Everything you said is spot on and perfectly summarized. When I first started, I believe we had to pay insurance even for passive aircraft, but if that’s changed, all the better!
I recently upgraded my fleet and now earn around 15 million per hour of active flight, with 30x the largest possible aircraft assigned to each company, except for airliners and helicopter construction.
Personally, I check my fleet every 5 days or so to ensure everything is in top shape. The PC-12 is an excellent choice if you’re not a fan of the Caravan—it’s a solid and versatile option!
whilst I loved the vision jet, and C172… I just find the Caravan way too unpredictable on landing. skill issue Im sure
any suggestions?
I only bought Caravan, as Id figured, it would pay for itself quickly, then Id could get enough for a PC12, I kind of wish Id just carried on grinding the vision jet.
I guess, I need to put in some hours in free flight with caravan until I feel comfortable!?
From what I heard it is enough not to be in Career Mode at that time, you can just be in the Main Menu or Free Flight and don’t need to shut down the whole sim. Than just open Career Mode again and you should get your passive income.
The caravan will earn you the most credits. So flying it for now is your fastest path to the PC12. As long as you don’t crash and destroy the Caravan you should have enough for the PC12 in about seven or eight flights.
not from what I’ve seen…
I only seem to get passive hours for time Im actually in the air flying a career flight.
also, its real time flying. so a mission thats 1 hour, if you sim-rate at 4x , you’ll get 15mins.
some use this the other way, sim-rate at 1/16 time, then leave it on AP, and go AFK.
(not very environmentally friendly considering how much power our GPU uses on MSFS ;))
I used the Caravan a lot, and think it’s a good plane (if you ignore the autopilot wobble ). If you just struggle with the landings make sure you don’t put the throttle into beta range, otherwise it drops like a stone
Edit: And use reverse thrust to decelerate, the brakes make the plane unstable…
I completely understand—I’m not a fan of the Caravan either! It’s definitely a plane that takes some getting used to. The key is to practice managing the different power settings for climb, cruise, and descent, and make sure you’re using the correct RPM settings for each phase of flight.
Also, don’t forget that on the ground, you should set the mixture to low idle. That makes a big difference in handling during taxi. Spending some time in free flight to get comfortable with it sounds like a great idea. Once you’ve mastered it, it’ll pay off quickly and help you get to that PC-12!
indeed, practice Im sure is all thats needed
I was a little hesitant, as Id read on this forum that the Caravan was behaving itself in free flight. it was just in career that it was a handful. but still, Im sure more familiarisation will go a long way!
so to ‘give back’ to this topic
in career, use firefighting missions to boost your reputation ( S = more bonuses!) .
you can skip to the action, so perform quickly, and they are easy 100% S rank missions
( I found a load of these around Sydney)
v. useful, as I found some mission types (e.g. VIP) can easily knock your reputation by bogus ATC etc.
so if cargo missions are great for $, and firefighting great for rep.
what other mission types do you like and what are they “useful” for?
I get cargo are the meta for money making, but its nice to mix it up once in a while, to get some variety.
are there other aircraft type useful for passive income?
One thing I do is look up in the sky after the flight loads. If it’s clear enough I file VFR to reduce reliance on ATC. Since the Oxygen and Pressurization systems don’t currently work I need to fly at VFR altitudes anyway.
I have tried the Heli mission and do SAR once and a while. I find the ground effect strange because the Heli starts to do crazy stuff, jumping up and down and tail rotor does wired things.
You can “cheat” a bit by using the assistance to get it more stable.
And in my mind it does feel a bit more realistic, but I do only have FS2020 and DCS as reference.
All hoist or cargo are very difficult since you do not have any visual guidance regarding your position. You need to rely on the surroundings. This said I am still trying to get a S grade for cargo to get my last certification. And SAR Hoist is primarly on the ocean, there is very little visual reference. You might change into outside view, but this is also a bit like cheating.
The farming mission is also on my list, even though I have the certification already.
Primarily I am using the H125 for Heli, since the other are to “slow”
I did not buy any Heli yet, therefore I cannot speak about the payout in freelancer mode.
In all fairness the Chinook does just not feel right to me, but I do compare it with the DCS version. This might not be fair.
Looking forward to use the H225 if it gets into carrer mode. Hopefully.
I completely agree—the ground effect feels really strange, especially when hovering over a platform at sea (like a helipad). It can make things very unpredictable.
I haven’t tried the Chinook yet, but I’ve been using the H125 exclusively as well. It’s a great helicopter, and its speed makes it my go-to choice for missions.
For what it’s worth, I just set all my planes to Crew = On, even the one I’m flying. Doesn’t seem to cause any problems so far.
I also missed a couple of days of logging out at 0000Z (midnight UTC) and on the 3rd day when I did logout I got 18 hours of payout, so while you don’t get the money on that day you do seem to still get it (thankfully, I only have a few planes and that was several million credits).
I would also like to recommend the PC-12 for medium-cargo… loving that plane although you do have to learn different avionics and I’m not totally thrilled with the Honeywell user experience. But the PC-12 is just so much fun to fly. So is the Vision Jet G2, that little thing is a modern marvel.
Hi Paul, you might be able to help me buy the Vision Jet in career mode which is not listed in the planes listed to by buy new. I have completed all the certifications to be able to fly the jet and under the charters private I have also have meet the required levels. I have two companies, one is called Transport company and the other a charter company. I purchased a new Cessna 172 for the transport company and a new Cessna 400 Corvallis TT for the charter company. I have flown the Vision jet a number of time in free flight and as an employee in career mode. I have nearly 2 million credits plenty to buy the Vision Jet. I have not completed enough VIP charters to meet the certification requirement. If you can help me buy the Vision Jet would be much appreciated. Regards Paul
I have found running Light Cargo as your first company to be the most profitable, and taking Fire Fighting second to be the best second company, as the only things that you get in trouble for are not answering ATC. You can literally take off on any runway (not taxi-ways as you get the speeding penalty). You take off and fly direct to the fire and the Air Tractor is a lovely plane to fly. I have found the VIP mission in the Vision Jet to be highly judgemental, even if you fly smooth, land smooth, ect. you will still get 75% rating from your “Guest”
@WarStalker2b Hi Paul, I am qualified and have all the certifications. Just bought a Grand Caravan 208, but I cannot find any medium cargo missions, I only get light cargo which I can do with my 172. Any ideas on how to find medium cargo missions. Is my 208 a a waste? Thanks in advance.
Question.. I’ve been flying as an employee, got me enough money to start my cargo company, have all the certificates and qualify for the medium cargo, and passed the medium cargo mission.. I did not buy the cessna 172 skyhawk in hopes that I can use the first plane discount on getting either the pc-12 or 208 to basically bypass doing any light cargo missions as a owner. Will a 208 or pc-12 eventually show up in my used planes? My new planes is locked at the moment. I have 350k so far saved, is this enough to get a plane at the first plane discount?
). If you just struggle with the landings make sure you don’t put the throttle into beta range, otherwise it drops like a stone 