Wow,

    Just had my first real MP with some guys at KFIT today.  I'm up at 3kft doing circles waiting for someone to figure out where were going and the host removes me, no warning or explanation.

Don't use the Zone for FS9. Many of us use FSHost and FSHostSpy to see what is out there.

There are several other servers set up to fly with other pilots, and so far I have not run into the "Elite Crowd". 

Two that you can try on your own are: Start FS9 and Hit Multiplayer. In the IP address bar, type in Netwings.org and then hit Search. Another is, type in Fstower.com in the IP address bar and then hit Search. I fly in these two frequently with my friends.