This reminded me of a question that I had asked myself several times before:
What is it exactly that makes long hauls so appealing to so many?
I tried a couple when Global was released and it was soo boring. The take off and landing were the only parts of the flight where I actually flew the aircraft, everything else was on AP.
Since then I have specialised in flying the F-22 and I have found this to be far more enjoyable. The flights are shorter (usually 1-2 hours in length) but far more engaging. Most of the flight is flown manually with no AP assistance. I actually get to fly rather than just observe. I don’t need to find some other activity to do because the act of flying is what keeps me occupied.
So back to my question: Why do you enjoy long hauls? Is there some aspect of it that I haven’t considered or am I just odd?
The different types of scenery you will fly over
(If I fly from Doha to Auckland I will start in the deserts of the middle east and finish in the green mountains of New Zealand)
One way to make long hauls less boring is to takeoff about two hours before you go to bed and monitor your flight then go to bed and wake up about two hours before you land, that’s what I do.
I’m with you on this one, but I’ve seen how excited these kids get about their flight plans. I remember someone saying they spend like 1.5 hours on the preflight 😵
I forgot to step climb once in an A388 fully loaded aha, it climbed to FL350 no problem but once it got there it refused to stay😂 now answering the question i also enjoy long hauls because it’s nice when people look and see you flying across the world😂 and the satisfaction of landing a 15 hour flight:)
Side note: If you ever see me flying for BAVA callsign is BAVA159 don’t be shy to send me a message via the forum:)
I normally do 17-18 hour long hauls on school days. Why so long?
It eclipses my sleeping time and school time (both kill some time), so I land after coming home (Departures at 10PM, Arrivals at 4PM the following day)
I get quite satisfied when I land after that long of a flight.
It’s basically a way to earn big amounts of XP.
How about trying it if you have a school/work day like mine! All you need is a full-fuel 787-8 and an 18+ hour route and you’ll have a long haul that goes as you kill time.
For me it brings back memories because I flew from Newcastle Airport (EGNT) to Dubai Airport (OMDB) in an Emirates flight. To replicate that flight in Infinite Flight brings back a lot of memories from the flight and the holiday.
Furthermore, like many in this coummity I depart at the previous airport I land and choosing long haul allows to me look at the scenery in different countries and continents and appreciate the scenery we have.
I like long hauls because I get to utilize heavy aircraft on routes that take more than 3 hours (makes it a bit more realistic). The actual flight doesn’t bother me because I’m usually sleeping while I’m flying.
One of the reasons why i fly long hauls, big planes! I only use big planes when necessary or sheduled IRL, I use the A320 for 2-3H and not a A380!
But when I fly 10H I can use the A380 in a realistic way.
Second thing, when there are small planes around you and then you are taking off on your way to Amsterdam (in my case yesterday from Aruba) and after 10hours the landing is just awesome
The satisfaction when you wake up at just the right moment to have a smooth decent to the airport. The feeling of having the machine running for a while. Makes it seem more worth it, weird feeling but when you touchdown its just such a relief. Knowing that you calculated both fuel and speed just right. Or when you wake up, have a cup of coffee while seeing the beautiful mountains of Switzerland and setting the sun just right for the mood. that’s the best part of having a long haul.
Especially because of the destination, when the destination airport is fun or heavy realistic, thats my long haul satisfaction. Example like Caribbean destination, or crowd airport but not too much player using same liveries.
When Everyone on my destination airport is using non-Heavy aircraft and me landing using heavy aircraft (Or vice versa)
The thought that when you takeoff and going off the bed knowing you’ll be on the other side of the globe when you wake up is just such a great feeling that gets you excited and anticipated. It’s also a great opportunity to build hours on your account. Long hauls also give me the chance to give the heavy fleet some love. Long hauls are great fun! I write this as I’m airborne doing one currently!
Long hauls are great for logging flight hours and seeing different terrains. I usually only do one flight per day, however my flights are usually 10-14 hours long. I like to be able to lay in bed, enter my FPL, and reach cruise then go to bed. I wake up when I am about 200NM from my destination, and it is a wonderful feeling you flew across the globe.
Pre flight planning. You need to plan a lot. Step climb, fuel pax and cargo. I love simulating real world so go with almost full load of pax and equivalent cargo. So managing fuel with step climb. And that feeling of taking off heavy and landing with more than half the weight gone.
That satisfaction when you make a picture perfect approach and landing, The perfect descent (one way down to the runway).
The majority of my flights are short to medium haul, up to about 2-3 hrs, usually around either Europe or with my VA around Australia and the Far East.
However I also enjoy doing the odd Long haul, not so many! For me it’s the challenge of safely navigating across the globe, completing an ocean crossing and as I do these overnight when I am sleeping and set the alarm 1 hour before landing, I get to enjoy the scenery of arriving.
I have just completed a flight into Hong Kong from Sydney which is one of my favourite flights. However as it was an afternoon landing ( early am for me) didn’t get the full affect of a dawn approach.
Two that stand out for me was a dawn approach into LAX after crossing from Sydney again in a B747. Dawn at 38000 was fantastic. Another one to remember was arriving at Hawai from Chicago I a MD-11F, again arrival at dawn with the islands shrouded in mist! Fantastic.
Edit: I posted the above picture on my Facebook page and friends asked me how I got to go in the cockpit on a flight! (I fly as SLF a lot for my work anyway!)
