 Rather than to attempt to single out any one of these many outstanding commercial products as a "Bravo Zulu Winner," we've elected to commend them all, each for having achieved excellence in its own way. Here they are, in alphabetical order within their respective industry segments:
[Click on the desired topic if you'd like to proceed directly to that segment]
Precision Simulator 744 (PS1 V1.3) – Aerowinx
Many flight simmers dream about having even a moment in a full-motion simulator such as the type used to train airline crews. In fact, airlines such as United actually offer blocks of time in their training facilities to anyone who has the cash, often several thousands of dollars. For those who want the next best thing, on their home PC, there is Precision Simulator by Aerowinx. This simulator does one thing: puts you in the cockpit and in command of the controls and systems of a Boeing 747-400. In March of this year, Aerowinx, which is essentially the programming genius of Hardy Heinlin and his network of real-world professionals who support and test the software, unveiled the version 1.3 upgrade which added a whole slew of new features, making what was an incredibly life-like simulator even more so.
PS1.3 simply has nothing to offer in the way of scenery or external views of the aircraft, and it runs in only one resolution, 640x480. Yet it would be invalid to make this comparison since PS1.3 is designed as a procedures trainer, FMC tutor and 744 systems simulator. The best description is this one from the box: "Computer Based Training for the 747-400." It is that, and it does it well. The program itself is DOS-based which might surprise some new users. The major benefit of still running on this platform is that PS1.3 can be run quite well on machines that would simply choke on any modern Windows flight simulator. It runs easily on laptops as well. There have been some tricks getting the continuous engine sound to come through with all sound cards and getting the program to work with Windows 2000. As far as we know, these difficulties have been for the most part resolved through the constant interaction of PS1 pilots on the Aerowinx Message Board.
Version 1.3 comes with some terrific new features. One is the advanced track plotting system. This system provides up to 20 hours of plot information and the map can be zoomed in or out to just about any range as well as centered on waypoints, airports and even the present aircraft position. Perhaps the most exciting new training feature is the ability to record and play videos in PS1.3. A video can be recorded for up to 1 hour and it captures all of the commands, switches, button presses and even mouse movements during the record phase. Text and sound can be added as well to a video scripting file. PS1.3 comes with several videos showing procedures and more have been recorded and placed on the popular PS1 websites. The other standard features are still available as well: the Airport Information Database and the Black Box page which shows many flight parameters over time intervals.
One new feature is the availability of three different ATC voices, and more can be added. These were recorded for PS1.3 by Paul Story using real-world controller voices. The ATC intelligence is improved, but not yet perfect. The main purpose for ATC in PS1 is still as a distraction and workload item, not an ATC trainer, but the improved model in v1.3 does offer more in the way of realism.
For specific panel features, functions and procedures modeled in this product see our highly detailed review, which takes you through a sample flight. Further details and purchase information are at the Aerowinx website.
Combat Flight Simulator 2 – Microsoft (AOE)
When first playing this sim, the question has to be asked, 'What doesn't this sim have?' Whether you are a rookie aviator or a combat veteran, this sim has something for everyone. Starting at the easiest levels and working through to the toughest aerial dogfights, the entertainment and excitement value in this sim is non-stop. The excellent graphics alone deserve a recognition award. Add to that the realism, the smoke, the noise, the battle damage and Combat Flight Simulator 2 stands on a pedestal that equals and sometimes surpasses those in which these warbirds of old are mounted on around the world. The thought and planning that went into this simulator reveals itself to the consumer from the opening frame. The ability to carry over the aircraft and their associated controls from the first Combat Flight Simulator is a welcomed feature to those who loved the first go around. W'd say CFS 2 is the visual standard that we will see in the future – for planes, for scenery, and for effects.
Today's hardware is pretty much not a problem anymore. The graphics and processor power available to us today—even on what might be termed mid level machines—is at a level unimagined in 1994 when we first saw Microprose's groundbreaking graphics in "1942: The Pacific Air War". With CFS 2 we're within striking distance of letting us realize the full potential of simming to create an immersive and "real" experience that we could only see the dim outlines of back in the early 90's. Beyond its many great features as a World War II combat sim, the real significance of CFS 2 may just be that it's the first example of the new breed of immersion and "reality" that will become the sim standard in the near future. A 'standard' is something that other similar things are judged against.
Take a close look at the aircraft—the detail of these rugged and well-used war birds is breathtaking. The environment and scenery is likewise first rate. The water shades and hues and island topography you see in CFS 2 are what it looked like looking out the window for those who have flown there. Look at the damage effects. The flak bursts are the best of any combat sim currently on the market as far as what real flak looks like. Watch the water splashes of your tracers hitting around a ship target. Now go look at some old gun camera film of a similar run on "Wings" or a "Victory at Sea" video. The CFS 2 depiction is dead on.
And while we're talking about visual effects—an area where combat sims have long reigned supreme—is in "views." Virtual cockpits with working instruments and panning views have been standard in combat sims for lo these many years. We are beginning to see them creep into the civil side, and we believe Microsoft will take some of the stuff in CFS 2 when it comes time for the next version of MSFS—think about the usefulness of a padlock view option on the runway threshold for approaches—just to name one potential application!
Next on our list of CFS 2 standards would be 3rd party adaptability by design—meaning the intended capability of non Microsoft folks to be able to modify and add on. Within days of release all of the CFS 2 AI aircraft were easily modified and became player flyable. It's only a matter of time before 3rd party panels for all of them will be commonplace—as well as whole new 3rd party designed aircraft, and scenery, and who knows what else. This is the secret to success for a great sim—one that stays on your hard drive and doesn't get stale. We'd say nobody can touch Microsoft in this area (yet anyway) and that makes CFS 2 great! Yes other combat sims have modified and add on aircraft and scenery available—but not especially easily done and pretty much not by design. And how about being able to import FS2000 planes and scenery? We guess "versatility' would be a one-word summary of what we're trying to say here.
Finally—a key feature is the mission builder. This lets you customize the combat sim experience to whatever level of detail and circumstance you want. Intuitively easy to use (but the written documentation could use a little work), it has depth and—here's that word again—versatility enough to satisfy the most creative simming imaginations. CFS 2 simmers can create an infinite variety of missions and circumstances and trade them with others.
We have touched on a few of the key features of CFS 2 here—there are many others we could discuss (flight models, multiplayer, wingmen commands and tactical communications), but the ones we've called out are those which establish principles and building blocks to guide the future. Smooth operation, immersive graphics, adaptability, and a tool to customize your experience. Broad concepts brought down to earth in this release of CFS 2 at a level rarely seen before in a sim release that sets standards against which to go forward. At one and the same time a guide to and look at the future.
There's more information at the Microsoft's CFS 2 website.
Beech Bonanza Series – Phoenix Simulation Software
The Raytheon-Beech Bonanza A33C "Aerobat", Bonanza A35 V-Tail, and Bonanza A36J "Propjet" package from Phoenix Simulation Software is another fine example of what we consider to be great add-ons for FS2000. Many have offered aircraft, panels and sounds for FS2000—but only as separate files. There are not many complete packages like this available for General Aviation aircraft.
The tested Bonanza A36J "Propjet" dynamics are right on the numbers. The plane reacts as we would expect a prop jet conversion to handle. The A36 allows this and so much more; from its great flight dynamics to its realistic sound. Its take-off is smooth, it flies like a dream, and lands very smoothly.
With a cream paint job, excellent exterior detail including the tip tanks with their winglets, the A36J is an aircraft that looks ready to fly on its own. There are no bleeds and the paint scheme blends smoothly from section to section. In the exterior view the landing lights add to the night realism when they are on. So do the strobes, which are reflected off the body of the aircraft as in real life—as opposed to just blinking. We especially like the cockpit exterior side views and the fully-detailed interior views looking to the side or looking back from the cockpit. This plane looks like the real thing from any perspective.
You’ll see a greatly realistic looking and quite functional panel. It’s complete, with an on-board GPS and large gauges. The rendering of the gauges during flight is smooth and realistic. All of the gauges are new ones from Alex Bashkatov and include a new audiopanel, ADF, ComNav, GPS and transponder. The GPS is a new design that provides precision location of current position and a navigation computer.
For more information and to purchase this aircraft, click here.
Credits:
Graham Waterfield – Visual Models, Textures, Flight dynamics, Panel Layout
Boeing 747-200 – Ralph Tofflemire (Publisher AETI)
Ralph Tofflemire and his team's work and effort have produced a product that is high in fidelity to the operation of the real aircraft and one that feels solid. So many features present in this aircraft and panel package are groundbreaking and innovative that this project was close to a year in the making and had to be modified as Flight Simulator went through a version shift during the course of making this package. Known for his freeware and commercial work on panels for the Boeing 737-300, McDonnell-Douglas MD-80, and Dassault Falcon, Ralph and his team have collaborated to produce one of the most complex and demanding packages for heavy aircraft to Flight Simulator this year.
What other package allows you to play the role of Captain, First and Second (Flight Engineer) Officers all at the same time? But, then again, who wants to be that busy? You do! Because this level of complexity and realism is what most of have clamored for all along. While the advanced user (who buys all the charts, reads all the books and even picks up an Airman's Operating Manual – AOM – for the types he likes to fly) is the target audience for this package; it also has great potential to create an advanced user out of the simmer who is willing to have the patience to learn to fly this package. Having some experience with flight simming in large aircraft, navigation and airspace procedures, and patience to read and reread the manual are essential to derive full benefit out of this package. Those who ignore this will not reap full enjoyment and will become very frustrated. This cannot be emphasized enough.
The control response in this aircraft is heavy, which is appropriate for the 747, and this makes for a very realistic experience with excellent handling. This heavy feel also forces the pilot to plan his next move and stay ahead of the aircraft. The throttles are sensitive, with the N1 and N2 gauges on the panel reading off precise readings to factions of percentages. As with the real aircraft, throttle adjustments require some delay for the engines to spool up and the N1, N2 and EPR gauges will all vacillate for a short period after adjustments. The Attitude Director Indicator (ADI) is very smooth and enhances the controllability of this aircraft.
Laemming Wheeler and Craig Mosher partnered to update the 747-200 for FS2000 and have done an outstanding job. The proportion of all the parts are very realistic and give a good rendering. There are moving parts everywhere you would expect them and the animations are very realistic, with gear doors opening an shutting in proper sequence and realistic slat extension. The wheels are very round in appearance and are expertly textured. The now-familiar high resolution body textures, complete with night lighting are a feature of the aircraft which comes in Northwest, KLM and Air Canada liveries.
The panel is a breakthrough in so many ways it is hard to know where to start. Perhaps the most notable features are the fully functional engineer's panel, the overhead panel, and wide-angle "cruise cockpit" panel, but the real gems are the little details about the panel. There are over 100 custom gauges on this panel, which is a source of this panel's magic and a source of its extreme complexity. Many of the gauges count on proper use and operation, in the proper sequence, to work. If you start with the aircraft cold with no power or engines running, you must follow a start up procedure that takes you all over each sub-panel in preparation. There are several subpanels: The radio stack, the GPS, the INS, the overhead, the flight engineer's panel, the high-altitude cruise panel and the throttle quadrant.
Other highlights of this panel's features include the custom pushback gauge, the audible checklists that are read for critical phases of flight, the authentically modeled Litton LTN-72 Inertial Navigation System, the Ground Proximity Warning system, the startup sequence, the auto-land feature and the night lighting on the panel bitmap itself.
Credits:
This package is based on the the hard work of Ralph and a cast of support or contracted contributors that reads like a who's who of flight simulation developers: Chraig Mosher and Laemming Wheeler (visual modeling), Hans Van Whye (flight dynamics modeling), Chris Koegler and Harry Greier (gauge programming) and a team of consultants and beta testers of whom many are operators of the real aircraft.
Ralph's panels are available exclusively from AETI; additional details are at Ralph's Panel Shop.
Boeing 747-400 Package – Phoenix Simulation Software (AOE)
Released in December, 2000, we believe this package sets the level against which future aircraft, sounds and panels will be judged—at least for now. First, the renowned designer Graham Waterfield's aircraft look breath-taking. Assisted by Garry Lewis, the attention to detail is so complete that they even include the brake temperature sensor line found on each one of the aircraft's 18 wheels. All eight paint schemes are done with pin-point accuracy. The most challenging out of the eight to recreate, the Wunala scheme for Qantas, is simply splendid. They're all so gorgeous you may just be tempted to buy all eight of them. Textures on the landing gear struts (all the mains and the nose gear) are prevalent. On the nose gear there are added textures on the torsion links (the two pieces that come together at one point). Gear retraction is slow and smooth, and exactly how the real 747 does it. Even the individual gear sequencing is programmed in. The wing gear doors first fold out, then down on extension, and up and in on retraction.
The flight dynamics are excellent, giving it the feel of a truly heavy air transport. Rotation speeds will vary significantly depending on aircraft weight. For example, an empty aircraft (no passengers, baggage or cargo) will rotate at about 140 knots, whereas one that has a full load of passengers, cargo, and baggage, along with full fuel will rotate at about 170 knots. Each aircraft comes with a utility that allows you to easily modify the loadout of the aircraft.
Mike Hambly's sounds are out of the ordinary as well—they rock. Rolls Royce engines have a distinctive sound to them, and even if there's no Rolls Royce decal on it, you can tell it's a Rolls Royce from the sound and the wide open rear end of the engine. On initial loadup of the aircraft, the first thing you will hear is – well – nothing. When our reviewer fired up the APU, he thought "he was at work with my head stuck up the APU compartment of a real 747." It sounds awesome—If you have ever heard a Rolls Royce engine fire up, you'll instantly feel at home here.
And best of all is the panel and its pop-up windows, developed and programmed by the very competent Alex and Lena Bashkatov team. At first glance, the panel looks pretty basic. Three CRTs, a glareshield, and some standby instruments. Ah, but don't be fooled by the looks because they can be deceiving and in this case, they are. Remember Eric Ernst's 757/767 panel for FS98? Well, that's what we have here, only with a lot more features, and respectable frame rates to go with it. After scanning the main panel, you will quickly realize that there are no dummy switches on the glareshield. Every switch, knob, and button on this panel does something.
The PFD, ND and EICAS screens look pretty standard at first glance. However the PFD provides a wealth of information. Most of the information is displayed if you have the FMC programmed for your specific setup. If you do, on the ground the airspeed ticker tape will show you your V1, rotation, and V2 speeds. Once airborne, your flap retraction schedule will be shown in green, your command airspeed in magenta, and a yellow bar that indicates the current minimum maneuvering speed. The PFD will also display the various modes of the autopilot and auto-throttle systems. There are too many to list here, so make sure to check the manual for information. And oh yes, the night lighting in the panel is the best around.
The overhead panel may look a little intimidating at first, but most of it is automated. On initial loadup, you'll fire up the APU, turn the APU generators on, and use the engine start switches in conjunction with the center pedestal and the EICAS. With the PSS 777, we had the problem of having to start the fuel flow before hitting the start switch, and you couldn't see the engine indications. This 747 is equipped with an autostart system; after you open the center pedistal fuel control switches you can turn your attention to the overhead panel. Each of the pull-out engine start switches there have an internal light, indicating the start valve is open and bleed air from the APU is going to the engine.
The second EICAS screen has eight control buttons; all function and bring up different screens, showing the status of the various systems, such as electrical, pneumatics, fuel configuration, and more. These interact with the panel's crowning glory, the Flight Management System.
This is no ordinary FMC. Learning to use it is imperative to getting the full value and enjoyment out of this package. Sure you could just set the altitude, airspeed, load up a flight plan, and just "fly" it, but you'll be missing out on a whole ton of cool stuff. The FMC, as in the real world, is central to every system that controls the aircraft: airspeed, altitude, heading, navigation, communications, and autoflight. All these systems link directly or indirectly to the FMC, which is why it's so important to learn how it's used properly.
This FMC is a joy to use in flight. You can easily set up your arrival parameters "on the fly" just as you would by following ATC instructions, entering such things as the runway assigned, changing crossing restrictions and confirming your descent profile. Instructed to hold at an inbound waypoint? No problem—key in your pattern instructions and the FMC times and makes each turn flawlessly. And you can easily follow ATC's "descend and maintain" and vector heading instructions without deactivating the FMC—and make a perfect 'autoland' if you so choose.
Credits:
– Graham Waterfield – Visual Models, Textures, Flight dynamics This package's various modules can be ordered at the PSS Website.
Boeing 757 for Fly! V1.1 (AOE) and
If you use the Fly! flight simulator and have the PMDG B-757, you no doubt know the quality of their products. If you don't, what are you waiting for? The PMDG B767 continues Robert Randazo's tradition of top quality, relentless pursuit of perfection, and unequaled customer support.
PMDG's Boeing 757 was the first commercial add-on aircraft for the FLY! series. PMDG's v1.1 reviewed here is an update (now at v2.3), and their B-767 also was released this year. The greatest single strength of these aircraft is the accuracy with which PM has attempted to model the 757/767's systems. Systems for hydraulics, pneumatics, electrical, pressurization, etc. are all modeled albeit within the limitations of the underlying FLY! program code.
With version 1.1 PMDG has corrected several issues from their original B-757. First and foremost the B-757 aircraft graphics have been completely redone for a greatly improved visual affect. VOR antennae have been added to the model, and also improved landing gear, flap fairings, and an enhanced paint scheme, and now shadows can be displayed. PMDG has provided three new liveries to supplement the original United Air Lines, and USAirways. These are Trans World Airlines, Condor (a Lufthansa subsidiary), and a USAF VC-32A VIP transport. In total PMDG has made, corrected or upgraded 35 different items with the 1.1 release.
The PMDG B-767 post-SDK comprises the systems that most simmers desired most: Autobrakes, Autospoilers, and Autothrottle. These were the large transport features that were sorely lacking until Terminal Reality provided the SDK. True to the Precision Manuals' standard, the aircraft is designed from actual Boeing specifications. The model is accurate to within four inches of the true dimensions. With gear down in the spot or fly-by camera view you will see the main gear trucks hanging.
The painting and texturing of the models are really outstanding. The brushed aluminum on the Delta model is exceptional. PMDG provides the 767-200 in the liveries of Qantas, Air Canada, All Nippon, and a new Precision Manuals Livery. In the 767-300 series, Delta, Air France, UPS, and another PMDG livery. The best eye candy on the new model is the addition of interior lighting; these work in unison with the logo light switch on the overhead panel. PMDG has also provided a paint kit utility that allows the simmer to create or recreate other liveries. All control surfaces are fully operational, including leading edge flaps/slats, low-speed ailerons, and spoilers. Flaps are full fowler type and modeled accordingly.
One of the things we really like about this model is the emphasis on "simulation." Prior to stepping into the cockpit you must, or at least should, perform some flight planning. PM's planes come with an extensive aircraft operating manual with a format and layout similar to the real thing. Here you will find all your engine performance data, aircraft performance data, takeoff and landing distances.
The flight displays are nicely arranged with an effort made to make it as realistic and practical as possible. The B-767 is the first model that incorporates the 3D cockpit from initial release. This Cockpit was created by PMDG's Marc Harrington and eliminates the 2D "Photocockpit" effect. Little details are incorporated like the coffee cup, and the crewmembers jacket hanging in the coat rack. You'll find these fine aircraft at Precision Manuals Development.
Boeing 777 Package – Phoenix Simulation Software (AOE)
The precursor to their B-747 described above, this too set the pace earlier in the year. The aircraft looks great. The fuselage is made using a 16-sided polygon, although some aircraft such as their later B-747 are now appearing with 30-sided polygons. The amount of detail that is visible at first glance is quite unlike anything previously available, freeware, shareware, or commercial. At first sight, you'll see things like the Pratt And Whitney stickers on both sides of both engines, along with the warning decals. Still on the engines, you'll notice the silver lining around the inlet to the compressor section. This is the anti-ice element for the engine intake. Underneath the aircraft, you'll see round wheels, along with the wheel halves and the bolts holding them together. Look to the aft side of the bogey and you'll see the hydraulic lines that attach to the brake assemblies. On the outside view, move your joystick and rudder pedals and the pertinent controls will move. Move the rudder and the nose wheel also moves. The movement of the flaps and spoilers as you lower or raise them is much smoother and realistic. Other aircraft have spoilers that come up like it's a race to the finish line. Here, it's a much smoother and slowed-down movement. Likewise with the gear. When the gear is selected up, there is a slight delay while the hydraulics get pressurized and the gear doors open.
Other visual features include rotating fan blades, a beautifully done United Airlines paint scheme, transparent flight deck windows, and a captain and first officer. A first among today's aircraft is the animated thrust reversers.
Back when FS95 had been around for some time after its release, the KTB design team from Japan took the Flight Simulator world by storm by releasing three panels: one for the 777, one for the 747, and one for the 757/767. These were remarkable panels, with MFD displays very much like their real world counterparts. Then the same group released a slightly modified version of their 777 panel for FS98 and again, it pushed the realism envelope a little further. Last year, Eric Ernst released his version of the 757/767 panel for FS98 (which we awarded "Best Panel" in last year's "Bravo Zulu" article). That was quite a panel, with full-fledged working systems, and near-realistic engine start procedures. But the price that we all paid was our frame rates going out to lunch. Now, the Phoenix Simulation team has done that for FS2000, without suffering a frame rate penalty.
The flight management computer has most of the features omitted this time around, but an adaptation of their new B-747 FMS and other retrofits are planned. With the GPS system used by FS2000, you can set up your flight plan in the FMS and fly it with the autopilot. The default flight planner leaves a lot to be desired, but by giving it a new, more realistic interface, now you can enter and fly flight plans like the professionals. The flight management keyboard also allows for adjustment of settings such as rate of climb, and crossover altitude from IAS to Mach.
This package's various modules can be ordered at the PSS Website.
Amsterdam Schiphol 2000 – LAGO (AOE)
It's probably a tough call for most people to decide if they should buy scenery for one single, solitary airport (though you can try the demonstration version first). However, if there ever came a product that justified such a purchase, this is it. Without a doubt, this is the most detailed, most complex airport scenery we've seen anywhere. This is the first scenery add-on for FS2000 that really takes advantage of what the new scenery engine can do. Scenery designer Andras Kozma has really outdone himself with this one! While this may sound like an over-hyped introduction, you really have to see this scenery to believe it.
One you get things setup, you can either select EHAM from the usual Go to Airport... menu, or there are several flights you can select, each of which places you at a different gate around the airport. the excellent documentation—which includes a collection of charts, maps, and procedures— is incredible. It's in one comprehensive .pdf file, and it contains everything you would need to know to take off, land, taxi, park, and find your way around this complicated airport. There are over 30 high resolution diagrams for approaches and departures, gate placements, and every other piece of information you might need. This might be the best documentation ever included with any scenery product.
As you start taxiing around this airport, it quickly becomes clear that there is a lot to see. If you like to fly into an airport, taxi to the next runway, and take off again, save your money. However, if you like to explore even a little bit, you won't be disappointed. There are hours' worth of gorgeous custom buildings, signs, hangars, and other details to look at. There's really so much detail in this scenery that you end up not flying a lot of the time; you just end up exploring the airport! The nice thing about Schiphol is that it is a huge, busy airport, and you can reach it easily from the east coast of the US, from anywhere in Europe, as well as Africa, parts of Asia, and beyond. Even if you're not impressed geographically, the sheer quality of this scenery ought to convince you to give it a look.
This scenery has truly raised the bar for future FS2000 compatible scenery add-ons. There are a lot of really nice products on the market, but this one is truly great. Even though it's just one airport, it's one airport done the way every airport should be done from now on. (We can only hope...) If you'd like to find out more about this product from its publisher, click here.
Fly! Germany Rhein-Ruhr – Marc Stöering and Jürgen Kloos (AeroSoft GmbH) (AOE)
One of our few disappointments with FLY! (well, until Fly 2 is released) is the lack of detailed airport scenery. After all, the scenery that every pilot sees up close and personal are the airports we operate into. Aerosoft Germany has knocked down this final wall with their offering of FLY! Rhein-Ruhr. Published by Aerosoft, and created by designers Marc Stöering and Jürgen Kloos, you're going to want to pack your bags and move the 172, Navajo, B767 (or whatsoever you fancy) to Deutschland.
Marc and Jüergen worked almost a full year on the Rhein-Ruhr project. The scenery includes 19 detailed airports and original textures of the German landscape. Many of the region's cities include 3D objects; even over the rivers you can glimpse 3D freighters and oil tankers enroute. In fact one of the most fun parts of the scenery is that you never know what your going to come across next. Rhein-Ruhr also is the first FLY! add-on that actually packages additional 'FLY! NOW' scenarios.
Quality is the recurring experience in FLY! Rhein-Ruhr. This focus on quality begins when you open the box. Besides the CD and installation instructions, the box contains two small "books." The first is the the manual in German and English. This includes a 10 page round trip with some information about the history of some of the airports, and basic information on cities such as the number of inhabitants, their history and so on. Also, there's a detailed explanation on how to do a manual installation of this scenery (important for MAC users - yes, it works on a MAC, too!); a long FAQ covering all kinds of technical aspects. Finally there's also a long airport index. The second book contains every Jeppesen chart for every airport within the scenery. You get every SID, STAR and airport diagram. Altogether there are 115 pages of manuals – quite a lot for a scenery add-on!
We would feel completely satisfied if Aerosoft provided only a few new airports. Rather they've reworked the German countryside. The scenery is mostly irregular patches of earthy greens, ambers, and browns. What we liked most is the gentle rolling nature of the landscape. It seemed so much more natural and realistic than the default landscapes. The scenery is 11,000 square kilometers of rolling hills, waterways, towns. Enroute you may over fly a power plant, radio tower (and these look real), or some freighter on the river. An "info pointer toggle" key is also available to identify the name of each object. Simply place your cursor over the object, and key the backslash, a dialogue box will pop up telling you the name and distance to the 3D object.
One might expect that there is a significant drop in frame rates with the processor burdened with this much detail. To save on framerates Rhein-Ruhr also uses different lower 3d object complexity which is dependent on distance from the aircraft. Therefore, for example, when overflying a detailed airport at 10,000 feet the 3d objects more resemble the default FLY! airports. Improved detail pops-up as your aircraft gets closer to the object. This is done in a very realistic manner, so that you don't encounter blocky objects at closer ranges.
Click these hyperlinks here for some more information on the development process and to order, or here for more images.
German Airports 2 Edition 2000 – AeroSoft GmbH
One of the interesting things about many of the airports in Germany is how strikingly modern the architecture is. Frankfurt and Munich (MUC is not in this scenery) are two prime examples of spectacular glass and steel construction. While Munich will probably be depicted in the FS2000 version of German Airports 1, Frankfurt is shown here in amazing detail. If you've ever walked across the ramp to a waiting plane at FRA at night, with the giant terminal buildings glittering behind you, you know what an awesome sight it is.
In typical AeroSoft style, the documentation included with this product is outstanding. There are two booklets included, one with installation instructions, airport details and history, and information about other AeroSoft products; and a second booklet with all the diagrams and charts you could possibly need.
We were impressed that all the detailed things that you see when you're up close translate to a nice-looking sight when you're entering or leaving the area as well. You can still pick out buildings and vehicles, and tell where taxiways are. Every airports is completely different, and worth exploring. Particularly at Leipzig-Halle, where the two runways are set well apart from each other, there is a lot of area to explore. All the usual visual effects you would expect to see in FS2000 scenery are here. Nice nighttime lighting effects, the better runway lighting, higher resolution textures with more realistic coloration, and so on. Airports stay visible for a long time after takeoff, and they don't just "pop" into view at the last minute on approaches, either.
One of the nicer parts of this scenery is the assortment of dynamic scenery objects that you will encounter. There are plenty of fueling trucks, catering trucks, passenger shuttles, and other vehicles trundling along on the ramps at each airport.
Big airports, smaller airports—whichever you like, there are some here that fit the bill. The quality is first-rate, and the price of $29.99 US is very reasonable. If you are interested, or would like to find out more from the publisher, check out their website here. Also visit the Scenery Design Team for screen shots and other details.
Scenery USA! For Fly! – Peter McLean
Peter McLean's Scenery! USA fills the void in generic Fly! scenery, and boy does it! We recently flew all three sceneries available to date and let me tell you, they are absolutely beautiful. The three sceneries available so far are Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle and are available via online order at Scenery USA and are shipped to you on a CD ROM. More scenery will become available as they are created by Peter, about one CD available every two weeks. That my friends, is a lot of scenery!
The results of Peter's scenery are incredible. They are very dense and the textures look very realistic. The first thing it reminded us of, was a hybrid TerraScene scenery, but Peter creates his own scenery using his own program. He says, "I place a coarse mesh into Fly! and generate a fine mesh to do the scenery shading. The overall effect is a perceived height resolution without sacrificing too much frame rate."
Visually, the scenery is very nice to look at. The textures Peter used are very detailed and give a good representation of cities, towns, roads and streams. The mountain terrain is also extremely detailed and flying over the California fault areas is very realistic to see. Overall the scenery is more detailed than that of TerraScene because of the textures and 3D effect Peter has created. Seeing the textures change from rugged mountain terrain to out lying towns and then finally into dense city textures was very realistic. The same goes for flying into LAX.
The area covered in each scenery area is huge, each CD contains approximately 100,000 square Kilometers and once Peter completes the rest of the West Coast, you will be able to fly from San Diego to Seattle with detailed VFR scenery!
VFR England and Wales – Scenery Limited
VFR Scenery Limited covers the entirety of England and Wales but not, as yet, Scotland and Ireland. These are "under development." Far from being just the "Maggie" scenery burnt to a CD, VFR E&W is a far more polished product than its predecessor UKDT scenery, with none of the visible seams or layering effects, a fairly straight forward install routine and most (although apparently still not quite all...) of the airports that were missing from the original.
The area around Teesside is well populated with static freighters, a football ground and lots of other things. Likewise, Humberside has the local industry well represented along with some nice flame effects at the top of stacks. Telford in Shropshire, my nearest large town, has both Stafford Park industrial estate and the Army base repair facility at Donnington visible as generic factories/warehouses. You can find exactly where these items should be, as there are maps on the VFR Scenery page that show the road and hydrographic information used for the scenery—they are quite extensive and, from personal experience, quite accurately reproduced.
For more details on the scenery, visit the VFR Scenery Website here.
Virgin Islands Scenery 2000 – Chris Wilkes
(Click on title to read the full review)
The Caribbean Sea. Just thinking of it brings thoughts of white sandy beaches, sailboats tucked in small protected coves, towering mountains left behind by ancient volcanoes and coral reefs. Third-party scenery designers had created just that look for those flying Flight Simulator 98. So when Microsoft announced FS2000 would include stunning new 3-D scenery, those who routinely fly the airs over those tropical waters could not wait to see the new Caribbean. Imagine the disappointment when the default FS2000 Caribbean was no better than even the default FS98 scenery. But tropical scenery guru Chris Wilkes has come to the rescue for at least the Virgin Islands. His shareware Virgin Islands 2000 is a must if you want to head to the U.S. and British Virgin Islands in FS2000.
Let's take a look at St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands , which hosts one of the two major airports in the Virgin Islands. Cyril E. King International Airport sports a modern terminal, a 7,000-foot runway and an ILS approach to Runway 9. Even in socked in conditions, the approach was right on and a breeze in our tests. You'll want to fly over Lindbergh Bay, a favorite stop for many of the cruise ships which visit the island. In the left shot, those ships are lit up for a festive night in port.
As another example, we take a look at Beef Island International Airport, which serves visitors headed to Tortola. The two islands are connected by the short Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. The screenshot also shows some of the smaller adjoining islands and the shallow coral laden waters of East End Bay. The right screenshot would appear to be just a general scenery shot, but if you look closely this shot shows just how far Wilkes has gone for accuracy. We are looking at Josias Bay and then the small Josias Bay Pond. Now the average pilot would likely never need this landmark or even notice it. But Josias Bay Pond is right where the charts and maps show it should be. So is the small stream which feeds it with mountain runoff, towering Mount Belle-vue and the road along the side of the mountain. It is all there, correctly rendered and right where it should be.
If you prefer helicopters or seaplanes, Wilkes has not forgotten about you. Find an oil tanker and you may just find a helipad on it. All of which are functional, according to Wilkes. On some of the islands without airports, and even a few with airports, you will find dedicated seaplane docks. One even has refueling at the docks.
Further information about Virgin Islands 2000 Scenery can be found at the simMarket.
Airport & Scenery Designer V2.1 – Peter Jacobson assisted by Tim Dickens (ABACUS) (AOE)
The possibility to create add on scenery is perhaps one of the main reasons why Microsoft Flight Simulator is by far the most used flight simulator product. Since the early days of scenery design for FS4, and later the groundbreaking move to FS5, there's been an explosion of add-on sceneries created by freeware authors. At first there wasn't any scenery design software, but only a few guys who knew how to hack the code of the .bgl files (BGL files are the files containing scenery information needed by MS Flight Simulator). At that time scenery gurus managed to hack and extract the meanings of different things found in .bgl files and this meant there was a good base for creating a scenery design tool. There were many attempts, and at this moment there are a couple of useful scenery design tools many authors use; but as they say many times, there weren't any that were able to do everything. Airport & Scenery Designer 2.1 (called also ASD) is really one of the most advanced tools a scenery designer can have. It's meant to be used by both beginners and experts in scenery design as well due to high number of different features and its inherent ease of use.
There is no doubt that ASD's success comes from one simple point: it will let you create scenery with a very simple user interface that enables most of the functions found in other scenery development programs. For example you actually see a map of the area you are creating; the program then lets you add the desired scenery features. Many maps are available on the CD and these cover most of the world, but you can also go to special internet sites where you can download a special map and import that to ASD. This means you'll have the ability to accurately represent most of the main geographic features since some of the maps contain information about the rivers, coasts, lakes, sea etc.
Basically ASD designs scenery in two different ways. The first one is called Map view. The map view will let you work with features like scenery tiles, mountains, roads, lakes, rivers, VORs, NDBs etc. The other part is called Airport view. It's used for designing the airport scenery like runways, taxiways, hangars, buildings, and polygons.
You can get Airport & Scenery Designer from the Abacus web site, or at many on-line stores.
FSClouds 2000 – Flight1 Software
Flight One Software has stepped forward to provide a wonderful upgrade to FS2000's default clouds, haze, and fog. You might not think that those three items make that big of a difference in your simming experience, but think back to FS98 with its flat Kleenex clouds. FS2000 is better, but FS Clouds 2000 is even better. This product offers you much more than the name implies. Besides improving the visual characteristics of FS2000, it also provides a handy front-end for configuring your flights and conditions before you get started. If you want an add-on that greatly enhances the visual appeal of FS2000, this is it.
FSClouds 2000 is a front-end for FS2000 that lets you customize what kinds of clouds and atmospheric conditions you will encounter during your flight. There are several preset flights to try out, each with different types of clouds and different levels of visibility. You can create your own flights, based around cloud and visibility settings that you choose. One of our favorite options is the Quick Flight setup, where you can set your position relative to an airport, your altitude, heading and speed. It's perfect for practicing difficult approaches. Another nice feature is the ability to quickly replace the default clouds with different sets of clouds, so that even if you don't use FSClouds 2000 as the front-end for your FS2000 session, you still get the benefit of its clouds when you're flying.
The provided scenarios or adventures really show off what FS Clouds can do. High clouds, low clouds, thunderstorms, fog, hazy sunsets—it's all there. The long flight from Lambert St. Louis International to Sea-Tac provides a chance to see many different types of clouds along with many different terrain types. From cumulus clouds over the plains, to stratus clouds in the mountains, it all looked great. Sunsets and sunrises look much better now, too, due to the improved haze that FS Clouds offers.
If you are interested in purchasing this product, visit Flight1 Software.
FS Meteo V4.791 – Marc Philibert
While there are many programs available to create weather within MS Flight Simulator or to allow for the use of real-world weather, FS Meteo for FS98, FS2000 and CFS2 by Marc Philibert has been leading the pack in recent months. Philibert has achieved this standard by closely intertwining his work with that of Peter Dowson. As FSUIPC gained access or control over new variables in FS2000, FS Meteo was programmed to take advantage of them. In addition, Philibert was constantly upgrading the program, especially with respect to the capture of METAR, TAF, Upper-level winds and other weather data. Once the data was pulled off the Internet, the program was able to assign accurate real-world conditions to the equivalent reporting site in MS Flight Simulator.
FS Meteo controls 11 functions between the ground at the reporting station and at the top of the air column above the site to a height of 100,000 feet. The functions include wind speed. wind direction, cloud layers, gusty winds, winds aloft, temperature, altimeter, visibility, rain, snow and thunder. Where FS Meteo really shows its stuff in the ability to model the areas outside of METAR and TAF sites. This ability to extrapolate conditions from neighboring data sets eliminates the chance flying in an out of real weather, with blue, default skies in between. This is most useful when you get into areas where there are few weather reporting sites—like glacier coated mountains in Alaska and northwestern Canada or among the hundreds of small islands in the Bahamas, many located far from the handful of reporting sites.
Philibert has done an excellent job with FS Meteo and continues to upgrade the software on a regular basis. Though this is shareware, and not freeware, it has been well worth the price over time. Considering most upgrades come at no cost to the user is another plus for this product. Installation is easy and documentation is adequate to answer the vast majority of questions which might pop up, Considering the complexity of the task, that is to be commended.
There's more about FS Meteo at Mark's FS Meteo website.
ProFlight 2000 – Robert MacKay and Tom Main (AETI)
What's Air Traffic Control (ATC) all about? For those who may not be familiar with ATC-based add-ons for Microsoft's Flight Simulator series (or with Fly!'s or Flight Unlimited 3's built-in ATC), AETI's ProFlight 2000 (and John Dekker and Doug Thompson's Radar Contact reviewed below) add a wonderful new dimension to the flight simulation experience: You're no longer alone in the sky! With ATC you're in contact with controllers at the airports, the terminal areas and the air traffic centers while enroute. They talk to you; you respond to their instructions. And you hear "chatter" from the other aircraft flying in your vicinity. If you've tried on-line ATC with SquawkBox, you already know what it's like.
What sets these products apart from conventional "canned" adventures—those that are written for specific destination/arrival airport pairs—is that you can fly anywhere in the world, hearing the appropriate voices and being guided unerringly to your intended arrival airport's active runway—a programming triumph in itself! You won't necessarily know your landing setup in advance of your arrival (unless you peek at your arrival area weather and winds). That's because runway selection will be determined by your simulator's local weather setting (or adventure-generated winds)—or in real time using on-line METAR data.
ProFlight 2000 is a full-fledged commercial offering—this is a packaged product destined for computer store chains to be bought "off-the-shelf" (it's also available by direct mail from the AETI and other online stores). Therefore it is targeted mainly to the buyer who is looking for a good ATC adventure experience that works "out of the box" without a steep learning curve. Its voice and chatter flexibility is phenomenal. Moreover, while this product has strong IFR features, it also addresses the large audience interested in VFR-based flying very well. And as ProFlight is a boxed product, it includes a printed manual—you'll find comprehensive information about ATC procedures and flying the included tutorial set.
With VFR-specific adventures you get strong Multicom and Unicom capabilities, Flight Following, and a suite of VFR-specific calls to report taking the runway upon departure, and when entering downwind, base, or final at your destination; and to request airport advisories at any time. Generally you choose between VFR and IFR when you set up your flight, though you can switch to the other (and back) during your flight. In ProFlight 2000, if there is an approach airspace over a non-terminal airport, then Approach can issue the clearance (as it works in real life!). A nice touch implemented in the current v3.12 is that when flying VFR with flight following, bust through 18,000 MSL and you will be called on this and told that you must file IFR to fly this altitude.
IFR ATC is similar in both ProFlight 2000 and Radar Contact. Both products are true to real-world ATC in that they hand you off to departure, multiple centers (each responsible for an ARTCC sector and a specific altitude stratum depending on your cruise altitude), and arrival controllers. And the chatter you hear (directed to and from) other planes is specific to the altitude stratum (and in ProFlight 2000 the geographic region) you're currently flying in. Both products introduce "complications" representative of real-world flying—you may be instructed to deviate to avoid "crossing traffic," you can request altitude changes due to clouds or turbulence (which may or may not be granted), and you'll be admonished if your heading is off course or you're somehow flying at an unauthorized altitude. And with ProFlight 2000 you'll also hear course deviation warnings if you stray more than four miles off the airway. ProFlight also lets you request and be routed to an alternate destination airport, or even the next airport in an emergency (such as low fuel).
What truly makes ProFlight 2000 stand out is its country-specific Airport and Center voices. A major part of ProFlight's development effort was devoted to obtaining and recording English-speaking command snippets and pilot/controller chatter accented in dialects from many parts of the world. In all, ProFlight 2000 has 40 domestic and international voice sets; pilot and controller phrases were created from over 25,000 voice clips. The controller voices you hear change to the proper accent when crossing international boundaries; in the chatter you'll hear pilot accents that reflect their airline's country of origin. In ProFlight 2000 even the U.S. Southeast is considered a 'country' <g>. In fact there's a great deal of variety by virtue of ProFligh's random voice selection and chatter phrases. As chatter is constructed "on the fly," you won't hear the same voices or sequence of calls from one flight to another—and you won't hear the same voice being used by any of the pilots as your controller.
The other major feature we'll single out here is the simulated "pilot in command" (PIC) that takes the controls whenever desired—or for pretty much the entire flight should you choose to sit back and enjoy hearing and watching what's going on. Your right-seat companion can handle just the com/nav settings, or take over the flight controls as well.
In addition to AVSIM's review, see our "ATC Products Comparison" for a side by side comparison of each product's features. Other resources include AVSIM Online's ProFlight forum and Microwings ProFlight 2000 Pilot Center for updates and Microwing's user forum.
Radar Contact V2.1 – John Dekker and Doug Thompson - JDT LLC (AOE)
Radar Contact targets strictly IFR users, offering a rich array of features. A "shareware" product available only by on-line order from John Dekker's web site, this product evolved through two major releases, and has recently been upgraded. Version 2.1 includes many refinements and several new features, notably a "Virtual Co-Pilot." Documentation is available at the Radar Contact web site, and also is included in the CD.
Radar Contact doesn't support VFR flying beyond being able to end an IFR flight by changing your transponder to 1200 once you're within some 35 miles of a "Non Terminal" arrival airport. You'll be free to continue your flight under VFR and land at the airport of your choosing (but without simulated tower or Unicom/Multicom radio calls). Center issues all Non-Terminal departure clearances either directly to the pilot if he/she calls for the clearance in the air, or through FSS if the pilot requires the clearance prior to takeoff. Center also issues all approach clearances. There is no Tower support for VFR landings, so don't expect to be "Cleared to Land."
IFR, of course, is the raison d'être for Radar Contact—and it's superbly implemented. In a nutshell, you interact with Clearance Delivery to open your flight plan, get your runway assignment and taxi instructions from Ground, receive take-off clearance from Tower, be vectored and be assigned altitudes from Departure, report to the various Centers during your journey, contact Approach and be assigned and vectored to your arrival runway, be handed-off to Tower when established on the localizer, and finally be instructed by Ground to taxi to your arrival gate and close your flight plan.
A significant feature adding to Radar Contact's realism is the idea of altitude crossing restrictions in its repertoire. You'll encounter an adventure-generated crossing restriction during the Approach phase—it's invoked at a point 40 miles from the final waypoint just prior to the airport. If you miss this one you'll be instructed to fly a "360" turn for another try. We say 'idea' because this feature in only an approximation of the real world—you can't predetermine the crossing altitude and there's no means provided to apply a series of altitude/speed restrictions at designated STAR fixes as published in the real-world charts. Even so, it's a welcome feature.
A virtual co-pilot "Otto" is new to Radar Contact v2.1. You can turn the plane over to "her" when you leave your computer, or let her fly while you sleep through those trans-oceanic flights, or simply while you sit back and enjoy the scenery. Otto can fly Departure Procedures, Delay Vectors, Traffic vectors, compensate for winds aloft, and fly the approach pattern (but not Holds; you must take command of the plane for that). Alternatively, Otto can handle the communications while you concentrate on flying Radar Contact's realistic Departure Procedures, for example. Incidentally, you remain responsible for speed settings even when Otto is the PIC.
Visit the Radar Contact website for ordering information, and also check out AVSIM's lively Radar Contact forum.
SIMCharts V1.5 – Jeppesen
As flight simulation made the move toward as real an experience as possible, so did the needs of the aviation simulation enthusiast. And if the simmer was going to truly use the worldwide selection of airports in MS Flight Simulator, then he was going to need charts. When you talk of aviation charts, one name seems to always be in the conversation – Jeppesen. For decades, Jeppesen has served the needs of the aviation community when it comes to enroute, approach and just about any other type of chart imaginable. So when the company announced it would publish charts for the aviation simulation enthusiast, it was not big surprise.
AVSIM Online took our first look at SIMCharts in September 1999. As the SIMChart V1.0 review is still available, this covers the two new features added in the latest version released earlier this year.
The first new feature introduced in SIMCharts V1.5 is called ChartMover. As the name would imply, this feature allows the SIMChart user to move the charts for up to 10 airports from the CD-ROM to the local hard drive. This feature not only increases access speed, but it also eliminates the need to have the SimChart CD-ROM in the drive to access needed charts.
The second feature is called SimTrack. With SimTrack, the simmer can follow the course of his aircraft in a window holding the appropriate SimChart. If you are taxiing around the airport, you just use the small red aircraft superimposed on the chart to pilot you to your destination. This also works for any of the other charts, whether it be an ILS arrival, a STAR or one off the included departure charts. Load the appropriate chart and use the small red aircraft to follow your progress.
You can visit Jeppesen Pilot for further information and ordering.
SimPlates 2000 – Dauntless Software
SimPlates 2000 is described as "US-48 States IFR approach plates for use with flight simulators." It is much more then that. SimPlates 2000 includes a mountain of data for the lower 48, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Information for over 19,000 airports and landing facilities are included. You also get IFR approach plates, which includes data for ILS, VOR, LOC, NDB, SDF, FMS, GPS, TACAN, and RNav. Extra plate information included is Plate Use, STARs, SIDs and Alternate, Takeoff and RADAR Minimums. All of this is included on one CD-ROM.
The first thing you see when you start SimPlates is the tabbed selection screen. This is the starting point for all of your searches. If you are looking for airport information, you can find it by location or approach type. With seventeen plate/approach selection boxes, you get the feeling that what you are looking for is in there. SimPlates seems very complete. Extras included in SimPlates are: Special Minimums (Takeoff/Departure, Alternate & Radar), Preferred Routes and Information. And "extras" is used loosely. A gander at the Information Plates tab shows even more good information including: Interpreting IAP Plans and Profile Views, Legend for STARs, DPs and Instrument Approach Plates, Common Abbreviations and Rate of Climb and Rate of Decent Tables, just to name a few.
SimPlates 2000 feels like a complete product. An International version of SimPlates is also available. For a casual and the Virtual Airline flyer, there is more then enough information presented to keep you busy for quite awhile. Dauntless has spent an extraordinary amount of time putting this information in, and compared to similar products, SimPlates has the right price point to make it a very popular product indeed.
SimPlates is available directly from the developer, Dauntless Software.
Ultimate Airlines – Flight1 Software
This software is a joy to use, and it does exactly what it promises to do with very little trouble. Ultimate Airlines, while geared primarily for the virtual airline community, is an absolute blast to use. What it offers is surprisingly simple and effective.
Ultimate Airlines gives you the flight schedule for practically every airline in the world. Once you find a particular flight, you can export it to a flight plan to use with your favorite flight planner in FS2000 (or FS98). If you dump these flight plans into AETI's ProFlight 2000 or Radar Contact; you can have real voice ATC all the way. Ultimate Airlines also provides a logbook for tracking your flights, and an add-in module for FS2000 that makes sure what you fly (and when) matches up with what you put in your logbook. Also, specially for the VA community, tools are available for you to build your schedule into Ultimate Airlines. Two virtual airlines have already done so and have their schedules available for download at the Flight1 website (Noble Air and WestWind Airlines).
There are periodic announcements of departing and arriving flights, but magically, no flight is ever delayed (not very realistic?). Once you have selected a flight, you'll see a boarding pass with all the information for you as a passenger. You can then view a flight plan, and make minor adjustments before dumping it to your preferred flight planner tool, or simply export the plan directly to FS2000—which means you don't need to run out and buy any other software to get the benefits from Ultimate Airlines.
It's nice when a product delivers exactly what it promises, and this is clearly one of those. If you would like to get more information from the publisher, or if you are ready to buy, click here.
CH USB Yoke/Pedals – CH Products
It has been over a year since CH Products announced the Flight Sim Yoke USB and Pro Pedals USB. We can remember saying wow! Three levers, USB, rocker buttons for trim, what more could you ask for—well maybe force feed back (which by the way they are working on) would top it off but we'll settle for this. Oh, did we mention working toe brakes on the ruder pedals?
The FS forums were full of anticipation; simmers could not wait to get their paws on these products, but then came the delays with the hardware, compatibility problems and so on. Finally, the wait is over! The new Flight Sim Yoke USB and Pro Pedals USB are here. The new yoke and ruder pedal combination are surprisingly well balanced with a very realistic feel.
The first thing we noticed was how there was no twitching in the pedals, which was very common with the older analog pedals. We also tried a few 360's on the taxiway to test out the differential braking, which worked well. In our test flights we noticed how easy it was to keep the nose on the centerline. Very realistic! On climb out, we adjusted the manifold pressure via the throttle lever, moved the prop lever in and out, and adjusted the mixture setting. All three levers responded very well. After reaching altitude, we did a few steep turns in both directions. The new yoke has a very comfortable feel to it. During the steep turns, we noticed how easy it was to keep the same altitude. Remember how jerky the Virtual Pilot Pro was doing these turns? The new Flight Sim Yoke USB is a 100% improvement over the older Virtual Pilot Pro due to the new yoke not having the detents.
We appreciated the two rocker switches, one on each handle—on the yoke for elevator trim and the other for ruder or aileron trim. And we were pleased to see that the new yoke and rudder pedals fair very well in a slip to a crosswind landing. With a 15-knot, direct cross wind from the left the yoke and ruder pedals worked flawlessly, and we had no problem holding the slip all the way to the threshold.
We think CH Products has a winning combination on their hands—t was well worth the wait and money. The total for both was a little over $230USD including shipping. This may seem steep to some—but if you are a real world pilot then you will know these products pay for themselves repeatedly with the money you will save from renting an airplane or the cost of fuel if you own your own aircraft. Visit the CHProducts website and try them; we don't think you'll be disappointed!
GF-45 "Buzzbox" AVIONICS – GoFlight
For a long time now we have been looking for something that will convey the radio stacks that appear in real aircraft to an external unit that allows interaction without the use of the mouse or key presses. Yes, there are various facilities out there, but now we have new a device called "The GF-45". Having recently attended the the Flight Simulator exhibition at Birmingham, UK, we meet with Doyle Nickless, one of the masterminds behind this product. Supporting Doyle was Robert Orchard from Dragonfly Interactive, who is the distribution agent for European sales.
The GF-45 is, as you can see, a graphic display that imitates various avionics on the panel of an aircraft. It is of a sturdy metal design and has an easy to read alphanumeric display. Two dials on the front of the box change the various displays and frequencies. With multiple units, they can be positioned in various configurations of your choice. Side by side, stacked, on top of your monitor... the choice is endless.
As our Staff Reviewer Aidan Williams says, "Altitude 29.89, squawk 4325, change to frequency 12.25, know where I am coming from? Frantically scribbling these figures down, getting ATC to repeat its last message. With the GF-45 a lot of this sudden overload to the untrained mind can be relieved. Although you should still write down these figures, being able to dial them in instantaneously has to be a significant advantage. Being a keen user of ProFlight2000 I filed a flight plan London Heathrow (EGLL) to The Isles of Man (EGNS). Listening intently to the chatter of the ATC, and making my calls, I was able to easily dial in the COM frequencies and Transponder codes. Asking for the correct altimeter setting, I could dial it straight into the GF-45."
We think the GF-45 is an incredible product; it brings the "As real as it gets" feeling that one step closer. The price of each unit makes it an expensive add-on. This unfortunately is not going to be within the price range of a lot of flight simulator enthusiast. Be that as it may, check out the GoFlight site for details and ordering information.
Saitek X36 USB Control System – Saitek Industries
Finally, the flight simulation crowd has a full-blown USB HOTAS (Hands on Throttle and Stick) flight control system. Saitek Industries LTD. has released their new X36 USB Flight Controller and from what I have seen so far, it’s a winner. The X36 is made up of two parts, the Stick and the Throttle and each is packed with buttons and switches you can program until your heart's content.
It was always a chore to learn and then implement other HOTAS systems' complex programming languages—it was a chore for each new simulation or game. Saitek has made this much easier with a simple point and click interface. All that is required to program the X36 for the simulation you want to run is to call up the SGE software and create a new profile for that simulation. This is done via the Game Profiler Wizard and again, is a breeze to use. Once the profile has been created, you simply select that profile and a picture of the X36 Controller is up on your screen. From here, it is a matter of selecting the button you wish and then typing in the keyboard command you want that button to replicate. Then do the same thing for the Throttle. You can also program the rotary knobs.
There is a slew of buttons, hat switches and rotary knobs on the X36 and from a first glance, this can be a bit overwhelming. However, if you sit down and think about what you wish each button to do, you can come up with some pretty nice configurations. This will allow you to do things in your simulation without taking your hands off the X36. Tie this in with software like Game Commander and you will never touch the keyboard again!
Saitek has taken the old X36 HOTAS system and created an even better USB version. The X36 is very sturdy and comfortable and it is also very easy to program and install. If you're looking for something other than a flight yoke and want the flexibility of a programmable flight controller, then the X36 is a great deal. If you can live without rudder pedals under your desk, this is truly a nice piece of hardware. Visit the Saitek website for more information.
VooDoo 5/5500 – 3Dfx
The world of 3d acceleration has made something of a shift recently. The two major players, 3dfx and nVidia have switched philosophies—3dfx has begin to chant the mantra of visual quality, and nVidia is chanting the outright speed. (Interestingly, nVidia recently acquired the 3Dfx company.) The new Voodoo’s (in this case the 5/5500 and Voodoo 5/6000) bring back the concept of SLI – multiple chips rendering portions of the screen; on the 5500 one chip renders the odd lines, and the other renders the even lines.
The real additions in features revolve more around the visual effects, the crown jewel being Full Scene Anti Aliasing (FSAA). You’ve probably noticed that with most cards non-horizontal and non-vertical lines exhibit a stepping to them to represent the edges. FSAA takes these edges and blends them to give the appearance of a straight line and does it with minimal framerate hits.
We'd recommend this card to any simmer. The overall performance is not quite as fast in raw form as the nVidia GeForce2, but all of the effects are unavailable there (Geforce supports Anti Aliasing, but in software), so this almost becomes an apples to oranges comparison. Once you go FSAA, there is no going back. It's almost as noticeable as going from black and white to color—it's that good. For further information visit the 3Dfx website. For details about nVidia's acquisition and plans see the press release.
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