Gotha Ho229 For FS 2004 Released

Posted: Saturday, December 22, 2007 - 16:51
Had the Ho 229 made it into production it would have been the culmination of Luftwaffe technology and design. Featuring flying wing technology to reduce drag, two 30mm cannons, one of the first ejection seats, and a powerplant of two Junkers Jumo jet engines, the Ho 229 would have been unmatched in the skies over Europe. SkyUnlimited has worked hard to replicate this marvel of aerial ingenuity for your personal enjoyment. You now can take to the skies in one of the most mysterious and deadly aircraft of WWII.

Features Include: a highly detailed exterior model of the Gotha Ho229 by Kevin “Gibbage” Miller; beautifully rendered Virtual Cockpits by Brandon Toomey that are animated and labeled; 8 stunning paint schemes featuring differently nationalities including a fictional Japanese version; "By the Book" flight dynamics built with the latest in airfile design technology by the acclaimed Jerry Beckwith; highly Detailed Panel by Jesse Lambert; machine gun effects, wingtip vortices effects, and contrail effects; custom Gauges by the acclaimed Michael Flahault; custom Gun Effects for FSX and Fs2004 by Rob Barendregt and Douglas Dawson; and custom Sound sets created by Michael Flahault. An FSX version will be released as a separate product.

Scotflight for FSX Released

Posted: Saturday, December 22, 2007 - 14:08
Scotflight for FSX - Highlands & Islands includes 27 detailed airports and airfields and a host of other features to bring the landscape in this remote and beautiful part of the world to life. The scenery also includes a more detailed coastline for the whole of Scotland. Version 1.1 is compatible with SP1/SP2/Accel/SP2. For full details on this release visit Visual Flight.

Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport by Skymaker

Posted: Saturday, December 22, 2007 - 4:34
Staff reviewer Roger Curtiss goes to South America to review Skymaker's Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport (SCEL). "SCEL utilizes 2 parallel runways of 10,500’ length in a north/south configuration (17L/35R and 17R/35L) with the terminal area located midfield in between them. Runway 17L/35R is certified for CAT III and ILS IIIA operations."

"I started my tour from the southwest corner of the ramp area where there are 2 open-air parking spots. I proceeded northbound past the terminal area and it was obvious that the terminal textures went beyond the standard FS airport buildings and certainly appeared to represent actual buildings. This impression was confirmed when I viewed some photos of the actual airport provided to me by Skymakers and this allowed me to appreciate the attention to detail that went into the product."

"The taxiway lines were “freshly painted” being quite vivid and clear and the taxiway signs were large and easy to read. But not every taxiway was marked with a sign. I passed one of the two fire stations where a few green trucks sat outside and took a look at a large LAN Chile hangar. The hangar was open and the airplane could be brought inside but it and others at the airport were generally of a generic construct and devoid of any interior appointments."

"For the return taxi to the main terminal area I reset the clock to night hours. The taxiways were beautifully illuminated with green centerline lights clearly showing the main and low visibility routes around the airport. But I did come to some taxiway intersections that did not have signs so it is imperative to maintain great situational awareness in order to avoid getting lost."

Roger sums up his tour of SCEL with, "while SCEL appears to be a sincere attempt to depict the Benitez Airport, it falls short in a few areas and offers few surprises and for those reasons I cannot place it in the same category as other titles that do offer these amenities. But I believe the Skymakers crew has room for improvement and enhancement that I hope will be forthcoming in updates or new offerings."

XPax Released

Posted: Friday, December 21, 2007 - 23:38
XPax, a new multimedia passenger simulation add-on from HiFi Simulation, has been officially released! This add-on is compatible with both FSX AND FS9. A full multi-media passengers experience is provided, with included audio and video content (4 unique voices with over 12 total sets). New content sets can be recorded or imported with a few clicks. Passengers are fully simulated from boarding to deplaning, with all various phases of flight properly tracked and monitored. Passengers can be viewed in real time via the manifest or top-down seating diagram screen! 3 detailed cabins are provided as well as a universal “Other” custom cabin diagram that can be configured for any load. Performance is scored by individual passenger approval and health amounts which will change based on the smoothness of the flight. Abrupt control movements, unsafe flying, hard landings, and many more other tracked events will cause approval reduction, and in extreme cases will cause health reduction. Flight logs are fully exportable for use with VA operations. Real-time dynamic control of FS aircraft payload, automatic jetway and doors control, a report screen, documentation, top-notch customer support and much more are all included.

This is the first in a series of low-cost dual-sim-compatible “pocket add-ons” from HiFi Simulation that aim to provide entertaining enhancements to the simulation experience with exceptional value. XPax is available now for immediate download. For more information, screenshots, documentation, and to download please visit the X Pax Page.

Flight Gear 1.0 Released

Posted: Friday, December 21, 2007 - 23:31
FlightGear is a free, open-source, flight simulator that runs on just about every major platform. The source code is licensed under the
GPL. FlightGear is available for free download from the Flight Gear Site. Ready to run versions of FlightGear are available for Windows and MacOS. Packages for other platforms should be arriving in the upcoming days. Please take a look at the above page to get an idea of the new features and aircraft that are available with this release.

VATSIM Special Partnership

Posted: Friday, December 21, 2007 - 17:51
VATSIM and MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD) have joined together to conduct aviation systems research using the VATSIM network as a test environment for proof of concept and hypothesis testing of new ATC solutions.

Richard Jenkins of VATSIM writes, "This program is the direct result of the exacting standards required to fly and control on VATSIM and is a direct tribute to your tireless efforts to simulate as real as it gets. Today VATSIM leaves the world of purely a hobby and moves into the real world, making its contribution to future ATC systems and aviation safety. Congratulations to all those members out there that have made the reputation VATSIM has built over the years as the serious simulation platform. Your hard work has been recognized."

From the CAASD website Overview, "MITRE has helped the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) address the nation's most critical aviation issues since the company's creation in 1958. In recognition of this long and fruitful relationship, the FAA designated MITRE's aviation program as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center in 1990 and named the new entity the Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD). In addition to supporting the FAA, CAASD works with civil aviation authorities around the world, all of which face similar challenges. This enables us to increase our knowledge of best practices in aviation and share them with all our customers." CAASD primarily supports the FAA, but also works with more than 20 aviation organizations around the world—in Europe, Asia, South America, and North America. For more information from VATSIM, check out the VATSIM Forums.

ATR 72-500 Update

Posted: Friday, December 21, 2007 - 15:24
Flight One Software has officially released Service Pack 1 for the FSX version of the ATR 72-500. This update fixes several minor issues with the aircraft, as well as a minor change for Vista users if your FSX installation is installed to the Program Files folder.

Only users of the download version, or users that have the FS9 version on CD and have upgraded to the FSX version using the FS9 to FSX update program, need this update. You can get the update by visiting Flight One.

HJG Releases Core File Updates

Posted: Thursday, December 20, 2007 - 17:28
The Historic Jetliners Group has released updates to 16 of the B707/720/C135 TYPE panels for FS2004 & FSX. There have been no changes to any of the actual panel files. These do not need replacing. Again this is just a gauges/core files update only. In addition tothe core file updates HJG has added new base packs covering B707-138, B707-138B EARLY, and B707-138B LATE replace the original data and include FDE revisions. Please taxi on down to the Historic Jetliners Group for more information.

AVSIM Needs News Editors

Posted: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - 14:57
Would you like to see your handy work on the front pages of AVSIM? Like to write, edit, and contribute to a great team and family? AVSIM.com is seeking news editors for it's front page news. All we ask is 3-5 days a month to submit stories that are emailed to us, surf the web looking for news to post, and on your duty days post the new files as they are ready.

You'll be joining a tight-knit family of AVSIM volunteers that love what we do, and at the same time giving back to the simming community. If you're interested, please send an email to AVSIM HR. We will be in touch quickly to discuss adding you to our team! Thank you, and have a happy holidays!

-John Binner, AVSIM
Managing Editor
jbinner@avsim.com

Got Yoke?

Posted: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - 14:34
Now you can fly the Boeing 737 NG how it was meant to be flown. Beta Innovations, in collaboration with their technology partner, are pleased to announce the release of this limited run all-metal, fully realistic 737 Yoke. The 737 Yoke provides authentic functionality using the latest in USB technology for precision and stability. Manufactured using full metal and aluminum casting with specially powder-coated finish for realistic look and feel. For more information visit Beta Innovations .

Scenery For Central Florida Airfields

Posted: Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - 14:30
Ruud Faber of FScene Design Network informs us that they have released their first product. He reports, "Our first title "Central Florida GA Airfields, Volume 1" is an enhancement to a whole range of small Florida airfields that were left completely barren in FSX. The developer Joe Watson has added 'life' to the fields by placing many objects, as one would find in real life."

"Volumes 2, 3 and 4 are already waiting at the sideline to be packaged and will become available in the coming weeks." For more information, visit the FScene Design Network.

Tatra Photoscenery from SimDesign

Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 - 1:28
Staff reviewer Jon Murchison goes mountain flying with SimDesign's Tatra Photoscenery for FSX. "Simdesign offers a pixel resolution of 2.4 m (that means each pixel equates to roughly to 2.4 meters on the ground), double that available in the FS2004/2002 version, and digital terrain mesh at 19m’s."

"Textures for all four seasons and custom night textures are provided with TATRA; this adds character and depth to the scenery and really shows off these mountains in all their glory as they change so much depending on the time of day and year you visit them. I have to say that TATRA highlights why including all the seasons is such a smart move, and I hold TATRA up as an example of exactly why doing them is worth it. But, including them and doing a good job of it are two different things, and I’m pleased to say Simdesign have achieved a stunning result with their seasonal and night textures."

"To be totally honest, initially I was a little skeptical about this package and wondered why I would get excited about some rocks in Europe. But TATRA is stunning. The mountains and the surrounding land slowly began to reveal themselves to me in a way I hadn’t expected as I explored the seasons and different areas of the region. The quality of the mesh and photo real is excellent, good enough in fact to draw me into the scenery and begin to move it away from being a simulated environment and into something a little more special."

Concluding his exporation of the Tatra mountains Jon says, "TATRA won me over and does exactly what it says it will, so you do get what you pay for. The more I flew and explored, the more I wanted to continue. The attraction is the mountains, they are not on the way to a destination, they are the destination. I whole heartedly recommend this scenery to anyone who enjoys VFR flying, and has the time and inclination to spend exploring and delving deeply into a region. TATRA needs and deserves to be explored to maximize the potential this scenery offers."

Project EV97 Releases The Eurostar

Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 - 0:44
Project EV97 is pleased to announce that the freeware Evektor EV97 is available for download, just in time for christmas. The EV97 is an ultralight, all-metal two-seater, and one of the most popular ultralights in Europe. The package includes a model with two different panel configurations, custom sounds and gauges and a fully functional virtual cockpit. The package is designed for FS2004, but is fully compatible with FSX (SP1).

Megascenery X Southern California from PC Aviator

Posted: Monday, December 17, 2007 - 2:47
Staff reviewer Angelique van Campen continues her treks around the globe. This time she explores MegaScenery X - Southern California. "The MegaScenery Team raises the realism ante again with the first "LARGE AREA" MegaScenery release - MegaSceneryX: Southern California For Microsoft Flight Simulator X. At 18,000 square miles (135 nm x 135 nm) this new title for Flight Simulator X displays scenery at 1.19 meters per pixel - 16 times the resolution of Flight Simulator 2004."

"The covered area contains no more then two large and famous cities between mountains, mountains and more mountains with some rocks and small deserts. Although it depends a little in which direction you want to fly, still what you see is beautiful. Although this scenery is mainly for VFR flights, you can still enjoy its beauty during an IFR approach or departure."

"First the offered airports, KLAX and KSAN. They give me a good impression of what kind of busy airports these are with some details. Remember, MegaSceneryX is a photorealistic scenery enhancer and not a complete package with many airports. If you’re not satisfied with the offered airports, you’re always free to add other airport sceneries."

"Focusing on the ground textures, I see that the higher we go the more realistic and beautiful this area becomes. This is mainly due to all the added ground textures and I’m impressed. Entering the mainland via the ocean gives also a very good idea about the quality of this MegaSceneryX software."

Concluding her LA to San Diego trip with MegaScenery X - Southern California installed, Angelique comments, "the only thing you have to keep in mind is the fact that it covers a large, and at the same time, a small area of the United States. This is an excellent product, extremely highly detailed scenery, lots of charts, VFR Terminal charts and Sectional Charts. Let’s hope Northern California will be available soon."

DreamFleet and Reality XP Release Piper Dakota

Posted: Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 23:14
Based on the real Piper Dakota N8086N owned by DreamFleet's founder Lou Betti the DreamFleet Dakota is the first ever FS GA aircraft to feature a complete set of Reality XP's new "Gauge XTreme". RXP's Garmin GNS430, GMA340 Audio Panel, and GTX327 Transponder are also included, these gauges feature completely dimmable gauge backlighting running Flight Line T and Flight Line N gauges in both the 2D panels and Virtual Cockpit. Those who purchase the Dakota for FS9 will be entitled to receive the the Full Spec FSX version, and the rare Piper turbo Dakota in final production. For complete details and a look at the real thing visit DreamFleets Dakota Homepage.

New Review - FSFlyingSchool

Posted: Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 23:01
Senior staff reviewer Jeff Shyluk goes back to school to break some bad habits while exploring FlyingSchool. "This a useful product that simulates having a Flight Instructor along with you as you fly in FSX, FS2004, or FS2002."

"It provides a simulated flight instructor who watches over how you handle your aircraft from taxi to final touchdown, and who can grade your performance. As well, your flight data can be logged and even uploaded onto the Internet so you can see how you compare with other sim pilots."

"FSFS is capable of using a wide variety of aircraft including large passenger jets as well as single-propeller General Aviation planes. It cannot use acrobatic aircraft, gliders, or helicopters, though. If your favourite aircraft is not supported directly by FSFS, it’s very easy to add it using a simple performance editor included with the program. "

"The instructor follows the progress of your flight from your initial taxi to after your final touchdown. He or she will talk to you as you fly, letting you know when you are doing something wrong or unsafe, and sometimes offering constructive flight tips. The most interaction comes during the landing phase, which can either be a VFR (Visual Flight Rules) or an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) landing. Afterwards, you are graded on several aspects of your flight performance."

"The FSFlyingSchool application runs smoothly and without any major bugs. It does require a reasonably fast computer system, and it works best if you fly using high-quality flight controls like a yoke, throttle, and rudder pedals. The instructor voices are recorded at a low audio resolution, but are acceptably realistic for use in a sim cockpit. All of the instructors speak clearly and their comments are easy to understand. The user is free to modify the instructors in FSFS, including recording their own voices, if they wish."

"A fast-learning student pilot will quickly understand the importance of planning the landing sequence in advance. Even a few circuits with an FSFS instructor should help you settle into a good rhythm for making acceptable landings. Now that I’ve spent some hours with FSFS, I find that I am working some of the bad sim-flying habits out of my system, and I think I am getting better at aviation simulation in general."

Jeff's final word about FSFlyingSchool is "if you believe that you are ready for more realistic and more disciplined sim aviation, then FSFlyingSchool is worth checking out. You can try before you buy with the FSFS demo download, which means that you can easily see if this interesting program is right for you."

FSX-SP2 is available for download!

Posted: Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 12:41
Phil Taylors Blog. is the place to get your copy of SP2. Released today the Aces Team has gifted the Flight Sim Community with their hard work getting the latest improvements out in time for the holidays. Thanks to the entire team and Phil in particular for keeping us up to date in the forums and helping in to bridge the gap between Aces and its fanbase , Happy Holidays all and thanks for the gift !

Pilatus PC-12 for FSX

Posted: Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 11:47
In a news submission sent to Avsim today Flight One Software announced the release of their Pilatus PC-12 for FSX. The new FSX package is a complete overhaul of thier FS2004 version, the package offers several different configurations that include: commuter, executive, cargo, and multimission surveillance.The features of this release include an updated FSX exterior model with specular lighting and bump mapping, dual Garmin 430 GPSs replace the single KLN90B,Garmin MX200 Color MFD and an upgraded EHSI with Map mode and range scale from 2nm-50nm. For further details about this release visit Flight One Software .

Piper Twin Comanche from Eaglesoft

Posted: Saturday, December 15, 2007 - 0:06
Staff reviewer Angelique van Campen tours around the southern Florida area again, but this time in Eaglesoft's Twin Comanche. "The Piper PA-30 and PA-39 Twin Comanche are a twin-engine development of the PA-24 Comanche single-engine aircraft. The Twin Comanche is the most fuel efficient aircraft in its class."

About the interior, Angelique comments, "I love the 2D view. Eaglesoft offers an IFR and VFR look. From the IFR panel, the lower part with all the switches is removed, which results in a lowering of the panel itself, so you’ve got more outside visibility and that’s then known as the VFR panel. When we start the VC, you can see it's different than the 2D panel, but looking to the quality, there’s hardly any difference. In other words, the VC startup panel looks as great and sharp as the 2D version."

From the outside, "when we look at specific details of the aircraft, I’m surprised about those tiny things. For example; looking underneath the fuselage/wings, clearly can be seen the oil leak strips along the engine pylon to the wing surface. Generally, the whole look is very good, with lots of details."

Angelique continues her review by putting the Twin Comanche through its paces while on a test flight. Her conclusion reads, "after I spend lots of hours flying and looking around with the Piper PA-30, I can say that it’s one of my favorites. The 2D is offered in an IFR and VFR panel although there are hardly any differences. The instruments look great, they are sharp and this is especially important for the VC model. I can advise you to buy this Eaglesoft product."

Prop Plane from CLS

Posted: Friday, December 14, 2007 - 3:50
Commercial Level Simulations is very pleased to announce the release of our first propellor aircraft! The Piper Arrow is a small, but very fun aircraft for flying in both FS9 and FSX. (including FSX acceleration DX9 mode). The aircraft comes with 8 color variations, 4 different cockpit color styles and of course both exterior model and virtual cockpit!