Hello everyone, i am a new simmer and i have just recently purchased FSX with acceleration, and i was wanting to know if there are any "MUST HAVE' addons i should get right out of the gate. I am looking to get a few things from flight 1, and some other sites, but i was wanting to know if anyone has a must get list for freeware and otherwise. I have flown MSFS a long time ago, fs2004 being the last version i touched on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have really liked the coolsky MD80 classic that flight1 distributes.Its easy on frame rates and enjoyable to fly.

If you want to enhance the appearance of FSX, check the addons in my sig. Those are the basics I wont fly without, but there are many others.

I would recommend reading the Avsim reviews of any recommendations you get here. Here are some that I would say qualify as 'must haves' (depending on what you like of course):To improve the look of the skies, Real environment Extreme (REX) is worth having (and possibly Active Sky too)If you like modern airliners, pretty much anything from PMDG is a must have.If you like old airliners, the SimCheck A300 and the Sky Simulations DC-9 are well worth checking out. Captain Sim make some decent older airliners too, but be prepared to tweak them a bit to make them into genuine must haves. If you want the fastest airliner there is, then Flight Sim Labs make a very cool BAC/Aerospatiale Concorde SST that should be on your shopping list.If you like really old airliners, the UIVER DC-2 and the MAAM DC-3 are cool, although there are two newer DC-3s on the way for FSX soon. Also worth checking out, is A2A's Stratocruiser.If you like improving your cockpits and adding gauges, then both FS Flight Keeper and the Integrated Sim Avionics add on utilities are two things you'll want.If you like aerobatics, the recently released Addictive Simulations Pitts Special and the Experimental Aircraft Works Sukhoi Su-26 are both great fun. Coupling them with Just Flight's Airshow Pilot add-on makes for even more challenging fun. Track-IR is a big help too, as indeed are some rudder pedals.If you like doing career stuff, then Just Flight's Air Hauler and Aerosoft's African Airstrip Adventures are both well worth a look.If you are into gliders, then the Aerosoft Discus is a must have.If you prefer combat jets, then the VRS F/A-18 Superbug and the Lotus Sim L-39 are the best ones out there, also worth a look is the IRIS Pro Vulcan B2, which is also very nice.If you like big old warbirds, the Accusim A2A Boeing B-17G is a must have, as indeed is Aerosoft's Consolidated PBY Catalina. Not quite in that league, but still also very cool, is the AlphaSim B-24 Liberator and the Plane Design AVRO Lancaster, which is for FS9 but works well in FSX.If you like WW2 fighter aircraft, again A2A offer some very good ones (notably their P-47 Thunderbolt and P-40 Warhawk), but also worth a look is the WarbirdSim P-51B/C Mustang, which is a really nice rendition of a Mustang. Just Flight make a very nice DeHavilland Mosquito too that is very cool if you like fast prop aircraft.If you prefer biplanes, Golden Age Simulations make some good ones, notably their Boeing B-40 and the Boeing Stearman.If you are into helicopters, the Dodosim Bell JetRanger is the best chopper you can get for FS, and they have a Bell UH-D Huey in development which promises to be very cool indeed.If you like GA aircraft, Carenado (notably their Bonanza), FSD (notably their Turbo Saratoga) and Lionheart (notably their Bellanca Super Viking) are all worth checking out, although almost indisputably the best GA aircraft out for FSX is the RealAir Beechcraft B60 Duke.If you want a private jet, then Eaglesoft are probably your best bet, but also worth a look is the Extreme Prototypes LearJet 20 Series.If you want improved ATC, then Radar Contact is worth having, and if you want to use voice command to talk to that improved ATC, then Multi Crew Experience is worth getting. If you want a virtual co-pilot for a specific aircraft, FS2Crew's stuff is worth checking out.And if all that has not bankrupted you, then I can recommend UK2000 for airport scenery in the UK.Utilities-wise, a full payware version of FSUIPC is also a good buy, and the improvements it can make to FSX do mean it is pretty much a must have.If you want to make movies of your flights, FRAPS is worth having, as is EZDOK Camera, which is very cool indeed.Not actually for FSX, but still highly recommended (particularly because it is a useful learning tool that will help with FSX) if you want to have a crack at doing voice-controlled ATC for yourself, then the standalone program, London Control, is seriously recommended (it is, incidentally, vastly better than ATC Simulator 2).Al

Dangit Chock, you ROCK! That is one extremely impressive list. You the MAN!

The single best addon for FSX is VATSIM in my opinion. Its totally free as well. Without VATSIM I'd be bored of flying sims after a couple of months (again). Its just so much more fun when you get to interact with other humans.

All good responses...A few of my favorite airplanes:RealAir Duke:http://realairsimulations.com/duke09/intro.php?page=duke09_introEaglesoft Cirrus and Citation Xhttp://www.eaglesoftdg.com/Lotus L39http://lotussim.com/features-intro.htmlCarenado F33 Bonanzahttp://www.carenado.com/ecommerce/buscador.php3?id_producto=82Cerasim Bell 412Phttp://cerasimaircraft.com/bell_412_fsx.htmlFlight1 Mustanghttp://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=f1mustangRealAir SF260 and Scout packshttp://www.realairsimulations.com/list_box.php?page=productsDino Canttaneo, Tim "Piglet" Conrad, and Ant's Tiger Moth, all freeware:www.sim-outhouse.com

Well, well - London Control - never heard of it till Al mentioned it above.Very good indeed so far. Free demo (grab the tutorials, they're a must) and several hours have just gone up in smoke. About to part with credit card.Thanks for the heads up. Can't believe it's been around years and I've never seen a mention of it till today!

Yup, London Control is well worth the money. Demo is cool although shame it's CD only when you buy the full on version, a download would be nice for that too, but, it is worth awaiting Mister Postman.Al

Great list by Chock and others. I'd only add that for low and slow GA, the A2A Piper J-3 Cub with the additional Accusim pack is wonderful, especially when used with Orbx' Pacific Northwest or Australia scenery.The upcoming Diamond Katana by 4x (via Aerosoft) (not to be confused with the current Aerosoft Katana, which is an FS9 portover) looks like it might in the same class as the A2A Cub.One detail point - Active Sky (the current version is Active Sky Evolution) renders weather - it takes the place of the FSX weather engine, and therefore can be used together with REX textures. REX also provides a weather engine, but I'm in the camp that prefers Active Sky for weather and REX for visuals.Hope this helps.