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Bear's Cave
The world of Flight Simulators
short reviews by Steve "Bear" Cartwright
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I have been asked on numerous occasions as to how or what criteria I use to make my picks and what are my criteria standards for those files that receive my Bear Approved stamp or my Bear Gold Award? Frankly, that is a fair question and I can only answer that there are no specific set of rules or guidelines (written) that I use for making my picks. I simply download, install, and test as many of the files as is humanly possible and then choose my personal favorite 10 from all those files uploaded that month. I do attempt to be as unbiased as is possible (regardless of what some of my detractors have stated) in my choices, as I may very well pick a scenery file for a location that I never fly to or an aircraft I would never use for myself, but I also know that there may be some of you reading my picks that do fly to that location or enjoy flying that type of aircraft. The real problem I have is that there are far more authors uploading quality sceneries and-or aircraft than I could possibly choose, every month. I may pick a file (a new scenery for example) one month from one particular author, then the next month that same author uploads an equally high quality file that I don't choose. This happens very regularly and it is not meant to indicate that this author's second file was of any less quality, it is just that there were most likely a number of new files uploaded that were from other authors that I have not recognized or highlighted previously. Hopefully, if you happen to enjoy a particular file from one author – that I pick one particular month – you can use the search function in the AVSIM library to check for future uploads from that same author.
If a file that I pick is of an unusually high quality or unique in some positive way, it may very well receive my Bear Approved stamp. Again, I have no predetermined criteria for a file to receive my Bear Approved stamp, other than that file simply "WOW'd" me in some fashion. To receive my Bear Gold Award though is something that I reserve for those truly outstanding or extraordinary freeware files (due to a special feature I was doing at the time, the Wilco Pilot In Command 767 did receive my Bear Gold Award, even though it is in fact a payware program). It should also be understood, that for a file to receive my Bear Gold Award, it is generally always going to be a complete package or a file that greatly enhances the experience of flying in Flight Simulator. I have to date, only awarded my Bear Gold Award on 8 different occasions (7 aircraft packages and 1 utility file), despite the thousands of files that have been uploaded into the AVSIM library.
The month of March though has brought on a new dilemma for me, as I have literally downloaded and tested file after file after file and I simply cannot justify limiting my picks to just 10 files for March, so I have, for this occasion, raised my picks to a total of 20—and even then I feel somewhat amiss at having to not include a number of excellent files. In many ways, it is all of us that are the winners this month, as the freeware guys and gals have really began producing many terrific scenery, aircraft, and utility packages for FS2002. After the uploading of well over 250 files in March, I have downloaded and tested nearly all of them, then I narrowed my choices down to what I thought would be my final choices, but I still had nearly 50 files that I liked for one reason or another...ugh! Getting down to that final 20 was a real chore, but I am very pleased with the 20 files I have picked and I am pretty sure you will be too!
Even with the understanding – as I have explained above – that my personal criteria for files to receive my Bear Approved stamp is somewhat high, 18 of my 20 picks did receive it, but it really displays the quality of the March files when you take note that I have also awarded 4 – yes that is correct – 4 Bear Gold Awards for March!
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Stearman Kaydet
by David Eckert
davstear1.zip
uploaded 29-Mar-2002
6,689Kb
FS2002 Aircraft
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In the past, David Eckert has designed many excellent FS aircraft (many freeware and a few payware) and his work has always been on par with the best of them (FS aircraft designers), but this by far is David's absolute best efforts and I give David my Bear Gold Award without hesitation!
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This single download of the Boeing Stearman includes 4 different liveries (US Navy N2S-3, US Army Air Corps, PT-17 Boeing silver colors, and a civilian paint job done in blue on white), 2D panel, and an outstanding 3D virtual cockpit-dynamic panel. The dynamic virtual panel is functional in both the pilot's and passenger's cockpits; and if you adjust your seat upwards, you can easily read the instruments on both panels at the same time. With custom sounds by Mike Hambly at Blue Arrow, we have a complete package of the Boeing Stearman that has a permanent place on my hard drive, that is for sure! If older bi-wing aircraft are on your favorite list, then this aircraft is a MUST HAVE! Outstanding work David! ...Bear!
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In his second version upload of the giant Airbus, Camil Valiquette has once again designed a very outstanding example of the Airbus model 380. Including a custom panel (using default gauges), and using the default sounds from the 747-400, along with what appears to be a very well designed airfile, this aircraft is another must have file for those that enjoy flying the big iron!
Camil has designed-in, all those standard features that everyone now expects in FS2002, including: fully lighted and textured cargo-luggage bays, opening cargo doors, thrust reversers, wing and engine views from the cockpit with visible moving parts, tilted gear buggies, turning nose gear, 3D cockpit and gear bays, and some very unique night lighting. Available in one of eight different liveries (Qantas, Lufthansa, house colors, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, and Emirates Air).
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Though I did download all 8 Camil designed Airbus380s, I only used the texture file from 7 of them and I set up the aircraft.cfg file in FS2002 fashion so as to reduce the space needed on my hard drive.
For years now Camil has been designing and making available many beautiful examples of the larger Boeing and Airbus aircraft and he continues with his latest version of the big Airbus 380! I have also awarded Camil my Bear Approved stamp for his outstanding work on his latest version of the Airbus 380. ...Bear!
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U.S. Navy C-2A Greyhound VRC-30
by Rick Sasala
c-2agreyhound.zip
uploaded 28-Mar-2002
9,058Kb
FS2002 Aircraft
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Rick Sasala's FS aircraft designs are no secret to many that do have add-on aircraft installed, particularly with military aircraft, but I think that Rick's latest is his best to date, the Grumman C-2A Greyhound in U.S. Navy colors!
The Grumman designed Greyhound was a larger than normal aircraft for carrier operations, but it was capable of providing many critical logistics missions needed with the Navy task forces (aircraft carriers). Rick's design is a highly detailed model (visually) and includes a custom panel, dynamic 3D virtual panel (with extra large gauges for easy reading), custom sounds, and fully animated parts. The airfile displays the kind of feel you would expect from a large turboprop that would be used for landing on a pitching carrier deck.
For those of you that enjoy military aircraft, then Rick's complete package (aircraft, sounds, and panels) is exactly what the doctor ordered! Check it out! ...Bear!
Shehryar has designed many airports (all of extremely high quality and each highly detailed) for Flight Simulator over the last couple or three years. Both his John Wayne-Orange County and Long Beach airports for FS2000 were quite excellent and received several awards for their design.
Shehryar has now taken his FS2000 sceneries (for these two Southern California airports) and converted them for use in FS2002. These two airports install in the normal fashion (not automatic or self-installing by the way) and both require the manual input of exclude files and flatten switches in the scenery.cfg file. Copy & paste works quite easily for this necessary function, but the end result is nothing short of spectacular!
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For those of us with the larger systems, adding the additional files for the static aircraft is a must, but if your system is moderate or small in its performance numbers, you may wish to reconsider rather you want to install the statics or not. Shehryar's sceneries are a bit on the power thursty side and your frame rates can be effected. Even if you do install the short version (no statics) of these two sceneries, you will be met with some of the very best (and highly accurate) in airport design work. Nice work Shehryar! ...Bear!
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MiG-15 Fagot
by Ed Wilson - J P Demmerle
gzrmig2.zip
gzrmigt.zip
uploaded 27-Mar-2002
6,147Kb/7,302Kb
FS2002/CFS2 Aircraft
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Ed Wilson and JP Demmerle have really outdone even themselves with their latest upload modeling the infamous MiG-15 (NATO designation of "Fagot") and what a wonderful little aircraft, both the real thing and this near perfect FS example!
When the first of the MiG jets appeared over Korea, the future of aerial combat would be changed forever! The US Air Force was still developing their first combat jet and the Navy had deployed the Panther in small numbers, but when this (the MiG) appeared, not only in fairly large numbers it would also outperform all of the US arsenal of air to air combat aircraft. Ironically, the first MiG-15 shot down was done so by a World War II F4U Corsair (prop fighter).
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When the F-86 Sabre finally began arriving in Korea in large numbers, the battle of the jets began! The overall kill ratio of Sabres vs MiGs (in Korea) was listed as 8 to 1, in favor of the American aircraft, but it was learned many years later that many of the MiGs were piloted by Soviet Air Force aviators and the kill ratio of the MiG was 2 to 1 against the Sabre (when the pilots were Soviet rather than North Korean). This is testimony to just how good the Russian air design groups got it, on their first try!
The Ed Wilson-JP Demmerle FS version of the MiG is truly outstanding, with over 20 available texture files (Czech, Chinese, Eygptian, German, N Korean, Russian, NASA, civilian, Air Racer paint, Polish, Hungarian, etc.) included (12 with the original upload and an additional 10 texture sets with JP Demmerle's second uploaded file).
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Using GMAX, the overall design shape combined with the reflective textures is right on the money, plus you've got a really terrific 2D and 3D virtual panel, all fully dynamic. The airfile is also very, very good and I did run the numbers and this little Ferrari of the skies flies right on the numbers at all altitudes. The sounds are all default Lear45, but that is the only part of this upload that relies on anything default. No hesitation here giving Ed Wilson and JP Demmerle, not only my Bear Approved stamp, but it is more than deserving of my Bear Gold Award for excellence as well. Outstanding guys! ...Bear!
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VASP Boeing 737-200
by Marcelo Vianna/Nestor Sanchez
732vasp1.zip
uploaded 11-Feb-2002
816Kb
FS2002 Aircraft
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Okay, I know, I normally never pick repaints, but I do make the rules here and apparently I missed this aircraft the first time it came around and I wasn't going to miss it again!
It is another of the GMAX designed aircraft (Nestor Sanchez did the original FS aircraft modeling with Marcelo Vianno providing the VASP texture repaint). I've inspected this aircraft fairly closely from stem to stern and it appears to me that Nestor has gotten all parts of the 200 model of the littlest of the Boeings, at or near perfect in each component's size and shape (especially the engines). With the reflective textures of GMAX, fully animated parts, clam-shell thrust reversers, this a wonderful addition to anyone's hard drive.
The flaps extend out as well as extend down, plus Nestor or Marcelo have even thought to include an engine smoke file. Pretty cool guys! ...Bear!
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Bell 47 G2 Helicopter
by Jean-Marie Mermaz
bptch102.zip (patch 25-Mar-2002)
bell47.zip
uploaded 21-Mar-2002
8,632Kb
FS2002/CFS2 Aircraft
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Jean-Marie Mermaz has released one of the finest and most highly detailed examples of a helicopter, for Flight Simulator, I believe I have ever seen. This depiction of the early model Bell 47 helo is as near perfect as anyone could ask for, with extremely detailed external components, all parts animated, a fully dynamic virtual cockpit, authentic sounds, tilting main rotor head assembly, slightly tinted cockpit bubble giving just a hint of reflections. This FS model comes in 4 liveries on skids and one version on floats (fully amphibious in both CFS2 and FS2002).
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The patch is really not a patch as much as it is an add-on that includes the files to have opening bubble doors and a 3D pilot at the controls. (only for the models with skids and not the float version)
From the spot view, you can even watch the change in the pitch angle of the tail rotor as you apply rudder; this is just simply another awesome example of the extraordinary work that has been accomplished by some of our Flight Simulator artisans out there! I am deeply impressed by Jean-Marie's art work! ...Bear!
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Zenith CH 801
by Brian Gladden
zen20.zip
uploaded 24-Mar-2002
1,340KbKb
FS2002 Aircraft
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For some time I have been a big fan of Brian Gladden's FS aircraft designs, as Brian is constantly coming up with something new and his FS aircraft designs are always as interesting as they are well done. The majority of Brian's work has been with aircraft that generally fit into the category of "Homebuilt" and here is his latest redo of a prior aircraft (FS2000) upgraded for FS2002.
The Zenith CH801 is a fairly fast 4-passenger STOL (Short Take Off & Landing) aircraft, that is capable of landing-stopping-and taking off again, all within less than 650 feet. Brian's model includes custom panel, pilot figure, animated parts; and this one download includes both civilian and BFU (Bush Flying Unlimited) paint schemes. My screenshots here give you some idea of the feats this little bush plane is capable of! Though lacking a virtual panel, Brian's 2D panel is very well done and it is more than acceptable when flying in that mode.
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After having posted 3 of the screenshots that I used here in my Bear Picks, over in the Bush Flyers Unlimited forum, Brian pointed to the factory website for the Zenith aircraft and they have a video (of a real 801) taking off exactly like I have displayed here. I love this little plane and I proudly keep it parked right along side my Piper Supercubs!
Brian's FS aircraft are always well crafted, very accurate in their general appearance, and they are always a great deal of fun to fly! Nice work once again Brian! ...Bear!
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For some time now, Project Opensky has had the definitive example of the Boeing 767, beginning with their version 1.0 for FS2000 and now they are up to version 3.0 for FS2002. This latest version (v3.0) has had all of the previously noted features enhanced to include FS2002 night lighting, dynamic wings, rolling wheels, tilted gear buggies, animated thrust reversers, and of course those neat reflective textures, in other words, they have updated their Boeing 767-300ER to all the latest in FS possibilities.
In this repaint by Johan Sohlin, we have this excellent FS aircraft in the UPS livery, but by going to Project Opensky's website (an AVSIM partner site) there are available all of the popular liveries for this aircraft. Outstanding work by the boys at Project Opensky, thanks fellows! And yes, the Project Opensky 767-300ER is most certainly a Bear Approved download! ...Bear!
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Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E INTER Mozambique
by David Maltby/Mario Coelho
intersid.zip
uploaded 20-Mar-2002
3,366Kb
FS2002 Aircraft
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The Hawker Siddeley aircraft company inherited the design of the Trident when it took over the de Havilland company in the late 1950s. The blueprint drawings had been seen by several company engineers, including those engineers at the Boeing aircraft company that later introduced their version, the Boeing 727. Hawker Siddeley did finally develop and build the Trident and it entered service in the early '60s, but the original aircraft was somewhat underpowered and prompted the flight crews that flew it, to have the anecdotal comments that the only reason the Trident took-off was because of the curvature of the earth.
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David Maltby (FS aircraft and airfile design) and Mario Coelho (paint and panel design) have put together a very nicely rendered model of this older Hawker aircraft. A custom designed 2D panel with all cockpit views (including an interior shot of the Trident's passenger area) are included; and the aircraft is painted in the flagship colors of the Eastern African airlines that flew this aircraft on its Indian Ocean routes during the nineteen seventies. Similar in appearance to a Boeing 727, though much smaller, the Hawker Siddeley Trident passenger jet FS model from David and Mario is well worth a look see, in the event you may have missed the upload. This FS Aircraft package certainly receives my Bear Approved stamp! ...Bear!
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Sikorsky Helicopter
by Greg Pepper
s51-2k2.zip
uploaded 20-Mar-2002
1,585Kb
FS2002/CFS2 Aircraft
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Greg Pepper has offered up his version of the Sikorsky S-51 (technically it is a HO3S-1 Military version painted in US Navy colors), that was modeled using AutoCAD and Gmax. It was the Sikorsky S-51 (and its military variants) that was the first Sikorsky helicopter built in large numbers.
Gregg's model is of a Korean War era Navy S-51 (HO3S-1) and it includes highly realistic exterior textures, 2D custom panel, fully animated parts with opening side door, and a dynamic 3D cockpit-panel. It even has working suspension on the landing gear!
This FS helicopter does use the default sounds (Bell 206) and I would have liked to have seen a 3D figured pilot visible from spot view; regardless of these two rather minor items though, this helo flies very well and it looks absolutely great! Yeah, once again I am giving Gregg's work my Bear Approved stamp. ...Bear!
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Enhancement for Antarctica
by Bill Freeborn
ata2k2_a.zip
uploaded 8-Mar-2002
2,046Kb
FS2002 Scenery
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Bill Freeborn had uploaded an Antarctica enhancement scenery file for FS2000 several months ago and now he has improved on that original file and converted it for use in FS2002. Bill's latest version of his Antarctica airstrips are fictionally designed in their content macros, but they are all general depictions of real-life stations. Bill has included an airstrip, many generalized airport features (towers, tanks, buildings, huts, all of the type of items you would expect to find at airstrips on the world's bottom continent), and navaids for 23 Antarctica stations. Including the USA station of Amundsen-Scott at the South Pole! Well, maybe not exactly at the South Pole (FS2002 does not allow you to go to the South or North poles, but Bill has gotten you pretty close.)
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While testing this scenery I did find that the boys and girls at Microsoft have greatly improved the default scenery for the 7th continent over what they had offered in FS2000 and I find that having Bill's enhanced station scenery installed makes for some interesting possibilities for all of us in the future. Once again, though not fancy, this scenery package adds to a rather barren continent of rock and ice and the developing of some adventures to test your navigation skills is maybe one of my future projects. For example, duplicating that real-world emergency flight of a Twin Otter to Amundsen-Scott station last year, to evacuate their sick doctor (during their winter time), is one possibility!
Now that you have the ability to add the stations, at their real-world locations, many different adventures can be had by all! Bill, I very confidently give you my Bear Approved stamp for your scenery package. ...Bear!
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Don't be fooled by the small size of this download at 260Kb, because it is in fact a beautifully rendered model of the Jack Northrop jet-powered flying wing! In the 1940s and '50s, Jack Northrop headed up a band of engineers (from his aircraft company Northrop) that worked on developing his dream of a flying wing. Prior versions (specifically the YB-35) were all propeller driven aircraft, but the YB-49 was his first jet-powered aircraft (8 engines were needed to provide sufficient power for this early model flying wing).
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Jack Northrop's dream of a fleet of military flying wing bombers never came to be (amongst much controversy and a possible government cover-up), but in the early '80s Northrop combined with Grumman did develop the B-2 Stealth bomber. The B-2 bomber used much of the early wind tunnel and test data of the Jack Northrop flying wings from the '40s and '50s. Jack Northrop, at the age of 86, was graciously given special permission to view the early models of the B-2. It was said that when Jack Northrop held a small model of a B-2, while sitting in his wheelchair, that tears appeared in his eyes.
John Sejer's FS version of the YB-49, though very, very good, is in need of a custom panel along with custom sounds. Despite these short comings, I still feel it necessary to give John my Bear Approved stamp and I would implore some of our sound guys and panel designers to take heed and maybe work something up for John's beautiful FS aircraft! ...Bear!
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Environmental Water Textures Library
by Ed Truthan
oceanstx.zip
ofx10sa.zip (Johan de Vries)
uploaded 26-Mar-2002
5,746Kb/316Kb
FS2002 Scenery
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It surprises me how often that a seemly simple and subtle change or improvement has such a dramatic effect with your flight simming experience. A few months ago Ed Truthan uploaded a replacement conifer tree to replace the default conifer used by the Autogen program in FS2002. The default autogen conifer was thick and somewhat bulbous, but it did provide for full appearing forests despite its unrealistic appearance when viewed up close. Ed's replacement conifer was quite realistic in its appearance and he re-set the autogen to render the number of trees by a factor of 4. This maintained the full forest appearance, but with a conifer that was far more realistic appearing and yet there was no measurable effect on system performance (frame rates).
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The appearance of the default water textures (around the world) were dramatically improved over FS2000 with the release of FS2002, but Ed has once again designed a new set of water textures that brings the appearance of all water bodies just that much closer to the real-world. Because you are replacing the default textures with textures of equal size, no performance issues are raised over default. Then with the addition of the small utility by Johan de Vries, you can front load your choice of 8 different textures sets (8 including the default textures, with each based on a generalized wind speed) and you can also select the direction (motion) of the ocean ground swells. The tropical water textures are much improved in their coloring and they now include visible underwater reefs. The open ocean textures show the typical ground swells with whitewater visible if your wind speed texture selection are of the 2 highest settings. Matching your wind speed (under FS2002 weather) with direction and speed of your texture selection has a extraordinary effect on your immersion level that is quite exciting. My screenshots here simply cannot effectively show just how good these water textures are, because their dynamic motion is equally as effective as is their texture appearance and coloring. I would imagine that FS2004 will most likely include ocean-water textures like these as default—but you don't have to wait, as Ed Truthan has made them available now!
To further dramatize just how good these are, if you were told that you could only download one freeware add-on for your copy of FS2002, from all the thousands of aircraft, scenery, or utility files that have become available, I would personally recommend that your single choice be this file from Ed Truthan! This truly is a freeware file that deserves my Bear Gold Award! ...Bear!
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Tupolev Tu-154B-2/Tu-154M
by Roman Skorykh, Dmitry Kolesnik, Misha Kovacevic
lzbtj.zip
lzbtg.zip
uploaded 30-Mar-2002
1,600Kb/1,560Kb
FS2002 Aircraft
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My favorite Russian FS aircraft designers are at it again; Roman, Dmitry, and Misha have once again uploaded another fine example of a Russian airliner, this time it is the Tupolev Tu-154B and the Tu-154M. Using Gmax to work with and taking full advantage of all aspects of possibilities in FS2002, this team of designers have included many features (including a couple I've not seen before) in both of their aircraft designs. Both aircraft have – what is now standard – rolling wheels, tilted wheel buggies, compressing struts, animated spoilerons, slats, spoilers, triple-slotted flaps, and animated basic control surfaces. What is new is that these fellows have also included animated horizontal stabilizer trim tabs, unique touchdown tire smoke (the tire smoke included with this aircraft is much closer to the real color of tire smoke by having a hint of blue to it—note the screenshot I have posted here for the color of the tire smoke), and very unique night lighting (again particularly the color). They also included opening cabin doors and those wonderful reflective textures as well.
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The 2D panel is quite accurate in its appearance (as compared to the real-world panel photos I've seen), though it is a rendered panel and not a photorealistic panel. That's okay with me though, because all the features we've come to expect are there, including the engineer's panel, push-back gauge, default GPS, and a Russian style autopilot.
It also includes a full check-list (English) and a complete documentation file, except that the documentation file (flight manual) is printed in Russian only!
As good as all this is, it is the flight dynamics that really got my attention, as the flight characteristics of this FS aircraft are typical of what Roman has accomplished in the past and his latest release flies absolutely great; I love flying these aircraft!
I have one tip for anyone that downloads the Palair Macedonian Airlines version (lzbtj.zip), as there is a small error in the aircraft.cfg file concerning the line sim=Palair Tu-154B-2, which should be changed to sim=154b-2k2! Otherwise the Tu-154M in the Palair Macedonian livery will not show up in your FS2002 aircraft list. I am sure that our Russian FS friends will release a small correction patch shortly. ...Bear!
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HMNZS Waikato Aircraft Carrier
by Savern Reweti
waikatov1.zip
uploaded 22-Mar-2002
1,614Kb
FS2002 Scenery
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Microsoft has included default aircraft carriers (6 in total I believe) in Flight Simulator for some time now. Over the last couple of years, several authors have developed add-on carriers, a couple of which have had very accurate appearing flight decks with their static aircraft and equipment macros.
Like several authors before, Savern Reweti has designed a highly realistic appearing carrier, with flight deck crew members, mules, refueling zone, custom nightlights, a crane, and static aircraft—it is his inclusion of working arrester cables and working catapults that got my attention. Savern's readme file explains how you can get the traps and cats to function and once you do, this is great fun! Considering the wide variety of Naval aircraft (AVSIM library) available for download as freeware, you can have hours and hours of interesting fun, in your favorite Military aircraft, trying to achieve that perfect trap! Excellent work Savern! ...Bear!
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LFPZ v2
by C. Giraud
lfpz-v2.zip
uploaded 21-Mar-2002
3,335Kb
FS2002 Scenery
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This is C. Giraud's second version of this small airport (St Cyr L'ecole) just outside of Paris, France, but the improvements he has made are outstanding. Using some of the sharpest appearing photorealistic building textures I've seen, C. Ciraud's airport is highly realistic appearing and the feeling one gets while there will really put a smile on your face. You will notice that I did not include those 4x screenshots that I usually do with my scenery picks, as I felt that you can only see the true detail of this scenery add-on in 800 x 600!
In addition to the St Cyr L'ecole airport, C. Giraud has also included the nearby Garden of Versailles and the Grand Trianon as well. Overall a very nice little scenery add-on for all those that do VFR flying in France! Now I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but I also have awarded C. Giraud my Bear Approved stamp! ...Bear!
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Moscow
by Gary V.
moscow.zip
uploaded 29-Mar-2002
8,796Kb
FS2002 Scenery
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With FS2000, Microsoft had included several enhancements to the city of Moscow, Russia, but for some reason they opted to exclude any custom designed buildings to the city which was an odd omission in my opinion (maybe they just forgot). Gary V. has not only included all of the original features (of FS2000) back into Flight Simulator for the Moscow area, he has taken it a couple of steps further, as he included 3 of the local airports (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo) in his enhancement work.
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Several features or buildings have been added to the heart of Moscow, including (but not limited to) Theatre Bolshoy, the White House, MID, University of Lomonosov, Hotel Ukraina, and one of my favorites, Red Square. There are several pavilions and museums also, which makes flying in and around Moscow quite interesting and enjoyable.
The airport scenery also includes such custom features as: opening and closing hanger doors, terminal jetways, interesting night effects, and there is even the fountain (dynamic) in front of the main terminal at Sheremetyevo. Very well done on Gary's part! My Bear Award stamp most definitely goes on this one! ...Bear!
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California Land Class Update
by Matt Fox
lc_cav2.zip
uploaded 16-Mar-2002
260KB
FS2002 Scenery
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With the introduction of FS2002, the general scenery improvements over prior versions of Flight Simulator (specifically FS2000) were very evident. Between the increased resolution of the mesh combined with better ground textures and autogen, flying VFR in FS2002 is now a much improved possibility. The Flight Unlimited simulator first introduced the idea of Terrascene type photorealistic ground textures and then it became a much used add-on feature for FLY2K and now FLY2. There have also been some limited area Terrascene type add-ons for Flight Simulator as well—and even though this type of ground scenery is obviously quite accurate, it has the unfortunate problem of requiring massive file sizes. A file (Terrascene type) covering an area of only 100 square kilometers can easily exceed 100MB in size, making this type of ground scenery generation somewhat restrictive to your system's disc space.
Microsoft had/has chosen to stay with their mesh data scenery (the resolution of which was increased over FS2000 with FS2002) and improved their texture choices combined with the autogen program. Though not as accurate as the photorealistic Terrascene style scenery generation, it does have the advantage of providing higher texture resolution, particularly when viewed at or near ground level.
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By using the land use data available from the USGS, you can (as Matt Fox has done here) develop land class files that are far more accurate in their choosing of the texture file to be applied to a specific area of the ground scenery. The end result is that you move the appearance of the ground scenery (textures) ever closer to how it appears in real-life. Because the files you need to download and install only provide a more accurate code for Flight Simulator to use when choosing the textures to apply, the file size is greatly reduced. In this case, the file from Matt Fox that covers the entire State of California is only 772Kb in size, versus 2 or 3 GBs (or more), if it was the Terrascene style of files. In addition, because the Land Class files are merely rearranging the default textures to specific locations, there is no performance hit on your system either.
My screenshots here show just how much of an improvement Matt's file upload is, but if you are not familiar with the areas where I have taken my attached screenshots, you can only see that the scenery has changed. I can tell you that I am intimately familiar with the area of Northern California where these screenshots were taken and the improvement gained with the Land Class files is nothing short of stunning. ...Bear!
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Leeds/Bradford v1.5
by Paul Baines
leedsv1.5.zip
uploaded 11-Mar-2002
260KB
FS2002 Scenery
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Leeds-Bradford airport is located in the general area of Manchester and Manchester-Barton in the North of England. Over the last several months, Paul Baines has been providing some excellent (and some real favorites of mine) sceneries for this area (FS2000). He has upgraded Manchester-Barton already to FS2002 and finally my second favorite location to go to, Leeds-Bradford Airport, has now been upgraded by Paul. Unlike his FS2000 sceneries, Paul is now using those wonderful Gerrish Gray trees in his FS2002 scenery uploads and those are the cat's meow when it comes to realism, no matter what angle you look at them.
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The changes Paul needed to make with his Leeds-Barton scenery where pretty substantial from his FS2000 scenery, but the improvements are very much worth it. Static aircraft, lots of trees, accurate buildings, perimeter fencing, heli-pads, and even the tower atop a nearby hill.
I noted only one small interference, where the AI aircraft run into one of the buildings while parked. Other than that one small detail, everything about Paul's scenery is very good. ...Bear!
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Standard Disclaimer
These mini-reviews above are a subjective assessment of the work of the authors. There is no
connection between the product authors and the reviewer, and we feel these reviews are
unbiased and truly reflects the performance of the product in the simming environment.
This disclaimer is posted here in order provide you with background information on the
reviewer and connections that may exist between him/her and the contributing party.
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