Quelling Boredom

Discussion Hub General Discussion
1

I am hitting a slump. Not the fault of the sim. More, I have put so much time into it, and I am overdue for an AHA! moment to reinvigorate my experience.

So, instead of brooding I figured I’d post and ask you all, what are some things you have done, purchased, or learned to bring new life to the sim? Any good, entertaining sources for study?

So much of this journey of learning about flight is realizing some things are just too much to learn at once, until you have solidly grasped other things.

I’d love to peruse your ideas and perhaps get some inspiration for where to go from here.

At this point I know my way around single and twin GA planes, pistons, turboprops, old and new. Not great at navigation and course plotting but getting there. So there is ample room to grow.

Let’s have a general discussion in the General Discussion Forum!

2 Likes
2

Get on Vatsim! Introducing live ATC into your flying is amazing.

2 Likes
3

I like to read real pilot resources like AOPA’s Pilot magazine and Bold Method. I often get ideas for things to try out in the sim, or just good techniques and rules of thumb that make my flying more enjoyable.

1 Like
4

My first suggestion would actually to be to take a break from it entirely. I often find I fly almost daily at times and then may take days or even weeks away, when I go back to it my interest seems to be restored. I think it’s really the nature of a general flightsim to be honest, I.e. not like DCS for example where you fly missions and get shot at.

If you’ve not already done it a flight around the world in real-time is a good challenge, particularly if you ditch GPS and rely on VOR and ADF only for navigation. If you want to up the challenge restrict yourself to just one single engine piston GA.

4 Likes
5

You could try one of those “career” apps where you fly cargo from point to point. I assume they get more difficult as you progress but I’m not sure. I haven’t hit a point of boredom yet, but if I did then I’d consider that. Best of luck.

1 Like
6

To me, sounds like it’s time to move up to a jet :slight_smile: More specifically the CJ4 with the Working Title mod.

Things happen a lot faster; you have to get proficient so you can “stay ahead of” the jet.

The CJ4 with WT mods is one of my favorite planes to fly. The WT mods really make a huge difference. And they are doing a re-work of it so if you get started now, you’ll be ready when the updated one is released.

It does not have Auto-throttle like it’s bigger bro the Longitude does, so that keeps things interesting. Speed management becomes a lot more important. I keep the flights short (45 minutes to an hour) because I like the approach/landing phase the most. Less snooze… sorry, I mean less cruise time, so pound for pound ya’ get more action.

Lots to like with the CJ4 with WT Mods :slight_smile:

5 Likes
7

There are lots of ways to challenge yourself in flying.

Bad weather can make for interesting flying. When the weather is marginal, it can be a challenge to get where we want to go safely. Find some bad live weather and challenge yourself to fly VFR in marginal conditions. Plan your flight carefully and think about worst-case scenarios, alternates and fuel requirements.

Consider crossing a continent, crossing an ocean, or flying around the world. All of those things can be made more challenging by choosing less capable aircraft and flying VFR (particularly with live weather).

Take a bush trip in a bush plane. I don’t know about the Asobo Pilatius Porters, but the Milviz Porter is excellent. Try and squeeze into some jungle strips in New Guinea or try landing on the glaciers of Mt. Cook in New Zealand.

Buy some new scenery for airports, cities and regions. Pick up some new freeware on Flightsim.to. You can get all sorts of different types of scenery to breathe even more life into the world.

“Earn” a private pilot’s license (and more) following a fairly realistic curriculum. Check out VatStar. You can follow a fairly realistic path to earning various licenses and ratings. Keep going and earn an instrument rating.

Buy the Boeing Model 247 and once you can keep it flying without catching your engines on fire, learn how to navigate by flying the beam.

Try learning celestial navigation and then try to navigate to a small island in the Pacific using only fixes you take from a sextant.

Get the Stearman biplane and challenge yourself to a long cross-country tour. Since there are no navigation instruments, you’ll have to rely on pilotage and dead-reckoning.

Learn some aerobatics and/or do some “wild” flying like extreme low level, flying under bridges, between buildings etc.

Hope that helps/have fun!

11 Likes
8

Excellent post! Chock full of great ideas.

1 Like
9

Been on VATSIM for a bit over a decade now across multiple sims, have a ton of fun.

10

Taking a break makes a big difference for me. I’ll have several new updates for my add-ons to try out when I log back on, too.

Recently I vacationed somewhere tropical. Sat on the beach with Flight Radar 24 app and watch all the inter island short flights or the long haul flights and then plan to recreate them when I get home!

11

watch some youtube videos about building cockpits from simple instruments to full scale cockpits. thats what I do

1 Like
12

PMDG 737-700 really changed the game for me. GA planes are awesome and fun but getting into flying a study level airliner and also recreating several flights I’ve flown as a passenger in real life is a ton of fun, and a LOT of learning! I’ve branched off to doing other common flight routes I haven’t personally flown, also fun to use live weather and get the surprise weather change on approach and whatnot.

1 Like
13

I agree. Taking a break does wonders. Whether it be a day, a week, or a month. Usually a few days away and I’m ready to get back into it.

2 Likes
14

Welcome to the Forums!

I totally agree with your post. Great idea.

I recently flew commercial from Baltimore to Indiana for business (KBWI to KIND). The week before the trip I flew the route a few times in the Sim. When I flew it in real life, it was cool to know what was coming up. Flew it again in the Sim when I got home. Lots of fun.

The Just Flight BAe 146 and PMDG 737 are the only “study level” airliners I have; love 'em both😊

15

Boredom?
Hmm… but there are so many audiobooks on YouTube, two days ago I have found various perfect Sherlock Holmes readings.

There have always been only a few games that catch my interest other than Flight Sim 20, Callisto Protocol the goriest space horror game ever made, will be released in December, and Starfield in… I don´t know ten years? :smiley:
The rest of the time there are enough good CreepyPastas and mystery sci-fi and crime audiobooks to enjoy on YouTube.

1 Like
16

Ironically, I record audiobooks for a living so flying is often my time away from that! Otherwise, that is SAGE advice.

I often listen to tutorials or reviews on YouTube instead.

Part of flying is it gets boring. Miles are long. It is work.

I do think folks have a point about maybe working up to jets. I’ll fly them but I don’t know them. The CJ4 is so fast you have to do everything in triple time, so that really might be a good next step. Or the Longitude. I’ve never learned the auto throttle. The HJet is a work of art but it is not yet entirely for me and my setup.

I really have been a GA purist all this time.

I may look into the 737 and the Fenix as well. Haven’t been that interested. It may be time to take the plunge.

Which of the jets have the most fun systems to learn and/or the best Honeycomb integration? I know the WT stuff works great with my hardware.

17

Take a bush trip from Vancouver BC over the costal mountains and glaciers to Anchorage AK. I plotted my own course in the X Cub. It took me quite a few hours over multiple days to do it. It was quite the adventure in real time weather. I would have done real time as well but it wouldn’t work with my work schedule. It was gratifying, beautiful, serene and a few occasions horrifying. Full realism with icing on that stretch is no joke. I made a journal of the entire adventure, every air strip and every town I went to. That was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in MSFS. If you ever want to read it, I will post it.

3 Likes
18

I downloaded Neofly and edited the Database to add all my classic and vintage aircraft. Stuff like the Stearman, Staggerwing, Widgeon, Grumman Goose, Cessna c140 and c170, Kinner Sportswing, Boeing 247D etc etc .

Then I started a Career set more or less in 1935 with just a Stearman and gradually worked my way up. Eventually if I make enough in game to afford them in Neofly I will probably get the DC6 and Super Constellation airliners and start doing international flights.

1 Like
19

I would love to read it.

20

My problem is, where to fly. I found this: https://fshub.io/ this gives me plenty of suggestions, information about the area / airport I fly in. Just have a look yourself, there’s many more.

1 Like