DBS VarView X V1.0.3 Released

Posted: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 1:04
DBS Studio release update 1.0.3 for DBS VarView X tool. Fixed problems with output windows position saving and restoring.

Orbx Releases W52 Goheen Airport for PNW

Posted: Monday, November 28, 2011 - 15:21
"W52 Goheen Airport - A hidden gem". This airfield is so well integrated into the Pacific Northwest landclass that you will have trouble locating it using the naked eye alone. You will be challenged to do circuits in a low and slow bush plane and nail the approach every time.

Alex Goff is the Orbx developer who has made a charming typical southern Washington airfield that is not far from other Orbx classics like Walter Sutton and Stark's Twin Oaks. Using on-site photos and a large photoreal area expertly blended into the surrounds, you will fall in love with the rustic feel of Goheen. Points of interest include an old gas station, nearby farm houses, a quarry, an extensive riverscape, parklands and a large car holding area to the north of the airfield. Add NatureFlow and lots of vegetation for a lovely dirt strip feel.

Boeing 737-100/200 External Model from Captain Sim

Posted: Monday, November 28, 2011 - 0:44
Staff reviewer Aaron Graham looks at the External Model of the Boeing 737-100/200 as presented by Captain Sim. "Captain Sim is known for making high quality products. They normally make classic Boeing aircraft. All of their aircraft have top notch visual models coupled with good flight dynamics and systems. When Captain Sim is developing aircraft they will release the external model first which includes no sounds, flight dynamics or virtual cockpit. There is only an external model; everything else is based upon the default 737-800."

Aerostudios Santa Tracker

Posted: Sunday, November 27, 2011 - 18:02
If you are a COX Cable TV subscriber in the USA, you can once again have some great fun with your children. Go to the FREEZONE > Screensavers using ON DEMAND and you will find the SANTA TRACKER Screensaver. This screensaver was created using ATCsimulator2 as the backdrop. You can watch as SANTA and his sleigh appear on the radarscope. Last year it received nearly 170,000 views.

VFRPOLAND Releases 10 New Sceneries of Poland

Posted: Sunday, November 27, 2011 - 17:59
VFRPOLAND is happy to announce 10 new photo sceneries of Poland for FSX / FS 2004 have been released. The newer part of the virtual Poland collection contains many interesting places, including but not limited to: the capital of the Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) region - Poznan, Nowa Sol, Wronki and Zielona Gora.

The VFRPOLAND.COM website offers professional photographic scenery areas of Poland for the most popular flight simulators on the market. The website presents an innovative method for selecting and downloading each scenery area by selecting it from a map then downloading and installing directly to your simulation; no zipfiles to download or extract! The Premium Points system provides an elegant way to buy only each scenery area you are interested in and continue to add more areas to you collection at a very affordable price. The VFRPOLAND.COM website also offers a taste of the history and culture of Poland with descriptions of each area thereby introducing more people throughout the world to the fascinating and visually spectacular country of Poland.

Latest News From Aerosoft

Posted: Sunday, November 27, 2011 - 6:41
Anchorage for FS2004 - Anchorage, the paradise for flight enthusiasts and pilots is finally available for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. The airport Ted Stevens International comes along with all buildings and facilities and with AESLite ground vehicle traffic on the airport and nearby roads. Like in FSX, the FS2004 version contains Lake Hood, the largest seaplane base in the world located next to Ted Stevens International. Get ready to discover Alaska with its vast wilderness. Please note that the FSX version of Anchorage is NOT included in this package.
Antarctica X for FSX - Antarctica X is far from a standard scenery add-on. It’s one of the most complex and most complete projects Aerosoft has ever started. It is also unique as it combines databases that were previously not linked. This scenery is the most accurate depiction of Antarctica. No country, no airline, no geographical organization has a more complete data set. Using the Twin Otter that’s included you can explore this vast continent and see the majestic and breathtaking beauty of the frozen continent. All the major scientific bases are included in stunning detail. Antarctica X will challenge you as no aspect of flying is easy so close to the poles. But master the environment and you will have concurred a whole new continent.

Cessna 337H Skymaster from Carenado

Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 20:07
Contributing reviewer Ray Marshall gets pushed and pulled at the same time as he explores Carenado's Cessna 337H Skymaster. "This one is part of Carenado’s new HD series and comes with 2048 x2048 textures (4X standard), 3D gauges, digital stereo sounds, and the best quality animated pilots that I have seen in any simulation."

"I think this is the best add-on to come out of the Carenado shop to date and I have many of their most popular ones for comparison. I don’t see any downside for this add-on. It looks good, flies good, has a large roomy cabin, outstanding visibility, a sim pilots dream with flight director, autopilot, advanced GPS, full IFR capability, dual most everything including engines, exceptional new night lighting, HD exterior and interior textures. Marvelous sounds inside and out. Spot on modeling, good looking pilots and frame rate friendly."

F-15E Strike Eagle Combat Simulation From Milviz

Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 12:18
Milviz presents the F-15E Strike Eagle, one of the most sophisticated combat simulations produced for FSX of one of the most successful fighter airplanes ever built. The F-15 in all air forces had a combined air-to-air combat record of 104 kills to 0 losses as of February 2008 , no air superiority versions of the F-15 (A/B/C/D models) have been shot down by enemy forces. The two-seat dual-role F-15 Eagle flies higher than 50,000 feet at more than Mach 2.5. It fights air-to-air, air-to-ground, long-range, day or night missions in any kind of weather. All these abilities make it the backbone of the U.S. Air Force with over 224 F-15Es expected to be in service beyond 2025.

Extensive systems modeling throughout reproduces the Strike Eagle’s weapons, radar, engine management, damage control and flight characteristics. A fully customizable loadout screen gives easy access to your choice of loadouts. Choose not only the weapon but where it goes. The soundset was recorded from an actual F-15E (229's), startup and shutdown sound exactly like the real thing. Flight dynamics were extensively tested by real world pilots and developed by Bernt Stolle.

The Raytheon APG-70 radar system integrated on the Milviz F-15E provides high-resolution ground-mapping data that enables F-15 crews to identify air and ground targets at great distances. Both AI and multiplayer traffic can be tracked with multiple targets attacked and destroyed simultainously, creating persistent flaming debris and explosions with a direct hit .

A full assortment of ground munitions including Mk. 82's, Mk. 84's, CBU-87's, GBU-10's, GBU-12's, GBU-27's, GBU-32's, GBU-38's, GBU-15's, AGM-130's and AGM-65's. Air to air weapons include the AIM-9M, the AIM-7 and the AIM-120. All of these weapons can be targeted, launched and jettisoned from the front and rear seats. Lantirn, Sniper ATP and AN-AXP-13 pods are also detailed .

Outstanding attention to detail has been given to the included 11 HD liveries included. All FSX texture rendering abilities are fully exploited, normal, custom reflection and specular mapping throughout the virtual cockpit and exterior bring the aircraft to life, a layered paintkit is also ready for download.

Also available is an AI pack that includes many airbases that host the F-15E with enhancements to those bases, visit the Milviz F-15E Strike Eagle Product Page for full details.

Airbus A321 Jetliner from Just Flight

Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 3:00
Staff reviewer Aaron Graham lifts off in Just Flight's Airbus A321 Jetliner. "The A321 is a stretched and first derivative of the standard A320. Compared with the A320, the A321's major change is the stretched fuselage, which is lengthened by 6.94 meters (22 ft 9 in) which makes the A321 the largest among the A320 family."

"The virtual cockpit is made up of high resolution bitmaps. The cockpit includes an array of 3D switches and knobs. The Just Flight A321 Jetliner comes with a 2D Panel, which is good as they are of a dying breed. The gauges appear very similar to the default A321 but on closer inspection they are much more advanced and detailed. The external model is of an extremely high quality. There are 4 high quality liveries included."

"The aircraft is good. The frame rates are outstanding. The sounds are remarkably accurate and the flight model is great. If you want a decent simulation of the A321 get this one, just remember that it’s an F-Lite version."

More On The Horizon - Warbirds

Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 2:07
A2A Simulations have 3 warbirds about to be released... The P-40 Warhawk, The P-51 Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire.

Add-on Converter X V1.06 Released

Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 1:51
A new version of Addon Converter X is available from FlightSimTools.com. Addon Converter X is a module for FSX that allows using most aircraft and scenery add-ons designed for FS2004 with FSX SP2 and Acceleration Pack, both in DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 modes.

On The Horizon - DC-6B For FSX

Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 1:49
Just Flight have posted a few 'work in progress' screenshots of this FSX add-on which will feature several variants of the Douglas DC-6B passenger airliner. Use XMAS11.

O'Hare Update Release

Posted: Saturday, November 26, 2011 - 1:46
FSDreamTeam announces their promised O'Hare update, featuring the new runways 9L/27R, for FS9 and FSX. The update is a FREE download for all customers, and includes other minor enhancements, like cross-wind runways AFCAD, some objects fixes, and better winter textures. Use TURKEY2011.

GMap Updates For FSX, FS2004 And X-Plane

Posted: Friday, November 25, 2011 - 13:05
All free desktop versions of FSWidgets GMap (FSX, FS2004 and X-Plane for Windows and Mac) had the server side mapping engine updated to include two new features. The first is Metar and TAF weather feeds for most stations worldwide. The weather data is displayed as an icon layer which can be toggled on and off as desired, clicking on the icons brings up the associated data.

The second new feature is the Airport ICAO search function for the World Nav Data product. This update does not require a new download or installation as it is already being delivered from the server to all 2.0 versions of GMap.

FSWidgets have also updated the Browser Edition of GMap to now work independently of FSX. Previously it needed to "connect" to FSX in order to animate the map, but now the map loads after the application is launched and awaits connection to FSX via SimConnect. All registered Cloud Based Aero Chart Data and World Nav Data products are also available from the in-map menu so the Browser Edition can now be used as a stand-alone Chart and Nav Data viewer when required. This particular update will require downloading of the new build. More details can be found on the FSWidgets GMap Website.

X-Plane 10 Demo Now Available For Download

Posted: Thursday, November 24, 2011 - 23:37
The Avsim X-Plane Forum is abuzz with the news of the X-Plane 10 Demo Game being available, pictures from X-plane 10 and some new details make the Forum a good place to start . Download the Demo from the X-Plane Website to get a look at the latest from X-Plane10.

Ben Gurion X V2 Released

Posted: Thursday, November 24, 2011 - 15:09
David Rosenfeld has provided FSAddon with a new release of his Ben Gurion Airport for FSX. Version 2.0 has some major improvements and extensions compared to the first version. Version 2.0 includes new taxiways, the new runway extension of 08, new lights etc. Click on 'Continue reading....' for a complete overview.

London City Xtreme from UK2000

Posted: Thursday, November 24, 2011 - 1:32
Staff reviewer Aaron Graham heads to the capital city of his native England to check our UK2000's London City Xtreme. "London City Airport (IATA: LCY, ICAO: EGLC) is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, 6 NM (11 km; 6.9 mi) east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London."

"My initial impressions were wow! This scenery is just amazing compared to the default scenery. It is even better than Aerosoft’s London City included in London X! The detail in this scenery is immense. The area around the airport has also been created in stunning detail. The time the developers put into making this scenery is unimaginable! Everything about the scenery oozes quality."

"No matter which way you look at it, London City Xtreme is utterly brilliant. If you fly regularly into this airport it is a must have. If you want a challenge, this is an airport for you. I would not hesitate recommending this title."

Carenado Releases A New Company ALABEO

Posted: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - 13:09
Carenado is announcing the creation of a new company called ALABEO . This new company was born as a joint venture of a young and talented 3D artist’s team and the well-known general aviation developer company: Carenado.

This talented young team is composed by 3D modelers, digital artists and computer programmers. Their vast knowledge in the current 3D modeling techniques, digital arts and games programing makes a perfect fit with a company like Carenado. Both teams will complement each other with their specific areas of expertise, pursuing the objective of developing fun stuff for the major home flight simulators.

Carenado will support this new company providing expertise, a cutting edge technological platform, and vast commercial experience, Alabeo plans to release its first aircraft in the next few days.

PSS Crash - Investigation - Conclusion

Posted: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - 12:56
Following the crash of Phoenix Simulation Software in 2006, survivors have been desperately looking for a way to turn things around and rebuild what was a great company. It seemed like the much publicized "PSS revival" would never happen. However, After combing through the wreckage, investigators have recovered the "Black Box" and the data clearly shows what caused the fatal nose dive.

This wealth of information and knowledge has allowed the reconstruction of the remains of PSS into a new venture. A new venture that aims to innovate and create some of the best in Microsoft Flight Simulation add ons. Right now they are busy developing the webspace and ecommerce, The support and contact systems, fully integrated with the social networking sites to announce the formation of BLACKBOX SIMULATION. Visit The Unofficial PSS Support Forum to keep up with this breaking news.

PMDG 737-600/700 NGX - Review Addendum

Posted: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 - 2:22
Senior staff member Chase Kreznor continues his look at PMDG's 737NGX with the addition of Service Pack 1 and the -600/700 models. "Service pack 1 summarized over 300 updates and improvements for the NGX platform. In early November, 2011, PMDG released the 600/700/700WL (winglets) variants of the Boeing 737 NG family and features the cockpit/engine/sound/flight model/performance differences respective to each variant."