Well, I have made a handful of screenshots of the same planes in the same situations (approxmiately) so we can all see how much difference there really is in the two sims.  After doing this, I can now see more difference than before and now have a new appreciation for FS2004!  So, here we go:

OK, here is a shot from FS2002 of the Boeing 747 near Victoria, B.C. with some minor cloud cover:

Here is the FS2004 version (sorry they're aren't in perfectly the same place-but same general area):


Here is the Cessna 172 taking off from Seattle-Tacoma Internatinal in heavy thunderstorms and rain in FS2002:

Here is the FS2004 pic:


Here is a Boeing 777 flying around Eugene, Oregon (my hometown) at dawn in FS2002:

FS2004:


Finally, here is an interior shot of the Beechcraft Baron 58's DVC flying just aboue Los Angeles International with heavy thunderstorms and rain in FS2002:

and in FS2004:


So, what do you think-I was pretty impressed with the difference myself.  Anyway, I know the shots aren't that great but I was trying to show the difference in the 2 games-not just beauty.

Hey Richie, I noticed your hometown is Eugene, OR... I used to live there when I was four(4) years old, or about twenty-six(26) years ago.

I see differences and I'm not sure what to think of the trade-offs.....I will however hold off to go and get my copy for a while yet........the inevitable is though, that I will get it eventually....... 8)