Flight Simulator X Addons: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Hopefully by now you have fine tuned FSX for the best balance between visuals and performance and spent some time flying the default aircraft. Perhaps you have even completed all of the missions? So, the big question is what do you do now?

The general answer to this question is... Anything you want.

FSX is one of the very few games still built on the "sandbox" model of granting the user unlimited freedom to do what he/she wants. The formal definition of "sandbox" means the developers give the gamer a set of tools and it is up to them (the gamer) to create their own game play. Part of creating your own game play comes in the form of user content called addons (add-ons).

An addon can be anything from a simple airline livery (aircraft paint scheme) to scenery enhancements like new airports, better looking terrain, more realistic sky, improved weather effects, etc. The most obvious addons are of course, aircraft that can be flown in Flight Simulator along side the default aircraft. All of these addons fall into either one of two general categories:

Freeware - These are addons made strictly by flight sim enthusiasts like yourself. They can be downloaded at any number of flight sim sites and are completely free. The makers of freeware addons make them simply because they want to improve flight simulator experience for themselves and share that improved experience with the flight simulation community at large.

As with most things of this nature, the quality of freeware addons varies greatly. Some freeware addons are very amateurish (by default) and not done very well. Other freeware addons are very professional and rivial even the more expensive payware addons made by professional developers. This leads me to...

Payware - These addons are produced and published by third-party developers who market them to the flight sim community and its members. Some famous developers and publisher names you will quickly become familiar with are PMDG (Percision Manuals Design Group), Abacus, Commercial Level Simulatons, and FeelThere/Wilcopublishing just to name a few.

So, you are probably asking yourself which ones are the best?

Even though this is an entirely subjective discussion, I feel there still has to be a way for flight sim enthusiasts to evaluate and make purchasing decisions for payware addons considering payware addons are where you can obviously lose money if you are not careful. Because of the risk payware addons inherently bring I have decided break down the kinds of addons that are available into three general categories to hopefully give FSX users a starting point for their evaluations.

ADDON CATEGORIES:

A) Expert and Advanced

This type of addon is aimed at the virtual pilot who might as well be a real pilot and wants things "as real as it gets". They want as many of the complex systems on a aircraft modeled in detail and these addons deliver. This type of addon requires advanced knowledge of in-depth aircraft procedures and systems such as starting the APU (Auxilary Power Unit) in a "Cold & Dark" configuration, programming the MCU/CDU with waypoint data, knowing how to read and use SIDS and STARS information, calculate V speeds and other advanced operating procedures pilots in the real world use.

The following addons fall into this category:

-PMDG
-FeelThere/Wilcopublishing* (Pilot in Command)
-Captain Sim
-Level D

B) Intermediate

This type of addon is geared toward the beginning to intermediate flight simmer who has more advanced skills and knowledge than the default aircraft in FSX offer, but who also might not enjoy going through every single procedure, or subsystem to get them in their air like advanced simmers enjoy. This type of addon is designed to focus on a few key systems and often simulates those specific systems with limited functionality.

For example, unlike the default FSX aircraft, this type of addon might include a FMC (Flight Management Computer) and require the pilot to know how this kind of device works (program it themselves). However, it won't be as powerful as a more advanced FMC and lack a lot of major functions a real FMC might have.

Some addons that fall into this category are:

-Commercial Level Simulations
-Carenado
-Flight One (certain planes)
-FeelThere/Wilcopublishing* (Modern Airliner Series)

C) Amateur and Casual

This last type of addon is for the casual flight simmer who likes to fly. Period. They have no real desire to learn how and why systems on an aircraft work. They just like "the view outside the window at 30,000 FT". The easier it is to get them into the air the better. These types of addons are basically modified versions of the default aircraft found in FSX. They model very few systems and the emphasis is on getting the pilot off the ground with minimal work. All these addons require are a basic knowledge of flight, aircraft control (flaps, throttle, pitch), rudimentary navigational aids (GPS; compass) and takeoff and landing procedures like ILS approaches.

Some addons that fall into this category are:

-Abacus
-Aerosim
-Simmer's Sky (Overland)

*The reason I have listed FeelThere/Wilcopublishing in two different categories is because they market a number of different products that fall into multiple categories. There is also an ongoing debate about the quality of the products FeelThere/Wlicopublishing produces that further complicates where to definitively place them as well.

My personal opinion on FeelThere/Wilcopublishig is similar to a majority in the flight sim community: After they release a product it is best to wait for a few patches, so the initial bugs are worked out and the experience is a much better one by default. If you are going to pay for quality at least, wait until that quality is there.

I hope this guide helps future Flight Simulator pilots when the time comes to buy addons, or even look for freeware ones. This should be particularly useful for parents of children/teens/young adults who might be asking for FSX addons by helping them determine the various kinds of addons that might be more suited to them given their present age, skill level and overall interest in aviation.