Chris Wright

g'day steve...a quick reply that probably won't go far enough! :)my machine is coming up on 24months old and for most places, i get frames similar to yours on-line. i have a ch yoke and pedals, trackir and a second monitor running, but that's about it on the hardware front.all the connection software for vatsim (and ivao if you want to try alternatives) is free to download and use so that's a bonus - no cost associated with giving it a bash!weather proggies (eg. activesky) have options to download weather in a variety of forms - activesky specifically has an option to take the vatsim weather feed as it's source. vatsim weather is GENERALLY about an hour or so behind the real world (at least it is in my part of the world) and so i can't say it offers an insurmountable issue. sometimes (like lots of things on the net) the feeds can go up the spout (ie be a couple of days out of date) but that's not the norm - and you MIGHT argue that adds another stochastic planning factor to the sim!if you want to get a feel for what to expect, an option might be to go and sign up on vatsim (to get an id and password), then download the controller client (vrc is the easiest to use but asrc is also an alternative) and just run it in scope (you can hook it up through your fs and set up tower views but you don't have to do this to connect) - connect as an observer (see the doco, it's easy to set up and connect) and have a listen at somewhere busy and get a feel for what you might expect.you can maybe then guage if it sounds like it's for you or not.the technicalities of your set up are outside my range of skills to comment (rudimentary user here :D ) so i'll leave that for others.get vrc by going to the vatsim page and follow the 'controller resources' on the left hand menu. also, get servinfo and configure it for vatsim so you can see if it's busy when you plan to connect and have a shufti (there's a link somewhere on the vatsim site or just google for it).hth

steve...to connect to vatsim, you need one of two pilot clients (squawkbox3 or fsinn, the latter ALSO operates with fsx as well as fs9 i believe - i use the former) - both are available free on the vatsim home page (link below) on the left hand menu under 'pilot resources').both clients add a little overhead so will impact frames a little - the bigger impact comes when conecting to a multiplayer session (ie. when you log onto vatsim) - that will generally impact frames too but the hit depends on your pc and where you've stuck the sliders in fs. in sb3 (and i assume in fsinn too) there are some options that can ameliorate the frames impact - lhr is always a killer due to the detail of the scenery (with or without add-ons), including the city itself, as well as the on-line traffic hit.you tweak to suit conditions - personally, i like a bit of eye-candy at airports and shut down a good deal of autogen which you don't see in detail at higher levels. i don't bother with shadows from ground objects. your choice!add-on a/c tend to hit frames a little more than default a/c (on or off line) - the queen is already frame friendly (or at least more than some are) - it's a grand platform for cruising the virtual world on-line.the upside of vatsim (or ivao if your prefer an alternative) is you get real folk controlling you and real folk driving the local traffic. you'll generally get the right accents and the right variations in local flying rules as you fly in different parts of the world - eg. metric flight levels over the ukraine and russia, variations in transition alt, special conditions at various airports (like the lhr preferential runways noted above and curfew ops after 11pm local at syd). get sids/stars, non-precision and visual approaches, stuff to study up on when going to a new area, etc. it's generally a more immersing experience.the downside maybe that you log on at a quiet time and get no control or little traffic (but if you're in the right place at the right time, you'll be number 6 in the hold at lam vor inbound lhr). you can also come across very inexperienced new folk who just hop on and do no preparatory reading and can't follow a procedure as they have no idea what they are nor how to fly their kite - the bigger ports like lhr seem to attract more than their fair share of those types!i've never had an issue with my equipment when flying on-line in relation to threats such as viruses, etc. use common sense - use a firewall, anti-virus software, windows defender or other spy-ware watcher-outerer and don't cruise dangerous/questionable sites.i started with vatsim about five years ago - i can't fly off-line as a result, and haven't done since receiving my first on-line clearance. whatever the frames hit, it's worth it. do it! http://vatsim.net/

i read the same problem on another forum recently...the issue i recall was the mixture lever, if moved, caused engine shut down. the solution was to remap the ch pro mixture axis to some other function and the issue was overcome.hth!

of course, there are some parts of the world not covered by the faa and the navigraph team make fixes to world-wide data that appear in even numbered cycles as well as the odd ones.my view is update every cycle, as the cost is really quite minimal, even on a tight budget.

that'll teach me for not getting across the ditch so much :)cheers steve!

...and to add to the soup...oz is 10,000' (not 11) - it's 11,000' across the ditch in nz.

carl...there's a couple of paints available in the avsim library:. fictional union flag tail - pmdg_747-400f_ba_cargo.zip. historical chelsea rose tail - british_airways_world_cargo_186791.zipba get their bigger cargo hauled by global supply systems these days (there's a gss livery available from the pmdg site) and the smaller stuff in the standard pallets carried underneath paying pax on the passenger fleet.

'g'day michael' - ooops - 'g'day johannes':)

g'day michael...did you move the doors through open or close before powering up the flight deck (ie. using a keyboard combination)?i did this recently and ended up with the same issue - it appeared to mess up the logic on the eicas doors monitor and i couldn't replicate the warning if i 'put the keys in the ignition' first.hth!

arturo...very strange - installed with mine (check your hard disc and see if it was installed in the pmdg folders (either in the fs9 aircraftpmdg 747 or fs9pmdg folders - can't recall the location i'm at work).the manual (including checklists, etc.) is available directly from the pmdg downloadsother downloadsdoco web page.hth!

navid...have you got the option for external power turned on (pmdg menu, under 'general' somewhere i think - doing this from memory at work).

the web site is accessible again from my end now (i wasn't offline in the browser either btw!).support the 'just a feature of the net' theory?!

well i'm down in oz and hifi site is not found for me either.you were accessible earlier today but not any more.hth!

buck...there are savings to be had by getting current charts on-line elsewhere too - the faa aren't the only ones who have mastered the technology!many countries allow free access to their aip's (air services oz, caanz, nats (uk), etc.).they're easy to google (or whatever you search with) and/or many are linked from the various on-line flying networks' (and/or their regions) websites.so you can in many instances save even more of your navigraph credits for the airacs.

g'day from oz...searched the forums for earlier info/posts on this and drawn a blank.on some of the rnav approaches avaliable for oz aerodromes, the b737 (6,7,8 and 9 models) fmc legs page will not permit a spd to be entered that is less than 150kias at the FAF. this may be (often is!) quite a bit in excess of the ideal Vref+5 spd you'd want to enter for the FAF.this happens inconsistently with rnav procedures at different aerodromes. an example is adelaide - the rnav procedure for ypad works perfectly for rwy 05 (any of the three transitions) but for rwy 23, it is not possible to enter a spd less than 150kias at the FAF (Vref+5 of < 150kias can be entered for the MAP). the most up-to-date set of oz procedure files (including the ypad example) is available at merv archer's site http://www.austscene.com/ (merv keeps 'em up to date with the air services oz airacs - other procedures files (eg. richard s's navdata) can be (are!) often quite out of date for destinations oz.it's not a case of the procedure file having invalid code in it either as far as i can tell - the syntax for the approaches causing problems are fine when compared to those that work perfectly (i've written a couple of rnav approaches and they work fine - ie. i have enough knowledge of the syntax to recognise that the procedures are spec'd correctly).it's also not my particular set up - there's a group of guys in the same va and we all consistently have problems with the same set approaches at the same locations.is this a known problem? is there a way around it?have i provided enough background info?cheerschristophelloperthutc+8

g'day...first time poster, long time user.just purchased the b757 package today.i've seen at least one mention of a panel utility (eg. http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=15282&page= ).i've been through the doco and searched the newly installed folders and shortcuts - where's it hidden?! (or is it just a rumour?)cheersChris WrightOz, UTC+8