I stopped flying Flight sims for a few years, but prior to that had decades with MSFS sims. I started using Railroad sims, TS2015, but still miss flying, so I decided to give P3D a try and am downloading it now. I have a few hundred hours in C-172s, so I think if I like the way P3D runs on my PC, my first purchase will be the A2A C172. It looks pretty good from the videos they have on their site. 

You may also want to consider a2a C182 - it feels front heavy - surprisingly different from the C172.

Another item you may like is Flight1 GTN 750 v1.08c for P3D which will fit nicely in C182,C172, and Cherokee.

Your FS story is very similar to many others here, myself included. We leave and come back - lots of new developments in the works.

Cheers, Rob.

Great to have you back! Great choice on the A2A 172. It is amazing and will not disappoint.

 

Sion

Welcome back Bobsk8.  I will second everything Rob says,  A2A are fantastic. 

Well, I got P3D installed today on my middle of the road PC, i5 at 3.4 G, 6 Gig rams and GTX 750 TI and was worried about the performance compared to what I remember FS9 was like. I am amazed at how great P3D runs on my rig. No stutters, smooth as silk. When it came up, the target FPS was set at 20 and it was smooth, and since I had not adjusted anything at all, I left it that way for awhile and did some take offs and landings in FLL where I used to fly out of, with zero problems. Then I found the adjustment for the target frames and moved it to 30, and it holds 30 while I am flying around in that area using the Maule. I am delighted, and as I said, I haven't really tweaked or played with the settings, just using where it started at as far as scenery, video settings etc. Even got my Track IR working.  

 

I do have a question, I went to the A2A website to purchase the C 172 trainer. I see they have one for the Academic License which is the one I intend on getting. Right now I have the $10 a month Developer Pro version because I wanted to make  sure it worked with my PC. Will this C172 for the Academic License work with what I have now, or would I have to wait until the month is over and I purchase the Academic License?    https://a2asimulations.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=63

You could′ve just gone for the academic license from the beginning. They have a refund policy, or had at the time of my purchase at least. Each A2A bird are to be used for their respective license, so think you′ll have to wait.

 

One thing you can do to get better performance, is to alter the ″OPTIMIZE_PARTS=0″ to 1. That one gave me a smoother ride

 

 

Will this C172 for the Academic License work with what I have now, or would I have to wait until the month is over and I purchase the Academic License?

It will work fine.  You buy the A2A license that apply to your use of it.  I would not wait until the month is over, just email LM and saying that you have made up your mind and get a real license, they will refund your developer license fee.  

It will work fine.  You buy the A2A license that apply to your use of it.  I would not wait until the month is over, just email LM and saying that you have made up your mind and get a real license, they will refund your developer license fee.  

 

Thanks, I got the A2A  C 172 and it works fine. I do have one question about it, the GPS in that aircraft is not very user friendly, and I have used GPS's before. Is there any tutorial on it, or are some using an after market GPS to replace it?  

Another item you may like is Flight1 GTN 750 v1.08c for P3D which will fit nicely in C182,C172, and Cherokee.

 

At Flight1 Aviation Technologies site. It's $64.95 (P3D version) but well worth it.

 

 

I do have one question about it, the GPS in that aircraft is not very user friendly, and I have used GPS's before. Is there any tutorial on it, or are some using an after market GPS to replace it?

 

I rarely gush over a product, but the GTN 750 is definitely gush worthy and well worth the $65.  Super easy to use with so much smart functionality ... from flight plans (airways, sid, star, etc. all there to pick from), to descent calculator with smart message system, and so much more.

 

Cheers, Rob.

It's a great time to come back to FS.  Welcome back.