Walk and Follow FSX Patch Released

Posted: Tuesday, April 8, 2008 - 1:03
DBS Studio release patch 1.0.0.3 to Walk And Follow FSX for compatibility with Windows Vista and solve possible problems with widescreen monitors.

SimWing Magazine Now In English

Posted: Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 16:40
SimWing Magazine is now available to all flight sim enthusiasts in English as well as Italian. Head on over to their website to take a look at this informative magazine.

FS-eXcel for Flight Simulator 2004

Posted: Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 1:06
Enjoy the most realistic flight experience ever with FS-eXcel for FS2004. Developed by FS-eXceleration Software and distributed by CaptainKeith.com, FS-eXcel is an all-inclusive visual eXcelerator package for FS2004 that greatly enhances the look of the sim with no adverse frame-rate effects whatsoever. With FS-eXcel you will experience ultra-realistic sky, ground and water for FS2004. FS-eXcel replaces the default environmental, building, airport and runway textures in FS2004 with our ultra high quality photo-realistic textures that drastically improve realism. This package provides a “total visual make-over” for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. For more info and screenshots please visit the FSeXcel website.

Aerosoft Releases and Updates

Posted: Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 0:47
Releases - German Airfields 3 - Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen). One of the products Aerosoft has worked the hardest on in the last few months has to be German Airfields 3 which covers a good deal of Germany with the smaller VFR airports. Of course, they are perfectly compatible our other German sceneries, The 15 airports in this package are 100% FSX standard and are absolutely realistic. If you like smaller airports don't miss the German Airfields series!

Lord Howe Island X - Moving along, more than 10,000 miles actually, we come to Lord Howe Island. A small but very beautiful island in the Tasmanian Sea, about 2 hours flight from Sidney and Brisbane. It is meticulously modeled by Mat Dalton and features very high definition textures and mountains which are not mesh but actually modeled 3D objects. The island is surely not on regular routes we fly, but it sure is worth a visit!

Updates - Aspen X Update 1.10 - Moving to yet another continent, we arrive at Aspen. Aerosoft's coverage of this airport and surroundings has just been updated so it is now fully SP2 compatible. The 1.10 update also includes far more traffic for this airport. You can find the update their FAQ's / Updates section with the full version also updated.

Piper Arrow II from Commercial Level Simulations

Posted: Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 0:40
Staff reviewer Laurie Aston looks at the Piper PA28R-200 Arrow II from Commercial Level Simulations. "The Piper pedigree goes right back to the original PA-28 which was designed by John Thorpe as an all-metal home-build project, which after some tuning and alteration, became the first Cherokee. By 1994, and an abundance of Aircraft manufacturers like Cessna, Grumman, Mooney and Beech producing faster, more efficient and cheaper four seat general aviation aircraft, saw a recession across the globe which pushed Piper into bankruptcy, and it was several years before the new Piper re-established the Piper Arrow."

"The download results in a Piper Arrow II in one of eight liveries, and includes a plain white finish Arrow complete with a paint kit, with which you can paint and logo finish your own Aircraft. There is no bump-mapping, no weathered look, no real panel markings; several aerials and a standard finished propeller is all that enhances a pretty casual external model. I suspect that this model of the Piper Arrow has been ported from FS2004 (FS9) as it looks very ordinary, and that’s all I can say really. Actually flying the aircraft, and I have flown both the Piper Cherokee 140 and 180 in real life, reveals that some aspects of flight performance are very good."

"Looking at the interior reveals a couple of finished flight instrument panels, depending on the livery, and one of them is a ghastly blue. The instruments, to be fair, are well presented as models of the originals, together with the control yoke and rudder pedals. Some of them work really well, accurate and instant in response, but others, engine and fuel wise especially, are not to be trusted at all."

"The engine, simulating the Textron-Lycoming 10-360 C1C6, actually sounds very good throughout its range of RPM, and is very much on the button as far as I can tell. Checking the Magnetos on the ground provides the necessary rocking motion on the airframe, caused by static thrust and torque effect, which is a plus point. It starts in accordance with the manual, runs well and is correctly influenced by prop and mixture controls to give best performance."

"The Piper PA28R-200 Arrow II has the potential to be a really nice aircraft, and a nice addition to anybody’s fleet," says Laurie in his summary.

Rescue Pilot - Mission Pack for FSX

Posted: Friday, April 4, 2008 - 0:55
This is the first in a series of exciting expansions from Just Flight and the download version is available now. In Rescue Pilot, you will get the chance to put your virtual flying skills to use. You are a pilot of an air rescue service and your job is to respond to any emergency calls that are received at your home base. A typical day for a Just Flight Rescue Pilot could find him airlifting an injured person from a car accident, picking up a stranded mountaineer or flying a life-or-death dash with a vital medical cargo. The work is always challenging - but never dull - and the job satisfaction is immense!

Rescue Pilots must use their flying experience to the full in a variety of fixed wing and rotary aircraft to complete the missions but there is also a choice of settings to match an individual's skill levels. The twelve authentic missions with realistic ATC and convincing scenarios will keep virtual rescuers glued to their joysticks. For complete details, visit the Just Flight webpage.

Vroute.info Premium Gone Live

Posted: Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - 18:54
vroute today announced the launch of its long awaited product - vroute.info premium, the ultimate flight simulation pre-flight and in-flight information tool. Now anyone interested in serious flight simulation can find a huge route database, comprehensive airspace maps, flight progress cards, map and scenery links as well as VATSIM online traffic data - all in one place. The successful predecessor, the vroute.info application, has been installed by over 20,000 flight simulation enthusiasts worldwide. The route database has over 64,000 entries which likely makes it the largest resource of its kind in the world. Every evening over 1,000 people begin their flight simulation experience by checking where to fly, what waypoints to follow, what weather is to be expected and printing out their flight progress cards - which help the sim pilot have all important information at hand. Even VATSIM flight/ATC booking is fully integrated, delivering an accurate overview of traffic over times. The new premium product adds another dimension of useful features to the well-known predecessor. The mapping capabilities were greatly improved with a completely new module, delivering high-resolution airspace maps with a pseudo-3D terrain layer. The map display shows the flight path area with stunning detail - not only depicting the basic navigation aids, but also showing airspace sectors, routes, fixes and airports below. All this is overlaid on a high resolution terrain image, showing important geographical features of the Earth below. The map is built of over 700,000 tiles hosted on vroute's powerful server - a total of over 5 gigabytes of data. It takes full advantage of high resolution computer screens by being fully resizable and offering a wide range of zoom levels. Another great feature of the new release is a vertical flight path calculator and fuel planner. It delivers a reliable answer to the well known problem of how much fuel one should load to get safely to the destination. The fuel planner is so accurate that it even takes into account the weight of payload and the selected cruise flight level. Vertical flight path provides a graphical overview of the route with terrain elevations and vertical airway boundaries, which is especially interesting if someone plans to fly a turboprop aircraft over mountainous terrain. The fuel calculator provides accurate fuel level estimate for each waypoint, which helps keep track of the consumption and detect problems early. For those who use advanced cockpits with sophisticated Flight Management Computers, vroute offers export feature which enables direct entry of route information into the aircraft's FMC - without having to retype the waypoints. Vroute.info was designed from a perspective of someone who wants to get the right information fast, without browsing multiple websites and launching different programs for different elements of the pre-flight preparation" - said Micha³ Rok, the company founder and lead programmer. If you have been looking for such a service, then you are cleared direct to vroute

Abacus Releases WWI Dogfight

Posted: Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - 18:46
One of the most compelling features of Microsoft Flight Simulator X is the introduction of missions. FSX missions can turn a simple ride in an aircraft into a challenging, exciting and entertaining adventure. WWI Dogfight by Abacus Pub features the design talents of Daniel Dunn and David Chester. They have reproduced a high fidelity set of aircraft from yesteryear including the Sopwith Pup, Fokker DR.1, Avro 504, Nieuport 17 and the R-Class Super Zeppelin. Master mission maker Ron Jeffers has once again turned on his creative juices to bring us ten challenging missions that depict dog fighting over Western Europe with titles such as "Train Busters", "Red Baron's Challenge", "Lost Zeppelin" and "Battle for Paris". They're loaded with music, animation and some humor to boot. Interested? Head over to Abacus Pub.

Super Viking Collection For FSX

Posted: Wednesday, April 2, 2008 - 4:21
Lionheart Creations is proud to announce the release of its first 'pure' 100% FSX aircraft. The Super Viking collection has been fully converted now and features all DDS textures, bump mapping, refined, high detail VC components, numerous gauge improvements and enhancements, and updating of animations and 'clickables' within the VC. This package is featured as an update to 'existing' Viking customers. One would simply reload it from their vendor. Please be sure to delete the original Viking aircraft 'before' installing the totally new Viking package. Note that this package also comes with the original FS9 installer as well, so this is for 2 different sims put together. Note that this build (4.0) is a full, complete, 100% pure FSX model package and works fully with DirectX 10. For more information, visit the Lionheart Creations website. There is also a FREE Viking manual there too.

Mission: WWI Dogfight for FSX

Posted: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - 21:09
One of the most compelling features of Microsoft FSX is the introduction of missions. FSX missions can turn a simple ride in an aircraft into a challenging, exciting and entertaining adventure. Abacus' newest title of our Mission Series is WWI Dogfight. They feature the design talents of Daniel Dunn and David Chester. Theses gentlemen have reproduced a high fidelity set of aircraft from yesteryear.

Mission: WWI Dogfight has you flying these legendary aircraft: Sopwith Pup, Fokker DR.1, Avro 504, Nieuport 17 and the R-Class Super Zeppelin. Master mission maker Ron Jeffers has once again turned on his creative juices to bring us ten challenging missions that depict dog fighting over Western Europe with titles such as "Train Busters", "Red Baron's Challenge", "Lost Zeppelin" and "Battle for Paris". They're loaded with music, animation and some humor to boot.

Mission: WWI Dogfight for FSX is available now by download and on CD-ROM. For more information, please visit the Abacus website.

Review - Space Shuttle Mission 2007

Posted: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - 20:50
Senior contributing reviewer Alexis Esguerra heads into orbit as he commands Exciting Simulations' Space Shuttle Mission 2007. "Exciting Simulations has come into the world with Space Shuttle Mission 2007, a product that promises to “provide the experience and excitement of the NASA Space Shuttle missions in extreme detail.” It’s a bold statement to be sure, and one that requires a little looking into."

"SSM07 is certainly not the first Space Shuttle simulator – there have been numerous programs that have attempted to capture the flavor of the STS (Space Transportation System - its official type designation), but few I have run across have tried to capture the full mission experience with any real degree of fidelity. Earth scenery is good, with an overall 15m/pixel rendering of the planet with a higher 1m/pixel reserved for the shuttle’s launch and landing facilities. You won’t see every single structure at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), but enough is presented to give the user a true flavor of the site. But the highlight is the centerpiece of this sim – the five shuttles that were built for space flight. (Columbia, Challenger, Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavor), and any payloads or orbital facilities they’ll work with."

"The quality and accuracy applies within as well, with a VC flightdeck present (the lower deck is not modeled). SSM is replete with what appears to be every panel on the flightdeck in 2D representation. The 2D panels are the meat and potatoes in operating the shuttles in SSM07, and believe me, there are a lot of meat and potatoes! I was caught off guard by the seeming inclusion of every single switch, knob, display, and indicator that was present (including caution and warning lights, there were 340 of them on the pilot’s side panels alone!!!)."

"Of all the items that provide some sanity-saving grace in SSM07, the definable difficulty level is easily at the top of the list. EASY starts the fledgling astronaut off with such provisions as detailed in-sim procedures, flashing pointers that route you to the right switch/knob, and helpful sim pauses for events that are very time critical. Step up the difficulty as you garner experience and these helpful tidbits are phased out; by HARD level, you’d better have the manual and optional checklists by your side and keep to the established timetables."

"The obvious goal of the program is to allow the user to experience first hand what it is like to take to orbit aboard the STS, and SSM07 does so through eight historical scenarios, ranging from the maiden STS-1 flight of Columbia to Atlantis’ STS-117. These eight missions vary terms of mission duration and objectives, but all contain the six basics mission phases – prelaunch, launch, orbital insertion, execution of the mission objective(s), deorbit & reentry, and landing." Alexis goes into detail of one such mission as he attempts to get the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.

Bringing the Shuttle back down to Earth in prep for another mission, Alexis reports, "SSM07 just blew me away with it’s attention to detail in every and all aspects of the Space Shuttle. It’s visual and audio recreation of the orbiter is top-notch, and the simulation of the STS operations from launch to landing, from my personal experience, has no equal. The ever present factor of gravity was the only thing keeping me grounded to reality; the immersion that SSM07 provides into this specific realm felt that convincing."

FSX Planner Release 28 Now Available

Posted: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - 19:18
zBlueSoftware is proud to announce the latest update to its FSX airport editor, FSX Planner.

Release 28 introduces a new user interface which we hope will set a new standard in FSX airport CAD applications with its friendly and professional look and feel. It is designed for maximum ease of use, allowing the user to easily see and select the appropriate tool or option, including visually selecting runway types, taxiway types or specific parking locations to improved secondary menu options such as connecting to FSX, or the various plane makes available, etc. New improved tool tips provide detailed descriptions and help tips for each tool. These updates are aimed at making airport design and editing as fast and easy as possible. FSX Planner is available free of charge from zBlueSoftware.

Plus there are details on the new interface, other updates in this release as well as screen shots.

AviaFilms Production - The Boeing 737 Film

Posted: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - 19:13
This project is dedicated to flying the Boeing 737-300 "Classic" series. You will be taken on a return flight during midnight hours in this magical piece of time-barred technology. No fancy digital displays, just pure analog instrumentation seen in operation on this remarkable rugged aircraft. In total, this film contains 2 takeoff's and 2 landings on the 737-300 Classic and as a bonus they have added two landings on the 737-400 EFIS at European Airports - London Gatwick and Milano Malpensa. There is also a free demo to see on their website.

Malta Intl Airport For FS2004 Released

Posted: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - 1:57
This release features airfield texture made from 1m/pixel aerial images including seasonal changes. Hi-res asphalt and concrete textures. Hi-res grass texture. Buildings and airfield layout created from actual blueprints. Custom and accurate night lighting. Custom airfiled signs. Static vehicles and more. An Afcad file is also included. A FSX version will later follow. For more info you can go to the Malta Scenery website.

FranceVFR Releases FlightParis VFRPack

Posted: Monday, March 31, 2008 - 18:59
France VFR announces its latest release in the FlightParis series: FlightParis VFR Pack (VFR landmarks). This is the 4th and the last pane completing the Collection of FlightParis scenery. This complete scenery allows you to get totally immersed in your Flight Simulator just as if you were there, above the Parisian region while taking off with the exact same landmarks as in real world above the 5 Parisian departments (12 000 km²). FlightParis Basepack is required for this scenery and needs to be installed before installing VFRPack.

These remarkable landmarks include antennas, water towers, power stations, notable buildings, famous castles within the region (ex: Versailles, Vaux le Vicomte, Chateau de Villarceaux, etc.), car manufacturing plants (Renault, Peugeot) and bridges. France VFR has put altogether 70 groups of objects in order to enhance your VFR Flights within the Greater Paris Area. With the release of this last pane it completes the FlightParis Collection (BasePack, Autogen, CityPack) and becomes the most developed and complete VFR scenery for this area in Flight Simulator. FlightParis is available for FS9 and FSX.

Note: this website is in French but can be translated directly via a Google search.

RealAir Simulations Releases Spitfire For FSX

Posted: Monday, March 31, 2008 - 18:42
This version is a ground-up and complete re-design of RealAir's previous Spitfire for FS2004 and includes the Mark IX and Mark XVI as well as the Mark XIV. The package also includes an updated West Malling WW2 operational airfield with improved graphics and improved squadron of AI Spitfires. The FSX Spitfire comes with new custom stereo and doppler-effect sounds individually designed for both the Mark IX Merlin and Mark XIV Griffon engined variants. There are new 3D gauges, a variety of worn, pristine and authentic 3D cockpits, contra-prop variants as well as single prop versions. A total of 23 unique liveries all with individually made Virtual Cockpits. The package is available as a full product or an upgrade for previous Spitfire owners. For more information please navigate to the RealAir Simulations website.

Airport Design Editor 1.2 Released

Posted: Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 17:12
ScruffyDuck Software and the ADE Development Team are delighted to announce the release of Airport Design Editor version 1.20. This is a significant upgrade to the Program and contains many fixes and functional enhancements. It also sees the merging of Home and Pro Edition functionality. As of version 1.20, there is only one edition of ADE.

Major new functionality includes the creation and manipulation of terrain elements such as airport backgrounds, land class and exclusions. There is not longer any need to use a separate utility to modify the terrain at your airport. Also ADE now loads the generic buildings, library objects, windsocks and fuel triggers with a stock airport. Once included you can move, delete or otherwise modify these items and ADE automatically takes care of excluding the stock objects. You can add stock library objects and ADE makes it simple to accurately enhance your local airport with easy access to around 450 common objects including library objects, windsocks and fuel triggers.

Other enhancements include copy/paste; display the XML code for the airport or any object, and automatic updating of ILS, Starts and runway links when a runway is renumbered. ADE 1.20 is delivered via an installer that also allows you to download the tutorials. A new installation and configuration tutorial is released alongside providing information on setting up this new version. Airport Design Editor 1.20 is available for download from AVSIM and the Airport Design Editor site.

DBS Profile Radar Now Vista Compatible

Posted: Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 17:01
Profile Radar is a new generation of flight-safety tools and can be assist to pilot on a low-altitude flight over strong terrain relief (bush flying, visual approach in bad wheater conditions, helicopter operation etc). Profile Radar display window can be configured to use different colors on background, terrain relief, grid lines. Maximum range is 25 nautical miles (can be adjusted to any distance between 0.1 - 25 nm) and altitude range can be variabled between 10 - 3000 feets. Radar resolution can be variable to low for better performance or to high for detailed relief drawing. Grid lines and aircraft altitude line can be hide. Grid resoltion can be adjusted to any distance between horizontal/vertical grid lines. With this configuration settings Profile Radar display can simulate most real relief radars.

Airbus Special Edition Released

Posted: Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 16:36
FS2Crew: Wilco feelThere Airbus Special Edition has been released and is now available at the FS2Crew website. Designed in consultation with a current Airbus pilot, the Special Edition is an expansion pack for the Wilco feelThere Airbus series for Volume 1 and 2. It adds a realistic flight, cabin and ground crew to the aircraft. A discount option is available for those upgrading from the A320 Edition of FS2Crew. For complete details visit FS2Crew's totally re-designed website.

C130X from Captain Sim

Posted: Saturday, March 29, 2008 - 0:56
Staff reviewer Etienne Martin jumps into the cockpit of one of the most well known and versatile aircraft flying today, the C-130 Hercules. This is Captain Sim's version for FSX. "The Lockheed C130 Hercules is one of the success stories in aviation. The C130 easily fills the role of the “swiss army knife” aircraft. It can lift 33 metric tons (72,000 lbs) of cargo, has short takeoff/landing (stol) abilities, is robust enough to use unpaved landing strips, has a cruising speed a hair short of 300 knots/FL22 and has a service ceiling of FL33."

"Ten (10) C-130 variants are included between the base pack and expansion pack I (pack II adds nine more). The liveries heavily focus on U.S. and U.K markings. Captain Sim delivers solid 3D models for each aircraft variation, along with a generous heap of eye candy. Most of the animations are found on the external model. The exterior models are sharp, even up close, with no visible polygonal issues even given the odd shapes on this aircraft. All exterior textures match the quality of the models, and in particular “join” well, meaning, there is no stretching or tearing visible, even in the usual places where FSX challenges designers."

"The C130 interior carries over from model to model, the only difference being the engine instrument cluster. The VC includes the cabin, so it is possible to “walk” from the cockpit all the way back to the cargo doors. The virtual cockpit (VC) includes all major switches and knobs, and looks almost as good as the 2D equivalents. Overall, I like the VC design and the compromises made between detail and performance. The detail is included where it matters, meaning that a mid-range system should run this VC well. The 2D panels use mostly the left mouse button to increase/decrease values, whereas the 3D version use the left and right mouse. Captain Sim implements a useful control panel to manage the display of each 2D panel. This “panel navigator” makes for simple and efficient navigation between all key panels."

"The C130-X projects mass and inertia in the simulator. It feels heavy, yet it is (mostly) predictable and quite forgiving. The airframe sways during turns, the suspension responds to acceleration and braking. The aircraft responds very well to reverse thrust, although I found it impossible to start reversing only on two engines, while taxiing on two engines is entirely possible. In the air, the C130 is easy to fly, much more so than many smaller aircraft. This airlifter doesn’t twitch, it responds gently and proportionally to inputs, and is generally a joy to manually handle. The simulation includes emergency engine restart in the air, a sophisticated affair, and works well."

Wrapping up this detailed look at Captain Sim's C130 Xperience, Etienne comments, "The C130-X is an add-on that deserves a very serious look. The Hercules is a joy to operate in the virtual skies, not only because it flies well, predictably and forgives mistakes, but also because it can fly in and out of just about anywhere, from any surface, with great range (over 1,000 nm) to boot. The quality of the models is excellent, the eye-candy plentiful and attractive, and although a few visual bugs remain with this port to FSX that a service pack didn’t address completely, it is an enjoyable experience."