i think its obvious.....

The only place I've ever downloaded
from is Simviation, should I even vote?

X

I like Avsim mainly because its updated more often. SimV has a lot of nice stuff, but not many new things arrive on a daily basis. Of course SimV is never down, I seem to be getting a lot of can't find server messages when I try to download from Avsim lately.
The only freeware site for FS I don't use often is Flightsim.com because of their dumb membership system.

Simviation is obviously my first choice, but I often find AVSIM and Flightsim, (after getting past "All Nodes, etc.."), are very useful for locating particular items which I can't find in SimV... ...!
I think the main sites do their best to keep their users happy...
...which is good... ...!

Cheers...
Paul.
(England).

Simviation has been and always will be my first choice.  Other sites are ok, but this has been my home since 1999 for aircraft downloads.  I occasionally will use Avsim.com or Flightsim.com, but only if I can't find what I want here first.  Avsim is not accesible enough to the amatuer, or someone who doesn't want to get into virtual airlines.  Flightsim is the same, and I go there, but I still have a bad taste in my mouth from the whole Papa Tango business a few years back.  Plus the fact that unless you buy a membership you have to deal with that 'all nodes busy' crap.  Some of the reasons I like SimV most are below...

1.  Easily browsable:

     Planes are sectioned into categories, with a thumbnail right beside the description.  I don't have to search, I can just browse through a section

2.  Light Atmosphere:

    People here are much more accesible than at other sites and seem much more willing to answer questions.  There are no cliques, and no attitude of 'Well I'm too good for that'

3.  Easy to Navigate

     Everything is right on the front page and easy to reach.

4.  Stays current

     Every day I can check for new files and almost every day I can find them

5.  No Politics!

     Over the few years, Pete has managed to keep his skirts clean and not offend anyone.  Again, even during the whole Papa Tango affair (which was a very dark time for flight simmers), Pete managed to stay above the fray.

6.  You don't have to be a member

    Even if you don't want to sign up, you can still access the site and even post here.  That is a sign of class to me, that the site is not worried about membership (like Flightsim.com) to the point of exclusion.  I have nothing against joining and if it became available I would.  But it's nice not to be told you have to.

I must say also, this is the most under-rated flightsimsite on the web.  As big as it is, I have always felt like I was in on a great secret.

One final word; the quality of aircraft is not necessarily indicative of the site.   True, SimV has great planes, but I don't think Pete's job is judging airplanes.  That is for us to do.  Pete position (imho) is more of a moderator, or a distributor and not a judge.  He does a great job at it too...

Err SimV. And if anyone says otherwise I'll come around their house and cover it in marmelade!
When I'm really desperate I will try no-nodes.com or AVSIM (I think I've downloaded from them twice in the last year or so...)
SimV is always up, and you don't have all these annoying problems trying to get a download, you just click and go. Make a cuppa, and then its time to hit the wild blue yonder.
'Nuff Said!

Ozzy 8)

That was something that happened a long time ago and is over with.  Basically some jerk (it was NOT anyone at Flightsim.com)decided he had the copyrights to American Airlines planes and wanted to charge everyone making freeware versions with AA livery.  A lot of toes got stepped on, a lot of hard feelings went around, and a lot of things got said that shouldn't have.  I'll leave it at that because I don't want to stir up a hornets nest.  The issue is dead and best left that way.

Quote:


I remember that. I was unable to get any Reno Air MD-80's for my FS. And I believe it was American Airlines that did it. If I am not mistaking there is suppose to be a specail copyright for any one that uses AA or any of its other names
As far a where I go for my fills I hit the big three..flightsim.com, avsim.com and here. This site, as a few have stated, has the best forum.  Each site has really good points about them. Avsim updates faster, search feature is ok. Flightsim updates can be a bit slow, the search feature is great, but for some it can be a pain to log on. Simvaition updates are ok, always can get on, search feature could be better. Not much for the percent of a match.

euh...will i be kicked if i say something else than SimV ??

i think there's no winner in this contest,because  every flightsimpage has its advantages and disadvantages.
i like the design of avsim ,but they don't have a large database.
i like the database of flightsim,but they require logging in (i hate that... ).
i like simviation for it's REALLY huge database, but i don't like the speed (takes too much time to build up the site,even with broadband internet) and the search engine (okay,no flight sim site has a perfect search engine.you should at least choose your sim.).

guys,you forgot the Historic Jetliners Group with it's thousands of repaints for their DC-8 and B707.

SimV is the best I hate flightsim because of the login and Avsim has too small of a collection. but SimV has a weak search (I can never get the results I want ).

Having got most of the bits and bobs I need from the various flight sim Sites over the years now, it's the SimV Forums which I find an absolute delight every time I log-on.
There is nothing quite like it anywhere, for the fun and friend-ship which it brings to me... 8)...!
It's as though all the members were just next-door... ...!
A fantastic lot of pals, and loads of fun....!

Cheers all... ...!
Paul.
(England).

Man, there sure are a lot of Brits that visit here   

No French though, or are they afraid to let anyone know?

Quote:


Hi Pete,

I'm not an expert in search functions, but if your search utility can pick up pages, could it pick up bookmark URLs ??? However, the major drawback would be that a bookmark would be needed for everything, and that would be a pain

I'd actually have to say nobody.  I've only found one add-on aircraft I've ever liked.  The rest were, well, "lacking".  In number of downloads, I'd say Simviation (of course!) and flightsim.  Simviation is good for browsing (as aforementioned), but flightsim is good for searching.

As I appear to have a Node problem I can never get on at Avsim.  I like Simviation these days mostly for the Forum.  I think I have just about all the planes I desire for fs2k2 and cfs1&2 until I look at the latest pages.......

The thing about this site is that there are no condescending people at all and even when rare serious disagreements occour the parties can usually sort it out without resorting to violence.  I became a brief member of a Forum about the game "Mafia" and was insulted after my first post so I got annoyed and left.

In addition whilst the search facility is bad is does make you find some interesting things that you may not have found otherwise.  Usually however they have little to do with what you were trying to find.

My main bugbear is about speed.  It can sometimes take ages for each page to load, I have a 64.0 Kps system at home and access to broadband at work and there is often little differance in page access times.  The download speed is about par for the course (I get 3-8kb/s) but the forum can be a complete nightmare at times.  The only request I would make is that some of the old pages from the various topics be removed in an attempt to speed things up.

Will

Quote:

the only use of fspirate is as a filename lookup tool. they usually have better (more, and larger) screenshots there, so you have a better idea of what you're geting