Hey, your welcome guys
Glad someone found the thread useful.
If your also fans of the original (Non Newtonian) Elite, you might want to take a look at Oolite. This is another free open source game and is very nice indeed, especially so when stuffed to the gills with mod packs or "oxps" as they are are known.
Here is some links
Oolite:
http://www.oolite.org/
OXPs & General Info:
http://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Oolite_Main_Page
Oolite Forum:
http://aegidian.org/bb/index.php
Oolite SSC Section:
http://spacesimcentral.com/ssc/forum/60-oolite/
Also there is another free Elite re-make based on Elite III First Encounters. Its called FFE3D.
Russian devs (with some help from others) have modded the original game almost beyond recognition, but it is still not quite finished. However, its still fully playable. Rumours of ongoing work are rife on the Russian Elite boards though.
Here is a link to some very handy sites for all things Elite:
http://www.frontierastro.co.uk/ and
http://www.eliteforever.co.uk/
SSC Section for FFE3D:
http://spacesimcentral.com/ssc/forum/39-ffed3d/
Have fun!