So many choices. What to fly? Where to go?

Navy Chief

Senior Member
I download and categorize scenery, utilities, aircraft repaints, and sometimes aircraft every day. But how to choose what to fly? What location to fly to? What about weather add-ons? I use Addon-Linker for organizing files and creating profiles. I suggested to the add-ons developer that if a "print" option was available, I could print out a list of scenery, aircraft, etc.., which would make it easier to plan flights.

How do the rest of you decide? NC
 
At the moment, I'm still getting to grips with MSFS and toodling round the islands in the Torres Strait, which were added with WU7. I have plans for some long flights - for example, recreating the first air journey I ever made, aged 8, from London to Singapore via Bahrain and Gan. Originally it was in a Bristol Britannia, but I'll use the PMDG DC-6. Other plans might include historic flights, such as Alex Henshaw's round trip to Cape Town and back. With PILOTS Boeing 314 coming for MSFS, I might try the Imperial Airways flying boat routes to South Africa . That's the beauty of MSFS - you can travel, and see the world ( rather than Landclass ! ).
 
Indeed, there is seemingly a infinite number of choices for destinations! The beauty of the scenery in this sim is truly amazing! NC
 
In this sim most of my flights are currently with the DC-6. And I usually keep it consistent, loading the next flight right where I finished the last one. Started my current journey in central Germany, went to Africa via Italy, crossed the upper continent and went back to Gibraltar. From there via Vrance and Ireland to northern Scandinavia. Back down to Greece, Mediterrinean towards Madeira and hopped Islands to towards New York via Gander. Currently crossingbthe US east to west, with the last landing in Aspen.

Every floght had some impressive scenery or weather, challanging approaches, hiccups with the plane, etc. By now I have about 200h with the plane I think. Still love it.
 
NC, same boat as I continue to P3Dv5 as well. I've done all the adventure stuff that comes with MSFS and landing challenges. On Flightsim.to, a member updated the good old FSX missions to MSFS, which gives one a goal. I just ran the "Telluride landing" in the CJ4 as it looks completely different in MSFS.
 
I often travel for my other hobby, nature photography. I will fly the area that I am going to in MSFS to get an idea of the terrain. I also use Google Earth for more detailed study.
 
It can be hard to get out of my comfort zone. I do enjoy flying much of the time over areas I know well and can navigate by landmarks without maps and such.

There are so many random mission generators, downloadable bush trip sets, etc., that it's getting to be difficult to choose which METHOD to use to choose your next flight!!

Sometimes I like to pick a place that's in the news. Like, as I write, where the winter Olympics are happening, where the Russian army may or may not be mustering for an invasion of Ukraine, etc. In airshow season, if we finally get a semblance of a full airshow season this year, I might fly to where next week's big show is taking place, maybe follow one of the national jet teams from venue to venue. The MILAVIA airshow calendar is good because it is less North-America-centric than most, and it has an archive of past years' schedules in case you want to relive the pre-pandemic days when there were more shows to choose from.

August
 
For giggles I tried out NeoFly about a week ago and I’m hooked. I just picked a place at random and started taking missions. I’ve flown to a ton of grass strips, mountain clearings, and places to which I would have never even thought of flying previously.

I’d highly recommend it if you are looking for places to fly. It makes you explore those overlooked spots in the world and feel like you are doing something in the process.
 
Sometimes looking to history can give you inspiration. In 1934 an air race was held. London to Melbourne. Such a long trip would take you to many interesting places. Ernest Gann did a crazy flight in a Lockheed Ventura (I think, could be wrong about a/c type) across the Amazon Jungle in WWII, and if you have never read his account of flying a C-47 across the North Atlantic, landing in Greenland, Iceland, etc., for the first time in WWII, well, you need to. Its a bit unforgettable. How about the P-38 interception of Admiral Yamamoto in April 1943? Great scenery flying up “The Slot”, and several small airports along the way, if your aircraft of choice doesn’t have the range of the mighty Lockheed Twin. I’ve always liked “FS Geology”, Mt. St. Helens, San Andreas fault, Tambora, in Indonesia, K2 in Pakistan. As the sims have increased in terrain resolution, these trips have increased in fun factor...
 
Finally having a computer capable of running MSFS for exactly one month, I'm on my first RTW flight, retracing a route I've used many times in FSX & P3D. Mostly to see how old familiar airports look in the new sim. So far, I've been more than okay with all of them. The only odd surprise up 'til now was planning the leg from Kilimanjaro-HTKJ to the Seychelles-FSIA. There was no FSIA. In fact, no Seychelles anything. That turned into my first MSFS scenery purchase, picking up FSDG's Seychelles.

I wasn't overly positive about MSFS before actually getting a chance to fly in it. That has completely changed over the last few weeks.


Forest
 
Finally having a computer capable of running MSFS for exactly one month, I'm on my first RTW flight, retracing a route I've used many times in FSX & P3D. Mostly to see how old familiar airports look in the new sim. So far, I've been more than okay with all of them. The only odd surprise up 'til now was planning the leg from Kilimanjaro-HTKJ to the Seychelles-FSIA. There was no FSIA. In fact, no Seychelles anything. That turned into my first MSFS scenery purchase, picking up FSDG's Seychelles.

I wasn't overly positive about MSFS before actually getting a chance to fly in it. That has completely changed over the last few weeks.


Forest

And MSFS is addictive. There's no cure for it, thankfully 🤣. NC
 
With the Kodiak and Twotter my current favorites, I tend to fly routes that connect small fields to larger ones. One large to small I did was San Juan to TNCM to deliver an imaginary shipment of a certain Puerto Rican adult beverage (Bruce Wayne's favorite?) to the Sunset Bar and Grill. A small to large was a shipment of shrimp from Galveston to San Antonio.
 
I've looked at the Otter many times. That will most likely be my next AC purchase when I get to the shorter flight legs of this RTW.


Still a way to go 'till those hops back in South America. Cutting across India at the moment heading for Paro. Then stopping at Bali on the way to Australia/New Zealand. From there, island hopping back into SA via Easter Island.



Forest
 
I tend to explore different areas of the world and make research flights or try to re-enact something historical or an actual patrol route a military aircraft I might fly. I also fly from where I last landed. It's rare for me to launch from a new scenery I just purchased. I'll see it when my flying gets me there. I like the discovery of it as I arrive. Right now I'm kind of stuck in the F-35 because Dino's team, as usual, has done such an awesome job with it. I just did a test self deployment with it across the Pacific; that means by island hopping without A2A refueling. Although, the California to Hawaii route I had already flown in DC's F-15E. I then flew Hawaii to Midway, Midway to Wake Island, Wake Island to Kwajalein Atoll, Kwajalein to Pohnpei, Pohnpei to Weno, Weno to Hoskins on New Britain, Hoskins on New Britain to Port Moresby on PNG, and PNG to Australia (various bases). I also fly different missions to explore from some of those destinations. I'm currently at Tindal getting ready to make a trip to Singapore. That's how I discovered my Oz install looks like crap. Also, all of those Pacific islands and atolls could use a lot of work. They remind me of stock FS9/FSX landscapes currently. Also, when I get to some destinations, if the landscape looks good, I'll hop in various GA planes and go exploring as well. If I have to get across an ocean, relatively rapidly for something I want to see, I'll use a tube liner, unless a bomber is available. So, I'm stuck in tube liners for those kinds of flights at the moment. ;)
 
Sundog, >>>"I also fly from where I last landed."<<<

Same here. I've been doing that since my first MS flight. My logbook goes back to 03/22/2002 and is one continuous journey with maybe 10 random flights scattered in there.


Forest
 
Some of my MSFS interests:


Exclusive Photogrammetry flights
European cities
City architectures, monuments, churches
Castles
Fly Cessnas, TBM 930, Constellation, Spitfire, P38, Stearman
Zion, Arches, Bryce, Monument Valley Parks
Wilson, Palomar observatories
Addons Linker, Flight Recorder


attachment.php



attachment.php
 
Back
Top