Flying'sCool! Topics In Aviation Using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 Using Microsoft Flight Simulator X
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  Using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004

The ability to fly has fascinated mankind since time immemorial.  Just over 220 years ago, the first balloon flight took place.  Just over 100 years ago the Wright brothers along with many other pioneers took to the air in the first powered airplane flights.  Since then, the field of aviation has exploded.  For those who want to fly but are unable for some reason or other, or for just practicing when not in the cockpit, the advent of personal computers brought us Flight Simulator for the PC.  The latest version of this software is Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight by Microsoft.  With this version, you can now experience the flying of and systems of aircraft from the simplest homebuilt to the most complex airliner, all in the comfort of your living room.  And thanks to the expandability built into the software and the hard work of many, many enthusiasts, the realism of the systems, flight models, and scenery has grown tremendously.  Flying'sCool! uses an enhanced version Microsoft Flight Simulator combined with educational tools and hardware which simulate the controls of an airplane to introduce its customers to what it is like to fly an airplane and what they need to know to do it.

Compiled here are lists of available aircraft, hardware, and scenery addons to enhance the New England, USA area in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. I have deliberately tried to show only those addons I use or know to be best in class, so as not to flood you with more options than you can imagine.   There is also a list of links to many web sites run by enthusiasts and companies, offering for free or for sale, software which further enhance Flight Simulator. Finally, a number of tutorials on how to use and enhance Flight Simulator have been included.  These pages are updated frequently, so come back often.  And if you have any questions regarding anything about Flight Simulator, from flying to installation or if you are searching for a particular scenery file, don't hesitate to join us either at the forums or contact me directly by email.

With the release of Flight Simulator X in October, 2006, several of these addons are useful for it, but in general FSX has rendered most obsolete.  But they still work great in FS2004!

With each class, you'll get a free DVD with much of this software ready to install on your system, and directions on how to obtain and install the rest.

Flying'sCool! is not associated in any way with Microsoft (tm) or its product groups.

Essential Scenery Addons for your
Microsoft Flight Simulator installation

for flying in the Northeastern US and Eastern Canada

I've collected links to a number of scenery and support addons for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight for flying in the Northeastern US and Eastern Canada, as well as a number of sceneries for other areas around the U.S.. If you are looking for scenery for other locations, I suggest you also go here or here.  I highly recommend purchasing Ultimate Terrain - USA (and also Ultimate Terrain - Canada and Alaska if you plan to fly up north), as well as FSGenesis US Landclass.  The freeware FSGenesis Mesh (see below) is excellent, but unsupported.  But I have so far only found a couple of very, almost unnoticeable issues in the Northeast.  The mesh available for purchase from FSGenesis is under continual revision and is fully supported.

Freeware (All links to www.Avsim.com unless otherwise noted)
(* - Not needed if Ultimate Terrain:USA is installed)(** - Not needed if Ultimate Terrain:Canada is installed)
Mesh/Landclass/Water - Makes the ground elevation and lakes/rivers/roads, etc. more accurate
  Description Author Filename
Download FreeFlow New England v1.0 Scott Gridley freeflow_new_england_v1.0.zip
Download FreeFlow New England v1.0 KBOS Fix Scott Gridley ffnekbos.zip
Download **Canada Roads v2.0 Joel Gill canada_road_system.zip
Download **Canada Roads v2.0 - British Columbia Update Joel Gill british_columbia_road_system.zip
Download **Canada Roads v2.0 - New Brunswick Update Joel Gill new_brunswick_road_system.zip
Flightsim.com *United States Roads and Railways file 1 Raimondo Taburet login and search for usaroad*.zip
Download * Maine Coastlines Jim Keir Maine.zip
Download * Long Island Coastlines Dan Baisley long_island_coastlines.zip
Download * NY Lakes v1.2 Peter Ricciardiello nylakes12.zip
Download Nova Scotia Landclass v2 Rick Zenkner nova_scotia_landclass.zip
Download Quebec Landclass Pascal Fleury quebec_landclass.zip
Download Ottawa Landclass Roger Wensley Ottland1.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Maritime States Mesh 1 Gilles Gauthier Maritimes09a.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Maritime States Mesh 2 Gilles Gauthier Maritimes09b.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Maritime States Mesh Update Gilles Gauthier Maritimes09_update.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - St. Laurence Islands Mesh Gilles Gauthier ilesstlaurentqc.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Quebec 1 Gilles Gauthier qc09_2k4a.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Quebec 2 Gilles Gauthier qc09_2k4b.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Quebec 3 Gilles Gauthier qc09_2k4c.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Quebec 4 Gilles Gauthier qc09_2k4d.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Scenery Enhancement Gilles Gauthier scenes_du_quebec_2k4.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Scenery Update Gilles Gauthier scenes_du_quebec_2k4_maj1.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - NW Ontario Paul Morrison nwont_133320.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Southern Ontario David Voogd NEOnt.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - NE Ontario David Voogd Sontmesh.zip
Download Canada Mesh 76m - Southern Canadian Rockies Holger Sandmann sebclod9.zip
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - West Full Install FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - Rockies Full Install FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Blue Ridge, VA FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Boston, MA FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Cape Hatteras FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Chesapeake Bay FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Chicago, Ill FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Hudson River FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Lake Erie FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Lake Superior FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Lookout Mtns FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Louisville, KY FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Ottawa FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Quebec FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Savannah, GA FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download USA Mesh 38.2m - NE & Applachians - Sudsbury FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Search USA Mesh 38.2m FSGenesis/Justin Tyme  
Download Beta evaluation version of USA Landclass FSGenesis  

 

Enhanced Airports
  Description Author Filename
Download KBOS v2.0 George Grimshaw boston_logan_1.1.zip
Download Cape Cod Airports - KACK Nantucket, MA William Shea kack.zip
Download Cape Cod Airports - KACK Nantucket, MA Fix William Shea kackfix.zip
Download Cape Cod Airports - KMVY Martha's Vineyard, MA William Shea kmvy.zip
Download Cape Cod Airports - 1B2 Katana Airpark, Martha's Vineyard, MA William Shea k1b2.zip
Download Cape Cod Airports - KHYN Hyannis, MA William Shea khyn.zip
Download Cape Cod Airports - KBID Block Island, RI William Shea kbid.zip
Download KASH - Nashua, NH Thomas Perry kashb.zip
Download 8B1 - Hillsboro, NH Thomas Perry k8b1b.zip
Download KBDL - Bradley Airport, Windsor Locks, CT Phil Chimbolo bdl2005_v1-00.zip
Download KBUF - Buffalo, NY Simon Baldwin buffalo.zip
Download KROC - Rochester, NY Simon Baldwin rochester.zip
Download KROC - Rochester, NY Fix Simon Baldwin rochester_fix.zip
Download KISP - LI MacArthur, Islip, NY Phil Perlman ksip_fs2004v2.zip
Download KISP - LI MacArthur, Islip, NY AFCAD Phil Perlman af2_kisp2.zip
Download KLGA - LaGuardia Airport, NY, NY Shehryar Ansari lga2004.zip
Download KLGA - LaGuardia Airport, NY, NY fix Shehryar Ansari lga2004fix.zip
Download Airports of Newfoundland - AFCADs Lee Brompton lb_nfld.zip
Download Airports of Vermont - AFCADs Brian Gladden vt_airports_04.zip
Download 6B0 - Middlebury, VT Robert Williams 6b0_scen.zip
Download CYHZ - Halifax, Nova Scotia Steve Mosher, Craig Mosher CYHZ_v10.zip
Download CYQM - Moncton, New Brunswick Steve Mosher, Craig Mosher CYQM_v10.zip
Download CYYT - St. John's, Newfoundland Steve Mosher, Craig Mosher CYYT_v10.zip
Download CYHZ - Halifax, Nova Scotia AFCAD Lee Brompton lb_yhzxw.zip
Download CYQM - Moncton, New Brunswick AFCAD Lee Brompton lb_yqmxw.zip
Download CYYT - St. John's, Newfoundland AFCAD Lee Brompton lb_yytxw.zip
Download FS2k4 Update for Mosher Brothers' CYHZ, CYQM, CYYT Shane Strong maritime.zip
Download CYGK - Norman Rogers Airport Kingston, Ontario Keith Murphy cygk.zip
Download CYQG - Windsor, Ontario Garvin Barnicoat cyqg_04.zip
Search Quebec Short Hops Series - Search for files at www.avsim.com Leon Louis  
Search John Loney has recreated many, many airports in the Northeast US and elsewhere. John B. Loney, Jr.  

 

Enhanced Scenery
  Description Author Filename
Download Tyngsboro Bridge - Tyngsboro, MA Thomas Perry tyngsboro.zip
Download Haystack Observatory - Westford, MA Larry Silsby haystack_149932.zip
Download NY Bridges Thomas Perry nybrdg21.zip
Download Statue of Liberty Daniel Buechter liberty3.zip
Download NYC Buildings updates Tatu Kantomaa nyc_obj3.zip
Download Greater Toronto Part 1 Team Flight Ontario flight_ontario_part1.zip
Download Greater Toronto Part 2 Team Flight Ontario flight_ontario_part2.zip
Download Thunder Bay Ontario inc. CYQT & CKG8 v2 Team Flight Ontario Thunderbay2.zip
Download *Lake Erie Coastline Fix Scott Smart lkeriehp.zip
Download *Pelee Island Coastline Fix Garvin Barnicoat peleisnd_zip.zip
Download *Great Lakes Coastline Fix Garvin Barnicoat grt_lks_sndbar_fix.zip

 

Essential Files
  Description Author Filename
Download FSUIPC - This is a must!!! Be sure to get latest version. Pete Dowson fsuipc.zip
Download Flightsim Manager v2.85 - This is a must!!! Rana Hossain - Ranainside fsm285.zip
Download TreeGen tree texture replacements - This is a must!!! Trees become more realistic in size and multiply without affecting framerate Feng Zhu treegen.zip
Download Wood and Desert Environment Textures Marcel Aerni 2004_wood_desert.zip
Download Runway Textures Nazim Ali Patel airland1.zip
Download Nova Textures 1 - Needed for many scenery addons. Rafael Garcia Sánchez NovaTxt1.zip
Download Nova Textures 2 - Needed for many scenery addons. Rafael Garcia Sánchez NovaTxt2.zip
Download Nova Textures 3 - Needed for many scenery addons. Rafael Garcia Sánchez NovaTxt3.zip
Download Nova Gold Textures - Needed for many scenery addons. Rafael Garcia Sánchez NovaGt1.zip
Download NovaSim Textures - Needed for many scenery addons. Rafael Garcia Sánchez Nstext1.zip
Download Airport for Windows Textures - Needed for many scenery addons. Tom Hiscox Airport%20v2.60%20Textures.zip
Download Airport & Scenery Designer Textures - Needed for many scenery addons. Abacus asdv21_textures.zip
Download Gerrish Gray's Tree Library Gerrish Gray trees_v3.zip
Download RWY 12 Scenery Design tool and library
Be sure to download all libraries, too.
Israel Roth and Seev Kahn rwy12_program_v1.2.zip

 

Environment Addons - Try them out, see which ones you like.
  Description Author Filename
Download Cloud Replacement Library v3 Brian Selb cloudfix_v3.zip
Download Cloud Replacement Library Sascha Rieger realskies.zip
Download Cloud Replacement Library Sascha Rieger realskies.zip
Download Cloud Replacement Library v2 128x128 85kb Bart Dylkiewicz res3dcloudtexv2.zip
Download Cloud Replacement Library v4 128x128 22kb Bart Dylkiewicz res3dcloudtexv4.zip
Download Cloud Replacement Library v5 128x128 16kb Bart Dylkiewicz res3dcloudtexv5.zip
Download EnvMap Replacement file - Controls Reflections Bart Dylkiewicz resenvmaptex.zip
Download EnvMap Replacement file - Controls Reflections Maxwell Wells new_envmap.zip

 

Special Mention - Not in the NE, but too good to miss.
  Description Author Filename
Search Holger Sandmann's Scenery addons and mesh; including scenery for NW US and Western Canada and Alaska, as well as new mesh for the Alps and Himalayas Holger Sandmann See this thread to determine which files you need

 

Payware
Payware Products you must have.
To Order Description Author
Ultimate Terrain: USA Road/Water/Landclass Enhancement Kit for the USA Scenery Solutions
Ultimate Terrain: Canada & Alaska Road/Water/Landclass Enhancement Kit for Canada and Alaska Scenery Solutions
Ultimate Terrain: Europe Road/Water/Landclass Enhancement Kit for Europe Scenery Solutions
US Landclass Landclass Enhancement Kit for the USA FSGenesis
38m Mesh Elevation Enhancement for the world FSGenesis
Misty Fjords Scenery enhancement for Alaska Misty Moorings

 

Highly recommended Payware Products
To Order Description Author
Active Sky Weather Enhancement HiFi Simulation Software
Bird'sEyeView Texture Replacement for the USA and World BirdsEyeView
Flight Environment Weather replacement textures Peter Wilding
Ground Environment Texture Replacement for the World Peter Wilding & Anthony Vos
FS Water Replacement water textures Peter Wilding
Active Camera Enhance your views AnitCyclonE Software
Essential Aircraft Addons for your
Microsoft Flight Simulator installation

I've collected some links to a few my favorite aircraft available for Flight Simulator, both Freeware and Payware. This is just a small sampling of what is available, I highly recommend searching the many websites available for the aircraft you like. I list a number of great sites under the "Links" section.  Notably Tom Gibson's "California Classics" for classic propliners is great, as well as Milton Shupe's aircraft and Bill Lyons'.  There are many others.  I fly almost exclusively from the Virtual Cockpit view, so you will note that all the aircraft I have chosen here have a VC Cockpit.

Default Aircraft
(Click on the name or button for a description of the aircraft.  Use the selection boxes on the top row to filter by type.)
Reset Filters
Flying'sCool!
Beechcraft B-58 Baron                          
Beechcraft King Air 350                        
Bell 206                              
Boeing 737-400                            
Boeing 747-400                            
Boeing 777-300                            
Cessna 172                              
Cessna 182                              
Cessna 208                    
Curtiss Jenny                      
De Havilland DH88 Comet                          
Douglas DC-3                    
Extra 300                            
Ford Trimotor                          
Gates Learjet 45                        
Lockheed Vega                            
Mooney Bravo                              
Piper J3 Cub                            
Robinson R22                              
Ryan Spirit of St. Louis                            
Vickers Vimy                      
Wright Flyer 1903                            

 

Freeware Aircraft
(Click on the name to download the aircraft.  Use the selection boxes on the top row to filter by type.)
(All download links to www.Avsim.com unless otherwise noted) - Don't forget to search for repaints, too!
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Flying'sCool!
Aeronca Champ - LI Classics                          
Air Tractor AT-802A - Brian Gladden                          
Albatros - Stuart Green                        
ATR 42/72 - F. Sánchez-Castańer                          
Ayres Turbo Thrush - Marcel du Plessis                            
BAC 111 - David Maltby                            
Beechcraft B-58 Baron 1 2                          
Beechcraft 17S Staggerwing - SimTech                        
Beechcraft Model 18 1 2 3                  
Bell 206 - Owen Hewitt                              
Bell 412 - Jordan Moore                              
Bell UH1D - Deane Baunton                              
Bell UH1H - Jordan Moore                              
Bellanca 8KCAB Decathlon - LI Classics                            
Boeing 737-700 - F & G Falanghe                            
Boeing 747-400 - iFly                            
Boeing 757-200 - Project Opensky                          
Boeing 777-300 - MelJet                            
Boeing F-18 Super Hornet - Team FS KBT                          
Boeing-Stearman 75 - Robert Sanderson                    
Cessna 172 - RealAir                              
Christen Eagle II - LI Classics                            
Cirrus SR20 - Guenter Kraemer                              
DH DH89a Dragon Rapide - Dave Garwood                    
DH Canada DHC-2 Beaver - J. Woodward                          
DHC-3 Otter PZL - Eugene Heyart                          
DH Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter - PAD                            
DH Canada DHC-8 Dash8 - PAD                            
Douglas DC-4 - J.Kristensen                          
Fairchild C-119 - Daisuke Yamamoto                          
Gates Learjet 25 - Yann Koun                        
Grumman G21 Goose - Bill Lyons                
Hawker Hurricane - Robert Sanderson                            
Lockheed C-130 - Brian Franklin                          
Lockheed Martin F-16 Viper - Kirk Olsson                          
Lockheed P-3C - Team FS KBT                          
Lockheed P-38J,L - David Copley                          
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle - Coral-FLT                          
Messerschmitt ME-109                            
North American AT-6F Texan - Cliff Presley                          
North Ashmerican P-51D - Warwick Carter                            
North American F-86F - Dog Patch Crew                          
North American/Ryan Navion - Tim Conrad                            
North American T-28A,C - Tim Conrad                          
Pilatus PC-12 - AFG                          
Piper J3 Cub - Bill Lyons                            
Quad City Challenger - Bill Lyons                          
Republic P-47M Thunderbolt - Tom Kohler                            
Rockwell AC 520 - Milton Shupe                          
Rockwell AC 680 - Milton Shupe                          
Rockwell AC 690B - Veneaviones                        
Sopwith Camel - Dave Eckert                        
Spad VII - Stuart Green                        
Vought F4U-7/AU-1 Corsair - Hulin Guy                            

 

Payware Aircraft
(Click on the name to purchase the airplane.  Use the selection boxes on the top row to filter by type.)
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Flying'sCool!
ATR 72-500 - Flight One                        
Beechcraft T-34 - Carenado                          
Beechcraft Baron - Dreamfleet                          
Beechcraft Bonanza - Dreamfleet                            
Beechcraft B-200 - Aeroworx                      
Boeing 727   -   Dreamfleet                            
Boeing 737-600   -   PMDG                            
Boeing 747-400   -   PMDG                          
Boeing 757-200 - CaptainSim                            
Boeing 767-400 - Level-D                            
Cessna 182 RG - Carenado                              
Cessna 206 - Carenado                          
Cirrus SR-20/22 - Eaglesoft                              
Decathalon  - RealAir Simulations                            
DHC-2 Beaver  - Aerosoft                  
Douglas R4D (DC-3) - MAAM-Sim                        
Lockheed C-130 - CaptainSim                        
NA P-51 Mustang - Wings of Power                            
NA B-25 Mitchell - MAAM-Sim                            
Piper Cherokee 180 - Carenado                              
Piper Archer II - Carenado                              
Piper Archer - Dreamfleet                              
Piper Warrior - Australian Simulations                              
Piper Seneca II - Just Flight.                          
SIAI SF260  - RealAir Simulations                            
Supermarine Spitfire  - RealAir Simulations                            
Vought Corsair  - Aeroplane Heaven                            

Installing Microsoft Flight Simulator
Daunted by the amount of software available and wondering how to get a good, working installation installed?

Click Here for a step by step process sheet I use when I install Microsoft Flight Simulator on a system. In order to understand this process, you must be familiar with moving and copying files in Windows.  Please see FS9 Directory Structure for a description of where FS9 expects to find the files you will be installing.  If you are not familiar with how to manipulate and move files around, I offer services to help you install the software.  Give me a call and we can set up an agreement and I'll help you get set up.  I charge $25/hour ($15 minimum on first call), or you can choose a package installation deal.  Quick email help is free.  The references to Disk1 and Disk2 are the disks I give away with my class, but all the files listed below, except those that are payware, are freeware available at www.Avsim.com and www.flightsim.com and other sites.  FS9 is the directory you installed Flight Simulator.

Installation tips: Aircraft
Installation tips: Scenery

Whenever you are installing software, it is a good idea to back up the files which are about to be overwritten with newer versions, or to deactivate instead of deleting files which are no longer needed.  To deactivate a file, you need only change its extension to something unrecognizable to FS.  And make sure to VERY CAREFULLY follow the author's installation instructions in every addon you install.  You will almost always find a readme file with each addon you download.

Aircraft:   (top)
Downloaded aircraft come in two forms, those with self-installers, and those in .zip files that you need to install.  In the end, they both install the same thing.  They will typically contain files for the Aircraft, Effects, and Gauges directories, and every so often a few files in the FS9\Textures directory  (see FS9 Directory Structure).  Always be careful to read the installation instructions.  I'll cover installation of aircraft in two steps, that of .zip files, and that of self-installers. 

Zip Files: Open the zip file.  They will come in many different variations of how the author stored the files in the zip file.  Look for a directory containing the aircraft directories and place this directory in FS9/Aircraft.  You may want to edit the aircraft.cfg file to modify the manufacturer, type, and variation to your liking.  Then look for any gauges and/or effects files you'll need to install.  Often, they will have their own directories that you can just copy their contents to the FS9/Gauges and FS9/Effects directories respectively.  Sometimes, you'll find gauge files in the Aircraft\PlaneXXX\Panel directory that need to be put in the main FS9\Gauges directory.  Finally, once the plane is installed, I'll run FlightSim Manager and use its diagnostic tools to make sure all the gauges and effects and components have been correctly installed.  This should be all you need to do to install the aircraft.

Self-Installers: Self-installers can be a good thing.  They offer the ability to ease installation for those unfamiliar with the process.  They usually allow you to uninstall the product when you don't want it any more.  For many reasons, however, I prefer to install most addons in FS9 by hand.  For instance, an uninstaller may delete a gauge that is being used by another aircraft.  So for payware aircraft, mostly out of fear of screwing up the security, I'll just use the installer as it was designed.  But for most freeware aircraft, I'll normally install the aircraft to C:\wutemp\Flight Simulator 9, check out what files were installed, and then install them where they need to go.  This way, I won't accidentally overwrite any existing files that may be newer, and it gives me more control over the installation.  After that, as above, I'll run FlightSim Manager to make sure the installation is ok.

Definitely check out  FS9 Directory Structure to understand the directory structure of Aircraft, and look through a few aircraft.cfg files to become more familiar with how this structrue works.

In Flight Simulator X, the procedure is basically the same, the only difference now being that the aircraft directory is now in the FSX\SimObjects\ directory.  Everything else is pretty much the same, except that the user now has more control over where files can be stored.  I'll write more about that after the SDK has been released.

Scenery:   (top)
When adding scenery to Flight Simulator (FS), you must tell FS where to find it. To do this, start FS and go to Settings/Scenery Library. You will see a screen which looks like this (fig. 1).  Use the "Add Area..." command to add new scenery libraries to your installation once you have copied them appropriately to the Addon Scenery directory or installed them with their installer (if they came with one)..

Scenery is stored in directories on your disk (see FS9 Directory Structure).  Typically, a given scenery or airport library is installed in a directory under FS9\Addon Scenery.  For instance FS9\Addon Scenery\XXX, where XXX is the name of the directory containing the scenery library.  The XXX directory will contain two more directories, one called "Scenery" and the other called "Texture" (NOT "Textures"!).  Their spelling is very important!

Once you have added a scenery library to the list, the order of the libraries in the "Area List" is very important.  For all the different types of sceneries, except for mesh, having a lower number value in the list gives it a higher priority, 1 being the highest priority.  Those items (except for mesh) at the bottom of the list are read first, and then the libraries are successively drawn on top of the last result as you move higher in the list (towards lower number values).  So you will typically want the more important libraries you install higher in the list.  I put my terrain files lowest, landclass on top of that, sceneries on top of that, and then the airports.  Despite what you might read in some places, landclass is like all other scenery and follows the same priority rules.  Most developers suggest you install their landclass libraries with a lower priority than their scenery libraries, but read the directions to be sure.

Mesh libraries are read in the opposite direction.  The Mesh library with the lowest number (higher in the list) is read first, and then subsequent mesh libraries are read going downward (towards higher number values).  For this reason, I typically move the default LOD 8, 9, and 10 mesh files into their own library, so I can install that library as item 1 in the list.  That way, if any scenery has its own mesh, the mesh files of the addon scenery will have a higher priority than the default mesh.  Despite the priority order of the mesh, it is my understanding that FS will use an LOD 10 mesh instead of an LOD 9 mesh, and so on.  But if you have two LOD 10 meshes, the mesh with the higher priority (higher priority value) will take precedence.

Given these rules, my Addon scenery libraries are in the following order in the Flight Simulator Scenery Library manager window:

1. "Default  Mesh" library
2. Addon Mesh libraries
3. Airport libraries
4. General Scenery libraries
5. Roads libraries
6. Default and addon photoreal city libraries
7. Landclass libraries
6. UT City landclass library
7. FSGenesis Landclass library
8. Ultimate Terrain libraries
9. "FreeFlow NE" (normal and modified for UT (see above)) libraries
10. Default Regional Scenery libraries (Scenery\Afri, NAME, etc.)
11. "Corrected Airport Elevations"Library (see Moving Default Airports)
12. "Default Scenery" library
13. "Default Terrain" library

I highly recommend downloading and installing "Flightsim Manager" (FSM) by Ranainside.  Rather than using the primitive Move Up/Move Down buttons in FS's scenery library manager, FSM allows you to easily move items around in groups in the list once you've added the libraries using FS's Scenery Library Editor.  And every time I install new addons, I use FSM's checking facilities to check the scenery.cfg file and repair it if necessary (which is often).

 
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Portals

Avsim Online - One of THE BEST Flight Simulator portals/File Library/Forum sites

Flightsim.com "The World's #1 Flightsim Site"

SimHQ - The Simulation Community's Headquarters

Planesimulation - Flight Simulator 2000, 2002, 2004 and CFS2 add-ons

Simviation - taking PC Flight Simulation to the max!

- Some great scenery for Florida, New England, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, as well as tutorials and other great stuff

- Dedicated to the development and support of combat aircraft for MSFS, CFS2, CFS3 and other simulations

Education

Flight Simulator Navigation

FlightSim.Com How To - VOR-DME Arc Approaches for Pilots

Stoenworks Aviation Home Page

Videos from many types of aircraft showing procedures and flight from takeoff to landing

Multiplayer

VATSIM.net - Virtual Air Traffic Flight Simulation Network

IVAO - International Virtual Aviation Organization

Bush Flying Unlimited - At Home in the Wild !

System Performance

  FS-GS - Looking to increase your system performance?  Here is an excellent resource!

Addons and Utilities

Freeware

Aircraft Developers

FlightsimOnline - Milton Shupe

Long Island Classics

daviator.com - Vintage Aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator

Günters Flusi Seite 

Project Open Sky

FDX AMM improves aircraft and more...

DM Flight Sim - Classic British Jet Airliners for MSFS - David Maltby

SimShed - Brian Franklin

Scenery Developers

fly-heather.avsim.net - If you're looking for freeware scenery, you'll find it here.

- Some great scenery for Florida, New England, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, as well as tutorials and other great stuff

Misty Moorings, Inc - Addons, information, and a gathering place for Misty Fjords Alaskan Scenery.
Misty Fjords can be purchased at simMarket.com.

- Creating realistic representations of Canadian airports

FS Nordic File Library

FlightSim.no Filer FS2004-Scenery-Europa-Norge

John B. Loney, Jr.'s Flight Sim Scenery Design

Utilities

The Official Peter Dowson Page - FSUIPC, WideFS, and much more...

Airport for Windows - Graphical Airport Design Software

SCASM - the scenery assembler

FlightSim Stuff - Jim Keir's Utilities

Ultimate GA

SquawkBox

AirEd and More - Microsoft FS Aircraft Dynamics and Navdata - Software, links and documentation
(Scroll down page to find file)

RanaInside - new media design company

Runway 12

Payware

Full Service Providers

Aerosoft.com

Flight1.com

simMarket.com

Aircraft Developers

 Help support the restoration and maintenance
 of some classic birds

Scenery Developers

FSGenesis Mesh and Landclass Products . . . enhancing the nature of Microsoft Flight Simulator since 1996 . . .

Misty Fjords Alaskan Scenery by Holger Sandmann - Do NOT miss this!.
Misty Fjords can be purchased at simMarket.com.

Scenery Texture Enhancements
"It's a new world of flying!"

Airport scenery around the world

Utilities

Enhance your weather for MSFS

The Premier Cockpit Environment for FS2004

"Edit Flight Simulator Panels with ease!"

Enhance the realism of your MSFS ATC

Voice Buddy Interactive Voice Control Version 3.0 Voice Buddy Interactive Voice Control Version 3.0

Voice Activated Interactive ATC for MSFS

Tutorials
Looking to Learn?

Here are some links to tutorials covering various aspects or Microsoft Flight Simulator, from navigation to scenery design and other topics.  At the bottom of the list are links to other sites containing even more tutorials.

Flying

Av8n.com - A new spin on the perceptions, procedures, and principles of flying

Navigation

Flight Simulator Navigation

FlightSim.Com How To - VOR-DME Arc Approaches for Pilots

Stoenworks Aviation Home Page

Scenery Design

Moving Default Airports

Moving Default Airports 2 - Scott Gridley

Installation Management

Further sites with tutorials and other learning tools and forums

Microsoft Flight Simulator Century of Flight Portals

Avsim Online - One of THE BEST Flight Simulator portals/File Library/Forum sites

Flightsim.com  - "The World's #1 Flightsim Site"

SimHQ - The Simulation Community's Headquarters

Planesimulation - Flight Simulator 2000, 2002, 2004 and CFS2 add-ons

Simviation - taking PC Flight Simulation to the max!

  FS-GS - Great forum for learning to use Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop!

- Some great scenery for Florida, New England, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, as well as tutorials and other great stuff

- Dedicated to the development and support of combat aircraft for MSFS, CFS2, CFS3 and other simulations

FSGenesis Mesh and Landclass Products FSGenesis Mesh and Landclass Products Shop for the Perfect Gift
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