Matt2218

I installed FSX a long time ago (in Windows 7) before I read about installing it in a different location...to avoid permissions issues I modified the 'security' properties for the folder "Microsoft Flight Simulator X", basically giving "full control" to everyone/thing that I could. Seems to have resolved the security issues (ie inability to edit aircraft.cfg etc.) that I was having at that time. Might help for Windows 8.1 also? Here are some specific instructions that Kyle posted on here three years ago: "The best fix is to navigate to the Microsoft Games folder (don't open it, just navigate to the Program Files folder that contains it) and right click on it. Select Properties. In the Properties pane, click on the Security tab, and then click on Users and Edit. In that Edit panel, select the option Full Control. From now on, everything in that folder will be run with admin-level rights."

One thing I did to make life easier was assign keys (via PMDG options) on my number pad for autopilot functions: 1 and 7 = Speed decrease and increase 2 and 8 = Vertical Speed down and up 3 and 9 = Altitude decrease and increase 4 and 6 = Change heading bug left and right

Here's a thread that might help... http://forum.avsim.net/topic/360706-ngx-fsx-crash-on-exit-poll/

Roger - I don't have Photo X, but with photoshop it's as simple as copying & pasting the alpha info into that channel. Good luck!

Mark; I used to use DXTBMP for compiling my final textures, but have since found the completely free and legal Photoshop CS2 version and never looked back. With the NVIDIA plugin installed, you can save your work directly as dxt5 .dds with the correct alpha in place. For anybody out there wrestling with the NGX kit, the link I used to download CS2 is below (includes valid serial keys): http://www.techspot.com/downloads/3689-adobe-photoshop-cs2.html Just make sure you don't click the multitude of bogus download buttons on that page, what you want to click is this (starts a 340MB download): http://www.techspot.com/downloads.php?action=download_now&id=3689&evp=87891a21479434ff268a84747f5f653c&file=1 The NVIDIA plugin can be found here: https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop I never use GIMP now, and barely ever need DXTBMP.

Definitely check out the fuel status page on the EICAS...really helps you understand what is going on when you flip the switches!

I took a fresh cut on the AA 744, but this time painted it at twice the normal resolution (2048 textures). Had to do some upgrade work on the paint kit (door frames, windows, decals, static ports etc... With RR engines: Closeup with PW4000s: Nose: Night textures:

Thanks Randy...same here!

Well, I wasn't entirely happy with how the 748 paint came out so I took another shot at it...redid the tail from scratch and went with a 'billboard' for the "American" the way it is done on the 777s...I think it came out pretty nice. Also did a 748 in United's newest colors since I couldn't find one online...

Can't help you there since I don't have the Maddog. The AA paints are finished and have been uploaded to Flightsim and Avsim. Enjoy!

744 and 748 in progress...

I know a lot of people don't like the new American Airlines livery, but I think it looks OK on the 744! I've got a few edits I want to make and am working on a 747-8i also.

My advice on learning to hand fly would be to just get out there and practice flying around...maintain altitude and vary speed. Set pitch, power and flaps and practice descending at a controlled rate. Then when you can make the aircraft fly a controlled descent profile add a runway and try to hit it. Once you can consistently hit the touchdown zone on the VASI/PAPI, work on perfecting your flare and touchdown. Don't even bother setting the ILS etc. until you've mastered flying by pitch/power/view out the windscreen, it's just a distraction.

I understand what you are saying, Jan...I've done a fair amount of painting and tweaking of Flightsim projects over the past few years (nothing at all approaching the quality of your Flightsim career of course!) but now I'm totally burned out. And once the enjoyment is gone the quality goes away too so better to quit while you are ahead. I hope you have found something else you like to do!

Richard, check out this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01vhkgeMWfY At :22 it shows a Western Airlines DC-3, and at 2:05 it shows a United Mainliner. Both have their doors on the right side, so MAAM's passenger model is accurate, at least for those airlines.I'm not a DC-3 expert by any stretch, but many airlines flew converted military C-47s which had the doors on the left side.

As far as I understand it, only some of the models have working switches in the VC. It is not a bug, it's just that some of the models are better than others.

This is a "hole" in the model. No way for the user to fix it. See page 57-58 of the manual to learn how to enable 'easy steering' in the aircraft.cfg file.

Sure...here goes:Anti-Aliasing: 8x, Box Filter (nothing else checked)Anisotropic Filtering: 16XTesselation: "AMD Optimized" checkedCatalyst AI: Quality (middle setting), "Enable Surface Format Optimization" checkedAnti-Aliasing Mode: Quality (far right setting)OpenGL Settings: "Triple Buffering" checkedI think I have the AMD Overdrive enabled but haven't dug into that much.My FSX settings are:Target Frame Rate Unlimited1920x1080x32Anisotropic Filtering"AntiAliasing" CheckedTexture resolution very highLens Flare & Advanced Animations onLOD radius LargeMesh complexity 75Mesh resolution 38MTexture resolution 1MWater Effects High 2.xScenery complexity Extremely DenseAutogen density NormalCloud Coverage medium / draw distance 60miRunning Ultimate Traffic 2I adjust the scenery and weather settings higher sometimes when I'm out away from the big city airports.I also ran Bojote's FSX tweak website (http://www.venetubo.com/fsx.html) to build a custom FSX.cfg, so I've got a bunch of tweaks there that are helping me a lot. I've also got his Shader3.0 mod installed, and I'm running an external frame rate limiter set to '30'. I add these details because Bojote's stuff seems to have helped my rig run much more smoothly. Places like JFK are still kind of choppy when turning or looking out the side window (still very flyable on takeoff or approach though), but just about everywhere I get 15-30 smooth FPS. I had been getting a lot of stuttering and 'popping' before the tweaks but that has all gone away. I think the Frame Rate Limiter has really been key to stopping the stuttering and pops. I'm using FPS_limiter.exe (wish I could remember where I got it!).For what it's worth, here is the custom VC camera definition I use in the PMDG 744:[CameraDefinition.005]Title = "Virtual Cockpit Mod"Guid = {C95EAB58-9E4A-4E2A-A34C-D8D9D948F079}Description = Modified virtual cockpit viewOrigin = Virtual CockpitMomentumEffect = NoSnapPbhAdjust = SwivelSnapPbhReturn = FalsePanPbhAdjust = SwivelPanPbhReturn = FalseTrack = NoneShowAxis = YESAllowZoom = TRUEInitialZoom = 0.4SmoothZoomTime = 2.0ZoomPanScalar = 1.0ShowWeather = YesXyzAdjust = TRUEShowLensFlare=FALSECategory = CockpitPitchPanRate=30HeadingPanRate=75PanAcceleratorTime=0HotKeySelect=1InitialPbh=16.7,0,0

Here's Mark's latest...if the font isn't right on these then I don't know! Good luck...FS9:http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=158948FSX:http://library.avsim.net/download.php?DLID=157514

The thread you responded to was from July 2010...Mark updated this paint after N127UA actually flew. Both FS9 and FSX versions are on AVSIM.

Your English is great!Thanks and good job on the panels.

What you are experiencing makes sense to me. Relatively low takeoff weight in the 744 vs. a probably well-loaded and derated 757 or 767 takeoff...

Do you have the default FSX Turbulence / Thermal Effects diabled? I found that enabling those messed up my PMDG 744, even with FSUIPC wind smoothing set...

Good morning all (Happy Fathers' Day...)I stumbled across something yesterday that might be helpful for those having autopilot problems...Until yesterday, I've been flying the PMDG 744 in FSX with absolutely no issues...using default weather and FSUIPC wind smoothing 'just in case'.For whatever reason I decided to turn ON the FSX turbulence/thermal effects...flight was normal until my final descent over the ocean. Autopilot stopped steering properly (in HDG SEL mode), and in fact started banking extremely away from the desired heading.Here's where it gets interesting: even after I turned the AP off, the aircraft responded very poorly to the controls - really noticeable since I hand-fly most of the time at low altitudes.I turned off the turbulence/thermal effects and it was rock solid again.

Update:I calibrated my controller using the registered version of FSUIPC, and also eliminated the small 'null zones' I'd had in my FSX brake axes and the problem seems to have been solved. Worked this afternoon regardless of when I set the autobrakes (before or after gear down). Hopefully the fix will be permanent.