Hi Guys, First of all I want to say thanks for having me here as it isa really superb site! I do have a question that you might helpme with. I bought a copy of flight sim FSX about 6 months ago which Ireally enjoy playing. I also have just started getting PCPilot Mag which helps newbies like me understand the basicsetc and the flight software that comes with it. However Ialso have acquired some flights from E Mule and between PCPilot and E Mule IM not sure how to load it into my FSXapplication correctly and a bit fearful that I might dodamage to the overall package. I notice when I open the ZIPfiles from download sources that the file extensions are allquite different from the standard ones I

First of all, welcome to flight simming,a great hobby. I am not sure what you mean by "flights?" Are you referring to missions or flight plans? I have never tried the missions, however, I believe there is a mission folder in the main FSX folder. It is usually located under Program files/Microsoft games. Flight plans go in a different folder. I believe it is found in the Applications folder group folder. I apologize of being a bit unsure. I am not at my flight sim computer and can't check. Aircraft are located under the Sim Objects folder in FSX. You will find folders for aircraft, helos, birds, cars, etc. If there are any special effects with the plane they will need to be moved to the Effects folder. Unlike FS-2004, gauges can be left in the Panel folder of the planeI bet that if you look through PC Pilot, you will find a place where they describe how to load different files into FSX. Zip files can be unzipped by XP or a zip file program. I hope this helps get you started.

KittyHawk - you don't mention if you are running FSX on XP or Vista. The folder locations are slightly different on the two systems and can be confusing for newbies - especially in Vista which tends to not to show files & folders in Explorer if it thinks you should not be messing around with them :>(My advice is:1. Make sure you have a good virus detection program if downloading files from the Internet. You want to fly - not rebuild your PC because a virus cr*pp*d all over it.2. Make sure what you are downloading is for FSX. Files made for previous versions (e.g. FS9 - otherwise known as FS 2004) generally work, but not always (this includes scenery, aircraft, flight plans & more). It will be very frustrating for you as at this stage in your FS "education" you won't know if it is a problem with the file or something you did wrong. :<(Files made for other flight sims won't work. If you're seeing significant differences in file types than what you are seeing in FSX, double check that those files were designed for Microsoft's flight simulator.3. Copy the files to a temporary folder first before moving the files to their final destination in FSX folders. Make sure if extracting from a zip file that you extract using the "use folder names' option to ensure you retain the folder structure of the files (if contained in the zip file - but not all zipped files will have this - it depends on the type of thing you are downloading).Make a record of what changes you made. It will help tremendously if, one week later, something odd happens in FSX. You can simply refer to your notes & reverse your changes to see if the add-on is the culprit of the oddity4. Spend some time looking at the FSX folder structure & what's in them. The folder names are pretty self explanatory & there is a logic that should become apparent to you :>)5. Compare your downloaded files/folders with FSX default files/folders for the same type of object (aircraft, scenery, missions, flights, sounds, panels, gauges, etc.) It should not take you too long to figure out what each file does & where it goes.Some files - such as those with a .cfg extension - can be opened in notepad. Open them up & have a look - and you'll start to understand what each file of these files does.6. If downloading from AvSim, the creators are usually very good at explaining what goes where in the readme files that are included in the zip download.7. If installing from a CD that came with a magazines be extra careful - sometimes they include spyware, malware & other types of obnoxious adware that has nothing to do with FSX.8. If you bought the FSX deluxe version, install the SDK. It has some good documentation that will help you better understand FSX, even if you never get round to designing aircraft, scenery or missions yourself - though I have a sneaky feeling that you'll get hooked on this aspect of simming too!Hope this helps,- regards, SkyDrift

Thanks John! Yes I think I need to get a back number or two of PC Pilot once I find which one has theae details in it.Thanks again!Kieran

Thanks so much SkyDrift for taking time out to respond so well to my query which is very helpful. I am running FSX Delux on XP so should be easier that vista as you suggested.Thanks againKieran