BVA's Getting Started Guide: Get Help >> FSX Tips & Tricks

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Flight Simulator is an incredibly complex program to handle, and there are a number of (sometimes weird) tips and tricks that may help you getting things set up.

Activating Scenery: with Windows 7, you can't activate scenery (the scenery installation method that involves going into the Scenery Library and adding a new area) in the same way you would with XP or Vista. Instead, you need to follow the instructions in the NOTAMs section of our forums.

Full screen mode: it is always best to exit full screen mode (ALT+ENTER) before you try to view another program like vPilot. If you use ALT+TAB to view another program while FSX is in full screen mode and you can't get back into the session, open Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL), right click "Microsoft Flight Simulator X" in the "Applications" tab, and choose "Switch to...". You'll be taken back to the full-screen window.

Gray/Missing Textures: if some aircraft repaints or textures do not show up (and you have a gray shape instead of an aircraft), un-check the "Preview DirectX 10" option in the "Graphics" tab of FSX's Display Settings ("Options" > "Settings" > "Display").

Multiple monitors: if you want to get various panels from FSX onto another monitor in windowed mode, right-click on the panel, choose 'undock window', and then click and drag it over to the other monitor as you would any other program.

Pause on Task Switch: does FSX pause every time you change the window focus (say to check vPilot)? Find the "General Settings" dialog box ("Options" > "Settings" > "General") and un-check "pause on task switch".

Target Frame Rate: in heavy urban areas (such as Boston Airport, which is right downtown), you'll normally see the best frames if you set your lock to "Unlimited". When you transition out of the heavier urban areas, you may find better visual performance with your frames locked between 24-30 (this will vary greatly for each computer). If you are seeing poor performance with locked frames, try running an unlimited target frame rate.

Do you have a tip that you think should be included on this page? Please let us know!