And every time there is a new version, we get people who complain about people disucssing it. ZZZZZZZzzzzzzz

<>Not kidding at all. Unless X has a hugely upgraded ATC capability, I will stick with 9 AT LEAST for a few months while the "pioneers" test it out.I have some GREAT aircraft in my hangar and with scenery such as VOZ...and others...a wait and see attitude regarding X seems well justified.Under the heading of "you gotta be kidding me" I would place those who are going to buy X sight unseen. But to each his/her own.Regards,Jim

Ditto that.But it depends on how good the backwards compatibility will be: if everything I need is usable in FSX as well, FS2004 will be history for me.Otherwise I'll have to stick with FS9 and wait until the first good planes for FSX will be released. FS without professional add-on planes for me is like a car without fuel -- unusable.Andreas

"hugely upgraded ATC capability" I can be fairly certain that they would have to spend more than 18 months to program AI ATC.I oughta know, we tried to program an entire ATC network before getting into the FS Addon business. We burned out every single programmer we had. The FAA has had the best minds in the country trying to crack that very problem so they could have advanced collision detection for quite sometime now and they're still at it.I think you've been around the FS block long enough that I'd suggest you look into the online flying arena. It's 10X more fun, especially when everyone's not perfect.

Hi Jeff. I have looked into on-line flying and joined VATSIM quite some time ago.In many ways, I have been very impressed. I have found the controllers to be very capable and friendly in spite of some raps to the contrary.The reason I don't fly AVSIM exclusively is because there is often no or sparse controller/aircraft activity except in certain fairly high density locations...of course depending on the time of day.In my mind, if a program like Radar Contact which provides nearly unlimited possibilities for pilot/ATC interaction could concur the "computer voice" issue, that would be a killer ap that I personally would pay hundreds of dollars to purchase.That is no disrespect to Radar Contact. They have come a long, long way over time and have tons of very satisfied users. For me...as a matter of personal taste...the voices just don't work for me.But at least theoretically, the computer voice issue could be solved by technology whereas the only "cure" for VATSIM is to have a whole lot more users so that traffic/controller density could rise considerably.Again, no disprespect to VATSIM. It is a great community that from my perspective as a 1,000+ hour INST/COMM/ME pilot, offers ultra-realistic ATC/pilot interaction with the limitation on geographic coverage and traffic density being the issues...all IMHO.Regards,Jim

Yes Jim,That is the downfall there. Unfort., no easy solution either way you go I guess.

I'll be getting FSX... because without it, my collection of every version of FS since the C64 would be incomplete. :)

Hey Ed, nice to see another one who started with FS2.0 :)I'm pre-ordering FSX this time, because last time people got their copies early ;)As for if I'll have a dual FS2004 and FSX system, fuhgeddaboudit.... I'm going to FSX immediately and am ditching FS2004 right away...Why? I am planning on doing an around the world flight in the default light aircraft with the default scenery. By the time I finish the journey, there will be enough addons for me to start specializing my flights...I started going around the world in FS2004, but work and other commitments got in the way... The most amazing flights I ever had were in Papua New Guinea... To be above the mountaintops and see a blanket of clouds caressing the mountains was spectacular. I made it from Melbourne Australia to Thailand before life got in the way...Here's an idea... When FSX comes out *try* doing something you've never done in FS before, like an around the world flight... Enjoy the sim before you start throwing in a bunch of addons...That just gave me an idea... I have to go prep an email now...

I made the full transition from FS2002 to FS9 too early, and I won't do that again. When I switched, the only addons that I had that sort-of worked were ActiveSky and PMDG 737 and it took another good 12 months before those apps started behaving properly. I'm a lot more heavily invested in addons in FS9, so unless most of them work without an update (yeah right!), I'll be running FS9 for likely the next year after FSX releases until the addons for it reach critical mass of what I have for FS9 now.Nonetheless, I'll buy FSX within the first few weeks of release, when the first price dip happens at the big stores.Gary

<>That's a cool idea. You can "take us along" with the new intergated logbook/photo feature. ;)

>That's a cool idea. You can "take us along" with the new>intergated logbook/photo feature. ;)That sounds cool Mike, can't wait to check that out.The VAs that we interact with have a rally once a year where we take turns doing legs of 100NM or more and post detailed flight reports based on the area of the flight which means some research online, which makes for some interesting reports. This seems like a neat feature that we might benefit from in this area.Regards, MichaelKDFWhttp://www.calvirair.com/mcpics/mcdcvabanner.jpgCalVirAir International

><default light aircraft with the default scenery. By the time I>finish the journey, there will be enough addons for me to>start specializing my flights...>>>>That's a cool idea. You can "take us along" with the new>intergated logbook/photo feature. ;)Mike, that is sweet, :) sounds like it will make life so much easier :)I will definitely share...I'll email you guys at tellfs ;) I have an idea for something...Okay email sent ;)