Bill,

For you, if you really want realistic, then please consider XPlane 11 and Virtual Reality. (Occulus Rift or HTC Vive)

I do not know how your son would handle that, but it is really the next step up and in reality is my next step up for simming.

The world is your oyster and 2018 is potentially the best year yet for simming.

Best regards

Tony

 

Overwhelmed yet Bill? Welcome to the quicksand pit of the flight simulator and add-on world.  As you can see above folks here are very passionate about their favorite sims, which all have their pluses and minuses.

I agree with most that has been said above and just to add to your confusion I am going to throw another sim in the ring. It is called FlightSimWorld. The reason that I mention it is because it is another evolution of FSX so would be somewhat familiar to your son. I have purchased it but have not yet installed it. It and the addons for it are steam based and one of the goals of the developer was to make it easy to set up, maintain and install addons. Another reason I suggest it to consider further. The downside of FSW it that it is young and a lot of the addons you mentioned do not exist for it. It only has General Aviation aircraft at the moment so that may eliminate it as an option. It does sound like it might be the easiest for your son to get up to speed with. The flight simulation and addon world is getting more detailed and exciting, but along with it the sims and addons are getting more complicated to install and maintain. Due to the increased copyright protections and computer security functions, it is not as straight forward and easy to install and maintain addons as it was in the FS9 and early FSX days.

Welcome to the forums. If you spend any time here you will find that there are other current and retired airline pilot members among us.

Ted

Ted,  you nailed it there--it is a quicksand pit, but I have really appreciated all of the differing opinions and advice.  I am getting a better picture of things than I had when I started down this rabbit hole, so it's all good.  I have been trying to scour YouTube videos of flights on each of the latest platforms with the aircraft I'm looking for to be able to compare somewhat.

But yeah, you can really go crazy with all this stuff.  About FlightSimWorld, it really wouldn't work for my son as he really is in to the airline world about 90%...the terminals, the airports, the local scenery--it is what he likes along with seeing all of the AI traffic on the ground.  But thanks for the suggestion!

Bill

Deadbug:

I purchased a new gaming PC rig two years ago built by CyberpowerPC (thru NewEgg).  I was and still am satisfied with the rig, although it's now outdated (inherent in all PC hardware as time goes by). Though Cyberpower PC's are off the shelf in all price ranges, there are many options and upgrades available to choose from:  I also found that their telephone tech support was very helpful...   

I still use FSX-Steam, and will for the foreseeable future.  

So, good luck to you and your son...

  

UPDATE (so you know what I wound up doing--and yes I listened to and remembered all your advice...thanks!)

Well, I have now fully configured my son's new PC with a 4K Acer Predator monitor and have installed BOTH P3Dv4.1 (waiting out 4.2) AND XP11.  
P3Dv4.1 with:
orbx FTX Global, Global Vector, open LC NA, Trees HD, Northern Cal, Southern Cal, Global Airport pack, NZ South Island, Queenstown and Milford Sound Airports.
UT Live (updated AAL AI--tons of work), GSX, Better Pushback, FSDT Airports: KCLT KDFW KLAX; Flight Beam Airports: KSFO HD, KPHX; SunskyJet KPHL
FSL A320x, Milviz T-38, a few freeware ultralights and light aircraft plus all default and extra aircraft.

XP11 with:
a few tiles of limited orho4XP mesh/scenery
Aerosoft KDFW (awesome)
many libraries
freeware (IIRC) airports: KLAS KSAN KLAX KSFO KPHX
OpenSceneryX

Love both simulators--my son is really excited, but it will be difficult at first for him.  We'll have to have a lot of "dual" instruction for a while till we're both confident with his ability.
My opinion so far is both platforms as configured with the add-ons are very realistic on-screen...so much more than FSX.  The 32" 4K monitor makes it even more immersive and graphically stunning.Surprising to say this, but I think I may actually like XP11 better--it seems to run smoother, better performance and excellent graphics.  and as far as difficult operation for my son...I don't think that XPlane is more difficult to operate for him, but we'll see.
Wow, that FSL Airbus 320x on the ramp at LAX sitting still with frame rates of 17-19 from the cockpit view (23-30 external circle) made my jaw drop.  Between that very complex aircraft and equally complex airport scenery...sure seemed to bog down a bit.

Okay...just wanted to give y'all a final update; I know I don't like to see a question asked, lots of great advice given...and...the OP never gets back with closure.

Thanks again guys!

Bill

Nice update! If you want a complex A320 for XP11, keep an eye on the incoming Flight Factor A320. I have both the FF and the FSL, and I enjoy the FlightFactor more, especially due to its amazing EFB. The performance is also better on my end! I would also recommend the IXEG 737-300. Amazing immersion and sounds.

As for the plugins, you included Better Push-back in the P3D section. It is a great tool, but I believe it is only available for X-Plane. :)

Enjoy your new sims!