How many hours do you put in?

[Fakum]

I purchased this sim when it was released,,, Im still training,,, but I cant do this every day,, and when I do,, its only for an hour or 2. That means Im not any where near proficient,, as a matter of fact,,, I have to go back and retrain here and there because I forgot how to do something i put time in a couple months ago to learn. I actually spend more time here reading the dailys then flying. Boy,,, ever go a week without reading the forum,,,,, try catching up to that.

 

I'm just curious hom many hours a day some of you put into this? I read some of these threads and I have no idea what your talking about you are so advanced,,, and others,,, Im up on,,, so tell me please,,, how many do you put in,, and what do you think you need to put in to stay tuned?

[Kalahari]

I put in about 4 hrs daily,evenings after work. On weekends when the wife is away can put in 10-12hrs a day. I haven't downloaded the manual yet (will do this week),all I learned was through this great forum nd posted youTube videos.

Still don't get all the jargon from some of our colleagues too :)

[Revelation]

I think the key to it is to learn one item/system at a time. If you only have two hours per week or twenty, you pick something and you go through it over and over until you get it. It helps to be online and have a human explain things to you and you will pick it up much faster.

 

Say for instance you wanted to spend your time learning AAR, you would simply create a simple mission with a tanker and one A-10. You then go through the motions and hookup, rinse and repeat until you feel you have attained a good enough level of knowledge and understanding.

 

That's how I approach things. By creating missions you can eliminate the startup procedures if you simply want to just practice AAR. You can focus on that one thing you are wanting to master.

 

I also have another mission where I wanted to master Sa-15's; so I created a quick mission with various weapons - learned its engagement zone and how best to eliminate the threat while staying alive. I changed my ordinance a few times until I located the best weapons to deal with the given threat. So now when I see it in a brief - I know what to do.

[Fakum]

Thats what actually did Rev,,, thats probably why I have to go back again on some things,,, I took this all 1 step at a time with the incorporated training,,, did JDAMS till I was ok,,, next onto Navigation,,, then onto Mavericks etc,, problem is,, I havnt really utilised that training as of yet,, and I did the trining many months ago,, recently,, I spent alot of time just AA Refueling,,,,, Startup,, on the ramp,,, that was a long time ago,,,

[aces_full85]

Thats what actually did Rev,,, thats probably why I have to go back again on some things,,, I took this all 1 step at a time with the incorporated training,,, did JDAMS till I was ok,,, next onto Navigation,,, then onto Mavericks etc,, problem is,, I havnt really utilised that training as of yet,, and I did the trining many months ago,, recently,, I spent alot of time just AA Refueling,,,,, Startup,, on the ramp,,, that was a long time ago,,,

 

Take a night, go back and redo the trainings.

 

I only have time to play maybe 3-4 hours a week but after 10 months of play I feel relatively confident with the A-10s systems but combining everything together in a mission is definitely harder. I've gone back and redone trainings after breaks (to great success) and I have a small binder of "cheat sheets" and study materials that I look over to refresh myself on procedures and functions. You'll get a lot more out of the training materials once you have a little experience under your belt.

 

I'd try to concentrate on keeping your training relevant to whatever it is you want to do. If you want to complete more missions, imo, it won't do you much good to practice something non vital like AA Refueling over and over again if you can't drop bombs accurately or enter coordinates into the CDU. If you just want to have fun though, work on the stuff that interests you the most.

 

There's just so much going on in this game that I find working towards a definite objective while "sweating the rest" is the least frustrating way to go about it.

Edited December 21, 2011 by aces_full85

[Snoopy]

imo, it won't do you much good to practice something non vital like AA Refueling.....

 

I guess you can consider AR non vital if you don't fly the sim realistically. Our pilots, when in Afghanistan tank 2 to 4 times every mission, which averages 8 to 10 hours long.

 

On topic....there isn't a "magic" number for how many hours to fly, it is different for everyone and greatly depends on your learning curve. Having worked A-10s for many years some systems come natural for me, others (CDU is a perfect example) aren't my specialty there for I had to spend more time in the sim learning/refining my skills.

 

My flight times vary, some weeks I put in a couple hours a day between testing for ED and flying MP with the 25th. Other weeks I may get 2 hours in if I’m lucky, all depends on what is happening real world and what my CO (aka the wife) has planned for me :D.

 

Like someone said above, the easiest way to learn is to join a Squad. I have learned more in the year I've been a member/commander for the 25th VFS than I could ever have learned in single player. Not only that, the friendships I've built, with people from all over the world, is something I value even more than learning the sim.

[SmokeyTheLung]

Amen Snoopy!

 

I've put in too many hours to admit to. But not enough to proudly display. Stuka on the other hand...

[Snoopy]

....Stuka on the other hand...

 

LOL...if he isn't flying now I'm sure he will be within the hour :D Over 666 MP flight hours...I'm jealous and think he's crazy all at once :D

[SmokeyTheLung]

That's old man Stuka for ya ;)

[WarthogSmurf]

Already put in some nice 24 hours (excluding the traning). i am in between two sims. This one the A-10C (i got because i loved my joystick warthog hotoas thingie) and take on helicopters (where i got the joystick for lol) So I kinda have to spend my time in those. nice thing tho is that one is a combat sim and the other is a civ sim (more or less). TOH is also more a game then a sim but it is very realistic.

 

Also i bought my self a playseat to mount my joysticks a TIR , pedals, joysticks ... so I am in for the long run.

 

 

BTW somebody know a EU server where you can hang around and just play for fun ? (still in training so not getting into heavy MP missions yet)

[GGTharos]

Like paul said, there isn't a magical number of hours of training that makes you profficient. There might be a minimum, but it isn't magical.

 

More importantly, flight skills are perishable. If you learn something, and then leave it at that for 3 weeks, you end up having to spend some time retraining (usually not as long as the original training). So, currency becomes important.

 

Have a mission that will have you practice most of your skills in one go - some simple targets to drop various munitions on, then an AAR or something like this.

 

This will keep you current on weapons systems, for example, with about an hour's worth of flight a week.

 

Don't take long breaks from it if you can help it.

[WarthogSmurf]

 

Don't take long breaks from it if you can help it.

 

 

:megalol: great way to support us game addicts :pilotfly:

 

i will tell my gf abot this ... "srry hun no shopping today I need to keep up my virtual-flight hours " :D

[cichlidfan]

i will tell my gf abot this ... "srry hun no shopping today I need to keep up my virtual-flight hours " :D

 

You like living dangerously I see!:P

[FreeFall]

I guess you can consider AR non vital if you don't fly the sim realistically. Our pilots, when in Afghanistan tank 2 to 4 times every mission, which averages 8 to 10 hours long..

 

Even 5 times. At least when it comes to the first Gulf War (early 90's).

[Geert Hooghe]

This is really a great sim ! Like someone said here : learn one thing at a time in depth and you never forget it ! I spend HOURS and HOURS and DAYS on the compass and it needles...i will never forget it as long as I fly !

It's worth the time you spend and you learn something new every time !

[cichlidfan]

Everyone is going to learn and retain things differently. I found the switchology fairly easy to retain without as much regular repetition. What is more important hours wise, for me, is just flying. I didn't really know how to fly an airplane when I got started with the A-10 sim (among others) and so I am still working on those skills as well.

 

Getting the aircraft to do exactly what I want, when I want, is really where most of my 'training' time is spent.

[Rusty_M]

I'm a very "on and off" flyer of these. I often go and play more "gamey" games for months, but I always come back. I don't reckon i'm good enough for online though.

[Stuka]

LOL...if he isn't flying now I'm sure he will be within the hour :D Over 666 MP flight hours...I'm jealous and think he's crazy all at once :D

 

Yeah, crazy it is, and proud of it. :D

[Ratfink]

I normally get in an hour or 2 after the kids have gone to bed, on average 4 nights a week. I've concentrated on TGP, weapons delivery, JTAC and mostly do single missions. Sometimes get a chance to take on a campaign mission at weekends. I can do AAR (just) and haven't really bothered with CDU etc.

[Cali]

0 so far

[BIGNEWY]

1 or 2 hours every day, and more at the weekend, love the multi-player experience

[kylania]

0 so far

 

It's on sale till Jan 2nd, so might as well buy it cheap now. :)