Hi folks...after being away from flying for 2 years im now back and using FSX on an old single core p4 3.06 gigger with 2 gig memory and a Gforce7800 on AGP (hehe!)......ive had my eye on the Saratoga IITC from FSD lately but have held off due to fps performance concerns on this older machine.Im currently running both the Dreamfleet Dakota and the Digital Aviation's Cheyenne X without too much of a hit...both are flyable for me. I'm curious to know if any of you who have the FSD plane might be able to comment on how you think its fps performance compares to the other 2 planes ive mentioned here?...does it run slower than the others?...about the same, or better...whatya think?...speaking of FSD i just noticed their site is down?anyway thanks for any opinionsDave

Hi Dave,I have the FSD Saratoga and enjoy it thoroughly on my older AMD single core XP system with a 7600GS . I do not use the glass panels (even on the default planes) because of the fps hit. I have a couple issues with clicking the VC, but everything is workable. You also have to haul back seriously on the yoke in turns to keep from falling out of the sky. I have time in a Cherokee Six and I don't recall that. After you fly it a while you'll see a couple of other anomalies, but they are all pretty minor. Nothing as serious as the aileron on the default Maule.It is my main plane. I even made a repaint for it available over at flightsim in the original 1965 red paint scheme of the Six. Yes, the FSD site is down at the moment for me also. That is pretty rare.Ben

thank you, Ben...do you own either of the other 2 planes i mentioned...if so how do you feel it compares with them as far as frames, better or worse in a nutshell?

Depending on how willing you are to wait you might want to consider holding out for the fully SP-2 compliant version. I'm currently working on converting & upgrading the Seneca, and my guess is that I will also get the Saratoga to do since there is some commonality between the two airframes. The reason I suggest you might want to wait is that I am fairly certain that the full FSX SP-2 version will not be a free upgrade.

>Depending on how willing you are to wait you might want to>consider holding out for the fully SP-2 compliant version. I'm>currently working on converting & upgrading the Seneca, and my>guess is that I will also get the Saratoga to do since there>is some commonality between the two airframes. The reason I>suggest you might want to wait is that I am fairly certain>that the full FSX SP-2 version will not be a free upgrade.>>thanks for the tip, it seems all my old fsd planes from 2004 have to paid for again to get them into fsx at this point...so to buy now for fsx and then have to pay again for a true fsx version doesnt seem fair at all, so i will take you up on that waiting advice for sure...I cant thank you enough for saving me the aggravation as i didnt realize the saratoga was not a true fsx model as it didnt state that where i could easily see it on the website!Thanks again...looking forward to the newer version in the coming months ahead.

I think that as long as you have the FS9 version (and key) you should be able to get the FSX installer for free. Just realize that it's the FS9 model adjusted to work in FSX SP-1. From the FSD site... "If you own our Piper Saratoga, Cessna 337, Cessna 02A, Pilatus Porter version 2, Piper Navajo version2 or Piper Seneca V version 2, your aircraft is supported for FS X. Special installers are already available that will install custom FS X file sets properly into the new version of the simulator. You can access download link utility programs for these titles from our Files & Installation page."Oh, and the site is working again...