Jure, I think what you've said shows a lot of wisdom. If you are happy with what you have, then stick with it. I will confess that I have moved on to FSX Steam Edition, which is pretty much all that FSX should have been if Microsoft hadn't rushed it into the market. I find that I now do a very different kind of flying, mostly low level as the scenery is so much better than FS9, especially as I've spent a ridiculous but rewarding amount of money on Orbx products. Is there a down side? Yes. AES does not work with Steam, as well as a number of other products I loved in FS9. It takes a long time to load and out of memory (OOM) problems can occur in busy traffic areas. On the other hand, there are some breathtaking sceneries that offer experiences, especially mountain flying and extreme weather, that FS9 couldn't possibly do. There are also loads of amazing products that are not available for FS9. So pluses and minuses - like most of life....

My advice is stick with FS9 as you ease back into the hobby but don't invest money in new payware that you haven't already purchased. Enjoy what you already have. Then when FSX-SE is on sale for around $5, which happens periodically, get it and take a look. There are several demo sceneries and aircraft you can install for free just to get a feel for what is possible with it. I continued using both for about a year but have found that I haven't used FS9 in months. But it's still on my hard drive and it's quite possible I'll go down "memory lane" and enjoy some of the things only FS9 can give one of these days.

As to P3D all I can say is that is seems expensive to me and I haven't even been tempted. But the general sense seems to be that the new V4 has hit the "sweet spot" and performs better than previous versions as well as FSX and is very stable. My guess is that in a year or two, almost all new products will be for P3DV4 and eventually I might make the change.

All that matters is that you have fun. That's what this is all about

Cheers

Ian

Thank you all for your input! Much appreciated! :)

I will stay with FS9, I do have a lot of work to get everything working again but at least I know that it will work. I am getting too old for constant tweaking and setting up instead of flying. I might try something else one day but as you all say, FS9 should stay - and it will. 

I know ours is a niche hobby, but still, I am left with a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth that after the few years while I was away from simming more progress had not been made. In this turbo world of instant gratification it is to be expected, I guess. 

On the other hand I have nothing but the  utmost respect for all developers in our hobby! And FS9.... my, it was made so long ago and look at it today!? Some features have still not been bettered.

Thanks again! :)

Jure 

I've gone the FSX route, as well as P3D, however I'm still using FS9, of which I now have 4 different versions.. (Golden Wings, a Ford Tri-Motor Project install, a 'normal' install & now a 'Club' install that we all have at our Virtual club)

IMHO, FS9 just works on most PC's, without tweaking. We are also using FS9 in 2 simulators that we have built up, I just works without any fuss, AND we are using freeware scenery for South Africa that is perfect.

Just look at what is still happening with FS9... the amount of new planes still being released, especially the new Catalina's from Shessi.

The Ford Tri-Motor project even gives us ramps & circular runways. Howard's The Natural World's add-on scenery is, for me, quite essential & really enhances the sim.

So, I'll be stuck on FS9 for many years to come.. not bad for a 14 year old sim!!