Hello and welcome back! A few weeks ago, I received an email from Timothy asking what I like most about flight simulation. I’m excited to answer his question, but I also want to expand on it by exploring the broader genre of simulation gaming. I’ll also touch on a few aspects I dislike. My History…
Making Every Flight Count: Tips for Thriving in A Pilot’s Life Career Mode
Welcome Back, Captains! Last summer, I reviewed several career-mode add-ons available for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Of those, A Pilot’s Life (Chapter 2) by Sim Bit World has recently become a personal favorite—and today, I’d like to pass along a few helpful tips for making the most of it. If you’re unfamiliar with A Pilot’s Life…
Subscription Skies: Thoughts on the CSS 737 Classic Pricing Model
Hello Captains, and welcome back! Subscription-based services are nothing new. In our busy lives, we subscribe to everything from magazines and streaming platforms to in-car entertainment systems. Even in the world of video gaming, subscriptions like Xbox Game Pass have become the norm. The flight simulation community isn’t immune either, with services such as Navigraph…
What Caught My Eye at FSExpo 2025: ChasePlane and KPHX News
Hello Captains, and welcome back! If you were lucky enough to attend FlightSim Expo 2025 this past weekend, you’re probably already up to speed on all the latest announcements. But if, like me, you couldn’t make the trip, you’ve likely been refreshing FSElite for updates and press releases as they rolled in. Rather than recap…
Full Circle: A Return to Position and Hold
A Return to “Position and Hold” In just a few months, I’ll be celebrating 15 years of blogging about the flight simulation hobby—something I’ve truly enjoyed every step of the way. Back in those early days, only a handful of bloggers were writing about their simming experiences. Today, I find myself one of the last…
PMDG’s MAX8 Mirage: Hope, Hype, and Holding Patterns
Hello Captains, and welcome back! Last week, a surprising development had the flight sim community buzzing—PMDG briefly published a product page on their website for the Boeing 737 MAX8. Naturally, this sparked speculation that a release might be imminent, with some even hoping for previews at the upcoming FlightSim Expo this weekend. But just as…
Welcoming the iFly 737 MAX 8 to My Virtual Hangar
Hello Captains, and welcome back! I finally did it—I pulled the trigger on the iFly 737 MAX 8, and she’s officially part of my virtual fleet. You might recall that when the iFly 737 MAX 8 was released last year, I had no immediate plans to purchase it. I wanted to wait and see if…
The Captain Sim Paradox: Why Low-Quality Add-ons Still Sell
Hello and welcome back! A few posts ago, I mentioned that while I hadn’t published new content in several months, I’ve remained active—answering emails and responding to reader inquiries. Some of those questions, particularly about Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, were beyond my expertise. Others, however, I could easily address. Just today, I received a question…
The PMDG 737 & MSFS 2024: Why the Wait?
Hello friends, and welcome back to the blog! Over the past few months, I’ve received several emails from readers all asking variations of the same question: Why is it taking so long to bring the PMDG 737 into MSFS 2024? One email even noted, “It only took Fenix a week to bring their A320 family…
The Summer of ’85: My Flight Simulation Journey Begins
Forty years ago, I graduated from high school and left behind my East Texas hometown, moving to Central Texas to start a new chapter. I moved in with my uncle, and together, we launched a satellite installation business. Later that fall, I began my college journey. The summer of ’85 was legendary—not just for me,…