I have one installed on my PC (Flight Gear) for a bit of experimental gaming. I played it for the first time in my life and instantly thought "WTF do all these buttons, knobs and thingies do". Minutes later I find myself tumbling through the air with the cockpit doors open, fuel tanks emptied and windscreen wipers going!!

Could someone please at least explain the basics of a lift off?! (I hate giving up on games that I haven't mastered you see...).

That's the thing about simulators, like GT and Flight Simulator, the learning curve is EXTREMELY high. I could never get into any myself. Don't really have any advice though, just thought I'd give my 2 cents. :]

Fair enough. Wasn't really expecting any anyway. Just thought I'd at least try. ;)

You'll definitely want to use the instruction manual. They'll usually get you off the ground.

Ooh! Know where I can get one?

Preferably free and simple by the way. I'm not really keen on wasting any money or brain power on this (then again, there's probably no point if I'm not...).

http://www.flightgear.org/Docs/getstart/getstart.html [flightgear.org]

Takeoffs were never all that hard for me. Just pump the throttle up and pull back on the stick. Landing, on the other hand, can be a bit more challenging. Granted, I've never tried Flight Gear before, I tend to pay for my flight sims.

Cheers dude. Ihanks for the help! :)

WTH is the point of flying planes without machine guns?

When I used to play them, crashing was my main objective... A bit 9/11 before that sort of thing actually happened.
Only because creative crashes were more fun than bad landings.

I had great fun in a sim for an F-18. mI learned to take-off etc. but all I wanted to do was attack civilian airliners and bob the airfield and nearby city.

Problem is, the crashes in flight gear aren't as entertaining. 'Cause your plane kinda sticks into the ground... and that's it...

Hmm, you could pick up a game called Il-2, if you want epic crashes and firey explosions and getting your ass shot out of the air by elite German or Japanese aces. This is the game for you!

http://www.pacific-fighters.com/en/home.php?skin=S2

Love this game, I got a Throttle, Joystick, Pedals, the works. It's unfortunate I uninstalled it a few months ago because I needed space for another game. Worst mistake I ever made. I miss flying ....