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    FS9 (2004) stuff is listed first.
    FS10, FSX is listed further down on this page.

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    MATS Project: Military Air Transport Flights

    FS9 CD: Would you like to put your FS9 CD in a safe place and not need it to to run your simulator?
    Re-name your FS9.EXE and put this one in it's place fs9.exe - 504kb download.

    Pan View in 2D Cockpit: I often fly in the 2D cockpit mode with either the mini-panel or no panel and I like to look around. Add this line in your FS9.CFG file under CONTROLS and you will be able to pan the view. Just remember to hit the space bar to put it back to the forward view before you try to land.
      PAN_IN_COCKPIT_MODE=1

    FS9 FSSound Pop-up on startup: Do you get this? Does it annoy you?
      Add these two lines at the end of your FS9.CFG file to get rid of it
        [oldmodules]
        fssound.dll=1

    FS9 and Duel Core: FS9 allegedly doesn’t take advantage of the second processor.
    I'm not sure about this as my Vista machine shows both hard at work.
    But here is a neat trick how to force FS9 make use of both processors on a dual-core system:

    Start Flight Simulator, load your flight in windowed mode, then press Ctrl+Alt+Del to open the Windows Task Manager. Click the "Performance Tab" and observe that FS9 is only using one processor. Unless you have tons of other programs running, the left window will show a heavy load, the right graph a very low load. Click on "Processes" and look for "fs9.exe" (if you click on "Mem Usage" it should be the first or last item). Right-click "fs9.exe" and select "Set Affinity". Remove the check mark from one CPU. Close the window, then repeat the process and select both CPUs again. FS9 will now spread the workload over 2 processors. You should notice a marked difference in performance. If this does not work on your PC, contact Microsoft Support for the optional "dual-core hot fix". http://support.microsoft.com/kb/909944

    FS9 and Vista: I loaded FS9 on Vista Ultimate and it worked fine but when I tried it on Vista Home I had a lot of problems.
    Doc posted this and it works great.
    Update: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Need to do this also.
    After you install FS 2004, go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9
    Find "fs9.exe", right click on it, click properties then compatilibilty tab.
    Select at top : Run this program in compatibility mode xp service pack 2.
    Check the box "Disable visual themes"
    Check the box "Disable desktop composition"
    Check the box "Run as administartor""
    click apply and ok done. Afterwards, you will see that security shield icon on your fs9.exe. It's ready to go !

    After you install fs navigator, you have to do exactly the same thing on the FSNavDBC ( the database creator you have to run 1st to use the program).
    Navigate on your pc to here:
    C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\FSNavigator for FS2004
    Here you'll find the the yellow icon for FSNavDBC.
    Right click on it, click properties then compatilibilty tab.
    Select at top : Run this program in compatibility mode service pack 2.
    Check the box "Disable visual themes"
    Check the box "Disable desktop composition"
    Check the box "Run as administartor"
    click apply and ok done.
    Now you can run the database creator for fs nav.

    FS9 Scenery: FS9.cfg file settings for optimum display of hi-res terrain.
    The only setting I don't use is "FULL_SCREEN=1".
    [GRAPHICS]
    FULL_SCREEN=1
    PERFORMANCE_MODE=0
    DEF_PERF_MODE=6
    TEXT_SCROLL=1
    AUTO_LOD=0
    DETAIL_TEXTURE=2
    WATER_EFFECTS=0
    TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_MAP=1
    TERRAIN_USE_VECTOR_OBJECTS=0
    EFFECTS_QUALITY=2
    GROUND_SHADOWS=0
    SMOOTH_VIEW=1
    IMAGE_SMOOTHING=1
    TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=1024
    COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1
    AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=1
    LANDING_LIGHTS=1
    IMAGE_QUALITY=0
    TEXTURE_BLDG=1
    TEXTURE_GND=1
    TEXTURE_WATER=1
    AIRCRAFT_TEXTURE=2
    SEE_SELF=1
    TEXTURE_QUALITY=3
    LOD_TARGET_FPS=30
    NUM_LIGHTS=8

    [TERRAIN]
    TERRAIN_ERROR_FACTOR=100.000000
    TERRAIN_MIN_DEM_AREA=10.000000
    TERRAIN_MAX_DEM_AREA=100.000000
    TERRAIN_MAX_VERTEX_LEVEL=21
    TERRAIN_TEXTURE_SIZE_EXP=8
    TERRAIN_AUTOGEN_DENSITY=5
    TERRAIN_USE_GRADIENT_MAP=1
    TERRAIN_EXTENDED_TEXTURES=0
    TERRAIN_DEFAULT_RADIUS=9
    TERRAIN_EXTENDED_RADIUS=9.5
    TERRAIN_EXTENDED_LEVELS=5

    Airport Environment Upgrade 7.0 enhances every default airport in FS 2004.
    Airport runways, taxiways and markings. Tarmac surfaces, airport buildings, and airport and aircraft lighting effects are upgraded both in day and night. Reflective windows and seasonal runway effects are included. A must have this one.
    Available on www.avsim.com Filename: aeu7.zip

    FSX

    FSX: My Blog on FSX

    FSX Multiplayer - The author of FSHost now has a "client" program to provide the Internet connection multiplayer feature that Microsoft removed from FSX.
    The new "client" program provides many things that M$ left out like being able to see other players smoke, doors open, etc.
    It works great and it's free. chocolatesoftware.com

    FSX Auto Thumbnailer - Add-on modual to generate thumbnails when you add planes to the FSX Aircraft list FSX_auto_thumbnailer.zip

    Save your FSX Missions - If you have been flying the missions then you should keep a backup of your scores. The file is GrantedAwards.BIN
    In XP you will find the file here...
    C:\Documents and Settings\"yourusername"\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX\GrantedAwards.BIN
    If you have Vista then it's here...
    C:\Users\"yourusername"\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX\GrantedAwards.BIN
    After a fresh install of FSX you can copy in your backup file and restore your scores.
    You will also find your fsx.cfg file in this folder.

    Optimum settings for NVidia GForce with FSX. (this worked great for me)
    1) Because Nhancer doesn't work with this driver, go to your Nvidia Control panel and for FSX profile do the following:
    -anisotropic filtering = 16x
    -antialiasing gamma correction = ON
    -antialiasing mode = override ….
    -antialiasing seting 4x
    -antialiasing transparency = OFF
    -conformat texture damp = OFF
    -error reporting = ON
    -extension limit = OFF
    -force mipmaps = none
    -multi display…= SINGLE or MULTI

    -texture filtering anisotropic sample optimization = OFF
    -texture filtering negative lod bias = ALLOW
    -texture filtering quality = HIGH QUALITY
    -texture filtering trilinear optimization = OFF
    -triple buffering = OFF
    -vertical sync = use 3d application settings
    2) Defrag your HD after the X-pack install
    3) Set FSX display options according to your hardware, make different tests, beginning from middle high to highest settings.
    4) VERY IMPORTANT! Unlike the FSX SP1, the SP2 needs your FSX Full screen resolution setting to match your screen default resolution!!!

    Screen Jerky - After I had everything tweeked my screen would "jerk" about once a second. It was a Vista sidebar gadget that showed a graph of CPU and Ram usage. Any programs that you have running may take a slice of the CPU time and reduce the performance of your Flight Sim.