Now that improved coastlines,lakes, rivers, roads etc are available for large areas, does anybody else find that a session on FS9 can consist entirely of aimless wandering looking at scenery without actually wanting to fly to anywhere in particular! At times I find admiring the landscapes more interesting than the actual flying!:-lol

I agree - It was the whole idea of seeing a realistic landscape from above that got me into flight simming (1997 - Flight Unlimited II) :)

I wouldn't have it any other way, it motivates me to fly now.I hope MS takes a hint and does this kind of detail for the next version, I really hate when I leave an enhanced area going into default, makes me want to turn around! LOLRegards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

>Now that improved coastlines,lakes, rivers, roads etc are>available for large areas, does anybody else find that a>session on FS9 can consist entirely of aimless wandering>looking at scenery without actually wanting to fly to anywhere>in particular! At times I find admiring the landscapes more>interesting than the actual flying!:-lol As I've mentioned on these forums in the past, a friend and I spent 25 1/2 hours of "aimless" (full size) flying across the mountains and deserts of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, and Arizona last November. In the past, I'd usually file flight plans from departure to destination for long cross countries. But on these trips, we only knew the general direction, and if a fuel stop had cloud cover, we'd go somewhere else. At least I'd call home from a fuel/lunch/pit stop to let someone know our general direction, should we end up missing!But the whole point, is just what you're mentioning above, which was aimless wandering to see great wonders of scenery from the air. And that is exactly what we did in real life flight, so feel comfortable doing it in a sim! My real joy of flight, both real and simming is to see the world from the air.L.AdamsonSome wandering pics:

Wow! Awesome screenshots!! What video card and screen resolution are you using? And are you still able to keep your frame rates up when you have all the sliders maxxed like that?(Oh........that's the "real" world......forgot what that looks like.....nevermind!):-smile12

I love the third shot of the Mesa - or is it a Butte? Nearest I've ever got to one was in a geography textbook (and just about every Western movie of course). How lucky you are to be able to fly over such wonderful landscapes. RegardsIanEGLL

>Now that improved coastlines,lakes, rivers, roads etc are>available for large areas, does anybody else find that a>session on FS9 can consist entirely of aimless wandering>looking at scenery without actually wanting to fly to anywhere>in particular! At times I find admiring the landscapes more>interesting than the actual flying!:-lol For a person rather new to fltsimming, there are so many choices of landscape software. What to choose? What to buy?Would someone be willing to name a few packages that cover "coastlines, lakes, rivers, road, etc... for large areas"?I'd love to enhance my flying - I'm in the SE USA - but find I can't buy one of everything. :D

Welcome to FS, depends on what and where you fly. First off, you don't need to buy anything if you don't want to, there are some great freeware enhancments as well, anything by Holger Sandmann, photoreal Italy, Scott Gridleys Freeflow series, etc. For payware, I like the flightscenery Rhode Island project, truly superb, Holgers Misty Fjords, Alaska, Switzerland pro, and Ultimate Terrain are probably the best of the bunch IMO. There are the Mega Scenery titles also, but I am not a fan of them.Try out the free ones and see if you want to purchase one. Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

>I'm in the SE USAAs in "florida"? ;)David "Opa" Marshall was kind enough to include a preview of the upcoming FREEflow Florida package in his latest - be sure to check out in the library today for a long list of movies. They're also listed in some threads here at AVSIM in both the general and screenshots forums - a search for "FREEflow" will get you a bunch of hits...We're lucky enough to have been given server space by the kind folks at [link:www.fs-shipyards.com]FSShipyards, so as release draws nearer, we'll be opening a dedicated website for the FREEflow sceneries...Best,sg

WOW Great pictures. I do a lot of paintings of Monument Valley, and thought that all of it was a National Park... Last I heard, you cant fly over National Parks, at least the Grand Canyon, and even some state parks in CA... That 3rd one, sure looks like Monument Valley to me. What altitude were you flying at? Bob

".that's the "real" world......forgot what that looks like"I know, it's easy to forget what it looks like when you don't see it very often :-lol

>For a person rather new to fltsimming, there are so many>choices of landscape software. What to choose? What to buy?>Would someone be willing to name a few packages that cover>"coastlines, lakes, rivers, road, etc... for large areas"?Michael's suggestions (above) are very good. I've been a freeware leech, myself, since fs2002 days, but recently purchased my first payware add-on, "FS Global 2005" (http://www.fsglobal2005.com). fsglobal2005 contains 12GB of data, basically the entire world re-sampled from NASA's SRTM mesh at 78m resolution. Since a lot of the fs9 world is sampled at about 1200m, the improvement in fsglobal2005 is breathtaking. Take a look at some of the before/after screenshots on the fsglobal2005 site. One of the first things I did after receiving it last week was burn about 6 hours taking before & after screenshots myself to confirm that the improvements were indeed there in the product.78m rez is a big help, but also check out the 38m meter freeware that can be found in the Avsim library (and added on top of fsglobal2005) - Justin Tyme's entire Rockies & West Coast meshes (over 400MB each), a Raimondo Taburet's 38m Alaska mesh, and Holger Sandmann's stunning Columbia River Gorge project.Size does not necessarily equate to quality, but in the Avsim Scenery library it's a pretty good indicator. Try this search, sorted by filesize:http://library.avsim.net/index.php?CatID=f...&Go=Change+ViewNow, you specifically mentioned "coastlines, lakes, rivers, road, etc". For my money, enhanced mesh (more elevation information at finer sample resolution) is sufficient to radically improve the fs9 visual environment. If you do want improved roads, etc., you might look to fsgenesis.net for their American Data roads package. There are other packages available, I'm sure more folks will chime in.

> That 3rd one, sure looks like Monument Valley to me.> What altitude were you flying at?>It is Monument Valley. It's not a national park. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Lake Powell) is about thirty miles away, and has a "requested" but not mandentory minimum altitude of 2000' agl. There is actually an airstrip with a nice motel & restaurant (Gouldings Lodge) in Monument Valley, and very close to where these pics were taken. This airstrip is private, and you call for permission to land. Grand Canyon airspace, to the west, is very restricted.L.Adamson

I purchased the full membership to FSGenesis and am an extremely happy customer. Just waiting for the world landclass to make it complete though. But the Meshes for the entire world are out and the best quality I've ever seen

>.Would someone be willing to name a few packages that cover >"coastlines, lakes, rivers, road, etc... for large areas"?Only one place is necessary http://portal.fsgenesis.net has it all.You can choose what or where you like, and when you like...Their packages are also about the most reasonably priced anywhere.As you buy direct from the author, you dont have to pay "dealer markups" or even shipping as you can download it, when you buy it... Also, if you ever have a system or flightsim is corrupted, you can always get what you purchased, in your download folder... Its always there, with FREE updates...Of course, the "bestbuy" is the Lifetime membership...Ive had one for years, and it just keeps on giving me new things every year, at no additional cost. Bpb