FSX Default Aircraft and Program Load

[fbass 1]

It's been my experience that if you remove the default aircraft from the fsx\simobjects\airplanes folder, FSX terminates with an error. I have two questions:1. Do all the default aircraft have to be in their main folder?2. If not, which aircraft can you leave in the folder and still get program execution? For example, when I load FSX, the Trike and Friday Harbor are the two default loads. Can I take all the other default aircraft out of the folder and still get FSX to operate properly.Thanksfb

[pmanhart 176]

Perhaps try saving a flight in an aircraft you wish to keep in your hangar as the default flight and see if you can move the C172 folder.However, be careful not to activate any systems or switches in the other than default aircraft before saving the new default flight, as it may mess up flying other aircraft!

[Opa 6]

It's been my experience that if you remove the default aircraft from the fsx\simobjects\airplanes folder, FSX terminates with an error. I have two questions:1. Do all the default aircraft have to be in their main folder?2. If not, which aircraft can you leave in the folder and still get program execution? For example, when I load FSX, the Trike and Friday Harbor are the two default loads. Can I take all the other default aircraft out of the folder and still get FSX to operate properly.Thanksfb

Not really sure why you would want to remove the default aircraft but if you insist, the only one which is required is the Trike (Aircreation_582SL). It is required as that is what is called for in the default flight (FLT) and may be needed in the future if you have a problem starting FSX.Don't delete anything you remove - Cut and paste them into a temporary folder elsewhere in case you want or need to restore them.Many addon aircraft that you might download may alias it's panel to one of the default aircraft which you may have removed - so it really is not a good idea to remove them. At least I can think of no good reason for removal.

[fbass 1]

Not really sure why you would want to remove the default aircraft but if you insist, the only one which is required is the Trike (Aircreation_582SL). It is required as that is what is called for in the default flight (FLT) and may be needed in the future if you have a problem starting FSX.Don't delete anything you remove - Cut and paste them into a temporary folder elsewhere in case you want or need to restore them.Many addon aircraft that you might download may alias it's panel to one of the default aircraft which you may have removed - so it really is not a good idea to remove them. At least I can think of no good reason for removal.

I probably should have indicated why I asked the question. My "airplanes" folder is larger than 4Gb. Since FSX must load every one of those aircraft (including all the textures) before you even get to a flight, I thought that perhaps I would create a number of "airplanes" folders each with a "flying" type aircraft. By changing the folder's title before executing FSX, I could place it in a separate folder along with perhaps the Trike (if that is the default aircraft). I never use the default aircraft anyway. This would cut down on the load time - as it is, I have so much scenery that it takes a long time loading.Of course I will copy the default aircraft out to a separate folder just in case something goes haywire.Also, I always check the panel and sound folders before using a freeware aircraft (most payware products do not alias their panels).fb

[basys 4]

Hi FolksFrank -You can set up various folder stores as you wish.These can be located anywhere, (though recommend outside of FSX's folder stucture).Then edit the [Main] section in fsx.CFG adding SimObjectPaths to point at their locations.Example -

User Objects=Airplane, Helicopter //, BoatSimObjectPaths.0=SimObjects\AirplanesSimObjectPaths.1=SimObjects\RotorcraftSimObjectPaths.2=SimObjects\GroundVehiclesSimObjectPaths.3=SimObjects\BoatsSimObjectPaths.4=SimObjects\AnimalsSimObjectPaths.5=SimObjects\Misc// Testing - Active Fixed-Wing AddonsSimObjectPaths.6="H:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes"// Pilotable Fixed-Wing Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="I:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes"// Pilotable Rotorcraft Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="I:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Rotorcraft"// Pilotable Vessels Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="I:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Boats"// AI Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="L:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes"// AI Rotorcraft Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="L:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Rotorcraft"// MyTraffic//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="V:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\MyTraffic\Aircraft"

Whenever I wish to use specific types,just uncomment that line, adding the appropriate NEXTNUMBER.The SimObjectPaths can be anything you wish,for simplicity, I just use the default, but with a different drive letter.You'd have to modify any alias paths to point appropriately.PersonallyMy FSX is on a devoted partition, (with nothing else installed there),and ALL my addons are kept outside of the FSX default folders, (simobjects & scenery). Means I never have to defrag FSX,and if ever required, reinstalling FSX is a simpler task.HTHATBPaul

[bobbyjack 61]

It is also possible to set up any number of FSX exe shortcuts on the desktop to start FSX with only certian planes. I imagine the same could be done with scenery(don't know how though). There is a thread here on Avsim where beatle tells how to set that up. If you only start with certain planes, than those are the only AI you have also.Bob

[fbass 1]

Hi FolksFrank -You can set up various folder stores as you wish.These can be located anywhere, (though recommend outside of FSX's folder stucture).Then edit the [Main] section in fsx.CFG adding SimObjectPaths to point at their locations.Example -

User Objects=Airplane, Helicopter //, BoatSimObjectPaths.0=SimObjects\AirplanesSimObjectPaths.1=SimObjects\RotorcraftSimObjectPaths.2=SimObjects\GroundVehiclesSimObjectPaths.3=SimObjects\BoatsSimObjectPaths.4=SimObjects\AnimalsSimObjectPaths.5=SimObjects\Misc// Testing - Active Fixed-Wing AddonsSimObjectPaths.6="H:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes"// Pilotable Fixed-Wing Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="I:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes"// Pilotable Rotorcraft Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="I:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Rotorcraft"// Pilotable Vessels Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="I:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Boats"// AI Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="L:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes"// AI Rotorcraft Addon Store//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="L:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Rotorcraft"// MyTraffic//SimObjectPaths.NEXTNUMBER="V:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\MyTraffic\Aircraft"

Whenever I wish to use specific types,just uncomment that line, adding the appropriate NEXTNUMBER.The SimObjectPaths can be anything you wish,for simplicity, I just use the default, but with a different drive letter.You'd have to modify any alias paths to point appropriately.PersonallyMy FSX is on a devoted partition, (with nothing else installed there),and ALL my addons are kept outside of the FSX default folders, (simobjects & scenery). Means I never have to defrag FSX,and if ever required, reinstalling FSX is a simpler task.HTHATBPaul

Thanks for your responses. I am aware of the path statement functions in the fsx.cfg file. In fact, my AI aircraft paths are by developer and I have about 60 paths in that file for AI aircraft.I can use the comment function but that still requires a separate folder for each aircraft. My original thought was to find out which aircraft could be used by itself as the default and then put each flyable aircraft in a separate folder along with the default. Then I could just change the title of the aircraft I wanted to fly and change the title of a previous folder.I asked this question because if you have to have all the default aircraft in any folder where you start FSX, then my idea would take up far to much storage and it would not make startup too much faster.fb

[toby23 136]

It's not the default aircraft that are causing long load times. Certain photosceneries cause this. Do you have megascenery photoscenery installed? Create a separate scenery.cfg file where only megascenery is active for when you want to fly there. This should solve your problem. Don't remove default aircraft, that's just asking for trouble...

[snave 0]

FSX does NOT load all the aircraft and all the textures. ONLY those called for by the loaded flight. Your long load time is caused by the proliferation of AI aircraft NOT the default aircraft. AI are called the exact-same way as the flyables, could be your AI package is inefficient and calling too many different textures for the areas in which you fly. Explore.Removing default ANYthing can cause problems also for anything else that aliases it and then can't find it - most AI aircraft will, for example, alias sound files from default folders. You could seriously mess EVERYTHING up by messing with defaults if you don't have a plan, and understand implicitly what you are doing and how to reverse it.That said, it is simply nonsensical to HAVE 4 Gb of aircraft in the active aircraft folder. You cannot possibly fly that many aircraft, that many repaints, or see that many AI.Simply create a separate folder called `hangar` as a repository (preferably away from the hard drive on which you run FSX). MOVE the `non-current` airplanes to that folder, then just drop a shortcut to that folder in the main FSX folder so you can quickly drag and drop between the hangar and the simobjects/airplanes folder. Slightly more complex is to move many repaints to that folder as well - complicated as this also involves editing the aircraft .cfg files to disable the `disappeared` repaints or else you will get error messages. You should know how to disable repaints without removing entries in the aircraft .cfg. Keep only aircraft and paints you are actually flying. Consider actually deleting repaints you aren't actually using. You can always put them back in at another time if you feel a pressing need. You will be surprised how little you miss them.if you move a large disk volume of aircraft to another drive you should also defrag the FSX drive as soon as you have finished. THAT alone will speed up loading times substantially, which is why moving the hangar to a different drive is important.Finally, do the same thing with scenery as the active scenery IS read at startup, even if not installed. To improve time from sim-start-to-flight-window go to the scenery menu and just UNcheck the addon scenery in areas you are not currently flying. It is also perfectly acceptable to disable all USA scenery, even default, if you are flying in Europe for example...