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 FS2020, and if not why not.)
This is very sad because FS2020 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.
When the Fs2024 came out, you could click on tyres, tail units, etc. in free-flight mode and check their condition.
Even though the display returned to ‘New’ after every restart and was not saved, I found this very good at the beginning. After SU1, the evaluation window no longer appeared, even if you can highlight tyres, etc. .
I think the technical condition of the aircraft and the fact that you are dealing with it is important. Aircraft have a high safety standard that should be taken into account.This is also an indirect assessment of how I handle my aircraft.
I only fly in free-flight mode, and only fly a few aircraft, but I know how to operate them very well. I therefore also find it useful to have a function for carrying out maintenance work on the aircraft in free-flight mode.
Therefore, the wear and tear of each aircraft should be stored and displayed in the configuration-display. The condition can be reset or corrected as required.
This is not about financial requirements, but about keeping an eye on the technology.
The topic of the hangar could also be included here. I don’t know why it was abolished anyway.
In principle, this function could also be switched OFF and ON in the basic settings if it is not required. Then the status always remains as good as new, as it is now, and has no effect on further flights or landings.
I had actually created a post here in the wish list category that goes exactly in this direction. So it has been moved here.
However, I think both of our contributions are somewhat out of place here. Firstly, the free flight is not specifically emphasised and secondly, in my opinion, the improvement described belongs in a simulation if possible. Precisely because aircraft maintenance is so important.
A separate article would certainly be more purposeful. and does not get lost between the 4 points of this article and its general orientation.
Especially since I clearly don’t see it as an extension in career mode.
Therefore, I would like to see a return to the original meaning.
I am already well on my way to building this as an external mod that directly interfaces with the sim. It works really well with 2024 compliant aircraft. The Persistent Aircraft Simulation Tool (AKA BirdMod)
It’s designed to bring the Career Mode features to Free Flight, but improved. It has an plane roster that keeps track of each airframe (based on type / tail number). Dirt is persistent between flights and you can wash it off when you want. Chocks can be reinstalled and are persistent as well. A complete wear and tear model is currently underway (though modeled much more in depth than the Career mode version). Single Piston Engine is available already in the beta. Other engine types, Multi-Engine, Flight control surfaces, Landing Gear, Electrical and all the other essentials are coming down the line as well.
There are also wear elements that are tracked between flights - so water buildup in the fuel, dust / grime from leaving it sitting on the ramp.
“A Place for Your Stuff!”
If you’ve never heard the George Carlin bit on; your stuff and a place for, your stuff. I highly recommend it.
I want stuff again in Microsoft Flight Simulator. I miss getting stuff and seeing my stuff in my place for my stuff!
Special hand-crafted stuff would be nice but. Dang. That’s a lotta’ stuff. I’d trust AI enough to generate unique stuff for every airport in MSFS.
A generic 2d Hanger displaying all your stuff would be ok. BUT! Having hangar/airstrip options you can place in the Digital Twin. Then. Go to in Avatar mode and decorate your hangar. Kick on the jukebox. Pull up a chair with a beverage later in the evening.
Share and allow your friends to see and hang out at your place with your stuff.
The CAMPOUT UTILITY for 2020 and soon 2024 is a nice example of a potential way to place your hangar into the Digital Twin and way to place your categories of stuff.
Maybe nobody would want to see my stuff. And. That’s ok.
I understand that your stuff is stuff and my stuff is… …
This is exacly what I want!
I was wondering if, having the mechanic features of the career mode “hidden” on free flight, we could do something like this.
