Suggest Utilities for FS9

[Guest iMiller]

What 4-5 addon utilities are recommended by most for use with FS2004. I haven't installed any, but have read some about FSUIPC(I think).FSBuild, FSNavigator, etc.. It seems everyone talks regularly about four or five that they normally use, aside from addon aircraft and scenery. iMiller

[Bill Womack 7]

FSUIPC is (IMHO) mandatory. I use it for calibrating controllers, setting key commands and a host of sim-related technical fixes. It adds a LOT to FS. In order to get all that functionality though, you'll need the payware version. It's not expensive though.I use FSNavigator for flight planning and its moving map capabilities. So much more flexible and friendly than the built-in planner!ActiveCamera gives you a bunch of viewpoint related features that are missing in FS, like panning around the VC and exterior view w/the mouse, mousewheel zooming, up to 10 preset viewpoints and the ability, otherwise lacking, to go into the virtual cabin of airliners that have them.I haven't heard much about it for a long time, but I also like Abacus' EZ-VFR, which is a module that allows you to see the names and codes of the airports around you with the touch of a button. It comes in handy when getting to know a new area via VFR.Ooh, almost forgot the one that I think I love the most... and it's free! That's Ken Salter's FSAutostart. It's an external program that lets you turn off all extranneous processes and programs before starting FS and then turns them back on when you're done. It also can be configured to start up other programs such as weather add-ons in conjunction with FS.Those are a few of my favorites, anyway.

[JSkorna 137]

A shameless plug, but for a weather program, you can't go wrong with Active Sky 2004.http://www.hifisim.com/Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/as2004proudsupporter.jpg

[Vulcan 14]

I would agree with Bill and Jim, FSNav, FSAutoStart and ActiveSky.Although strictly scenery I would also suggest replacement clouds from FSW http://simflight.com/fsw/ to help frame rates.

[Guest daveg4otu]

I think the top five will very much depend on what you want to do with FS.There is so much choice.......... A "bush flyer " will have vastly different requirements to a hardened airline pilot or a helicopter pilot. Some will want lots of AI traffic ,some must have the latest and greatest addon aircraft, and so on....This is my own top five.FSUIPC- everyone should have this - but if you want to fly online with VASIM etc it becomes essential.Get the registered version - it's well worth the money(I think it's now about 25Euros) because it enables you do do so much with FS9.Squawkbox , Servinfo and AVC - these three again for online flying.OceanFX and updated water textures to make the sea look like it should.Regret to say I'm not a believer in FSAutostart - tried it and found it didn't do anything I couldn't do myself.However if you're not happy playing around with Windows settings and don't mind the process being organised for you - it certainly will be of use.Dave

[Guest iMiller]

Thanks for the suggestions. FSAutostart sounds like a must have. I downloaded FSNavigator and FSBuild to try out. Will take a look at ActiveCamera and EZ-VFR as well. Am trying to get up to speed on the water packages available as well. Thanks for the input.iMiller

[Guest iMiller]

ActiveSky and the FSW clouds on the check-it-out list. Nothing wrong with shameless plugs. iMiller

[Guest iMiller]

Well I'm starting from scratch. No add-ons and have only been sim-flying for about a year. Mostly small aircraft, but will work up to flying heavys at some point. I've heard of Squawkbox. Will take a look at Servinfo, AVC, and OceanFX. I think the water definitely needs tweaking. Thanks for the suggestions.iMiller

[ailchim 207]

As several people said, depends what you are trying to do.I'd agree FSUPIC and FSAutostart are essentials - not least because there is some stuff out there which won't work without FSUIPC.As regards modifying the default FS environment, surprised nobody mentioned:TTtools ttools202.zip to decompile and compile AI flightplansAI Traffic Mover by Thomas Molitor to organise, check and modify AI flight plans (need the FS9 version which is only on his own http://www.molitor-home.de/FS)Afcad afcad221.zip to modify airport layouts and add gates to accommodate more AI aircraft or to load other peoples' airport layoutsEditVoicepak to add a million new airline callsigns and aircraft names to ATC vocabulary, or even to create them yourself http://bevelstone.xs4all.nl/FlightSimulator/EditVoicepack

[Guest EISN_CONTROL]

Squawkbox.Simply no question about it-and it's free!Learn more: http://www.vatsim.net/prc/login/index.phpJohn http://homepage.eircom.net/~eamonnmca/images/logo_ba.JPGwww.bavirtual.co.uk Senior Captain Simflight.com Staff Reviewer

[Moose4 0]

- FSUIPC, definitely. It's worth paying to register it, it gives you a lot of flexibility in setting up controls, and is required for much of the other add-on software out there. Be sure to keep it up to date.- A good weather add-on program. FS2004 built-in weather is pretty good, but the payware add-ons are generally better. I use ActiveSky 2004 and really like it.- FSNavigator 4.6. It's basically replaced the GPS for me, except when I need terrain detail. It'll help you build flightplans, fly the plane for you, show you airport and navaid information...pretty much everything but fetch coffee. :)- If you are planning on doing a lot of airline virtual flying, FSBuild 2 is an excellent IFR flight planner. It can build a flightplan and save it to several different formats. I use it to save the same flightplan to the FS2004 GPS, ACS-GPS, FSNavigator, and Squawkbox simultaneously.- For offline flying, an add-on traffic package like Ultimate Traffic really increases the immersion factor. Or, if you're willing to spend some time and download a lot of files, try Project AI (www.projectai.com)...it's free and great.- For online flying, head over to vatsim.net and grab the needed software there. VATSIM software can be a pain to set up, but once you get it going, it's addictive to fly with real people providing the virtual ATC.- One last thing--get a good screenshot grabber. I use FSScreen, which is a little freeware program that saves a screenshot every time I press PrtScn. There are fancier ones out there, like MGrab, that will automatically convert them into JPEGS and do other tricks.Lewis "Moose" GregoryColumbia, South CarolinaDVA 1427/Solent 644

[Guest Madwack]

OK im New here ..so Greets :)so far id have to say....1. FlightKeeper 2 ...nice logging of yer flighthttp://www.flusi-bremen.de/liveacars/with the ability to do stuff like this with it is awesome2. Ultimate Traffic3. FSNav4. Ative Sky 20045. Airliners Env 2004all working together is a real blastmy picksMadwack

[Guest freequest]

What those ^^^^ guys just said :)

[Guest cast1010]

A quick reply...FS Flight Keeper...outstanding software that's getting even better.http://www.molitor-home.de/FS/FLKeeper/default.aspCarlos.

[Guest SoarPics]

Markus Brunner's "GA-Traffic". Greg