Review

by Roger Curtiss

Carenado has been producing general aviation aircraft models for a few years.  Their product hangar is quite extensive and the company name is practically synonymous with ‘quality’ (or at least ‘quality textures).

A recent offering is the Beechcraft 350i King Air for FSX and P3D.  Do you like turboprops?  If so, this aircraft is worth consideration, although it is not perfect.

In summary, there are two good reasons to get this one. 1) It is a beautiful airplane rendered in the Carenado style.  2) The sound of the engines is extraordinary.  Some flight sim engines make great noises when starting up butthen the engine sound becomes a background drone.  In this King Air once the props are spinning at speed there is a high-pitched hum overlying the engine sound and it is a delight to experience(you will have to take my word on this due to the fact that print media sucks at playing audio).

I installed the aircraft to FSX and with the auto-installer it was a non-event, the most taxing element being the need to input the email address used to order the product and the serial # provided by Carenado.  The company states that the install process should take only about a minute and that estimate was spot on.   Once installed a selection of 8 different texture aircraft is present in the aircraft menu.  Activating any one of them takes you to a very well defined exterior model with an attention to detail of the highest quality.

Not to detract from the bounty of these options, but it has always struck me as just a bit odd that so many different exterior textures are provided for aircraft when the flying is done from the cockpit and very little of the airplane’s exterior can be seen-not to mention what difference does it make if my exterior paint scheme is red or blue or anything else?  If someone has a good explanation, I would welcome it).

Switching to the interior view, I was even more impressed.

The main flight deck view is in VC and it is very well presented.  All instruments are clearly shown, the switches seem to have a brand new type gleam to them and the placards and switch identifiers are crisp and easy to read

Clicking on the yoke makes it disappear, providing easy access to the switches surrounding and behind it.

There is no 2-D cockpit per se, however, there is an option to display pop-up windows of individual gauges and control panels. 

DOCUMENTS

Eight .pdf manuals accompany the aircraft and are stored in an FSX> Carenado folder.

These are

1. Emergency Procedures- 10 pages of airspeeds and checklists to be utilized for engine failure, bleed air failure, pressurization issues, emergency descents and emergency landings.
2. Normal Procedures- 20 pages of checklists for all phases of operation from Preflight to Shutdown and Secure.  The lists are quite thorough…perhaps even too much so as, for example, the Preflight checklist consists of 70 line items, only 15 of which are relevant to simulator flight (many deal with walk-around inspection items, checking that circuit breakers are in and cabin lighting)
3. Performance Tables-16 pages of graphs for stall speeds, cabin altitudes, V-speeds, cruise and range profiles and one-engine inoperative cruise power settings.  These would be worthwhile to have at hand either printed out or on a separate monitor for easy reference
4. References-1 page of reference speeds-climb (the climb speed remains constant to 10,000’ and then drops 10 kts for every 5000’ above that), and Vmca the minimum controllable airspeed which is 94 kts flaps up and 93 kts flaps down (if you are able to keep the speed from deviating that lost knot with flaps up I salute your superior airmanship)
5. Proline 21 Guide- 13 pages describing (somewhat-more on this later) how to operate the five displays and control panels: PFD/MFD/Flight Guidance Panel/Display Control Panel/CDU
6. RTU Manual-6 pages explaining how to operate the radios (If this is anything but your first add-on aircraft you would probably be able to figure this one out on your own-but a quick read certainly can’t hurt)
7. Copyrights- one page that neither you or anyone else ever reads
8. Recommended Settings-2 pages.  A standardized Carenado document that applies to FSX settings for all of their aircraft.  If you already own a Carenado plane these settings are probably already in place

Prior to operating the aircraft, I did the responsible thing and perused them all.  An experienced simmer could likely just jump in the airplane and do a reasonable job of figuring out how everything works but as respectable pilots that is not how we roll.

I experienced a rather strange anomaly upon initial launch of the King Air, but I believe it is just a quirk in my particular setup.  For my flight controls I utilize CH Yoke, TQ, and rudder pedals and more often than not when I start FSX this hardware is not recognized.  I have to disconnect the USB plugs for each and re-connect them.  Sometimes this will result in FSX crashing and a restart is necessary.

When I loaded up the King Air, each time I did the USB dance FSX quit.  But three starts later all was well and fully functional.

For my first flight I chose to make a very short hop of just a few miles between two airports I had transited a few times during pilot training.  I started up the airplane at Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront airport (KBKL) and flew for about five minutes to Cuyahoga County airport (KCGF).  I wanted to simply get a feel for hand flying the aircraft and not have to program the FMS.  I was able to get the engines started and taxi to the runway with little difficulty, although I found the King Air was a bit skittish in responding to steering inputs via the rudder pedals.  Smooth control required a judicious blend of pedal inputs and power lever adjustments.

Advancing the levers for takeoff power produced an accompanying hearty growl from the engines and robust acceleration upon brake release.  The aircraft was very responsive to control inputs and with all that power, smooth and measured control movement is needed.  I steered for KCGFand lined up on runway 24.  The approach was a bit high and fast and I chose to go around, making left traffic.  The second time I kept the speed under control.  Accustomed to flying heavier jets, I planned to delay landing gear extension until established on final, however, reducing speed low to the ground initiates a particularly obnoxious warning alarm that could only be silenced by extending the gear.  Landing was uneventful and pulling the power levers to the aft beta thrust position resulted in a great noise from the props and loads of stopping power.

The next flight was to provide a greater workout of the entire system.  I had given the manuals a reading a few days earlier and it was time to determine just how much I had learned of the nuances of the B350i.  The flight route was Teterboro (KTEB) to Hyannisport Ma (KHYA) a trip of only 177nm and one-hour duration, but long enough to utilize all of the FMS functions.  A cruise altitude of 15,000 ft. was selected.

The FMS is delivered with a 2013 Navigraph database that will certainly get most flights close to the latest procedures.  Those with a Navigraph subscription can quickly add this aircraft to their mapping list and have the latest cycle installed.

I have programmed quite a few flights in Boeing, Airbus and Embraer FMS units and anyone with similar experience should have little difficulty with the Proline 21 unit installed in the King Air even without perusing the manual.  Most functions to dial in a flight plan are straightforward with one annoying exception…cruise altitude.  For some unfathomable reason, the default cruise altitude for the FMS is FL280 so unless another altitude is chosen by the pilot, that number will populate the flight plan unless there are some altitude constraints in the database of the flight plan route.  The first problem is that the 28000 is inserted with the initial waypoint which makes it necessary for the pilot to estimate the distance needed to climb to an alternate cruise altitude and then insert that number adjacent to a waypoint at that spot in the plan.  This is workable, however, inputting this revised altitude does not change any of the subsequent waypoints prior to the top of descent point.  It becomes necessary to put that altitude at each cruise waypoint in the flight plan which, for a lengthy flight can entail a quite a few pages of them.

It simply seems illogical to set up the FMS in this manner and having an arbitrary default cruise altitude is a recipe for errors.

Getting the King Air pre-flighted and ready to go can be done by referring to the supplied checklists, but as I mentioned earlier, the vast majority of the preflight items are not applicable to a flight simulation model (at least not yet) so going through line by line is not essential.  Preparation is made much easier by taking some time before attempting a flight to read through the checklist items and then examine the panel to determine the location of the appropriate switch or gauge.  This will save time and expensive Jet-A fuel conducting the post-engine start items.

Unfortunately, that is the only way to familiarize oneself with the panel layout as there is no manual description of switches or displays other than avionics- a limitation that, apparently from forum comments, is a common problem from Carenado and is a real shame as here is a high fidelity simulation at a not so cheap price and the user has to stumble along and figure out how to work some of the systems.

During my flights I jotted down notes of systems, procedures and flight instrumentation presentations that were confusing and then re-read the manuals hoping for some additional insight- there wasn’t much to be gained there.

For example, I encountered a checklist item to test the annunciator lights, however, I was unable to locate a test button on the panel.

After engines start, there was an annunciator indication ‘RVS NOT READY’- I have no clue as to what this refers

During a flight I received a caution light that the Cabin Differential Pressure was high but I was not able to manipulate the cabin pressure controls to resolve the condition.  There is a short section in the Emergency Procedures manual on action to be taken if such an indication is received but other than switching the Bleed Air Valves to ENVIR OFF, the recommended actions of oxygen masks and descent are tagged ‘As Required’.

There is an extremely annoying horn that sounds if (apparently) altitude is 2500’ AGL or less and landing gear is up.  The Carenado support forum has little advice and nothing on this subject and the unofficial Carenado support forum at Flight 1 has an entry to activate the Inhibit Ground Warning button, however, this had no effect.

In short, a high-quality, sophisticated flight model warrants the inclusion of a comprehensive operations manual so that users do not have to grope about for instructions or solutions or visit support forums to hope to find answers.  In this regard, Carenado is quite insufficient.

A subsequent flight proved to be quite frustrating.  The flight plan was inputted, takeoff was uneventful and while climbing through 4000’ at 1500 fpm and 180 kts. I engaged the autopilot, FMS NAV and VNAV functions. (In fact, pushing either the NAV or VNAV buttons engages both and there is no way to operate with just one or the other).  The King Air maintained the lateral course but would not climb. I engaged the Vertical Speed button and dialed in the climb rate.  As the aircraft climbed the airspeed began to decrease dramatically-even though full power was being commanded.  I noticed that the stabilizer trim had moved to full up even though the rate of climb was still at the set 1500 fpm rate.  I could not disengage the trim so I disconnected the autopilot.  The airplane had to be flown in a descent to obtain airspeed above stall speed and any attempt to climb, even at a minimal rate, would result in loss of airspeed.  The aircraft continued to descend, elevator control was lost at 1000’ AGL altitude and the nose would not come up despite full aft yoke input.  The airplane crashed.  I reset the simulator and tried again with the exact same results.

Once again, there is scant documentation provided to ascertain why this might be occurring but the Proline 21 avionics seem to be the culprit.  Most of my gripes with this airplane are related to autopilot and FMS functions.  The comments in the limited support forums for Carenado products contain a few references to the poor quality of this avionics package and it does make one wonder why Carenado continues to include it in many of their products.

The takeaway for me is that while visually arresting and having an excellent sound package, there are too many deficiencies and frustrations in the aircraft operation and lack of explanatory documentation (Carenado-can you say ‘tutorial flight’?).

I have a limited time to conduct simulator flights and there are too many outstanding products out there to warrant fussing with a product that produces so much disappointment and frustration.  If Carenado insists on pumping out products that do not fully replicate the systems touted, then they should consider charging less than $39.95 for a product. 

Summary

Visually very impressive inside and out.  Hand flying is enjoyable-which is a good thing since the autopilot and FMS leave much to be desired. 

All in all, I had high expectations for this King Air and they were not realized. If you are seeking a fully representative simulation stay away from Carenado’s rendition of Proline 21 avionics or be prepared to be disappointed.

Nice effort Carenado but the state of the art is functionality and we would like to see improvements in that sense.

Review

by Justin Cogo

Introduction/About DH.98 Mosquito FB Mk VI

Incoming!    The De Havilland DH.98 was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served in many variants during and after the Second World War.

A twin-engine, fast aircraft for its time period, it was also able to perform slow-flight which made it good for close-range targeting and short-field takeoffs and landings.   It served roles like light bomber, fighter-bomber, night fighter, maritime strike aircraft, and photo-reconnaissance aircraft.   Upwards of 7,000 of the Mosquito were built.

Just Fight DH.98 Mosquito

Just Flight has recreated the DH.98 Mosquito for FSX, FSX:SE and Prepar3D.   The Mosquito is a fighter-bomber and this Just Flight version is highly detailed and comes with a few nice extra features.

Features

Exterior Models

                Built over actual plans

                Removable doors, covers, panels to reveal detailed interiors

Cockpit

                Truly 3D virtual cockpit – including cables and piping with animations and realistic

                Aircraft Systems – electrical, hydraulic and fuel systems, navigation and comm instruments

                Numerous animations – windows, wipers, flares

                Night lighting

Liveries

                Six Liveries – Painted in Royal Airforce and Royal Canadian Air Force color schemes

Other

                Layered Paint Kit

                Realistic Flight Dynamics

                Authentic Sound Set

                Droppable Bomb Animations and Gun Effects

                Custom Landing Light Effects

                2D Configuration Panel

Installing/Just Flight Procedures

The installation process for the Mosquito was a breeze and had the airplane ready to go right away.   I had the airplane open in Flight Simulator X quickly.

First Impressions of it inside Flight Simulator

Opening up the Mosquito I notice the outside of the plane have a WWII appearance, big body, big engines and big tires, seeming very tough.

The cockpit of the airplane has many steam gauges, making it seem like you could navigate very far if needed and do some custom flight maneuvers.

Inside the Airplane

Peering inside of the airplane we can see the multitude of steam gauges and old-style equipment.   There are many gauges, buttons, switches, lights and such that mostly work.   The cockpit of the aircraft interestingly has two side-by-side chairs because of the aircrafts role that requires more than one crewmember.  

There is a lot of small detail in the cockpit, down to the seatbelt detail on the seats and openable doors in the cockpit leading to the outside.

Outside the Airplane

The airplane’s exterior has many detailed features with many modelled and textured panels included.   There are modelled air intakes, engine moldings, antenna wires, landing gear detail and such.  

An added exterior feature are removable doors and panels, showing the airplanes inner-workings.   These panels are removed by pressing the Shift+E keys, after which the panels lie on the floor and the insides of the airplane can be viewed.  

Some extra features on the outside of the model are the gun barrels and bomb bays which can be activated.   Later in the review I will talk about how to activate them.

Night View

The Mosquito has your normal set of lights for a WWII airplane.   Included are navigation lights, beacon, landing lights and internal cockpit lights.   As per your typical dog-fighting aircraft the cockpit has a dim red-light which brightens the cockpit at night but not too much to overwhelm the viewing experience.

Aircraft Specifications

Aircraft Performance

Flying the Mosquito was nice.   During slow flight it is easy on the controls and is not difficult to fly, even as a tail-dragger.   When flying at faster airspeeds, you lift the flaps and increase speeds and she flies fast.

Liveries

Included in this airplane package are six liveries of the Mosquito.   They are painted in Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force,

(left, CY-H of 613 ‘City of Manchester’, right, OB_J of 45 Sqn RCAF)

(left, HR405/NE-A of 143 Sqn, right, LR373 YH-A of 21 Sqn)

(left, HR402/OB-C of 45 Sqn, right, SB-V of 464 Sqn)

Extras

Droppable bomb animation and gun firing effects are included with this airplane.   Gun Firing can be enabled by pressing the button “I”.   A gun-flash is shown outside the aircraft at the gun barrels.   Bullets do not show though.

2D configuration panel

The 2D configuration panel opens and can be used for adjusting eye point and crew configuration.

Summary

The DH.98 proves to be a positive add-on for my military aircraft collection in flight simulator.   I found the small details to be nice and it to be a simple and easy aircraft to fly.   I think if you like military aircraft you’ll like this airplane.   It reminds me of WWII when I step into it.   I like it and thought it was a worthy aircraft for its price!

Thank You!

Thank you to Just Flight for providing a review copy of this aircraft.

-Justin Cogo

Review

by Marlon Carter

Blu-Ray/Download

INTRODUCTION

+ Cockpit filming using up to multi cameras for great views on takeoff & landing!

+ Pilot Presentations

+ Flight Planning by Dispatcher with crew briefing.

+ Flight Preparations

+ Cockpit Set-up

+ Briefings & Checklists

+ External Walkaround

+Depature& Arrival Airport Charts

+ Cockpit Presentation

+ Great scenery across Italy

+ How to become a pilot

HIGHLIGHTS

This video is perhaps one of the most unique video documentaries on the operations of the B717. The introduction features a presentation by the Chief Pilot as he discusses the history and overall options of the airline. Once this segment is completed, we jump right into our flights with a crew briefing that covers the numerous sectors being flown that day. For those of you who are keenly interested in the B717, you will be happy to know that prior to our first flight, our First Officers takes us through a detailed cockpit preparation that proved to be very insightful.

Nearing the end of our flights for day 1, our First Officer takes the time to discuss his career which started off by looking at Just Planes videos at the age of 12 and later using Flight Simulators. While the road to becoming a Commercial pilot can be challenging, our young First Officer gives prospective pilots the encouragement to never give up on your dreams.

Moving away from the cockpit, this video also features a scenic tour of Venice which was intriguing to say the least. Venice is one of the many destinations flown by Volotea and the short video clips of this amazing city just might encourage you to take that overdue vacation.

The final segments of this video feature a detailed aircraft walkaround, more presentations by Captains and a young female First Officer and many scenic and exciting views from the cockpit that all will enjoy. It’s without a doubt that this video program is well worth having and we certainly have to thank Volotea for opening their doors to the public to satisfy the curiosity of enthusiast and inspiring the next generation of pilots. Just recently, Volotea began acquiring A319s to slowly replace their B717 fleet. We certainly hope that Just Planes will revisit this unique airline in the future to film their A319 operations.

Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-nJveX6ppQ

Review

by Marlon Carter

Introduction

While many of us find it hard to agree on which is the best aircraft add-on available, we can all agree that Flight Simulation has come a long way since the days of FS95 or even older versions. With each new platform, we’ve seen a significant improvement in the overall immersion of flight and an even greater improvement in the general FS environment. With so much progress being made on the part of the Flight Simulator developers and 3rd party products, it’s hard to imagine that we’ve been missing out on a very important element to the overall immersion of Flightsim. What are we referring to? Well if you are a true aviation enthusiast at heart, you would have enjoyed spending many hours on youtube looking at aircraft videos. Some of the most spectacular videos are the ones that show the stunning performance of various aircraft in bad weather conditions. For example, on a rainy day, there is nothing more spectacular than watching a 777 land or take off to see the awe inspiring power of the engines as they spray water off of the runway surface. Added to this is the condensation effect that can be seen in the engines and over the leading edge of the wings.

While we are all grateful for the improved aircraft systems of popular add-ons, some of us who truly desire an immersive experienced have always request some additional visual features that create a realistic environment when flying in IMC or operating on a wet runway. At long last, one developer has ceased the opportunity to create such an immersive experience that is specifically tailored to various aircraft.

FSFX has been around for a relatively short period of time, but has managed to gather a significant following with their PrecipitFX product which was released for FSX and P3D v2 & v3. PrecipitFX introduces a host of new effects into your Flight Simulator that improves the default effects tremendously and I would highly recommend it. Of particular interest is the improved rain and snow effect that many have complained about for years. Here is a short video preview of PrecipitFX.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuM7k2sjWXw

Video Preview PrecipitFX

With the release of PrecipitFX, it seemed only logical that this development team was only getting started and they soon released an immersion product for the popular PMDG 777 and then later for the PMDG 737 NGX and Aerosoft A319/320. While there is also an immersion product that is specific to the Flysimware’s Learjet 35, we will be focusing primarily on theAerosoft A319/320 and the PMDG immersion packages.  Below you will find a brief description of each product and a preview video.

FSFX PMDG 777 Immersion Package

FEATURES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jb9VfzwWFk

Preview Video – By Jeroen Doorman

FSFX PMDG 737 Immersion Package

FEATURES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irw_oAJ0Czs

Preview Video

FSFX Aerosoft A320 Family Immersion Package

FEATURES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y9Pb3NLZko

Preview Video – By Jeroen Doorman

For the benefit for those who are very familiar with FSFX, here is a brief interview with Keven from FSFX to find out more about the company and the development of their products.

1. Can you tell us a little about FSFX and how it all started?

Back in 2006, I personally began experimenting with visual effects in the simulator. I learned techniques to show and control effects in the sim. Never had I imagined the interest such products would have. In 2014 we decided to up the quality a notch and make it available to public. The results were beyond our expectations.

2. Can you tell us what inspired your team to create individual immersion packages for popular add-ons?

While doing PrecipitFX, it was clear that some things were missing around the aircraft. We made a list of every environmental effect we could find and started building the foundation of what is our Immersion series of products. The decision to make our effects for specific aircraft was not an easy one. Because of the way FSX(ESP) was designed, we could not dynamically create complex effects like wing condensation and volumetric lighting based on simulator variables. This is still true to this day. Every developer also has its own way of doing things. Some aircraft have misplaced references for engines, landing gear, landing lights etc. and if we were to base ourselves on those variables to position our effects, the result would be totally unpredictable. Every aircraft is different and some variables simply aren't there for an automated system to do the work. For example, the A320 Family of aircraft does not produce wingtip vortices and very little flaps vortices. This is not something we can calculate on a generic scale within the simulator as it is now. We had to do research and create the right conditions for each effect.

3. Where there any significant challenges in developing each package?

Every aircraft is different and every Immersion Package contains many challenges. From misplaced references to custom flight models, there are a lot of things people don't see in the background.

4. What would you say is the most ground breaking feature of your products?

For PrecipitFX I'd say the new rain and snow effects are the most talked about. For your Immersion Packages, people really like to show volumetric lighting. I think this effect looks incredible. Nothing on this scale has been done before and we are happy to be able to provide this to the community.

5. What can we expect to see from FSFX in the future?

We have a big product unveiling in the coming weeks. Nothing I can tell right now obviously but stay tuned!

THE EXPERIENCE

As seen in the preview videos, these products truly offer an enhanced visual experience when using FSX or P3D. My personal experience in the past is that while I’ve always enjoyed using the PMDG’s 737,777 and the Aerosoft A320 series, I’ve always thought that while the simulation of the aircraft systems were fantastic, flying in cloudy or rainy conditions left a lot to be desired from a visual perspective.  It’s almost as if the aircraft and the environment were not connected and they have no influence on each other.

A typical example of this is something that many of us have seen in the real world. If you’ve ever been to the airport on a rainy day and you’ve have the privilege of being close to the runway, you no doubt would have enjoyed seeing water being displaced by the powerful engines of departing and landing aircraft as they apply takeoff power or reverse thrust. With aircraft such as the 737 and A320, this sight is always quite impressive. When it comes to the 777 however, it is an awe-inspiring site to see the power that these engines produce.

In the simulator world, these types of effects are sorely lacking and were only briefly enjoyed at one point with a user mod for FS2004 (Reserve Spray) that required some tweaking for each aircraft. To the best of my knowledge, FSX and P3D didn’t have any of these modifications and for many years most of us have simply done without it.With the release of the Immersion package however, users of FSX and P3D now have the opportunity to see the connection between the aircraft and the environment.

After going through the simple installation process, I was quite eager to see some of the most basic effects such as the reverse thrust water displacement but it is important to note that these packages offer you much more. For example, to those who have travelled or work at an airport on the ramp, you may have noticed that under the right conditions, when an aircraft’s engines are started or power is applied, you can faintly see the moisture from the ground being sucked into the engine. While this is a subtle effect, it is something that is unique to the aircraft and how it reacts to the environment. Other effects such as wing condensation, brake dust, vortices and custom contrails are also included and are remarkably realistic in that they are only visible when the right atmospheric conditions are met.

Are there anyother features worth mentioning or worth raving about? While the effects we mentioned previously are fascinating enough, these products offer much more. In addition to the stunning new condensation, smoke and dust effects, we also see some enhancements to the way lighting is displayed in low visibility and the addition of a volumetric rain effect. These new features allow users to see extended a volumetric light beam that represent a much more realistic lighting effect while flying in low visibility or bad weather conditions. Personally I have always known that this was a missing element while flying in FSX or P3D, but after seeing these effects in action, I can hardly imagine going back to the standard effects.

 As far as the rain effects are concerned, while I would have loved seeing a virtual cockpit rain effect, these products still offer you a host of rain effects that are very realistic. These include raindrops that fall from the fuselage, wings and engines when the aircraft is stationary. It’s important to note that different packages offer slightly different options but one of my favorite effects is the volumetric rain effect that is visible when the landing lights are turned on. We can go on and on describing these effects, but perhaps its best to show you since a picture in this case is definitely worth more than a thousand words.

As we bring this review to a conclusion, it’s only fair to discuss performance and limitations. As far as performance is concerned, you will be pleased to know that these effects, while high quality, leave a very low VAS footprint. The manuals mentioned an impact as little as 5MB. As far as frame rates are concerned, these effects have had little to no effect on my frame rates and if you do experience any adverse impact, the development team also offers the option to have varying levels of condensation and the ability to turn off each effect individually. With so many tweaking options, performance issues will be none existent when using these products. With regard to limitations, the developers mentioned a few limitations such as effects that are no visible at night for performance reasons and effects that won’t be visible when the engines are off. Ultimately, the limitations of these products are very minimal and I definitely think you will have no issues using these products.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, If you desire to have the ultimate immersive experience while using the PMDG 737,777 or AS A320, these FSFX immersion packages are a must have. As mentioned in my introduction, my first introduction to FSFX was with their PrecipitFX product which I honestly rated as a must have product along with Active Sky 2016, and REX 4 for enhancing your default simulator. With the price of each Immersion package being $25-$27, I think it is a fair price for the enhancements made to these already outstanding aircraft add-ons. While these products do have their limitations, it is a step in the right direction that all aircraft developers should consider. If not, then thankfully we have FSFX to take existing products to the next level.With the Q400 immersion package on the way, I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what surprises are in store for the FS community!

Review

by Mike Cameron

Introduction

   I am reviewing the recently released upgrade of Imaginesim’s KAUS – Austin Bergstrom International Airport for Prepar3D Version 3.  Imaginesim also provides free upgrades to owners of the FSX and P3D V2 versions of the original version of this scenery.

 Information for the introduction was gathered from www.austintexas.gov and www.airnav.com websites.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is named after Captain John August Earl Bergstrom, while at age 34 on December 8, 1941, serving as an administrative officer with the 19th Bombardment Group, stationed at Clark Field in the Philippines.  In tandem with the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese air attacks were carried out against Clark Field and other military areas in the Philippines.  Captain Bergstrom was killed during this attack, was also a graduate of Texas A&M University and was also the first resident of the City of Austin Texas to be killed in World War II.  At the urging of his former employer, the Austin National Bank and Lyndon B. Johnson, who at this time was a member of the US House of Representatives from the Texas 10th District convinced the US Army Air Force to name the base recently opened in Austin after Captain Bergstrom.  On March 3, 1943, the Del Valle Airfield was officially renamed Bergstrom Army Airfield and was renamed Bergstrom Air Force Base after the Air Force became its own military branch in 1948.  The base would retain its name until it was decommissioned in the early 1990’s with all military aviation ceasing in 1995.

Before Bergstrom Air Force Base was decommissioned, the largest municipal airport in Austin was Robert Mueller Municipal Airport.  It was owned by the City of Austin and was officially dedicated on October 14th 1930.  The main terminal building was dedicated in 1963 and expanded in 1983.  The east terminal was dedicated in April, 1990 and the Federal Inspection Station located near the terminal was completed in 1995.  Like many older airports, Mueller was located on the outskirts of town in 1930.  Over the years, the city of Austin’s population grew rapidly becoming a high tech hotspot.  Flights into the city also increased substantially, as more businesses were started and both import and export cargo also increased dramatically.  Eventually Mueller, which was now landlocked on 711 acres in the middle of the city, with urban growth on all sides was not an ideal situation for a major regional airport.  With the closed Air Force base located eight miles outside of town, this proved to be an outstanding opportunity for the City of Austin, Texas to meet the travel needs for the region well into the future.  After closure, the bases land was returned to the City of Austin and the former Air Force Base would prove ideal for Austin’s new airport.  In May 1999, Robert Mueller Municipal Airport was closed to commercial passenger traffic and Austin – Bergstrom International Airport opened to the public on May 23, 1999.  Because the new airport was adjacent to the city, the site was large enough to meet growing needs, runways and other facilities already existed and the surrounding area was sparsely populated.  City officials pledged that no tax dollars would be used to build Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.  Even though the city owns the airport, it is not supported by the City’s General Fund.  The people and businesses that use the airport pay for the entire ongoing budget.  All revenue generated by the airport goes back into its operations, covering its operating expenses.  The airport has been named one of the best airports in the world according to Airport Service Quality Awards.  Among the numerous awards, 2011 marked the fifth year to earn a ranking in the top five airports in North America and the world for excellence in customer service.

FAA Information Effective 21st July 2016

FAA Ident: AUS

Elevation: 541.6 feet

Location: 5 miles SE from Austin, Texas city center

KAUS is opened to the public with a control tower, white-green beacon that operates from sunset to sunrise, has ARFF index D fire and rescue and has customs for international operations located on the airport.

Fuel Available: 100LL and Jet-A

Parking: Hangars and Tie Downs

Airframe and Powerplant Servicing: Minor

Bottled Oxygen: High/Low

Aircraft based at airport: 209

     Single Engine Aircraft: 110

     Multi-engine: 37

     Jet Aircraft: 34

     Helicopters: 6

     Military Aircraft: 22

Aircraft Operations: Average about 502 a day

    58% Commercial

    28% Transient General Aviation

    9%% Air Taxi

    4% Military

    1% Local General Aviation

Runways and Helipads

Runway 17R/35R

Dimensions: 12,250 x 150 feet, concrete grooved in good condition with high intensity runway edge lights.

Runway 17L/35R

Dimensions: 9,000x150, surface is concrete grooved in good condition with high intensity runway edge lights.

Helipad H1 & H2

60x60 Feet

Condition: Concrete in good condition with left traffic pattern for both.

Helipad H3

50x50 Feet

Condition: Concrete in good condition

Runway Edge lighting: PERI

Operational Restrictions: Cardwell Army Helipad is restricted to military use only

Traffic Pattern: Left

Some Additional Remarks:

Bird activity on or around the airport.

Declared low visibility conditions require ATC communications prior to push back and power backs are prohibited during these periods.

Noise Abatement: All departures follow ATC instructions; climb ASAP to 4000 feet or above.

During the hours of 0000 to 0600, arriving aircraft will be assigned to runway 35L or 35R and departing aircraft will be assigned runway 17L or 17R to avoid noise sensitive areas.

Installation

Installation of Imagine Simulations KAUS – Austin Bergstrom International Airport is very easy but does require an active internet connection to activate the product.  Imaginesim recommends closing as many Windows applications as possible, start P3D, load your default flight or scenery, let the process complete entirely, and when this is finished, shut the simulator down.  According to the developer this will ensure that you have a “fresh start” for the installation of this scenery.  I have installed many scenery products and this is the first time that I have been instructed to do this procedure first, other than closing Windows apps which is usually recommended.  This is very important and I may have skipped right over these instructions and did not do this procedure because I had some post install issues.  Also, if you installed the demo of this product (a great feature that allows you to get a good idea what system performance will be like), uninstall this first.  I appreciate that Imaginesim provides these pre-install procedures to alleviate possible install issues.

Now that the housekeeping is out of the way it is time to install the scenery.  Run the downloaded file, “Imaginesim_KAUS_2014_P3D.exe”, and follow the onscreen prompts.  As with all simulator add-on products, I recommend right clicking on the setup program and select “Run as Administrator”.  The installer will install the scenery into both P3D V2 and V3 if you have both simulators installed but during my conversations with technical support, this could cause some issues.  To activate, enter your purchase credentials which includes an Order Number given to you by your vendor (Flight1 or the FlightSimStore) and your purchase email address.  Activation should be very fast and once approved the installation will continue.  There is a nice progress bar and the entire install process is very fast.  After the files are installed, a scenery configuration window will open and after selecting your desired options, press “Exit” to complete the install process.  A new folder is created in your P3D directory (Imagine Simulations/ KAUS Austin 2014 P3D) which contains the scenery & texture folders along with a nice 14 page PDF manual that I recommend reading for proper simulator settings and other useful information.

For most people, you should be able to load KAUS in P3D and start enjoying the scenery.  When I loaded KAUS on my system, I did not have any scenery objects just ground textures.  The nice people at Imaginesim provided some great troubleshooting procedures and I was able to get the scenery working on my computer.  For whatever reason, this scenery did not automatically activate on my system.  I had to delete the default folder location entered by the installer and manually activate the proper scenery location.  Once I did this, P3D gave me a scary error message that there were errors with my scenery.cfg file which I ignored and when I tried again to load the scenery, everything looked as it should.  The customer support specialist had never heard of this happening before but I chose to include it with the review just in case others might have this issue.  The demo scenery installed just fine which is strange, maybe the demo did not fully uninstall.

Ground Tour

   Before installing new premium airports I like to load the default airport first and capture a screen grab to compare to the upgraded airport.  The first screen grab is of the Milviz Boeing 737-200 parked at the default Gate 10 – Heavy parking location and as you can see it the pretty typical bland looking default gate textures.  The Imaginesim KAUS scenery does not have this gate listed as “Heavy” so I load the same aircraft at Gate 5 – Heavy.  As you can see from the second screen grab, the upgraded scenery is spectacular!  Besides upgraded textures, this scenery includes realistic ground objects both static and animated.  I am now going to enter P3D Avatar mode and walk/jog around this large airport.  I like how you can see details of the inside of the passenger terminal.  This is a good time to view the night lighting effects and they are very impressive.  It is nice to see the Jetway lighting along with the associated shadow effects and I am impressed that the animated ground vehicles have realistic headlight effects.  From this screen grab I can also see the small but realistic details on the Jetway, the gate at the open area.  Returning to the P3D daytime setting, I continue my ground tour of Austin – Bergstrom International Airport.  As I have come to expect from premium scenery products ground objects are very detailed with real world company names.  I do not know if this is a design decision for better performance but I could not see any AI traffic no matter what time of day that I selected and set airline traffic to 100%.  It would also have been nice if there were some static airliners included with this scenery.  I have My Traffic Professional installed and I know it is working because I can change my view to nearby traffic and I can see traffic in the air.  Later in the review I did see some AI traffic so it probably depends on the exact time of day for this airport.  Performance with this scenery loaded is outstanding, I do not post frame rates but while on the ground with all of the animated vehicles, I did not encounter any performance issues.001

 Ground textures and ramp signage are very clear and easy to read.  Nearby buildings and static objects are equally impressive looking.  Trees though do not show fall colors even though I have the fall season loaded in P3D.  Although seasonal colors would add to the overall experience, I do not consider this a must have feature because I consider a more realistic looking airport more important than seasonal vegetation textures.  The arrivals area and parking garage look nice but I would have liked to see some static automobiles and people in the area.  I cannot believe that this would have affected performance that much.  I could not walk up the ramps so the departures area will have to wait until I perform my aerial tour.  At least the airport parking lot has static autos and I like how they look.  Airport signage have very realistic looking textures, another feature that I look for with quality scenery products and the night lighting effects are also very impressive.

   Now I am going to jog to the other side of the airport.  Ramp signage looks very nice both during the day and at night.  I do not know if this is a side effect of Avatar mode, but I am not wild about the tall grass textures, especially when viewed up close.  Most people will probably not be exploring the airport on foot so this is probably not an issue overall.  Building and sign textures on this side of the airport are just as impressive as the Terminal side.  Unlike the airline parking area, the general aviation area has plenty of static and AI aircraft.  The general aviation hangars look great but I wish some were open.  I like that building signage are legible which greatly adds the experience.  I am going to load the final two areas of the airport that I have not explored the cargo and military facilities because this is a very large airport and I decided it would take too long to walk/jog to these ramps. 

The building and static object textures are just as impressive as the other areas but similar to the Terminal area, there were not any static cargo aircraft when I visited.  The Southwest parking area is for military aircraft; even though there are no static aircraft I like that the hangar’s doors are textured differently than the general aviation hangars which add to the realism.   I really like all of the detail that Imaginesim has included with this scenery such as the fence and gate features.  Scenery objects that I did see on my tour were the fire station and any fire or rescue vehicles.  I consult the aircraft diagram and I do not know how I missed it because it is near the tower north of general aviation parking.

After going back to this area I realize that I did look at the fire station although with this scenery there was only a single airport security vehicle parked next to this building and no emergency vehicles to be found.  Maybe they are parked inside but it would have been nice to see a fire vehicle among the static objects.

Aerial Tour of Airport Area

   To explore the airport from the air I going to use Ant’s Airplanes Drifter Ultralight to get a good view of the airport and the surrounding area from the air.  I am going to start at the active runway and the runway markings are very impressive.  Ramp lighting effects also look very nice.  Premium airports should also have realistic looking runway textures and Imaginesim’s does not disappoint.  It would have been nice to have seasonal vegetation textures because I can clearly see where the scenery area ends and the Orbx Global scenery starts because the Orbx scenery has seasonal fall tree textures and this scenery does not.

The corporate and general aviation ramps look just as impressive from the air as it did from the ground.  I did notice some nearby blurry ground textures in a fenced area but maybe this area is supposed to look like this in the simulator or maybe it is a photo area and I am flying too low for better textures.  There are other places that look like photo scenery that are also blurry from this low altitude but to be honest, other than for this review I probably will not notice on my regular flights.  The tall grass textures definitely look better from the air but at some places it looks like it needs to be mowed.  One of the features that I did not see on my ground tour was cars waiting for a gate to open, very realistic!  Animated gates would have been nice but I like there static vehicles are included for that real world atmosphere.  Unless this is a real would feature which I accept, as you can see from my screen grab, cement blocks are partially blocking each lane of the road near the gate. 

The gate textures look great though.  Some features are better observed from the air such as all of the various antennas and the other three dimensional objects both large and small.

The static objects at the cargo facility look as impressive from the air as it did from the ground.  Also from the air I can see the impressive details of the parking garage, the terminal roof and the departure area.  I am now going to set up an approach so that I can see the approach features and lighting effects and as I have said before, are impressive looking during the day and at night. 

The last two screen grabs are after completing a cross country flight into Austin Bergstrom International Airport.  The first displays one of the scenery features if you operate airliners into and out of this airport’s gates, the simulated docking system.  The manual does a good job explaining how to use this system.  I am a general aviation virtual pilot so I personally did not use it but this is one of the features that put Imaginesim KAUS scenery to the top tier of premium scenery products.  It is nice that that this realistic feature is included without the need of premium or free utilities for this function.  The last picture is of a Delta Connection aircraft in the process of loading or unloading with animated ground objects.  I take back everything I wrote in the last section.  Not only are there a couple of static airliners (must be a time of day feature) but the ramp workers and objects are interacting with it which greatly adds to the experience.   Lastly, If you own the Orbx Global series of products, there are several airports included in their free NA Scenery Pack that would make nice cross country flights to and from Austin Bergstrom International Airport.  Located South of Austin in San Antonio is T94 Twin – Oaks Airport.  West near Fredericksburg, Texas is T82 – Gillespie County Airport, Northwest in Burnet is KBMQ – Burnet Municipal Kate Craddock Field.  The closest airport is KEDC – Austin Executive Airport.  I flew a multi-leg flight that started at T94 and ended at KAUS.

There are probably plenty of other premium and free airports available in this area of the United States to make Imaginesim’s KAUS Austin – Bergstrom International Airport a perfect starting point for your simulator travels especially if you like to fly larger aircraft.

Conclusion

Accessibility

Imaginesim’s KAUS Austin Bergstrom International Airport is only available from Imaginesim direct for $29.99 and the FlightSimStore for about $26.00USD currently so I suppose it could be more accessible but many developers are starting to sell their products themselves so I do not have an issue with this.  Both stores allow both credit card and PayPal as forms of payment and because this product is download only, most people should be able to purchase without issue.  The unpacked download size is only 119MB so downloads should not be an issue for most people.

Affordability

   First time buyers have a choice to make with Version 2 of KAUS; it is a separate purchase for FS2004, FSX or P3D (yes, FS2004 is still supported with this scenery product).  At $29.99 each that can get kind of expensive if you own multiple simulators.  Normally, I do not like developers that do not provide multi-installers but most developers also do not provide a demo of the scenery to try before you buy.  Also, I think most people that have multiple simulators will probably use one more than the others and will probably only purchase for that simulator similar to other products with single installers.  Imaginesim also provides free upgrades for previous version purchases and according to the install notes, FSS customers simply log in to their account for the new P3D version.  Considering the incredible detail with this scenery, I consider the purchase price a good value.

Ease of Installation

   Installation is more involved than most scenery products and this product does require an active internet connection for activation.  Despite the issues that I detailed which seems to be very unusual, if you follow the recommended procedure, installing KAUS should proceed without issue.

Features & System Performance

This is my first Imaginesim scenery product and I am very impressed with the amount of details that are included with this scenery.  Just about everything that I would want in a premium scenery product is included such as realistic looking buildings & static objects, great looking night lighting  and legible ground & building signage.  System performance is outstanding even with all of the animated ground vehicles that I witnessed.   This is a very detailed scenery area so you may have a slight performance issue when approaching the airport but Imaginesim explains this with the FAQ available to download from the website so everyone can know this before purchase.  That is why a demo is available to see if your system can handle this very detailed scenery.

Final Thoughts

KAUS Austin Bergstrom International Airport from Imaginesim is a fantastic scenery package which provides a great hub for simulator pilots of all skill levels to use with aircraft of all sizes.  As mentioned previously, everything that you would want with a scenery product is included which is great.  Even better, if you are an airliner pilot the included parking assist is a nice feature that should be included with all large airport products.  Jetways are not animated but this scenery is compatible with airport ground handling utilities.  Two minor nitpicks that does not affect the overall experience but would have been nice are I would like to see some more static vehicles (fire trucks, military & cargo aircraft) and seasonal tree colors would also have been nice.

Test System

Hardware:

Computer Specs:

Intel Desktop Computer

Intel i5 4670K 3.4Ghz Non OC Processor

8GB DDR3 1833 Memory

2TB SATA HD (7200 RPM)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX970 Video Card with 4GB GDDR5 Memory

Saitek Cessna Pro Flight Yoke, Rudder Pedals & Trim Wheel

Saitek Pro-Flight Switch Panel and Multi Panel

Software:

FSX: Steam Edition, Prepar3D Version 3

Windows 7 – 64 Bit

REX 4 Texture Direct with Soft Clouds

Orbx HD Trees, Global, Vector, Europe & NA Landclass & Multiple Regions

FS Global 2010 FTX Compatible

P3D Fair Weather Theme

Flight Test Time:

25 hours

Review

by Marlon Carter

INTRODUCTION

As an aviation enthusiast, I am sure many of you have once argued the age old debate of Airbus vs Boeing. While such discussions can be enlightening and entertaining in the real world context, we’ve never been given the opportunity to draw a comparison in the Flightsim world. Over the years, many have tried to develop a complexed simulation of the A320 and 737NG aircraft but have only found success with the latter. Why? Well it’s no secret that the complexity of A320 has made it extremely difficult for developers to create a high fidelity add-on that truly represents the intricacies of Airbus systems.

Depending on how long you have been part of the Flightsim community, some may recall a handful of developers that produced Airbus add-ons that served us well at the time. However, many of us will agree that while they were good products, they often misrepresented the way many systems on Airbus aircraft truly function. The most notorious of these systems, was the Fly By Wire programming that always seemed to be lacking and was inconsistent from user to user depending on your hardware.

With the interest of flight simulator enthusiasts shifting to more realistic and complex aircraft, the pressure was on for an Airbus add-on that would match and surpass the standards set by leading developers. In 2010, the FS community was on edge with an announcement from Flight Sim Labs that would potentially change our perception of what we thought was the impossible. In 2010, they announced that they would be developing a high fidelity A320 series for FSX (and later P3D), that promised to be a true and complete simulation of the real aircraft within the “limitations” of FSX.  As with all things, many of us were thrilled with this announcement while others were quite skeptical. Would they be able to pull it off? Or will FSLabs fail or fall short as other developers who have come and gone? To answer that question only time would tell and some 6 years later, we finally have an answer with the release of the A320-X.

While the development time for this product was by no means the longest, it was certainly a time filled with eager anticipation on the part of potential customers who have long awaited a realistic Airbus aircraft. What was the development process like? Why did it take so long, and what can customers expect from this new product? Well let’s find out the answer to these questions and more as we chat with one of the developers.

INTERVIEW

Hi, Lefteris. While I am very familiar with FSLabs, there are many readers who are getting their first introduction by means of the A320X. Can you tell us a little about FSLabs, how it started and the products you have created besides the A320?

-(LEFTERIS) Flight Sim Labs, Ltd was started in 2008, when I decided I needed to step away from my position as Technical Director and Lead Developer at PMDG, to start my own company. At that time, Andrew Wilson, who ran SSTSIM, Ltd. and was responsible for the FS2004 Concorde had wanted to move the aircraft into FSX and was looking for a larger team to do this with, so he joined FSLabs. Together with Margarita Fiotaki and some other developers at the time, we created the Concorde-X for FSX (and later for Prepar3d). Apart from the Concorde-X, we are also responsible for the FSLSpotlights add-on, a product that allows any aircraft to have fully three-dimensional volumetric lighting inside the virtual cockpit and external model, something we also use in the A320-X to achieve never-before-seen 3D moving lights in the cockpit.

2. Can you tell us briefly about the development of the A320? For example, when did you first decide on creating the A320 series and what challenges did you have to overcome to get this project started and completed? Where there any periods where you thought of giving up on this project because of its complexity?

-(LEFTERIS) The A320-X series had already been decided while we were developing the Concorde-X. As many of your readers might be aware, the engineering teams responsible for the Concorde later moved on to work on the Airbus series. We simply followed the same natural evolutionary process at FSLabs, as a significant amount of the infrastructure required was already being designed for the Concorde. While we had some idea back then, we were blissfully unaware of the differences in the amount of complexity involved in coding all the computers required and the interactions between them. While it's a daunting task - larger than anything we'd ever attempted before, we never thought of giving up - the aircraft is too beautiful to give up on...

3.Among all the features of the A320, which would you say is the feature you are most proud of and which feature would you say is the most innovative in the history of aircraft add-ons?

-(LEFTERIS) There are too many to choose from:

- The Fly-By-Wire action that everyone swore could never be done properly (alpha speed and alpha floor protections accurately simulated and verified by a multitude of real-world bus pilots)

- The ground performance and characteristics (single engine taxi done correctly for the first time on a desktop simulator - none of that marmalade default ground friction anymore).

- The design and implementation of simulating over 60 aircraft computers on a single PC with unparalleled accuracy while at the same time maintaining adequate performance.

- The engine and flight model that follows its real-world counterpart inside but also outside the flight envelope (where the aircraft stalls).

- The very high resolution of the external model, for crispness and clarity at all levels of detail - from far away, or closing in, any text on the aircraft airframe no matter how small, can be read clearly.

- The aircraft model animations. Every single moving part modeled with acute precision - from the smallest (Angle of Attack vanes) to the largest, together with the respective actuator controls, which, when lost, will render the corresponding part inoperable.

- The wing flex (or - more correctly - the wing bounce), painstakingly modeled after a multitude of observations of its real-world sibling.

- The particle-based effects: Watch the exhaust haze after the APU has been started.

- Spotlights: They should have an entire chapter allocated to them, but we are proud to say there's no other aircraft add-on featuring true, three-dimensional cone lighting that is adjustable in brightness and moves together with the respective lamp that provides it.

- The real-time refueling panel, with fuel distribution timed exactly after real-world measurements.
- The absolutely immersive sound package found inside the cockpit, but also outside it for both the IAE and CFM engine variants. From the tiniest button and knob, to the electric whirl of the pilot seats, the subtle hum frequency variation of the generators based on electrical load and their three-dimensional positioning, how the PTU bark comes from its proper location and can only be heard in the cabin - those make a completely unparalleled sound package.

There are just too many more also... If I had to choose one myself, however, and given the complexity in how it's designed and coded, I'd say that the implementation of the hydraulics and fuel infrastructure together with the electrics wiring, all coming in place with the System Data Acquisition Computer and the more than 3800 logic sheets that comprise the Flight Warning Computer modeled in their entirety to produce all possible "ECAM Actions" just like its real-world counterpart - this would be my pick. You see, in the FSLabs A320-X, there is no room for simplifications - none of that "if this switch is on, show that warning message" piece of programming like any other add-on out there: The base infrastructure, with all the complete wiring required that is plugged in (which some add-on developers feel is "unnecessary" for them to provide) is what makes this possible. Without it, the A320-X would be just another simplification, devoid of the aura and immersion that makes for that imperceptible, intangible, impalpable sense of "feeling you're in an Airbus".

4.Given the fact that the aircraft was simulated from the very components of each system, does this mean that the possible faults and ECAM actions match the real aircraft? In other words, does it mean that there is no limit to what faults can occur?

-(LEFTERIS) Our customers have already discovered that we have incorporated the entire FWC logicsheet package (version H2F3P) inside the A320-X, which means that all possible faults and ECAM actions have been incorporated - the only limitation is that to produce some of them, circuit breaker tripping is required, which we have not included in the entertainment version. Our professional version will offer a complete C/B mechanism facility as well as updated FWC versions as an option.

5. It is well know that Airbus aircraft operate based on Normal Law, Alternate Law, Direct Law, Abnormal Law etc. Does the FSLA320 take all of these Laws into consideration?

-(LEFTERIS) Absolutely. It wouldn't be an A320 simulation otherwise. While other similarly titled products already in the market claim to offer some of these laws, your readers will quickly find that it is only our A320-X that features complete and accurate simulation of all Flight Control Computers (ELAC, SEC, FAC) which govern how the aircraft will be flown at any given time. While I cannot go into any comparisons in features such as alpha prot / alpha floor, dynamic pitch and roll control, etc (they would be quite unflattering to the competition), I'd like to underline the complexity of these systems was such that it took over two years to program the simulation of those three computers alone.

6. After reviewing a few news updates that were released during the development of the A320, mention was made of the fact that the performance of the engines were very close to the real world aircraft. Can you tell us how you were able to achieve such an accurate engine simulation without being hindered by FSX limitations? For example, FSX has long been plagued with issues such as ground friction and the incorrect simulation of icing conditions and the effect it has on an engine. Is the A320 limited by these issues?

-(LEFTERIS) Obviously, I need to keep some details close to the vest here, but I can say that when we initially tried using the default FSX engine model, we quickly ran into a dead-end given its constraining simplifications. As such, we turned into techniques that are modeled outside of FSX itself to accurately model the flight and engine characteristics found in the A320. Default FSX thrust and drag parameters are ignored in favor or a very complex simulation model that ultimately provides the appropriate calculations to run the engine numbers that match their real world counterparts. As far as ground friction is concerned, we went into the FSX code itself to find and replace the internal tables which control it so that each surface is correctly providing the friction model required.

7. In details on the release of the A320, it was mentioned that DX10 would be the best option for using this aircraft. Can you tell us why FSX along with DX10 is the recommended setup for using the A320?

-(LEFTERIS) It is generally common knowledge that FSX was coded to use DirectX 9 and that there is an option for a "DirectX 10 preview", which was put in place because FSX was prematurely released without a full conversion into DX10. This left several aspects of the simulation incomplete when DX10 was selected, so simmers were advised to not use DX10 at all, as it would cause several issues (incorrect shadowing, many visible glitches with scenery etc).
What is not so common knowledge is that memory management is a lot more efficient in DX10 than in DX9, leaving more VAS available for use by scenery and aircraft add-ons. Also, performance is significantly better with DX10 (if same graphics settings are selected). These two advantages, combined with the availability of Steve Parsons' "DX10Fixer" utility which fixes most of the issues found with DX10, make us recommend it over DX9 for the A320-X. One small example of this would be the Virtual Cockpit view, complete with amazing shadows and crispness that DX9 just fails to provide.

8. On the topic of Performance, was it quite a challenge to offer such a complex simulation that didn’t significantly have an impact on VAS and framerates?

-(LEFTERIS) And then some. A product of the A320-X complexity is orders of magnitude more difficult to produce than anything that does not have the word "Airbus" on it. The easier it is for the pilot to fly and control, the more protections an aircraft provides for safety, the more complex it becomes to program as there are several layers of variability that come into play that need to be coded into the computer simulation. While I have lots of respect for our competitors, I'd like to point out that it's not a coincidence no other company has ever successfully produced a full A320 simulation before - one came close but they eventually went out of business because of its complexity. It took us six long years to be able to not only code all the intricately interconnected systems of the aircraft but also do so in a way that wouldn't make the average simmer computer come crawling to its knees. Very advanced programming techniques have been developed that take full advantage of multi-threading systems operations so that all available processing power is used, despite an underlying simulator platform that was inherently single-threaded in its design and is definitely showing its aging problems.

9. Now that the A320 is completed, will there be a long wait to enjoy other variants of the A320 family such as the A319 and A321? Also, will there be any expansions that add more airline specific options to the A320 such as the Sat-Dome, and Sharklets?

-(LEFTERIS) I have a more detailed road map laid out for our customers in our FSLabs Support forums (http://forums.flightsimlabs.com), but in a nutshell, we're looking at the following milestones in general:

- General Release of the A320-X for FSX (done)

- General Release of the A320-X for P3D (same complexity level and details as FSX)

- Updates for the A320-X to allow some secondary missing items to be included (SEC FPLN, etc)

- Release of other variants (A319 / A321 / A318)

- Release of sharklet variants

- Release of Professional version of A320-X for P3D (different target market as it will be a training environment complete with instructor stations etc)

The latter three releases are not necessarily going to happen "in series" as they can be developed in parallel and are already in different stages of completion.

10. With regard to your target user, would you say that the A320X is a product for everyone or is it mostly targeted at advanced simulator enthusiast and persons with real world experience?

-(LEFTERIS) We think that the A320-X is a product for everyone who loves having total immersion in an advanced aircraft such as the Airbus family provide. While it's not an aircraft that a virtual pilot would sit in, turn the key and go flying in five minutes, we're very confident that as long as the simmer reads the tutorial flight documentation and follows the appropriate steps in it, they will easily start to understand what it really feels to fly like a professional. At the same time, our A320-X provides so much detail that professionals globally are already offering accolades on how the handling of a desktop simulated aircraft feels exactly like its real world counterpart - so much so that some of them are already using it to prepare for their Class D Sim sessions.

11. Judging from the reacts thus far, it seems like the FS community is extremely pleased with the FSL A320. Many are very curious as to whether FSLabs will continue to develop more Airbus aircraft such as the A330, A340 or even an A380. It is obvious that such plans cannot be discussed openly at this point, but is there anything you can share on the future of FSLabs and what we can expect as far as future releases are concerned?

-(LEFTERIS) As long as our customers are happy with our work, we'll continue offering new and more exciting products for the simulation market. We are already aware there are different simulation platforms being developed that will be 64-bit and take advantage of modern technologies, so all we can say is: The sky is the limit!

12. Finally, are there any thoughts you would like to share with the FS community about the A320 that may be overlooked or any thoughts on the type of support potential customers can expect to receive? 

-(LEFTERIS) You'll catch me repeating this time and again in our support forums: We at FSLabs are not after a sale and the income it provides. First and foremost, we are simmers ourselves. As such, we want to be able to get as much enjoyment from flying our products as we get from developing them, so support of our customers is of paramount importance in our minds. In fact, those few of our customers who had some teething problems with the A320-X in its early adopter stage were amazed by the swift and immediate help they received, most of the time to fix issues that were not even our products' fault.
Our support staff is working 24/7 to provide help - they go above and beyond, not refusing help even when customers have issues with their Windows installations or have misbehaving simulator platforms (especially when FSX legacy was mixed with the FSX Steam editions etc).
People keep asking me: How do you have time to run remote sessions on our computers when you have a company to run? My answer is simple: You are what makes our company run, so making sure you're happy is exactly what I need to ensure our company runs well. The biggest mistake I could make would be to step on a pedestal and pretend I am too important to help anyone, or belittle people with my comments. Our customers need to know we're all exactly like them... we love simming and we'll do everything we can to allow our hobby to grow.

We certainly would like to thank Lefteris for his insight into the A320-X and FSLabs. Where many have tried and failed, FSLabs has kept up the momentum throughout the past 6 years to develop a product that is the true definition of a “game changer”. For those of you who are moved by visuals rather than text, here is a video preview of the A320-X that nicely introduces this complex aircraft to the sim community.

Preview Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OhhAMsayu8

INSTALLATION &MANUALS

After reviewing many aircraft add-ons over the years, at times I would forgo discussing the installation process since it has become a relatively simple process. While the FSL A320-X has an easy to follow installation, it is far from what we have come to know. The installation files come in two parts. One is labelled Resources and the other is labeled Binary. At first it was a bit puzzling seeing two installation files but later the wisdom of this was made clear since it allows updates to be made without always having to fully reinstall the product. For information on the proper installation procedures, please see this forum post HERE.

After the product is installed, it is recommended that you read through the manuals that are provided. Unlike previous Concorde-X release (which is also an outstanding product), the manuals that accompany the A320-X are somewhat simplified and they center around a flight tutorial, setup and flying procedures. The manuals are very comprehensive and by reading them in advance, you will eliminate any chance of mishaps on your first flight. If I had to pick the document that I consulted the most, it would have to be the Normal Procedures manual which perfectly outlines the way in which the A320 is to be operated. If you consider yourself to be an avid Airbus virtual pilot, this manual will be useful in correcting some of the incorrect procedures we may have picked up along the way. It not only explains which procedures are to be followed, but it also explains why. Given the complexity of the product, knowing the why aspect of flying the A320 is crucial if you wish to avoid faults or failures of any nature.  As a supplement to these manuals, I would also encourage users to frequently visit the FSLabs forum where many interesting topics on the A320 are discussed by avid users, the developers and real A320 pilots.

Another process that we may easily take for granted is the selection and loading of the aircraft after starting up FSX. Once again, due to the complexity of this product, there are very specific instructions that are recommended for loading the aircraft correctly. For details on the recommended step to load the A320-X in FSX/FSX SE, please click HERE.

Once this is completed, it’s now time to have our first look at the aircraft.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

EXTERIOR

Normally I would start off an aircraft review by focusing on the interior details, but this time we’ll be taking a look at the exterior of the aircraft by means of an aircraft walkaround. The Normal Procedures manual included with this product has a detailed explanation on the exterior walkaround inspection and we will be following this document as our guide to getting familiar with this aircraft. As we move around the aircraft to inspect items such as the AOA probes, Static Ports, inlet valves, Nose gear assembly and engine blades to name a few, it becomes quickly apparent that FSLabs has spent a significant amount of time ensuring that the exterior model was very detailed. Some of the features I especially enjoyed were the engine blade animation as it slowly spun with the influence of the surface winds. This animation was so detailed that the direction of the spinning blades were dependent on the direction of the wind! Another fascinating feature of the exterior model is that areas such as the landing gear bay, flap hinges and even the dual navigation lights were modeled or textured to an exceptional level of detail that many aircraft developers shy away from. Finally, an impressive feat that FSLabs was able to achieve is to allow users to actually read some of the small writings on the fuselage and engine. Why is this so significant? Well in the past when using most aircraft add-ons, detail was given to the most observable aspects of the exterior and the more you zoom in on areas such as the static ports or the engine panels that have text, they quickly become blurry and undiscernible. As you will see with some of the screenshots below, the FSL A320’s exterior textures are very high in quality and no matter how much you zoom into specific areas, the text never becomes blurry and they are clearly readable. Here are a few screenshots that nicely showcases the stunning exterior of this aircraft.

Clear text on the fuselage

INTERIOR

As we get into the cockpit of the A320, it’s clear to see that a significant amount of research went into the modeling of this cockpit. While there will always be differing opinions on which Airbus product has the best looking cockpit, it is my opinion that FSLabs did a fantastic job in the modeling and texturing of the virtual cockpit. While I’ve never personally sat in the cockpit of an A320, I’ve seen sufficient photos and videos to indicate that the accuracy of the cockpit was spot on with the windows and panels all being perfectly proportioned. Buttons, switches and knobs have all been modeled with no “dummy” switches than turn on and off without actually performing a function on the aircraft. In fact, the only part of this aircraft that doesn’t have a modeled switch or knob is the circuit breaker panel (for now at least...) This isn’t to say however that the systems do not support having working circuit breakers but we will find out more on this later… ;)

As we continue to move around the virtual cockpit, we can see that in addition to the accurate layout, we also have a host of animations which include the storable tables for both pilots, moving tiller, rudder pedals (rudder and brakes) adjustable seats, sun shades and side windows that can be opened. The cockpit displays are very clear and the information that is displayed is easy to read. As far as lighting is concerned, the lighting switches all work and this allows the user to fully control the level of lighting they wish to have in the cockpit. With the aid of the Spotlights program from FSL, the lighting detail is taken to another level with a very realistic 3D lighting effect for the flood lights. If you wish to fully benefit from the superb lighting of the FSL A320, the Spotlight program is a must have.

I mentioned previously that the textures in the virtual cockpit were outstanding. While everyone may not agree on this topic, I can honestly say that the individual charged with the responsibility of adding textures to the cockpit deserves high commendation. Replicating the look of an airbus cockpit isn’t a very easy task since many can’t seem to agree on the exact color. The textures used in the virtual cockpit seems to be a blend of both real and custom textures, but the end result is a cockpit that presents itself as being authentic. An added touch that I also took note of was the way lighting effects had an impact of the textures. The simple task of increasing the brightness of the displays would also result in a slight reflection on the underside of the glareshield. Another plus is that the cockpit textures come in various levels of detail. One can choose to have standard textures or have textures as high as 4096 for the best possible visual experience. For those of you using DX10, you will also enjoy the stunning cockpit shadows that add another element of realism to this product.

On a final note, many users often voice their preference for 2D panels vs the VC only option we have grown used to. If you prefer 2D panels, you will be happy to know that this option is also available during the installation process. The 2D panels that accompany this product are all high quality and the display clarity is outstanding. To sum things up, FSLabs has done an outstanding job with the interior of this aircraft and I can guarantee that you will be impressed. Here are a few screenshots for your viewing pleasure.

GROUND SCHOOL

Before we jump into the flight report, there are a few things we need to clear up. It has become our habit at times to associate the way an aircraft should work with the way previous aircraft add-ons have always worked. While in some cases this is somewhat true for Boeing aircraft, the A320 is a whole new animal that deserves a fresh perspective. If you are a simulator enthusiast who is familiar with add-ons that simulate the 737, 777 or 747, it might be easy to assume that the A320 will be a walk in the park or perhaps too easy to fly due to its automation. However, this perspective is largely due to previous Airbus add-ons that have overly simplified the design of the systems of the A320. As you would have noted from our interview with the developers of the A320-X, this aircraft sets a new standard when it comes to accurate systems and it also has a host of new features never seen in the Flight Simulation world. For example, let’s have a brief look at just three (3) outstanding features of this aircraft and then we will hop into the flight deck for a test flight.

FLY-BY-WIRE

The Fly-By-Wire (FBW) system of the A320 was undoubtedly a significant step forward in aircraft design. In the past, muscle power was the only requirement needed for moving the control surfaces of an aircraft. As aircraft grew larger, sheer human strength was no longer enough to effectively control an aircraft. As a result, solutions such as wheels and pulleys, electrical servos and hydraulically powered control surfaces came into existence. While these solutions worked well, they still required numerous mechanical linkages and ultimately added more weight to the aircraft. It also resulted in more maintenance cost which airlines are always eager to reduce. With the introduction of the A320 however, these mechanical linkages were replaced by electrical wiring and the need for large control columns were no longer necessary. While older airbus models had the typical flight yoke (A300 B2), the A320 featured a side stick which many Airbus pilots favor in comparison to the traditional control column.

With the A320 introducing commercial aviation to FBW technology, many have misunderstood how advantageous such a design would be to the industry. Far from disconnecting the pilot from the aircraft, the FBW system provides the pilot with full control of the aircraft while adding safety features or protection laws that enhance safety. The Electronic Flight Control System (Which basically makes up the FBW system) is made up of various modes or laws. For example, we have Normal Law, Alternate Law, Direct Law and Mechanical Backup. How do these Laws work? Let’s have a closer look at how they work and why they are important. Before we begin, let me first of all say that I am not an A320 pilot and the information I am about to present is purely based on my research.

As a starting point, Normal Law can simply be described as a mode that provides protection against Stalls, Excessive load factors, High Speed etc. Its operation is dependent on your phase of flight and it will command various functions while either in Ground Mode, Flight Mode or Flare Mode. In the event of multiple failures of the redundant systems, Normal Law will degrade to Alternate Law. While Alternate Law offers the same level protection in Ground Mode as Normal Law, this is where the similarities end. Under Alternate Law, the protections offered while in Flight Mode are far less than what is offered in Normal Law. For example, the Alpha Floor function, turn coordination, automatic pitch trim and yaw damping are all either limited or completely lost. Contrary to those who believe that an A320 cannot stall, while in Alternate Law, the aircraft can indeed be stalled due to the low speed stability function that replaces the normal AOA protection.

Direct Law is the lowest level of computer flight control and it offers little to no flight control protections. Direct Law is typically active if the aircraft experiences multiple failures and the aircraft basically flies like a conventional aircraft with the pilot having a more hands-on direct relationship between the side stick and the control surfaces. If the flight controls degrade to Alternate Law, Direct Law automatically becomes active when the landing gear is extended and if no autopilot is engaged. Finally, if there is a complete loss of electrical flight control signals the system degrades to Mechanical backup. The Mechanical backup basically means that pitch is controlled by using the manual trip wheel and lateral control is maintained by using the rudder pedals which both require hydraulic power.

By now, if you haven’t been bored to death with these technical details, you would have realized that there is much more to an A320 than we once thought. The FBW system is a superb marvel of engineering and knowing how it functions is essential to correctly operating the aircraft under both normal and abnormal situations. While it’s nice to know a little about the real aircraft, how does the FSL A320 match up?

Here is an excerpt from a post made by the developer on the EFCS that may answer this question.

“The Electronic Flight Control System (EFCS) has been modeled in its entirety (Normal Law, Alternate Law, Direct Law and Mechanical Backup), and we’ve carried out extensive testing to ensure that it's modeled to within a very narrow margin of the real thing, using data collected from the real aircraft to fine tune every characteristic. From the calculated speeds computed by the Flight Augmentation Computer, to the C* (C Star) law that uses various algorithms with pitch rate and g load depending on the speed of the aircraft. By taking areas of the default flight model away from FSX and tailoring the simulation characteristics to meet our requirements, we’ve been able to design and implement complex control loops that simulate with accuracy, the fly-by-wire system found on the A320.”

http://forums.flightsimlabs.com/index.php?/topic/4490-the-a320-a-medium-ish-update/

Here we see that the FSL A320’s FBW system is a near perfect replica of the real aircraft in the operation of its EFCS and this basically means that FSX and P3D users will indeed have their hands full when flying this aircraft.

ELECTRICAL AND FUEL SYSTEM

The Electrical System can easily be described as the life blood of the A320. How was it designed in the A320-X? Well in the past, most developers gave little attention to the electrical system other than following the concept of “this button turns on this feature and this switch turns of this light.” With the A320-X, the developers took a completely different approach that resulted in the most immersive experience when using the aircraft. In contrast to the previously mentioned coding where a switch simply commands a light, message or animation, the developers took the time to virtually model nearly each component of this aircrafts electrical system. The end result is that each component communicates with each other in order to achieve a simulation that is highly accurate.

The A320-X has about 60,000 electrical connections for components with relays, switches and servos included. To add the icing on the cake so to speak, the communication between all electrical components are via ARINC 429 protocol variables. ARINC 429 is a data transfer standard for aircraft avionics and for the first time this is also included in the A320-X. What does this mean? Well in theory it means that you can connect hardware components to the A320-X and it will work correctly. This feature isn’t offered in the Entertainment version of the A320 but stay tuned for further news on this feature.  It’s hard to imagine that the coders were able to pack so much in to this product, but at least we can understand why this aircraft took some 6 years to complete. From what we’ve seen thus far, this aircraft is as close to the real aircraft as can be not just from a visual perspective, but also with respect to the components and electrical connections that allow the aircraft to function.

Finally, let’s have a quick look at the Fuel System. I’m sure many of you may be wondering “what’s so exceptional about the fuel system?”In the past and perhaps even currently, some developers have already simulated very complex fuel systems for aircraft such as the 737, 747 and FSLabs has also done so with the Concorde X. What makes the A320-X exceptional? Here is an excerpt from a post made by Andrew Wilson on the fuel system.

(AW) I've mentioned before that we've designed a fluid dynamics simulation to model aircraft fuel, bleed air and hydraulics - it is actually adapted from a similar model we use to simulate electric current throughout the aircraft. This system allows us to simulate, for example, an accurate model of fuel pressure and temperature propagation through the aircraft.

What we're also doing is simulating our fuel tanks in 3 dimensions. Most aircraft products for MSFS only simulate a fuel tank using the default coordinate system that FSX provides. Our fuel tanks on the A320-X are more than just a point in space, we actually calculate where the fuel is inside the tank - how it reacts to pitch, roll and acceleration.

Why have we done this? Well - the A320 fuel system comprises of around 30 fuel sensors (all of which are modeled), and their resistance is measured by the Fuel Level Sensing Control Units. From this resistance the FLSCUs can deduce if the sensor is wet or dry and through a series of logic gates, controls various valves in the fuel system. Such valves include the wing tank transfer valves that latch open to allow the transfer of fuel from the outer wing tanks, to the inner wing tanks where the main fuel pumps feed the engines. The logic gates in the FLSCUs command the transfer valves to open if any one of the inner wing tank low level sensors becomes dry.

Now here's where it gets interesting and where our 3D fuel tanks come into play: two of the fuel low level sensors are situated on the rear spar of the wing inside the inner wing tank. If the aircraft pitches down, for example at top of descent and the fuel level in the inner wing tank is within a few hundred kilos of the low level, there is a good chance that the sensors on the rear spar will become dry and the FLSCUs will command the wing transfer valves to latch open early.

This isn't documented in the FCOM or AMM; but it occurs quite often on the real aircraft. And because we have modeled the Flight Sim Labs A320-X in such intricate detail, you can expect to see the same thing happen in our simulation.

Source- http://forums.flightsimlabs.com/index.php?/topic/4016-a320-x-fuel-system/

With simulated sensors, 3D fuel tanks and simulated fluid dynamics it’s clear to see that the A320-X is in a class of its own that includes features only an avid flight simulator enthusiast would truly appreciate.

Now that we’ve gotten some of the technical subjects out of the way and have dismissed the “boring Airbus” mentality, let’s move on to the Test Flight segment of our review. In the following segment we will see how many of these features work and learn more about why this product is truly ground breaking.

TEST FLIGHT

For the purpose of this test flight, I chose to fly a series of flights using both variants of the A320 while flying to airports such as KSAN, KSNA, KDEN, KMEM and EGLL. Each flight followed the same procedures that are typical of a commercial flight and it nicely showcases the performance of the aircraft through a wide range of airports and interesting approach procedures. Here are some of my personal highlights from each phase of flight.

LOADING AND SETUP

When loading up the A320, it’s important to follow the recommended steps of loading a default aircraft like the Trike and completely shutting down the aircraft. The A320 is a very complex add-on and loading the aircraft after using other add-ons can cause issues. When the aircraftis fully loaded, it will be in a cold and dark condition and it is now up to you to follow the checklist for the first flight of the day checks and to watch how the aircraft comes to life.

During the power up process, the first signs of how accurately the systems of the aircraft were programmed are very apparent. The manner in which the displays loaded matched the loading sequence of the real aircraft with a high level of accuracy. This remarkable level of detail in the powering up of the aircraft was a good indication of things to come. While on the topic of powering up the aircraft, with many other add-ons it is common to sit in the virtual cockpit and hear the startup of the APU. However, with the real A320, the APU startup is not heard in the cockpit in real life and the same is true of the A320-X. Does this mean that there is no APU sound? Not at all, in fact, if you were to change your view to the exterior aircraft view or pan your view to the rear of the aircraft, you will distinctly here the start-up of the APU. While I would love to discuss more about the sound aspect of this aircraft, this deserves a section of its own and we will discuss more on this topic later.

In the meanwhile, let’s have a look at some of the MCDU functions as we setup our controls and loading our flight data.

As mentioned in the documentation section of our review, this product comes with a manual on how to correctly setup your controls to have the most immersive and realistic experience. The most important features of this aircraft that should be correctly setup are the side stick, throttle and new Tiller feature. By using the control options in the MCDU, you will be able to correctly configure your throttle range for the manual and detent range of the throttle system. In addition to this, there are a few recommended settings to be implemented to ensure that your flight control responds in a similar manner to the real A320. The new Tiller feature allows users to have a realistic taxi experience by using a separate control axis that can be configured via FSUIPC or through the MCDU. To find out more on how the NWS is setup, I encourage you to read the manuals thoroughly since your hardware will determine which setup is best for you.

For those of you who are wondering if you can still use your keyboard to control the throttles and rudder pedals, the answer is yes, but as with all things on this aircraft, the keyboard functions have been modified. For example, if you want to control your throttles, it’s important to note that the familiar manner in which we use the F1-F4 keys have been adjusted. The F1 and F4 key is used to move the thrust levers from one detent to the next, while the F2 and F3 keys are used to move the thrust levers between the detents in a smooth manner. These features were an impressive addition that takes into consideration the varying hardware that FSX users may or may not have. Ultimately, it ensures that everyone has an enjoyable experience while using this product.

In addition to the control configuration features, the MCDU also has options to adjust units of measurements, fuel, payload, ADIRUS alignment time, arm failures and select whether you are flying from the Captain’s seat or the F.O’s seat. While there are many other options, out of all these features the one I was most puzzled by was the Seat Selection feature. However my moment of bewilderment was short lived after realizing that this was actually a brilliant idea. In the A320, the pilot flying (PF) has what’s called control authority. This means that whenever the PF moves his sidestick, the sidestick for the PNF remains neutral. By having a seat selection option, users can decide whether they wish to fly as the Captain or First Officer and the corresponding sidestick will be animated. It’s important to note that this feature doesn’t change your viewpoint in the VC and it is purely an option to more or less select which side has control authority. With most of the unconventional features of the MCDU covered, another interesting aspect of the MCDU we will discuss is the flightplan loading.

For loading your flightplan, many of us make use of the popular PFPX program (or similar) which plans and exports our flightplan directly to the aircraft if your add-on supports it. If you use PFPX, you will be happy to know that FSLabs has also provided aircraft profiles for the IAE and CFM A320 models via their forums. By using these profiles, it will improve the overall accuracy of your flight planning while using PFPX. While PFPX has become an essential tool for flight sim enthusiasts, its only drawback is keeping up to date with new add-ons and providing flightplan export capabilities. What FSLabs has done in this case, was perhaps the most innovative idea to ensure flightplan exporting is available from day one. After the flightplan has been released, the print function is used to export the flightplan directly to the left of right MCDU. What about other details such as fuel and payload? Well the MCDU can also be used to adjust these variables along with an addition application for realistic fuel loading. The fuel application is an external program that can be loaded on your PC or Tablet and be used to load fuel just as in the real world with a real world fuel panel interface. A similar application is also available for the MCDU and these are features you will find very impressive.

After the passengers, cargo and fuel are loaded the remainder of our MCDU setup most involves entering and confirming our performance and all other necessary data for our flight. The level of detail seen in the MCDU is quite remarkable and it is a step up from what we’ve grown used to seeing with previous Airbus add-ons that offer limited capabilities. In addition to the advanced features, a simple but important feature is that the MCDU actually has the correct fonts and the displays themselves are very easy to read from the VC and 2D panel. Having the correct fonts and LCD display has long been an area where many developers take shortcuts. In this case, FSLabs has proven that their aim is to achieve an all-around high quality product. After setting up the MCDU, it’s now time for us to bring this aircraft to life by starting the engines.

ENGINE START AND TAXI

The engine start up procedure of the A320 is a relatively easy process given the fact that it’s automated. But before the engine startup, we obviously have to push-back the aircraft from the gate. How is this handled? Well if you are a user of GSX, you will be happy to know that the A320-X is fully compatible. If you don’t use GSX, you can always use the default “Shift+P” command to push-back the aircraft from the gate. During the pushback process, a virtual pilot has much more to consider before commencing the engine startup process. For example, are the throttle levers at IDLE? Which engine should you start first, ENG 1 or ENG 2? If you are at a high altitude airport, will you have to use the manual start if there isn’t enough starter inlet pressure?

Here we can see that knowing how the systems of this aircraft work is crucial to having a successful engine start. Since ENG 2 powers the yellow hydraulic system which is linked to the Parking Brake, it is recommended that you start engine 2 first so that you will have adequate hydraulic pressure to apply your parking brake. With the IAE model this may be especially beneficial since the engines take much longer to start up in comparison to the CFM model. Another interesting aspect of this process is that if the second engine is started within 40 seconds following the end of the cargo door operation, a PTU fault may be triggered. These quirks are all characteristics of the real A320 and they have all been programmed into the A320-X.

What about the PTU or Barking Dog? For those of you who are not familiar with the PTU, it is known as the Power Transfer Unit. It basically allows the yellow system to pressurize the green system and vice versa. In the real A320, the PTU cannot be heard from the cockpit, but in the A320-X, if you change your view to the cabin of the aircraft, the PTU can be heard during the startup process.

When it comes to taxiing the aircraft, the A320-X has two very unique features/capabilities. The first of these features that I would like to highlight is the Tiller control that allows the user to control the nose wheel steering of the aircraft with a separate control axis. If you use a joystick that has a Z axis, it is suggested that this axis can be used to control the Tiller. The Tiller simulation was smooth and it made taxiing the aircraft a pleasurable and realistic experience. Another aspect of the taxi simulation is that ground friction issues are now nonexistent. We are all well aware of the issues with FSX where it required large amounts of thrust to get the aircraft moving and sometimes to keep it moving. With the A320-X, little to power is needed to get the aircraft moving and the braking simulation is perhaps one of the most realistic of any add-on (we will discuss more on this in our landing segment of this review).

The second feature that was perfectly executed is the ability to do a single engine taxi. For some airlines it may be practical to do a single engine taxi in order to save fuel and if you truly want to fly by the books so to speak, you can rest assured that this feature works perfectly with asymmetric thrust being an insignificant factor in remaining on the centerline. Speaking of the centerline, let’s line up on the runway to discuss some of the highlights of the A320-X during the takeoff through cruise phase.

TAKEOFF/CLIMB

After years of using FSX, it may become all too easy to treat all aircraft the same when it comes to the takeoff portion of your flight. After lining up on the runway, we apply full throttle, engage AT and pull back on the yoke when we get to VR. The default FSX and some add-ons aircraft have overly simplified this phase of flight and have also molded us into the habit of paying little attention to what is happening with our aircraft instruments. The A320-X is an aircraft that is very detailed and it requires ones full attention just as in real life. What are some of the things a virtual pilot will have to keep in mind during the departure? Well first of all, are you at a high altitude airport? Will you need to use the anti-ice system? Are you planning to takeoff with the APU on? What indications should you monitor on the PFD during the takeoff run and why? The fact that we have to consider all of these factors was a significant highlight of this aircraft and I personally enjoyed the fact that it forces you to be a more focused virtual pilot.

As an example, one of my many flights with the A320-X featured a high altitude operation out of KDEN. In addition to operating out of a high altitude airport, the aircraft was also fully loaded for a flight to KSAN. This meant that in order to achieve the best takeoff performance, I would have to give consideration to doing a PACKS off departure in addition to whether I would use TOGA or FLEX thrust. Also, if passenger comfort was a concern I would also have to give consideration to using the APU to provide air conditioning. Under these circumstances, if there were also factors such as Icing, it would be essential to be aware of the fact that using the APU is prohibited when the wing anti-ice is used.

Why are we focused on all of these details? Ultimately, the detail of this aircraft is one where all of these factors WILL affect your takeoff performance. After applying TOGA thrust and accelerating down the runway, some of the things a virtual pilot has to monitor are the FMA indications such as MAN FLEX, MAN TOGA and SRS. Why are these indications important? Well this will confirm that the systems are functioning correctly and that the thrust settings are correct. The SRS (Speed Reference System) indication basically manages your speed by changing pitch commands during takeoff and GA. We won’t go into too much detail on this system but it is essential to know that since it provides attitude and vertical path protection, it is a system you will want to ensure is active during the takeoff phase of your flight.

During the Climb phase, Airbus aircraft differ from Boeing in that you are required to manually move the thrust levers to the CLB detent when the aircraft reaches its thrust reduction altitude. At this point, if you’ve decided to depart with PACKS off, this is the recommended time to engage PACK 1. If packs are turned on before thrust reduction, it will result in an EGT increase and ultimately it will put more wear and tear on your engines. Interestingly, it is after the flaps are retracted that PACK 2 is turned on but with passenger comfort in mind, you may want to do this as soon as is practical. Initially I thought that the operation of the packs was an insignificant aspect of operating the aircraft and that all I needed to remember was to either turn them on or off. However, according to one of the developers, the PACKS were fully simulated. What does this mean? Well it means that the Air Cycle Machine, Condenser, Reheater, Fan Plenum, Primary Heat Exchanger, Main Heat Exchanger and Water Extractor were all simulated! This means that the effects of using or not using this system correctly will have a definite effect on your aircraft and the ECAM cautions that may be triggered.

So far we’ve seen that there is much more involved during the takeoff phase than we once though. Far from being a “set it and forget it” type aircraft; the A320-X is an aircraft that requires constant monitoring by the pilot during the takeoff. While on the topic of Takeoff, it would be remiss if we did not discuss the handling of the aircraft while on the ground and hand flying. Although it is strongly recommended that you have separate rudder controls, the A320-X can also be easily controlled using the keyboard rudder commands if necessary. While accelerating down the runway, the aircraft requires rudder inputs to remain on the centerline and in my experience the controls were very smooth and effective even with strong crosswinds. After a positive rate of climb is confirmed, this is where the fun really begins. As noted earlier, the FBW system of this aircraft took some 2 years to fine tune and this has resulted in a flying experience that is unlike any other. From my own experience using a Saitek ST-90, I found that the hand flying characteristics of this aircraft were perhaps the best I have experienced yet. The aircraft reacts smoothly to inputs while maintaining FBW protections and the thrill of flying this aircraft by hand will undoubtedly leave a smile on your face.

As a final word on the topic of handling, some may wonder whether the handling of the aircraft will be affected by the type of controller you have. Early in the development of this product I asked this very question on the FSL forums and the response from the developers hinted that the design of the FBW system would ensure an authentic flying experience that is as close to the real aircraft as possible regardless of your controller. Obviously, using your keyboard to fly this aircraft may not yield the best results but it is highly recommended that you use a joystick. If you are wondering which joystick is best suited or as close to the real thing in terms of overall feel, there are numerous discussions on this topic over at the FSL forums. There is so much more we can discuss on just the takeoff and climb aspects of this aircraft that are truly remarkable, but I will try to leave some of these surprises for you to discover on your own.

CRUISE

During the cruise phase of any flight, it is general a time where pilots have a reduced workload and it may even allow them the opportunity to chat about varying topics. In this case, the cruise phase of flying within FSX will offer us the opportunity to explore and discuss some of the systems and features of the A320-X.

You would have noticed that throughout this review there isn’t an official features listing and this is largely due to the fact that there are just too many features to have an official list. The design of this aircraft all started from the very components and electrical connections of each system and it has resulted in a dynamic simulation that reacts to pilot operation and the environment. Over the past month or so, I have personally seen just how dynamic this aircraft can be after experiencing pressurization issues, fuel issues and an APU fault. With an ever curious mind I was puzzled as to why these issues occurred since I followed the checklist to the best of my ability. However, after having a chat with Lefteris about these failures, I was told that there are certain failures that are either a result of user misconfiguration, user "trigger-happiness" (not waiting enough time between actions as per real world), or real-time weather conditions. There are also some failures that are service-based, in that they can happen as infrequently as they appear in the real world (hydraulic reservoir leaks, etc.).

Given the fact that we are dealing with an aircraft that seems to have no limits as far as systems depth is concerned, it was quite difficult to single out features to be highlighted. However, if I had to choose my personal top 4 features, I would begin with the Sound Package that comes with the A320-X.

Earlier in our flight test report I alluded to a few systems such as the APU startup and PTU which offered sounds that can only be heard based on your position. This feature was especially intriguing to me as I had grown used to hearing everything from the cockpit of nearly all aircraft add-ons. How was FSL able to achieve this new 3D sound package? Here’s what Lefteris had to say:

“We have implemented an all-new three-dimensional sound system which allows us to play sounds that can be "located" at the sound source itself. For example, the PTU sound (the very characteristic "dog bark" that is such a trademark of the A320) is "located" in the underbelly of the aircraft, so moving the camera towards / or away from the PTU will actually increase or reduce the loudness of the PTU bark volume. Same is true with all our sounds - external and internal. This sound engine is not dependent on FSX itself so the same feature will be applicable on the P3D release as well.”

This feature is indeed a step in the right direction that all developers should consider. For far too long, the sound packages that come with various add-ons have lacked realism in this regard and after using the FSL A320, it would be very difficult for users to accept anything less. Apart from the 3D sound feature, it also goes without saying that the sound package for the CFM and IAE versions are both very unique and realistic from an interior and exterior perspective at all thrust levels. With regard to the avionics and bleed air system, as you power up the aircraft you can actually hear the various systems come alive. This immersion of sound also includes the change in electrical hum as power is changed from ground power to APU power! On a final note, the high definition sound package also covers wind noise, switches, buttons and all animations within the virtual cockpit. For anyone who is critical of sound, this aircraft will surely impress you.

The second feature I particularly liked may seem insignificant, but I find it equally important as a good sound package. The Effects and Lighting of the A320-X are thorough and absolutely outstanding. The virtual cockpit offers individual lighting controls that cover the integral and flood lighting. While the integral lighting was fairly standard, the flood lighting was unique in that it made use of the FSL Spotlights add-on that creates the most realistic 3D lighting available for FSX/P3D. Without this program the flood light feature will not be available, but thankfully FSL Spotlights is free to anyone using FSLab aircraft so there is no reason to worry about any extra cost. Exterior lighting is also an important feature for any aircraft add-on. After flying numerous night flights I was extremely impressed with the high quality programming that went into the landing and taxi lights. These effects were very realistic in appearance and operation while accurately illuminating the fuselage of the aircraft. As an addition point, in the past I once thought that the 2 positions of the NAV/LOGO switch on the overhead panel controlled the navigation lights and logo lights separately. After doing some research, I soon realized that this switch actually controls both lights in both positions. Selection 1 or 2 simply utilizes a pair of redundant navigation lights in the event that one isn’t working. The logo light is always on and is automatically turned off when very specific conditions are met such as when the flaps are up or when the landing gear isn’t compressed. Again, this level of detail has been nicely included in the A320-X and it will truly enhance your night time flying experience.

The Effects that come with the A320-X is another outstanding feature of this aircraft. For those of you familiar with developers such as FSFX, you may be familiar with their immersion products that add various effects such as wing condensation, water spray effects and more to specific add-ons. While such a package isn’t available for the A320-X, FSLabs has included a few amazing effect of their own. Included with this aircraft are APU hot air effects, engine hot air exhaust and water spray from the thrust generated by the engines on wet runways! These effects might mean very little to some users, but to avid simmers these effects are the icing on the cake as far as features are concerned.

Our third feature to be highlighted is the Terrain and Weather Radar. The ability to show terrain data on navigation displays isn’t an entirely new feature to most advanced add-ons. While I am not a programmer, I can only assume that the approach taken in developing this feature may vary among developers and the level of accuracy may also vary. With regard to the Weather Radar, while this is also a feature that isn’t entirely new, it is a feature that has been the source of controversy among simmers and developers, who have called it’s accuracy into question. What has FSLabs done to ensure that these features are of the highest fidelity? Here’s what Lefteris had to say.

“Both systems were modeled exactly like the real world counterparts. So much so that we recreated the logic found in the filed US Patents that describe the mechanism behind reception, image rendering and representation for each of the drawing mechanisms. The work is done in separate back buffered threads so that it can appear layered within the Nav Display.

For the terrain, we purchased and merged several database sources to allow for various levels of detail (different data exist for 640nm range than for 40nm range, for example, without the need for downsampling like other add-ons, which suffer signal degradation).

For the weather radar, we worked very closely together with HiFi Simulations and are continuing to do so in an effort to constantly improve our rendering mechanism. Especially with Active Sky 2016, your readers will find there are some updates coming which allow precipitation image capturing to be as accurate as in the real world. In our upcoming updates, we're also going to be introducing cloud shadowing, something long desired in the simming world.”

From the above statement, it is clear to see that FSLabs wasn’t “all talk” when they said each component is simulated. As you view the screenshots below, you will see that the quality of the Terrain and Weather Radar are quite remarkable and this is due largely to the high quality data used for each system. The Weather radar makes good use of the technology developed by HiFi Simulations to ensure the most accurate portrayal of precipitation. What is even more exciting is the news that in the future, more features such as cloud shadowing will be added. What is cloud shadowing? Well without getting to deep into a discussion on how weather radar’s work, cloud shadowing basically means that clouds (mostly CB’s or large storms) cause an attenuation (reduced signal strength) that show up on a radar as a shadow. Adding such a detailed feature to the FS platform is an exciting prospect that adds to the realism of your flying experience.

Finally, the fourth outstanding feature of this aircraft is the necessity and ability to “Fly by the Books.” As mentioned previously, this aircraft is very dynamic and given the fact that each component, electrical connection, fluid simulation, sensor simulation and more were programmed, it give you an authentic experience where actions do indeed have consequences. When flying this aircraft, it is important to not just follow steps and procedures, but it is also necessary to do everything at the right time. Turning on or off a particular system too soon can generate faults requiring ECAM actions.

FSLabs has not listed in detail many of the features of this aircraft and the numerous faults and failures that can occur. They’ve basically left it up to us to discover just how deep the systems of this aircraft runs and if you’ve encountered a fault or failure, please know that this isn’t a bug and it may just be that you missed something on the checklist or you were not flying the aircraft correctly. Although we will discuss this in greater detail in the next segment of our review, an example of this is landing too fast and having to use excessive braking. With older add-ons, this never posed a problem and we gave little thought to the consequences of excessive braking. With the A320-X however, excessive braking can result in a “Brakes Hot” ECAM indication. In addition to this, landing on a wet or icy runway has a definite effect on this stopping distance of the aircraft. With the A320-X, all that we once knew about landing an aircraft changes drastically and we now have to thoroughly plan ahead just as a real world pilot would. On this topic, there is much more we can discuss about the intricacies of the A320-X, but it would be much more exciting if you experienced it yourself as I did. Far from being a boring simulation, this aircraft allows you to plan, fly and think like a real world pilot with little compromise for the fact that you are using s desktop simulator. Let’s now have a look at some of the highlights of the A320-X on the descent and landing phase of flight.

DESCENT/LANDING

In the real world it is generally recommended that the descent preparation and approach briefing should being 80nm before T/D. This is mostly due to the fact that variable factors such as weather can easily cause a briefing to take as much as 10 mins. Within a 10 min time period one would be quite surprised at just how much distance can be covered so this recommendation is a good habit to enforce. With the A320-X, the descent planning is a very involved process that requires a virtual pilot to check landing elevation, performance, weather and entering the necessary information on the PERF APPR page which is unique to Airbus aircraft. Is that all? Well with previous Airbus add-ons this was pretty much all that was required in addition to simply monitoring the aircraft. If we needed to slow down quickly, all that was necessary is the application of your speedbrakes and we gave little though to any other factors in doing so.

With the A320-X however, much more is now involved and it requires intimate knowledge of the aircraft to properly manage the descent. For example, are you landing in icing conditions? If so, it’s important to know that if the engine anti ice is selected, the flight idle is increased. This increase might make it a challenge to maintain your required rate of descent and the use of speedbrakes may be necessary. But how should the speedbrakes be used? If you are in DES mode it is recommended to use up to half of your speedbrakes while use of full speedbrakes may be used if you are in OPEN DES mode. For more details on this, here’s what the Manuals had to say:

In DES mode: If the aircraft is on, or below, the flight path and the ATC requires a higher rate

of descent, do not use speedbrakes because the rate of descent is dictated by the planned

flight path.

Thus, the A/THR may increase thrust to compensate for the increase in drag. In this case, use

OPEN DES with speedbrakes.

Note:

1. If speedbrakes are used above 315 kt/M .75, with the AP engaged, their rate of retraction is

low (total time for retraction from full extension is approximately 25 s). The ECAM memo page

displays SPD BRAKES in amber until retraction is complete.

2. In order to avoid overshooting the altitude, due to speedbrake retraction in ALT* mode,

retract the speedbrakes at least 2 000 ft before the selected altitude.

Here we see that what we once thought was a simple process, now requires more forethought on the part of the pilot. The overly simplified procedures we once grew used to have no been replaced with an authentic experience that matches the real world performance of the A320. While it took some time to get used to a new way of thinking, being able to properly manage the descent was a definite highlight of this aircraft and one that I think you will also be impressed with.

For the landing, my personal highlight of this aircraft was the smooth flight controls during the approach and landing. Over the past 10 years, I have had the opportunity to fly many Airbus add-ons both freeware and payware. Many have boasted of having a realistic FBW system and superior handling. With the FSLabs A320, I can honestly say that I’ve never flown an aircraft that handles so smoothly. As an added bonus, on a windy day, one can actually feel the turbulence while on approach while hearing the subtle shaking of panels in the cockpit. Such an immersive experience is a first for me personally and I think many developers will have a hard time matching this level of realism.

As the aircraft transitions from approach to flare mode, another interesting highlight of this aircraft is the handling characteristics upon landing. If you are fortunate enough to have a greased landing on your first try, don’t smile just yet because you are still far from taming this animal. Previously I mentioned that the braking simulation of this aircraft was very realistic. While your landing may have been spot on, there are numerous factors that can turn the joy of a smooth landing into the nightmare of keeping the aircraft on the runway. If you are landing on a wet or icy runway, you may notice that your braking action will be affected. In addition to this, if you also floated down the runway to get that greased landing, you may also find yourself in a situation where excessive braking may be necessary. The end result of these actions may be the hot brakes or the loss of braking action in the case of a wet runway. The braking system and ground control of this aircraft is outstanding to say the least and I’ve never come across another aircraft that has gone to such lengths to offer this level of realism. Being so impressed with the braking and ground control aspects of the A320-X, I asked the developer for some insider info on how this system was designed. Here is what they had to say:

“The default FSX (and P3D) ground friction logic has been replaced entirely with our own rolling, sliding and braking model which takes into account real-world stop distances for dry, wet and icy conditions. This allows our A320-X braking distances to match the behavior of the real aircraft, not only in terms of braking distance and effectiveness, but also in terms of the entire braking energy system. While several of our competitors take shortcuts on this by applying simplified formulas, we decided to apply a conservative energy model whereby kinetic energy absorbed by the brakes is converted into heat, which is sensed by the heat sinks and modeled using thermal inertia laws, double-checked and tested against real-world observations. As such, thermal equilibration happens with the same observed delays as in the real aircraft.

Same is true for the cooling down process: it is calculated based on heat flow from the brake pads to ambient air, calibrated via cooling tables. Refinements are made so that when gear is retracted, the cooler air captured inside the gear bays has limited volume, thus cooling times are prolonged, compared to when the gear is down, whereby the relative wind chill effect will cool the brake pads in a shorter time frame.”

Once again, the above statement shows that the A320-X is not typical add-on you have grown used to seeing. The level of detail is remarkable and it shows during every stage of flight. Believe it or not, during the landing phase there is much more we can talk about. For example, what happens during a Go-around?  Are there any specific procedures for how long the engines should run at idle before shutting them down? To answer all of these questions, you might need to go grab a cup of coffee before we delve into these topics, but for the sake of simplicity, all I will say is that this is a product that will change the way you think about flightsim and it will change what you though could never have been done. Even though this review is a bit lengthy, we have only scratched the surface of how detailed this aircraft truly is. The points mentioned throughout our test flight were my own personal highlights and I am sure if you purchase this product you will agree with most of what has been said.

Let’s conclude this review by talking about performance, pricing and whether this product is suited for you.

CONCLUSION/DEBRIEFING

To conclude this review, let’s discuss a few points that may obviously be on the minds of prospective buyers. First on the list is PC Performance. Whether an aircraft is a frame rate hog or not is one of the foremost concerns that anyone has when considering a new add-on. While we now have so many advances in PC hardware, we somehow still struggle to have the best experience possible when using FSX or even P3D. Thankfully however, the development team at FSLabs had spent a considerable amount of time fine tuning the performance of this complex aircraft to match and exceed the performance of many add-ons currently available. If you use products such as the NGX or 777 from PMDG, you can expect to see similar performance from the A320-X. As outlined in your interview with Lefteris, it is recommended that users transition to DX10 in order to achieve the best overall performance and visuals for this aircraft. On this note, I can confirm that using DX10 along with the DX10 fixer takes FSX to an entirely new level. If you use DX9 primarily, the performance may be stable, but you do run the risk of having OOM errors depending on your location and add-on scenery.

The next hot topic is the price. If you are interesting in purchasing the FSLabs A320, it will cost you $99.95 USD for the FSX/FSX SE version. When the price of the FSL A320 was first announced there were numerous cries that in effect said “the product is just too expensive.” But is it? Well let’s consider the facts for a moment. From the review we just completed, it was clear to see that this product is quite possibly the most advanced add-on for FSX. For the past six years, this product had been under development with the goal of producing an add-on aircraft that was built to match the systems and performance of the real A320. This product is so advanced that it actually simulated the flow of fuel within its tanks in addition to modeling nearly each electrical component and connection. One has to sit back and ask themselves this question, what would someone have to pay ME to develop a product of this nature for 6 years? Well I am quite sure that your answer may be much higher than $99.95. Realistically, spending nearly $100.00 on any add-on may be a considerable amount depending on your situation. However we also have to consider the true value of what you are purchasing. For the price of $99.95 you are purchasing the best A320 simulation on the market that is even being used by some real world pilots to assist in their simulator preparations. If you stop to consider what this means, this means that real world pilots trust this product as an aid to preparing for their simulator checkrides, the same checkrides that determine whether they keep their jobs. Unlike the temporary value of spending $100.00 on a night out at dinner, you can enjoy the thrill of using the A320-X for years to come. In addition to this you are also purchasing a product that is fully supported by a dedicated team who will go the extra mile for their customers. Ultimately, I think that $99.95 is a very fair price for what you are purchasing and what makes this even better is that the P3D version will only cost you the difference. This means that if you own the FSX version, you can buy the P3D version by paying the difference between the two prices and KEEP both FSX and P3D versions!

Personally I think this is an unbelievable deal that many developers should take into serious consideration. While we understand that P3D is slowly becoming a very different platform from the developer’s perspective, one has to also consider the cost to their customers and be fair with their pricing. If you are a developer and you have a product that works with FSX and P3D, unless the P3D version is rebuild from the ground up, there is hardly any reason to charge full price to those who already purchased an FSX version. This to me was one of the major selling points of why the A320-X is such a reasonably priced product and FSLabs certainly is to be commended for taking this stand in their pricing policy. As an added bonus, the A320-X has some 60 liveries that are provided by FSLabs in their Download Area free of charge. There is also a high quality paint kit that has allowed talented painters to produce even more liveries for your use.

On the matter of whether this product is for you, I think that this is a question that can only be answered based on your expectations and normal FSX use. If you are the type of virtual pilot who simply likes to hop into an aircraft and fly around aimlessly, then this product might be quite a handful as it requires proper planning for each flight. If you are an avid flyer who prides himself (or herself) on completing a realistic flight, then the A320-X may be the perfect solution to your needs. Ultimately, one has to also assess whether they are willing to put in the required time for reading and getting acquainted with this aircraft before they can truly see its value and enjoy using it. For me personally, I have found it difficult to fly anything else besides the A320 and while it isn’t perfect, it certainly provides a new and refreshing experience.

To the developers of the A320, while it is understood that specific aircraft models were used to create the A320-X, my only recommendation on making further improvements would be the addition of a few more airline specific options such as Sat-Domes and  Cabin lights that can be turned on and off manually or automatically based on phase of flight. The importance of these features to the user is that it allows them to have a flight experience that is realistic not just from an aircraft systems point of view, but also from an airline point of view. Flying the right aircraft with the right airline options adds another element of realism that we all can appreciate.

As a final note, I think it would be unjust if I didn’t conclude by saying that this product is certainly deserving of AVSIM’s highest award, the AVSIM Gold Star. The A320-X has set a standard that many will find difficult to match and they have certainly silenced the claim that an airbus could not be fully simulated for FSX. With the A320-X being such an amazing product, one can only imagine what the future holds for the flightsim community from this developer as they continue to introduce the flightsim world to more complex Airbus aircraft.

By the way, for those of you who are eagerly anticipating the P3D version of the A320-X, here is a teaser screenshot ;)

A320-X in P3D

Acknowledgements

I would like to offer a special thanks to the Developers of the FSL A320-X for their detailed explanations of the various systems of this aircraft. Judging from the outstanding work done on the A320, one can only imagine what the future hold for other Airbus products.

Additional Information/References

For the benefit of our readers, here is a list of some of the highly recommended products (scenery and Utilities) seen in various screenshots and mentioned throughout the review.

FSdreamteam

FSDT – KMEM

FSDT - GSX

LatinVFR

LatinVFR – KSNA

LatinVFR – KSAN

Flightbeam
Flightbeam – KDEN

Flytampa
Flytampa - TNCM

FlightSimSoft

PFPX (Professional Flight Planner X)

UK2000

Heathrow Xtreme v3
 

While this product is NOT associated with the FSL A320, I found the Mike Ray A320 Pilot Handbook very useful as a reference to flying the aircraft. If you would like to checkout this manual, click HERE.

Review

by Marlon Carter

INTRODUCTION

+ Cockpit filming using up to 7 cameras for great views on takeoff & landing!

+ Pilot Presentations

+ Flight Preparations

+ External Walkaround

+ Cockpit set-up

+ Briefings & Checklists

+ External Walkaround

+ Departure & Arrival Airport Charts

+ Cockpit Presentation

+ Great scenery including amazing arrival & departure at San Francisco!

+ Cabin views

HIGHLIGHTS

When it comes to iconic airline brands, Aer Lingus is an airline that should never be overlooked. In fact, Aer Lingus is part of the IAG group which is well known as the parent company for airlines such as British Airways, Iberia and Vueling and the airline has had a rich history which began in 1936. From its small beginning some 80 years ago with a six seater De Havilland 84 Dragon, Aer Lingus has grown into an international major airline with a modern fleet of Airbus aircraft which include the A319, A320, A321, A330-200/300 and orders for the new A350-900.

This program takes us on an epic journey from Dublin to San Francisco onboard the A330-200, along with a brief tour of San Francisco before returning to Dublin. We begin with an introduction to the Aer Lingus Passenger Lounge and the many amenities available to passengers travelling with Aer Lingus. One advantage offered to passengers travelling out of Dublin Airport is that it offers US border Preclearance services for US bound passengers. This especially allows Aer Lingus passengers to have a hassle free travel experience once travelling out of Dublin Airport. Following the introduction, we meet up with our flight crew as they review their dispatch documents for the 10 hour flight to KSFO. After the routing, weather and other important NOTAMs have been considered, we head off to the aircraft where a thorough exterior walk around presentation is conducted. Some may assume that a walkaround inspection may be a simple and sometimes trivial assignment; however it is a crucial step before departure than can mean life or death if any anomalies are detected on the exterior of the aircraft.

Once the walkaround is completed, we join the rest of the crew as they complete the cockpit preparation and performance calculations prior to our departure. After departing Dublin, viewers are treated to numerous presentations that cover the career history of our pilots which can all be linked back to the Aer Lingus Cadet pilot programme. In addition to these interesting details, you will also learn a few facts on how Aer Lingus was an instrumental part of the ETOPS certification of the A330 along with a pilot’s viewpoint on transitioning from Boeing to Airbus aircraft. With so many insightful presentations, this 10 hour flight was educational and inspirational to say the least. After a beautiful approach and landing in San Francisco, we take a tour of some of the most popular attractions in the San Francisco area which is a lovely unofficial promo for this unique city. Once the fun and exploration was over, it was time to prepare for our return to Dublin.

For our return to Dublin, one of the most outstanding highlights was the departure out of KSFO at dusk. While taxiing to the runway, viewers have the opportunity to see a host of other aircraft as they land and depart from this airport. As many of you may know, KSFO has parallel runways and it isn’t uncommon to take two aircraft landing at the same time side by side. This program nicely captured a simultaneous landing from the best view possible. In addition to this, the stunning views captured from the cockpit of our A330 were simply awe inspiring. While enroute to Dublin, viewers will also be very pleased to know that there is a detailed cockpit presentation on various systems of the A330 which is followed by an amazing max crosswind landing.

In the end, I would highly recommend that pilots and aviation enthusiast alike should definitely consider purchasing this program. Just Planes did a fine job with capturing the exciting moments of this flight and we certainly applaud the highly trained flight crew for their outstanding performance. Aer Lingus has shown itself to be an airline that is keen on training pilots to be highly professional and we certainly hope that they will allow the rest of the world to see more videos like this in the future.

Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmV87SknNBY

Review

by Marlon Carter

INTRODUCTION

Once again, Just Planes is introducing the world to a very unique airline based out of Bolivia. Amaszonas was founded in 1998 and it began its operations in 2000. Starting off with a fleet of just 1 single engine piston aircraft, the airline has seen tremendous growth through the determination of their dedicated staff and company owner. Today, Amaszonas operates a fleet of 10 CRJ-200s with plans of increasing this number in the near future. In this program, we follow the day to day operations of the airline sitting alongside their pilots to some of the most intriguing destinations in this region. Let’s have a look at some of the highlights

+ Cockpit filming using up to 4 cameras for great views on takeoff & landing!

+ Company Presentation

+ Pilot Presentations +Briefings & Checklists

+ Cockpit Presentations

+ External Walkaround

+ Amazing scenery!

HIGHLIGHTS

This program follows the traditional format of most Just Planes programs. We begin with an introduction to the flight crew as they review their flight documentation prior to departure. Unlike most preflight briefings however, the crew has to take into consideration the fact that they are situated at an altitude of 13,000ft! This means that careful performance planning is essential to safely flying in this region. In addition to high altitude operations, our first flight to Santa Cruz and later to La Paz and Sucre highlight the added challenge of airports that are surrounded by mountainous terrain. When you combine these elements, it creates a program that is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seats as the highly skilled flight crew makes their way in and out of these airports.

In addition to these highlights, flying in this region affords the flight crew and viewers a luxury that is seldom experienced by the average traveler. Given the unique high altitude and mountains terrain of this region, it also affords some of the most spectacular views that one can imagine. With views so beautiful, it’s no wonder the pilots of Amaszonas seem to enjoy their job so much and it goes without saying that the scenery seen in this program is a definite highlight that shouldn’t be missed.

Focusing more on the aviation side of things, this program nicely showcases the capabilities of the CRJ-200 to operate quite comfortably in this region. Given the high altitude operation however, modifications were needed to avoid having erroneous pressurization warnings in the cockpit. For more information on this modification, be sure to pay close attention to some of the pilot presentations as they are very insightful into the operation of the aircraft and other flying procedures.

For those of you who are fans of the CRJ series, rest assured that this program provides a wealth of information which is presented during external walkarounds and a detailed cockpit and cabin presentation. The final presentation in this program focuses on the company itself which tells an inspiring story of how dreams and aspiration can come true with hard work and dedication. Through this presentation we learn of the humble beginning of this airline and the path to what it has now become. It’s without a doubt that this program is one of the best featuring high altitude operations and it is one that I would definitely recommend to aviation enthusiast and pilots alike.

Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L_zkYMb4ew

Review

by Marlon Carter

Introduction

When we think about the Caribbean, we normally think about islands such as Barbados, Jamaica or even St. Lucia. On the other hand, for those of you familiar with the entire Caribbean region, you may have heard of the “ABC Islands”. The ABC islands comprise of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao which are all part of the Netherlands Antilles until 2010 when Bonaire became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands. From the aviation perspective, The ABC islands see a regular frequency of private and commercial traffic. While most of the Commercial traffic comes from Europe, there are also a few local airlines that fly between the islands and a few US carriers that offer seasonal and regular flights to Bonaire. Taking all of these factors into consideration, recreating this beautiful airport for the FS platform was the next best step for the Aerosoft development team. With the Flamingo airport being located along the coastline of this tropical island, a product such as Bonaire Flamingo Airport X will surely appeal to the masses that are looking for new and interesting destinations. What can we expect from this product? Here is a list of some of the features and a preview video of the stunning detail.

Features

Realistic recreation of Flamingo Airport Bonaire

Fully compatible with FSX SP2 (Acceleration), FSX SE and P3Dv2.5

Highly detailed and accurate building models based on the latest modelling techniques for optimal visuals and performance

High resolution textures included as an option

Custom approach lights and runway light effects

Realistic night time effects

Highly accurate and up to date ground layout

Realistic runway and taxiway textures

Static aircraft included as an option

Compatible with all AI Traffic packages

Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOh5xSov5nI

Installation & Documentation

As with all Aerosoft products, the installation was quite simple. After purchasing the product and entering your email and key information, the installation process is fully automatic once you follow the prompts correctly. As far as the documentation goes, it provides a wealth of information about this product which includes settings, performance options, a full list of features and a full suite of airport charts. Also included in the documentation is a user guide for the new SODE version which is also installed with this product. With the level of information provided in the documentation, it is highly unlikely that anyone will have a problem getting this product up and running.

The Scenery

Given the fact that I live on a Caribbean island, I’ve always been very eager to see more and more Caribbean airports being developed for FSX and P3D. With Bonaire X, I was very excited to see that this isn’t simply an airport that was developed from google maps and a few online photos. With this product, the developer took thousands of photos of this airport to recreate a true to life rendition of Flamingo International. With emphasis on extreme detail, the developer was able to accurately capture the environment of this airport with numerous detailed buildings, animated palm trees, static aircraft and some of the best night lighting effects imaginable.

As we have a closer look at this airport, let’s first of all examine the main terminal build. As with most Caribbean airports, the design and overall layout isn’t overly exotic but it also isn’t very boring either. While the main terminal isn’t very large, it is packed with many details that could easily intimidate the best of modelers. With a uniquely designed roof, intricate steel work, beautiful landscaping and other fine details, this aircraft is very impressive and I would consider it to be one of the most detailed airports I have seen in a very long time.

A special feature of a few Caribbean airports is the open air design of the check-in area. With this design concept, it forces a developer to offer even more detail than would otherwise be necessary. As you look at the screenshots below (mixture of FSX and P3D), you will see that no detail was spared in recreating the section of the terminal and it complete with signs, chairs and various decorative items that are seen in the real airport.

Moving now to the airside of the terminal, this is the first thing that passengers and virtual pilots will be seeing when they land at this airport. While the airport design isn’t overly complicated, the design is still unique and it offers a significant amount of detail for developers to capture. For example, the Control Tower is a very specific design that includes an exterior staircase that is protected by a nicely constructed railing. This railing is also extended to the main terminal which also includes service vehicles, crates, baggage trolleys, numerous AC units and other miscellaneous items around the terminal building. Another interesting detail of this product is the number of animations which includes palm trees, flags and an animated windsock controlled by SODE.

While the modeling aspect of the terminal is superb, it was further enhanced by the use of high resolution textures that truly offered a dated feel to the airport. On the topic of textures, you will also notice that the ground textures for the ramp area and runway offer the highest detail. In some sections of the ramp there are portions that seem cracked, wet or stained by oil. The surroundings of the airport were also nicely textured to recreate a lush tropical environment while maintaining the beautiful landscaping around the terminal. As we move further away from the airport, we see that the development team also took into consideration some of the details found along the coastline and in the main town and residential areas. Here are a few more screenshots showcasing the textures and surrounds of the airport.

Now that we’ve had a close look at the detail of this product, the true test of quality comes at night time. Over the years I’ve noticed that while some products are very detailed and they look wonderful during the day time, the quality sometimes suffers at night. In this case the developers went to great lengths in order to create the most realistic night time environment possible and from all that I’ve seen thus far, it seems like they have succeeded. The lighting effects and night time textures were of very high quality and it created a stunning airport environment no different to the daytime.

Throughout this review I’ve made it very clear that this is a high quality product with stunning detail. With that in mind it’s important for us to also comment on the performance. While most simmers have mid to high end PC’s, some also have computers with average specs. The development team for this airport did a fine job at creating a product that can be utilized by just about anyone. With tools that allow you to switch between low to high quality textures and adjust the level of animations, everyone will be able to comfortably fly to Bonaire for their next long haul flight. For me personally, my PC isn’t the best gaming system out there, but I’ve found that by removing the static aircraft option and having most of the other features enabled yielded good performance even while using high quality aircraft add-ons. If you have an average gaming system or even a high end system, you can rest assured that this product will perform quite well.

To conclude, I think that this is definitely a product worth having. It comes with an amazing level of detail, performance optimization options and a price point of $17.00US which is just perfect. While Bonaire may not be a common destination to the Flightsim community, this product is the perfect introduction to the ABC islands and a great opportunity to see the beauty of this region which was perfectly captured by Aerosoft. – Highly Recommended.

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Mathijs from Aerosoft for contributing this product for review.

First Look

by Will Reynolds

As we all know, XP11 has been released for PUBLIC BETA....it is what it is folks, a BETA, nothing else.

As such, it would be ridiculous to review a BETA, so what we will do is highlight the differences between XP10 and XP11....what do we see?  I will not go into performance, or anything else, because it is all a moving target at the moment, remember the word...BETA!

Please keep an eye on this link, it highlights the stuff the team at LR are working on at present:

http://www.x-plane.com/kb/x-plane-11-00-release-notes/

You will note, they are still working on optimisation and lots of other stuff. The list is by no means complete, and if you participate in the Beta, feel free to provide feedback of errors, bugs etc.

Ok, let’s start....what has changed?  We knew the interface was new, but how new?

Here we see the Menu options compared between XP10 and XP11:

Different?  Let’s see what they now do:

This is what LR wished to change, it is the traditional “Windows 3.1 vertical menu” which is a layout still favoured by the vast majority of simulators in one way or another.

There is an “ABOUT” menu which tells you version number and takes you to the instruction manual if you need to, this is now a small icon in XP11:

Next is the “File” menu to setup a flight or situation, and a few other hardly used features, the new “File” entry in XP11 allows you to resume or set up flight as well as a few other useful options:

The “Aircraft” menu allows you to load aircraft type, choose repaint, setup weight, fuel, etc. And is obviously very heavily used. In XP11 this is replaced on two locations...one is the “Flight” menu tab, and the rest of the functions are in the small shortcut “app” on the top right hand corner:

Worth noting that the shortcut will take you to quite a comprehensive menu, which in XP10 is available through different menus and tabs...in XP11 they are all on one location.

To set up aircraft, repaint, time, weather and location, in XP10 you have to set up in different tabs and menus:

XP10

In XP11, you can do all this in one screen, by pressing the aircraft icon at the top right:

XP11

To calibrate controls in XP10 you had a dedicated TAB

XP10

In XP11 you again make use of the quick set up icon:

This small icon will bring a comprehensive “SETUP” menu and is designed to be the core of your use.

The other feature I wish to highlight is the new Map. You can call it by using the “M” keyboard command or again pressing the quick access icon, in XP10 you have a distinctive TAB and submenus:

XP10

In XP11 you can use the small icon and the map appears half way down the screen so your flight is not paused.

XP11

So to fly...what does it come with? Well there are 11 default aircraft...you can see some of them here...

The only aircraft not shown in that picture are the SR-71 and a Cessna Skyhawk on Floats.

After setting up your controls, you are pretty much ready to go.If you are familiar with XP10, you would be very familiar with the Rendering Options screen....this will dictate how smooth your experience is...in XP10 it had a lot of minuscule options...in XP10 some options have been bunched together and some removed. You need to experiment here to get the best out of your hardware. Remember this is a 64 Bit sim, so the more RAM you have and the more VRAM you have, the better detail you can load, so be careful.

So here are a few comparison shots...the airport is LOWI (Innsbruck), payware by JustSim. Same settings, weather, etc.

XP10

XP11

And finally, I took the default B737-800 for a quick flight. This is a default aircraft....I have to be honest, I have never liked default aircraft in a flight simulator, and owning the iterations from FS5 all the way to P3D, my feelings are unchanged. BUT, I have to say graphically, this is the best default Jet I have seen in a simulator. I chose the B737-800 because it is a popular jet, and because it is also with a few quirks.

The exterior model is exquisite

It is equipped with a “default” FMC which reads from the navigation data in the core sim. This navigation data is provided by Navigraph and is updateable via a separate subscription.  The FMC loads the flight plan and gives you a proper map, but without the waypoint or navaid names. It does cater for SIDS and STARS, as well as transitions.

Loading the aircraft is a graphical journey....very easy.

From here, start engines....this is where the quirks started...dont expect full realism...I had to hold the starter in place and took the N2 to about 60%!! Anyway, after engine start, taxi was very good, I can see the complaint people have about the “Screech” sound if you exceed a certain speed value and angle of the nosewheel...just for kick, I found the speed and angle to taxi and avoid the screech sound, so really not a big issue.

Takeoff, autopilot engagement, LNAV, VNAV, etc...all no issue, very smooth and that X-Plane “airborne” feel.

So we will conclude this “First Look” here folks...this is a NEW sim...no doubt about it. Austin Meyer does not like “hacks” to make things appear real, he wants a package that does that....and you have to say, on look at this early public beta, he is getting closer than anyone to that goal.

If you wish to participate in the BETA, this is the link you need:

http://www.x-plane.com/desktop/try-it/

System:

Intel i7 4790K

GTX970 4G

24G RAM

Review

by Marlon Carter

INTRODUCTION

HIGHLIGHTS

Air France isn’t a new comer to the Just Planes video series and they have once again opened their tours for enthusiast to enjoy a thrilling route trip from Paris to St. Maarten on board their A340-300. While this program features only one destination, it is packed with numerous highlights for all to enjoy. This program begins with an introduction to our flight crew as they complete a very thorough review of their routing and weather information. During this process, viewers will be able to see firsthand the hard work and preparation that takes place prior to each flight which includes consideration of not just the weather and route, but also the passengers and cargo onboard the aircraft. After the briefing is completed, we join our pilots on the flight deck of the A340 for a full preflight cockpit setup prior to our departure. For fans of the A340, this segment will be quite exciting since it showcases the procedures necessary to prepare an A340 for takeoff.

After departing from Paris enroute to St.Maarten, there were many highlights which included presentations by our pilots on our routing and the procedures associated with crossing the Atlantic. These presentations were all very insightful into what takes place behind the cockpit doors while flying over 8 hours to your destination of choice. In addition to these insightful presentations, this program is also filled with many beautiful scenic views from the numerous cameras that were positioned in the cockpit. By far, the most significant of these scenic shots were captured on our approach to the beautiful island of St. Maarten. While on the island of St. Maarten, Just Planes also took the time to capture some amazing airport shots of various Air France A340s as they landed and departed from the Princess Juliana airport. This additional segment was an added treat that may definitely inspire aviation enthusiast to visit this island with a unique airport and the famous Maho Beach at the runway threshold.

Prior to our return flight to Paris, Our first officer takes the viewers on a very detailed external walkaround of the A340 which is a necessary procedure to ensure that the aircraft is airworthy. After a thrilling departure from St. Maarten, the presentations by our pilots continued with a detailed cockpit presentation that covered nearly every system of the aircraft. Other topics of discussion during this segment included the reasons why the A340 is still widely used by Air France and sad fact that by the year 2019, the A340 will be replacedby newer aircraft such as the A350. In a similar manner to our first flight, our return to Paris also featured many amazing views for the cockpit as we made our approach and landing back at the Charles de Gaulle airport. With numerous cameras onboard the aircraft, this allowed viewers to experience this approach from various perspectives that were very unique. Ultimately, this program was an insightful look into the daily operations of Air France and their professional flight crew. For fans of the A340, this program is a must have item and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing more videos from Air France that perhaps features the A380 operations to US destinations. Air France and Just Planes have once again done an amazing job at inspiring the next generation of aviation enthusiast.

Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc4El-MfcwY

Review

by Marlon Carter

Publisher: JUST PLANES

Description: FIRST AIR

Format:
Blu-Ray/Download

INTRODUCTION

+ Company Presentation & Tour of Company Headquarters

+ Visit of Flight Operations, Flight Dispatch, Flight Watch...

+ Cockpit filming using up to 6 cameras for great views on takeoff & landing!

+ Pilot Presentations  +Briefings & Checklists    + Cockpit set-up

+ Cockpit Presentations of Boeing 737-400, ATR-42 & Hercules

+ External Walkaround of Boeing 737-400

+ Amazing scenery!

HIGHLIGHTS

With 65+ years of rich history, First Air is by all mean one of the most popular airlines operating in Northern Canada. The program captures the daily operations of this airline with a focus on the essential service it provides to isolated communities and the thrill of flying in the north. We begin with a presentation by the President and CEO of First Air who highlights some of the details on the airline’s history and the day to day challenges of its operation. An interesting aspect of this airline is that it operates its own Engineering Department which is instrumental in making modifications to the aircraft within its fleet. Having an Engineering Department has proved to be invaluable to this airline since it allows them to modify its fleet to be more versatile and safe when flying in the north.

Next, we take an in-depth look at the operations center which focuses on the work of the Dispatchers and Maintenance & Crew schedulers. For those of you interested in what takes place at an Operations Center, you will be quite impressed with this presentation and the opportunity to be a fly on the wall at one of the daily Operations briefing.

As we move away from the office, we being our journey onboard the 737-400 which has been converted into a Combi aircraft. This means that in addition to flying a limited number of passengers, this aircraft is also capable of flying a significant amount of cargo on the main deck. Our flight to Iqaluit from Ottawa gives viewers an opportunity to experience a thorough aircraft walkaround, view of the cargo area of the main deck, view departure and flying procedures and be enlightened by a presentation of the 737 cockpit.

After landing at Iqaluit, we switch over to the ATR42 for flights that take us to Pangnirtung, Qikiqtarjuaq, Coral Harbour and more. While many of the highlights are similar to our previous 737 flight, this segment of the program also features some of the most stunning scenic views from the cockpit. One example of this is the approach to Pangnirtung which requires special training for a 5 degree approach. This airport, along with other northern destinations offers viewers the unique opportunity to see Northern Canada from a perspective seldom seen by the average person.

The final highlight of this program features an aircraft which has proved to be a true workhorse over the years. The C130 is an aircraft rarely seen in civilian airline operations, but it has proved to be a valuable tool to First Air in moving large volumes of freight. For fans of the C130, this program is a must have since it not only features the flying procedures associated with this aircraft, but it also features a detailed cockpit overview that explains many of the daunting switches and gauges that allows this aircraft to fly.

To conclude, we certainly want to thank First Air for opening its doors to aviation enthusiast around the globe and providing a closer look at the fun and challenges of flying in the North. Personally, it would have been an amazing opportunity to film the operations of their former 727 fleet, but I am sure that everyone will enjoy this program and any future program to come from this intriguing airline.

Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzRnM06SbTY

Review

by Marlon Carter

Publisher: JUST PLANES

Description: TNT 777-200LRF

Format:

Blu-Ray/Download

INTRODUCTION

After an amazing 737-300/400F video documentary, Just Planes returns to TNT to film their 777-200LRF operations to Dubai and Hong Kong. We start off at Liege as the flight crew prepares the aircraft for a 6 hour flight to Dubai. During the preparation for our flight, viewers are shown a detailed walkaround inspection of the 777 which nicely showcases the immense size of this aircraft. In addition to a walkaround inspection, viewers will also see some of the cockpit setup which includes FMS setup and performance calculations. As far as significant highlights are concerned, the departure from Liege airport was quite a remarkable experience due to the low visibility operations that were in effect. During our flight to Dubai there were many other highlights which included ATC communication, route presentation, fantastic scenery from the cockpit and a unique approach into the busy Dubai airport.

For our journey to Hong Kong, prior to departure the captain takes us on a brief tour of the main deck as he checks and secures the cargo. Failure to do this will result in a load shift on takeoff that can destabilize the aircraft. Once this is completed, we depart the beautiful city of Dubai for a 7 hour flight to Hong Kong. Our return flight via Dubai to Liege was also filled with many interesting highlights such as discussions on the Systems of the 777, a cockpit presentation and a few interesting details on the history of TNT. Throughout this program, viewers will definitely enjoy the numerous presentations by our pilots in addition to the amazing views from the cockpit. Just Planes has once again delivered another fascinating program that takes a closer look at daily operations of a cargo airline. Hopefully in the future, Just Planes and TNT may consider featuring another program on the operations of their 747! Until then however, this is perhaps one of the best presentations on the 777 and cargo operations available and I would highly recommend it.

+ Cockpit filming using up to 6 cameras for great views on takeoff & landing!

+ Pilot Presentations

+ Flight Preparations

+ Cockpit Set-up

+ Pilot Briefings

+ Checklists

+ External Walkaround

+Depature& Arrival Airport Charts

+ Cockpit Presentation

+ Cargo Presentation & Loading

+ Great scenery on all flights

HIGHLIGHTS

Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZaNOPQ5ztQ

Review

by Marlon Carter

Publisher: JUST PLANES

Description: MALAYSIAN AIRLINES A380

Format:
Blu-Ray/Download

INTRODUCTION

Malaysian Airlines is the newest airline to join the Just Planes line up and they surely started with their best offering by featuring their A380 on a return flight from Kuala Lumpur to Heathrow. The A380 has always been a unique aircraft both in its design and from technical perspective. This video offers viewers a closer look into the daily operation of the A380 at one of the world’s top airlines. What can we expect? Well here is a brief overview of what we can expect to see and we will also comment on some of the highlights.

+ Cockpit filming using up to 7 cameras for great views on takeoff & landing!

+ Pilot Presentations

+ Flight Preparations

+ External Walkaround

+ Cockpit set-up

+ Briefings & Checklists

+Departure& Arrival Airport Charts

+ Cockpit Presentation

+ Great scenery

+ Epic views of other airplanes in the air

+ Cabin views

HIGHLIGHTS

This program starts off with a video presentation of an A380 landing at Kuala Lumpur and later parking at the gate. While the aircraft is at the gate, we join the First Officer as he completes his thorough walkaround inspection of the aircraft which truly shows just how massive this aircraft really is. Once the walkaround is completed, we bid the crew farewell as we await our new flight crew taking us from Kuala Lumpur to London. While at the gate, viewers will be able to see firsthand all that is involved with preparing an aircraft of this size for a 13 hours flight. After all the necessary check and briefings are complete, our A380 has an uneventful departure that includes many interesting camera views for all to enjoy. During our flight to London, the Captain discusses many aspects of the A380 with the viewers and also presents a brief tour of the cockpit and systems of the aircraft. Other discussions in the flight deck included the Career history of our pilots and an explanation of various departure and arrival charts. For those of you who are familiar with Just Planes videos, you will know that the presentations may also include the activities within the Cabin. The A380’s cabin is quite massive and it takes a large team of flight attendants to ensure the comfort and safety of the passengers. In this brief cabin presentation we meet some of the friendly flight crew as they prepare and serve appetizing meals to the passengers. If you’ve never flown on Malaysian Airlines, this presentation gives you the perfect opportunity to see high standard of service you can expect.

While our landing and departure at London were mostly uneventful, the most significant highlights of the final segments of this program were mostly visual. Both during our flight to London and on our return flight to Kuala Lumpur, viewers will have the opportunity to see many beautiful and intriguing views from the cockpit of various cities, airports, terrain and other aircraft as they fly by. With up to 7 Camera mounted in the cockpit, Just Planes has captured numerous perspectives that results in a program that all can enjoy.

If you are a fan of the A380, this program gives you the best perspective of what it’s like to fly this massive aircraft. Not only do you see the pilots in action, but you also learn more about the technical aspects of this aircraft and what makes it very different to a Boeing aircraft. For those who are mostly interested in Malaysia Airlines, this program perfectly captures the professionalism of their pilots and cabin crew. Recently it was announced that the A380s at Malaysian may not be around much longer but with this video you can enjoy the operation of this aircraft with this airline for years to come. – Highly Recommended.

Video Preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnuNHGYhePA

Review

by Ray Marshall

These are truly exciting times for those fortunate enough to own a flight simulation chassis.  New to the market is a ready-made Avionics Panel that will significantly improve your existing Volair Flight Sim Chassis in a very short time with minimal effort.

Take a quick look at these images. On the left is the standard Volair Fight Sim Chassis, in the middle the new Avionics Panel has been attached to the panel tray.  On the right is a fully populated Volair Flight Sim Chassis with yoke, throttles, and triple monitors added with FSX, FSS:SE, P3D, or X-Plane running.

In mid-year, 2013, I authored the Avsimreviewhttp://www.avsim.com/index.php/_/reviews/mad-catzsaitek-flight-simulator-cockpit-r690 of the Volair Flight Sim Chassis that has brought me hours and hours of sheer pleasure as I watched and participated in the Lockheed Martin development of P3D and Dovetail Games steadily improving the new Steam Edition of FSX.  During these 3 ½ years of steady improvements to our simulator platforms, not much was happening at Mad Catz’s Saitek Pro Flight store.  A few months ago the full Saitek line was purchased by Logitech.

X-Plane was also being progressively improved during this time and all this Saitek hardware and the Volair equipment can be used with X-Plane. I don’t have XP and therefore don’t know much other than what I read in the forums.

Sure, Saitek was the first and primary supplier of an affordable full range of hardware for the everyday flight simmer looking for something more to use with their Cessna Yoke and Pedals.  For those looking for a good flight stick and throttle that wouldn’t break the bank,you could get the relatively inexpensive X52 Pro Flight System Controller and 3-lever throttle that could be attached to a matching 2nd unit for a 6-lever throttle unit and a big trim wheel that looked like it just came out of a Cessna 172.  Then Saitek introduced an expensive little box that could be mounted in a flight panel and display any instrument with the proper software drivers. You could cycle between instruments with a couple of small arrow. It was a big improvement but got fairly expensive if you bought 6 or 7 of these little guys.

These little black boxes known as a FIPs, or Flight Instrument Panels would end up being a key item for home Flight Simulator Chassis builders on a budget. 

As companions for the FIPs Saitek introduced several “Panels” that were designed to be stacked over, under, or next to other panels or FIPs to make a very flexible and practical layout for flight simulator avionics panels.

Well, it didn’t take very long for our flight sim community gurus to figure out how to eliminate the 6 button legends and use the full space for creative new images.  It did take a couple of years for the new third-party SPAD.neXt drivers to be developed that would blast open the doors to the development labs and enable the use of Lvars and such. 

Main line developers like FSXTimes and FIPgauges were quick to introduce mind-blowing multiple gauges in a single unit and replicate just about anything that could be found in a real world avionics shop or airplane.

We went from the standard Saitek, plain vanilla gauges above to the high end multi-use gauges shown below.

It is no small wonder that Saitek garnered a reputation for deplorable customer support and failed to promote the use of third party support for advanced gauge designs and more user friendly drivers.  I was not at all surprised to hear that Logitech had bought them out – lock, stock and barrel – as we would say in Texas.

A future Avsim review will delve into the inner workings of this new SPAD.neXt driver based manager for the new and improved Lvars and original Saitek drivers and programs.  It will also feature some of the more popular new gauge designs by FSXTimes.com and FIPgauges.com along with the windows edition and iPad edition of Sim Innovations Air Manager app.  Look for this review around Easter.

Don’t get sidetracked worrying about your Thrustmaster, or other makes or models of flight instruments and hardware because this new Volair Avionics Panel is designed specifically for Saitek Panels and FIPs.  A side benefit is that with a little Velcro or a couple of metal tabs an iPad can be mounted in lieu of a cluster of 6 FIPs or 2 panels.  Not only is this a practical mix but can also be a money saver.  (One used iPad2 ~$150 – one Saitek FIP - ~$150)

When used with the companion VolairFlight Sim Chassis it is a simple matter of aligning 4 pre-drilled holes along the bottom of the new Avionic Panel and insert the four supplied bolts, washers and nuts and tighten with the wrench that is also supplied.  Now it is just a matter of populating the nine full sized slots with your Saitek Yoke, panels, FIPs, blanks, and maybe an iPad or two.

You can install your Saitek panels in the Avionics Panel either before or after mounting it on the VolairFlight Sim Chassis tray. You can also trade places with panels from the front of the unit with only a screwdriver.

The real decisions are going to be related to exactly where in the panel you are going to place your Saitek panels and FIPs. For many, the judicial use of the supplied 5 blank panels and two divided panels will help determine your final layout.

The center bottom slot is reserved for a Saitek Pro Flight or Cessna Pro Flight Yoke, but, as you will see, this Avionics Panel is flexible enough to house any of the existing panels. 

Here is a quick glance of the Volair Avionics Panel as it comes out of the box. 

I was brainstorming with my graphics program and using some cut and paste images to see how I might mount my existing Saitek panels.

Having eight (8) Flight Information Panels, FIPs created a small problem for me, because I don’t want to buy another one to come up with the magic number 9 that would neatly fit into three slots. I ending up choosing to add 6 FIPs and put two in a drawer for backup or future use.

After a little head scratching and changing my mind a time or two, I have more or less determined that I will not use my Saitek Cessna Yoke and will instead mount the Backlit Information Panel, BIP, in the slot designed for the yoke.  It looks similar to this layout template that I made using cut and paste with my graphics program.  The actual Avionics Panel looks much better than this image.  That is an image of aniPad in the middle above the Switch Panel.

I first mounted the Avionics Panel on the Flight Simulator Chassis Tray as shown in the two page instruction sheet.  I then promptly removed it, by simply removing the 4 nuts and moved it over to my small desk.  This created a problem when using standard monitor stands because the monitors sit too low to be fully visible over the top of the Avionics Panel.

A temporary fix for me was to cut a couple of pieces of Styrofoam to use as a base to elevate the monitors. A more permanent solution would be a sturdy tall basefor the monitors made of wood or something more substantial than left over molded Styrofoam packing material.

Because I prefer to sit in a desk chair and use the x52Pro flight stick on for my right hand and the companion throttle unit for my left hand with a wireless keyboard and mouse in the middle, this new Avionic Panel provides a perfect arrangement for my existing Saitek hardware.

It is not that the very sleek racing chair that comes with the Volair Flight Sim Chassis in not comfortable, it’s just that I spend more time reading, researching, and writing than I do flying the flight simulator.  I also have a weak back from those 10,000 hard landings by my student pilots from the old days.  I also only have one room dedicated to my hobby and I have 3 stand-alone desktop computers so I use the newest and fastest to do my work at my desk.

I normally use a 24 in. Dell triple-monitor arrangement but have been having difficulty keeping all 3 monitors up and running.  When one failed several months ago, I replaced it with a used monitor from Ebay, then another one failed.  I have been dragging my feet deciding whether to buy another used monitor or start over with 3 matched new 27 in. HD monitors.  This review will use my remaining two good monitors so I can get it in the publishing pipeline for Christmas.  My Volair Flight Sim Chassis has a nice 27 in Dell ultra-sharp monitor that might end up with matching sides one day soon.

I had three days to consider my first arrangement as I waited for the UPS delivery of the 20 pound box containing the Volair Avionics Panel.  The trip from Indiana to Mississippi consumed the normal 3 days transit. I was surprised the unit weighed that much. 

Because I had read the panel top or covering was a padded carbon-fiber looking material I was expecting a lighter weight unit.  I should have known that Bart at Volair would basically overbuild it with plenty of heavy metal framing.  Even the blank plates are heavy metal, and must weigh a pound or more – each – and there are five of them.

If I decide to make the new Avionics Panel on my desk with triple monitors my permanent setup then I will need to drill four holes in the desk to properly secure the panel because it is definitely top heavy – almost 12 inches tall but less than 5 inches deep. The exact measurements are 11 5/8 inches tall, 4 ¾ inches deep and 46 inches wide.  I have the panel secured with a cup hook screwed into the window frame and 3 rubber bands for this review.

I will most likely not drill holes in my desk but ‘engineer’ a base-plate for mounting the Avionics Panel and then clamp the base-plate to the desk.  Maybe even figure out how to incorporate a triple monitor stand to the base.

The nine horizontal openings are all the same size with the exception of the lower middle slot designed for the Saitek or Cessna Yoke.  The difference is the upper corners have a metal angle so the Yoke will fit flush.  The Yoke is separately mounted to the VolairFlight Sim Chassis panel tray with this new Avionics panel designed to fit snuggly over the top of it.

A standard desk height of 29 – 30 inches might be a few inches too high for a yoke mount although it could be done.  My desk is of the homemade variety and has a finished height of 33 inches, although I have lowered extensions, like wings on either side to house the x52 Pro throttle and flight stick.

My complement of Saitek Panels include all the available panels, 8 FIPs and one of the older TPM panels which will not be moved from the VolairFlight Sim Chassis to the desktop setup.  This is the Switch Panel, The Multi-Panel, two Radio Panels and the BIP panel.  Take a look at the images here.

The dimension of the “wide panels” are usually described by the distances between the mounting holes.  Center to center the mounting holes are 274 mm x76 mm.  This is 10.787 in x 3.0 in.

The Flight Information Panels, hole center to hole center, are 85 mm wide x 76 mm. That is 3.346 in x 3.0 inches

All are 15 mm or 0.60 inches thick.

When purchased, each Saitek panel comes with a standard mounting bracket or plastic cases that can be connected to other Saitek panels above, below, or on either side.  These plastic cases are not used when mounting the Saitek Panels in the Volair Avionics Panel.

New longer screws are provided by Volair with Phillip screw heads. (Saitek mounting screws all come in black or silver with raised thumb screw heads). See photo.  If you happen to have a small electric screwdriver, all the better.

The Saitek mounting system is very versatile and the panels can be used as stand-alone units, like the image on the left,or connected together as shown in the image on the right.

The Saitek TPM System for PC is not a standard panel. Because it uses a totally different mounting system it is not considered a panel and would not fit into one of the openings in the Volair Avionics Panel. It can certainly be used with the Volair Flight Sim Chassis should one want a single engine setup.

The Saitek TPM has a color coded and shaped plastic heads for metal shafted Throttle, Propeller, and Mixture plungers with 9 assignable switches to look similar to a Cessna 182 setup and is usually mounted underneath a desktop or flat surface.

The Volair Avionics Panel (VS-AP1)

This is a single unit with the intended purpose of providing a home for Saitek Panels and designed to fit over a Saitek Pro Flight Yoke or Cessna Pro Flight Yoke.  The 4 pre-drilled mounting holes on the bottom match 4 holes in the panel tray on the VolairFlight SimChassis.

My personal thought is that this is a no-frills, well-engineered and well-built, avionics panel. The package comes with all the necessary slots and mounting hardware including 5 blank panels and two divided panels designed for the smaller Flight Information Panels, FIP displays.  A total of twelve FIPs can be installed in the Volair Avionics Panel.

The Volair Avionics Panel has a soft-to-the-touch top and sides with attractive hand stitching and a modern carbon-fiber look with just enough overhang in the front to give the impression of a glareshield.  The general shape is that of a typical general aviation small plane panel. It reminds me a little bit of a real world Cirrus SR22 glareshield or maybe one of the Bonanzas.

The VolairFlight Sim Chassis is not included and not required, but the two together make an impressive home simulator cockpit.  All computers, monitors, cables, panels, boxes, throttles, flight sticks, coffee cups and similar items that you may see in sketches, screenshots, or photos are not provided with either the VolairFlight Sim Chassis or the Volair Avionics Panel.  All such items are to be supplied by the purchaser.

I use the term ‘no frills’ because the new Volair Avionics Panel does not include any extras like some similar, and much more expensive panels that have built-in lights, speakers, powered USB hubs, rails, switches, cables, sound boards, etc.

My desktop VolairAvionics Panel setup.

My setup for this review uses two blank panels in the center that are mounted on top of the built-in two 3 slots each arrangement intended for the ‘6 Pack’ of FIPs.  I have my BIP in the slot designed for the yoke and held in place with a couple of well-fitting blocks of wood and some duct tape.  Remember, this is temporary so I can get this review completed in time for Christmas. A couple of small L brackets will secure it nicely.

I used some light-weight pieces of metal that I could easily bend to form a couple of brackets to hold an iPad in place.  I use my iPad for bedtime reading and checking my email at the breakfast table so it will be shared with my new desk mounted Avionics Panel.  I could use Velcro to hold it in place but I don’t want to stick the Velcro onto my iPad. 

My hastily made metal brackets work just fine for now, I think they were originally intended as rain gutter downspout brackets.  I used black electrical tape to cover the sharp edges and therefore do not need to paint these makeshift brackets.

This configuration works very well for me – I have a full panel of gauges and panels, my trusty x52Pro flight stick and throttle, and a keyboard and mouse handy.  I ordered a black 2 m Lightning USB cable for the iPad so I can run it with power on and not be distracted with the standard white cable in these photos.

I started with the Switch Panel in the lower center slot with the BIP on the bottom left.  With nothing more than a screwdriver you can remove the four mounting screws from the front of the Avionics panel.  You then have to pass it through the open slot to place it in any other slot.  I chose to exchange the Switch Panel and BIP panel and it took maybe 5 minutes.  See pic.

I removed the BIP panel and replaced it with my Saitek Pro Flight Cessna Yoke just to confirm my decision not to install the yoke. It is comforting to know just how easily I can change the configuration to fly with or without the yoke.  I had to move the Avionics Panel forward about 6 inches on my desktop to make room for the yoke, which extends out behind the Avionics Panel by about 6 or 7 inches.

Summary

This is a slam dunk for those that either have Saitek flight sim panels or wish to have Saitek panels.  ThisVolair Avionics Panel is well made, looks great, and will last a lifetime.  Everything you need is in the box – new longer screws for mounting the blank or divided panels which are the same screws for mounting anything that will fit in the panel. An installed Avionics Panel gives the impression of a general aviation cockpit panel and feels natural to the touch.  The mock glareshield with the soft texture and hand stitching gives the installation a nice, finished look.

It really does not matter if you already have a VolairFlight Sim Cockpit Chassis or not.  For those that do have one already or maybe have one on order or are expecting one for Christmas this new Avionics Panel will be a welcome addition.  For those that elect to mount the Avionics Panel on a desk or tabletop, like me, then as you can see, the choices are only limited by your imagination.

Any of the 4 wide Saitek Panels – Switch Panel, Multi-Panel, Radio Panel, or Backlit Information Panel – will fit in any of the 8 slots and even the 9th in a pinch if you give up the Yoke, like me.  You can mount an even dozen FIPs, in any 4 slots, or use two slots for FIPs, and mount an iPad or even two iPads in front of two blank panels and use Sim Innovations or Remote Flight to populate the iPad with flight instruments or gauges, or switch panels.

One word of caution. Older iPads will run Remote Flight but will not run the newer and more flexible Sim Innovations’ Air Manager app.  The Air Manager requires a minimum of OS 9 and many of the older iPads can’t be upgraded to that level.

With a little ingenuity, I bet you could install some sort of mounting system for your iPad that would fit over or on top of six FIPs.  That way you could have the best of both worlds and still make the iPad removable.  I am not a big fan of Velcro but that is yet another option.

Should you only have a starter set of Saitek panels, or just a few FIPs then you can use the blank panels to fill the slots while you save up to add more to your inventory until your cockpit panel is finally full.

Conclusion

Having a new Volair Avionics Panel chock full of Saitek flight gauges and panels sitting in front of your monitors with sharp, brightly lit gauges and instruments is one thing. 

But, being able to reach out and physically turn the starter knob and listen to the engine come to life, then feel the change as you check the mag drop, or adjust the altimeter, or change radio frequencies, or maybe select a new altitude or speed, press the button to engage the autopilot, move the landing gear lever up or down, or raise or lower flaps, adjust the elevator trim – well you get the picture. 

It may not be the same as doing exactly all this in an A36 Bonanza, but, it is a helluva lot less expensive, you don’t need a medical and it is just a little bit closer to really flying.

I tend to reach up and place my hand on the edge of glare shield as I have done a thousand times in real life in my airplanes.  About the only thing missing now is a proper seatbelt and a window to open while I wait for takeoff clearance.

The Volair Avionics Panel gets a most definite RECOMMENDED BUY. You can buy one at Amazon.com and pay retailer buy direct from VolairSim headquartered in Indianapolis and save $50 just for reading this review.  You gotta hurry, though; this is a time limited offer.   http://www.volairsim.com/

Credits

Volair for supplying the Avionics Panel
Mad Catz/Saitek for all the panels, yoke and pedals (4 years ago)
Michael Brown, XForcepc.com for YouTube videos and screenshots
FSXTimes.wordpress.com for FIP images
FIPgauges.com for FIP images
SPADneXt.com for great community support of Saitek hardware
Unnamed for screenshot of Volair Flight Sim Chassis in corner with blue screens
Most of the photos taken by author with iPhone

Review

by Mike Cameron

Introduction

   This review is of the Just Flight Socata TB-10 Tobago and TB-20 Trinidad general aviation aircraft package for FSX and Prepar3D.  This package was developed by Just Flight along I.D.S. Innovative Development Studios.  The information for this introduction was gathered from the product manual and the Socata TB Users Group website.  Socata’s “Caribbean” range of single engine general aviation aircraft consisted of five models that span from the fixed gear 160HP Tampico to the 250HP Turbocharged, retractable gear TB-21 TC Trinidad.  All of the TB’s were manufactured at the Socata plant in Tarbes located in the south of France (hence the TB name).  The majority of the aircraft destined for the United States were certified in France and then dis-assembled and shipped in crates to Socata North America located near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where they were re-assembled and configured to specific customer requirements.

   The Socata TB-10 Tobago and TB-20 Trinidad feature spacious and comfortable cabins providing seating for up to five people and have proved popular for touring and instrument training.  Both models are all-metal cantilever low wing, single-engine aircraft with to “gull wing” doors and access to the baggage compartment is through a door on the left side of the fuselage.  The TB-10 is powered by an 180HP Lycoming O-360 piston engine and is equipped with the fixed tricycle landing gear.  The TB-20 is powered by a Lycoming IO-540, 250HP piston engine and is equipped with a retractable tricycle landing gear.  Both aircraft are equipped with a two-blade constant speed propeller.  The fuel tanks for both aircraft are located in the wings.  The TB-10 carries a maximum 55 US gallons of fuel for a maximum range of 700 nautical miles.  The TB-20 carries a maximum of 89 US gallons for a maximum range of 1100 nautical miles.  The vast majority of TB’s manufactured were “Generation One” TB’s and were manufactured from 1977-2000.  In February, 2000, Socata introduced the enhanced version of the TB family termed the GT series (for Generation Two).  The Generation Two TB’s retain the airframe structure, powerplant and the majority of flight systems from the original TB family but have a modified cabin with more headroom as well as some other enhancements.  During the Generation One production run, over 725 Tobago’s and 680 Trinidad’s and TC Trinidad’s were built.

Specifications:

Installation

   Installing Just Flight products is very easy but does require an active internet connection for activation.  This installation is of the package sold by Just Flight and if purchased from other vendors, the process may be different.  Log in to your Just Flight account and download and run the setup file for this aircraft package.  Select your preferred simulator series (FSX & Steam Edition or Prepar3D Version 1, 2 or 3), this is the first thing that I like about this product, you do not need to purchase an additional license if you own both FSX and a P3D simulator.    After selecting your simulator version, an activation window will open and you simply enter your Just Flight Account credentials to activate this aircraft for this computer system only.  No long serial codes or other strange activation procedures which is great.  As long as you own this computer you can and uninstall and install this package as many times as you would like.  Just Flight also makes it easy if replace your hard drive, system components or purchase a new computer, simply download the setup file again and repeat the above activation process.  The setup file should automatically find your simulator location but if not select the browse button to manually locate and follow the prompts to finish the install process.  I am installing and reviewing the P3D V3.35 version and am ready to operate the aircraft in the simulator.  If installing into either of the FSX versions you will probably need to activate some files installed into the simulator by the Microsoft Security System.  Also included is an extensive 113 page PDF manual and I appreciate when developers include more detailed documents with their aircraft products.  Lastly, I recommend visiting the Just Flight forum for this aircraft because the developers do respond to questions & requests and this is where they post announcements for updates of this aircraft package.  As of 10/31/16 there have been three service packs released with fixes and feature updates and to update just download and install the new version from your Just Flight account.  I will try comment about added features or fixes throughout the review.  I like when developers listen to their customers and provide timely updates.  Service Pack 2 added a Windows Menu Item, TB10-20 Model Switcher, for optimal performance.  If you do not own the Flight1 GTN GPS 650 and/or 750, select “Standard Model” to only have the default GNS430 installed on the panel and this is the default option.  If you do own the Flight1 units, select the Flight1 option to have integrated GTN650 and 750 along with the GNS430 and they are accessible via the simulator Just Flight TB10/TB20 menu.  Service Pack 3 continued with more fixes and enhancements.  The release aircraft only had the GNS430 and GTN650 GPS option which is another example of Just flight listening to their customers.

Interior Model

   After I first installed this package, I loaded one of the TB-10 aircraft and adjusted my view so that I could get a good look at the rear passenger cabin.  Just Flight and I.D.S. have not disappointed, the quality of the interior features are excellent.  The fabric seats looks like real fabric, carpeting looks like it should, everything is three dimensional and I like that there is just the right amount of “wear” textures.  Depending on the time of day, the P3D shadow textures also look very nice.  Speaking of time, there is a working clock mounted on the right yoke but will only display GMT instead of local time and also requires the master battery and alternator to be powered on to operate.  I would think that in the real aircraft this clock would have its own battery to function.  One thing that I look for with a premium aircraft is how many different interiors are included with the various aircraft.  The interiors are the same for all of these aircraft and I do not know that much about Socata so maybe this is a real world design decision which in the grander scheme of things is not that big of deal.  I would gladly sacrifice varied interior textures for greater systems and flight model simulations.  The second screen grab is of the right front seat and this is where I want to comment about the first realistic feature that I have found with this aircraft, locks for the door that needs to be unlocked first before opening the right gull wing door.  Clicking on the door lock provides a nice animation and sound effect for its operation.  Once unlocked, clicking on the bottom of the door will open that door.  I could not find a door handle so maybe the passenger just pushes on the door to open on the real aircraft.  There is also a door lock for the pilot door.  I love that Just Flight provides click spots to open both doors because I sometimes have trouble with keyboard shortcuts.  The baggage door does require a keyboard entry and I was able to open and close it without issue.  Interior labeling is very good as displayed by the door lock label that has the wording in both French and English.  Clicking on the small pipe behind the yoke will hide or display the yoke for a better view the instrument panel. 

   The pilot side of the cockpit is just as impressive.  The small window on the pilot door opens and I like that this also requires unlocking before opening.   It is these small realistic features that I look for with quality simulator aircraft which adds to the overall value of the product.  Adjusting my view so that I can get a good look at the circuit breakers, I can see a good presentation of the “wear” textures and the small labels are also legible which is great.  Some of them are also clickable so if you have a system that is not functioning, look at these to see if any of they are pulled.  Simply left click to push in or right click to pull the breaker.  I do not know if these are simulated but I like that they are animated to add to the simulated experience.  The pilot yoke has an autopilot disconnect switch, electric trim controls (not simulated) and a CWS toggle switch.  Both sun visors are animated and rather than just having the right visor move up and down, Just Flight and I.D.S. decided to do things differently and unhook this visor and move it out of the way to the right side of the cockpit.  With Service Pack 2, the sun visor transparency has been increased and color adjusted.  The visor animations are very good and I like that this added functionality is included with this aircraft rather than more of the same.  Also with Service Pack 2, Just Flight has added a passenger seat viewpoint.  The rear passenger seat details are just as impressive as the front of the cabin.

Exterior Model

   There are five exterior paints for each of the TB10 and TB20 models plus each model has an all-white variant for aircraft painters to use.  I always look for some form of static ground objects with premium aircraft and all of the ground static features that should be included with a general aviation aircraft are.  Just Flight has made it easy to display these objects, (chocks, pitot cover, engine intake cover, tie downs and aileron locks), with the engine off, apply the parking brake to make them visible and release to hide them.  The aileron locks will only display if the control lock is installed in the cockpit.  All of these items look great in the simulator.  Another feature that is often overlooked with premium aircraft is a working tow bar.  Just Flight has included a very nice panel selector with this aircraft which is located in the upper left corner of the cockpit.  Clicking on this small arrow icon opens the Panel Selector window and for now I only want to comment about the Tow Bar option and will explain the other features later in the review.  Normally I do not like non real world aircraft features displayed in the VC but the Panel Selector is so useful that I do not mind and with the release version and SP1 you could close the window back to the small arrow icon and with SP2 you can close the icon entirely and open with the menu.  Personally I would rather have the Panel Selector visible rather than using the menu entry in flight.  The Tow Bar option is located at the bottom right of the window and this opens the tow bar function along with a tow bar displayed in the exterior views.  I love the simplicity of this feature just click and hold on the direction arrows to move the aircraft and release to stop.  Trickier to use are the left and right arrows so I just backup or pull forward and use the rudder pedals to steer after engine start.  You can also control the tow speed if you would like but I think the default speed of “1” is fast enough.  Another nice exterior feature is the ability to open the inspection doors for the preflight inspection and this is done by flipping up the switch next to the Airspeed Indicator.  The Refill Menu will also open when doing this and I will comment more about this later.  The animations and sound effects of the door operations are very impressive and these are the small realistic features that greatly add to the value of a flight simulator premium aircraft.  The only thing missing is the ability to remove the cowling to look at the engine but I can certainly live without this to have a more realistic external preflight inspection.

   I already commented about the interior click spots to open the left and right doors but the baggage door requires a keyboard shortcut (Shift + E + 3) and the detail inside the baggage compartment is impressive.  My only wish would be an option to display some baggage.  If you are the type of person that likes several angle views then you will be disappointed because there are only three views but I do not have an issue with this because I use the spot view for my external inspections.  Just Flight does include an EZ Dock universal camera if you own that utility.   For the rest of this section I am going to be loading one of the TB-20 aircraft.  All of the exterior features are three dimensional and all of the textures look very impressive.    The wheel fairings on the TB-10 look impressive but Just Flight has also put a lot of care and detail into retractable gear assemblies on the TB-20.  Exterior labeling is also very clear and legible and I also like that there is just the right amount of “wear” textures.  The last screen grab is of all of the exterior lighting and this is also simulated nicely.

Instrument Panel

   The Socata TB-10 Tobago and TB-20 Trinidad instrument panels look a bit different from most small general aviation aircraft.  The first screen grab is of the TB-10 instrument panel from the default VC view.  The second is of the TB-20 instrument panel which adds the retractable gear controls and some other controls that are not installed in the TB-10.  The primary flight and navigation instruments are located right in front of you and are close enough to be able to read easily but I usually adjust my view slightly for an even better look.  Across the top of the left instrument panel are the advisory lights panel and is self-explanatory, green indicates a normal or safe condition, yellow a cautionary condition and red indicates a hazardous condition that needs to be looked at.  These aircraft allow you to optionally monitor the engine so it is possible for you to receive both yellow and red warning lights.  Turning on the master battery, I can see some yellow advisory lights because the engine is shut down and not all systems turned on.  There is also an advisory panel test button to see all of the lights illuminated.  This test switch also illuminates the marker beacon lights which are located in this area and the landing gear warning light near the gear controls.  Next to the panel test button is daylight toggle button.  Below the Altitude indicator is the Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI), which is driven by the GNS430 or the Flight1 GTN 650 or 750.  Service Pack Two incudes some fixes to the HSI functionality along with improved GTN 650 compatibility with the HSI and the autopilot.  The far left side of panel includes the interior lighting controls and although the lighting effects look nice and these controls are animated but they did not seem to affect the interior lighting on my system.  Maybe I am doing something wrong but interior lighting would work automatically depending on the time of day.  Just Flight has made it easy to hide and display each of the yokes by simply clicking on the small white pipe behind the yoke on each side of the cockpit.  The Controls lock is as easily removable by clicking on the pilot yoke base.  With the yoke and control lock removed, this provides a better view of the lower portion of the instrument panel.  Labeling is very clear and easy to read, another feature that I look for in a premium aircraft.  Before moving to the center panel I want to quickly comment about the parking brake control which is a knob and is partially hidden by the yoke but still visible enough to use.  I use a hardware control for the parking brake function so this is not an issue for me but if you do not, you can always move or hide the yoke for a better view.

   The top of the center panel contains your engine, electrical and fuel instruments.  For me these are kind of hard to see from the default view so I use the right seat view and adjust my zoom level.  Below these are the KMA 24H audio control panel and below this the default GNS 430 GPS.  If you own either or both of the Flight1 GTN 650 and 750 GPS units these can be displayed by using the Just Flight TB10/TB20 menu item located in the P3D Add-ons menu which I like because it is extremely easy to switch between the GPS units.  Besides toggling the GPS units, this menu also allows you to select the panel state (cold and dark and ready for takeoff), auto fuel transfer, fuel pump & gyro sound effects and also toggle the engine management feature.  Below the default GPS or the GTN650 is the GNC 255 COM2 & NAV2 secondary radios and I love when developers include the backup radio for tuning the COM and NAV stations that will be used later in your flight.  This is a fully functional radio and the manual does a great job explaining how to operate it.  It was kind of hard to setup in the simulator but I like the ability to save some frequently used frequencies for later use.  Below this radio is the KN 62A DME and below this is KAP 150 autopilot.  At the bottom of the radio stack is the GTX 330 transponder unit and below this is a checklist.  I can tell that this product was developed outside of North America because the default VFR transponder code is 7000 instead of 1200 which is the VFR code for North America.  It is easy to enter the codes but I wish there was an option to select the default VFR code.  The checklist is probably a real world aircraft feature but from a flight simulator enthusiast point of view I would rather have the KR 87 ADF radio and the TKS ice protection control mounted here rather than on the bottom of the right instrument panel.  The GTN 750 uses a lot of the instrument panel and thankfully Just Flight decided to remove the checklist from the panel instead of any of the radios.

   At the top of the floor pedestal is the switch breaker panel.  This caught me a little bit by surprise.  When I first loaded one of these aircraft I could not find the traditional external lighting and electrical switches.  Rather than traditional switches the Socata uses breaker buttons for these controls, top buttons to turn on that system and the bottom button to turn it off.  Just Flight has included nice “click” sound effects when these buttons are used.  The labels are tiny and hard to read from the default view but I would usually adjust the right seat view for a better view and after some time was able to memorize the positions.  The flap controls are also located here.  Below these are the throttle, propeller, mixture and elevator trim controls.  I love the sound effect of operating the elevator trim.  Lastly, below the elevator trim are the aileron and rudder trim controls and the fuel tank selector.  The fuel tank selector has three positions (right, left & off) and the pilot must switch between the left and right tanks every thirty minutes, very realistic!

   For the right side, I am going to start Active Sky 2016 and will have the engine running.  Besides the backup Attitude Indicator and Altimeter, the right panel also has the critical engine monitoring instruments (Tachometer, Manifold Pressure, and Cylinder Head & Exhaust Gas Temperature) gauges.  The Tachometer and MP/Fuel Flow instruments are pretty easy to see from the default VC view but the CHT and the EGT gauges are a bit harder so I adjust my right seat view for a better look.  Below the CHT/EGT is a very easy to see outside air temperature gauge in centigrade and below it is the VDO hour meter which also has a working Hobbs meter, which is another one of those small realistic features that I look for in premium simulator aircraft.  On the left side of the ELT is an instrument that I want to comment about in more detail, the BFG Storm Scope.  This is a very nice multifunction unit that the manual does a great job explaining its features.  This storm scope detects severe weather and AI traffic up to a range of 50NM away, relative to your aircraft.  The display on the storm scope is the same for both weather and TCAS (traffic) modes.  To see the weather radar in action, I consulted Active Sky and that there are heavy rains and thunderstorms at KFLL, so I repositioned my aircraft to that airport.  As you can see it looks very bad outside and it is so turbulent that my aircraft is shaking and I can hear thunder in the distance.  The storm scope displays this severe weather very realistically.  Other functions include a checklist but I would rather just use Just Flight one and a chronograph with the date & time and an options menu.  I really like the amount of features that Just Flight and I.D.S. has included with this aircraft.  The lower portion of the right panel contains the ADF radio, TKS-ice protection and the vent controls.  The labeling is very easy to read and the vents are also nicely animated.  Due to simulator limitations the TKS ice protection is limited to the structural and propeller systems.   What is nice about this simulation is that the system is deactivated when placed in the “off” position and when the de-icing fluid is empty which is very easy to read on this unit. Another realistic feature is that the TKS fluid can be refilled by using the refill menu.  Before moving on to the flight model review, I want to quickly comment about the wonderful Panel Selector feature.  Rather than using the P3D/FSX menu item to open the 2D instrument windows (still available also if you like clean cockpits), the pilot simply clicks on the corresponding instrument on the panel selector to open the 2D version of that instrument and click on it again to close or select left panel view.

Flight Model

   To review the flight model of the Just Flight Socata TB-10 and TB-20, I am going to complete some short flights around the recently released Turbulent Designs 2D3 Angwin Parrett Field.  This small general aviation airport located in Napa County, California sells for only about $7.00 USD for a premium quality P3D & FSX scenery product.  All proceeds from this product including development costs will be donated to the Over the Wall children’s charity, http://www.otw.org.uk/ which is part of the Flight Angels group of children’s charities, http://flight-angels.com/about/our-charities .  This section I will be looking that the TB-10 fixed gear model and with the next section I will review the TB-20 flight model.  When you load either of the models the default panel state is “Ready for Takeoff” and according to the manual if you want to begin with a “cold and dark” panel state, you need to save a flight with this panel state.  I like to fly all over the world so I wish there was a better way to have a default “Cold and Dark” panel state.  Also with Version 102, I thought I saved a flight with all systems off but when I loaded my saved flight, the aircraft loaded with the engine on.  Rather than doing this I just load the “Cold and Dark” panel state from the TB10/20 menu item.  After doing this there are a couple of other procedures that I perform with this menu as part of my preflight routine.  First I verify that engine monitoring is turned on, which was added with Service Pack 1.1 and because I own the GTN650, I switch the GPS option to this one.  With engine monitoring enabled, the simulator is now monitoring spark plug fowling, vapour lock and engine failure caused by low oil quantity.  Oddly, I could not find an aircraft maintenance option so maybe these conditions are reset by reloading the aircraft.  Another way to switch between panel states is to use the lower left icon (looks like a lightning bolt), on the Panel Selector window.  Service Pack 2 also added the GTN750 GPS option.  The other aircraft features that are selectable from here are the checklist, a very useful flight computer that is very easy to understand for calculating the various flight performance values.  The last feature available here is a logbook for entering your flight information but I found it very awkward to use and will just use the P3D logbook for reference. With the aircraft now shutdown I can now run through the checklists and there are a couple different ways to do this, three if you count the storm scope.  First, you can follow a printed checklist but for this aircraft I am going to use the checklist from the panel selector.

   I have used other on screen checklists with other aircraft and the one included with the TB10/20 is in my view the best.  First, the onscreen checklist window is large enough to be able to read the entry’s clearly without needing to resize the window which is great. This checklist is very simple to use which I also like, after performing the procedure, click on that item and the item color will change to green to let you know what procedures have been completed.  It would have been nice if this process was automatic after completing a checklist step but I guess I cannot have everything and the checklist is so simple to use that this not that big of issue for me.  One thing that would have made it better would be separate checklists for the TB-10 and the TB-20; both aircraft use the TB-20 checklist with its additional procedures.  When flying the TB-10, I just ignore these additional items.  I proceed through the “Pre-Start” checklist and if the checklist has multiple pages, simply select “Next Page” for the next page or “Prev Page” to go back and “Next Checklist” to proceed to the next checklist, again very easy to use.  I also like that the checklist remains open even if you change views.  Before continuing I want to comment about the elevator trim if you load the “Ready for Takeoff” panel state.  It is not in the takeoff position but is set at -23.4 inches and will have to be reset before takeoff.  I like to open spot view when simulating the external preflight inspection and Just Flight has included some features to enhance this experience.  With the parking brake on, flip the “Open Close Inspection Doors” switch up which opens these external doors and the “Refill Menu”.  Now as you perform an external preflight item on the checklist, if available on this menu, this action can be performed and the inspection doors can be closed with a mouse click.  Service Pack Two added improved functionality to the refill menu which enhances an already nice feature.  The rest of the pre-flight checklist is self-explanatory other than I want to say that these aircraft do not have a rotating beacon, the strobe light is use as the anti-collision light or the NAV light.  Hopefully this is based on the real world aircraft, because in the United States I was always told to use the beacon while on the ramp and to operate the landing and strobe lights when entering the runway.  The Before-Start checklist has you verify that the parking brake warning light is illuminated but at this point of the checklist the Master Battery button is still turned off, so turn it on to verify this warning light.  The engine start procedures work as per the checklist and I like that my Saitek magneto switch works with these aircraft.  On my system, I had to enrich the mixture for the engine to start.  The engine and electrical instruments are very accurate which is great.  The Taxi checklist did not include turning on the NAV lights which I did but left the taxi lights off because it is daytime.  These aircraft are tri-cycle type landing gear so they are extremely easy to taxi.  For the most part everything on the Engine Run-up checklist is accurate except for the propeller check.  It is only supposed to have a maximum RPM drop of 500RPM but on my system it was closer to 1000RPM.  The magneto check does operate realistically though. 

   The Take-off checklist is accurate because the Socata lifted off smoothly between 70KIAS and the initial climb speed of 75KIAS and I did not have any issues with the rest of this checklist.  Climb performance with the TB-10 is outstanding, at the optimum climb speed of 95KIAS; I was able to maintain 1500FPM from this airports elevation of 1800 feet.  I am not an expert on flight dynamics and have never piloted a real TB-10 Socata, but others have reported that these aircraft seemed overpowered and Just Flight has addressed these issues with Service Pack 2 of this package.  I had issues with this latest update so I will finish this review of the TB-20 performance after a fix is released.  I did not have any issues trimming for all phases of flight and I love the sound effect of the trim wheel action.  I think that the real world aircraft have electric trim controls so that is probably the sound that I am hearing.  I will comment about the cruise characteristics and autopilot operation when I review the TB-20.  Both models are terrific aircraft to manually flight and are very responsive to my control movements.  These aircraft will get you from point a to point b relatively quickly because on this trip, at 5900 feet, 80% power, 20 inches of manifold pressure, I cruised at 140 knots true airspeed and had a ground speed of 129 knots.  Performance of the TB-20 is even better and is the aircraft that have been using for most of my cross county flights lately.  Now it is time to return to the airport so I consult the Descent checklist which only contains two items, adjust power and a very important second procedure, apply full power after every 1500 feet of descent to avoid spark plug fowling.  This is especially important because I have engine management enabled.  I like the easy, simple to understand checklists that are included with this package.  The approach speed for the TB-10 is 86 knots and I can lower the flaps to the take-off setting at 129KIAS and landing at 103KIAS.  If everything is setup correctly, the landing speed for both models should be 73KIAS.  I was able to slow down the TB-10 to approach speed without issue but needed more time/distance with the TB-20.  If you want the most realistic simulation, consult the landing performance charts.  The rest of the Approach & Landing checklists were routine and luckily I did not require it the next checklist in sequence is the Go-around checklist.  Also, all of the emergency checklists are included if you need to reference them.  The After Landing checklist is self-explanatory and as with the other checklists, virtual pilots should be able to remember most of the items but the onscreen checklists are so easy to use, I use them with all flights.  These aircraft, have an unusual procedure on the Shutdown checklist, with the engine at 1000RPM, you temporarily place the magneto into the “Off” position and then return it back to “Both”.  The rest of the shutdown procedures are easy and self-explanatory.

TB-20 Trinidad Cross Country Flight

   I am going to perform a cross county flight that I like to do when evaluating new aircraft, KHQM – Bowerman in Hoquiam, Washington to KSFF – Felts Field in Spokane, Washington.  I am also going to add a couple of VFR waypoints enroute, Ellensburg (ELN) and Ephrata (EPH).  This flight is long enough to review the cruise characteristics of this aircraft along with evaluating the various autopilot modes.  It is also short enough so that it does not take me all day to fly.  With Service Pack 2, I commented earlier that Just Flight introduced a model switcher for this aircraft available on the Just Flight folder of the Windows Start menu that allows you to select between the default instrument panel and the one designed for the Flight 1 GTN 650 & 750 GPS.  By the selecting the Flight 1 model, this adds the Flight 1 GPS option to the Tobago P3D menu item and allows you to switch between default GNS 430 GPS, the GTN 650 and finally the GTN 750.  I captured screen grabs of the first two options and as you can see something has gone wrong with my install or there is a bug related to this.  Even though there is a 3D model of the GNS 430, the GTN screen is displayed for some strange reason.  The GTN 650 mode does work but it looks strange with the bottom GPS having a GNS 430 frame with a GTN screen.  The third option (clicking the menu item a third time) displays a single GTN 750 and this is the display that I will use regularly.  Hopefully this will be fixed in a future update but for now if I want to use a P3D flight plan, I will use the Default mode and if I want to use the GTN 750 I will select that option with the model switcher.  At least the aircraft remembers the panel state so I do not have to switch to the GTN 750 every time that I want to fly.  Now I am going to return to “cold and dark” so that I can run through the checklists.

   The engine and avionics is now on and because I am planning to use the autopilot, I need to perform the autopilot self-test as indicated by the illuminated “Trim” display.  After performing this test, you will hear an audible tone and the “Trim” display will extinguish and the autopilot is now ready to use.  I now enter my simple flight plan into the GTN 750 and dial the Ellensburg VOR into the GTN’s NAV 1 radio and also into the NAV 2 backup radio.  I really like when there are backup radios when developers include GTN 750 GPS options.  Lastly, I put the first leg’s heading into the HSI. I depart and love the impressive gear retracting animation and sound effects.  I am not an expert on flight dynamics but for me I think that the flight model with this release is improved from the earlier ones.  I think it climbs more realistic then with earlier versions, at 90 KIAS I can maintain about 750 FPM.  I have not noticed the trim issue that others have reported so I cannot report about it.  I now want to review the various autopilot modes so I steer towards my GPS course line.  The included KAP150 autopilot is a basic but a very functional autopilot.  The KAP150 is a two-axis (pitch & roll) autopilot with automatic elevator trim as well as automatic response to all selected autopilot modes.  Engaging the autopilot without using any of the modes provides the simplest functionality and is very useful if you need to take your hands off of the yoke for such things as looking at the map or tuning the radios.  Basically, it holds the aircraft pitch (useful when climbing to cruise altitude) and will maintain wings level.  This aircraft’s autopilot does not have an altitude selection function where the autopilot controls the climb or descent until the selected altitude.  “ALT” mode on the KAP150 simply maintains the current altitude.  As long as the vertical speed is no greater then 500FPM, press the “ALT” button to hold the current altitude and the vertical speed will level out at that altitude.  The process is very smooth and works very well.  “HDG” or heading mode is the easiest to use mode and works just like in any other aircraft, dial the heading on the HSI, press the “HDG” mode button and your aircraft will turn and follow that heading.  Since I had already dialed the heading to the Ellensburg VOR, my aircraft is now on its way to my first waypoint and I make small correction to the heading as needed.  Similar to other simulation aircraft, the Socata TB10 and TB20 have a NAV/GPS switch on the panel to let the autopilot know which course to follow when selecting the autopilot “NAV” mode.  The Flight 1 GTN 650/750 also has a CDI button that does the same thing (VLOC and GPS).  If you are new to this wonderful hobby, NAV or VLOC will follow the VOR Course dialed in NAV1 and GPS will follow the GPS flight plan.  The manual does an excellent job explaining how to use autopilot “NAV” mode and the autopilot follows both the GPS flight plan and VOR course without issue.  Be warned though that the KAP150 is not as sophisticated as more modern autopilots because you need to be very near to the GPS course or the autopilot will be fooled and will have trouble finding your route and will just complete circles in the sky.  The final two modes are “APR” approach and “BC” back course hold modes but I am not as experienced at using these functions so I will leave that to others but again the manual does a good job explaining their operation.

   I was also planning on reviewing the cruise performance compared to the performance tables but the fuel flow gauge did not seem to be working correctly (needle barely moves) with Service Pack 3.  This has been reported by others on the forum so I decided to continue with the review and hopefully Just Flight will issue another update.  The combination of the fuel flow gauge and the flight computer should provide all the information that you will need proper performance calculations.  Even without verifying performance accuracy, I think cruise performance was very good with an outside air temperature of zero degrees Celsius, a Manifold Pressure setting of 23” and RPM of 2300; I had a true airspeed of 176 knots with a ground speed of 196 knots.  Also according to the flight computer I was getting an acceptable fuel consumption rate of 24 nautical miles per gallon.  I want to repeat that I am not an expert on flight dynamics so if these figures should be different, I am sorry, I use the flight simulator for recreation instead of trying to achieve ultimate realism.  The TB-20 is a wonderful cross-country aircraft that is a real pleasure to hand fly or have the autopilot control the aircraft.  Before starting my descent I want to say that the VOR indicator works great when you want to manually fly to and from VOR stations or fly an instrument approach.  The approach and landing phases of flight are the similar to the TB-10 except for the landing gear and that the TB-20 is higher performance so I needed to plan my descent differently.  What I like about the aircraft performance after SP3 is I had an easier time slowing down the TB-20 then I did with the previous versions.  To finish this section, I think that Just Flight has fixed the issues of the previous versions and the TB-10 and TB-20 are a pleasure to fly and I am looking forward to many future flights.

Conclusion

Accessibility

The Socata TB-10 Tobago & TB-20 Trinidad package is currently available as a download only package from Just Flight and other flight simulator retailers so I would say it is very accessible.  The download size is not very large so users with limited internet bandwidth should not have issues downloading this package.

Affordability

At the time of this writing the cost of the package was $41.99 USD if purchased directly from Just Flight or possibly lower if purchasing from another vendor.  This is not an inexpensive aircraft but considering the amount of included features and it includes two different models, I still consider this a fair value. 

Ease of Installation

I cannot comment about the other vendors but it is extremely easy to install if purchased from Just Flight.  You do need an active internet connection for activation but there are no complicated serial codes or other unusual procedures to activate, just your Just Flight Account.

Features & System Performance

My favorite feature is the checklist because Just Flight has done this right and made the checklist window large enough for most people to read and use.  I also like that there is the ability to open the exterior inspection doors and check the oil level and replace other fluids.  Support for the Flight 1 GTN 650 and 750 without having to manually editing aircraft panel files is also a wonderful feature although I had some texture issues when selecting the GTN 650 with SP3.  System performance is outstanding on my system even when using the GTN 750 instrument panel.

Final Thoughts

I want to thank Just Flight for allowing me to review this wonderful aircraft package and it will be part of my virtual hangar for many years to come.  Both the TB-10 Tobago and TB-20 Trinidad are a pleasure to fly and Just Flight listens to their customers and responds with updates in a timely manner which sometimes does not happen with simulator developers.  For more information please visit the product page located here: http://www.justflight.com/product/tb10-tobago-and-tb20-trinidad .

Test System

Hardware:

Computer Specs:

Intel Desktop Computer

Intel i5 4670K 3.4Ghz Non OC Processor

8GB DDR3 1833 Memory

2TB SATA HD (7200 RPM)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX970 Video Card with 4GB GDDR5 Memory

Saitek Cessna Pro Flight Yoke, Rudder Pedals & Trim Wheel

Saitek Pro-Flight Switch Panel and Multi Panel

Software:

FSX: Steam Edition, Prepar3D Version 3

Windows 7 – 64 Bit

REX 4 Texture Direct with Soft Clouds

Orbx HD Trees, Global, Vector, Europe & NA Landclass & Multiple Regions

FS Global 2010 FTX Compatible

DX10 Scenery Fixer

FSX Fair Weather Theme

Flight Test Time:

25 hours

Review

by Mike Cameron

Introduction

  This is my first review of an X-Plane 10 product.  I installed a couple of earlier versions of the X-Plane simulator and to be perfectly honest they were not a good fit for the type of simulating that I like to do.  Also I was not impressed with the simulator textures and these simulators were not very user friendly for users new to the X-Plane world.  I have also acquired quite a few products designed for the FSX and Prepar3D simulators so I was not ready to invest into another simulator platform.  I consider myself a flight simulator enthusiast so I thought I should expand my collection and try X-Plane 10.  Laminar Research made this decision easy for me by announcing the release of X-Plane 11 and if the X-Plane 10 download product was purchased from Laminar Research, the same license would apply for X-Plane 11 product, which was an offer that I could not refuse.  I am very happy that I decided to give it another try because I loaded the default Cessna 172SP and I was impressed with default VC textures though as with the other simulators when I looked at a premium aircraft, I did notice the difference.  I also loaded the closest airport to my house, King County International Airport (Boeing Field) with the default scenery settings and I was able to smoothly pan around the cockpit which is great because the Seattle scenery area in the other simulators can have performance issues.  Setting up my controls was also easier for me than with earlier versions and from what I have seen in XP11, this has been improved further.  I have been using XP10 for a couple of weeks and so far that I like what I see.  Where X-Plane still has a long ways to go is with the default air traffic control communications, this feature is horrible.  I am not really interested online ATC and I will have to look into single player alternatives.  

The Quest Kodiak

   The information for this section was gathered from the Quest Aircraft Company website and Wikipedia.  The origins of the Quest Aircraft Company began with the Start of the Idaho Air Group, by Tom Hamilton and David Voetmann.  Both men recognized the need for a modern backcountry aircraft designed to meet the extraordinary demands of humanitarian aviation.  The company was officially launched in May 2001 and by that summer employed a staff of 14.  In 2002, the new 27,000 square foot facility was officially dedicated and the company moved production to this new facility and current home of Quest Aircraft located at Sandpoint Municipal Airport in Sandpoint, Idaho.  Work than began on the prototype aircraft, Kodiak registration number N490KQ.  Two years to the day that the production facility opened, the Quest Kodiak prototype made its first flight and within three months had completed its 50th flight.  In March 2007, serial number 001, the first fully conforming production aircraft, made its initial flight and joined the Kodiak prototype in the flight test program.   The Kodiak is a high wing, unpressurized, single-engine turboprop powered, fixed tricycle gear aircraft.  The Kodiak received FAA Type Certification on May 30th 2007, and began customer deliveries in December of that year with the first production aircraft delivered to Spirit Air.  Quest Kodiak’s are currently in service around the globe with charter operations, corporate operators, personal owners, sky diving operations, governments and humanitarian organizations such as the Mission Aviation Fellowship.  As of September 2013, a total of 100 Kodiaks have been produced by Quest Aircraft.  The Quest Mission Team (QMT) program which aims to sell one out of every eleven Kodiaks built to a mission organization at cost price. 

   The design goal of the development team was to create a utilitarian vehicle capable of carrying 10+ persons, using aluminum construction, short-field capability and have a good useful load.  Two features that help with the aircraft STOL performance are a fixed, discontinuous leading edge on the outboard wing and the high performance Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprop engine rated at 750 horsepower.  The passenger seats are track-mounted which can be easily removed.  It has standard recess doors for the pilot and co-pilot along with a clamshell door (49-1/4” x 49-1/4”) in the left aft fuselage for cargo loading or for access to the other eight passenger positions.  The lower half of the clamshell door has automatically extending /retracting steps.  In June 2010, Wipaire, Inc. was granted Supplemental Type Certification allowing Wipline 7000 Amphibious Floats to be installed on Kodiak’s.  In November of that same year it was also certified flight into known icing conditions after installation of a TKS system, which protects exposed surfaces with glycol – based fluids.

Performance

Dimensions:

Cabin Width: 4’6”

Cabin Height: 4’9”

Cabin Length: 15’10”

Cargo Volume (excluding cockpit): 248 cubic feet

Overall Length: 34’2”

Seating Capacity: 1-10

Doors: 3

Wing Area: 240 square feet

Wing Span: 45’

Horizontal Span: 20’

Overall Height: 15’3”

Weights:

Max. Ramp Weight: 7305 lbs.

Max. Takeoff Weight: 7255 lbs.

Base Aircraft Empty Weight: 3770 lbs.

Base Aircraft Useful Load: 3535 lbs.

Fuel Capacity: 320 Gallons

Performance: (without cargo pod)

Stall Speed Flaps up (VS1): 77 KCAS

Stall Speed Flaps down (VS0): 60 KCAS

Rate of Climb from Sea Level: 1371 FPM

Rate of Climb at 10000 Feet: 874 FPM

Takeoff Ground Roll: 934 Feet

Braked Roll (w/o reverse): 705 Feet

Certified Ceiling: 25000 Feet

Cruise Performance: 183 KTAS

Powerplant:

Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34

Takeoff Power at 2200 RPM: 750 HP

Maximum Continuous Power: 700 HP

Range & Endurance:

Maximum Cruise (174 KTAS, 12,000 feet): 1005 NM with cruise fuel consumption of 271 gallons with an endurance of 5.8 hours and assumes a consumption rate of 48 GPH.

Maximum Range Cruise: (135 KTAS, 12,000 feet):  1132 NM with cruise fuel consumption of 271 gallons with endurance of 8.4 hours and assumes rate of 33 GPH.

Maximum Endurance (95 KTAS, 12,000 feet): 944 NM with cruise fuel consumption of 271 gallons with endurance of 9.9 hours and assumes rate of 28 GPH.

Installation

   After purchase you will receive links for both the aircraft and the Carenado G1000 navigation database.  This email also contains a serial key that is used for activation.  Unpack both downloaded folders and the files are small, (aircraft 273 MB & database 871 MB), so downloading them should not be an issue.  If you already own a Carenado or Alabeo G1000 aircraft and have already downloaded this folder then you do not need to do this again because this aircraft uses the same database and you only need the one for all of your XP10 aircraft that use it.  This is my first XP10 premium aircraft and I was slightly intimidated with the install process.  First there is not an install program only the aircraft folder and its sub-folders and a install readme is not included so people new to X-Plane need to either ask or figure it out as they go.  The process is really very easy; the Quest Kodiak is considered a general aviation aircraft, so simply copy the entire aircraft folder to the X-plane “Aircraft”, “General Aviation” directory.  To uninstall, simply delete the aircraft folder, again very easy and this is probably my favorite aspect of the XP10 simulator.  The first time that you load the Quest Kodiak you will be asked to select between automatic or manual activation and follow the instructions.  Before doing this I recommend copying the serial key from your email and then select “Paste” on the activation screen.   Once the serial key is approved, all of the aircraft files will be unpacked and ready for use.  After this process is complete, a warning will be displayed to reload the aircraft but I recommend exiting X-Plane, restarting the simulator and then opening the Quest Kodiak.  I do not know if this is necessary but X-Plane remembers your previous session and I encountered simulator startup crashes when I exited with the Kodiak loaded.  So I get in the habit of opening the default C172 before closing XP10 and so far this solved my crash issue.  The Thranda Kodiak uses the Carenado G1000 NAV database and you simply copy this downloaded folder to your XP10 directory.  Seven detailed PDF documents are included with this aircraft and I recommend looking at them to get the most out of this aircraft.  I have to say that I like the X-Plane premium aircraft install procedure.  Thranda updates the Kodiak from time to time and to update, simply run update program located in the aircraft folder.  Updates are posted via the Thranda xplane.org forum located here:   http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/forum/304-quest-kodiak/ .

Interior Features:

   Sitting in the left seat looking at the right side of the cockpit I see a feature that is not very common in my aircraft installed on my other simulators, an animated person sitting in the 3D cockpit.  Overall, the textures and animation of this person work without a performance penalty but there is what I consider a serious flaw with the animation, the head moves at about chin level instead of the whole head moving which looks very strange.  I decided to turn on the cabin lights because with the time of day that I was writing this section, the cockpit was a little dark for capturing screen grabs.  I like the small three dimensional details that are included on the pilot and co-pilot such as the headsets and pocket protectors.  As I would expect with premium aircraft, the leather seats look very realistic and the X-Plane shadow effects are also very nice with this aircraft.  Cockpit features both large and small are all three dimensional and very realistic looking.  Signage textures are also of high quality even when I zoom in close. 

Now is a good time to open the Pop-up menu that allows you to control the various features of the Thranda Quest Kodiak and is accessed my pressing the small arrow on the left side of the window.  I found the click spot to open the right door but could not locate this same spot with the door open so I open this menu and select the “General” tab.  This window controls all of the basic features of the Thranda Quest Kodiak such as the doors, lights and exterior static features.  A wonderful graphical representation of the Kodiak is on this window that displays the status of these features and as you can see from the screen grab below, the right door is open as indicated by the red indication of this door on the aircraft outline.  As with all of the other exterior features, this door can be opened and closed by clicking on this door’s spot on the aircraft.  Until I got used to the exact spots for the left and right front door operation, I had a difficult time because these click spots are near the left and right engine cowling doors.  The actual click spots are located just in front of the windshield.  Another option is to use the “All Doors” function which will open or close all of the aircraft doors.  The animation and sound effect of the door operation is excellent.  Another interior option on the “General” tab is the ability to turn off or back on the window reflection feature which I prefer to be turned off.  Like the door operations, simply click anywhere on the windshield to use this feature. 

The “Camera” tab allows you to easily switch between all of the default X-Plane views and the custom exterior camera views.  Besides the default view the other two interior views are “Co-pilot” and “View from the Rear” which is the camera looking forward from the passenger compartment.  I like how the camera smoothly pans when switching between the views.  Selecting “Co-pilot” and looking at the pilot seat, the textures and features on this side of the cockpit are just as impressive as the right side.  Unlike the copilot, the pilot does not suffer from animation texture tearing and looks more realistic.  The pilot side window is very easy to operate and I like that I can hear outside noises when the window or the door is opened, and the sounds are realistically muted somewhat when the door and window are closed.  The passenger compartment looks just as impressive as the cockpit.  The passenger compartment has both an upper and lower door and I appreciate that they can both be opened and closed with click spots, though you need to be in an exterior view to close.  What I like about the X-Plane views is that they retain the default zoom and eye position so that when I adjust these values for a better view, I can quickly return to the default view without having to remember the default settings.  I am now going to adjust the system time to look at the lighting effects and it is impressive but Thranda has included a lighting feature that greatly enhances the experience, the ability to control the individual passenger lights.  They can be individually turned on and off from the “General” tab from the options window and the light direction is controlled from the passenger compartment, very impressive!

Exterior Features:

   There are three exterior paint schemes included with the base package along with a temp folder for repaints.  As infomercials like to say, “But wait there’s more” and before commenting about this wonderful feature I just want to say that the exterior textures of the Thranda Quest Kodiak are beautiful looking with wonderfully reflective surfaces.  To access this excellent exterior feature, open the “Pop-up” window and select the “Livery” tab which opens the Livery Manager with the “Painted Liveries” option currently selected.  This feature allows you to quickly select the various installed liveries “on-the-fly” in the simulator rather than using the X-Plane menu.  When you find the one that you would like to use select “Apply” which will automatically switch to the new paint scheme and will also open some basic exterior paint options for the virtual pilot to play with.  The feature that I do not like about this livery select feature is that when you select one, the “Pop-Up” options window color scheme also changes to match the new paint scheme with some much too dark for my taste.  I have not found a way to return to the default color of the options window so I will just have to live with it.

The “Dynamic Livery” option allows you to select an additional 22 liveries but also allows you to adjust the colors of all of the various exterior features for the selected aircraft.  I usually rely on other talented simulator artists to create new paint schemes for aircraft in my virtual hangar but with this easy to use option, anyone should be able to create their own custom livery for the Thranda Quest Kodiak.  To create your own custom paint, select the area of the aircraft that you want to customize, adjust the three color boxes which represent the three primary colors to the left of the color preview box.  For reference the color white is “255” which is now entered in all three color adjustment boxes.  For this example I select an aircraft with an all-white roof section and start adjusting the three primary colors until I have the desired color.  The nice thing about this feature is that the preview aircraft will display your adjustments; you can also assign a custom registration number and select “Apply” to save your changes and load your newly painted aircraft.  I used trial and error but if you want to be exact, look up the RGB value for the color and enter that information in the color boxes.  I love how easy this procedure is, simply left click in each of these boxes and use the mouse wheel to move the entry up and down and watch the preview window and aircraft display your color.   There are a few all-white templates to use if you want to fully customize the exterior look of an aircraft which is great.  Your new custom paints are only selectable from the “Dynamic Livery” page but the manual and the support forum located here: http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/109192-understanding-the-dynamic-livery-creator/ , does a great job explaining how to save your custom paint to be selectable from the X-Plane Aircraft menu.

If you like ground static objects and other realistic exterior features than you are going to love the Thranda Quest Kodiak.  I open the “Still Spot” view from the XP10 menu and also the Kodiak pop-up window default page that displays the aircraft outline.  This page allows you to select all of the various click spots to display or hide all of the “Cold & Dark” static features.  Two other ground features (electric tug & ground power cart) are selected using the appropriate sliders on this page and I enable them now.  The electric tug is very easy to use in the simulator, with the parking brake off, simply use your joystick/yoke and rudder pedals to move the aircraft into position.  The screen grab below has all of the static object click spot areas displayed as “green” meaning they are currently put away and the aircraft is ready for a flight.  Similar to controlling the doors, to display the various covers and tie downs, click on the appropriate spot on the aircraft outline but to save time I am going to click on “All Covers” and “All Tie – Downs”.   All of these static objects look great in the simulator and I love that when I adjust the zoom level, I can clearly read the labels on the flags and from this view I get a good look at the detailed gear assembly.  I own aircraft where the developers include some static objects but the Thranda Quest Kodiak includes everything for the most realistic cold and dark experience.  I am now going to hide the covers and tie-downs so that I and select and look at the other exterior features, removing the wheel fairings and attaching the cargo pod.  The Quest Kodiak is designed to operate in remote areas so on these flights, wheel fairings will probably not be installed and the exposed gear assemblies look great.  Selecting the “Cargo Pod” feature opens another option, operating the cargo pod doors.  When I first open these doors and look inside all I see is an empty compartment but Thranda has included a very realistic feature with this aircraft, manual passenger and cargo loading of the aircraft.  I load cargo into the pod and these items are now visible in the cargo pod, very nice!  I open the rest of the Kodiak doors and love the amount of interior detail that I can see from the exterior views.  Selecting the “Camera” tab allows the pilot to quickly select the various exterior views and can be useful for the exterior preflight inspection.  Simply click on the area on the aircraft outline and the camera will smoothly pan to that area of the aircraft and I sometimes adjust the zoom level and use my joystick pan control to get a better look.  I want to highlight another feature that is often overlooked with premium aircraft, a detailed engine which can be inspected by opening the left and right cowling doors.  It is all of these extra features that make the Thranda Quest Kodiak such an outstanding value.  I look forward to installing other X-plane premium aircraft to see if other developers provide so many realistic and wonderful features.  Lastly, it is now time to turn on all of the exterior lights and just like all of the other features, have very impressive effects.

Instrument Panel

The first screen grab is of the default pilot view position.  I turn on the master battery and avionics bus so the Garmin G1000 will power up.  This view allows me to see an overall view of the left side of the instrument panel but similar to the other G1000 equipped aircraft that I own for all simulators, this view is too far away for me to clearly see the information on the displays.  The included G1000 document does a good job explaining the features and functionality so I am not going to repeat it here.  If you are new to the Garmin G1000 system the left display directly in front of the pilot is the Primary Flight Display (PFD) which displays your critical flight information.  The middle display is the Multi-Function Display (MFD) which is primarily your moving map display but also displays the Kodiak’s engine and electrical instruments on the left side of the MFD.

The yoke is very easy to hide by clicking on the yoke base to provide a better view of the two switch panels and these are self-explanatory.  I like that the labels are clear, easy to read and that there operation provides a nice sound effect.  At the very left of the instrument panel contains the essential backup analog instruments along with the headset jacks and with the Version 1.3 update, Thranda added an attenuation function and when clicking on the jacks, sounds are muted somewhat similar to what you would experience when wearing a headset. I like when these types of realistic features are included or added based on customer input.  Between the PFD and MFD is the Audio Panel and the only thing that I want to comment about here is the small red button at the bottom of the panel.  Pressing this opens that backup system displays on the PFD and I always do this because I like having this information right in front of me.  There are plenty of other small information windows that can be opened on the PFD but I like an uncluttered display so other than the system display the only other window that I like to have displayed is the wind display.  Below the Audio Panel and the MFD are the S-TEC autopilot, flight & engine HOBBS meters, ELT and the oxygen system.  Both the ELT and the oxygen system are simulated which greatly adds to a realistic simulation experience.  I have not taken a flight that required oxygen but have had several hard landings which caused the very scary ELT alarm to sound.  I also like that the small battery is included which probably is the backup battery for the ELT.  It is this type of small but critical feature that often times overlooked with flight simulator aircraft.  I decided to zoom in close to get a good look at the outstanding labeling textures but the switches are still very usable from the default view.  Below these controls is the throttle quadrant.

I am now going to open the G1000 alternate view so that I can get a better look at the MFD and the other alternate views that Thranda provides are Copilot, Throttles, Switches and the Overhead panel.  I really like the smooth panning when you change views.  I am not going to review all of the MFD features but I like to have TOPO mode enabled and I also like to decrease the range enough so that I can actually read the navigation waypoints on the display.  I do want to note one major issue I had with the Kodiak MFD, I opened the checklist and not only could I not close this page, it seemed to lockup all of the other MFD softkeys and buttons.  I will be using the printed checklist so this is not an issue in the long run for me.  Depending on my performance I may enable the Traffic mode but I have not really noticed any AI traffic, maybe I do not have this set correctly, so I will probably just leave this off.  I do not have a ton of addons installed but for a G1000 equipped aircraft performance was very good on my system.  I normally do not like to post performance information but parked at a very detailed freeware KPDX airport I was getting about 35FPM which is slightly better than my other G1000 equipped aircraft.  Not too shabby and I was able to still smoothly pan around the cockpit with the engine running and the G1000 displays powered on.  The Overhead view provides the fuel controls and I like that the various placards installed in the Kodiak are readable when viewed up close.  From the Copilot view I can see what I consider a very nice feature, the cabin heating and ventilation system!  Even though I cannot feel the heating and cooling effect, I really like that the operation including the thermostat is simulated with the Thranda Quest Kodiak.  This is a fully functioning unit, for example, when you open the configuration page, the virtual pilot can switch between Fahrenheit and Centigrade, manage the vents and control the individual heaters which is great but after completing this section I found out about another wonderful feature.  The developer modeled the vent sounds in 3D so when you adjust the vents with the fan turned on; the sound effect level adjusts with the vent movement.  This is another realistic feature that again makes the Thranda Quest Kodiak one of my favorite simulated aircraft that I have installed on all of my simulators.  Before moving on to the flight model, I just want to say Thranda has included more features with the Quest Kodiak then similar general aviation aircraft, costing more.

Flight Model

   Since this is my first X-Plane premium aircraft review I want to explain how I review simulator aircraft.  I am not an expert in flight dynamics and have not piloted the Kodiak in the real world so I do in depth performance testing, comparing to performance tables, etc.  Flight simulation is my hobby and I am not practicing for real world pilot ratings so I approach my reviews by how approachable is the aircraft to a beginner to moderate experience flight simulator pilot.  That being said, I will use the checklists during the review and until I am comfortable with the operation of my new aircraft.  If speeds are listed on the checklists I will try to note how accurate they are in the simulation and will also comment if something does not seem to work as it should.  I am also not going to try every type of takeoff, landing or possible flight maneuver during the review because there are others that are better qualified to review these aspects.  I am going to do a couple of cross country flights for this review so that I can manually fly one and review the autopilot with the other one.

   To have the best exterior preflight inspection experience I recommend opening all doors and displaying all of the aircraft static features.  Unfortunately, checking the fuel condition, fuel and oil levers as well as other mechanical checks are not simulated but at least when asked to remove a static feature, you can which still adds to the simulation experience.  Accurate weight and balance is simulated and for simulator pilots this is probably more important.  The cabin inspection is self-explanatory and all I want to say is that it would be nice if a control lock is included in a future update.  For some of the procedures on all of the checklists, the interior camera views help because some of the controls, such as the throttle quadrant labeling are hard to see from the default pilot view.   After I become more familiar with the Kodiak this probably will not be necessary.  I like that after you turn on the master battery and the master avionics bus you can hear the avionics cooling fans which again add to the realistic Kodiak experience.   For the most part with the exception of some realistic procedures that are not simulated you can follow the interior preflight checklist for a satisfying experience. 

  When performing the exterior inspection you can use a combination of the X-Plane and Thranda views but I prefer to just use the XP Still Spot View and use my mouse to zoom and the yoke hat switch to simulate walking around the aircraft.  I also have the Pop-up window open so that I can remove the static object when needed to complete the inspection experience.  I already reviewed the exterior features but enjoy seeing the quality of these features again.  Before performing the engine start procedure, I need to load the aircraft and this is where the Weight and Balance feature is realistically simulated.  As you can see from the first screen grab below, the default weight values other than the pilot and copilot are not very realistic.  Adjusting the loaded weight and balance is very easy.  First, you can adjust the total payload amount at the top of the window and adjusting this will try to maintain the current center of gravity by adjusting all of the crew, passenger and cargo weights appropriately.  The downside to this is that because the crew was already loaded correctly, the pilot and co-pilot would suddenly become over weight and this is displayed by color code changing from green, yellow and finally red.  More realistic, is to load each of the seats and cargo areas separately, keeping the warning color green to indicate that you are still in a safe center of gravity.  It would be nice if Thranda would add a simple loading function such as “Empty”, “Half Load” or a “Full Passenger Load”.  The fuel loading is a separate function and as mentioned earlier if the cargo pod is installed that is also loaded separately.  The prefight procedures are now complete, it is time to start the engine and fly.

My first flight is going to be a short cross country as I continue to explore the Pacific Northwest in XP10.  When I first installed the Kodiak I had trouble starting the engine but after some research, I found out that I was not following the engine start procedures correctly.  After correcting my mistake the Quest Kodiak engine is really very easy to start, just follow the checklist exactly and monitor the engine instruments and it will start without issue with very impressive sound effects.  I recommend displaying the engine displays on the PFD, red button at the bottom of the audio panel, to make this process easier.  Before I taxi to the active runway I want to enter a flight plan into the MFD. XP10 does not have a flight planning function other than with the worthless default ATC functionality but there are alternatives available that will export the flight plan in the X-Plane FMS flight plan format.  I am going to perform a short flight from Scappoose Industrial Airport (KSPB) to Olympia (KOLM).  To review the G1000 flight plan functionality I am going to create a simple flight plan between these two airports with a couple of navigation waypoints enroute.  I decide to use the Thranda G1000 alternate view and zoom in close to make it easier for me to manually enter the waypoints in the MFD.  The first thing that I notice is that the Carenado NAV database does not automatically populate the departure airport into the first line on the G1000 flight plan but the entry process is similar to entering flight plans on other simulator GPS units.  Use the outer FMS knob to move the cursor position and the inner knob to select the character for that field.  Luckily the mouse wheel is activated for this function which makes this realistic but tedious process much easier.    After entering my flight plan I press the CDI button on the PFD until the magenta GPS course pointer is displayed.  I am not going use the ATC functionality for this flight but I have been using the freeware 124TH ATC V2 plugin for when I want to use air traffic control.  My primary issue with the default and this one is that they are both designed for IFR flight plans only and I have not figured out a way to use ATC for simple VFR flights.  The ground station frequencies may be tuned but other than ATIS are not usable until you file an IFR flight plan.  I tune the radio for ATIS so at least I know the wind speed and direction and start my taxi to the active.

I am used to the FSX/P3D turbine aircraft taxi procedure that when you apply power it takes some time for the aircraft to start moving so it is possible to apply to much power and have the aircraft “lurch” forward and taxi too fast.  With XP10, the response time seemed quicker to me but I still did not need too much throttle to get the Kodiak moving.  The checklist does provide a very useful tip; use the propeller beta range in order to save your brakes and this procedure seemed to work well.  I did not have any issues with the “Before Takeoff” checklist and I am now located at the active ready to get under way.  The Quest Kodiak is designed for operating out of remote airstrips so I am going to use the short field takeoff and landing procedures for this flight.  One thing that I have learned from my brief turboprop aircraft experience is that you slowly apply power and if full power is required, use only briefly for takeoff and then reduce to save your engine.  The engine instruments operate very realistically, smoothly and as long as you keep all of the instruments in green range, then you are doing good.  According to the “Short Field Takeoff” checklist the flap setting is 20 degrees, rotation at 50KIAS, and the initial climb is 72KIAS.  At 85KIAS, retract the first 10 degrees of flaps and at 95KIAS retract fully.  I can confirm these settings and this is going to be a terrific aircraft for operating into and out of remote Canadian and Alaska airstrips.  According to the “Enroute Climb” checklist I want to maintain 110-120KIAS, place the fuel pump on standby, reduce the propeller RPM to 2000-2200 and continue to monitor the instruments.  If you want to operate the Kodiak in the most realistic possible way consult the cruise power tables and adjust accordingly.  I personally just adjust power for a nice cruise speed as long as the engine instruments remain in the green range.  I am a more of a fly for fun simulator pilot rather than operating the aircraft in the most realistic way possible.  Other than consulting the performance tables the procedures are the same for cruise as the enroute climb procedures.  If visible moisture is present or the outside air temperature is less than 4 degrees Centigrade, turn on the Pitot/Static heat.  Climb and cruise performance is excellent and the Kodiak is very responsive to my control movements.  I am now cruising to my destination, my system settings are currently Torque: 1111, ITT is 495 degrees, propeller RPM is 2186 and the NG% is currently 78.9, all safely in the safe green range.  At these settings I had a current cruise speed of 142KIAS and 151KTAS with a fuel flow of 281 pounds per hour.  I forgot to right down my cruise altitude but terrain was not an issue with this short flight so I think I was less than 5000 feet.  I am not an expert in flight dynamics but I am perfectly happy with these performance numbers.  The “Descent” checklist is not much help and says to adjust power for desired rate of descent.  For approach, the checklist says lower flaps 10 degrees below 138 knots, 20 degrees below 120 knots and full (35 degrees) below 108 knots indicated.  I am going to perform a short field landing today so I will use full flaps for this approach.  The Kodiak slows down very quickly especially after lowering the first notch of flaps.  The short field touchdown speed is 76 knots and at this speed you should not have an issue with landing at short field airstrips.   I was able to perform a short field landing but will have to practice some more because I have a tendency to land a bit hard, even though I thought I was just above the runway, the ELT alarm would go off.  This sound effect is very impressive.  Others have reported this and it is possible to adjust a setting but realistically I need to try to land at as low of speed and descent rate as possible.  The “After Landing” and “Shutdown” checklists are self-explanatory and I did not have any issues with them.

I decided to do another review flight that is longer so that I can see how the S-TEC 55X autopilot works and also use the oxygen system because my cruise level for this flight will be 17,500 feet.  I am going to depart Olympia and fly to Felts Field (KSFF) located in Spokane, Washington and I will be crossing over the Cascade Mountains.  I start the Kodiak, enter 17500 for my altitude on the PFD, enter my flight plan and taxi to the active runway.  This is a basic but functional autopilot but does not automatically climb to your selected altitude in “ALT” mode.  Similar to other autopilots, with the S-TEC 55X, you also need to select vertical speed (VS) mode and select your rate of climb or descent.  For this flight I am going to use 700FPM.  The autopilot also controls your power level in order to maintain your current airspeed and the selected vertical speed.  This autopilot follows my GPS flight plan without issue in “NAV” mode and as I pass 10000 feet, I turn on the oxygen and turn off the landing lights.  The autopilot is controlling the aircraft without issue so I settle in and enjoy the outside scenery and continue monitoring the instruments.  I am now at my cruise altitude at 17,500 feet and discover another very realistic feature included with the Thranda Quest Kodiak, blacking out do too lack of oxygen!  I immediately perform an emergency descent and eventually the cockpit became visible again which is very good for me.  I thought that I must have run out of oxygen or this system had quit working.  When looking at the support forum I discovered that the oxygen system takes a while to fill the cockpit and the higher up that you are before activing it the longer it takes to fill up the cockpit, which is what happened to me.   It is recommended that you start the oxygen system at 7500 to 7800 feet so that there is enough time to fill the cockpit.  Now for the bad news, there is a bug with the oxygen system and that it depletes too rapidly and if you fly above 12,000 feet for any length of time, you will suffer the effects of hypoxia.  As of January 2017, there has not been an update to fix this so for now I will try to stay below 10,000 feet for most of my flights.  I love the realism and hopefully Thranda can come up with a fix.  I descend and land at Felts Field without issue this time.  To quickly conclude this section, the Thranda Quest Kodiak is a terrific aircraft to manually fly or to have the autopilot control the aircraft on those long cross country flights.

Conclusion

Accessibility

The Thranda Quest Kodiak is only sold at the x-plane.org online store so it is not as accessible as some other simulator aircraft.  I do not have an issue with this because this is similar to most other X-Plane add-on products.

Affordability

The Thranda Quest Kodiak retails for $33.95 which I consider a pretty good price considering the amount of features included with the package.  Another benefit, Thranda is going to provide free updates through the duration of the XP10 and XP11 simulator versions which is great.  An premium expansion pack containing additional Kodiak variants (ski, float & cargo) will be available in the near future.  For $33.95 I wish all variants would be included instead of having to purchase an expansion pack but for the right price and the added work required, I can certainly understand the reasoning for a premium expansion pack.

Ease of Installation

This is my first premium X-Plane aircraft and installation could not be easier.  Unpack the folder and copy this folder to the General Aviation folder in the X-Plane Aircraft directory.  My only nitpick is that a readme would have been nice explaining this process for people new to the X-Plane simulator like me.  The first time that you load the Kodiak, you will be asked if you want automatic or manual activation.  Automatic is recommended but does require an active internet connection.  Before doing this open the purchase email and copy the serial number to the Windows Clipboard.  On the activation window select “Paste” and the serial number will paste into the correct fields, very easy.  This aircraft uses the Carenado G1000 navigation database and because this is my first aircraft to use this I download and unpack this folder and place this Carenado folder into your root XP10 directory.  There is also a update utility included so when an update is posted run this file and follow the instructions to update the Kodiak.  Activation is still required for updates so do not lose your purchase email.

Features & System Performance

I am going to start with system performance first.  On my other simulators, G1000 glass panels tended to have some issues with performance, mostly with response times when using the various glass panel functions.  I did not notice this with the Thranda Quest Kodiak which is great.   I also did not have any performance issues with overall operation of this aircraft including smooth panning in the 3D cockpit.  There are so many nice features included with this aircraft that should make most flight simulator enthusiasts very happy.  My favorite feature is the Dynamic Livery Generator.  I am not talented enough to create my own paints for my other aircraft but with this simple to use utility, anyone can create and save custom paint jobs for the Thranda Quest Kodiak.  I wish other developers would include something like this with their aircraft.

Final Thoughts

I am going to keep this short.  The Thranda Quest Kodiak is one of my favorite simulator aircraft that I have ever installed on any of my simulators.  For a turboprop, it is relatively easy to operate, can operate into short airstrips and includes many wonderful features that I am proud to have it as my first premium X-Plane aircraft.  The developer is also very quick to issue updates for bug fixes and improved features.  I want to thank Thranda and x-plane.org for providing the review copy of this wonderful aircraft.  For more details and to purchase here is the link to product page: http://store.x-plane.org/Kodiak-Quest-G1000-_p_534.html .

Test System

Hardware:

Computer Specs:

Intel Desktop Computer

Intel i5 4670K 3.4Ghz Non OC Processor

8GB DDR3 1833 Memory

2TB SATA HD (7200 RPM)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX970 Video Card with 4GB GDDR5 Memory

Saitek Cessna Pro Flight Yoke, Rudder Pedals

Saitek Pro-Flight Multi Panel, Go Flight Landing Gear & Trim Module and GF-SECM Single Engine Control Module

Software:

X-Plane 10 64 Bit

Windows 7 – 64 Bit

Skymaxx Pro V3 and Real Weather Connector

Flight Test Time:

25 hours

Review

by Ray Marshall

First, let me make this crystal clear. This is NOT your typical introduction to a new add-on or product. This is a status report on the work-in-progress of a new up and coming flight simulator.  Aerofly FS 2 is indeed a very exciting new Flight Simulator specifically targeted for the global market - well it will eventually cover the globe - but significant improvements are already completed.  In fact, you can fly from the West Coast to the East Coast of the USA then on to Switzerland today.

Actually, you can start anyplace on earth and fly around the world if you like using the nav aids but, you will only find airports for take off and landing in three defined areas. Aerofly FS 2 calls these areas DLCs, DownLoad Content areas.  Now, these DLCs are exceptionally large, superbly done and generally have lots of detailed airports.

A majority of the earth’s surface has a very low-level terrain mesh with equally low-resolution images.  You can recognize geographic features from the higher altitudes but this is only intended for fly overs.  A higher resolution DLC of the world is probably in our future but, I would suspect the file size would be horrendous.  A more likely approach for the developer might be to complete the USA, then maybe the UK or large parts of Europe.  Those areas that we will be flying over to connect the high resolution DLCs are the likely targets for better resolution.

Some of our FSX – P3D – XP friends are already excited enough to chunk their old time simulator for this new and promising sim currently available on Steam as an “Early Access Game”.  I don’t personally plan on giving up my FSX or P3D anytime soon; I have far too much invested in the add-ons and each will co-exist with any new flight sim, like Aerofly FS 2, just fine.

As you read more and become familiar with Aerofly FS 2 hopefully you will see a very bright and entertaining future for our flight sim community.  The final product is probably nowhere near completion or even totally defined, but what I have been using for the past 3 weeks is very encouraging.  More than encouraging, I am absolutely excited as I learn more, and I hope to tell you why.

Don’t expect any sort of direct comparison between this new flight sim and FSX/P3D/X-Plane.  It is too early in the development of Aerofly FS 2 but, in several important areas Aerofly FS 2 already outshines, outperforms, and flat leaves the others in its wake as long as you don’t dig very deep.

I have to keep reminding myself that Aerofly FS 2 will be attracting more and more first time or rookie flight simmers that may have never even heard of FSX or P3D.  Many of these newcomers will be owners of one of the VR systems and they will have an advantage over us old timers.  They won’t have to unlearn anything.

Everything is not rosy however and it is not necessarily better in every way as some of the OMG threads might state. But, when looking at startup time, memory management, airplane selections and texture levels, available detailed airports, and ease of use it will be at the top of the charts and actually puts FSX to shame in every one of these categories.

Let me go on record as saying since I downloaded Aerofly FS 2 from the Steam store, I have not had a single PC crash, blue screen, VAS problem, controller failure, nothing. On the positive side, this thing is blazingly fast, smoother by far than anything I have ever seen. Initial configuration and startup was super simple and easy, and I have only scratched the surface of many of the features.

I have mostly Saitek controllers, pedals, panels, etc. and Aerofly FS 2 found them, configured them, and then gave me a choice of running at 60 FPS using vsync or switching to the windowed mode at 120 or 240 FPS.  No, that is not a typo.

Before you pause reading this review and rush over to the Steam store, you need to know how far along the development cycle is and what is still out there over the horizon and without a promised delivery date.

Even though the scenery is significantly higher grade than FSX default, for instance, and the airports are far superior to any default airport, and the 17 aircraft all appear to be from a payware shop, and it is indeed super-fast loading and buttery smooth - it is eerily quiet and lonely in the Aerofly FS 2 skies.

This is because there is no working ATC and no AI traffic to be found anyplace.  There is some talk about adding these necessary features, but nothing on the near horizon. 

To illustrate my point, here are some screenshots from the Southwestern USA.  This could be considered default scenery as it is a free DLC for Aerofly FS 2.

The weather is very basic, but the user does have global control of the wind speed and direction and can choose to have Cumulus and/or Cirrus clouds or not. There are four sliders for clouds (puffy cumulus or streaky cirrus) – two are for cloud density and two are for cloud height, high to low.

The Visibility slider rounds out the Conditions screen and offers low to high so you can have restricted visibility takeoffs and breakout of the weather at minimums for that early morning ILS approach.  But, this is nothing close to ‘real weather’ or what most folks are used to.

The reasoning is fully understandable – the target market is the casual flight simmer, not the hardcore, experienced, been flight simming since TRS80 days kinda guys and gals.

As a matter of fact, I like this so much I think I am going to redefine myself as a retired pilot and a casual flight simmer because this is so much more enjoyable – and just wait ‘til I show you Switzerland.

Before you stop here and move on, I would like to state that I haven’t been flight simming since the beginning, and I never used FS9 or FS2004, but I have been a real world pilot with a certificate or two in my wallet since before men walked on the moon.  And I have been writing reviews at Avsim since FSX was in its infancy and P3D was not yet a reality.

The intent is not to spend time, effort and frustration on setup, adding and configuring, running out of time, memory and money and such. But, to turn on the PC and go flying in a complex airplane with a high definition cockpit with autoflight capabilities and HD scenery out the window, or zip along at Mach 2 in a Hornet or Strike Eagle, or do loops and barrel rolls in the Pitts, or slip the surly bonds of earth, and dance the skies on laughter-silvered wings.  Oops, sorry, sometimes I get carried away.

Remember, it runs on Steam so you don’t have to manage your files, keep up with CDs or DVDs, try to figure out which add-on is interfering with the other add-on and keep checking back to see if you are missing an update or download.  There are no VAS warnings or ‘Out of Memory’ errors here.

Before we see it in action, I would like to summarize my 3 week evaluation of Aerofly FS 2. It has insanely quick loading times (in seconds, not minutes), not a single crash, no ‘VAS’ issues, quick and simple startup, high quality visuals and superb frame rates all the time. The way I like to fly – instant approaches, start over at a new location or altitude or with a different aircraft, and especially flying from outside the cockpit – Aerofly FS 2 provides all of this for me, today, right now.

All the stuff that drives me crazy with FSX and P3D are now gone, but, should I feel the urge for deeper systems or the need to experience a mechanical breakdown or failure, or to walk around and preflight my airplane,  I can always fall back on my existing flight sims.

OK, OK, I know, show me the numbers.  First, let me state that I have only been using Aerofly FS 2 for a very short time and started from absolute ground zero. I had not even read a press release or been to any of the forums, even though the initial release was in June, 2016, so there are probably many features that I haven’t even discovered or that I have failed to discuss.

About Aerofly FS 2

Aerofly FS 2 is a joint venture between IPACS and IKARUS and has evolved to this current form from earlier Flight Simulators that were designed for Radio Control models and Gliders.

Since 1998 IPACS, located in Tübingen just south of Stuttgart and IKARUS Modellsport, located in Schramberg-Waldmössingen in the black forest, have been developing these high-quality flight simulators in close cooperation. This newest flight simulator, Aerofly FS 2 is the result of that working history.

IPACS has a development team of 10 people working full time.  This includes three main programmers, two with Doctor of Physics degrees, a 3D Artists and Design staff of 5, plus 2 Aircraft Setup coder/programmers.  You can click on the About screen and read the credits and see the names of the team.  There is also a large question mark on the About screen that will take you to the IPACS support website where you will find tabs for FAQs, an interactive Manual, and galleries for aircraft and screenshots.

Aerofly FS 2 flight simulator is being developed to appeal to beginners and experts alike.  Dr. Torsten Hans frequently states their flight model, meaning the physical simulation of the flight dynamics, is considered one of the best on the market. He says they have many real world pilots that confirm this. Aerofly is even used by professional aerobatic pilots to prepare for tournaments.

This new 64 bit flight simulator has at its heart a newly developed in-house engine with outstanding flight physics.  It has a generous supply of 3D flight models, 3 large high-resolution geographic areas with about 250 detailed airports and some are probably in your backyard.

One really exciting aspect is that the design team is heavy on education and technical experience and they are eager to respond to the posts in the forums. They sound extremely intelligent and give me the impression they are there to build us the perfect flight sim.

A key item in Aerofly FS 2 is encouraging 3rd party involvement in all aspects – scenery, aircraft, ATC, the whole shebang.  They released an update to their SDK just last week and a user paint kit is just around the corner.  You can add your own scenery, airports, runways, buildings, aircraft, registration numbers, etc., limited only by your capabilities.

As a matter of fact, everything I see in Aerofly FS 2 seems to be based on original thinking and quite innovative. As an engineer and pilot, I realize that it is much harder to present a complex design or subject in a simple and uncluttered manner.  Obviously, Aerofly FS 2 has succeeded, quite well.

You can read a Q & A interview with the developer here. https://www.helisimmer.com/interview/interview-aerofly-fs2-developer-tosten-hans
 

This is how it is explained at the Steam store:

You might want to read this more than once as there are some very impressive features included like VR support, replay system, and interactive flight school in addition to those features that most of us would expect to find in a newly designed flight simulator.

I don’t have either VR system yet, but I do have the TrackIR and all the Saitek (now Logitech) panels.  Many of the OMG posts are coming from those fortunate owners of VR systems.  Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are supported for that awesome experience.

System Requirements.

These are quite low-end PC specs to provide that expansive list of features that we just read and reread. Even more astonishing is the recommended low setting of 120 fps when limiting the frame rate. 

That is not a typo, the default installation uses vsync and states if you are having problems, switch to the windowed mode and fix the frame rate at 120 fps.  The only other setting for limiting the frame rate is 240 fps - Whoa, you have my attention.

Before you run off shouting hallelujah keep in mind there is much more yet to be added. Possibly FPS eating pieces like Weather, ATC, AI, night-lighting and possibly some sort of Autogen.  But, even so, the bar has already been set at a tremendously higher level than many dreamed possible.

Keep in mind that Frame Counting, as in FPS, is only an indicator and a game or simulation can still have stutters and flashing or jagged edges that distract the user.  This one is buttery smooth on my PC with the FPS set in the Windowed mode at the recommended 120 FPS or 60 FPS in vsync. 

The keystroke Ctrl + F1 brings performance information up in super small text placed in the lower left corner of the screen.  I usually just press F12 for an instant screen shot and then zoom up the image to confirm that I am indeed running on 64 bits and 120 FPS. Wow.

And when a user asks a technical question on the forum and gets an answer like this, it makes you feel like the upcoming improvements are in good hands.

How do I get Aerofly FS 2 on my desktop?

The PC desktop version is only available on Steam and requires that you have a Steam account.  Unless you have a fiber optic cable terminating at your house, you are probably looking at an all-day or all night undertaking to download the initial install plus the optional content. You will also need something greater than 100 GB of free storage. The basic or initial install is around 35 GB, but then you will want to add the free Southwestern States DLC that is another 60 GB or so.

Aerofly FS 2 scenery comes only as downloadable content, DLC, with one large freeware high resolution Texture Pack for Southwestern USA and two additional high resolution Texture DLCs available for a small fee.  This Early Access version is set at a discounted price of $49.99 with the understanding that once enough development is achieved this price will most likely increase.  The scenery DLCs cost $9.99 each and are available as instant downloads. 

As of January 1, 2017 the following is available:

Fortunately, once started, Steam will do its thing in the background so you could indeed start the download and finish reading the review at the same time.

Can I download a printed manual prior to purchase?

Printed manuals are not offered, but, just last night a new website came alive with lots of new information and examples.  The plan is to continue to populate this site in English to be followed shortly with a German edition.

This new wiki web site has been established as a ‘one stop location’ for all information for Aerofly FS 2 users and developers. Check it out. You can find the new Software Development Kit, SDK, download link here along with several new ‘how-to’ pages for using Aerofly FS 2. https://www.aerofly.com/aerofly_fs_2/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start

The new SDK includes a full working model of the Robin DR400 so the user or developer can see how things come together and adjustments are made.  This is a key step in opening the doors for 3rd party development. 

Here is a link for the manual that I have been using. http://www.ikarus.net/en/manual-aeroflyfs2/

The included choices of aircraft.

At first glance, I thought this was a well-thought out collection of aircraft and surely most anyone would find one or more of their favorites in the virtual hangar.  A closer look confirmed my initial thoughts - these are really impressive aircraft.

The Cessna 172SP is one of the best that I have seen in any flight sim.  It recently received a ‘cold and dark mod’ adding features that I expect were sorely needed.  This fully equipped Skyhawk makes a great jump in and go fly airplane.

These stock or default aircraft include an Airbus A320-214 with CFM engines, a Boeing 747-400 Jumbo, a Boeing 737-500 flying Southwest Airline colors with the potential for an A380 and 777-300 at some future date.  A great start for those high flyers and those that want to fly from the East or West coast to the other coast or commute from Sacramento to Phoenix, for instance.

They have 3 warbirds, a WWII single, a slick twin and a WWI bi-plane.  These are the F4U Corsair with folding wings representing the Western Pacific theater, the P-38 Lightning with counter-rotating props from the European 8th Fighter Group and a British Sopwith F.1 Camel single-seat WWI fighter with a rotary engine and twin synchronized machine guns firing through the wooden prop.  This one was notorious for holding more fuel than it could takeoff with and adding an aft CG to the poor RAF pilot problems. No guns on our sim model.

For the acrobatic pilots the Pitts S-2B and Extra 330 LX should do the trick and the Swift glider is fully acrobatic.

For those that prefer twin propellers, the B58 Baron and King Air C90 Gtx turboprop are ready and waiting.

And for those that opt for the planes without propellers, they have a couple of high performance, super slick one-seat sailplanes.  The Schleicher ASG 29 with the perfect T-tail and extra-long and skinny wings with so much flex it looks like a bird.  I think this one has that little sustainer engine tucked away to stretch the glide just a little bit more.  The winglets make the effective wingspan even longer.

The other one is the Marganski Swift A1 acrobatic glider with retractable landing gear and stressed for 10g + and -.  This particular model is quite rare because so few were built.

For those that tend to lean toward the military hardware, they have a tandem seat Aermacchi MB-339 Italian single engine advanced trainer.  Once you ace the advanced course you can move right in to the McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet or the recently introduced F-15E Strike Eagle.  Many of the jet jockeys will be pleased to know the HUD in included and it works with all the planes (as one of the exterior views). A slider for size from small to large and a HUD Horizon on/off selection is found in the miscellaneous settings.

Saving the best for last, the outstanding Bombardier Learjet 45.  I am hoping someone at IPACS takes a special interest in this particular business jet and keeps tweaking it until we have one of the best ones in the flight simulator skies.  It is about time we got a high-end modern Learjet with winglets. 

I am so ready to move up from that large group of older Learjets.  The view from the cockpit is very different when looking at winglets rather than those huge wing tip fuel tanks needed to carry enough fuel to feed those older 20 and 30 series engines, not to mention the outstanding Primus 1000 avionics deck.

A Look at the VC panels.

I came across a one-page tutorial written by JvanE highlighting the A320 Airbus.  I loaded up the Lufthansa livery and setup a short flight from Zurich to Geneva – FL290, 3 VOR checkpoints and a straight in landing.  Using the step-by-step instructions it was a snap and very enjoyable. I think this is going to be one of the more popular features of Aerofly FS 2.  Grab an airliner, find a checklist, create a route, and go fly. 

As I taxied to the gates at Geneva and was waiting for the follow-me crew, I loaded up and snapped a few panel screenshots of whichever airplane caught my fancy. Take a look.

Inside the Aerofly FS 2 airplanes

Although, all these aircraft are absolutely stunning both inside and out and all can be flown today, there are improvements being made to add more system depth. To be fair, other than a statement about being highly detailed and fully animated, no one has ever said these were finalized with complete systems type airplanes. For the casual flyer, they are already much better than you could find anyplace else.

Granted, I did not fly each and every aircraft, but I did fly most of them and I found them all enjoyable.  However, if you are looking for something more than casual flying at this stage of development it is going to be a bit of hit or miss.

I have spent more time in the pilot’s seat of the Cessna 172SP and the Learjet 45 than all the others put together simply because I’m not writing an aircraft review, I’m writing a review of the Aerofly FS 2 flight simulator. My next tier of favorites will be the Boeing 737-500 and Airbus A320, one of the military jets, and probably the Extra 330 LX. 

This B737-500 also comes with Lufthansa colors.  Lufthansa has flown the model 300 & 500 since the 1980s and just last year retired the last one.  Well, not totally retired, they kept one -500 as a training aircraft and have several magazine articles and videos showing lots of closeup shots.  One key milestone is their 737 jets have flown around 2.3 billion kilometers for Lufthansa – roughly 300 trips to the moon and back. Lufthansa was the kickoff airline for the 737 family back in 1965, ordering 21 new 737-100s.  They have owned every classic model since for a total of 148 of these babies. Link for video http://magazin.lufthansa.com/xx/en/fleet/a737-500-en/der-ideale-coach/  You can also view a 360 deg panorama of the cockpit of the -500 at this website.

The Extra LX really is something special – this one is so much more advanced than the one we have been flying (300S). I wasn’t ready for the surprise of the crispness and clarity of the panel and gauges. I have never seen a payware level 330LX before – stunning. My first barrel roll, turned out to be 2 snap rolls, so go easy on the stick until you get the feel for this one. Check out the real world version here.  This is 2,000 pounds of pure joy.  55 kt stall, 220 kt Vne and stressed for +/- 10g.  Oh. Boy! http://www.extraaircraft.com/330LX.php

It seems to me that the acrobatic planes have the best panels for this ‘absolutely unreal high-definition textures’ look.  I had been flying Aerofly FS 2 for about a week or so when I loaded up the Pitts for the first time using my dual wide screens in vsync mode and I was astonished.  From the back seat you are just inches from the instrument panel and it is eye-popping outstanding texture work.  I snapped off a couple of screenshots and used a niftty feature to upload the screenshots to Steam – automatically.  Neat.

All the larger animations should work as expected, i.e., landing gear, flaps, spoilers, and control surfaces.  But, other than the recently updated mod for the Skyhawk, I didn’t see any cabin doors open or close yet, although you can view the VC cabins with the view selections.

Most have a working autopilot with more upgrades still in work. You can expect the AP to capture an Altitude and Heading and fly your route, and even fly an ILS approach. All the airliners that have LNAV/VNAV will fly the planned route automatically. The PFD will show the tuned ILS, course and distance to next waypoint.  This auto tuning is really nice – and it picks up the navaids from your route information and updates the time and distance to the next waypoint for you.  You see this on the moving Map, the green Route info at the top of the screen, and on the PFD.

I am pleased to see the IPACS folks know how the FLC function is supposed to work.  The Learjet 45 Flight Level Control feature already works better than anything I have in any of my payware bizjets.  Now if I could just get someone interested in putting a working FLC engage button on my Saitek Multi Panel I would be in flight sim heaven.

IPACS has a team working specifically on fine-tuning these auto flight systems, adding to and upgrading all the systems and capabilities to improve the feature list and add depth to their entire fleet.  New and more functional pages for the EICAS and ECAM equipped planes are already in work.

The basic flight gauges and indicators such as the attitude indicator, altimeter, VSI, airspeed, course deviation, PFD, ND, all work pretty much as expected but some of the secondary gauges for engine monitoring might not be working with real data just yet.

Those planes with EICAS or ECAM have the basic pages working but require additional work to add systems depth to become a full engine monitoring and control system.  The ones that I have been flying have no method of adding fuel or monitoring the fuel flows and no method of checking the CG or changing the payloads with passengers and baggage.

The most difficult part that I see is where to draw the line for aircraft complexity.  This is already at a much higher level than I was thinking for casual flyers. Of course, I always want more and more.  I suppose it would be reasonable to have a working autoland feature one day - just for the casual flight simmer, you understand.

I’m sure most or all of these items and many more will eventually be addressed and we will all benefit with improved aircraft with expanded features and systems depth for even more immersion, but I expect it will take time for these things to arrive.

It is so refreshing to read posts where a Developer Team Member makes comments like this . . .

Fortunately, because this is an ‘Early Access Game’ updates can be made piecemeal as the features and functions are developed. 

We shouldn’t have to wait for a ‘major update’ as such. The hard part is going to be the ‘Waiting’ and trying to ‘Please be Patient’ by the flight sim community.  This is one tough crowd and we aren’t known for having a lot of patience.

I’m sure each and every one of the aircraft will be that ‘special one’ or go-to favorite for someone.  I have two favorites, the slow Cessna and the fast Lear. The long haul folks will probably be attracted the A320 and B747, while the regional and charter drivers will go for the B737, the small twins and the Q400 when it arrives. 

For fast moving military jets Aerofly FS 2 offers both the F-15E Strike Eagle and the F-18C single-seat Hornet for those that want to experience speeds greater than the Concorde and 50,000 fpm burst climbs. For those that prefer the spinning props and radial engines we have the Corsair.  Boy, it is nice to finally have a high quality Navy fighter from the Pacific theater in our flight sim.

Just wait ‘til you feel that F4U’s outrageous 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial sending 2,000 hp to that equally outrageous Hamilton Standard Hydromatic 13 foot 4 inch 3-bladed prop. They were both the largest available at the time.  Be ready with plenty of right rudder and add power very slowly on that first takeoff roll.  Now this is when you will notice not only how smooth this engine/propeller works in Aerofly FS 2 but how smoothly your flight sim is running.  When you tuck up that heavy duty landing gear, you can appreciate that this was the very first fully retracting gear for landing on aircraft carriers. 

Bet you didn’t know why the Corsair had that funny looking inverted gull wing design.  Something to do with providing ground clearance for that huge propeller and still having the necessary room for folding wings on the aircraft carriers. Oops, sorry, sometimes I drift off. . . No wonder, the Black Sheep Squadron loved them so much.

If you crank up your sound system you can feel the prop biting into the wind and also watch the pictures hanging on the wall start sliding a bit askew, then you will appreciate the Aerofly FS 2 sounds.  The sound cone is very well done.  Moving around the planes in the exterior view is where the directional sounds are really noticeable. I did notice the sounds do not vary with the throttle position as they should in the Corsair – hopefully this will be corrected soon.  It should sound and feel like a freight train on the takeoff roll.

The moral of the story is that each and every one of the Aerofly FS 2 airplanes has a rich history just waiting to be discovered.

The Vought F4U Corsair unfolding its wings was chosen to be the first airplane you see in the official trailer for Aerofly FS 2.  Watch the < 2 min overview here. https://www.aerofly.com/aerofly_fs_2/ Note. Drooling is allowed.

Outside the Aerofly FS 2 airplanes

One of my favorite terms used to describe the exteriors and overall model presentation is ‘drop your socks gorgeous’ and I haven’t come up with a better way of describing these airplanes. Some might have the edge on the one to its side in the virtual hangar, but as a group they are all in the near outstanding category.  Many of these must be payware with new ownership simply because there are so many complex and highly detailed models included.

I suggest you spend some time at the screenshots tab and while you are there make a close inspection of the aircraft in the pictures.  The screenshot area at Steam is loaded with eye popping images of these aircraft and some dazzling scenery.  http://steamcommunity.com/app/434030/#scrollTop=0

So how do they fly?

This is always subjective and it is difficult to get two flight simmers to agree on almost anything, but, I think as a group, these are the best flying aircraft I have seen with only a few exceptions.  I have a special place in my memory for RealAir and A2A Simulations and it would be nice to add a third name to that list. We shall see as the aircraft and systems mature, but, the ones that I spent time in are better than many that I have in the dusty corners of my hard drive.

Many are going to ask if they are PMDG or Flight Sim Labs level payware.  No, of course not, but consider the price you are paying for just one of those specialty aircraft.

To me, the flying sensations and immersion levels, are probably somewhat different than the games-oriented flight simmer with a new VR headset, and the one who insists that everything be ‘totally realistic’.  I like to ask Mr. Realistic how he gets his airplanes started if he doesn’t use a mouse or keyboard?  I never had either in any of the airplanes I flew, realistically, for 5,000 logged hours. 

Bottom line, I really enjoy flying these new airplanes. They are different enough from those that I already have and are a welcome addition to my virtual hangar.  They look good, feel good, sound good, and are sophisticated enough to require some skill to fly. I like that because I prefer to use the systems and procedures and any available documentation that I can find when flying flight sim airplanes.  These are still a little shy of completion in this area but, I have all the confidence in the world that they will come out winners.

The Cold and Dark mod for the Cessna 172SP.

All these years we have taken for granted that a small Cessna would have animated doors and windows, a parking brake, and removable yoke among other things.  Seems like these simplest things are just now making their way into the Aerofly FS 2 models.  I did notice that although the windows now open and close with the new Cessna 172SP Cold and Dark mod, the hardware clasp that makes it happen in the real Skyhawk is totally missing in the sim.  Hmmm. 

Every time I load up or switch to the Skyhawk I see yet another improvement over the C172 that we have been flying all these years.  This is one gorgeous airplane and the sounds are spot on.  The paint coupled with the lighting and shadows gives it a surreal sort of look.  Everything just seems to look so much better in the Aerofly FS 2 skies.  Jump to this link and zoom up the images to full screen and see if you agree.  https://www.aerofly-sim.de/download/download-aeroflyfs2/af2_c172_download

I was told by a wise man to never compare different developers in an Avsim review.  But, I really would like to show the improvements in the default aircraft since the introduction of FSX and today. Using the same veritable Learjet 45, as the choice, we can compare the MS default Learjet 45 that we are all familiar (which is one of the better default aircraft) to the Aerofly FS 2 Learjet 45. The Aerofly FS 2 model is approaching payware level.

These remaining comparison screenshots tell the story.

How the world is divided up by Aerofly FS2.

This Flight Simulator comes with one free DLC consisting of a three state area in the Southwest adding high resolution textures with almost 200 improved airports.  The optional high resolution texture areas with improved airports are Northeastern USA and the entire country of Switzerland.

The entire Earth is flyable in Aerofly FS 2 using standard navigational aids so we can connect the dots while additional areas are being built for future DLCs.  Some parts of the world outside the DLCs are generally fuzzy looking without much detail and without any airports for landing but can surely be navigated.  Other parts seem to have better resolution as seen from high altitude.  

It is not like the ground is mush or such; it is just lower density terrain mesh and scenery without any improvements.  We will most likely see most of this unimproved global area eventually upgraded to something less than FS9 levels but better than what we see now. I think the limiting factor is the huge file sizes of the scenery for such a large area.

There are plenty of VORs, NDBs (non-directional beacons), and checkpoints worldwide and these are prominently shown on the world map.

I heard a rumor that Meigs Field in Chicago may be the first 3rd party airport and possibly be offered by Orbx for Aerofly FS 2.  I would like that, I wrote the FSX Steam review of KCGX a year ago, a joint venture between Orbx and Dovetail Games. 

The DLC Scenery Areas

The 3 states in the Southwestern USA DLC are California, Arizona, and Nevada with 191 improved airports. The recently released Northeastern USA DLC area has tons of New York City area buildings and structures plus 19 nearby improved airport areas.  The entire country of Switzerland is the only DLC outside the USA at this time and has 33 improved airport areas.

There are four areas of concentrated airports in this 3-state region.  These are the San Francisco, Los Angeles/San Diego, Phoenix, and Las Vegas areas. Each have multiple large airports and many, many outlying or nearby airports.  Of course, some of the most interesting ones may not be anywhere near any of these metropolitan area.

There are just about as many scenic areas as there are fingers on both hands. At the top of any list has to be the San Francisco bay area and surrounds and the Grand Canyon area.  If you like desert flying then the Phoenix and Grand Canyon areas would be your choice.  Mountain lovers might meet somewhere between Lake Tahoe/Reno, Nevada and Sacramento, California to the West, and Fresno/Yosemite to the South.

Of course, when you look at the really big picture of the world, the total DLCs make a relatively small total area, but it is still early.

I searched for some comparisons of the size of Switzerland to an area in the USA.  One comparison is that California is 10 times the geographical size of Switzerland, and Los Angeles county alone has 2 million more people that the entire country of Switzerland.  I think the scenic beauty of the mountains and valleys might sway me towards flying into every one of the Swiss airports.

Another good visual comparison is to superimpose Switzerland onto a map of the state of Pennsylvania in the heart of the NE USA DLC texture area. The country is about 1/3 the size of Pennsylvania.

The Really Big Flying Area for Aerofly FS2 – California and neighbouring states.

 https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/

This Southwestern USA DLC is a huge flying area.  It is 100% of California, about 95% of Arizona, and all of Nevada.  It even has an airport or two in southern Utah. I used the Navigation route planning feature to check some of the distances available for some longer flights that stay within the region. I was surprised how far it is from one end of California to the other and the same for Arizona.

The San Francisco bay area

This is one of the more scenic areas for flying and should be able to keep most of us entertained for quite some time.  I like to use Monterey airport as a base and fly around the Peninsula and check out the golf courses along the ocean coastline then head north over San Jose . We have airport after airport as we approach the bay area.  The city of San Francisco is especially well represented with the central business district and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, and the wharf area.

KSFO airport will probably be the hub for much of the airliner traffic with dozens of choices for the smaller aircraft.  Half Moon Bay airport has an attraction of its own.  I could spend a month or more just flying around looking at the islands and bridges.

Northern California and the Mountains

A recommended familiarization flight would be start at any of the Bay area airports and fly east over Sacramento then on to Reno and have lunch.  After lunch, fly South over Yosemite National Park to Fresno then back to Monterey.  You will see a varied countryside and will have a good feel for future flights.

Nevada and Arizona and the Desert

You can make a similar flight across mid-California.  Takeoff from Santa Barbara on the coast and fly over the Mohave Desert to Las Vegas – on your left as you are climbing out will be Burt Rutan’s Spaceport.  Make sure you fly around the city and check out all the Hotels and such.  This also needs a nighttime flight to see the lights.

From Las Vegas it is a short flight to the Grand Canyon.  For desert flying just head any Southern direction and end up in the Phoenix and Tucson area then fly almost due West to the San Diego area.  Desert flying is very different than any other flying. 

Once in Southern California you can spend a month or more seeing the sights.  This is the where there is an airport just about any place or any direction you choose to fly.

Nevada seems to be a little light on airports. This is probably because it is so thinly populated and the military uses almost the entire state for whatever purpose they choose.  You will find two clusters of airports – The Reno area and the Las Vegas area. But, whatever you do make sure you drop in at Area 51 for a visit.  Let me know if succeed in finding the UFO, there is one included. Cool.

Southern California with a mix of it all – Beach, Mountains, Desert, smog

To paraphrase Maverick in Topgun, “Goose, this is a target rich environment.” If airports were targets then Southern California certainly is a target-rich area.

I am somewhat familiar with this area and have flown many hours out of the Bob Hope airport in Burbank and I have Aerosoft’s US Cities X – Los Angeles scenery pack installed with my FSX flight sim.  I made a quick check of which airports are detailed, or present in Aerofly FS 2 and those that are just vague spots in the scenery.  Using the Los Angeles Terminal chart as a base I have marked those airports NOT included as an indicator.  See red circle map.

Just to make sure we also look at the ‘glass is half full’ side of things, the included airports have a green circle.  Not quite 50/50 but this is a highly concentrated area of airports.  Many were left over after World War II and eventually given to the nearest city or township. See green circle map.

The missing airports

Many of the missing or not-included airports could certainly be added by a 3rd party developer or maybe by a user using the SDK kit in case one of your favorites is not there.  There are so many airports in this area that unless you happen to know one is missing you might never miss it.  I do miss one. Take a look at these screenshots of the Navy’s TopGun Miramar base, KNKX, in North San Diego. 

It looks like it was intended to be included but never quite got the final treatment

Here is a closeup look at the fantastic number of airports that we do have available in the Southern California area of the free DLC.