Avsim Store GoFlight black modules on sale - save 20%

Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - 17:06
The Avsim store is having a big sale on selected black GoFlight modules. Recently, GoFlight did transition to a grey color on all its modules. Some black modules are still available and are now on sale. The modules available are the GoFlight P8 (8 pushbuttons and indicators), GoFlight T8 (8 Toggle switches and indicators, the GoFlight Throttle quadrant TQ6 and the Mini Rack. You can get these brand new modules at roughly 20% off the regular price. Hurry up, quantities are very limited.

Visit the Avsim store today.

Super Traffic Board Review

Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - 2:09
Staff reviewer Jason McKee arrives at the airport and checks out the flights as presented by Flying W Simulations' Super Traffic Board. "Super Traffic Board can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. If you just want to watch your traffic come and go and let the program sort out problems, so be it, it will do that for you. But on the other hand, if you want to fully control the advanced features of the program and fiddle with your traffic, the program will suit this trait as well."

"here are two modes for viewing AI; Pilot mode and Spotter mode. Pilot Mode assumes that you are in an aircraft and that you will be moving. In Spotter Mode, it assumes that you will not be moving and as such cancellations and diversions are shown on the board, even though you cannot see them. The Super Traffic Board flight control is a built in feature the automatically monitors the traffic information being sent from flight simulator.I found this a good little program to use."

"I found Super Traffic Board to be a good little program to use. It works without a fuss and in reality you do not notice the program doing anything, but it is constantly monitoring and adjusting traffic in the background and as an added bonus, you can keep an eye on what is happening traffic-wise. You can also become a virtual plane spotter. I recommend this program if you want an easy to use and unobtrusive traffic board and control program."

RAF Waddington Freeware Now Available

Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - 0:56
Many thousands have downloaded John Young's wonderful freeware scenery of RAF Coningsby from Just Flight's website, and now they're able to host another great RAF freeware scenery package for FSX and FS2004. John's latest scenery is RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire. The airfield is home to the RAF's Surveillance and Reconnaissance assets, including the E-3D Sentry, Nimrod R1 and the new Bombardier Astor R1, and is also home to the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance.

The scenery not only features a present-day version of the airfield, but also a re-creation of the V-Force era airport complete with static Vulcans taken from our RAF Vulcan add-on. RAF Waddington - for FSX (26.9Mb). RAF Waddington - for FS2004 (23.3Mb)

Download Traffic X Tutorial

Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - 0:52
Just Flight's first tutorial for Traffic X - Creating, Editing & Deleting Flight Plans' - is now available to download as a 4.94Mb PDF. It's a magnum opus - 60 pages, with everything clearly explained through diagrams and text!

It covers every aspect of creating, editing and removing flight plans in Traffic X. The creation of basic and complex IFR/VFR flights is also explained in illustrated step-by-step instructions. Other topics covered in this first tutorial include editing and deleting existing flight plans, creating circuit traffic and a detailed list of the errors you might come across and how to resolve them. Just Flight hopes owners of Traffic X will find this tutorial useful.

More new tutorials are in the pipeline. Each will focus on another important aspect of Traffic X such as importing new aircraft to use in your flight plans, creating new airlines and utilising the Chrono-Traffic features.

TropicalSim Releases Daytona Beach Int'l

Posted: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 1:21
An old airport becomes new. The second version of TropicalSim's Daytona Beach Int'l airport has been released and our users can see that the 2005 release has become an 2009 airport with our latest techniques in airport design. As usual, two installers are available, one for FS9 and another for FSX. TropicalSim has also updated it's FSX airport bundle to include Daytona, and the bundle now has 17 FSX airports.

Il-86 For AI Traffic

Posted: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 1:16
Russian AI Traffic System is proud to present the 2nd AI-model for your traffic - the Russian widebody passenger aircraft Ilyushin Il-86. Developed in 70s, this mighty airliner obtains recognition of profesionals and fanciers of aviation all over the world. Unfortunately, this bird will disappear from airline fleets soon, so we hope that these beautiful planes will have a second, longer life in your virtual skies. This model has three different variations, 4632 polygons, 10 LODs. All variations have xml flaps and lights, turning nose gear, optional exhaust and 3D Lights effects. On the web-site you will also find many repaints for this bird from their painters.Help bring Russia back to life in your sim!

FSX Mission Editor from FSAddon

Posted: Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 19:23
Senior Staff Reviewer Jeff Shyluk tries to get technical as he delves into FSAddon's FSX Mission Maker. "This product is designed to make Mission creation easier. People who are experienced at Mission creation and who have used FSXME refuse to go back to making Missions without this program. Even the Mission gurus at ACES, Microsoft's internal development team for Flight Simulator products, have nothing but good things to say about FSXME."

"The FSX Mission Editor does four things much better than the default Microsoft editor:

1) FSXME will create and compile your Mission files automatically. You can even create a software protection key that will help keep your Missions from being pirated, should you decide to sell them for money.

2) FSXME uses a data flow chart system to arrange the elements of your Mission, which are called "nodes". Nodes can be dragged and dropped to create sequences of events, and are freely editable.

3) FSXME comes with a powerful set of easy-to-use debugging tools. Often, a mistake will show up in your flow chart as a colour-coded box, making it easy to diagnose and fix problems in Missions. You can even import files from Flight 1's Instant Mission Maker utility.

4) FSXME has a simple yet powerful Mission Creation Wizard. Use the speedy Wizard to create basic point-to-point Missions. Beginners can use these simple Missions as a tool for learning how to add and edit nodes."

"The FSX Mission Editor is compatible with Vista and XP. You can use it to edit Missions from FSX, FSX+SP1, FSX+SP2, and FSX+Acceleration. To get the most out of FSXME, you should also install the free SDK that matches your version of FSX."

FanCon Hotel Booking Now Available

Posted: Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 13:16
Are you ready to book your room at the Hope Hotel and Conference Center? Now you can use the exclusive booking code of 397447 and secure the FanCon rate of $75.00 per night (single or double occupancy).

This rate is available between 1-6 September which will allow you to come early and spend time at the US Air Force Museum onsite at Wright Paterson Air Force Base.

Simply log on to the Hope Hotel's website, and under the "guest rooms" drop-down menu click on "make reservations now". Insert 397447 into the "Group Reservations" block and voila....you can now make your reservation.

Review - I Am An Air Traffic Controller 3

Posted: Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 1:24
Senior contributing reviewer Gene Davis takes a look at Air Traffic Control in a completely different light with Techno Brain's "I am an Air Traffic Controller 3 - Tokyo Bigwing". "Every now and then there is a new program that just jumps off your computer screen and screams play me!"

"Tokyo Bigwing I am an Air Controller 3 creates a beautifully rendered version of Tokyo International Airport along with all sorts of different types of aircraft. The graphics are some of the best I have seen in this type of simulation, as it totally immerses the player into the operation of the airport by allowing him or her to see and hear everything from just about every perspective."

"The game comes with 6 stages of playability, all from within the control tower of Tokyo International. Each level, or stage as they call it, is much more complex than the previous and as you progress through each stage, you will definitely need to keep a level head and be mindful of your actions, otherwise your career as an air traffic controller will come to an abrupt end."

"Tokyo Bigwing was definitely a fresh and new approach to the ATC simulator set, it offers a different style of game play that is often fun and insanely fast paced! I have to say, Tokyo Bigwing has remained on my PC."

MD-11 British Voice Set For FS2Crew

Posted: Friday, February 20, 2009 - 16:10
FS2Crew MD-11 British Voice Set is now available for download. This is a a FREE update for existing FS2Crew MD-11 owners. PMDG MD-11 pilots can taxi to the FS2Crew website to download the British Voice Set.

FSFlyingSchool2009 V2.1 Released

Posted: Friday, February 20, 2009 - 14:28
FSInventions announces a new version of its FSFlyingSchool2009 add-on for FSX and FS2004. Version 2.1 introduces new features which are free to existing owners of FSFlyingSchool2009.

Sound Device Output Selection- Pilots with multiple sound devices are now able to choose which device is used to output sound from FSFlyingSchool2009. As just one example, this means that your instructor voices can come through your headphones while the engine sounds come through your speakers, increasing your immersion in the simulation.

Instructors Report Aircraft Failures - A great number of aircraft systems, instruments and switches can have a simulated failure when flying with FSFlyingSchool2009. When they do, your helpful instructor will (optionally) tell you what the specific problem is.

To find out more, watch movies, download demo, etc, visit the FSFlyingSchool website.

YMAV Melbourne For FSX

Posted: Friday, February 20, 2009 - 13:36
Orbx announces the release of its latest FTX airport YMAV Avalon for Flight Simulator X. This airport is the home of the world famous Avalon International Airshow and also a secondary base for Qantas training and maintenance, and a domestic passenger hub for budget carrier JetStar. Developers John Ross and John Venema have faithfully recreated the entire airport and surrounds using 60cm/pixel source imagery, custom objects and autogen placement. Seamlessly blended into Orbx's FTX AU BLUE, the scenery includes full seasonal support, night lighting effects and textures, moving traffic and extended photoreal areas covering over 30 square kilometres. More information at Orbx FTX
.

Project Fokker IYP Compatible

Posted: Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 13:02
It's Your Plane (IYP) announces the latest aircraft to join the many already existing in the IYP hanger for FS9-2004,the twin jet-engine Project Fokker F-100. PFJ, the developers of the Project Fokker F-100 Series, is a small team of very enthusiastic people, dedicated to Fokker aircraft and to providing "freeware with limited use". We at It’s Your Plane have added the results of their enthusiasm to our own passion by including the Project Fokker F-100 Series in the IYP hanger for your further flight simulator enjoyment.

Wideview 3.0 For FSX Available

Posted: Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 12:57
Wideview can be used to get panoramic scenery views through multiple monitors connected to networked computers. This version has many new features and countless optimizations to let the clients to work at their best. The most important new features are: completely re-done weather synchronization interface, support for synchronized remote camera, additional performance optimization parameters, improved Spot Plane view which can also be spanned onto multiple monitors over the LAN, clients are no longer working in SLEW mode.

GoFlight Student Pilot in Avsim Store

Posted: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 20:37
GoFlight Student Pilot II now available at the Avsim Store

The GoFlight Student Pilot II is a great system for those who want to get started in building a modular cockpit. It features 2 popular GoFlight components assembled in a mini-rack. It's a ready to-go solution. You can get the Student Pilot II here.

Visit the Avsim store today.

RAF Collection from Scotflight

Posted: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 14:40
Staff reviewer Alan Bradbury looks at 3 UK airbases with Scotflight's RAF Collection. "As its name suggests, developer Scotflight concentrates on scenery for Scotland, which is good news if you are looking for UK military airbases to use in FS, because Scotland is home to some of the most famous and busiest ones to be found in the UK, and this is exactly what you get in the RAF Collection. Specifically, the three real-world Royal Air Force stations replicated in the RAF Collection are: RAF Kinloss, RAF Leuchars and RAF Lossiemouth."

"Both versions of the RAF Collection contain scenery for the three aforementioned RAF stations and both include configurable static aircraft scenery too, which does actually include one or two of the more exotic visitors these places see from time to time. Where the FSX and FS2004 versions in this package differ, is in an enhancement to the Scottish coastline. You’ll find coastal enhancements in both versions for the most part, however a tweak to the coast near Leuchars is only in the FSX incarnation."

"Intelligent decisions on how best to portray such busy places without compromising either frame rates or a sense of realism abound in this scenery. The potential difficulties of modeling military locations courtesy of these security stumbling blocks, Scotflight have come up with something which I suspect fans of RAF operations in FS are going to be particularly pleased with. RAF Collection is a solid enhancement for FSX and FS2004; it does exactly what it says on the tin and with considerable élan too."

FSX Citation II/SP Upgraded

Posted: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 1:02
The long awaited upgrade to Eaglesoft's classic Citation II/SP showcases new avionics and features at no cost to current owners of CII/SP for FSX! Current owners may simply redownload and reinstall using their existing key and password.

This uograde features: New Eaglesoft avionics and systems programming for a more realistic experience; New Eaglesoft Sandel SA4550 EADI; New Eaglesoft Sandel SA3308a EHSI with GPS moving map and flightplan display; New Eaglesoft Collins RTU-4200 Radio Tuning Units; New Eaglesoft Garmin GNS500: New Eaglesoft WideScreen 2D Panel (1680x1050); New Eaglesoft Pulselite (Wig-Wag) lighting system; and New and improved virtual cockpit textures with improved lighting.

AirTrafficFX V2.0 Released

Posted: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 1:09
The developers of AirTrafficFX have released version 2.0 of their popular air traffic generator for FSX. The latest version includes updates and enhancements to the existing product and is a FREE update for all current AirTrafficFX users. Some of these updates include: A 'Time Delay' feature that can be set to vary the amount of time AirTrafficFX waits before it adds an AI aircraft to FSX. Any number of aircraft, parked aircraft, traffic options and delay times can be recorded during an AirTrafficFX session and reloaded in a later session. Any number of files can be used for recording or playback in a single session.

AirTrafficFX is a powerful, yet simple-to-use air traffic generator for FSX. AirTrafficFX allows the user to add parked aircraft, local air traffic, enroute air traffic, and FSX ATC IFR air traffic. Formations can be added to local traffic, enroute traffic, and even your own flight. AirTrafficFX operates in real-time, no airline schedule management is required, and any installed fixed-wing aircraft can be used for air traffic generation. Visiti the Flight 1 website for this update.

Nantes Atlantique (LFRS) For FS2004/FSX

Posted: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 - 0:55
With the release of Nantes Atlantique Scenery, France VFR completes its Collection of Regional Airports by editing the 5th pane of Airport scenery for both FS2004 and FSX.

The scenery conceptualizes the Airport of Nantes Atlantique (dept.44) using photo-real high definition textures (0.50 m/pixel) of the ground adding as well night textures for the entire zone covered. The scenery spreads over 45 km² and adds to the airport an extended photo-realistic area including specific Autogen, VFR landmarks and nearby road and highway traffic. 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 Pays de la Loire scenery (VFRPack, scheduled release: 2009) without any adaptation. Due to its particular concept, the scenery is entirely compatible with any mesh of your choice.

Mitsubishi MU-2 Marquise Updated To V1.1

Posted: Sunday, February 15, 2009 - 18:07
This update is free to all existing customers, and is included with all new orders as a full download. The update includes numerous bug fixes and new features, including a new feature that animates the yoke as the autopilot changes course. X-Scenery has also added in a new IFR "Hood" feature that hinders the ability to see out the cockpit window, and disorients the pilot. This makes the pilot rely completely on instruments in order to fly the aircraft. To see a full list of features and fixes, head over to the X-Scenery website and view screenshots and videos of the aircraft, as well as make your way to their store.