BobSeaman

I have the "tin box" set being shipped. :p I have no intention to give up on FS2002, but recently I was able to buy the A2A CD for Wings Of Power (B-17s, B-24's, B-29's) and, while I'm good at this, I just couldn't break A2A's install program. :eek: That, and I was curious about some stuff like FS9's "light box" (it doesn't seem to work as well as FS2002) plus I wanted to check out some VC's that just don't load in FS2002 ( I'm looking forward to doing some pattern work around Elllsworth AFB in the old Virtavia/Alphasim B-1's virtual cockpit). :cool: So, what's the best way to do a fresh install of FS9 on a Win 10 (64 bit) system? I need to keep it bone-stock to install the A2A aircraft (at least, at first) so that means not installing the 9.1 patch at first. Is there REALLY a difference to installing FS to the Programs (X86) folder (default) or should I concentrate on installing directly to the main drive? Will Win 10 flip out over the CD being installed or will I need the "no CD patch"? I get by just fine with FS2002 installed in the Programs (X86) folder and haven't needed to move it. :confused: Feel free to weigh in. This is one of those "first world" problems. I already have a ton of US WWII bombers installed in FS2002 and most of my aircraft were designed for FS9 so this is one of those "OK, I'm bored" exercises. :pilot:

Check for the more obvious problems. :pilot: -Go to the main aircraft folder and open the Panel folder. Does the folder only contain a .cfg file? If so, open the .cfg file and I bet you'll see a line that says "alias=" and a folder name. Make SURE you have this other aircraft installed or try adding a new panel folder. - Does the Panel folder contain the gauge files? These files will have .gau and/or .cab file extensions. Sometimes, you need to move or copy those files to your main GAUGES folder. - If the above steps are OK, open the panel.cfg again and write down the names of the "missing" gauges. Pay attention to capital letters and spaces, sometimes a space is just a space, sometimes its a - or a _, and all three are read differently by FS. You'll need to examine those .gau and .cab files and make sure that any embedded gauges are spelled correctly. - Does your aircraft use the default panel file that was included with your plane? Are you sure? Sometimes re-uploaded aircraft feature modified sounds, textures, panels, etc. that the author who did the re-upload forgot to verify as included. It happens. :o Especially on popular downloads with complicated cockpits and multiple variants. - Check the gauge entries in the panel.cfg file again. Note the location assignments of the missing gauges. These are four groups of number that come after the gauge name. Compare these numbers to similar gauges. Do the last two numbers look roughly the same as gauges with a similar size on the panel? - If you still haven't found the cause, check where you downloaded the files from. Are there any updates or fixes for your aircraft? Try searching the full name of the zip file you downloaded. Panel config errors can be a bear to find and require patience. Once you spot the error it will be obvious, but finding it can take a while. ;) One last idea, are you SURE your download was for FS2004? Make certain you have a version for FS2004 instead of for FSX.

This is for users of FS2002 with Arrcab2.4 installed for carrier landings. This carrier is available as cv-63v4.zip in the FS2K scenery library. Go to your Arrcab folder and locate the ArrestorCables.dat file. Right click the .dat file and select "Open with" and "Notepad". (this assumes Win 10 is used, basically treat the .dat file like plain text). Add the following to your list of carriers and Arrcab land-able surfaces: [ZoneXX] CarrierIdent=CVN-63 near Tokyo FrontRightCornerLat=34.07133 FrontRightCornerLon=140.4175 FrontLeftCornerLat=34.071166 FrontLeftCornerLon=140.418 BackLeftCornerLat=34.07200 BackLeftCornerLon=140.418166 BackRightCornerLat=34.07200 BackRightCornerLon=140.417660 DeckAltInFeet=69.12 CableCatchZoneHeightInFeet=2.4 RunwayHeadingInDegreesMag=195 where XX is the next numbered zone in Arrcab. Save the .dat file and you're done. :pilot: I made the "trappable" surface pretty lenient since this is older FS2K scenery.

I would guess the u boat texture belonged to a BGL from CFS1 or 2 and was included by mistake. ;)

Chris; I was tempted but I wound up with giving this build one more chance. :D Part of the drill is to see how far I can push it. :pilot: Anyway, I got my scenery back-ups off the old drive plus an older cfg for Editvoicepack I had toasted with a bad download and dropped them in. Started FS and selected Diego Garcia and no problems. :cool: Now comes the tricky part, I need to back up the good scenery.cfg files and start adding the scenery files I had added since the old drive got cloned. I know what files I had added recently and they are where I left them, I just need to double check they didn't hose the old cfg file.

:rolleyes: Yeah, I know this is my fault. I've been on a "building phase" in recent weeks working on some helo's (Bell 412 and 430) plus some scenery for them and, well, at some point the 5-pound-bag (FS2002) gets a little too full and Diego Garcia disappears. :eek: I'm not sure if it was a bad scenery download or just that toothpick that broke the camel's back but all of sudden about 1/3 of the planet is gone. To be more precise, if I try to jump to an airport like FJDG or anywhere in western Australia the game just locks up and I have to thump the PC with a restart. Crap. :p The problem is, I've done this before on my old PC. I told myself I'd do more back-ups with things like scenery.cfgs so in case I did screw something up, I could reload them and cross my fingers. On this newer machine, it hasn't been much of an issue. Naturally, I blew off my good advise. :p But at least I have some options. :cool: Last year, I bought a new hard drive and cloned everything to it before swapping the drives. My first option will be to hook the original "donor" drive up via a cable and get the copies of my older FS CFG files back. That will, at least, get me back in business and I'll only have to update the World file for scenery I added since I cloned the drive. The next option is not a re-install, exactly, but a couple of years ago I bought a mint condition set of FS2002 Pro disks in the original packaging. :cool: What I'm running now is the FS2002 vanilla install plus the additional "Pro" aircraft that I borrowed off the Pro disks. If I do the Pro install, I'll need to delete the vanilla version first then re-install everything. I'm really tempted to do this (I'll also get the SDK and GMax) but I really don't need them. The last option is to say "Who flies to Diego or Western Oz, anyway?" and just leave things as they are. Diego Garcia was important when I was in my "B-52 total immersion" phase. It was a real challenge to figure out how to convert the Alphasim B-52's to FS2002 and then learn how fly them properly (imagine hitting all of your waypoints within a two minute window during an 8-12 hour flight). I think I wound up with something over 300 logged hours and it was also a lot of fun but I'm not in a hurry to do it again.

I've also been running FS2002 on Win10 since I got Win10 (3-4 years?) with no issues. I set it up where Win10 wanted to put it (in the Prog Files (X86) folder) and its been very stable. I guess three of us are just lucky. :rolleyes: BTW, anyone remember the Hover Control Bell 412 Huey for FS9? I finally got it converted to FS2002 using the older H/C Bell 212 and it flies about as good as any helo in FS2002. :cool: I know Hover Control has gone on to the the Great Recycle Bin In The Sky :( but I'm pretty sure these were the same MDL files used by Cera Sim in an FS9 payware title. :confused: Meaning, I'm pretty sure I can't post the complete aircraft but maybe I could post the FS2002 conversion parts (air file and aircraft.cfg) if you have the old H/C freeware version kicking around. :pilot:

I found a cool channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtAq7j6lUtIpVU06_Sq1FHw/featured CPL does really good flight videos based on Gulfstream and Hawker charter bizjets (part 25?). Really handy when you feel like logging some hours but you can't decide where to fly. Also (usually) provides the flight plan if you want to copy the flight. :pilot: Note for comms: Flights in the Gulfstream feature full comms, flights in the Hawker do not reveal the call sign due to company policy.

Just a hint I wanted to pass along that's another of those FS9 to FS2002 conversion hassles. :pilot: Basic problem- Gauges do not display in the 2D panel but work fine in the VC. Solution- Using one of the better paint programs (PSP, Photoshop, etc.) , check the black color for the windshield area in the main panel's BMP file. It should be listed as "0,0,0" black. Now, check the black color for the gauge bezels in the same BMP. If the color is listed as "0,0,0" black again, you just found your problem. :cool: Fill these areas with something that is close to "0,0,0" black but has an RGB value that isn't "0,0,0" black (look near the bezels for a slightly lighter color). Grab this color with the color picking tool (usually an eyedropper) and flood fill it (paint can) into these "0,0,0" black areas then save. :cool: I run across this problem every five years or so, and it always bites me for a day before I remember the fix. :D

Well, you stumped me on that one. :confused: I have no idea why your GPS would get removed from every aircraft. It almost sounds like you installed a payware GPS at some point that was running in a DEMO mode and it timed out or else you may have installed some malware or a virus. :eek: First thing I would do, just to be safe, is run your anti-virus software and make sure your system isn't infected. After that, you could try running a program like CCleaner to make sure your registry is "clean". Sorry, but I have no idea what would cause this. :(

To be honest, I was tempted a couple of times over the years to buy and install FS9..but I never did it. :p Converting an FS 2002 plane should be easier than going the other way, worst case just read my last post and try doing that conversion process in reverse. :pilot:

It gets better. :cool: Head over to Sim Outhouse http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/content.php and register if you have to. Phil at Alphasim was a big fan of Combat Flight Sim and allowed some of the source files for their later FS9 warbirds to be recompiled for CFS2. If the MDL can load in CFS2, it can also load in FS 2002- including the virtual cockpit. :D While we'll never see the virtual cockpit for the B-1, there are some really nice conversions available for planes like the B-57 (US Canberra), B-66 Destroyer, the Catalina, the PBM Mariner, and I *think* its the Alphasim F-100 Super Sabre and also the later F-107 variant. Also, the P-51D Mustang has a CFS2 MDL available with a virtual cockpit. :pilot: The only downside is that you're limited a single model type with no underwing stores, but at least they now show up. Finding them is pretty easy. Use SOH's search window to select CFS2 (all) and type in Alphasim and later try Virtavia. They also have some of the DSB planes converted. I know the Corsair II is over there. The best way I've found to convert these later FS9 planes to FS 2002 is to grab the free download from Virtavia first, then install everything to your desktop. Then head over to SOH and download the CFS2 version. You only need the MODEL folder and its contents. Drop this into your FS9 plane on your desktop (be sure to check the aircraft.cfg entries and make sure they call out the name of the new MODEL folder you just added). Now, add the new plane to your FS 2002 Aircraft folder and start the sim. :cool: If things are working, make sure you add the gauges and effects to the proper folders. You may have some of the typical FS9 to FS 2002 conversion issues (constant overspeed alarm, no brakes, constant stall alarm) but this is easily fixable. Either try adding the .air file from the CFS2 download or open the .air file in AirEd to add variables 316, 319, 332 (brakes available), and don't forget to check section 1101 for braking strength and the stall alarm speed. Check the variables in a similar FS 2002 plane if you're unsure what to add or change.

First off, don't call me "Mr.", it makes me feel old. :cool: Bob is fine. BTW, do you have any problems with any other aircraft? Like, did you maybe remap your keyboard keys in FS? Anyway, post the name of the zip file and I'll take a look at it. Being "near the end of the list" will just lead to frustrations, its better to just name the zip file you down-loaded. Meanwhile, there was an old "trick" back in the days of using BGL files to create MDL files. You had to pause the sim before you retracted the gear, this was mostly limited to helos but its possible you found a MDL file that uses it. :confused: Finding a good Orion for FS 2002 is tough. There was a nice one for FS 2000 that has some display issues in FS 2002 and you'll need to convert some entries in the aircraft.cfg file and maybe swap in a newer .air file? On the other end of the scale, the KBT (FS9) Orion won't show up in FS 2002. :(

That can be a problem, but sometimes you just have to find the right plane to work on. :cool: Recently, I was just goofing around and remembered Barry Blaisdell's old web site: https://www.premaircraft.com/ If you want a Learjet 60 with a really nice virtual cockpit and interior, this is where to find it. :D You'll need to do a little conversion work with some gauges (or just don't install them) but it isn't that difficult. For example, the PFD display for FS9 is "frozen", however, its the SAME display for the stock 747 in FS 2002 and all you need to do is swap the gauge call-out names in the panel.cfg file. You don't have to play around with re-sizing the gauges, just replace the name. The flight dynamics are already pretty good for FS 2002, the LJ60 doesn't fly like the stock LJ45, so just pay attention to it being a different airplane. On an old CPU, this might be a lot tougher but on a 3.9+ GHz CPU it isn't a problem. For the most part, this is how I handle adding FS9 aircraft to FS 2002: Download and only install the basic folders for a given airplane. Don't install any gauges or effects yet and make sure that some kind of sound folder is installed. Start FS and see if the plane loads, ie it isn't an invisible airplane . Make note of any texture issues (glass textures, chrome, etc). At this point, use to start the plane and check if it can taxi. MAKE SURE THE BRAKES WORK! In most cases, fixing things like the brakes, stall, and overspeed alarms is pretty easy once you know where they are supposed to be in the .air file. If you have texture issues (normally glass), its good to have a copy of Martin Wright's DXTBmp installed. :cool: In my experience with freeware and even payware FS9 aircraft, there will usually be a problem with textures being used that are supposed to be DX3 but are really DX1. Just load them in DXTBmp and convert them. Worst case, you may need to change or edit the alpha channel for DXT textures, but in most cases it IS fixable. :D Once you have the plane looking right, then install any EFFECTS files and test again. If all of that is working, try installing the gauge files. For FS9, you could get away with keeping gauge files and XML's in the PANEL folder. With FS 2002, gauge files and XML's MUST be installed in the main GAUGES folder. For a practical matter, I avoid using FS9 XML files. ;) If anyone is interested in converting a given FS9 plane to FS 2002, post the name of the download and where its available and I'll show you how its done. For example, most of the old ALPHASIM FS9 warbirds are still available at Virtavia.com. In most cases, they can be converted to FS 2002 fairly quickly. Sometimes you have to get creative, there were some ALPHA models that wouldn't display in FS 2002 *but* some of them were converted to run in CFS2 and if it can load in CFS2, it will definatly run in FS 2002. :pilot:

fs2002-sac-bases.zip These AFCAD files add taxi ways and comms to the default scenery of Castle AFB (KMER) , K.I. Sawyer (KSAW) and Wurtsmith (KOSC) AFBs in Michigan, and Griffiss AFB (KRME) in New York to give those airports more of a 1980's feel. Offut AFB is also included in case you want to try a LOOKING GLASS long duration flight. These AFCADs are meant more for the pilot than for AI traffic and are great if you're into flying B-52s or KC-135s. Please read the README file prior to install, especially if you have traffic programs like Ultimate Traffic installed. The parking spot convention is fairly easy to understand. Bombers use MIL-COMBAT parking while tankers use MIL-CARGO spots and all the AFCADs feature a HEAVY GATE as a kind of a common post-flight recovery area. Questions and comments are welcome in this thread. Note that I did not include parking in Alert Areas. This kind of traffic falls outside of what FS can handle.

So, I wanted to bring back Castle (KMER) to its former glory as THE B-52 flight training base, but this is tricky in FS2002. I have AFCAD (140) and the FS02 version of Edit Voice Pack (EDITVP) installed, but it was still an adventure. Castle, in FS2002, is already abandoned but it still has its VOR and ILS. I'm not really interested in adding actual traffic (yet?), I just want to be able to taxi, take off, and land while being able to "talk" to ground and the tower (which is already gone). Note that this would be a lot easier in FS9, I could just download the darned thing from MAIW and be done with it but we're talking FS2002, the red headed step child of FS. :p So, some digging in the Library here and at AVSIM produce at least one AFCAD file for KMER, which I install. I'd rather install an AFCAD file then edit it rather than starting from scratch. :pilot: BTW, one quick tip with those FS military bases. DO NOT include parking in the Alert Area (AKA: Christmas Tree) and its dedicated taxi way if you're modelling a base from the mid 1960's to 2000. Traffic in that Alert Area is very tightly controlled and backed up by guards with M-16s. You would never see civilian or even normal military traffic in that area. So great, I've got taxi ways and Progressive Taxi doesn't send me out to a corn field. Then I notice what's missing- Comms. :rolleyes: A quick check of the AFCAD manual tells me that all I need to add is a Tower (and Ground and ATIS, etc.). This part is easy in AFCAD, just go to Lists then Communication and add a Tower and all the other bits. So, I'm figuring I'm almost done and try a test flight. Comms work but both the Tower and Ground refuse to say "Castle". Great. :p Looking at the text display I figure out they WANT to say Castle, they just don't know how. So, its off to find voice files. Searching at MAIW brings nothing, it turns out the word Castle is actually quite rare (in FS, for some reason). Another search brings me to https://adventure-unlimited.org/files/ . They have tons of voice files and most of them work in FS2002 and its version of Edit Voice Pack. I finally track down a file that says Castle- but its for an airline. :p Still, I'm close. I try another search for KMER and hit pay dirt. :cool: I import the sound file into EDITVP and check it, it sounds fine so I update EVP then save it. One more try. I added an ATIS for KMER even though I really didn't want it. Tower and Ground still refuse to say Castle but ATIS has no problem with it. OK, now, what the.....? I check the comms listing in AFCAD again. I did everything by the book so the comms look something like: Tower CASTLE Ground CASTLE Atis KMER Hmmm... The manual says this is right but FS doesn't seem to have an airport voice for Castle even though ATIS is working fine. Time for another experiment. If this doesn't work I can always try hex editing a CASTLE voice file. So, I open the Comms list again and change it to: Tower KMER Ground KMER Atis KMER :cool: Ta daa! It worked. :pilot:

I'm pretty sure most of Kaz's aircraft were designed for FS2002 and FS2004. :) I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. :pilot: If they load in FS2002 there shouldn't be any issues getting them to display in FS2004.

For starters, you didn't mention if you're running 32 or 64 bit Win10 on your new machine. Win10 is pretty specific when it comes to running older 32 bit software, check the topics here and you'll find some good info on running FS9 in Win10. Next, believe me- I wish we could just drop the folders into a new machine but your registry won't know what to do with them. Its better to install FS from the original disk then run the patch installs. Your graphics have probably changed as well, so its better to do a fresh install. With aircraft and scenery, there's no "right" way to do it. Just bear in mind that after several years your main folders will start to resemble a junk yard (look at your old Gauges folder if you don't believe me :eek: ). I've found it best to use a new install as an excuse to really look at what I fly now and where I fly it. Be honest with yourself and "cull" out the files you never or rarely use. As long as you have a back up drive, you can re-install your old files whenever you want.

Cool beans, I'll check them out. :D Let's keep this old sim going. I have been doing a lot of updates to the old Alphasim A-10 warthog for FS2002. I've added a shiny-er canopy*, updated the pilot's helmet and added some extra gauges to the VC. Also updated the animated fans for the engines while keeping the outer textures unchanged. It looks better if you're running FS2002 at higher resolutions on a more modern CPU/GPU combo. :cool: Going by how long it took me to package and post the B-52 repaints, I'll have it uploaded some time this month. :p *- I've made the canopy glass as shiny as I can. If anyone has a better glass texture, please post it. :pilot:

Dang, one thing I keep forgetting is that I did cheat a little and install some early FS9 mod. textures for things like the Sun, Moon, stars, and water. :pilot: Getting it right took a little time but the results were spectacular. :cool: Just check the FS9 Misc. section. One thing I used was the more-yellow sun texture. Its been years since I found the combo I wanted, if anyone's interested I could look up the download file names (pretty sure this was all from the same author except for the star data).

I know, right? :cool: "If only I had this computer 15 years ago.. " :pilot: :D Your screen shot look great. I haven't tackled those jaggy screen shots yet. I spent last night getting some voice packs installed and working on ATC and traffic issues. Its not that tough once you find the power of ADMIN in Win 10. :cool:

I'll repeat something I've said about FS2002 in the past. :cool: In terms of graphics and the over-all "look", I'll stack FS2002 over FS9 and FSX on any day when it comes to flying from pre-dawn to morning or dusk to dark at night. :pilot: FS2002 just "looks right" when the sun is coming up or going down. Its an odd thing, you can't even show it in most screen shots but FS2002 just handles these times of day the best. It also doesn't hurt if you're running a fairly modern CPU/GPU combo and you max out ALL of the display options and sliders and still wind up with a rock-solid sim running at 60FPS+. :D

Yokes can be a funny thing. For the folks who like them, I understand why. They're great if you have a dedicated "station" in a game room and you're only flying one type of aircraft. Otherwise, yokes can get in the way in a hurry if you use your PC for multiple tasks. If you have your PC set up in a common living area of your house or apt, yokes can provoke a "Oh jeez, one of those guys.." look from a guest or else they emit a "Go ahead, play with me and try to break me" pheromone that some visitors just can not resist. :rolleyes: I've been using a Logitech 3D Pro stick-and-throttle for quite a while. Its sturdy and it does the job without getting in the way. When I'm not running FS, its easy to move it out of the way.

Yep. FS2002 still gives me what I want from a flight sim and works really well on a modern desktop and OS.