romanus

I use a few free airports, and then try and find an afcad for those I may fly into. And I also have the Zinertek Airport Environment for when in FS9(yes, I fly both). But I got into the trap where I spent more time tinkering than flying. But that's my inability to leave well enough alone. I am enjoying a lot of GA flying around the area I live, so I only really worry about airports and traffic in that area. FSX is a lot more enjoyable now that I am focusing on just flying. Most of the time I don't notice the airports all that much. As long as there is traffic, the immersion is perfect for me.

I fly default on occasion in both FS9 and FSX. Love the Ford Trimotor, Cessnas, Maule, DC3s, and the FSX jetliners are just fine. For me, FS9 and FSX are aviation simulators. I get to play airline pilot, cargo pilot, bush pilot, and with FS9 Golden Wings/Cal Classics, I fly in the 1930s/40s era. The default planes definitely have their place in my FS universe.

I use torrents to trade old time radio shows. It's a digital offshoot of the people who used to trade cassettes, Vinyl and other media containing these old shows. Most of these are abandoned by the networks, or their trading is allowed by those who do, like the old CBS Radio Mystery Theater from the 70s. We just arent allowed to sell them. I see a lot of things on these sites and am never shocked. I got to beta test a PC game that I know had a very VERY small user base, and it even showed up on 'the site'. I think the people who do pirate things would think differently if they were trying to make a living on something and it showed up for free. Im a 3D modeler and am still trying to figure out how so many people can afford Maya, 3DS max and Cinema4D to do hobbyist modeling. Especially those who say they 'use all three'. Thousands of dollars right there. I use Blender.....it's what I can afford. Same with FSX....i'm a freeware junky.

I still use it in both FS9 and FSX(yes, I use both, didnt have to make the hard choice). Default is fine, not awesome but serves the purpose. Sometimes, i dont use any at all.

Two sites to find VAshttp://www.va-list.com/Andhttp://vaflash.com/

No, you're just realistic, as I am. I am not necessarily young, but my kids are(and wife too, in case she ever reads this). I cant fly the long flights, in fact, the longest that I can handle is about an hour. I salute those that can sit and fly for hours on end, but it isn't something all of us can do. And I would roll my eyes at people who give grief to those who don't fly the way they do. As for finding a VA that allows accel, I would say keep trying. Personally, im not sure why a VA wouldn't allow someone to join, as long as they were up front about needing to speed things up, unless it's hard to keep track of that sort of thing. And I understand not wanting to credit them the same amount of hours as a pilot who does the whole flight in 1x.Anyway, good luck finding a VA, and no, you aren't alone.

Its a great plane, I fly it a lot. I think the most recent versions streamlined everything for the install.

I use the free VOZ 1.8 scenery for Australia. Best out there for that area, for FS9 anyway.

Definately go to Avsim or Flightsim.com and search the library for 'paint kit' or 'paintkit' plus whatever plane you are using. All of the Project Opensky or Posky planes have paintkits, same for the airbus models from IFDG and Project Airbus. Also the SGA, Tin Mouse, and Kitty Hawk planes. Im an avid paint kit hoarder myself, so if you have any trouble finding any, let me know.

I delete my default aircraft, except for the DC3, Cub, Trimotor and Cessnas. I dont fly the other ones or use them for AI. It's a personal choice obviously, and shouldnt be done unless you are comfortable with setting up addon planes to work around any dependencies on the defaults.

Whenever I see this plane, i think 'Baby Hercules'. Great looking plane though.

Cant go wrong with any of the above suggestions, especially the Eaglesoft birds. I do second the AFG Kingair, great freeware plane.

Hmm....not too sure about that. Is the 15 year old whose daddy bought him the PMDG MD-11 a more professional flyer than the 46 year old working man who cant afford it so he flys a freeware version? Why cant freeware alternatives for the fleet be an option? I've always wondered why some VAs restrict members to payware planes. Many peoples PCs just cant handle them, and some pilots fly their flights in a very proper manner, without having to flick and click every button in sight. Im not knocking you guys or your ideas, just think that you might miss out on some good pilots if you have too many restrictions. The Vatsim requirement will weed out a lot of guys, so further restrictions could limit potential members.Good luck on the venture.

I was impressed with the X-Plane demo, but the long load times, and honestly, the very nice but generic scenery just doesnt cut it. In FS9 I can fly from the Mach1DG KLAS to shez KLGB, and it looks like Vegas and Long Beach. Commercial flight, GA, whatever. Lots of planes with great externals, detailed panels, tons of AI traffic around me, I couldnt get that kind of immersion in X-Plane. Something else i've been wondering about is flight model. The smallest plane I have ever flown on was a Grumman C-2 Greyhound, so I have no experience in Cessnas or Beech. The XP flight model feels like the plane is a christmas ornament, dangling from a string. Im not anti XP, I would buy it if it was under $40 just because I want to support Flight Sim Developers. But, I wont buy it at $80. I will buy Flight as long as it's a more reasonable price. I already have FSX, just waiting for when I have a PC that can handle it better.

Love the 188, and thats a great livery. Awesome shot.

Something I do a lot, is use a program called Destination Finder. Ver 1.1 is here at Avsim and 2.0 is at Flightsim.com, either works just fine.You can choose a start airport and generate a list of nearby airports using a set distance. I usually choose 150 to 250 miles depending on the aircraft. Im not good for more than an hour either, so short flights let me get my fix in.

Speaking of Kentucky, I would love to see a developer tackle some of the smaller airports around the country, like Bowman Field. Such a great airport with the art deco terminal and its rich history. Also, Orlando Executive, etc. Always wondered about that. So many large commercial/international airports released, but it seems that there are tons of GA flyers using FS9/X.

I have both FS9 and FSX installed. FS9 is my main sim, because it can give me everything I want at good frames. FSX cant on my current rig, but when I get a new rig someday, I get to start from scratch with FSX and all that is out there, so it will be a new sim for me. I will buy Flight, if it is a continuation of what we have, and not some limited gamey nonsense. X-Plane almost had me, but the long load times, generic graphics and ridiculous price have nixed it.

Why not just install and try, you can always uninstall if you dont like it. Most of the freeware addons are like anything else, you can make them as complex as you want. Im not a heavy button clicker, so I keep things fairly simple, whether its a Cessna or 747. But to each his own. Some guys take the "simulation' part seriously, and I think thats awesome.Some of the russian(Soviet) planes you will find dont have english text in the cockpit, so that adds a bit to the difficulty. Realistic I assume, but tough for monolingual folks like me :-)I've tried most of those suggested already, I fully second all of them.

X-Plane lookin good!

Miami to Key West is always nice....I fly it a lot now when trying out new planes.

Im getting the pausing also. I've been playing with settings, and will continue to, hope to find out what might be the cause.

Blueprint KMEM is pretty nice, I like it. My mistake is landing when it seems all the birds are on the ground, frames take a hit. Not a scenery problem, just bad timing on my part :-)

I appreciate Mikes review. I've been a gamer since the 80s, so I am well aware of what a beta is, and to not get too worked up over Beta issues. However, an early review by someone of a Beta, gives me a heads up on things to look for. Im capable of deciding for myself if the issues are anything to worry about.Ive tried VP9, and it didnt do it for me, neither does FSX. So, im still an FS9 guy. If the torrent ever finishes, I will try XP10 and give my quick review of the Beta.

I remember when playing a PC game meant having 3 or more 5 14 floppies handy for when the game asked for them, so it could play a cut scene :-)I always purchase the software I want, but absolutely find ways around using the CD. I install the software and store the DVDCD. When a game can be bought digitally, I do that, but avoid anything with DRM that requires a connection. So yes, I dont play a lot of games anymore.And no, it isnt a problem to drop a disk in the drive to play a game, I just dont want to bother. I have 3D modeling/graphic software thats far more expensive than any game, and I dont need a disk for those. I guess im just spoiled, but I dont like dealing with disks beyond whats necessary to install something.