Recommendations for the best possible FSX experience (especially on Vatsim and on a low-end PC) - Complete Guide

Getting FSX to work properly can be a very harsh path.
But over the past year I have spent a lot of my time and messed around with countless add-ons, tweaks etc. to make for a realistic experience. My goal with this guide is to try and help you have the same experience I can enjoy for example to fly on Vatsim.

Preface

Good day fellow flight simmers :)

I really hope that this guide will positively influence your FSX experience and I'm trying my best to put all of my thoughts into proper words.

Writing this sentence after having completed this guide, I'm sorry that it is so lengthy, but still I would highly encourage you to read carefully through all of the sections because every addon, setting or tweak listed, has a major impact on the enjoyment you will have with FSX.

First of all I want to point out that depending on your PC specs the results you might have with the following settings, tweaks etc. can be very different to my own.

I'm currently playing FSX and other games on my (gaming) laptop, an Asus X570UD.
Specs: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 2GB GDDR5; Intel Core i5-8250U CPU @ 1.60GHz; 16GB RAM; 256GB SSD; 1TB HDD

So as you can see my setup is very minimalistic and very low-spec... But FSX also runs on a toaster so it doesn't really matter too much. That's also the reason why I have not invested in newer sims such as P3D and X-Plane 11. I have tried MSFS but on the lowest settings I get only 30FPS and most times even less so naturally I'm sticking with good ol' FSX to satisfy my flight simming addiction...

I created this guide because I felt like sharing the results of my countless hours messing around with the FSX Settings, the fsx.cfg, understanding and carefully watching VAS (Virtual Addressing Space) and trying to fly long-haul flights that left me sad when FSX crashed for no apparent reason after 16 hours of smooth cruise flight...

This guide should appeal especially to those of you who intend to use FSX to fly on awesome networks such as Vatsim or IVAO. I myself also worked my way up to have the skills to fly on both of them. If you want to feel like a real pilot just by sitting in front of your pc you must join one or both of these networks. It's one of the most awesome things that ever happened to me.
My goal since the beginning of 2021 was to be able to fly 16 hour long-hauls on Vatsim with the PMDG 777 without FSX crashing and now I can say that (for the most part) it works for me and FSX doesn't crash. So the FSX (configuration) I'm presenting to you is my result of trying to make it as stable as possible.

1. fsx.cfg

The fsx.cfg is the file where all your FSX settings are saved everytime you close FSX. It is thus vital that this file is properly tweaked to make for a stable FSX.

To all the newcomers: There are two ways of locating your fsx.cfg.

1.
- Open Explorer and first of all make sure that at the top under "View" and to the right under Show/hide the item "Hidden items" is checked. (This enables you to see otherwise hidden folders in the explorer)
- For me the path to the fsx.cfg is then as follows:
C:/Users/*username*/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/FSX/fsx.cfg
(If the file is called fsx_se.cfg for you that's totally fine)

2.
- Hit Windows key + R on your keyboard which will open a little prompt called "Run" in the bottom left corner of your screen
- In this prompt type %appdata% and hit Enter enter on your keyboard. This will take to you to the Appdata folder in your Explorer
- From there it is onto /Microsoft/FSX/fsx.cfg

You can decide for yourself which variant you find easier. I have simply added the FSX folder where the fsx.cfg is located to the Quick Access bar on the left by right-clicking the folder and hitting "Pin to Quick Access".

The content of the fsx.cfg is divided into different sections like [Graphics] or [Terrain]. Each line under these headlines then represents a specific setting in FSX. It generally should look something like this:


Already you will notice that the first few lines on my screenshot of the cfg will look different than the ones in your cfg.
For simplicity I have decided to simply copy the entire content of my cfg into this guide so you can copy it into your cfg. That is because I have added so many different lines to tweak my cfg over the past year that I have lost count of the ones which are important.

But first some disclaimers:
- Make a backup of your current cfg! Simply copy the cfg file and put it to another folder on your drive so you can always revert to your old FSX settings in case mine do not fit.
- Close FSX completely before you make any changes to the fsx.cfg! Otherwise the file will simply be overwritten when you close it.
- By overwriting the content of your cfg with my content, you will lose your entire current FSX Settings! So really do make sure you create a backup of the file.

So here is my cfg file:

1.1. cfg content

[JOBSCHEDULER]
AffinityMask=18

[BufferPools]
RejectThreshold=524288
UsePools=1
PoolSize=85000000

[VirtualCopilot]
VirtualCopilotActive=0

[SOUND]
AmbientUI=0
AmbientUIMusicVolume=-6.000000
PrimaryDevice={F69D48D4-4FB2-4319-BE17-05E9123B123D}
SOUND=1
SOUND_LOD=0
SOUND_QUALITY=2
UISound=1
VoiceDevice={F69D48D4-4FB2-4319-BE17-05E9123B123D}
SOUND_FADER1=0.490000
SOUND_FADER2=0.490000
SOUND_FADER3=0.490000
SOUND_FADER4=-0.000000
AmbientUIMusic=FSX01

[SlewTextInfo.1]
AirSpeed=1,5
Altitude=1,3
Heading=1,4
Latitude=1,1
Longitude=1,2

[AContain]
LabelColor=FFFF0000
LabelDelay=1000
ShowLabelAirline=0
ShowLabelAirlineAndFlightNumber=0
ShowLabelAirspeed=0
ShowLabelAltitude=1
ShowLabelContainerId=0
ShowLabelDistance=1
ShowLabelFlightPlan=0
ShowLabelHeading=0
ShowLabelManufacturer=1
ShowLabelModel=1
ShowLabelTailNumber=0
ShowLabels=0
ShowUserLabel=0

[ATC]
AutoOpenAirTrafficWindow=0
COMM_MSG_AI_ATC_COLOR=FFFF7840
COMM_MSG_ATC_AI_COLOR=FF00FF00
COMM_MSG_ATC_USER_COLOR=FFB6FFB6
COMM_MSG_NONE_COLOR=FFFFFFFF
COMM_MSG_USER_ATC_COLOR=FFFFD21B
PilotVoice=196608
ShowATCText=0
UsePilotVoice=0

[TextInfo.1]
AirSpeed=1,5
Altitude=1,3
Heading=1,4
Latitude=1,1
Longitude=1,2
WindDirectionAndSpeed=1,6

[AccelerationPack]
ControlsFirstRun=0
HomePageFirstRun=0

[INTERNATIONAL]
ASLAT=2
ASLON=0
MEASURE=1

[CONTROLS]
Controls_Current=Standard
Controls_Default=Standard
force_crash_enabled=0
force_gear_bump_enabled=0
force_ground_bumps_enabled=0
force_master_enabled=0
force_master_gain=10000
force_stick_force_enabled=0
force_stick_shaker_enabled=0
KBDAIL=64
KBDELEV=64
KBDRUD=64

[FACILITIES]
CITY=
COUNTRY=
GTL_BUTTON=1518
STATE=

[TextInfo.3]
AirSpeed=1,5
Altitude=1,3
FrameRate=2,1
FuelPercentage=2,4
GForce=2,3
Heading=1,4
Latitude=1,1
LockedFrameRate=2,2
Longitude=1,2
WindDirectionAndSpeed=1,6
[PointOfInterestSystem]
CycleSetting=2

[GRAPHICS]
AC_SELF_SHADOW=1
AIRCRAFT_REFLECTIONS=1
AIRCRAFT_SHADOWS=1
COCKPIT_HIGH_LOD=1
EFFECTS_QUALITY=0
GROUND_SHADOWS=0
IMAGE_QUALITY=0
LANDING_LIGHTS=1
NUM_LIGHTS=8
See_Self=1
TEXTURE_MAX_LOAD=4096
TEXTURE_QUALITY=3
Text_Scroll=1
SHADER_CACHE_PRIMED=1693751040
D3D10=0
SHADER_CACHE_PRIMED_10=1693751040
HIGHMEMFIX=1
ForceFullScreenVSync=1
ForceWindowedVSync=1
STALE_BUFFER_THRESHOLD=2147483647
MultiSampleQuality=0
MultiSamplesPerPixel=4

[TrafficManager]
AIRPORT_SCENERY_DENSITY=0
AirlineDensity=0
FreewayDensity=100
GADensity=0
IFROnly=0
LeisureBoatsDensity=0
ShipsAndFerriesDensity=0

[DynamicHeadMovement]
HeadMoveTimeConstant=1.000000
LonAccelOnHeadLon=-0.020000
LonAccelOnHeadPitch=-0.010000
MaxHeadAngle=5.000000
MaxHeadOffset=0.300000
RollAccelOnHeadLat=0.010000
RollAccelOnHeadRoll=0.100000
YawAccelOnHeadLat=-0.100000

[REALISM]
AllowEngineDamage=False
AutoCoord=False
AutoTrim=False
CrashDetection=False
CrashTolerance=1.000000
CrashWithDyn=False
GEffect=False
General=1.000000
GyroDrift=False
GyroEffect=1.000000
ManualLights=True
PFactor=1.000000
RealMixture=True
StressDamage=False
Torque=1.000000
TrueAirspeed=False
UnlimitedFuel=False

[Weather]
AdjustForMagVarInDialog=1
CLOUD_COVERAGE_DENSITY=8
CLOUD_DRAW_DISTANCE=6
DETAILED_CLOUDS=1
DisableTurbulence=1
DownloadWindsAloft=1
DynamicWeather=0
MaxGustRampSpeed=200
MaxGustTime=500
MaxVarRampSpeed=75
MaxVarTime=50
MinGustRampSpeed=1
MinGustTime=10
MinVarRampSpeed=10
MinVarTime=5
THERMAL_VISUALS=0
TurbulenceScale=1.000000
WeatherGraphDataInDialog=0
WeatherServerAddress=fs2k.zone.com
WeatherServerPort=80
WindshieldPrecipitationEffects=1

[Misc]
Com_Rate=7

[Main]
SimObjectPaths.0=SimObjects\Airplanes
SimObjectPaths.1=SimObjects\Rotorcraft
SimObjectPaths.2=SimObjects\GroundVehicles
SimObjectPaths.3=SimObjects\Boats
SimObjectPaths.4=SimObjects\Animals
SimObjectPaths.5=SimObjects\Misc
User Objects=Airplane, Helicopter
FIBER_FRAME_TIME_FRACTION=0.30
ieceiwakeuboiikqktrnaee=2
ProcSpeed=5092
PerfBucket=7
HideMenuNormal=0
HideMenuFullscreen=1
Location=0,0,1920,1080,\\.\DISPLAY1
Maximized=2

[TextInfo.2]
FrameRate=1,1
FuelPercentage=1,4
GForce=1,3
LockedFrameRate=1,2

[USERINTERFACE]
Map_Orientation=2
OpenATCOnCreate=0
PAUSE_ON_LOST_FOCUS=0
PROMPT_ON_EXIT=1
PageID=1
SHOW_MISSION_CAPTIONS=0
SITUATION=C:\Users\Eaglemotion\Documents\Flight Simulator X Files\b39
ShowAllACPaintSchemes=1
SelectAircraftManufacturer=All
SelectAircraftPublisher=All
SelectAircraftType=All
DisplayFuelAsWeight=1

[SIM]
SYSCLOCK=1

[Display]
ActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=0,28,140,64
ActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255
BLOOM_EFFECTS=0
ChangeTime=0.000000
InfoBrakesEnable=False
InfoLowerLeftBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128
InfoLowerLeftTextColor=255,255,255
InfoLowerRightBackGroundColor=255,0,0,128
InfoLowerRightTextColor=255,255,255
InfoOverspeedEnable=False
InfoParkingBrakesEnable=False
InfoPauseEnable=True
InfoSlewEnable=True
InfoStallEnable=False
InfoUpperRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0
InfoUpperRightTextColor=255,0,0
NonActiveWindowTitleBackGroundColor=24,33,87,64
NonActiveWindowTitleTextColor=255,255,255
SKINNED_ANIMATIONS=1
TEXTURE_BANDWIDTH_MULT=400
TextureMaxLoad=6
TransitionTime=0.000000
UPPER_FRAMERATE_LIMIT=0
WideViewAspect=True
MipBias=6

[JOBSCHEDULER]
AffinityMask=84

[SlewTextInfo.3]
AirSpeed=1,5
Altitude=1,3
FrameRate=2,1
Heading=1,4
Latitude=1,1
LockedFrameRate=2,2
Longitude=1,2

[PANELS]
DEFAULT_VIEW=0
IMAGE_QUALITY=1
PANEL_MASKING=1
PANEL_OPACITY=100
PANEL_STRETCHING=1
QUICKTIPS=1
UNITS_OF_MEASURE=1


[SlewTextInfo.2]
FrameRate=1,1
LockedFrameRate=1,2

[TERRAIN]
AUTOGEN_DENSITY=3
DETAIL_TEXTURE=0
LOD_RADIUS=2.500000
MESH_COMPLEXITY=50
MESH_RESOLUTION=21
SWAP_WAIT_TIMEOUT=2
TEXTURE_RESOLUTION=25
WATER_EFFECTS=4
TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TREES_PER_CELL=2100
TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_BUILDINGS_PER_CELL=1800

[SCENERY]
DAWN_DUSK_SMOOTHING=1
IMAGE_COMPLEXITY=3
LENSFLARE=0
MAX_ASYNC_BATCHING_JOBS=3
SmallPartRejectRadius=1

[AccelerationPack]
ControlsFirstRun=0
HomePageFirstRun=0


[WeatherMap]
SHOW_AIRPORTS=0
SHOW_VORS=0
SHOW_NDBS=0
SHOW_APPROACHES=0
SHOW_INTERSECTIONS=0
SHOW_VICTOR=0
SHOW_JET=0
SHOW_AIRSPACE=0
SHOW_FLIGHTPLAN=1
SHOW_WEATHERSTATIONS=1
SHOW_WEATHERSYSTEMS=1
SHOW_DATATAGS=1
SHOW_TERRAIN=1

[MAPVIEW_MAP]
SHOW_AIRPORTS=1
SHOW_VORS=1
SHOW_NDBS=1
SHOW_APPROACHES=1
SHOW_INTERSECTIONS=1
SHOW_VICTOR=1
SHOW_JET=1
SHOW_AIRSPACE=1
SHOW_FLIGHTPLAN=1
SHOW_WEATHERSTATIONS=1
SHOW_WEATHERSYSTEMS=1
SHOW_DATATAGS=1
SHOW_TERRAIN=1
show_flight_history=1

[FlightPlanMap]
LineWidth=2
SHOW_AIRPORTS=1
SHOW_VORS=1
SHOW_NDBS=0
SHOW_APPROACHES=1
SHOW_INTERSECTIONS=1
SHOW_VICTOR=0
SHOW_JET=0
SHOW_AIRSPACE=1
SHOW_FLIGHTPLAN=1
SHOW_WEATHERSTATIONS=1
SHOW_WEATHERSYSTEMS=1
SHOW_DATATAGS=1
SHOW_TERRAIN=1
show_waypoints=1
show_airways=1
show_markers=1
show_volume_boundaries=1
show_ac_twr=1
[RWW_WEATHER_MAP]
SHOW_AIRPORTS=0
SHOW_VORS=0
SHOW_NDBS=0
SHOW_APPROACHES=0
SHOW_INTERSECTIONS=0
SHOW_VICTOR=0
SHOW_JET=0
SHOW_AIRSPACE=0
SHOW_FLIGHTPLAN=1
SHOW_WEATHERSTATIONS=1
SHOW_WEATHERSYSTEMS=1
SHOW_DATATAGS=1
SHOW_TERRAIN=1

[FSDREAMTEAM]
AntiPopUp=1
AltitudeCull=1

[Trusted]

[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050.0]
Mode=1920x1080x32
TriLinear=0
Anisotropic=1
AntiAlias=1
[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050.1]
Mode=1920x1080x32
TriLinear=0
Anisotropic=1
AntiAlias=1
[STARTUP]
DEMO=0
SHOW_OPENING_SCREEN=1
STARTUP_DEMO=
LoadWindow=1
[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050.0.0]
Mode=1920x1080x32
TriLinear=0
Anisotropic=1
AntiAlias=1
[DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050.0.1]
Mode=1280x720x32

You can open your cfg, press ctrl+a to select everything, hit backspace to erase everything, and then copy all of the above starting from [JOBSCHEDULER] into your cfg, then hit ctrl+s to save your cfg and it's done.

You may have noticed that for example the graphics card shown in the [DISPLAY.Device.NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050.0] line, which is now in your cfg, is set to the one I use, but the next time you open FSX, it should be overwritten with your graphics card.
Please also be aware that things like the red parking brake message that flashes in the bottom corner when the parking brake is set will now no longer appear because the value I have set to it is "FALSE".

2. In-Game Settings

I will now show you my In-Game settings so you can try them out as well.

Btw I use a UI replacement add-on that makes the menu look a little more modern. I would genuinely recommend using it because it looks a lot better IMO.
Here's the link:
https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/18209/fsx-blue-user-interface-replacement/

First of all some rather irrelevant settings but I'll still recommend them to you because I'm very happy with them:

Sound:


(The controls settings are for everyone themselves)

Realism:

General:

(The scenery library will have its own section)

Now onto the important ones:

Graphics:

A few notes here:
- The graphics card will obviously very likely differ from mine here
- The screen resolution might have to be checked again after you have inserted my cfg content into yours since this setting is also bound to the cfg
- I have had issues where random black tiles would appear in the sky when I use "Preview DirectX 10" so I would discourage you from using it
- It is important that you disable Lens Flare and especially Light bloom since it has a huge hit on FPS

Aircraft:

Now the most important of all... Scenery:

I make the "Level of detail radius" setting dependent on the length of the flight I want to do and the aircraft I am using. When I fly the PMDG 777 for example on very long flights on Vatsim (up to like 17 hours sometimes, which I also do overnight while I am sleeping) I always use Small to minimize the chances of FSX crashing because it is out of memory (which I will explain more in detail in another section of this lengthy guide). When I fly the PMDG 737 or the Aerosoft A320/321 on short flights I will almost always use the setting "Large" so that all ground textures look better at distance and the world looks better flom the flight deck in general. So to me it is very important that I check this settings before every flight! (I do believe it also has a tiny impact on FPS when you fly with Large)

The mesh complexity setting is not so relevant but I have decided to keep it at 50 for now since it also makes the game use less memory.

The mesh resolution setting has always been at 19 meters for me since anything above that value raises issues with the PMDG 777. But generally you can choose whatever you like if you don't fly with the PMDG 777 or 747 (I believe too).

The Texture resolution setting I also make dependent on the flight I am doing. Once again when flying long-haul I like to keep it at 1 meter and when flying short hops I'll put it at 15cm for example.

Water effects at Low 2.x has the water looking pretty good for me so why not use it as well:)

The remaining settings (scenery complexity, autogen density, ground scenery shadows and special effects detail) I would highly encourage you to put on the same setting as I have since anything else will hugely influence the FPS and generally the smoothness of the game.
Weather:

Traffic:
Since I fly on Vatsim and I like to keep everything as real as possible I have turned off all air traffic and aircraft labels.

That's it for the In-Game settings themselves.

3. Specific 3rd-party addons

I will now list some important addons that have helped me up my experience. (Both free- and payware).

Please note here that I am a very minimalistic person, so I don't like to spend a lot of money. I am aware that there are very very good payware addons that make clouds, airports and textures in general look extremely well, but I have decided to stick with these free addons because they suffice for my needs. I have been laughed at once on Discord for my extensive use of freeware, but I don't like change so here I am :) Still I wouldn't enjoy FSX as much without these addons so I do encourage you to use them if you arent looking to spend a lot of money.

Scenery and Texture addons:

[Freeware] For airport ground textures I can recommend this one:

https://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fsxscen&DLID=151495

This is a little program that lets you choose different sets of airport textures that look pretty damn good imo.

[Freeware] Orbx //42 PrecipitFX
This addon changes the way precipitation looks in general as well as things like contrails.
You have to create an Orbx account and download the Orbx Central program to install this addon.
With Orbx Central also comes a number of free airport addons with the free "Airport Pack" which you can also install through Orbx Central. Link:

https://orbxdirect.com/product/p42-precipitfx

[Freeware] Aime Leclercq's ground textures
Generally the default ground textures in FSX look pretty disgusting (looks like there is desert everywhere). Aime Leclercq has created a number of texture packs to replace these default "colors" for every season. They made me pretty happy so I'm happy to share them with you.
Now I know there are much better payware addons like Global FTX that replace all ground textures and make them look pretty damn good. But in fear of out of memory (OOM) crashes related to these addons I decided not to buy them. So here is a link to a number of Aime Leclercq's creations in the great Avsim Library:

https://library.avsim.net/search.php?CatID=fsx&SearchTerm=aime+leclercq&Sort=Name&ScanMode=1&Go=Change+View

(It takes a while to download and install all of these textures separately for the different seasons but I think that time is worth spent :)

[Freeware] Oscar-Clouds
This addon generally makes clouds and especially cumulonimbus clouds much more 3D and thus better:

https://library.avsim.net/search.php?SearchTerm=oscar-clouds_v4.zip&CatID=root&Go=Search

[Freeware] HD Moon Texture v3.0
These HD moon textures make the moon look a lot better than the default. It makes the craters etc. sharper and the moon a little bigger (actually a little too big in my opinion). Being an enthusiastic astrophotographer myself and often finding myself flying at night in FSX, I like the moon to look realistic and be in High Resolution. Must have!

https://library.avsim.net/search.php?SearchTerm=fsx_hd_moon_texture_v3_0.zip&CatID=root&Go=Search

[Freeware] HDE v2.1
This High Definition Environment addon makes clouds in general look a lot better. Definitely check out the Rikooo website as well! Also must have freeware addon!

https://www.rikoooo.com/downloads/viewdownload/58/847

[Freeware] Blue, modern UI
Once again I want to mention this addon which changes the FSX menu UI to look a lot more modern and in my opinion much more enjoyable than the default one:

https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads/files/18209/fsx-blue-user-interface-replacement/

This following addon is very important!!!
[Freeware] Suntweak
This addon is extremely important for changing the look of the sun especially during sunrise and sunset, but also during the day. I want to genuinely thank the creator of this one because it is absolutely beautiful. Also I want to take this opportunity to point out again that you should have Lens Flare and Light bloom disabled in your FSX settings because of the huge FPS impact they have. This addon reimburses for disabling the mentioned settings in the best possible way. It looks freaking awesome!

https://library.avsim.net/search.php?SearchTerm=suntweak.zip&CatID=root&Go=Search

Utility addons:

[Freeware] FSUIPC
This addon is a must have if you want to use programs like Vpilot to fly on Vatsim for example. It enables other programs to communicate with FSX.

http://www.fsuipc.com

[Freeware] Landing Rate Monitor (LRM)
This tool enables you to view your landing rate for every buttery landing you will do ;) Also if you create an account on fshub.io and enter it into the LRM Client you can track all your flights in a "logbook" and even upload screenshots to it:

https://fshub.io (click the "Download LRM Client" button on the top right)
It really is an awesome tool to keep track of your flights.

[Freeware] Littlenavmap
This awesome tools lets you view your position in the flight sim on a moving map. It also displays other aircraft (and even ships) around you on the map and also shows the traffic on Vatsim, IVAO and other networks on that exact map. It also allows you to create flight plans with Waypoints, SIDs and STARs etc. If you download Little navconnect you can also use that moving map on another computer as I do since a two PC setup makes things a lot easier (flight planning, charts, etc...)

https://github.com/albar965/littlenavmap/releases

[Freeware] Ground Assist pushback tool
This neat little addon allows you to control the pushback of your aicraft smoothly. Be aware that the pushback has to be commenced and stopped entirely by you yourself, including turns during the pushback. Another helpful addon that rules out buying ground addons like GSX (for me at least since I am a minimalist;).

https://simviation.com/1/download-file?file=GroundAssist_1.4.zip&fileId=56842

[Freeware] Make FSX Borderless
This little executable lets you run FSX in Borderless without having the windows taskbar nor the FSX program bar at the top disturb you in-flight. Please only run this program after you have spawned in your aircraft in FSX, otherwise it will make FSX crash! Playing FSX in fullscreen never has been an option for me since it blacks out any other screens (when using multiple monitors). So this addon is really important to me.

https://github.com/Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming/releases

Now to the Payware addons I use:

[Payware] ActiveSky Next
This addon inserts real world weather into your flightsim with great accuracy and many weather phenonema included. Before this I used a freeware addon called FSXWX which did what it should but it made FSX freeze after a few hours flight and subsequently crash :( Also this addon lets you view METAR's at your flight's airports and it lets you insert an FSX flightplan so you can have weather data at every waypoint (which is very important if you want to fly the 777 for example because in the PMDG 777 you can then load wind data for every waypoint which greatly increases the accuracy of the FMC's calculations).

The addon is available on Steam for FSX as a DLC :) (you gotta find it yourself). Very much worth its price.

3.1. Payware aircraft

Now to the payware aircraft I use:

[Payware] Aerosoft A320/321
The Aerosoft A320 family is in my opinion a great addon for FSX, because it simulates the vast majority of the A320 systems etc. This was the first payware aircraft I flew in FSX and let me tell you, I was not disapointed :) Now obviously once again there are addons for the Bus with more system-depth such as the glorious Fslabs A320-X but I think that the Aerosoft A320 is very much sufficient to learn the Airbus philosophy and procedures and to fly on Vatsim for example. It comes with a description of the A320's systems and a tutorial flight pdf to learn everything.


Once again this addon is available through Steam as a DLC for FSX. Very much worth its price.

[Payware] Qualitywings 757
I have very recently bought the 757 from Qualitywings. Coming from the PMDG 777 and 737 this was a little bit of a downgrade, but still it simulates the necessary systems to somewhat realistically fly it. The outside model is very beautiful and it comes with all different versions of the 757, including cargo and the flying pencil, the 757-300 :)


http://www.qualitywingssim.com/v.2.0.1.8/Boeing-757.php

[Payware] PMDG 777 & 737
First of all I must say, the PMDG product line is by far the best there is in this universe for any simulator. Hats off to the people at PMDG who have created these absolute beauties. Both the 777 and 737 come with complete real-life documents such as the Flight Crew Operations Manual (FCOM) and for example also the Flight Crew Training Manual (FCTM), which are used by real pilots to learn the systems and procedures of these aircraft in-depth. The PMDG aircraft are by far the best aircraft that have happened to me in my one year of proper experience with FSX. The system depth of these things is crazy. Even though they are priced very high, they more than deliver what they are supposed to.

A MUST HAVE!!! HONESTLY AND GENUINELY! :)



https://pmdg.com

Huge thank you to all of these creators for making these awesome aircraft <3

3.2. Scenery addons

Being the minimalist I am I have managed to stick with freeware for almost all airports I fly from/to these days. I am not the type to buy a payware addon for almost every airport I fly to. Even if it is only AFCADs (so no proper terminal textures, buildings etc. only the runways, taxiways and aprons), these free addons suffice for flying on Vatsim e.g. and are better than default.

For finding freeware airport addons I generally recommend just searching the airport icao-code and then fsx (so e.g. eddm fsx, lszh fsx,...) in the google search bar.

But there are some websites I would always check for addons for the specific airports you want to have:

https://library.avsim.net/index.php

https://www.rikoooo.com/downloads/category/3

https://flyawaysimulation.com/downloads.html

and especially this one:
https://www.freewarescenery.com/fsx.HTML

This one lists almost all freeware addons for many, many airports in this world. Great site!

Now for airports that you are close to IRL (which for me is especially Frankfurt and Zurich) and that you really enjoy flying from/to I WOULD recommend buying payware because it is really a lot better and lucrative if you "main" these airports. In the past few months I have been flying almost exclusively from/to Zurich because I flew the entire Swiss long-haul network with the PMDG 777 and I still do. In addition I also like to fly Lufthansa short-hauls from/to Frankfurt so I bought the payware version as well.

The great Aerosoft Mega Airport Zurich V2.0 is available for FSX as a DLC through Steam.

https://www.aerosoft.com/en/flight-simulation/flight-simulator-x/
This is where you can find more Payware airports by Aerosoft which are pretty damn good as well.

4.FSX Out Of Memory (OOM) crashes

One of the major reasons why people buy into newer simulators like P3D is because FSX is a 32-Bit program.
This apparently means that FSX only has a set amount of memory available, not through your RAM but through the game's VAS (Virtual Addressing Space).
So no matter how much RAM you have, FSX can only run up to a little more than 4GB of memory space.
If you are like me and you fly with high-quality addons for airports (e.g. Aerosoft Zurich) and aircraft (e.g. PMDG 777) those 4GB will be reached without even having taken off in the sim, and FSX will crash with an Out Of Memory (OOM) error.
And trust me, I have managed to crash FSX just by looking outside when standing on the ground at Aerosoft Zurich ;)

I highly encourage you to read through the following post, and follow the recommendations (such as the usage of Process Explorer to monitor VAS, and disabling all scenery you are not using), it really is very important for a stable FSX:

https://kostasfsworld.wordpress.com/fsx-oom-and-addon-vas-usage/

Thanks to the creator of this post, it has helped me a lot to prevent crashes.

5. The result (some screenshots)

Some of the moments I have captured flying long-hauls in the PMDG 777, short-hauls in the Aerosoft A320, PMDG 737 and QW 757 and on Vatsim with all of the above mentioned addons and tweaks in FSX.
See for yourself:








Flying private Airbuses with a good mate :)

VP-CKK


VP-CAL. A beautiful aircraft.

Pretty cool moment on Vatsim. A 777 and a 747 each 2000ft below each other and me. RVSM at its best ;)

6. Outro

All in all, I think I have managed to make this now 15-year-old 32-bit game pretty good looking and working and I am happy to share these results with you.

I hope I can help you with my insights into the world of messing around countless hours with FSX settings and the game itself.

If you have any questions at all regarding literally anything of the above mentioned and about FSX, Vatsim and aviation in general, feel free to ask.

Feel free to also check out my fshub profile ( https://fshub.io/pilot/3543/profile ), where all my flights are listed in detail.
Also feel free to check out my Instagram planespotting page @eaglemotion_aviation :) Thanks

My discord: Eaglemotion#6498 DM's open ;)

To round it up I want to thank you for reading through this. I love the Vatsim, flight simming & aviation community in general, you guys are all awesome! [/i]
Much love <3

Eaglemotion :)

[brandonbennett711]

this literally fixed the crashing thanks brodie

[Daimo]

Installed FSX on my laptop after at least 10 years of not using it. This was the guide to freeware addons I was looking for! Thanks.