Ok.. I flew for a shot time in VATSIM 2 years ago. now, I want to get back in.I have a pretty good understanding of real world IFR. But I have some VASIM specific Q and would appreciate some guidence.1. Charts. Can I go to AOPA and get the latest and greatest real world charts and use that in VATSIM or do I have to have VATSIM speciied charts that may be different from real world versions?2. Say, I want to fly from KLAX (LA) to KBOS (Boston), I see there are controllers at LAX so I file my flight plan get my clearence and I take off. then I contant the LA Departure and he/she is vectoring me...and I am flying happyly under this VATSIM controller. But say..there are no other enroute controller on the way. What happens then, ..would I be without ATC for the enroute? How and when would I transition to say the arrival freq at Boston (assuming one is there). Would that controller be expecting me? What if there was an ATC controller at St. Louis ATC enroute. Do I have to change freq to him/her while enroute or can I bypass until the time I reach BOS?3. if you are starting over,.,,which is prferable functionally? Fsimm1.2 or SB3? I already have FSUIPC etc... I plan to fly only in FS9 for now. not FSX. Maybe a year from now, I'll cnsider FSX and VATSIM.Manny

An interesting article on Vatsimhttp://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06138/691249-96.stm

Hello Manny!>1. Charts. Can I go to AOPA and get the latest and greatest>real world charts and use that in VATSIM or do I have to have>VATSIM speciied charts that may be different from real world>versions?Yes, you can. VATSIM mimics real-world operations.>2. Say, I want to fly from KLAX (LA) to KBOS (Boston), I see>there are controllers at LAX so I file my flight plan get my>clearence and I take off. then I contant the LA Departure and>he/she is vectoring me...and I am flying happyly under this>VATSIM controller. But say..there are no other enroute>controller on the way. What happens then, ..would I be without>ATC for the enroute? Correct. The controller will tell you, that you are leaving his airspace, and that radar service is terminated. You should then dial in 122.800 (UNICOM) in COM1. UNICOM is used via text for pilots to announce intentions to nearby traffic, when they are not under ATC control.>How and when would I transition to say>the arrival freq at Boston (assuming one is there). Would>that controller be expecting me? What if there was an ATC>controller at St. Louis ATC enroute. Do I have to change freq>to him/her while enroute or can I bypass until the time I>reach BOS?Generally you need to contact a controller prior to entering his airspace. As I

Thanks Martin.I appreciate the detailed answers to my Q.I used SB3 before and it is simple. For the heck of it, I installed FSinn. and I love it. Its got these very nice little tools and they are non intrusive and they seem to work great. I had absolutely no trouble with using them. It connects automatically an all. The default settings in FSinn is right on the money. I didn;t have to change anything but the syncing of aircrafts everytime. This is the only defaut setting I turned off.Thanks again.Manny