Aerosoft Releases Casablanca

Posted: Saturday, April 1, 2006 - 10:59
"Play it, Sam" a Humphrey Bogart line one will never forget, it sets the atmosphere for Aerosoft's Casablanca. You might know Casablanca best from the movie that besides Bogey stars Ingrid Bergmann (and we will not hide it was a major inspiration for us) but now it's time to fly South and enjoy the first high level North African scenery. A continent awaits you. Casablanca does not have the glamour or grandeur of Marrakech or Tangier but it is the commercial heart of the kingdom of Morroco. With two airports and a major harbour it is the gateway to North Africa for many visitors. Created by Matthew Dalton (well known by his succesful Monaco scenery) with assistance from pilots locals it is now covered in FS2004 in high detail. Covering two airports (Mohammed V International Airport and Anfa Airport) and the complete city, this scenery will give you a new location to explore the region from.

Features:

o Two high detailed airports.
o City fully covered with high detail photgraphic base, dense autogen and special objects.
o Clever design to reduce framerate so you can use complex aircraft.
o Fully compatible with AI traffic addons.
o Fully compatible with all other addons we know about.
o Impressive night lighting.
o Extensive manual with all charts needed in English, Spanish and French.

CamSim 787 Base Pack Now Available

Posted: Friday, March 31, 2006 - 18:55
CamSim has announced the release of FS2004 Boeing 787-8, first of 3 Boeing 787 base packs with animated ground servicing.Model. This Boeing 787-8 base pack come with 4 aircrafts, each with different animations to match most of the airport scenes. Desinger Camil Valiguette invites you to visit the CamSim Website to find out more information about this product.

Silent Wings Announces Latest Updates

Posted: Friday, March 31, 2006 - 18:50
Silent Wings AS announces the 6th free upgrade to the Silent Wings Soaring Simulator for PC and Linux. After its initial release in March 2005, the Silent Wings Simulator has been enhanced with a long array of new features, including online multiplayer, new sceneries, planes and bugfixes. The current release, Silent Wings 1.06, defines a leap forward that we feel may be of interest to everyone interested in soaring or flight simulation. You can download a free trial of the simulator which is valid for 14 days. Why not download the demo and see what this product has to offer. You can find more information about this product on the Silent Wings Website.

JustFlight Release Two WWII Aircraft

Posted: Friday, March 31, 2006 - 18:47
Two of the most famous fighters of World War II are heading for Flight Simulator 2004

The Spitfire is arguably the most famous of all fighters from the World War II era, where it featured heavily in determining the outcome of the Battle of Britain. Spitfires took part in every theatre of the war, including the Pacific and North Africa. For tropical service the Spitfire acquired a large air filter under the nose to keep the sand out of the engine.

The Hawker Tempest appeared later in World War II and proved itself a versatile air and ground attack fighter. Now you can take to the skies in these amazingly detailed reproductions for Flight Simulator 2004. To find out more about this release, visit the Just Flight Website.

Islands Of The West Indies’ Boxed Edition

Posted: Friday, March 31, 2006 - 18:43
Designed by Chris Wilkes, and published by Flight1, The "Islands of the West Indies" for Flight Simulator 2004 is now available worldwide on CD-ROM.

Combining all four previously available volumes in one great value package, it covers the islands of, Anguilla, St.Maarten, St.Barts, Saba, St.Eustatius, St.Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, La Desirade, Marie Galante, Les Saintes, Dominica, Martinique, St.Lucia, St. Vincent, Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Union Island, Carriacou, Grenada, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Los Testigos, Margarita Island, Isla Coche, La Tortuga, La Blanquilla, La Orchila, Los Roques, Las Aves, Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba.

This boxed edition includes a large full-color fold out map of the entire region with navigational aids, airport and facility information, plus much more. For more information about this latest product, visit the Flight 1 Website.

Flying the Boeing 700 Series E-Book Available to Download

Posted: Friday, March 31, 2006 - 1:56
feelThere has announced the availabilty of Mike Ray's popular Flying the Boeing 700 Series Flight Simulators book in electronic form for immediate download. For more information, visit feelThere.

Flightdeck Solutions Goes Hollywood

Posted: Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 21:23
One of us in the the flight simulation community, Flightdeck Solutions, today posted shots of their flightdeck that plays a role for the upcoming Universal Pictures Film UNITED93. Peter Cos says "We are very proud to be associated with such a spectacular project and hope that the film pays true homage to all the people involved in this event."

Vista Australis ( VOZ ) 1.1 Freeware Scenery Released

Posted: Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 19:57
The VOZ team have announced the release of version 1.1 of Vista Australis. The press release calls this "one of the most ambitious freeware scenery projects in recent years. Thousands upon thousands of hours of work by a team of over thirty people has finally come to completion in this hugely improved version, which upgrades almost every aspect of the initial beta 0.99 release. You will be stunned by the increase in reality factor in almost every corner of this vast continent."

Features include many unique new textures including wilderness, urban, city, rural and crops with more detail than ever before, a beta version of night lighting, new sceneries including

- Brisbane CBD
- Brisbane Stadiums
- Cairns
- Gold Coast
- a vastly improved Canberra
- Queensland coastline

New or enhanced airports:

- Bankstown Airport (YBKS)
- Melbourne International (YMML)
- Canberra (YSCB)
- Parafield (YPPF)
- Caboolture (YCAB)
- Caloundra (YCDR)
- Redcliffe (YRED)
- Watts Bridge (YWSG)
- Sydney (YSSY)
- Brisbane (YBBN)

Also every lighthouse along the coast, new inland murky water, faster VOZ switcher code for improved and safer region swapping and backup, the new SE and SW regions, updated user guide and the first SDK kit - plus lots more. Join the 40,000 people who have downloaded VOZ so far. VOZ 1.1 is available now from vistaoz.org

AlphaSim English Electric Lightning T.4/T.5 Released

Posted: Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 19:48
This third installment in the AlphaSim Lightning range covers the two-seater variants. The model package includes the first 'twin tub', the T.4, and the later, more refined, T.5. It also includes two bonus models in the shape of the T.55 Saudi export variant and a ficticious NASA T.5 Lightning. Highly detailed external and cockpit models closely simulate these aircraft. The virtual cockpit includes great 'mousability' and even night-time gauge illumination. The Lightning sounds package is also included (install T.5 model first). For more information and screenshots, visit AlphaSim.

FS Earth For FS 2004 And Google Earth

Posted: Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 19:42
FS Earth acts as an interface between Flight Simulator 2004 and Google Earth, allowing following a flight in real time, over the satellite images generated by Google Earth. Flights can be saved and many options are available for fine tuning the performance style. Can be used on a stand-alone computer or over a network. More information is available at FS Earth.

FDC Live Cockpit Updated

Posted: Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 19:36
Oncourse Software announces a new update for FDC Live Cockpit. Cureent users can simply use the UPDATES button from the FDC main menu display to obtain the update. Details of this release (version 3.2) can be found at Oncourse Software.

New Scenery From Captain Keith

Posted: Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 20:00
In the ongoing series “Captain Keith’s Scenery Adventure Packs” Volume 2 is now available! This volume includes three fictitious airfields in the ongoing scenery adventure pack series.

Captain Keith goes on to say: "Two of these airfields lie off Panama's southern coast and the third, being nestled among the rain forest and a small lake, is located about 60 miles inland in Colombia. This Scenery Adventure Pack is the second in the series and is centered around these three airfields and the intrigue and adventure they offer virtual pilots of all ages!"

Adventure flights include medical transports, cargo runs and rescue missions, all having custom weather themes and AI traffic to provide environmental enhancement and add to the overall enjoyment of each new mission! More information on this release and the entire series is available at the Official Captain Keith Web Site.

"It’s not just Scenery... it's an Adventure!"

New Review - Commercial Level Simulations - F117 Nighthawk

Posted: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - 6:11
The Cap'n (reviewer Brian Fletcher) goes stealthy with his review of Commercial Level Simulations' version of the F-117 Nighthawk. "Having been stationed at Holloman AFB, NM with the Nighthawks for 8 years, I can attest to the fact that CLS has undergone a very time consuming process of modeling this aircraft as true to life as Flight Sim will permit."

Looking inside and out, Brian comments, "The base texture of the model is done with a multitude of dark colors that make up a flat black scheme to simulate the radar absorbent material (RAM) used on the real Nighthawk. There is a lot to be said for how well CLS modeled this aircraft to represent the real deal. I believe that having actually modeled so much of the aircraft, as opposed to using texturing, is what makes this aircraft so realistic. From one side to the other, this virtual cockpit gave me the first impression of being very complex with more instrumentation than I would know what to do with. The forward view of the panel in both the VC and 2D views is dominated by the HUD, Primary Flight Display, Multiple Flight Display, autopilot, and the forward and downward looking infrared (FLIR, DLIR)."

"Even the most experienced simmer may need some time to get this bird mastered," says Brian about flying this unique bird, "I found the Nighthawk to possess a stable mixture of descent speed and less than sluggish handling. If I learned anything about landing this aircraft, it is that I prefer performing a go-around as opposed to watching the landing gear break off. Showboating is not much of an option here."

"I can definitely give this bird my stamp of approval. I am satisfied with the way that the exterior model and virtual cockpit represent the Nighthawk," the Cap'n concludes in his review, "this bird might just be what beginners need to develop the patience needed to master the art of flight."

First French Simulation Show Event Date Changed

Posted: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - 1:44
The first French Simulation Show, organized by the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace (Air and Space Museum) will be held 7/8/9th of July (instead of the previously announced date!), inside the Air & Space Museum, located in Le Bourget Airport (10 km from Paris, France). All stands will be located within the permanent exhibition, therefore visitors will be able to see the Static Planes Exhibition as well as the Simulation show. Manufacturers and vendors of flight simulation add-ons are hereby invited to join the exhibition. More information available at Mondial-Simulation

AlphaSim Releases the Mig-23 'Flogger-G'

Posted: Monday, March 27, 2006 - 15:21
AlphaSim Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 'Flogger-G' is available. The highly capable swing-wing 'Flogger' is recreated for FS9 with great care and attention to detail. The four texture schemes in the AlphaSim package are representative of the many Soviet-aligned air forces which deployed the type - Soviet, Romanian, Czech and Cuban, each with a unique weapons loadout (incl. a 'clean' option). A fittingly brutal soundset and superbly-detailed 2D panel and gauge set further enhance this long-awaited add-on. The carefully-researched flight dynamics are backed up with an illustrated procedures checklist. The virtual cockpit is bursting with mousable switches and other controls and is a real highlight of this great package. The animations include a manually-operated swing wing (the MiG did not have autosweep), a drag chute and smaller details such as blow-in doors and the ventral strake. The undercarriage animation and custom afterburner effects are a joy to behold! Screenshots can be viewed at AlphaSim

Captain Sim Releases CL-130 and the KC-130

Posted: Monday, March 27, 2006 - 15:14
Captain Sim is pleased to announce that the CL-130 Floatplane and KC-130 Tanker Expansion Models are available! The C-130 Base Package is not required. Any Model is a separate product and can be installed to default MS FS2004 without any other C-130 product pre-installed. For more info, screenshots and free Manuals please visit:Captain Sim

FSAddon Releases Salt Lake City Photoreal

Posted: Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 20:33
Covertly FSAddon has released the Salt Lake City Photoreal scenery for FS2004. The nice thing about the photo technique is that you get to see the world as you would in reality. Every little bush, house, car, building, road and so forth is displayed on the ground below. This provides for a very real view outside the cockpit !

They recommend this scenery for two (very different) uses:

1) it is ideal for airliner pilots (flying the 'heavies') flying to and from Salt Lake City International (KSLC). The final approach to the airfield will be so muchmore realistic than with the default scenery!
And so it really increases the 'immersion' of your simming experience many-fold !

2) but..... it is also a wonderful areas for VFR pilots to putt-putt around. Taking off from the (smaller) municipal airport a few miles from KSLC you can make tours of the city and surrounding valley that last more than an hour ! The area is big enough (2500 square kilometers of photos!) to use it for a nice follow-the-roads flight!

The features..... or 'what you will get'

• 2,500 km² Photo Ground Area : Salt Lake City and surroundings
• -------------------------------------------------------------
• Aerial Photography textures with Summer, HardWinter and Night variation
• Seamless integration with the FS landclass
• Full Autogen for the whole area (and accurate placement of objects)
• Default scenery 3D objects (buildings, antennas, factories... ) are re-scaled and re-positioned to align with the photographic texture
• Enhanced airports (KSLC, KBTF, and U42). runways, buildings, taxiways, towers... are precisely placed to fit the ground texture

• 40,000 km² Enhanced Area : the Salt Lake
• ----------------------------------------
• High resolution terrain elevation mesh, with 30 meter precision
• Roads, Railways, Rivers, Landable Water Surfaces adjusted to avoid 'climbing’ water

And, of course.. last but not least.... a typical, oblong FSAddon colour manual in pdf format, with yet another short story of Chuck Merriwater's adventures, tips on how to improve performance of the scenery, some informaton about the actual area and much more.

France VFR Releases Aircraft Collection and Scenery

Posted: Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 8:09
The aircraft pack includes 6 new complete VFR dedicated aircraft:

- Beechcraft Twin Bonanza
- APM20 Lionceau
- De Havilland Twin Otter
- Socata Rallye
- Socata TB9/10/20
- Stampe & Vertongen

The collection features:

- Numerous liveries
- Detailed 2D and virtual cockpit (Ground textures are summer only)
- Numerous variations (engines, floats etc.)
- Detailed visual documentation for every instruments of each panel
- Detailed checklist for each aircraft
- Additional liveries available for free on our website

Westsim Design Group Releases Murrayfield 2006

Posted: Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 8:00
In a press release to Avsim Westsim Design Group announced the release of their freeware Murrayfield 2006 scenery package for FS2004. Murrayfield is a small general aviation airfield south of Perth, Western Australia. According to the release, "The scenery package covers the airport in photographic detail, with photoreal ground textures (up to 0.1m resolution), custom autogen, and highly detailed buildings created using Gmax."

FS2Crew For Level-D 767 Now Available

Posted: Saturday, March 25, 2006 - 17:57
Level-D 767 Captains take note!! FS2Crew has released their highly anticipated Level-D 767 Edition. Designed in close cooperation with Captain Dave Barrington, the 767 Edition was custom programmed from scratch to work with the Level-D 767. The product adds a whole new layer of depth, immersion and realism to the Level-D 767 by allowing users to simulate true airline style flying in multi-crew SOP driven environment. To purchase the product or to obtain more information, please visit FS2Crew’s website.