Hello,I recently purchased a Saitek yoke and throttle off of craigslist along with FS2004 in hopes to learn a few things before pursuing a private pilots license this Spring. Getting into flight sim has been a lot more difficult then I could have thought, hopefully someone out there doesn't mind helping a newbie.My setup:Windows 7, 32bitFS 2004Saitek yoke and throttle, (rudders to come)My issues:

• When I go into the properties of the Saitek yoke and thottle, the throttle levers (z axis, x rotation, y rotation) are always initially shown at the 50% mark, even if one lever is at 100% and the others are at 0%. Once I move one of the levers, they all readjust accordingly and show the correct number. If I click okay, exit the properties and re-enter the properties again they are all back to 50%. Is this an issue? I think it may be causing issues for me in game because if I adjust the throttle then the other commands assigned to the other levers are going to jump, causing my plane to go crazy.

• When flying the first lesson (straight and level) the instructor asks you to pull back slightly on the yoke and hold to pitch the nose upwards and climb, but when I do this, after a few seconds the nose seems to pull back down automatically, in addition, once I let the yoke go completely the plane doesnt go back to level, instead the nose pitches down, below level. The same thing happens if I push the yoke in to pitch the nose down. Is this a setting somewhere that needs to be adjusted? In the Saitek yoke properties the x / y axis seem to perform fine.

• As a newbie I am overwhelmed by the amount off addons for this game. I have done a lot of searching but havent been able to find a straight forward list of free addons that will improve FS2004. I dont care about additional planes, or cockpits, but what I am interested in is better graphics, better performace, and a more realistic experience. What should I download? Is there a master source for this stuff or is it all scattered around the internet?

• Ideally, in FS2004, I would like to fly a Cessna 172 around San Diego and Southern California. How can I tweak FS2004 to give me the most realisitic experience? How should I configure my joystiq to work best with the C172. Where can I find San Diego scenery?

For those that took the time out to read this and answer a newbies questions I would like to say thank you! I have noticed the people in the aviation world, real or sim, are some of the most generous I have had the fortune of meeting.

Welcome aboard,Im going to make this quite quickly so I apoligize for not going in depth at the moment, but to get you started:The properties in the controls being at 50% initially, Mine does the same thing, it doesnt affect me while in fs, so i wouldnt worry about them always going to 50% INITIALLY.As for scenery and making it look better, here is a link to a gazillion freeware sceneries for airports: http://www.freewares...com/fs2004.htmlYou can look up "airport environment upgrade" here in the library, its a pretty good package, also get this if your machine can handle it http://library.avsim...isc&DLID=146315As for the flight test, i dont particularly care for them at all, I find them horrible.As for the nose pitching, there is a trim wheel in the aircraft, you have to "trim" your aircraft to keep level, you can probably google "aircraft trim" and find some info, You can map the trim to your yoke so it is more realistic and easy to access.Also search google for 'fs9 cfg tweaks" there are a lot of little tweaks to make it run better, and customize to what you want, for example, the red "brakes" message in fs9, drives me nuts, but you can get rid of it with a CFG tweak.for setting up the yoke for a c172, I like to set the hat switch to use for diffrent views, also maybe use a switch for flaps, if you have no rudder pedals, maybe use a "thumb button" for brakes( i used to do this before getting pedals, worked really good"There are a billion diffrent add-ons to enhance fs9 its mind boggling, even after 10 years of simming Im finding new stuff that has been released for eons that are good, so, what im saying is youll never get to every add-on that is available out there, cause theres just too many.also if you like realism, get yourself editvoicepack, its a tool to modify the default ATC to make the recordings quicker and sound more realistic.Also take a look at "world of AI" in google, they offer real schedualed AI for all parts of the world and airlines, really enhaces the experience.....Theres just sooooooo muchAgain sorry for being quick in my responses(at work), im sure someone will come along with a more detailed post, But that should get you started.But for me personally, and if you ever get the urge to drop a bit cash on fs, I use and wouldnt do withoutGEpro,Ultimate terrain,Real environment extreme,Active sky,FSUIPC--------Must have definetly,and I have some payware Terrain mesh.Also I know you said you dont care for airplanes or cockpits, but I couldnt go too long without my IFLY 737 (Thought Id throw that in there for good measure LOL )Again welcome aboard, and enjoy your stay :)

Edited January 25, 201214 yr by flyinpilot212121

Thank you very much for the in depth reply Gerry! I cant wait to go home and look up those add-ons you have mentioned, also I am glad to know the throttle issue is in fact a non issue.My one question that I am not totally sold on though is about the flying lesson one in FS2004. I understand the objective of the lesson is to learn how to trim, and i no experience pilot, but i feel that as i am pulling the yoke back and keeping it steady the plane should climb steadily...am i correct? In my case i am holding the yoke back about an inch from center and it climbs for a few seconds but then begins to stop climbing. Is this how the airplane behaves or is something wrong with my yokes calibration settings?Thanks again!

No problem,When you pull back an inch from center, when the airplane stops climbing, what happens to the nose of the craft?? Are you maby stalling the wings of the aircraft perhaps??

Edited January 26, 201214 yr by flyinpilot212121

j -Yes that's how airplnes work. Check out a few youtube videos that talk about the concepts of flight in regards to weight/thrust/lift/drag for more info about this stuff. That will get you ahead of the game for PPL - but the gist is, as you pitch the plane up you will lose airspeed and consequently, lift. The lack of lift means you need to pull back on the stick to keep climbing and eventually this results in a stall because the angle of attack (pitch of the wing compared to the airflow) is too great for the wing to function aerodynamically.Regarding trim:in normal flight, you shouldn't hve to hold any continual pressure forward or backward on the yoke. Of course there will be constant small adjustments because of uneven air, etc but the purpose of trim is to get the plane to level out on it's own.Map the up/down rocker switch on the left side of your yoke to trim up and trim down. This is how most aircraft actually work in the real world too. Simply put trim simulates pulling or pushing the yoke. so trimming down (or pressing the rocker switch up) will have the same effect as pushing the yoke in. Pulling the rocker switch down (trimming up) is the same as pulling the yoke back. Make small adjustments to the trim to balance it so that you dont need to have any forward or backward pressure to keep the plane's pitch level.Note that as your speed changes this will effect trim. So if you slow down or speed up, you will have to trim again.Regarding preparing for your PPL, don't get thinking that FS is going to give you an idea about how it, "feels," to fly. No sim, except maybe the full motion sims can really prepare you on how to actually fly. Much of your initial PPL training is this type of training - the very basics.However, FS is a great tool to help you learn navigation and procedures and, if you choose to venture into VATSIM, communication, flight plans etc. When I went through my PPL training my CFI was stoked how naturally navigation, instrument procedures and communication came to me.Also - since we're a friendly community here, consider putting at least your first name in your signature. It's weird addressing someone as "jconway2002"

This is a book resource that every now and then is suggested when people talk about aspects of flying, http://books.google.com/books/about/Stick_and_Rudder.html?id=zlaqYZYJZwQC. The book Stick and Rudder was written back in 1944 but you really can't tell from reading it and it has helped me a LOT in getting to understand what flying is about. It is totally untechnical and easy to grasp although he discusses some quite fuzzy stuff!As Noah said, a Flightsim has limitations in aiding you in your training towards a license but still it definitely shouldn't be disregarded. On my very first flight my CFI said after a while "I can tell this isn't the first time you're flying an airplane"... "uuum, yes it is"While you don't get the true feel for flying, you do get to understand the basic concepts of how to fly an airplane. You also need a good flight model in the add-on aircraft then and the developer Realair Simulations is a good place to start! Many experienced pilots use a flightsim to get familiar with a certain route they are going to fly. For me the biggest advantage has been the way my VATSIM experience has helped we with the radio communication! I know what to say, I know what cue words to listen for when ATC gives instructions and I'm not afraid that pressing that PTT button will cause any OOM faults in my brain!

http://www.flightsimbooks.com/All free, some obsolete, but the principles are still the same.

Is autopilot on? Maybe that's why you are fighting the aircraft to continue climbing? Anywho... welcome to flight simming. There's whole wonderful world to explore out there.Clutch

Here is a video of my lesson as I talking about. At 2:15 the instructor tells me to pull back on the yoke and hold it to pitch the nose up, you can see at 2:38 the nose begins pitch down on its own. I continue to hold the yoke back until the instructor tells me otherwise at 3:02, at this point I push it forward s instructed to pitch the nose down and hold until 3:40 when he tells me to return the joystiq to center, you can see the nose pitches up on its own, similar to before. At 3:40 I let go of to yoke to return it to center, but the plane has a hard time finding level. Can someone confirm that this isnt pilot error and is a joystiq error?P.S. If anyone can tell me how to embed a YouTube video I would greatly appreciate it, I have tried numerous tricks but with no luck. http://youtu.be/-hyL0Z_Uh8k?t=2m15s

Edited January 26, 201214 yr by jconway2002

P.S.Thank you everyone for welcoming me, and directing me to some useful information, I appreciate it and will dig into it shortly.P.S.S.I was able to get my throttle to calibrate correctly by using the drivers from the Saitek website and not relying on the Windows drivers.