Stephen

The really hard part is that many developers have a weak spot, not their fault actually, but the trick is to focus on that or those areas and hope they can improve, most do... so all round everyone wins with a better product and better value through sales. No website or mail address, but Aviation505 is on the X-PlaneForums.

It is an update, not an upgrade... it is free if you already own it, just redownload the aircraft from the store.

You have to update across the board, not only the data in the FF-A320U (data) but the X-Plane navdata as well so they match, that is also both the Custom data AND the GNS430 data.

Scenery Review : Torres del Paine National Park by Frank Dainese & Fabio Bellini Early in 2019 Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini released 3D Cerro Torre "Los Glaciares" National Park that was situated in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina in an area known as Patagonia, A fabled world of Ice, snow and extreme peaks of mountain ranges. After the extensive journey through the European Dolomites, we are now back in this same Southern tip of South American area but lower in Chile with another Patagonia scenery called the Torres del Paine National Park. This Torres del Paine area is set just south of the earlier "Los Glaciares" National Park, and in reality Torres del Paine can easily be a companion scenery to it's slightly northern area as both can be flown together within a hour or so of each other. The park is located 112 km (70 mi) north of Puerto Natales and 312 km (194 mi) north of Punta Arenas in Chile. The park borders Bernardo O'Higgins National Park to the west and the Los Glaciares National Park as noted just to the north in Argentine territory. Paine means "blue" in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language and is pronounced PIE-nay, while Torres means "Towers". The national park is one of the 11 protected areas of the Magallanes Region and Chilean Antarctica (together with four national parks, three national reserves, and three national monuments). Together, the protected forested areas comprise about 51% of the land of the region (6,728,744 hectares). There is not per-se any townships or settlements in this scenery, but a lot of custom placed buildings, mostly hotels and campsites over the 800 sq. Km scenery. The main focus point is an (fictional) airfield on the east side of Lake Pehoe. XLCT is noted as "Torres del Paine" of which I will call "Pehoe Airfield". There is only one Looong grass runway 13/31 at XLCT, and a few reception buildings (noting the building as a terminal is a bit too over the top) and a rusted out hangar. Both 13/31 approaches are quite difficult, speed and skill is required here, but the long runway does help. The look and feel of the airfield is very Dainese and Bellini in style and well done, the Chilean flag is nicely animated... There is a H-Pad situated here but it has no ICAO code and is not listed in X-Plane, but it is still a good pad for airfield use. Almost directly across from the airfield is the real "Hosteria Pehoe", a very touristy hotel (they all complain here of the average bathrooms!) There is a H-Pad here (Paine Pehoe Helipad) HPHE, and a well done long over water connecting walkway. Note... the water in most lake areas in the scenery has been adjusted to be more Aqua, and you may notice the stark differences with what is Rock flour, or glacial flour coloured water... but the colour differences are really like that here (note the map above), the water colour changes has not affected however the X-Plane wave system, so water still flows and waves adjust normally, which is very well done. There is another very small village just south of the airfield is Estancia Pudeto, the restaurant here is known for the excellent Torres del Paine views and tough steaks, but watch out for the Armadillos! Further south is another touristy area with several hotels and a couple of jetties. Torres del Paine We are going to do a simple loop around the Torres del Paine range from Pehoe Airfield, my trusty transport is the excellent Thranda PC-6 Turbo Porter. note on the X-Plane local map the three other designated H-Pads in HPAINE, HPAN and HPAH. Even from the airfield the Torres del Paine range dominates the view, so it is not hidden or do you need to do any flying in finding the core points of the scenery, it is right there in view front and central.... magnificent! Takeoff is via RWY 13, and once clear of the ground you need to swing a little left, and then climb... The Paine massif, which is an eastern spur of the Andes is located on the east side of the Grey Glacier, and it rises dramatically above the Patagonian steppe. To the left is the Cerro Paine Grande and to the right is the main attraction of the Cordillera Paine, and between the two is the Valle del Francés (French Valley)... fronting the range south is the magnificent Nordenskjold Lake. The striking "horns" peaks of the Cordillera Paine are Cuerno Principal (2,600m)-(Main Horn), Cuerno del Paine Norte (2,400m)-(North Horn) and Cuerno del Paine Este (2,200m)-(East Horn). These sceneries are immensely hard to do as the ranges are positioned on 4 degrees, which makes it difficult to position the3D models and their associated polygons/textures... the results here though are stupendous. Now up to 4,200ft and I want to get close, but not to close as it feels dangerous with the lower peaks... .... although they look in a way like the same formations of the Dolomites, the Torres del Paine yellowish granite underlain by a grey gabbro-diorite laccolith and the sedimentary rocks it intrudes and deeply eroded by glaciers. The steep, light colored faces are eroded from the tougher, vertically jointed granitic rocks, while the foothills and dark cap rocks are the sedimentary country rock, in this case flysch deposited in the Cretaceous period and later folded. Still you can get to see some though the gaps of the amazing views of the three Towers of Paine situated in the very north, and also dominating the background to the east is the massive Monte Almirante Nieto (2697m) formation. At the far eastern point around Monte Almirante Nieto you flip north around along the Rio Ascencio valley... there are three entrances into the park as noted as the W trails, the Rio Ascencio valley is the far eastern one to reach the highlights of the scenery. On the northern aspect is a spine of mountains set around a high glacier in a valley called.. Valle del Silencio or Silence Valley. And again they look extremely dolomiti.... these are the principal peaks of the region from the Terro Nido de Cóndor (2209m) (darker peak) to the three spikes of the "Towers of Paine" with the highest Torre del Paine Central (2460m), Torre del Paine Norte (2260m) and the Torre del Paine Sur (2500) to the right. At Lago (Lake) Paine you follow west the Río (River) Paine to the still Argentinan and Chile disputed glacial waters of Lago Dickson. Look south or left out of the aircraft and there are two significant peaks, this is the Cerro Fortaleza Formation with Cerro Fortaleza (2681m)-(The Fortress) and Cerro Escudo (2521m). Smaller northern ranges including Cerro La Paloma, but all are dominated in the background by the highest in the Torres del Paine groups of the Paine Grande (2,884m).... ... my altitude now is a high 8,600ft, and yet I don't actually feel that high, as such is the elevation below me. As we reach the western point of the scenery then the Grey lake is to the south and opening out to the north is the famous Grey Glacier... Grey Glacier is a glacier that is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. It flows southward into the lake of the same name, before dividing in two at its front end. The glacier is 6 kilometers wide and over 30 meters high and it occupies a total area of 270 km2 (100 sq mi) and a length of 28 km (17 mi) The Grey Glacier has been done really well here by Dainese and Bellini, and there are visible cracks and floating ice flows on the Grey Lake. The Paine Grande is a monolith of a mountain, and very well reproduced here... note the really well done lower formations in the rock face. From this height the Torres del Paine lake system is very spectacular and well done... although the focus is on the Torres del Paine scenery, the view away from the custom area is still pretty good, as X-Plane's default mesh works very well in not allowing the custom scenery and yourself to feel not at all disconnected from your surroundings. With a now completes complete circle around the Torres del Paine, it was time to have a look at the internal aspects, and so now you fly up the French Valley and into the central basin and another of the W trail entrances. With horns to your right and Cerro Fortaleza directly ahead, as with many mountain areas it all looks very "off world" and Alien more than life on planet Earth. There is a reason to fly around the basin, because besides some brilliant views... ... two rock walls are significant here, not in height but in climbing difficulty and both renowned... one is to the left in Cerro Cota 2000 and the other mid-picture is Cerro (Cathedral) Catedral because the face looks like a Cathedral facade... Cerro Cota 2000 is named for its elevation; as its highest contour line is about 2,000 m (6,562 ft) high. Internally in the aircraft you feel overwhelmed by all the tall peaks all around you... but deep inside the basin, you are just a blip in the landscape... .... there is however a long way down now to descend, I'm at 6,500 ft, so I start the descent even though I am not yet out of the valley. With one last look at the three horns, and then I am then dropping down through the air like the Space Shuttle. I simply wizzz fast past my landing site, still falling and still losing altitude, then finally I can loop back around to Pehoe Airfield.. ... and you have to admit, that is a spectacular backdrop to any landing... The right aircraft has to flown around here, and STOL requirements are also a prerequisite... getting your speed as low as you possibly can is also a prerequisite, as here 50 knts is at an almost stall speed is what is required to do a good clean approach. It is a very tricky landing at XLCT, but still do-able because of the length of the runway... wow that was a scenic flight and a half. Lighting is not being covered in this review, because basically there isn't any? Only the houses and hotels have lit windows. ICAO Noted Airports and H Pads There is One airport and 4 H Pads in the scenery, and provided are: XLCT - AIRPORT – TORRES DEL PAINE HPHE – HELIPAD - PAINE PEHOE HPAH – HELIPAD - PAINE SOUTH HPAN – HELIPAD - PAINE NORTH HPAINE – HELIPAD - PAINE PARK XLCT - AIRPORT – TORRES DEL PAINE As noted in the review, There is only one grass strip airport set on the eastern bank of Lake Pehoe, and the approaches are quite difficult, and the only grass runway 13/31, is looong. Note there is also a blank H pad situated here. HPHE – HELIPAD - PAINE PEHOE Set out in front of the "Hosteria Pehoe" also on Lake Pehoe next to the airport, The H-Pad is a very picturesque landing position with an amazing view of the Torres del Paine, and you also land amongst the buildings of the Hosteria. HPAH – HELIPAD - PAINE SOUTH Set on the left arm of the Lago el Toro, the clearing is far south of the Torres del Paine airfield... A clearing says it all, it is a tight space to land in, but worthwhile. There is a hotel here called the "Cruce a Hotel Lago Grey". HPAN – HELIPAD - PAINE NORTH Not really north but more west and situated at the bottom of the Grey Lake with great views of the Grey Glacier. Basically a campsite with amazing views, it is well worth the visit. HPAINE – HELIPAD - PAINE PARK Situated at the southeast area of Monte Almirante Nieto. This is a hotel with cabins that is called the "Hotel Las Torres Patagonia". Again the area is well worth the visit as it is at the entrance to Rio Ascencio valley. ______________________ Summary After a long set of five sceneries for the Dolomites. Frank Dainese and Fabio Belliniare back at the southern tip of the South America with another Patagonia scenery called Torres del Paine National Park. This scenery is a companion scenery to the earlier release of 3D Cerro Torre "Los Glaciares" National Park that is situated just to the north of the just as famous Torres del Paine mountain vistas on the spine of lower Chile. All the significant peaks are included here, including the striking "horns" peaks of the Cordillera Paine, Monte Almirante Nieto, the principal peaks of the region of the three spikes of the "Towers of Paine". The Cerro Fortaleza Formation with Cerro Fortaleza (The Fortress) and Cerro Escudo are also well represented. The largest formation Paine Grande as are the two other famous climbing peaks in the Cerro Cota 2000 and the Cerro (Cathedral) Catedral which are part of its massive formation. The famous (creeping) Glacier of the Grey Glacier is really well represented as well as the Grey Lake it flows into, and all the lakes and waterways are colour changed to match the real Rock flour (aqua) colourisation. There is one (fictional) airport and four H-Pads included with a vast array of small housing and tourist campsites throughout the scenery that covers an area of 800 sq. km area. Difficult to do, These excellent representations of iconic mountain areas of the world are for exploration, sightseeing or just plain exploring... and you could throw in a bit of geography as well. All are very highly detailed of the areas they represent and the mountain ranges are of course the stars and the focal point of the scenery packages. Hugely popular and yes I seriously love these amazing and hugely detailed and now extensive sceneries that can change your perspective of iconic mountain areas and allow them to come to life in your simulation world... Highly recommended. ____________________________________________ Yes! Torres del Paine National Park by Frank Dainese & Fabio Bellini is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Torres del Paine National Park UHD Price Is US$22.95 Features: 800 sq. Km of beautiful mountains in Ultra-High Resolution 1 small airfield, with considerable difficulties in landing and take-off. 4 Helipad located near the tourist centers. Region located at the confluence of 4 degrees Airfield(XLCT) with 4 Heliports in strategic sites. Many villages, tourist centers All 3D models Torres groups with textures in 4K resolution All the vegetation mapped Recolored the lakes, maintaining the water effect Inserted hundreds of polygons / textures to reproduce the photo-realistic terra WT3/Traffic Global: Your joking of course! no, you are on your own here Requirements X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4GB VRAM Minimum - 8GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 400MB Release and Review version 1.0 (14th October 2020) Installation Download scenery file size is download 400mb and with the full installation installed in your custom scenery folder as there are three install folders in the order below in the .INI File... the mesh has to be set below the main "3D_Paine_Park" folder. 3D_Paine_Park (511.5mb) Mesh_Paine_Park (250mb) PaineTower_lib (107.7mb) Total scenery installation (Torres del Paine) : 869.20mb Documents One manual with notes ______________________________________________________________________   Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 16th October 2020 Copyright©2020 : 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) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane v11.50r3 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: None Scenery or Aircraft - Bell 407 XP11 by Dreamfoil (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$35.00 - Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter - DGS Series by Thranda (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$34.95

Sorry gremlins! ... price is $27.95! and there is a 50% off offer if you still purchased the earlier v1 My feeling it is the tailwheel that is causing the twisting, your moving the rudder to control the direction, so the tailwheel goes the same way...

Aircraft Review : de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk v2 by Khamsin As in real life the DHC-1 Chipmunk is a survivor, The Chipmunk was the first postwar aviation project conducted by de Havilland Canada as being typically employed as a replacement for the ultra-successful de Havilland Tiger Moth biplane. The DHC-1 performed its maiden flight on 22 May 1946 and was introduced to operational service that same year. During the late 1940s and 1950s, the Chipmunk was procured in large numbers by military air services such as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Air Force (RAF), and several other nations' air forces, where it was often utilised as their standard primary trainer aircraft. The type was also produced under licence by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, who would produce the vast majority of Chipmunks, as well as by OGMA (Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico) in Portugal. The Chipmunk in X-Plane has flown very much under the radar, the aircraft was released by Khamsin as way back in 2013 in early X-Plane10... that is seven years ago or a lifetime in X-Plane terms, but there had been a few updates to keep the Chipmunk flying along with all the changes, but mostly it wasn't passing through X-PlaneReviews because the changes were only basically the very basic requirements to keep it flying throughout the many X-Plane revolutions. But you can only get away with that aspect for so long. So here is the v2 of the Khamsin DHC-1 Chipmunk, and this is a significant upgrade, not an update, but you can get a 50% off offer if you still purchased the earlier v1 aircraft. The aircraft is a post-war design, but considering that is 75 years ago now the DHC-1 looks and feels a more sixties design and mainly through it's complete metal frame and construction, it is only a basic trainer but a very decent one at that. The main modeling here has not really changed, but then it was very good back then. At first you observe that it really hasn't changed at all? or has it... The biggest impression is the textures, they look the same as the originals at first glance, obviously they have been updated with PBR (Physically Based Rendering)... ... but the texture mapping also outwardly looks the same? the highlighting is actually there, but you have to work hard in trying to distinguish them from the graphics. So you have to put the light in the right place to make the panel mapping come alive... ... so it is debatable if the mapping is not actually deep enough to overcome the graphics, or if it is actually correct? My gut says the mapping needed a slightly bit more depth to over come the heavy graphic detail like what was done on the P-38L Lightning, these old aircraft do have such heavy imprints on their bodywork, that said it is well done done here. External detailing is however excellent, cowls, airvents and the undercarriage are all very well done, as modeling is an art form then Khamsin is an old master. The tight streamlined nose cowling is exceptional as is the simple air-vent at the rear of the cowl, very authentic... gear is again simple but well done here and the inclusion of the shiny metal assembly that is worlds away from the 2013 original grey. Another great original detail that looks far better upgraded are the built wing fuel tank gauges at 9 GAL per wing, beautiful! Overall the detail and modeling is very good... in an old-fashioned way. The double-canopy and glass is very good as well, obviously the same as the original, but with the twist of the more modern effects of far better reflections, glass depth and the well done mottled wear and tear... ... the canopy can be opened via either of the front or rear red twist handles, and externally as well as internally. Cockpit quality feels and looks far, far better here than in the original, the textures have been totally redone and the lovely metallic dish shiny seats and the pure leather straps, seatbelts shows how completely different the materials are now in quality for developers to get closer and closer to that authentic goal of total realism. Overall you do feel the cockpit unlike the external has been completely redone over, as it certainly feels fresher and more realistic. Sitting in the cockpit and the quality abounds... the front and rear instrument panels are almost identical, so you can fly as easily in the rear as in the front... The only difference is that in the front there is a CTX330 Transponder and a (Laminar?) Bendix/King KY 197A single frequency COMM Radio, and some electrical switchgear with starter button, otherwise the instrument panels are identical. Looking down at your feet, the working metal rudder pedals and their heal plates are simply gorgeous, and extremely realistic... beautiful work. Right cockpit side is dominated by the large floor-mounted flap lever, again there is lovely chrome flap handle to release the flap selection, with three positions; UP-MID(15º)-Down(30º), there is also some nice animation as you use the lever... far right above is the carburettor air HOT - COLD adjustment. Left side forward are two small levers with inner, Throttle and outer MIxture. I found the Mixture lever flickered badly and would not adjust correctly and was also problematic in shutting down the engine? The large floor mounted lever is for using the brakes. Four switches upper left cover; Battery, Master Avionic and MAG (Magnetos) 1 & 2. Centre left is another switch electrical panel covering; Pitot Heat, Gen (Generator), Strobe Lights, Taxying Lights, Nav (Navigation) lights, and a large Cockpit Lights Dimmer Switch (knob). There is a nice large Elevator Trim Wheel, but I found the manipulators hard to use manually as one direction appears in one angle, but not the other, and the opposite way around, I found my keyboard (key) trimming far easier to use to adjust the nicely done trim wheel. Instrument panel The panel layout is basically all flying instruments, and only a few right side aircraft engine readouts... The centre top is dominated by an old fashioned Artificial Horizon that can be gated with a built in slip turn angle, below is a horizontal compass (there is also a very nice Whiskey Compass mounted high right). There are a cluster of instruments left including; RPM, Airspeed (Knots), Altitude and a clock. Another cluster of instruments is situated right including; (top) Vertical Speed Indicator, large Turn and Slip Indicator, Oil pressure gauge and Oil temperature gauge. Above the nice red Starter button is a Hobbs Hour meter. AviTab AviTab is built in... the tablet is also a Menu as well. The tablet is selected via touching the pouch below (arrowed), and looks quite nice in the way it is inserted via a window suction cup... but the screen is set at an odd angle and is none adjustable either, and obviously for VR (Virtual Reality) users. Pressing the eye will make the tablet disappear and you need to make it slightly darker via the light and dark sun icons. The Menu has three sets of settings; Sounds, Fuel Weight and Options in Canopy and Inst. (Instrument) Reflections. Switch off the Power and you do get some wheel-chocks and a left wing Pitot Cover, the well designed pilot though does not disappear, so the menu overall could have certainly been used for more Options, like different avionics, pilot on/off, or a second pilot for the rear and even a full canopy wrap cover... it seems to be a wasted opportunity. If you have a Navigraph account then you can log in and use it on the tablet, another option I would have liked was to be able to use the tablet in the vertical portrait mode as well as the Landscape mode, as it is better for charts... ... overall as options go the Chipmunk does not have a lot, and is basically basic in features. Flying the Chipmunk Fuel ON, Mixture up and press the Red starter button and Chipmunk roars into life with a brilliant sounding Gipsy Major Mk. 8 engine... Sounds are excellent, great idle sounds and the range is quite strong from not only throttle adjustments, but mixture changes as well, more so is the differences in tone between the canopy being open and closed... so the sound environment in dynamics is top notch and FMOD updated. Another thing I really liked was the Oil pressure adjusting on start up, and the Oil temperature gauge going constantly higher if you sat at idle for too long. Forward vision is awful, but this is a tail-dragger. The tail-wheel is fixed to the yaw, so the DHC-1 is very easy to taxi, but the pro's would complain.... another menu option? Power is provided by a four-cylinder, air-cooled Gipsy Major Mk. 8 engine, driving a two·bladed. fixed pitch propeller. The engine develops 145 BHP at sea level in ISA conditions. Two engine-driven fuel pumps (one for each tank) are provided and the engine also drives a generator and a vacuum pump. Electrical system is a 500-watt, engine-driven generator that charges the batteries and supplies DC for the following services: lighting, radio, pressure-head heater, oil temperature gauges. Two 12-volt, 15 AH batteries, that are connected together in series are housed in the rear fuselage and supply the aircraft services (except the pressure-head heater) when the generator is not charging. You tend to fly more head down than head up.... power up, but gradually You are waiting as you gain speed for the tail to lift, because once it does you have to quickly catch it with the rudder... ... you really feel this aircraft, every input to the controls is sublime, after a point you are ground flying and holding the line while now pushing up the throttle to get to a takeoff speed... which is around 74 knots or just above the flap boundaries. ... and away you go, feeding in input to the rudder, correcting with the stick, the Chipmunk is simply brilliant to fly. You don't go for that steep climb-out as the Chipmunk is not that sort of performance aircraft... 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s) is the limit anyway, so 500 ft/min is nice. You are not going to break the sound barrier either as 138 mph (222 km/h, 120 kn) at sea level is the maximum, and the cruise speed is only 103 mph (166 km/h, 90 kn), the ceiling however is a very surprising 15,800 ft (4,800 m), but you would very rarely fly that high. The DHC-1 does feel very alive. You have to keep and eye on both the Oil pressure and temperature as they can worry you, until the Chipmunk is settled after climbing and in fresh air, otherwise you just chatter along with a big smile on your face. One note is that you have to do a dab of the brakes to stop the wheels spinning? that shows up the original age of the aircraft. Trim the climb out and it is easy to find the sweet spot, once trimmed then you only then need minimum stick movements to keep the DHC-1 in a nice place, but control of the rudder has still to be done against the propeller side thrust, or the trainer will go off course. Any direction changes are smooth and you feel very much part of the machine, in other words a perfect partner of flight. Lighting Overall the lighting on the Chipmunk is pretty basic... There is the instrument adjustment and a side-light that casts a sort of green glow over the left side of the instrument panel is noted as a Fluorescent light, again adjustable... ... nice is the wing lit mounted fuel gauges, and the cockpit does look also super nice externally. External lighting is still a bit dated... there is a single landing light (left wheel strut), Navigation and strobe lights, but all are not updated or adjusted for the current lighting dynamics, so they are all external blobby... blobs. Taxiing, taking off and even cruising is easy in the Chipmunk, but it is the landing bit however requires a little bit of skill... The trick is to get down to the lowest speed you can and well before you start your final approach. The Chipmunk does not rub off speed easily, so you have to get own to well under the flap marker well before starting your landing... your aim is flap 30º and about 60 knts-62 knts, and then come down slowly... In total control above the runway I let the speed rub off and descend as slowly as I can... ... speed is now around 55 knts, but even at this slow pace you can get a few skips or touches on the ground before settling... ... that is the easy bit, the hard bit comes as the speed drops off and the Chipmunk starts to violently squirm, right, left, right... and you are fighting the rudder and you know quite early that the DHC will win this one! Finally I do a full 180º twist to stop facing the wrong way around... problem is you can't touch the brakes either unless you want to go end over front end... it is a trick to get the braking or speed reduction right, and I still have not mastered it. As I said.... it is tricky! Liveries There are only five liveries... A Canadian RCAF, Three RAF Trainers and a G (British) private registered aircraft... quality of all liveries and detail are excellent. WD347 (a real aircraft is default) ______________________ Summary The original de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk was released by Khamsin as way back in 2013. In throughout the X-Plane versions the aircraft has had a few updates to keep it current, but here is an totally upgraded version in a new v2 form. The core modeling is still the same, but you wouldn't know it because the updating to current standards of textures, glass, materials and metals has been masterfully done here, and In that respect it is really a totally different aircraft in craftmanship and quality. Sounds are outstanding and fully updated to the FMOD system, dynamic and involving they are excellent in all aural aspects. Avitab is now included, and is also now the menu as well, if quite basic. Overall the Chipmunk does come across as a basic aircraft feature wise, and it would have been nice to have added in a few more niceties, like an extra pilot, or disappearing pilot(s) and even some other avionic choices... and a of the few earlier elements have still also come through like with the average external lighting and consistently rolling wheels, a few more liveries would not have gone amiss either. The Chipmunk is a post-war trainer, and a very good one at that. But for novice X-Plane pilots that want an interesting (but easy) tail-dragger then it would be very hard to go past this excellent Khamsin creation, but although taxiing, takeoff and flying the aircraft is easy and sublime... this Chipmunk does have a nasty sting in it's tail when landing. So all round a very good aircraft, and if you don't expect too much from it, it will reward you greatly... Highly Recommended. _________________________ The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk v2 by Khamsin is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : DHC-1 Chipmunk v2 Owner of the previous DHC1 version 1 can get the new v2 version for 50% off: Use the coupon code found in your original DHC-1 Invoice. Your Price: $27.95 Main features New external 3D model New cockpit 3d model New pilot 3d model New 4K and 2K PBR textures New FMOD Sound Pack by Philip Ubben Accurate 3D visual model with normal maps - HD 4K textures Fully detailed and animated 3D cockpit with 3D gauges Polygon optimized model, manipulators technology VR ready Avitab 3D integration 5 liveries Same FPS as Default Cessna 172 SP for Windows and MacOs. FPS not tested in Linux. Options : show/hide reflections canopy and instruments, weight, sounds volumes COM, Transponder Requirements X-Plane 11 (fully updated) Windows , MAC or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8GB + VRAM Recommended Current and Review version: 1.2 (October 1st 2020) Download Size: 336 mb : Install Size 346 mb Documentation : includes an extensive 22 page manual... DHC1_manual _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 14th September 2020 Copyright©2020 : 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) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 1Tb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane v11.50r3 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini/Yamaha Speakers Plugins: : XPRealistic Pro v2 effects US$19.95 (highly recommended with the Chipmunk) Scenery or Aircraft - YBNA - Ballina Byron Gateway Airport 1.0 by Stricko 101 (X-Plane.Org) - Free

JustFlight do a very good Warrior II, expensive... but good!

Yes it is, the link is right there? CZST Stewart? It is at the (X-Plane.Org - store)... not the X-Plane.Org

Aircraft Update : Boeing 787-900 v1.6.0 by Magknight Certainly the year 2020 will go down in history as a year of unforeseen if required change. Not many people like change, some hate change, but change is always going to happen, and the results are sometimes unexpected. Magknight has timely released their latest v1.6.0 version of the Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner, just another update or a reaction to the announcement by FlightFactor, as that yes indeed their next "Pro" aircraft is going to be also a Dreamliner. Either way X-Plane needs all the Dreamliners it can get, pilot's want to fly the latest aircraft and currently with the Airbus A350-900 then the Dreamliner is it. But the development process of Magknight's project has been a long one, if even a confusing one at that... what started out a small Dreamliner freeware project, became a payware project and then a sort of "Pro" (nee expensive) project. Users followed like devotes to some religion, but their dedication has been rewarded, if only by going the really long way around than a straight forward development process. The external design or modeling has gone through I think about three incarnations, as also has the internals, from average, to good, to far better.... The externals were again (if finally) updated in version 1.4 so any of the extensive list of earlier liveries won't work and they went straight into the trash bin, so a completely new paintkit and anything past v1.5 now has to be redone, but all for the better mind you. v1.4 also gave you (another) cabin revamp and new GE engines, and then v1.5 dropped an experimental version of the RR Trent 1000 engines... although someone here is not at all impressed with your engine choice! And ACARS the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System was also introduced on the v1.5 release. Boeing 787-900 v1.6.0 Gradually the Dreamliner has been molded into shape, from a far better external shape (and that early nose profile?) to a far better cabin and cockpit. But here again in v1.6.0 the cockpit gets another complete revamp, another remodeling to get closer to the Dreamliners office in realism. Outwardly at first glance the 787 cockpit does not seem THAT different... .... but once you start to dig, you see a lot of changes. The detail of the switchgear is now quite superb, detailed and has that lovely plastic quality, even the attachment screws are clearly visible. Now Mousewheel Manipulators (scroll) work as is all of the manipulators and animations across all buttons are now also all new... I however found a few halve arrow adjustments, like for the heading just far too small and tight to use effectively and efficiently, and as many click and as quickly disappear from view? The glareshield is more better textured, and so is the main instrument facia surround, you are now starting to see a realism, rather more than the earlier modeling feel to the aircraft. The problem has that the changes have been introduced at a glacial pace, a few here and a few there over countless updates, but suddenly you look around you everywhere and you are noticing that this is now a seriously nice cockpit. That once missing authentic detail is now starting to pour out of the aircraft, it is losing that cheapness (freeware) look and it is slowly now being replaced by a quality feel. What was once looking like a bad price deal, is now starting to look like a really good value for money experience, the Dreamliner is quite not totally up there yet, because of one big infraction... the FMS, as it is still the old Laminar version in a glossy interface... note there is no actual FMS facia as the system is built into the lower monitor display (you can also move it to the upper displays), and the display does have that grey interface, it looks actually odd in context, but it is correct. It works well with the new double screen WebFMC Pro interface as well. But with added in system interactions it is now getting way along on the road to being a study aircraft, certainly there is still far more that has to be installed, but you finally feeling that you are flying and interacting with a new-era cockpit, rather than a 60's relic.... or worse a basic PlaneMaker interaction. EFB - Electronic Flight Bag The Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) has been a "Work in Progress" over several update releases, originally it was quite basic (and buggy), but this v1.6.0 version is now starting to to be far more comprehensive and more importantly a more mature system to use. Both left (Pilot) and right (First Officer) EFBs work (but not independently of each other)... ... there is a direct (mouse) cursor control (you have to touch outside of the EFB screen to regain cockpit manipulator and view control), and the same cursor system works on the other direct access displays in the FMS and Main MFD (Multi-Functional) display) And the cursor idea works very well with selection and general EFB use. New (besides the general better layout and use) there is a better WTBAL (Weight/Balance) calculator... "PERFORMANCE" won't activate unless you set up your route and INITIALIZE (Initialise) the EFB, the aircraft's weight and loading also has to be done first as well to get the correct fuel/Weights loadings for the flight. Then press the PERFORMANCE tab... Adjust any details you require for the Takeoff (performance) then press the CALC button, then the correct takeoff data is displayed lower section... change any parameters and the CALC will readjust the performance data to match the changes, and excellent it is. ... same with the Landing (Performance), but as you know, in a lot of scenarios, you don't know the landing data until you get closer to your destination (Wind/Air Pressure and even the aircraft's weight), so you may get a negative display. Calculations included are: Takeoff calculator, Automatic derate calculation, Automatic trim calculation, NTX and runway slope support (using extremeData) and Max weight for runway, and the same for the Landing calculator. Also noted is now the full selection of autobrakes RTO, 1-4 and MAX selections, and if you are using on landing Full Reverse, Thrust or Auto Spoilers settings... very impressive! We did see part of this Performance Calculator working in earlier versions, but not to this now a far more finished and polished interface. Aircraft Configuration Loading the aircraft (weights) is also now a far more polished interaction. Access is via the AIRCRAFT CONFIG tab... ... and the first tab gives you the aircraft's current loading situation. The rest of the tabs then give you access to Crew, PAX (Passenger), Cargo and Fuel loadings. The detail is excellent including even the selection of Crew baggage (weight) on a Domestic or International Flight (Long Haul), the selection is via the number of crew on board or 15kg if International. Passenger baggage weights are automatically calculated with the numbers carried, and as I am doing here only a domestic service (Brisbane to Melbourne) then the fuel load is not very high either (15,000kg) as per SimBrief. When you have sorted out your loading, then press "Apply Changes" to set the required loads and weights, which are then detailed as your ZFW (Zero Fuel Weight), Takeoff and Landing Weights with you Centre of Gravity (MAC) percentages. Interesting tab is the "GALLEY" tab... here you can set the weights for the "Galley Code" in LR (Long Range), International, Short-haul One Way, Short-haul Return and No Galley Fitout. Loading weights are quite surprisingly quite different between the domestic and long-haul choices, a really nice to have and clever feature. Another new change on the EFB under the "Settings" tab is that you can now set the windows and cockpit (panel) reflections On/Off. ACARS In version v1.5.1 there was the introduction of the excellent Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System or ACARS, under the COMM page. There was a ACARS message formatting issue and an ACARS spelling mistake, and both have rectified in this update version, excellent, but it would be nice to have the Oceanic Clearance work, can it work in X-Plane? Very handy... EICAS - Engine-Indicating and Crew-Alerting System has had bugs attended to with Stab trim indicator is now correct, EICAS settings too high now adjusted, and the EICAS warning/caution reset now fixed. and the PA volume has been made a bit louder, and noted more persistent. Lighting As per Boeing panel layouts the Boeing 787 has several lighting selections that all do really the same action... DOME will bring up the main cockpit (rear lights), but STORM does the same thing but is not adjustable, there is a third full cockpit lighting adjustment with MASTER BRIGHT, and the button at the bottom will do a full override of the adjust knob. I always really loved that LED dropdown panel lighting, and it is still as brilliant as ever, more so with the better switchgear... There are two forward overhead spotlights for MAP lighting and nice fillers they are... The B787 is a long hauler, so you have to be seriously comfortable in here over the long hours in flight, it is now perfect. As you know I am funny about light bleed into the cockpit, but the Magknight B787 is getting extremely good at finding the right settings for the right situation, so there has been some significant improvements to the lighting here in v1.6.0, and all to the very good. Cabin lighting is very good as well, still not adjustable, but I have no doubts that option will come in future releases, but what we have is still nicely done... oddly I found the Dreamliner cabin feeling a little small for a twin-aisle aircraft, more a A332 than a wide B777. The cabin is now blue throughout, and the horrible rainbow lighting effects has been dropped in First and Bus class, thank god. External lighting aspect is looking pretty nice as well, and very realistic from every angle. Flying the v1.5 Dreamliner I had a very long list of complaints when I did the last v1.4 Boeing 787-9 Aviator review... I expected a lot to better this time around... but it is not? Dynamically there are some serious basics wrong here... a lot of time early in the flight after pushback was wasted trying to get the tiller to work... you can set the tiller for a manual control, what the "settings" need to be though is for the "Use Roll for the NWS" to be ON to actually get nose wheel control, this should be default and not the other way around, reload the aircraft and it switches it back off again, annoying. Sound are very good, but you don't have much control over them... in taxiing they are too low in volume (The Dreamliner is amazingly very low acoustically internally) but there is almost nothing you can hear here at all if you want to hear those lovely GE engines (or RR if fitted). Power up and the sounds do come in, but still very, very low, even from the cabin perspective. at v1 - 129kts and "whoa" the nose lifts... ... 5º of flap should not lift the nose at v1? so suddenly you are fighting the aircraft to keep the nose wheel on the ground (unsuccessfully), the aircraft is now twisting on you as well (note, the Dreamliner is a very automated aircraft, but this "I will fly the aircraft for you", is certainly not realistic?) At v2 and then v2+10 I'm already well off the runway, then fighting the aircraft in the air to keep it level? It is twisting on me like it is in a 18kt - 20kt crosswind, but I only have an almost head-on 9º wind force, the B787 should not twist like this hard in these conditions? It feels like the engine power is completely out of balance? Climbing out the B787 is unstable? and worse I am running out of pitch to keep the nose down, the aircraft just wants to go vertical nose up... I fixed this by adjusting the pitch trim (manually from the keyboard)... a lot, in fact far too much adjustment was required to bring the nose down to an acceptable climb rate. I am fighting to keep this aircraft in the air... take a look at the FCTL of the elevators, and that elevator position is not normal.... Switching to automation or using the autopilot is tricky as well, as some commands over-ride others, if you press the A/T (Autothrust) it should stay switched on, but it doesn't, and neither does the A/P Autopilot itself... so you are constantly fighting the aircraft to get to do do what you want it too, it simply has a mind of it's own and of what it thinks you should have and not what you actually want, so who is in control here? I finally got the aircraft sorted to follow the LNAV (route), and start the climb (40,000ft) but now there was then an odd bank to the left? ... more weirder is the situation that the PFD Artificial Horizon is showing a bank to the right? I do actually remember this one from flying the Dreamliner last time... Turn the A/T on (Auto) and the B787 banks, Turn the A/T off and you get control back, and I then remembered how I fixed it as well... You run the right starboard side engine at far higher thrust than the left port side... odd yes, but it works in keeping the Dreamliner at least level in flight. So in level fight you have very odd power settings. Should you have to do this, of course not, and should you still have to do this after six months when it was wonky then... absolutely not? At altitude the sounds are very good, but still sound the same in the cabin as in the cockpit, but I do really love the in flight hum. Annoying is the fact that the Magknight B787 is so really good now in the cockpit, as this place is now a seriously nice place to be, it looks and feels excellent. The Great Southern Land But overall the dynamics and flight performance just don't match the looks. I then re CALC the landing data with the more current information. Then a scan of the instruments before landing noted the fuel display was not counting down, was the fuel inbalance my bank issue? no, with the fuel adjusted (manually) or leveled between the tanks it was still just the same. I remember now how I missed the fuel crossfeed coming from Hong Kong- HKG to MEL as well, still the same non-working fuel pumping system? With one engine on idle I arrive at Melbourne, now banked the other way, right.... this was going to be interesting! Whoopsy Daisy... .... finally some control and facing directly at YMML's RWY 16, but look at my yoke position to keep the B787 straight, is that normal in a 7knt head-on wind? in reality this is a one engine out landing... with two perfectly running engines? Dreamliners land really sloooow at here 136kts... "touch" is really good, but under the thrust-reversers the B787 becomes a real handful.... .... full right rudder and a lot of yoke movement keeps the aircraft finally finding the centreline, well sort of.. ... as I am fighting the aircraft right down to the taxi speed... "Welcome to Melbourne". I record my reviews directly from the flight I have in the simulator, good or bad. What I detail here is how the simulation unfolded in front of me, so I am hiding nothing from you... so the question has to asked. Did I have a bad download of the aircraft?, did I set up the aircraft wrong? and am I really missing something fundamental in the way that I am using the Autopilot? all good questions, but I did do a quick test flight the day before (I always do a quick recollection flight to reset me into the aircraft) and the B787 was quite a handful then also. But my gut feeling says the developer is focusing too much on the auto side of the Dreamliner, and missing the basics of flying the aircraft manually, or correctly. So in trying to give you.. the user an experience, they are not adjusting the aircraft for even the very basics of flight. You should not be landing on ONE engine to keep the aircraft straight! __________________________ Summary This is the ongoing development of the Boeing 787-900 from Magknight. It started out as a basic freeware version, became a payware, and now a pro-payware. You accept with the purchase that the aircraft is still in an on-going development format, this is v1.6.0. This v1.6.0 update focuses on a (again) a new cockpit redesign, with far better textures, PBR and better switchgear. Lighting has also been highly upgraded. EFB - The side Electronic Flight Bags have also been mostly now finished off from their "in development" early stages, and the results are excellent with great weight/loading features, performance calculations and other new features added and in areas like the crew baggage and galley loading weights are very clever. Overall the aircraft designwise now is excellent... but I expected a big step forward in performance, flight dynamics and even by now a replacement for the default MAP screens and basic X-Plane FMC systems... but in these areas the aircraft is still quite average. It looks sensational, sounds sensational, but very average to fly. The focus is too much on the automation and not on the actual basics of flight, in this area Magknight have a big significant hole in the aircraft's development structure, and with the now coming FlightFactor Boeing 787 Dreamliner Pro... they are now also running out of time to fix it.... this should have been a far better simulation than it is, and I am disappointed about that, because I really like the aircraft. I thought this update was sensational, until I actually flew the aircraft... the update is that good, but not in the required fundamental areas of just having a great aircraft to fly. Put the two points together and it will BE sensational... but it is very far from that aspect at this point in it's development. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Boeing 787-900 Aviator Edition Dreamliner v1.6.0 by Magknight is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : B787-9 Aviator Edition Price is US$44.95 Upgrade cost to the "Aviator Edition" from the original payware release version is US$10, see your X-Plane.OrgStore account for the upgrade. Features General Brand new flight model built for X-Plane 11.40 and 11.50+ Improved wingflex Custom IRS simulation, with quick align Auto-update for the lifetime of X-Plane 11 LED exterior lights Pause at top of descent and jump to waypoint 3D cabin New: Next-Generation Cockpit Comprehensive cockpit lighting options High resolution textures with PBR throughout the cockpit and cabin Optional tinted cockpit and cabin windows Realistic Panel dimensions New: Integrated EFB Comprehensive weight and balance calculator, with per-livery cabin configurations Takeoff and landing performance calculators Multiple engine choices Choose from the mainstay GE engines, or the new experimental RR engines Each engine has different flight characteristics Custom flight controls 5-setting autobrakes with RTO capability Dynamic flap timing and order Roll spoilers based on speed and wingforce Surface droop on hydraulics loss Surface fadeout by speed Hoppie ACARS intergration Intergration with the Hoppie ACARS network Allows uplink of pre-departure clearances and weather information FMOD soundpack by audiobirdXP Fully custom FMOD soundpack for the GENx engines Extensive integration with systems Cockpit switch and button sounds 3D cabin and fuselage Ground-up exterior fuselage model including optional tinted windows 3D cabin with optional seating Cabin is optional, configurable in EFB for performance Liveries Blank livery included by default Other liveries available at https://magknight.org/liveries Liveries from before 1.4.0 are not be compatible due to change of engine and fuselage models Auto-Updater Uses the Skunkcraft Updater for Automatic updates Requirements: X-Plane 11 Fully updated Windows, Mac or Linux 4GB VRAM Minimum - 8GB+ VRAM recommended Current and Review version : 1.6.0 (September 23rd 2020) Installation : Download is 587.30mb which is unzipped and is inserted in your Heavy Aircraft folder as a 1.91gb folder Note: liveries are not included, but can be download... only v1.5+ liveries will now work with this aircraft Documentation : Manual (partly completed?) v1.6.0 changelog (attached) B7879 - 1.6.0_Changelog.txt ______________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 6th October 2020 Copyright©2020: 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) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 1Tb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.30b2 (aircraft will only fly in 11.30) Addons: Saitek x56 Rhino Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : Scenery Animation Manager - Suite 2.0 - Free : BetterPushBack - Free Scenery or Aircraft - YBBN - Brisbane International - 2020 1.1 by CDG (X-Plane.Org) - Free- - YMML Melbourne 1.01 by ISDG (X-Plane.Org) - Free

MagKnight was very clear in noting to do a complete redownload from the store you purchased the aircraft from for this update... there are issues with the Skunkcraft's updater.

Scenery Review : KPWM - Portland International Jetport by AeroDesigns This is Portland International, but not that Portland International? Confused, this is the other airport across the country of the United States in Maine, not of Oregon State. Portland International Jetport is a public airport two miles (3 km) west of downtown Portland, in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is owned and operated by the City of Portland. A portion of the Jetport's property, including the main runway, is in the neighboring city of South Portland. And the city is 108 miles or 174 km north of Boston. The Jetport airport is the busiest in the state of Maine. In 2018, the jetport handled more than 2 million passengers for the first time, breaking the previous record of 1.86 million set in 2017. In recent years, the Jetport has benefited from service by low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue, as well as Portland's increased popularity as a tourist destination. AeroDesign's first scenery was the John Glenn Columbus International Airport (KCMH) for X-Plane 11, and also with a collaboration with X-Codr (KDEN) on Montgomery Regional Airport (KMGM) which is a free download here: KMGM - Montgomery Regional Airport 1.1. This Portland International Jetport (KPWM) is now AeroDesigns second professinal release. KPWM-Portland uses an off-set cross runway layout, with the terminal area set north central in the cross. Portland International Jetport IATA: PWM - ICAO: KPWM - FAA LID: PWM 11/29 - 7,200ft (2,195m) Asphalt 18/36 - 6,100ft (1,859m) Asphalt Elevation AMSL - 76 ft/23 m First to note that the scenery requires two downloads of first the airport (KPWM - Portland International Jetport) and then two sets of ground textures in: Y_KPWM_Overlay and Z_KPWM_Mesh. Obviously they have to be set up correctly in order in the X-Plane scenery .INI file so the overlay and mesh is set below the airport scenery folder. Terminal Portland Jetport has a single terminal, with the main multi-tiered entrance to the west. The apron layout is fifteen stands with 10 airbridges, the stands 1A, 1B and 1C are walkon-walkoff gates and stand 11, 12 and 14 are west remote stands with a covered walkway. The terminal modeling and overall work is very good, but there is no "Feel" to the building. Oddly a lot of American airports come across like this, maybe it is the combination of the wide white concrete ramps and white buildings, there is no depth to the bright detail, you could even say outwardly bland, but the work is however good on close inspection.... .... rooftop air-conditioning units are animated and well done. Portland scenery has the SAM (Scenery Animation Manager) system and that gives you airbridge control, however the parking positions of the airbridges are dead straight and in certain gate parking situations they intrude directly into the parking zone? So A.I. traffic aircraft can also be seen to be buried head first into most of the airbridges on parking? Clutter of ground service vehicles is good, but not PWM branded, and mostly generic designs... There are a few nice vehicle animations that run around and the numbers are well balanced for this size of airport, highlight though are the highly reflective chrome fuel tankers. Landside is the same, very good... but you are missing that nitty-gritty of detail and furniture, the absence of any advertising is highly noticeable as well... so spaces seem empty, clean and open. Terminal internally is done as well... again it is very good with some very nice wood texturing and support columns, and the escalators that are a highlight of the real terminal... .... glass is very good in being correctly tinted but still see-through, but again there is that feeling of it all is simply not finished, in that the details are missing, like gate numbers and advertising or the passengers themselves... it all feels like an airport that is currently closed because of the Covid19 restrictions! There is only one major large covered carpark at the Jetport. The carpark is very well modeled and detailed, but there are a couple points that don't work... First is that the top cover (blue) shade awning shadow is replicated on each floor and so it looks odd... .... top floor texture is a photo-ortho that has been processed, but it is too white and too unrealistic to work... this seems to part of the overall image of the terminal upper roof areas in that ortho textures have been used to convey a realism, but in fact they have the opposite effect in blanding out the building. The entrance and floor tower are however really well done. The control tower is a basic design and hard to get any realistic detail into, but again it feels a bit too white and clean here. Earlier the tower had a blank strip effect downwards to cover the lower windows and had a black glasshouse top, that design would have given Aerodesign more to work with.... Tower view is not set either.... naughty! North and along the west side of Runway 18/35 is Taxiway C (Charlie)... This is the main set of General Aviation aprons and there is a lot of parking areas. Dominant here is the NorthEast Air (Air Elite) personal jet services, there are two sets of hangars and a private jet terminal. Far north Charlie is four large maintenance hangars, and plenty of parking area. The point is it feels again empty because there are a few vehicles but also no static aircraft. Behind are two Hilton hotel properties... one is the larger "Embassy Suites" by Hilton Portland Maine (no name?), and the second is a cheaper budget GardenInn property. Going West are two areas with a well done fuel Depot and Maintenance area by the threshold of RWY 11. East in the north of the small cross of RWY 29 and RWY 18 is a small cargo FedEx facility and customs. The area is well done here with more colour and detail, the PWM Airport Maintenance Facility is over here as well. There is a very large MacJets facility south with another very empty large apron, but it is well done. A few areas off field (mostly to the south) have had some custom buildings completed, housing and a nice shopping mall... .... a nice addition is to use the Short Final's SFG Global plugin to create regional housing, here you get a very nice Maine architecture visual feel that really works in completing out the scenery. Ground Textures Ground textures overall are only average... Portland PWM main apron has different concrete variations in depth of wear, it is lightly touched upon here and you can see the darker zones to the newer cleaner zones, but it is nowhere near enough depth the of wear and tear of the real apron (on google maps), get closer and the concrete surfaces are actually quite bland. Surprising really because AeroDesigns worked with X-Codr who did excellent work on the latest KDEN update with making at Denver the very bright concrete breath with some grungy realism. The runway, taxiway textures are not too bad, but there seems to be a disconnect between you and the surfaces, oddly the cargo area surfaces are really good? There is good burnt-in ambient occlusion, that sort of brings life to the surfaces... but everything is bit too squared off and sectioned to be totally realistic. There is a very big (over) reliance on the photo-ortho textures within this scenery, not only for the actual ground images but as already noted on buildings as well. Problem is there are a lot of flat and very wide areas (mostly southwest) that are highly noticeable as being plain flat and photo only. The well done tree and fauna work does hide a lot, including the boundaries of the scenery, but that just highlights these areas even worse, as they look like holes in the ground... the colourisation of the ortho-photos are not great either, so you get this yellowy-green feel around the airport, and in areas a completely washed out bright look. Deep down this is core of the biggest visual look of Portland Maine. Lighting Overall the lighting at PWM is very good, approach, runway and taxiway lighting is up to the required standards. Apron lighting is well lit and nice different variations of tone, so it feels realistic... a nice area to depart or arrive to after dark or in twilight. Internal and landside terminal feels abandoned, empty and with only the overhead lights switched on.... Covid19 shut? The clear glass comes across as grey, it is not too bad, but it feels a bit lifeless as this style of glass transparency can do. Other building lighting is the same, blocks of colour in shades of grey or in many cases even completely dark, as are both the Hilton hotels? Most building, carpark and street lighting is good and well done to complete a full nighttime scenario. ______________________________ Summary Portland International JetPort is the biggest airport in the state of Maine in the United States, and averages 2 million passengers per year. This is AeroDesign's second professinal scenery under their own banner after the John Glenn Columbus International Airport (KCMH), and a collaboration with X-Codr (KDEN) on Montgomery Regional Airport, that was a freeware scenery. In scale PWM is a mid-sized airport with a single terminal, and overall the scenery is well done with some good work done here... But there are areas which you would note as workmanlike, modeling is good but bland, mostly in texture realism, again textures come up with their overuse and poor colourisation procedures, and flat open areas of ortho textures make the area feel more MSFS2020 than X-Plane. In other areas the scenery feels underfinished with very empty internal areas and little colourful advertising and passenger direction signage, little static aircraft and empty aprons and the SAM airbridges are not positioned correctly, and so it feels overall like a closed and not an open bustling busy city airport. Bonuses are custom modeled SAM (Scenery Animation Manger) airbridges, local Landmarks, baked ambient occlusion textures and very good World Traffic 3 support and animated vehicles (Windows). Worthy scenery, well yes, this Portland International is a nice scenery and should be actually be far better, but you are faced today with quality work of highly skilled developers and you have to deliver to a standard that payware demands, Portland does however get across that line, but only just as it is a sub-US$20 price... a nice scenery to have and use if you fly a lot on the east coast of the US and east/south Canada and if like hub and spoke services as Maine is a very nice destination... and for that aspect KPWM is very good. _____________________________________ Yes! KPWM - Portland International Jetport by AeroDesigns is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : PWM - Portland International Jetport Price is US$19.95 Features: Highly accurate and detailed 3d model of the Terminal and surrounding airport buildings with high-resolution textures Normal mapping and reflections for an enhanced user experience Custom modelled and textured SAM Jetways Custom accurate 3D Mesh Baked Ambient Occlusion HDR and accurate night lighting Custom high-resolution ground textures and markings Rain Textures for the ground (requires scenery reload) High-resolution and color-corrected orthophotos (9cm; 0.3 foot) Performance friendly 3d models for the entire airport Landmarks in the vicinity of the airport Animation plugins supported: World Traffic 3 support courtesy of the amazing Cpt. K-Man SAM implementation for dynamic jetways Ground Traffic (Windows only) Requirements: X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4GB VRAM Minimum - 8GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 3 GB zipped, 3 GB extracted Current and Review version: 1.2 (September 30th 2020) Installation Download scenery files required are in two downloads: KPWM - Portland International Jetport (2.81gb) KPWM_Mesh.zip In the mesh folder are two mesh folders: Y_KPWM_Overlay (4.2mb) Z_KPWM_Mesh (1.82gb) The three folders are to be placed in the correct order in your .INI list Total scenery install is: 4.96Gb SAM Plugin - Scenery Animation Manager - Suite 2.0 is required for this scenery ShortFinal Global SFD plugin is highly recommended with this scenery. Documents One extensive manual in English with notes (5 pages) and no Charts Manual.pdf _____________________________________________________________________ Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 2nd October 2020 Copyright©2020 : 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) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 1Tb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane v11.50 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : Scenery Animation Manager - Suite 2.0 - Free Scenery or Aircraft - CRJ-200 by Javier Rollon (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$39.95

Behind the Screen : September 2020 First up that happened in September is the X-PlaneReviews site refresh, after four years you needed a new paintjob for the site and that with Invision then released more tools to allow you to do more ideas and add in more more features, then gave us the opportunity to bring out the ladders and paintbrushes. The old look was actually still quite good, but we felt we needed a more dynamic look and interaction. The results are nice on the eye, and easier for reading the reviews. I have always liked a clean if simple design (less is more) attraction (the graphic design training in me), and we think we have achieved that goal. We also felt it was too static as a site, but the problem with adding in flashy adverts and big banner images is that they can distract more than help, worse is that they come with huge image download times that will make most click on through the site. We did add in an animation banner, that was badly needed to highlight current reviews and news items, as one single banner in a way was not enough, and that works nicely... Another new feature is the addition to add in your own images at the bottom of the main page, this again gives users a more visual interaction with the site. All ideas are tested on not only all desktop browsers (Mac and Win), iPads, tablets (I test by going to my local store and downloading the site on to their numerous display units!) and iPhone/Android... so the site works for everyone. Again banners are nice, but not when they don't work. We may tweak it more yet, but for now it works, a note is that when we do certain image sizes and layouts it may look simple to the eye, but it has to work now across a multitude of browsers and gadgets, and has to be effective in all situations and not just on the usual wide desktop application (a big mistake in site creation). X-Plane 11.50 Final September was also the month that X-Plane v11.50 went final. So we are now in the era of Vulkan/Metal... modern times. Certainly processing speeds have been highly refined and you can now run far more features than before. But I am not completely happy with the transition. In most cases Laminar always usually over-delivered in features and ideas, and this is actually the first time I think they just didn't quite get there. I see a few areas the performance that are not as great as everyone expected, and in fact I am back running at my same numbers that I was using in the OpenGL environment... so is that progress? Don't get me wrong v11.50 is a big if massive huge step forward, smooth and far faster than anything we had previously, and like noted I can now use features that were off limits before like reflections, but I do sometimes get stutters (not the previous type, but processing stutters) and in the various areas it feels still a bit unrefined like with the slow texture processing. A lot of comments noted, say that it should be better, but the issues here are various, complex and users are not known for their patience. Number one thing to understand is that the process conversion to be fully Vulkanised or Metalised is really only about half completed. The changes already done only complete the shader changes and processing channels, but a lot of the older OpenGL areas are in there and still present... The beta process showed this up and it was an odd one, the process bounced from one side to the other in that one set of users ran far better at some settings, but others got worse results in the same version, swap the numbers around and you got the opposite effect in that another set of users got the advantage were as the others went completely the other way, it was like a Forrest Gump moment it that you "didn't know what version was the good one" for you until it actually came out. At in the end Laminar settled for a midway "sort of pleasing" everyone, but a pleasing no one either sort of situation. So that left the final edition of v11.50 in a bit of a mid-ground quandary Core of the problems are the textures, or the global tiles that makes up X-Plane, they are very old as is the ideas around the weather (a really big framerate killer) and other various left overs that came with X-Plane10, yes the Vulkan processing is fast, but these older elements are not, and so until X-plane has a rework to the modern elements and methods on having better more efficient global (high and low) textures and a complete rework of the weather engine, add in using not the current single pipe of process, but multi-core and multi-threading processing then the nirvana we are seeking and then and only then will the full effects of using Vulkan/Metal will come to the fore... in truth is we are only about halfway through the transition, and it may even take another few years to totally get there. From Laminar's point of view it was getting nowhere trying to please everyone, but the pressure to deliver X-Plane12 was also growing louder in the background. So this puts again so much importance on the next X-Plane release... no pressure there, and why try to fix something that is going to be changed again soon anyway, and so in the end we were left with a compromised release.... not certainly a failure in any context, but we have to consider the actual context we are sitting in. On saying that I still think that Laminar will twiddle with it in the background and find more performance for everyone before the year is out. One tool that has caused a lot of issues over the beta and currently with the final of v11.50 is Navigraph's "Simlink" tool. Loading times are horrendous (as it connects to the Navigraph servers), and now it is causing serious stutters in v11.50, it had to come out obviously, but it is a brilliant tool that is seriously missed, but it is also highly inefficient as a plugin and has been for awhile and has got seriously worse with v11.50... the concept needs a rethink, and very unlike Navigraph. The above is comment is interesting because all stutters outwardly look the same, in this case it was a plugin created stutter and not a simulator created stutter, but you can actually see or feel the differences between them, you can also switch off the offending plugins to see the differences (in the case of SimLink it was quite significant), but it shows how complex and interwoven the simulator really is, and how good your Sherlock Holmes detective work has to be in finding out and resolving conflicting issues, again the most simple one is to reset with a clean (or vanilla) X-Plane setup and work yourself upwards from there for the really big issues. Once we have the final done and completed, then came all the updates, to be fair most aircraft and plugin updates have mostly been already done, but still developers put out final, final updates... I found that September is turning into update month, not only for simulators but browsers, iPhones, operating systems, even my fridge got an update! But with the Vulkan/Metal transfer a few plugins have not returned... one is the Librain "Rain" plugin, and the usual xEnviro, who noted even when (or if) they do an update in v14 then it will still only be for OpenGL only, I mean who wants an OpenGL version?... I am going to die before they get something out that works with the current X-plane version, worse it that the xEnviro plugin is the one most significant plugin for the simulator, in creating at least some realistic weather. Oldies are still goodies A few blasts from the past appeared over the last few months and it was very welcoming to have them back. A lot of the scenery and certainly aircraft date horribly in the simulator, but many that were really advanced for their time can still also be very relevant today. A lot of life has been returned to the IXEG with thankfully a few updates for the Boeing 733 this year, it was still quite flyable before the changes, but the updates have certainly given the aircraft a lot more years service in the simulator, a "Classic" act with no pun intended. Second aircraft was the JRollon CRJ-200. For it's time it still really delivers an excellent simulation, even in X-Plane v11.50. Yes in areas in the cockpit and the cabin it feels dated, but it still performs outstandingly well. The amazing BSS soundpack that was added in a few years ago, that really totally changed the aircraft into something else, and nothing internally seems to have been affected. The v1.6 of the excellent WebFMC plugin now adds in the CRJ-200 (the reason it was pulled out from the back of the virtual hangar) and allowed me to revisit the aircraft again, and a return to service for the foreseeable future. Both of these aircraft were very, very well advanced on their releases and showed how sometimes we get the future delivered in front of you without actually understanding it, and the accolades have to go to the developers on the foresight they saw back then, and to survive two complete X-Plane versions is really an outstanding effort. Even though we have some outstanding current aircraft to fly in, they still totally deliver the goods in satisfaction. A v2 of the CRJ-200 was being developed, but the project went quiet (mainly because co-developer Philipp Münzel nee Ringler is not available) and if at anytime the aircraft will now be produced, but if it it ever did that would be something else. Another blast and totally unrelated to the update I did this week was the excellent Beti-x CZST Stewart and Bella Coola. I used Stewart as a basis for a review of Thranda's Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter a few months back, and to also mainly see how it lived up to its status as an award winning (2014) scenery, it was a sheer total coincidence that the scenery has been picked up by the X-Plane.Org and updated, but even in it's original form it showed the future of X-Plane in scenery development, with brilliant realistic ground textures, great if perfect modeling, and the VFR replication of a complete township that is still unrivaled today, yes we get completely replicated walkaround airport sceneries, but not of a whole settlement. The update filled in a few missing new features that were not available six years ago, but otherwise this outstanding scenery is as per original, and it is a scenery every user should savour in their custom scenery collection. It was a waltz through the X-Plane past, but these amazing products are still also totally relevant to today's simulator as well, they all still perform well and deliver brilliant simulation, so you have to be very careful in not to throw them out, there are certainly far more gems out there and most all of them are sitting in your aircraft folder and custom scenery folder, so seek them out and give them a visit, if they have dated or or not relevant, then yes the time has come to delete them. but you would be surprised how many do hold up to the current stands of still giving and delivering an extremely good simulation experience. See you all next month Stephen Dutton 1st October 2020 Copyright©2020 X-Plane Reviews

Scenery Updates : CZST Stewart and CYBD Bella Coola v1.5 by X-Plane.Org Life throws up some weird coincidences... When I did the excellent Thranda Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter review back in June I went back to a very old scenery for two reasons, one was in how after all these years is if the scenery still held up to it's status of a winner of the scenery of the year award (2016), and two to try out the now running v11.50 (Vulkan) feature of reflections. I had even planned to use the second of this series sceneries in Bella Coola as a basis for Thranda's next project in the announced Beaver DH-2. Both of these sceneries have now been released under the XPOrg banner or X-Plane.Org. Both sceneries were originally created by Beti-x or Peter Kubek, but the developer has not been involved in simulator for now quite sometime, that aspect puts the scenery into a major conflict, in that in reality it can be seen as abandoned(ware). In most cases a lot of product would date and sometimes quite substantially from this period and gradually fade away. But CZST Stewart and CYBD Bella Coola are not your average sceneries, they are as mentioned award winning sceneries and also far more significant than that in that for their time, as both sceneries predicted the future of scenery development and in features as in detail. In this situation both of the sceneries rights have been bought out by the XP.Org and also revised to current standards, in this aspect the sceneries get a refresh, but more importantly they will survive and carry on well into the simulators future, in this case the XP.Org has to be applauded to save this outstanding work for generations to come from just being a lost cause to the past. I found that in using CZST Stewart in the PC-6 review was that the scenery had indeed faired extremely well. It was released six years ago at about the mid-development point of X-Plane10, and six years in X-Plane development time is an extremely long time for any product to survive without any updates and through the significant changes of texture quality, PBR (Physical Based Reflections), baked burnt-in ambient occlusion effects and metal/glass grading.... but survive well it did. The original CZST Stewart review is here: Scenery Review : CZST Stewart by beti-x CZST Stewart, British Columbia First differences between 2014 and 2020 is of the different atmospheric feel that you have, plus the water effect is now far, far better. Having the Vulkan reflection feature active is also a huge bonus in creating a very realistic panorama, it is a superb feature and not to be underestimated here in Stewart. The CZST airfield itself is located by the Portland Canal, tricky is a word in that both approaches require skill and nerve to get right, but they are also both in return highly rewarding for the pilot. Stewart has only one asphalt runway (more of a sealed gravel strip). 18/36 (3872ft)- Elev. 24ft. CZST is nothing more than a clearing with a big double shed on it, calling it a hangar would be generous... and a smaller garage. There have been changes here since the original release and that is reflected in this updated version... the area to the south of the apron has been cleared, and this aspect has been well represented in this new version. So the apron feels now very open, compared to the more closed in field feel from before... Textures were groundbreaking (no pun intended) for the time, and simply some of the best worn asphalt and stone work you could dream of and it all comes with 3d grass and turf.... .... textures have the resolution of 2cm per pixel, an unheard of quality for the period and here they are still as refined and as highly realistic, but still also have that gritty quality we love, what is the word... exceptional. Outwardly the buildings look exactly the same. But they are quite different in that the textures have been again reworked and refined to modern methods with burnt-in ambient occlusion effects and PBR reflections that gives the glass its reflective (lower doors and side windows) effects, the newer textures brings also out the lovely wear dirt lower brickwork to the more cleaner higher building paneling realism, doors are superbly rusted to perfection. Noted is that more static elements have been added to the scene... two MHS Aviation AS350 B2 helicopters now also grace the pad, and a lot of personnel in Hi-Viz jackets... this is a debatable element? Field strips like Stewart are remote, and not hubs of aviation activity. Yes the figures look very good, but in reality very few people hang around or are to be seen working around on aprons like this... debatable. That said it is very well done with hi-quality figures. Another huge change and addition is the amazing ship sitting at the new wharf... ... ships in X-Plane scenery are usually very basic, but this... is breathtaking in realism! with so much quality and detail, and you will fly over the ship every time to arrive on RWY 36 or depart RWY 18, shame there is no name on it? The wharf is all new and extremely well done, detailed and as are the older harbour areas, and the distinct woodmill wharf that is also still excellent. Another profound aspect of the original Stewart scenery was the township itself. Obviously recreating a small township like Stewart is not new to X-Plane, but Stewart was a very significant step forward in design in that the whole town was totally recreated, that is not just with generic buildings, but the WHOLE town with EVERY SINGLE building was recreated as a custom building, no two buildings are the same unless they actually are at Stewart, and if you think about that aspect of photographing and recreating everything there, it is a mindblowing experience... but that is what was done here as a complete photographic 3d reality of the area. All the main significant buildings are correct including all other main town buildings in Churches, Schools, Port & Fishing facilities, Fuel Stations, Fire Station, (Mounted) Police, Utilities in power stations and even the standing out blue roofed Stewart Health Centre and note the sited H-Pad in front of the building. The Stewart scenery represented for X-Plane the first real fully walk-around scenery, a place to explore as per the real life Stewart township, and I have done so mostly every time I come here... it is and still is an extraordinary achievement. Any negatives.. the trees are still only 2d and the original versions, okay but just passable for a very high quality scenery like this. Lighting is still also one of the best in X-Plane, and still a high standard to meet, not just with the big in drop down lighting and nice windows, but the minute small detail in say this Coke Cola machine... the service station was the highlight in the original and it still looks as great here... Shops, garages working at night, every house, every business is lit here as per perfection. __________________________ CYBD Bella Coola, British Columbia It was three years until Beti-x released their second scenery after CZST Stewart in another British Columbia scenery and in many aspects a very, very similar layout as the former release in CYBD Bella Coola. Original Review is here: Scenery Review : CYBD - Bella Coola BC by Beti-X Yes it was again set deep within a valley, yes it had a river flowing past the runway, yes every single building was a custom building, yes it had a tricky approach and departure... and again it was all as mindblowing. The only slight difference was that the township of (lower) Bella Coola was not situated behind the airport but the airport is placed a 14 km a distant west from the main townsite. And unlike Stewart then CYBD is more of what you would call an airport than a strip of runway, it even has a terminal building, well sort of in a house with an extension built on to it. Again a few more people have been added, but in reality there was a few placed already in the original scenery, here the new members are more by the remote buildings/hangars than the terminal ramp area, but the additions are far fewer here than at Stewart. The detail was again astounding... well it did take three years to do, so what did you expect. And here it still looks as good in X-Plane as it did back then... but like Stewart the buildings have also had their textures refined and processed for v1.5, so the glass and roofs are more reflective and shiny when need to be and any metal-ness or steel buildings, water or fuel tanks now look far more realistic in nature. Textures are again sublime, asphalt is in variations, cracked and worn edges, oil spills, rubber wear, and you still have to love the faded compass detail. CYBD has one tarmac runway that is 05/23 at 4,200ft (1,280m) - Elev. 117ft. From a reviewers point of view, in that once seen, you expect other developers to be as good or better, but that is putting the bar far too high, a lot of developers have done some brilliant ground texture work and yes even a few have reached these impressive heights, but they are still the best of the best you have ever seen in a simulator. Bella Coola Valley As noted the Bella Coola scenery is far more spread-out andthere are more villages than big townships out here, so in actual custom building count they are actually quite similar, but here most are laid out around the Hwy 20 (Chilcotin-Bella Coola Highway) that winds right down from the the east of the airport of the Hagensborg township, right down through to the dwellings of going westward to Lower Bella Coola, then to Bella Coola itself. Hagensborg above and Lower Bella Coola below. One significant difference between Stewart and Bella Coola sceneries is the 2cm per pixel definition is not used (it is around the airport) but here it is the standard 50 cm per pixel definition and it shows, certainly around Lower Bella Coola and Bella Coola, this was one area I thought would be updated in this version... But the quality of the custom buildings are excellent including the Mamayu (butterfly) building. Bella Coola itself is positioned on the North Bentinck Arm inlet right, and the Government Wharf is prominent here, and very well done. Lighting is very good, but there is not a lot of it, even the runway is unlit at night, so all the lighting is restricted to just windows and street lighting, the quality however is very good. One feature that Bella Coola has that Stewart does not have is that "Winter Textures" are provided. These textures are used here under the JSGME/Generic Mod Enabler system... I have no information if they work under the more recent SAM Suite Seasons system, but I would guess as yes... The results are quite still spectacular, and are well worth the switch over with the JSGME... ______________________________ Summary Both of these former Beti-x sceneries are award winning packages that set the extremely high standards of what could be achieved in X-Plane scenery development, the sceneries in CZST Stewart and CYBD Bella Coola are both situated in Canada's British Columbia territory are now owned by the X-Plane.Org by a purchasing agreement of a change of rights. But the change of owners has not meant just a transfer of the scenery, but an update to bring the scenery up to the current X-Plane11 standards and dynamics, and even added in a few additions to make them more involving. The most significant aspect of the sceneries is that they set standards of quality that are still not even being matched today, clever then, they are still outstanding today in the sheer concept and resulting outcome. Ground textures are simply the very best in X-Plane, custom modeling of every building as per real, and not just the airport, but of the whole township itself, and the detail is overwhelming and walk-around (another first) and both sceneries took over six years to complete, both these sceneries are VFR heaven in detail and complexity. The v1.5 update shows that the Stewart and Bella Coola sceneries have lost none of their original impact and quality, added has been updates to meet the current X-Plane dynamics in burnt-in ambient occlusion effects, PBR reflections and Glass/Metalness enhancements, not forgetting the natural X-Plane advances since the original releases of the sceneries that includes better water, better weather, shaders and even Vulkan/Metal power. Additions include more ground personnel and in the Stewart scenery a new wharf and high quality ship... All in all it adds up to quite a set of packages. (the "winter" option is also still available for Bella Coola). One of the most significant aspects of this v1.50 update is that both of these former Beti-x sceneries have not thankfully been consigned to history. And to have them not only revitalised, but also refined to still provide their outstanding features to future X-Plane generations is persevering a historical element of the simulators breakthough quality scenery periods of its past, not that they were now anything but relics but are still extremely more relevant than ever and still can deliver countless hours of enjoyment... outstanding then, both Stewart and Bella Coola sceneries are even more outstanding and relevant now... a must have investment for any private or bush pilot. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the CZST Stewart v1.5 scenery by XP.Org is now Available from the X-Plane.OrgStore : CZST Stewart Price is US$25.80 (Currently on sale:$17.50) Features: faithful replica of the real airport with HD buildings and pre-rendered ambient occlusion the airport surroundings with handcrafted ground imagery and a resolution of 2cm per pixel surrounding Photoscenery at a resolution of 50 cm per pixel covering an area of over 150 square kilometers volumetric grass hand placed 3D trees and other custom objects precisely visualized town of Stewart, with every building modeled in 3ds MAX, the architecture of the buildings fits in precisely with this location dozens of hand placed POIs, such as the museum, schools, fire station, port, fuel station, hospital and many others simulator many species of HD trees and landscape with dense forest hand edited Mesh of the whole area. Edited abnormalities in terrain elevation, perfected roads etc Requirements X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac and Linux 4 Gb+ VRAM Video Card Download Size: 586 MB Current and Review version: 1.5 (September 21st 2020) ____________ Yes! the CYBD - Bella Coola v1.5 scenery by XP.Org is Available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : CYBD - Bella Coola Price is US$24.00 (Currently on sale:$17.50) Features: Faithful replica of the real airport with HD buildings and pre-rendered ambient occlusion Airport surroundings with handcrafted ground imagery with a resolution of 2cm per pixel Surrounding Photoscenery at a resolution of 50 cm per pixel covering an area of over 275 square kilometers Volumetric grass Hand placed 3D animated trees and other custom objects The architecture of the buildings fits in precisely with this location Winter version included 1GB of pure High-detailed fun Requirements X-Plane 11 (or XP10) Windows, Mac or Linux 4 Gb VRAM Minimum. 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1Gb Current and Review version: 1.5 (September 21st 2020) _____________________________________________________________________ Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 29th September 2020 Copyright©2020 : 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) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 1Tb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane v11.50 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: None Scenery or Aircraft - Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter - DGS Series by Thranda (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$34.95

Yes... looking at the B787 now.

The MagKnight B787 uses a very, very specific java, why not just do a full store download?

I'm going to guess and say it is a way of trying to get the business side of the Marketplace running, doing opening specials to get you on board... I very much doubt they are going to give away all the time the usual $25 scenery for half price, it has to be an offer.

What X-Plane users need to remember is that the release of Vulkan v11.50 is only half the transition, the other elements like the mesh/textures, weather will now be needed to be modernised for more gains and better efficiency, plus bringing the cores on line as MSFS already does, now the main code is in place Laminar can revolutionise the whole package.

Scenery Review : LXGB - Gibraltar International Airport by Skyline Simulations Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory that is located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, which home to over 32,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians. In 1462 Gibraltar was captured by Juan Alonso de Guzmán, 1st Duke of Medina Sidonia, from the Emirate of Granada and then switched back and too until In 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession, that a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet, representing the Grand Alliance, captured the town of Gibraltar on behalf of the Archduke Charles of Austria in his campaign to become King of Spain. As the Alliance's campaign faltered, the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht was negotiated, which ceded control of Gibraltar to the United Kingdom to secure Britain's withdrawal from the war. There was more unsuccessful attempts by Spanish monarchs to regain Gibraltar were made with the siege of 1727, and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779 to 1783), during the American War of Independence and the territory has been in constant dispute by the Spanish ever since. To understand Gibraltar is to understand it's extremely important strategic position on the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea in the pincer shape of the Straits of Gibraltar (also known as the "Pillars of Hercules") that separates the Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, it is also the closest point to the African Continent at 14.3 kilometres (8.9 miles; 7.7 nautical miles) of ocean at the Strait's narrowest point. So Gibraltar is a military base in succession with a supporting commonwealth community. Skyline Simulations are more well known as the creators of the SAM (Scenery Animation Manager) Suite of tools with seasons and other clever plugin addons. But they do scenery as well with the excellent Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (KCVG), Billy Bishop City Airport CYTZ (Toronto), KLGB – Long Beach Airport and John Wayne Airport - KSNA... I reviewed their MKJS – Montego Bay Jamaica in co-operation with LatinVFR but I wasn't that impressed. Gibraltar First of all the install is quite complex in that Skyline use the dreaded RAR compression file format, and worse every folder is in a separate RAR folder and all have to be un(RAPT!) or unzipped into working file folders. That said there are three main folders with the main scenery folder (Skyline Simulations LXGB Gibraltar), Ortho4XP (yOrtho4XP_Overlays) and the Main mesh (zSkylineLXGBMesh) and the folders are to be set in this load order and that the mMain mesh is set below all the other LXGB files. There is another Ortho4XP "Patch" folder if you want to use another custom Ortho4XP mesh. The full installation is a very heavy 10.51Gb! First impressions are very good, however I quickly picked up the repetitive pattern in the main east facing wall of the "Rock", it is highly, highly noticeable on the 27 approach... ... close up the formations are not as bad and even look quite good, but you still tend to look for the patterns in the rock and you can easily find them. Sadly I have been looking at the glorious mountain work of Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini over the last six months with their Dolomite sceneries. To be fair you can't expect that sort of skill here, but it does show up the older style to the more expert work, maybe Skyline should exported this area to Dainese and Bellini to get a more accurate realistic representation of the rock face? The underlying mesh is very Low Resolution and not colour corrected, and that aspect is also noticeable, and you see far too much of the mesh in a poor focus, and the trees are also very cheap and 2d. Too harsh, maybe, because in context the "Rock" is not overall that bad as it should be and from certain aspects it looks very good as in the classic postcard views.... The shape of the "Rock" is also very good, and you get that realism of the area correctly, also really well done is the cable car, and it is fully animated as well. No monkeys though... the Barbary macaque population in Gibraltar is the only wild monkey population on the European continent, and known locally as Barbary apes or rock apes. The most popular troop is that of Queen's Gate at the Ape's Den, where people can get especially close to the monkeys. They will often approach and sometimes climb onto people, as they are used to human interaction. Nevertheless, they are still wild animals and will bite if frightened or annoyed. A popular belief holds that, as long as Gibraltar Barbary macaques exist on Gibraltar, the territory will remain under British rule. In 1942 (during World War II), after the population dwindled to just a handful of individuals (just seven monkeys), British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered their numbers be replenished immediately from forest fragments in both Morocco and Algeria because of this traditional belief. The peak radar tower is there, but the images show that it sits higher and is more visible than shown here. The 8th century Moorish tower is there (which was the Gibraltar Prison until 2010) and so is the Princess Anne's Battery of four guns overlooking the airport. The Europa Point Lighthouse is visible, but the huge King Fahad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Mosques with a massive minaret is missing that was set behind, and it is an important VFR reference on transversing the straits LXGB - Gibraltar International Airport You only get one tight runway here at Gibraltar with RWY 08/27 creating the border between Gibraltar and Spain... Gibraltar International Airport North Front Airport IATA: GIB - ICAO: LXGB 09/27 - 1,777m (5,830ft) Asphalt Elevation AMSL 15 ft / 5 m .... which consequently the runway has to be closed every time a plane lands or departs. LXGB is noted as one of the "Most Extreme Airports" and is ranked the airport the fifth most extreme airport in the world, as the approach is heavily exposed to strong cross winds around the rock and from across the Bay of Algeciras combined with a very short runway, and so making landings in winter particularly uncomfortable. The old terminal at the airport was built in 1959 and refurbished in the late 1990s, and for many years it had been too small to cope with the number of passengers when two flights were scheduled to arrive/depart within a short space of time. Permission was announced in 2007 for the construction of a new terminal beginning in 2009 and it was completed in 2011. The new terminal is 35,000 m2 (380,000 sq ft), which is 15,000 m2 (160,000 sq ft) bigger than the old terminal. It has two baggage carousels and three departure gates, none of which are equipped with airbridges and only has five stands. It has a passenger capacity of up to 1.5 million passengers per year. The old terminal building was then demolished in February 2014. Skyline's modeling of the new terminal is excellent, it feels modern and the detailing is very well done. Glass is see-through and could have used a bit more tint as it looks a little too open and that no glass is visible, but otherwise it is a very if perfect rendition of the building. Internal detailing is available as well, and although Lo-Res the internal detail is very good and totally walk-through from landside to airside. Passengers are also thankfully social-distancing and greeting each other elbows out, as per current health regulations... so all is currently correct. Ramps are actually really nice and great to use, you would think space here would be tight but it isn't, note the General Aviation parking area front. As this is a Skyline Simulations scenery, then their SAM (Scenery Animation Manager) is going to be represented. And as there are no airbridges you only get a Marshaller and a Visual Docking Guidance System (VDGS) set behind each stand. Control Tower is sensational... Opened in 1939 it is still a real working military style control tower, and reproduced here in great detail, the facility also has a built in Fire Station. Glass here is perfect (so why not on the terminal?) and the spiral staircase rear is excellent. Even better is the tower view which is set inside the tower correctly... views out at the ramps and approaches are fabulous, even if one of the map's is the wrong way around... One distinctive elements of the Gibraltar airport is the traffic that crosses the runway from Spain into Gibraltar.... 6 minutes are required to close the runway for aircraft activity, and the usual closure time is for 10 minutes and so that makes for a slow journey into or out of Gibraltar. Skyline have created an authentic animation in that move the aircraft onto the runway or fly into the approach and the lights will go red and barriers will come down and the traffic will stop... clever. To note there is no ILS here (another aspect of extreme airport conditions). There is being built a new runway tunnel to reduce these delays and tailbacks caused by aircraft taking off and landing. Construction of the new road was due to begin in January 2008 and be completed by the beginning of 2009, but as of 2016 it still remained incomplete. Although the road across the runway is to remain in place, for exceptional, specific, or emergency use, it will not be available for routine day-to-day use by private vehicular traffic. Pedestrians will not be required to travel via the new road/tunnel, and will continue to cross the runway at the present location. This construction phase is also shown at the threshold of RWY 27 RAF Gibraltar It was originally only an emergency airfield for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. But Gibraltar's position would make for a presence here. On 25 September 1939, No. 200 (Coastal) Group RAF was formed as a subordinate formation to HQ RAF Mediterranean in control of No. 202 Squadron RAF. The Group's function was the control of Royal Air Force units operating from Gibraltar. In late 1940 the Group was transferred to Coastal Command. Later a joint RN/RAF Area Combined Headquarters was formed which commenced operations in early 1942. The airfield played a major part in Operation Torch, the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa (French colonial possessions in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco) in November 1942. On 29 May 1945 the Area Combined Headquarters was shut down and most of the personnel sent home.... The station officially became "RAF Gibraltar" in 1966. The RAF camp, now known as "Devil's Tower Camp", which was increasingly used by the British Army in the 1960s and 1970s, became the home of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment. By the 1980s RAF Gibraltar was increasingly still being used as a Forward Operating Base for middle east operations. The new RAF headquarters in Gibraltar was officially opened in February 2011. The area is split into two zones, the main barracks, administration and the single RAF ramp. The buildings are nicely done, but the area is dominated by the parade ground/football field. The area of interest is the RAF Gibraltar ramp, and it is well done here... if a bit small. The two zones are separated by a huge graveyard called the North Front Cemetery. Which is quite creepily accurate. Gibraltar The town itself is now more high-rise buildings than a colonial outpost it once used to be. Oddly the old town is not Spanish or English in style but Italian by a certain Giovanni Maria Boschetti, who arrived in Gibraltar in 1784 as a 25-year-old from Milan, where he is thought to have been a stonemason or engineer, he built the Victualling Yard (completed in 1812) and many other buildings to create the township, Gibraltar is named after the "Mount of Tariq" (named after the 8th century Moorish military leader Tariq ibn Ziyad). Most of the buildings are really generic and there is no really town centre? Most of the old town is just a Lo-Res flat ortho-texture? and there are also few other blank flat areas within the Gibraltar area. So this scenery is not a real detailed representation of the township. The important "Port of Gibraltar" is very well done with some very nice detailed ships in port, there are a few marinas like the new Mid Harbours Small Boat Marina set out within the main Gibraltar harbour and one large marina the Spanish side. A few of the ships (and boats) are animated, so slowly creep around the Bay of Gibraltar or Bahía de Algeciras. The huge Port Algeciras is also repesented across the Bahía de Algeciras, it is a basic layout of the port, but a required visual filler for approaches to RWY 09 Spain La Línea de la Concepción is the Spanish city set behind north of Gibraltar, and Skyline have used the X-Plane autogen with their own custom buildings to create a very realistic city scenario. As a realistic representation it is extremely good and even to VFR standards with the OpenStreetMap layouts. This custom autogen is combined with the urban industrial default autogen and I am also is running the ShortFinal's Global SFD plugin that changes the default autogen housing into Spanish designs... put the three autogen elements together and you get a very wide scope of autogen set completely around the Bahía de Algeciras with the city of Algeciras also incorporated into this very large represented area. Ground Texures Airport runway, taxiway and ramp textures are excellent. Nice detail and has great grunge, oil and rubber dirt in all areas, I particularly liked the heavier landing rubber marks and there is no grass here as the whole area is covered. Burnt-in ambient occlusion effects are also present. Lighting Overall the lighting is excellent, there are no approach lighting systems to guide you into runway 09/27, but it is well lit. Any arrival at LXGB in the dawn or dusk is always going to be spectacular, it is very, very dynamic in lighting visually. Terminal and ramp lighting is excellent, and I get a sort of mini Hong Kong feel standing here with the lit high-rise buildings in the background... Surrounding Gibraltar is a little hit and miss, it looks really good, but the custom autogen locks out the street lighting so most custom autogen areas are darker, the lighting pops up here and there, but overall all it works. Old town Gibraltar is actually quite good as is the lit High-Rise buildings, but the highlight of the scenery is that extraordinary lighting on the "Rock" face, the rock face lighting towers over and dominates the scenery. Summary Some scenery puts you into two very separate places, and the Skyline Simulations representation of Gibraltar really does that. On the one hand it is extremely well done scenery of this significant British Overseas Territory that is located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. On the other hand a few areas are wanting... the line here is somewhere in the middle. The scenery has a full reproduction of the famous "Rock" of Gibraltar on the Straits of Gibraltar. But the design of the peninsula and the famous rock face is a bit average with repetitive patterns, certainly at a distance but thankfully okay to fine close up, the situation is not helped by using very low-resolution non-colour graded orthophoto mesh on the terrain and under the scenery, thankfully the peninsula's proportions and shape is excellent. In areas the flatness of the orthophoto comes through and the significant old town of Gibraltar is not represented. To counter this is the excellent reproduction of Gibraltar's only airport in LXGB. The new terminal is really good with great external modeling and a fully represented internal detailing. RAF control tower is also excellent and the famous "Cross runway traffic" is animated and also animated to stop flowing when you use the runway... excellent Spanish autogen that covers the whole Gibraltar bay to the port of Algeciras is also very well represented in the scenery. Lighting is also very, very good as are the very good ground textures. So the scenery comes down to the experience of using LXGB and in that aspect it delivers a big simulation of realism. The airport has one of the most challenging runways in the world, and there is no ILS either to hold your hand, so this is virtually a carrier landing with a big jet, visually it works extremely well as well (as long as you don't look too hard hard at the Rock on the eastern approach), but twilight and dawn arrival and departures are quite simply sensational... so overall the benefits totally out weigh the negatives, this is absolutely a great scenery to add into your collection and routings... _____________________________________ Yes! LXGB - Gibraltar International Airport by Skyline Simulations is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : LXGB - Gibraltar International Airport Price is US$23.90 Features: UHD Custom Textures using the latest painting techniques Super Detailed 3D modeling Handcrafted solid Rock of Gibraltar with custom night lights and important buildings Animated road traffic crossing the runway for takeoff and landing PBR Materials on buildings XPEco-subsystem XPLCity with Hard surface and lighting system Animated Marshallers Animated Radar Detailed UHD Ground with PBR and decals Ultra High resolution custom orthoimagery for the airport Thousands of 3D custom static objects Accurate Gibraltar area using original imagery and OSM data Amazing and detailed Night Textures Animated cargo boats FPS Friendly Including LXGB Charts Full Ground Traffic WT3: WorldTraffic GroundRoutes are not provided but Traffic Global operates perfectly with limited traffic. Requirements: X-Plane 11 Windows , Mac or Linux 4GB VRAM Minimum. 8GB+ VRAM Recommended Download size: 7 GB Current and Review version: 1.0 (September 18th 2020) Installation Download scenery files required are in one very large RAR 7z folder download 6.45Gb Three RAR 7z folders then have to be uncompressed into the three folders below and placed in the correct order below in your .INI list Skyline Simulations LXGB Gibraltar (8.20Gb) yOrtho4XP_Overlays (5.56Mb) zSkylineLXGBMesh (1.76Gb) Total scenery install is: 10.51 Gb There is another Ortho4XP "Patch" folder if you want to use another custom Ortho4XP mesh. SAM Plugin - Scenery Animation Manager - Suite 2.0 is required for this scenery ShortFinal Global SFD plugin is highly recommended with this scenery. Documents One extensive manual in English with notes (8 pages) and Charts Gibraltar International Airport Manual.pdf _____________________________________________________________________ Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton 23rd September 2020 Copyright©2020 : 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) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 1Tb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane v11.50 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini  Plugins: Traffic Global - JustFlight-Traffic (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$52.99 : Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : Scenery Animation Manager - Suite 2.0 - Free Scenery or Aircraft - Default Boeing 737-800 by Laminar Research

News! - Announcement : DHC 2 Beaver by Thranda with the new Dynamic Generation series Thranda (Dan Klaue) has announced the next aircraft to be released by Thranda will be the DHC 2 Beaver with the "Holmes Extended Engine mount" version. The DHC 2 will also be the first aircraft released under the "Dynamic Generation Series" title... notes by Thranda on these are features are: "Thranda's "Dynamic Generation Series" takes full advantage of X-Plane's flexibility for in-sim, real-time modifications to the currently loaded plane! Existing Thranda planes have just been updated, and are already a part of this series, but highlighting the features of this series should help communicate the value these planes provide." -Want to customize a livery? You can do it live, in-sim! Now even with PBR!* Experiment with Metalness and Roughness values without leaving the sim! -Want to move around instruments on the panel for different panel configurations? Do so in real-time!** And save presets of your favorite layouts! -Want to adjust and save weight and balance more visually, without using X-Plane's W&B menu, and see your edits affect the plane in real-time? You got it! -Want to seamlessly move your plane around in slew mode to position it precisely where you want it in real-time? That's all possible in the DynaGen series! -Want to switch between different aircraft configurations on the fly, without reloading the plane? Cargo, executive, tundra, skis, etc. right at your fingertips! -Want to enjoy highest fidelity and precision in flight dynamics, making use of X-Plane's very latest physics engine advances? Look no further! -Want to immerse yourself in ultra-realistic, multi-layered soundscapes, inside and out, with unrivaled nuance and depth? It's all here! -Want to customize your aircraft? Our planes feature a unique Manifest system, which breaks out logic variables for you to edit. SimPit builders rejoice! It's a new generation of aircraft, fitted perfectly to take fullest advantage of X-plane's inherent strengths. Thranda brings you the ultimate in configurability, flexibility, precision, immersion, customization, experimentation, documentation, and support! A float/amphib version is noted as coming later, but will be available for the aircraft. Release is noted as "in a few weeks"... Images courtesy of Thranda ______________________________________________________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 18th September 2020 Copyright©2020: 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)

I agree, my guess is that a lot more of the zigsaw has to be put into place before we see the full impact of Vulkan, a lot of the other critical areas of say the Mesh and textures are of the old system and in need of changing to the new processing threads, it is still a bit of one and some on the other, X-Plane12 should hopefully bring both together.

News! - Announcement : Boeing 787-9 coming from FlightFactor FlightFactor announced last month that a completely new aircraft to add into the line up of a B777, B767/B757 twins, A350 and the Airbus A320 Ultimate is coming from the development house. This aircraft is the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and details are noted that the B787 will reach new heights in complexity, usability and have a variety of features. We are also taking our 3D and texturing to the next level with ever more detail in and out of the cockpit. The first cockpit renders have been produced... It is the first all new aircraft from FlightFactor since the A320 Ultimate, but FlightFactor note the B787 will be closer to the B757/B767 in design than use the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) than on the same A320U aircraft... either way there will be a lot of expectations and a quality delivery expected on this aircraft as the CEF development was a long and testing one, but also the coming B787 at a study grade level will be a big shot in the arm for X-Plane with the MSFS onslaught. FlightFactor also noted "v2 plans for other models are simultaneously on the way, we just don't want to reveal it all at once! " that will be the v2 Boeing 777 and the v2 A350. I would expect the v2 B777 even before the end of 2020, but not the v2 A350 as the v1 just went with a serious upgrade with version Advanced v1.6 just being released, so that aircraft will certainly be a mid or late next year release, but an upgraded Boeing 777 (the current version is now seriously old) will keep the punters more than happy until the Dreamliner arrives. Overall FlightFactor has noted that with this aircraft it wants to take simulation to the next level.... exciting times. Images courtesy of FlightFactor ______________________________________________________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 15th September 2020 Copyright©2020: 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)