What's your opinion?

[Nexus]

[quote]

So let me get this straight.

[Hagar]

I'm not trying to cause trouble, just putting my point over. Some people are obviously happy with paying for addons & good luck to them. When I first started in this hobby the addons were mostly free & posted on sites like SimV. There were very few payware outfits. Most of these were long-established & gave good value for money although there were a few get-rich-quick merchants even in those days. Nowadays it seems that anyone can charge for their work whatever the quality & believe me, some is not all that great. I don't believe that anyone can make much profit from payware addons. It's a mistake to think that something is high quality simply because you have to pay for it.

I'm proud to be part of the freeware community & long may it remain so. Working with so many talented & generous people is the most rewarding experience I can remember for many years. It's helped restore my faith in human nature. There are some things that money simply cannot buy.

[Nexus]

Giving your opinion is hardly 'causing trouble' Hagar
I hear you, but unfortuneately there is no freeware that offer me the same realism that payware does.
I'm grateful that some companies has decided to design the aircrafts I love - and in an accurate fashion.
Like I wrote earlier, it's not really the visual model I'm looking for, but what we find inside.

I'm sticking to a core of companies that has proven themselves to be worthy of my money, not all payware companies are top notch...

[Fly2e]

It is pretty simple.
If there was no freeware or payware, we would all be stuck flying the same not so good looking default aircrafts that ship with the Sim.

Now enter the generation that thinks everything is for free or that everything should be "given" to them.!

You have designers that offer us free stuff for all to enjoy! Wow,...Free Stuff!!

[jay_the_pilot]

I'm for freeware because you don't have to have a credit/debit card to get it.  Jobs are hard to come by when your 15, and the money that comes from them is not usually over minimum wage, so I make the most with what I've got.  If I want the most realism I can get, I'll use my hard earned money to take a flying lesson.  Personally, I think Flight Simulator is a game, and if you are that crazy about realism, take the passion of flying to the next level and take some lessons.  No amount of payware can ever amount to the feeling of actually flying a plane.

[Nexus]

Jay...whenever I want to fly a small  plane I kindly ask some of my friends who has a PPL and we go up for a spin.
But unfortuneately I can't just take the nearest 737 and fly away with it. Flying a little Cessna compared to a large jet is two different worlds, and that's why I try to make FS as real as it gets. Small Cessnas doesn't interest me...you get my point here?

[jay_the_pilot]

Er..., Nexus, I suppose that I do.  On the contrary, while you like big boeings and don't like little planes (I'm not saying cessnas because I am a piper fan), I like little planes and not big boeings.  I am, unfortunately, a very linear-minded person, if I find something I like alot (like flying) I kind of close my mind in on that thing.  My logic is, if you like something enough (like flying your boeings), take it as far as you can go.  Be an airline pilot or something.  I stand firm that no simulator in this day and time can ever give half the realism that the real thing does.  We have an air force base in my town, and I've been for a spin a couple times in their state-of-the-art F-16 simulator, and even though I've never flown an F-16, the simulator doesn't come close to simulating flying.

If you're not that crazy about flying the big planes, and just want to do it as a hobby on the computer, well, then I don't think your serious enough to be pouring money into the thing for payware addons.  That's just my opinion, as I come from a long line of people that will spend a dollar to save a nickel (the cheapo type).

[Nexus]

Jay, it's not that logical to tell somebody - who is a die hard FS fan and tries to make out the most it -

[Scottler]

Nex, I've gotta disagree again.  If you're that diehard, I would definitely recommend going for the real thing.  It's like any secondary education.  Expensive as hell, but worth it.

[Nexus]

Well allright, I see your point  :)
But it's not that easy to get a flying lesson in a 737. SAS has one and it costs 200bucks an hour...

*ouch*

[jay_the_pilot]

I think if the Viper fan wanted a realistic driving experience, he should go and drive the volkswagon instead of plugging in his playstation and playing gran turismo.

[Hagar]

Me again. Everyone has to start with the basics. I don't know how experienced you are Nexus but you don't start training on a 737 or other heavy. It's the little Cessna first, then up to a twin & so on. Most airline pilots I know fly the jets for a job & the little ones for enjoyment in their spare time. Many of them display warbirds & aerobatic aircraft at weekends to relieve the boredom.

This is all besides the point. As Dave pointed out, the choice is yours. If you can afford it & you're happy with the idea of payware there's no reason why you shouldn't purchase as much as you want.

[Nexus]

I think if the Viper fan wanted a realistic driving experience, he should go and drive the volkswagon instead of plugging in his playstation and playing gran turismo.

Crap, good call  ;D
But I'm an avionics nuts. Planning my routes, going through charts, fiddle with the flight management computer. Doing what the 737 pro's do in theory...I can't do that in a cessna

Hagar: I'm very well aware of that. I'll start in a Robin 2160, then of to Piper's (Seminole amongst others)

[jay_the_pilot]

Actually, with the new 21st century planes such as the Cirrus SR20 and SR22, along with the new Cessna 182, Mooney Bravo DX, Diamond DA40 Star... equipped with avionics that make a space shuttle pilot green with envy, you can do all the management you can dream of.  Although if you have the upwards of $150 grand for one of these planes, you may as well start training for an airline job because you've got the money.  But if you really want a challenge for navigating and planning in your payware planes, try flying with the use of the GPS.  I remember the good old days of FS98 when I used to use the expired sectional charts my uncle gave me to plot a course using a flight computer, then hoping I found my way from airport to airport hoping that I had the right course bearing and that there wasn't any crosswind.

[Nexus]

The GPS is just like a basic FMC, so it's not really a new thing for me. In fact the 737 has two of them so I'm kind of flying with GPS already  :P

Also I use the GPS to plot routes for our boat trips every summer...but I prefer flying over sailing any day!
But thanks for the tip, always good to hear other peoples opinions  :)