Ghost

galfed,

Thanks for the information. I am new to FSX and still have a lot to learn and a lot to configure, this information will help.

I am presently working to configure both Xplane and FSX so that I can compare them

The Flight1 172N is actually quite good, and the panel layout can be changed if you like a different set of avionics.

Another option which works for me, is to equip the default 172 with Metzger's or RealAir's flight model, and add RealityXP gauges for the "six pack" - adds up to a nice aircraft simulation..

Bert,

Thanks.. I'll give both options a try.

One thing to note. FS can produce bad habits for your real flying.

Over the years I've used fs for good things like checklist flows, preflying a route for VFR flight, and in conjunction with flight planning for sectionals and E6B calcs.

Ryan,

Thanks for the feedback and I'll watch out for the bad habits. I had planned on using it for all the same items that you mentioend above. Just looking for a way to improve my skills on items such as navaigation, altitude and heading control, cockpit management. Basically learning to think ahead so that I stay ahead of the plane   

I will look into the xplane demo. Also, are there good directions on how to merge the realair and hte carenado models?

Have you considered xplane? Their default c172 needs FDE tweaking too but it could be another option.

Don't know anything about Xplane yet. Would you recommend I try it before digging deeper into the C172 with FSX?

Hello All,

I recently received my PPL back in Oct 2012. All of my training was in a C172N. Due to the high cost of flying the real aircraft I am looking to suplement my experience with flight sims. I have been experimenting with FSX the past few weeks but have not been impressed so far. I have the Saitek/Cessna yoke, pedals and TPM and know there is a lot that I need to do to improve on the out of the box FSX installation. I have been reading a lot on the forums about things like AccuFeel and also getting addons for weather and scenery and will be experimenting with those. Some of my problems may just be in how I have things setup. I am willing to due the research but would appreciate some guidance from the experts.

My first quest is to get a C172 model that handles as close as possible to the C172N that I used during training. I read that there are several different ways to improve the C172 such as adding in portions of the "Real Air C172" into the default C172 and also waiting for the ASA or Real Air C172 models to be released.

Is my goal feasible? If so, can someone recommend or point me to information to help my quest?

Thanks..