Some of these are fair criticism. There's a few key things missing for immersion, especially if you're flying low and slow. By contrast though, I mostly fly VF

Some of these are fair criticism. There's a few key things missing for immersion, especially if you're flying low and slow. By contrast though, I mostly fly VFR in the Bay Area in the sim. I can see my house, complete with our car in the driveway (although I'm annoyed it has older imagery from before landscaping). When I went on a discovery flight IRL, I was stunned by how easily I could navigate from the air and locate my home. It was eerily familiar. Same when I went on a flight in Kauai. I was able to plan out photos in advance. I was equally stunned with how familiar the airport felt. This has all aided visual familiarity with the traffic patterns at these places, especially KSQL where you have to watch out for the bravo. Given recent improvements and where it's heading,I have nothing but high hopes and faith it will improve. Hell, we have an addon that adds more bird traffic. My only gripe is how expensive or subscription based some addons are that shouldn't be.