How do I...?

When you click on a scenery file, many web browsers will tell you there is no viewer available for the item, and ask you if you wish to save the item to disk. Choose yes, and make a note of where you saved the file. When you sign off you need to uncompress the file. If the program is a compressed executable (ending in .EXE) simply move it to it's own directory and run the program, and it will automatically decompress.

If the file ends with a .ZIP extension, you will need to decompress it with a decompression program, such as Pkware's Pkzip or my personal favorite WINZIP.

Remember! When unzipping these scenery files, use the -d switch on pkunzip to keep the subdirectory trees intact. Also, for those of you who were wondering, the files that end in .EXE are compressed, they've just been made into compressed executables that will automatically uncompress themselves without the use of an unzipping utility.

How long will it take? The quality of your connection will vary -- start the download and most good browsers and ftp clients will give you an estimate of how long the download will take. If it's going to take too long, try a smaller file.

"Must Have" Scenery Support Files

Combat Flight Simulator Updates

Flight Simulator 2000 Updates

Flight Simulator 2004 Updates

Flight-Sim Tools

You want to download the latest version of Quicktime or DirectX and you don't know where to start your search then this page is where you should start your quest. We've placed a selection of links that'll help you get the tools virtually every FS Pilot needs. These links will not only help you find the right drivers for your hardware, but some of these links will help you get the utilities to unpack demos, watch movies and listen to soundtracks of Sims.

How to Files

The Great Framerate Reliever Guide: 3/7/08

A relatively inexpensive way to soup-up your Flight Simulator setup without spending hundreds of dollars in the process.

Note: This guide is merely a suggestion as to how one can make the most of their FS setup without the need for expensive modifications. Thanks to the hard work of many individuals, setups like this are entirely practical and won’t have you sitting in the “FS doghouse” with your significant other. The goal of this guide is to provide you the ability to run your Flight Simulator setup on your primary PC and your FS “peripheral programs” (using a few software tools) on a sidekick PC.
From: Mark R. McCoy

AutoSaver v1.0 12/10/07

Simply save your FSX flights at a customizable interval of time (minutes). You can indicate the name of flight that will be saved and if it has to be overwritten each time or create a new, indexed, file.
From: Omar Damiani

Processkiller 6/26/07

This (debugged) tool will try to kill processes for better FSX performance. The processes to kill are stored in app.config. You can easily add processes there via the "Add to Killlist" button. You can delete them via "Reset Killlist" button. With "Kill Processes" all Processes stored in app.config will be tried to be deleted.

Note: This file is basing upon Microsoft .NET framework v. 3.5 You can download the .NET Framework from Microsoft.
From: Chris Tester

Default Command and Controls List 2/7/07

Included in this zip are 12 pages of all the FSX commands and default control assignments. It was gathered from the "ALL" lists inside of FSX.
Compiled in *jpg format by James Heany:

Tips and Tricks 1/25/07

Here’s an extended collection of hints for FSX, gathered from various sources, including the authors own trails and discoveries in “flying” the new flight simulator version. There are many new features, files, file locations and keystrokes in FSX, and here are some hints based on these changes.
Compiled in *PDF format by Doug Horton for PC Aviator:

Aiports and Navaids in Google Earth 11/26/06

This file contains all the airports & navaids for Flight Simulator X and includes all com and nav frequencies, runway details along with any relevant ILS information. Extracted from the default FSX BGL scenery files in Nov 2006.

Compiled by Ian Niblo:

Setting.xls 11/26/06

An Excel® spreadsheet (and PDF version) of most of the FSX settings. Trying to get the best framerate is hard if you don't know what the 49 or so significant settings you or someone had to employ to get there. Prints on 2 pages and you can circle most of the settings, or enter it in .xls and save/send it.

Compiled by Roger L Deal:

Microsoft Support Site 10/28/06

Microsoft online support is here! As reports and problems start to come in, online assistance is up and running, with frequent updates on problems and issues encountered by FSX users. Check out the Microsoft FSX support site for more details. While there, be sure to explore the new FS RSS feeds now available for up-to-the-minute news and bug fixes.

Modified Terrain.cfg File 11/09/06

The terrain.cfg file is one of the most powerful and sophisticated aspects of Flight Simulator. This document defines all the terrain elements and provides the basis for determining the attributes of the ground that you see while flying.

This document was compiled by the author from various post and threads at a variety of flight simulator community websites.

• What this modified terrain.cfg does
• Why you should install it
• Installation instructions
• What if I don't want water on slopes?
• Scenery designers: special notes
• Credits
• Support

Compiled in *.htm format by Richard Ludowise & Luis Féliz-Tirado:

Tips, Tricks and Tweaks Guide 10/27/06

A wide-ranging guide on Microsoft's newest flight simulator, including: FSX in-game settings including: Graphics, Aircraft, Scenery, Weather and Traffic. FSX FS community tips & tricks including; Autogen, Texture, Hardware Performance. -Plus- Blurries,  Aesthetics and inside the FSX.CFG file.

This document was compiled by the author from various post and threads at a variety of flight simulator community websites. If you've discovered a tweak that is not in this guide but would like it to be, please e-mail Greg.

Compiled in *.pdf format by Greg Germanowski:

The Bloody Beginner's Guide to Flight Simulation v 1.09 7/5/07

The PDF file is a quick guide on how to make flight simulation on your PC more realistic. It includes elementary information about the use of scenery, weather, aircraft, AI traffic, ATC software and flight planners. Also included is a section on hardware and software issues. It applies to both FSX and FS9. The July edition of the popular guide adds information about online retailers, reviews, "before you buy add-ons" guide, live AI traffic, updated for FSX SP1
Compiled in *.pdf format by Marten Weber:

How to Make a Profile just for Flight Simulator - an Illustrated Tutorial.

Windows XP allows multiple "boot" profiles in which you can disable hardware and peripheral devices that may not be needed while playing games such as FS2004. The theory is that if Windows does not need to load every hardware device you have, more computer resources will be available for your game. This tutorial will show you how to create and use such a profile. Compiled in .doc format for your flying enjoyment by David "Opa" Marshall.

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of Mr. Tom Gregor, Sr.: If you find the information useful. . . say so. . . by dropping me a line.

Flight Simulator as pilot training-aid...?. - For FS2000+

Everything you always wanted to know about flying-on-line... but were afraid to ask. - For FS98+

Everything you always wanted to know about installing FS2000 scenery... and FS98 scenery into FS2000, but were afraid to ask. - For FS2000

Everything you always wanted to know about maximizing FS2000... but were afraid to ask. - For FS2000+

Everything you always wanted to know about installing FS98 scenery into CFS1... but were afraid to ask. - For CFS1

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of Mr. Alfred Grech: If you find the information useful. . . say so. . . by dropping Alfred a line.

A very brief lesson in DOS to help you set up your FS51 subdirectory and copy the proper files to their corresponding subdirectories. Do not download if you know DOS.

A simple description of how to sort out the directories in FS5.1 with some examples for beginners.

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of Mr. Ray Proudfoot: If you find the information useful. . . say so. . . by dropping Ray a line.

How to Become a Scenery Manager!

OK, so you're new to Scenery Management and want to understand how it works. I hope that this document will explain how it all fits together and will lift the mystique surrounding the Scenery Library. Please note that this document complements the extensive help in FS95. It does not replace it!.

"A Guide to Reducing Scenery Pauses" - How to reduce pauses in FSFW95?.

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of Mr. Pete Dowson: If you find the information useful. . . say so. . . by dropping Pete a line.

SCUTILS: Assorted small scenery utilities for FS5/6

All these programs are simple DOS command line programs, accepting parameters on the command line as part of their invocation. One day, perhaps, I might convert them all into fancy Windows programs with all the buttons and menus everyone likes these days, but at present I have better things to do.

There is precious little documentation or other help for any of them, but I will summarize them here. You should experiment with them (preferably on separate 'trial' copies of your valuable scenery files first) so that you know what they do and whether they are any use to you.

Every program provides a summary help display if it is executed with no parameters, or parameters which it does not understand at all. To see how to enter the parameters, please use this method first.

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of Konstantin Kukushkin: If you find the information useful. . . say so. . . by dropping Konstantin a line.

About FsFacts.

I wrote the first version of FsFacts as part of the documentation for Airphoto, a program for importing aerial photographs into MSFS. However, it turned out that FsFacts received much more positive feedback than Airphoto in general. For this reason, I decided to separate this file from Airphoto and continue it's development independently.

After almost 4 years of FS5 and FS6, there are now many guides and tutorials for beginners to get started with scenery design. However, there is still a very big niche between these tutorials and technical documentation like FS5STRUC or references to scenery assemblers. The main intention behind writing FsFacts was to fill some part of this niche, thus speeding up the learning curve for scenery designers who already got started.

This documentation consists of several files. FS_FACTS.TXT discusses some general working principles of MSFS and it's scenery engine. It may be of interest not only to scenery designers, but also for "regular" users.

FS_PRO.TXT focuses on scenery design itself. It is not a complete reference to scenery programming, nor is it a guide for beginners to get started. It merely contains detailed answers to some common scenery design questions, either frequently or less frequently asked. It also focuses on many problems that can arise when designing scenery and frequently made errors.

APPENDIX.TXT includes some tables and technical data which may be of interest to scenery designers.

The file FS98DIFF.TXT includes some last-minute information on FS98, which was released only shortly before this version of FsFacts. All other files refer to FS6 and FS5. Because there are no big changes in the scenery engine of FS98, this should not be a problem.

- Konstantin Kukushkin

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of Bernard Stockwell: If you find the information useful. . . say so. . . by dropping Bernard a line.

Keyboard Controls

FSX Keyboard Commands Table. Skillfully executed version of the original authors Word® file in a single page*.pdf format listing the keyboard commands for FSX.

These are the final keyboard commands for FSX. Many are new due to the new features in FSX. Print them out. You'll find that they will enhance your flight experiences with FSX

The FSX Keyboard Commands are brought to us courtesy of RadarMan: If you find the information useful. . . say so. . . by dropping RadarMan a line.

FS2004 Keyboard Controls

FS2004 Keyboard Commands Table. Portrait orientated table in Word format listing the keyboard commands for FS2004. Zip contains both European A4 and US Letter size versions.

The FS2004 Keyboard Commands are brought to us courtesy of Tony Smith: If you find the information useful. . . say so. . . by dropping Tony a line.

FS2002 Keyboard Controls

Based on the original FS2002 keyboard references by Jeffrey Hendricks. These are the keyboard commands formatted in MS Word so that they will fit 2 pages per sheet (5.5" x 4.25" each). The pages are perfect for small binders like those by Jeppesen or for use in Air Force Crew Checklist clear plastic sheets. To use just print the pages, cut them in half, and punch the appropriate holes or slide them into clear sheets.

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of John Hirsch: If you find the information useful. . . say so. . . by dropping John a line.

FS2000/FS98 Keyboard Controls

Here it is, all in one place. This listing gives you all the keyboard control keys that FS2000/MSFS98 recognizes. Print it and keep it handy for a supplement to the manual. Of course, should you find errors or omissions, please let me know.

- John Hirsch

Guides to FS Scenery Installation

Some of the most common problems I hear about from users of 3rd party scenery can be directly traced to a lack of understanding of how to correctly install scenery in FS, and how the scenery library really works. If scenery is not installed correctly, with a complete understanding of how it will interact with scenery that is already installed, conflicts often result, causing floating runways and other visibility problems. The following guides are intended to assist you in understanding how the library really works, and how you can correctly install your new scenery without creating unwanted conflicts.

- Tom Gregor, Sr.

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of Garreth Jones.

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of Sami Puro.

The following "How to files" are brought to us courtesy of Bill Stack.

All files on our server, available for download, have been sanitized for your protection.