Bear Studios' Mig 15

Posted: Saturday, January 6, 2007 - 0:27
New staff reviewer Brian Smith explores his interest in classic fighters with Bear Studios' Mig 15, available from Flight 1. "The Mig-15, nicknamed the Fagot by NATO, is one of the most successful jet-fighters ever produced. It was one of the earliest swept wing designs, and out-performed anything the western world produced until the introduction of the F-86 during the Korean Conflict."

"Clearly, the creator of the Bear Studios Mig-15 intended for it to be flown from the Virtual Cockpit. The virtual cockpit is very well done, but I had a few issues with the 2D panel. For instance, many of the functions of the plane cannot be accessed except through the Virtual Cockpit. The sub-panels are nicely done, they show wear and tear and they give a consistent feel to the cockpit, but they are not the best panels in a 2D cockpit that I have seen. The virtual cockpit gives you good visibility, access to all the switches and knobs, and is really well done. Those with FSX or who want an excellent add-on in Flight Sim 9, should demand this level of quality in your virtual cockpit."

"The package has quite a few models of the Mig-15, reflecting the history of its development. The models are excellent, and there is a lot to look at in terms of eye candy for those who want the immersion. The models have working drop tanks, a break-away canopy and ejection seat, and guns. The guns produce tracers out of each gun and a muzzle flash for each barrel. There is also a great smoke trail as the guns fire; and you can see the shells spewing from the plane as the MIG-15 spits lead across the sky. "

"All of the textures displayed crisply and clearly, and I experienced no fuzziness at all. I can say that the number of models and textures really surprised me. It is a rarity these days to see a developer spend so much time on the plane, especially on a military model. The MIG was made so the engines could be completely removed and overhauled on a frequent basis. If you ‘Fold Wings’ when you are parked, you can see the body of the Mig-15 separate. The tail is removed, and you can see a detailed rendering of the engine in the Mig-15."

Summing up his first review, Brian notes about Bear Studios' Mig 15, "the quality of the virtual cockpit, the models, and the textures, and frankly, just the sheer number of variations, make the package a good one. If you enjoy early fighter aircraft, flying Soviet aircraft, are a history buff, or if you would just like to try something new that has a deeper sense of immersion than most add-on aircraft, this is probably a good match for you."

Combat Planes Northern Adventures

Posted: Friday, January 5, 2007 - 19:52
Combat Planes has released a two mission sample pack of a larger product titled Northern Adventures for Microsoft FS X. Northern Adventures is a mission set flying as a bush pilot in Canada and Alaska. The sample pack includes a mission for the 208B Caravan as well as the Grumman Goose. You may download the missions at the Combat Planes Site.

Win A Flight In A Real Tiger Moth

Posted: Friday, January 5, 2007 - 19:16
To celebrate the launch of their new de Havilland Tiger Moth add-on for FSX and FS2004, Just Flight have teamed up with Delta Aviation, the UK's leading flying experience specialist, to offer one lucky virtual pilot the chance to win a flight in a REAL Tiger Moth.

To see the competition details and to enter, just visit the competition page.

Editor's Note: this takes place in the UK. If an AVSIM reader wins this flight, we would love to hear about the experience.

January's Donations by Cheque

Posted: Thursday, January 4, 2007 - 19:33
We'd like to confirm the receipt of donations by cheque received in the past couple of weeks. Those that have donated through PayPal, your confirmation is your completed PayPal transaction. To all of our donors, Thank You.

FlightZone 02: Portland from FlightScenery

Posted: Thursday, January 4, 2007 - 19:18
Senior staff reviewer Zane Gard kicks off the new year recreating a flight around his real airport as depicted by FlightScenery with FlightZone 02: Portland. "It took almost a full year to get the final release of FlightZone 02 KPDX out on the market, and it should be clear to all that the wait was well worth it."

"You can see the progression of scenery skills as each new release added features not present in the last. FZ02 adds some animations that I found very well done. These include road traffic around the main airports, animated marshals and wing walkers at KPDX and wig wags. The road traffic looks better than FSX’s road traffic and moves more realistically. The highways and roads close by the airport have correct signage, the intersections have traffic lights, and there are poles for street lights. All of these things are kind of subtle, they don’t jump out at you but as you’re landing, you notice them to the sides and as you pass over them. The illusion is set for your mind to take in."

"My first flights with FZ02 were ones I make in real life between Hillsboro and Troutdale and back. Let’s just say all of the flights were impressive. All the detailed airports are pretty neat to fly out of. There are four other airports that the scenery area covers, Fly for Fun (W56), Evergreen (59S), Grove (1W1) and Green Mountain Stolport (WA67). There are no associated buildings with these airfields, but the ground textures and surrounding area are far superior to the default offerings FS2004 had. There are several free additional sceneries that I found work very well for flying in and around FZ02."

Zane sums up FlightScenery's FZ02: Portland with, "I am a private pilot and this is the area I actually fly in and am familiar with. I awaited this scenery with baited breathe because I knew what Stéphane Lepage was capable of and the teaser screenshots and videos on FlightScenery’s website only fueled the anticipation. I am overjoyed to report that this not only met my expectations, it managed to exceed them."

AVSIM.com News Team Needs Your Help

Posted: Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - 21:11
Now that 2007 is upon us, we're hoping schedules have calmed down to where more people will see this story. The AVSIM.com news crew needs your help. We presently have between 3 to 4 slots we need to fill. We prefer experience in some kind of editing or news gathering, but if you are the right person we will train you.

News team members are responsible for posting daily "What's New" files, and for taking duty 2-3 days a month for incoming news, collecting worthy news from the web, and other sources. All we ask is that you are dependable and can make your volunteer days.

If you feel you have what it takes please email John Binner for a prompt reply and interview. if you've been waiting and wanting to join the AVSIM team now is the time!

FSPilot Releases Update For FSXP

Posted: Tuesday, January 2, 2007 - 20:03
FSXPilot will now allow you to have multiplayer and AI planes & helicopters on the EFIS of the universal autopilot. This update allows you to see 128 planes and 128 helicopters simultanously on the EFIS radar panel. All aircraft display their current heading, altitude and IAS. You can now also follow AI or just a friend automatically, as soon as you are close to your target, speed, altitude and heading will be set automatically in order to create a side-by-side flight with the locked plane for as long as possible. For more information and to download please visit the FSXPilot homepage.

Xclass Europe and Xclass USA from Cloud9

Posted: Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 23:52
Staff reviewer David Wilson-Okamura takes us on a comprehensive landclass tour of the USA and Europe with Cloud9's Xclass USA and Xclass Europe. "These products are continental in scale. For Europe, I chose five areas to look at: the English Channel, northern Spain, the islands of Sicily and Sardinia, and the Alps. To my knowledge, this is the first third-party landclass for all of Europe, so I compared it with the only thing available: the default landclass that ships with FSX. For the United States (not including Alaska or Hawaii), I chose four regions, each centered on a major city: East Coast (New York), northern California (San Francisco), Nevada (Las Vegas), Midwest (Chicago)."

"Looking at the big picture, we can see that the Cloud9 products are more precise than the default landclass. But are the new products accurate? When you fly over them in the sim, do they look like their real-life counterparts? This question can only be answered on a case-by-case basis."

"Performance is not a serious issue with these products. In pre-patch FSX, the biggest hit seems to come from autogen. Will using Xclass decrease your framerates? I doubt it. If you install Xclass, you will see more varied ground textures and therefore your system will have to process more files."

Concluding these two Xclass programs from Cloud9, David says, "the default landclass that ships with FSX has obvious, even glaring defects and these products address those defects in a satisfying, affordable way. I say “address” rather than “solve” because, as the comparison with Google Earth shows, the Cloud9 landclass is not perfect. Xclass is inexpensive to purchase, easy to install, and makes large areas, even whole continents, look more realistic. Also, it is getting better. Xclass: Europe has been out for a little more than one month and already there have been three updates."

FSPilot Update

Posted: Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 18:50
Scientific Networks close their 2006 operation by publishing another free update for FSPilot (FS2004) which offers a resizable Autopilot and EFIS Panel, as well as an individual definition of text and symbol sizes.

A large scale moving EFIS display can be easily created. Users may move the center of the EFIS (own aircraft) to 9 predifined positions. All settings can be saved via FSP's 'options' dialog. You can download the update at the FSPilot website.

Orlando Int'l Airport from Cloud9

Posted: Saturday, December 30, 2006 - 23:53
Staff reviewer Lydell Stelmack visits "Mickey's Corporate Office" with his review of Cloud9's Orlando International Airport. "Comparing FSX's default scenery to the Cloud9 Orlando scenery is just as before. FSX missed some of the details. Now every detail of the sim could never possibly be covered by FSX, so thanks to creative developers like Cloud9 we can still enhance our simming."

"With reflections on the numerous small lakes within KMCO, details abound within the scenery. Grasping the size of this airport in full detail and every nook and cranny was an adventure in itself. Based on real ground and in-flight photos, Cloud9’s KMCO has a long list of features. Included are; photographic terrain textures, detailed runways, taxiways and aprons, animations, realistic night lighting, and the list goes on."

"Roadways and people movers network the mid-field and terminal area. Cars traveling to the various parkades and the animated people movers (trains) bring KMCO to life. For FSX native aircraft only, ground handling equipment, fuel trucks and animated jetways are detailed. The terminal and four airside gates are also highly detailed clearly showing the differences in each airside terminal gate."

Summarizing Cloud9's Orlando International Airport, Lydell comments, "for this pure FSX product, Orlando International Airport really does fall right inline with FSX. Flights both in and out of KMCO, the transition of the airports scenery to the surrounding area is seamless. There are no definitive differences or “borders” that are commonly found in add-on scenery. KMCO can be spotted in-flight from a distance which is a reflection of its true size. It most definitely makes me look forward to the progress in this hobby and lean towards FSX."

More Freeware From FS-Freeflow

Posted: Saturday, December 30, 2006 - 20:09
Several expansion packages, which enhance the Freeflow Bahamas scenery package for FS9, have been released! This package is currently available only at the Freeflow website and the addons will also be uploaded to AVSIM in a week or two. The new enhancement packages include an AI ship package compiled by Dexter Thomas and several detailed regional scenery packages for areas such as Salt Cay and Coco Cay by Jimmy R. Martin. HAPPY 2007 from FREEFLOW!

Happy Holidays from Aerosoft

Posted: Saturday, December 30, 2006 - 20:04
Aerosoft would like to wish all simmers a fine 2007. "May you find health, wealth and frame rates." To thank all the simmers for their support Aerosoft is offering some free software for download.

This year they created scenery like the "German Football Stadiums" (for Fs2004) and Alcatraz island (for FSX and FS2004) that can be downloaded for free. They also have an FSX mission for you to fly, A Short Ferry Flight. It is a result of their first experiment with the new possibilities of FSX. To find the mission in FSX, just enter the mission section from the opening screen and choose Aerosoft flights from the category.

Glasair III from Australian Simulations

Posted: Saturday, December 30, 2006 - 1:18
Senior staff reviewer Bert Pieke returns from a short break and reviews a sporty little kit-plane, the Glassair III from Australian Simulations. "The Glasair III is the latest addition to this family of aircraft and has the highest performance, this aircraft is a kit builders dream."

Describing the inside and outside of this 2-seater Bert says, "the virtual cockpit is nicely finished and matches the 2D cockpit in every detail. All the gauges are custom made by Australian Simulation and by and large they are very good. I especially liked the smooth instruments in the VC, something only a few add-on aircraft provide. The exterior model is nicely detailed and gives a good representation of what a composite structure airplane looks like, with slightly curved shapes instead of the riveted aluminum skin that we know well from most general aviation aircraft."

Taking it up for a spin, bert comments, "this airplane comes with a lot of power in a very light airframe and the performance is nothing short of spectacular. Never having flown the real thing, I cannot say how close to reality the flight model is, but I can say that it handles very well and is a blast to fly. With the great IFR instrumentation, this is an aircraft to take on cross-country flights and hone your navigational skills."

In summary of the Glasair III, "this is a nice change from the many look-alike aircraft out there. A true high performance touring aircraft, which is fun to fly. If you are serious about this aircraft, I would highly recommend to go all the way and upgrade with Reality XP gauges, it makes a real difference."

Golden Age Releases Travel Air 6000

Posted: Friday, December 29, 2006 - 20:48
Golden Age Simulations announces the release of their Travel Air 6000 Alaskan Adventure Pack for FS 2004.

This package comes complete with 5 aircraft: The Travel Air B-6000 land and float versions plus a Jump Plane, and 2 Travel Air A-6000 variants sporting a 54 foot wingspan and the more powerful 450 hp Pratt and Whitney Wasp. All aircraft are complete with a highly detailed VC with operable windows, switches and gauges, 2D panel, custom sound file, retractable landing lights, custom exhaust effects and fully animated pilot. Included in the package is a custom Alaskan bush piloting scenery package: Shakun Inlet. Shakun Inlet is an expansive environment that supports both land and sea planes. Mission based scenarios add to the package. For more information visit Golden Age Simulations.

Abacus Continues FSX Upgrades

Posted: Friday, December 29, 2006 - 20:45
Abacus has released the FSX version of CoPilot. Abacus writes, "Today we continuing our march towards FSX compatibility with the release of CoPilot V3.5, one of the most widely used navigation utilities from the workbench of Peter Jacobson and Konstantin Kukushkin. CoPilot made its original debut more than seven years ago and has become a staple of many virtual pilots since them. Since the release of FSX, many of these same users have asked for this FSX version." CoPilot V3.5 has these key features: