Stephen

NEWS! Aircraft Released : PA-28-181 Piper Archer lll/LX/DX by AeroSphere Aerosphere Simulations have released the Piper Archer lll in a three variant collection, G1000 DX (Diesel), G1000 LX (Avgas), and the classic Steam-Gauge variant. This an X-Plane 12 aircraft, but the original X-Plane 11 version is also available. The PA-28-181 Archer IIl is a Four Seater, fixed landing gear aircraft with a Lycoming O-360-A4M engine of 180 hp (134 kW), gross weight 2,550 lb (1,157 kg). The Archer lll was first certified on 30 August 1994. The DX has a different engine configuration, with a turbocharged Continental CD-155 diesel engine of 155 hp (116 kW). Introduced at AERO Friedrichshafen in April 2014. The compression-ignition engine is more simpler to operate in also avoiding starting difficulties, carburetor icing or propeller and mixture controls, and the liquid cooling does not suffer shock cooling in a rapid descent. The LX has the reliable four-cylinder Avgas engine and advanced Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. Key Features: 6 HD Liveries: Includes 4096 x 4096 resolution textures with a plain white base for custom paint schemes. VR Ready: Optimized for virtual reality with intuitive hotspots and click regions. X-Plane 12 Enhancements: Native rain effects and stunning exterior 3D lighting. Dual Cockpit Options: Choose between the classic steam-gauge panel or the advanced G1000 glass cockpit. Advanced Avionics: Garmin G1000, 530, and 430 systems for a realistic flying experience. 3D Gauges & Interactive Cockpit: Fully animated knobs, buttons, and switches, along with functional cabin doors, storm windows, and baggage compartment doors. Customizable Yoke: Easily toggle the yoke on or off for an unobstructed view. Authentic Textures: High-quality textures sourced directly from real aircraft. FMOD Custom Sounds: Immersive audio for a true-to-life experience. Introduced in 2014, the Piper Archer DX was designed to utilize Jet-A fuel, making it a practical choice for regions where Avgas is scarce. Powered by a turbocharged Continental CD-155 diesel engine, this model features a gearbox to optimize propeller performance at subsonic speeds. It comes equipped with a constant-speed MT 3-blade propeller and a streamlined G1000 avionics suite. The DX also includes a single "Power Lever," a hallmark of Jet, Diesel, and FADEC-equipped aircraft. Images and video are courtesy of AeroSphere Simulations Design by AeroSphere Support forum for the Piper Archer XP12 _____________________________________ Yes! - PA-28-181 Piper Archer lll/LX/DX by AeroSphere Solutions is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : PA-28-181 Piper Archer lll/LX/DX Price is only US$35.00 Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) (if you need the XP11 version, get it here) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB VRAM Minimum. Current version: 1.0 (Feb 13th 2025) ___________________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 14th February 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

I wish I could (under table bracket), but the Ikea desk has a large frame underneath, so it won't fit, or be set too low. Love the idea of a small keyboard to get around the Alpha, interesting. Setting up those default profiles is time consuming, but as you say you can then refine the defaults to a particular aircraft. But back up the profiles, it is a lot of work to replace them, nice set up though...

Aircraft Review : Tecnam P2002 JF Sierra XP12 by Dmax3D If asked "What is the best beginner aircraft to learn to fly in X-Plane", Obviously you would recommend the Cessna 172SP. This aircraft has all the basics and controls in place to understand the main dynamics of flying. But what is you wanted something even easier, simple, simple, even set below the 172SP, well you can have that... with the Tecnam P2002 JF. This Tecnam is a "Simple Simon" aircraft, simple to set up, and very simple to fly, my advice is "If you can't fly the P2002, then give Simulation away, do something else like gardening". The aircraft is so easy in every aspect, easy to balance, easy to trim, easy to fly. The Tecnam P2002 Sierra is a two-seat, low-wing, light aircraft designed and constructed by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam. Introduced during the early 2000s. It was developed for compliance with both the very light aircraft (VLA) regulations present in Europe and light sport aircraft (LSA) regulations used in the United States. Under the rules of either area, the aircraft does not need to be provided with a recovery parachute. However, primarily as a consequence of its maximum weight (in a standard configuration) of 580 kg, the Sierra cannot be operated as a LSA in either Australia or Canada due to their lower weight limitation of 550 kg present on LSA. Its construction principally comprises conventional aluminium, and enables the aircraft to withstand the maximum load limits of +4/-2g.[2] The wing of the Sierra, consisting of a relatively straightforward planform albeit with stall strips present on the leading edges and gently upturned fairings at the tips, was designed in-house by Tecnam. The wing also accommodates a pair of integral tanks that provides a maximum fuel capacity of 110 litres, that gives the Tecnam a range of 1,092 km (679 mi, 590 nmi). The aircraft features conventional flight controls, using pushrods and cables that connect with the ailerons, all-moving horizontal stabiliser and rudder. These controls include an electrically actuated pitch trim function, which is operated via two separate buttons on top of each control column for raising and lowering the nose. Each aircraft is typically powered by a single Rotax 912 S2 engine, capable of 100 hp (75 kW). In a standard configuration, the engine drives a three-blade fixed-pitch propeller; various alternative propellers can be installed, including both fixed-pitch and variable-pitch models along with two and three-bladed models. A major market for the Sierra is the flight training sector; accordingly, its design and several of its major features, such as the use of a low-mounted wing and a bubble canopy, result in the aircraft being particularly well-suited to use as a trainer, and is well known for it's relatively gentle handling qualities.... the easy bit we were talking about. It may look like the original P2002 from DMAX, but the modeling is completely different for X-Plane 12 (as in completely remodeled). Get in close and you can see the higher quality of the design, much more realistic and the Tecnam now has that better X-Plane 12 look and feel, it is a really sweet nice aircraft. The external details are more realistic, rivets, wing design and panels, all now in Hi-Def PBR textures, it is certainly a big level jump in quality up from the X-Plane 11 version. Fixed tricycle undercarriage (designated by JF) is really well modeled, it is a simple arrangement, just spars, hubs and wheels (explained in the manual), but the detailing here is top notch. There are nice wheel fairings, but by pressing the wing logo on the central instrument panel you can hide them, but watch-out for the increased drag, it is noticeable in your power settings and higher fuel consumption. Wing profile and up-swept tip is really well modeled, as is the working leading edge "Stall Indicator". Cockpit canopy is absolutely first rate, it has excellent glass with wear and tear glazing and perfect reflections, you won't find better. Internally the P2002 is finely crafted. The Tecnam is only a two-seater sports aircraft, but it is nicely fitted out and not at all basic in look or feel. It feels high quality in here, Italian quality with lovely seats, and glider style seat belts, rear is a baggage net, and a few items are on the rear shelf, (Window breaker, first aid box and ELT (Emergency locator transmitter)). Twin styled sticks come from out of the front leather white seats. The Trim adjustment buttons don't work, so you will have to use a keyboard command setting, which I have anyway. Note only the two levers lower instrument panel, a throttle and a carburettor heat. No mixture or PROP levers, again it's all very simple. Under the canopy it is a very nice place to be, the view in almost every direction is open and clear, great for trainee flying. The instrument panel for a small aircraft like the P2002 is quite comprehensive, and a nice layout. Setup is... yes simple! Flying instruments left and engine gauges right, centre is the avionics stack. Lower is switchgear and a Flappy flap switch, then a very small console has only the Throttle and Carb heat. There are seven Instruments, the Standard Six lower; Airspeed, Artificial Horizon, Altimeter, Rate of Turn Indicator, Compass and V/S (Vertical Speed). Top left is your Electric Trim Indicator, and right is a CDI with a OBS (Omni Bearing Selector) knob, it is not its own instrument. The knob allows the selection (via the outer ring) of the radial (course) you wish to track from a VOR ground station. I love the blank (T) were there is no instrument, a nice detailed touch. You can switch the Airspeed from Knots to Km/h by touching the Instrument, noted here as an "Aneometer" Like with the OBS, the Compass is revolving (adjustable), so make sure you align it before flight. Right panel has top row; RPM Gauge and Flap indicator... flaps are electrically operated flaps with three selectable positions: • 0° (Up) – Used for normal cruise flight. • 15° (Takeoff/Approach) – Used for takeoff and approach, providing additional lift. • 40° (Landing/Full Down) – Used for landing, offering high drag and lift for a steep approach. But the Flappy Switch is a variable flap setting, so you can position the flaps between all the noted positions. Second row is CHT (Cylinder Head Temperature), Oil Temperature and BAR ((Barometric instrument). Third row has Fuel Pressure and Fuel Quantity in each tank (55 liters (14.5 US gallons) per wing tank, giving a total usable fuel capacity of 110 liters (29 US gallons). and Fuel Temperature Gauge. Lower row is Electrical, in Volts and Amps... all instruments are nicely Italian branded Orlini Instruments. Centre Avionics stack is the standard arrangement. Top a Garmin GMA 340 Audio Panel, Garmin GNS 530 GPS, GTX 345 Transponder and lower the S-TEC 55X, all are Laminar branded. Top row are three warning lights Stall/Alt/Blank, and lighting knobs. It is all a nice bit of kit for a basic training aircraft, nothing more, but nothing less than you need. But overall it is the quality of all the fittings that stands out. What is the P2002 like to fly? Well easy... Push up the throttle and you move smartly off the line, 80 knts and the nose will clear easily. There is not much asymmetric thrust to the left, a touch, but you can counter that aspect with not much effort. The Rotax 912 S2 engine pushes out 100 hp (75 kW), it feels more, as the aircraft is brisk, even climbing, it can go up at around 1,000 fpm, but on average about 600 fpm to 700 fpm is fine, and still the aircraft will willingly pull upwards without much stress. I am messing about with my new Honeycomb Bravo trim wheel, and it works fine with the Electric Trim, in green slots upper left panel. The Tecnam responds well to trimming, and will level out quite smoothly, the joystick has a rudder trim, but unless you set on the keyboard, there is no way to access it, however it's not really needed, a touch on takeoff maybe, and maybe a touch in flight to keep the tiddler straight hands off. The view out is excellent... Tight turns give you only limited slip (if trimmed correctly), even as high as 60º, so it is riskless in manoeuvres, unless you do something really stupid. It is a "go with the flow" aircraft, easy on the stick and you just turn or flow with the manoeuvre. Hands off flying is easy (trimmed), but the S-Tec 55X Autopilot can make it even easier if you want to take your eyes off the instruments. Sounds are excellent, internally and externally, it sounds like a Rotex, a very light plane engine in the nose, nothing heavy or drumming to the ear, very nice. Lighting as expected is basic. Three knobs control the; Cabin, Instruments and LEDs. The cabin light is set above and to the rear. Single left wing landing light has a lovely flare, and is quite effective. Navigation and single bright tail strobe is all of the external lighting. Effects are great, the Tecnam leaves a long exhaust trail in the sky, not very environmentally friendly, but looks great. I did a flap notch on the Flappy lever, but it only moved slightly and not to the T/O 15º setting, this very short flap movement unsettled the Tecnam, even though I was well inside in the (white band) flap zone, so I pulled back on the power and held the flappy lever down until I had 40º flap, and settled on a 50 knt (36,000 RPM) approach speed. In this state I had now a solid platform to make my landing. Note the huge "Barn Door" flaps, and they create a lot of drag, but they also balance and keep the P2002 very steady for the approach... 43 knts for a nice descent slope, just a slow sink, and the platform is rock smooth steady, anyone can do this... Touch your throttle slightly to go up or down, even with a slight nose up flare, the Tecnam will just sit there obeying your commands. Closer you get to 40 knts, the aircraft will aim for the runway boundary. You can hover in the air waiting for the right moment, then to simply lower the throttle off the power... ... totally in control, "Hey anyone can do this!" It is just a very sweet aircraft to fly... In taxi mode, it the P2002 is very nice, but the line between fast and slow is very fine throttle wise, here you don't have the Mixture (lean) to find a more relaxed taxi speed, so the Tecnam can in some instances taxi too fast, and will require consistent braking. No Mixture also means no way of switching off the engine, the only way to do so, is to switch off the fuel. The Tecnam comes with just a single blade fixed propeller. The Tecnam has two locks for the canopy, one above and one on the left side, but you only have to press one or the other to open the canopy rearwards. Features We have seen the nice pilot, adjust the "Weight and Balance" and you get another (Female) passenger, both of their heads, arms and legs are nicely animated, but not to the controls. Same with the rear baggage, adjust the baggage slider to get more bags in the rear. Adjusting for both an extra passenger and a full load of baggage, does put you very close to the Gross weight of the P2002. So the weight difference is very significant in this aspect, as it changes the dynamics of this 580 kg light aircraft. Want to look at the Four-Stroke Rotax 912 S2 engine, well you can as both the engine cowlings can be opened, revealing the power plant, it is really well done in detail. You can also open the Battery store, and inspect both wing tank Fuel Caps. Other options include; Tiedowns, Wheel Chocks and Pitot cover with tag, note if you don't remove the pitot cover it affects the Airspeed instrument! This is a nice and comprehensive "Walk around" or Pre-Flight inspection, you can even test the fuel and Oil inspection, with a "burp" if you rotate the Prop. There is finally a "Load Sheet", stored in the right side pocket. All Weights & Balances are shown, with a nice Centre of Gravity (CoG) graph, and all the numbers will update as you change the weights or use the fuel. There is no Menu here, just the touch hotspots to access the features here, you don't need a heavy menu here anyway, so it feels right. Liveries There is a White blank, and Five liveries provided, all have the same Italian Registration I-SIRA, some are partly coloured and others are New and Old designs. ______________ Summary Learning the basics of flying an aircraft is your first adventure into Simulation. There are credited aircraft to get you started, say a Cessna 172SP, or the smaller C160, they are about as basic as you can get. But here is the Tecnam P2002 JF from Italy. Another style of training aircraft, but this modern version compared to a Cessna is a more polished design. It covers every aspect of easy flight, beautifully balanced, quite powerful for it's size, easy to manoeuvre and still do a snail's pace landing that would satisfy any instructor, and it has only really one lever to worry about, a throttle lever. This lovely Tecnam P2002 fixed wheel two-seat aircraft is also a great polished Simulation from Dmax. Completely redesigned for X-Plane 12 (the X-Plane 11 version is part of the package). It comes with a better high quality sheen and detail you look for in a value price. It is beautifully done in detail, inside and out. Features are also excellent, that are are usually only found on more expensive aircraft, including "Walk Arounds", Chocks, Tie-Downs, Weight&Balance sheet, Pitot covers, Fuel and Oil samplers, fuel cocks and a detailed Rotax 912 S2 engine. Weights can add in a passenger and extra baggage in the rear. Great sound package. So the Tecnam P2002 is a quality training aircraft, perfect for the beginner, but also even a qualified pilot would really enjoy this lovely machine, it is a great little aircraft with brilliant dynamics and features... you can't ask for more really, can you. 👍 Really excellent quality in design, modeling and aerodynamics, super easy and great to fly, loads of features 👎 Can't find anything negative? __________________ Yes! the Tecnam P2002 JF Sierra XP12 by Dmax3D is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Tecnam P2002 JF Sierra XP12 Price is US$27.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 X-Plane 11 - The older XP11 version is still included as a bonus Windows, Mac or Linux 8GB VRAM recommended Current version: XP12 12.01 - Jan 21st 2025 ________________ Installation and documents: the download for the Tecnam P2002 JF is 95.9Mb, and is deposited in the "General Aviation" X-Plane folder. Full Installation is 158Mb Documents supplied are: POH_documentation.pdf (70 pages) There are a huge amount of Documentation provided here, with a complete POH, Checklist, Emergency Procedures, Features and a guide for installation. Designed by DMAX3D _____________________ Aircraft Review by Stephen Dutton 13th February 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.1.3 Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft -- KHAF - Half Moon Bay by Rising Dawn Studios (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$19.00 (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Mango Studios releases Toliss A320neo sound pack On 14th January 2025, Mango Studios released a sound package for the ToLiss A321 Series. So it was only a matter of time before the A320neo version was released as well, and here it is... ToLiss A320neo sound pack. The pack covers authentic real-world sounds for all the aircraft systems, including exterior and interior sounds. These sounds cover the aircraft’s APU, PTU, fuel pumps, hydraulic pumps, flaps, slats, and packs. As well as real-world recorded sounds for mechanical switches, buttons, selector knobs, and rotary dials for the cockpit overhead, pedestal, and FCU panel. Also new PA announcements are available via the plugin. Both CFM International LEAP 1-A engine and the Pratt & Whitney PW1100 engines are also covered, with the more modern dynamics. The Leap 1-has a higher bypass ratio (~11:1) and advanced materials for efficiency, in creating a very different soundscape than a standard High-Bypass aero engine, the different soundscape is also highly noticeable in the P&W 1100G, as it is GTF (Geared Turbofan) design. Both CEO (Current Engine Option) CFM 56/IAE2500 and NEO (New Engine Option) PW1100G/Leap 1-A sounds are provided in the package. Sound highlights include... Cockpit: High-quality sounds for blowers, packs, changes in electrical busses, and wipers, with pitch and volume changing depending on wiper speed. High-quality master warning, master caution, radar altitude callouts, EGPWS aural warnings, TCAS aural warnings, inner, middle, and outer marker aural warnings, mechanical horn inside and outside, and emergency evacuation horn for the cabin and cockpit. Cabin Real-world recorded sounds for hydraulic pumps, fuel pumps, flaps, slats, PTU, and APU. Passenger effects are also included and can be toggled on and off using our Mango Studios Sounds Plug-in. Miscellaneous Effects Ultra-realistic environmental effects for the entire aircraft, both inside and outside. These include rotate effect, gear roll, rattling effects, gear retraction/extension, gear, flap, and spoiler drag sounds. Soft, medium, and hard touchdown effects for the main gear, and touchdown sound effect for the nose gear. Tire sounds for the exterior of the aircraft on touchdown, as well as interior/exterior rain effects. Engine Sounds Inside and outside sounds for the CFM International LEAP 1-A engine and the Pratt & Whitney PW1100s. Real-world recorded interior/exterior start-up and shutdown sounds. Completely authentic engine sounds from idle to spool, inside and outside the aircraft. Custom exhaust sounds behind the engines and surround sounds when activating engine reversers. Installation instructions are provided to make the process more manageable, along with a manual to help you customize your volume settings in the volume menu. The package also comes at a value price for the excellent addon. __________________ Yes!... Toliss A320neo sound pack by Mango Studios is now Available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Mango Studios Toliss A320neo sound pack Price is: US$10.99 Requirements This is a Sound pack. The Toliss A320neo is required for this sound pack Current version 1.0 (February 10th 2025) ___________________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 11th February 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

The Etsy version has already sold out, but there is the Mimics3d version, cheaper too...

Hardware Unboxing : Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Sadly we don't do a lot of hardware reviews on X-PlaneReviews. The reason is we don't have a lot changing in that world to cover the new equipment, but I do admit, we should do more gear reviews. But our tools that we use are important, as they are our interaction with the Simulator on a physical level. The last review was when I bought the Saitek Pro Flight x56 Rhino HOTAS package of a Joystick and throttle, this was back late April 2017, or seven and a half years ago. That system replaced a Saitek x52 Pro Flight H.O.T.A.S. System which broke, the x56 Pro Flight is now quite worn. On the face of it, you can't really complain about seven and a half years of heavy review work, before starting to feel the pressure of consistent wear and tear, but from the start, the x56 as noted in the above review, was plagued with the same problems that the x52 was also known for, as the metal disk would drag badly up and down the centre shaft, no matter what you did. I used (a lot) of petroleum jelly or vaseline to keep it lubricated. the x56 has the same problem, but worse in that the centre shaft here is plastic and not metal, I thought the different springs would help, but it still drags (sticks) badly even on the lightest spring, it works better with no springs, but then the stick flops around all over the place, in times of desperation (mostly for Helicopter Reviews) I will take the spring off to fly the aircraft. But the consistent annoyance has been the x56 throttle hardware. Yes I love the solid switches, and why I kept it for so long. But a few years ago, it started to have USB issues, first with bad ghosting, then losing the data from the right side throttle lever. If you removed the USB and reinserted it, it worked, until it didn't again, even putting on the most powerful USB port, even buying a powered USB board, it consistently failed. The throttle levers were also not very effective in being draggy and heavy, even with the adjustment knob set in the lowest setting, so adjustment inputs were not very clean, messing you up trying to fly (again) Helicopters that required fine collective adjustments, or the fine ruined approach power adjustments that drove me to swear words. When the first lever started to do what the second one did a year or so ago, it was time to replace the system, enough was enough, I didn't want another full year swearing at it all the time. The Honeycomb Bravo Throttle system is not cheap, it is $300 American Dollars, that is just the throttle alone. Honeycomb Alpha Flight Controls Yoke & Switch Panel is another US$300 for the full system, but quality comes with a price as we shall see. Another point is that if you buy the Alpha and Beta combination set together, they are very, very large units, and they take up an immense amount of desk space, unless you build a frame for them, space is also required as you still need the use of a keyboard for access to the simulator. This size issue was a consideration of why I was reluctant to buy the Bravo earlier, high price aside. I don't think I would buy the Alpha for this space use alone, I love the idea and the quality of the Yoke (if going by the Bravo) as it is very high, so would probably stay with the Joystick arrangement, if a new one later in the year. So let us look at the Bravo Throttle... It came in a very big, BIG cardboard box? That unboxed to another very BIG box at 46.2cm x 32.7 cm x 25.5cm at 5.5 kg I love the quality of the packaging, it feels and looks very professional... the outer cover slipped off to reveal, yes another box... when opened, it was full of more little boxes! The two boxes are labeled "General Aviation" and "Commercial". Lift them out and remove the foam cover to reveal the huge Throttle Assembly below. Also inside is a large connection plate and a Manual. Lower in the box are two desk clamps and a USB Cable. The Throttle Assembly is massive and quite heavy, but all the components and boxes are of very high quality, very well made and again heavy in feel (plate/clamps). You certainly get a lot of components for your money, if it hurt at the checkout, you certainly won't feel that way with what you are delivered. Now lets look at my old Saitek layout, the x56 Joystick and Throttle, if anything it was a very nice setup, one that I liked a lot, it didn't get in the way either when you were not flying, as the Throttle component could be pushed back and out of the way between the two keyboards. The plate is positioned and held in position via the two clamps, very easy to do, and the clamps will take in a fair depth of the bench if you have a homemade bench. You can also use the sticky contact patch on the rear of the plate if you don't want to use the clamps, but once used (attached) then the contact patch can't be used again? note on how much the screw knobs hang down, and you can easily glaze a knee or two if you are not careful. The Throttle Assembly is then attached to the plate via the central pin, and tightened down via two scroll wheels at the rear, once tight the unit is very locked in and solid. To note that if you want your desk space back, then you can just disconnect the cable, then loosen the rear scroll wheels and slip the Throttle assembly back off the plate, it is only a very short disconnect and removable operation. I put it safe in a wardrobe if not required. Another small note... it gets very dusty, and the Bravo is very hard to clean with the slots, so when not being used it needs to be covered. The USB cable is then connected via the rear of the assembly to your computer. My Windows Computer is not positioned that very far away, only down the side of the desk on the floor. But the USB cable is only a meter long? very, very short for these sort of setups, it reached, but it is stretched tight across the desk, a two meter or longer cable is really required here, I don't like extension cables as they can come loose or do not connect correctly, so I found this short cable a bit odd. It is a USB-type C (to USB Type A) so a longer cable should be easy to replace. So here is the complete Throttle Assembly set up, and those two boxes have the sets (GA and Commercial) levers inside, this is a really nice bit of kit, it looks incredible in quality and detail. Top row on the facia are two knobs each end, left; ALT (Altitude), VS (Vertical Speed), HDG (Heading), CRS (Course) and IAS (Speed), right side is; DECR (Decrease) and INCR (Increase). Center are the seven selection rubber buttons; HDG, NAV, APR (Approach), ALT, VS and IAS. Far right is the AUTO PILOT button. lower is left the Landing Gear Toggle with three (Red/Green) lights, and lower far right is the Flap switch There are Seven Multi-Use switches centre, and lower a very nice 14 light Annunciator panel, with; Master Warning, Engine Fire, Low Oil Pressure, Low Fuel Pressure, Anti-Ice, APU, Master Caution, Vacuum, Low Hyd Pressure, Aux Fuel Pump, Parking Brake, Low Volts and Door. For over the lever slots you are provided with six rubber covers, that slot in to keep out the dust and to protect the contacts. Left of the lever slots is a very nice Trim Wheel, right is a lever tensioner knob. You have six levers, some have internal contacts, a few don't. These levers can be selected with the comprehensive range of levers provided in the "General Aviation" and "Commercial" boxes. Quality of the levers are simply outstanding, in both categories. You just push the levers on to connect. But they can be tight to come back off, but here are also new. Standard layout on Commercial is Speedbrake lever left, Four Throttles and the Flap Lever right. Note the excellent pop-up reverse thrust levers. There is an indent to stop you going into reverse mode, but as a lot of users have complained, it's not a heavy indent, so it is quite easy to flip over it, while you are only setting the throttles back to idle, like most I wish it was a tougher stronger stop gap The combinations are endless. Mostly with commercial you will use only two throttle levers (A320/B737/A350/B777), so you blank out the other two slots. Honeycomb recommend using the left two slots, but I hated that layout, and wanted the two levers in the centre of the pedestal, but in this position the TOGO (TakeOff - GoAround) red button on lever 1 doesn't work, but a guess says it just needs setting up, as the contacts are on the stub. Note on the third lever, you can rotate the handle to show either the number 2 or 3, just to work in this two lever arrangement as you are using lever slot 3, very clever. We have the four lever arrangement (B747/A340/Concorde) above, but you can also set up a three throttle lever set for the TriJets (MD11F/MD11P), and this is a brilliant set up. So this shows how versatile the system is. The Bravo can also be used with 3rd party throttle kits. Admittedly they are not cheap, as some kits cost more than the Bravo itself, but hunt around and there are cheaper options. Boeing 737 and Boeing 777 sets are excellent with gated flap runners... and Airbus A320/A380 also comes with pop-up Arming Speedbrakes. You can get a PC12 set, and even a Dash 8. But you would need to be a seriously rich Simmer to use these custom kits, me, I'd like all of them! The General Aviation set gives you six levers, Two Throttle, Two PROP and Two Mixture. These can be positioned to cover Single or Twin engined aircraft. If required you can set just the single Throttle and Mixture levers. You now realise on how very clever X-Plane as a product it really is. The Settings for the Honeycomb Bravo is via the "Joystick" Menu. Here you can assign any lever, button or switch. The "Joystick" menu moves and selects the correct format for you, selecting five different categories to choose from; Switches and AutoPilot, GA Throttles, Commercial 4 Engine Throttles, Commercial 2 Engine Throttles and Other Controls. Note, just because it says "Switches and AutoPilot", it doesn't mean that simply selecting from the XP menu that the Bravo unit will automatically work, as we shall see, it doesn't completely work that way? But command assignments can be made for buttons, switches, reverse selections and lever lower positions in the X-Plane menu. The work here is creating all the different lever layouts for the universal selection of aircraft. So you will at first create "User Profiles" for default settings, say "GA Single" and "GA Dual", or "4 Engine" or "2 Engine". These profiles can then be assigned to the different aircraft layouts, then refined for that particular aircraft. It is time consuming stuff, it can take days to do, to get the right profiles, then each set to be assigned to an aircraft. Note if you want the Twin throttle levers in the centre position, then you to set them up via the 4 Engine setup, to access the central 3 lever. But even after doing this profile assignments, the Bravo system is still not completely working? You also have to use something called a "HB Configurator Tool" (Config Tool). Were as the hardware throttle connects to your X-Plane settings, the Config Tool does the opposite in allowing X-Plane to talk to the throttle, in Annunciators and using the Autopilot switches and knobs. Thankfully when you start the HB Config Tool, it has a load of defaults that cover the basic default settings. You can download the HB Config Tool from both HoneyComb Aeronautical (Don't Google HB Config Tool, as you won't find it there?), or use Aerosoft, this option is better for configured profiles. Once you have downloaded the software, you then run the .exe file to install the software. (Options for a MAC install is included). When installed you have the "Honeycomb Configurator" Application available to open. Running the application, allows you to make "Profiles"... with a "Profile Editor" . First is "Actions"... Here you can; Create (a new profile), Activate (a current profile), Delete (a Current Profile), Change Selected Device, Open X-Plane Variable List, Download Profiles, Open Settings and Exit (Configurator) You can select a certain button or switch and create a "Press-Event" in two modes, Buttons/Switches or LED (lighting) selections. The Config Tool is complicated to use?? with coding skills required, however there are videos to learn how to create and insert these profiles - How to use Datarefs and Commands, this is a good one as well in Configuring for X-Plane. With the Config download, you do also get a default XP11 profile (works with XP12), so basically the system will now work, and the system is now active with RED/Green Gear Indicators, Red Annunciators and bright white Autopilot lighting. It is VERY nice! As noted you can download "Custom Profiles" and import them into the Config via the "Actions/Settings". These can be seen and selected in the "Profiles" Tab (also need to be made active via the settings menu). You can also "create" a new Profile if required. Lower Config panel is noted the current loaded profile : Default-Throttle. When you start up X-Plane, the Config will show the currently selected Profile for about 10 secs So here is the Honeycomb Bravo layout, it is very different than earlier, and notice on how far outwards the Bravo levers are compared to the x56 layout. To a point I am twisting in my chair to reach back to the levers, I quickly changed my stance to hold the levers underneath, than trying to operate them from the rear, and it actually felt more cockpit realistic to do it the way real life pilots do the throttle actions the same way. But the layout does take some getting used to I will admit. So some user notes. Oddly my biggest complaint is not with the hardware, or even the software? Honeycomb Aeronautical have done a brilliant job in creating a very high quality product. But seriously lacking is Documentation. There is a Manual (14 pages) repeated in English, German and French. This covers basically the Installation and Setup, which is pretty straightforward anyway. There is nothing on installing or using the HB Configurator Tool? The Honeycomb Aeronautical website is not much better. Your basically on your own to set up and configure the system yourself. Where Honeycomb could help you, they still fail badly. One, there are a series of videos on how to use Datarefs and Commands, but it is boring and not very informative, even complicated. There needs to be a section to explain (Video and Manual) on how the code is represented to use the required command. But worse, although Honeycomb do supply default profiles, they are not very good in operation, as a lot of required profile actions are missing, worse they are still labeled "X-Plane 11", and we have moved on a lot since then folks. They made this suite of tools, but can't be actually bothered to help you out with the basics, in reality it should be an easy drop in and use format. I can't state on how the other platforms fair from the default profiles, but default X-Plane is quite woeful. With something as complicated as the profile system, it should be far better organised. Yes I understand that with the various types of aircraft, there are a lot of different combinations of setups, but the default profiles could be far better in setting you up in the very basics. You get the feeling the programmer himself doesn't know how it works, so can't communicate that aspect in detail to you. This tool was released in 2020, and since that period, Honeycomb have done no manual or software updates, I think with equipment of this price range, they need to come to the table, may even garner them a few extra sales, by just making their product easier to access. Functionality So with poor profiles you get random settings. Some aircraft give you a lot of actions in Autopilot Functions, a lot don't. However mostly on the hardware side, like with the Throttles and Levers as connected by the X-Plane settings, then they do tend to work every time, as long as you set the right configuration for that aircraft's layout. A lot of aircraft however with the default and custom profiles will also work. but again expect limitations. When using the Autopilot, the ALT, HDG and IAS (Speed), then these selections will work fine with the adjustment knob, but the VS (Vertical Speed) and CRS (Course) don't work? a few like the IXEG B737 and Rotate MD-11 Series, you will find everything will work, but the odd MD-11 hardware settings have to be correct. All ToLiss aircraft work fine, but a few lose the VS and CRS options, but the button selections in HDG, NAV... so on, actually do work. Almost all the Laminar default aircraft will work with the "Default Profile", as they all use the basic X-Plane datarefs, but important is that you have the correct X-Plane Profile to match that particular aircraft's layout when using it. So time spent setting up the the different X-Plane Profile configurations... Single Engine, Twin Engine, Jet Twin and Jet Four Engine configuration, so you can match them quickly to the aircraft's particular setup is the way to save yourself a lot of frustration and confusion. That said... If the Autopilot functions work, even with only the three ALT, HDG and IAS selections, then your in for a treat. The Honeycomb Bravo is no replacement for a dedicated Autopilot panel, but it is universally very good to cover most aircraft systems. My first flight with the Bravo was the ToLiss A319, and "wow" this was a lot of fun to use the Honeycomb System, as the selection knob, buttons and adjustment knob works, and when it does, it gives you a very realistic Simulation. Not having to consistently move your forward view to adjust the aircraft's altitude, heading and speed, but to do it by touch and twiddling the knob is feeling like a Captain with four epaulets on your shoulders! Also the levers are far, far better with the pressure adjustment than the x56, lovely actually, as you can find that right feel tension pressure in moving them forwards and rearwards, a longer lever travel is also a bonus for taxi speeds and the more general throttle (thrust) control. Like noted the reverse gate detent, is just too weak to separate the forward to reverse thrust selections, so I was always notching it back up to the central position. So lever manipulation is very realistic, as noted you put your hand under the throttles to move them up, above down. But the very small reverser handles are hard to use from the side angle, but in most cases you will just push the throttle levers past the detent for full reverse thrust, and then back past the detent to disengage the reversers. Nice gear lever, is again very authentic in feel and use, but the Speedbrake lever is tricky to use in being free flowing. I also set the first switch left as the "Arm" command, as the lever won't jack up (It can on a custom 3rd party Airbus Kits), so you use the X-Plane Command "Speedbrake retract one" or "extend one" on the switch to use that function. I quickly got used to the Flap handle, which like the speedbrake is free moving... a lot of the aircraft you fly, have gates anyway to select the right position. But in the Airbuses, You can easily find the right selection slot (it is a feel thing, more than a visual one). I rarely use the Flap switch set higher, but only again with a Flappy switch on the aircraft, but it is handy if you want your flaps at say another detent down. But the Flappy switch can also confuse the Bravo, as if you use the Flappy switch, the Flap lever does not move itself to the correct indent, so the Honeycomb, doesn't know what to do (the flap handle will flicker on screen), so it is always best to use the Flap lever than the switch. The Trim wheel is fine in a manual mode, but you can't use it to set the Centre of Gravity takeoff setting in an airliner. Next was the IXEG B737, not flown the -300 for awhile, but set up with a custom profile(s) (both in a custom profile and an X-Plane custom profile), this aircraft showed how good the Honeycomb Bravo really is, one flight, two flights, three flights, and I just wanted more as almost all the buttons and controls worked perfectly, it was extremely immersive! The one that I was most excited about was the FlightFactor Boeing 777v2. FlightFactor have provided the correct HB commands for you to set the Autopilot and Switchgear (the custom commands are in the "Manual") for the Bravo. The command list is below, can take a fair while to set, but worthwhile here as virtually every knob works! So a HB Config profile is not needed. Note to Developers, please consider this option when releasing aircraft as it means you only need the one profile to set (X-Plane) for that particular aircraft. I would recommend to copy the created profile as a backup. If you look at the commands used by FlightFactor, one set is interesting. Here the Flappy switch is reassigned as the Parking Brake (trigger), and the idea works a treat on all Jet aircraft. I have already reassigned most of the airliners to this Flappy switch to Parking Brake action, and it is a clever use of a lever that could confuse the main flap lever's actions. So this is the point, if you do have the correct profiles, it the Honeycomb Bravo is totally brilliant, but a lot of the authenticity is missing if you don't have a working profile, as you are left with only the basics to fly with. Summary So let us sum up the Honeycomb Bravo Throttle System... Expensive, but you get a lot of quality hardware for your money, so I don't regret the purchase one little bit, as it is a very nice piece of kit. It takes up a lot of your desk space, and sticks outwards quite a lot from your desk, so you have to adjust your flying stance a lot to use it. All switches, buttons, levers and controls are of top quality in feel and use. As the multiple, if extremely versatile arrangements and layouts for a wide variety of aircraft is outstanding. Lighting is also outstanding, with Gear lights, AP selection lights and red Annunciators. It is a time consuming system to set up with two sets of profiles, and if like me flying a wide variety of aircraft, so you can spend a lot of time just in getting all the right hardware and profile combinations working together correctly. With the Saitek x56, I rarely changed settings, aircraft to aircraft, except for setting up to fly Helicopters. Certainly a static setup, refined in settings for a certain Simulation is to get the best out of the Bravo. Biggest barrier is the poor information presented for a complex profile setup by Honeycomb, there are a few videos, but you mostly certainly require more documentation on details. Provided default profiles are poor and after four years are still noted as X-Plane 11, and far too few profiles to cover the many simulation platforms and various aircraft out there, certainly an interactive forum would be actually a good idea for a central base of information and help (currently it is Aerosoft doing the hosting). Basically it needs someone to sort out the mess and give users better information and deliver professional profiles that work. USB cable is seriously too short at 1 meter, you would need to purchase a longer cable. If you know me well, you would know that anything that brings the real world aviation feel and interaction to create a higher level of realistic Simulation is going to make me happy. The Honeycomb Bravo Throttle can certainly deliver that aspect to your on-line flying, yes it is complicated to set up, but once configured is an amazing bit of hardware to use, and is totally recommended. _____________ The Honeycomb Bravo Throttle can be purchased at most leading On-Line Flight Simulation stores, for around US$300, but there is always a deal out there. Requirements ✅ PC (Windows 10/11) • Requires a USB-A port • Compatible with major flight simulators: • Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 (MSFS 2020) • X-Plane 11 & 12 • Prepar3D (P3D) • FSX (with some limitations) ✅ Xbox Compatibility • Works with Xbox Series X|S only when paired with a compatible yoke (e.g., Honeycomb Alpha XPC). Software & Drivers • Windows Users: Install the Honeycomb software/drivers from their official website for full configurability. • MSFS 2020 Users: Custom profiles may need to be set up in the simulator’s control settings. • X-Plane Users: Works out of the box but may require minor configuration. Hardware Compatibility • Designed to integrate seamlessly with the Honeycomb Alpha Yoke. • Works with third-party yokes and rudder pedals (e.g., Logitech, Thrustmaster, Turtle Beach). Installation Software needs to be downloaded in the HB Configurator Tool, available from Honeycomb & Aerosoft. Downloading the "X-Plane 11" version is the correct version for X-Plane 12. Documents Manual (14 pages) in English, German and French (Installation) Partner Offers ________________ Hardware Review by Stephen Dutton 7th February 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Aircraft Release : X-Hangar releases AEA Explorer 750T The AEA Explorer is in the same mold and design as the Cessna 208 Caravan, it is a utility aircraft sometimes called the "Explorer Explorer". The Aeronautical Engineers Australia (AEA) Explorer is a single-engined strut-braced high-wing monoplane with a retractable tricycle landing gear that retracts into under-fuselage sponsons, that is based in Adelaide, Australia. The prototype, designated Explorer 350R first flew in 1998 and was soon exhibited on promotional tours of Australia and the United States. The Explorer is currently being offered in two versions – the turboprop-powered version, the 500T (which first flew in 2000), and a stretched version of the 500T, designated 750T. The 750T is powered by the same Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-135B turboprop, 450 kW (600 shp) as the Cessna Caravan. Features include: Separate .zip files included for both v12 and v11 3D modeled pilot and copilot 3D passengers that load with payload weight Crew and passengers are hidden by default Opening doors with a mouse click Static models intended for preflight Menu for options. G1000 avionics Anti and De-ice systems 2 landing and 2 taxi lights Both red and white interior lighting Opening engine cowling Chocks and preflight flags User manual in .pdf format found in the Docs folder Checklist to use in the sim in .txt format Oxygen system included Avitab display International liveries Stripe and decals for painting Blank livery included for painting The AEA 750T is both X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11 compatible Images of the Explorer are courtesy of X-Hangar ________________ Yes! AEA Explorer 750T by X-Hangar is Available now from the X-Plane.Org Store here : AEA Explorer 750T Price Is US$24.95 X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB VRAM Minimum Download Size: 525 Mb Last updated Feb 5th 2025 ________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 6th February 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Scenery Released : NSFA - Faleolo Intl. Airport, Samoa by Cami de Bellis Here is another South Pacific scenery from renowned developer Cami De Bellis. This time it is Apia, in Samoa. As with all Cami's sceneries, it is just not a collection of buildings, but a unique environment to experience and explore. The paradisiacal and beautiful island of Samoa is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, close to American Samoa, and only a few hours flight away from Fiji, Tuvalu, Niue, Wallis and Futuna, and is connected daily with New Zealand and Australia, this scenery will take your breath away. Features Highly accurate scenery for NSFA- Faleolo International Airport. Over 130 custom objects all with Ambient Occlusion Terrain mesh created and modified to fix bump terrain and set and correctthe topography of Airport’s area. Individually adjusted XP12 default mesh for the airport area by Maps2XPlane (Ortho4XP-patch included) Photo real textures on buildings, vehicles, trees… Photorealistic ground textures based on a satellite image 90 cm. Detailed airport objects and GSE vehicles Custom textured taxiways, runways, and apron New Regional Terminal (Domestic) recently opened New VIP Terminal Custom surrounding buildings Custom airport lights HD High-resolution building textures – all in 2K and 4K Excellent night effects WT3 compatible Native characters created specially Ground traffic Jetways are fully operational Faleolo International Airport (IATA: APW, ICAO: NSFA) is an airport located 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Apia, the capital of Samoa. Until 1984, Faleolo could not accommodate jets larger than a Boeing 737. Services to the United States, Australia, or New Zealand, could only land at Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa. Since the airport's expansion, most international traffic now use Faleolo. The airport is at an elevation of 58 feet (18 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 08/26 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,000 by 45 metres (9,843 ft × 148 ft). The Pavement Classification Number for the runway is 058FBXT. Faleolo Tower has some jurisdiction over the airspace of American Samoa and Tonga as well as its own airspace. It is assisted by the tower at Nadi, Fiji and the whole area is under Oceanic Control from Auckland, New Zealand. This Faleolo, Apia scenery is X-Plane 12 only Images of Faleolo Intl. Airport, Samoa are courtesy of Cami de Bellis ________________ Yes! NSFA - Faleolo Intl. Airport, Samoa by Cami de Bellis is Available now from the X-Plane.Org Store here : NSFA - Faleolo Intl. Airport, Samoa Price Is US$17.60 Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP 11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.3 GB Version 1.0 (Feb 5th 2025) Current version 1.0 (January 11th 2024) ________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 6th February 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Aircraft Update : Nimbus UH-1 "Huey" XP12/11 The Nimbus UH-1 "Huey" was released back in September 2019 for X-Plane 11. The UH-1 has had a few updates including adding in the "Civilian" version. But not until this v1.8.6 release is the aircraft now fully X-Plane 12 compatible. It is a total overhaul of the aircraft to X-Plane 12 standards. It is a very big list of changes... Version XP12 1.8.6 (Feb 5th 2025) -Plugin updated to XP12 -All required files updated to XP12 -Rain effect on windows -GPS option in the Door and accessories window -New nav lights and beacon effects -Fixed landing light -Fixed searchlight -New panel textures -Improved cyclic textures -New pilot seat textures -Reduced slip at high speeds -Battery switch sound improved -switch sounds less repetitive -Throttle can be inverted -Idle stop button logic changed to fit real operation. -Low RPM alarm switch operation modified to match real life behavior -Door frame geometry normals fixed -Added commands for: *Rotor brake *Throttle idle stop *Landing light extend/retract -Transponder now works correctly -Tail rotor texture is now visible -Electric system behavior during startup improved Not shown here are the flight dynamic changes in X-Plane 12, they should be far better than the X-Plane 11 dynamics, note the XP11 will still be available even with the XP12 release as part of the package. The UH-1 is a utility military helicopter powered by a single Lycoming T53-L-11 turboshaft engine, 1,100 shp (820 kW), with two-blade main and tail rotors. It was the first member of the highly prolific Huey family, it was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet a United States Army's 1952 requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter, and first flew in 1956. UH-1H is the most-produced Huey version, and is the representative of all the various types. This aircraft was the improved UH-1D with the uprated Lycoming T53-L-13 engine of 1,400 shp (1,000 kW) and overall 5435 UH1H's were built. Images shown here are X-Plane 11 Features High quality 3D model PBR textures High quality 4K textures VR ready Black and also white panel and interior Usable side mounted guns Nothing beats the sound of a helicopter sound in real live so we are using High quality professionally recorded sounds to give you a realistic experience, every switch and knob, doors, guns, blade slap, engine and rotor sound is there. Vibrations play a big role on helicopters, the Nimbus UH-1 is full of animations and vibrations. Accurate systems simulation, fuel, electric and hydraulic systems are simulated, all the logic of switches, warnings and annunciators is present. Accurate handling and flight characteristics Accurate performance based on performance charts. Realistic night lightning with custom lights and textures. Particle system. 9 liveries including a military green and a white one for repaints. SASL powered _______________________________ The Bell UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" by Nimbus Simulations is available from the X-Plane.Org Store Nimbus UH-1 XP12 Priced at US$37.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 (2 versions included) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB VRAM Recommended Download Size: 580 MB Current version : XP12: 1.86 (Feb 5th 2025) XP11: 1.5 (March 4th 2021) Images are courtesy of Nimbus Simulations ____________________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 6th February 2025 Copyright©2025 : X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All rights reserved.

NEWS! - Aircraft Update : Concorde FXP version 3.51 XP12 by Colimata Colimata has updated the Concorde FXP to v3.51. This is the first update since to the release of Concorde's v3.5 release, with the introduction of CIVA v2 (the Concorde CIVA version) and the introduction of Autoland. This v3.51 release is a refinement of those changes, again for the Autoland and CIVA v2 intergration. Version 3.51 (Feb 5th 2025) + CIVA v2 compatibility improvements + Autopilot ALT HOLD, better transition + Other small Autopilot updates + Instrument night lighting less bright + Quick access buttons resize correctly + More small improvements By and large it is a small update, but an important one for the refinements included here, certainly with the Autopilot functions. Concorde is a legend of aviation. Its timelessly sleek design is still beautiful aircraft, and her capabilities are unmatched up to this date. This milestone in aviation history was developed and built in the ’60s of the last century, realizing what was before considered impossible: A supersonic passenger jet. Is it the four mighty Olympus engines and their reheat (afterburners) roaring during takeoff... slender shape with delta-shaped wings... unique flight capabilities like super-cruising at Mach 2 for hours... and landing with the legendary droop nose lowered. Concorde is all round a very unique experience! The new update v3.51 release is now available for updating (via your X-Plane.OrgStore account) or to purchase (on sale!) at the X-Plane.OrgStore. You can also update to v3.51 via your Skunkcraft Updater tool _____________________ Yes! the Concorde FXP version 3.51 by Colimata is now AVAILABLE from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Concorde FXP XP12 Price is US$59.95 (Currently on sale for only US$49.95.00 or you save $10.00 (10%) Requirements X-Plane 12 (not XP11 compatible) Windows, Mac and Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 622 MB Current version: 3.51(Feb 5th 2025) _____________________ News! update by Stephen Dutton 6th February 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Right Reserved

NEWS! - Aircraft Updated : Aeropro EuroFOX by vSkyLabs vSkyLabs have done a major update to the Aeropro EuroFOX, a small dainty STOL aircraft to X-Plane 12. This v9.0 update's focus is almost totally on the X-Plane12 dynamics, including the Flight Dynamics, Systems, Graphics and Interaction in allowing you to assign all aircraft switches, knobs, levers and interactions to a separated designated, uncluttered section in the X-Plane 12 assignment screen. The Aeropro Eurofox is a Slovak-built two-seat light high-winged aircraft. It qualifies as a light-sport aircraft in the United States. Aeropro was formed in 1990, and established its factory at Nitra in Slovakia. Deliveries of the Eurofox commenced in 1990. Since 1999, two versions have been produced, the conventional gear (taildragger) and the Tricycle gear. All versions have an enclosed cabin with two-side-by-side seats and folding wings. From 2009, the Eurofox models were marketed in the US and Canada by Aerotrek Aircraft of Bloomfield, Indiana. This firm has named the tri-gear version as the Aerotrek A240 and the tailwheel version as the Aerotrek A220. Latest versions can be equipped with an optional parachute recovery system. Both versions are offered with the 80 hp (60 kW) Rotax 912UL and the 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912ULS engines. Aircraft variants included in the package: EuroFOX-3K: Tri gear version. Sold in North America as the Aerotrek A240. EuroFOX-2K: Tailwheel version. Sold in North America as the Aerotrek A220. EuroFOX-2K/STOL. Major Update Release - XP12 - v9.0 (Feb 1st 2025) Flight dynamics: Airfoils update to the latest X-Plane 12 batch. Complete and deep flight-model overhaul to all 3 variants that covers engine and prop simulation, aero-design, CG and flight controls refinements to fall in line with the latest X-Plane 12 flight model capabilities. Aircraft performance and handling qualities tuneups for takeoff, cruise and STOL. Systems: Airspeed indicator multi-system plate was replaced with two switchable plates; Knots and km/h. Switching between plates is done via interaction with the ASI indicator (click) or via dedicated assignment. Brakes knob - extended throw and fixed pull/rotate animation. Graphics: Various required tuneups to fall in line with the latest X-Plane 12 rendering engine updates. Interaction: VSKYLABS 'Cockpit-Builders-Heaven' was implemented, allowing to assign all aircraft switches, knobs, levers and interactions in a designated, uncluttered section in the X-Plane 12 assignment screen. Project Highlights Three aircraft included (A240/A220/A220-STOL). Designed for X-Plane 12 cutting edge flight model environment. Authentic flight dynamics with authentic performance and flight handling characteristics. Built for VR: Tailored for VR, and optimized for 2D usage. Engineered and designed as a genuine, default X-Plane 12 aircraft. The VSKYLABS projects are practically show-casing X-Plane, as they are stretching X-Plane default features, systems and flight model to its limits without any dependencies on complementary plugins or software...delivering a very robust simulation model, having maximum compatibility with the ever evolving X-Plane flight simulator. Perfect fit for beginner and expert pilots. Practice your skills through the Tricycle landing gears EuroFOX, Tail-Wheel variant, and a STOL Bush-Plane variant. Equipped with Alpha Systems AOA 'Eagle' indicator replica. Built-in Avitab Plugin Compatibility (AviTab plugin is not included). FMOD 2.0 sound pack. Autoupdater based on the SkunkCrafts autoupdater - all updates are being pushed smoothly without the need to re-download the entire base package (base package will be updated every once in a while to minimize the gap). Highly responsive VSKYLABS support forums: VSKYLABS offers continuous professional support, from all aircraft related aspects (operating and flying) to X-Plane technical support. Includes the VSKYLABS 'Cockpit-Builders Heaven' assignment layer. It allows assigning all aircraft switches, knobs, levers and interactions in a designated, uncluttered section in the X-Plane 12 assignment screen. Under constant maintenance and development. This project is part of the VSKYLABS 'Test-Pilot' series, designed specifically for use with X-Plane 12 cutting edge Flight Model. This is a great package at a current low value price! Images are courtesy of vSkyLabs Design by VSKYLABS Support forum for the EuroFOX ___________________________ The Aeropro EuroFOX Project XP12 by VSkyLabs Flying Lab Project is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Aeropro EuroFOX Your Price: US$29.00 On Sale US$14.50 You Save:$14.50 (50% off) Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 9.0 (XP12) (Feb 1st 2025) ___________________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton' 3rd February 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

Behind the Screen : January 2025 I wrote in Behind the Screen January 2024, on how of the start of a New Year, I rebuild my X-Plane Application to a clean new version or install a new "vanilla". A major house clean out you could say ready for the new season. I have done this for about six years now, and at the end of 2024, the "2024" version was getting a bit sluggish and throwing up small errors. So the day after New Years Day, I started the annual process, downloaded a second copy and started the rebuild of X-Plane from the ground up. It didn't take long after the Laminar download had finished, as in about two hours later I was done, mostly resetting connections to the new "2025" version in the third party applications and filing away the non running aircraft and backing it all up, ran X-Plane to check then walked away happy. It was pretty busy over the Christmas and New Year season this year in X-Plane releases and quite a few updates, no one really took anytime off, so there was a lot to catch up on early in the new year. I had expected to restart on the 6th, but was already posting on the 3rd. But running X-Plane (2025) it didn't feel right, in fact it was a sluggish mess, barely running in the low 20's of framerate, it was slowing down my work output, and frustrating me no end. I could not understand or see why it was not running better, the idea of a refresh IS to make the application cleaner and more efficient to use, but this version was the opposite of most of the previous years new installations. Was it me, not yet in the groove? When you step out for a short while (I had an extra week off to visit relatives), then you need to get back into your groove, so was I just a little rusty, I don't think so, but into the first week of January 2025, I was being very distracted by a coughing, stuttering Simulator... It drove me nuts. Secondly was my Saitek X-56 throttle was also driving me nuts as well (I was groaning about it even back in Jan 24), it was already only working on one (sticking) lever which I have now suffered for several years, ghosting was another issue, and flickering lights. "Enough" I cried and reached for my credit card, and outlaid a ridiculous sum of money (even with a sales discount) on a Honeycomb Bravo Throttle system, but more about that later. There is nothing more distracting than something that is not working correctly, so I pulled out my earlier X-Plane 2024 version and re-rebuilt that to get it working again, so I could work. It did run, and far better than the 2025 installation, now I say, that shouldn't happen, they are supposed to be identical X-Plane installations, but both versions were quite different in the way they loaded the Simulator, and different when using it... head scratching time? What to do next? well it was to throw away another complete day and do another X-Plane copy download, reset the applications and try again. This "2025 v2" was another reset, and thankfully it worked fine, framerate lifted and the efficiency came back, I was back in business! But what was the cause? I got a clue a week later, because I was faced with another dilemma. Setting up a flight, all my TrafficGlobal (Just Flight) aircraft just disappeared? no reason "poof" gone! and there was suddenly no activity on the App's schedules. So here you were again downloading and installing the application, three times, and it was still as dead as a New Zealand dodo. Went to the JustFlight forums (very nice there) but after two days Simon and myself were still completely baffled on why the application absolutely refused to work? God give me a break... When trying fixes, the first thing you do is pull out plugins, which I did, but most of my plugins are well tested over the years, but I did it anyway... nope not that. Next is you pull out your old preferences, and so I rebuilt my preferences from scratch, and suddenly as mysteriously as they went away, my TrafficGlobal schedules started working again and the airports became populated with aircraft, TG was back in business, but preferences? even Simon couldn't work that one out? There was another preference bug. This one is associated with the weather, or "Real Weather". X-Plane was not reading the GRIP files correctly (again), and that was creating a stutter, or cycling of the framerate, again making the Simulator hard to use and feeling it was dragging itself through the mud, if "real" weather was heavy, then the Simulator was reacting to that, it was created a download preference that always gave you heavy thick weather that chewed up your framerate, even if you resorted back to a manual setting? the earlier setting still sat there and just ruined your efficiency in the background, and my guess was the cause of the poor performance of "2025 v1". You will be be very happy to know that the issue (GRIB) has been fixed in X-Plane 12.1.4. release. But how long has has that nasty bug been sitting there, ruining your flying hours, sending you mental with frustration. But you gut feeling is what you go on. You know instinctively that the Simulator is not performing as it should, the poor framerate is part of the clue, but the "Real" weather has been one of the consistent headaches since the start of X-Plane 12, a hidden changeable variable from one Simulation to the next. Hopefully X-Plane 12.1.4 has refined "Real" weather, It feels certainly more stable, and flights are now more within the proper numbers, a test is FlyTampa's EHAM - Schiphol with it's usual heavy weather, and currently it has passed the test with flying colours. Only with the X-Plane 12.1.4 beta update, my X-Plane Application is now working as normal, three weeks into the month. the Simulator is a complex living thing, and saved preferences can help you, or it will totally ruin your Simulation life. It is alive this code! As noted I bought the Honeycomb Bravo Throttle Unit, to replace my Saitek X-56 Throttle. I have been loyal to Saitek or Logitech as it is now known, but I will be honest, both systems in the X52 and X56 are not what I would call reliable, a worn wire in the X52 joystick head ruining that tool, as you couldn't repair it, then the trials and tribulations of the X56. I always found the throttles too draggy (yes the friction adjustment was set low), but the lever movement was unreliable and poor when trying to fly fine movements, as I used the throttle as a Helicopter collective (set to reverse), and for the fine adjustment for throttle control on landings, then one lever gave up working, unless you pulled the USB out and reinserted it, and yes tried everything to fix it, higher voltage USB ports, even a separate USB power board, to try to give it the excessive power it consumed to keep it active. In the end I just gave up and used the single (left) lever as my overall throttle, but even then it was troublesome, flickering, unreliable data to the Simulator, drove me nuts! As a statement the X56 spring joystick is annoying as well, I use as much fine grease as I can to make it deliver smooth inputs, it's draggy on the centre column, making smooth turns and takeoff pitches jittery, and in making your skilled flying look like a 1st rate amateur. I can't replace both (Joystick and Throttle) at this point, so this over greased up tool will have to soldier on for a while. The Honeycomb Bravo is a nice bit of kit, but it is a complex system. If you set it up for just one type of equipment, say a twin-engine aircraft, then it is not bad to quickly use. But there are the various choices even for a "Twin", an Airbus A320 setup, doesn't quite fit a B737 setup, then a A350, and the biggie, the FlightFactor B777v2. All close but not exactly the same layout, then the Dash 8 (FlyJSim) has twin throttles and twin mixtures, then it gets complicated with the gate for reverse and cutoff positions. Single engine aircraft can all be set up in various ways, like the excellent Thranda PC12, this machine has a mixture and throttle combined, and a separate PROP lever, then a Cessna can have two knobs or three, then the standard layout, Throttle, PROP and Mixture,then moving up you can have three throttles for the Rotate MD-11P and MD11F (brilliant BTW), and then the big four engine layouts, ToLiss A340 and Felis B742, again slightly different configurations are required to make it work correctly. I haven't yet sorted a Helicopter layout, with throttle and collective, or even say a V-22, with moving rotors. The problem is that basically most aircraft require their own personal profile, yes a lot do overlap, but X-Plane has a very wide range of aircraft to absorb and configure. It takes time, and the physical adjustment to the various different layouts is quite different in use. Very good mind you. But this was the easy part as you are familiar with the X-Plane settings. You also have to use something called a "HB Configurator Tool" (Config Tool). Were as the hardware throttle connects to your X-Plane settings, the Config Tool does the opposite in allowing X-Plane to talk to the throttle, in annunciators and using the Autopilot switches and knobs. Thankfully when you start the HB Config Tool, it has a load of defaults that cover the basic default settings (Thank God), but if you want to do a custom set up, then the App is quite complicated to understand and use. I have all the basics working that I need, but you need a university degree in coding to use it? The upshot of all this... is time. And just setting up basic throttle and lever layouts, for at the moment I have done about twelve aircraft which is slow work, plus every aircraft that I want to use, requires now it's own setup profile, talk about time consuming. Then flying that aircraft to see if the profile is working correctly. Adjustment to the protruding throttles is also a very different scenario than what I am used to, but make no mistake, the HB Throttle system is brilliant to use, but also very, very different than the HOTAS arrangement I am used to. In most cases a budding pilot will use the HB Throttle in a usually a single setup to the aircraft of their choice, for me, I'm a reviewer, and cover a very wide range of aircraft and systems... I will be doing an "Unboxing Review" of the Honeycomb Bravo Throttle soon, well as soon as I work out a few of the custom HB Config settings... So is January becoming a reset month and creating annual issues to be solved in resetting the X-Plane Simulator and all it's problems, now with trying to sort out new hardware. it's made for an interesting month, if with a lot of frustration and working through the issues, you have gotta love the simplicity of Simulation. As you can see on the header, I did an interview with Dominic Smith. I am not one to exult my myself, and more so would just like to work in the background. But showing and revealing the people behind the scenes of the X-Plane.Org and X-PlaneReviews is very revealing of how much the X-Plane.Org is important to Simulation, and people behind the scenes that make it all tick, of which I think is overdue. It was revealing to myself as well, my life and in the way I have a habit of always working too much! Welcome to 2025, see you all next month. Stephen Dutton 1st February 2025 Copyright©2025 X-Plane Reviews

Interview : X-Plane.Org - Stephen Dutton the Man behind X-PlaneReviews Conducted by Dominic Smith Introduction Stephen Dutton is the man behind X-PlaneReviews, one of the Org's most trusted review sites. Over the years, Stephen’s passion for X-Plane, combined with his eye for detail and extensive experience, has made him a key figure in the world of flight simulation. In this interview, we learn more about Stephen’s fascinating journey, the origins of X-PlaneReviews, and the challenges of running a review site. We also explore how his work, as part of the X-Plane.Org team, has contributed to the growth of the community and its developers. Stephen, to start, could you tell us about your history with aviation and your background in business? I was born about two miles from the now Airbus Hawarden complex outside Chester UK, so I’m Welsh, and most of my family have or are still working at Airbus, but back then it was Hawker Siddeley Aviation building the HS 125, so you were aware of the industry, and family were always talking about their work. I would have probably gone there, but my father had a serious accident, and we moved to Blackpool. My best friend at school was the first aviation nut I encountered, I visited his home and there was literally hundreds of model aircraft hanging from the ceiling and covering every space in the front living room, so we went spotting, Speke in Liverpool and Ringway at Manchester, watching turboprops (Viscounts, HS 748) and early jets (BAC one-eleven, Tridents). Martin wanted to go into the RAF, but was not accepted, and actually he later ended up working for Airbus at Hawarden! At the same time my father became a chef at Heathrow in the hotel off season, so I would spend the winter holidays at the London airport, this was the late sixties, early 70’s, the B747 services had just started and Concorde was doing service trials, but my eyes were always on the Vickers VC10’s, the most beautiful machine ever flown, but you still had the dozens of 707’s, DC-8’s, Caravelle’s, more Tridents, all trafficking around you, and you had a lot of airport access back then, until the Middle East high-jackings. But I was never going to be a pilot. I had a tonsil operation at six that went wrong by pulling a nerve in my neck, I was left deaf and slightly blind on the left side, so I would never pass a medical, certainly not back then, but maybe I would actually pass today. So, an aviation or Service career was never possible. My father then moved to Australia in the early seventies, so my career was riding the technological waves from the late 70’s to mid-2000’s. So I never worked for anyone else, but ran businesses that started with renting Video Recorders, opening the first Video Store, Video Cameras, then went pro into AV (Audio Visual) in supplying conventions and tradeshows with video projectors and pro monitors stacked together. I then moved into the first computer Video editing work with the just opened Qld Film Studios at Coomera, then moved into creating and developing DVDs for distribution. This aspect required a lot of graphic work, so anything visual, imaginative was my forte, then streaming came along… so, I was then looking at Digital Signage (my email is still dirdigital when I registered it), or the big video display signage that are very common now, anyway my doctor told me that if I didn’t stop working 15-hour days I would be dead in a year, today it’s what you would call a career change. What was the first flight sim you used, and when did you start using it? Microsoft put out an Apple Mac version of Flight Simulator in eighty-six, so I suppose I used it around eighty-eight. I was confronted with VOR’s, ILS, NDB’s, Waypoints, it was 2d (or even 1d if you think back) just a horizon and sky, very basic but it taught me the basics with a little desktop joystick. Then later I tried Fly2 in the early 2000’s, which was far better, still got it somewhere. So, around 2008, I went to a RAAF Open day at Amberley, by Brisbane, and there was a group of Simulation pilots flying F16’s in frames with keyboards strapped to the top and bottom, joysticks and rudder pedals, it was totally brilliant, and I thought “Yeah I want to do that”. When was the first time you tried X-Plane, and what drew you to it? Again, it was because X-Plane was an Apple Mac Flight Simulator, I had never used Windows at that point in 2009, as I hated Bill Gates for stealing the idea from Steve Jobs (who stole it from Xerox). Being in graphics the Mac was always far superior for graphic manipulation and video editing, I went to study art and had to use the Windows in a classroom, hated it even more, usually took the assignments home and redid them in a fraction of the time on the Mac, they printed out better as well with a colour-laser printer. Now I use Windows as my main X-Plane computer, for one Windows 10 went towards the Apple graphic model, secondly Windows are far more easily updated internally and is essential for running plugins, but the site and graphic work is still completed on a Mac, connected to the Windows. So, I had a new Mac Mini at the time and X-Plane would run quite well on that in X-Plane 9, and it was a load of fun. And why did you choose X-Plane over MSFS or other flight simulators? I quickly realised that MSFS was not great at the aerodynamics, plus the old, dated code restrictions that came with it like with 3gb file sizes. Whereas as X-Plane felt and acted more like in what a real aircraft would fly (The famous blade element theory) as I am big on authenticity, I wasn’t interested in MSFS. What inspired you to start X-PlaneReviews.com, and how has being part of the Org team helped you in running the site? Starting X-PlaneReviews wasn’t my idea. Like anything, when I do something I’m all in, and at the time around 2009 review sites were pretty average. I quickly became the third person in with Chip and Simon W at X+Sim+Reviews as it was the best one around at the time, mostly at first to clean it up graphic wise, make the site look more modern, then I was soon doing reviews. And I found I was very good at it, and learning fastIt was a crazy, mad place and a lot of fun. Then, life took its toll as Simon left and Chip faced significant challenges, and the site eventually fell apart. But it was a very good and entertaining site. I was then recruited by Aerosoft for their own new ASN Review Site, it was badly put together and badly run, very restricting creatively, not very innovative, so I left well before Aerosoft also gave up ASN and shut it down. I went on to what you would now call “Gardening Leave” for six months in the wilderness, but I really missed being part of that side of the X-Plane world, then I got an email from Nicolas Taureau, of the X-Plane.Org. He asked me if I wanted to run a review site and helped me set it up by allowing me access to the Org Store product and setting up the IPB site format, so basically X-PlaneReviews is his idea. Like everything, most X-Plane users don’t see the background work and the help the .Org does for the Simulator and in attracting new talent, but this massive support should be acknowledged in the history and growth of X-Plane, it also gave me a new career, and it’s nearly twelve years since that initial August start that X-PlaneReviews have been active. Running a review site sounds like a lot of work. What’s been the biggest challenge for you in keeping X-PlaneReviews going, and how has being part of the Org supported your efforts? If you want a successful site on the internet, then consistency is the most important aspect in achieving that goal, always being there and posting regularly is important, it can also mean a lot of work and effort, mostly time, and time is your enemy in reviewing. So, running a site is very demanding, it takes up a lot of your time, even personal time, and so you must be very careful in not to burn out. You’ve reviewed countless products over the years. What’s your process when putting a review together, and are there specific things you always look out for? The other issue is trying to keep content interesting, as in most cases you are in reality doing the same review over and over again. Thankfully a lot of the content has a new feature or highlights, say a new FMS system or something to focus the review on, or the feature list. Another point is to teach users on in how to use these complicated new features, so I combine the review with a tutorial as part of the process, again study and actually in mostly working it all out to simplify the transition for new users or even people not associated with aviation, in a format they can understand and can then easily use the technical information. This aspect is important, as when I started in X-Plane I found a lot of the systems confusing or finding it hard to find the information in on how to use it. I never forgot this aspect, so I see myself as a teacher as well as a reviewer. What’s something you wish more people knew about X-PlaneReviews or the Org team’s efforts in keeping the community engaged? It is the behind-the-scenes efforts. Feedback and testing of the new products, now more so as a lot of developers have dropped alpha testing, throwing betas out there, now the later fixing is the opposite of refining the product before it goes on sale. I tend to drive developers mad in finding things early, then, them saying “oh I don’t see that issue”, then three weeks after the release saying, “Okay I found that and fixed it”. The Org is a huge support system for developers, and that aspect is critically important, as the developers are at the heart of the Simulator, a lot of users contribute to X-Plane, but quality developers are the soul of the Simulator, they move it forward and keep us wanting the clever products they deliver. Again X-PlaneReviews I will note is the central balance, our aim is to deliver the best product for users and at a value price so the feedback going both ways is critical in achieving this. But it is very important that the developers are rewarded for the huge amount of work they put in, it is an important balance, if developers are found wanting in loss for their work, they will move on or leave to do something that rewards their skills better. As part of the Org team, how do you see the community’s role in helping platforms like ours continue to thrive, especially with the flight sim market becoming more competitive? The core and heart of X-Plane is the experimental aspect, and the Org is the engine room that allows users to say tinker, adjust, try ideas and create great tools for other users, it is a share environment, and a community project that we all do together, and we must continue to attract such people and their talents. Allow them to thrive in a good accommodating atmosphere, at the heart it is great community that I have been very proud to have been associated with as we all share the same spirit. Was there a particular moment in X-Plane’s history or development where you felt it picked up a gear? Maybe something that had a direct impact on how you saw the sim or how you approached writing your reviews? You basically react to the X-Plane Simulator itself, as it goes through its version changes. X-Plane 10 was the most significant release, it brought in big ground texture changes, 3d cockpits, FMS Systems and the most significant was the introduction of plugins to give aircraft developers freedom from the restricting Plane Maker system, X-Plane 11 built on that foundation, refining it, also bringing in the Vulkan/Metal changes. X-Plane 12 is certainly another huge breakthrough, but those original ground textures are now feeling their age. The flight sim world has changed a lot over the years. How do you think X-Plane has evolved, and what excites you most about where it’s headed? X-Plane has always been an innovator in Simulation, it is a very wide platform as well covering the Windows, Apple and Unix systems, so you are not restricted only to Windows, like with MSFS. That allows for a much wider scope and a vastly different user base. But it is in its consistent forward innovation that has been keeping the Simulator relevant, it is also very adaptable to new ideas, and can implement those ideas quicker, can adjust to those changes better. The Vulkan/Metal changes were extremely important to move X-Plane forward into the future, as everything new will be built on and supported by that APL platform. But it was a deep surgical operation to install it, one we can only now move on from, so I do expect X-Plane to move forward, as it lost a lot of its pace with that coding transformation, but you can now see that quicker forward building momentum returning. With Laminar Research starting their own store and forum, how do you think the X-Plane community can continue to thrive in the future? This is a tricky situation. As we have seen, the X-Plane.Org is a huge support network for users and developers, it also supports itself financially by the Org Store. I don’t think that on the surface Laminar Research has thought through the situation enough by just following the Microsoft model in using a built-in store. Even to damage a very successful central support hub could even be seen as even careless, I can understand it, and why, but X-Plane’s foundation is built on Laminar managing the Simulator’s technical side, and the Org supporting the big user base. That said, the one biggest challenge facing X-Plane at this point is growth. If anything, MSFS 2020 has shown that there is a very big user base out there that is interested in Simulation, and X-Plane will need to tap into that huge market to grow, as its user base has been flatlined for a few years. So, the future should all be about growth, building, even doubling that user base and welcoming new pilots to the platform, this aspect will benefit everyone and the Simulator itself. What advice would you give to new users looking to get more involved in the X-Plane.Org community and become a true part of it? I was like most new users when I started in X-Plane, I devoured hard drives and hard drives of free content, most of that content is still all loaded on platters in the cupboard, and I rarely use it. I was even blocked on my first day for over downloading, so the Org shut me down quick smart. What I found is there are two tiers of X-Plane, the what I call the “Low Res” X-Plane built on default aircraft and tons of free downloads, and “Hi Res”. This is a simpler X-Plane built on Quality Aircraft+Quality Scenery+ and a few clever Plugins. My X-Plane folder is a fraction of the size of what I used in the first two or so years of the Simulator. But my quality of Simulation is very high, I have invested to have the best and rarely now download free stuff unless required for a review. So yes, I invest a lot back into my Simulation, or as I see it in returning benefits to the developers in what they deliver in quality product. This aspect helps everyone. (note, reviewing aircraft is earning it, in testing and refining the product, so it is not actually free). When you’re not reviewing, what other hobbies or interests keep you busy? Most hobbies have usually turned into my main life’s work, X-Plane is a good example of that. I’m older now, so time off is usually resting, I have always loved Film, and the production of Film, and had the experience of being a part of that process for a few years, but I feel film as a medium is struggling, lost its narrative in Special Effects, so I rarely go to the cinema now, note I say Film not Movie, as it is now more an entertainment medium, not an ideas or creative medium anymore, but I do have a big DVD collection to watch none-streaming films. Travel of course, anything that will get me on a seat on an aircraft or a berth on a ship and I am happy, I’m also a trained Travel Consultant, so I am very good at building up travel arrangements and ideas. In my off time, I’m also still flying my Boeing 747’s from London to Singapore, but in vastly different conditions and circumstances than in X-Plane 9, the tools and detail you have available today in X-Plane 12 is sensational. Finally what advice would you give to someone looking to get more involved in the X-Plane.Org community and become a true part of it, and what do you think makes the Org community stand out in this often-crowded environment? The beauty of the X-Plane.Org community is that anyone, from a 10-year-old to a 90-year-old can be a part of it, help each other, and we all grow together as basically a big family. The advice is also there as Simulation is also very complex, the Community admin, and experienced users (old timers) will help you with your problems, and mostly sort out your issues, and the support base is massive as is the huge amount of content available. But overall, it is the respect we give each other, treat each other for the support of one another that has made it one of the best online communities, and one we are proud to say the one we are also committed to. Now you know the man behind the reviews and the incredible dedication he brings to the X-Plane community. Stephen, I know firsthand how busy you are, so thank you for taking the time to do this. Yeah, it was a lot of fun! ______________________________

Scenery Review : LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport, Slovakia by Chudoba Designs and Flying Partners In the hub and spoke system, were as a "Hub" is a major airport, usually associated with a city, to the "Spoke" or a small regional Airport that is an interesting destination. Most Simulation users usually stay on the "Hub to Hub" main line of the connections of the airline system, but I like the differences that a large Hub to a small Spoke destination, mainly to explore places you would never usually go to, or to "go off the beaten path" so to speak. Chudoba do a lot of these excellent Hub & Spoke sceneries. This is such a spoke regional airport, or destination in LZTT - Poprad-Tatry Airport that is in Slovakia. Poprad is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. The largest town of the Spiš region and the largest of all towns in the vicinity of the High Tatra Mountains in both Slovakia and Poland, Poprad is the tenth largest city in Slovakia, with a population of approximately 50,000. The Poprad-Tatry Airport is interesting because of it is one of the highest elevations in Central Europe, at 718 m, which is 150 m higher than Innsbruck Airport in Austria, but 989 m lower than Samedan Airport in Switzerland. So you will have to calculate carefully your landing altitude and not to create a large hole in the ground. This is a destination more popular than you would think, as even Wizz Air and Ryanair connect out here to bring in the holiday makers to these excellent resorts, it is cheap skiing compared to the heavily used French and Swiss resorts. As noted Chudoba Designs does a lot of these interesting sort of niche sceneries like; Göteborg Landvetter Sweden, Brno-Tuřany in the Czech Republic, Bratislava Airport and even Marsa Alam, which is one of the most visited tourist airports in Egypt. Here with Poprad there is local connection with another another developer in Flying Partners Slovakia, an established MSFS 2020 developer. It is only a short hop from Vienna to Poprad, so there is no need to climb any higher that 26,000ft, before descending down to the resort town, as it is only 170 nautical miles between the two Airports (You could drive there really). Equipment? the A319 from ToLiss, the baby bus, perfect for the short route. Arrival is via EPEDA3D, into runway 27 (ILS- 110.1 TT), there is no ILS on the other end of the 8,530 ft (2,600m) runway (09)... Poprad–Tatry Airport Letisko Poprad-Tatry 09/27 - 8,530ft (2,600m) - Concrete 07R/25L- 2,493ft (760m) - Grass 07L/25R - 2,493ft (760m) - Grass Elevation AMSL2,356 ft / 718 m First view is just of a single runway, and with no airport infrastructure to be seen, "did I load in the scenery folder right?" yes I did, but all the way down there, the landscape looks oddly empty from your height. On final approach it is still the same dilemma, just a runway, nothing else? In the 27 approach your in a valley, the High Tatra Mountains to the East, and the Low Tatras to the West. Poprad township is to your left as you approach the 27 threshold... ... 09/27 is a long, looong runway, you feel the length, but I still missed the first turn cutout to the left. There are four turnaround cuts on the left side of the runway, I snag the second from the top, but it is still a long taxi back. Once rotated into the southern direction, finally you can see the terminal area, set deep into the trees to your right. The single long taxiway A is a tight turn into, you have to get it right, even with this small Baby Bus. Once on the apron, there are four parking slots, all twist the aircraft around to be mostly parallel with the terminal. The Poprad-Tatry Airport was originally built in 1938, and it's age is still reflected in the buildings, certainly Poprad-Tatry has been modernised, well several times with terminal additions, but the original airport layout feel is still here. That long 8,500 ft 09/27 runway dominates any view, and the intergration of the scenery to the surrounding X-Plane default is very good, using the fence line as the boundary. The two grass runways 07R/27L and 07L/27R are well intergrated as well, if hard to see when in use. As noted the original terminal still stands as built for the World Championships in classic skiing at Štrbské Pleso in February 1970, the administration and built in control tower, built at the same time as the terminal is still also represented at the airport. The central terminal is well done, but there is a sort of FlightSim feel about the building. In the modeling and graphics, but it works really well in context despite it's origins. There are no internal details. There has been two terminal upgrades, in 2008, Poprad–Tatry Airport extended its arrival terminal and (also, upgraded the lighting approach system for runway 27), Then later, on January 31, 2014, a new departure hall was inaugurated, meeting all Schengen requirements, with construction costs totaling nearly €2.62 million. Both are well defined in the scenery. Both sections are separated, and fully detailed internally... first Arrivals. There are two arrival zones, Red and Black. Separated for International and Schengen. Departures is twice the size and more detailed. So the newer extension terminal is highly detailed and with great quality detail at that. The 70's Control Tower and Administration building is very authentic, there is also a built in Fire Station and an original hangar as part of the complex. You also have excellent quality X-Plane 12 active trees as part of the fauna. Tower detail is excellent, with a basic internal control layout. Air Transport Europe (ATE), established in 1991, is a Slovakian aviation company that has a big presence at Poprad. The company specializes in helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS), particularly in the High Tatras region, and offers various aerial work services, including logging, liming, construction, and agricultural operations. ATE use the biggest hangar here and have an administration building set behind. Modeling and textures also have that FlightSim look and feel, but it is well done and feels nicely authentic. ATE operates a flight school offering specialized helicopter training programs. Their courses include type rating for Agusta A109 K2 and Bell 429 helicopters, as well as a Type Rating Instructor (TRI(H)) course. There is a secondary Flight School on the north apron called JetAge, and a secondary hangar opposite. Note the BMW X5, it is the only animated vehicle in the scenery, but it is well done, in doing rounds of the facilities. If you look very carefully, a few of the buildings are not quite properly connected to the ground (Floating), it is not a distraction, but it is visible, like with the ATE Admin building. Landside is small, and basically just one carparking area, but it well designed and filled with nice detail, highlight is the great signage. Ground textures are good, very good. Great variations in textures, from the stoney asphalt (correct scale), rubber touch marks, to concrete and other hard surfaces. Cracks, oil repair or asphalt cement mixed with petroleum solvents to fix cracks and wear and tear damage is really well done... as is the wear and tear surfaces, only slight is the very straight lines on the surfaces edges, a shame as everything else here is so very good. Lineage wear and tear is top notch as well, very realistic. The grass runways are well done, but the wild tuffs of grass, don't quite work in context. X-Plane 12 dynamics are of course developed into the textures. PBR reflections and normal maps are dynamic with burnt-in ambient occlusion which are all active... snow conditions are very good being this high in altitude. Lighting is very good, but again a mixture of the old and new, or with antiquated FlightSim or X-Plane 12 effects. Runway approach lighting is top rate with RAIL on the 27 approach, but be aware there is no centreline lighting, neither on the Runway or the Taxiway A. Outwardly Poprad-Tatry looks great... ... but the older modeling has the dreaded FS greyed out windows, the newer modeling is modern and fine, unfortunately the old overwhelms the new. The ramps are however excellent for night operations, great beam throw and nicely well lit. Notable is that in downloading Chudoba scenery, they use a third party system to Authorise and Download the scenery. When you purchase the scenery you are given a Authorisation key and then are directed to the Chudorba Design (Antileak) website. You paste in the authorisation code, then select the "LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport" scenery, then the site will check your credentials and verify your purchase... then to install you then press "Download" to do the installation of the product. Summary This is another (hub &) spoke airport by Chudoba Designs in association with Flying Partners Slovakia. Set deep in the Slovakian Tatra Mountains is LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport, positioned by Poprad, a city in northern Slovakia. A single runway airport that services the ski fields of this exclusive area. Modeling is a mixture of old FlightSim and new X-Plane 12, and the combination works very well to create an original authentic scenery. There is both old (70's) terminals and administration/control tower and new terminal (2008). Excellent lighting though is offset by older buildings ex FlightSim windows, that look very dated and now misplaced. Great textures and X-Plane 12 trees and fauna create dynamic seasons and weather, signage is very good, but only a single animated BMW X5, that rides around the airport. Overall Poprad-Tatry is great experience, a great high altitude destination that is authentic, Ryanair and Wizz Airlines service the airport, and at a value price of only a below US$20 price, even currently discounted to US$12.95, so a winner for your Eastern European collection, verdict, far better than I thought it would be! 👍 Great eastern European authentic scenery, great combination of old and new styles, excellent lighting and textures/signage 👎 Old fashioned FlightSim night windows ________________ Yes! - the LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport, Slovakia by Chudoba Designs and is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport Price is US$12.49 You Save:$7.50(38%) Retail Price:$19.99 Requirements X-Plane 12 Only (not for XP11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB VRAM Recommended Current Version : 1.0 (January 9th 2025) Download for LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport is 3.24Gb. The download and Authorisation is done via Chudoba Designs own application, called Antileak, you get an automatic referral to the site. Install is different for X-Plane 11 (STEP 2) as you have to install a different "Earth nav data" (Provided) file... You install only one folder; LZTT_ChudobaDesign-FlyingPartners Provided is both X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11 versions of the scenery, plus the Chudoba "Library", not required if you already own a Chudoba Scenery. Full Installation is 1.05Gb in your Custom Scenery Folder. (only X-Plane 12 was installed) Documentation: no documentation ___________________________ Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 27th January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.1.3 Plugins: JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - Airbus A319 XP12 by Toliss (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$89.99 (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Scenery Released : LFNJ - Aspres-sur-Buech, France by FSX3D FSX3D are back with another of their small but highly detailed French sceneries, their first for 2025. This time we get to visit Buëch region in the South of France with LFNJ - Aspres-sur-Buech. Aspres-sur-Buëch Airport (ICAO code: LFNJ) is a small airfield located in Aspres-sur-Buëch, within the Hautes-Alpes department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. The airport is situated at an elevation of approximately 2,726 feet (831 meters) above sea level. It has two runways, with North-South Runway 18/36, the runway is 900 meters (2,953 ft) in length, and the East-West Runway 10/28, 650 meters (2,133 ft), there are no charts available for LFNJ... This is an unique airfield located on a small plateau with a view of the Buëch region. Some pilots call it "the aircraft carrier" because landing there feels a bit like landing on a ship's deck! LFNJ is also called Chevalet aerodrome, this airfield has a rugged, natural charm. Tucked away in a sunny valley surrounded by mountains, it's perfect for pilots who enjoy flying in quiet, remote areas. However, its specific wind and weather conditions mean that only authorized pilots can fly there. Features: Ultra detailed 3D PBR Textures Ambient occlusion (Objects and ground) Wet track effects Dynamic lighting Compatibility Ortho4XP Compatibility AutoOrtho HD photorealistic ground South-Est Z17 (Ortho4XP 1.40) with personalized elevations at one centimeter of arc Autogen (Houses,Lights,Cars) Again here is another cheap nifty French scenery, which all are of great value, and now there are quite a few sceneries from FSX3D to collect if you are flying around France. Images are courtesy of FSX3D _______________________________ LFNJ - Aspres-sur-Buech, France by FSX3D is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here: LFNJ - Aspres-sur-Buech, France Price is US$12.99 Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB VRAM Minimum Download Size: 485 MB Current version : 1.0 (Jan 24 2025) ___________________________ News! by Stephen Dutton 27th January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Laminar Research releases X-Plane 12.1.4 beta Laminar Research have released a new version of X-Plane in v12.1.4 in Beta form. It quite a visual based update, with a load of new ideas, new objects and features. The headline feature is "FlightLessons", with Austin Meyer. Personally I don't know if Austin Meyer is the best person to be shouting at you while learning to fly, but there you go. There are four beginner flight lessons in the Cirrus SR22... The four lessons consist of; Lesson 01 - Cirrus Intro, Lesson 02 - Basic Handling, Lesson 03 - Advanced Handling and Lesson 04 - Cirrus Landing. Survive that, and you can uprate to the bigger Lancair Evolution, with another three lessons, including; Lesson 5 - Evolution Intro, Lesson 06 - Emergencies and finally Lesson 07 - Cross Country Give it a try! Second feature is a really interesting one... a Physics-Based Camera It has two modes; Physics-based camera for internal views (optional) Hand-held camera for external views (optional) The internal called "G-Loaded Camera" is basically a "shake" camera to add in movement in the cockpit, there are of course a few of those reality plugins, but this one looks and feels very much smoother in operation, creating Turbulence, Shaking, and Ground Movements in G effects. The External "Hand Held Camera" is not a walkaround mode, but rather a shaking of the aircraft externally (Shift -C). There was another addition not mentioned in the notes of a "Lock geographically" this freezes the view to the location. All three new modes are in the X-Plane/Banner/View Menu. There has also been a "Safe Mode" added. For situations where X-Plane crashes due of a plugin. This can also be activated manually by holding the CTRL key during startup, or by using a new startup scripts located in (X-Plane/Support) folder. Now you won’t have to go through the tedious process of removing addons one at a time to isolate crashes. X-Plane has returned to the parts of Southern Germany, Northern Italy, and Austria, which is now (again) the demo area from Portland, with Salzburg being the location for the new flight lessons. With the returned demo area, then Salzburg LOWS Airport scenery is also in having a significant update, with the Red Bull hangars and Salzburg Castle now available. Second Scenery update is for Barra Airport (Port-adhair Bharraigh). Barra Airport is a short-runway airport (or STOLport) situated in the wide shallow bay of Traigh Mhòr at the northern tip of the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The airport is unique, believed to be the only one in the world where scheduled flights use a tidal beach as the runway. The correct runway choice is critical, with delicate wind and tidal conditions... Laminar have made the Tide indicator and Windsock fully active to help with your takeoff or landing choices. The Garmin G1000 has had more attention, with a Search and Rescue (SAR function to allow specialised flight paths when being involved in search and rescue operation). There has been added a huge amount of New Library Objects, there are a fair few additions, including Snow and De-Icing Equipment... Firefighting Scenarios and Ambulances Trucks All vehicle styles are however very biased to American vehicles, not much in worldly variations? Airside and Airport Operations But overall it is all very good visual quality stock for the Simulator. Gateway Airports and since the last update in v12.1.3, with this update 1,481 Gateway airports have been refreshed. Fixes and Enhancements General New Joystick profiles for the VKB S-TECS Throttle Mini Adjusted magnetic pole in X-Plane to match real world data Fixed an error when resizing the windows using a Wayland session on Linux AI aircraft will obey STAR altitude restrictions when on final (XPD-16285) Fixed an error when changing audio devices in the sound settings page (XPD-16365) Glider Tow crashes when activating TCAS Override (XPD-16422) Aircraft Cessna 172 SP - Improved the climb and idle performance to better match those of the real airplane Grumman F-14 Tomcat New manual on how to operate the F-14 Tomcat ATC Entering an airport in the flight-plan as waypoint will no longer override the destination airport We’ve updated the voice pack to include additional aircraft manufacturers and models Don’t allow read-back before the message has been fully heard (XPD-163479) Pilot voice says “Ukraine International” instead of “international” at ENGM (XPD-16405) Many additional fixes and smaller enhancements Scenery Added some “Warning Jet Blast Signs” at Princess Juliana International Airport (IATA: SXM, ICAO: TNCM) Systems General Fixed KDAB ILS7L.HANAV when flying a slow aircraft, such as the Cessna 172 Boeing 737 autopilot turns to north upon capturing LOC instead of inbound course when flying the ILS32R at EDDK (XPD-16462) Garmin G1000 Pressing the small FMS knob on the MFD will no longer have an effect while being on the map display (XPD-16433) FMS Fixed stutters when calculation the mach change-over altitude Weather Improved the display of wind directions in the weather map Many improvements around the METAR reader, especially the handling of GRIB data: Sea-state group is recognised and ignored in METAR ‘M’ for ‘Missing’ is recognised and ignored in automated METAR More robust parsing of QFE No-data groups are handled fully. This should fix many cases of incorrect temperatures/wind/vis/QNH etc. where the METAR contains slashes. Previously these would leave the default – ISA – settings in place. Many more METARs should be read fully, instead of partially or not at all Zulu time is read and used to affect how much influence each METAR has on the current weather. This means you can no longer simply read the current/prior METARs and assume they will be equally weighted. Tops on CU/CB should no longer have a chance of being several thousand feet higher than reported in the GRIB METAR reporting CB no longer sets all cloud layers to CB CB chance is read from GRIB files and used to affect CU/CB classification Cloud layer blending over time for the same station changed to use the same method as elsewhere Cell blending changed to have smoother transitions Web API Added support for calling commands using the Web API As noted the Weather has had more attention, Those GRIB files are still not perfected. I had a bad stutter or framerate cycling on the "real" weather download, I am hoping this aspect has been fixed in this v12.1.4b update. Overall it is a another significant update from Laminar Research, the first for 2025. Enjoy! You can update to X-Plane v12.1.4 beta now via the built in X-Plane Installer application, just select "Update X-Plane" and make sure the "beta" selection box is ticked. It is a 5.2 Gb Installation. ___________________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 25th January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Update Release : Maule M-7-235B Project XP12 v1.5 by vSkyLabs vSkyLabs have released an update to the Maule M-7-235B Project in v.1.5, this is an extensive revamp of this very popular and versatile aircraft. The Maule M-7 is an easy to fly, 4 or 5 seat Taildragger STOL American aircraft built and based in Moultrie, Georgia . Most models can be fitted with floats, skis or bush tires, and there is also a nose-wheel version. The aircraft is agile and very versatile, and has a large and easy to access cargo area. The Maule M-7 is a favorite bush-plane, and also favorite among commercial operators and private pilots. V1.5 is a comprehensive major update, details included are; Flight model: Engine idle RPM tuneups. Empty aircraft CG refinements to all variants. Aircraft handling refinement in pitch/roll/yaw axes to better replicate the Maule M-7 responsiveness in all phases of flight. Landing gears - Differential-braking feature when using only rudder equipment (no to brakes hardware) was refined to allow more docile 'automated' brakes with rudder input. Systems: All CB's are now wired up into the electrical system and fully functional (two panels - front and RH). S-TEC 55x autopilot was implemented in the analog variant. Dual GNS-430 bundle was implemented in the analog variant. Night lighting - instrument panel - improved. Heading bug was re-positioned to the correct instrument in the panel. Graphics: G1000 module was replaced with enhanced 3-d model. Various PBR touches for external textures and liveries. Interaction: VSKYLABS 'Cockpit-Builders-Heaven' was implemented, allowing to assign all aircraft switches, knobs, levers and interactions in a designated, cluttered section in the X-Plane 12 assignment screen. Fuel selector manipulator was replaced with improved 'rotatable' knob functionality. This improves interaction in 2-d and especially in VR, where you simply 'rotate' the fuel tank selector to the desired position. Bug fixes: Gears indicator display (float-plane) fix (lights illuminates at night). The development of the VSKYLABS Maule M-7-235B project for X-Plane flight simulator was approved by Maule Air, Inc. However, it is an independent VSKYLABS project which is not related, affiliated and/or endorsed by/with Maule Air, Inc. PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS Three aircraft included (land and amphibian, Analog/G1000, Classic gears/35" Bushwheels). Designed for X-Plane 12 cutting edge flight model environment. Superb flight dynamics with authentic performance and flight handling characteristics. Built for VR: development was tailored specifically for VR, and optimized for 2D usage. Engineered and designed as a genuine, default X-Plane 12 aircraft. The VSKYLABS projects are practically show-casing X-Plane, as they are stretching X-Plane default features, systems and flight model to its limits without any dependencies on complementary plugins or software...delivering a very robust simulation model, having maximum compatibility with the ever evolving X-Plane flight simulator. Perfect fit for beginner and expert pilots. Equipped with Alpha Systems AOA 'Eagle' indicator replica. Built-in Avitab Plugin Compatibility (AviTab plugin is not included). Autoupdater based on the SkunkCrafts autoupdater - all updates are being pushed smoothly without the need to re-download the entire base package (base package will be updated every once in a while to minimize the gap). Highly responsive VSKYLABS support forums: VSKYLABS offers continuous professional support, from all aircraft related aspects (operating and flying) to X-Plane technical support. The project is under constant maintenance and development. The project includes the VSKYLABS 'Cockpit-Builders Heaven' assignment layer. It allows assigning all aircraft switches, knobs, levers, and interactions in a designated, uncluttered section in the X-Plane 12 assignment screen. This project is part of the VSKYLABS 'Test-Pilot' series, designed specifically for use with X-Plane 12 cutting edge Flight Model. Images are courtesy of vSkyLabs Design by VSKYLABS Support forum for the Maule M7-235 ___________________________ The Maule M-7-235B Project XP12 by VSkyLabs Flying Lab Project is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Maule M-7-235B Project XP12 Your Price: US$32.95 On Sale US$16.48 You Save:$16.47(50% off) Requirements X-Plane 12 - Not compatible with X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 1.5 (Jan 23rd 2025) ___________________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton' 24th January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Scenery Released : Melilla Airport, Spain by Aerosoft It is a long time since we have had a brand new airport scenery release from Aerosoft, this is a Spanish airport located in the Spanish enclave of Melilla on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. Melilla Airport is an airport located in Melilla, an exclave of Spain in Africa. The airport is located about 4 km (2.5 mi) southwest of the city, near the border with Morocco. Between 1931 and 1967 Melilla was served by the Tauima Aerodrome (now the Nador International Airport), even when Morocco had gained its independence in 1956. This Spanish controlled airport did not open until 1969. It has the capacity to move up to 500,000 passengers and the annual average number of passengers is around 400,000. Features include: • Detailed recreation of the real Melilla Airport (IATA: MLN, ICAO: GEML) • Military heliport (GEHM) and Islas Chafarinas Isabel (XGEI2) • 4K PBR textures for objects and ground • High-resolution custom colored orthophoto • Weather effects for wet, snow and ice • 3D trees & grass • New custom Mesh for the airport area • Optimized for great performance and visual results Melilla Airport presents an interesting challenge for pilots. With its unique geographic location and shorter runway, it provides exciting approach conditions, particularly for seasoned pilots looking for something different. This add-on makes the small but exciting airport a must-have for any X-Plane 12 pilot who appreciates authentic regional airports. Images are courtesy of Aerosoft Installation of the Melilla Airport for XP12 is done through the Aerosoft One installer: Aerosoft One Universal After you have installed Aerosoft One, click on ENTER PRODUCT KEY (under the Library Tab) Then enter the Serial Number provided in this order. This will give you the option to download the airport. This is an only X-Plane 12 installation. __________________ Yes! Melilla Airport, Spain by Aerosoft is now Available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Melilla Airport, Spain Price Is US$17.99 Requirements: X-Plane 12 • Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 / 11 (64bit), Linux (64bit) or macOS10.15+ • Processor: Intel Core or AMD Ryzen CPU with at least 4 cores • Memory: 8 GB RAM (16 GB or more recommended) • Graphics card: Vulkan 1.3-capable graphics card (AMD/ Nvidia) with at least 6 GB VRAM (8+ GB recommended) • Free hard disk space: 3.2 GB, SSD highly recommended • Installation runs via Aerosoft One, this requires an internet connection and an Aerosoft user account! ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 23rd January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Scenery Updated : Svalbard XP to v1.2 by Aerosoft/MAPS2xplane One of the great if the very best scenery areas you can get for the X-Plane Simulator is Aerosoft's Svalbard XP. Created by MAPS2xplane, this is a sensational area scenery of the remote (very) Northern European set of Islands within the Arctic Circle. Svalbard was previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen (37,673 km2), followed in size by Nordaustlandet (14,443 km2), Edgeøya (5,073 km2) and Barentsøya (1,288 km2). Bjørnøya or Bear Island (178 km2) is the most southerly island in the territory, situated some 147 km south of Spitsbergen. X-PlaneReviews did a full review of the MAPS2xplane release of Svalbard XP This v1.2 release of Svalbard XP is the X-Plane 12 conversion. Basically the actual scenery aspects in the review stay the same, what is different here is the X-Plane 12 weather effects, in this case seasonal winter to summer ice and snow. Update to Svalbard XP 1.2 is via the Aerosoft "Aerosoft One" application and is free. If you purchase the current Svalbard XP, you will still update to the XP12 version when installing. Installation of the Svalbard XP for XP12 is done through the Aerosoft one installer: Aerosoft One Universal After you have installed Aerosoft One, click on ENTER PRODUCT KEY (under the Library Tab) Then enter the Serial Number provided in this order. This will give you the option to download the airport. Note the different X-Plane 11 and X-Plane 12 installations. The earlier X-Plane 11 version is also included the package, but only v1.0.1, and the XP11 scenery comes without the XP12 effects. __________________ Yes! Svalbard XP v1.2 by Aerosoft - Maps2XPlane is now Available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Svalbard XP Price Is US$37.99 Requirements: X-P-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB VRAM Recommended Download Size: 2.6 Gb (Using Aerosoft One) Current Version: XP12 1.2 (Jan 16th 2025) Installation of Svalbard XP is done through Aerosoft one installer: Aerosoft One Universal ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 22nd January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Aircraft Released : Tecnam P2002 JF XP12 / XP11 by DMAX DMAX has released a completely revised Tecnam P2002 JF to X-Plane 12. This is a new totally redesign, but XP11 users can get 20% off the purchase price if you already own the XP11 P2002 version. The older X-Plane 11 version is included in the package as a bonus. The P2002 Sierra is a two-seater side by side, low wing aircraft. The P2002 features superlative performance and flying qualities, now confirmed by hundreds of P2002 sold throughout the world and validated in 15 countries other than Europe. The ease of piloting and maintenance make this aircraft an excellent solution for training in flight schools. It is also an ideal platform for surveillance and as well as, of course, for pure recreational and private use. The new X-Plane 12 version includes; Accurate flightmodel of a P2002 JF Fixed prop - 100hp Graphics & Visuals Ported from AC3D to Blender, improved exterior compared to XP11 version and totally rebuilt panel instruments to keep up with new specs. Detailed 3D cockpit and exterior with animations, manipulators and PBR textures. Cockpit & Panel Garmin GNS 530, S-TEC basic autopilot, customizable KNOTS or KMH anemometer, as well as propeller or engine RPM. A complete preflight/walkaround is possible "remove before flight" covers, chocks and ropes openable fuel caps for visual inspection of the fuel level openable engine bay oil check procedure with the characteristic Rotax "burp" fuel check from bleed valves openable battery bay working stall switch on the leading edge Liveries 5 liveries plus a white one for custom painting (same layout and UV map of the XP11 version to maintain retro compatibility). Visual payload and fairings Passenger model and baggage (vary depending on stations payload) as well as removable wheel fairings. Dynamic load sheet A reproduction of a common load sheet is in the right cockpit pocket for educational purpose. It change depending from Weight & Balance settings. Engine stuff Openable engine doors as well as battery compartment for inspection. Oil level inspection with Rotax characteristic "burp" procedure. Checklist, extras and POH XP12 native windshield effects (rain and ice), featuring custom fmod sounds. Checklist.txt and original POH included. Ready for VR (Virtual Reality). A major market for the P2002 is in the flight training sector as noted; accordingly, its design and several of its major features, such as the use of a low-mounted wing and a bubble canopy, result in the aircraft being particularly well-suited to use as a trainer. Its construction principally comprises conventional aluminium, and enables the aircraft to withstand the maximum load limits of +4/-2g. The JF model is with the fixed tricycle landing gear, and a variable-pitch propeller version, which was certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency in 2012. Images are courtesy of DMAX, and the Tecnam P2020 is now currently available at the X-Plane.OrgStore ___________________ Yes! the Tecnam P2002 JF XP12 / XP11 by DMAX is Available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Tecnam P2002 JF XP12 / XP11 Price is US$27.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 X-Plane 11 - The older XP11 version is still included as a bonus Windows, Mac or Linux 8GB VRAM recommended Current version: XP12 12.01 - Jan 21st 2025 ______________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 22nd January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)

Should do as it notes 11.50+, but XP11 is now getting very dated? 12 is much nicer!

Scenery Review : KSFB - Orlando Sanford Intl Airport, USA by Taimodels In central Florida USA, Orlando is a tourist mecca. The focus is of course the mega complexes of Disney World, but also situated here are Universal's Studios, Seaworld and Legoland, if you want more, there is also Fun Spot America, Icon Park and my favorite Gatorland. The central hub for Orlando is MCO or Orlando International Airport set south of the city, central is ORL or Orlando Executive, a great base for General Aviation and Biz Jets... but there is one more airport, basically little known and positioned 27 miles north of Orlando City in SFB Orlando Sanford International Airport. Orlando Sanford was originally built as Naval Air Station Sanford and was opened November 3, 1942, now 82 years ago . It was a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance aircraft, and was used by the U.S. Navy until 1969. The airport is currently owned and operated by the Sanford Airport Authority. The majority of SFB's passenger traffic has been domestic; this is mostly attributable to the entrance of Las Vegas–based Allegiant Air, for which Sanford is a focus city. But it was also popular with Thomson Airways (now TUI Airways), that began operating routes from UK airports. This was the largest international airline at the airport having served eight destinations around the UK. However, in November 2019, TUI Airways announced that from 2022, it would switch their Orlando operations from Sanford to Melbourne Orlando International Airport including the daily flights to/from those 8 British airports. This will bring their operations nearer to Port Canaveral where TUI Cruises will operate from in coming years. As a package holiday company this brings passengers closer to their cruises, although it has angered many TUI passengers who fly with the company to visit Orlando for Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort. This is another scenery release by Taimodels, an odd choice, but Taimodels have done these small regional based sceneries in the past, mainly YBCS Cairns and EGCC Manchester, so Sanford fits right in there between the usual mega airports from this prolific developer. Orlando Sanford International Airport IATA: SFB - ICAO: KSFB - FAA LID: SFB 9C/27C - 3,578ft (1,091m) - Asphalt 9L/27R - 11,002ft (3,353m) - Asphalt 9R/27L - 5,839ft (1,780m) - Asphalt 18/36 - 6,002ft (1,829m) - Asphalt/concrete Elevation AMSL55 ft / 17 m Taimodels Sanford intergration with the X-Plane scenery is relatively very good, the custom textures are slightly noticeable, but not glaringly so, they could have however been better matched (more darker/greener) but overall you wouldn't notice the differences. Because of the multiple runway setup, the taxiway system is a bit complicated, yes 9L/27R is relatively straight forward, but otherwise charts are required for the complex navigation. Sanford's runway layout is relative to it's Military origins. Four runways that allow independent operations on each. The 9L/27R Main 11,000 ft runway north, the 9R/27L 5,800 ft medium strip south... ... 18/36 6,000ft Cross, and the tiny in the front of the terminal area 5,800 ft 9C/27C strip. So you have a great choice of runway here depending on the equipment you are flying, from very light aircraft, standard GA, twins, commuter, regional and of course main line services. Terminals There are two Terminals at SFB, the older Terminal A and the newer Terminal B, the terminals are defined by the three concourses. Terminal A Terminal A was built as part of the airport’s efforts to support growing passenger traffic in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It primarily served domestic charter and leisure travelers. In the 1990 with the rise of charter and budget airlines, Sanford Airport grew in popularity as an alternative to Orlando International Airport (MCO). Terminal A was expanded to accommodate this increased demand especially with the arrival of Allegiant Air with an additional concourse and gates, and improved passenger facilities, later the second concourse was absorbed by Terminal B. The original terminal became a hub for international charter flights, particularly from the UK and Europe, operated by airlines like TUI Airways and Icelandair. Gates 10 to 16 are set on the single west concourse. Externally all the terminal buildings here are a bit nondescript, or even plain, but the excellent panel detail is there if you get in close enough, and nicely done it is, the ground clutter is also well done, but only generic, and not airline or airport branded. I couldn't activate the Airbridges, neither by X-Plane's Ground Handling, or OpenSAM, and no animated traffic is highly noticeable. Terminal A Landside however is highly detailed, the arrival drop-off zones are really well done. But like Taimodels HEAC Cairo, the bolder colours don't work (SFB in reality is more of a softer blue). The heavy blue and white brings out the model side, more than a realism feel. But you can't say it not well done because it is... the detail continues inside, as all the internal areas are well detailed and modeled. Highlight here is the NAS Sanford Memorial, that is located in the terminal, it comes with restored PV-1 Ventura Bomber sitting on the roof of the museum. Basically you can walk in all the interior areas and move out to all the three concourses. All check-in and waiting areas are extensively detailed, and shows the high standard required today in detail for Simulation Airport Scenery. Again missing are animations and people, so as it is really well done by Taimodels, it also feels a bit empty of life. Terminal B Terminal B was constructed in the early 90's for more expansion of the International charter capacity. And over time Terminal B underwent several more expansions and renovations to keep up with demand. This included adding the additional gates, improving baggage handling systems, and upgrading passenger facilities. In 2010, SFB Terminal B underwent several more modernization efforts to update and expand, with more new gates (four) with a newly constructed concourse that was added to the east. This improved passenger waiting areas, better baggage handling systems, and enhanced retail and more food options were also added. Gates 1 to 4 are on the new (east) concourse, and gates 5 to 9 are on the central concourse. As with Terminal A, Terminal B has the same excellent Landside Arrivals and internal terminal detail... The new eastern Terminal B extension is also well and nicely detailed, although oddly the airbridges are all set very low on the building, and don't actually connect correctly to the concourse floor? this low airbridge aspect is relevant to all the concourses? ________________ Landside There are loads of carparks, rental zones, and one large multi-story carpark at SFB. loads of 3d cars are set on asphalt that is in areas a little to large in scale, but overall the vista works very well. Also the terminal and road signage is excellent. The ex-Military base creates a problem for developers in the vast areas you have to cover. Away from the terminals, it is a huge swathes of open aprons to be filled only by General Aviation and Business Jet facilities. This can also create a emptiness to the scenery. Part solution is that if you are running Traffic Global is to put all the sliders to full, and even the GA sections. And it does help in creating a more working environment. Annoying missing though are GA refueling points, I can't find one if I wanted to drop in to SFB to refuel the aircraft, so a big omission there. Overall Taimodels have made a good fist of filling in this huge area, in there are hundreds of small buildings and hangars, and a fuel depot mid-western section. Another help is the business signage from Million Air, CE Avionics, L3Harris Flight School which all does a great job. There are no specalised cargo facilities here at KSFB, but a few of the larger hangars are used for freight operations. Around the field are pockets of infrastructure. North of 9L/27R are Allegiant Air maintenance facilities, and Constant Aviation. To the far west is the IAA Orlando North auto auction facility. South of 9L/27R eastern section is an excellent aircraft breakers yard, the Fire Station and a Helicopter facility with 5 pads. South on 9R/27L is a large GA storage area, with the various aircraft lockups. Control Tower The Sanford Control Tower is a basic field tower, it operates daily from 6:30 AM to 11:00 PM local time. During these hours, air traffic controllers manage airport operations including takeoffs and landings. When the tower is closed, the airspace reverts to Class G, and pilots should use the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) on 120.3 MHz for communications. Modeling and detail of the tower is excellent, including the internal detail. There is the NAS Sanford Memorial Park, which is located at the entrance of Orlando Sanford International Airport on Red Cleveland Boulevard, which commemorates the history of Naval Air Station (NAS) Sanford. Established in 1942, the restored RA-5C Vigilante aircraft, the last type of aircraft to operate from NAS Sanford is on display, and the memorial is represented here in the scenery. ________________ Ground Textures There is a very wide variety of textures to represent the 82 year airbase, and all the variations are well covered here by Taimodels. The lineage is a bit too new and bold, but the complex signage layouts are all represented. Ramp areas are really well done as well, with the various concrete variations, but in the GA areas (old base aprons) from a distance however, the repeat patterns come out strongly. X-Plane 12 dynamics are of course developed into the textures. PBR reflections and normal maps are dynamic with burnt-in ambient occlusion which are all active... I don't really expect Chicago whiteout conditions this far down in Florida, but I do expect tropical thunder storms effects to be really good. Field textures are the custom photo scaled but again work well in context, bushes on these stoney textures can come off worse in this instance, not really a fan of this idea. There is fencing, but they are oddly missing around 9L/27R, the burnt in lines are there, but no actual fences? ________________ Lighting All runway lighting is standard X-Plane 12 ICAO definition, so you can't fault that, and all runways are well lit on any approach. Apron terminal area parking has an yellowish glow, very different? but it works in the darkness down on the ramps. Landside arrivals is well lit in contrast to the airside, it's quite bright and oddly it all works. Internally it is a bit hit or miss, some areas are well lit, other areas are half bright... In the GA areas, the overhead lighting is again yellowish, but there is a lot of down-lighting and fill lights with lit signage, some open hangars are lit inside, and are useful for night parking. To sum up, the lighting like the Sanford Airport scenery is far better than it all seems at a first impression... as the slogan says; We Are SFB Simple Faster Better Summary Orlando in Florida, southern USA has three supporting airports in, MCO or Orlando International Airport set south of the city, central is ORL or Orlando Executive, a great base for General Aviation and Biz Jets... but there is one more airport, basically little known and positioned 27 miles north of Orlando City in SFB Orlando Sanford International Airport. Formally Naval Air Station Sanford and was opened November 3, 1942, now 82 years ago . It was a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance aircraft, and was used by the U.S. Navy until 1969. Again this is another regional airport from Taimodels, also known for their mega sceneries like OMDB Dubai and HECS Cairo. Note this is an X-Plane 12 scenery only. Taimodels have become a force in creating X-Plane Simulator sceneries, and KSFB Sanford is no exception. outwardly SFB looks spread out and empty, but this is a scenery to explore, and at the more intimate level the terminal detail and fixtures are very good, certainly the fully recreated internal areas with the NAS Museum, although the colouring is a bit brash. In landside and very wide areas of the airport's spread out infrastructure, it is all very well reproduced, the highlight however is the selection of various independent runways, that cover all types of aircraft, from commercial, regional, commuter, Biz Jets, General Aviation and even very light aircraft. Sanford was a former NAS Station, with all the relative elements here that are still intact. But there are no animated vehicles and traffic or people to bring the scenery alive, so it can come across as a little empty and cold, the airbridges are also placed wrong and don't work either, and the missing GA Fuel refueling points are a waste of in the way you could use the scenery in VOR cross-country flying... and that is a shame because there is a huge amount to like here, even the lighting surprises you on how effective it is at night... at this sub US$20 price, is SFB Orlando Sanford International Airport a hidden gem? 👍 Great selection of various runways, well modeled with excellent interiors, versatile uses for all different equipment, great signage and runway/taxiway textures. 👎 No ground or traffic animations makes the airport a bit lifeless, non-working and badly placed airbridges, missing fence work and GA refueling points. __________________________ The KSFB - Orlando Sanford Intl Airport, USA by Taimodels is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store KSFB - Orlando Sanford Intl Airport, USA Priced at US$19.50 Requirements X-Plane 12 (not for XP11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 875 MB Current version : 1.0 (December 31st 2024) Installation Installation of KSFB - Orlando Sanford Intl Airport, USA is done via download of 871 Mb... There is just one folder to install Taimodels-KSFB-Orlando-Sanford With a total installation size of 1.78 Gb. There are no Documents provided by Taimodels ____________________________ Review System Specifications Windows - 12th Gen IS1700 Core i7 12700K 12 Core 3.60 GHz CPU - 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - PNY GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLR8 - Samsung 970 EVO+ 2TB SSD Software: - Windows 11 Pro - X-Plane 12.1.3 Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 Scenery or Aircraft - None - ____________________________ Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 17th January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Mango Studios releases Toliss A321 sound pack Mango Studios have already released significant Sound Packs for the ToLiss Airbus range of aircraft, including the A330neo, A340-600 and A319. Here is the large package for the Airbus A321, that covers all the installed engines on the aircraft, including the; CFM International CFM-56-5, LEAP 1-A engine, International Aero Engines IAE V2500-A5, and the Pratt & Whitney PW1100s. X-Plane 12/11 compatibility included All authentic real-world sounds for all aircraft systems, including exterior and interior sounds. This covers the aircraft’s APU, PTU, fuel pumps, hydraulic pumps, flaps, slats, and packs. Real-world recorded sounds for mechanical switches, buttons, selector knobs, and rotary dials for the cockpit overhead, pedestal, and FCU panel. Also new PA announcements via our plugin Cockpit: High-quality sounds for blowers, packs, changes in electrical busses, and wipers, with pitch and volume changing depending on wiper speed. High-quality master warning, master caution, radar altitude callouts, EGPWS aural warnings, TCAS aural warnings, inner, middle, and outer marker aural warnings, mechanical horn inside and outside, and emergency evacuation horn for the cabin and cockpit. Cabin Real-world recorded sounds for hydraulic pumps, fuel pumps, flaps, slats, PTU, and APU. Passenger effects are also included and can be toggled on and off using our Mango Studios Sounds Plug-in. Miscellaneous Effects Ultra-realistic environmental effects for the entire aircraft, both inside and outside. These include rotate effect, gear roll, rattling effects, gear retraction/extension, gear, flap, and spoiler drag sounds. Soft, medium, and hard touchdown effects for the main gear, and touchdown sound effect for the nose gear. Tire sounds for the exterior of the aircraft on touchdown, as well as interior/exterior rain effects. Engine Sounds Inside and outside sounds for the CFM International CFM-56-5, LEAP 1-A engine, International Aero Engines IAE V2500-A5, and the Pratt & Whitney PW1100s. Real-world recorded interior/exterior start-up and shutdown sounds. Completely authentic engine sounds from idle to spool, inside and outside the aircraft. Custom exhaust sounds behind the engines and surround sounds when activating engine reversers. Installation instructions are provided to make the process more manageable, along with a manual to help you customize your volume settings in the volume menu. The package also comes at a value price for the excellent addon. __________________ Yes!... Toliss A321 sound pack by Mango Studios is now Available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Mango Studios Toliss A321 sound pack Price is: US$10.99 Requirements This is a Sound pack. The Toliss A321 is required for this sound pack Current version 1.0 (January 13th 2025) ___________________________ NEWS! by Stephen Dutton 14th January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Enhanced Flight Dynamics for Cessna 172 and Beechcraft B58 by X-Aerodynamics Cameron from X-Aerodynamics is the premier go to person for the best aerodynamics in the X-Plane Simulator, based out of New Zealand, Cameron is well know for his work with most payware developers, including X-Crafts, Aerobask and JCS. With many years of X-plane as well as with real-world flight experience, X-Aero builds flight-models to 97% or better accuracy, based on real aircraft performance figures. He also creates aerodynamic packages to enhance the default aircraft that come with the X-Plane Simulator. X-Aerodynamic has released two of these packages for both the Cessna 172, and the Beechcraft B58. Enhancement and expansion for Laminar Cessna 172SP This is an expansion and upgrade of the stock Laminar Cessna 172 that comes with X-Plane (either 12 or 11). Product Summary: C-172S with flight dynamics and specifications enhanced for maximum realism. C-172R with accurate specifications and flight dynamics. C-172M* with accurate specifications and flight dynamics. Aircraft performance and handling improved to match book values with maximum deviation of 2% and average deviation of less than 0.5%!* Utilizes the new and improved Experimental Flight Model option for maximum accuracy. No new graphics, systems, or sounds are included. This package is a set of new flight dynamics that connects to the already graphically excellent C-172 that comes with X-plane. Highlights: Both X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11 versions included. Improved ground handling, with ‘springy’ main gear, as in the real aircraft. Cruise speeds accurate across all altitudes and power settings. Accurate maximum speeds. Accurate stall speeds, flap up or down. Correct rates of climb. Accurate take-off and landing distances. Accurate feel and handling. Accurate fuel consumption at all altitudes and power settings (if properly leaned!). ___________________ Enhancement and expansion for Laminar Beechcraft B58 Includes ‘stock’ model, and adds 2 other engine options: ◦ 285hp IO-520 engines ◦ 300hp IO-550 engines (as included in XP12) ◦ 325hp TIO-520 turbocharged engines No new graphics, systems, or sounds are included. This package is a set of new flight dynamics that connects to the already graphically excellent Baron that comes with X-plane 12. This upgrade for the stock B58 Baron is all about better flying – better and more realistic handling, and hitting accurate book numbers. • No plugins to ‘force’ the flight model. • No hidden parts. • No cheating the sim. Just maximum accuracy and careful tuning to get the full potential out of an X-Plane aircraft! Important: This an upgrade of the stock Beechcraft B58 Baron that comes with X-plane 12. No other purchase is necessary to use it. Please follow the installation instructions carefully. • Stock wing was too short, EFM is to spec. • Correct airfoils with Reynolds numbers covering the entire flight envelope added. • Aircraft CG and payload locations moved to locations from manual. • Empty weight reduced to pre-2005 values, correct for the model represented in the sim – later models (G58) have glass cockpits (not included here). • Rudder corrected to full span. • Wing twist (washout) increased. • Much more! The flight model has been rebuilt to achieve more accurate handling and performance in all phases of flight. Hard to define in a news post, however the ‘feel’ and handling are much improved of both these default aircraft are much improved. These basic aircraft now feel more ‘real’ and ’alive’. Images are courtesy of X-Aerodynamics _________________ Yes! - Enhanced Flight Dynamics packages for the Cessna 172 and Beechcraft B58 by X-Aerodynamics is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : C-172S, C-172R, C-172M/N Enhanced Flight Models Your Price: US$19.95 - You Save:$5.00(20%) Retail Price:$24.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 - Bother versions provided Linux, Mac, and Windows 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 15MB Beechcraft B58 Enhanced Flight Models Your Price: US$19.95 - You Save:$5.00(20%) Retail Price:$24.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Linux, Mac, and Windows 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version : 2.1 (January 11th 2025) Compatibility with other B58 Baron mods: All liveries and graphical enhancements for the stock B58 Baron should be fine. However, any mod that modifies the aircraft file (.acf) or airfoils is not compatible with the EFM upgrade, sorry. Any mod that add plugins may adversely affect performance if the plugin interferes with the flight model at all. Not compatible with the Reality Expansion pack (REP) for the stock B58 Baron. REP utilizes forced over-rides that will ruin the accuracy of the EFM. The stock B58 Baron is still available to use after EFM installation, so many mods applied to that should be fully functional and unchanged. ___________________________ News! by Stephen Dutton 14th January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved

NEWS! - Scenery Released : LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport, Slovakia by Chudoba Design Chudoba Design always give you a choice of very different and interesting destinations in their portfolio. Here is a new one, this time in Slovakia, with LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport. Poprad–Tatry Airport is an airport in the Slovak ski resort town of Poprad. The airport has one of the highest elevations in Central Europe, at 718 m, which is 150 m higher than Innsbruck Airport in Austria, but 989 m lower than Samedan Airport in Switzerland. TAT is located approximately 5 km (3 miles) west of the Poprad city center. The airport is mostly focused on tourism, in serving visitors heading to the High Tatras for skiing, hiking, and other outdoor activities. General Aviation is also popular among private pilots and flying clubs, and helicopter Services, in being used for medical, rescue, and sightseeing operations. The airport has a single asphalt runway (09/27) with a length of 2,600 meters (8,530 feet), suitable for medium-sized aircraft. Key scenery features: custom buildings with PBR textures night texture for terminal accurate custom PBR ground-poly Notable is that in downloading Chudoba scenery, they use a third party system to Authorise and Download the scenery. When you purchase the scenery you are given a Authorisation key and then are directed to the Chudorba Design (Antileak) website. You paste in the authorisation code, then select the "LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport" scenery, then the site will check your credentials and verify your purchase... then to install you then press "Download" to do the installation of the product. Price for this excellent Slovakian Scenery is currently an amazingly low US12.49! Images are courtesy of Chudoba Design _________________ Yes! - the LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport by Chudoba Design is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : LZTT – Poprad-Tatry Airport Price is US$12.49 You Save:$7.50(38%) Retail Price:$19.99 Requirements X-Plane 12 Only (not for XP11) Windows, Mac or Linux 8 GB VRAM Recommended Current Version : 1.0 (January 9th 2025) ___________________________ News! by Stephen Dutton 10th January 2025 Copyright©2025: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved