6 DVDs from Just Planes/ World Air Routes

Posted: Thursday, March 31, 2011 - 15:15
Staff reviewer Marlon Carter takes a look at 6 more instructional DVDs from JustPlanes/WorldAirRoutes. Specifically the Air Madagascar, Air Atlanta Icelandic, Westjet, Maldivian Air Taxi and Aeropostal titles.

"As I might have mentioned in the past, these DVDs are an absolute pleasure to watch and I think anyone who loves aviation will enjoy them. At a cost of $25-30 each they are a bargain. These are perfect for days when you want to see or do something aviation related but also want to enjoy the comforts of home."

RealScenery Enhanced Oahu By X-Aviation

Posted: Monday, March 28, 2011 - 14:57
X-Aviation is pleased to announce the release of their second RealScenery Enhanced line of products: The Island of Oahu.

This scenery pack introduces spectacular views that will keep you busy for hours. Discover Oahu like you've never seen before with the help of their Hi-Resolution elevation data creating jaw dropping mountain and coastline definitions. Cars follow the imagery's roads, and light the scene up at night with their headlights. The scenery also utilizes their proprietary night lighting engine to create accurate night texturing on the terrain thanks to urban and rural detection. Grab your copy and take your X-Plane experience to a whole new level today.

CLS Piper Arrow Now Freeware

Posted: Monday, March 28, 2011 - 14:45
Commercial Level Simulations has released their Piper Arrow as freeware due its age, it is still a nice aircraft for lots of fun. Simply add it to your basket and checkout, you will not have to go through the payment process, you will then receive a free license key and download link.

Angle of Attack Vatsim Training Video

Posted: Sunday, March 27, 2011 - 14:12
Have you ever wanted to learn how to fly on VATSIM but you're intimidated to speak up on the mic or sift through the hundreds of pages of manuals? In typical Angle of Attack video fashion, AOA takes you through the basics, intermediate and advanced nuts-and- bolts that make a great VATSIM Aviator. Start out with this Vatsim Training Video that weighs in just over 30 minutes.

VFR Appalachia from Pacific Island Simulations

Posted: Saturday, March 26, 2011 - 21:33
Staff reviewer Mike Cameron puddle hops across the mid-Atlantic region of the USA while checking out Pacific Island Simulations' VFR Appalachia. This is the first in a series of highly detailed real world east coast airport sceneries. It includes: Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport/Shepard Field (KMRB) also known as Martinsburg; Cheat River (WV31); Front Royal (KFRR); New Market (8W2); Moran Field (MD99); Seven Springs Borough (7SP); Nemalcolin Resort (PA88); and Ingalls Field (KHSP).

"Textures for all for seasons are included as well as some very nice night lighting effects. The usual animations that you would expect from a quality scenery product (flying birds, smoke from chimneys) are also included."

"Small to medium sized general aviation aircraft should have no problems landing at all of the airports included in VFR Appalachia. Some of the airports have challenging approaches which adds to the realism."

A New Simulation Genre Adventure

Posted: Friday, March 25, 2011 - 21:19
Simulation and nostalgia fans can now look forward to a new adventure: The new Omnibus-Simulator "OMSI" by Aerosoft is now available. This absolute realistic bus simulation for the PC guides you through the original scenery of Spandau, one of Berlin´s districts, in the 1980´s. It shines with its level of detail and technical perfection which has never before been achieved in a bus simulation. Screenshots and details can be found at the OMSI website.

Japan Week at Just Planes

Posted: Friday, March 25, 2011 - 20:39
Starting today, Friday Mar 25th, through Thursday Mar 31st, Just Planes will donate $5 for each of the 5 DVDs featuring Japan sold.

The programs include 2 airlines from Japan plus Air Canada, Polar Air and Sabena flights into Tokyo Narita. In addition, the Air Do B767 DVD featuring the most travelled route in the world is being re-released today.

Visit the World Air Routes website for the complete title list of their DVDs.

Instant Scenery Version 2.01 Released

Posted: Friday, March 25, 2011 - 20:33
Flight1 Software announces a new update to Instant Scenery 2. The update adds cut/copy/paste functionality and includes several bug fixes.

Instant Scenery 2 is a new generation of our popular scenery making tool. It allows you to easily add 3D objects to the scenery directly inside Flight Simulator - literally point, click and see the result! The easy and intuitive user interface allows you to set many parameters for every object, including heading, scale, elevation and the scenery complexity level. The scenery you create with Instant Scenery can be easily shared with other Flight Simulator users.

jDome Available At SimWare Simulations

Posted: Friday, March 25, 2011 - 20:30
The jDome is a back projection screen which immerses the user inside the 3D-world, 180 degrees on both the horizontal and vertical. The jDome® is a simple solution to a complex problem, namely how to immerse a simmer into the world of the sim almost totally, with off the shelf hardware and your sim. Just put a jDome in front of a projector, mirror the image in the projector, start your sim and change the Field of View in it. You don't need special computer hardware or software - just one projector and a jDome display.

The jDome has been extensively tested during the SimWare Simulations VIP Days with various simulation software (flight and racing simulators) and they confirm the high quality and interest of that breathtaking product. The Swedish Air Force Museum and the Technical Museum in Paris have one jDome installed for simulator flights!

If you are heading to the German Flight Sim Conference in Paderborn on the 14th of May, you will be able to see the jDome in action.

Air Hauler for X-Plane 9 PC

Posted: Friday, March 25, 2011 - 14:39
Air Hauler for X-Plane 9 The air freight management simulation that made such a stir within the Flight Simulation world has been redeveloped specifically for X-Plane, If you're new to Air Hauler, be sure to look in on the Forum where you'll find a great bunch of AirHaulics whose willingness to offer help and advice is matched only by their ruthlessness when it comes to business matters!

Just Planes Aegean Airlines DVD

Posted: Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 0:28
Aegean becomes the 230th airline to join the World Air Routes and 12th Star Alliance airline in the series. This new program includes a very exciting flight on the Airbus A321 from Athens to London's Heathrow Airport. Also filmed in High Definition and released in Widescreen version this DVD is filmed with multi-cameras allowing some additional views on takeoff and landing.

There are flights on the Airbus A320, A321 and Avro RJ100 from Athens to Dusseldorf, London and 2 Greek islands. The program also includes : Widescreen DVD filmed in High Def features : Spectacular crosswind landing at Heathrow ; Pilotseye views into London & Chios ; Preflight briefings, checklists ; Cockpit Presentation Aircraft Walkaround ; Cabin crew presentations & service ; Great scenery over Greece & Europe ; Visit to Aegean Maintenance ; Visit Aegean Flight Operations & Dispatch Views of Aegean aircraft at Athens International and a lot more.

747-800 Makes Its First Flight

Posted: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 14:18
The First Flight of Boeing's 467 passenger 747-800 Intercontinental was a complete success. Avsim Fancon Guest Speaker Captain Mark Feuerstein was at the controls during the four hour test of the newest member of the 747 family, the Boeing Company has a great collection of Development Videos to familiarise yourself with the latest in the venerable 747 series.

Cuzco X from Aerosoft

Posted: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:21
New staff reviewer Tim Smith heads to South America, Peru to be exact, to check out Aerosoft's Cuzco X. "The Airport in Cuzco is called Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport and was opened in 1964. The airport is located right in the middle of the city, which is located in a basin surrounded by mountains. This all combines to make Cuzco a difficult airport to operate from, and for this reason it is only open during daylight hours in clear weather, and as such has no lighting on the runway."

"The first thing you will notice when on final approach is the very dense autogen surrounding the airport. Aerosoft claims this product may have the most densely populated autogen ever. The small terminal at the airport matches all the photos I could find, and surprisingly for such a small airport in a remote location it has four jetway equipped gates, apparently Cuzco was the first airport in Peru to receive them. These jetways have been finely modeled but unfortunately they are not animated."

"I am very pleased to state that performance was not an issue on my admittedly low-end system. The dense autogen surprisingly doesn’t impact frames significantly. I found I could run the scenery when all my sliders were at full."

"I have no hesitation to recommend Aerosoft's Cuzco X to any simmer that wants a challenge. Whether you like flying smaller GA types or big airliners like A320’s and 737’s, Cuzco will offer you a fun experience for a price that is great value."

Iceland X from Aerosoft

Posted: Saturday, March 19, 2011 - 19:41
Staff reviewer Allen Lavigne heads to the land of fire and ice to look at Aerosoft's Iceland X. "What better package is there to purchase than a prepared enhanced isolated territory with modifications to 40 small airports and/or airfields and five highly detailed airports?"

In order to present Iceland X in its entirety as Aerosoft has developed it, Allen takes you on a guided tour of the island starting with an arrival from the east after departing from the notoriously precipitous Faroe Islands, the most northern of lands off Scotland. The real weather he downloaded using ASE was always cloudy and usually with precipitation. This is typical for the Icelandic region.

"Such a beautiful grouping of airfields, airports, and scenery for such a large area for such a low price sums up my opinion of this great product. Iceland X is another stellar product from Aerosoft."

Free KHND Henderson Executive Addon

Posted: Saturday, March 19, 2011 - 13:11
FSD International has released it's KHND Henderson Executive Addon for FREE, this scenery package contains the highest detail Kenworth Tractor in FSX teamed with a hospitality suite in the trailer at Henderson Executive Field in Las Vegas. Tents, Kiosks and a beautiful Animated Mesh Waitress are waiting for the guests to arrive at the Turbine Toucan's Hospitality Suite, a superb location for a little Weekend Getaway.

Carenado Baron 58 for FSX

Posted: Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 17:18
Carenado has released their Baron 58 for FSX. Features to look for include 3D gauges, with a customizable panel for controlling tinted window transparency, two original GNS 430 units and a Bendix/King KFC225 autopilot installed with 3D knobs, switches and toggle yoke in the Interactive virtual cockpit.

Realistic night lights effect on virtual cockpit, external / internal dynamic shadows, normal & specular mapping , bloom highlights.
Polygon optimized Framerate Friendly model with full moving parts: Ailerons, elevators, rudders, flaps, rolling wheels and trim tab.
Animated sections such as: propeller, doors, windows, sun visors, passenger table, copilot seat and pilot.
Lights: Navigation lights, landing and taxi lights, 3D modeled pilots, cockpit area and passenger cabin area.
Separate switches for instruments lights and cabin lights, static elements such as wheel chocks, pitot cover and Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft round out the features list.

Realistic behaviour, weight and balance tested by real B58 pilots, the release includes Pop up B58 manual with normal, emergency checklist and performance tables.

E-Jets v2 now Available on Avsim Store

Posted: Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 16:22
For Flight Simulator 9 and Flight Simulator X... the Embraer 175/195 range of airliners are an entirely new family of aircraft, with state-of-the-art avionics, fly-by-wire technology, superior cabin comfort and extraordinary and uncompromising performance. Almost all systems are simulated : electrical, pneumatic, etc. Ultra realistic and very complete FMS with Vertical Glide Path Mode is included. E-Jets v2 is available as an instant download.

Visit the Avsim Store today.

P51 Flight Leader II from WarBirdSim

Posted: Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 15:03
Staff reviewer Harold Zimmer looks at WarBirdSim's P51, Flight Leader II. "Classic Hanger wanted to create Warbirdsim Flight Leader 2, a package of Mustangs that consists of the P-51B, P-51C, the Mk III Mustang, and the F-6C Reconnaissance Variant of the Mustang, to be as accurate as possible to the characteristics of the actual aircraft. A few years back, they came out with a similar package of various P-51’s."

"The “bare bones” of the model is very well made with smooth construction and blended surfaces. No “blocky” looking curves or surfaces. Both large and small items are crafted with detail in this package, inside and out. The models are created in a “frame rate friendly” fashion, while still looking their best."

"The liveries are all beautifully done and some are quite impressive. The paints represent a host of fighters that had served in various theaters of war. The details really make a difference in your perception of what’s “real looking”, and for the “screen shooters”, this product offers you some excellent material to work with."

"Taking a peek inside reveals a very detailed and realistically laid out cockpit for this series of P-51’s. The Virtual Cockpit really is quite detailed and functional. The VC was very “Frame Rate Friendly”. You can fly this model by the checklist, but some items on that list are there only for the “realism” factor. Engine controls, such as the mix, prop, and throttle all function smoothly and efficiently, as do the switches that control various cooling functions. You can see on the gauges and feel by the performance of the aircraft, that it does, in fact matter how these controls are utilized during the stages of flight."

AirTrafficFX Version 4.0 Released

Posted: Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 3:16
Flight1 Software, along with Mudpond Development, is proud to announce the release of AirTrafficFX Version 4.0. The latest version of the software includes all the latest updates/fixes of the product, including a total revision of the logic that controls AI formations added to your flight. The new proportional control logic produces tight AI formations that follow the flight of your aircraft with unprecedented precision. Video demonstration examples are available on the product page to show what you can do with this powerful, yet simple-to-use air traffic generator for FSX.

VIP Days in Belgium

Posted: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - 0:49
SimWare Simulations is holding a VIP day Saturday 19 March in Brussels, Belgium. If you are nearby you may want to visit them as they will have lots of hardware and software products running as demos and for hands-on testing.

Their list of items include; V1000 Pit (VRinsight), jDome, Airbus Series Evolution Vol.1 & Vol.2, A-10C Warthog, YSCH - Coffs Harbour Airport (Orbx), T500RS (ThrustMaster) & Gran Turismo 5, F/A-18E Superbug, Buttkicker Gamer 2, XTOP Pro Flight Panel, Hotas Warthog, Flight Master Yoke, and the Prop Cockpit Trainer.