simFlight.COM Flight Simulation News Source

Screenshotartist.co.uk are pleased to announce the publication of our  latest FSX product review, this time covering the UK2000 scenery of Birmingham International Airport (EGBB/BHX) in the United Kingdom.

Featuring photographic ground textures and a large number of custom buildings and objects, the scenery does a very good job of representing the airport up to a specific moment in time. To find out more and to view the illustrating screenshots by Nick Churchill, please visit the screenshotartist.co.uk website.

Oh, yes, the scenery itself is available from simMarket, here!

The ‘company name’ is a little bit misleading in this case, because “Citation Pilot for the Eaglesoft Citation business jet” has nothing to do with flying combat missions or combat planes. Instead it “…. adds six adventure flights for the Citation pilot. A series of six missions begins in Kelowna, BC, Canada and continues to the coast and then southward, ending up at SanLuis Obispo….”. Available from simMarket’s on-line shop.

Jay Kae from Australia reports that the team over at Aussiex have released their latest freeware project, an ‘overhaul’ of the default Grumman Goose that comes with FSX. Changes include tweaking of the flight model, addition of a higher-powered engine model, repaints of the interior and 6 high-definition paint schemes. You can read all about it, and download it, from their site.

Every once in a while you stumble on a Wordpress Blog that is just that little bit more interesting than the average. Neptunus Lex is one of those. Today’s blog post shows a wonderful photo of a Raptor, taken by a Navy sonar operator no less ! The comments underneath are interesting also…. for military aviation enthusiasts, that is. There’s more interesting stuff on that blog, so have fun !

This is your chance to get your hands on VSTEP’s excellent Ship Simulator 2008 Collectors Editions, because THIS WEEKEND simMarket and VSTEP are offering you a 50% discount! Ship Simulator is to boating fans what Flight Simulator and Trainz are to pilots and train drivers; the ultimate simulation on water, right there on your PC.

Be the captain of a super tanker or container ship, command a tug boat in New York’s or Rotterdam’s harbor, or just take a dive off your multi-million doallr yacht, anchored at some exotic island. It is all possible, and now for half the price. But only this weekend!

Click for the three available titles here.

LROPS have released another one of their pdf files, aimed at helping budding virtual pilots. They say about their ‘767 Long Haul and ETOPS Guide’ “….. The latest creation from LROPS is this 70 page mini-book, explaining everything 75/767 specific about ETOPS, RVSM and the NAT region provided in the context of a transatlantic flight from Kennedy to London Heathrow.

This guide is ideal for any simulation enthusiast irrespective of your knowledge level. If you are a beginner, this guide will give you a firm understanding of how a real flight crew would operate a transatlantic flight and provide you with checklists, reference material and instruction on how to conduct the flight yourself….”.
Get it here at simMarket.

Just Planes has released yet another series of real aviation videos on simMarket. This time they’ll take you along with Air Europe in their B777’s and B767’s, in Air France flights with the Airbus A330-200 and last but not least with Cougar Air from Stansted, flying their ’souped-up’ Boeing 727’s to various holiday destinations. You can find many more of Just Planes’ videos on simMarket, covering a wide range of airline companies and arcraft.

Accent’Sim today released Northern Microlights for FSX on simMarket. “…. Northern Microlights is a ‘first’ by author Neil Birch, adding some 40 ‘farm fields’ to the northern part of England. He built a lot of additional objects to give the area a more local look and feel. The farm strips are extensively documented and fun to find. The product works best together with Horizon Simulation’s (photo) VFR Scenery, but can be used without it too. Hours of fun trying to locate the small fields with their typical English ‘life’on it!….”.

Find Northern Microlights here at simMarket.

Captain Sim today announced a new member in their Pro Line series of FSX aircraft, the Captain 767 Expansion. The model is currently only in beta stage and not available yet. But on their website you can find a preview page with planned features and a number of impressive screeshots. Check it out here.

Associated Press reports that “…..A French investigator says Air France Flight 447 did not break up in flight but plunged vertically into the Atlantic Ocean. Alain Bouillard, leading the investigation into the June 1 crash for the French accident investigation agency BEA, also says life vests found among the wreckage of the plane were not inflated.

All 228 people aboard the plane were killed when it plunged into the ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Bouillard said at a news conference outside Paris on Thursday that the search for the plane’s black boxes has been extended by 10 days and will continue through July 10……”.  More news here.

Francois Dumas of FSAddon.com Publishing reports that “….. we are launching a new brand name in the flightsim industry: Accent’Sim. Under this name we will publish products that do not entirely fit  the FSAddon ‘look and feel’, but are still worthy of releasing to the FS market. We will help the developers of these other products to market their creations and support them from within the FSAddon websites and forums. Accent’Sim will replace the ‘FScene Design Network’ brand that we set up a year ago.

The first of such products will be released this weekend actually, and it is Northern Microlights by Neil Birch. A series of nice little farm fields in northern England, for FSX. Stay tuned for more !…..”.

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Carenado reports they have released their “…… first twin engine aircraft ever; the classic PA-34 200T SENECA II for FSX. This aircraft is full FSX and DX10 compatible with high resolution textures (and very friendly FPS). It was developed with all FSX features plus two new features: volumetric normal mapping and Original HQ digital stereo sounds (44100 HZ) recorded from the original aircraft……”.

The Seneca will be available on simMarket soon of course.
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Tyler Newport has released yet another of his groundtexture areas. “….. Photo Real Destin/Fort Walton, FL is a ground texture replacement package that overlays the default terrain with high quality, satellite image textures. This scenery encompasses a very large area of some of America’s most beautiful beaches. Destin and Fort Walton Beach, Florida, are home to the sugar-like sand and pristine turquoise waters. This scenery not only replaces ground textures, it has a beautiful water mask that displays photo real water and the sand beneath it…..”.

Available at the simMarket on-line shop as usual.

Phil over at Alphasim reports the release of a french Dauphin helicopter. “……  AlphaSim’s package includes both the earlier N1 version as well as the modified N2, each in VIP transport and MedEvac guises. One thing the Dauphin is known for is the variety of colorful paint schemes which were applied to its sleek lines, our model set does not disappoint here, there are no less than eight colorful texture sets (including a fictional US Coast Guard one), with matching interior colors….”. Read Full Story »

I read a comment not long ago from a reader who was asking for a DC-9 under FSX….. wel, his wish will come through! It so happens I heard that there will be one on simMarket soon, made by a company operating under the name Sky Simulations, or SkySim for short. You can already take a peek of what’s coming on his website and please keep an eye on the news and on simMarket!

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