Seeking aircraft recommendation

[kiwicomm]

Hi all,
I've moved from FS 2004 to FSX Steam and am happy so far. Unfortunately I could not bring over my favourite Flight 1 ATR 72 500 despite a great deal of effort. I really liked its backlit steamboat gauges for night flying. It was a great airplane. Can anyone recommend a good light twin freeware or payware for FSX SE with good backlit gauges for night flight? I'd also ask if there's an equivalent to the ATR experience for me in FSX SE but my research so far suggests there isn't other than a move up to the Majestic Q400 with its glass cockpit. I sit on the fence re whether I should get that aircraft. They sure like it in PC Pilot though.

[Ian Warren]

I don't run Steam tho have it , still yet to install it, running twins PMDG-JS41 should plop in there for near the same performance, but for the more recent twins with lessor performance JUSTFLIGHTS Devon/Dove is fun or slower the Aerosoft Otter, that is a lotta fun in the hills and mountain NZ .. the otter has those steamboat and well suited gauges ... and a GPS ..

[cowpatz]

The Majestic Q400 is fantastic. If you want something more steam driven then maybe the Razbam Metroliner or the Just flight F27.

[Ian Warren]

If you want something more steam driven then maybe the Razbam Metroliner or the Just flight F27.

Oopps , totally forgot the F-27 .. SCORE a brilliant 'Cloud Screen theme' for this months compo .. you could get that for free

[Lindstrim]

Flight 1 Duke?

[Radar88]

Hi there I originally downloaded and purchased the Flight 1 ATR 72 500 FS2004 version well over ten years ago direct from http://www.flight1.com and then when I upgraded to FSX managed to install successfully into FSX.

I have recently upgraded FSX to the FSX Steam Edition and managed to re-install successfully via manually changing and pointing the installation paths to the steam\steamapps\common\FSX

I now have the ATR 72-500 program installed using the original install keys.

It's now install on my dedicated Flight Sim drive as F:steam\steamapps\common\FSX\Flight One Software\Flight One ATR 72-500

With the actual ATR aircraft showing F:steam\steamapps\common\FSX\SimObjects\Airplanes\Flight One ATR 72-500

Works fine in FSX Steam Edition- FSX SE.

However what you are after is to first go through and do the free FSX executable update for Flight 1 ATR 72-500 using ATR-FSX.exe

There is a free downloadable update for users who purchased the FS2004 version who want to install into FSX

Found at http://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=atr1

Go to the section that reads

Get the free FSX update if you have the FS2004 version!

If you have the download or CD ROM versions, you can use the update below. For download customers, you can also use your key file and use the reinstall option with the FSX download above.

It is VERY important you follow the instructions carefully in the update below. Look for Instructions.htm in the zip.

ATR 72-500 FS2004 to FSX Update (19 MB) this is the ATR-FSX.exe

Flight1 ATR 72-500 Update for FSX

The following is a copy of Instructions.htm in the zip.

It is very important that you follow these instructions exactly.

Since this update is multi-step, it is required that you have a previous installation of the Flight1 ATR 72-500 for FS9 on your system (either the download or CD ROM edition), whether you have FS9 installed or not. Download users may find it easier simply to re-download the ATR product and reinstall with their key file (the FSX version uses the same key as the FS9 version).

How to install this update (3 scenarios):

A quick overview of the update process:

First, the core FSX files are installed into FSX through ATR-FSX.exe, and shortcuts created. Next, the FSXUpdater.exe utility (installed as part of ATR-FSX.exe) will copy your FS9 files over to FSX, completing the update. This utility MUST be successfully run for the ATRto be fully updated for FSX. You can find this utility in your Start/Programs/Flight One Software/ATR 72-500 for FSX menu after you install the update.

This update will not affect your FS9 installation of the ATR.

1. If you have the FS9 version of the ATR already installed:

If you have the Flight1 ATR 72-500 for FS9 already installed into FS9 (FS2004) then there is little you need to do. If this is the case, simply run the ATR-FSX.exe update. Make sure you point the installer to your FSX location, then after all the files are installed, run the FSXUpdater.exe utility. This utility will start automatically after the ATR-FSX.exe program has completed. You can also run it manually. Look for the Copy Files from FS9 listing in your Start/Programs/Flight One Software/ATR 72-500 for FSX menu for a shortcut to this utility.

2. If you do not have the FS9 version already installed, but have FS9 installed:

You will still need to install the Flight1 ATR 72-500 for FS9, whether you have FS9 installed or not. If you have FS9 installed, simply install your previous version into FS9, then run ATR-FSX.exe. The FSXUpdater.exe tool will then start automatically.

3. If you do not have Flight Simulator 9 installed:

You will need to install the Flight1 ATR 72-500 for FS9 into a fake FS9 location on your system, then make sure a file named FS9.EXE is created there.

1. Open My Computer, double click on your C drive (or any drive or location you want, and then from the menu, select File, then New, then Folder. Name this folder FS9, or anything you want.

2. You will next need to create a fake FS9.EXE file in the new folder. You can copy any small file over to that folder and rename it FS9.EXE, or double-click the Fake FS9 folder to open it, and select File, then New, then Text Document from the menu.

3. Next, right-click the text file, select Rename, and then change the name to FS9.EXE.

You will then be able to install the FS9 version of the ATR on your system to your new folder. After you have installed the FS9 version, run ATR-FSX.exe to complete the update. Make sure you point the FSXUpdater.exe tool to this new/fake FS9 folder so it can copy the files over.

After you install the update, you should be able to remove your FS9 install of the ATR with no problems.

Installation notes:

It is important to note that the FSX version differs from the FS9 version. Make sure you read the updated documentation listed in the in the Start/Programs/Flight One Software/ATR 72-500 for FSX menu.

Here is a list of some of the main changes from FS9 to FSX (there may be a few more changes, but the main ones are listed here):

1. There are no interior bitmap based quartering, side, or rear views of the cockpit from the 2D cockpit. You will see the virtual cockpit views when selecting different view positions.

2. The configuration manager has been changed and is now available from within FSX. It requires the Microsoft .NET 2.0 runtime files. You can get them here if needed or through Windows Update.

3. Text-o-Matic for FSX is not included in this update (to apply new aircraft repaints). You will need to get it from Flight1.com. Go to http://www.flight1.com/view.asp?page=texto for the latest versions.

4. Some gauges have been updated with new technology, allowing for smoother operation.

5. There is no uninstaller for the update due to the fact that many files are copied over from the FS9 version on your system. To uninstall most of the files, you can remove the Flight One ATR 72-500 from the SimObjects, Sounds, and Flight One Software folders of FSX, and the F1ATR*.* gauges from the FSX Gauges folder.

Tip! Press and hold you space bar, then you can use your mouse in the Virtual Cockpit to pan your view around. Press "A" to toggle the Virtual Cockpit.

If you have any problems or questions about this update, please visit http://www.simforums.com.

[Radar88]

Just a follow up with some more useful links dedicated to the Flight 1 ATR 72 500

http://atr.flight1.net

You can find the Accessory Downloads via

http://atr.flight1.net/atr_downloads.asp

with the ATR Discussion Forums via

http://atr.flight1.net/forums/forums.html

Also if you do not already have, would highly recommend the New Zealand General Aviation Repaints by Ethan Ward for the Flight1 ATR 72 500 of Air New Zealand (Mount Cook Airline)

NZGAR Repaints Flight 1\ATR\ANZ ATR72 2 Pack.zip

ZK-MVB, ZK-MCF this is the one with new colour Black on White Silver Fern on the tail end livery under Air New Zealand ZK-MCF NC

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= ... sp=sharing

[kiwicomm]

Thx for all the input everyone. It looks like this ATR discussion is one I need to pursue. Here's where I am at:
1. I love the ATR and really want it for FSX SE. Like, REALLY want it. More than the Majestic which maybe sometime in the future I might get. So many happy memories from FS2004
2. I was actually successful in getting the 2004 disk version up and running in FSX SE following the various links you mention. Got the gauges working etc.
3. It still had bugs though. Sounds didn't work apart from engine and I couldn't for the life of me get any others working despite frigging around with the files both in the Sim objects/Aircraft ATR files and the FSX/Flight 1 directory files. Another bug was that I couldn't start the engines apart from ctrl E. By far the biggest bug though was that when I actually flew the thing either in Canada or NZ it would fly ok everything cool and then 2/3 through the flight I got a fatal error message and FSX SE crashed. I thought it was a memory/overheat/some other problem maybe but just to follow up I also tried to port over another payware FS2004 airplane the other day and the same thing happened when I tried to start it so it's not my chip or RAM or hardware issue. I tried reinstallingATR 3 times and the same thing each time.
4. I gave up, essentially, and sold my ATR disk to another NZ user last week.

So, I'm in a position where I seek advice from members as to my options. I reckon they are:
1. Purchase the FSX version of the ATR and pray that it installs OK in FSX SE. It'd be a financial hit but if you guys are confident that it would work maybe bite the dust on 45 US
2. Contact the purchaser of the old 2004 disk and ask to borrow it back, which I'm pretty sure he would do. That would only put me where I was before though. I've still got all my ATR files backed up but I think I need the disk to get anywhere. I'm confident that I followed all the steps in the Flight 1 links and I did in fact get the ATR installed, but poorly.
3. Find another member who has the ATR within the geographic area of the lower North Island and bring my whole frigging stack over to get help to get it installed, up and running.
4. Give up and move on, probably to yet another FS2004 airplane the iFLY 737 which is another one I'll need to repurchase. Loved that one too. The SE links say that the FSX version works OK in Steam.

Any other advice appreciated.

[dbcunnz]

If you are after the ATR this one is reasonably cheap and has just been upgraded it may be worth a look.
https://www.virtualcol.com/shop/tvirtua ... oducto=103