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Struggling to install add ons


Chrisleyland96

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Using fs2002 on windows xp. I'm new to all this and haven't got a clue what I'm doing. Can I get other planes as the default ones are boring. I want planes what fly in the UK ie Concorde,jet2,easy jet and ba

I haven't a clue how to transfer downloaded files into aircraft files or whatever it's called

Thanks in advance

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You should start by reading our tips for newcomers found in our help section:

 

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?12

 

Be sure to click through to the FS2002 hangar which has tutorials including how to install aircraft.

 

That said, FS2002 is old...it's from 2002 after all. If you want to get serious about this consider getting a current version instead of using such an old one.

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Pay no attention to the newbie, Chris.

:p

 

:D

 

One of the reasons flight sim became so popular is because of all the ways you can change things like aircraft, sounds, and scenery. Just take your time and learn the basics before you start bulk-unzipping files. You want to look at the basics of FS file structure, what things make up an airplane and where to find them. That makes it easier when you start adding aircraft or scenery files.

Otherwise, jumping in head first will be like drinking from a fire hose. :pilot:

 

 

So, start out easy. Memorize this:

 

C>Program Files>Microsoft Games>Flight Simulator

 

That is the basic path to finding where all this stuff happens. Your computer may be laid out a little differently but the basic pathway is important to know. Take some time now to find these folders and things will be easier later.

 

 

 

FS2002 is what I have said in the past was Microsoft's red headed FS step child, BUT (especially today) it is finally coming into its own. If you run modern hardware FS2002 runs like a champ. What made it buggy in 2001 has been cured by faster processors and modern operating systems. So, don't sweat what you have now. Learn to use it then learn how to add to it.

 

I'll help you as you need it as will others on this forum. :cool:

 

You mentioned adding aircraft, what type are you interested in? There's a lot of stuff I could mention depending on what you want to add. What part(s) of FS would you like to change? Sometimes adding a new sound folder can make a big difference or maybe some new scenery to explore?

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Bob seaman thanks for helping but I literally have no idea about files and stuff and the step by step guides I can find on the web are just really confusing. I'm looking for any add on aircraft I just anything that's not default lol as like I said they bore me to death. I tried to download Concorde last night and now the files lost somewhere and I can no longer find it.
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Like I said, start with the basics. :)

Then, don't panic.

 

Getting started installing FS freeware can be daunting. It was the same for all us when we started out.

 

Begin by figuring out what's going on. You'll be downloading zipped files and then unzipping the file and adding its contents to your sim. Where that zipped file wound up on your computer is important, obviously. Try downloading another zip file and pay attention to where it goes on your computer. You can control this destination by specifying a destination folder or just having the zip file download to your desktop. Or, make note of the zip file's name and search your computer to find it, then drag it to your desktop.

Get that part figured out then we'll get into how to unzip it and install the contents into FS.

Again, don't panic. At least, not yet. :)

 

I want you to also learn how to navigate to the main FS folder. Go to your "my computer" icon on your desktop and double click it. You should see an icon for your main hard drive (almost always called "C" ). Now, go back to your desk top and right-click on your flight sim icon. Select "properties" and you should see the path the icon uses to connect to FS. It should look something like this:

 

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Games\FS2002

 

That line is read as "hard drive C", folder "program files", sub folder "microsoft games", sub folder "fs2002". BTW, I'm running Windows 10. You may or may not have a folder called "Program Files (x86)" but you should have a folder named "Program Files".

 

Work on finding where your zip files download to and get used to being able to find your flight sim main folder and then we'll move on when you're ready. :pilot:

 

 

BTW, I was just kidding with Nels (but not about FS2002). Believe it or not, he started most of this "freeware downloads for flight sim" stuff back when most of us didn't have gray hair. :eek: You got the number one FS fan to reply to your topic, so thumbs up for that. :)

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Huh? :confused:

No, in terms of what you've been asking FS is FS is FS.

It doesn't matter if you run FS2000, FS2002, FS9, or FSX. The process of adding or changing stuff is the same. Jumping on a new horse mid-stream is only going to get you wet. :)

 

So, have you been able to find your FS2002 main folder? What's inside that folder? Any clues where those aircraft files you downloaded would go?

Any luck finding that download on your computer?

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BTW, we'll need to stick to the same page for a little while.

 

I've been messing around with this flight sim stuff since the days of FS5 for DOS. Concorde is not your friend, especially when you're just starting out. Its hard to take off, almost impossible to navigate with, and tougher still to land.

 

How about starting out with something a little more conventional? The CRJ is a regional commuter, its pretty straight forward (but different) to fly. The challenges are not as daunting and its a lot easier to install. You'll also like the virtual cockpit view.

 

Agreed? :)

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I thought that lol I was like why is this pile of junk not banking haha. I'll have a look at the crj is it bombardier? I do like the virtual cockpits better and I'm quite confident I can take off fly and land the Cessna 172 and 182 is it?

And there's that much in my fs2002 folder it gets a bit much but I'm getting there slowly. Like I said I can install certain planes but some just dont show up on the actual game such as red arrows and the eurofighter typhoon

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Yeah, that fits with what I'd like to cover now. :cool:

 

OK, as long as you know where your download files wind up, go over to the File Library page at the top of this page and select Search Files.

 

Bring up the FS2002 section and search for "all". Stick to FS2002 downloads for the time being, we'll get into using downloads for FS2000, FS9, and CFS2 later.

 

What to search for can be tricky at times, just type "crj" for now. You'll notice a lot of the CRJ files refer to the POSKY CRJ 200. That's usually a good sign that its a good download.

Be sure to read the description of what's included. You want to find a full download (including the panel and model). You can be sure its a full download by clicking the tab next to the download button, it shows you all the files in the zip.

If you see a file called something like "install.exe", skip that download for now. Auto installers are easy but can cause problems for new users. Beisdes, its better to learn how to install the files manually, at least for now.

 

Getting back to your search, you may notice a couple of sound kits for the CRJ. Grab one of them for download after you find the plane you want. Don't mess with the sound files yet, we'll get into a couple of ways to install them later. :D

 

So, download a plane and a sound kit and then let me know what the files are called.

 

Believe it or not, we're getting close to the end of this topic. :pilot: Later on, I can show you how to install repaints and do your own mods if you'd like.

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I've got the crj (southern something) full file. It seems a few downloads I've got are fs2004 and they let me fly but there is no plane showing up??

 

Not that you're jumping ahead or that I'm thinking of gluing your feet to the floor :rolleyes: , but yes, that can happen with newer FS9 model files. It comes down to what version of compiling software was used to produce the MDL. There are many FS9 downloads that will work with FS2002, the trick is to try them out. My rule of thumb with FS9 downloads is that if it was uploaded before 2008, there's a chance it should work in FS2002. If you wind up in a transparent aircraft, there isn't much you can do to fix it.

 

If you can't fix it, delete it. The whole plane folder. Its not doing you any good if you can't use it.

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BTW, we may as well cover this now and get it out of the way. :)

 

There are other places to download freeware and payware for FS2002. :eek:

 

Google can be your friend, its just that searching can take time.

 

If you're interested in military aircraft a couple of sites I would recommend are:

 

Virtavia.com: Virtavia used to be Alphasim and you can find some of their freeware packages here, but make sure you check out the Virtavia web site. Drool over the products you won't be able to run then look down a bit and you'll see a hot link to their OLD FILES WHICH ARE NOW FREE TO DOWNLOAD. :cool:

You'll want to click that link and probably bookmark it. Most of the files listed will run in FS2002 with no problems. Some of them won't, however. If its listed for FS9 and FSX, don't bother. If its listed for FS9 only, try it and see what you get. "Alphasim" aircraft are unique in that they just "feel right". Sometimes the textures can look a little "clunky" but consider when they were made. Most if not all feature virtual cockpits.

 

Sim-outhouse: Some FS9 stuff but mostly files for CFS, CFS2, and CFS3. You'll need to provide a valid e-mail addr and register to download content. Its worth the hassle. :cool:

 

I mentioned earlier that you can get most CFS2 downloads to work with FS2002. While they are very different programs, they were sold at roughly the same time so a lot things were shared by both sims. You'll need to know how to edit the CFS2 "aircraft.cfg" file so the planes show up where you expect them to in FS. This isn't that tough, just look at what's different between an FS aircraft config file and a CFS config and fill in the missing lines.

One thing to keep in mind, CFS and FS are completely different games. Where everyone wants details in FS, everyone wanted FRAME RATE to survive in CFS. You may find some FS9 model files that were converted to run in CFS (Alpha's Mig-23 and P-51D, for example). Just remember that bulky models fly and react slower so the goal in CFS was to lighten them up a bit without losing too much detail. Sometimes this the only way to get an FS9 model to show up in FS2002. :)

 

You might also want to check some FS payware sites for freebies. :cool: Sim Market in the UK has some really nice F-18 hornets listed for download as AI aircraft. They work just fine in FS2002, all it will cost you is your e-mail address (be sure you use a valid e-mail to register, you'll need to read your reply to get the code to run the installer).

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Which brings up a couple of other topics you'll want to consider. :p

 

Avoid janky download web sites like the plague. If they're promising free downloads of payware, something won't be right. Make sure your anti-virus and malware filters are set to kill or, better yet, don't bother. In most cases you won't be getting what they say they have, anyway. At worst, your PC will no longer be usable. Just avoid the temptation and keep looking.

That also includes older web sites that are no longer maintained. You may find a site that used to be valid but has been abandoned. Be really careful with sites like that. If it looks like someone else has moved in (there are overly aggressive adds or puzzles you have to play to get a download) just walk away.

 

 

 

Auto Installers- Sometimes you just can't get around them. They make it easy to set up a new aircraft but there's always a catch. In this case there will be changes made to your OS registry (especially if there's an "un-install" function) or some files you already have may be over-written. Use an auto-installer if you have to but consider pointing it to a new folder you created on your desktop then adding the files to FS manually. That eliminates the hassle of having files over-written by mistake. You can also run a program like CCleaner to get rid of those registry edits. Auto-installers aren't evil, they're just a pain in the ---. :p

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I know, right? Its almost like I can read your mind... :rolleyes:

 

 

OK, one last thing to cover when it comes to running FS9 aircraft in FS2002.

 

What will happen is that you load a new plane, look around at all that great detail, then hit to start the engines and check out the new sounds.

 

So far so good, but as soon as you start to taxi the over speed alarm goes off. You may also notice that you've got no brakes. :eek:

 

What you've got is updated FS9 flight dynamics in the plane's .air file.

 

This is easy to fix for FS2002 conversions but you'll need a program that can open and edit your .air file.

 

A program like this:

 

air152up.zip

 

:D

 

Follow the directions to install AirEd on your machine. I'm pretty sure you can install it anywhere but I always install mine in either the Program Files or FS main folder (so its easier to find).

Once its installed, find any .air file in FS and right click on it. You should see an Open With.. option. Navigate to your AirEd folder and select the .exe. That's the hard part done.

 

Now, pick any FS2002 .air file and double click on it. AirEd should start and you'll see a bunch of numbers with values next to them. Go down a bit to the 300 neighborhood of values and somewhere around 320 you'll see one named Brakes. You need to copy this record from this .air file into your new FS9 .air file (you'll see why in a minute). So, highlight this Brakes record and right click, select the Copy To Clipboard option and close AirEd.

 

Double click the .air file in your new plane and AirEd will open again. See that Brakes record anywhere? Nope.

Right click a record somewhere near where Brakes is supposed to be and choose the Copy From Clipboard option. The Brakes record should now be in your new .air file. Save and get back into FS.

Select your new plane again. Hit the brakes. Did that little red text box in the lower left corner come on? :D

So, we know we have brakes enabled but do they do anything?

 

Start up and taxi out a bit. Ignore the overspeed warning, we'll be fixing that next.

Hit the brakes. Do they work? If they did buy yourself a root beer, if they didn't or they seemed to be REALLY weak, we have a little more work to do in section 1101. :eek:

 

Bail out of FS again.

 

Yeah, I know its a lot of repetition but that's why test pilots always look sleepy. :pilot:

 

Open the aircraft.cfg file for your new plane and start scanning for air speeds. If you see a big number in knots (relative to the type of plane we're working on) that's usually the trip point for the over speed warning. You should also see a mach number somewhere. Write both of these numbers down on something.

 

Now double click on the .air file again. You may see some obvious records for these numbers in the low-numbered record sections, stuff labelled "overspeed" or "max".

Or, you may not. :confused: Air files can be notorious for not following the convention, its why I haven't mentioned any specific record numbers besides section 1101.

 

Anyway, look around for records that are measured in knots or mach. If they are set to 0, put in the numbers you wrote down. Save what you've got so far and then we'll work on section 1101.

 

One quick aside about your stall buzzer- In most cases its set to go off based on the manufacturer's data. But, this is YOUR plane. If you're hauling pax, they probably don't want to see the earth hurtling up at them at crazy angles when they look out the window.

Likewise, if you're flying a sport plane, you might want something that's more like a warning when you fly deep into that edge of the flight envelope (just like you MEANT to do..) so try setting that stall speed a little higher than what you found. ;)

 

Anyway, we're almost done. :)

 

Open up the .air again and find section 1101 (primary aerodynamics). Click that + and start snooping around. If the max breaking strength is set to 0, try setting it to numbers like -32,000 or -20,000 or something, well ANYTHING besides 0. You may see the over speed warning numbers again, reset them to what you wrote down as well.

Make sure you saved your changes, and try flying again.

 

That should fix your FS9 airplane in FS2002. In most cases I've found, these edits will fix the vast number of warning and braking issues found in newer FS9 downloads.

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That's a lot to learn haha I'm going to have to read it all when I'm not on my mobile device. I have checked a couple of the download sites and the planes I've got seem pretty much problem free I've generally been downloading the big files around about 20mb+ then they seem to come with everything unlike the files what are like 600kb. Some however say file corrupted so I guess they just don't work at all?
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Trust me, you're going to wind up reading my last post about air files. :)

 

Don't let file size be your guide, I've found really nice aircraft in small zip files and really clunky aircraft in large zips. You just have try a lot of stuff and keep what you like.

 

Sometimes an aircraft just needs better textures or a different sound file to become a knock-out. Sometimes you just have to adjust the eyepoint value in the cfg file so the VC looks better. Sometimes you can't save it, no matter what you try.

 

Just remember this: Uploading freeware means never having to say you're sorry. :)

Someone, somewhere, spent a lot of time to create this stuff and then chose to give it away.

Always respect the author.

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do add ons basically work like fs2002?

 

As far as I know, the answer is yes. FS2002, FS2004, FSX, FSX:SE all have pretty much the same directory structure, meaning add-ons works the same for them all. There are some minor differences, like FS9 (FS2004. Same-same) has the folder ...\AIRCRAFT, whereas FSX has ...\SIMOBJECTS\AIRPLANES. Still, I think it's pretty obvious where you would put an add-on aircraft in either one.

 

Does that answer your question?

Pat☺

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Had a thought...then there was the smell of something burning, and sparks, and then a big fire, and then the lights went out! I guess I better not do that again!

Sgt, USMC, 10 years proud service, Inactive reserve now :D

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