ADE9X - Airport Design Editor for FS9 and FSX

Posted: Sunday, August 30, 2009 - 14:15
ScruffyDuck Software and the ADE Development Team are delighted to announce the release of ADE9X.

This is the first version of Airport Design Editor to support both FS9 and FSX. The new functionality means that FS9 airport developers now have access to most of the functionality that has been available to FSX designers for some time. This includes the Approach Designer and all the other tools that allow users to work with buildings, signs etc. The only area currently not supported for FS9 is terrain elements such as land class, roads and so on.

A lot of time was spent working on making the importation of AFCAD files into ADE as easy as possible. While this version is mostly about providing support for FS9, our FSX users should also update as they will find many fixes and a number of enhancements including much better handling of stock navaids, user defined colors for taxi links and an improved and more stable interface with the Sim. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking all those in our development and beta teams as well as all those users who have tried out the release candidate and given us valuable feedback.

Find out more about ADE9X by visiting the AIRPORT DESIGN EDITOR .

Abacus - Carrier Strike Force

Posted: Sunday, August 30, 2009 - 14:09
Carrier Strike Force continues the excitement of aircraft carrier operations.

You'll take the seat on board aircraft and fly from three aircraft carriers. On board the Charles de Gaulle, the powerful catapult gets your mighty Rafale M airborne in just a few hundred feet. And during recovery, you'll want your tailhook to catch the steel cable to bring your muscular aircraft to a screeching halt. Fly the new F-35 JSF and the Harrier in vertical flight from the HMS Illustrious and USS Bonhomme Richard.

Carrier Strike Force includes cutting-edge technology such as moving carriers, air-to-air combat, missile simulation and more!

Moving carrier, catapult/recovery operations using 3WireX, missions and mini-missions available for FSX only; Static carrier, simplified catapult/recovery operations and 200 pre-saved flights for FS2004.

Check out the Carrier Strike Force .
page for more information and screen shots.

Beechcraft Duchess from Just Flight

Posted: Saturday, August 29, 2009 - 1:46
Contributing reviewer Chris Kiehl goes to his local "Flying Club" to hop into Just Flight's Beechcraft Duchess. "Now here’s an aircraft I’ve wanted in FS for a long time. First flown in 1974 as a prototype developed for economical twin engine flight training, and as competition for the light twin engine market, the Duchess has proved fairly successful. It was developed from the very similar single engine Beechcraft Musketeer, and some of the similarities in the fuselage are clearly noticeable. Production began in 1977, and initial deliveries went to flight schools."

"The 2D panel area of any aircraft package is excellent for the 2D panel fans. Very well represented 2D main panels are included, along with a slew of heavily detailed sub-panels. Every sub-panel actually is functional, and has use. I don’t quite know where to start with the virtual cockpit. I could say it’s one of the best; I could say it’s one of my favorites; I could say you‘re most likely going to really like it. Everything here is seamlessly represented, and you can’t seem to find any mistakes in it."

"I have one word for the external model: Gorgeous. I can’t think of any imaginable detail that the development team missed on this model. We have tons of great stuff like weathering stains, extremely sharp and real lines, great and believable prop textures, and little modeled details like actual fuel caps. Five texture sets are included, and they all look simple yet stunning. I found you can add a custom tail number to these without having to do any paint kid modding. A nice option for those who want to fly their own tail number. I must add that there are some neat FSX-only features on the external model."

"My first impression of the flight dynamics was during taxi. I noticed it was a bit labored during turning, using differential brakes. I thought this was great, as the nose wheel in most of these nose wheel aircraft do not have power steering. It felt like I had to really use those pedals, instead of just gently nudging them. I noticed a similar effect once airborne; all of the controls seemed a bit ‘heavy’. That’s the only word I can use to describe it, but it’s close. Same thing with the rudder input, as you need a good amount of rudder to coordinate the turns. Some might see this as a negative point, but like my flight instructor told me, "Fly the airplane, don’t let it fly you. What I noticed about how the Duchess flies was its seemingly amazing speed."

"Final words on the Beechcraft Duchess? Buy it! I’ve not seen so many bangs for your buck in years. I can’t say I’ve flown such a seamless aircraft in a while; it’s just the light twin I’ve always wanted. There are many high quality add-ons out there and this one sits just right. If you like light GA and twin engine aircraft, or the just Duchess itself, get it. You won’t be disappointed."

FS2Crew Releases 737 Voice Commander

Posted: Friday, August 28, 2009 - 23:50
FS2Crew is proud to announce that its most revolutionary product in its five year history has just been released. Says Bryan York of FS2Crew, "This product is totally different from anything we've done before. The biggest change is that you now use Voice Commands to control your flight crew. This is a radical departure from the way we've done things in the past." Bryan further comments, "We didn't stop there. We ripped everything down and started again fresh. What also emerged out of the ashes is a brand new audio engine, and new Config Manager and a whole host of other new features. So significant in fact were the changes that we decided to rebrand the product under a new label: The FS2Crew 2010 Series".

With the new FS2Crew 2010 737 Voice Commander product, users can now fly the default FSX 737 like a real-airline pilot using SOPs while using their own voice. Bryan concludes with, "FS2Crew's primary goal has always been realism. When you add voice control into the mix, I think it's safe to say that we've set a new bar in terms of realism in the co-pilot/flight crew genre. No one has done what we have done. We're totally unique."

One of the most exciting features of this new product is the international voice sets available for the FO position. Users can select an FO accent from the following countries: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Ireland, Mexico, Australia, Finland, or the Netherlands. 737 Voice Commander products are cleared via direct to the FS2Crew website for more information and to purchase and download.

Carenado Releases The PA-28-181 ARCHER II (FSX)

Posted: Friday, August 28, 2009 - 14:53
This PA-28-181 Archer II is fully FSX and DX10 compatible with high resolution textures (and very friendly FPS). It was developed with all FSX features plus two new features: volumetric normal mapping and Original HQ digital stereo sounds (44100 HZ) recorded from the original aircraft. This NEW Archer is a completely new development which includes three models (with and without fairings and a mix of both) and four different paints plus a blank texture. The FS2004 version is coming coming off the assembly line right behind it.

FS-eXcel for FS2004 - VERSION 1.2 RELEASED

Posted: Friday, August 28, 2009 - 3:16
Developed by FS-eXceleration Software, FS-eXcel is a visual eXcelerator package for FS2004 that greatly enhances the look of the sim with no adverse frame-rate effects whatsoever. All new custom High-Definition sky, cloud, ground, vegetation, airport and autogen textures make FS2004 spring to life. Check it out at the FS-eXcel Website.

SimFlyer Series-X UPDATE 3.101

Posted: Friday, August 28, 2009 - 3:13
SimFlyer has released a new update for their popular GNS-SX Garmin 430/530 Avionics Suite.

This (3.101) update includes custom nav-data changes and prepares the gauges for the next version release, which will include a custom WASS database. It is a critical update for those planning to upgrade to the next version.

The update is free and can be found on the SimFlyer homepage and works with software purchased at any of the online download shops.

African Airstrip Adventures from Aerosoft

Posted: Friday, August 28, 2009 - 2:13
Staff reviewer Alan Bradbury takes off on a series of African Aistrip Adventures, an FSX mission expansion pack from Aerosoft. "There’s a lot of scenic detail in the package, much of it animated, and although at first I struggled to find a position for the sliders in FSX to get the best out of it, with a bit of playing around, I found that you can have it looking pretty and smoothe."

"You get 40,000 square kilometers of realistic Kenyan scenery in the area north of Nairobi, centered around Mount Kenya. This features over twenty airstrips, ranging from large military bases to hair-raising tiny strips carved out of the scrublands and marked out with conveniently placed fifty-five gallon oil drums. And you should be aware that although they mostly have an NDB to locate them (not all of them do), some of those airfields are damn tricky to land on even if you are a seasoned bush flyer, with undulating runway surfaces and potential hazards such potholes, ditches and even wild animals wandering around them. If you fancy yourself a hotshot pilot, this will definitely be up your street. But there’s a lot more to the scenery than that."

"In addition to that large chunk of scenery, you’ll also find a host of other terrain features, such as safari lodges small townships and native villages, and these are extremely well modeled. What is more, the entire place is populated with thousands of animated creatures, from pink flamingoes to giraffes, elephants, leopards, lions, rhinos, zebras – you name it, with many birds flying around the place as well. There are signs at most of the airfields you can find, warning of the dangers when the animals are present, and they are not kidding, this is a wild place!"

"What African Airstrip Adventures does is create an open-ended career in FSX where you can happily fly one ‘mission’ for hours on end, with new tasks cropping up all the time over the radio via the dispatcher’s calls, allowing you to earn money, reputation (and lose it), struggle with aircraft maintenance problems, choose different aircraft to fly, and experience all manner of challenges. You really do have to stay on top of things too. The various flights you make, such as picking up some passengers and flying them to an airstrip, or picking up some cargo and making multiple drops, are often time critical, and since you have to refuel and keep on top of maintenance, it’s not as simple as it might sound."

"I could go on at great length about African Airstrip Adventures, but it really doesn’t need me to do that. That’s because as a concept it is not complex, but that simplicity really belies just how enjoyable it is. What you get here is a reason to indulge in plenty of genuine seat of the pants flying over wonderful varied terrain, with excellent animated wildlife all over the place that is smart enough to be in believable locations, coupled with great airstrip scenery which offers really challenging landings."

"Air America might not have won any Oscars, but African Airstrip Adventures is certainly worthy of one. It’s a simple concept, but the simplest ideas are usually the best. And put in a similarly simple fashion; it’s great fun."

International Fighters from Abacus

Posted: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 2:40
Staff reviewer Benjamin van Soldt looks at 11 International Fighters from Abacus. "The package offers you a selection of 11 military aircraft from various countries in various paints, namely the AS 565 Panther, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-111 Aardvark, F-117 Nighthawk, F-15C Eagle, F-35 Lightning II, MiG-29A Fulcrum, Mirage 2000, Saab JA-37 Viggen, SU-33 Flanker and V-22 Osprey."

Benjamin goes through the Exterior, Interior, Panels, Sounds, and Flight Performance of each aircraft individually. "The exteriors are good, the interiors vary from “easy to forget” to “quite nice”, the sounds are the default sounds with some additions, the FDE is very simple and so is the panel. This profile is like that of the default planes, but with better exteriors. A good summary of this package would therefore be: an entry package for the beginner, interested in military planes, who wants more than the default planes but does not wish more complexity."

"Abacus' International Fighters is a very good deal, especially for those in the beginning stages of flight-simming. Do you want to fly fast? Do you want a lot of aircraft? You don’t want more procedures than the default planes? If the answer to all these question is “yes”, then this package is for you."

Latin VFR Releases Cayman Islands For FS2004

Posted: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 - 1:16
Continuing on from their press release a week ago, Latin VFR has additionally released the FS9 version of the Cayman Islands. Comprised within the package the main features are the 2 main airports of the Cayman Islands, Owen Roberts International (GCM, MWCR) and Gerrard Smith International (CYB, MWCB).

New Gliding Race

Posted: Monday, August 24, 2009 - 14:43
Roussillon AeroSimulations has just released a new gliding race in French and English. It's a run over Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. The lenght of the run is around 130 NM. The difficulty of the race is the weather. You can download the mission on Page 2 of their gliding mission page of the website.

L39 "Albatros" from Lotus Simulations

Posted: Monday, August 24, 2009 - 2:10
Another contributed review. This time it's a look at Lotus Simulations' L-39 Albatros. "The L39 is a smart choice to showcase the very cool multiplayer features in FSX. One of the best features most often overlooked is shared cockpit mode. The L39 was designed to “simulate” failures from the rear cockpit facilitating the training of emergency procedures and boldface checklist items. The front seat pilot has a hood to block his external view to simulate instrument flight conditions as the rear seat instructor can induce failures to train the pilot. Even simulating failures of the pitot and / or static side of the pressure instrumentation."

"So you are thinking, if this L-39 is so fast, it must have cut some corners, right? Something had to be given up in the complex shapes like the inlet splitter and sculpting around the jet pipe. No, the shape is beautiful, and smooth. At one point in the model’s design it was substantially revised based on measurements and notes taken when L39 owners (who are fans of Mike Johnson’s work) invited him to spend time crawling all over the airplane, taking measurements and notes. Some of the design cues in the airplane could have only come from a more “intimate” view that mere pictures and plan form drawings can provide."

"The flight model of Lotus Simulation’s L39 is exceptional, reminding me on first impression of past favorites like Real Air’s SF260. But this one might be even better. The real L39 is not an overpowered aircraft and external tanks and a pair of pilots can load the aircraft up to the point where consideration is needed to depart a relatively short runway at high altitude fields on hot days. Aerobatics in the L39C, like any clean low powered aircraft, is all about managing your energy. You have to think at least one or two maneuvers ahead when putting on impromptu air shows."

"As with the rest of the Lotus Simulation L39, the Virtual Cockpits have been designed with speed and low overhead in mind. The gauges and instrumentation are 3D, which not only reduces the drag of 2D draw calls, but which also has depth that can be particularly appreciated in the Airspeed / Mach indicator and Radio Magnetic Indicator / Vertical Card Compass / Course Deviation Indicator instruments. An advantage of 3D instrumentation is the way it lights up. Also, the Virtual Cockpit loads with this model. There is no stutter, or pause, as the cockpit loads, it is already there. This L39 Albatros is an instant classic"

767 Captain V1.1 Available

Posted: Monday, August 24, 2009 - 1:36
Capt Sim has released their latest version of the 767 Captain. This version includes 4 new exterior models and 10 new liveries. There is a complete list of all the updates on the 767 Captain webpage.

Ultimate Water Advanced FS9 Released

Posted: Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 17:27
Zinertek is pleased to announce the release of Ultimate Water Advanced for FS2004. This new product provides the most advanced water effects ever created for FS2004. Customers who bought Ultimate Water FX will be able to upgrade to this new version FREE OF CHARGE. For more details please visit Zinertek's website.

Book Review - 767 Long Haul and ETOPS Guide

Posted: Saturday, August 22, 2009 - 1:35
Staff reviewer Tim Capps submits a short book review of the 767 Long Haul and ETOPS Guide from LROPS. "The Guide is largely written by a 757/767 pilot, and explains the complexities of real-world North Atlantic crossings for simmers. It is not about flying the airplane. It presumes you know all that. What it seeks to do is roll a sturdy foundation of realism beneath what you are already doing. This means step-by-step instruction on not only planning, but operations."

"The PDF is only 69 pages with many illustrations. There is a tutorial for planning a New York to London flight. Forms are provided to record essential information for your crossing, and an ETOPS checklist will keep you safely in simulated compliance with regulations. Unless everything in the review is old hat to you, you will want this download to add realistic planning and operations to your Atlantic crossings."

TropicalSim Hewanorra International, Saint Lucia

Posted: Friday, August 21, 2009 - 14:28
TropicalSim release Hewanorra International Airport, located in Vieux Fort on the island of Saint Lucia, a tropical gem in the caribbean.

The airport was formerly a military airfield for the US Air Force during World War II with it's old name of Bean Airfield, and later Beane Air Force Base, the old northeast/southwest runway north of today's runway was the airfields runway at the time, which is represented in the scenery in it's condition today, poorly maintained.

TropicalSim has released this scenery for FS9 & FSX , visit their homepage for further information.

Aeroplane Heaven / Just Flight Release Constellation

Posted: Friday, August 21, 2009 - 14:13
Just Flight is pleased to announce the release of the Constellation Professional, developed by Aeroplane Heaven it includes eleven aircraft, spanning three different Constellation types.

The Constellation is a true aviation pioneer and thanks to its distinctive shape it is one of the most easily recognised airliners ever to grace the skies. The C69 Military transport, C69/L049A and the L049A production versions are included in Constellation Professional and span a range of 11 different aircraft. The attention to detail is, as you’d expect, second to none and Constellation Professional has been exhaustively tested by pilots with experience of real Constellation flying. If ever an aircraft deserved the description ‘classic’ then this is it.

The release includes a fully detailed virtual cockpit with ‘liquid-smooth’ gauges and carefully modelled controls such as fuel dump levers, trim controls, autopilot gear and nose-wheel steering, complete flight engineer’s, radio and co-pilot's stations with fully functional equipment and gauges, detail animations including outer, middle and inner marker arrays, course deviation meters, prop feathering gear and prop reversers on the throttles.

Visit the Just Flight Hanger for complete details and look over the Video and screenshots of the " Connie " .

Ultimate Traffic II from Flight 1

Posted: Friday, August 21, 2009 - 2:04
It's been 2 years since we looked at Flight 1's Ultimate Traffic, now staff reviewer Jason McKee looks at their latest release Ultimate Traffic II. "To use some marketing parlance, it has been completely redesigned from the ground up, specifically for FSX. This means that the models are more frame rate friendly than the FS2004 version; that you can use DX10 preview without the grey or white aircraft issues showing up; and overall you can have more traffic than you could have had in the past."

"Included with the package are some very neat tools, including schedules for one or all airlines covered, flight maps, flight routes, aircraft livery configuration and aircraft removal to name but a few. If you have selected 100% traffic and your system can handle it, you are in for a treat. Major airports become bustling areas with traffic going every which way, and GA fields have a nice flow of traffic around them too. Following the AI with the new AI camera option in FSX is great fun. Watching a variety of different aircraft flying around they all seem to fly correctly, taxi well and generally look good."

"Ultimate Trafic II is a great product, designed from the ground up with FSX specific models and features, most aircraft feature moving flaps and reversers. With the range of tools provided and options to change the flight plans of aircraft, it makes a powerful program to manage and adjust your AI. It fills your airports with realistic traffic that follows the latest schedules and assignments. I highly recommend this product if you are looking for a great AI traffic system that is fully customizable to suit your needs."

Abacus Releases FSRepaint V2

Posted: Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 0:15
Thousands of flight simulation fans use FS Repaint to make impressive visual changes to their favorite aircraft easily. With its built-in editor, you'll repaint planes right before your eys and see the changes immediately as they'll appear in Flight Simulator. Just a few easy steps: select a default aircraft or 3rd party aircraft, create a new variation, repaint the aircraft, save it and then run Flight Simulator. Make a "rush repaint" in just minutes, or spend more time to add exacting details.

Compatible with both FSX and FS2004 and available by download or on CD-ROM. Visit the Abacus websitre for complete details.

NEMETH / MILVIZ - BELL UH-1 HUEY

Posted: Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 21:56
The Bell UH-1 Huey was the US Army's first operational turboshaft-powered helicopter, the Bell UH-1 "Huey", would prove one of the most successful rotorcraft in history, with over 16,000 built. The Huey was and remains a common sight in many of the world's military forces, and still is in first-line service in the US Marines.

The improved version of the UH-1C is the UH-1D (Model 205), distinguished from the Model 204 by the side doors with two windows, and skids at an angle that gave the UH-1D a nose-up attitude on the ground. The UH-1D led to the improved "UH-1H", which is generally similar, but was fitted with the more powerful engine as well as avionics for night and bad-weather operation, and a radio navigation system.

The NEMETH DESIGNS UH-1 features a fully clickable dynamic virtual cockpit with 3D instruments, detailed interior and exterior visual models and HD textures, realistic flight dynamics and full documentation, for a look at this release visit the Nemeth UH1 Homepage .