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Flying is why we go through all this silliness in the first place. Being a part of a Virtual Airline and the Matrix Game just gives a purpose to our flying our flight simulators. But when it boils down to the essentials, flying the sim is what it's really all about.
Once you have posted your successful argument, you are free to fly your charter. Set up the sim so that the particulars you gave in your argument (such as weather, time of day etc.) are in effect. Then fly the charter.
Note down the time you release the parking brake to start your taxi to the active runway. Also note the time when you reset the brake after you have landed. This will give you your hours that you need to report. Your flight time is measured from parking spot to parking spot. Time is computed to the nearest 10th of an hour (one decimal point).
Pay attention to the details that are transpiring during your flight to incorporate in your PIREP. Is ATC making you fly around in circles? Note it and use it. Do any of your systems fail? Use that as well.
Fly the charter as close to real world procedures as you can. Of course don't feel real constrained to do this all the time. PGA pilots regularly ignore procedures as a matter of procedure.
The heart and soul of PGA is the Flight Unlimited 2 and 3 flight simulators. These are the simulators that captured the imagination of PGA's founders and its pilots. The original missions were all written to revolve around these two sims.
That being said, FU2/3 are out of print and becoming very difficult to find. So for those unfortunate souls who cannot find a copy, or for those who would rather fly in another, more up to date sim, PGA authorizes its pilots to fly charters in any flight simulator on the market that meets the following criteria:
The simulator must include the Pacific Coast of the United States in its area of coverage. This coverage must include the San Francisco Bay area and the Puget Sound area in enough detail to give a realistic flight.
The simulator, either in itself or with the addition of an add-on product, must include a decent ATC package. We expect our pilots to fly with ATC activated in FU2/3. The same goes for those flying in the other sims.
The simulator must be capable, in itself or with the addition of add-on products, of simulating the aircraft found within the FU2/3 packages. The aircraft in Fly! and Fly2! are also suitable.
Along with aircraft, FU2/3 also defines our operating area. Our two main FBOs are located at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington and San Jose International in San Jose, California. We do, however, have a third FBO in Valdez, Alaska, which is obviously outside the realm of FU2/3.
The Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay regions are the areas of our primary coverage. We also service long haul flights throughout the region of the Western United States as defined in the Outer Terrain areas of FU3. If an airport, dirt strip etc. lies within these areas we will fly to it, for the right price. That means you as a pilot can make a Charter Argument to fly there. We have recently extended our coverage to include Alaska, as well.
Keep in mind, PGA is a shoestring Charter Airline flying light, general aviation aircraft. We do not fly heavy jets across the continent or oceans. We fly small packages and groups of people along the western coast of the US. Your simulator must be capable of reproducing this type of flight.
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