AlphaSim F-86F Sabre Released

Posted: Friday, December 14, 2007 - 3:42
The iconic Sabre has been recreated in stunning form for both FS2004 and FSX. The package contains a single variant, the famous F-86F. The textures in both sims are second to none - no mapped-on photos here, just hand-drawn craftmanship at its best (base model and textures by Wiek Luijken), every rivet is reproduced, even the drop tanks can be dropped and the pilot ejects. FSX users of course get the added third dimension of bump mapping, plus self-shadowing and full SP2 compliance. The high quality extends to the cockpit - both panel and v-c are amazingly detailed and realistic. Flight dynamics have been extensively tested and will not disappiont even the most hard-core Sabre fan. Effects and sounds both bring more life and realism to this tidy must-have package. For FSX and FS2004 only. Details and screenshots on the AlphaSim home page.

Flight Alps South Autogen Pack

Posted: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 - 14:22
France VFR is proud to announce its latest release in the Flight Alps Series : the second part for the Flight Alps South Basepack, the Flight Alps South AutogenPack. This pack has only been available under subscription until now on France VFR’s web-site and is now fully completed in its commercial version. This new add-on is complementary to the South Alps Basepack (required) of the same scenery that enhances considerably the treated zone with a full Autogen for the Alps region including trees, houses, buildings, industrial plants with more than 4 million objects meticulously placed in their right place throughout 16 000 km². Specific textures for the alpine area are also included.

This scenery is the last one that completes the Alps scenery: from the North to the South within the Basepacks and Autogen. You can fully enjoy your flight within a level of realism never before attained in this region. You can download the full version of Flight Alps South Autogen at France VFR’s web-site.

New Sim Website Announces First Release

Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 14:36
Skysim is a new UK company who are producing add-ons for FSX and FS2004. They are going to specialize in the jet heritage area with particular reference to the Cold-War aircraft of the USA, UK and USSR. Skysim have debuted by releasing the deHavilland Sea Vixen, a British carrier fighter from the 1960's. Complete details about this release and other items this vendor has available can be found at the Skysim website.

Mexican Airport For FS9/FSX

Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 1:07
The new generation of Mexican Airports for Flight Simulator X and 2004 have a new volume available, "Airports of MeXico North", with a huge coverage (20 high detailed airports, including Los Cabos, Tijuana, Mazatlan, Monterrey, Hermosillo and many more!) a mix of LOD 9-10 Mesh terrain and the main buildings and avenues for Monterrey City, for more information please go to the FlyMex website.

Product Category Survey

Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 - 1:05
Pamela Nelson from Dreamflyer (a motion simulator seen at the 2007 AVSIM FanCon), is conducting a short survey in the flight simulation market and new product interest. Pam remarks, "The benefit to participants is: get to share your opinion (who doesn’t want to do that!?), and, after completing the survey, enter an email address for a draw to win a Dreamflyer hat. The survey will be available for the next few weeks. The link to the invitation is www.corporatestrategies.ca. From there, the participants need only to click on the SURVEY link to give consent and start the survey. The survey should only take about 10 minutes." Perhaps your comments on what you're looking for in the future of flight sim may become a reality as a result of your marketing survey input.

FSX Mission Pack - Flight Tales 1 from Aerosoft

Posted: Sunday, December 9, 2007 - 19:45
Staff reviewer Mike Miraglia explores more FSX missions to fly with Aerosoft's Mission Pack - Flight Tales 1. "In this offering you will be tasked to compete in a challenging head-to-head air race, navigate through some of the worst weather FSX has to offer, perform hair-raising stunts, takeoff in a Beaver in less-than-optimal circumstances, and much more. 10 missions are included along with a bonus tutorial mission which will help you to prepare for what’s to come."

"Three beginner category missions kick off this pack, the first being the aforementioned tutorial. You will then move on to a scavenger hunt, and test your skills gliding above the Australian countryside. Two missions await you at the intermediate level, one involving some serious racing action, and another that lets you run wild performing stunts and aerobatics. Moving on to the more advanced missions, you will be tasked to complete four quests, including a harrowing ride through the Swiss Alps, an unusual mission with the Beaver, humanitarian efforts, search and rescue, and even some good ol' bush flying."

Mike's review goes into great detail about all 10 missions. Reflecting on some do's and dont's from his experiences,as well as describing the various options within each mission. "It should come as no surprise that I had a blast inspecting Mission Pack - Flight Tales 1", says Mike, "I believe that this package is a good investment, not only because of the endless hours of entertainment it offers, but also because each mission invites you back for more, even after successful completion. If you enjoy the new mission feature in FSX and would like to add more adventure, purpose, and excitement to your simming routine, than you need to set course for Aerosoft’s website."

Another Scenery Goes Freeware

Posted: Sunday, December 9, 2007 - 16:54
Now you can download FREE scenery of the western Russian airport Kaliningrad - Khrabrovo (UMKK). This scenery was payware before, but now the developers have decided to publish it for free at the Russian AI Traffic System web-site. There a FS9 and FSX versions. All animation of ground staff and ground vehicles are included.

"Pavelow" & "Helix" from AlphaSim

Posted: Sunday, December 9, 2007 - 3:09
Senior staff reviewer Gene Davis goes east and west while flying two helos from AlphaSim, the MH-53J "Pavelow" and the Ka-27/32 "Helix". "Alphasim continues to release high quality choppers for both FSX and FS9. Here are two more well crafted models to test your flying skills in the world that is Flight Simulator."

"The Alphasim Pavelow comes with 4 different military paint schemes and ships with a complete sound package. The exterior model is one of the best helicopters I have seen from the folks over at Alphasim, as well as one of the best out there on the market. The cockpit is what I have come to expect from Alphasim. It is not so complicated that you need to know where everything is and I find it to be just right for my needs, as flying a chopper of this size would require a great deal of input from both the pilot and copilot. Flying the Pavelow is fun, though it doesn’t offer a highly complicated flight model. The sounds are very good and capture the Pavelow quite remarkably."

"The Helix comes packed with five different liveries that pretty much covers its worldwide use. Climbing into the Helix is impressive and reflects its Russian design throughout. I was impressed with the main cockpit except for the design of the overhead panel. Flying the Helix is a trip in FSX, both sim’s for that matter, but it really does perform well in FSX. Its ease of flight and ability to get the feeling of what the chopper is doing in FSX is really what makes this a great add-on. Russian choppers have a sound all their own and this particular add-on really does reflect a nicely designed sound package."

Concluding this dual review of the Pavelow and the Helix, Gene comments, "Alphasim has been at the forefront of military aircraft design and we have seen an increased development of helicopter add-ons from them. If you’re a rotor head junkie like I am, you definitely have to have these."

SimTube FanCon 2007 Video

Posted: Friday, December 7, 2007 - 23:18
As announced earlier, AVSIM.com and SimTube.com have teamed up to bring you the very best in Flight Sim videos. The first installment of this partnership is the FanCon 2007 Official Video.

Here is your chance to see what all went down at the show this year. Head on over to SimTube to check it out!

Flight One Releases Cockpit Chatter

Posted: Friday, December 7, 2007 - 23:15
Flight One Software has released a new experience for Flight Simulator X pilots called Cockpit Chatter. Control aircraft systems, talk to a virtual copilot, interactively run aircraft checklists, and enhance your flight experience with just your voice, all with no training required.

Speak to your copilot just like you would on a real aircraft, telling him to set the flaps, raise the gear, tune the radios, or set the autopilot functions. Interactively run a checklist with command and response; just like a real aircraft captain. Natural speech phraseology and speaker independent technology will never leave you feeling alone in the cockpit again. For more information on Cockpit Chatter, please visit Flight1.

TweakFS Releases FSX Aircraft ToolBox

Posted: Friday, December 7, 2007 - 23:12
TweakFS has released a new aircraft utility entitled FSX Aircraft ToolBox. This utility will appeal to developers, power-users or any "virtual aircraft engineers" who often need (or just want!) to delve into their FSX aircraft files and apply their "virtual wrench", but who also wish to do it safely with a one-click restore option.

The main features include an FSX aircraft viewer, aircraft explorer, an integrated file manager anchored at the FSX folder, a CFG/HTM code editor, a thumbnail creator and much more. It can also be used to manage the fleet by backing up entire aircraft folders, enabling and disabling aircraft groups, tweaking many items as well as creating high-quality thumbnails used in the FSX aircraft selection dialog. For a more detailed description, screen shots and a free demo visit TweakFS.

FS2Crew Compilation Release

Posted: Friday, December 7, 2007 - 23:10
FS2Crew, a developer of airline crew simulations for FS9 and FSX, is proud to announce the release of Flight Crew X. Flight Crew X is a compilation/bundle product that includes all version of FS2Crew released between 1 November 2004 and 1 November 2007. It was released in conjunction with FS2Crew’s 3rd year anniversary celebrations. Please visit FS2Crew for more information.

Shockwave 3D Lights Redux

Posted: Friday, December 7, 2007 - 19:21
Shockwave Productions is pleased to announce their 3D Lights Redux. Features include: Over 40 new lighting effects including strobes, beacons, navigation, and runway lights. Fully-realized 3D landing lights actually cast light into space. Microsoft Acceleration Expansion pack is also supported. Included lights of vintage, halogen, and modern xenon lights. Installs into all Twenty-four Microsoft FSX aircraft. Entire new effects suite results in realistic night time environment. For more information visit Shockwave Lights.

FSFlyingSchool Version 1.8 Released

Posted: Friday, December 7, 2007 - 19:16
FSInventions announces a new version of its FSFlyingSchool add-on for FSX and FS2004. Version 1.8 introduces several new features which are free to existing customers and new users alike. Features include: Failure Events Reported in Log Book. Failures which occurred during flight are now reported in detail in the log book, listing the instrument or system involved and the time at which the failure occurred. In addition, if a failed instrument or system should start working again, because the pilot has chosen the option of ‘loose wire’ failures, this is also listed. Pilots can see if they correctly diagnosed systems which failed during flight and may even discover a few they missed.


Next Waypoint Announced; when a waypoint in a flight plan is reached, your instructor will announce this as usual, but will now also announce the number, name, distance and heading of the next waypoint.

NAV1 ILS Runway Details Announced; if the aircraft’s NAV1 radio is tuned to a runway ILS, instructors will announce this with reference to the NAVAID at the runway and also which specific runway has been selected. This helps the pilot confirm that the correct ILS signal is being received and is a convenient reminder of where to land!

Run Up Checks; pre-flight checks have been enhanced to include run up checks. The instructor will confirm when this has been done correctly.

To find out more, watch movies, download demo, etc, visit the FSFlyingSchool website.

CLS, Service Pack 2 For Airbus 330/340

Posted: Friday, December 7, 2007 - 13:22
Commercial Level Simulations is pleased to announce that we have released Service Pack 2 for the A330/A340 product. The service pack can be download at the CLS website. New customers will find the Service pack already integrated in the new base package!

757 PRO From Just Flight

Posted: Friday, December 7, 2007 - 4:05
Just Flight is pleased to announce that they have now released, by download, the long-awaited 757 Professional for Flight Simulator 2004.

Commenting on this release, Just Flight's Paul Hyslop said: "We were hoping to release an FSX/FS2004 version of 757 Professional by now. Unfortunately this probably won't be possible and so we have decided instead to release an FS2004-only version. Currently we've got no plans to upgrade this title to FSX compatibility - this release is purely to satisfy the healthy demand from the many customers who tell us they are still using the older sim."

This 757 expansion has been developed by the experts at PSS for FS2004 and is a professional simulation in every sense of the word. It comes in both the -200 and -300 variants and an impressive selection of over 60 different airline liveries from around the globe. The 757 is acknowledged throughout the world as the leader in short to medium-range operations. It flies routes from under 100 to over 4,000 miles apart and now desktop pilots can enjoy the same fantastic flexibility.

Unleash The Fork-Tailed Devil

Posted: Thursday, December 6, 2007 - 1:02
Just Flight is very pleased to announce that its eagerly-anticipated P-38 Lightning is now taking to the simulated skies. The full download package is available now exclusively from Just Flight's website and a boxed version on DVD-ROM will be released very soon.

A high quality version of Lockheed's iconic high altitude fighter/recon aircraft has long been sought after by flight sim enthusiasts. Now their prayers are answered with this superb Lightning pack for Flight Simulator X and 2004, created by the classic aircraft experts at Aeroplane Heaven. The level of detail is second to none and among the many variants included are the aircraft of three Lightning legends - Antoine de St Exupery, Major Richard Bong and W/Cdr Adrian Warburton.

Flight models, sounds and paint schemes are all created to a very high level of accuracy and authenticity and P-38 Lightning is set to take its place with the other classics in the Just Flight hangar. Here's how Just Flight describes the features in this release," Innovative features include drop tanks that can be jettisoned, detailed gun and camera bays, removable gunsight for improved vision in cockpits and even working gun and cannon effects. Cockpits are a revelation, with all major and minor controls capable of operation by mouse and virtually every lever, switch and wheel is reproduced. Gauges are set in authentic housings and use the unique 'Liqui-Drive' system to guarantee smooth operation. This aeroplane can be started and flown correctly by the numbers from a 'cold and dark' cockpit. The release includes the P-38F and P-38J variants with a total of 17 different liveries, including the recently restored 'Glacier Girl'."

Active Sky X Service Pack 2 Released

Posted: Thursday, December 6, 2007 - 0:46
This upgrade pack focuses on wind shifts and visibility depiction improvements, as well as fixing several bugs and adding some new enhanced functionality. In testing, an estimated 80% average reduction in wind shift frequency and intensity has been realized, with 100% wind shift reduction in many cases. New data smoothing, directional control, special FSX interface techniques and layer manipulation has finally made this possible. With the new Visibility Graduation feature, the FS haze layer is eliminated and a more realistic visibility representation is offered. Visibility gradually clears as you climb to higher altitudes and returns to reported conditions as you descend. Fog layer Simulation is also offered which will visually depict areas of low visibility by injecting low stratus cloud layers. Complete details can be found at the Active Sky X website.

Flight Sim Research Paper

Posted: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - 14:29
The use of PC-based flight simulators in the entertainment and aviation industries continues to grow strongly. PC-based sims are being used more and more to support aspects of flight training. But is this a good thing? What are the issues, advantages and pitfalls of using $90 software to learn how to fly real aircraft? A paper released by Nic D'Alessandro reviews research on this topic and examines these questions in detail. The paper also discusses how PC-based sims can be used more effectively to improve aspects of aviation training. This will be of interest to desktop simmers who dream of flying for real one day, right through to flight instructors and commercial/IFR pilots who use simulators to support their work. Nic D'Alessandro is an elearning / educational design professional, has a Private Pilots License, and has been using desktop simulators for over 20 years. He has recently completed construction of a full-size fixed-base Boeing737NG simulator and is an active member of cockpit building and VATSIM online communities. The pdf file can be found at the bottom of the Insite Solutions webpage.

Heinkel He-111H from AlphaSim

Posted: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 - 2:46
Staff reviewer Marc Radford reviews another of AlphaSim's releases. This time the Heinkel He-111H medium bomber. "The Heinkel He 111 H variant saw more action then any other version during WWII, however it did not take long for the plane's performance to be superceded by the enemy."

"What we get are three unique models and four texture schemes. The models are quite impressive visually which is what you would expect from AlphaSim. After seeing many screen shots of AlphaSim products before, and reviewing two of them, I know to expect a high quality model just like the Hienkel He 111."

"I love a plane which my first attempts of taking off results in numerous crashes; this way I feel that the dynamics and attention to the check list are important, which is always a thumbs up for me. The historical information of the Heinkel He 111 always pointed to an aircraft that was underpowered, in this simulation it is no different, requiring very sensitive inputs to both yoke and trim on initial takeoff and climb; this is both initially frustrating and rewarding when you finally get the hang of it."

"As expected from AlphaSim, the fps performance is great in both 2D Cockpit and VC Cockpit views, my fps rarely dropped below the 25 fps. Given my very average machine specification, I think this runs excellent on my machine and looks great also."

Marc concludes his review and test flights of the Heinkel He-111 with, "If you are familiar with AlphaSim products already, the Heinkel He 111 is a great piece of work all around and would make a nice addition to your hangers. The Heinkel He-111 really is a quality plane in visuals and flight dynamics, and if you are looking for a quality representation of that bird, here it is from AlphaSim."