Ultimate Traffic 2007 from Flight 1

Posted: Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 3:30
Staff reviewer Jon Murchison looks for signs of intellegent life on the airfield and in the air with Flight 1's Ultimate Traffic 2007. "In a nutshell, Ultimate Traffic either replaces or enhances, the default AI traffic in Flight Simulator X across the globe."

"Ultimate Traffic comes with a 40 page Help/User Guide in PDF format. Throughout the Guide, changes from the FS2004 version relevant to FSX have been highlighted in blue which was useful. I found the User Guide aimed at someone with no prior experience with AI, which in my view, is exactly how it should be so newbie’s will be able to get what they need from the guide."

"AI is handled slightly differently in the new sim so Ultimate Traffic takes the pain out of this process, and does this with an intuitive interface that has 4 simple buttons. Don’t let this apparent simplicity fool you. Underneath each of those buttons is a myriad of potential."

"As aircraft modelers have become more proficient, particularly with the concept of LOD (Level of detail), the sophistication of AI traffic has evolved. While the models in Ultimate Traffic adequately depict the aircraft they represent, they are nothing to get overly excited about. The Flight 1 website is very clear on the limitations of the models and explains up front that they are the same ones used in the FS2004 version, they also acknowledge the issues with using them so at least you know what you are getting before you buy. The complete Airbus and Boeing range are featured, minus the A380 or 787, so Ultimate Traffic is focused on the ‘here and now’ for its fleet offerings."

"There is no doubt that Ultimate Traffic improves performance if it replaces the default AI, however, if you max out your traffic, far more aircraft will be present than if the default AI was set to max. So any performance gain will be eaten up and you probably end up loosing."

Summing up Flight 1's Ultimate Traffic 2007, Jon says, "If you want realistically scheduled AI traffic populating your airports, and an easy way of modifying/selecting this, then Ultimate Traffic is worth taking a look at. In my view, it’s the user interface that is the heart of this package. It’s easy to use, gives you incredible control and flexibility over what you compile, and allows you to effectively change everything, and that in itself is worth it. Ultimate Traffic is ideal for beginners and seasoned AI users, and does promise improved performance in FSX if you keep AI settings at moderate levels."

Flight Environment X Website

Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 15:36
In anticipation of the forthcoming release of their Flight Environment X product, Aerosimulations have now launched a dedicated website. As it announces, "Our Features page will hopefully give you a comprehensive overview of what Flight Environment X is all about, along with our Gallery showing screenshots of FEX in use inside the simulator."

Follow the link to check out the Flight Environment X Website.

MegaSceneryX: Southern California Released

Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 - 2:02
MegaScenery publisher, PC Aviator, announces the release of the next title in the new MegaSceneryX brand of add-on scenery for Microsoft Flight Simulator X – MegaSceneryX: Southern California.

MegaSceneryX is a visual scenery add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator X that is recreated from high resolution aerial photography. It takes advantage of the new scenery engine in Flight Simulator X to display the scenery at 1.19 meters per pixel. In layman’s terms it means that the flight simulator pilot can now see detail down to cars on roads, and even small shrubs on golf courses. This MegaSceneryX release, Southern California, puts Flight Simulator pilots in the skies above Southern California and the Los Angeles basin where everything they can see from the skies in real life is there in photographic detail and just as it would look in real life.

Like all titles from the MegaScenery team, NightScene™ technology is also included for realistic night flying that maps virtually every street, road and highway and uncannily resembles the same spine-tingling night flying experience you get in the real world. More information is available for viewing at the MegaScenery website.

CharityFlight @ FanCon'07

Posted: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 2:50
CharityFlight.com is an organization of aviation enthusiasts, gathering globally, to raise the much need funds for the Toronto Hospital For Sick Children's Foundation. We use a Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network (VATSIM), and a flight simulation software, to do a simulated flight around the world.

This years CharityFlight 2007 are joining in with the World Flight Groups on the 2007 Round The World Flight with seven other sims for other countries and organizations. CharityFlight 2007, will take place LIVE in Seattle, Washington at Fancon '07 the AVSIM 2007 Convention and Exhibition! Join us at our booth and watch crews pilot the Level-D Simulations 767-300 around the globe and make a donation to The Toronto Hospital For Sick Children's Foundation.

Be a great asset and lend your piloting skills to raise money for the Toronto Sick Kid's Hospital Foundation, by joining the crew at Charityflight 2007. AVSIM, along with the Charityflight team, are looking for a few good men who will be present at the FANCON '07 this fall, to be a part of the Worldflight 2007 team. Go to the Charity Flight website for more information and to fill in the flight crew application form. If you meet the skill criteria, and are going to be attending the conference, you will be placed on a roster as a crew member to go around the world in our simulator while in Seattle, from the comfort of The Hilton Bellevue.

If this sounds like it would be a good time to meet friends and do what we all love, then sign up today. The crew selection process will be over in October, and training will begin. Thanks in advance for the your assistance and to AVSIM in making this a great event.

Weather Maker RX

Posted: Monday, August 20, 2007 - 11:58
Weather Maker RX is the most advanced weather engine from Calibre Software Solutions and provides the virtual pilot not only challenging weather but the tools to avoid the weather. The new DNX-50 data-link radar system gives the user a visual display of rain and snow, lightning, cloud turbulence avoidance, airport conditions, temperature, wind, pressure, visibility, and Airmet / Sigmet alerts. For complete details visit CALIBRE SOFTWARE.

Just Flight Visual Flight Plans UK

Posted: Monday, August 20, 2007 - 11:31
The first volume of VFR Flight Plans UK is now available, this program consists of a set of plans that cover nine interesting flights around South-East England. VFR Flight Plans UK (Vol. 1) is compatible with Flight Simulator X or 2004 and can also be used with Flight Simulator 2002 and X-Plane. Just Flight recommends the use of its VFR scenery program such as VFR Real Scenery to get the best from this software. Just Flight’s Wolfgang Schwarz commented: “The developer of this program, Matradi, has done a fine job of providing VFR pilots with some great flights. There’s everything you need for some fascinating flights across the countryside.” For further details visit Just Flight

AVSIM Opens Reader's Choice Nominations

Posted: Sunday, August 19, 2007 - 17:19
AVSIM is pleased to announce that we have opened up the nomination process for this year's Reader Choice Awards. The Reader Choice Awards are given to those freeware and commercial products and add-ons nominated for and voted on by the flight simulation community. Awards are given in a variety of categories, and the process starts with the sim community nominating those products or add-ons that will be voted on in prior to the FANCON in Seattle this year. Those who win the Reader Choice Award are presented a trophy at the event. If you would like to submit a nomination for this year's RCA, please post your nomination here. Please read the rules carefully before you submit your nomination!

AlphaSim Kamov Ka-27/32 'Helix' Released

Posted: Sunday, August 19, 2007 - 17:02
The little Kamov was used by many Soviet-aligned navies as well as civilian operators after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the AlphaSim package provides the perfect mix of military and civilian models - five Navy Ka-27PS models from around the world combine with three civilian Ka-32's. Even race-specific crew are used to highlight the truly international flavour of the Helix in today's world. The eight unique tetxure sets are detailed and have just the right amount of 'weathering' applied. The FSX model, as usual, sports amazing effects - bump mapping, env-mapped glass, bloom flash and of course self-shadowing make the co-axial rotor-driven Kamov look amazingly real. A custom Helix soundset and a superb rendition of the panel and gauges will thrill any FS helicopter fan. The VC includes the rear cabin and the doors (all four of them) are all animated, as is the lowerable winch cable. The flight model was exceptionally difficult to create, you will find near-perfect straight line flight with almost zero torque effect - the main reason for the co-ax design. This release is for FSX and FS2004. Complete details and screenshots can be viewed on the AlphaSim News Page.

Coming to the Conference?

Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 16:50
Just a reminder that if you are coming to the conference from out of town and need to book rooms at the Bellevue Hilton, please do so through the webite Registration Page. Calling the Hilton 1-800 number or the Bellevue Hilton direct will give you misleading information that the hotel is booked. Yes, it is.....it's booked for our conference. The aforementioned Hilton contacts are not aware that we have pre-booked the hotel for the 2007 AVSIM Conference and Exhibition. They are also not aware of the special room rates we have arranged for our fans. Don't be mislead, or miss out. Reserve your room for this year's conference at your earliest convenience and make this "sold out" information a reality.

CLS Releases A330/A340

Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 16:01
Commercial Level Simulations is very pleased to inform you that their long awaited A330/A340 product is available! This huge package, including the A330-200, A330-300, A340-200 and A340-300 aircraft, is compatible with both FS9 and FSX. The package comes will full 3D cockpit, LITE panel, highly detailed models, many many features. Also it includes 150 FREE liveries! This is almost all of the operators of all four planes. Taxi over to the CLS website for more information. This product will also be available on DVD, with a printed manual. The DVD will be published by our friends at Just Flight.

Messerschmitt Me-262 For FSX

Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 1:47
Michael Flahault, owner of Flight Replicas, has released his stunning Me-262 Schwalbe, and SkyUnlimited is the first to bring this great product to your desktop. The Me-262 is one of the most acclaimed WWII fighters in history. It's turbojet engines, sweptback wings, tricycle landing gear, and 4 30mm cannon armament made it one of the deadliest aircraft to fly the skies of WWII.

Some of the features include with this Version 1.2 release are: Five highly detailed models that include rocket and droptank versions; Eight highly detailed and historic paint schemes; A VC with stunning 3D gauges; Custom flight dynamics that portray this aircrafts attributes; Revi16B gunsight folds accurately out of the way and can be turned on and off; Droppable fuel tanks that remove weight and fuel from the aircraft.cfg; Detailed animations such as the moving exhaust cones and gear sequences; and a vintage pilot. So jet on over to SkyUnlimited and check out this famous WWII aircraft.

AlphaSim's F-104 Starfighter For FSX

Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 1:38
The phenonemal F-104 comes to FSX with a new AlphaSim radar system, now you can simulate interceptions as you track all AI traffic up to 150nm. Adjustable ranges and screen brightness enhance this new FSX feature, all available flight data is presented, ATC-style in both the VC and as a 2D pop-up with its own icon. The model package presents you with five unique .mdl's - four German 'G' models and a lone Italian 'S'. There are also four unique, carefully-researched flight models, each with its own handling characteristics and fuel range. The FSX models are of course full-spec. with bump-mapping, self-shadowing and bloom flash (now on the paintwork too !). The panel and gauge set have new model-specific pop-up panels for radios and autopilot. The professionally mastered sounds are guaranteed to impress, as are the amazing afterburner effect and the various g-related vapour effects. This could be a worthy addition to any speed-freak's hangar ! (note, radar is FSX-only and will only work with AlphaSim aircraft).

This release for FSX and FS2004 can be found at the AlphaSim website, and while you're there check out the screenshots on their news page.

More Free ATC Flights

Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 - 1:30
TweakFS has released another pair of free ATC-guided flights for FSX that feature Real ATC, recorded directly from the flight deck. One of the flights is an easy approach into Montreal (Dorval), the other a more complex landing at Johannesburg which comes in two flavours - Normal or Emergency. Both of these ATC modules come with a pre-flight briefing and are designed specifically for use with TweakFlight for FSX, but can also be launched as stand-alone flights via the optionally installed Desktop icons.

3D Lights Shine In FSX

Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 - 17:15
Shockwave Productions announced it has released 3D Lights™ for FSX. According to Shockwave Production's Scott Gentile, 3D Lights™ produces fully realized 3D landing lights that cast light out into space in all twenty-one FSX default aicraft, AI aircraft, and any third-party aircraft.

For more information and to download a demo movie of this product, you're cleared to land at the Shockwave Productions website.

Don't Miss The Conference!

Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 - 15:42
AVSIM Online and the Microsoft Flight Simulator Team are co-sponsoring what may well be this year's largest Flight Simulation gathering!

"The goal of our partnership is to provide a venue that will host an unprecedented number of Flight Sim add-on and hardware vendors," says Brett Schnepf, Community and Partner Development Manager for the Microsoft ACES Studio. "We want to give FANCON attendees the widest possible range of add-ons and hardware to check out. In other words: many shiny objects to play with!"

"The Bellevue Hilton is excited to be hosting this event for us this year," says AVSIM's Conference Manager, Robert Whitwell, "we have a huge amount of space for the vendors this year and with FSX being centre stage again there should be plenty of hands-on activities for our fans."

The AVSIM Flight Simulation Fan Convention and Exhibition (FANCON 2007) will start Friday afternoon November 9th with the traditional informal AVSIM FANCON social. The event will continue on Saturday with exhibitions, white paper sessions, and the Saturday night Awards Banquet. The Awards Banquet will include a special key note speaker, as well as the traditional AVSIM Bravo Zulu and Reader's Choice award presentations. Sunday will see more exhibitions and white papers.

Flight simulation enthusiasts from around the world will be in attendance, so here's your chance to finally meet the people behind all those voices and forum posts, as well as the AVSIM staff and members of the Microsoft ACES studio. While the FANCON 2007 is just under 3 months away, the registrations of both fans and vendors are coming in. This off-season event should help with your travel plans if you are coming from out of the area. Even if you are coming from the local area, pre-registering will help avoid the line-ups Friday evening or Saturday morning.

Don't miss this opportunity to rub elbows with some of the power houses of our hobby! Microsoft, AVSIM, other important vendors and hobbyists will all be there! Make your plans now!

HiFi Releases X Graphics SP1

Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 - 6:27
HiFi Simulation Software has announced that Service Pack 1 for X Graphics has been officially released and is now available for download by all X Graphics users. X Graphics SP1 is HiFi's latest full-featured graphical environment enhancement package made exclusively for FSX. HiFi spokesman, Damian Clark, said this service pack brings many enhancements and refinement to the textures and user interface, and is provided to keep X Graphics as refined and up-to-date as possible. For more information on this update, set your course to the HiFi website.

Dornier Do-27 X by Digital Aviation

Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 - 1:34
Senior staff reviewer David Wilson-Okamura updates us on Digital Aviation's Dornier Do-27 X. "As we’ll see, very little has changed in the new version for FSX. I am going to concentrate on issues that are specific to the new version of Microsoft Flight Simulator."

"What new features do you get when you upgrade the Do-27? Two words: new views. The camera system in FSX is quite powerful, and the upgraded Do-27 takes full advantage of it. Outside of the aircraft there are wing views, nose views, and tail views. Inside the cockpit, there are dedicated views for the rear cabin, both front seats and all of the control panels, and specialized views for landing and taxi."

"Why has this model, of a relatively obscure bush plane, attracted so much attention from flight simmers around the world? The variety of this package is engrossing. It comes with two basic models, A1 and B1, and eight different liveries. The youngest of these birds is forty years old now, so all of the liveries look weathered and well used. Unique details abound, and each livery has something distinctive in the cockpit: a pine-tree air freshener, an extra gauge, a missing gauge, a different-colored gauge, or a handwritten N-number on the instrument panel. After a month of flying, I am still noticing new things."

David wraps up his review with, "To summarize: the FSX version of the Dornier Do-27 is almost exactly the same as the FS2004 version. There are a bunch of new camera views, and the propeller doesn’t look right in front of clouds. Other than that, the two versions are identical. Let there be no mistake: learning to fly the Do-27 is harder than other bush planes. You have to read the manual carefully, and you have to internalize a new set of rules -- rules which, if you break them, will have consequences. That is what makes it great."

SimWords Work!

Posted: Thursday, August 16, 2007 - 23:02
In the short three weeks since AVSIM brought the SimWords system online, over 12 million ads have been served on dozens of affiliate sites around the world, including major locations on AVSIM. For pennies a day advertisers are finding an economical and effective alternative to text advertising on Google and Yahoo, with their ads focused in the flight simulation community. Affiliate web sites are making a steady income, and readers are finding products, services and websites related to their hobby. If you are interested in advertising or want to be an affiliate generating revenue for your site, check out the AVSIM SimWords system today.

History.com Dogfighting Game

Posted: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 - 17:19
Have you seen the "Dogfights" series on the History Channel and wished they'd make the series into an online playable game? Well your wish has come true! History.com has announced that their popular "Dogfights" series has been made into a game!

From History.com; "DOGFIGHTS: THE GAME re-creates the battles seen on Dogfights the series with amazing realism." If you've got what it takes to beat the opponents, then head on over to the Dogfights Website.

Just Flight Announce Flying Club - Archer III

Posted: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 - 15:07
Just Flight have announced the addition of an Archer III to their Flying Club X expansion. As their press release says, "Just Flight’s Flying Club X expansion for Flight Simulator X and 2004 has been widely praised by reviewers for raising the bar for GA aircraft simulations. Now, another top class light aircraft has joined the Flying Club fleet. The Piper PA-28-181 Archer III is one of the most popular General Aviation touring aircraft in the world.

Flying Club - Archer III comes with a full avionics suite and an extensive set of liveries. Virtual pilots can choose between UK, American, German, Swiss, Dutch and French registrations that provide a total of 25 aircraft variants.

The Archer III also comes with a set of unique tools to customise and enhance the flying experience and is expertly modelled to the highest standards thanks to detailed research on real-world aircraft.

All the Flying Club aircraft benefit from a dedicated website at www.jfflyingclub.com where pilots can share their experiences, swap tips, download additional files, liveries and other resources to enhance the features of the Flying Club series."

To get hold of this new aircraft, head over to the Just Flight website.