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Bear's Cave
The world of Flight Simulator
short reviews by Steve "Bear" Cartwright
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This is actually the second version of the second version…or the "a" addition of the second version... if you get my drift. Paul, though the mastermind behind this awesome panel, gives credit to 15 other individuals and/or organizations for their assistance at different phases of the development of this work. Though this panel is deemed an MD-80 panel, it fits equally as well into a DC-9 being as the only major difference between these are/were the autopilots. In fact Paul's panel, pretty large at nearly 10mb, does include two DC-9 aircraft from the Project Freeware Group. Installation is automatic and painless; just follow the directions on your screen or you can install these aircraft/panels into a temporary folder if you wish, then install the panel into an aircraft of your choice, either way you desire.
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Now to the panel itself... a couple of weeks ago or less, Paul had uploaded his version 1 of this panel, then version 2, which was immediately followed with this panel, version 2a! Paul's version 2 included a "Flight Simulator First"—an actual working Windshield Wiper! Not just a working windshield wiper, but a 2-speed one at that! Version 2a included some minor improvements with how the panel lighting dimmer system functioned and other small changes, but the biggest change was with the inclusion of a functional "HUD". I do know that in the FS forums, Paul met with some resistance on his positioning of the HUD, but this panel is not really being installed into a real aircraft, but into a FS aircraft, so certain concessions had to be considered! I personally found the HUD to be quite useful and up to its original intent and it's not possible to place it directly into your line-of-sight due to panel width constrictions and the positioning of the windshield posts
This panel contains a complete overhead panel that has nearly all systems fully functional, including a realistic start-up procedure, working APU, and pushback gauge. Frankly though, the working windshield wiper is almost more entertainment than I could stand and I purposely found myself looking for real-weather where rain or snow was in the forecast! At first the sound level of the wiper was a bit high, but Mike Hambly has released a file to bring that minor annoyance back into control (also available here at AVSIM)!
As I stated before, this panel is very nearly fully functional, as you can even pre-set your cabin pressurization altitudes and control other environmental systems. Other environmental systems such as cabin air conditioning... though the sound is a good as you would expect from a panel of this caliber, it seemed no matter how close I got my face up to my monitor I still couldn't feel that the air was getting cooler or not!
Overall, I'm afraid that my quick little mentioning of only some of the features of this really terrific panel just aren't doing it or Paul Golding justice for his work! Download this panel and try it yourself; you can't go wrong... all the documentation is there... pictures included... plus he (Paul) even gives you a couple of great aircraft to try it out in…so what are you waiting for? ...Bear!
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03-Dec-00
Jamaica Terrain Mesh Scenery
by David Maldonado
Jam_mesh.zip uploaded 27-Nov-00
201Kb
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It seems that recently, we've been besieged by various uploads of mesh scenery for many parts of the world—and frankly I thought that mesh scenery was mesh scenery—but apparently my first impression was wrong! Over the last couple of weeks, we've gotten mesh for most of Europe, Asia, various island groups, and for the lands downunder... but you know what, they're not ALL the same! A few weeks ago I choose a Swiss Mesh as one of my picks and though I still stand by that, there have been a few comments made to me that those with the smaller computers did take a hit on frame rates, but most agreed that the scenery was quite good despite this! Then there were some uploads of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Greece that were not only very good, they didn't seem to hit those smaller systems right in the frame rate! On the other hand, there have been some recent mesh sceneries that not only were awful in their appearance; they hit the FPS demon right between the eyes, even on my dedicated FS computer (900MHz with 512MB ram).
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Now David Maldonado has released his mesh of Jamaica and all nearby islands and it's really great looking mesh, but I can't detect any, let me repeat that, ANY change in my frame rates with his scenery installed! Hmm... now David gives a technical explanation of what he did and frankly I don't understand one word of it, but I can tell you IT WORKS for me!
Take a look at the screenshots (Before & After shot of the same area) that I've included here... am I wrong? Does this not look good... yet no change in FPS! Great work David! ...Bear!
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03-Dec-00
Douglas DC-861-72
by the DC-8 Project Team
dc8ptwowst.zip uploaded 29-Nov-00
5,321Kb
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A couple of weeks ago I picked a DC-8 (Michael Verlin) as one of my picks for the week and basically we're looking at the same aircraft and the same original designers as before, but this time they've included more liveries, incorporated panels, and packaged 8 different aircraft into a single, ready as a Christmas stocking stuffer, bundle!
The actual list of individuals involved with the "DC-8 Project Team" is a rather lengthy one, but I would be remise if I failed to mention Brian E Cooper, who was responsible for all of the repaints... boy do I like the looks of that Delta and Eastern paints... and Michael Verlin for the modifications of the panels. It was Kim Simmelink that originally designed the base aircraft, Dee Waldron doing the animation, and Paul Nichols handling the flight dynamics, just to name a few. These aircraft fly smooth, are very stable, and I had better hit the lotto soon, so I can quit my job and have all the time available I need to fly these wonderful and nostalgic aircraft!
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If you look over these aircraft very closely, you will notice some small detail improvements over the earlier releases, especially when you look at the accuracy applied to the wings and engines. In the readme/documentation files, Brian explains how by using actual photographs gained from the internet; he was able to fairly accurately duplicate many of the outside textures and details for each airline. The end result is very pleasing, not just to the eye, but in the feel when you fly any of these aircraft!
The liveries are: United (old colors), Delta, Eastern, Air Jamaica, Air Canada, Japan Airlines, AL Nasser LTD, and ARAMCO. I'm sure that you'll find a favorite among all of the choices and like I said, "...I really like that Delta and Eastern paints..." nice work! ...Bear!
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03-Dec-00
Sydney, Australia
by Clive (Aussie) Marriott
syd_v1.zip uploaded 30-Nov-00
463Kb
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Sydney, Australia-site of the 2000 Summer Olympics-and home to what is probably the most recognizable building to the rest of the world as being the symbol of "AUSTRALIA" (the Opera House and it's sailplane roofs, located in Sydney's harbor)! I've personally been to Australia (Surfer's Paradise up in Queensland) and would think that Australia, as a whole, would be a very interesting country to VFR fly in, though it's a long way between fuel stops, if you venture too far out into the "outback"! So, even when flying in Australia in FS2000, I mostly stay along the coastal cities with Sydney normally being my starting point.
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Clive has developed a wonderful airport scenery add-on for the Bankstown Airport, just outside Sydney that includes 3d autos, trees, static aircraft (of which you can add separately, if FPS become a problem), realistically textured main buildings and hangers, a golf course in photorealistic textures, plus several area "Olympic 2000" sites. Clive was able to provide all of these excellent scenery features without the need for flatten switches or exclude files... very good!
It just so happens that I have a commercial scenery add-on for Sydney, of which Clive's scenery was not in interference with (the commercial scenery failed to include Bankstown Airport in their add-on software), but Clive's scenery is of much higher quality in appearance and with not causing me any headaches with FPS! I suppose that when someone develops an aircraft or scenery out of love of this great hobby, rather than for the purpose of making money, well it shows! Excellent addition to your scenery library! ...Bear!
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03-Dec-00
Welcome to Kodiak Island, Alaska
by Don Moser
kodiak.zip uploaded 03-Dec-00
1,601Kb
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Don Moser is rapidly becoming "Mr. Alaska", at least when it comes to Alaska "Bush" Scenery add-ons; this most certainly holds true with his latest upload. Unlike in the past when Don has been uploading one landing strip, this time Don has incorporated a 7 location land/lake series around the Alaska Island of Kodiak!
Kodiak is a rather large, yet remote island southwest of the Kenai Peninsula and east of the upper head of the Aleutian Island chain. Kodiak Island, besides being quite isolated from the rest of the world, is also home to the largest United States Coast Guard Air Station in North America... bet you didn't know that one?
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Don is an individual that apparently really loves the hobby of scenery designing and his Alaska Bush Sceneries always have a certain level of "fun" to them. Most likely his sceneries depict fictional airfields, but this shouldn't take away from them being fun to fly into. Don is always experimenting with little design ideas, such an Eagle in flight nearby, maybe a roving herd of Caribou or Roosevelt Mountain Elk, or a single Alaska Brown (Bear) fishing in a stream nearby, again always done with fun being the main purpose!
These 7 locations are: Landers Lookout, Shuyak Island, Raspberry Island, Dangerous Cape, Aliulik, Ikutat Inlet, and Zachar Bay. Of these 7 locations, Landers Lookout (the screenshots I've included here depicting the summer textures compared with the winter textures, are of Landers Lookout) is the most unusual as it's intended specifically for the FSD Pilatus Porter PC-6 only, what with only 575 foot runways, surrounded by trees, well you get the idea... it's either the Porter or a copter! Notice too how Don's always thinking...? I'm talking of the small road between the two runways, so you've got room to taxi from runway to the other between landing and taking off... hmm good idea Don! I know that Don is probably busy working on his next set of Alaska Bush Sceneries, but for now take a look at these, as I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I did... be sure to pack warm and bring along either the FSD Porter, a Yannick or Ackerley Supercub, or your favorite floatplane! Leave the jets and cellular phones at home! ...Bear!
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