Some people like to call them resolutions where I prefer to call them goals. My flight sim goals for 2023 are things that I’d like to do if everything works out the way I expect them to. But I’ve learned from the last year that sometimes things don’t always go according to plan and so flexibility is good with your goals too. It’s good to share your goals and so here are mine and I hope you’ll share some of yours!
Goals for 2023
Goal one: More helicopters!
Long time readers over the years will known that I’ve been on a bit of a journey with flight sim helicopters. My first two helicopters were the DCS: Mi-8 and the X-Plane 11 Cabri G2. I struggled with them both but I also experienced quite a bit of satisfaction when I did manage to make them fly the way I had hoped I’d be able to.
Since then I’ve flown a few more helicopters including the Bell 222B from CowanSim in X-Plane 11, the Mi-24P Hind and DCS: UH-1 Huey in DCS World, and I’ve briefly dabbled with the H135 in MSFS. Oh and I’ve also flown a bit of MSFS’ Cabri G2 and Bell 412 as well. But I need to fly them some more to really get a good feel for them and I have plenty of intention to pick up a few more MSFS helicopters as they come out this year too.
DCS: AH-64D is high on the list to learn and have some fun with and so is the recently released Black Shark 3.
There’s much to learn and much fun to be had with these so that’s one of my big goals for the year.
Goal two: Learn a new Cold War era DCS World jet, really, really well!
The last couple of years have seen an explosion in interest in Cold War era aircraft for DCS World. Spurred on by community interest, new modules in development and further boosted by the launch of Engima’s Cold War server, we’ve seen the interest here really grow.
Over the last several weeks, I’ve become reacquainted with the AJS-37 Viggen. A brilliant module by Heatblur. Tackling this jet’s campaign series is one of the things I want to do to be sure, however, its a sidenote to my bigger goal of getting very proficient with at least one other Cold War era jet.
Right now I think that might be Aerges Mirage F1. An already very fun module, I want to see if I can become truly capable with this aircraft as it matures over the next year or two. I’ve also had fun with the MiG-19, MiG-21bis, and F-5 but I think it’s the F1 that might be my next Cold War jet.
Goal three: Airliners are back on the menu
I’ve watched a lot of tutorial videos over the last year trying to get my head around how airliners operate. For some reason, flying an F/A-18C Hornet just grabs me in a way that learning the different airliner flows don’t. Still, I feel like I’m on the cusp of understanding something really cool with these simulated airliners and I’d like to write something about my experience as my knowledge grows.
Flight Simulation Studio AG’s smaller E-Jet appeals to me more than some of the larger airliners do. It’s simpler avionics in early access may prove to be a boon for my learning process keeping things simple at first and then adding complexity later on. More on that soon. I’ve also got my eye on the Fenix A320 and PMDG’s 737-600 which is very cost competitive. If I like it enough, their eventual 737 MAX release would probably be a next step for me. The included A310 might also be just the thing that I need and will probably be my first actual foray into this area in 2023.
Finding the right balance between realism and the ability to jump in and have some fun is my goal. Whereas some will want maximum realism, in the airliner space I think I just want to enjoy the sights and the sounds and the overall feel of the airliner experience. My A320neo tour across Canada with the default A320 was already quite a bit of fun.
Goal four: More journeys to new places
Flight sims like X-Plane and Microsoft Flight Simulator are great at letting you explore new places. DCS World and IL-2 also offer that sort of experience with just enough detail to get you plugged into that space. Whatever the sim, I really do want to cover some new ground this year.
In 2022 I’ve flown over parts of Australia, covered many familiar places in North America, and done a little bit of flying in Europe too. This year I want to make sure I spend a bit more time in new places. Asia, Africa, and South America are all places that I’ve been too sparingly and so exploring these places sounds like something that just needs to happen. Never have we been able to so immersively visit a whole other place as we can with modern flight sims. It’s not exactly like being there but it feels like I’ve been there in my head – some of them may even be future vacation destinations.
Goal five: More of the things that I like
The thing with making goals is that they don’t have to be just one thing. The first four goals have all been expansions of my knowledge forcing me to learn new things and fly new airplanes. Flight sims are fantastic for that sort of thing as you can enjoy a wide variety of experiences.
Another thing that’s great about sims? Enjoying stuff that you already fly and like! Sometimes I think some or even many of us get caught up in the hype cycle loving the newest thing out and discarding the old. But there’s a lot to like in these now mature products that are still top notch experiences like I could have only dreamed about a few years ago.
I’ve got a backlog of aircraft across multiple sims that I intend to go back to and have some more fun with. Learning new things can actually become addictive but it also needs to be fun and so returning to some old standbys is also very much on the menu.
In IL-2, flying the old IL-2 Model 1942 is a thing that is constantly fun when I do it. And then I move on to something new. This year I’m going back to it! What about Flying the DCS: F/A-18C off carrier decks? That’s definitely going to be something I return to this year. Getting in some DCS WWII? You bet! Taking out the Carenado Mooney M20 on a few journeys across the world? Very fun and definitely going to happen! Returning to the Aerobask DA62 and DA50 RG? Yep!
These are just some of the types that I love to return to and I’m sure I will be this year too.
What about you?
I’d love to hear what your goals for 2023 are. More of what you like or venturing out into new kinds of flying or new types of aircraft. Let me know in the comments!
Stormbirds 
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