and continue my approach and landing. Those are the only time I sit in front of the sim actually flying, the rest of the time throughout the entire flight I actually go do something else.
It is fascinating that we all enjoy this sim so much but in totally different ways!
I fly once or twice a week. So each flight is a bit of a big deal, really want it to work out all right, and it involves a fair bit of preparation and planning.
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Usually under 2 hours in different GA aircraft, mostly typical go out and end up somewhere flights, or a mix of specific destinations(home town to the beach airport or Miami to Bahamas, random European cities, etc). Bounce in and out of various bush trips if I want someone else telling me where to go. Lately been diggin’ the WACO and the steam 172 on floats in particular. Also the xcub and shock ultra for goofing around in weird places, and the G36 for a fully planned destination. I took a years long break from MSFS until recently, my favorite ‘commercial’ work of old was typically island hopping/commuter TP twins.
My time is a bit limited so spend the vast majority of it in the steam 172, it’s just so ■■■■ happy to fly around in. With the reverse thrust finally working, need to get some more time in the TBM, CJ4, and Caravan with a fully realized throttle quadrant.
My longest flight was 5 hours, but I average between 1 and 2 per flight.
I prefer short flights I can actually sit and endure in VR.
Which is about 2-3 hours max…before I become bored or fall asleep in my headset.
Going AFK or simply using the teleport/skip feature on long flights feels like im cheating and degrading the sim’s experience IMO. Enduring a flight makes the landing all the more satisfying as the aircraft and I have developed more of a bond of being adventure mates.
For me, I tend to fly the corporate jets (Longitude/CJ4) which can fly for hours in real-life…But can still land on smaller, regional airports. To keep things interesting though, I like to keep my flights to an hour or less. Mainly, with these jets, in real-life, your going to fly on autopilot a few minutes after takeoff through cruise and decent. Sort of boring…So I do short flights, to keep the boring time low, and this allows me to practice and do the more fun things. Flying approaches and landings by hand, and takeoffs…
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I’d say I spend 30-40 minutes planning, looking at Windy and getting METAR for my destination. Get to the airport, preflight, warm up the plane and input the flight plan if I am using a Garmin equipped aircraft. Load Little Navmap, and that accounts for nearly an hour before I’m even airborne.
Actual time in the air varies between an hour and three hours. All of my flights are with GA aircraft. The closest I get to a regional jet or airliner is the TBM930, unless I’m flying the DC-6. When flying The Six I have gone six hours or more in the air, and I fly VOR to VOR like they did “in the old days.” Hand-fly the approach and landing too…
Interesting topic!
I am almost retired so I are at liberty to do as I please.
Wake up and read this forum a out 1 hour (do read the irl news first). Then I “study” for about 1 hour, poh’s, tutorials on YT, that kind of stuff.
Plan and fly 1-2 hours, mostly in Scandinavia or Tasmania, untill now exclusively in GA planes and recently Twin Otter.
Then lunch and read forum and various discords and then a other 1-2 hour flight. After dinner I rarely fly, but do follow forum/discord.
As you can see I sort “live” with the sim.
I do have a life outside the sim, work (few hours a week), family, friends etc. But as you can see it does fill quite a bit of hours.
Only ever flown GA apart from PMDG 737 10 years back in FSX, but have yestoday taken on FBW a320/Simbrief/Pilot2atc. Curious to see where this leads me.
I do have a Sommer cottage where I live 5 months in summer. No internet and my simming setup is rather elaborate so really difficult to move so not much simming from May to September for me. Some will say that is a good thing. They might be right.
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