29 minutes ago, signmanbob said:

I would definitely go for P3Dv4.3.  It is so much better than anything previous.

Also I would get the GTX1080Ti for a graphics card.  Also a big improvement.

 

Sorry, but that is a bit over the top... the 1080Ti is a top level card for sure, but hardly required..

4 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

Sorry, but that is a bit over the top... the 1080Ti is a top level card for sure, but hardly required..

It's just the way I am Bert.  If I'm going to do something, I like to start out with the best I can get. 👌

I'd recommend you use what you've got already, and stick around Avsim for a while to get a feel for what is necessary and what is merely desirable. It will become clear enough what you can and can't live without soon enough simply by participating in the forum.

It's true that the V4 version of P3D is very nice to have, but the main reason to do so is because it is 64 Bit and so when people throw everything including the kitchen sink at it in terms of add-ons, having a 64 Bit flight simulator means it won't run out of virtual address space and thus is unlikely to crash. But if you are flying around in a simulation of a Cessna, the sim crashing owing to a lack of VAS is not a very likely prospect. It would be a different story if you said you were building a Boeing 747 simulator and flying into the very latest add-on version of JFK with full air traffic being simulated with all the graphics options turned up, but since you are not, I wouldn't worry about it.

In fact, you could go even simpler than a Cessna if you were bothered about performance and the difficulty of creating a realistic simulation, by using something with even simpler controls than a 172 (i.e. joysticks rather than yokes in the real thing), such as a Tecnam Sierra, which you can get hold of for less than ten quid:

https://www.justflight.com/product/ants-airplanes-tecnam-sierra-lsa

Or, if you even want to forgo rudder pedals, you could try this thing, the real one does not have rudder pedals either:

https://www.justflight.com/product/flysimware-ercoupe-415c

Note that both of these are not only very inexpensive, but they also both work in all the following flight sims: Flight Simulator X, FSX: Steam Edition, P3D v4, P3D v3, P3D v2, P3D v1, so if you did subsequently decide to change to P3D V4, you could still cheerfully use either of them.

But honestly, you don't need to spend vast sums of money to enjoy spending vast amounts of time with your little girl. You've already got the best add-on available - a daughter who likes to spend time sharing the joy of flying with her dad. 🙂

Edited November 7, 20187 yr by Chock

I think hardware and simulator version have been covered quite well already, you will manage on what you have but a GTX980Ti or 1080 will assist when you are running so many monitors.

As regards your existing addons:

• Ultimate Terrain X USA and Ground Environment X North America - These two are still perfectly valid and I believe have free upgrades to P3dv4, but if you want to go outside the USA I would suggest GEX Global or ORBX Global.
• SceneryTech - North America Landclass - Not sure why you have this, it does the same job as Ultimate Terrain? For landclass outside USA the most popular options are be Orbx OpenLC (and probably ORBX Vector) or Ultimate Terrain.
• Active Sky (for weather) - Still valid but if you move to P3Dv4 you will need ActiveSky for P3Dv4 (ASP4). I'm using the free FSXWX perfectly happily. These days you also have weather engines from REX but I don't know how good their's is.
• REX Essentials+ Overdrive (for the textures) - Yet again still valid and I believe P3Dv4 compatible, but REX4TD is a lot quicker to update textures.
• Traffic 360 - I fly online so cannot comment
• Carenado's C172N & C208B - Definitely get A2A's C172 or C182 they will blow your mind compared to the Carenado, they're on a whole other level.

New stuff I would suggest:

• GPS unit that is supported in virtual cockpits of aircraft you have or proposed to get, this will make exploring easier. These would be RealityXP or Flight1, I think RXP works out cheaper from memory and supports multiple simulator versions on a single licence. Both RXP and F1 come in GNS430/530 flavours which are clunky to use but have more support as they're older, and the newer touchscreen GTN650/750.
   
• You don't seem to have any terrain mesh, FreeMeshX is a must have

Edited November 7, 20187 yr by ckyliu

In my best southern accent, Thanks y'all!!!

I would LOVE to get a GTX 1080 ti but, I am sure I will have to go with a less costly short-term solution.  To that, I was thinking of getting my hands on another Gigabyte GTX970 G card and using two of them...not in SLI, just as a second GPU option.  Might be able take some of the stress off my video that way.  I do have a hope of running a 5th small monitor for my GPS...

And thanks Chock for the guidance on the need/want of all things flight sim...I think that is some very wise advice and I plan on taking it!  I have a Cessna Yoke and the Combat Rudder Pedals (I fancied myself a fighter pilot once) as well as a couple other Saitek Pro Flight Panels.  I have plans on building a couple more panels, I have a Groovy Game Gear board and a few dozen toggle switches and whatnot...but that is for a little ways down the road.  And I think the A2A C172 is on my Christmas Wishlist now!!!

ckyliu...I have no idea about the SceneryTech stuff.  I found a list of "Must Have..." addons for FSX back in 2011/12 and those three were on there as 'Best of the Best', so I got them.  I do hope I can get them upgraded...

Let me say this again, THANK YOU!  Thank you to all of you good folks who have taken the time to answer me and give me help on this Path...I look forward to bugging you all again for years to come!  😄

Tim

BTW, for what it is worth, the a2a C182 is actually a nicer airplane than the C172..