Freeware Eurocopter 135

Posted: Friday, September 17, 2010 - 14:40
There is a new freewareproject for helifans. Developers of the ICARO Group have worked hard on this new Eurocopter 135 for FS9 with a new VC, Photopainting and Sounds. This EC 135 has more detail than the Heiko Richter Model from the past. For further information, check out the website.

New International Terrain Mesh

Posted: Friday, September 17, 2010 - 5:39
FSGenesis has begun the release of a new international terrain mesh product line derived from the 30m ASTER GDEM dataset. The first two countries of this new product line, Israel and Lebanon are freeware and may be downloaded from the FSGenesis store without charge. Three additional products, Jordan, Syria and Iraq, are now available for purchase and immediate download, for both FS2004 and FSX.

These products are compiled at 19m horizontal resolution (LOD11) with a vertical resolution of .5m. More countries will be coming online on a regular basis, so check back often. While the ASTER GDEM dataset is not nearly as mature and refined as, say, the NED, CDED, or SRTM source data, with proper preprocessing and massaging, it can still create high-quality, high-resolution terrain mesh products for areas outside of North America. For more information, purchase, and downloads simply go to FSGenesis.

Spitfire Mk XIV Released

Posted: Friday, September 17, 2010 - 5:36
PRE-Flight RC Simulator is pleased to announce the release of the PRE-Flight Spitfire Mk XIV for free download. The Supermarine Spitfire is a plane that needs no introduction. Credited with winning the Battle of Britain and changing the course of history, the legendary Spitfire was truly one of the most famous icons of WWII.

Garmin G1000 for X-Plane

Posted: Thursday, September 16, 2010 - 19:19
Fly This Sim has released their latest version of the FTS1000 Garmin G1000 for Xplane, REV2 adds a flight management system, GPS guidance for WAAS LPV, LNAV, and LNAV+V approaches, over 100 aural warnings and failures, GFC-700 autopilot, current nav data (now includes Alaska!) The upgrade is FREE to current users.
Visit the Fly This Sim Flight Simulator Avionics homepage for a look at the features in the FTS1000 Garmin G1000 package.

Multi Switch Panel From VRinsight and Wilco Publishing

Posted: Thursday, September 16, 2010 - 14:07
VRinsight and Wilco Publishing have released a new module, fully compatible with most simulators available on the market,the Multi Switch Panel.
The Multi Switch Panel is a compact unit to control any function available from ALL simulators and games capable of handling joystick inputs.
Features :
· Plug & Play installation. No driver required.
· Compatible with : Microsoft Flight Simulator X & 2004, Falcon 4, IL-2 Sturmovik, Black Shark, Lock ON, X-Plane, Ship Sim Extremes, Space Shuttle,...
· Full metal case
· Backlit buttons
· Numerous programmable push buttons and toggle switches
Visit the Multi Switch Panel product page for further details.

Carenado Releases M20J 201 for X-Plane

Posted: Thursday, September 16, 2010 - 0:35
This aircraft comes with three different paint schemes plus a blank texture. The Standard model is Polygon optimized and has four places and has IFR certification.

The model includes: Interactive virtual cockpit; Full moving parts: Ailerons, elevators, rudders, flaps and trim tab; Animated Cowl Flaps; Rolling wheels; Opening doors; Animated Sun Visor; Navigation lights, beacons, landing lights; Custom sounds; and a 3D pilot. Other details include: pitot pressure chamber, antennas, fuel caps, yoke, moving key ring and moving radio cable; Custom panel and gauges; Toggle yoke at VC; Normal Procedures; Emergency Checklist; Autopilot quick reference manual; and Performance tables.

The Carenado M20J 201 is for X-Plane 9.5 (or higher) and operates on Windows 7, Vista, XP, MAC OS 10.3.9 (or higher) and Linux.

Mountain Flying In Switzerland

Posted: Thursday, September 16, 2010 - 0:25
Vertical Studios celebrates strong positive feedback on Mountain Flying in Switzerland; "I have pretty well ignored missions as I saw them as too gamey. Wow! This mission far exceeded any of my expectations" and "What a marvelous product: professional to the core lending to a heightened flightsimming experience!".

Vertical Studios offers the FSX add-on market a unique benefit; real-world, ultra-high-quality FSX add-on missions by FAA certified pilot and Avsim is proud to report the company's first product, A380 Birthday Surprise, is the most downloaded mission (over 9,000 times) from our very own file library. Take this opportunity to enjoy Mountain Flying in Switzerland. To get a preview of what to expect, visit their YouTube channel.

Andras Field Continues To Grow

Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 0:55
Andras Field, Microsoft Flight Simulator´s first virtual Airfield and Airpark, has been growing ever since it the foundations were laid in July 2010. This surprising add-on for Flight Simulator X represents a fictional Airport in Southern Bavaria (located close to the Alps and in easy reach of Northern Italy, Switzerland, Austria) with an Airpark. The customers who buy the add-on have the option to also buy a plot on the Airpark, build their own house and hangar on it and call it their home inside the great Flight Simulation world.

Real Environment Xtreme Service Pack 3 for FS2004

Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 0:53
Real Environment Simulations is pleased to announce the release of Service Pack 3 for the FS2004 version of REX. Fixes include handling of flight planner aircraft information import, distance reading of small flight plans in the flight planner, URL data pull issues for the Metar/Pireps/TAFS reports from server, WASys crash if TAF is not found on main REX interface, core Weather Engine features in regards to icing and turbulence, ocean wave texture fix, and prepares application structure for the upcoming free REX Overdrive texture update.

"This update is required for the installation of the upcoming REX OverDrive texture update. Even if the user is not taking advantage of all REX features, folks will still be required to update in order to install REX OverDrive" states Tim Fuchs.

FSAddon Publishing Helps to Continue Legacy

Posted: Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 0:43
As many readers will already know, Ian 'Thatch' Thatcher sadly passed away on Saturday 28th of August, 2010. With him yet another one of the icons of Flight Simulator add-on development and freeware support was lost. His widow, Tracey, has expressed the desire to keep Ian's work and dream alive and continue his famous FS-Shipyards website.

FSAddon Publishing is happy to announce that they will be supporting Tracey to achieve her goal to continue the FS-Shipyards.org website and serve her community.

FS-Shipyards.org is Ian's original site dedicated to ship and naval simulation based upon Microsoft's Flight Simulator franchise and provides free ship model downloads and a forum for developers and shipping enthusiasts. It has done so for many years, and, with your help, will continue to do so for many more years to come.

Ian, who was also known under other names such as Andy Weir and Thomas Trewin and publishing FS add-ons under those names, set up this site many years ago to further the development of the shipping aspect in the sim. He built a considerable community around it. Ian was also a member of the Golden Wings Gang, among other things providing landclass for 'Golden Hawai' and working with Bill Lyons. Many of Ian's source files for ships will remain available for free on the FS-Shipyards download pages for others to use and learn building ships.

FSAddon Publishing, as one of the world's smaller but top quality add-on publishers, supports other freeware and commercial developers and sites and is also currently involved in a major shipping project for FSX.

2 More Just Planes DVDs Reviewed

Posted: Friday, September 10, 2010 - 21:39
Staff reviewer Marlon Carter looks at 2 more instructional videos from Just Planes, Polar Cargo and Baboo.

"Polar Air Cargo DVD starts off with a rare view of a flight from JFK to Atlanta. While on the 747-400 the pilots provided a very thorough explanation of the instrumentation and the scenery from the cockpit is nothing short of stunning as you are transported from your living room to destinations such as South Korea, Tokyo, Brazil and much more. This DVD provides a wonderful view of the day to day lives of cargo pilots on the job."

"Baboo takes viewers to very interesting destinations such as Greece, France, Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria. One of the highlights for me was the breath taking view from the cockpit as both the E190 and Dash8 climbed and descended through snow covered mountainous regions. This DVD is a must for anyone who is a fan of the E190s or the Dash 8 400."

"These DVDs are jam packed with useful information and with cockpit presentations that are clear and understandable for all pilots whether real world or virtual."

More Aerosoft products added to the Avsim Store

Posted: Friday, September 10, 2010 - 16:13
The Avsim store is pleased to provide a full line of FSX titles from Aerosoft. You will find planes like the Discuss X, the Airbus A300 and the PBY Catalina. On the scenery side you will find a full line of US Cities (San Francisco, Chicago, etc.) as well as many airports for FSX.
To see all Aerosoft products at the store go there now..
Visit the Avsim Store today

It’s Your Plane Version 4.1.0.200

Posted: Friday, September 10, 2010 - 15:09
It’s Your Plane has been enhanced with many new features to make IYP sim flying even easier and more fun for sighted and blind pilots alike. Summaries of a few of the most important features are listed below and more can be found on the It’s Your Plane Homepage
• Perform Fuel Loading Operations!
Designed specifically to assist our Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) pilots, IYP’s Co-pilot can be instructed to auto-load the necessary fuel for a trip; obviously, sighted pilots can also take advantage of this new feature. The IYP system "learns" your set up and adjusts the values over time in order to optimize its performance and accuracy.

• Maximizing Fuel Efficiency
As part of the Takeoff, Climbout, and Descent checklists for jetliners, you can ask your First Officer to maintain an optimized airspeed throughout the flight, automatically increasing and decreasing both airspeed and vertical speed in order to maximize fuel efficiency

For complete details visit the It’s Your Plane Homepage.

HD Environment 2010 Service Release 2

Posted: Friday, September 10, 2010 - 15:02
SceneryPRO Software announces Service Release 2 for HD Environment 2010. HDE2010 SR2 uses even higher definition textures with virtually lossless image compression to greatly enhance the overall visual appearance of Microsoft® Flight Simulator® 2004, replacing the default environmental, autogen, airport and runway textures with ultra-sharp, ultra-realistic HD textures that drastically improve visual realism with no adverse frame-rate effects whatsoever. Flight Simulator 2004 lives on with HD Environment 2010 Service Release 2 by SceneryPRO Software. For more info please visit the HDE 2010© Website .

New Just Flight Releases

Posted: Friday, September 10, 2010 - 14:56
Just Flight has released a number of additions to their current product line with a new Livery Upgrade Pack for the recently released MD-81/82 Jetliner that includes 17 high-quality liveries for both the Download and the Boxed version.
Wildcat & Martlet Pack C for FSX is now available for download, this fourth Wildcat & Martlet Pack for FSX features different Wildcat and Martlet livery variants a total of six aircraft: F4F-3 (1), F4F-4 (1), Martlet Mk I (2) and Martlet Mk IV (2).
Just Flight also would like to thank all attendees of FLIGHT SIM 2010 and have posted a series of pictures of the event at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

Military Visualizations Cessna 310R

Posted: Friday, September 10, 2010 - 14:32
Military Visualizations, through an exclusive release agreement with Flight One Software, has released the Cessna 310R for FSX.
The 310 first flew in 1954, and remained in production until 1980. Over the years, many models and modifications were made and the aircraft was flown by many around the world. The model depicted in this package is the C310R. It has 2 IO-520-M engines producing 285hp each, 3 bladed Hartzell propellers and an assortment of cockpit/avionics suites. The aircraft is VFR/IFR capable and is suitable for entry level as well as the experienced pilot.

The C310R's model depicted in this package is a highly detailed replica of its real-life counterpart. The model was created by using high quality digital photos and sounds taken from a C310R owned by one of the contributors to the project.

The aircraft has a max range of 1511 nautical miles, and a top speed of 207 knots so you can travel far and fast with ease. Other outstanding features of this aircraft are:

-3 different VC setups one of which is fully customizable using your own gauge sets
-5 different liveries
-High resolution paint kit
-Highly detailed Pilots Operating Handbook: 116 pages written by a real pilot and includes all performance charts and figures. If you choose to, you can fly by the numbers, or fly as casual as you wish!
-High quality sound set recorded from a real Cessna 310R, and programmed by Turbine Sound Studios.
-Extremely realistic night lighting, landing lights and custom effects.
-Flight dynamics tested and tuned by a real C310R pilot as well as other pilots. The aircraft flies just like its real world counterpart!
-Avionics suites include but are not limited to: Garmin GTX 330, Garmin GNS 430, Garmin GNS 530, EDM 700 and any other 3rd party add-on avionics that you have purchased that you wish to install!
-2D panel available (16:9 only).
-Aircraft features an exterior model manager that enables you to install/remove red gear, chocks, and show/hide the pilot (from external view only).
-Ability to hide the yoke in 3D VC, or 2D cockpit enabling the pilot to access certain switches normally obscured from view by the yoke.
-Several functional opening doors, compartments and functional inflatable main door seal.

For information and previews visit the Cessna 310R Product Page.

Andras Field from Aerosoft

Posted: Thursday, September 9, 2010 - 22:11
Staff reviewer Mike Cameron looks at a different kind of scenery package from Aerosoft....Andras Field. "Andras Field is an experimental scenery title, a fictional airport located in Southern Bavaria, close to the Swiss and Austrian Border. After purchasing the product, Aerosoft would like you to become part of an online social community. This is done with the Andras Field community website and forum. A major part of the social experience is the airpark. When you purchase the scenery many of the airpark plots are unoccupied. Aerosoft plans to sell the various plots from time to time to Andras Field owners for real money."

"Aerosoft has done a wonderful job with this scenery. Every ground object that you would think would be included at a regional airport and airpark is included with the scenery package. All of the objects are hand placed and the textures are very good looking and have a three dimensional look to them."

"As for the airport itself, all of the scenery objects that you would expect are included. There are the usual parked aircraft & cars, hangers with & without aircraft parked inside, flying school, other general aviation related buildings, a restaurant and much more. The old military section of the airport, the glider & helicopter areas and the seaplane base have all been included with excellent looking scenery objects. Night lighting with Andras Field scenery is also very impressive."

"Aerosoft’s Andras Field is a fantastic scenery package that is reasonably priced and is constantly being upgraded with new scenery objects. The sense of community is what really makes the Andras Field scenery so impressive. Even if you decide not to purchase property in the airpark, I encourage you to become part of the online community."

LFSB - Bale-Mulhouse For FS9 and FSX

Posted: Thursday, September 9, 2010 - 5:26
FranceVFR is proud to announce their latest product release from the collection of French Regional Airports : LFSB - Bale-Mulhouse (Dpt68 - France). This airfield represents an extremly detailed French Regional airport located in Eastern France. It includes high-definition ground textures as well as night textures. The scenery covers about 50 km2 in FSX / 100 km2 in FS9 and adds to the airport an extended photorealistic area including specific autogen and nearby road traffic.

The scenery can be used as a standalone product or in addition to the Alsace VFR scenery (scheduled release: mid September 2010) without any adaptation. Due to its specific conception, the scenery is entirely compatible with any mesh of your choice.

Audio Environment (Airliner Edition) from Flight 1

Posted: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 - 19:46
Senior staff reviewer Angelique van Campen brings new sounds to her ears with Flight 1's Audio Environment (Airline Edition), developed by Turbine Sound Studios. "Many users dislike flying the default aircraft that come with FSX as they seem unrealistic and dull compared to the complex airliner add-ons available. Improving the sound sets for these aircraft adds a tremendous depth to the realism and immersion, giving these aircraft a whole new life."

"Everybody knows Turbine Sound Studios (TSS) for their high quality sound sets that they provide for many third party add-on aircraft. Knowing this, Flight1 and TSS started to collaborate on a project to give an auditory upgrade to FSX. TSS would provide the sounds for the main FSX airliners and Flight1 would provide the interface to control the backup of the default sounds and installation of the new sound sets."

"The default aircraft that Audio Environment (Airliner Edition) applies to are the B737-800, B747-400, Airbus A321, Bombardier CRJ700 and the Learjet 45. Having worked in the real world industry, remembering those real sounds tells me that this “Airliner” sound (and AI sound) package is worth your investment."

Real Environment Xtreme OverDrive Released

Posted: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 - 14:16
Real Environment Simulations is pleased to announce the release of REX OverDrive a 9.9GB FREE High Definition texture upgrade for REX FSX available to all current REX/FSX customers. REX users will be able to expand their FSX experience with hundreds of free high definition textures for all areas REX has made improvements in, and will be user-scalable for the FPS conscious pilot .
All REX customers who wish to update to OverDrive will need to make sure they have REX Service Pack 3 installed prior to the OverDrive install process. Visit the REX OverDrive Homepage.