Texans Vol 2 from Flight1/Sky Unlimited

Posted: Friday, July 8, 2011 - 0:33
Staff reviewer Peter Hayes heads out for a series of training flights in Sky Unlimited's Texans Vol 2, distributed by Flight 1. "The Texans or Harvards include 5 historical models; the AT6-D Harvard MkII/IV, SNJ-4C, T-6G, and LT-6G, their variants had quite different roles in WWII, so this is a nice mix to fly. The package promises 'an entire flight experience including new aircraft, vehicles, and artillery' all of which are controllable."

"The exterior models are quite impressive. They have nice shiny textures with good shadow effects and from my comparisons to the real Texan, they look quite realistic. There are external differences between the variants including armament e.g. rockets and the various navigation aerials/transmitters which can be added or removed on the appropriate model."

"The Texans all come with a 2-D cockpit as well as a VC. There are also pop-ups of the default navigation/communication radios and GPS 295. The cockpit depicts the instruments of the time and as they are not as sophisticated as today's glass cockpit so there is minimal impact on frame rates."

"The Sky Unlimited Texans are nice planes to include in your hangar if vintage WWII warbirds is your thing."

FScene Release Twin Packs For FSX

Posted: Thursday, July 7, 2011 - 12:28
FScene has released all one-continent packs like "USA-Canada", "South-America", in the recently created "TwinPacks". Each TwinPack covers 2 of the world's continents. This allows for great savings, since the users will now get 2 continents at the price of 1. As a result the one-continent packs will be dropped and the present collection looks like this: for FSX and FS9: TotalPack -World coverage TwinPack1 -USA/Canada & South America TwinPack2 - Europe & Africa TwinPack3 - Asia&Australia/NZ for FS2004/FS09 only: MegaPack -World coverage .

FScene covers a huge swathe of the planet's surface and will transform all four visual seasons. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter (and a beautiful snowy 'hard Winter' season). Because FScene4X simply replaces the default textures with a different set, it has no effect on frame rates and is fully compatible with updated mesh terrain and photographic scenery and all other addons for Autogen, Environment, Landclass etc.

Flight1 and Mudpond release GeoApr

Posted: Thursday, July 7, 2011 - 12:19
Flight1 Software, along with Mudpond Development, is proud to announce the release of GeoApr. GeoApr is a utility program designed to display airport approach plates, and in conjunction with Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX), show your flight's actual location on the approach plate in real-time. GeoApr displays the aircraft track on the approach plate in both “plan, and vertical profile views”. The program can display PDF, JPG, or BMP format approach plates and also includes a powerful Flight Record/Playback tool that will record user's aircraft position, attitude, and control settings during a flight. This will allow users to evaluate their performance visually within the sim to see if proper procedures were followed during an approach to an airport.
A simple point-and-click interface allows most approach plates to be geo-referenced in minutes and shared with other users. Those who have multiple computers on a network can also run GeoApr on separate systems. Microsoft ESP and Lockheed Martin’s Prepar3d are also supported.
For more information and to purchase the software, visit the GeoApr Homepage

Milviz Release The Northrop T-38A Talon II

Posted: Monday, July 4, 2011 - 21:30
The US Air Force made history when it specified the requirement for a replacement to their T-33 trainer, Northrop Aviation was approached by the USAF for a supersonic dual trainer, five decades later over 50,000 military pilots trained on the T-38A Talon.

Originally intended to mimic flight characteristics similar to the Century Series fighters such as the F-102, F-104, and F-106, the T-38A was initially deemed insufficiently demanding, unlike the Century Series designs, the T-38A featured a very pronounced series of wing buffet sounds and vibrations as the jet came close to stall under any configuration.

Long after the Century Series fighters were retired, the T-38 continued in its role as the world’s only supersonic trainer, now you can experience the T-38A Talon II, complete with the accurate replication of those same buffet sounds and vibrations, the cockpit is faithful down to the last switch and translucent gear handle, the package also includes realistic ground support equipment, as well as AI traffic at customized military airfields where the jets were based.

Documentation included is comprised two flight manuals, one a quick start for those who just want to “kick the tires and light the fires,” and the other a very comprehensive Pilot’s Operating Handbook, over 240 pages in length, a nearly a verbatim replication of the real-world T-38A manual, containing exhaustive descriptions and operations of the cockpit avionics and equipment.

Visit the The Northrop T-38A Talon II Product Page at MilViz for further details.

CR1-Software Donation-Ware Initiative

Posted: Monday, July 4, 2011 - 14:50
CR1-Software have announced it is now a registered non-profit organization with all proceeds going to a children's hospital foundation. All their payware add-ons will now be donation-ware, with any donation you wish to make will buy you ALL their add-ons. CR1-Software hope the flight simulation community will support their efforts helping children.

Jorge Chavez International Airport from LatinVFR

Posted: Sunday, July 3, 2011 - 18:15
Staff reviewer Benjamin van Soldt heads back to South America to explore LatinVFR's Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima Peru. "Peru is one of those countries you know that exists, but that’s roughly where it ends. I hardly know anything about South America. Because of this I find it interesting to fly there and explore the countries, especially because some of the cities are so beautiful, with some stunning approaches in just about every country you can think of."

"The terminal area seems to be broken into two aprons: one with gates and one without. All the texturing seems pretty nice, and the same is true for the modeling. LatinVFR has given us a pretty detailed, extremely well textured and nicely modeled terminal building that I’d happily dock my aircraft at."

"The coverage of the included photoscenery is quite extensive, like with many LatinVFR sceneries. This is also one of the strengths of LatinVFR, for they don’t merely give you the airport, like so many other developers, they also give you the environment in the vicinity of the airport. What I do really like are all the extra objects that have been added, such as cranes, ships and what seems like an oil refinery. Since these can be seen very well on approach, they truly add something to flying in and out of this airport. Also the photoscenery seems more detailed on the approach path, with lamp posts, monuments and houses added in a higher density."

"Most of Jorge Chavez International Airport consists of a rather empty apron, which is just how the airport looks in real life. The texturing of the terminal is extremely good, very detailed. The ground textures are as good as always. The surrounding scenery covers a substantial area and the approach path contains some nice surprises. Those that fancy flying in South America will find this scenery to be a must."

CT210M Centurion II HD From Carenado

Posted: Saturday, July 2, 2011 - 14:45
Carenado released their CT210M Centurion II HD for FSX, in addition to the classic list of features such as 3D gauges and original HQ sounds these new features are included:
Reality XP integration with 3D Gauges.
HD textures and same textures in LITE version for less powerful computers and Fresnel shader maps adding realistic reflections and lighting effects.
Instrument reflections appear/disappear option.
The package includes:
5 HD paint schemes and the same schemes in Lite versions.
1 HD Blank texture.
2 models (one pilot and two pilots).
Normal and Emergency Procedures - Performance tables PDF.
Quick reference table PDF, Autopilot KFC225 Manual ,Operations Tips and Reality XP Integration PDF, GNS430/530 User Guides.

A2A Simulations Releases Captain of the Ship

Posted: Saturday, July 2, 2011 - 14:31
A2A Simulations has updated the original Accu-Sim Boeing B377 Stratocruiser with "Captain of the Ship". Features developed for this release result from advances made over the past three years, Accu-Sim has grown substantially.

Captain of the Ship Features for the B377 Stratocruiser include:
New career system is based on how well you manage your aircraft systems, quality of flight, and emergencies.
Natural Speech constructs sentences dynamically from a pool of over 1000 sound recordings strong.
Professional Audio with new sound suite including over 15 electrical motors, authentic switches, wind, cabin creaks, etc.
A Live Engineer manages systems which allows a true left-seat experience.
Intelligent passengers react to the weather, flight, and cabin conditions and Real-time passenger loading and unloading.
Navigator’s station with real-time monitoring and calculations of wind and flight conditions.
Deeper systems modeling throughout including oil pressure loss, friction heat, and cabin pressurization failures.
Visit A2A Simulations for full details and a look at the video.

Turbine Duke from RealAir Simulations

Posted: Friday, July 1, 2011 - 20:03
Sometimes it takes 2 to review an anticipated aircraft. So senior staff reviewers Bert Pieke (a sim aviator) and Zane Gard ( a real world pilot and simmer) climb aboard RealAir Simulations' Turbine Duke and put the sim (and a real one) through its paces. "If you would like to fly the most exciting GA Twin released for FSX, and you admire a meticulously crafted aircraft, this RealAir package is for you. And if you already own the earlier (piston) version of the Duke, the upgrade is worth the money."

"Since you’ll be spending a lot of time here, the “feel” of the cockpit is essential to the suspension of disbelief that makes for a fabulous FSX aircraft. As you’ll see throughout the review, RealAir has done a great job with the outside model and most certainly with the flying characteristics of this airplane. But where this airplane is a clear step above its competitors, is in the cockpit."

"The sounds are very convincing and it is quite nice to have two turbines humming outside, rather than two powerful six cylinder piston engines banging away. The night-time illumination is good inside and out."

Zane takes us on an adventure in a real Turbine Duke and then makes the same flight in the RealSim version. You have to read his comments to get an approciation for this airplane. "The 3D modeling of both the interior and exterior are so smooth and nicely done, the panel is a work of art and offers many variations from default GPS to dual RealityXP Garmin installations. Engine modeling is an area that RealAir did go far and above most developers."

Bert concludes, "In keeping with the real world airplane that is modeled, this package was built for enthusiastic Duke owners who not only want an adrenaline rush, but also a high performance – lower maintenance ownership experience."

Zane echoes with, "I give the RealAir Turbine Duke my highest recommendations as one of the most enjoyable simming aircraft ever released for FSX. Nice job, RealAir."

FSFlyingSchool 2011 V4.6 Released

Posted: Friday, July 1, 2011 - 18:24
FSInventions announces a free update to their Award Winning FSFlyingSchool add-on for FSX and FS2004. This latest update introduces an exciting new feature which is free to all owners of FSFlyingSchool2011.

Captions! The pilot now has the option to have the instructor's words displayed as on screen text in FSX. This will be very handy for several groups of Sim-Pilot. Folks who experience hearing difficulties can read the text they may not have heard. Users who are not native English speakers will be able to see the words to better comprehend what is being instructed. Sim-Pilots who are simply having a little trouble keeping up with the fast pace of events that can often occur during flight will have that extra bit of information to help keep them on track.

The folks at FSFlyingSchool are also very interested in working with native speakers of other languages to add non-English versions of the captions too! To find out more, watch movies, download demo, etc, visit the FSFlyingSchool Website.

Aerosoft Releases "Nice Côte d'Azur"

Posted: Friday, July 1, 2011 - 18:18
"Nice Côte d'Azur" is the third most important airport in France. The international airport of Nice is located at the south coast of France (Côte d'Azur). The airport is the third busiest airport of France. Located on the Mediterranean coast it´s the weather which creates mostly turbulence that makes it a bit daunting at times something that is not made better by rather complex noise abatement procedures. All in all an airport that is a bit special and that's always nice.

To guarantee a special traffic accessibility, periodical shuttle-flights connect the airport with the heliport of Monaco and nearby cities such as Cannes or St. Tropez.

The pilots have to pay attention on special approach and departing procedures because of the airports' location close to the sea and to the neighborhood (noise pollution). Aircraft start their approach over the sea. After departing, the pilots immediately have to turn the aircraft straight to the sea. While approaching or departing the airport pilots get an impressive view over the mountain landscape and the city of Nice.

OryxSim Arabian Airports X: Muscat

Posted: Friday, July 1, 2011 - 12:55
OryxSim is very pleased to announce the release of its first commercial scenery, Arabian Airports X: Muscat. Muscat International Airport is the gateway to Oman and this airport is the first in a series of airports we're going to develop in the region. Muscat features highly detailed ground textures and 3D objects as well as a landclass for the surrounding area.

Flight1 Releases Flight Replicas Cub (Boxed)

Posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - 14:57
The most extensive collection of Cub aircraft ever released in one package. The J-3, L-4 and PA-11 aircraft with seventeen models and thirty four paint schemes, all of which far surpass any Cub available for FSX.

The perfect aircraft for exploring those out of the way places, this historic aircraft is so popular and endearing that many of the originals are still flying! Now you can find out why with this incredible collection.

IYP - The Adventure Continues

Posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - 14:54
At It's Your Plane (IYP), they're up to 33 pilots who are experiencing the thrill and challenge of the IYP Fly Around the World Adventure. Some of them have even adopted an additional challenge by racing each other from country to country! Some are fighting frigid headwinds of 35 knots from Cold Bay, Alaska (PACD) to Adak, Alaska (PADK); others are getting ready to cruise lazily over the Southern Pacific from Vanuatu (NVVV) to the Soloman Islands (AGGH). Where in the world is everyone?

What lies ahead for these intrepid adventurers? Places such as: Exotic Kathmandu; Baku and other ancient cities of the old Silk Road; Moscow in the Spring; beautiful Budapest situated on both banks of the Danube; diverse countries of Europe; tropical Africa; sambas in Rio de Janiero; and, Punta Arenas with 25-30 knot icy crosswinds!

Pilots will touch down in a few places in Eastern North America but a much more extensive exploration of Canada is covered in the Across Canada Adventure, which began in British Columbia in January 2011. The pilots living this adventure are currently flying between small airports across Ontario. An 'Across the USA Adventure' may be offered sometime in the future.

Fua'amotu International (NFTF) FSX Released

Posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - 14:49
Pacific Islands Simulation has just released another exotic Pacific Islands airport scenery, Fua'amotu International (NFTF), for FSX.

Fua?amotu International (IATA: TBU, ICAO: NFTF) is located on the main Tongan island of Tongatapu, in the Kingdom of Tonga. The airport was originally built during World War 2 (WWII) for the US Army as a heavy bomber field. From the 3 coral runway origins, Fua'amotu now permits aircrafts up to B767 type on it's 8,795ft runway. Another crisscross runway, grass, is 4,951ft long.

International airlines with regular services to Fua?amotu include Air New Zealand, Air Pacific and Pacific Blue Airlines. Air Pacific fly B737-800s from Nadi and Suva. Air New Zealand flies Airbus A320, B737-300s, and B767-300ERs from Auckland. Pacific Blue have begun flying B737-800s to Fua?amotu from Sydney and Auckland. Polynesian Airlines also flies in from Pago Pago (American Samoa) and Apia (Samoa).

MAAM-SIM B25J Briefing Time V7.0

Posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - 13:05
The 7th Edition of the award-winning B-25J Mitchell Briefing Time has had a major rework. First of all, both the FSX and FS9 installers will automatically detect your particular Flightsim path. In addition to the three original models, there are 40 pre-installed liveries. Among the included aircraft are most of the B-25's currently flying the airshow circuit today. The legendary MAAM-SIM B-25 photo-real virtual cockpit is now fully interactive. No need to switch over to the 2D panel to operate the controls, anymore. Other new features in the VC include separately removable yokes toggled by switches on the panel, working Emergency Fuel Cutoff controls, and a switch operated Engine Damage Option and a Wide-Screen 2-D Panel so that owners of 16:10 or 16:9 aspect ratio monitors no longer have to suffer squashed controls and oval gauge faces.

the FSX aircraft package is a "port-over", meaning it was originally designed for FS2004, it has been extensively modified and optimized for FSX. When our first 'Briefing Time' model was introduced for FS2002, nearly ten years ago, it set the bar for extreme realism in vintage aircraft for MSFS. We are pleased to say that 'Briefing Time' operates, looks, and flies beautifully in FSX and we are confident you will enjoy and appreciate this latest iteration.
There's a lot more to the package, all the details can be downloaded in the 7th Edition B-25J 'Briefing Time' Software User's Manual from the Free Stuff Pages. While there, look around at all the other Free Enhancements available for the package. All of the repaints created for the earlier editions are still compatible with version 7.
MAAM-SIM products are produced by a multi-national, all-volunteer team. 100% of the proceeds from the sales of MAAM-SIM products go to support the restoration projects of the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum. Available on CD or as a Download, only from the Museum On-Line Store, or the MAAM Shop at Reading Regional Airport, PA.

Boeing 707-300 from Captain Sim

Posted: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - 2:01
Staff reviewer Alan Bradbury takes to the skies in a classic airliner with Captain Sim's Boeing 707-300. Alan gives us a history of the early 707 and it's British competitor the Comet. "You get a decent selection of paint jobs for the 707, although they are for the most part what you might call period paint jobs as opposed to the kind of thing you might see on a 707 today."

"Most people will probably be aware that if CS aeroplanes are about anything, it is detailed virtual cockpits with a photo-realistic look and exterior models with every whistle and bell you can imagine, and the FSX 707 is no exception. There are literally hundreds of custom animations in the CS FSX 707, with everything from fuel dumping showing up on the external model, to the armrests in the passenger cabin being adjustable. In short, if you can put your mouse on it, regardless of what it is, it will probably function in some way or other."

"I was very impressed with the way the CS 707 emulates the real thing as far as going by the book’s numbers is concerned, because I’ve done that stacks of times and it is always bang on the money. It’s true that some of the systems are not one hundred percent as per the real thing if you delve deeper, although you’d probably have to know the real aeroplane rather well to spot most of those things, so when it comes to actually simulating flying like a 707, which is the part that really matters most, it seems to be right up there with the best in terms of being faithful to the real aeroplane’s flight dynamics."

"It’s been a long time coming, but this 707 really is a CS add-on which ticks all the right boxes, and it does the real aircraft proud as a fitting tribute to the jet airliner that started it all for Boeing."

LatinVFR Releases Key West

Posted: Sunday, June 26, 2011 - 18:57
Key West is the southernmost city of the continental United States. It's also known to be one of the most tropical and exotic places in mainland America.

Key West International Airport covers an area of 255 acres (103 ha) which contains one asphalt paved runway (9/27) measuring 4,801 x 100 ft (1,463 x 30 m). For the year 2006, the airport had 94,408 aircraft operations-an average of 258 per day. This airport its today is known to be a challenging airport because of its runway, nonetheless normal daily operations with A319's and B737's. Its story behind the use of such aircraft remote to the 1980's when boatloads of Cubans were reaching the shores of the Keys, the US border patrol setup roadblocks or areas on which they would search all cars leaving Key West, so to check if there where Cuban immigrants. Well, this was significantly disrupting commerce in Key West, most importantly tourism. That led to Monroe County (on which Key West is located) to symbolically secede from the United States, or so by tongue-in-cheek by declaring the Conch Republic, Eastern Airlines seized on that and started flights out of Miami on their B727-100's out of the short KEYW runway. It was the first time an airliner operated out of Key West.

Within this scenery LatinVFR is capturing Key West's magic and essence, from an extremely realistic airport to the most important buildings and landmarks that make this place a very unique destination.

iGMapHD for Mac OS X Released

Posted: Sunday, June 26, 2011 - 18:51
Do you run X-Plane on Mac OS X? Are you using FSX or FS2004 and have a spare Mac desktop or laptop? FSWidgets have released a Mac OS X version of their iGMapHD for iPad moving map app.

iGMapHD for Mac has the same feature set as the iPad version, including US VFR and IFR aero charts, world-wide navaid database and network support, plus a few other benefits that come from being a native Cocoa desktop app for Mac (e.g. resizable window and additional mouse controls for the map). iGMapHD for Mac is designed for Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later and comes as a fully-functioning free demo, limited to the San Francisco Bay area (KSFO). Screenshots and free demo download are available on the FSWidgets website.

Las Americas Int'l Airport from LatrinVFR

Posted: Saturday, June 25, 2011 - 18:48
Staff reviewer Benjamin van Soldt crosses the Atlantic from his home and heads to the Dominican Republic to land at and explore LatinVFR's Las Americas International Airport.

"The ground textures look crisp and really well done. I especially like those runway edges, which look pretty realistic to me. The taxiway you see looks a lot like a runway, but I assure you that it’s a taxiway nonetheless. Look closely at the apron textures: you can see all kinds of detail in it. From the intricate lines that divide the slabs that are faithfully reproduced to a degree that it even includes tiny cracks on the edges of the slabs themselves, to the tiny lines on the surface of the cracks themselves."

"The modeling of the jetways, the texturing of the buildings, and the ground equipment all looks really nice. The passenger side of the terminal looks alright in most respects. The cargo apron is fairly large for an airport of this size. It includes multiple stands and some businesses and warehouses. The overall coverage is rather substantial. It not only covers the peninsula on which the airport is located, it also covers much of the land beyond that point."

"After looking at the airport and the surrounding scenery, a few things are clear to me. LatinVFR’s main strength is the texturing of the apron, runways and taxiways. Something else they do very well is night lighting. I have rarely seen night lighting I really like, but Las Americas has it. LatinVFR’s Las Americas is best called “a rough diamond”."