May 2007

FS Addon has come up with an interesting add-on for FS9/2004 (and soon for FSX) that allows you to talk to your simulator via voice, as well as providing a virtual co-pilot. I’m not sure how this compares to Voice Buddy, so will be keen to take a look:

“It’s Your Plane” (aka IYP) is a program conceived and developed by Robert Cezar of Canada in close cooperation with FSAddon Publishing, that will forever change the way you use your Flight Simulator.
It NOT ONLY adds the option to TALK to your sim, via the Microsoft Speech SDK. And it NOT ONLY has your co-pilot, the lovely (we think) Michelle TALK TO YOU. No, it does MUCH MORE than just that.

IYP is not a ’speech recognition’ program that just translates to pressing keys on the keyboard. Instead IYP contains a wealth of built-in aviation- and flightsim related phrases, words and expressions that Michelle recognizes. And not only does she recognize what you are saying, she then also knows WHAT TO DO with it. It means you can TALK TO HER in a NATURAL WAY, using the realistic phraseology that REAL PILOTS would use. AND then some…..

It ALSO contains all the basic checklists needed to perform an ENTIRE FLIGHT from boarding the passengers to closing down the aircraft’s systems at the destination airport! You do NOT have to remember them… you do not have to READ them even…. Michelle does that FOR YOU ! And she reads them out loud, asks you to perform actions yourself, or even does them for you !
You can use ALL the checklists, or choose them yourself.. fully flexible.

It’s Your Plane - Base Pack works with FS2004 and the default Boeings. The FSX Version will be released shortly (free for FS2004 customers!) and additional aircraft will be released regularly !
It’s Your Plane comes with a FREE 15-day trial period (try before you buy), giving you the FULL product to play with. After that you may purchase a registration key from simMarket here !

FS2Crew have released their Wilco A320 edition for Flight Simulator X and Flight Simulator 9/2004:

• Fly like a real airline pilot using real Airbus SOPs and checklists in a multi-crew environment!
• You are the Captain and Pilot Flying (PF). The FO will perform his flows and make calls just like he would in real life.  He’ll even fill out a very realistic Takeoff Data Card and hand it to you!
• The most realistic Airbus experience ever! A must have for serious Airbus pilots!
• Designed in close consultation with a real-world Airbus pilot to ensure maximum fidelity to actual Airbus procedures!
• Interact with your First Officer, the FA and the ground crew including Company ops.
• Experience FS2Crew’s brand-new  graphical user interface system.  Learn to fly like a Pro quickly and easily!
• Tackle new situations: Air Rage, Bird Strikes and even Passengers smoking in the Lavatory!
• Voices recorded by real-world flight and cabin crew.  Click here to listen to an audio sample of the Takeoff Safety Brief. (MP3 Format - 161 KB)
• Comprehensive manual will get you up and running in no time!
• Features over 2.5 years’ worth of FS2Crew’s dedication to constantly improving our product line and introducing new features to create the most realistic flight simulator experience possible without actually getting your ATPL!
• Make custom PA announcements to your passengers using a list of over 70 pre-recorded world cities.
• New systems added to the FeelThere A320: Enhanced Audio Control Panel (ACP) and oxygen test panel.
• Realistic pushback/start crew with an international, region-specific accent set: American English, UK, French, Spanish and German.
• Listen to FA Cabin announcements recorded right out of a real airliner!
• New FS2Crew engineering technology allows you to interface with the simulation using your joystick, your mouse or your keyboard

You may have noticed some outages on FlightSimX recently. My hosts, Dreamhost, have identified the problem and have provided a solution, so I’m hoping everything will be okay now.

My apologies if you’ve tried to visit in the past and have found the site unavailable. All should hopefully be well now

HiFi Simulation Software have released two new products for Flight Simulator X - Active Sky X and X Graphics:

Active Sky X

Active Sky X is a complete re-design incorporating our experience over the past 5 years designing award-winning weather add-ons for FS. We brought the latest development technologies, a new approach to user interface design, and a robust architecture together in order to create the weather add-on we’ve always dreamed of.

Elegance, simplicity, realism, flexibility and intuitiveness. All were equally-important critical design requirements as we began development over 2 years ago. We wanted a system that had the power and technical fidelity of our previous products, but we wanted to make sure all that power was going to be easy to use for all types of users. We decided on a simple yet pleasing graphical approach to navigation and functional usage, and centered the design around a graphical mapping system. All the data you could possibly want is now brought to you in a very easy-to-understand visual format.

X Graphics

X Graphics encompasses ground breaking technology along with the finest in graphics manipulation to enhance your flightsim experience. A vast assortment of content forms the basis, complete with sky environment enhancements, cloud enhancements, airport environment enhancements, sound enhancements, highways, roads & railroad enhancements, lighting enhancements and water environment enhancements.

To bring it all together, a powerful graphical user interface is included which makes viewing and configuring these enhancements an easy and fun process.

Featuring: ultra-realistic clouds, new SkyScape technology, sky color environments, custom effects, modified sun and moon, sound environment enhancements, and water environment choices including wave turbulence/frequency, environment variants & coloring.

If you purchase both products together, you will receive a $10.00 discount.

Flight1 have issued the following press release regarding FSDiscover! :

Flight 1 Software has released version 1.10 update for FSDiscover! users.  Besides the several great features that this product already contains, the update adds the ability to import and export FS flight plans, creates an additional 139,000 geographic names for buildings worldwide, and displays elevation, bearing, and the longest runway for airports.   

FSDiscover! is a Flight Simulator sightseeing guide, a navigation tool, and a simple flight planner, all in one single product for Flight Simulator X and Flight Simulator 2004. FSDiscover! is preloaded with over 3.6 million geographic names from all over the world. There are also 1900 specialized points of interest for FSX, and 600 specialized points of interest for FS2004, including all the “Easter eggs” and unique landmark buildings within these simulators.

For more information, screenshots, try our demo, and to purchase this product visit: http://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=fsdisc

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