I've been involved in flight simulation since about 1984 when I first got Sublogic's flight simulator for my Commodore 64, and I still marvel at how far this hobby has come.  Much of the advancement in flight simulation has come from the commercial side of things, i.e. the payware flight simulation software developers, aircraft developers, scenery developers, etc., and we should all be grateful for these folks, otherwise our hobby would have stalled years ago.

Having said all that, I think it's about time that we express some gratitude to the many freeware developers out there who devote so much of their time and effort to make our hobby richer and better and never ask to be compensated for their work.  This also includes commercial developers who offer some of their products at no charge.

I see so many posts on AVSIM praising and thanking payware developers and their products, and in many cases they do indeed deserve praise, but I see few if any posts praising the freeware guys.  Just imagine for a moment if we had to purchase each and every aircraft repaint, airport afcad, ai traffic flightplan, ai aircraft repaint, etc. that we can instead download for free at the AVSIM file library thanks to the hard work of someone who does this for reasons other than monetary gain.

So I'd like to take this opportunity to say "Thank you" to all the freeware developers out there.  Please keep doing what your doing and know that we really appreciate you.

Dave

 

Here, here! They are artists for sure.

Before most stick to the payware, I think everyone starts with freeware. It keeps the interest and hobby going.

I too second the notion that we can never thank or ever show enough appreciation to the hundreds of freeware developers out there for the countless hours each one of them has spent designing aircraft, panels, scenery, etc. for our little hobby.  

I also started around 1985 with MS FS1 and then FS2, going to on purchase most of the Microsoft FS releases over the years, including a number other non-MS flight sims.  It was only when I retired did I actually go on a buying spree of payware.  

So again, freeware uploaders, I salute you!

 

 

Dave,

Couldn't have said it better myself. Indeed the freeware guys have supplied our hobby with some brilliant software over the years, I do hope their interest continues. Sometimes freeware can inspire people with similar creativity to contribute to our great hobby, often a launching pad to commercial development for some. Our hobby is more a learning experience which forces us to engage ourselves more in the total experience, beyond just the scenery aircraft, utilities & modifications, and general flying / sight seeing, but the upgrade path and hardware we use to get a better experience.

I have downloaded many a freeware since FS95-FS98-FS2004-FSX, a journey of discovery for sure. I remember when I first took up Flight Simming,  then not long after discovered AVSIM and other freeware sites, to my amazement found some freeware aircraft and sceneries, and some identities (Devs) I have come to admire for their skill and vision. I could not believe people could produce such things for free, but soon understood that it comes from a place not many Non-flightsim enthusiasts would understand, generosity has its own rewards.
Then with FS2004 bought a PC mag with (Vista Australis Freeware - VOZ 0.99 DVD) disk also had some freeware aircraft, I was hooked and still am to this day, even followed the VOZ guys through to Orbx and the wonder of Payware.......  Our hobby has had a long history where we learn, develop and share the love of all things FS.  I think that is why the Flightsim franchise has survived longer than most.

Here, Here! for the freeware guys, much respect!

Great stuff guys!  To add, members should check out the AVSIM Freeware Forums.

Best regards,

Jim

I enjoyed creating Landclass Assistant for our community.  Giving it away was easy, I made it based on contributions from forum members.  I was amazed that it worked for FS2002, FS9 and FSX.  Nowadays we use photoreal scenery so Landclass Assistant has become obsolete, but it was a great tool to work with and give to our community.  I have freeware from many authors, it is great how our community came together to enhance the simulators.  I also released a trike for FS9, it was my pet project and the only aircraft I modeled from scratch.  I made the flight dynamics as close to the real experience as possible and I would reverse the axis on my joystick to simulate movement of the control bar.  Maybe one day I will own a trike, they are fun to fly!

John