It's been over a year since I last played a little bit with fs2000 and I have since then forgotten pretty much everything about flight simming. As someone who has just installed fs2k2, I am looking for the really must have (free) downloads such as patches (if any), some really good freeware aircraft, gauges, panels, texture files etc. I know there is tons of great stuff in the library, but surely there must be some list which could tell us what is *really* worth downloading (from a newbie's perspective).

Bears Top Library picks is a good place to start.However, also go to the files section of Avsim andcheck out the "this years" top downloads. Peopletend to vote with their feet. The top downloadsare almost all EXCELLENT.Also do some searches by author. Mike Stone, YannickLavigne, Paul Golding, Roger Dial, Ron Hamilton (skins). These are but a few of the Zen Masters. (theres lotsof others.)Also big developments with AI aircraft. you MUSTget Lee Swordys AFCAD and Traffic Tools. Also dontforget to get Pete Dowsons FSUIPC.Lots of activity with Mesh Scenery too. But start withthe stuff above.Eric

Hi,On www.flightsim.com is such a list !Hessel Oostenp.s. Should be nice if it was gere also ....

The problem is that there are so many excellent files worthy of download, it is all but impossible to even attempt to give you a list without first you stating some parameters. Your preferred type of flying (jet or prop airliners, General Aviation, bush or backwoods flying, military combat aircraft or heavy transport, lighter than air, vintage, helicopters, etc.) then one needs to know what areas of the world do you most enjoy flying in (Western Europe, North America, Asia, Pacific, Caribbean, etc.). Only then can we begin to give you some idea where to start! Not only has the number of available downloadable files been quite high, as compared to what was available for FS2000, the quality of files has been quite extraordinary as well!Bear!

Thanks for all the replies. I'm looking into all the areas suggested right now. In my enthusiam, I have asked for too much all at one time. So first, I will start out with patches. Are there any required patches, updates, bug fixes, recommended nvidia drivers etc. that I should know about ? thanks,Gopal System: 850mhz duron, 128mb, geforce2 mx 32mb.

Hello, Full of GREAT freeware and Best clouds/Fs Sky World. http://fsw.simflight.com/Top Bear pickhttp://www.avsim.com/pages/0202/bear_2-2-02/bearracing.htmEric

There are a number of minor fixes for taxiing problems etc. but no actual patches.Regarding nVidia drivers, its very much trial-and-error depending on what card you have - there's probably a dozen different cards spanning the GeForce 2MX to GeForce 4 Ti4600. Many users keep up with every new release, however, generally speaking, the latest drivers probably are of most use with the latest GeForce 4 cards.Personally, with my GeForce 2 Ti200, I had problems with the 29.42 drivers and am currently using the 29.80 drivers that have proved pretty stable.

With your system, I would suggest staying with an earlier set of nvidia drivers (I use the 12.41 drivers on my 32 meg MX card).Also, I would strongly suggest that you add 256 Meg of system RAM.It will make a big difference in how you enjoy the sim! You do not need any patches to enjoy FS2002.. but there are lots of nice planes and detailed mesh scenery if that strikes your fancy..Upgrading from FS2000, I would suggest first enjoying the new Baronand the float Cessna (off the Alaska coast..) before spending toomuch time downloading..Also.. a warning.. don't set all the display sliders to max or you'll slow your system down to a crawl.. try to keep the settings to where you have around 20 fps most of the time..Enjoy!

Absolutely get the screenshot saver from www.gadwin.com if you have any interest at all in saving your images as you fly.