VATSIM 2003 Convention Photos Posted

Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 22:25
Michael Mrak reports on the just-completed VATSIM 2003 Convention at Frankfurt, Germany. It's at the Virtual Austrian Airlines website. Included are links to Joel DeYoung's presentation of the future release 3.0 of Squawkbox; also you'll find links to photos from the Convention. Even more photos have been posted at the VATSIM website.

Checklist for PSS A3xx Available

Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 20:10
Massimo Solimbergo tells us that the new FFCS (Fully Functional Checklist System) for Phoenix Software Simulation's A3xx is available (in English) at his Dreamsky website. FFCS is a sort of "flight simulator checklist." This means that all items in the checklist correspond to an action on the flight simulator panel. In the FFCS for PSS A3xx you'll find the "normal checklist" and not the "emergency checklist". You'll find also the normal procedure taken from real documentation plus the takeoff and landing data form! Finally there is a copy of a real A320 checklist (it comes from an Italian Airline).

Flight Link Products Now FS2004 Compatible

Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 18:10
[Press Release] "Flight Link, an industry leader in PC and Macintosh based flight simulator controls is pleased to announce that all hardware (Fixed Wing and Rotor Wing) is now compatible with the upcoming release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. Now through August 31st, receive free shipping on all Flight Link and Epic products in the U.S. (Foreign customers receive $50 shipping discount.)"

TrackIR FS2004 Compatibility Announced

Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 17:37
NaturalPoint announces that trackIR will offer full compatibility with Microsoft’s upcoming Fight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight. The new trackIR software, version 2.11, will be made available before FS2004’s release in North American stores on July 29th. “Century of Flight is an amazing simulator, and we are very excited to offer trackIR Enhanced support, which brings FS2004’s immersiveness to a whole new level.” says Jim Richardson, NaturalPoint’s President and creator of the trackIR. For more information on the NaturalPoint™ trackIR™, visit the NaturalPoint website, or call 1-888-865-5535.

Icarus RAF Fighter-dive Bomber Released

Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 17:28
[Press Release] Icarus Golden Age announces the release of their new commercial Blackburn 24/25 Pack for CFS2/FS2002 which includes two models, three skins, multi-resolution, virtual cockpit with working gauges, cockpit animations, icarus weapons bombs, and RAF pilot textures. Also features fully animated retractable gear, shock absorber movement, wheel rotation, moving rudder pedals, multiple animation sequence yoke, open canopy animation and exhaust effect.

"All but forgotten now the Skua was flown in combat over Norway, the beaches of Dunkirk and in the Mediterranean. It gained the distinction of being the first British aircraft to shoot down a German aircraft in World War II (a Dornier Do Flying boat on 26th September 1939) and also being the first aircraft to sink a major warship in wartime when Skuas sank the cruiser Königsberg in Bergen harbour on 10th April 1940." This product is now on sale at the Icarus website.

AVSIM Conference Keynote Speaker Announced

Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 16:44
AVSIM Online is proud to announce Captain Richard J. Walsh as the Keynote Speaker at the upcoming AVSIM Conference & Exhibition, taking place September 26th and 27th at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Captain Walsh is Director of Flight Center Operations, including the simulation center, for United Airlines, based in Denver, Colorado. He was also former Chief Pilot for the 777 and 747 aircraft for the carrier.

Captain Walsh will be speaking on the use of flight simulators in the flight operations center, and will be relating some stories of interest to all flight simulation enthusiasts. Furthermore, he will welcome any questions at the end of his speech.

We're sure that all serious flight simmers will not want to miss this key event at the Awards Banquet of the 2003 AVSIM Conference & Exhibition! For more information, and to register, please click here.

PFC Introduces Helicopter Pedals

Posted: Monday, July 21, 2003 - 17:27
Precision Flight Controls already has a complete line of products for the fixed wing pilot. Now, they're expanding their territory and have introduced their first helicopter controls. The USB Helicopter Pedals are made of solid steel and aluminum construction. They use the USB interface for easy connection to your PC and are compatible with most flight simulation programs. You can get more information as well as view a screenshot of what the pedals will look like by vising PFC here.

Active Sky wxRE Review

Posted: Sunday, July 20, 2003 - 1:27
AVSIM Online Staff Reviewer Alan Bradbury enjoys flying with HiFi Simulation Software's commercial Active Sky wxRE add-on Utility for FS2002, created by Damian Clark. Alan remarks, "If you fly without checking out the weather reports and forecasts for your destination, you've only got yourself to blame when things go seriously wrong. No pilot worth his wages would consider doing this in real life, and you don't have to either thanks to wxRE. For in addition to the comprehensive weather briefing along your route which wxRE gives you before you even crank you engines, you can also tune your radio to 122.00 and you'll get up to the minute in-flight weather advisories for your destination as you fly along! ...whether you potter about in a virtual Cessna, or wrestle with the heavy metal, if you want to take your virtual flying to a new level of realism, then I can seriously recommend this smart little add on." Read Alan's review here.

FSGenesis Releases Brazilian Highlands Project, Confirms FS2004 Compatibility

Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 14:50
FSGenesis has informed us that they have begun distribution of a new SRTM 76.4m Terrain Project: The Brazilian Highlands, covering the south-eastern coast of South America. Coverage for the Rio de Janeiro region is available immediately, with other areas expected to be available by the end of the month.

Furthermore, FSGenesis' website has been redesigned with several new features, and all FSGenesis product installers will be "updated for FS2004 by the time it hits the shelves".

For more information, visit FSGenesis by clicking here.

Eaglesoft Hawker 400XP Rolls Out

Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 14:44
The Eaglesoft Development Group have released their version of the Hawker 400XP. The aircraft, an extended version of Eaglesoft's Raytheon Beechjet 400A, expands upon this base with spectral lighting effects, and improved flight dynamics by Rob Young. For more information, you can visit Eaglesoft's newest releases page by clicking here.

Icarus Releases Junkers EF125 for CFS2

Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 14:41
Icarus announces the release of their rendition of the Junkers EF125 jet bomber. Designed for CFS2 and FS2002, the aircraft features a multi-resolution virtual cockpit with functional gauges, and a fully animated gear and other cockpit animations.

For more information, and to purchase the aircraft, visit http://www.icarusgold.com/.

Malé - Maldives Scenery Released

Posted: Friday, July 18, 2003 - 22:08
LAGO today released their latest scenery package Malé - Maldives Scenery. Here's more information, as announced: "Developed by Umberto Colapicchioni, also known for his award winning Honolulu scenery, Malé Scenery promises to be another great add-on, both for FS2002 and upgraded to FS2004. Just to give you an idea, the scenery covers the northern atoll of Malé which comprises the capital and its International Airport. But it doesn’t stop here, included you will find 25 islands completely designed in great detail with landing and docking areas for amphibian planes, all the holiday resorts and sports facilities included. While flying over this atoll you will notice that power boats are transporting tourists from one island to the other (Umberto did some magic with AI traffic in this scenery. A lot of the AI traffic is not actually flying but floating as there are 4 types of ships that do regular schedules to the islands and it is all based on AI traffic) or you might come across some wind surfers enjoying these idyllic waters. The package includes one of our brilliant Ultralights (with floats of course) so you can explore the tiny islands. The scenery is fully FS2004 compatible and will offer a free update for the DLL based sounds and the the installer." For full information check out LAGO pages here.

JustFlight Announces B-17 ‘MEMPHIS BELLE’

Posted: Friday, July 18, 2003 - 21:55
JustFlight today announced their latest CFS3, FS2002 and FS2004 addon, the famous B-17 Memphis Belle. Here's more, as announced in the press release:

"Just Flight’s re-creation will not only let you soak up the atmosphere of this magnificent aircraft, but also help you to understand the skill and courage of the aircraft’s crew. In Combat Flight Simulator 3 you can take off from Bassingbourn Airfield, the Belle's home during her combat career in WWII and fly each of those 25 remarkable missions, whilst in Flight Simulator 2002 or 2004 you can re-fly the Memphis Belle on her war bond tour of the USA.

Feature summary:
- Highly detailed Memphis Belle B-17 aircraft with pilot and in CFS3, bombardier, waist, nose, tail and upper turret positions. Plus of course the unique under-belly ball turret gunner positions,
- Authentic Memphis Belle livery and nose art,
- 25 missions for CFS3 which follow the actual missions flown by the ‘Belle’. All of the missions are accurate with respect to date, time, weather conditions, targets, bomb loads, altitudes, flak conditions, number of aircraft participating, and number of intercepting enemy aircraft,
- Scenery of Bassingbourn airfield where the Memphis Belle was based during WWII is included, to fly from in CFS3 and FS2002/4.
- Custom made flight model,
- Modern day re-creation of the post 25 mission “Bond raising tour” flights in the USA for FS2002 and FS2004 users,
- Officially endorsed by the Memphis Belle Memorial Association, www.memphisbelle.com

You can check out for more information and some screenshots over at JustFlight forums here.

FeelThere Announces CRJ

Posted: Friday, July 18, 2003 - 21:02
FeelThere, the company that recently released the ERJ package today announced their first full package project which is already being developed, the Canadair Regional Jet - CRJ. Here's more information as announced by FeelThere CEO, Victor Racz: "We are at FeelThere decided to fill the gap and help flight simmers to operate jets from their hub airport to smaller airfields. After the successful ERJ we are proudly announcing our first "full package" CRJ for MS FS. Features; photorealistic panel with vector gauges, FMC, virtual cockpit, detailed gMax model with night lighting, dynamic shine, detailed animation and a realistic flight dynamics made by the help of real CRJ pilots." For more information check out www.feelthere.com.

LAGO Staggerwing and Gullwing Exclusive Preview

Posted: Friday, July 18, 2003 - 12:54
We have just recieved a set of exclusive screenshots for latest project form LAGO, the two historic airplanes Beech Staggerwing and the Stinson Gullwing. Here are more details: "LAGO first 100% Fs2004 product will be a collection of two of the most stylish aircraft ever, The Beech Staggerwing and the Stinson Gullwing. Both designed with pencil and paper and not with CAD systems they look like they are speeding along even when they are standing still. They also look like a million bucks and that is just what you got to expect to pay for one of these today. These aircraft are still very much used and many of them are updated with ultra modern Avionics. These are working machines, not museum models.

The models LAGO will provide are highly detailed, have a great sound set and completely novel animations. From windows that open when you winch the handle, to people actally opening doors and leaving the aircraft. Fully FS2004 compaitible with clickable VC." The release is expected just after the release of FS2004 in US. To see the screenshots for Staggerwing click here. The Stinson Gullwing screenshots are available here.

MelJet Boeing 777 V2 Released

Posted: Friday, July 18, 2003 - 12:21
Melvin Rafi just informed us that Version 2 of the MelJet Boeing 777 has been released and it is now available for download. Here's what Melvin says: "The complete family of 777 variants has been modeled - You have your choice of the 777-200, -200ER, -300, -300ER, and -200LR, all with their own visual models and flight dynamics. Version 2 adds several new features and builds on the ones already seen in version 1. Most notable is "Cruise Mode", which features animated reclining seats, animated stowable PTVs and tray tables, and animated footrests. The virtual cabin has also been revamped and expanded, and Maintenance Mode has also been updated. Minor additions in terms of detail have also been made. In the meantime, work on Version 3 of the 777 continues, which aims to add a virtual cockpit, panel, gauges, and revamped flight dynamics. Release will probably be in the later part of 2004." For more information and download check out www.meljet.com.

Perfect Flight AH-1Z King Cobra Released

Posted: Friday, July 18, 2003 - 12:16
Looks like it is a helicopter day today. Marco Martini Of Perfect Flight just informed us they have released the AH-1Z King Cobra package for both FS2004 and FS2002. Here's more information from the press release: The AH-1Z is the most capable and flexible multi-mission attack helicopter in the world. It is powerful, fast, agile and has the state-of-the-art dynamics, weapons and avionics suites that incorporates the latest survivability equipment available. AH-1Z King Cobra package for FS2004 / FS2002 features: Five different Visual Models made in GMAX (Empty, Hellfire, Rocket, Special, Special Empty), Animated doors, high-detailed textures and thirty-six different textures, 2d panel, Virtual Cockpit, sounds, documentation." For more information check out here.

PRE-Flight Releases AH-6 Little Bird

Posted: Friday, July 18, 2003 - 12:09
Users of freeware RC Simulator PRE-Flight will be happy to hear that they have now released a new helicopter you can now fly. It is the AH-6 Little Bird (OH-6 Cayuse Variant) which is one of the most popular helicopters in US Army. You can download it and get more details here.

Don Moser Releases Munich Scenery

Posted: Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 23:02
Avsim partner Don Moser who is probably more familer to most with his "Alaska by Don" contribution has today informed us of a new project he has been working on. Don goes on to say "I have recently started to fly in Germany and have become hooked on the area. Not only is Germany a beautiful country, but so are the neighboring countries. The mountains are a wonder to fly in. After flying in Alaska for 3 1/2 years, everything seems so close in Europe! I have been downloading some beautiful sceneries and also using some payware to increase the beauty and realism of Germany. I felt I had to contribute something back to all those who made those fantastic sceneries I have been using. I have just finished a well needed scenery for the area. Munich was lacking any real detail, and being my German VA is based there, I thought I would take care of that."

"I have made the complete inner loop of downtown Munich. There are 20 custom made buildings in the area. Some of those include the Feldherrnhalle, a new Olympiaturm and Konigsplatz. In addition to those, I have added almost 250 buildings to the area. The scenery is framerate friendly, and requires little more to run it. This is my way of thanking all those for their work."

The scenery is available from Dons website here. Just follow the Deutschland flags to the Deutschland Air Service page and click on SCENERY. We hope you enjoy it.

Male - Maldives Scenery available from Friday 18th July

Posted: Thursday, July 17, 2003 - 18:37
Friday 18th of July, Lago is releasing "Male - Maldives Scenery" the first in a series of exotic resorts. Developed by Umberto Colapicchioni, also known for his award winning Honolulu scenery, this promises to be another great add-on both for FS2002 and upgraded to FS2004. Just to give you an idea, the scenery covers the northern atoll of Male which comprises the capital and its International airport. But it doesn't stop hear, included you will find 25 islands completely designed in great detail with landing and docking areas for amphibian planes, all the holiday resorts and sports facilities included. While flying over this atoll you will notice that power boats are transporting tourists from one island to the other, or you might come across some wind surfers enjoying these idyllic waters. For more details visit our website here where you can read all about Male scenery and where you can find some screenshots.