Moving From The Default Aircraft to Advanced Addons

This next entry is going to jump forward a few months, possibly a few years with regard to a FSX pilot's skill progression from the default aircraft to wanting to purchase and fly more realistic third-party payware addons. I am going to focus on commercial jets (vs. General Aviation, or Helicopters) because this is what is considered the "meat & potatoes" of Flight Simulator by a majority of the Flight Simulator communities at large.

To begin, here are some of what I consider the most important aspects all Flight Simulator Pilots should consider before purchasing a realistic payware addon... But especially for those planning to use FSX for advanced simming:

1) Most payware addons require a lot more processing power than the default FSX jets.

This reason should be obvious: Realistic payware addons simulate a lot of systems found on modern aircraft such as TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidence System), weather radar, hydraulics, pneumatics, APU (Auxillary Power Unit), FMC/CDU units, emergency fire suppression systems, ILS CatIII systems (full autoland) and various other components the default FSX jets do not. As a result, this means these addons require a lot more processing power to simulate these additional systems and features.

Flight Simulator pilots should take this into consideration above all else when deciding whether or not to buy this type of addon by not only looking at the system requirements on the box (or website) for the addon, but also comparing those requirements to their current PC specs *AND* what kind of performance they are currently getting in Flight Simulator, right now.

This is particularly important for FSX pilots because of the already taxing hardware requirements FSX already demands by itself. A general rule of thumb is if you and other virtual pilots are barely able to render 30 FPS with the default jets and GA aircraft... Chances are you should not purchase a more realistic addon because of the additional processing power required you probably just do not have at the moment. This applies to all kinds of addons and not just aircraft.

For example, there are countless AI Traffic addons users can purchase to enhance the realism of the skies and airports in FSX. However, once again, they must consider how much additional processing power a traffic addon like this requires and make their decision accordingly.

As a point of fact, the above reasons are why a majority of flight simmers have decided to stay with FS2004, until FS11 is released. As previously stated in earlier blog entires, FS9 does not require that much processing power given today's modern gaming hardware. This means more processing power can go to additional processing routines realistic payware addons require.

This is why I suggested early on if it looks like the majority of your flight simming is going to be IFR, commercial jet simulation, you should purchase (or stay with) FS2004, and install it along side FSX, and use FSX primarily for increased VFR realism.

2) More Realistic Addons Require More Time and Patience to Learn

This is a crucial factor for virtual pilots to consider because in the end it comes down to how much free time and patience you have (or not) to devote to learning the more realistic procedures and systems simulated by these types of addons.

If a virtual pilot is does not have the time, or desire to commit to learning the more realistic addons and just wants to fly instead of "hitting the books" (manuals) then they would probably not enjoy the more realistic addons and should stick to the less demanding ones (as listed in a previous entry) aimed specifically at their level of interest... And/or just save the money they would have spent and fly the default jets included with FSX.

I hope this entry has given virtual pilots some important points to consider as they decide whether or not they are suited to more realistic addons. I also hope I presented a realistic picture of what it takes to get the most out of these kinds of third-party payware addons as far as investments in both hardware, personal commitment and time.