Has Amazon Let the Cat Out of the Bag?

Posted: Monday, July 3, 2006 - 15:17
Amazon has posted a release date for MS FSX and though AVSIM cannot verify that date, we can point out that the AVSIM Conference and Exhibition is set to occur the weekend before the Amazon stated date of 19th September. The 2006 Conference and Exhibition takes place on the 15th thru 17th September, and the first 400 registrants will receive a free copy of MS FSX, either at the event or immediately upon receipt at the AVSIM fulfillment center. If the 400 copies of MS FSX are not ready by the event, AVSIM will ship those 400 copies free, to any address around the world. You have to be pre-registered, one of the first 400 to register, and IN ATTENDANCE at the event to get your free copy of MS FSX! Attendees may also be lucky enough to win some pretty spectacular hardware on Friday and Saturday night as well as give aways from vendors exhibiting at the event. But, you have to be there to win! With this year's attendee registrations easily outstripping all our previous conferences -- register today and be a part of the largest flight simulation event this year!

Free Blogs for Pilots

Posted: Monday, July 3, 2006 - 6:26
A new service provided by Virtual Ground School provides individuals the opportunity to have their very own blog. Whether you are a virtual pilot, aviation enthusiast, or a real world pilot let the world know about it. We have numerous new blog templates under development such as specific ones for aircraft, airlines and aircraft manufacturers. Blogs @ VGS is a totally free service. Fly on over to Blogs @ Virtual Ground School and check it out for yourself!

New Aircraft Package Review - World Airlines by Overland Japan Ltd

Posted: Monday, July 3, 2006 - 1:25
New reviewer Jeff Shyluk takes a look at a product from a Japanese developer, Fly Into The Sky! World Airlines from Overland Japan Ltd. "Although World Airlines was created for a Japanese flight simulation audience, all of the included aircraft have English-language cockpits and liveries, and the manual has instructions in English as well."

"In terms of sophistication, these jets are roughly equal to what you would find among the default MSFS airliners," Jeff reports, "if you are looking for sophisticated details in these airliners, then there are a few improvements over the basic jets, but operationally speaking, there are not a lot of complicated in-flight functions. Flight controls and cockpit devices for all of the World Airlines jets closely resemble those for the default MSFS airliners. There are no working Flight Management Computers, other than the Flight Planner that comes built into Flight simulator."

"Every World Airlines jet has a basic 2D cockpit and a 3D cockpit. Overall, I found the presentation of the flight decks to be quite good. Since there are no truly complicated controls in any of the World Airlines cockpits, you may feel free to experiment with what each switch does without the worry of ruining your airplane. The 3D cockpits in World Airlines are very nicely done. For those sim pilots looking to find Airbus jets with clickable 3D cockpits, you should be happy with the selection in World Airlines."

Commenting on the exterior models, "The number and variety of passenger jets in World Airlines is impressive, but the real star of the show has to be the exterior models of the airplanes. In a word, they are beautiful! Every World Airlines jet comes loaded with animations. The attention to detail in the World Airlines models is very high. The World Airlines planes look like they are made from real-world metal rather than pixels. The unpainted aircraft parts shine brightly, while the painted textures have just the right degree of specularity and glossiness."

As far as flight dynamics goes, Jeff says, "The first impression that I had when I started to test all of these planes is that twenty is a very large number to go through! Most aircraft add-on packages will either give you one airplane with a very high level of detail in terms of avionics and flight dynamics, or they will give you an assortment of planes with a lesser amount of detail. World Airlines fits into the latter category."

Jeff concludes his extensive review with, "Fly Into The Sky! World Airlines is an ambitious add-on for Flight Simulator 2000/2004. Featuring 20 different airframes and many liveries from all over the planet, World Airlines deserves its name. The best feature of World Airlines are the stunning aircraft models. Beautiful and realistic, these airplanes are marvellous to look at in both day and night conditions. The cockpits of each aircraft are visually sophisticated, with a very good balance maintained between the visibility of the flight instruments and the view out of the front windscreen. My impression of World Airlines is that it is a good add-on. There is a lot of material to explore in this product."

Flight One Software Releases Ground Environment Professional

Posted: Sunday, July 2, 2006 - 18:56
Flight One Software, in partnership with Peter Wilding, Anthony Vos, and Carl Hackman, announce the release of a more advanced and exciting version of Ground Environment.

Ground Environment Professional is the "Enthusiasts dream". With expanded ground textures and the ability to customize and save for future use, the colors and hues of the ground, as well as the ability of adjusting the sky colors, you can fly in truly customized landscapes in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. This is all accomplished through the Ground Environment Professional interface.

The product also has coordination with the latest weather conditions. Included is technology for downloading and decoding the latest METAR cycle which then intelligently selects and installs the correct texture sets for both ground and sky. This will allow you to match shades of ground and sky that match current weather conditions, in terms of color, hue, brightness, contrast, and reflectivity.

Flight One has both Ground Environment Professional and Ground Environment Standard available. Ground Environment Standard edition will be for users that do not wish to have advanced customizations of the ground textures and sky environments. The Professional version offers the advanced customizations, weather interface, and additional texture expansions for parts of Florida, Miami, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Asia, and other parts of the Tropics.

Complete details on Ground Environment Professional for previous GE owners and interested purchasers are available at the Flight One website.

Callsigns/Forum Names at Conference - Update

Posted: Saturday, July 1, 2006 - 19:22
A reminder to those who have already registered for the September Conference. If you would like your "callsign" or "forum name" on your name tag at the conference, please forward your real name and forum name to the Conference Registrar.

For those of you who haven't registered yet, please include this info when you register. For those registering onsite, we will make your nametag there.

Don't forget, the first 400 registered get a copy of FS-X. See everyone in 11 weeks.

Military Aircraft Review - Alphasim's F-22 Raptor

Posted: Saturday, July 1, 2006 - 6:54
New reviewer Joseph Ellwood takes a look at the Air Force's newest acquisition, the F-22 Raptor from AlphaSim. "The sheer maneuverability of the F-22 is astounding."

"The cockpit of Alphasim’s F-22 is well laid out and easy to use. Any intermediate simmer should take only a few minutes to master the operations of this plane," Joe comments about the office, "from the looks of things, this appears to be Alphasim’s best VC to date."

Taking a look at the Raptor from the outside, "The model of the Raptor is just brilliant with lots of detail clearly evident. The F-22 is equipped with Thrust Vectoring Nozzles (TVN) to assist in pitch. The afterburners are different from what you’d expect from regular combat aircraft add-ons for this simulator, in that the effect does not actually extend beyond the thrust nozzles."

Joe states in his review conclusion, "I had a blast flying this plane; it flies, looks and performs brilliantly. Any military simulation enthusiast should give this a hard look."

Sim Cockpit SCS-T7 Takes Off

Posted: Friday, June 30, 2006 - 21:13
The SCS-T7 offers a realistic simulator cockpit environment accommodating three LCD monitors and a scenery projection image, visible through the front and left side windows. The stunning scenery presentation gives the impression of being more in an aircraft as opposed to being in front of a computer. The field of view allows the feel of speed and facilitates runway tracking on takeoff and flare on landing. Whether you fly a transport or a Cessna, the generic design feature will bring your flight simulation experience to a new level. For more information, visit Sim Cockpit System.

Aerosoft US Coast Guard Jayhawk Released

Posted: Friday, June 30, 2006 - 18:52
When we released the Seahawk & Boxer combination last year there were a few things our customers wanted done different. They wanted more animations, a more accurate Jayhawk model and a ship that would give better framerate so landing would be easier. With the Coast Guard - To Serve and Protect release all these things are included. Optimizing the model, we found a few more polygons (the Seahawk was at the absolute limit of what could be compiled for FS2004) to create a new crewmember that is fully animated while still adding all the external loads that make the Jayhawk look different. We added a smaller (yet highly detailed) new ship that you can even use as an 'aircraft' that you can sail around the seas in Flight Simulator. A small tool allows you to position this ship as a static landable object where ever you like it. It is a perfect addition to your Seahawk (although as a stand alone FS2004 add-on, it does not need the Seahawk). If you have never looked at what can be done with helicopters in FS2004, this is the perfect introduction.

Visit Aerosoft Shop for details, screenshots, and to place your order.

JustFlight Releases First F-Lite Title

Posted: Friday, June 30, 2006 - 17:41
Just Flight is pleased to announce that the first title in its eagerly anticipated F-Lite range, the Airbus A340-500/600 is now out and available to order. The A340-500/600 is available in Just Flight’s usual DVD-ROM packaging, but is also available to ‘buy by wire’ from Just Flight’s Download Shop.

The F-Lite range is designed to provide aircraft that are not only extremely high in detail and visually impressive but also less demanding to fly than complex procedural simulators. The aircraft feature countless accurate animations including wing droop, thrust reversers, doors, pushback truck and 25 liveries are included. Also included are unique features including switchable “Easy” or “Normal” flight characteristics, a viewpoint utility, and a paint kit to create your own repaints.

Visit Just Flight for full details and to order.

AlphaSim F-4 Phantom Pack 3 Out Now

Posted: Friday, June 30, 2006 - 17:26
The AlphaSim Phantom trilogy comes to a close in style - a dual package containing both British F-4's as well as the reconnaissance 'RF' versions! Phantoms of the RAF are represented by the FGR.1, two FGR.2's, an F.3 (also known as F-4J(UK)) and an additional 'clean' F.3. The classic Royal Navy FG.1 rounds out the Brit lineup. The sleek RF-4C appears in two US schemes as well as an RF-4E with some very colourful Greek Air Force textures (RF-4E also included in 'clean' format).

The highly successful AlphaSim Pack 1 and Pack 2 Phantoms have been improved upon for this package, framerates were given special attention and the textures surpass even the high quality of the other two packages. All the usual animations are present, with the addition of the refuel probe and a special extendable nosewheel oleo on the Royal Navy variant. An awesome soundset is included in the package. A repainter's kit will be made available at a later date. For FS2004/FSX only. Screenshots can be viewed on our home page at AlphaSim.

Australian Sceneries Releases Hamilton Island

Posted: Friday, June 30, 2006 - 17:12
Now available from Australian Sceneries is Hamilton Island
Scenery for FS2004. This scenery brings the island alive with people, vehicles, roads, marina with jetties, flying birds and more. For more information and screenshots please visit Australian Sceneries Page.

Features of our scenery are: 3D taxi lights, photo-real runway textures (coming in patch), ramp vehicles, people around the island, roads around the airport, all hotels and buildings that are on the island, the marina with all jetties, roads and ferry docks, boats in the ocean and the marina, flying birds, beach huts, people on the beach, all shops around the marina, NEW night lighting around the airport, car parks, frame-rate-friendly airport, and lots more! Full support for our new product is available on our support forum if you are to have any problems. This scenery requires FS2004.

Ground Environment Pro Released

Posted: Friday, June 30, 2006 - 10:10
Flight1 has just released Ground Environment Pro! Peter Wilding, Anthony Vos, and Carl Hackman have created Ground Environment Professional, a revolutionary package that completely transforms your FS world environment. The package includes:

Super Detailed Photo-Realistic Generic Textures - The terrain in Flight Simulator comes alive with all new texture sets for everything from deep river canyons, high mountain peaks, and everything in between.

Global Coverage / All Regions - The program includes terrain enhancements for all areas of the globe. We don't focus on one area in FS, we cover it all!

All Seasons - Texture enhancements to all seasonal textures to make your Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter seasons more enjoyable.

Perfectly Aligned Autogen - Our package incorporates autogen alignment techniques that surpass any other product. No longer will you have buildings or other autogen objects show up on roads or have misplacement in other areas of your scenery.

Night Textures - Newly enhanced night textures improve lighting during night time operations.

Easy To Use Graphical Interface - Following in the footsteps of Flight Environment's intuitative interface, Ground Environment 2006 includes an easy-to-navigate interface with a multitude of options available to the user.

Visit the product page or visit this page which has screenshots of what the product is all about. Prior users of Ground Environment 2006 get a discount via the Flight1 wrapper system.

SkyDeck's 737NG Panel v3.0

Posted: Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 17:23
SkyDecks is proud to announce the Boeing 737NG Panel, Version 3.0. SkyDecks has made this project as realistic and practical as possible, having designed all new gauges to create the most realistic flight simulation experience available today. You will find many new features in the v3.0 build, including a fully functioning overhead panel with complete electrical, pnuematics, fuel, and hydraulic functions. And now on the main panel, you'll find the ability to change LED display styles from the full precision mode or to a compact mode that is modeled after the style of analog guages. The Navigational Display still shows all of the visual information seen within the FS9 GPS. Navaids and the loaded flight plan will appear within the Navigational Display just like the real thing! Every gauge has been recreated to give a level of detail that must be seen! SkyDeck's Boeing 737NG... Seeing is Believing!

The New self-installing Version 3.0 features are:
•At startup, Full or Compact modes of LED display units are selectable. Select your style!
•Utilizing the MSFS GPS system information, the ND will display navaids and flight plan.
•A full-functioning Overhead Panel with Fuel, Hydraulic, Pneumatic and Electrical systems.
•Full GPWS system - altitude descent callouts to aid in awareness and precision landings.
•15 Position Dimmable night lighting system for panel floods, text and LED Display Units.
•New Autopilot MCP logic with correct IAS/Mach Change Over and Vertical Speed display.
•Auto-Landing feature. Will guide your aircraft to a smooth landing. ILS/DME required.
•New Pilot and Flight Attendant recordings to help you feel more at home in the cockpit.
•Each display unit may be maximized and undocked by clicking the unit’s lower-left button.

For more information and to view detailed screenshots within our image gallery, please visit our website at SkyDeck's website.

Aerosoft Releases Islands of Malta

Posted: Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 17:11
Aerosoft announces another stunning scenery from the well-known scenery designers of SimWings: a complete and accurate reproduction of the Islands of Malta with all its famous buildings and landmarks.

This scenery is a perfect destination for all lovers of the Mediterranean culture. Islands of Malta comprises all the islands of the Maltese Republic. A detailed city scenery of Valetta, including an original detailed replica of the Malta International Airport, the heliport on Gozo, the citadel of Victoria and Mdina with the roman village and many more landmarks show this add-on as a perfect representation of the islands.
A new mesh terrain, corrected coastlines and animated objects such as opening hangar doors at the airport make this package an exciting simulation scenery.

Features:
•All islands of the Republic of Malta
•Original detailed airport scenery (Malta)
•Original detailed heliport on Gozo
•Numerous static and animated objects at the airport
•Corrected coastlines
•New Mesh Terrain
•City scenery of Valetta, the citadel of Victoria and Mdina, Roman villa, etc.
•Printed airport charts
•Printed manual

For further information see attachment or click here.

Dispatch Planner 1.0 US Released

Posted: Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 15:45
Dispatchplanner announces the release of their brand new Dispatch Planner 1.0 USA. Following on from the success of the UK version, the reworked USA version has five more airlines that are supported: American, Continental, Delta, Southwest and United.

Dispatch Planner USA is an excel spreadsheet with a simple but powerful user interface which produces a realistic airline style 'dispatch' sheet for the supported USA airlines. This creates a single sheet with all information relevant to your flight. This can be printed and serves as a great aid to pre-flight planning.

Here are some features of Dispatch Planner:
* It provides a realistic and functional dispatch
* The ability to select addon aircraft to receive weights from for display on dispatch
* The optional retrieval of current real-world METAR report for departure and destination airfields
* Real world limit weights such as Maximum TakeOff Weight and Max Zero Fuel Weight for each airframe
* Accurate fuel planner specific to selected airframe including figures for TRIP, HOLD, ALTERNATE etc.

It also includes a template to use the airlines that are not already supported.

Try Dispatch Planner now, there is a free demo on their website. You can download it and find out more at the Dispatch Planner website

Phoenix Simulations Releases 757 First Look

Posted: Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 14:18
Phoenix Simulations has released their first looks at the upcoming 757 Professional project on the Avsim forums! To get a first look at this upcoming project, visit the AVSIM Forum for all the screen shots!

Introducing Matthieu Laban and FSP

Posted: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 23:07
We are sure you are asking yourself, who is Matthieu Laban and what is FSP? Good question! Matthieu is an enthusiastic pilot, a 25 year old living in Santa Clara, California, and a displaced Frenchman, who happens to also be developing FSP - The Flight Simulation Project. When asked what the FSP is all about, Matthieu has this to say; "It is a project I’m developing as a hobby. I go from feature to feature and try to build a fun simulator by approaching all the aspects of this type of game. It features aircraft dynamics, weather, winds, time of day, visual effects, several aircrafts, replays, DEM data import …". Matthieu, in short, is developing in his free time, a totally new flight simulator. Curious? Want to see more? Go to Matthieu's web site and see what one person is doing to expand our hobby (and his).

2006 Convention White Papers, A-List Speakers!

Posted: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 - 16:23
It's going to be a stellar AVSIM 2006 convention so don't miss out! Vendors and attendees are signing up fast! Hurry before you miss your chance to grab a free copy of FSX, or maybe a free video card, or even a free Xbox 360 USB controller!! Sign up today!

AVSIM is pleased to announce it's list of confirmed white paper demonstrations. This A-List of presenters will add to your knowledge in almost all aspects of flight simulation. In addition to Microsoft's heavy hitters, this list includes:

**Speakers from two of the world's top aviation Universities.

**A "big iron" simulator project manager for a top aviation University.

**Real world dispatcher discussing flight dispatching as it relates to
the real world and how it can be simulated in Flight Simulation

**Builders of simulators of circa 1900's vintage discuss how it's done
and what it takes.

Don't miss this important flight sim event! For more information
please visit the 2006 Convention site.

Shockwave Releases Wings of POWER II: WWII Fighters Special Edition

Posted: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - 22:56
Shockwave's newest retail offering is compatible with both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and Microsoft Flight Simulator X. Wings of POWER II: WWII FIGHTERS SPECIAL EDITION includes FIVE very high quality aircraft, including the Messerschmitt Bf109, P51 Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire, Republic P47 Thunderbolt, and the Japanese Mitsubishi “Zero.”

Features:

Authentic drop tank release actually drops both fuel and weight

“Wings of POWER “Special Effects” package includes:
Historically accurate lighting for stunning nighttime visuals
Realistic startup visuals modeled after the real aircraft
Belly landings with realistic effects and physics programming

Aircraft included:



North American P-51D “Mustang”
The North American P-51D Mustang has emerged as an icon, and is by far the most widely recognized piston fighter ever produced. The P51 allowed the United States to escort their bombers to Berlin and back. The p51 is a heavy, fast energy fighter and, in the right hands is lethal. It has a distinctive sound with its Merlin V-1650-7 engine with 1,720 horsepower.



Supermarine “Spitfire” Mk IB
The Spitfire stands to this day as one of the greatest piston fighters in aviation history. It is a light, maneuverable craft with low drag, elliptical wings, and a broad performance envelope. The result was the Spitfire, a capable, lethal, yet forgiving aircraft that proved more than equal to anything the Germans could throw at it.



Republic P-47D-20 “Thunderbolt”
Equipped with a large, powerful radial engine, the P47 looked as tough as it was. Known as the "Jug", this aircraft was a mainstay of the Allied fighter fleet and, with its eight .50 caliber guns, was capable of shredding ground targets and airborne opponents alike. While it could not turn with Axis fighters such as the Fw 190 and Me 109, it could outdive both of these and had a zoom-climb capability that was amazing.



Messerschmitt Bf “109” E4
The Bf109 was Germany’s premier, front-line fighter at the beginning of the war and was still being produced at the end. Designed by Messerschmitt and Lusser, the Bf109 first flew in May 1935. It was a powerful aircraft - in November 1937 the Bf109 V13 raised the world airspeed record for land-based planes to over 370 mph.



Mitsubishi A6M5 "Zero"
The “Zero” was extremely light and maneuverable, and packed a considerable wallop for the time. It was a delight to fly, excelling at low and medium speed acrobatics. Because of its low wing loading, it could turn very tightly at low speeds without stalling, and had a turning radius of as little as 630 feet in the lower speed range.

New Review - Commuter Xpress 2 from Abacus

Posted: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 - 6:12
The "Cap'n", Brian Fletcher, looks at Abacus' Commuter Xpress 2, which provides six commuter aircraft, each with six liveries, and a flight creator that can be used to add a storyline to this package. The aircraft in this package include the Bombardier CRJ-900, de Havilland DHC-8-200 (Dash 8), Dornier 328 prop and jet models, Embraer ERJ-190, and the Saab 340B, all of which can be found operating in the Hub and Spoke system as commuter aircraft.

Taking a look inside and out of these aircraft, Brian comments, "My first impression of the exterior models was one of complete disappointment. The texturing appeared sub-par at best, and I was not overwhelmed by any of the six liveries, including Airlux, Ciel, Prestige Air, Sucaba Aviation, Swift Connection, and Zwaan. No matter how hard I searched I could not find any indication of rivets, screw or bolt heads, wear, dirt and exhaust effects, or anything else that would suggest any effort put forth to make these models suitable for FS9. I was not very surprised to see interior modeling considerably inferior to most of the recent payware releases. I have closely examined the virtual cockpits to find that they are actually not too far off from there real-world counterparts, but it can be hard to tell with the substandard texturing."

About the flight dynamics, Brian reports, "As far as I can tell each of the aircraft flight dynamics in this collection seem to be moderately authentic, but I would have to say that they all tend to favor the novice simmer. In fact, I have been quite successful at operating each of these aircraft with just my mouse and keyboard. All in all I am not overly exited about the airfiles, but I am not as disappointed as I was with the rest of the aircraft."

Wrapping up the review, Brian says, "it is with great regret that I am unable to recommend this product. The models are accurate but the detail is simply sub-par at best. It is not my goal to bash this product, at least not intentionally. There may very well be some of you who would like this package as is, or with a few modifications."