How serious of a pilot are you?

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RogerW
Posts: 96
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:47 pm
Location: Valkaria, Fla (X59) USA
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How serious of a pilot are you?

Post by RogerW »

Years ago I use to jump around the map to wherever I wanted to fly from. New York one day, LA the next, Chicago tomorrow.

Well a long time ago my philosophy changed for the better I think. I now fly point to point to point. It makes it much more realistic.

For instance, for the past few years I have given my plane a purpose; I'm a big NASCAR fan so I follow it around the country, and boy do they jump around with no rhyme or reason. But it gives a reason to jump in the cockpit and go to the next track. Sometimes it's an easy run, Daytona to Atlanta. Other times not so much, like Phoenix to Richmond. Those long trips take me and my Cessna a few legs to get to the final destination but that's how I get my kicks and my logbook entries are sequential. I read on here the other day about the Sun-n-Fun fly-in in Florida but couldn't participate. I am in California for now. I came out here for the race in Fontana last month and decided to sign up for PE's two-week trial. I have since become a paying subscriber and now watch the races on the television instead of in the stands at the track!

My question to all those out there that have done the CAT ratings. After completing the Cat-6 at Mojave, for instance, did you load up at San Bernardino to start the Cat-7 or did you make an intermediate flight to get there for real, practicing your newly founded delta airspace departure and arrival communication skills? As for me, I'm sitting at KSBD with another hour in the books getting there. 8-)
Last edited by RogerW on Fri Apr 13, 2018 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
Roger W.
Home: Valkaria, Fl (X59)
PE Rating: CAT-11, I-2
Real World hrs 7, Virtual hrs thousands
FSX
Aircraft: A2A Cessna 182 Skylane
Tail Number: N7365W
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCitoWL ... bagrJnQyrw
Medtner
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:47 pm
Location: Arendal, Norway. Home airports: ENCN and ENGK.
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Re: How serious of a pilot are you?

Post by Medtner »

I'm an A-B-C-D flyer. Almost to the extent of it being fanatical. But it is so much fun!

I'm doing the Alphabet Challenge these days, and I'm doing the whole thing without doing other flights in the system.
So when the PEaware crashed during my flight from Bullhead to Thermal (I found out after I landed), I flew back to Bullhead to repeat. It does have some advantages, like trying different approaches, or refining them.
In fact, all my PE-flights have been concequtive, every single one.

I'm also an A2A-fanatic, and what I've done with the last 3 GA-planes released (Piper Cherokee, Cessna 182, Piper Comanche) is that I've flown them from A2A's "home base" Robertson Field (4B8) in Connecticut home to Kjevik (ENCN) in Norway.
- The Cherokee I flew via Canada, Greenland, Iceland, The Faroe Islands, all the way through the UK, then via mainland Europe to Norway. (the whole thing documented on the A2A-forum, like a travel blog, if anyone wants to read: http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtop ... 15&t=40605

- The 182 was crazy - flew from, again Robertson Field, down to Florida, via Bahamas, the whole Caribbean (landing on all islands), southern America, Ascension Island (mid-Atlantic), Africa, Canary Islands, Europe, Norway. Monstrous project. Took me over a year. (blog on A2A: http://a2asimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43207

- The Comanche I flew across USA to San Diego, following the coast up to Alaska, over to Deadhorse, over to Greenland, to Svalbard, and then mainland Norway. I'm now flying through Norway, landing on every single airport/airstrip/farmstrip.

So, respawning is not something I do. Immersion is key for me. And PilotEdge has killed the immersion in my other flying. I haven't flown anyting else than my 172 in the PE-network since early December. I've been destroyed... in a good way. :)
Keith Smith
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Re: How serious of a pilot are you?

Post by Keith Smith »

There is a new series of IFR flights being released soon that will feature a new set of legs to be flown each month. They're designed so that the starting point for a given month is not the same as the previous month's destination. This way, there is an opportunity for the ultra-realism fans to do a dead head leg from the last destination to the start of the next leg.

If you like persistent aircraft locations, you guys should definitely get in on FSEconomy. That's what it's all about.
Medtner
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Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:47 pm
Location: Arendal, Norway. Home airports: ENCN and ENGK.
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Re: How serious of a pilot are you?

Post by Medtner »

Keith Smith wrote:There is a new series of IFR flights being released soon that will feature a new set of legs to be flown each month. They're designed so that the starting point for a given month is not the same as the previous month's destination. This way, there is an opportunity for the ultra-realism fans to do a dead head leg from the last destination to the start of the next leg.

If you like persistent aircraft locations, you guys should definitely get in on FSEconomy. That's what it's all about.
This sounds great! I'm all for the adventure!

FSEconomy is something I've been sniffing around, yes. Maybe I shall go for the kill... :)
RogerW
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Re: How serious of a pilot are you?

Post by RogerW »

Sounds like fun but not sure if I'm up for the IFR challenge. I've flown many 'instrument' flights throughout the decades but I'm not sure how 'by-the-book' they have been, :lol:
The legs: SoCal, Western Expansion, or a mixture of the two?

I've been sniffing around FSEconomy myself but haven't been in California for an extended period of time to use it.

Besides, I've got my CAT Ratings to go through yet. I'm only at 6 as of this writing.
Roger W.
Home: Valkaria, Fl (X59)
PE Rating: CAT-11, I-2
Real World hrs 7, Virtual hrs thousands
FSX
Aircraft: A2A Cessna 182 Skylane
Tail Number: N7365W
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCitoWL ... bagrJnQyrw
Salire
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2018 12:20 am
Location: Asheville, NC USA

Re: How serious of a pilot are you?

Post by Salire »

I’m doing this GA circuit I’m calling the Great Western Loop, kind of like what boat cruisers do (called the Great Loop) with the InterCoastal Waterway, Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River. My rules are: 1. Same aircraft, 2. Go progressively through the trip, no jumping around, 3. File and fly as real wx demands. If it looks like weather might be a problem, re-route, file IFR, etc. 4. Stop at interim non-towered airports en route if you need to take a break or have a time constraint. It’s loads of fun and gives me a goal with a challenge.
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Sally
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RogerW
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Re: How serious of a pilot are you?

Post by RogerW »

Salire wrote:I’m doing this GA circuit I’m calling the Great Western Loop, kind of like what boat cruisers do (called the Great Loop) with the InterCoastal Waterway, Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River. My rules are: 1. Same aircraft, 2. Go progressively through the trip, no jumping around, 3. File and fly as real wx demands. If it looks like weather might be a problem, re-route, file IFR, etc. 4. Stop at interim non-towered airports en route if you need to take a break or have a time constraint. It’s loads of fun and gives me a goal with a challenge.
I did the same thing a few years ago. Took a few months to complete as I wasn't as active a pilot back then as I seem to be these days. PE, a few Saitek parts, and a killer machine that can finally draw extreme graphics at a respectable fps has really up'd the fun.

But back to the subject at hand... I started in Valkaria, Fla went up to the very northern tip of Maine to Northern Aroostook Regional (KFVE), the last airport before crossing the border. I then skipped under lake Ontario and Erie, up through Michigan to Saute Saint Marie (KANJ) in Upper Peninsula. Headed west from there across the Canadian/US border, stopping at Jelly Stone to visit Yogi and BooBoo and ended up in the Seattle area. From there, down the pacific coast and back across the south, stopping off at the Grand Canyon and Marti Gras before returning to East Central Florida. If I had friends/family in the real world in the area I was in, I would land at the nearest airport for a virtual visit. Beats the virtual airport hotels, :lol:

I even kept track of how many gallons of 100LL I bought from the local FBO at whatever price it was going for, according to SkyVector's Airport Info page that day. I don't remember what the total was on that but it was big!

Yeah... Serious $hit! But definitely fun.
and all of it with PE! :cry:
Roger W.
Home: Valkaria, Fl (X59)
PE Rating: CAT-11, I-2
Real World hrs 7, Virtual hrs thousands
FSX
Aircraft: A2A Cessna 182 Skylane
Tail Number: N7365W
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCitoWL ... bagrJnQyrw
Anex80
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2018 10:20 pm

Re: How serious of a pilot are you?

Post by Anex80 »

I’ve only been using PE for about a week or so and after a few flights to get used to it and spawning wherever I felt like it I decided to only go point-to-point from now on. The A2A Comanche 250 is my airplane of choice and I treat it just like a RW plane. In fact, earlier this evening I completed the Cat-7 and then flew to KSBP to be in position for the Cat-8.

The Wester Loop posted above looks awesome and I think I’ll set out to do that once my Ratings are complete. I may take a few detours around some add-on ORBX airports in the NW however.

How awesome is the flight-sim world these days? Photo-real scenery, ultra realistic flight modeling, RW weather, live humans conducting ATC, plug-ins for ForeFlight and other flight planning software. Truly astounding!
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