Welcome to the FlightGear Flight Simulator project.
===================================================

Thank you for installing FlightGear.  FlightGear is a volunteer driven
open-source project.  We appreciate you taking a look, and we hope
that you will find FlightGear interesting, useful, and educational.
We realize that not everyone is a developer, but we'd love to have you
contribute to our project with any skills you might have, such as
graphics design, 3d modeling, audio, debugging/testing, aircraft
building, real aviation experience, web page design, and yes software
development too. :-)


Installation
============

FlightGear has an install shield type installer.  After you have
installed the base system, you will find a "scenery management" tool
in the FlightGear section of the start menu.  You can use this tool to
easily install and remove add on scenery chunks from the CD or that
you download from the FlightGear.org website.


Running
=======

Just select FlightGear from the start menu or click on the desktop
icon (if you opted to install one.)  This brings up a launcher where
you can select your aircraft, starting location, and a myriad of
additional options.


Installing Scenery
==================

FlightGear comes with only a very small section of scenery surrounding
the San Francisco Bay area.  You can download detailed world scenery
from the main FlightGear web site or purchase the same data as a 3 DVD
set.  If you are installing FlightGear from the official CD, it will
include several additional areas which you can install

To install scenery that you have downloaded or purchased, run the
"Install & Uninstall Scenery" tool from the "FlightGear" section of
your "Start" menu.  You may have to select the location of your
scenery packages, but it will automatically know the correct install
location.


Installing Aircraft
===================

FlightGear comes with a variety of aircraft, but many more are
available to download and fly.  To install new aircraft, first go the
FlightGear web site and download the new aircraft to your local hard
drive.  Then extract the aircraft_version.tgz file into your
C:\Program Files\FlightGear\data\Aircraft\ folder.  Your new aircraft
will be available to fly the next time you start FlightGear.  Don't
forget to check inside the new aircraft folder for any readme's or
operational tips from the authors.  Many aircraft have custom keyboard
inputs or require special steps to operate.


Documentation and Tech Support
==============================

The primary web page for FlightGear is: http://www.flightgear.org

Please have a look through the "Installation and Getting Started"
manual in the data/Docs/ subdirectory.

For additional install help, and hints for specific platforms, or
specific tasks please browse the "data/Docs-mini/" subdirectory.

Please take a look at the "data/Thanks" file for a list of people who
have contributed to this project.  If you have contributed something
but don't find your name in this file.  Please send a polite reminder
to curt@flightgear.org

For a summary of changes/additions by version see the "NEWS" file.

The FlightGear project has several mailing lists available if you
cannot find an answer in the existing documentation.

For information on available mailing lists, mailing list archives, and
other available source code and documentation, please visit our web
site.


License
=======

This project is GPL'd.  For complete details on our licensing please
see the "COPYING" file.


Thanks!
=======

FlightGear is a product of the collaboration of large international
group of volunteers.  FlightGear is a work in progress.  FlightGear
comes with no warranty.  We hope you enjoy FlightGear!
