Salbado... you got a full size cockpit? And no Screenshots!!! :(

Hello All,One of the best posts I've read in ages!All I want to add is..... I'm glad I'm here. It's great.It's been a long slog from typing in basic programs from " Analogue " magazine... to where we are today.....but what a ride!Thanks Microsoft and to all the other developers, large and small, payware and freeware, who make this hobby so great.Paul ( SPIM )

Yes, I am amazed night and day. I can still be anxious like a little boy when I am waiting for that new add-on, the new graphics card, or planning to redesign my cockpit.I am on an around the world tour right now and I am using the destinations I have found on another site as the legs fit the length I am looking for. I hate the default airports as they all look alike. So for every leg I am looking for sceneries covering my next destination. So far I have a hit rate of 80% or so. Now is that amazing or what??? Pick almost any airport in the world and have a plus 50% chance that there is a freeware scenery existing for MSFS??Thank you, thank you to all the authors who put their time and effort into this. I hope you guys will have fun enough for keeping up with your excellent and amazing work.Alex

I started out an hour ago to do a search for a problem I'm having - just the norm - and my search turned up this thread. I've been reading it for the last hour?I am 83 years old, was an engine fitter in the RAF in WW2 and always wanted to be abe to fly. During my service I flew in very many types of aircraft and was often allowed to 'have a go' I always wanted to be able to fly a plane. Nearest I got was three solos in a glider. Since 1981 I have had a computer starting with Clive Sinclair's offering and have had every version of flight sim that I could afford. I can remember when the first scenery was the sight of a runway - two green lines converging in the distance - even that was wonderful!I agree with all that has been written about our hobby and the wonderful work that so many generous folk supply for nothing. However let us not forget that there are other similar societies which have a great deal in common with us. I always, as a kid, wanted to be an engine driver and as in flying I can now do that on my PC. I have had MS Trains and the Australian program Trainz and through them made friends with people in France, the States and Australia.I could go on and 'bore the pants' off you but basically I am saying thanks to 'those wonderful men - and women - who provide us with our flying machines'I would also like to say thanks to the inventors and others of the computer for providing me with the means of keeping 'the old grey matter' active.

You know, sometimes it is as simple as rediscovering an airplane that you have not flown for a while. After being totally spoiled by all the latest addon aircraft, I took the default Baron for a spin. Night flight, from Tampa to Sarasota at 4000 feet.This plane is actually just lovely (as long as you do not use the VC..). Nice big instruments, all the switches within easy reach, and it handles just fine. A real joy! And no need to spend lots of dollars. Just FS2004, right out of the box!

For me, this hobby brings together many different interests that I've had all my life -- aviation, pcs, engineering, and sometimes it even touches upon space flight. Sure, this is all astonishing and it's come so far from my first version of flight sim which was v5.0. I can still remember running around trying to find where I could get a copy of BAO Flight Shop. And how many of us remember that little light green DC-9 that was so popular w/FS5?The biggest surprise for me has been the geography I've learned from simming. I've learned so much about where places in this world are that I might not have otherwise. As a result, I've also learned more about the people in many of these other countries. Just last night, I had a conversation with a friend about how, if you drive 3 hours in the U.S., you're likely still in the U.S. But if you're in Europe and you drive 3 hours one way, you will likely at least go through one other country. That statement alone explains so many things about how life is lived in both the U.S. and Europe and it's so much easier to understand after simming.Have you considered this though -- when my 8 year old is my age (49), the technology of today will seem as antiquated as a radio from 1960 does to us today. Think about it.Ed Lin, D.O.S.

I am astonished on every flight...

That's so sad. I can hardly believe it's true. Only a few weeks ago we were talking about how healthy it seemed. And now it's dead. http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=226224&page=I didn't even know it was sick. It was all so sudden, why didn't we see it coming?

LOL :D :DMichael

What a lovely, spiritually uplifting, positve thread.Best I've ever seen here.Rob Young

I agree, Rob. I sincerely hope my last comment didn't offend anyone. But as a freeware author, I find some of the comments in that other thread quite insulting, and I had to find a way to bring this one back to the foreground to remind myself and all those other people who spend more than "a few hours" sitting at a computer and creating aircraft, afcads, scenery, and all that other GREAT stuff that the work is appreciated, and some of the comments in that other thread are, as Holger put it, "annoying, insulting, and, above all, complete B.S."Larry Silsbee

I too am amazed daily at how far FS has come; particularly the development of ActiveSky. I started flying FS when the buildings were wire cages and the clouds were fuzzy white cubes that would pop in and out. The screen was one continuous stutter-clunk-clunk-clunk. Anybody remember that? That was on an AppleII GS (processor was 1mhz, this is not a misprint)that I bought for the princely sum of 3000.00 and I still felt it was worth it!I wish those who complain about FS9 could have started like this. :>)Am I dating myself with the above post?Happy Holidays!Mark

Just a brief story: I have been married for about fourteen years. For much of that, I've fiddled around with flight simulators of one kind or another. Right around FS2000, my wife declared that I was wasting entirely too much time flying around in it and going nowhere, and why don't I go out and learn to fly for real?"Jeez, let me think about that and I'll get back to you." Not.Up to that point I had about five hours in helicopters from 1983, but had never logged a single hour since. I took up her suggestion!Now, five years and probably US$50K later, I'm instrument rated in airplanes and have about 325 hours in airplanes and helicopters. I have the pleasure of flying a (rental) Cirrus SR20 with all of the LCD electronic toys on a semi-regular basis. I've been able to take the controls of a Pilatus PC-12, as well as an MD500 turbine helicopter for a few hours... Yes I am a lucky man and I cherish those moments!But the point of this post is - I now enjoy FS2004 more than I ever did prior to getting "real life"-rated - because I now can understand and appreciate the depth of this so-called "game". We all whine and moan about this or that little thing that isn't 100% realistic but - considering that we're viewing the entire experience through a single monitor (well, I have two 8^) ), FS is truly an amazing and under-rated accomplishment.In sum, yes I am still astonished at times about our hobby. And the fact that so many people dedicate so many of their hours to (especially) freeware add-ons (e.g. Chris Willis's recent clouds offering, the lovely Constellation airliner, etc. etc.) as well as the payware products, is really a thing to behold given the relatively small community.---I like posts/threads like these - we need to remind ourselves of how lucky each of us are, and also to know that there are other similarly passionate/warped folks doing the same thing 8^) .Dave BlevinsP.S. had my wife had any idea of how much Committing Aviation costs, she would've probably kept her mouth shut about learning to fly. Especially since I sim as much or more as I did before!!!