A newbie looking for a FS2004 book

[olderndirt]

As a brand spanking new flight simmer (FS2004), courtesy of Santa and others, I'm wondering if there's any worthwhile book out there.  Something that covers the computer techniques more than the flying.

[BFMF]

I used to live not too far from Rochester, Wa...

If you head down to the flight board, there is a basic pilot's course that covers all the basics of flying.

There are also tutorials here on SimV that cover addon scenery/aircraft installation.

That's all I can think off the top of my head, but i'm sure others know of more.

Welcome to SimV....!

[Sir_Crashalot]

Books about computers and such: here

Book about Flight Simulator: here

Ofcourse you can always ask any question here in the forums.

Welcome to Simviation.

Crash

[JerryH]

Hi, olderndirt, welcome to SimV.

Your question is pretty broad, but I think Crash gave you a good place to start. At this time, my one recommendation is to use a joystick for aircraft control. Control by keyboard is very imprecise and frustrating. A yoke and pedals is actually the best but, for a beginner, a joystick will do nicely.

Other than that, take it slow and start with a Cessna to get a feel for how it all works. Of course, you'll do like I did and jump into a B747 very early and make a big mess of things. The Seattle area is littered with 747s that didn't like the way they were being flown.

Have a great time with your new toy, and continue to read and use the forum. I learn something every day.

By the way, I grew up in Aberdeen, WA. And you may be olderndirt, but you're younger than me.

Regards,
JerryH

[JBaymore]

Welcome to SimV olderndirt.

You found the place to do your reading on sim flying and computer setup for sim flying......... SimVation.

best,

..................john

"Who is almost olderndirt."

[olderndirt]

What I'm looking for is a book that teaches the good computer 'moves'.  After forty some years at it, I think I've got the flying stuff figured out and my stint as a controller has got to help.  It's the wheeling and dealing with the computer that's where I'm weak.  Reading the forums won't help much 'til I understand what's being said - brand spanking new was no exageration.  Santa did bring a stick with separate throttle - just like a cub, sort of - so that part looks good.

[727 driver]

and again welcome to flight sim..the above advice is all good ..however u will have more questions than a book can offer ..every system is different however there are so many of us out here that we as a sim community can and will answer your questions..and belive me i have been simming since 1995 and still have tech. questions come up...and they get answered..so use this forum ...we are all here to help in anyway we can ..and we will..once again welcome[quote]As a brand spanking new flight simmer (FS2004), courtesy of Santa and others, I'm wondering if there's any worthwhile book out there.

[Nav]

What I'm looking for is a book that teaches the good computer 'moves'.

We'd all like to help, olderndirt, but I for one can't work out what you mean by 'the good computer moves.' Generally speaking, the computer just runs the game; for the flying controls, the joystick and throttle cover a lot of it and the rest of the inter-action' with the computer is a matter of keystrokes.

Press 'Alt/Aircraft/Kneeboard/Keys' for a list of those, or alternatively look anything you're not sure of up in the Learning Centre. Or do some of the lessons, the early ones are quite good.

Maybe give a couple of examples of things you're not clear on?

[Opa]

[quote]What I'm looking for is a book that teaches the good computer 'moves'.

[JerryH]

After reading your last post, I think I have a better idea of where you need help. Rather, two ideas.

If you're new to running a PC at home, Opa's recommendation of the "Dummies" books is right on. They got me off to a good start years ago with an older Windows operating system.

Nav touched on another idea of how to interact with the simulator using the keyboard. As a new simmer about seven years ago, the first thing I did was print out the keyboard commands so they were right in front of me. I prefer doing that to using the kneeboard. If that will help you, do the following:

- Start FS2004
- At the opening screen, click on "Learning Center"
- On the screen full of Key Topics, scroll down to the "Kneeboard"
- Click on "Kneeboard" and scroll all the way down to "Key Commands"
- In that section, click on "Complete list of key commands"
- When the list displays, follow the instructions for printing.

Let us know if you're making any progress. If not, keep coming back until we get it right!

Regards,
JerryH

[Opa]

FYI - You do not need to have FS running to access the Learning Center.

Create a new shortcut on your desktop and paste the following into the target box:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9\FSweb\LearningCenter\lc_index_KeyTopicsTabs.htm

This assumes a default install location - if not, edit the path accordingly.

With this shortcut you can access the Learning Center anytime you wish.

Cheers!

[olderndirt]

Thanks for all your input.  It's not that I'm completely computer illiterate though the "Dummies" idea has considerable merit.  What I was looking for was something that, perhaps, can only be acquired through 'on the job' experience so watch for lots more newbie questions.

[harleyman]

The first rule of thumb for Flight Sims is that they are very CPU (processor) dependent...So you want a good one

Second is Video card and the drivers for it..There again a good one is best .

Then you need good Ram (memory)

Lastly its nice to have a fair working knowledge of your Operating System and what processes it has running that can pull down your CPU when flying..

Now you can take all the *questions* and ask about them in any flight sim hardware forum...

Hope that helps you a little...

Its very generic at best...