Real Environment Xtreme Hotfixes for FSX

Posted: Saturday, November 27, 2010 - 0:30
Real Environment Simulations is pleased to announce the release of the hotfixes for the FSX version of REX. Fixes for both the OverDrive and non OverDrive versions included.

1. Inland blue / brown water are now saving the user-selectable coloring settings and loading into FS.
2. Ocean and Tropical water are now saving the user-selectable coloring settings.
3. Fixed flight planner issue with waypoint not configuring correctly off of initial departure airport.
4. Fixed flight planner distance issue with only two waypoints.
5. Fixed flight planner plan file save and reload issue.
6. Fixed code that handles mainthemes.xml file rebuilds.
7. Added feature to restore original Inland Blue/Brown/Ocean/Tropical status if files become corrupt - without forcing user to re-install.

Plan-G V2.0 Released

Posted: Thursday, November 25, 2010 - 14:57
Tim Arnot has released version 2 of his popular freeware Plan-G flight planner. Version 2 includes a new airport viewer, instrument approaches, NOAA weather, KML/KMZ Overlay display, new native file format and much more. Based around Google Maps, Plan-G allows you to create flight plans for FSX and FS9, view airports, navaids and airspace, plus other points of interest, and even acts as a GPS, allowing you to plot your own progress as well as seeing nearby traffic.

P-51D Mustang ‘Cadillac of the Skies’ for FSX Part 1 Released

Posted: Thursday, November 25, 2010 - 14:45
North American's Classic Iconic aircraft takes to the skies with a new and unique series of sets specially designed for FSX. WarbirdSim has restored examples of the P-51D Mustang as they fly today across the world are represented in this series and not detracting from the historical importance of this iconic aircraft either since these are some of the finest representations of the breed.

Using ORIGINAL North American plans and blueprints and working from literally thousands of photographs and sketches incorporating three years of extensive research and development. This is THE enthusiasts definitive version that many have long been waiting for brought to life with loving care and stunning attention to detail. Represented in this definitive work of rare and unique models of the thoroughbread fighter are a host of details from the small but significant to the spectacular. This is as close as you will get to flying the real P-51D in FSX.

The following aircraft are included in this unique and highly-detailed package:
P-51D-30NA - 'Happy Jack's Go Buggy'; P-51D-20NA - 'Upupa Epops'; F-6D-25NT - 'Lil' Margaret'; P-51K-10NT - 'Fragile But Agile'; P-51D-25NT - 'NACA 127'; P-51D-25NA - 'Ferocious Frankie'; and P-51D-25NA - 'Vintage Wings Of Canada'.

EZdok Camera Version 1.17 Released

Posted: Thursday, November 25, 2010 - 1:08
Flight One Software, in partnership with EZdok Software, would like to announce that the newest 1.17 version of EZdok Camera for FSX has now been released. This version offers new direct memory access feature to enhance SimConnect, as well as the ability to exclude a camera from the cycle views. To get the update, or to read more about EZdok Camera, please visit the EZdok Camera product site.

FS Global Ultimate - The Americas

Posted: Thursday, November 25, 2010 - 0:54
FS Global ULTIMATE seamlessly fits into your existing FS Global installation of any version. Alternatively it can be installed as a stand alone into Flight Simulator X or 2004. After that you immediately can take advantage of breathtakingly real looking scenery with a resolution of up to 2m (LOD14!).

FS Global ULTIMATE - The Americas covers the continents of North- and South-America as well as Antarctica. Including of course the US islands like Hawaii, etc ... it does NOT replace FS Global 2010, which will still be availabe for global coverage.

Cairns International Airport from Orbx

Posted: Thursday, November 25, 2010 - 0:39
Orbx has announced the release of YBCS Cairns International Airport. The city of Cairns is a thriving coastal tourist mecca and gateway to Australia's tropical region not only for Australians but for tourists from all over the globe, making Cairns International Airport very busy in terms of traffic. Orbx developer Jarrad Marshall ha recreated the complete airport precinct including the international, domestic and GA terminal areas, tourist and charter operators and freight carriers. Additionally, the entire city of Cairns including the major hotels, marina, foreshore and other POIs are also modeled to provide a very detailed approach to the airport from the south. The scenery also features 7cm/30cm photoreal imagery with full seasonal coloring and custom night lighting and moving traffic. This is the first time Orbx has released an entire large city as part of an airport release with this level of custom modeling.

For more information visit theirProduct Page .

Alsace FS2004 & FSX Released

Posted: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 - 14:56
France VFR is proud to announce its latest release of photo scenery from the collection of Regional VFR: ALSACE VFR regional for both FS2004 and FSX.

It represents an Eastern region of France of 10 000 km² - borders with Germany and Switzerland - with a very high Mesh resolution (LOD13). The scenery is covered by very high quality (2.40 m/pixel) aerial photo scenery that has been reworked for an optimal visual rendition. Specific autogen and extremely detailed 3D objects are provided and optimized for a smooth flight such as the Castles of Haut-Koenigsbourg and the Mont Saint Odile, electric pylons, radar, marinas and river ports along the Rhine . All water-bodies are landable and navigable and transparency is rendered.

The scenery includes 16 airports and airfields with detailed buildings such as Colmar, Strasbourg and Bale Mulhouse , a great variety of VFR landmarks that have been entirely treated in order to provide a good cohesion between objects and photo textures. Precise geo-referenced texture positioning is carried out throughout the scenery to ensure a maximal compatibility with existing and future scenery add-ons for this region (LFSB - Bale Mulhouse and LFST - Strasbourg Eintzhem) scenery already in their Regional Airport collection.

OZx releases Upgrade Package

Posted: Wednesday, November 24, 2010 - 8:08
OZx announces the next upgrade of continuing series of freeware small airfields and scenery. The OZx3.3 Upgrade package and an associated update to the OZx libraries (to version 1.1) includes ten great new airfields in Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

It also features over thirty new photo-real landscape items and landmarks such as minesties, quarries, lakes, prisons and even a not-so-top secret satellite tracking station. Also, the upgrade of certain airfields from previous OZx releases, adding new fencing, vegetation, static aircraft and lighting. This release also contains some documentation, including a tour guide to a round-Tasmania flight, and other goodies.

For more information and to download the upgrades visit More information and downloads are available at the Download Page .

FS Recorder 2.0 released

Posted: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - 17:41
FS Recorder is a freeware add-on for FS2004 and FSX. It allows recording and replaying of flights similar to the FS instant replay (it does not record videos) but with a lot more features, including playback as AI traffic. Furthermore it includes additional camera modes. More information and downloads are available at the FS Recorder Homepage .

Kosrae International from Pacific Islands Simulations

Posted: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 - 0:03
Senior staff reviewer Gene Davis heads to the South Pacific to fly into Pacific Island Simulations' Kosrae International. "Pacific Island Simulations (PIS) has been around for some time and have put out products like the PNG Bush Flying and The Atolls of Tuvalu, both being Pacific Ocean based add-ons. This time around the gang at PIS has introduced us a new island to explore and this island is Kosrae and it is located in the Caroline Islands as part of Federated States of Micronesia."

"The FSX version of Kosrae from Pacific Island Simulation really does present the island to what it looks like in real life. Where Kosrae really shines is from all of the custom scenery objects, sounds, boats and ships that really help bring this add-on to life in FSX. The airport is most impressive, though it only has two parking areas they are large enough to park a 737 or 767."

"The island itself is made up of photo real scenery that has been made to blend into FSX quite well and uses different varieties of autogen for that region of the world to populate the areas that do not use custom objects in and around the island. An island in the Pacific would not be complete without the sound of crashing waves and seagulls and Kosrae from PIS has delivered there as well as you will hear the sounds of crashing waves and seagulls."

"Kosrae is a beautiful island and is now one of my favorite Pacific Island haunts in FSX. I can only say that I am quite envious of those who have been there for real!"

aeroSystems737 Avionics Video Tutorials

Posted: Monday, November 22, 2010 - 14:56
Aerosoft Australia has released 11 video tutorials to go with their avionics software, teaching you how to pilot the 737. Almost 2 hours of high definition videos are available on You Tube that show how to use the systems. Topics are covered step by step at an easy pace and assume you know nothing about the aircraft at all. After viewing the videos you'll be able to fly the systems in their software and understand how to use the PFD, ND, MCP and EFIS displays. You'll also be able to program the FMC with a manually entered flight plan. It's a complex aircraft and more videos are planned, but these first 11 cover enough information to get you flying at a reasonable level.

Free Instrument Trainer Assembly Guide

Posted: Sunday, November 21, 2010 - 17:10
The folks at FlyThisSim understand that everyone has their own preferences on what they want their simulator to look like. With SimAVIO panels, they provide new opportunities to configure your cockpit. In this article, they recommend the most practical cockpit configuration that leverages the advantages of SimAVIO, while having good control on your costs. They list the recommended computer hardware, control hardware, monitor size/resolution, desk dimensions, and details on configuring multiple monitors in Windows and X-Plane. This guide is free and can be downloaded from their website.

Hawaiian Airports Vol 1 from FSDreamTeam

Posted: Saturday, November 20, 2010 - 18:41
Staff reviewer Mike Cameron goes on a tropical vacation to check out FSDreamTeam's Hawaiian Airports Volume 1. "This title contains two airports, Lihue on the island of Kauai and Hilo International airport on the Island of Hawaii."

"FSDreamTeam have included a demo with this product. The timed demo stays on for about six minutes and contains all of the scenery features. After six minutes the demo stops and reverts back to the default FSX scenery. If you need more time to evaluate the scenery, exit and restart FSX and the demo timer starts again."

"The scenery includes everything that you would expect from a medium to large airport. Passenger terminals that are modeled from both the aircraft side and the passenger arrival/departure side, jetways, cargo terminals with cargo containers on the ramp, general aviation facilities with parked aircraft, helicopter area, ground equipment & vehicles, rental car terminal with vehicles, parked cars at both the airport parking & general aviation area, control tower and fire station. Hilo International Airport also includes scenery objects representing the old terminal, tower and military parking facilities on the western side of runway 3-21. Also included are very realistic looking palm trees that you would expect from airports in Hawaii."

"FSDreamTeam has done a lot of things right with Hawaiian Airports Volume 1 and not having all of the ground objects be of the same quality does not detract from a wonderful experience. Of the two airports, I liked Hilo more than Lihue, simply because Hilo is a more unique airport with the included old section of the airport. Lihue is nice but is more modern and looks like a lot of other large airports."

Orbx Release YSCB Canberra Airport

Posted: Saturday, November 20, 2010 - 14:12
Orbx is pleased to announce the release of YSCB Canberra Airport, the Australian Capital City. A very busy airport with GA and commercial operations plus a RAAF Base housing the Prime Minister's government B737. The Orbx version of this airport has been developed by Hugh Johnston of YCNK Cessnock fame. Airport imagery in 15cm/60cm per pixel resolutions have been created using thousands of photos taken onsite. Includes GA area and RAAF Base Fairbairn. Full GA AI traffic support using Orbx FTX AU Traffic. Visit the YSCB Canberra Airport product page for a look at this new release.

Heinkel He-219 For FSX Released

Posted: Friday, November 19, 2010 - 18:35
Heinkel's He 219 Uhu is undoubtedly one of the most advanced aircraft to emerge from World War II. Conceived solely as a gun platform to serve as a defensive night fighter, the plane featured a bubble-top cockpit that was well forward, affording the pilot superb visibility. Combined with the tricycle landing gear, this plane was truly a "pilot's aircraft" and was very easy to fly. It was stable and predictable, exactly what one would expect from a plane with the Uhu's intended purpose. Check out the details, screenshots and video of this aircraft from Aircraft Factory and A2A Simulations.

Just Trains - Bristol to Exeter Released

Posted: Friday, November 19, 2010 - 18:18
The Download and Boxed editions of the eagerly awaited Bristol to Exeter route for RailWorks and RailWorks 2 are now available.

More good news, Just Trains is also now a recognized YouTube partner with its own channel. You can now see the Bristol to Exeter promo videos along with a number of other Just Trains videos.

Active Sky Evolution from HiFi Simulations

Posted: Friday, November 19, 2010 - 5:46
Staff reviewer Alan Bradbury plays weatherman as he manipulates his flight environment with HiFi Simulations' Active Sky Evolution. "The culmination of many iterations of Active Sky over the years, which first showed up in 2002, Active Sky Evolution is thus well named, being a finely-honed product thanks to all the previous work it is born from. This is a major step up in terms of realism to enhance the weather depiction, which is exactly what HiFi’s Active Sky Evolution is about."

"Despite the massive capabilities of ASE and what is going on under the hood, this means it could not be simpler to get into. So you find there is an extremely powerful tool at your fingertips, which is not only childishly simple to use, but also very pleasant to look at."

"Power is nothing without control, but Active Sky Evolution manages to make such powerful abilities easy to master and is flexible to implement in that you can cherry pick just how much or how little you want it to do for you. As such, it is readily apparent that the many years HiFi have spent in honing Active Sky versions, has resulted in a masterful ability to offer such complexities in a brilliantly user-friendly fashion."

New on Avsim Store: Carenado V35B Bonanza

Posted: Thursday, November 18, 2010 - 15:58
The V35B Bonanza for FSX is the latest release from Carenado.
The V35B is a high performance single engine that can be easily recognized thanks to its unique V-Tail design.
The Carenado V35B is a highy detailed model for FSX with a high resolution virtual cockpit and accurate performances.


Visit the Avsim Store today

Have You Watched "Ice Pilots"?

Posted: Thursday, November 18, 2010 - 14:57
Just Planes is very please to welcome Buffalo Airways to the World Air Routes series and the DC-4 for the very first time. Buffalo is the 227th airline to join the series and a statement that classic aircraft are still a part of airline operations today! The program includes a takeoff and flight with an engine shut off and many other exciting views of Buffalo's operation. The more than 4 hour program includes a flight to the Nortern Canadian Arctic region. The Curtis C-46 is also featured on this DVD.

Lelystad FSWeekend Report

Posted: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - 1:08
Staff reviewers Angelique van Campen and Benjamin van Soldt travel a short distance from their homes to attend the Lelystad FSWeekend (Nov 6-7, 2010) and represent AVSIM. Here's their recall of the weekend.