30 fps isn't really playable. neither is 1024x768.
This is, quite possibly, the most entirely subjective statement I have
ever heard. And I've been cruising flight sim boards and news-groups for
years... professionally!

Over more than a decade I have certainly played flight sims at less than 30fps, and certainly at less than 1024x768. Sheesh, I've even played them in a monochrome "256 shades of grey" monitor.

Hey, once LucasArts' "Battle of Britain" was the leading edge in flightsims... and damn they were
fun. As lousy as it was from today's perspective, Microprose's F-19 Stealth Fighter (the original one) was damned sweet, too. It was an immersive, nail-biting game, that had all sorts of diverse elements.
Hey, it's all relative. You may find less than 30fps bothersome, and less than a 1024x768 resolution an eyesore, but lots of other people don't. Indeed, I find the fact that my monitor doesn't support a refresh rate above 85Hz in 1200x1024 much more disconcerting than the fact that it's less detailed at 1024x768.
Bear in mind that other people may actually have differing opinions that you do... (heaven forbid!).
Boy, I didn't think I got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, why the hell did I have to respond to this post?!?
Cheers,
phaetn