Several questions from one with ZERO experience

I would not say you are an idiot as you have been able to get on the net and type some sensible questions before going out and investing in some software.
My question would be are you in interested in flight or are you interested in games?
If it is the latter then FS is not for you as it takes time and practice to "get it right". If you have a genuine interest this helps a great deal.
There are plenty of tutorials and flying lessons to help you get your wings, if you can't find what you need to know within FS then come here and ask..you will always get a sensible answer form the likes of FEM, GPS KID, Radarman the list is endless.
Realistic "As real as it gets!" you can alter hoew the sim behaves. Turn crash off etc leave it on whatever. I used FS98 to learn to fly when I did my PPL the instructor said "are you sure you have never flown".
You can program failures and there are plenty of add ons that simulate those types of situations.
Joystick is a must but I can't help with which one to use....someone else take over with this.
Go for it!

PH wrote:

My question would be are you in interested in flight or are you interested in games?

I am interested in flight. I am interested in this being as close as I can possibly get to actually climbing in one of these puppies. However, my concern is that since I have no experience, I don't want to spend months and months trying to just get one off the ground, then just to crash everytime I try to land.

However, the reason I asked about the emergency situations is that if I did learn to fly the thing pretty well, I might get bored with the same old same old, and need some system failures to 'spice things up'.

"How realistic is it?"

The more powerful your computer resources ie: CPU speed, amount ot RAM, Video card, monitor quality, the more realistic it is.

If you have a good system, it is very realistic.
Post your specs, and we can advise you has to how well (aprox.) you can expect it to work.

I use a Microsoft Sidewinder joystick and I have no complaints.

edit: you will never run out of new situations to explore in this sim.

Also, You will be off the ground within an hour if you play your cards right.

Michael_H wrote:

Post your specs, and we can advise you has to how well (aprox.) you can expect it to work.

Athlon xp 2500 333FSB
512 MB pc2700
64MB ATI All in wonder 9000
Windows xp

With regards to the sidewinder, will it work with xp?

Your system is more than adequate to run FS2004 well, although not really wide open (all graphics set to the max)

With regards to the sidewinder, will it work with xp?

Yes, mine does.

I have a Logitech 3D Pro. It's awesome! And it works perfectly.

Whitenack, I'm replying to your concern about getting in, trying, and crashing. It's not at all like that! When you get it, go through the introductory flight. Time and time again, I hear people complaining that they can't fly the planes, but truth is, they think they can just jump right into a 737 and fly it just fine. You can't. You HAVE to go through some of the lessons to learn things that come in handy when you are flying, and then, you just have to practice with the smaller planes. I remember flying a Cessna 172 (yes, i actually started with those 😛) back and forth from Cherry Capitol to Grand Rapids, MI. then, I flew the Baron, then King air, then 737, now, almost any jet lends itself nicely to my abilities. But I've owned the sim for more than a year now, so it does take some practice. But I do remember, first time, Intro Flight with Rod, got in, took off, turned, and landed, no crash, realism all the way up.

I have NO true flight experience either bud!

Guest: Learning Curve...: How fast do you want to make it to the Big Iron? It's as slow or as fast as you want it to be. I use those because they are regarded as the most difficult aircraft to fly...with good reason too.

if you want to talk to me more, email me

big_beia@hotmail.com

Fire Emblem,

What controls do you use?

Whitenack = Guest

I only use a Logitec Extreme 3d Pro, and then I use the F1-F4 as throttle, heck, EVERYTHING but the actual control surfaces I use the keyboard for 😛

Fire Emblem and Agus,

Had any trouble with the reliability of your sticks? I hear all over the net terrible problems after just a few weeks of use.

Also,

I see on this site downloads for other planes. Are those planes accurate models of the real planes? For instance, does the SR71 really fly like the real thing or is it just a 747 with different 'skin'? Will flying the F-14 be as fast and as nimble as what I see in Top Gun, or will it fly slow just like a Learjet with F-14 skin?

Thanks again,

My view would be :-

- The learning Curve varies according to how involved you want to get and what sort of aviation you want to simulate.... If you want to fly small Cessna type airplanes around in free airspace and just hand-fly and enjoy the view, the learning curve is small - if you want to simulate full airline operations in a 747 add-on plane, with full ATC and full IFR flight rules then te learning curve will be at least 3 months!

- I wouldn't consider using the Sim without a Joystick. But even the cheapest one would do fine.

- If you come in too low / too fast as you described you will crash, but if this becomes a headache you can change the settings so that you don't crash - this can help practicing.

- The Sim is the most addictive thing I ever came across - got into it 6 months ago and been absolutely hooked ever since.... Have 100s of flight hours in.... Those who love it, LOVE IT !

whitenack wrote:

Fire Emblem and Agus,

Had any trouble with the reliability of your sticks? I hear all over the net terrible problems after just a few weeks of use.

Also,

I see on this site downloads for other planes. Are those planes accurate models of the real planes? For instance, does the SR71 really fly like the real thing or is it just a 747 with different 'skin'? Will flying the F-14 be as fast and as nimble as what I see in Top Gun, or will it fly slow just like a Learjet with F-14 skin?

Thanks again,

Ok, I 've never had any trouble with my joystick. It's a really good joystick for me. I've also heard about all the problems about the Logitech joysticks, but I didn't care. When I saw that joystick for the first time, I said "I want to buy it!"
Trust me, it is a very nice joystick. If you have problems with it, just return it or ask for help.

As for the other question, I read your question again in other posts and the answer. https://forum.flyawaysimulation.com/forum/topic/3074/hi-im-new-guy-and-i-was-wondering-what-i-need-to-do-to/