Strangely, I've loaded the 172, started it, and saved it as default, and that didn't solve the problem. I haven't installed any aircraft recently, but installed FSX Global 2008 mesh over the weekend. I can't believe that would have done it because I flew a few flights afterwards with no problem. The issue started with the IRIS Vulcan which I tried for the first time last night (installed awhile ago), and it won't even start with ctrl-e; one engine goes to 10% and then shuts down. I wonder if the first use of the Vulcan did something. I'll have to head over to the IRIS forums. Perplexed and worried.
Regards,
LT1