Do you fly in your own neighborhood?

I like both. Working out a detailed flight plan is interesting and part of
the fun.

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
When you fly VFR for pleasure, do you prefer to limit your flying to the
area
around your home base, where you know the geography and airspaces and
navigation points, or do you prefer to fly to many different places that
you've never seen before?

It seems like it would be a trade-off between seeing the same things again
and
again but being able to plan a flight easily (since you'd know almost
everything by heart after a while), and seeing completely new things at
the
expense of having to work out a detailed flight plan and following it so
that
you don't get lost. A cross between adventure and convenient comfort.

A constraint unique to the real world is the need to physically get the
plane
from airport to airport. If it's 200 nm to your destination, you'll need
to
fly 200 nm back at some point. Fortunately that is not an issue in
simulation, although the serious simmer forces himself to start at the
same
airport at which he landed during the previous flight.

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Jose writes:

Why? In real life, pilots fly different planes, starting at different
locations, for many reasons.

I think most simmers assume that they own their aircraft, so they can only fly
them from where they last left them. I have a Baron 58, a 737-800 with custom
fittings, and my own 747-400 as well. You might be able to rent a Baron, but
the average FBO probably doesn't have too many 737s or 747s in its inventory.

In real life, I presume that the more expensive an aircraft is, the harder it
is to rent, and the more likely a pilot is to own it (if he's not a
professional pilot).

Which reminds me: I wonder how many people with the money to buy, say, a
Boeing Business Jet (about $45 million, I think) also are qualified to fly it.
John Travolta doesn't count, because as far as I know he is only qualified for
SIC on his crusty old 707.

Which reminds me of still another thing: Real 737 and 747 pilots normally fly
the aircraft with help from another pilot, but simmers fly these aircraft all
by themselves.

I'll fly from A to B, and my friend
flies us from B to A. Simulating, should I start my next flight at A or B?

You start wherever your simulated aircraft resides. My Baron is parked in
Aspen, the 737 is parked in Phoenix, and the 747 is at LAX right at this
moment (I just landed--a training flight of sorts as I'm trying to learn the
systems on the 747).

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... Working out a detailed flight plan is interesting and part of
the fun.

A group of us like to fly to new places. See new scenery. Usually
four or five airplanes, two per airplane. We've flown to Alaska twice
(taking different routes each time), flown around the perimeter of the
Lower 48, flown down the East Coast to Key West, and toured New
England and the Canadian Maritimes including Newfoundland.

Since the others had little or no cross country experience when we
began these trips, I was happy to do the flight planning. That was
not quite as much fun as making the trips, but it provided a number
of pleasant evenings. And it enabled me to make sure we visited the
places I wanted to see.

vince norris

On Feb 12, 11:08 am, Mxsmanic wrote:
When you fly VFR for pleasure, do you prefer to limit your flying to the area
around your home base, where you know the geography and airspaces and
navigation points, or do you prefer to fly to many different places that
you've never seen before?

To a great extent, just flying at all is a pleasure. Each time you
feel the wheels lift off the runway, you marvel again just a bit that
this is possible at all, and you are thankful that you live in such an
era.

I think most of us would prefer to have the time and money to fly long
distances. But if you're limited to a single weekend day, it means
flying around your home base mostly.

Still, planning out a long trip makes for good exercise. I for one,
would love to fly to the Bahamas, so I read with interest anyone's
reports in that vein. I also would love to fly a rental around the
Hawaiian islands.

Kev

Kev writes:

To a great extent, just flying at all is a pleasure. Each time you
feel the wheels lift off the runway, you marvel again just a bit that
this is possible at all, and you are thankful that you live in such an
era.

I'll agree that take-off is often the best part. That's how I know that I
like aviation. People with a fear of flying dread take-off more than anything
else; people who like aviation tend to think it's the best part. While I had
some misgivings about the manifest fragility of the first aircraft on which I
rode (a crusty old 737 in the early days of America West), I still thought the
take-off was great (although the whole flight was fun).

I think most of us would prefer to have the time and money to fly long
distances. But if you're limited to a single weekend day, it means
flying around your home base mostly.

So where do you fly? Unless one has some truly varied geography nearby, it
must get awfully familiar very quickly.

Then again, I still fly around my hometown. Sometimes knowing the area makes
it more fun, I guess (and oddly enough it seems to enhance simulation
sometimes).

Still, planning out a long trip makes for good exercise. I for one,
would love to fly to the Bahamas, so I read with interest anyone's
reports in that vein.

How complicated is it to fly to another country, as opposed to staying within
the U.S.?

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You really are a boy scout. And yes, you lead a *very* sheltered life.

Missed the point, eh, Mort?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

John Travolta doesn't count, because as far as I know he is only qualified for
SIC on his crusty old 707.

"Only"???
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
You really are a boy scout. And yes, you lead a *very* sheltered life.

Missed the point, eh, Mort?

No, not at all, Jay. I've never seen pilots treated as poorly as MX has
treated them, here.

He deserves everything he gets here, and more.

So if that a Boy Scout you makes, in defending him, live with it.

He does not deserve it, and will turn on you and bite your hand.

Bet on it. Mark my words.
--
Jim in NC

"Morgans" wrote:
Mark my words.

With what color?

Jay Honeck writes:

"Only"???

If I were going to buy my own 707, I'd make sure I could fly it as PIC.

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