Hello to all,

 

I've been away from flight simulation for six or seven years but, after a recent flight lesson in a Cessna 172, I plan on managing my time to make room for it.  I could use some help though, as I had been using FS9 when last active in FS.  I bought FSX when it came out years ago but never used it, as circumstances left me with less free time.

 

 

 

 

 

With FS9, I had add-ons like Flight Environment, FS Water, USA Roads, Ultimate Terrain, GeoRender's Alaska, FS Skyworld, FScene and, perhaps, others.

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I plan to give FSX a try, despite many negative comments I was reading when it first came out.

 

Based on some screen shots, I just impulsively bought Orbx's Canada Pacific scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm also seeing scenery enhancements for FSX, such as Flight Environment., Ultimate Terrain, FSScene, Ground Environment Pro, Orbx Global and FSGenesis mesh, along with others that I'm probably forgetting.

 

 

 

The problem is that I'm not sure which ones would complement each other and which ones would merely duplicate or overwrite what I have installed or might install.

 

 

 

I'm sure that your guidance would save me much research time (I have been searching for prior posts on the topic), be instructive to me and others would absolutely be much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

If you are getting into or returning to FSX after many years your first order of business is to look at the hardware you are using. How well does it run FSX. Is it the latest gen High end or mid range a few years old. Once you access the ability of your hard ware the next question is where and what do you want to fly. If you are looking at flying a 172 and you are on the Pacific North West I would say you have everything you need in the default 172 and the ORBX scenery. I don't know anything about it but I understand that there are some freeware enhancements to the default 172. If you are taking flying lessons tell your instructor that you are or plan to practice in FSX. It is very important to make your instructor aware of this! I would say that much more important than addon scenery is replication of the ergonomics of flying and by that I mean seating position and flight controls. Saitek do 172 flight controllers well at the decent price. Yoke, rudder etc. if you are learning to fly and want to practice with FSX then this stuff is much more important than Addon scenery. You could have the best looking sim in the world and be using an Xbox 360 controller but you will be much better of with the default FSX scenery and Saitek Cessna controls. That's my opinion. Hope it is helpful.

Don't get sucked into a bunch of stuff that isn't really consistent with what you want to achieve.

 

On scenery I think that for GA flying the ORBX regions are best because they are complete and outstanding. where as other stuff tend to be a mixture of a number of different addons like one addon for mesh and another for textures etc.

Thanks, Avidean.  I don't know what made my signature disappear but as you can now see, I don't have a state-of-the-art rig.

 

I'm still assessing my plans as far as flying lessons, since I had been planning on spreading them out farther than the 3-4 months that was recommended by the flight school where I just took my introductory lesson.  Just curious, why do you say that it is so important to make the instructor aware of FSX?

 

And while I agree that accurate flight dynamics and such are so important, I want the visual immersion factor to be as good as possible.  I know that I'm being a fussy ###### as far as that goes but realize that, especially with a less-than-ideal computer, it's a delicate balancing act between form and function.

 

Robert

 

 

If you are looking at flying a 172 and you are on the Pacific North West I would say you have everything you need in the default 172 and the ORBX scenery.

Agreed on ORBX, they're among the best of all FSX scenery designers! As for the 172, you could also try A2A's newly released C172 - I don't own it yet, but judging from both the threads about it here and their previous releases as well as the feature list, it seems like an absolute must-have addon! Even more so if it is your trainer aircraft.

 

 

 

Just curious, why do you say that it is so important to make the instructor aware of FSX?

I'm not a pilot (not even a student pilot), but from what I've read you could pick up some bad habits from flight simming, so your instuctor knows he can pay attention to those things and he can tell you what to do, maybe he even has some tricks how to prevent those "errors"?

Well, FTX Global would be the natural place to start. It upgrades the textures for the entire world. You may find that that is all you need. It really depends on where you want to fly. Another key decision is whether to use photo scenery or not. For low and slow in the 172, you probably don't want it, as ground textures are blurry at low altitudes. However, if you want to fly around your home airport and see every road and landmark for VFR, photo scenery is nice when at 2k and above altitude.

 

Personally, I think you could have a great experience flying in most of the world with just FTX Global. It's that good.

 

 

FloG answerd what you asked me correctly and before the release of the ASA 172 today I was right about the default Cessna but now I guess I am wrong :lol:

 

I have said it before and I will say it again you must make a habit of following real world procedures in a sim if you intend to take flying lessons! Bad habbits learned in a sim can kill you in the real world!!!. The law of primacy is very important in flight training because if you become a real pilot the day WILL come when you will face a real emergency. For example there are pilots who have landed with the gear up and pilots who will land with the gear up!!! The foundation of your training is what saves you and your passengers in those situations the bad habits that you have or will have are your enemy. TELL YOUR FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR THAT YOU ARE USING FSX AND TAKE THERE ADVISE IN THIS REGARD!.

 

My flight instructor told me to stay away from flight sims altogether until I was fully trained.  Now I am a glider pilot so it might be different for Power pilots.

Good points FloG, MarkSC &  Avidean, especially about the correlation bwtween flight simulation and real-world flying.

 

I will get the Orbx FTX Global and there is no question about that Cessna 172.  It looks incredible. The real-life details are unbelievable.

 

I also stumbled across a Mega Scenery Massachusetts package,  As a Boston guy, I must have that, too, although, as Mark points out,  I'll have to cruise at a higher altitude to avoid the blurries. 

 

Thanks,

 

Robert

I would throw a dark one out there. PNG Raw Grit and the Bush Trekker expansion.

 

Fantastic flying in a very unforgiving country, very few navaids so great for planning and navigation exercises.

 

And mastering a landing at Tapini or Fane give you a true sense of satisfaction.

 

Sent from my Mobile thing

 

 

I would throw a dark one out there. PNG Raw Grit and the Bush Trekker expansion.

 

Fantastic flying in a very unforgiving country, very few navaids so great for planning and navigation exercises.

 

And mastering a landing at Tapini or Fane give you a true sense of satisfaction.

 

Sent from my Mobile thing

 

Thanks, WR269.  I'll have to check those out.

 

Robert