Hi, just bought my first pc, and after years of hankering after a decent fs, bought2k2. All these lovely planes on the web etc. So, download em, but how do u unzip them so you can actually use the things?! This is very basic I know, but I can't find this info anywhere. Suggested sites anyone? As I said, pc Virgin!!

Hi Waspman, and welcome to a wonderful world.You need an unzipping tool ... WINZIP is the best. It's free, or at least, shareware. Find it through SEARCH on the Internet using your Internet browser. If you got here, I know you know how to use that already. Install it, and follow the instructions. Won't take long to pick it up. Most zips will have a README file within their contents when unzipped. This will give install instructions in most cases. Have a look in the zipfile and if things are still unclear, repost here for more help.Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/cxkaitak.htmlhttp://www.swiremariners.com/reds.htmlhttp://www.swiremariners.com/cxkaitakv3.jpg

You can download a free (trial) version of Winzip here.Rob

Mr Dark Moment... Many thanx. It's 4 am now in London (plenty of dark moments here), so I'll visit your linked sites tomorrow!

I don't know if there are any tutorials available. If I had time I'd write one myself. What I can offer is that you take a look in the Aircraft directory under the main FS2002 directory. That's where all planes that you download are installed to. You'll generally find the following file structure in each directory:FS2002AircraftSomePlaneDir SomePlane.air - Binary file that tells FS how the plane flies. This file also defines the virtual cockpit, if one has been created for the plane. aircraft.cfg - Describes the plane in a human readable form. This file is editable, so you can adjust things like the aircraft's callsign, ATC name (ie, American, Virgin, Lufthansa, etc), how it appears in the Aircraft browser menu from within FS, and many many other parameters.FS2002AircraftSomePlaneDirModel SomePlane.mdl - Binary file that tells FS how to display the plane. model.cfg - File that indicates which model file to use. I'm not sure of any other values one can put in this file. It is usually not necessary to edit it.FS2002AircraftSomePlaneDirPanel panel.cfg - Configuration file that describes the layout of the 2D panel, including any side / rear views. Many options can be adjusted here as well. I do it by hand, but there are other tools that can be used as well that make it much easier to edit. *.bmp - Usually the only other type of file in this directory. Contain the artwork that the panel's gauges are displayed above. FS2002AircraftSomePlaneDirSound sound.cfg - Configuration file that describes the sounds the aircraft makes. Engine sounds, gear raising/lowering, cockpit warning sounds, etc, can all be adjusted here. *.wav - Usually the only other type of file in this directory. Each one is a sound file for a particular piece of equipment on the plane.FS2002AircraftSomePlaneDirTexture *.bmp - Texture files that are used by the model file contained in the model directory. It is important to make sure you are using the correct model with a given set of textures... otherwise you may get weird results.That should at least get you started with an overview of the Aircraft directory structures. Other important top-level directories under FS2002 are Gauges (where you put new custom built gauges that come with add-on aircraft or panels), Modules (FSUIPC.dll, FSSound.dll, and other add-on modules go here), Scenery (new scenery goes here, but make sure to read the directions included with the add-on as to where to put the files... a bit more work is required to get new scenery added in to FS than new aircraft or panels), Sound (certain sound files need to be in this directory. Documentation with the add-on should tell you when to put files in this directory as opposed to the Aircraft's Sound subdirectory).If anybody has any corrections to this, please let me know, as I'm definitely not an authority on FS, just a humble apprentice. :)