You know- The GPS causes major stutters for me, so I've been flying without it. This made me think. This is fairly new technology and alot of pilots flew along time without this guy. It's really making me pay attention to the map more. It's amazing how much the GPS really makes everything so much more easier. Phewww. Anyone fly without it?Also, I sure do wish the GPS from fs2002 could work in fs2004! That would be a good compromise. The fs2004 version causes major stutters for me-even when closed.Todd

Hmmm!Results of 2002 COPA membership survey: Part OneGPS UsePortable 52%Panel-mount 16%No GPS 30%Did not answer this question 2%Sixty-eight per cent of COPA members fly with some form of GPS set. It is interesting to note that almost a third do not fly with a GPS.We asked if members planned to buy a GPS in the next year. Portable 30% Panel-mount 6%No 52%Did not answer this question 12%The popularity of portable GPS sets will continue for the foreseeable future. It is worth noting that the majority of members indicated that they do not intend to purchase a GPS in the next year. Todd

<<>I never fly with it. Not quite true: I have played with it, of course, in flightsim, but it makes the whole process so boring. The beauty of flightsim is being able to discover what is was like when no such facility was available. And we don't have to go back too far. Full KUDOS to the gents who released a new INS system this week. At last! I can get back to real Tristar flying!The satisfaction of replicating such skills successfully is immensely rewarding to me in flightsim. I sail a lot; as a yachtsman, I like to know that I can navigate celestially with a sextant should all my electronics fail mid-Atlantic. To think: being able to use a sextant is no longer a requirement in today's Merchant Navy intake! Arrghhh. What if someone pulls the GPS plug out of the bulkhead, or pours their third Colombian Supreme of the night down the keyboard?Mark "Dark Moment" Beaumonthttp://www.swiremariners.com/newlogo.jpg

>The fs2004 version causes major stutters for me - even when closedThat's interesting.I have a fairly top end system and I find that the GPS doesn't cause any stuttering on the screen but it does cause a breakup of the sound if I am flying in a lot of cloud - in other words when the fps drops a lot. If I turn off the GPS until I am clear of the heaviest cloud then the sound returns to normal.I have never heard of the GPS causing problems when it is switched off so I wonder if there is something else causing this for you?David

Don't use it to fly the plane, but do use it once in a while as a map to check my position. It was instrument (vor/ndb) navigation that got me hooked on flight simming in the first place, and I still find that to be the most interesting aspect. What fun is it to sit there and watch a computer do everything for you? It's a flight simulator, not a passenger simulator. :)Sidney Schwartz KPDX

What's a GPS? Is it that funny TV screen thingie?

I don't use the GPS. I like flying VOR-to-VOR and such. I just imagine that I am flying before such tings were readily available.That said, the new GPS in FS2004 looks like a fun toy, and I'll probably play with it a bit. I do know that some people like to use FS2004 as a sort of systems simulator, especially with the heavies.Actually, I wish I could get rid of the auto-pilot in the default C172 and have an older set of avionics. I wonder if there is a way to move the nice, rustic avionics package from the dreamfleet cardinal into another plane...

S