Help needed to enjoy fs9

[Guest tapairp]

>Hi!>>I am a beginner at flight simulation and I have started to>read the avsim forum yesterday.>I have read hundreds of posts regarding fs9 and fsx add-ons and even if I find them very interesting I need help and clarification in some issues because this is my first experience with flight simulation and I am not a computer expert.>I have just bought fs9 and fsxdeluxe version in a package with>a fabulous price even if at the moment I have only installed>fs9 in my pc uuntil I can buy a more powerfull pc with a>"stabilised" vista...>>I like to flight commercial aviation and I am not interested>in general aviation and I prefer to fly IFR instead of VFR,>but using fs flight plans(remember I am a beginner) and the>normal fs autopilot as well as manual flying.>>I would like to fly from large airports such as LHR,CDG,FRA,AMS, LIS,CPH, JFK,LAX,ORD,ATL,MIA,BKK,SIN,HK,GIG, but also from smaller airports such as FNC,OPO,LPA,GOT,>>I need help/clarification in the following areas:>>1) Scenery>>Here I am really confused regarding GEpro, Ultimate terrain,Fs>Global and many others.>What combination is best recommended based in my preferences>mentioned above? Of course I would like to have improved sky>effects, better scenery but also improved airports scenery.>By the way what is mesh?? AFCAD files???>>2) AI Traffic >Which AI traffic add-on is best suited for me? I have read many>reviews on ultimate traffic, my traffic 2006 and flight>traffic 2005, and their updates to run in fsx but many users recommend this or that but do not explain why.>>I would like to have,if possible, a combination of good>aircraft image quality with good functionality such as AI>smooth.>Is it possible to combine for ex WOI with my traffic X or UT>or trafficX?>>If I buy one of these addons:A) do they include aditional airports scenery,gates,cars,fuel trucks,etc or do I still need to buy ex aerosoft Frankfurt or London Heathrow or a megascenery?When I saw the demonstration videos on these products they show a lot of planes in huge airports with infrastructure,gates,parking areas,etc:( Is it just to installed them in fs9 and I will have extra AI traffic in the airports I mentioned above???>>3) Utilities>Detailed comments and recommendations on FSUIPC(what does it really do), Radar contact4,Active Camera,TrackIRpro/Ultra, Aerosoft flight deck companion,World Airports 2 and other important utilities that are a must to fs9.>>4) Aircraft>>As a newbie I am not ready for the heavy iron(PMDG 747,LevelD>767) so I have bought the f-lite series (A340-500/600) and I>am considering buying their DC-10 collection.Your comments>pls..>Any other recomendations for other aircraft that are not so complex to fly but are as good or better than these?>>5) Joysticks>>I am consideirng buying Saitek 52 pro? Is it worth>the price? Suitable for my type of flying or to advanced?What about CH??>>6)Performance help>>I have read about tweak fs for fs9 and fsx as an alternative>to easy improve the performancesetup of fs9 and fsx. >Comments pls! other sugestions are much appreciated.>>Many tks in advance for your help.nuno

[lliaudais 2]

Nuno,While you are waiting for lots of comprehensive answers, go to the file library and download bbgrfs_217231.zip, Bloody Beginners' Guide to Flight Sim. That will answer most of the basic questions.Welcome to an endlessly fascinating hobby and relatively healthy addiction!Loyd

[Kimchoc 1]

I'll just comment on the easy stuff, LOLIf you are going to fly the iron, then I would suggest a flight yoke and not a joystick, in order to give you more realism. Saitek makes a good yoke with an optional Throttle quadrant. The CH has the throttle built on top in an unrealistic location. IMHO.You will want rudder pedals as well. Again, Saitek has those available.I would start with getting your equipment happy before you start buying and installing add-ons. Learn to fly the sim, read some more on scenery and AI traffic.Bill Clinton

[Chuck_B 2]

I've been simming for less than a year and I just want to echo these two suggestions: Get the Bloody Beginners Guide and read it, and GET A YOKE. Without these two 'must have' items (and the fact that early on I wisely ditched Flight Simulator X in favor of the performance friendlier FS2004) I never would have stayed with this hobby. Then fly, fly, fly, BEFORE you buy, buy, buy. It only took me a couple of months to master the concepts in your questions, and once I was navigating and landing safely, I was utterly and completely hooked. Start off with baby steps -- fly the lessons and some GA until you get the hang of the computer sim experience -- and you will love every minute.If you try to start in the middle, you may become frustrated.

[EngineRoom 205]

First of all I would recommend you don't start buying any payware until you have mastered the default stuff and have got to grips with the basics.There really is so much choice available for FS9 you can easily get lost and a little frustrated. Then I would guess the "F-Lite" range is as good a stepping stone as any to the more advanced stuff.I would recommend you check out Mike Ray's two books of flying the Boeing and Airbus series airliners in FS. Both are written for someone who has mastered the default FS aircraft and now want to move on to the more advanced simulations available. These books are available in both print and PDF versions at Simmarket.I'll let others explain the finer points of scenery and other addon packages but I can give you a little advice on controllers.I have used the X-52 for nearly 2 years now, and a few weeks ago I swapped it for an X-52 Pro. The X-52 Pro is an excellent joystick if you are into flying combat simulators, but to be perfectly honest if you just want to fly airliners it's probably a little bit of overkill. If you really want to have the best controller available for this type of flying then get a yoke and pedals.If you go for the yoke and pedals stay away from the CH stuff. As a former owner of their "Pro" yoke and pedals all I can say is the build quality is very poor and they don't last very long! They are also very overpriced (especially in Europe, where you will pay a lot of money for what is essentially a few bits of poor quality plastic and potentiometers). If you want a yoke and pedals go for the new Saitek controllers. I have had these for a couple of weeks now and they are far superior to the CH offerings, being substantially more robust, better built, and they are priced about the same as the CH stuff. You also get a basic throttle unit with the Saitek yoke too.

[Guest fullstoplanding]

I agree with starting off flying the GA, especially the Piper J3 Cub, Cessna 172 and then the Mooney Bravo. This will get you used to using a yoke. I have both the CH yoke and rudder petals. Also, here is a book recommendation: "Microsoft Flight Simulator X for Pilots, Real World Training" by Jeff Van West and and Kevin Lane-Cummings. Although it's written for FS X, it's very relevant for FS 9. The best price I saw was from Amazon.com.I have flown both the Cub and Cessna 172 in the real world and in my opinion the real aircraft are easier to fly. :-) Good luck.--Roger

[dfish 1]

On the freeware scenery side of things, go to http://walhalla.mine.nu/fs2004.php. They list ALL the freeware scenery availible and it's updated frequently. Most of the AI traffic products lack GA, go here ultimatega.com. If you fly commercial routes I suggest getting real flightplans. Try http://flightaware.com/analysis/route.rvt for N. America and http://rfinder.asalink.net/free/ for Europe.Welcome to the community, I suspect we'll be hearing from you again. LOL............Dave FisherCYYZP4 Prescott 3.2e 478p 800mhz 1mg CPUP4P800SE Asus Motherboard2.5 gig PC3200 DDR RAM 400MHZGeForce 7600GT/512 OC'dMaxtor 80 Gig ATA 133 HD x2WDC WD800 80 Gig HDAntec 500watt true powerSharp 19 inch LCD MonitorSaitek AV8R-01 Joystickhttp://fs2crew.com/linepilot.jpg

[Guest turbineflyer]

I have been flight simming for a while. I have tried Ultimate Traffic, but wound up going with Traffic (2005). I have Ground Environment Pro, Flight Environment and as of yesterday, Ultimate Terrain USA. I use FS Global, but I also FS Terrain. IMHO FS Global being the better of the 2. A Yoke and Peddals are a must. Study, Study, Study and read everything you can. No need to start buying payware planes till you have mastered what MS has already given you, and even then there are hundreds of "Freeware" planes that meet or most of the time, exceed the payware standard. Happy flying my friend.

[Guest kingairvols]

I have read and took the advice and thus, purchased, installed and have enjoyed:1. FS Genesis mesh,2. Ultimate Ter USA (I went ahead also with the Canada and Alaska),3. Ground Enviroment pro.These work well.I have tried other products over the last 3 years but for me this is a good combo.I read some reviews on this site (under the product review area) and after some time came to settle on these basics for checking out the views. I noted you mentioned IFR, however scenery was near the top of the list of your questions thus my reason for mentioning the above.I hope you enjoy this great hobby and the folks around this site are very helpful.Mark. P4 2.8,3 V cards: 1.Geforce 7800GS DDR 3 at 256 monitor 1. (spot view) 5200 at 128 monitor 2. (Panel view) 5200 at 128 monitor 3. (FS Nav or GPS view),2 gig DDR,160 hard drive,and alot of luck, LOL.