Flight Simulator Guide / Guides / FAQ

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 is a large program. There are a lot features. We will try to answer the most frequent sort of questions here. Is your question not listed here? Please use our forum to ask your question.

General Flight Simulator Questions

Questions related to AI traffic

Aircraft & flying related questions

ATC related questions

Every time when I try to land, the plane won't slow down, or I decent too fast.
- Decrease the amount of fuel, your plane is most likely too heavy to land. Press <ALT>, select Aircraft > Fuel and Payload and decrease the % of fuel to about 20-30%, depending on the type of aircraft. You also need to set flaps. Flaps will increase lift and you'll be able to fly slower without losing too much altitude.

Is there a way to watch the AI traffic fly like I view my plane?
- Yes, go to the spot-plane view mode and hold <CONTROL> <SHIFT>, then press <W> to switch from AI plane to another AI plane. FS will show you AI planes that are airborne as well as AI planes that are still on the ground. Press <S> to change back to your own plane.

How much AI traffic can FS2004 handle? Is there a limit?
- No, it may depend on your system specs of course, but there is not built-in limitation. The only limitation is that you won't be able to see AI planes that are 10 nm or more from your location.

What are frame rates?
- It means movements of an object per second. Higher frame rate = more smooth movements of your plane, the scenery or AI planes. 20 - 25 frames per second are about the same as you see a movie on TV. It all depends on your system specs and the add-ons you've installed, plus the performance settings of FS2004. There are 2 important things to keep in mind: CPU speed (and also type CPU) and your graphics card. While you are flying, in the background your pc is working like hell to process all the data. Higher processing speed means better frame rates, so the more GHz, the better. It is also known that Intel CPU's are slightly faster than AMD CPU's of the same GHz. A graphics card with a lot memory and own CPU works great, because it makes the job of the main CPU of your pc a lot easier. The RAM in your pc (not video RAM) doesn't have much to do with the frame rates. On the other hand, a lot RAM is capable of loading more of your scenery at once. That way there is no need to load data from your hard disk all the time, decreasing the little shock effect while flying. So, if your friend installed more complex add-on scenery without any loss of frame rates, that doesn't mean you have the same results, it all depends on the hardware specs.

There is however another important reason for low frame rates: Background tasks of your pc. Try to disable as many programs as possible. Software like instant messengers, firewalls, anti virus apps are running in the background and need CPU power and memory. For max. performance in FS, try to disable as many background tasks as possible. Remember, if you disable the firewall, disable your internet connection as well, you don't want to open the door for any attacks.

How do I know my current frame rate?
- Press <SHIFT> + <Z> twice. Press twice again to get rid of it.

What is the target frame rate in the hardware display settings?
- With that, you can lock the frame rate of your own aircraft, meaning that your aircraft does have a higher priority than the rest (scenery, AI traffic). It depends on your system and add-ons what's best for you. Just experiment with it until you have the right balance.

Why do I have lower frame rates than a friend with the exact same pc?
- If you both have the same scenery, aircraft and other add-ons, there are most likely too much background processes. Software like winamp, firewalls, TV cards or others may load when you start windows. Most of them place an icon on the right-bottom of your desktop. If you want the maximum performance for FS on your system, unload or disable all the background tasks. If you fly in the single player mode, try to disable your network connection and firewall, it may give you some extra performance.

I don't see the passenger loading ramps, but I've seen them on screenshots from other people. Is there a way to make them visible?
- Yes, go to settings > display and change the "Scenery Complexity" slider to Very Dense or Extremly Dense. NOTE: The passenger loading ramps are only available on this default airports:
EHAM, PANC, KATL, KORD, KDFW, KDEN, VHHH, KLAS, EGLL, KLAX, KMIA, KJFK, KOSH, LFPG, KPHX, KSFO, KSEA, TNCM, YSSY, RJAA.

What do the codes like KSEA or VHHH mean?
- It are ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) 4-letter airport indentifier codes, that uniquely identify individual airports worldwide. They are used in flight plans to indicate departure, destination and alternate airfields, as well as in other professional aviation publications. The first letter usually identify the country or region (e.g. for EHAM Europe Holland Amsterdam or ENGM for Europe Norway Gardermoen). The last 2 letters are not always directly related to the airport name or town. Airports in the USA start with "K", followed by the airport's 3-letter IATA (International Air Transport Association) code. For FS, the ICAO code is the standard, because there are more airports available than there are IATA codes.

Is it possible to see water reflections?
Yes, go to Settings > Display > Scenery, set terrain detail to "Land Only", set water effects to "High". Depending on your system, it may be a big hit on your frame rates, especially while flying above sea. Set water effects to "None" and terrain detail to "Land & Water" if thats the case.

How is it possible that some people show really smooth and sharp screenshots?
- It may depend on your graphics card, but if you want the highest possible quality for screenshots, go to Settings > Display > Hardware and check the box for "Anti-aliasing", change the Filtering to Trilinair. You will get the best results if you choose the highest resolution that your graphics card and monitor can support. For more detailed aircraft, set the "Global max texture size" slider to "Massive" and choose "Ultra High" in the aircraft tab of the display settings screen.

How can I make screenshots?
- Press <printscreen> (can be shown as "prtsc" on your keyboard), pause FS and return to Windows, open Paint (usually located here: Start > Programs > Accessoires > Paint). Choose Edit > Paste. Save the file, so you can open and edit it with Photoshop or Paintshop. You can also use other programs to make screenshots, fraps for example.

When I have installed new scenery, I hate to start up the plane and fly around to check it out, is there another way?
- Yes, press <Y> to enable the slew mode. In the slew mode you can move around by using the arrow keys, numpad keys or joystick. Use <F1> to go down, <F2> to hold current altitude, <F3> to go up or <F4> to go up faster. Now you can check new scenery or follow AI planes or even go through buildings!

I've installed an add-on aircraft and it looks really weird in the cockpit mode, like I look down on the ground instead of looking straight forward. What to do?
- Hold <SHIFT> and press <BACKSPACE> or <ENTER> to adjust.

When flying, there are strange lines on the surface flying with me...why?
- Seems that the sight distance is the problem. Increase the sight distance if your frame rate allows you to do that.

Aircraft lights and other lights have black squares around them. What to do?
- Common problem with Nvidea graphics cards, download new drivers from their website, that should correct the problem.

There are trees on the taxiway! How can this be?
- Could be a problem with add-on scenery. The developer of that scenery may have forgotten to include exclude files to correct it. Try to disable the add-on scenery for that airport and see if that solves the problem.

AI planes disappear from the runway after the landing, how can that be?
- Common problem, either you have installed too much AI traffic or the AFCAD file for that airport needs to be updated. When an AI plane lands, there need to be parking space on the airport. If there isn't any, FS just removes them right after the landing.

What is AI traffic?
- AI traffic means Artificial Intelligent Traffic. It controls the other planes you see in FS2004. The developers of FS2004 created a flexible system to add more realism to the simulation. Even better is the option to add AI planes and their flight plans yourself. Check the AI traffic guides for more information about installation of AI traffic.

What is AFCAD?
- A small program by Lee Swordy that allows you to edit airports in CAD style. You can edit/add runways, parking space, taxiways and more.

What kind of computer do I need to run FS2004?
- Minimum: Windows PC with 450 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM, 1.8 GB hard drive space, DirectX 9.0 or later and 8 MB graphics card.
- Comfortable: 2+ GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, 128 MB graphics card, joystick.

When I start FS2004, it asks me to put CD 4 in the drive, why?
- Just a protection system that checks if you have a legal copy. It is normal behaviour of FS2004.

Can I open the doors of an aircraft?
- Yes, hold <SHIFT> and press <E> and do the same to close them. Some aircraft have more moving parts like cargo doors. Usually, when you hold <SHIFT> and press <E> and a number (1,2 or 3 on your keyboard), other doors will open. But the movement of a door may be assigned to other keys like the tailhook. See the readme file when you download add-on aircrafts for information about opening doors.

Can I move around the plane in the spot plane view like they to in FS2004 video's I've seen?
- Yes, use <SHIFT> + <ENTER> to move down, <SHIFT> + <BACKSPACE> to move up, <CONTROL> + <SHIFT> + <ENTER> to move to the right and <CONTROL> + <SHIFT> + <BACKSPACE> to move to the left. If you like to move around the plane with the mouse, you have to download a small (freeware) module called F1view.

When I replay a landing, I would like to see it from another direction. Can I change the location of the tower view mode?
- Yes, press <ALT>, go to World > Map. Zoom in a bit and click and hold on the small tower icon on the map. Now you can move it to any place you like. You can also adjust the altitude of the tower view on the left.

I would like to replay my whole flight, but I only see the first few minutes. What is the solution?
- For a more advanced replay, you need a freeware module: Recorder module for FS2004. With this module, you can record unlimited time (depening on free space on your harddrive) and much more.

Some planes in my aircraft folder are not in the aircraft selection menu, why?
- It are most likely the AI planes you miss in the aircraft selection menu. They simply don't belong in the aircraft menu, because they don't have a panel or sound.

Every time when I open the kneeboard, FS crashes. What am I doing wrong?
- Since the kneeboard is using the internet explorer, there is most likely some add-on of the internet explorer conflicting with FS. Try to disable or remove programs like Roboform or Windowblinds. If your firewall blocks popups, try to disable it, that could also be the cause.

FS2004 doesn't work anymore after I installed SP2 for Windows XP. Is there a solution?
- Download the update for FS9 (FS9.1), or contact Microsoft and ask for help.

Where can I get the pro version of FS2004?
- Unlike FS2002, there is no pro version.

Where is the config file?
- If Windows XP is installed on your C: drive, it is located here: C:\Documents and Settings\<your logon name>\Application Data\Microsoft\FS9\
For Windows 9x users: C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\FS9
Make sure you have "Show hidden files and folders" on, fs9.cfg is a hidden file.

Where are my flight files and recorded flights stored?
- If Windows is installed on your C: drive, it is located here: C:\Documents and Settings\your logon name\My Documents\Flight Simulator Files\
For Windows 9x users: C:\My Documents\Flight Simulator Files\

Is it possible to see damage of an aircraft when I hit something?
- Yes, first be sure to have the crash detection on in the realism settings. Second, check if visual_damage = 1 in the aircraft.cfg of every aircraft.

How do I remove the annoying brake message from the screen?
Add the following line to the [SIM] section of the fs9.cfg file:
show_brake_message=0

How do I disable airspace alert messages in the GPS 500?
- Press and hold the MSG button for two seconds. Press the MSG button again to enable it again.

Is it possible to have another default start-up flight than the boring KSEA?
- Yes, just safe your flight of choice and make it the default flight in the "select a flight" menu.

It is very annoying to close the popup window of the ATC every time there are transmission between the ATC and AI aircraft, is there any way to change that?
Yes, go to settings > Air Traffic Control and un-check "Show ATC text" and be sure to check "Auto-open ATC Window", that way you only get the ATC popup when a reply from you is required.

Is it possible to add a virtual cockpit to an aircraft?
- No, not the way you can add a 2d cockpit. The virtual cockpit is part of the 3dmodel. If you want to add a virtual cockpit, you need to know how to design aircraft models.

Is it possible to disable the flying tips?
- Yes, uncheck them in the realism settings.

I messed up the FS9.cfg file, can it be repaired?
- Yes, delete it and FS will create a new one when you start FS. Or just hold <CONTROL> and <SHIFT> while loading FS.

Is it possible to be pushed back form the gate?
- Yes, press < SHIFT>+<P> to start going backwards, <SHIFT>+<P> then <1> to push back and turn left, <SHIFT>+<P> then 2 to push back and turn right. Press <SHIFT>+<P> again to stop moving.

I've installed a lot new AI traffic and I want the default traffic of FS to be removed. How?
- Go to \Flight Simulator 9\Scenery\World\scenery\ and rename the file "traffic030504.bgl" (the numbers 030504 may be different on your system) to "traffic030504.bak". If you want to enable it again, just change the file extension from .bak to bgl.

What does it mean when the ATC is talking about Flightlevels like FL340 or FL190?
- They are talking about altitude. FL340 is 34,000 feet, so just add "00" at the end. The ATC start talking in Flight Levels when you are above the Transition Altitude, which is a safe altitude above any obstacles within some distance of the operation area. The TA varies from country to country and sometimes even in a country. For north america, it is 18,000 feet.

What is GMAX and where can I get it?
GMAX is a 3d program by Autodesk used to create 3d models for computer games. It can be used for modeling new aircraft for FS2004. You can find it on CD#1 in the folder extras\gmax.