My live has nearly expired and I don’t have the money to buy it again. Is there anything I can do to make solo more realistic or interesting? I heard that there used to be atc chatter in the background, but there isn’t anymore.
So, what can I do to make solo more fun/realistic?
I know how you feel when your Live subscription is about to expire, but when I fly solo, I usually do one of these things:
Listen to ATC recordings when you fly.
Pretend to speak to ATC (in your head or outloud) and make up your own ATC respond, because you will need to practice this to become a pilot in real life. For example, imagine that you are parking at a gate at LAX, and you are getting ready for pushback. Just simply say outloud or in your head: “Los Angeles Ground good morning/afternoon/evening, [this is] N111N requesting pushback.” Then LAX Ground can respond with a: “Good morning/afternoon/evening N111N, your pushback is approved, expect Runway 25R.” I know this might be weird, but it’s good practice if you want to become a successful pilot in the future. This step is optional, you don’t have to do it. Why? Because if you live with someone, they might think you are crazy if you talk outloud to your “imaginary” ATC.
Fly long and realistic routes, for example, Kuala Lumpur to Singapore Changi, Miami to Tampa, etc.
Change your weight and balance (your fuel) and time of day often during your flight. This is realistic if you are pretending to fly an extremely long route.
Optional: purchase a joystick if you can. Learn how to use it. It’s great when flying solo and Live, and makes Airbus aircraft controls more realistic.
That’s all I can think of, if these don’t work very well, consider saving up for your next Live subscription :)
Solo is good for practicing different weather scenarios. Just like a real full motion sim, you get to set up all the parameters to get the conditions how you want them. Practice in high crosswind, gusty, turbulent and/or low visibility conditions. Then when you get live+, you’ll be ready. ;)
