PluribusUnum wrote: One thing that's kind of a downer is that as I gain rank (like I did yesterday) the further I fall in the overall standings. Pretty much takes the motivation away.
That, my friend, is called the Peter Principle, I believe.
Once you are competent at your job, you get promoted. Then you feel incompetent all over again.
I don't shoot a lot of people down, mainly because I can't see them, so I concentrate on completing the mission. That provides me with satisfaction. I just completed a helicopter emergency rescue mission, on X-Plane 9. Like when I was in the Coast Guard. Thunder and lightning, high gusty winds, at night. No points. Just the satisfaction that the mission was complete. I apply that here by doing everything I can to use my strengths towards mission completion. The regular missions & the ones as PHOTOPLANE. Mission complete! Just as in "real" life.
Oh & CONGRATULATIONS!