Bear's Cave The world of Flight Simulators short reviews by Steve "Bear" Cartwright This last week we saw 101 seperate files uploaded here at AVSIM's library for all the popular flight sims, including aircraft, scenery, cloud/sunset textures, sound files, and some really unique sim utilities (one of which for FLY I picked this week). So check out this week's "Top 5 Picks" right here! 19-Feb-2001 Clouds v2.0 Sky Pack 4 by Clouds by Chris repcld2-0skypk4.zip uploaded 11-Feb-2001 888Kb FS2000 In what is the fourth in a series of replacement cloud packs for FS2000, Clouds by Chris has come up with an even thicker version of the cumulus and has all but eliminated that annoying pixelated effect of the MS default clouds. It's obvious that Chris has worked very hard at developing these very excellent cloud replacement textures and it's a testimony to this great hobby of ours that Chris has opted to provide these replacement clouds as "Freeware"! With his version 4 cloud pack, Chris also included jet contrails! All you have to do is set a thin layer of cirrus (with a setting of "few" at 1/8 or 2/8 coverage only) and frankly they (the jet contrails) look every bit as good as some commercial software for clouds! I've created a series of folders, in my main texture folder, that contains the default and each of Chris's cloud sets. I just use the copy/paste function of Windows to change my cloud sets. This is the sixth replacement cloud pack from Clouds by Chris (over the last month or two) and I would highly recommend that you download them all so that you can have a rather wide varity of choices. (Chris's earlier releases include a vapor, medium, and smoky versions of replacement clouds) If you don't have Chris's prior uploads, just do a search, here at AVSIM's library using the keyword "clouds" and that should do it! This is a must have file for the serious simmer! ...Bear! 17-Feb-2001 DeHavilland CC-138 Twin Otter by Dan Port 1388011f.zip uploaded 14-Feb-2001 1,819Kb FS2000 One of my simple rules for my picks for each week is that I normally don't choose re-paints. Sometimes though, I've found that an author goes beyond just the normal re-paint and when that occurs I will look further into that aircraft. This is what happened with Dan Port's redo of this FS aircraft, a DeHavilland DHC-6 300 Twin Otter. The original version of this DeHavilland DHC-6 300 Twin Otter was designed by Barry Blasidell/Jens Borgstroem (Jens handled the FDE file) of Premier Aircraft Design. Dan Port has taken this really very good original design and improved the textures, improved the animation of the moving parts, and then repainted in the colors of the Canadian Forces No: 138801 440 Sqn. CFB Yellewknife, NWT, Canada aircraft. Dan lists this aircraft as his all new Rev3.2 and it is very beautiful and a real joy to fly (Jens Borgstroem's FDE file is pretty much right on), but of course I do have a true weakness for any high quality floatplane anyway. Dan has also included a full information sheet on the DHC6's performance numbers and a fairly complete checklist! Along with these there are included some excellent photos and a fairly complete history on this particular aircraft! Dan uses the default (heavy turbo twin) panel and sounds, but I would recommend that you download (here at AVSIM) Reinhard Herrmann's DHC6 sound pack (dhc6snd.zip) and either Gen. Marcello Lugari's panel (dhc6v21.zip) or John Rushby-Smith's excellent panel (dhc6-p2k.zip). All are excellent additions to Dan's CC-138 Twin Otter! ...Bear! 17-Feb-2001 C-130H Panel by David Giles and Dave Gillespie c130h_pn2k.zip uploaded 16-Feb-2001 2,423Kb FS2000 David Giles spent nearly 10 years in the USAF flying the C-130 (over 3,500 hours in the Herk) and Dave Gillespie currently is flying the C-130 for the USCG out of Kodiak Alaska, so they each have pretty qualified credentials for designing an accurate "photo-realistic" panel for the C-130H Hercules! This panel does require the use of FS2000 Pro, as it makes use of some of the King Air 350 gauges, but in David's readme file, he invites all to add or take from this panel as you see fit. His only restriction is that you not use any part of this panel for any payware software package; otherwise he gives permission for all to change it and in fact he encourages all to develop it further if possible. Personally, I really like this panel, not fancy, but realistic to the original (the photo bitmaps were supplied by Dave Gillespie in Alaska) and a nice addition to the many (livery or re-paints) examples or recent uploads of the C-130H that have occurred here at AVSIM. I currently have downloaded 3 of the different C-130H repaints (including the original USCG version) and this panel does give you that real aircraft immersion experience when used in a C-130. The secondary views include the throttle quadrant center console and the fuel system overhead panel. So if you've downloaded any of those C-130H's recently, but have been unable to find an adequate or proper panel, well, here it is! ...Bear! 17-Feb-2001 Terramodels for FLY by Allen Kriesman tmv10.zip uploaded 16-Feb-2001 1,672Kb FLY! Over the last couple of years, I've purchased several different scenery design programs and/or have downloaded the freeware ones as well, but this has to be the easiest to use scenery design package I've seen yet! Allen Kriesman has outdone himself with this very quick and easy way to add buildings, hangers, and trees to your favorite location. This being version 1.0, Allen states that he has planned several additonal features or enhancements for future versions. To use this really neat little utility, you just call up your design tool screen (for whatever you wish to design—a building, a hanger, or tree sets)—and using the user interface, pick your texture (you can use the included textures or you can develop your own), then give your building/hanger dimensions, number of floors—and there's even a long list of night textures as well! Once your building or hanger is built (this whole procedure literally takes only seconds) you open up your FLY!Editor and place the building/hanger in position; that's it. Tree design and tree installation is handled the same! You can land at an airport, notice the lack of buildings or trees, design and install them in seconds, you're done! Scenery design and installation on the fly (pun intended)! The download includes the software program and a complete set of documents/instruction manuals. The TerraModel program was written in C++ and contains no DLL's or registry alterations either, so you don't have to worry about that! This is way too cool everyone! This is an absolute must have for all FLY users!! ...Bear! 17-Feb-2001 KMSP Minneapolis, Minnesota by Ron Ackerley msp2000.zip uploaded 17-Feb-2001 18,162Kb FS2000 There are several names that come to mind when chatting or discussing individuals that are involved in the world of flight simming and I can think of many, but I can't think of any one individual that's more well-rounded in all aspects of this really great hobby nor anyone more respected for his accomplishments than Ron Ackerley! Ron has given us all some great aircraft (most notably the Wilderness Outfitters SuperCubs) or bush sceneries (the best of that lot being Ron's Akutat Village)—and now Ron has blessed us once again with a masterpiece, the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport or KMSP! I know that Ron has been working on this for some time now, 3 or 4 months at least; and though he's not complete with KMSP (still has the HHH Terminal, NWA Cargo, and Suncountry maint areas to finish), what he has given us is fantastic. One of the first things to catch your eye will be the grass/runway/taxiway texturing applications, as Ron has somehow captured that near perfect look that is not typical of most of the airports (downloads) I've noted to date (including any of the commercial scenery packages). Download this scenery and take a look, as the coloring and texturing of the grass blending into the asphalt edging of the runways is… is… well, you've got see it for yourself, this is true artistry at work here! As usual Ron also requests, in his readme file, that everyone should feel free to offer him any suggestions (positive or not), so he can tell if he's headed off in the right direction or not! For static and dynamic aircraft movements, Ron has included a set of FS tracks (FSTraffic) and they are very good as well, giving his latest scenery package the feeling of motion and that busy look, so typical of today's airports. This is a big file at just over 18mb, but it's worth the wait to download; do it, you will not be disappointed! Well, once again my hat is off to Ron, for he's added another area of expertise and showing us his mastery of FS98/FS2000! ...Bear! [Editor's Note: You'll find a full review of Ron Ackerley's KMSP Minneapolis, Minnesota written by Ed Rutledge here.] Tell A Friend About these Reviews!   Standard Disclaimer These reviews above are a subjective assessment of the work of the authors. There is no connection between the product author and the reviewer, and we feel this review is unbiased and truly reflects the performance of the product in the simming environment. 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