So I am sure there are many on these forums like me how have been around since the beginning, as well as newer “pilots” who have run into this occasional dilemma…
What shall I do today? I mean we have a whole planet to explore at our leisure, so where do I want to go?
Even without all the freeware and pay where Addons, there are a ton of default aircraft, but like many others I have many addons too. So, what shall I fly?
How do the rest of the community decide what they are going to do in the sim today?
Practice flying skills?
basic
advanced
flight maneuvers
VFR/IFR approaches/landings/etc
Warbird flying?
realistic?
messing around?
Fighter Jets?
Business Jets?
Airliners?
Virtual Airlline
Make your own plan?
Cargo haul?
VR or Pancake mode?
Online (VATSIM/IVAO/Pilot Edge) or Offline
Sole or multiplayer?
So many choices…. So many options…. How does one decide?
If you want a thrill ride using a bone stock sim, spawn at KGCN in the Extra or a Pitts. Fly north until you get to the Grand Canyon, then turn left and dive in. Drop down until you see the river, then follow that as low and as fast as you can until you get to Lake Meade. After that, you can buzz Hoover Dam, then head over to the Las Vegas Strip.
Just see how you feel when you start the game. If you’re not in the mood for “serious” “hardcore” gaming (FBW A320 , PMDG 737 etc. following real world planning and flight) then just hop into a light plane, keep LittleNavMap up on a second screen and tootle about
For example I jump in the Caravan and do hops from airport to airport. If you want real world Caravan hops just use FlightAware and search by a/c type.
Another way to get inspiration as to where to fly is YT & some websites. Heres some:
Default Baron.
Dep EGNM
Arr EGXR (use default scenery)
No assists, well maybe a map but not on GPS or follow mode
It’s a short flight I did recently and thoroughly enjoyed.
For me, however, I use most of the career add-ons to help me decide where to fly. Also a member of 2 VAs and many many communities on Discord where there is always a route to take my fancy.
I solved that quite easily by already having trips I’d always wanted to do.
Ushuaia, Argentina to Browerville, Alaska U.S.
Duxford U.K. (very close to me) to Melbourne, Australia.
Svalbard, Norway to Cape Town, South Africa
and, at some point I’ll do the ‘Ring Of Fire’ around the entire Pacific rim.
Whenever I don’t feel like carrying on with my latest journey I try out the aircraft that interest me the least …or sit in VR in the large commercial liners and try and work out what on Earth all those buttons do (I fly GA but want to learn the large aircraft at some point.)
I didn’t start in MSFS 2020 until VR was added so I’ve got plenty of catching up to do.
I used to do this often with the other Simstrumentation guys. We’d grab a fast GA plane, start at the Glen Canyon Dam, drop into the canyon, firewall the throttle, and try to fly all the way to Lake Meade while trying to stay as close to the water as possible the whole way. It’s fun, challenging, and quite exhilarating. I call it the Canyonball Run.
PS: We didn’t always successfully complete the run. Smashing into a canyon wall at 200 kts was not an unusual occurrence! lol
EDIT:
This requires a lot of fancy footwork on the pedals too. Forget the thought of coordinated flight. You need the rudder to make some of those turns. Your legs will be burning by the end of the run. It’s like leg day at the gym without leaving the house.
Could try the Mach Loop in Wales - a series of valleys where fast aircraft practice low level flying, NATO, USAF, RAF. Scaled back in 2018, prolific to see prior to that, a lot online about it.
A not too long a flight but one with great variation is taking off in a prop like a cessna 172 from HOPE in Canada. (CYHE) then follow the river towards Vancouver.
This flight will take off in the mountains, eventually you will reach the flat lands outside Vancouver and the two runways will be lined up in front of you of Vancouver International (CYVR).
It is a fairly simple flight but has to be hand flown. It is fun as you need to do some mountain flying down a valley. Having driven that route in a car, I found the Sim flight route and scenery is very realistic.
It takes around 20 minutes. Altitude of 3000FT should be fine.
This area does get fogged in so best to set for clear weather or you smash into the mountains.
In that case you will be familiar with going the other way following the Fraser River N/NW. Wonderful outstanding scenery. The challenge is to put down at LYTTON (CYLY) airport. First time there one will almost certainly miss it or run out of runway and fall off the mountain down on the highway.
I truly think this whole area is one of the best kept secrets in the Sim. I have had the pleasure of driving several times from Jasper to Vancouver via an overnight in Kamloops and I must say, this whole area is modeled very beautifully and faithfully in the Sim.
One of the best scenery models we have I believe.
I do the flight in a light aircraft at around 1900 AGL. Certainly a flight where one learns to use ones pedals !
I took the train once, long ago from North Vancouver to Lillooet, back when BC Rail was still a thing. Some great scenery to fly thought up in the mountains.
Driven both I-90 and I-80 (and thru Yellowstone) so this is a most excellent idea. Give me another to visit Billings (KBIL). Picked up the scenery awhile ago…
Gonna have to remember that one!