Channel Islands & Isles of Scilly from Earth Simulations Ltd

Posted: Monday, November 14, 2011 - 2:23
Contributing reviewer Ray Marshall heads to the UK and the English Channel area to look at Earth Simulations Ltd's VFR Photoreal Scenery of the Channel Islands and the Isles of Scilly with a screenshot laden, in-depth review. "Earth Simulations has decided to zero in on smallish islands and island chains to show off their extreme talents at building scenery and animations for flight simulation. Earth Simulations is out there on the leading edge with packages and services for Prepar3d, X Plane, ESP, Openflight and FSX simulators."

"The Channel Isles are a stunning subject for our debut product and perfectly suited to show off a new era in simulation technology. Included are Alderney, Guernsey Herm & Sark, and Jersey (plus many other smaller Islands and offshore features within the channel Isle Boundaries). Explore wonderfully rugged coastlines full of beautiful shallows and fine detail. Fly in any weather, at any time of day and in any season you wish. Because the scenery is configured with a full set of seasonal and night time textures you will never lose that all important immersion that you are seeking from a scenery Package."

"Make one or more of these scenery packages your next purchase. It really doesn’t matter in which order you choose one. If you like a lot of outlying, uninhabited islands then the Isles of Scilly would be your choice. Otherwise Guernsey, Herm and Sark give you 3 separate islands with something special on each, the namesake, Guernsey is my current favorite. Alderney is smaller but is packed with features and has the 5 seasons, very nice airport, town, neighborhoods, fields, cliffs, harbor and out islands.  The outstanding animations and sounds are throughout."

Fly! Legacy Update Released

Posted: Sunday, November 13, 2011 - 16:05
A new version of Fly! Legacy is available for download on Fly.Simvol. As a reminder, Fly! Legacy is a 100% free, 100% independent, open source and participative flight simulator developed (on Chris Wallace's initiative) from Fly! II, simulator of Terminal Reality released in 2001.

Flight Crew Assistant: Airbus Edition

Posted: Saturday, November 12, 2011 - 13:47
A new iPhone/iPod Touch mobile app is available for the Airbus series called Flight Crew Assistant: Airbus Edition . This is a stand-alone app that works in conjunction with any simulator, but will be of most interest to simmers who fly Airbuses in FSX, FS9 and X-Plane. Features include: - Airbus audio checklists recorded by real-world airline pilots - Cabin PA's - Captains PA's - A list of flight crew "flow items" for each stage of flight. - Internet METAR/TAF display - The ability to import and play real-ATC recordings and assign them to ATC stations - Day/Night panel lighting Note that a version for the 737 NGX and 747-400 is also available.

FSFlyingSchool X-Plane Landing Competition

Posted: Friday, November 11, 2011 - 20:30
FSInventions announces a Landing Competition open to all owners of 'FSFlyingSchool for X-Plane - Cessna 172 Edition' (PC), where the winner gets a $50.00 gift certificate to spend at the X-Plane.org Software Store.

It's time to put your flying skills to the test and win a whole lot of X-Plane goodies for your effort! Just perform the best landing you can in a C172 and submit the score to the FSFlyingSchool Landing Score table after the flight. Submit as many landings as you like!

Newcomers can download a free demo from their website. Existing owners can download and install the latest version for free.

Marshall Islands from Pacific Islands Simulations

Posted: Friday, November 11, 2011 - 19:36
Staff reviewer Peter Hayes goes way off the beaten track to look at Pacific Islands Simulations' Marshall Islands. "The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is an independent Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. They cover an area of about 70 square miles (comprising two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls, each made up of many small islets, and five single islands) but are scattered over 750,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean."

"PIS Marshall Islands covers 3 to 4 areas of the Marshall Islands of Tuvalu. The default FSX scenery is fairly rudimentary to say the least in this area, and PIS Marshall Islands brings it to life with vivid vibrant detail as in their other titles in the tropics. PIS model 8 airports/fields included in FSX."

"This is a quality add-on for FSX, and my brief review just doesn’t do the whole package justice. I saw less than 10% of all the “eye candy” contained in this package, and you could spend a lot of time exploring the area. Every time that I flew, I saw something new. The Pacific is not well done in FSX and these scenery add-ons from PIS enhance the default scenery particularly with regards to accuracy and detail."

The Latest From JustTrains

Posted: Friday, November 11, 2011 - 16:57
Bristol & Avonmouth: Rails, Rocks & Docks - is a complete new route in development for RailWorks 3 Train Simulator 2012. This new route (Download & Boxed) covers some 45 miles of track in the Bristol area, running north from the city to the Severnbeach estuary area, past the busy docks at Avonmouth, across to Bristol Parkway and then back down to Bristol. Bristol to Avonmouth includes a total of 17 stations, eight scenarios, a coal loader, car terminal and plenty more besides - the area covered includes many interesting and historic features such as Brunel's SS Great Britain and the famous Clifton suspension bridge.

Created by ex-Servicemen Dave Capps and Ben Garfirth, Bristol & Avonmouth - Rails, Rocks and Docks was developed as an aid to help their adjustment back to civilian life after the rigours of combat. Helping that adjustment is SSAFA Forces Help, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association charity. SSAFA help and support those who serve in the UK's Armed Forces and those who used to serve. Your purchase of the route will help to ensure that SSAFA's fine work is continued with donations made from your purchase.

Get busy on the Newcastle to York Modern route - If you're ready for some new challenges on our Newcastle to York Modern route, a new Scenario Pack is now available. The Newcastle to York Modern Scenario Pack brings you eight engaging new scenarios, all complete with clear instructions, to help you explore this popular route from end to end and give you many hours of driving time.

The scenarios are compatible with both the Download and Boxed editions of the Just Trains Newcastle to York Modern route but require that the Voyager (Download or Boxed) is also installed in RailWorks 3: Train Simulator 2012.

Wilga X from Aerosoft

Posted: Friday, November 11, 2011 - 2:12
Staff reviewer Aaron Graham looks at a unique STOL aircraft, Aerosoft's Wilga X. "The production line of the Wilga started in 1962 and runs to this very day. It was designed for use in sports and civil aviation with a strong emphasis on glider-towing and parachute training."

"The Virtual Cockpit is made up of high definition photo textures. All switches and knobs are 3D and even the ones that don’t have any effect on the aircraft. The aircraft includes no 2D panels although you won’t miss them because it has a fantastic virtual cockpit. The external model is great. The textures on the external model are crisp and sharp. The entire model is highly detailed."

"The Aerosoft Wilga X add-on is a great aircraft for many GA fans to add to their hanger."

More Variants Added to NGCalc

Posted: Friday, November 11, 2011 - 1:01
Inquisitive Graphics would like to announce the addition of the 737-700, 737-600 and 737-900 variants to NG Calc, bringing the total number of variants to seven.

NG Calc is a very accurate fuel planner for advanced payware Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft. It is available for both iPad and iPhone from the iTunes App Store. These additions are free for anyone who has purchased the app, and you can download the update from the App Store.

Flight 1 Open Day Video Series

Posted: Thursday, November 10, 2011 - 1:16
Lecture #4 has now been released from the recent Open Day. In this video, Flight 1's Steve Halpern outlines the reason for developing the SimStop website and the possible future direction it will take.

SAR Helicopter Missions Vol.2 Now Available

Posted: Thursday, November 10, 2011 - 1:03
Dozen of hour of flights, new scenerys built for the sim. You will have 9 missions to fly. 3 in the Robinson R22, 3 in the Bell Jet ranger and 3 in the Agusta-Westland EH101.

Just Planes Release 6th Air Canada DVD

Posted: Thursday, November 10, 2011 - 0:59
The most popular Aviation Cockpit series in the World Air Routes is back with a 6th program. Following the B767 to South America, B777-300 to Asia, B777-200 to Australia, EMB-190 to the Caribbean and A320 to Bermuda & Florida we're delighted to release the A330 to Europe.

The Air Canada series now covers 5 continents and some fascinating flights, routes, destinations hosted by fantastic pilots. This program was filmed with 5 High Definition cameras resulting in some dramatic angles/views. In addition the 250 minute long program includes : preflight planning, external aircraft walkaround, cockpit preparations & set-up, departure & arrival briefings, emergency briefing, cockpit presentations, Oceanic & ETOPS presentations and so much more.

Under The Hood Of X-Plane 10

Posted: Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - 16:06
FS Weekend , Lelystad the 6th November 2011 saw the first public presentation from X-plane 10, an interesting discussion of what goes on "under the hood" and some outstanding details are displayed on the X-Plane 10 YouTube Channel , a series of six video presentations are promised, visit the X-Plane10 Channel to get a look at the latest edition and the growing series.

US Cities X: Las Vegas from Aerosoft

Posted: Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - 5:59
Staff reviewer Peter Hayes heads to "Sin City" to look at Aerosoft's version of Las Vegas. "Aerosoft are renowned for their quality add-on software for FSX and this no exception, being one of the seven 'US Cities X' series including: Cleveland, Niagara Falls/Buffalo, Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Indianapolis. In FSX, Las Vegas & the surrounding area is pretty bland with some good features, but install Aerosoft Las Vegas and see this FSX area transform into something that is relatively full of life and detail."

"As I stated above, there is quite a diverse amount of scenery in this package, ranging from metropolitan scenery in Las Vegas to the desert, mountain and canyon scenery surrounding the city. The airports have excellent textures and clear taxiway signs guiding you to the departure or parking point. At KLAS, the major airport, there was a certain amount of movement of vehicle and aircraft traffic, which lent itself to a realistic experience."

"Like all of the “X” sceneries from Aerosoft, this is a competent scenery/airport add-on. The airports, airfields, helipads, etc are well modeled and the accuracy is good. Once you fly around, into or out of US Cities X: Las Vegas you will find it very difficult to fly in the default FSX scenery."

Airfield Construction Group IWM Duxford UK

Posted: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 12:38
Airfield Construction Group has released freeware scenery of IWM Duxford, UK. Available for FS9 and FSX, it is the definitive representation of the Imperial War Museum. It includes comprehensive photo-realistic buildings and structures on both the north and south sides of the airfield, many are original WW1 & WW2 structures set amongst these are the modern Airspace, American Air Museum and Land Warfare Hall.

LOD models throughout and optimised for best performance possible and is fully customisable from a quite day through to an optional air show add-on. Comes complete with a package of 20 custom built classic AI aircraft incuding B17 - Sally B Catalina F86 Sabre North American Harvard Hurricane P-51 Mustang (Frankie and Miss Velma) Rapide Spitfire (Mk1a, MkT2, MkXIX) P-47 Thunderbolt Dehaviland Tigermoth and DC-3

VATSIM Openskies 2011 December 3

Posted: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 12:33
One of the world's busiest airspaces will come alive again for what is set to be one VATSIM's biggest events ever. Openskies 2011 aims to bring you a better, busier and more enjoyable event than has ever been witnessed on VATSIM before.
Six premier airports; Bristol, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Manchester and Stansted have been selected, and will be fully staffed to provide you with a huge range and variety of over 1100 bookable flights in the space of five hours. There are over 40 airports in the UK alone and Openskies allows you to experience some of these airports fully staffed and full to capacity resulting in you - the pilot; experiencing what it actually feels like to fly real-world in the United Kingdom, showcasing our airports at breaking-point capacity, heavily crowded airspaces and aircraft that are separated by just only 1000ft vertically and 3 miles laterally.

The bookable flights offer an exceptional range of possibilities; from flying some of the biggest airliners in the world, to the occasional private jets and general aviation. These flights also
include just over 180 transatlantic flights which is the same amount as our real world counterpart’s experience during the duration of the event. Openskies is truly an event like no other.

Wilco Publishing and FeelThere Embraer Phenom 100

Posted: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 12:25
The Embraer PHENOM 100 is a Very Light Jet (VLJ). It has a capacity for 4 passengers in its normal configuration, but can carry up to 6 passengers with a single crew.

The Phenom 100 has been developed by the talented and experienced team at feelThere.com who made the widely awarded Embraer series for Flight Simulator : Embraer Regional Jets, E-Jets Series.

Highlights include: New generation GARMIN 1000 flight deck, Detailed interiors with superb details, Fully interactive 2D & 3D cockpits with most systems simulated, Enhanced GPWS and TCAS II.
For Microsoft Flight Simulator X / 2004. The Phenom 100 download version is now available from Wilco Publishing

FSWeekend 2001 Lelystad

Posted: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 12:16
A recap of the FSWeekend 2001 Lelystad and the participating developers and products is available from the link above, take a virtual tour of the event!

757 Jetliner Freemium For FSX - FREE

Posted: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 1:02
You can now download Just Flight's new F-Lite 757 Jetliner - a fully fledged 757 simulation completely FREE. No catches No cost. No compromise.

757 Jetliner has been created by Just Flight's own in-house development team and features an accurate and detailed model of the non-winglet version of the 757-200 with Rolls-Royce engines in a British Airways livery. It features; high quality 3D virtual cockpit with custom Flight Management Computer; an impressive sound set for the Rolls-Royce RB211 engines; custom flight dynamics with fuel and weight calculations based on actual 757 references; realistic aircraft lighting effects and stunning external textures; a full complement of lighting effects from the wingtips and tail to the cockpit and passenger windows; and a comprehensive manual including a flight tutorial.

Aerosoft Australia Release The Flightdeck Solutions JetMax 737 Interface

Posted: Monday, November 7, 2011 - 14:12
Aerosoft Australia has worked with Flightdeck Solutions to provide the first software packagenthat works with the amazing new JetMax 737 hardware. New instruments have been developed for the displays as well as new software to interface the JetMax MCP, EFIS and CDU hardware. This is a complete hardware and software solution for the home pilot. Visit the Aerosoft Australia website for more information and pictures.

American Aerolites Falcon from Aerosoft

Posted: Sunday, November 6, 2011 - 0:59
Staff reviewer Drew Sikora looks at a lightweight from Aerosoft, namely the American Aerolites Falcon. "How cool must it have been to buy an aircraft, hop in and fly out of your backyard (assuming you had the 200 feet of no obstacle takeoff roll) without needing any sort of certification or license? That was the idea behind the Falcon when it debuted back in the mid-80's."

"The attention to detail lavished on the interior is carried over to the exterior model as well - which is a good thing because unlike most aircraft, you're looking at a good deal of it while you fly. There are five main variants to the exterior aircraft mode. The default FSX UltraLight is a simplified aircraft. If you're looking for an ultra light with more complexity and realism in its operation, then the Falcon is an option for you to consider."

"The American Aerolites Falcon is, if nothing else, a unique aircraft in its design - both aesthetically and aerodynamically. The model builder and texture artist both did a fabulous job capturing this aspect of the aircraft."