Add-ons

Aerosoft have released Lisbon 2008 for Flight Simulator 9, with a free upgrade to the Flight Simulator X version when released.

Visit Lisbon 2008 the main airport of Portugals capital. Michael Kopatz recreated the airport up to the smallest detail incl. all buildings and installations, docking systems and all the features you expected from a modern scenery development in FS2004.

Lisbon Airport is the main international gateway to Portugal and a major European hub. It is one of the largest airports in Southern Europe. The airport has two main runways, capable of accommodating large-size aircraft such as the Boeing 747. Before the existence of the actual Lisbon Airport, Lisbon was served by an aerodrome called “Campo Internacional de Aterragem” located in Alverca. At the end of the 50´s Cabo Ruivo was closed and all the air operations were transferred to Portela. In 2007, the airport handled 13 392 059 passengers and 82 879 tonnes of cargo and it is the main base-hub of the national Portuguese airline TAP-Air Portugal.

The Airport ground texture is based on a high detailed areal image. All buildings, lighting systems, navigation beacons and of course the layout of taxiways and runways have been recreated to perfection. Static aircraft can be de-activated to make room for the AI traffic. Runway 03/21 in Lisbon has two special Rapid Exit Taxiways, RET’s. These taxiways (HN and HS) allow the aircraft to leave the runway at high speed.

Despite the whole range of objects, details and features, the frame rate remains excellent.

Features

• Excellent day and night textures
• All buildings and installations
• Fully AI compatible (optional static aicraft)
• Docking Systems
• Excellent frame rates
• High definition aerial image of the ground texture
• Photo realistic textures on buildings, vehicles, etc.
• Numerous taxi- and runway signs
• Dynamic obejects (cars, buses, catering vehicles, follow-me cars etc.)
• RET System allowing planes to leave the runway at higher taxi speeds.
• Fully AES compatible (included in version 1.95)
• Compatible with Portugal SRTM Mesh and Ultimate Terrain Europe

All purchasers of the Lisbon 2008 airport for FS2004 will get the upcoming FSX airport for FREE. Please note that screenshots show AI aircraft that are not part of the product.

The folks over at Friendly Panels have released their FMC Pack 2 for Flight Simulator X and Flight Simulator 9.

This FMC pack 2 contains six FMC gauges (three for FS9 and three for FSX), all of them imitating the look of real aircraft FMCs, as Bombardier CRJ, DASH or ATR. These gauges are general purpose FMC gauges and they don’t content specific aircraft data pages as APPROACH, IDENT, TAKE OFF… so they can be used with ANY aircraft,

The purpose of these gauges is to implement the FMC style you can find in many of modern airliners or business jets, using the flight plans created with Microsoft Flight Simulator FS9, FSX or any add-on which can export flight plans in the FS format.

We have eliminated the complex way in what you have to plan your flight in current commercial FMCs implemented in some of the commercial airliners existing for Microsoft Flight Simulator but keeping the feeling of a real FMC-CDU.

As written above, they are general purpose FMC and, in fact, they can be used with ANY aircraft, though its normal use will be airliners or business jets. But a little Cessna 172 will follow the programmed VNAV in the same way than an Airbus 380, with the normal limitations due to differences between both types of aircraft. Of course, if an aircraft have not an automatic IAS control, the FMC cannot hold IAS.

A customized map page has been added in order to have a map view of your flight plan in case you use these gauges with planes that cannot display a map in their other instruments.

Features

• Follow a flight plan.
• Flight direct to a FLP waypoint (by passing some of them) and continue from there.
• Choose any waypoint in Microsoft database to flight direct to without a flight plan loaded.
• Select an Arrival procedure for destination airport (if it’s implemented in Microsoft FS).
• Follow the vertical navigation and IAS desired.
• Display a lot of different information concerning airports and navaids.
• Display information concerning fuel and winds.
• Pass VOR, ADF and COM frequencies from navaids or airports to aircraft radios.
• Map page.

Aero Files has released Aeroshot, a screen capture program. The beauty of this application is that it allows you to capture in a number of different formats, so you don’t have to use the huge BMP files saved by default with FSX.

Aeroshot is not limited to flight simulators. It overrides the “Print Screen” key on your keyboard so can capture any screen.

Features

• GIF .PNG .BMP & JPG saving options.
• Sound plays after each successful capturing.
• Chose saving destination.
• Reset screenshot counter.
• Watermarking available
• FSX & FS 2004 compatible
• CFS, X Plane & Train Sim compatible
• Compatible with any PC game
• Take images of desktop programs
• Windows XP & Vista Support

FlightDeckSoftware has released the first version of their 737 Next Generation Suite. This could be ideal for anyone interested in cockpit building.

Good news for cockpit builders and other flight simmers. Flight Deck Software releases the first version of the Glass Flight Deck 737NG Suite.

At this moment the suite contains all displays seen in the B737 NG series. The software runs on multiple computers over network or on a single computer. The software doesn’t run inside FS, so at least two monitors or minimum 2 computers are needed to run the software.

All gauges are available. Not all functionality is yet available: VNAV and VOR/LOC is disabled and some FMC pages are missing. The main reason for release is testing out the software. Everything is easily configurable at your own wish.

Beta testers giving good testing feedback will have the opportunity to buy the software before the release and get a small discount on the price.

Larry Mudge has posted an extremely detailed review of It’s Your Plane - the voice control system for Flight Simulator X and Flight Simulator 9.

Larry was a beta tester of the product and therefore probably knows as much about it as anyone and this is reflected in the review.

It’s Your Plane puts a virtual co-pilot in the cockpit with you, a highly skilled assistant who can actually handle the entire flight for you (handy for beginners) or can just do whatever tasks you request. While it does not work with every plane, it works with plenty of them, and can be used as a learning tool or a cockpit resource.