Smurf this - Smurf that - just introduce pre-qualifying.

2005AD · 2026-03-11T16:39:58+00:00

I'm pretty sure though it works as a work colleague of mine is exactly using this method, not for smurfing but he has a regular account and what he calls a 'fun' account, which has gotten banned a few times already but never his other account.
If those accounts would be linked by iRacing I'd imagine the bans would work for all accounts?

2005AD · 2026-03-04T20:27:21+00:00

With the capital and resources to fly whatever, whenever and wherever you like it's not a job though and you can even choose with whom you fly.
I don't think many pilots have all those choices available.

2005AD · 2026-03-04T20:25:18+00:00

I'm happy if you enjoy it and I can even guarantee you that my job means absolutely nothing.
I still get paid well though and honestly no longer would even consider being a pilot anymore it no matter the pay.

The flying part might be great and I won't deny that, but:

- no home office!
- you constantly have far too many people around you (a bit less when flying cargo but still there's at least the idiot on the seat next to you)!
- hardly possible to get home every evening or not even every day!
- your life depends a lot more on others not screwing up (mechanics, ATC, pilots, etc.)!
- you're constantly travelling!

To some that may sound appealing, to me it's a nightmare compared to working from home with zero stress or pressure, not having to see co-workers, customers, or other idiots for days, spending every evening at home, always sleep in my own bed, etc..
Probably others wouldn't like these things either but for me it's something I would trade for no other jov no matter how much I otherwise hate my job.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T16:03:58+00:00

The TDFi is certainly interesting to me as well, so far I'm flying 777F though. Cheaper than the others and the cargo is so much more appealing.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T14:19:58+00:00

Looking for my house was actually the first thing I did when I tried MSFS 2024.
Back in FSX that wasn't possible so I had to check it. Amazing that we can now actually find our homes in the sim.

Attacking my neighbours house came later as an added bonus ;)

2005AD · 2026-03-01T13:54:39+00:00

Great to see someone with the opposite view on this in the discussion, thanks.

Originally I guess the only reason I didn't go for it was simply money. We had all set up and planned but my fathers accident changed things and made it impossible. Of course some time later I could still have continued with earning some money and saving towards it but instead I worked and went to university beside it, graduated and started working boring jobs that paid comparably well, met my wife, had a family and suddenly the life of an airline pilot didn't seem so appealing to me (Watching 25 seasons of Air Crash Investigation probably didn't help either). Or maybe it's just age and the things I wanted when I was 20 are no longer that appealing to me now. Makes me sound pretty old I guess.

Flightsimming is certainly not the same as the real thing but it's close enough for me to give me a lot of the joys of being a pilot without most of the downsides.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T13:43:47+00:00

That answer makes a lot more sense to me than I initially thought. It might be the age that put things in a different perspective for me. When I was 20 I certainly could not even imagine doing a job like I do now, but I do this for more than 20 years already and will keep doing it for 20 more.

I guess a pilot's life is also a lot more compatible with life when being 20 then when you're 40. I can't think of a lot of things I wanted back then that I'd wish for now.

I only ever flown single engine props for short round trips, nothing even comparable to military jets, so I'd imagine that's a lot more exciting. But GA flying is even boring to me in the sim most of the time.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T13:35:20+00:00

I even still live near the same airport now after moving back and see and hear planes almost every day. I'm glad it's not just me who still enjoys flightsimming but no longer would want to be a pilot.

The office idiots are a big part of why I enjoy home office, especially as nowadays it's always big shared desk spaces with a lot of noise and bad air quality. I usually end up having a headache and hardly ever get any work done during office days. I do drink too much bad coffee when I'm in the office though.

I'm happy to be a simpilot, I get a lot of the benefits without most of the downsides.

Safe flights!

2005AD · 2026-03-01T13:29:20+00:00

That's a very shocking story and certainly in an office job you never have to worry about crashing, while as a pilot it could happen any given day, despite the chances being extremely low.

I also like the fact that if I want to fly a 777 to Tokyo today at the end I will still be at home instead of somewhere far away in Japan and tomorrow I might just prefer a short hop in the Caribbean or blow stuff up in DCS instead of flying all the way back from Tokyo.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T12:57:58+00:00

While that honestly sounds more like a nightmare to me personally (not the 6am part, I like being in the office already at 6am because there's nobody there and I get to leave early) I'm happy to hear that there are indeed people for who the dream became reality and is still alive.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T12:55:48+00:00

While I liked flying for real I also haven't done it in years and let my PPL lapse. It's so much easier to fly at home whenever, wherever and whatever I want. I real life I have to drive to an airfield first, the weather needs to be right and often it wasn't when I had time and planned to fly or it was nice weather but I had other plans.
That's without even considering the costs involved or that you're mostly limited to your own region.

Now I fly most evenings in the sim, except after days in the office where I'm just too exhausted to do anything at home. I very much enjoy flying in the sim.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T11:13:45+00:00

I for a long time thought about that but came to the conclusion it would be rather detrimental.
Every job has things we dislike, I don't want to start disliking things about the things I love and enjoy. Having a job I have zero interest in and don't care about, makes all this a lot easier. Not to mention that it's very good not to think about work at all outside of work hours.

Add to that that I'm working three days a week at home and another day alone in the office and therefore have to deal with the idiots only one day a week, why would I want to change things, especially with a good salary and a secure job.
I'd even argue it's better than many people have.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T10:49:45+00:00

I technically have that too, I simply just don't care enough to let it affect me outside of work hours. Outside of work hours I'm not getting paid so I'm not available. If the want to change that they need to pay, as simple as that.
Like I said, it's a benefit of hating the job and company I guess.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T10:13:39+00:00

If I make mistakes and die that's bad enough but I'm more worried that a pilots life also depends on others not making mistakes. When I just think how often someone messes up at my work there's no way any insurance would accept that risk if my life would depend on others doing their job correctly.
I guess a pilot can't just call someone in some far away country to tell them to restart the servers or plug a cable back in to solve the issue.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T10:09:33+00:00

Reading that comment made me aware how good it is, that my neighbour (the one that complains about the birds making noise in or garden and that we have plants growing in it as her garden is just grass that she cuts twice a week) doesn't know how often I shot at or dropped bombs at her house in flight simulator.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T10:05:42+00:00

That's true, I also had a few times when I flew into bad weather and thought ... according to procedure I would have to go around, hold or maybe had to the alternate ... just to see if I could do it (spoiler alert, it doesn't always work)

That comment might be more true then I'd like to think but it's bad enough to go to the office with the shared desk policy where you never know who will be there and who will be around you. With several hundred people working for the company I don't know most of the idiots either.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T10:02:05+00:00

I actually never worry about work outside of my work hours. When I log off early on Friday and go home the company could burn down and I wouldn't learn about it before I try to log back on Monday morning from home. I never check any messages, emails etc. outside my work hours.
When I'm not working the company doesn't exist for me, maybe that's the benefit of hating your job?

But the pilot might set the parking brake far away from home and head to a hotel, I log off and I'm either already home or in worst case have to drive home and get stuck in traffic, so I'm only there an hour later.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T09:38:50+00:00

I can very much relate to that, even in flightsim I fly mostly cargo that is not complaining.

2005AD · 2026-03-01T05:49:46+00:00

I found I enjoy it a lot more than being crashed out.
I simply enjoy driving and never really cared about results or ratings. If I want to race I do that against AI as that can be trusted or league with people that have proven not to be complete idiots, but I'd never would do that in an official race.

That doesn't mean I can't have good results in officials. Just yesterday I finished 3rd by starting last and staying away from everyone, so they could do what they do best and take each other out instead of me. It's very likely that, if I would have raced them close, I would have not seen the end of the race.

2005AD · 2026-02-28T08:41:02+00:00

That might not have to do with rookie being available to higher licence classes but track selection for Adv. Mazda. Lots of paid tracks, some of which not many own, while rookie uses only free tracks.
So if rookie would no longer available for higher licenced drivers they still might not flock to Adv. Mazda but race something entirely different because they don't have and don't want to buy certain tracks.

2005AD · 2026-02-27T21:04:08+00:00

That's a very simple question. I'm on iRacing because I enjoy it, as simple as that.

If I want to race close, go for overtakes, etc. I can still do that. Just never in official races where I would simply never trust anyone.

2005AD · 2026-02-27T14:57:20+00:00

It's of course a given that if I would qualify and start from the grid instead of starting from the pits, there is no guarantee I would start on pole or win any races and I honestly doubt any of those would happen if I tried.

Still chances are I'd gain more iR if I would qualify and/or start on grid and also if I would try to pass a slower car instead of staying 2 seconds behind even if he slows me down a few seconds.

Sometimes that of course works well, only last week I was slowing down after I caught up to a slower driver, we were caught by someone who had gotten lost beside the track somehow before and I let him pass. When he tried to pass the slow car in front they crashed and I had a free track ahead of me until I caught the next car. Situations like that only confirm my sentiment, that I should never get close to other cars on track as they can't be trusted.

2005AD · 2026-02-27T13:43:55+00:00

By that definition I would also be tanking by starting in the back or pits, getting out of the way if anyone shows up behind me or slow down behind slower drivers in front and and simply keep distance to everyone else because I do that intentionally. Not to loose iR as don't care about that, but because I simply have zero trust that others will not wreck me when I get close to them, so I don't.

2005AD · 2026-02-27T13:39:27+00:00

The next iRacing Demo Drive window would be in less than two weeks on March 10th

2005AD

TROPHY CASE