Hi Ditto 58, i had problems installing addons 'till i read 'cfs aircraft installation' in the lair, the mist cleared then, also a lot of designers have zipped the files up including their own file location which can side track you till you get wise to it, keep at it it'll all work out, i unzip to my own file (call it 'the aircraft name or mission' which i keep in my own folder called 'opened downloads') & COPY to CFS2 or 1, its not wise to unzip directly to cfs & i'm not a fan of self installs, jets will be a problem till you have the right extra files (in CFS2) go for it.
Happ

Thanks for the replies.  I did read the articles mentioned and tried to follow the instructions, but I must have been doing something wrong.  Can anyone suggest any good prop planes I could try that should install well in CFS2?

my favourite addon is Chuck Selby's P51B Heavy Hitter (some serious fire power !) it's a complete package at www.simviation.com/cfs2aircraft71.htm you'll need to unzip the panel, a little more complicated, well worth it tho' an ex VB plane. save the zip to desktop, get off the 'net & cut & paste it some where were you can work on it thro' windows explorer, create 2 new folders were you can find them again, call one extracted downloads(this is were you keep all your opened zips in their own sub-folders, need Heavy Hitter folder NOW here)the other folder's for the zips you get off the 'net (call it used downloads) & unzip to the Heavy Hitter folder read the read mes & see were you go from here need to unzip panel & sort gauges etc into the right CFS folder,follow the aircraft install from the lair & you should get there.
Happ :

I think Happ's method is more complicated than it needs to be. No need to mess around creating all those folders. You can unzip the file to your download folder as shown in the tute & work on it there. It's simply a case of finding the correct folder & pasting it into CFS2\Aircraft. Paste any GAU files into CFS2\Gauges.

There might be other things like weapons packages but you will soon get used to it. Follow any included instructions but take my tip & ignore all advice to unzip files direct to the sim.

Tell me where to find this B-17 or PBY & I'll check it out for you.

Happ. All you need is one download folder. This can be anywhere you wish with any name. Mine is on the C: drive & named FS Downloads -  the same as shown in the aircraft installation tute.

Once the zipfiles are downloaded you can unzip them into the same folder. You can also transfer the files from there to a CD if you wish. My motto has always been KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). The more complicated it is the more chance there is of messing it up. If you follow my methods you should have few problems.

PS. I am also on 56k dial-up as I have been for the 5 years I've been doing this.

I hear what you say Happ. Everyone has their own preferences & works in their own way. I'm not saying my way is best or forcing anyone to use it. All I'm trying to say is to keep things as simple as possible for beginners. It's difficult enough when you first start doing this without unnecessary complications. Once people understand the principle they can use any method they wish.

Glad you like the Fox Four way of doing things. I'm still on a 56k dial-up myself.