Cielosim Releases Enhancer Bundles

Posted: Friday, October 17, 2008 - 1:02
Cielosim is pleased to announce the release of their Enhancer Bundles. With the Enhancer bundles you are able to get two of either Instant Enhancer, Live ATC Chatter or Flight Enhancer. For more information visit the Cielosim website.

SR-71 Review Part 3 - Pilots Operating Instructions

Posted: Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 17:31
Following on from Jeff's previous reviews on the Lockheed SR-71, his final review covers the original operating manual issued to pilots of the awesome SR-71. Manuals are normally incorporated into the review of the aircraft in question, but due to the fact that the SR-71 is in a league of its own, Jeff has gone into detail with what the manual has to say about this aircraft.

Jeff goes on to say: "This third and last part is a book review of the Lockheed SR-71 Pilot's Operating Instructions, originally published by Lockheed and the United States Air Force (USAF), and now reprinted by Periscopefilm.com. I originally purchased this manual because I was interested in how the SR-71 was flown. There are actually quite a number of first-hand accounts from pilots and engineers that are available on this topic. However, only the flight manual goes into nuts-and-bolts detail on the operations of this unique jet aircraft."

Click on this link to read Jeff’s review of the Lockheed SR-71 Pilot's Operating Instructions. You can also read his previous reviews on the AlphaSim Lockheed SR-71 and Beale AFB.

Mooney Bravo Meggitt Panels Pack from Friendly Panels

Posted: Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 2:12
Senior staff reviewer Bert Pieke strips down his dashboard and install Friendly Panels' Mooney Bravo Meggitt Panels Pack. "Te package includes two cockpits - one with a Bendix KLN 94 GPS and one with dual Garmin GNS430s. It also includes a full complement of custom gauges: BENDIX KX 165A NAV-COM RADIO, BENDIX KR 87 ADF, BENDIX KT 76C and GARMIN GTX 330 TRANSPONDERS, DAVTRON DIGITAL CLOCK MB800, Autopilot Meggitt MAGIC 2100, Meggitt MAGIC Electronic Flight Instrument System (PFD and ND), Meggitt MAGIC Engine Instrument Display System EIDS."

"The installation is straightforward, and you end up with four new Mooney models within your FSX Mooney folder, two paints with the Bendix GPS and two equipped with the Garmins. The Mooney is best started up in the 2D panel. All gauges are in sight and the Meggitt gauges are nicely rendered. The radios are readable and user friendly, and the actual Meggitt avionics suite is a pleasure to use. All the information is right there and the gauges are nicely anti-aliased (no jaggy lines) and move smoothly. The autopilot is easy to use and has a user friendly display read-out."

"The Mooney Bravo Meggitt package by Friendly Panels is a promising attempt to package a high end avionics suite with a suitable aircraft in a ready to fly package. All in all, a great avionics set that make you feel as if you are in a much more expensive airplane!"

Flight 1 Offers AlphaSim's B24 Liberator

Posted: Thursday, October 16, 2008 - 1:34
Five authentic aircraft are included the B-24J, 'Satan's Gal', B-24D, 'Hellsadroppin II', B-24G, 'The Stork', B-24D, 'Strawberry Bitch', B-24J, 'Cocktail Hour'. These depict the many liveries the B-24 bore, from bare-metal (reflective), to desert and olive drab (with nose art). For many the B-24D with its distinctive glass nose will be of special interest. These textures are beautifully weathered and complete with the distinctive wing stains of oil venting engines. All are beautifully rendered at 2048-pixel resolution for maximum clarity, whist the inclusion of template textures allow other liveries to be painted to suit. Externally the aircraft is virtually unique. Not only does it feature animations for bomb bay doors, gunners and pilots, cowl flaps, prop pitch, and sliding cockpit windows but also the fascinating extendable ventral ball turret. A great joy of this aircraft is the sheer size and warbird context. Few large modern 'streamliners' can offer such wealth of texture and model detail. This is a full FSX model with all FSX features (bump mapping, self-shadowing, bloom etc) and includes self shadowing in the virtual cockpit.

The Visual Load Editor (VLE) makes for simple loading and optional fitments such as bombs. This is not merely visual as the aircraft will be adjusted to the extra weight. Crew figures include the toggle-able animated pilots and gunners, and even a fluttering national flag to take VIPs to those historic strategy meetings! The VLE also includes documentation for the engine settings. And what engines! There is nothing to beat the sound of a big radial - except four big radials! Starting them up in correct sequence, smoke burst from the exhausts as they fire - the extremely high quality Turbine Studios sound-set includes FSX specific sound cones for exquisite realism - this machine has a soul. Stepping into the cockpit is to recognise the B-24 as the perfect machine to learn the craft of flying a real aircraft. What difference does it make to fly an aircraft with wartime overload or fly transatlantic with none of today's navigation luxuries? Get it right and truly show your mettle - get it wrong and maybe you should consider a future slung below in the ball turret? For absolute realism this simulator even includes an Excel spreadsheet to calculate correct throttle and supercharger settings. Inside, the pilot is treated to an authentic all-xml 2D, hi-res glazed effect gauges, custom pop-ups for autopilot, electrical and fuel systems, radios, and is fully 'mousable'. Switching to the virtual cockpit is again highly authentic with many mousable controls and animations. Not least the cockpit dominating twelve-lever quadrant, comprising turbochargers, throttles and mixture levers.

Complete details can be found at the Flight 1 website.

PRE-Flight Marine One Sea King Available

Posted: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 13:49
Announcing the Marine One Sea King by PRE-Flight RC Simulator. Helicopter builder Sikorsky built the Sea King in 1957, beginning a long career as a submarine hunter-killer, then diversifying into search and rescue, as well as executive transport. Designated the SH-3, the Sea King was designed for shipboard operation with folding rotor blades, as well as amphibious operation. Weapons capability was equally diverse, from torpedoes and missiles, to sonobouys for sub hunting. The Sea King was always deployed as the first aicraft in the air and the last to land as a plane guard and pilot recovery vehicle. It is now famously known as Marine One when the US President is actually aboard. This super scale PRE-Flight model of the Sea King has a five-bladed rotor, operating landing gear, and Presidential Marine One livery. To download this and other models, visit PRE-Flight RC Simulator.

PMDG MD-11 Out Now

Posted: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - 7:14
Perhaps one of the most eagerly awaited add-ons by one of the communities most prolific commercial development team, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 has been released by PMDG Simulations . Born out of airline requirements for a "modern new DC-10" the MD-11 is a superb example of aircraft engineering from the era when modern computer processing power was beginning to bring truly new ideas, safety and capability to the cockpit of transport airplanes. Highly automated and employing innovative new approaches to the pilot/airplane interface, the MD-11 took the McDonnell Douglas wide body line into the future with fully automated flight modes, aircraft system status pages, failure consequence displays and clearly thought out pilot controls. Over four years of development, dedication, and skill have went into faithfully capturing the nuance, feel and character of this great airliner to a degree of detail never before seen in desktop simulation. During each step of the development process, every facet of the PMDG MD-11 is validated in the training simulator to ensure it has been modelled correctly, right down to the finest detail. Head directly to PMDG Simulations to grab yours...

FTX AU Gold from Orbx

Posted: Monday, October 13, 2008 - 19:53
Staff reviewer Jason McKee continues the Orbx scenery series with his look at FTX AU Gold. "The FTX AU Gold area covers South East Queensland, which is a small (for Australia) area but covers a wide variety of terrain, from the outback desert to the bustling city of Brisbane and the coastal area that is Surfer’s Paradise."

"The package includes custom buildings and autogen files. With the customization you get better frame rates than the default autogen, and the effect is great. You can turn up the autogen settings inside the simulator with no or very little performance hit. Another item included is a utility to change the brightness and halo of the lights installed. It allows for a great range of realism and customization to suit your own tastes."

"Orbx's FTX AU Gold - South East Queensland is one scenery package I recommend. It makes so much of a difference to the area that it is like night and day comparing the default to the Orbx product. The very handy installer and the ease of installation makes this package great for anyone from a beginner to the seasoned pro, and everyone will notice the improvement."

New From Icarusgold

Posted: Monday, October 13, 2008 - 0:11
Icarusgold announced today the release of thier newest addon for FsX, the Northrop Gamma "Sky Chief". This highly detailed FsX SDK Model features a dynamic virtual cockpit complete with all the standard FsX features. Realistic sounds included for the engine, canopy, flaps and landing. Two vintage modified airports and two unique flights to put your new plane through its paces are also included. Full documentation and Installation tutorial are included in the download. For additional information and to purchase, please visit Icarusgold at their website.

Premier I from Eaglesoft

Posted: Sunday, October 12, 2008 - 20:14
Staff reviewer Marlon Carter takes his personal BizJet, the Premier I from Eaglesoft, on a short jaunt. "The Premier I is constructed with a high-strength composite carbon fiber/epoxy honeycomb fuselage. The Premier I and IA can be certified as light aircraft for operation by a single pilot. The powerplants are Williams International FJ44-2A engines. Though traditionally add-on aircraft focused on medium size to heavy jets, this is a most welcome addition to anyone’s hangar."

"The exterior model was created quite accurately. The Premier 1 has a unique look and Eaglesoft did a great job capturing it virtually. Textures used on the 9 liveries are also of a high quality and add to the detail of this product. Moving on to the interior of the aircraft, again the cabin is very detailed with good quality textures."

"The quality of the main panel was slightly disappointing. The layout of the panel was done accurately and gives a just representation of the real thing. Systems wise, the team at Eaglesoft did a good job in modeling the avionics."

"After starting the engines and taxiing to the active, one will easily notice that this aircraft does not require large amounts of thrust to get rolling. Also, try to avoid high speed turns as the aircraft will get a bit difficult to control. When applying takeoff thrust, the Premier 1 shoots off like a rocket and takes off with ease. On landing, users better get use to not having reverse thrust because this aircraft relies heavily on anti-skid braking and lift dumping functions."

Marlon concludes his short trip in the Premier I with, "There aren’t many developers out there who produce high quality business jets, but Eaglesoft did a good job on this one. Considering this is a back by popular demand aircraft means that many other simmers have taken a liking to this aircraft and though not many changes have been made, it is still enjoyable. Even though it’s not a full systems simulation of the real aircraft, this spunky business jet is worth the cost, even more so if the developers continue to make upgrades and improvements. Hats off to Eaglesoft, keep those business jets coming."

Carenado Piper Cherokee 180F Review

Posted: Sunday, October 12, 2008 - 18:01
Avsim Staff Reviewer Laurie Aston has taken a look at the Cherokee 180F from Carenado.

Laurie goes on to say: "The Piper Cherokee 180F is just one in the series of Piper aircraft to have dominated the general aviation. Piper Cherokee 180F that does exactly what is expected of it. With enough excitement for the beginner, enough skill requirement to satisfy the needs of a practicing pilot, and without the vices of some sophisticated designs of aircraft that need handling with white knuckles most of the time. This will give immense pleasure to one and all, and to cap it all it is a cheap but well appointed model. I like it a lot, and Carenado should be pleased with the result." Have a read of Laurie's review and see if this is an aircraft you would like in your own hanger.

The Bear's Cave - Vol 2 Issue 2

Posted: Saturday, October 11, 2008 - 19:54
Senior contributing reviewer Steve "Bear" Cartwright submits another selection of outstanding freeware available in the AVSIM Library. This Issue of the Bear's Cave looks at The Bristol Beaufighter; the Horten HoIVa; the Piper Archer III; the Gee Bee Air Racer; and Pellston Regional Airport. Thanks Bear, we all look forward to these personal insights and the many more Issues to come.

YMML - Melbourne International Airport from Orbx

Posted: Saturday, October 11, 2008 - 18:52
Senior staff reviewer Angelique van Campen flies to the otherside of her locale to check out Orbx's AU YMML - Melbourne International Airport. "Melbourne Airport is located to the north of the city, next to the suburb of Tullamarine, Victoria. The airport was originally built to replace the outdated Essendon Airport, which did not have facilities to handle Boeing 747 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 aircraft."

"I ticked every option in the control panel including all adjustments in the FSX.cfg file and the result is … very impressive, even with no clouds in the sky. That’s not that strange since the manual and control panel tells you what every impact means and since my system is not the best of the best, I do agree with it. Nevertheless, the airport view and surrounding grass is really great and does reflect a realistic airport."

"I am first impressed by the apron or concrete platform. It looks to me like all of these are digitalized pictures and if it isn’t, then it's unbelievably realistic. My goodness, all the concrete details are visible and not only visible, but also sharp. Touring outside the airport by car is not spectacular until the moment we reach the “simulated” YMML area, I start becoming exited about all the 3D looking cars, the road signs, and there’s even a McDonalds and a BP petrol station. Quickly turning left at the lights, I see the Holiday Inn and the Hilton hotels. I really enjoy the view of this “virtual” outside airport, since I’m not even at the apron."

"What is the scenery covering? It covers the airport scenery, which means of course, all the airport related buildings on and outside of customs. That means you get the passenger and cargo terminals, aprons along all the airport buildings, and highly realistic concrete areas. Furthermore, there are lots of airport vehicles, static and movable ones."

Not only did Angelique expore YMML - Melbourne International Airport inside and outside of the perimeter fences, but she also interviewed John Venema, the Managing Director of Orbx and got detailed answers to the many questions a simmer would like to ask, but never gets the opportunity.

Me-262 from Flight Replicas

Posted: Friday, October 10, 2008 - 19:04
Staff reviewer Nicholas Mathews kicks off his first review with a look at Flight Replicas' Me-262. "The Schwalbe (Swallow); the Sturmvogel (Stormbird); the Turbo. Quite a sleek and swift looking aeroplane with graceful lines, slightly swept wings, unusually mid-mounted horizontal stabilizer, and of course, those low slung under-wing mounted jet engines. What many say to be the first jet powered aircraft."

"The exterior is quite good overall, and the level of detail is rather impressive. Included in the package are the 262A-1a, 262A-1b, 262A-2a, and 262B trainer. There are six different textures included in the package."

"There is no 2D panel provided with the aircraft. I quote the product’s website, “This aircraft has a beautifully rendered [virtual] cockpit that is designed to be flown in at all times. For this reason no 2D panel is included at this time.” The virtual cockpit models are impressively detailed; lots of things to grab your eye and attention. The textures inside the virtual cockpit are good; they please me."

Nicholas goes into detail about this aircraft with the developer and a lot of detailed questions are answered. "What’s my final say?" asks Nicholas, "Overall, Flight Replicas’ Messerschmitt Me-262 package gives a good feel and idea of what it is like to pilot the Me-262. I quite liked the substantial immersion provided by the aircraft histories, detailed virtual cockpit, detailed exterior and noteworthy air-file."

AviaFilms Release The 737 Classic

Posted: Friday, October 10, 2008 - 13:20
AviaFilms Production is proud to release their newest cockpit video Welcome on board the Boeing 737-300 Classic for a midnight return flight in the skies of Italy. Witness how our pilots operate this magnificent aircraft with the aid of analogue type instruments. Beginning the flight with preliminary cockpit preparation and finishing with complete shutdown on both sides of the journey, AviaFilms tried to capture all the most exciting moments of operating a 737 in the 40 minutes of this film. In total: 2 takeoff's and 2 landings in the 737 Classic + 1 landing in the 737EFIS. A special bonus video is also included featuring a 737 motion simulator and 3 landings in an AN-2! The full video and a demo is available at AviaFilms .

Shuttle Mission 2007 Releases New Manuals

Posted: Friday, October 10, 2008 - 13:14
Space Shuttle Mission 2007™ has released a new and updated set of manuals, the new manuals include :corrections and clarifications, updated options and keyboard/joystick commands list as well as support explanations for the Vuzix iWear VR920 stereoscopic HMD. NEW Chapters include "Achieving Mission Orbit", including the GPC OPS 201 and OPS 202 modes explanations, "Using the Digital Auto Pilot" NEW Appendices: EAFB and KSC approach and runway diagrams. Visit SSM2007 for complete details .

Sim-Avionics Flightdeck V 1.03

Posted: Friday, October 10, 2008 - 12:58
Sim-Avionics Release Flightdeck Avionics Version 1.03. Continuing the development on one of the most comprehensive avionics suites for the B777 home cockpit builder, Sim-Avionics now offer something for B737 builders, with a host of new features including the 737 Overhead with logic display motion smoothing additional hardware compatibility, for more information and to download the DEMO visit Sim-Avionics .

PRE-Flight General Dynamics F-111 Available

Posted: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - 13:22
Announcing the General Dynamics F-111 by PRE-Flight RC Simulator. The F-111 was designed in an era where "cost was not an issue" - resulting in an aircraft featuring pioneering and expensive technologies like variable-geometry wings, after burning turbofan engines and terrain-following radar. So advanced was the F-111 that it inspired the fictional aircraft in the "Thunderbirds" series as well as real Soviet swing-wing designs. The design philosophy of the 1960's was overwhelming speed and power (as opposed to the current philosophy of stealth and cost effectiveness), hence the F-111's Mach 2.5 plus speed and nuclear capability was coupled with long range to meet the requirements of both USAF and Navy. This super scale PRE-Flight model of the F-111 has variable-geometry swing-wings, operating landing gear, and twin afterburning jets.

C182 Skylane II Q For FSX Released

Posted: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - 0:58
Carenado has released a new aircraft developed especially for FSX. The traditional C 182 Skylane II Q which was previously developed for FS2004 by the company.

As all of the others FSX releases this aircraft takes advantage of all new features FSX and DX10 allow like cast shadows on VC, external dynamic cast shadows, normal mapping, specular mapping and bloom lights, resulting in a superior representation of this aircraft. With this addition Carenado's full FSX fleet is composed o: Mooney M20J, C206, Piper Cherokee and the new C182Q.

Free Flight Sim Video

Posted: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - 0:46
Jaggyroad Films is pleased to announce the release of their latest non-commercial video which is appropriately named High Stakes. High Stakes has been on and off production since March 2008 and features lots of style, great music and many never seen before effects in a Flight Simulator video. High Stakes has been a labor of love since its inception and highlights many add-ons throughout the Flight Simulator X community. High Stakes comes to the community free of charge for your viewing pleasure. The film is under the Non-Commercial Films. Jaggyroad Films is an independent company which specializes but is not limited to Flight Simulator video production.

Tower Simulator from Wilco Publishing

Posted: Saturday, October 4, 2008 - 16:58
Senior staff reviewer Gene Davis takes on the role of an air traffic controller as he secludes himself inside Wilco Publishing's Tower Simulator. "Tower Simulator comes with 5 different airports and a long list of air traffic ranging from commercial airliners to general aviation aircraft, as well as realistic airline schedules to each of the 5 different airports. The five airports that are included in the Tower Simulator game are: Orange County (KSNA); Chicago O’ Hare (KORD); Princess Juliana (TNCM); Paris Charles de Gaulle (LFPG); and finally Munich (EDDM). Each controller is graded on his or her performance and how well he or she handles certain types of situations after each scenario has ended. Weather can be set prior to each session, as well as the time of day and the number of runways one wants to handle during one setting."

"Upon booting up Tower Simulator I found myself at an old favorite and that was TNCM, and what I first saw was really disappointing. The graphics looking out onto the landscape looked pre-FS9. It was choppy and did not really reflect the beauty of TNCM, at least the beauty that I have come to expect and see often in FSX, or FS9 for that matter! The next step is learning the displays and what each one accomplishes. The first is the ATC window that displays the aircraft in your specific area in flight, the other is a display that shows a diagram of the airport and the third shows the a tape board that illustrates the arriving and departing aircraft and the relevant flight information for each. The other display is actually the control menu, or text command window as I like to call it, and this is where you will spend most of your time!"

"A couple of weeks after doing the above, it was all I could do to even want to get back into Tower Simulator. Tower Simulator had a savior for me though and that was in the form of Voice Buddy. After reading a blurb somewhere about how Voice Buddy would work with Tower Simulator, I found myself on the Voice Buddy Site and downloading the newest version of that particular add-on. I spent a great deal of time trying to make Voice Buddy and Tower Simulator work together and at one point I even went back through the Voice Training just to see if I missed something."

"For a product like this you need something to pull you in and usually it is something like sound that does this. At each location you do have audible environment sounds like cars, birds and ocean, but what is the real catcher, is the sound of the planes landing and taking off. There really should have been more emphasis in the sound department on each individual aircraft, especially the big jets."

"I think the hard core ATC simmers will get past the text commands and will find some enjoyment out of it and see it for what it is. But for the amateur or casual simmer that wants to try something a little different, I think he or she will find themselves in the same boat as I am and on the fence about how he or she feels about Tower Simulator. But the biggest factor has to be that of patience. Learn it, use it and then make a decision."