Saitek ProFlight Panel now at the Avsim store

Posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 - 15:55
Featuring a stunning 3.5” color LCD screen, the Pro Flight Instrument Panel can display 6 of the main cockpit instrument panels from Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X. Reacting and updating in real time with events from the game, the Instrument Panel brings an extra level of realism to your flight simulation setup. As we keep adding more products to the store, check our 'New' Section to see what was recently added. You can also look at the bargain bin for great deals.

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AVSIM Cancels FANCON 2009

Posted: Sunday, June 21, 2009 - 19:12
AVSIM's Board of Directors today voted to cancel the FANCON 2009 event. Due to poor in-advance registrations, the Board concluded that this year's event would not be a viable one. The Board of Directors regrets that this action has to be taken and apologizes to all who have planned to intend. If you have paid for your entry as either an attendee or as an exhibitor, your payment will be refunded in full. We will start issuing those refunds tonight. If you do not receive notice of your refund within the next ten days, please leave a note in the FANCON Forum and let us know. Again, our apologies for the cancellation. Hopefully, there will be a FANCON 2010.

At the same meeting today, the Board of Directors voted to hold our Fall Board of Directors meeting in Chicago over the weekend of October 9th, 10th and 11th. Tentatively, the BOD meeting will be held at the O'Hare Hilton and we will hold our traditional social on Saturday evening, the 10th. We will be posting more details on this as our plans firm up.

Space Shuttle Mission 2007™ SP3.60 Released

Posted: Saturday, June 20, 2009 - 18:40
Exciting Simulations has released a new free Service Pack for the Space Shuttle Mission 2007 simulator. The most notable addition is the new "free floating" mode, which allows the virtual Astronauts to float from the flight deck, down the stairs to the mid-deck and, if the mission warrants it, through the mid-deck hatch and airlock to the Spacelab. This new major addition opens up the future possibility to seamlessly move about the Shuttle and related items and enhance the realism of missions and Shuttle operations. Another notable addition is the new, fully collimated 3D HUD which is now as close to the real thing as possible.

There are also some additional changes such as new and enhanced DAP modes, and the removal of T-00:05:00 and T-00:02:00 "no go" launch phase holds to allow for a better synchronization with the real NASA launches for what the SSM2007 community calls "Synch Launch Events". During these events SSM2007 users go online, connect via the SSM2007 TeamSpeak servers and perform synchronized pre-launch, launch and ascent phases together with the real NASA Shuttle launches. The nearest "Synch Launch Event" is scheduled for July 11, with the planned NASA STS-127 liftoff.

Exciting Simulations has also released the latest versions of the Quick Start and Commander's Reference manuals which now cover the latest changes and additions to the Space Shuttle Simulator. These enhancements and changes are part of the on-going policy of improving and expanding the simulator following the direct feedback from the community.

The Space Shuttle Mission 2007™ is available for online purchase in downloadable format at the SSM2007 official website and the latest Demo can also be downloaded freely at the same website.

New Titles in Avsim Store

Posted: Saturday, June 20, 2009 - 17:27
Flight1 Cessna Mustang CD Edition is now available at the Avsim store. The Flight1 Citation Mustang features outstanding internal and external 3D modeling, extremely realistic avionics and systems, a highly detailed set of 2D panels, a fully functional VC, and accurate flight modeling. It sets a new standard for the light business jet simulation experience.

This is in addition to other new titles recently added such as the Cessna 172N Skyhawk float and the C172N ski,
as well as the revolutionary Flying School 2009

Support Avsim.com. Visit the Avsim Store today.

Tongass Fjords X

Posted: Saturday, June 20, 2009 - 14:37
Released after more than two years of development Holger Sandmann and Bill Womack return Alaska back to the flightsimmers with Tongass Fjords X. Including moving ships and boats, created by Mitsuya Hamaguchi and Larry Silsbee, US Forestry Service cabins used by hunters, fishermen and hikers hidden near the many lakes and fjords, over 250 realistic glaciers , automatic freezing of water in the winter. In total there are some 80,000 square kilometers coast lines, lakes, islands, roads, rivers and glaciers to see in this release, you can start your tour of Alaska in TONGASS FJORDS .

FS Elemental Natural Pack

Posted: Friday, June 19, 2009 - 1:27
Staff reviewer Robert Mariani changes his environment with FS Elemental's Natural Pack. "The publisher says, “FS Elemental is an extraordinary and complete environment enhancement dedicated to Flight Simulator 9.”"

"FS Elemental is very easy to use. There are only three buttons. If you were to push the wrong button first, FS Elemental would make a backup of your original textures before it runs or installs anything. FS Elemental is not revolutionary by any means, but evolutionary nonetheless in relation to your stock FS9. The authors suggest that FS Elemental works best with an external weather generator such as Active Sky or Weather Maker Pro."

"I like how FS Elemental changed the look of FS9 even though it seemed underwhelming at first. Still, it was something new and something that refreshed my favorite sim. It applies changes your stock FS9 and results will vary significantly, especially if you have other add-ons installed."

Aerosoft Releases African Airfield Adventures

Posted: Friday, June 19, 2009 - 0:33
This FSX title, African Airfield Adventures, includes scenery for a large part of Kenya with many small airstrips and a few medium airfields, but there is also an innovative mission system included. Using the missions you will be hired by the African Safari Charters and their dispatch office will send you on flights that range from simply picking up some tourist at a lodge to help safe wildlife. As you fly over the superbly modeled terrain you will have ample time to see the wildlife. From the big game to the huge flocks of pelicans in lake Nakuru. But do maintain your aircraft as bad maintenance will increase the chance of running into problems!

L-4 Floatplane For FSX Released

Posted: Friday, June 19, 2009 - 0:21
L-4's on floats were used in almost every theatre of operations in WWII, and their history parallels the wheeled versions in many areas. This expansion pack is designed to compliment the original wheeled L-4 package and both are stand-alone products. To learn more visit the Sky Unlimited website.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport Released

Posted: Thursday, June 18, 2009 - 0:53
FSDreamTeam is pleased to announce the release of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for FSX and FS9, with a license valid for use in both simulators. The scenery is available in Trial version, and can be freely downloaded from FSDreamTeam website.

A new exciting South Florida destination that has never been covered properly before, located in convenient location that can be reached easily by hundreds of important airports within short distance. As with previous sceneries, the FSX version comes with the new FSDreamTeam scripting engine, with YouControl features to control several scenery animations. Very high fully custom hires ground is included both in FS9 and FSX, and custom jetways using native FSX animations are featured as well.

New Aerosoft Releases

Posted: Thursday, June 18, 2009 - 0:49
Mallorca X for FSX and FS2004 - This scenery for FSX and FS2004 created by the developers of SimWings, does not only cover the two airports on the island, but covers the whole island with high definition mesh and textures (for FSX 50 cm textures are used for the whole airport). The airports use AESlite to make the vehicle traffic more realistic and the latest version of AES (version 2.02) covers the airports as well. A perfect destination for your European flights this summer!

Airport Enhancement Services 2.02 - AES has been updated to version 2.02. The new version solves a few issues but mostly adds a lot more FSX airports. Of course it includes the new Aerosoft products Lisbon X and Mallorca X, but also scenery from FSDreamteam, ImageSim and UK2000 are now covered by AES.

Airport Facilitator X v1.07 Available

Posted: Thursday, June 18, 2009 - 0:41
Flight1 is pleased to announce a new update for our Airport Facilitator X product. The new version introduces copy&paste functionality, improves the performance of the live preview and contains several bug fixes. Airport Facilitator X is an advanced airport editor for FSX and FS9 that lets you see your changes live in Flight Simulator.

PBY Catalina from Aerosoft

Posted: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 1:51
Senior staff reviewer David Wilson-Okamura looks at a WWII workhorse that was in production for the whole duration of the war and served over three oceans in various capacities: scout, sub-killer, search-and-rescue; the PBY Catalina from Aerosoft.

"The package comes with six basic models, with some types having additional variants. In addition to various types, there are also multiple liveries, not to mention user-contributed repaints. A lot of care has obviously gone into bump mapping the plane’s surface and weathering the textures."

"The chief modeler on this project was Stefan Hofmann, who’s Hughes Racer I reviewed about this same time last year. The Catalina has a larger, more complicated interior; but if anything, it looks even sharper than the Racer -- and it still gets high frame rates. Another feature that’s new in this model is an interactive checklist."

"The real Catalina was slow: slow cruising, slow climbing, and slow turning. All of this is reflected in the flight model. Also reflected are the influence of floats and cowl gills on drag. Frame rates for this product are on the high side: somewhat lower than the defaults, but higher than most payware, and very high for a model of this size and complexity."

"If you don’t mind slow -- and I’m referring to cruise speed, not frame rates -- the PBY Catalina is a very attractive package. What sets it apart isn’t any one feature but the combination of features and performance. It looks sharp, especially in the VC; it’s smart about trading detail for frame rates; and it’s affordable."

New Freeware Scenery

Posted: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 1:04
KB Sim annonces their release of Tucson and Pima County AZ photo scenery for FSX and FS9. The FSX version covers 5500 square miles at 2m/pixel with 1m/pixel at the airports. The FS9 version is slightly smaller. Both sceneries include night textures and FS water, plus extensive autogen. There are custom models at the airports and many of the buildings around town. There are landable rooftop helipads at University Medical Center and Tucson Medical Center. Details and screenshots can be found at the KB Sim website.

V1 Simulations Releases First Title.

Posted: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 1:05
V1 Simulations has released their first project, Sacramento International Airport 2008 for FS2004. This scenery project has been in the works for over a year, and has been extensively previewed, during the build process, at Project Opensky. The download link is located at V1 Simulations on the Project Opensky forum until AVSIM's library is up and running again.

"Extreme Bush Trekker" Released

Posted: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 1:01
Pacific Islands Simulation has just released its newest product "Extreme Bush Trekker" and it is sold exclusively at SimMarket. The release follows from last week's announcement of its website upgrade and creation of a new forum. The site upgrade and forum introduction is mainly to cater for the growing number of Pacific Islands Simulation's customers and bushflying fans.

Generally, like its predecessor "Raw Grit: PNG Bushpilot," (reviewed at AVSIM) Extreme Bush Trekker is every bushpilots' mega playground. The only fundamental difference is that the developers concentrated mainly on creating high altitude airstrips ranging from 2,741ft to 11,515ft. Out of the total sixteen bush flying scenes there are only four which are either at or near sea-level, i.e., Madang (AYMD, Saidor (SDR), Long Island (LIS) and Kranket Islands (KKT). And, except for Madang (AYMD), Saidor (SDR) and Tauta (TAU) all thirteen airstrips are one-way takeoff and landing only.

For complete details of this latest release from Pacific Islands Simulation, visit their new website.

3 Rail Simulator Add-ons from Just Trains

Posted: Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 19:15
Senior contribnuting reviewer Gene Davis, our resident train buff, looks at 3 new releases from Just Trains. The Isle of Wight, Class 66 and Voyager add-ons for Rail Simulator. "The best part of using a sim like Rail Simulator is that you get to visit places far away, journey through time and or build an entire world to explore. With these 3 title, you will explore three different era’s of rail."

"The Isle of Wight is a popular vacation spot for British citizens and the Island itself sits off the southern coast of the United Kingdom inside the English Channel and can be visited either by plane or boat. But, from what I have seen in this add-on the best way to see the island is taking a boat or ferry from the mainland to Ryde Pier Head Railway Station that sits off the north eastern side of the island near the town of Ryde and riding a train onto the island. The diversity of rolling stock is where this add-on gets interesting, not only do you get rail lines that span almost the whole eastern half of the island, but you will have your choice of either a Class 483 Electric Engine/ Passenger car, or a Kitchener Class 0-4-OST “Invincible” steam engine. The island itself has been built around the railway in this add-on, no matter where you are at along the rail line there will be accurate scenery objects and buildings."

"The Class 66 offers the user a chance to try out one of the more popular freight haulers in the United Kingdom. The package offers a full set of Class 66 engines in 6 different paint jobs along with an ultra-realistic soundest that brings out the look and feel of these engines. The engine itself is visually stunning and it doesn’t stop outside the engine either. Inside there is an equally detailed cab that allows the user to operate the train from within the cab rather than a keyboard. The 66 is available via any European route that came default with Rail Simulator, once the product is installed there will be activities in each that are specific to this train. In total there are 7 different activities/ missions that the user can use to challenge his or her train operating skill."

"Voyager comes with two different versions, the 220 and the other is the 221. The 220 comes packed with four different styles of rolling stock and the 221 comes with 5. Each cabin car has been accurately designed and modeled after that of their real world counterparts and it is kind of interesting to see the differences between standard and 1st class. The Voyager is beautifully rendered both inside and out, but where it impresses me the most is its interior views from both the passenger’s perspective and that of the engineers. The Cab is nicely done and most of the controls from within the cab all work. The sound for the Voyager is nicely done and is exceptional from within the cab."

"What I like about Rail Simulator add-ons is the fact that you can use the stock and some of the scenery objects in your own user created routes and activities, this really goes to extending the life of the add-on within the sim by allowing the user to create and explore using his or hers imagination as a guide."

Mexico City & Central by FlyMex (Aerosoft)

Posted: Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 18:13
Staff reviewer Allen Lavigne goes south of the border to fly the numerous airfields presented in FlyMex's Mexico City and Central that is available through Aerosoft. "If you have an older computer that just cannot perform well with the new high definition candy out there, maybe this one is just for you. 18 airports of acceptable, yet not demanding, quality that will not bring your P4 to its knees so fast."

"Most airports are laid over photo-real ground textures probably made for earlier versions of Flight Simulator. Some tarmacs featured dynamic luggage carriers and personnel. Textures for both tarmacs and runways/taxiways are of a lesser than expected quality. The west coast is much more interesting than the Gulf coast, probably due to the extensive topological twist and turns that supports a great visual treat from any angle. On the other side, on the Gulf coast, it is barren and flat. Some charts are also included."

"I can safely conclude is that if you like to have a lot of airports to fly to and from, FlyMex's Mexico City and Central is a good inexpensive product for you IF you are not too fussy about having the highest quality for ground textures. Building textures and drawing quality were, on the other hand, quite nice at most airports."

Regional Airport - Clermont Ferrand Released

Posted: Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 17:01
With the release of Clermont Ferrand (LFLC) Airport Scenery (FS2004), the 6th pane of Airport sceneries for FS2004, France VFR completes its Collection of Regional Airports.

The scenery conceptualizes the Airport of Clermont Ferrand using photo-real high definition textures of the ground as well as adding night textures for the entire zone covered. The scenery spreads over 35 km² and adds an extended photo-realistic area to the airport including specific Autogen as well as semi photo-real tarmacs and taxiways.

The scenery is optimized in order to obtain the best possible framerate and quality/performance. You can use it as a standalone product or in addition to the Auvergne scenery without any modifications. Because of its particular concept, the scenery is entirely compatible with any mesh of your choice. Complete details of this and other sceneries can be found at the FranceVFR website.

Attention Cockpit Builders

Posted: Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 16:54
Flight Illusion is proud to announce the release of the GSA-DME. This octagonal display is based on the Bendix and Collins versions of a DME distance indicator. You can find this gauge typically in King Air or other business jets. The selector can be set on NAV1 or NAV 2 and shows respectively the distance (in nautical miles) to the chosen NAV station, the speed (in knots) and the estimated time to arrival (in minutes) The display can be mounted through a panel and connects through the GSA-55 interface with FS. The GSA-DME works with FS2004, FSX and X-plane. You can find our more about the GSA-DME and other gauges on the Flight Illusion website.

Gran Canaria by Fly Wonderful Islands

Posted: Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 17:07
Staff reviewer Jason McKee looks at a relatively newcomer to Flight Sim Scenery with his review of Fly Wonderful Islands' Gran Canaria. "Gran Canaria Airport is also known informally as Las Palmas Airport. It is the only airport in the Canary Islands with two runways. The airport is located in the east of Gran Canaria on the Bay of Gando (Bahía de Gando). This airport is also an emergency backup landing site for the space shuttle."

"The first impression when you land or take off at the airport is it is a nice airport that is faithful to the real life version. At the gates the air bridges connect to your aircraft and AI aircraft, if you have the doors set up on them. The airport traffic moves around realistically, but you need to have the detail level set high enough and airport traffic active. The night lighting casts good light over the apron and looks realistic. If you are flying at night, the runway is well lit and is very easy to find."

"The airport surroundings look good and fit in well with the airport. Traffic flows on the motorway and the water looks Mediterranean. The autogen around the airport fits well and matches the pictures of the area I have seen. AI traffic works well within the airport. Fuel trucks and airport ground vehicles move around without getting stuck, or cross runways or block taxiways."

"I enjoyed reviewing the Gran Canaria Airport. It is a fast, modern airport which can handle a lot of traffic dury busy times. Once you have used this scenery, the default area looks barren and inaccurate in comparison."