I just started using ASE with FS9 after years of using AS6.5 and I'm very pleased with the results. I have read the manual; however, I have 2 questions.The first has to do with "popping" of cirrus clouds while at altitude. The clouds below seem to be doing fine - I sometime see some slight drawing, but not the sudden popping into view that I see with the cirrus clouds. My FS Weather Options are set with a Sight Distance of 60 miles, Cloud Draw 50 miles, 3D Clouds 100% and Detailed Cloud Density at Maximum. Within ASE I have Local Range Suppression enabled and set at 18,000', five cloud layers, and Cirrus Cloud Generation 15%. Visibility Options (all checked) include Fog Layer Generation, Disble Haze Layer and Enable Visibility Graduation and Smoothing set to 50,000'. Minimum Surface Visibility is 0, Max Surface Vis is 59 and Max Upper Vis is 59. I have FSUIPC (registered), used Weather Settings Off and then enabled smoothing. I can provide those setting if that will help. Do these ASE/FS9 settings seem correct, and is there anything that might be causing the cirrus clouds to "pop" in and out of view at altitude? I've seen this problem at FL 400 and 410 flying the iFly BBJ.Second question has to do with the routine to get going. I use REX and import my flightplan into REX and have REX install textures in FS9 based on the plan. I then open ASE, allow it to fully initialize and then go to Briefing. There I import the same flightplan, install GEPro, and start FS from within ASE. Is that all that I need to do? Will the textures load appropriately or must I set up a "Snapshot" first?Thank you!

Within ASE I have Local Range Suppression enabled and set at 18,000'

Hi Chuck,That is Ceiling Suppression (18,000ft). Local Range Suppression is based on a range value. What is that set to? You may be able to avoid visible cirrus cloud changes with a higher value, i.e. 180 miles. Not sure what you have it set to now but worth a check. This local range suppression can have different effects with different values depending upon the number of stations in the area and internal FSX interpolation. In some areas and situations 50 miles works great to prevent visible cloud shifts, and in some areas you need 150 miles or more. Personally I like the maximum setting (200 miles) for high-altitude flights.The startup order you mention sounds fine. Snapshots are something different, for manual recall or AS-internal wx-influenced selections outside of the graphics add-on(s). I.e. you can create 20 different snapshots and assign them wx-influence categories which influence which snapshot is chosen for the given wx conditions. But using snapshots is purely optional. Using things as you are now is fine and fully supported.

_{Thanks for the reply Damian. Yes, it is my Ceiling Suppression that is set at 18,000'. Local Range Supression is set at 100 miles; I will set it to 200 miles and see what happens. Thanks also for the comment on the startup order, that is what I thought, but wanted to make sure. BTW, I'm using FS9 (I just like it better than FSX).}