Need of Assist Installing Freeware Aircraft

Hello all,

Well I'm not totally new to this I've had FSX for some time now but haven't played in a while. Just got the Steam edition. I am also having issues. Which is what brings mw here to this lovely forum. I've been trying, for the first time, to download and install freeware aircraft. I get the downloads just fine. Have three downloaded now . I just can't, for the life of me, get them to install. They all have installer packages with them. Adobe air installer I think. But when I click on that package it always says that the installer is damaged. Can anyone here tell me what the h3ll I'm doing wrong. I've even tried to drag and drop the files into C:............steamapps/common/fsx/simobjects/aircraft .......and nothing when I go to freeflight to look for them. Any help is much appreciated!

DO NOT double-click on those Brown Adobe air installers! Because you have Adobe Air on your computer, like I have, those are your .air files and not installers. Once you have the aircraft folder that contains the model folder, panel folder,.air file, sound folder, texture folder, and aircraft.cfg plus other mish-mash, just install that into SimObjects/Airplanes.

If there are separate Effects and Gauges folders, then open those and copy and paste those in to FSX/Effects folder and FSX/Gauges folder.

What exact downloads did you try? They may have panel folders that alias aircraft you do not have. They will not show in your Sim.

Hi ammovet,

There are different ways in which addons are packaged. So it's not easy to give general advice.

Give the names of the .zip files you downloaded from here.

(And say where you downloaded from, especially if from other sites. In that case maybe give a link to the download too.)

That way we know exactly what you are looking at, we can download it to, and give specific advice.

(We might even pick up a nice new aircraft for our own collection while we're at it.;) )

Oh, and Welcome to the forum! :)

il88pp

In other words, you HAVE to uninstall the Adobe Air program (it's installed when you install Acrobat Reader). Adobe 'Air' program will take possesion of any '*.air' file and thus you get the error you are getting. Adobe Air is a runtime (can you say 'Widgets' and 'Flash') for developers. Do you need that? Are you a Adobe developer? Then get FoxIt Reader (free-works perfect) and you won't need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Take back 'control of your Flight Sim '*.air' files (and be happy). Cheers.

Chuck B

In other words, you HAVE to uninstall the Adobe Air program (it's installed when you install Acrobat Reader).

You don't have to unstall it. simply ignore it it - there's no reason to to double-click on an FSX .air fole.

No. But if he is not a 'developer' for Adobe programs, he does not NEED Adobe Air installed and blocking him if he DOES want to dbl click and edit the air file. He don't have to do anything. Ignorance is bliss. Correct me if I am wrong. And it's not just FSX air files, it is all MS FltSim air files.

And so you don't get me wrong: I agree: 'He don't have to unstall it'. (Unless he wants to correct, or fix, the situation that is causing him a problem - the object of this post...).

Chuck B

eh... ;)

I agree that possibly having Adobe Air is not required.

Then again, I never edit an air file directly, I use Air-Ed to do that. I kind of like the brown icon, so I leave air installed. And no issue at all.

In this case , he wants to use an installer for some aircraft or something.

It shows up as a .air file.

That tels me the file he is looking at is not an installer.

What it is then, no clue.

But uninstalling adobe air will not fix it I'm afraid. I am almost certain it will still not magically become an installer.

Then again, it is easy to try. You can uninstall air.

The next update for Adobe will put Adobe Air right back again. So the uninstalling is easy to undo.

ammovet,

What is the complete file name of that "installer"

it's not filename.exe obviously.

is it

filename.air

or something else even.

-------

Btw, .air files for fsx are usually flight dynamics for an aircraft.

They describe the weight of the aircraft, lift of the wings, size of the rudder, amount of brake power, engine power, etc.

All that in one file.

Sometimes you find an .air file somewhere for download, and it it will say "updated flight dynamics for aircraft X" in the discription.

To install such a file you just place it in the folder of the aircraft. (The aircraft you then have already of course).

-----------------

Are you sure that what you downloaded is a complete aircraft?

No. But if he is not a 'developer' for Adobe programs, he does not NEED Adobe Air installed and blocking him if he DOES want to dbl click and edit the air file.

It isn't just for developers. There are many third party programs that make use of Adobe Air to run (similar to Java or .NET), and removing it would break them. Having said that, the most likely culprit for it being installed on their system is by way of Adobe Reader.

... Having said that, the most likely culprit for it being installed on their system is by way of Adobe Reader.

Loki,

do you mean the 'not-installing' could be because his Adobe reader is installed incorrectly, or has not been updated? Something like that?

Or did you maybe simply mean that when installing Adobe reader, Adobe air is automatically installed.

(I found that out a few months ago myself as well.)

Thanks

Loki,

do you mean the 'not-installing' could be because his Adobe reader is installed incorrectly, or has not been updated? Something like that?

 

Or did you maybe simply mean that when installing Adobe reader, Adobe air is automatically installed.

(I found that out a few months ago myself as well.)

Thanks

Just meant that Adobe Air was most likely installed along with Adobe Reader, but there is a small chance it was installed for some other program.

Quote: '3rd party programs'. NAME ONE.

Quote: '..small chance..for some other program...'. NAME ONE.

My Grandmother uses adobe air to help dry the deer and beef jerky. THERE'S ONE.

Chuck B

PS: I open and edit FS '*.air' files everyday (for the past 12 years). I never have even seen a Adobe Air program or widget in those 12 years. Am I missing something?

Quote: '3rd party programs'. NAME ONE.

 

Quote: '..small chance..for some other program...'. NAME ONE.

 

My Grandmother uses adobe air to help dry the deer and beef jerky. THERE'S ONE.

Chuck B

PS: I open and edit FS '*.air' files everyday (for the past 12 years). I never have even seen a Adobe Air program or widget in those 12 years. Am I missing something?

Yes, you are. Try doing a search on Google for Adobe Air programs. Personally I have one called Balsamiq on my machine, and there are plenty of others out there. Just because you haven't come across one does not mean thy don't exist.

The reason I haven't come across any of those programs (in FLIGHT SIMULATOR(s)?) is because they are not AT ALL related to FLIGHT SIMULATION itself.

Does Balsmiq use the Adobe Air? We are talking about Adobe taking pocession of ALL '*.air' files which is preventing me from enjoying my FLIGHT SIMUTOR when I install (and then un-install) their software. That BOGUS. I imagine MS was using the '*.air' extension way before Adobe came up with their 'Air' software. So:ADOBE=xxxxxx (fill in your own 'term'). So then, rest assured, I won't be buying their Photo Shop (or any 'related') software. GIMP please.

Chuck B

I know quite well what we are discussing, and my point was that there are some programs out there, of which Balsamiq is one, that run on Adobe Air. If I followed the advice to just blindly remove Adobe Air from my computer, I would have found myself with a broken application. Adobe Air is analogous to Microsoft's .NET and Oracle' Java in that it is a framework for developers to build applications on top of. Those programs in turn require it to be installed on the user's computer to run.

As for Microsoft using the .air extension first, it certainly isn't the first time there has been a conflict with extension names. Indeed, after a quick search I found references to other programs using the .air extension too. And it doesn't appear to be a big enough problem for Microsoft to request that Adobe change it.

Yes I know that Adobe can use the '.air' extension and MS can't stop them, or anyone else from doing so. That's a 'given'.

Balsamiq was developed by an engineer that used to work for Adobe. It is a program used to design web pages. There are thousands (some even free) prgrams that can do the same job. And as far as Adobe Reader is concerned: there is an alternative: FoxIt Reader (FREE).

So if you are not a web page designer, and you get FoxIt Reader, you then don't need to 'mess' with Adobe or it's 'sneak' install (very rude) of it's Adobe Air. I rest my case.

Chuck B