The longest flight I have ever flown was about 2hr 30 mins.I was flying the meljet Air France 777-300ER from Beijing Capital Intl To Hong Kong Intl(VHHH).What's the point in flying 10 to 20 hours.It's not like when You Land And taxi to the ramp,there will Be ground animation like catering truck,wing walker etc to greet you after a long flight.I think FS 2006 should have ground animation once and for all.Then I would probably fly long hours.
For some people, the flightplanning is often more fun and enjoyable than the actual flight. I'm one of those people. :)
Off course you're not right on the money every single time, but it's good fun to check upper wind charts and analyze the weather and fronts you're likely to encounter enroute. But 9/10 times, my calculations are more accurate than the FMC's, so it gives me a way of satisfaction to know that I'm not dependant on it (like many simmers are)
But maybe that what sets us IRL flyers apart from simmers, all the dilly-dally with fuelplanning and time calculations etc
So THAT's my purpose of long haul flights, all the preparations before take-off. If my sim crashed at the FAF of my destination airport, I wouldn't be upset if I knew that my calculations were right... 8)
