PBY-5A Catalina from Abacus

Posted: Monday, May 19, 2008 - 19:47
Staff reviewer Laurie Aston climbs aboard Abacus' PBY-5A Catalina and makes the long transition from seaborne taxi to airborne flight. "The PBY Catalina was an American flying boat which started its life in the 1930’s and was developed for the 1940’s. Even today, over 70 years after its maiden flight, the aircraft continues to fly in a demanding role as an aerial firefighting tanker in operations all over the world."

"The Aircraft is very nicely detailed and finished, it flies very well and simulates its lumbering, hauling nature perfectly. It is very robust and although sensitive to roll and pitch, hauls around a 180 degree turn very sedately. The Pratt and Whitney Engines are very well depicted. The cowlings housing the Twin Wasps are perfectly formed, the propellers are correctly labeled and tipped and the retractable landing gear is a delight to watch during extend or retract mode."

"The Panels are very well detailed and function well. With a choice of Either a 2D Cockpit or a Virtual Cockpit, and including at least three other stations, there is plenty to keep you busy. The 2 twin wasp P&W Radial engines sound really good, especially when the throttles are in takeoff mode, which means that the sound man has got the acoustics and realism just right. The sounds roaring off those two big engines really rumbles right through you."

Floating this aircraft back onto the water's surface, Laurie summarizes Abacus' PBY-5A Catalina with, "This product is a worthy addition to anyone’s “hangar” and for versatility, it is a very useful aircraft with a steady speed range and a slow climb rate. For training purposes it is an ideal craft. For plying between the Caribbean Islands, where both water and land runways can be used, or other water covered areas of your choice, this is an ideal workhorse. This aircraft looks good, feels good and is good."

Live In The Washington, DC Area?

Posted: Monday, May 19, 2008 - 13:47
AVSIM.com is looking for one, or several, computer, network and hardware gurus. This is a PAID "emergency" position. In the event of a serious hardware failure, the chosen candidates would be tasked with heading to our Network Operations Center (NOC) in the Herndon, VA area to take care of business.

Applicant must have own, reliable transportation to and from the NOC. You must also hold some sort of certification with A++ or hardware certifications. YOU MUST live within a 15 - 30 minute driving distance. (metro DC or Herndon, VA areas is ok also.)

Now that we have the specifics out of the way, you'd also be joining a winning team at AVSIM. You would be our "go-to" person on site when things really go bad! Occasionally we also make hardware upgrades and you'd be a part of that too!

If this interests you, and you fit the requirements, please send an email with a resume and an intro letter to Human Resources, AVSIM. Pay will be discussed at time of hiring and will be on an hourly, "as needed only" rate. IN other words, if we call you, the clock starts ticking!

Thanks in advance to all that apply, and for continuing to make AVSIM the premier simulation website!

Review - 2 Environment Add-ons from Flight 1

Posted: Sunday, May 18, 2008 - 4:10
Staff reviewer Angelique van Campen takes on a huge challenge as she looks at Flight 1's Ground Environment X - USA/Canada and Ultimate Terrain X - Europe/USA/Canada and layers them separately and in combination with each other on top of the default FSX environment.

"The main features of Ground Environment X - USA & Canada editions are:
- Complete coverage of the United States of America and Canada,
- 1m/pixel, 1024 x 1024 Texture Size - Hand Crafted To eXtreme Detail,
- High Performance, eXtreme Density and Perfectly Aligned Autogen,
- Realistic Custom Designed Accompanying Night Textures,
- All Seasons,
- Fine tuning add-ons and ongoing updates and enhancements will be made available through the built-in update feature, based on customer feedback."

"Ultimate Terrain X - Europe/USA/Canada changes and modifies:
- All the roads; every available road from the chosen commercial navigation data set, with each road accurately placed to match its real-world location,
- Enhanced railroads; greatly enhanced railroads, including rail-yards,
- Spectacular night lighting; a new night lighting environment unlike anything else on the market. It adds actual 3D points of light to simulate street lights and automobiles (a functionality seen only in professional flight simulators, until now),
- Detailed oceanic coastlines; plus islands, lakes, rivers and streams. No more roads over water,
- Accurate landclass; better representation of metropolitan areas,
- Detailed land polygons; parks, golf courses, and cemeteries are much better represented. Their boundaries will align with the road boundaries, just like you see them on high quality mapping services and GPS units."

Angelique's review of these products goes into great details of how they will affect your flying environment, how to gt the most from these products and tips and hints about their installation with help from the product developers themselves. It's not just a matter of purchasing all of these environmental add-ons and start loading them in in any order you choose. It is a long read, but highly recommended should you either own these products or are considering adding them to your FSX software collection.

Angelique wraps up her look at Flight 1's Ground Environment X - USA/Canada and Ultimate Terrain X - Europe/USA/Canada with, "My general impression about these products and their interaction gives a huge and impressive impact on the default FSX ground textures, landclass modifications and water textures. UTX and GEX work perfectly together, and apart of a view minor items they give us flight simmers a highly realistic VFR and IFR flight environment. These products altogether change the way how FSX looks, the change of the ground textures/scenery is really great."

Space Shuttle Mission 2007 - FREE add-on

Posted: Sunday, May 18, 2008 - 2:04
STS-27 began on December 2, 1988 with the launch of Atlantis, and was concluded on December 6, 1988 after a little more than 4 days in orbit, making it one of the shortest Space Shuttle missions. During launch, the Space Shuttle Atlantis was hit by the cone of the right SRB's which resulted in serious, but not fatal damage to the thermal tiles. The extent of the damage was discovered only after a successful landing and it was considered a miracle that the damage missed a few critical locations that would have ended the mission in a disaster similar to the STS-107.

The mission purpose and payload are still classified but it is speculated that the purpose was to deploy an extremely sophisticated spy sat with extreme surveillance capabilities, impressive even by today's standards. The Lacrosse 1 satellite was the first "dark" DoD sat and orbited Earth at an inclination of 57 deg and apogee/perigee of 426.28/408.26km respectively, with an orbital period of 93.4 minutes. Lacrosse 1 was deorbited around 1997 and replaced with more advanced versions launched from Vandenberg AFB and Cape Canaveral on Titan IV platforms.

The sat was deployed manually using the RMS in a procedure similar to the Hubble launch, a fact that earned Mission Specialist Astronaut Mike Mullane (who operated the RMS) and the crew, the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement.

In the best SSM2007 tradition, the STS-27 free add-on allows budding Virtual Astronauts to experience the launch, on-orbit including the deployment of the Lacrosse 1 spy sat, and return to Earth by manually landing the Atlantis at the Edwards AFB.
The Space Shuttle Mission 2007™ is available online in downloadable format at the SSM2007 official website.

KATL Atlanta for FS2004 Released

Posted: Sunday, May 18, 2008 - 1:22
ImagineSim has just released their latest airport for FS2004 - Atlanta Intl. KATL is the world's busiest airport handling an incredible 90 million passengers each year. It also has more non-stop flights and serves more destinations than any other airport in the world.

This scenery add-on features custom made 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 with an interactive docking system to park you right on your mark, taxiways with highly realistic concrete textures, full airport taxiway and runway signage, 3D approach lighting and full ILS navigation. Also included are hundreds of airport vehicles and ground personnel, aircraft can be found parked at custom textured parking positions, all hangers, cargo and airport auxiliary buildings are modeled, there is even a perimeter fence.

It's available now at the ImagineSim website along with screenshots and a demo version.

Fokker 70-100 Released

Posted: Friday, May 16, 2008 - 22:43
Flight One Software, in partnership with Digital Aviation is excited to announce today the immediate availability of Digital Aviation’s Fokker 70-100 Simulation featuring the Fokker 70 and 100 Jet Airliners. This product is simultaneously released for both FSX and FS2004.

This simulation focuses on accuracy in systems simulation with very few system limitations. Due to high demand in Europe (this product has been in long term development there), currently this product is released only with the 2D panel configurations, so therefore Flight One considers this an “Early Adopters” version. There is no Virtual Cockpit in this release, as development over the years has focused highly on the aircraft and flight modeling systems. Also, the FSX version is not compatible with the DX10 preview setting. However, Digital Aviation understands the desire for Virtual Cockpits and DX10 preview compatibility, and they are working on an updated FSX DX10 compatible model now with VC, as well as a VC version for FS9. These would all be a free update to all Early Adopter purchasers should it become available.

The main goal for this product is to simulate every system in the Fokker 70 and 100 aircraft. 4 years of development so far have made this one of the most advanced simulations to date. This plane must be flown very much like the real world version that is flying with many airlines today.

Florian Praxmarer, lead developer and project manager, states “After 4 years of hard development we are proud to deliver this simulation to the community. We have gone to great lengths to make this a complete systems replication. We believe this is validated by the fact that real-world aviation training companies have even taken an interest in this product.”

Package Summary:
- Simulation of Fokker 100 and Fokker 70 airliners.
- Detailed panel systems simulation (2D only at this time) – includes Captain and F/O (First Officer) views.
- Precise Flight Dynamics with special interpretation of your computers joystick/yoke for the most accurate feel possible.
- Highly detailed exterior visual model.
- Custom sound set with many expanded sound features.
- Detailed documentation and tutorials.
- Load Manager and Fuel Planner.
- Compatible with Microsoft Flight Simulator 9.1 (installs FSUIPC)
- Compatible with Microsoft Flight Simulator X SP2 or ACC pack (installs FSUIPC4). The FSX version is not compatible with the DX10 preview at this time. The FS9 version will work with DX10.

A complete rundown of all the features and system specs can be found at the Flight One Fokker 70 / 100 Simulation webpage.

Livery Expansion Pack 1 for Tu-154M AI Project FSX

Posted: Friday, May 16, 2008 - 22:35
DBS AI/Simlandmarks announces that this expansion pack contains; livery DDS bitmap files, Aeroflot-Don summer 2008 flight plans, UTair summer 2008 flight plans, an updated aircraft.cfg, updated specular DDS bitmap files for Aeroflot and Rossiya livery and a panel.cfg file to allow user to load the AI model as a user flyable aircraft.

Avidyne Student for FSX Released

Posted: Friday, May 16, 2008 - 1:53
Flight1 Aviation Technologies is pleased to announce that their Avidyne Student Simulator is now available for Flight Simulator X users. The Avidyne Student Simulator emulates the Avidyne Entegra series flight deck system in detail and allows students and pilots to practice procedures and familiarize themselves with the system. The software allows you to maintain proficiency in the privacy of your home or flight school at a fraction of the cost of the real aircraft. The new CD version release contains both the FS2004 and FSX versions. For more information, visit Flight 1 Aviation Technologies.

777 Flightdeck Avionics Suite Released

Posted: Friday, May 16, 2008 - 1:51
Sim-Avionics is proud to announce the release of their Boeing 777 Flightdeck Avionics Suite for home cockpit builders and Flight Simulator enthusiasts. Designed to run on multiple PC's in various configurations interfacing with FS2004 or FSX via FSUIPC or Wideclient the product offers a complete avionics solution.

A time limited demo version is available for download. Features include: Fully Integrated Solution; no additional avionic software needed, Complex Systems Modelling, easy I/O Interfacing with FSUIPC Offsets (Supported by most I/O hardware), panel Simulator for users without overhead hardware and much more. Visit Sim Avionics for more information.

New Staff Reviewers Wanted

Posted: Friday, May 16, 2008 - 0:08
Once again AVSIM is searching for new staff reviewers. We have had to let some of our review staff go due to their inability to meet their voluntary commitments. Yes, these positions are voluntary but they do have some perks. Firstly, you get to be a part of the #1 fan-based simming website.

If you feel that you can produce reviews that match the skills of Sr reviewers like Gene, Zane, Jeff and David; as well as staff reviewers Laurie, Robert, Etienne and Angelique, then we want you as part of our team.

This job is not for the younger crowd who spend a lot of time behind the stick, but doesn't quite have the writing skills of a seasoned technical writer (unless you're a journalism major). You should be able to write detailed, technical, well researched, unbiased reviews about the products that AVSIM provides you to review. You should be able to dedicate at least 15 hrs+ to flying the product and push every button to let your fellow simmer know what the product is all about. Afterall, many fellow simmers rely on your opinion as to whether this is the product they have been waiting for.

You will be expected to produce a review at least every 4-6 weeks, but if you want to do more, there are products just waiting for you. For further details or to have any of your questions answered, contact the Reviews Editor and/or submit a sample review of something in your inventory in the style you have seen here on the AVSIM website. (Word documents are fine, no editing on your part required)

Fly The Md-11 X Now Available.

Posted: Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 23:47
Perfect Flight announces the availability of the long waited Fly The MD-11 X. Product now includes both FS2004 and FSX Version and comes as download or Boxed version. Fly The Md-11 have been one of the FS2004's best seller and you have now the opportunity to add this amazing plane in your FSX fleet!

Product features includes
• 2 Gmax Model (Passengers and Cargo)
• Detailed 3d textures
• Full moving parts including: Flaps, Rudder, Ailerons, Spoilers, Gear, Passenger Doors, Cargo hatches, Reversers, Virtual Cockpit Controls
• Full night lighting inside and out • Strobes and beacons set to Boeing specifications
• MD-11 panel 3D Virtual Cockpit (passenger cabin included)
• Very realistic engines stereo sounds
• External views includes: Right and Left Side , Landing Gear, Tail, Right and Left Wing
• 35 Liveries: Aeroflot Cargo, Delta Airlines Old, World Airlines, Vasp Airlines, Varig Airlines, Thay Airlines, Swiss Airlines, Saudi Arabian Cargo, Perfect Flight, Martinair, WOW Lufthansa Cargo, Korean Air, KLM, JAL, House Color, Ghana, Gemini, Garuda, Finnair Old, Fedex, Eva Air Cargo, City Bird, China Airlines, Alitalia, American Airlines, Ups, Fedex Panda Express, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Delta Airlines New Colors, Finnair New Colors, Shanghai Airlines Cargo, Transmile, China Cargo, Martinair Cargo, Lufthansa Cargo
• Missions / Adventures - Product also includes 12 Missions / Adventures (for both FSX and FS2004 version).
Missions gives you more realistic flight experience recreating a real word ambience with Complete Ai/ATC interaction; Speed restriction; Complete Cabin Announcement; gear, flaps, parking brakes, warnings. Check Lists Procedures (pre-start, taxi, before t/o, after t/o, descend, landing, parking) Speeds Call, 80 Knt,V1, Vr, V2, flaps, gear, GPWS, Radar Altimeter, Flight Briefing and more. Missions gives you more realistic flight experience recreating a real word ambience.
• Charts Book - Pintable Chart Book have been included in the package with all Approach and Airport charts to use in the missions (also available in the Start Menu)
• Printed User Guide Boxed Version)

For more info, a video preview and screeshots visit the new Perfect Flight’s Simulshop Store.

Shockwave Productions Inc Now Air to Air Simulations Inc

Posted: Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 6:04
Air to Air Simulations states that its name change was triggered by reports of customer confusion between Shockwave Productions and a popular online gaming website known as Shockwave. In effort to better serve their customers and avoid any further confusion, a company name change was in order.

“Our reputation was built with a passion for flight. After many years of hard work and dedication, we now have a brand name, “Shockwave,” that is synonymous with quality throughout our flight simulation community. The other Shockwave preceded us and the larger we grow, the more likely customer confusion would occur between two different companies. Our team is excited to announce Air to Air Simulations as it better identifies who we are and what we do,” said Scott Gentile of Air to Air Simulations Inc.

Look for A2A at its new website. The company customers grew to rely on for quality flight simulation will continue without pause. A2A continues to use their own Merlin air combat engine to create the most authentic flight simulations. The Merlin Air Combat engine boasts authentic physics and the most advanced artificial intelligence in the industry. Additionally, A2A has a team that develops ground-breaking technology and aircraft for the latest and greatest Microsoft Flight Simulator X and 2004.

“Much of our team’s energy has been focused on the creation of a new line of aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator X called, “Wings of Silver.” This line is built with an all-new core simulation technology called “Accu-Sim” which boasts the type of realism we have only been able to wish for, until now. Accu-Sim comes with a long list of never before seen features for a flight simulation. Our Boeing Stratocriuser, which has been built using Accu-Sim technology, represents a quantum leap over anything we’ve done prior. This plane has to be seen, felt, and heard to be believed” commented Lewis Bloomfield of Air to Air Simulations Inc

During the last year, Shockwave Productions has released several products including two highly accurate aircraft native to Microsoft Flight Simulator X: the Wings of POWER II P40 and the B17 Flying Fortress. Air to Air Simulations will continue its standard, which is the pursuit of excellence. The change in name will not affect the quality its customers have come to expect from this flight simulation leader. Look for Air to Air to release some of its most ambitious products ever later this year.

FTX AU Gold Released

Posted: Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 5:59
Orbx is proud to announce the release of the next installment of its FTX franchise for Flight Simulator X. The second of the FTX AU regions, GOLD Subtropical East, encompasses South East Queensland and is a VFR flyer's dream. AU GOLD sports some of the most enjoyable terrain to fly over in the simulator. Crammed full of small airfields and with a very diverse geography, you'll experience rainforests, the outback fringes, hinterland ranges, lush rural landscapes, spectacular tropical waters and offshore islands to explore, all with that typical Queensland look and feel with full custom autogen. Visit Brisbane International Airport, Brisbane city and northwards along to the Sunshine Coast and the city of Rockhampton. South you'll discover the vibrant Gold Coast, the hip metropolis of Surfers Paradise with its highrise skyline and home of the Indycar race and rich pastural farming areas, all superbly rendered with unique crops such as sugar cane. FTX BLUE and GOLD regions are available to purchase now from ftxnow.com - The website site has many screenshots, videos and technical data on the product range. The next region pack, FTX AU GREEN Tropical North, is due for release soon as well as a new V1.2 release of the FTX Freeware, with nearly 100 photoreal airports blended into AU BLUE and GOLD.

AlphaSim Tornado F.3 Released

Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 2:04
The awesome Tornado Air Defence Variant arrives in true state-of-the-art fashion for both FS9 and FSX. Over 12 months in development, the AlphaSim 'Tonka' has it all - spread over 2 separate packages (main and expansion), NINE unique models and NINE unique texture sets provide coverage of the F.3's many guises, even Saudi and Italian AF F.3's are included. FSX users get to fly in the rear and use the AlphaSim interceptor radar there. A 28-page .pdf manual and a paintkit are included. For FSX (SP1, SP2/Accel) and FS2004 only. Screenshots and details are available at the AlphaSim home page.

Latest Releases from Just Flight

Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 19:09
In a Press Release from Just Flight announcing the release of the RAF Vulcan for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (SP2). The Avro Vulcan’s beautiful lines and distinctive shape make it an icon of cold-war aviation. The Vulcan first flew in 1952, entered RAF service in 1957 and the final Vulcan flight was back in 1993. Thankfully, the last of these milestones has changed - Vulcan XH558 is airborne again, courtesy of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and the tireless work of its dedicated fans. Now updated for FSX compatibility, RAF Vulcan includes a faithful model from acclaimed developers PSS of XH558 as it appears currently, an additional eight all-new liveries from some of the aircraft involved in the Falklands conflict of 1982, and some of the preserved aircraft in the UK. Fully licensed by the Royal Air Force, RAF Vulcan contains a total of eighteen examples in different Squadron liveries and with different model variations, including the 2K air-to-air refuelling tanker variant and those carrying the Blue Steel British nuclear cruise missile, the Shrike anti-radar missile as used in the Falklands, and the ‘project cancelled’ Skybolt missiles. The FS2004 version also includes scenery of RAF Cottesmore. Wolfgang Schwarz, who co-ordinated the FSX update, remarked: “We have responded to the huge demand from our customers and done what we think is an excellent job of upgrading RAF Vulcan for FSX. We have added eight new aircraft and given the whole package a complete tune-up. However, a couple of minor features from FS2004 have not been carried over to FSX. These are the one-button ‘quick start’ function and autopilot, which only operate in FS2004.”

Just Flight is also pleased to announce that the first instalment of its regular newsletter will be winging its way by e-mail to Just Flight customers very soon. As well as the inside track on all the latest products in the Just Flight hangar and Just Trains shed, there is also going to be a super prize competition in each issue and ten lucky recipients, drawn at random, will win a free download product of their choice from the Just Flight or Just Trains range. Readers of the newsletter will also get links to exclusive offers on the Just Flight and Just Trains sites as well as exclusive previews, demos and videos of forthcoming products. If you already receive e-shots from Just Flight or Just Trains then you don’t need to do anything – just check your inbox! However, if you haven’t signed up to receive the newsletter then simply visit the Just Flight or Just Trains sites, follow the ‘subscribe’ button, enter your e-mail address and you’re done. This, and a whole lot more at Just Flight