What do you fly?

[SeanTK]

Just a topic out of curiosity, and an observation I've made recently.

On a number of the larger FS websites, there will be many ranting and raving over the latest Boeing or Airbus aircraft, while significantly less attention (in comparison) is payed to the lighter, often piston-powered fare. If you throw helicopters and gliders into the mix, be prepared to lose them in the news cycle almost instantly.
So....for the crowd here, what types of "flying machines" do you fly most often in FS? Be as specific or as vague as you wish, and maybe list a couple of addon favorites. Any particular reason that you trend toward that type of flying (if you have a trend)?
It was a bit challenging to try to put everything in a poll that makes sense, but you should be able to choose multiple options...for example, if you fly B-17s often, you could choose "WWII aircraft" and "Multi-engine piston".


Finally, on another note, the notion of "general aviation".
While everyone seems to know what someone means when they say they are looking for a "general aviation" aircraft, I've noticed as of late a reluctance to name anything outside of a Piper Cub or Cessna 172 as general aviation. I recently read one forum poster elsewhere classify a private jet as "not quite general aviation".
Technically, an Airbus A380 can classify as a general aviation aircraft, as the term does not apply to aircraft characteristics. Rather, the term applies to how the aircraft is operated. The term is defined as any civil aviation flight operated outside of a scheduled or unscheduled air service for hire or monetary gain. Just an observation......

[Ian Warren]

Cripes Sean , Everything but GA .. i look at it this way were you hire a plane and fly it .. easy done - Helicopters .. the rotorheads .. I really like my Choppers and then in come the WARBIRDS .. the fighters - bombers of every arm arena ... GA so it is but it is handy to have when in scenery design .. I DONT SLEW .. i fly to the position .. The heavy s .. YIP .. this same conversation comes up every 3/4 year cos some walk away and many just simply forget .

Other (please specify) [ 1 ] ** [5.88%] SPACE SHUTTLES

[Splitpin]

Good read Sean , and i have to admit to being an addict to all things things that can defy gravity .
However , being in the hobby for a more artistic reason , my choices are many and varied. For example i can start of in the default Beaver and change "midflight" to an F-16 or a B-52
If pushed to offer a definite preference , then it would be heavy transport , both military and civil (at the moment)

As you can see i opted for the "vauge" option.

[Kelvinr]

These sorts of data is good to know for things like multiplayer flying all the way to aircraft and scenery design to cater for the masses. Interesting to see what people are interested in though.

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (Kelvinr @ Jun 4 2013,5:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Interesting to see what people are interested in though.

Yip .. the ole yeah yeah yeah , comes down to the deal after all that hard work .... "its a shrug ya shoulders and a .. next time man" .. seen that a lot just recent .. must be all that KFC and Mac , no imagination in most cases or just simply to lazy .

[Splitpin]

QUOTE (Ian Warren @ Jun 4 2013,4:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yip .. the ole yeah yeah yeah , comes down to the deal after all that hard work .... "its a shrug ya shoulders and a .. next time man" .. seen that a lot just recent .. must be all that KFC and Mac , no imagination in most cases or just simply to lazy .

Not sure what you mean there I.W , i go back to some of my old posts .... all the hype about the "next best thing" it arrives , a few screens , and its gone. (and Im too blame as well)
We are a fickle bunch ... what is it exactly we want ? Short of becoming real world pilots.
e.g : I admit , i hate the A2A Spitfire (among others) ..... you can "accu" whatever untill the cows come home , but its not for me .... i think the term is "subjective"

[deeknow]

When I first looked at the list I thought, jeeze pretty much all, but if you think about it, you PROBABLY mostly fly a small number right? I revised mine down to the top 5 I spend most time in

[Charl]

Well that's pretty definitive, then:
bring anything except a Duo Discus or a Sopwith, and you'll be fine!
Err, maybe not an "Other" or "another Military" either...what's that I wonder?

[FlyingKiwi]

I fly a bit of everything but I'd say my sim flying breaks down mainly as follows:

70% Light piston GA (quite a variety of aircraft too, basically anything I can't get my hands on/afford in real life!)
20% Warbirds (mainly WWII piston or similar but I've also been flying the Lotus L-39 a lot lately)
10% Airliners (mostly MD-80 series currently)

Of the categories you listed, I would say the only ones I have no interest in whatsoever are fictional aircraft, gliders and helicopters. When I reinstalled FSX on my new PC I tried to "rationalise" my hangar a bit though and not install anything I wasn't likely to fly regularly, so I don't have any third party modern military aircraft (unless you consider the L-39 modern) and I don't have any airliners apart from the aforementioned MD-80. In the realm of GA I tend to stick to piston singles or twins in the <10 seat category (with the special exception of the Howard 500!), although I'm thinking of adding the recently released TBM-850 and a King Air to my hangar to fill the turbine gap.

Most of my flying now is what I consider scenario based, which is to say if I want to go somewhere other than Ardmore, my real world base, I will try and start at Ardmore and fly to where I want to go rather than just start at another airfield. Consequently most of my flying is within NZ although I'm planning a cross-Tasman excursion soon and probably eventually a trip to the UK once OrbX have released the whole of the UK. I do keep multiple "journeys" running at once though so I'm not always in the same place, currently for example I have a C-185 parked on a forestry airstrip near Tokoroa and a C-337 sitting at Rangiora.

[Fozzer]

Easy-peasy for me!... ...!

As most of my Flight Sim Chums already know by now....

FS 2004 General aviation (since FU II/Pro Pilot '99/FS '98)!

Which includes my daily flights/explorations in my little pretty Cessna 150 Aerobat, and my default Beech Baron 58 for those longer flights... ...!

Passenger Tubes never excite me, ....and Helicopters are downright dangerous!

Military Jets, etc, are for the gung-ho, need-for-speed hero's...with bombs and big guns!... ... ... !

Just about all my flights occur at low level, fairly slowly, exploring and admiring the scenery at close quarters!

..and I do have a very soft spot for Microlights/Ultralights, and Flex-wings!.. ...!

I rarely, if ever, use my FSX...there is all I need, available in my FS 2004...with no problems!....and loads of compatible stuff from FS 2000 and FS 2002!

Paul....FS 2004 + FS Nav + Multiplayer... ...!

Have Cessna 150...will travel!... ...!

[AlisterC]

99% of my flying is for a virtual airline operating real world flights, so airliners it is for me. I spread the love though and fly everything from Beaver in Alaska to an A380 out of Heathrow.
Preferred planes are my modern payware Boeings (737, 757, 767 and 747) but also fly freeware Airbus offerings like the Project Airbus fleet when I can't be bothered programming a CDU etc.
My other 1% is a bit of Cessna piston sight seeing and a bit of modern military stuff when I don't have time for my next scheduled flight.
Tonight I'm flying Vienna to Moscow in a Aeroflot A319 (Project Airbus)

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (Splitpin @ Jun 4 2013,7:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not sure what you mean there I.W , i go back to some of my old posts ....

Idea of desk top flight sim ... you have the opportunity to try everything rather than plan meat and veg .. or ya regular KFC , Fly a Harrier ... or the Concorde of just recent ... to a Vulcan thru the valleys or a swap into a F-111 ... little different from your run out to the airport and jump in a GA type , that's what i mean

I was going to go Fictional aircraft (models, not repaints) but the "THUNDERBIRD" machines are just simply .. so Jerry Anderson