RE: using the simulator
I use the esky usb tx with fms and helisim and both work just fine. I was having a problem with one computer where I tried to get a real futaba tx and cable to work with fms. I installed all sorts of drives including the ppjoy thing, but never got it to work. That seemed to stop the esky from working even after uninstalling everything I could think of. Fortunately I had another computer that didn't have ppjoy on it and the esky worked fine on it. And after I upgraded the main computer with vista 64 the esky usb tx worked just fine too.
Mike