So I want to design an aircraft, but I don't know anything or where to begin.  I don't know what programs are needed, how much work is involved, etc.  Any and all tips/suggestions/help welcome.

Meh, sorry...  Must remember, always read the stickies...   

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Of course I take issue with the "expensive" (compared to gmax, even a $1.00 program is expensive), difficult to learn (matter of opinion- some people find FSDS easy, others find gmax's learning curve very steep - the truth is, both programs require a person's investment in time and effort).  As to ineffective?  In what way?  If you want to say that FSDS does not handle the latest eye-candy from the FS9 SDK, I'll grant you that.  But then, being a third party, the FSDS developer doesn't have prior access to the inner workings of the SDKs, the Microsoft flightsim engine changes etc.

The point is, for YOU, gmax has been easier to learn (congratulations - I'm still struggling with it), but for others, FSDS is still a viable and effective program.

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Whoa, back up a second,

you -  strugglinng with gmax? Weren't you the guy who very kindly helped me with all the questions i had aboat gmax??? Or was that some dude with the same username???

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This is true enough. Most people know that I specialise in writing tutorials on various subjects. I have often been misguidedly called genius, guru & expert among various other names not allowed in this forum.

What they don't realise is that I originally knew less than most beginners. When I first started most of my knowledge came from reading FS98 & CFS1 Help & explaining things in my own words. By using ordinary everyday language instead of complicated gobbledegook most people could then understand it. I have a natural talent for this & it was part of my job for many years.

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I do. I also think you are far too modest.

PS. Mike. Don't take this the wrong way but maybe you shouldn't comment on programs you've never tried & know very little about. I never figured out Gmax as it's far too complicated & completely different to the conventional 3rd party FS applications I'm used to. I would never criticise it as I've seen what its capable of when used by people who can take advantage of its powerful features.

I use FSDS2 & swear by it. It's capable of far more than I will ever need or be able to understand. By allowing me to create my own aircraft for CFS2/FS2002 & FS9 it's worth every penny I paid for it.

Mike. This is too much information. You seem to enjoy being provocative. It must be deliberate as there's no need to say it in the first place & posts can be edited. I would have thought you'd learned your lesson by now.

Let's try again. This is what I was referring to.
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This is your opinion. Just because you think it's expensive & difficult to learn doesn't mean that others do. Like many others I've been creating my own aircraft for 5 years & using FSDS since it was first released for FS2000. This was long before Gmax was released. Some people seem to find Gmax easy to use but I find it extremely difficult. This does not make FSDS difficult to learn or ineffective. It depends what you're used to.