FSAdventureSky Release New Adventures

Posted: Friday, June 15, 2007 - 5:47
FSAdventureSky is where Simmers can find 'unique' adventures with their own Mission (.bgl) or FSnavigator files. These adventures can be flown by yourself or with friends in the FSAdventureSky 'weekend Server' together with TS. FSAdventureSky creates flghts through some of the harshest (yet most interesting) parts of the FS world. From the Jungle of Darien in Panama, to obstacle races around Kilimanjaro. Enjoy free adventurous flights with FSAdventureSky

WidevieW 2.0 & Widetraffic 1.1 Released

Posted: Friday, June 15, 2007 - 5:29
WidevieW 2.0 and Widetraffic 1.1 for FSX are now available from the WidevieW Website. These releases offer significant improvements to their predecessors, including FSX SP1 comparability. WidevieW can be used to create cockpits with panoramic scenery views, through multiple monitors on networked PCs. There is no limit on how many PCs can be linked together, and view angles can be easily customized, to get perfectly matching images throughout the LAN. Widetraffic is an optional module for WidevieW, allowing AI airplanes and multiplayer traffic synchronization throughout the LAN.

FScene for FS9 Patch

Posted: Friday, June 15, 2007 - 5:01
On request of some FS9 users, Ruud Faber has made a patch with replacement textures for the "small airports" which originally appeared in FScene2004/6.

So if you think you find too many of these fields in your FScene world, go and click the special button and get the patch at the FScene website.

Today is AlphaSim's 8th Birthday

Posted: Friday, June 15, 2007 - 4:54
Yup, eight fun-packed years of making FS models. To mark the occasion AlphaSim has posted the F-105 Thunderchief on their freeware page. Its the complete package with all gauges, models, etc. Enjoy this aircraft, and celebrate along with AlphaSim!

Lionheart Creations Releases "Operation Valkyrie"

Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 9:35
New from the studios of Lionheart Creations Ltd. is the collossal add-on 'Operation Valkyrie'. This huge gamepack is filled with aircraft, cars, gliders, a U-Boot, 11 different various high detail German airfields, an internal Informations Center that covers all the various vehicles to the airfields, and a giant set of 65 missions that come with seperate, detailed pages that include flight data, screenshots, background music, and quick link 'Fly Now' mission start buttons so that you go from Missions Center directly into your flight in Flight Simulator, by-passing the FS setup window.

The premise of the product goes like this, "The code name 'Operation Valkyrie' was created by a group led be Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg who had a huge following of people that wished to shut down the evil nazi party. They were going to assassinate Adolf Hitler and in one night, bring down the nazi office, and in one week, bring peace to the world in the European war theatre. Their plight ended in catastrophe, with evil guarding the mad fuhrer, he walked away from the explosion with minimal damage and the fight to free Germany lasted only that day with Berlin being run for the day by the heroic 'Operation Valkyrie' team, which consisted of 22 German Generals and a Field Marshall." This gamepack follows the events in history, putting you into it as a fictional 'interactive' member of the Inner Circle of 'Operation Valkyrie'.

This is a huge addon and requires to be setup before it is operational. There are a total of 3 downloads totalling near 250 megs of zipped data. The gamepack works with Bill Lyons 'Golden Wings'. More information and setup details can be found at the Lionheart Creations FAQ page. The game comes with airfields spanning Northern Germany, through Italy, and down into North Africa. AI traffic includes Ju-52's, He-111's, Me-109's, and various ground support vehicles. The airfields vary from civilian airfields, to huge Luftwaffe airbases, to a classic Gliderport on a hill overlooking the town of Freiburg.

The aircraft in this gamepack include a Bucker Bu-181 Bestmann in 10 model variations and 14 texture packs. There is also a Messerschmitt Me-323 Gigant with 4 texture packs and 4 model variants with such things as a Panzer that drives out of its cargo hold. Also included are a high detailed Kubelwagen in 3 colors with a pop-up roof, and a Grunau training glider with an optional tow model that uses a Bucker Bu-181 Bestmann. Lastly, there is a Type VII-C Kriegsmarine U-Boot that can dive, spills a cloud of diesle smoke, and can raise its periscope.

If you are running into some bordom with your Sim flights, if you are looking for an adventure, if you have always wondered about some those other aircraft Germany had during WWII, if you have always wondered what kind of plane the famous German aces of WWII trained in, if you have always wanted to drive to an airport to fly, if you have never soared the ridge drafts and thermals over Freiburg in a Grunau glider, if you have wondered what its like to land a super supply plane carrying a German Panzer tank, then this gamepack just might be for you....

There are two versions, one specifically for FS2004, and one specifically for FSX. (FSX features moved airfields to conform to new terrain features).

Dispatch Planner III Released

Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 2:19
Dispatch Planner III is the latest version in the popular range of dispatch creation software, and is now a standalone product! The completely new and improved user interface makes it easier than ever for you to create and print a dispatch. The 'Weather Centre' means that Dispatch Planner is no longer restricted to just producing a single dispatch sheet. Advanced weather reports including METARs and TAFs can now be retrieved and printed on a weather report sheet. Dispatch Planner Three boasts features such as compatibility with both FSX and FS9, the ability to create of ‘Dispatch’ style printable sheets, automatic retrieval of airfield elevations, relevant constant weights for the airframe (eg. Maximum TakeOff Weight), accurate Fuel Planning figures for trips, the automatic retrieval of data concerning your currently installed aircraft, a link to VATSIM flight-plan filing which can automatically fills fields, and much more. You can find out more and view screenshots by going to The Dispatch Planner Website

CIM Flight Decks Release 737NG Overhead Panel

Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 2:11
CIM Flight Decks have just announced the launch of their Boeing 737NG ProLine overhead panel, the newest product in its series of panels for the Flight Simulator hobbyist. Now available in the CIM Flight Decks web shop is the luxury version of the exact replica of the Boeing 737NG overhead panel that was brought on the market as a BasicLine product by CIM Flight Decks. After there turned out to be a large demand for these panels, CIM Flight Decks started the ProLine. Only top quality materials are used for CIM Flight Decks panels; the ProLine panels are coated with a high-grade flat paint, giving a scratchproof result. They also have rounded corners and are slightly thicker than the BasicLine. Like the BasicLine products, the ProLine panels can of course easily be integrated and installed in the (self-built) CIM Flight Decks cockpit. The Boeing 737NG ProLine overhead panel is available at the CIM Flight Decks web shop with the option to buy a separate forward or aft panel.

Fix For CLS Business jet and JustFlight VLJ

Posted: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 15:51
CLS & Just Flight have announced a fix for the CLS Business Jet and Just Flight VLJ products. This fix is intended only for those customers experiencing crashes to desktop on loading the product in Flight Simulator 9. For CLS customers, please have a look at the CLS Website where you can download the fix. JustFlight and DVD customers can download the fix via the JustFlight Website.

Spitfire Mk IA from Shockwave Productions

Posted: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 10:12
Staff reviewer climbs into one of the most famous cockpits of WWII, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk IA from Shockwave Productions. "This is the aircraft that, with the Hawker Hurricane, won the Battle of Britain. Later versions of the Spitfire were faster, more agile, and better armed. But if you are trying to put yourself in the mindset of a British pilot in 1940, when the invasion of his homeland was a real possibility, then the Mk. I is your airplane."

"The visual model is outstanding. While working on this review I’ve looked at a lot of photographs, and when I go back to the sim version, everything is in the right place with the right dimensions and proportion. As good as the modeling is, the surface textures are even better. The Shockwave Spitfire comes with only one livery, but that one livery is superb."

"The inside looks just as good as the outside, however, the 2D cockpit is minimal. The cockpit in this aircraft is a work of art. The colors are rich, the curves are clean, and the animations are smooth. The sounds are just as rich as the visuals. The deep, reliable thrumming of the powerful Merlin engine, the protracted hiss of retracting flaps, the solid clank of landing gear locking in place, the high-pitched whirr of gyroscopes spinning up to speed, the shriek of ignition: all of them are here"

"So how does it fly? I can tell you that at high speed the early Spitfires had sluggish ailerons. Shockwave read the same report because if you wind up the airspeed indicator past 350 miles per hour, the controls on this model will become unresponsive. I also know that the Merlin engine, manufactured by Rolls Royce, lost power when flying inverted. Shockwave got this one right too: roll over and the engine plays dead until you flip back."

"There are several options for flightsim pilots who want to fly Spitfires. Shockwave Productions' Spitfire Mk IA does things well, with substance and style. If you are interested in comparing the Spitfire with other fighters from the same period, Shockwave also has Wings of Power II: WWII Fighters which also includes the Bf 109E, the P-47, the P-51 and the Zero."

Wilco Releases 737PIC For FSX

Posted: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 - 2:56
Wilco Publishing announced it has released the popular 737 Pilot In Command for FSX. Developed by feelThere, current owners of the 737-300/400/500 model can obtain their free upgrade by flying direct to the Wilco website.

CLS Issues SP2 For DC-10 Series

Posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 - 19:21
Customers of Commercial Level Simulations (CLS) DC-10 Series are encouraged to stop by the CLS website to download Service Pack 02. The service pack fixes several bugs and comes with an additional livery.

MegaSceneryX: Dallas/Fort Worth Released

Posted: Monday, June 11, 2007 - 23:35
MegaScenery publisher, PC Aviator, today announced the release of the next title in the new MegaSceneryX brand of add-on scenery for Microsoft Flight Simulator X – MegaSceneryX: Dallas/Fort Worth.

MegaSceneryX is a visual scenery add-on for Microsoft Flight Simulator X that is recreated from high resolution aerial photography. It takes advantage of the new scenery engine in Flight Simulator X to display the scenery at 1.19 meters per pixel.

“Since PC Flight Simulation’s advent way back in the early 1980’s, flight simmers have dreamed of a certain standard of scenery realism. Scenery where the real world is recreated in Flight Simulator at a level of clarity that’s about as close as you can get to a real world picture. That scenery is finally here and delivered by the MegaSceneryX brand of scenery for Microsoft Flight Simulator X,” said PC Aviator president, Robert Ferraro.

MegaSceneryX: Dallas/Fort Worth is available and shipping now in a double DVD pack, which includes a set of aeronautical charts.

It will be available in July through a number of retail chains in the USA and is available now through online flight simulator dealers and direct from the publisher at the MegaScenery website.

Piper Navajo from FSD International

Posted: Monday, June 11, 2007 - 10:44
Staff reviewer David Swindle returns from a hiatus and presents FSD International's Piper Navajo/Panther. "Development of the PA-31 Navajo began in the 1960's when William T Piper noticed that there was a need for a medium sized, twin engined aircraft for the corporate world, small cargo carrier and feeder airline market, and decided that Piper could produce an aircraft to fill that gap."

"Although FSX has advanced virtual cockpits to the point where 2D panels are almost unneeded, FSD has included a very impressive 2D panel with the Navajo\Panther package that is actually very useful within FSX. Like other FSD panels, clicking on the primary flight instruments brings up larger versions of them. The gauges are large and sharp enough in the normal panel view that the pop-up gauges probably won't be used much, except on very small monitors. One of the biggest advantages that FSX holds over FS9, is the improvement in virtual cockpit instruments. Despite being a slightly older design, the Navajo/Panther have VC's that hold up very well even when compared to aircraft designed specifically for FSX."

"“Out of the box”, the Panther and Navajo only come with one texture each, but there are quite a few available for free from the FSD website that use auto-installers and the load manager to make installation very simple. The textures cover a wide variety of paint schemes, from well worn cargo carriers to elaborate private schemes, and all are of a uniformly high quality."

"If there is one area that FSD is best known for, it's their ability to create amazingly realistic flight dynamics, especially in the area of twin engine aircraft. The Navajo and Panther really show off FSD's expertise in flight modeling. On both the Navajo and Panther, take off is pretty straightforward due to counter-rotating propellers, and even though both aircraft rotate at about the same speed, the Panther is noticeably quicker to get to rotation speed thanks to the four bladed propellers. In addition to having excellent hand-flying characteristics, FSD have also done a very impressive job with the engine out handling of the Navajo and Panther."

David concludes his review of FSD International's Piper Navajo/Panther with, "My opinion is that the package is indeed worth the money, with two aircraft being represented, each with their own set of superb flight dynamics. Although the Navajo and Porter don't contain all of the bells and whistles that are starting to appear in newer, purpose designed FSX aircraft, they still look extremely good, and the excellent flight dynamics, sounds, and VC more than compensate for any lack of eye candy present in the models."

Ultimate Terrain X USA Released

Posted: Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 7:35
Flight One Software, in co-operation with Scenery Solutions, have just announced the release of their USA scenery add-on for FSX. Ultimate Terrain X - USA Edition has been designed from the ground up to take advantage of the new technologies in FSX, and provide a high quality add-on based on reliable source data. Ultimate Terrain X claims to greatly improve the quality of the FSX environment by adding or enhancing Roads, Rivers, Streams, Bridges, Landclass, Waterclass, and more; all in a single package.
For more information, visit Flight1's Ultimate Terrain X USA Webpage

Flight Enhancer Now Available For FS9

Posted: Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 3:11
This just in: Cielosim has released Flight Enhancer. Flight Enhancer is a scenery utility which enhances the visual quality of Flight Simulator. It does this by enhancing the quality of the sky, the water, the clouds, the sun, runway/airport lights, and the environmental reflection. It includes over 2,700 custom textures. It gives the user the choice to choose from thousands of textures options through an easy yet powerful interface. With Flight Enhancer you will now have stunning blended skies with smoothed visibility, realistic clouds, amazing water with clouds reflections, stunning sun and corona textures, real world airport lights, and ultra realistic environmental reflection. For more information please visit Cielosim

FS2Crew A320 Edition Manual Update Released

Posted: Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 0:56
This release came across the Avsim News Desk this afternoon; The FS2Crew Team is pleased to announce that Update 1 is now available for the A320 Edition. The update corrects three minor issues discovered after the release. FS2Crew also reports that a French Language version of the new A320 Edition is available. Get your update over at FS2Crew

AlphaSim's Lockheed Hudson Available Now

Posted: Saturday, June 9, 2007 - 22:59
In a press release received today AlphaSim has created yet another classic military aircraft in the Lockheed Hudson. The Hudson is depicted in this package in its two final variants, the Mk.5 and the turretless Mk.6. The four texture schemes included are of the highest quality and display very realistic weathering effects. Both USAAF and Royal Australian Air Force schemes adorn the Mk.6, whereas the Mk.5 wears classic RAF Coastal Command schemes. The full FSX version takes advantage of the enhanced graphic features from Microsoft's latest Flight Simulation creation. The usual bells and whistles are included with this product i.e. virtual cockpit, detailed sub panels, and two Pratt Whitney sound sets. For additional information, screenshots, and purchasing options please taxi on over to AlphaSim

Long Standing Freeware Designer Quits

Posted: Saturday, June 9, 2007 - 4:32
Not all news we publish here on Avsim is good. Avsim has received an email from a long standing member of the flight sim community annoucing that they are quitting the flight sim scene. Thinus Pretorius has designed and published his freeware creations since the days of FS98. In more recent times his work has been abused in various ways, and he has since decided quit our hobby.

Lets not forget that Freeware is the foundation of our hobby, and without it our flight simulation experience would not be anywhere near what it is today.

3D Model Trains

Posted: Friday, June 8, 2007 - 13:08
Abacus has announced the release of 3D Model Trains, a new stand-alone package for model train hobbyists.
It is advertised with these features:

Large Ready-to-Use Library - includes hundreds of tracks and train equipment from noted manufacturers including: Roco, Marklin, Fleishmann, Arnold and Trix.
Interactive Design - drag and drop tracks onto your tabletop to create simple or complex layouts. Smart track system prevents misalignments. Add colorful 3D objects to your layouts e.g. trees, buildings, stations, passengers.
Other Features - transformer connections to control speed and direction, sound, moving 3D objects, smart track systems prevents derailments, more.
Video "How-To's - Easy to follow videos show you how to use 3D Model Trains and make advanced tunnels and additional cameras.
Extensible - flexible design lets you create your own trains

For more information, visit the 3D Model Train Product Page

The Real Gatwick

Posted: Friday, June 8, 2007 - 12:54
The United Kingdom Division of IVAO-AERO has announced The Real Gatwick event to celebrate the 49th birthday of London Gatwick Airport. Starting from 1300Z on Saturday June 9th and running until 2200Z, data from over 200 real flights operating from Gatwick on the day has been collected to enable pilots to mimic real airline operations. Full ATC Coverage will be provided from a Virtual Control Room in the UK. Full details about the event can be found on the UK IVAO events page