Embry Riddle to Award Scholarships at FANCON!

Posted: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - 3:35
Avsim is pleased to announce that the Prescott Campus of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) will be giving away more than $25,000 in scholarships to winners of the FANCON carrier landing competition at this year’s AVSIM conference and exhibition in Bellevue, Washington Nov 9-11. Using a brand new technology your piloting skills will be graded automatically upon completion of the mission, and it will rank you against other pilots in the competition. With FS-SCORE you will know exactly where you stand each time you fly the mission. This patent pending technology was developed by Ray Bedard, Professor of Navigation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Avsim is pleased that Embry Riddle is awarding scholarships for this exciting and ground-breaking competition. This is a chance to win a scholarship of a lifetime. Details will follow. If you have not yet signed up for the simulation event of the year, you can do so today!

Abacus Announce Winner of Civil Air Patrol Contest

Posted: Monday, October 22, 2007 - 18:41
As part of Abacus' ongoing support for the Civil Air Patrol, this year they sponsored a contest to give away a super-fast gaming computer to run Microsoft Flight Simulator X and CAP Search & Rescue add-on.

They initiated the contest at the CAP National Conference held in Atlanta in August. It was open to all CAP members. The winner agreed that the computer system would be available to the other members of the squadron for training purposes.

Abacus are now happy to announce that the winner is Kevin Weaver of CAP Squadron 902, Willow Grove JRP in Pennsyvania.

For further details see the Civil Air Patrol website.

Wilco/feelThere Airbus Series Volume 2 Download Available

Posted: Monday, October 22, 2007 - 17:27
Following the release earlier this year of the Wilco/feelThere Airbus Series Volume 1, Volume 2 is now available as a download from the Wilco Publishing website.

Volume 2 comprises the larger aircraft in the Airbus range, namely the A330-200, A330-300, A330-300 Multi-Role Tanker Transport, A340-300 and A340-600.

Sky Blue Radio Events

Posted: Monday, October 22, 2007 - 14:32
Sky Blue Radio has announced a series of events that will be coming to the virtual airwaves in the coming weeks. Starting this weekend October 27th and 28th, Sky Blue Radio will be broadcasting a series of special shows.

It will be broadcasting live from the Oz Flight Sim Expo to bring the convention to the rest of the world, featuring the exhibitors with reports and interviews being supplied by two Sky Blue Radio correspondents, Daniel Hammond and Garry Moore, with the Voz Powered News.

On November 4th at 23:00z, World Flight starts on its yearly, week long, charity event. Sky Blue Radio is going to be there at the departure from Kingsford Smith International in Sydney (YSSY), and will be bringing back regular progress updates. Jeff Turner (JT) will be flying along with and helping out the World Flight USA team and Richard Rudd (TDR) will be assisting the World Flight Scotland team. There will be regular reports and interviews of the teams and the visitors to the homebuilt simulators.

From November 7th to the 11th Sky Blue Radio will have two correspondents at the FANCON 2007. Rolf Getty of American Topgun Productions and Nicolas Jackson with Sky Blue Radio will be on the ground reporting and interviewing exhibitors and visitors from the convention. Sky Blue Radio will be bringing all the big news from the home of Flight Simulation, Seattle.

Beyond all these events Sky Blue Radio will continue with its 24/7 broadcasts, bringing a variety of music into the cockpit on 123.45 with Wee Tune Beestie, and the introduction of the brand new Sky Blue Radio pilot’s tool kit. All of these add-ons are free for registered users of the Sky Blue Radio website, and even registration is free!

FS Recorder For FSX

Posted: Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 22:52
FS Recorder 1.3 beta 3 for FSX is now available for download at FS Recorder.net. Changes included in this version: - compatibility with "FSX: Acceleration" - added recording/playback display. This version requires FSX Service Pack 1 installed.

TJSJ San Juan By ImagineSim

Posted: Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 11:41
TJSJ San Juan Luis Munoz Marin Airport is the busiest and biggest commercial airport in the Caribbean, IMAGINESIM's newest airport add-on for Flight Simulator 2004, San Juan features custom ground textures and runways, terminal, cargo and hanger buildings rendered to 5cm per pixel scale, smoothly operating jetways that dock with your aircraft's forward door. It's available now at ImagineSim.com along with screenshots and a demo version.

Try Weather Maker X For Free

Posted: Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 11:26
Calibre Software Solutions is pleased to release Weather Maker X Open Beta 1, Weather Maker X takes advantage of the new Simconnect module available with Microsoft's Flight Simulator X to simulate realistic and random weather. The weather situation is now depicted on the enhanced radar that offers map depiction, giving the pilot the knowledge on how to avoid dangerous weather conditions. You can try out the open beta version for free at:
weather-maker.com.

Email Meets Flight Sim

Posted: Friday, October 19, 2007 - 6:29
3D Mailbox, the world's first 3-dimensional email client, has released "Level 2: LAX". Set in Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), 3D Mailbox allows the user to be an "Air Traffic Controller" simply by sending and receiving email.

3D Mailbox is designed so that jumbo jets represent incoming and outgoing email, and thousands of real pilot-ATC conversations correspond to any flight or movement. Based on an email's origin or destination, 3D Mailbox assigns country-specific liveries to each plane. According to World Market Watch, Inc.'s Robert Savage, the founder of 3D Mailbox, an email from Australia, for example, will arrive on a Qantas 747; an email to the UK will depart on either British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, or British Caledonian. Over a dozen US liveries carry domestic email. Emails with attachments are delivered by cargo planes such as FedEx, UPS, DHL, and CargoLux. The built-in SpamBayes SPAM filter sends junk mail to the airport boneyard, and puts uncertain mail in a holding pattern.

Savage says users can explore the airport using a HUD; hang out in the tower; or sit back and watch the dozens of cinematic cameras capture the action above and below.

For more information on this product, please visit the 3D Mailbox website.

MyTraffic X Updates Available

Posted: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - 23:28
Burkhard Renk has announced a significant free update to MyTraffic X. Continuing the MyTraffic tradition of delivering enhanced value to its customers, the update to V5.1a includes a range of Airbus models completely rebuilt for FSX along with several hundred repaints. Also packaged in are a number of small bug fixes, improvements in the night lighting of selected aircraft and around 480 airports newly tuned for AI Traffic. Last but not least, they have added a brand new aircraft to the MyTraffic fleet - the A380. To share the momentous occasion of the A380's first commercial flight with all flightsim enthusiasts, they are also making the A380 and its associated AI flightplans available as freeware for everyone to enjoy. The freeware Singapore Airlines A380 AI package and additional information may be found HERE.

The Votes Are In!!

Posted: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - 19:25
Imaginesim announced today the results their online vote. Allowing you, the users, to decide their next product for developement, proved extremely successfull. The votes are in and KATL has won by a landslide. For additional information please visit Imaginesim

Welcome Aboard

Posted: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - 10:58
The negotiations are over and a contract has been signed. Please welcome our two new library managers to AVSIM. Hendrik Herryjanto and Jerel Gregory. These are the great guys that keep the library updated and available to all our loyal visitors. Thank you for joining our family.

Abacus Release Bundled Scenery For FSX

Posted: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 - 17:13
In a press release today, Arnie Lee from Abacus Publicaitons has announced its lastest software for FSX to hit the market. Arnie goes on to say:

"With Microsoft FSX, the scenery environment has been enhanced to provide more attractive areas in which to fly. Microsoft brings you more detail by opening up the scenery engine to improve the display techniques."

World & USA Extreme Landscapes BUNDLE delivers this incredible improvement of detail by boosting the resolution of the terrain data as follows:

Continental USA from 19 meters to 9.5 meters
Canada from 38 meters to 19 meters
Mexico from 308 meters to 76 meters
Alps, Scandanavia, Pyrenees, Caucasus 19 meters
Parts of Japan, Africa and New Zealand 19 meters
Himalayas high detail
Elsewhere from 612 to 76 meters

As an added bonus and for your "low and slow" flying pleasure so that you can better enjoy the new amazing ground detail, we've also included two new aircraft: the exquisite Liberty XL2 aircraft from Eaglesoft Development Group and the Socata TB21 Trinidad.

For more information about this press release, visit the Abacus website.

First Real-World Airbus A380 Delivered

Posted: Monday, October 15, 2007 - 14:40
With both parties no doubt breathing a huge sigh of relief, Airbus today finally delivered its first airline A380 superjumbo jet to Singapore Airlines, following an earlier string of legal and technical troubles.

More details in this news report.

What's Next For Imagine Simulation? You Decide

Posted: Sunday, October 14, 2007 - 19:39
Hong Kong or Atlanta? It's not the choices for which city will get to host the next Olympic Games but it might be just as exciting to flight sim enthusiasts.

Imagine Simulation, which has already produced nine detailed airport sceneries for Microsoft Flight Simulator, wants to know what its customers want to see next as it wraps up final production in its latest endeavor, Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (TJSJ).

San Juan won the last competition against Hong Kong and now Atlanta is pitted against the busy Chinese airport.

To cast your vote, head over to the Imagine Simulation website.

AlphaSim Supermarine Scimitar F.Mk.1

Posted: Sunday, October 14, 2007 - 17:30
Supermarine's last aircraft the Scimitar F.Mk.1 has been released by AlphaSim in a full-specification FSX version and for FS9. The FSX version includes V-C self shadowing available with MicroSoft's forthcoming FSX Service Pack 2 (with Vista),the VC also has full gauge night lighting and self-reflecting glass (also present in the FS9 version). The package includes FOUR model variations, six texture sets with weathering ,accurate squadron markings and insignia. Full details and a demo video of the VC shadow effects can be found at the AlphaSim website