Since FS5 I dreamt about having my own hangar in the sim to tune, paint, wash and repair my airplanes after flights. I would love to see such a feature added to the current ‘hangar’ in MFS; thereby making the hangar much more interactive, making it a place to ‘hang out’ in between flights and giving us room to get more intimate with our favorite aircraft
@Tuning: To tweak engine power, cockpit instruments, aerodynamics, oil type etc. (within reasonable limits) to personal preference;
@Painting: To have a toolbox in the hangar to manually repaint aircraft from within the sim using basic painting tools. And share our repaints with others;
@Washing: To manually remove exhaust, dirt, stains from the aircraft paint as attracted after flying on dirt strips, in heavy rain, etc. with a (eraser) tool;
@Repairing: Fixing ‘wear and tear’ or more heavy damage from successive flights in the sim. As part of this, I would love the option to inspect the aircraft myself to find ‘damage’ on my own (also based on abnormal flight behavior) rather than having notifications telling me that there is damage and clicking a ‘fix all’ button. It would be superexciting to be able to open up the cowling of the engine to do more detailed inspections/fixes (and learn about maintenance);
@Hangar: To further ‘nerd-up’ the feature, it would be cool to be able to personalize the hangar too, for example with a radio, props, etc. (earning these through completing the flight lessons?). In addition, it would be cool if our hangars can be associated with pretty much any airport in the world, and be ‘visited’ while flying; eg. being able to taxi up to your hangar, open up the doors and put your aircraft in the hangar to store it and do maintenance if needed.
Beautyful, isn`t it?
Unfortunately just like 99% of all add-on planes the months and some time later the years will have passed by, and almost all really cool add-ons will have stayed a “FSX” and “prepar3D” only release forever… and ever…and ever (without any explaination and zero information on the website if they will ever consider bringing the plane to MSFS, and if not why not.)
This is very sad because MSFS is the new sim everyone should be interested in.
With Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 introducing career-like elements, I would love to see similar ownership and maintenance features available in Free Flight mode. This addition would allow players to “own” their favorite aircraft, track wear and tear over time, and clean and maintain them just like in the new career modes, but without losing the open-ended nature of Free Flight.
Key Features:
Persistent Aircraft State: Owned aircraft retain their mechanical and cosmetic condition between sessions, reflecting accumulated wear.
Maintenance and Cleaning: Give players the option to inspect, repair, upgrade components, and clean their aircraft to enhance immersion and connection.
Customizable Commitment: Let players opt in or out of these systems, ensuring that those who want deeper realism can have it, while others maintain a more casual experience.
Benefits:
Introducing persistent aircraft ownership and maintenance into Free Flight mode would create a stronger bond between players and their planes, encourage thoughtful long-term care, and add greater depth and immersion to the overall Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 experience.
