Hey everyone! This is my first post at avsim after finally purchasing MS FS2004 today at my local PX. I have been wanting to fly a GA aviation sim for sometime now and have a lot of questions regarding getting started. I'd like to give y'all a little background so you know my experience with this. I hope this is the right section of the forum to post this. I live Pacific NW in Olympia, WA. and have been a sim enthusiatist since the middle 1980's. I've been flying CFS's for sometime now and I'm currently involved with a Luftwaffe Fighter Squadron flying with IL-2 AEP/Pacific Fighters. I'd say I'm experienced with aircraft sims, but of the combat type. It's one thing to use Teamspeak for comms with your squad but another to start switching radio channels in a King Air. My system is a Dell Dim 4600 P4 2.4 non H/T with an Nvidia 6600 GT video card and full Saitek X-45/CH Pedal HOTAS setup (Windows XP is tweaked to as far as my abilities go). With IL-2, there are many programs that I use to fly online. Some of you are probably pretty familiar with Hyperlobby or Ventrillo/Teamspeak. I'm also interested in the amount of add-on freeware/payware available out there. I have no clue where to start and was wondering where I might look? Is there a FS2004 "essentials" place that I should start looking?- Where do I find the great add-on freeware/payware mods?- Should I download an ATC program?- How do people fly online and what programs are used?Any help would be greatly appreciated and sorry if this the wrong forum. take care,Blake

Welcome aboard Blake! I will let others address your other questions, but for freeware, all you have to do is click on the library link on AVSIM, and you will have some 60,000 files to peruse. Have fun and welcome to our happy little community!!! BTW.. PX = military... Retired or active duty?

Thanks Tom,Yes I'm acitve duty with the National Guard in WA State. I appreciate the help and that's what I kind of thought, that looking in the library would be my best bet. Is there kind of a standard that everyone here is on? Meaning, is everyone basically using the same multiplayer programs and ATC software?

hi blake, all i can say without writing a book is, as far as FS9 goes...IT'S A BIG WORLD. have fun. william

Here's some links with information regarding flying on-line with FS9:[link:squawkbox.ca/doc/index.php|Squawkbox3][link:www.mcdu.com/en/index.php]FSInn

If you live up in WA you may be interested in Megascenery PNW (http://www.megascenery.com/vol4-us.htm). I just posted some shots:http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...id=196462&page=:)

G'day to ya Blake, and, seriously, thank you for serving our country.That said, I'm an fs2002 user returning after a long hiatus. I've got a long history in FPS (first-person shooters like Descent & Unreal Tournament) but enjoy flightsim for different reasons. First & foremost, I enjoy navigation with various freeware GA aircraft (Piper, Lancair, Beech, etc)- using VOR radials, sometimes the GPS, shooting ILS approaches, interacting with ATC, . Second, I like to view the scenery at places like Yosemite, the Tetons, around Anchorage, and various other places I've been on vacation. In some spots the views are so realistic it's positively creepy.Given my preferences, my three favorite addons are freeware scenery, freeware planes, and expired sectional charts. For planes, search the library - with you browse, try switching to "scan mode" and sorting by number of downloads or filesize, to see the popular and/or more complex aircraft.I obtain expired sectionals from a local FBO and have all the current ones on DVD (geo-referenced TIFF images) which I purchased on Ebay for about $10.For scenery, the choices in the Avsim library are a bit overwhelming. But the standouts, for me anyway, are...Justin Tyme's (FSGENESIS) freeware terrain:http://library.avsim.net/search.php?CatID=...&Go=Change+ViewGreat (but huge) downloads for the Pacific coast & Rockies. Obligatory plug for FSGENESIS fine payware: http://portal.fsgenesis.netO.Sotomayor's freeware terrain:http://library.avsim.net/search.php?CatID=...&Go=Change+ViewIf these links aren't completely underlined, cut'n'paste 'em.For the best whole-world coverage on 3 DVD's, go to FSGLOBAL2005: http://fsglobal2005.comHappy simflying!EDIT: Here are some sorted links to get you started -fs2004 terrain, sorted by size:http://library.avsim.net/index.php?CatID=f...&Go=Change+Viewfs2002 terrain, sorted by size:http://library.avsim.net/index.php?CatID=f...&Go=Change+Viewfs2004 original aircraft, sorted by downloadshttp://library.avsim.net/index.php?Sort=Do...Change+Categoryfs2002 original aircraft, sorted by downloadshttp://library.avsim.net/index.php?Sort=Do...Change+Category

Zapped,Wow, thank you so much for the great information and links! I played around a little bit last night setting up a flight from SeaTac to Orcas island in a little Cessna. I thought it a bit surreal since I know both airports very well :-). Immediately started requesting takeoff information and was absolutely blown away by the ATC realism hearing "Cessna N9COF hold short runway 31R". I had to put my glass of wine down and just laugh with glee. Sheesh, I feel like a little kid.

How could the thread have gotten this far without mentioning Holger Sandmann's FREE scenery, and accompanying [link:library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004ai&DLID=61529]AI boats and floats traffic?Welcome aboard!Best,sg

The moving map http://www.ranainside.com/tends to be useful. Maps are here ay AVSIM by Matt Fox. Search for author then list by date, and the sectionals are what to use. Navagation may be easier learned by flying in your own area.

Thanks guys, I checked out Squawkbox and will be learning how to use it tonight. Looks like I need to learn to file flight plans first. :9 Going from a BF-109G6 to a 172 is a little more complicated, granted I'm not slinging 500lb bombs and Mk108's at the Space Needle. I did some searching for South Puget Sound airports and couldn't find Olympia, Shelton, Elma, or numerous other small strips in the AV library. Does someone know where I could possibly find these? Thanks again for all y'all's help!Blake

>Thanks guys, >I checked out Squawkbox and will be learning how to use it>tonight. Looks like I need to learn to file flight plans>first. :9 Going from a BF-109G6 to a 172 is a little more>complicated, granted I'm not slinging 500lb bombs and Mk108's>at the Space Needle. >>I did some searching for South Puget Sound airports and>couldn't find Olympia, Shelton, Elma, or numerous other small>strips in the AV library. Does someone know where I could>possibly find these? >>Thanks again for all y'all's help!>>Blake That's 'cause they're already in the game. No one has expended effort on bringing them up to date but perhaps if you were to become proficient we might have updated strips. I fly all over the Pac NW, coastal Canada and AK and have found that we might have the most strips of anywhere in the world. And DO check out Holger's Columbia River Gorge; also the Vancouver, BC scenery. Try Paine Field up here in Everett. I think it's one which has been enhanced. :D

Scott G. wrote:>How could the thread have gotten this far without mentioning>Holger Sandmann's FREE> scenery, and accompanying>[link:library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004ai&DLID=61529]AI>boats and floats traffic?I know *my* excuse is that I was on hiatus when that scenery appeared, and it seems to be only for fs2004 users.I downloaded it but the very detailed installation instructions reference specific fs2004 files & directories. Anyone know if this works with fs2002 & how the installation needs to be modified?

I also like to fly in the pacific NW... Holger Sandman has several freeware sceneries in the library, they are all worth having.There is also very nice scenery out for Vancouver Island, look for it in the library as well.Lastly, go to the www.realairsimulations.com website and download the free C172 update. It has much better handling than the FS2004 default.If you are ever in a mood to spend some more money, buy the RealAir Marchetti, it is the best (IMHO) sports airplane currently out there and will tie nicely to your military prop fighter experience!

Well some good news!I've got Squawkbox 3 up and running and went to Basic school at VATSIM to learn the in's and out's of flying in real time with ATC. Last night I filed a flight plan through SB for Peachtree Dekalb in Atlanta to just listen observe and was relieved as all get out to be able to speak with ATL_TWR. Thanks again everyone!