defaid

Hello and welcome! 49 then, aye? (I was 11 in 78) D

It's this version for FS2004: FSUIPC 3.999z9 from here: http://www.fsuipc.com/ D

Hi. Put these files from the download into whatever folder TTools is using for Source Files. If you haven't used TTools before then you'll need to set that up from within TTools. FlightPlans_BRW_Fa86_WesternAirlines.txt Airports_BRW_Fa86_WesternAirlines.txt Aircraft_BRW_Fa86_WesternAirlines.txt Have a read through Aircraft_BRW_Fa86_WesternAirlines.txt to be sure you have all the appropriate aircraft installed. Check in your installed plane's aircraft.cfg that the title matches exactly the plane listed in Aircraft_BRW_Fa86_WesternAirlines.txt. If you don't have the required plane then you can substitute an already installed plane by editing Aircraft_BRW_Fa86_WesternAirlines.txt. The bit you're looking for in aircraft.cfg is Title= {this text} If you do have the plane installed but the names don't match then you can edit the entry in either file but I'd advise editing Aircraft_BRW_Fa86_WesternAirlines.txt because altering the aircraft.cfg may have repercussions if other AI traffic uses that plane. Open TTools and hit the compile button. The new traffic bgl will be created in whatever you selected as the Traffic Files folder. Drop it into an appropriate scenery layer and go plane spotting. D

Hi. Just to be sure that nothing has got messed up with paths, because I think I see two documents folders in your screenshots (one called "DOCUMENTS" and one called "My Documents")... Can you create a completely new flight with a newly created flightplan, and save it with an easily found name? FS will put the new files in the folder it wants you to use. Outside of FS, open the folder /My Documents/Flight simulator files. Have the new .flt and .wx and .pln files appeared in the folder? Or in the "DOCUMENTS" folder? Or even somewhere else? Also, third pic down on the right looks as though you're trying to use the docs folder rather than the flight sim files folder. D

Hi. If you set the tower eyepoint in the appropriate position and switch to Tower View in FS9, do you see what you would like to record? I've never used FS Recorder but, reading Chuck's replay above, I wonder if you're still using Spot View. (No stupid questions -- just questions other people are too embarrassed to ask. I have no shame.) D

This! This! A tale like this, with a few side threads and half a dozen possible outcomes, would make an absolutely superb choose-your-own-adventure.

Thanks for replying, Tom. The same happens in my installation. Ah well... right-click it is. D

Hi. With FS9 in windowed mode, and using the VC, is there a way of making the popup panels open docked rather than undocked? I'd like them to open with no border and inside the FS9 window instead of obscuring things like a checklist.txt on the desktop next to the FS9 window. Cheers, D

No props or spinners either? It's not correctly installed, or you've tried porting your plane from another PC or from a backup. As I recall, the CS version has some heavy-duty copy-protection that presumably relies on your PC's registry. It requires the correct installer, probably an internet connection and lots of patience, especially as CS have changed their server since the plane was released. Also, CS aren't very helpful. Also, their knowledgebase has disappeared. Also, they don't answer enquiries. Also... Also... If the installation didn't register correctly, or if that part of your registry has changed, or if you've made fundamental hardware changes, then the gear and props are invisible. There are instructions for offline installation, and unlockers, available from CS but this time around I couldn't get them to work, not under Win 10 nor on a newly built XP machine. It's my favourite plane. For 3 years I've been without it as my old PC died and backups don't seem to work either... (struggling instead with the supposedly identical P3d version) Recently though (this was a genuine epiphany) I realised that Just Flight once sold a no-authentication Captain Sim C130-E and C130-K on DVD. All that's missing is my favourite J variant. Guess what I'm flying now. My DVD had been gathering dust in the spare room for over a decade. You might be able to find one on ebay. D

Hi. You're using TTools... There should have been a small application bundled with it called CollectAirports.exe Run that: it will create a comprehensive airports text file for you called airports_2004 or something similar. It will have the lat, lon & elevation correct for your installed airports (useful in case they don't match the real world) and it takes a lot of the work out of creating the source files for your traffic bgls. If you're wondering about duplicate airports, try Simple Airport Scanner aka SAS. You can download it from the FS Developer ADE sub-forum. And finally, there is a small program called GenAir available which compares the contents of your flightplans.txt with the airports listed in whatever airports master file you specify (usually airports_2004 as above) and makes a slimmed-down version of the airports.txt file for your flightplans.txt It's not necessary but it is more elegant than compiling with the complete list. It makes the resulting bgl a tad smaller (because all the airports in the source file are compiled, even if they are not used). You can get it in the other place. Links included. Enjoy. D

I wonder if Biff is looking for something that doesn't exist. I get the impression that plug & play, jump-right-in sims are generally rather arcade in nature - they don't seem to require much of an intellectual investment. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised to find that sims with very accurate flight dynamics and a depth of one-on-one game play are tailored for players who are happy to spend a relatively long period in learning handling, systems and tactics. If it does exist, and has realistic scenery, then I'd like to give it a go as well.

Hi. Too many words? The final sentence is the one I'd like answered. Three years ago my XP PC died. In it I had FS9 with Captain Sim's C-130. On the strength of the C-130 in P3d supposedly being the same plane, I felt it was time to upgrade. Many addons, pounds and frustrations later, and discovering a severely diminished switch and gauge functionality, I installed my last backup of FS9, only to find that the Capatin Sim installers don't seem work in Win 10. (Reinstall is necessary: copy protection makes crucial parts of their plane invisible, meaning an existing installation is not portable.) In January I obtained a replacement XP PC. I've spent several weeks trying every way I can imagine of installing Captain Sim's C-130 into my freshly installed FS9 -- online and offline installers, days of jumping through C S's hoops and weathering their uncooperation -- before remembering that I have a Just Flight DVD of the Captain Sim C-130E & K that required no authentication. It's in the sim, running sweetly under XP. I was nearly overjoyed but there was a small fly. The graphics card is relatively new for XP (GT 730) and Nvidia's newer (for XP) drivers don't handle lighting too well. Something specular. I think. Turning off Transform & Lighting in FS9's Display menu solves the horrible brushed-velvet appearance but at the cost of a 50% reduction in framerate. Last night I very nearly bought an older card on Ebay so that I could use an older driver, before finally making the connection between no-authentication DVD and portability of the installation. It copied successfully to Windows 10 and I spent last night refamiliarising myself with the plane around UK photoscenery, marvelling at the load times and clarity with all sliders at their max. For the last twenty hours I've been unusually happy, having come to the end of an expensive waste of three years. All I need now is to find an authentication-free J-variant for the Just Flight plane. it's not necessary as the cockpits can be made identical, and .air and .cfg files are interchangeable, but it was my preferred variant and it would ice the cake. Is there a J variant for Just Flight's C-130? Thanks very much. D

Thanks very much for replying. I wasn't aware that there is a "switch engine X starter on" command -- I'd never thought of looking. A key assignment for each starter is nice and simple and, like all such elegant solutions, obvious after someone has pointed it out to me. I'll be having a trial with it when I get home and quite probably a good look through the entire list of commands to see what else is available :) Thanks again. D

Hi. Using the C-130J variant with the GPU rather than battery, has anyone else found that the engine start buttons in the LM / CS C-130 don't work? Is there something that I'm missing? Further, while I can start all engines with Ctrl+E, I can't select one out of all four by... Ctrl+E,1 (or 2,3 or 4) because in this aircraft the numbers don't seem to have any effect. I never had any problem with the aircraft in FS9 while following Bernard Srulzon's guide, and right up to the point of pressing the big red button, everything works fine in P3d too. Elsewhere I did find a short-form guide to starting up but... same result. What am I doing wrong? Does anyone else even use the C-130? Nothing but a scornful silence in another, opressively orthodox site so I do wonder. Any help is very much appreciated. D

Hi. Despite it having suitably resized trees and custom scenery objects, the 42.2 GB download means I can't avail myself of TrueEarth so I've been looking at Just Flight's VFR Next Gen. (It also has the advantage of already covering my home area). The tree sets I have -- stock and Orbx's high def trees -- are about 170% real UK size and they look very cartooninsh when flying below about 5000 feet. All the screenshots I've seen of the Next Gen scenery appear to have correctly sized trees but the product description says it has 3d autogen coverage. Is it just my eyes? Does Next Gen have a smaller set or somehow scale the existing autogen objects? Is there a set of smaller trees available (like Feng Zhu's autogen for FS9)? And finally, is there some tool out there for adding objects to photoscenery, like FS9's Autogen Annotation Tool? Thanks very much. D (one bonus flippant question)