Stephen

NEWS! - vSkyLabs update Rutan Model-158 Pond Racer - Test-Pilot Project to X-Plane12

 

 

It's the weird and the wonderful, it's of course a Rutan design, the Model-158 Pond Racer, now this over-powered machine is available in X-Plane 12.

 

First is the name "Pond Racer"...  it is not an aircraft designed to fly over water, but the designation is taken by the person who wanted to compete in air-races, Robert J Pond, he also created the Palm Springs Air Museum in California.

 

Bob Pond commissioned the Model-158 design with the idea of developing a modern aircraft that could compete with the vintage warbirds in the Unlimited Class at the Reno air races. Bob Pond was concerned that each year at the Reno Air Races, valuable and historic aircraft were being crashed and destroyed, not to mention many engines being damaged or wrecked beyond repair. The Pond Racer was hoped to be an alternative to vintage aircraft like the P-51 Mustang and the Hawker Sea Fury that would be as fast and spectacular in the air as the warbirds. To do this he turned to the most avant-garde of all the aviation designers in Burt Rutan, and Scaled Composites.

 

The Model-158 airframe was constructed of composite materials, carbon fiber and Kevlar. This resulted in a very light, strong aircraft. And to power the plane, then two Electramotive 3 liter V-6 engines were chosen. These were based on the Nissan VG30 automobile engine. The engines were originally developed for auto racing and were turbocharged to produce 1,000 hp (750 kW). However, those fitted to the Pond Racer only ever achieved a peak of around 600 hp (450 kW). The engines drove 4-bladed propellers via propeller speed reduction units.

 

The result was something out of Star Wars or the racing machines in "The Phantom Menace" episode one of the series. Huge massive twin engines are connected to what is basically a glider cockpit, it flew, and by the results it actually flew very well, but overall it was a flying death trap.

 

This is the full X-Plane12 version of the Model-158

News! - Scenery Release :  Society Islands XP - Tahiti & Windward Islands X-Plane 12/11 By Aerosoft

 

 

Already well known for their Faroes and Svalbard Island landscape sceneries. Now Maps2Xplane are now back focusing on the South Pacific, or the French Society Islands including Tahiti and Moorea.

 

The Society Islands officially Archipel de la Société, are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. Geographically, they form part of Polynesia.

 

This is the second package for the Society Islands, the first released in 2021 covered the Western areas of Bora Bora & Leeward Islands (listed below). This new package is for the Eastern area of the Windward Islands, including the main gateway of Tahiti, both packages will now cover the full total aspect of this amazingly beautiful part of the world.

 

This Maps2Xplane scenery package for X-Plane features a custom terrain mesh with photo-realistic textures, dense vegetation and country-typical autogen, as well as custom road-networks and sea-routes with dynamic traffic. Included are detailed renditions of the Faa'a International Airport and two regional airports (Moorea, Tetiaroa), as well as three challenging heliports (Taaone, Taravao, Afareaitu).

 

Features:

• Detailed terrain mesh with photo-realistic textures for the landscape and the sea
• Custom overlay with dense tropical vegetation and country-typical autogen-buildings
• High-detailed renditions of Faa'a International Airport and two regional airports:
  • Faa'a International Airport (NTAA)
  • Moorea Airport (NTTM)
  • Tetiaroa Airport (NTTE)
• Three challenging heliports:
  • Taaone (NTHP)
  • Taravao (NTHV)
  • Afareaitu (NTHF)

 

Both X-Plane 12 and X-Plane 11 versions are included in the package.

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 NEWS! - Scenery Release : RJBB-Kansai International Airport, Japan by DarkBlue Scenery

 

 

This is a Chinese developer creating a Japanese scenery, their second scenery release after RJGG - Chubu Centrair in Tokoname. This new release is the island airport of Kansai, one of the biggest in eastern-southern Japan servicing Osaka.

 

Kansai International Airport , commonly known as Kankū, which is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is located on an artificial island Kankūjima in the middle of Osaka Bay off the Honshu shore, 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Ōsaka Station, and located within three municipalities, including Izumisano (north), Sennan (south), and Tajiri (central), in Osaka Prefecture. The airport's 1st airport island covers approximately 510 hectares and the 2nd airport island covers approximately 545 hectares, for a total of 1,055 hectares (2,600 acres). There are two runways, 3500 meters long and 4000 meters long, which can meet the annual passenger throughput of 33.35 million people.

 

Features:

• 4K Texture.
• Whole island owned detail modeled buildings which restored from reality.
• Customized ground markings and taxiway signs.
• Customized lights.
• Customized taxiway and runway texture.
• Interior for some buildings include Terminal 1 and train station.
• Accurate taxiway and runway according to the newest AIRAC data.
• Extremely FPS friendly.

 

 

Kansai is a hub for All Nippon Airways, FedEx Express, Japan Airlines, Jetstar Japan, Nippon Cargo Airlines, and Peach Aviation. It’s served by many airlines from the neighboring countries and a few popular carriers from Europe, such as Air France, KLM, and Lufthansa.

 

Set at a value price UD$16.99, RJBB-Kansai is a very interesting addition to your Japanese and Asia networks.

 

Images are courtesy of DarkBlue Scenery.

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NEWS! - Aircraft Update : SimSolutions Diamond DA-40NG updated to v1.2.1

 

 

SimSolutions have updated their delightful Diamond DA40NG to v1.2.1. A small but significant update, now including the added Apple Silicon support for the aircraft. Also added are load stations, and the DA40 now uses native popout window borders. Fixes are numerous, including...

 

NEWS! - Aircraft Updated : Gulfstream 550 v2.7 by AKD Studios

 

 

For regular updates then no one currently in the X-Plane Simulator can deliver as many as AKD Studios and their Gulfstream 550 Business Jet. In most cases you get an update once a month, some cases even twice a month, but the functionality delivered is now showing, even if the featured vehicles change shape, scale and even models over the year.

 

This update v2.7 has some new additions, so it is worth a note...   Cockpit 3D modeling/textures/animations have again had an overhaul, which is a good thing, as it was the weakest area in the aircraft, also added are changeable side panels for the Pedestal Panel, EFB brightness control has also been added.

 

 The systems have had some (fine) tuning in electrical/air-conditioning/oxygen, as has the automatic speed control logic for the autopilot system. Also added is the FPA (Flight Path Angle) autopilot mode. Besides the new additions there has also been a load of fixes and adjustments including...

 

 

 

Scenery Review : KJFK - John F Kennedy International Airport XP12 by Nimbus Studios

 

Idlewild Airport was named after the Idlewild Beach Golf Course that it displaced in New York's east. KIDL was built to relieve LaGuardia Field, which had already become overcrowded, and the new eastern seaboard based airport was opened in 1948. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, the airport was then renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport as a tribute to the 35th President of the United States. Since then it has always been known as "Kennedy" and it is biggest gateway into America on the east coast.

 

Idlewild opened with six runways and a seventh under construction as runways 1L and 7L were held in reserve and never came into use as runways. Runway 31R (originally 8,000 ft or 2,438 m) is still in use; runway 31L (originally 9,500 ft or 2,896 m) opened soon after the rest of the airport and is still in use; runway 1R closed in 1957 and runway 7R closed around 1966. Runway 4 (originally 8,000 ft, now runway 4L) opened June 1949 and runway 4R was added ten years later. A smaller runway 14/32 was built after runway 7R closed and was used until 1990.

 

When the airport was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 24, 1963, a month and two days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. proposed the renaming. The IDL and KIDL codes have since been reassigned to Indianola Municipal Airport in Mississippi, and the now-renamed Kennedy Airport was given the codes JFK and KJFK, the fallen president's initials.

Airlines began scheduling jets to Idlewild in 1958–59; LaGuardia did not get jets until 1964, and swiftly JFK became New York's busiest airport. It had more airline takeoffs and landings than LaGuardia and Newark combined from 1962 to 1967 and was the second-busiest airport in the country, peaking at 403,981 airline operations in 1967. Concorde, operated by Air France and British Airways, also made scheduled trans-Atlantic supersonic flights to JFK from November 22, 1977, until its retirement by British Airways on October 24, 2003. Air France had already earlier retired the aircraft in May 2003. In these early heady times Pan American Airlines and Eastern Airlines dominated JFK, since lately it is now an American Airlines and JetBlue hub.

 

The last new scenery from Nimbus Studios was the excellent KIAD - Washington Dulles International Airport, of which is one of my favorites. But in using Dulles, I have to comment that although the scenery is excellent, it also has a very big framerate footprint. It soaks up framerate like no tomorrow, and in moments of heavy weather, it can reduce it's capacity as far down to the dreaded teen framerate barrier numbers. Why I don't know? because the actual scenery is set a long way from the heavy Washington DC custom and autogen objects. My fear here is that Kennedy is in even a worse place with all the heavy autogen surrounding the airport and with the New York Skyline in the distance.

 

Interesting is an earlier New York scenery by Nimbus Studios, as he was known back then in 2014 as Santiago Butnaru. This is an X-Plane 10 version of Newark KEWR, and yes it's still available if you want to add it to this KJFK scenery. But don't expect the same quality after a decade. Our KEWR review is here if you want the decade old X-Plane 10 shock (lacking) of detail. I also recommend with the Nimbus Studio's KJFK, is the Drzewiecki Design New York City XP, for a credible New York skyline, which is shown here in this review.

 

 

John F. Kennedy International Airport

IATA: JFK - ICAO: KJFK - FAA LID: JFK

4L/22R - 12,079ft (3,460m) Concrete

04R/22L - 8,400ft (2,560m) Asphalt

13L/31R - 10,000ft (3,048m) Concrete

13R/31L- 14,511ft (4,423m) Concrete

Elevation AMSL13 ft / 4 m

 

 

First impressions of Nimbus's JFK are extremely positive, it looks very good set in the Queens borough of eastern New York, there is a lot of nice autogen around the scenery and it fits into the built-up area very nicely, credible it is. A very early feature I liked was in the way the water and underlying graphics created a very realistic shoreline, this is X-Plane 12 magic, but really well done here, especially on the runway 4L approach with the mangrove setting.

 

 

JFK has five active terminals running anti-clockwise, containing 130 gates in total. The terminals are numbered 1–8 but skipping terminals 2 (demolished in 2023), 3 (demolished in 2013) and 6 (demolished in 2011).

 

 

 

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 opened in 1998, 50 years after the opening of JFK, at the direction of the Terminal One Group, a consortium of four key operating carriers: Air France, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, and Lufthansa. This partnership was founded after the four airlines reached an agreement that the then-existing international carrier facilities were inadequate for their needs. The original Eastern Air Lines terminal was located on the site of present-day Terminal 1.

Terminal 1 is served by SkyTeam carriers Air France, China Eastern Airlines, ITA Airways, Korean Air, and Saudia; Star Alliance carriers Air China, Air New Zealand, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Egyptair, EVA Air, Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, TAP Air Portugal, and Turkish Airlines; and Oneworld carrier Royal Air Maroc. Other airlines serving Terminal 1 include Air Senegal, Air Serbia, Azores Airlines, Cayman Airways, Flair Airlines, Neos, Philippine Airlines, VivaAerobús, and Volaris. Terminal 1 was designed by William Nicholas Bodouva + Associates.

T1 and T4 are the two terminals at JFK Airport with only the capability of handling the Airbus A380 aircraft, which Korean Air flies on the route from Seoul–Incheon and Lufthansa from Munich. Air France operated Concorde here until 2003 (BA used T7). Terminal 1 has 11 gates.

 

 

Butnaru always did very nice terminals and concourses, and that aspect is really well done here and right through the scenery. But they do sit (on landside) on very (very) Lo-Res graphic ortho images, so there a bit of an building island feel around the 3d structures, it's not too bad, but still noticeable. Terminal cladding is first rate (KATL-Atlanta was excellent) and it looks the part here as well. Glass is also excellent...  not a Nimbus specialty, as some of his earlier glass was very see-through and lukewarm. But here in a dark tint, it is very good with nice reflections. Another highlight are the AirTrain JFK stations (with AirTrain animations) at each Terminal on the loop tracks.

 

 

It is modeled internally (again very lo-res), and with no windows? so it doesn't feel or look very realistic, it is mostly for the external views than you wandering around the concourses...   but the people (lo-res) are well done, even if a few are in wanting to step out into the oblivion "Stop, look, it's not that bad....  don't do it!"

 

 

Terminal 2

Oddly there is still the old and now demolished Terminal 2 facility in the Nimbus scenery? Sadly it looks great, because it is a heritage building from JFK's past, and the detail here is very good and authentic...  a shame, and it will probably be removed in an update.

 

Terminal 2 opened in November 1962 as the home of Northeast Airlines, Braniff International Airways, and Northwest Orient, and was last occupied by Delta Air Lines that have now moved to T4.

 

 

Notable is that in October 2018, Cuomo released details of a $13 billion plan to rebuild passenger facilities and approaches to JFK Airport. Two all-new international terminals would be built. One of the terminals, a $7 billion, 2.8-million-square-foot (260-thousand-square-metre), 23-gate structure replacing Terminals 1, 2 and the vacant space of Terminal 3. It will also connect to Terminal 4, A new T6 will also replace the existing T7 and extend through T5, with seamless integration between T7 and T5. The streamlined layout will optimize the airside layout to allow for more efficient operations.

 

Nimbus Simulations are still using throughout their sceneries, the now very old (Marginal) "Autogate" system and not the usual standard and more modern SAM system. The Marginal system however has had a lot of attention from Laminar and is now to a point also been amalgamated into the default of the X-Plane system...  

 

It does (occasionally) work here, but now directly in X-Plane 12 through the "Ground Handing" feature (Shift+G), then press the "Toggle Jetway attachment" button.

 

 

Triva...  Terminal 3, also known by the trademarked name "Worldport", which was an roofed saucer airport terminal built by Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) in 1960. It operated from May 24, 1960 to May 24, 2013, and was demolished in 2013–2014.

 

 

 

Terminal 4

Terminal 4 currently contains 48 gates in two concourses and functions as the hub for Delta Air Lines at JFK. Concourse A (gates A2–A12, A14–A17, A19, and A21) serves primarily Asian and some European airlines along with Delta Connection flights, while Concourse B primarily serves both domestic & international flights of Delta and its SkyTeam partners.

 

Opened in early 2001 and designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the 1.5-million-square-foot (140,000 m2) facility was built for $1.4 billion and replaced JFK's old International Arrivals Building (IAB), which opened in 1957 and was designed by the same architectural firm. The new construction incorporated a mezzanine-level AirTrain station, an expansive check-in hall, and a four-block-long retail area

 

 

The Heathrow T5 style terminal facade is very evident here, and looks excellent in design and detail from Nimbus. Internal structures can be seen externally, but it is very basic inside. But it does the job well, for what it has to do.

 

 

Left concourse B gates, right are the A gates

 

 

Concourse A is a long snake of three separate concourses, in large (wide-body), medium (single aisle) and at the end the small (regional)

 

 

Sections are of lovely aluminum cladding that look great in the sunlight, the dark glass is excellent as well. Detail and the visual aspect is extremely realistic from Nimbus. The lower (crowded) regional Walk-on/off with lo-rise gates are fantastic, shame the airbridges don't work connecting like with SAM?

 

 

Airlines servicing Terminal 4 include SkyTeam carriers Aeromexico, Air Europa, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Kenya Airways, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic; Star Alliance carriers Air India, Avianca, Copa Airlines, and Singapore Airlines; and non-alliance carriers Caribbean Airlines, El Al, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue (late night international arrivals only), LATAM Brasil, LATAM Chile, LATAM Peru, Uzbekistan Airways, and WestJet. Like Terminal 1, the facility is Airbus A380-compatible with service currently provided by Emirates to Dubai; both non-stop and one-stop via Milan. These are mostly in the B Gates, which feels like a more modern addition than the A section.

 

 

It's an 18-story air traffic control tower, iconic now, very Gerry Anderson, and it replaced the older square Heathrow style IAB tower in 1957. Detail of this centrally placed tower is excellent, really very authentic to the real tower set between the A and B concourses. You have gotta love this wing design and the lovely concrete facade. Internally it can be seen from the ramps for the excellent internal realism of the high floors.

 

 

Terminal 5

Terminal 5 opened in 2008 for JetBlue, now the manager and primary tenant of the building, as the base of its large JFK operating base. The terminal is also used by Cape Air. On November 12, 2014, JetBlue opened the International Arrivals Concourse (T5i) at the terminal. The new facility replaced the old TWA Flight Center which was opened in 1962 and closed in 2001 after its primary tenant, Trans World Airlines went out of business.

 

The active Terminal 5 building has 29 gates: 1 through 12 and 14 through 30, with gates 25 through 30 handling international flights that are not pre-cleared (gates 28–30 opened in November 2014).

 

 

The T5 terminal was redesigned by Gensler and constructed by Turner Construction, and was sited behind the preserved Eero Saarinen-designed terminal originally known as the TWA Flight Center, which is now connected to the new structure and is considered part of Terminal 5. The TWA Flight Center reopened as the TWA Hotel in May 2019 (the lower building below).

 

TWA Flight Center, designed for Trans World Airlines by Eero Saarinen and Associates, was erected between 1959 and 1962; it operated as an air terminal until 2001. It has a prominent wing-shaped thin shell roof supported by four Y-shaped piers. There is an open three-level space with tall windows that originally offered views of departing and arriving jets.

 

 

The Terminal 5 complex is well done, with excellent cladding and nice glass, again the highlight is the AirTrain corridors and walkways, but the TWA Flight Center is a bit lo-res, even clunky to the real life smooth images. Internally it only as good for looking inside and again not for exploring, a shame as it would have been a nice exercise to do so. Modeled and sitting outside in the forecourt is an old TWA Lockheed Constellation.

 

 

Terminal 7

Terminal 7 was designed by GMW Architects and built for BOAC and Air Canada in 1970. Formerly, the terminal was operated by British Airways, and was also the only airport terminal operated on US soil by a foreign carrier. British Airways operated Concorde here until 2003.

 

Terminal 7 is now operated by a consortium of foreign carriers serving the building. Airlines operating out of Terminal 7 include Oneworld carrier Alaska Airlines, Star Alliance carriers Air Canada Express, All Nippon Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, and Scandinavian Airlines; SkyTeam carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas; and non-alliance carriers Aer Lingus, Condor, Icelandair, Kuwait Airways, Norse Atlantic Airways, and Sun Country Airlines.

 

 

Well done here is the ageing facility, it looks worn and tired and is due to be demolished soon. As scenery by Nimbus it is excellent, but again the surroundings and detailing is quite low, not much fill and those lo-res textures are more a distraction than effective, but airside is well served with service vehicles and clutter.

 

Terminal 8

Terminal 8 is a major Oneworld hub with American operating its east coast hub from here. In 1999, American Airlines began an eight-year program to build the largest passenger terminal at JFK, designed by DMJM Aviation to replace both the old Terminal 8 and Terminal 9. The new terminal was built in four phases, which involved the construction of a new midfield concourse and the demolition of old Terminals 8 and 9. It was built in stages between 2005 and its official opening was in August 2007.

 

Other Oneworld airlines that operate out of Terminal 8 include British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, and Royal Jordanian. Non-alliance carrier China Southern Airlines also uses the terminal.

 

 

A more modern facility...  because it is. Terminal 8 is not olde world JFK, but the same sort of of modern terminal and island concourse like most major hub airports today. Again the modeling is first rate with excellent aluminum cladding and support frames. There is the same nice AirTrain connection, and lots of bustle and clutter on the airside, but very little on the landside.

 

 

It is worth looking inside T8, as the internal detail is there, it's again (very) Lo-Res, but a lot of objects fill out the windows (externally), windows are still missing and even parts of the roof are open here also.

 

 

Infrastucture

In the central landside area is a Power Plant! The Kennedy International Airport Power Plant is a gas-fired cogeneration facility. Two LM6000 combustion turbines are routed to two heat recovery steam generators, which provide steam to one steam turbine and JFK’s thermal plant. The complex is very well replicated here, with the two generators that are very well modeled, visually the plant was required.

 

 

It is a bit of a delusion. Because the carparks are empty on top and surrounds, so it looks like there isn't much fill, carpark clutter. But overall the 3d vehicle clutter here is totally excellent...  all the areas are well covered, more so in the outer ring areas.

 

 

The JFK AirTrain loop is also excellent, and as noted fully animated with the system stopping at every station, the quality of the railcars are also well done. The animation is also very smooth on the tracks, with not any quick flicks or sudden movements.

 

 

Animated vehicle traffic is good as well, not branded, and to be honest not a lot of vehicles moving around either, but enough to make the ring-roads buzzy and animated.

 

 

Cargo

Overall Cargo is a bit messy at JFK, as there are four to five different areas for cargo, then a lot of smaller ramps and terminals. Areas are not designated either, so it's tricky to find the one you want...  if you a hauler, you would need to study the charts before you get to JFK in where to go. The biggest cargo area is in the north that front's 13L/31R...  taxiway C.

 

 

Operators here include FedEx, DHL and a large United States Postal Service facility...  the ARK animal receiving building is here as well...

 

 

...  notable is the now empty area in front of FedEx, here originally were the three huge dilapidated hangers that fronted 13L/31R, now gone, and another piece of JFK history removed.

 

 

Threshold Rwy 13L is another large cargo area...  UPS and LAN Cargo are the main customers here.

 

 

Korean Air, Delta Air Cargo and British Airways Cargo also have facilities, and all are represented...

 

 

Maintenance has a few large Engineering facilities.... The one that stands out is the massive central JetBlue Engineering hangar, well done inside and outside with open doors. American Airlines also have a huge maintenance hanger as well, and both are excellent in the Nimbus scenery.

 

 

Far Northwest is another large Cargo and Maintenance area...

 

 

It is a very busy area, with the Port Authority Police Department at the head. The Worldwide Flight Services facility dominates, but the old United Airline Hangars (now F & E Maintenance) are present in the scenery as well. Notable mid-way is the General Aviation area, it's big with a load of Helicopter pads, but the GA Terminal is annoyingly very basic with poor Lo-Res textures, a shame as it is a very highly usable area for large GA aircraft and Private Jets..

 

 

 

Finally there is a load of remote Car Rental agencies set out on the outer perimeter....  So it is a vast and wide set set scenery that goes a long way out to the Old Howard Beach suburb from the central terminal area....   and all of it is very well covered by Nimbus Studios.

 

 

Ground Textures

Looking closely at the ground textures they are very good, if even excellent. Being a classic airport, JFK has the usual patch and other cleaner new areas all over the field hard surfaces, it's well done here, better on close inspection, with heavily worn in rubber marks and even the slight marbles of the worn rolled rubber off line. Lineage is worn and tired as well, were it needs to be.

 

 

I'll give the concrete ramps a tick, mostly for the rust stains and tire wear, but they are not deep in grunge like you would expect after decades of service.

 

Between junction NA and NB are the taxiway bridges over the Van Wyck Expressway. The bridges are well done here in there 3d description, but the poor ortho (again here extremely lo-res) joins are a visual perturbation with poor alignment. No live traffic flows also makes the lower view not very realistic or active.

 

 

The PBR reflective (wet) active textures and burnt-in ambient occlusion is excellent here, one of the big advantages of X-Plane 12. Your runways shine in the daylight, and all the texture surfaces come out, ice and snow effects are again first rate, and if you want a snowed in New York Airport, it won't be bettered here

 

 

Excellent also is the spring style grass...  so many developers lately have been doing really shitty grass, but it's perfect here. And when it works on taxiing or landing, and great grass can create an all-around better realism. Airfield furniture, is very good like the realistic blast fences, but a lot of the field out-buildings are really laughable Lo-Res, this is 2024, not 2004.

 

 

Cararsie Approach

The official chart is noted as "PARKWAY VISUAL", but most aviators and bluffs call it the "Cararsie Approach". The Canarsie Visual was created in the 1970s.

There are three airports very close to each other in the NY area (KJFK, John F Kennedy; KLGA, La Guardia; KEWR, Newark Liberty) A straight line in approach to 13L using the ILS wouldn’t make sense as it will intersect into the LGA airspace, making insufficient separation a problem. So any ILS approach into runway 13L it would not be possible...   the solution was a tight turn close to the 13L/13R Thresholds.

 

 

Basically the approach starts at Rockaway Point, where you proceed to CRI or Cararsie VOR. There is a small island to the east straight ahead at Canarsie Pier. A heading of 041 should be flown from this point until Jamaica Bay. If you are landing runway 13R you should start your descent between the pier and Twin Stacks (near Jamaica Bay), but maintain altitude if you are heading for 13L. For 13R you now do the turn and head into the approach...  13L, when you start your descent, and then turn slightly in the direction of the Crossbay Parkway and Shore Parkway intersection, however stay slightly south of where the roads meet, until the Aqueduct Race Track (you can take the first part of the Shore Parkway east of the intersection as a landmark.) After that, alignment with the 13L runway, keep descending and land.

 

The sight of huge heavies turning tight into 13L is folklore, and there are hundreds of videos to show you the approach, even Concorde used this approach, although the very tight 10,000ft length of 13L/31R of usable runway made it a exacting landing, but it is obviously worth your talent to do the "Cararsie Approach".

 

The Cararsie Approach is easy(ish) in the daylight, but what about at night? the Port Authority created three sets of RAIL (Runway Alignment Indicator Lights) that guide you into the 13L Runway. These RAIL section lights have been very well reproduced here in the Nimbus JFK scenery, the last set however are positioned on a building in front of 13L, but to note, they are slightly to the right of the 13L Centreline and also angled away.

 

 

Lighting

All approach lighting is to the full ICAO brightness standards as required in X-Plane 12, so yes it is very, very good.

 

 

Every developer has their own take and feel with X-Plane night lighting, very few get it perfect. Nimbus's approach is for wide spots on the ramps (very good), but has clear bright see-through windows with the Terminals and Concourses. Realistic, not really no, as you would rarely see this sort of opacity on tinted windows, but it is an interesting approach

 

 

But the ramps are nice to arrive into, so from an airside perspective the Nimbus JFK works. The control tower floors are lit up, it looks great, but again the tower's operating floor should be in darkness for obvious reasons. Carpark lighting is horrible, and you can see directly into the TWA hotel rooms at night...  a view that looks really weird, and not very realistic either.

 

 

The JetBlue Maintenance hangar is lovely at night, as is the landside road signage...  navigation signage is also very good and realistic.

 

 

Framerate

At the head of the Nimbus JFK review I noted framerate, so what is the verdict? Overall the scenery is very good to excellent considering the framerate footprint here. But those numbers come with compromises. For one there has been a considerable effort by Nimbus Designs to keep the framerate hit numbers down, but with the use of "Very" Low-Res ortho ground textures, and very, very Low-Res objects in the field. Its noticeable sadly, but these areas are not where it counts in using the airport scenery. Secondly you can't be too greedy with your graphic settings, mainly and obviously the "Texture Quality" slider, the Anti-Aliasing needs to be lower as well, again to the detriment of those Lo-Res textures. But in the main the quality is quite high, so usable. To fit in a New York skyline, heavy autogen and this very wide area spaced out airport with  millions of objects in the scenery, and to run it all with space to spare is a good result, Mostly in the past I have arrived in New York and my framerate is stuttering, usually badly, with the Nimbus JFK, it is however highly usable, so that is the main objective here, good considering the compromises. But would I also compromise a little more framerate for better and more realistic ortho textures, that is yes, a definite yes.

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Summary

Idlewild Airport was named after the Idlewild Beach Golf Course that it displaced in New York's east. Then following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, the airport was then renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport as a tribute to the 35th President of the United States and "Kennedy" is biggest gateway into America on the east coast.

 

The last new scenery from Nimbus Studios was the excellent KIAD - Washington Dulles International Airport, of which is one of my favorites. Other major sceneries produced over a decade include, Chicago KORD, Orlando KMCO, Atlanta KATL and Miami KMIA, so Nimbus Studios are a very experienced and quality developer...  this is their latest release for X-Plane 12 only, in JFK -John Kennedy International

 

Being a old world legacy airport, the 6th busiest in the United States, then JFK is massive in scale, as so is this scenery from Nimbus Studios, as it covers a large area, with a lot of details and objects. All the the current Terminals are covered here, but a disclaimer is required. JFK New York is currently undergoing a huge transition phase. Old Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 7 are being demolished, to be replaced by a new Terminal 1 and 6, but the older Terminals 1, 2 and 7 are still portrayed in this Nimbus scenery, as is Terminal's 4, 5 and 8 in their current configuration.

 

Terminal and the massive infrastructure base here is extremely well modeled with nice cladding and glass, internal areas are basically modeled for external views only. But there is a compromise in Lo-Res textures for ground areas and a lot of the infrastructure, which is fair enough to cover the scale and the lighter framerate hit on your computer. Overall the scenery is excellent to the scale, so it is a worthy compromise. Other details include two Maintenance facilities for JetBlue and American Airlines, the Eero Saarinen-designed terminal originally known as the TWA Flight Center (but poor quality), TWA hotel and all the Cargo facilities and the iconic Control Tower is excellent. AirTrain animations and vehicle animations are also very good, and the JFK scenery uses the older style Marginal (updated) Jetway system.

 

Field and apron textures are excellent as is the 3d grass. X-Plane 12 effects of Ice, snow and wet surfaces are also perfect, night-lighting is average, with these not very realistic see-through windows, but overall the apron and field lighting is very good. Final feature is the installation of the famous "Cararsie Approach" RAIL lighting, to practise your landing skills.

 

Nimbus's JFK is huge sprawling scenery, but a very effective one, not only in the visual sense, but in the usability aspect as well, and that is the very important point here. As it works visually, and efficiently as well, that aspect alone makes this Nimbus JFK airport the best currently for the X-Plane 12 simulator...   Welcome to New York!

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The KJFK - New York - John F. Kennedy International Airport XP12 by Nimbus Studios is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store

 

KJFK - New York - John F. Kennedy International Airport XP12

Priced at US$29.95

 

Requirements

 

NEWS! - TaiModels releases EGCC- Manchester International Airport for XP12/11

 

 

TaiModels have turned next to the UK, for their new release...  EGCC- Manchester International Airport. Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, 7.5 nautical miles (13.9 km; 8.6 mi) south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those not serving London. The airport comprises three passenger terminals and a cargo terminal. It covers an area of 560 hectares (1,400 acres) and has flights to 199 destinations, placing the airport thirteenth globally for total destinations served.

 

Being from the North of England, then "Ringway" has been major factor, not only in my real life, but also in my online Simulation, the EGCC Airport is one of the most used Airports in my X-Plane world, no hard pressure there for Taimodels to deliver a credible scenery of Manchester.

 

Earlier X-Plane EGCC's consist mostly from Aerosoft. The first was a gem from the now defunct Icarius Studios. But the second from an unknown developer recruited by Aerosoft to replace Icarius Studios, was an absolute shambles of a scenery. So I'm still using the original decade old Icarius EGCC...  now we have a far more modern Manchester for X-Plane 12!

 

Features

• Hyper-Detailed models
• SAM amination jetways
• High quality pbr texture on objects and ground for superb reflections
• High performance
• Completed autogen around the airport
• Ground traffic plugins( car and truck)
• Compatible with XP11 and XP12 - Both versions included
• Includes weather texture in X-Plane 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS! - F-19 Stealth Fighter updated v1.3 by vSkyLabs

 

 

vSkyLabs have updated the F-19 Stealth Fighter to version v1.3. In 1986, as speculation about Lockheed’s Northrop built what it called the YF-17 technology demonstrator to compete with General Dynamics’ YF-16 in the lightweight fighter program. When the F-16 won, the U.S. Navy hired Northrop to base the Navy’s next fighter on the -17, with the result designated F-18. Testors assumed that in order to deflect radar waves, the F-19 would be sleek and streamlined and would somewhat resemble Lockheed’s other-worldly SR-71.

 

This VSKYLABS 'Test-Pilot': F-19 Stealth Fighter Project is an Educational/Research based development effort that "brings to life" and realizes the hypothetical 80's Testor's F-19 concept in the most advanced flight simulation environment up to date: X-Plane 12 by Laminar Research.

The simulated VSKYLABS F-19 it is not an 'arcade' aircraft...nor a 'generic jet fighter' that only looks like the F-19 externally; Extensive, professional real-world experience and knowledge of jet-fighters design, systems, performance, handling and operation were involved in the making of the VSKYLABS F-19. The result uncovers a scientific, graceful, powerful aircraft that holds a few weaknesses as well...just like any other *real* jet fighter, what makes flying a true-to-life and fascinating experience, especially when exploring the flight envelope and its performance characteristics.

 

Project Highlights :

• Takes full advantage of X-Plane 12 latest technology.
• Advanced concept aircraft simulation, including detailed, fully functional 3-d cockpit environment with realistic, working systems.
• Extensive, professional real-world experience and knowledge of jet-fighters design, systems, performance, handling and operation were involved in the making of the VSKYLABS F-19.
• Designed for X-Plane 12 cutting edge flight model environment and presents superb flight dynamics with presumably authentic performance and flight handling characteristics for the hypothetical F-19 aircraft.
• Developed for VR: Development was tailored specifically for VR, and optimized for 2D usage.
• Engineered and designed as a genuine, default X-Plane 12 aircraft. The VSKYLABS projects are practically show-casing X-Plane, as they are stretching X-Plane default features, systems and flight model to its limits without any dependencies on complementary plugins or software...delivering a very robust simulation model, having maximum compatibility with the ever evolving X-Plane flight simulator.
• Comprehensive FMOD sounds for 'As Real As It Gets' experience!
• Perfect challenge for beginner and expert pilots: Provides a very wide flight envelope with comfortable control from ~140 knots to Mach 1.1.
• Autoupdater based on the SkunkCrafts autoupdater - all updates are being pushed smoothly without the need to re-download the entire base package (base package will be updated every once in a while to minimize the gap).
• Highly responsive VSKYLABS support forums: VSKYLABS offers continuous professional support, from all aircraft related aspects (operating and flying) to X-Plane technical support.
• The project is under constant maintenance and development.

 

 

 

 

NEWS! - Mango Studios releases JARDesign A340-500 Sound Pack

 

Mango Studios has released a Sound Package for the JARDesign A340-500, available here, and currently on sale for US$29.95. Note this package only works with the sounds for the  JAR Design A340-500. It will not work on other A340s (i.e. TolISS). The package is however both compatible with X-Plane 12/11. Features included...

 

NEWS! - Nimbus releases New York JFK for X-Plane 12

 

 

Idlewild Airport was named after the Idlewild Beach Golf Course that it displaced in New York's east. KIDL was built to relieve LaGuardia Field, which had already become overcrowded, and the new east based airport was opened in 1948. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, the airport was then renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport as a tribute to the 35th President of the United States. Since then it has always been known as "Kennedy". So KJFK needs no introduction to aviation bluffs, it's up there with "Heathrow", "Charles de Gaulle" and Washington's "Dulles". But deep down I still call it Idlewild, the original moniker for the airport.

 

Dulle's is important here also, as it was the last fully developed airport by Nimbus Simulations, whom have now delivered a companion airport in the mega KJFK - New York - John F. Kennedy International Airport for XP12.

 

JFK has five active terminals, containing 130 gates in total. The terminals are numbered 1–8 but skipping terminals 2 (demolished in 2023), 3 (demolished in 2013) and 6 (demolished in 2011).

The terminal buildings, except for the former Tower Air terminal, are arranged in a deformed U-shaped wavy pattern around a central area containing parking, a power plant, and other airport facilities. The terminals are connected by the AirTrain system and access roads. Aviation Week found that JFK ranked second in overall traveller satisfaction among large airports in the United States, behind Harry Reid International Airport, which serves the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Features include...

 

NEWS! - New Sceneries : Three new Venezuelan Airports for X-Plane 12 by Positive Climb Design

 

 

A lot of scenery developers are focused on certain areas and countries. Here you have not one but three new X-Plane 12 Simulator regional airports for South American Venezuela by Positive Climb Design in SVJC, SVST and SVVG. A brand new developer to the X-Plane Simulation platform.

 

SVJC – Josefa Camejo Paraguana XP12

NEWS! - Scenery Upgraded : KONT - Ontario International Airport XP12 by VerticalSim

 

 

When you think cargo and Los Angeles, naturally you would think of LAX, which of course is the biggest for the Californian state at 15 Million tons a year, but there is another major hub to the East by San Bernardino that is another major cargo gateway into the LA Basin, this is the Ontario International Airport, again not the Canadian Ontario, but the American version. This gateway still delivers the ninth biggest's cargo tonnage in the USA at 5 Million a year.

 

The ONT airport covers 1,741 acres (705 ha) and has two parallel runways. It is the West Coast's air and truck hub for UPS Airlines and is a major distribution point for FedEx Express. As of September 2018, ONT has more than 64 daily departures and arrivals. Since Ontario's longest runway (runway 8L/26R) is longer than three of the four runways at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), it is an alternate landing site for large cargo aircraft destined for LAX.

 

This Ontario Scenery is an upgrade from the KONT X-Plane 11 version by Vertical Simulations, upgrade means it is a paid upgrade, but previous purchasers can get a get a discount US$4.99 off the full US$15.99 price, or for just US$11.

 

X-Plane 12 features include...

NEWS! - Scenery Released : LICD- Lampedusa Airport and Linosa Island, Italy by Cami de Bellis

 

 

Where is it? It's an Italian Island, but in reality it is nowhere near the Southern Italian coastline, more adjacent to Tunisia, Africa than Europe. Lampedusa is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.

 

The Pelagie Islands from the Greek pélagos meaning "open sea", are the three small islands of Lampedusa, Lampione, and Linosa, located in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Tunisia, south of Sicily. To the northwest lie the island of Pantelleria and the Strait of Sicily. All three islands are part of the commune of Lampedusa. Geologically, part of the archipelago (Lampedusa and Lampione) belongs to the African continent; politically and administratively the islands fall within the Sicilian province of Agrigento and represent the southernmost part of Italy.

 

Despite pockets of agriculture, the islands are unnaturally barren due to wanton deforestation and the disappearance of the native olive groves, juniper and carob plantations. Fifty years ago much of the landscape was farmland bounded by dry stone walls, but today, the local economy is based on sponge fishing and canning, supplemented by tourism in Lampedusa.

 

Here is another detailed Cami de Bellis scenery with the addition of complete terrain mesh for the entire islands of Lampedusa and Linosa by Maps2XPlane, yes the same Maps2XPlane that did the excellent islands coverage of Faroe and Savlbard. So obviously you have a great combination of skills and quality scenery here.

 

 

Aircraft Update : Robinson R44 Raven ll to X-Plane 12 by vSkyLabs

 

The Robinson R44 is a four-seat light helicopter produced by Robinson Helicopter Company at Zamperini Field in Torrance, California since 1992. Based on the company's two-seat Robinson R22, the R44 features hydraulically assisted flight controls. It was first flown on 31 March 1990 and received FAA certification in December 1992, with the first R44 delivery in February 1993. The R44 has been the world's best-selling general aviation (GA) helicopter every year since 1999. It is one of the most-produced GA aircraft of the 21st century, with 5,941 deliveries from 2001 to 2020.

 

"Raven" moniker comes with those hydraulically assisted controls and adjustable floor pedals. Then in July 2002, Robinson introduced the Raven II, featuring a more powerful  Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5 6-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston fuel-injected engine, 245 hp (183 kW) and the wider blades, this "ll" variant also allows for a higher gross weight and improved altitude performance.

 

The R44 from vSkyLabs was first released in late 2020 for X-Plane 11, this is the updated v3.0 X-Plane 12 version, but the original X-Plane 11 version is still available as part of the package. It's an upgrade, so no costs are associated with these XP12 changes.

 

This being a vSkyLabs aircraft, Then the vSkylab philosophy is that you are purchasing an ongoing project, so any aircraft you purchase is not fully completed or is usually not completed to 100%, that is the deal you sign up for to get access to the aircraft, and all the development is free and ongoing throughout the X-Plane 12 version. These projects are under constant development: the development road-map is including flight model refinements, enhanced systems depth, additional liveries and other improvements. So this aircraft is noted as an "Early Access" project.

 

 

VSkylab's always do great modeling and detail, and here it is no exception, however there isn't that what you would call ultra-realism feel, if even a more model style bland with no say of the real world wear or tear feel, so the R44 feels pristine factory new. The detailing is however very good, and realistic, and now there is that more of that X-Plane 12 depth and shine, or better PBR than the XP11 version. This is very evident of the metallic look and pearlescent feel to the skin of the aircraft.

 

 

 

 

All Robinson's are very recognisable by their high tower to rotor hub arrangement, so the control rods are extremely short.

 

 

The connected twin-aluminum skin blades are 198 inches long and are modeled here to droop very nicely...  the Xp12 update also has Improved rotor blades simulation to the more advanced XP12 dynamics.

 

 

The rotor hub is fully animated in all control movement, collective, throttle and pitch.

 

 

Tailrotor Yaw is also nicely animated with clever moving parts and joints...

 

 

...   notable is that the tail rotor direction of rotation on the R44 is reversed compared to the R22 for improved yaw control authority. On the R44 the advancing blade is on the bottom.

 

All vSkyLabs aircraft only use the X-Plane "Hotspot" selection system, so no menus, and only the clickable options are available (for VR users). Click on any small catch externally or the metal loop handle internally for the door to open, or press the front door hinge to hide all the four doors.

 

 

Glass is very nice, thickish and slightly tinted, but totally clear of marks or dirt.

 

Somewhere along the updates is the change of the leather seating colour from a tan to the bright red...  the new seat colour certainly helps in bringing out the cabin to the more detail...

 

 

Power on and you get inserted the fully (arms and legs) animated pilot, add in weight in the X-Plane "Weight & Balance" menu for each of the three other passengers and they appear in their respective seats.

 

 

...   all Robinson's use the T-Bar Cyclic, but this one is not a twin grip, but a single grip to the right, HYD switch and red side engine "Starter" button. Notable is the revolving Speed placard on the T-Bar and you can hide the T-Bar via pressing the cover lower.

 

 

Landing light switch is mid-mounted on the T-Bar, and note the animated centre window pillar "Whiskey" compass (it "shakes")

 

The main instrument panel "Classic 7" has two rows of dials, top row is (LtoR) Vertical Speed (V/S), Artificial Horizon with Slip Indicator, Speed (knts), and engine readouts RPM %. Lower row is Altimeter, Heading Dial and Engine Manifold Pressure. Very simple but effective. Note the excellent rolling turn bubble and you can adjust the Horizon bar. The instrument detailing is very, very good and of good quality.

 

 

Left centre pedestal is top a large clock, and a Quartz (Hobbs) meter set below, Right pedestal is all the engine and fuel gauges with an Amp gauge and Oil Pressure top, Aux Fuel Tank (17.0 US GAL/64 Liters) and Oil Temperature centre, Another Main Fuel Tank (29.5 US GAL/112 Litres) and a CYD HD (Cylinder Head) Temperature gauge is bottom. Lower centre pedestal is the electrical panel, with Lighting, Instrument Panel (adjustable) top, Nav Lts and Strobe lighting below. Clutch (Eng/Diseng), ALT (Alternator), Master Battery, and (Pump) Prime switch.

 

Lower centre console is a basic KX 155 NAV/COMM Radio (NAV 1/COM 1) that can be switched from Com1 to Com2. The knob above turns to open a vent.

 

Two features are aimed directly at VR (Virtual Reality) users. There is a Handbook down right, but it is only a single page "Checklist" held right under your nose, but it is well done.

 

 

Second feature is the Avitab (Aviators Tablet) plugin intergration, the iPad is a basic install, but it is here in a good set position, there is no rotation to portrait mode, a feature I grumble about every time, and you can't turn it off either, so you have to just make it disappear if you are not using it (you click the sucker mount).

 

 

Single Collective is simple (the R44 here is not a dual-control), it has a twist throttle and on the end is the Governor switch (off to start, then on), and the Fuel tank (switch) is on the bulkhead behind...  

 

 

Internal detail overall is very good, and you have gotta love those hanging headsets and cables when the power is switched off. Note the central (operating) pull down (handle) rotor brake.

 

 

The internal cabin is the same one as the X-Plane 11 version (except for the red seats), but with the transition to X-Plane 12, it creates a totally different 3D environment than the flat bland X-Plane 11 feel, everything now is so much more highly realistic in view and lighting...  night and day!

 

Flying the (updated) R44

Starting the R44 chopper is still a slightly complicated set procedure, and it is wise to understand and read the enclosed R44 manual, but the R44 needs to be mostly started via the extensive pop-up checklist. Several things to know...  clutch has to be disengaged, you PRIME, then switch to BOTH, and the Fuel (Mixture) knob has to set to RICH (or in) there is a animated cover to note to "not to pull it out, or you will fall out of the sky" marker. Governor switch is on the end of the Collective (off to start, then on), and the Fuel tank (switch) is on the rear bulkhead.

 

 

...  starting is via the red starter button on the right Cyclic. Throttle is controlled on the Collective, and you move it left or right (left for power which is reflected in the Twin-RPM% dials). When all correct the Heading Compass will shake to the clatter rotor rotation, which has that twin-blade Huey "chop,chop" sound at idle.

 

 

 

Sounds are highly re-tuned for X-Plane 12, with the move to the FMOD 2+ sound system as well. They were pretty good originally, but better is still better and you feel and hear that here. Also new are the Implemented physics-based blade-slap sounds.

 

I really like the vSkyLab nose detail with the built in twin-nose (Landing) lights, they are as we shall see are quite powerful.

 

 

You have to make a decision early on of what sort of flying feel you want with the VSL R44. Last review didn't have the extra (weight) of the optional three passengers, so the R44 was slightly nervy (Not as bad as some sporty choppers), but add in the passenger weight of the three other passengers in this a small machine, and the feel and handling of the Robinson changes quite a lot, actually to the better, as the weight gives you more control.

 

The bonus is that the extra weight is now set more central, so that gives the R44 a more balanced poise when in the hover, it is far easier to stay static and in not having to fight the machine to stay in one place.

 

 

Slight touches of the T-Bar cyclic will give you your manoeuvrability, either front, backwards or slightly to either side, but the tail (yaw) needs a lot of focus to keep the nose straight, as you can't just hold a position, but have to constantly have to change your yaw slightly to counter the nose moving around. Obviously it feels rather (or slightly) different from the XP11 version with the X-Plane 12 better dynamics, tuned new in here, so yes it is far better than I remember.

 

 

Sink the nose (pitch forward) and your quickly moving forward with a gradual lift of the collective. The R44 will gather speed very quickly, even with a full load on board...

 

 

The R44 has a maximum speed of around 130 kn (150 mph, 240 km/h), but mostly you will cruise around 109 kn (125 mph, 202 km/h), with a range of 300 nmi (350 mi, 560 km) with no reserve.

 

For a little chopper the R44 is quite smooth, once you get into the groove, and the Robinson does have quite a nice control feel. in 1997, a Robinson R44 was piloted by Jennifer Murray for the first helicopter circumnavigation of the world by a woman, covering a distance of 36,000 miles in 97 days. For me personally I couldn't fly that far manually, but an R44 also holds the piston speed record of 227 km/h. Tricky that, as in the VSL R44 we have no SAS or Stability Augmentation Systems to take over the flying, so it is always a physical manual flight.

 

 

Untrimmed...  you have the cyclic forward, but also holding the stick slightly to the right to keep the course straight. Wearing after a while with the consistent pressure to hold the said position, but feedback is very good...  let us be honest, this is a basic helicopter to fly, basic all round, but it does deliver a good simulation in the dynamics of which vSkyLabs are renowned for...

 

 

Notable is that the "Autorotation" has been improved in X-Plane 12, this is when you use the blades with no power and still fly via the automatic lift (like an autogyro), This is a qualification requirement to flying helicopters.

 

I push down the collective around 70 knts and keep the power in the green band, then you use your nose high pitch to control your descent under just autorotation. Tricky is slowing down as the R44 is so light, I remember this from the earlier XP11 R44, trying to rub off the speed can be very hard, so throwing yourself towards the ground takes a lot of nerve.

 

Then as you descend you time and return the power via the collective while balancing the yaw, smooth collective action is important. So too much collective pull, and up too quickly will balloon your landing, but get it right and you should go straight into a 5 knt forward hover. The VSL R44 is ideal to practise this manoeuvre, as by here in this video.

 

 

 

 

But the R44 also has that very light tail, so it needs a fair bit of practise to learn how to control it, as you get closer to the ground, your movement on the pedals have to be varied and also super-smooth.

 

 

Another change in XP12 is the skids now have more movement (animation), they move out and spring upwards when touching (or leaving the) the ground. Personally I don't like the jerky movements, better solid as this as it does not look very realistic as just some bendy skids.

 

 

Lighting

Lighting is okayish and upgraded here for XP12...  Very nice Instrument lighting is only one knob adjustable. The overhead spot light does a fair job for map reading or for general lighting, but lighting overall feels a bit dull.

 

 

External lighting is average, but far better than the earlier XP11..  I like the twin red and white strobe lights on the long beam tail, and the better navigation lights...   but those twin-nose Landing lights are super-bright...

 

 

There was originally only two liveries, a Black and a shiny Blue...   but now six more have been added, they are all however of the same scheme of colour and with stripes lower... a bit more creativity in schemes would have been nice. Grey is default.

 

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Summary

The Robinson R44 is a four-seat light helicopter produced by Robinson Helicopter Company, and based on the two-seater R22. This one is the more slightly heavier Robertson R44 Raven ll, a light helicopter that seats a pilot and three passengers with hydraulically assisted controls, it also features the more powerful  Lycoming IO-540-AE1A5 6-cylinder air-cooled horizontally-opposed piston fuel-injected engine, 245 hp (183 kW) and has the wider twin-blades.

 

Note that you are purchasing an ongoing project with any vSkyLabs aircraft and all the development is ongoing, so this is not a 100% fully developed project.

 

Overall most vSkyLabs aircraft are all mostly basic, but they are also fully detailed to the extreme. There are also no menus or static objects or extensive features, as the focus is totally on the dynamics and flying performance, updated here to X-Plane 12 dynamics. But the R44 also delivers a very credible flying performance.

Only interactions are with the few interaction zones that; lock the mixture, move the throttle, change altimeters, open the four doors (you can remove them as well), have a 3d checklist and hide the T-Bar Cyclic control column. AviTab intergration and exceptional VR-Virtual Reality is also available.

 

X-Plane 12 update includes, Improved rotor blades simulation, Improved throttle governor, Autorotation regime tune-ups. In sounds FMOD v2.0+ and physics-based blade-slap sounds. Better PBR is now matched to the latest X-Plane 12 rendering engine and creates a better metallic look and pearlescent feel to the external, and a more realism effect internally. There are also six new/additional default liveries. Skunkcrafts Updater is also now included.

 

Although one of the most popular helicopters built, the R44 is a bit of a challenge to fly, so yes some helicopter skills are required here, but when acquainted to the dynamics, it is also highly enjoyable. If you love the VSkyLab's philosophy, then you will love the R44.

 

So another nice helicopter from VSkyLab's updated to X-Plane 12, you want more of course in features and details, but that is not what VSkyLab's is about...  it is all about the flying pure and simple, and in that area the Robinson R44 Raven ll really delivers...  recommended.

 

There has been three updates one substantial v1.01, then two small twiddly updates v1.2/3. Lighting is the major change, and KJAX is far better than the almost complete darkness before...  still not the best though as the GA area ramps are still in darkness, but let us say better... so it's not the scenery's strongpoint. LOD's are still too short as well.

 

 

That said, it's a great scenery, one I have used frequently, do I recommend, yes absolutely.

NEWS! - Aircraft Update : Tensor 600X v3.1 - VSKYLABS 'Test-Pilot'

 

 

The vSkyLabs Tensor 600X German two-seat tandem configuration autogyro prototype has been updated to v3.1. By all accounts this a very small update as there are only three items listed (X-Plane 12 conversion was done in April last year). But the changes are interesting and you gain some significant features. First is the 3D HUD visualization, or the instruments are now reflected in the screen in front of you. Secondly is the additional 'Test-Pilot' instruments cluster, that can can be turned off by disabling the said cluster. The third item is a nice graphic cleanup.

 

 

 

Aircraft Review : JRX Design Bell 407 v1.30 for X-Plane 11 and 12  

 

A derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter that uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with the composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, instead of the two-blade, semi-rigid, teetering rotor of the 206L-4. So the breed line is from the famous "Jetranger", but the 407 is the far bigger and powerful relation to the family.

 

The Bell 407's fuselage is 8 inches (20 cm) wider, increasing internal cabin space, and includes 35% larger main cabin windows. The more powerful Rolls-Royce/Allison 250-C47 turboshaft allows an increase in Maximum Takeoff Weight and improves performance at hotter temperatures and/or higher altitudes. The helicopter has standard seating for two crew and five cabin seats.

 

 

In 1993, Bell began the development of the New Light Aircraft as a replacement for its Model 206 series. The program resulted in the 407, a development of Bell's LongRanger. A 206L-3 LongRanger was modified to serve as the 407 demonstrator. The demonstrator used hardware for the 407 and added molded fairings to represent the 407's wider fuselage then under development.

 

The demonstrator was first flown in 1994, and the 407 program and was publicly announced at the Heli-Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, in January 1995. The first 407 prototype (C-GFOS) then accomplished its maiden flight on June 29, 1995, and the second prototype (C-FORS) followed on July 13, 1995. After a short development program, the first production 407 (C-FWQY/N407BT) flew on November 10, 1995. Since then almost 1500+ aircraft have been built.

 

In 2021, only three years ago JRX Design started in the X-Plane Simulator with the dual SA 341B and SA 342J Gazelle, then their next release was the Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 DBS-4, a big name, but also a lot of helicopter, which was updated only 12 months ago to X-Plane 12. All sensational and quality designs.

This is JRX's latest release with the Bell 407. Notable is that the release(s) are separate for both the X-Plane 12 version or the X-Plane 11 version, as they are not packaged together here. We will of course focus on the XP12 version for the review, in details the X-Plane 11 is identical, but missing the X-Plane 12 dynamic features.

 

This is not the first Bell 407 for X-Plane. That was the excellent Bell 407 from Dreamfoil Creations, a standard bearer for it's time with a huge feature list and flying dynamics. Currently still only X-Plane 11, but with the release of the terrific Schweizer S300CB, it noted the developer was back in a big way, and he notes that the Bell 407 (and the AS350 B3+) are now being developed for X-Plane 12, expect in a few months.

 

So that obviously sets up a quandary, which would be the best B407 to buy? A hard one even for me, as both as we shall see are very highly quality developed machines. The B407 from JRX is available now and for X-Plane 12, but the Dreamfoil 407 will have a bigger feature list and personal familiarity...  it is a very, very tough choice. Note, that since this review has been published, JRX Design has since updated the 407 to v1.30 (forget v1.10 as it was a non-starter). There were a few new additions, the biggest new feature was the CINEFLEX camera feature, and that item has now been included in the review.

 

Design wise JRX have a superlative quality record, and to scale, and that aspect shows here. The 407 is beautifully done in modeling terms with excellent glass. Odd here though is you can't hide the glass reflections (inside or external), but it is still very well done with both front and rear doors with window (opening) hatch inserts. The huge fuel filler is excellent. Notable is that the riveting is drawn on and not modeled with highlights, same with the engine cover latches. It's well done but noticeable, but the external panel bolts are nicely 3d. The engine internals are also images, again highly realistic, so you admire them and are not as so distracted by them being only 2d

 

 

Rear tail boom, horizontal stabiliser and upright tail support are well modeled, with the original orange/white tail-skid.

 

The heart of a helicopter are the rotors and their assemblies....

 

The main rotor is a 35 foot diameter, soft-in-plane flex beam (flapping flexure) type yoke/hub with four interchangeable blades. Elastomeric technology is incorporated and allows for blade movement. The blades and yoke are all composite materials. The rotor is designed to rotate at 413 RPM at 100% Nr.

 

 

As rotor heads go it is very, very simple design, just the tower and four pushrods. Plate construction is really good, as are the arms, but we are going to lose points because only the collective bite is animated (13 degrees of twist), shame as we know the Dreamfoil 407 is fully animated, but the movements here are good.

 

 

Rear tail-rotor is intricately designed, great detail and fine work. The yaw animations are also well done and visible.

 

 

All doors are animated, can be opened externally and internally, and they can also be removed, but only all and not individually. Left side also takes away the cam centre panel, for a very wide open space for the Medi-Vac. So you really do wish for more selection on which doors you want removed as you can't slide the rear doors open in flight, missing also is the long and short window door panel option.

 

 

Rear cabin seats five, or four chunky seats and a tight centre child seat in the rear. Default colour is a light grey with the very nice "Bell" logo on the seat back, the trim material is all very nicely done.

 

 

Seating colours change to the selected external livery, with four choices in Light Grey, Red, Green and Dark Grey.

 

 

The familiar restricted cabin roof is well reproduced here, making the rear cabin feel very authentic to those familiar with a 206/406 environment.

 

 

Forward pilot seats are also very chunky for a helicopter, but very well designed and created. Again the materials are of a quality nature, a feel real effect if viewed in closely of the excellent chosen materials, the above roof switch and CB-Fuse panel is also excellent. All circuit breakers are active and animated.

 

 

Side doors are beautifully realistically molded, with the authentic bell 407 logos and opening slide window, same in the rear.

 

 

There is the option for single or duel controls, the left side pilot's cyclic and collective are very basic, with just a throttle built in. The right side pilot has a more detailed collective head, with FLOAT activation and lights with SEARCH, LDG (landing) and Start/Disengage switch.

 

 

Chunky could also describe the instrument panel, for a small helicopter the 206/407 instrument panels are massive. But the instrument arrangement is quite simple. Top left is a Radio Altmeter, Engine readouts (TRQ - Torque, MGT, NR/NP - RPM, Davtron Clock/OAT/Volt meter, Fuel PSI-AMPS, FUEL Qty and Gearbox and Engine Oil pressure/Temp). Flying instruments include Airspeed, Artificial Horizon, Altimeter. Main NR/NP Tachometer dual gauge, Bendix/king HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator), Vertical Speed instrument. OBS (Omni-Bearing Selector) for ADF 1/2, OBS NAV 1 and Turn rate dial.

 

 

Lower is the avionic stack, with a custom GNS 530, KX 155A COM/NAV 1 radio, another KX 155A COM/NAV 2 radio, Bendix/King KMA 30 radio, Bendix/King KT74 Transponder and bottom (flat) a Bendix/King KR87 ADF radio. The metal rudder pedals are also highly designed and have pretty Bell logos.

 

Panel can be set in either a light or dark tone

 

 

There are two sets of headphones, in that their cables drag across the cockpit and obscures the instrument panel, you can click (lower volume) to hide the right headset, but you can't click on the left co-pilot one to hide it? so it hangs there! and right in your view line (It can thankfully be hidden another way as we shall see later). v1.20 and the Co-Pilot headset can now be thankfully also hidden directly via a "hotspot" click.

 

 

Power on and the panel is beautifully done, love the instrument contrast to the red radio readouts. Then simply glorious at night!

 

 

Caution Warning Panel (CWP) is very authentic, you can also test the systems via the button right panel. CWP can be set to BRIGHT or DIM illumination.

 

 

Other internal lighting includes rear bulkhead adjustable spot light, plus the same as a cabin (switch) light, rear cabin lights again look very nice in the darker light, single overhead panel switch, or the individual rear switches can be used. Overhead panel lighting is again sensational.

 

 

Menu

To access the menu, you press the "Tablet" button on the far right top of the instrument panel. It is in the design of the RWP GTN 750 module. The tablet is extremely well intergrated with a support arm to the instrument binnacle. There are four option tabs on the left; MENU 1, MENU 2, RXP TAB, Avi TAB and LIVERIES.

 

 

MENU 1

You could call Menu 1 the options tab set into five categories (not labeled). First two, with first the Static Elements, Covers, Tiedowns and Flags, second is the external "GPU" (Ground Power Unit). Note the "Rotor Park Brake" has to be down to activate the Static Elements.

 

 

Next category covers the pilots and passengers; you have "Fly With Copilot" that puts a crew member in the left seat, notable is when you do this that headset disappears from your POV. You also have "Crew Helmets" but those pesky hanging headsets then return... damn. Pressing "Crew Headsets" will hide only the Pilot's headset, but not the Co-Pilot's. Final option here is the "Passengers", which inserts two lovely ladies in the rear cabin

 

 

If you adjust the X-Plane "Weight & Balance" menu, it makes no difference or adds in NO more passengers or cargo. In this area the JRX is limited in options

 

Next category covers options; "Dual Flight Controls", and Doors ON/OFF...   Under the rear there is a large "Searchlight", or you can have the "Emergency Floats" installed on the skids. There are upper and lower "Wire Cutters" and last is the "ROTOR DAMPENER" cap.

 

 

New in v1.20 were some very nice rear "Bear Paws"

 

 

Last category is the set of options for the (optional) Reality RXP GTN 750. There is also a "Autopilot Unit" or Stability Augmentation Systems (SAS), this panel is placed lower right on the instrument panel.

 

 

Last two options here is the "AviTab" tool (Plugin required), and the selection of the Light/Dark instrument facia.

 

 

Also on the right side of "Menu 1" are three "Engine Exceedances" readouts, these can also be reset in TRQ (Torque), MGT and NG RPM

 

 

Listed top of the panel is the current "Version"

 

MENU 2

In this tab you set the aircraft's configuration. Top is the "Fuel Load" in 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1/1 or FULL. Lower left is the changing weights as you select the (Fuel) and Weight/Payload selections right, "ALL UP WEIGHT" and "MAXIMUM TAKEOFF WEIGHT" must balance. Lower are three options with CofG (Centre of Gravity), "Vibrations" Off-x1, x2,x3...  last is the selection of the FOV or "Field Of View".

 

 

 

RXP/Avi TAB

Are both quick button selections of the Reality WP GTN 750 and the Avitab tool

 

LIVERIES

You can select your livery via the tablet, and it gives you an image of the 407. There are 21 liveries, that covers a wide spectrum of services and countries, all are excellent.

 

 

 

CINEFLEX

A new feature added to the JRX B407 in the update v1.30, was the excellent CINEFLEX camera system.

 

 

The Cineflex V14 is a 5-axis gyro stabilized camera system that delivers images completely free from even the smallest vibrations. It has a Sony Cinealta HDC 1500 camera integrated in the carbon-fibre housing that rotates a full 360°, and all movements are operated from within the helicopter.

 

The first place you would look to activate the camera is the JRX Menu, but it's not located on there? The Camera system is activated by the "Camera System" switch, on the overhead panel, row below the circuit breakers/fuses, far right. Switching it on comes with a disclaimer from the developer...  it will deliver a 25% FPS hit on your framerate (any internal to external X-Plane viewpoint, usually has this same negative effect). It is a significant hit, so if the CINEFLEX is not in use it is best switched off.

 

 

Activated you get the camera pod assembly now visible, slung under the nose of the B407, the modeling is excellent with the detail and the quality of the camera system.

 

On the left side of the instrument panel, there is now positioned a cowled screen and operators panel...

 

 

The panel has two sets of camera operation knobs, and four buttons. Power, Overlay, Reset and Park. "Power" is to switch on the system, "Overlay" puts a frame and recording data on the screen, including REC, Timecode, Resolution, Camera Coordinates, Airspeed, Heading, Altitude, Track, (camera) Pitch & Zoom

 

 

"Park" will foldup and store the camera rearwards, "Reset" will set the camera to it's forward "ready" mode.

 

 

Left small knob is the "Zoom"... 0%-100%

 

 

Right is the knob/joystick to adjust the camera angle, ROTATE and UP and DOWN angles.

 

 

All the camera movement controls can be set as commands, for keyboard or joystick (HAT) actions, this allows easier control while flying. The CINEFLEX is expertly done, and a great addition to the 407.

___________

Flying the Bell 407

If you open the JRX 407, it will have the annoying habit of just shutting down again? even if the "Start with engines running" tickbox is active. There is a trick here...

 

 

The issue is caused by the "Idle" button and throttle being set to closed, this is the shutoff point to kill the engine. To start you have to de-click the "IDLE-REL" and give the 407 a bit of throttle (80). Once running, then you can go back to the idle stop, but don't press the IDLE-REL, if not it will just shutdown the engine again...  or your back to square one.

 

 

The "Start" switch is on the same collective, and as long as the fuel is on, then a press and hold of the switch is all that is needed. At first you don't think it is going to fire, then at once around 50% NR rpm, the Allison 250-C47 turbio-shaft engine (813 shp (606 kW)) gets itself together and your in the flying business...  its all a FADEC-controlled engine (Full Authority Digital Engine Control), as the FADEC system is designed to reduce pilot work load and increase engine reliability by fully automating the start procedure, and holding engine parameters to tighter tolerances in flight. It feels excellent in this JRX machine...

 

 

....   then twisting the throttle to "FLY" will increase the NR % to 100% 

 

 

Does the JRX 407 sound good...  brilliant in fact. The start whine is excellent, so is the throttle adjustments through the spectrum, then the full rpm chop is really, really good, I've flown on a 407 (and a 206) and it is as good as you will get. I couldn't get any noisy internal blade slap, but external blade sounds in movement when in flight manoeuvres are excellent.

 

Whoa!  off the ground with a bit of slight cyclic back, and a feel upwards movement of the collective, and you go into a perfect hover...

 

 

...   "Oh I like this!" I've had my time with wiggly nervous helicopters for a fair while, "This one is smooooth". Already happy, a bit more collective and a push forward of the cyclic and you are up & away. 206/407 usually need a bit of low nose to get them moving... not too much here and the speed builds very quickly.

 

 

Bell later replaced the tail rotor pedals with the taller and slightly closer-to-the-pilot versions, as many pilots complained they were too high, as they preferred the 206 pedals than the 407's.

 

 

The Bell 407 has a maximum speed of 140 kn (160 mph, 260 km/h), with an economical cruise speed of 133 kn (153 mph, 246 km/h). The range is 324 nmi (373 mi, 600 km) with a service ceiling of 18,690 ft (5,700 m).

 

There is the vibration option...  OFF is no vibration, x1 is not really a lot, x2 is about perfect as x3 is very, very noticeable shaking, really it feels like your blades are coming loose!

 

 

I was very impressed with the Autopilot Unit or Stability Augmentation Systems (SAS). It has had some fine tuning in v1.10, but it felt fine to me...  you can LVL (Level) then hit the AP, then HDG (Heading) and ALT (Altitude) and the transition in flight is excellent, only a slight lift as you go to the auto system. V/S (Vertical Speed) changes are 5 points either way, but honestly, if your not climbing high, then unlock the ALT and add a little collective to go up, then reselect ALT at your set altitude, the same to go down with less collective. Coming out of auto is good as well, but you need to disconnect the HDG and ALT selections before you disconnect the AP itself for a smooth transition, or it bumps coming out.

 

 

Heading changes under the SAS are nice and smooth, long and with not any tight jumpy turns, so excellent...  yes very impressed. Really the 407 is so nice to fly manually (balanced when trimmed), you won't rely on the SAS, it is a relaxing controls machine, even distances are easy.

 

 

Time to head back to the Jay Stephen Hooper Memorial Heliport. The 407 has a reputation for solid control feel in flight. That, combined with plenty of power, makes the 407 a real performer. The 206 (Jetranger) feels heavier than the 407 on the controls, so most pilots prefer the 407's flight control’s hydraulic boost, it is quite heavy if you turn the assisted system off.

 

 

The Bell 407 is not a low-inertia system, it is also not a high-inertia system either like the JetRanger. So the feel is set somewhere in between, in making your approach it can be quite different. Autorotating the 407 going down I found there was still a high degree of maneuverability during the glide (power off), then the transition to Effective translational lift (ETL) was okayish, as you have to be aware on the loss of speed to avoid too much sink, so it's best to transition further out than closer to the pad in case of a sudden loss of lift.

 

 

The flare and touchdown also requires a different technique than in the JetRanger. Timing is more critical because less energy is stored in the lighter-weight spinning rotors and the more collective pitch is used to cushion the helicopter’s touchdown. In addition, the pilot holds the helicopter in a nose-high attitude and touches down on the heels of the skids. It’s a fairly standard procedure for a lower-inertia rotor. One warning though is the 407 in the low hover is very susceptible to the swing effect, "Mast Bumping" is only present with a 2 blades rotor ...like R22 , R44, B206, but I found here the pendulum effect was very pronounced, the wrong (too heavy) input, and the 407 will swing quite violently, with the obvious results, so keep the final inputs extremely small, even pull away and do a new approach to get the procedure right.

 

 

A few hours rest and I am airborne again, now twilight...  The 407's external lighting is excellent, except for in one area. There is a "Landing" light in the nose, and two amazing flashing strobes underside, rear red beacon and Navigation/Strobes on the horizontal stabiliser fences, the best though are the fantastic "Logo" spots on the side, I totally absolutely loved the lit logo look at night!

 

 

It is mostly excellent, but the collective switch "Spotlight" created nasty ant lit marks all around the nose and windscreen, so you need to keep it switched off.

 

 

Now darker, and I am cruising low and fast over the Freeways & Highways Los Angeles County...  my favorite Heli-Pilot pastime, the 407 is simply brilliant here, easy to cruise... did I say fast.

 

 

In roles (or role-play) you are restricted here by the JRX door arrangement, there are no sliding doors on the rear, and not being able to individually remove, say the rear left door, restricts your role playing. Scouting for "News" I am playing a version of the "Nightcrawler", yes the movie , as I love this livery and the cruising above the LA landscape at night. I would have loved an open door, even a cameraman shooting the streets, but there is not even a Medi-Vac version, so it all feels all a bit limited if you wanted to be part of the action.

 

 

So the JRX Bell 407 is excellent to fly, even say a novice could handle the aircraft and enjoy it's abilities... too benign, no I didn't get that feeling at all, it just felt right and the 407 was a totally enjoyable dynamic experience...  then what a way to end the night flying with a visit to that famous "Hollywood" sign...   perfect.

 

_____________

Summary

The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter that uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with a composite hub. So the breed line is from the famous "Jetranger", but the 407 is the far bigger and more powerful relation to the family.

 

The release(s) of the JRX 407 here are separate for both the X-Plane 12 version or the X-Plane 11 version, as they are not packaged together. So make your choice wisely as they both cost the same.

 

JRX Design are now very accomplished developers, the Bell 407 is their third release for the X-Plane Simulator, after the earlier dual SA 341B and SA 342J Gazelle and the Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 DBS-4.

 

Notably the aircraft is created to a very high standard, beautiful modeling and lovely intricate details to scale. However rivets and engine fences are images and not 3d, but the main exterior bolts are modeled. Rotor hub is exceedingly well designed, but only has semi-animations for (twist) collective, and tail yaw. Glass is excellent (maybe the rear windows are bit dark) and there are no reflections disable for the internally or externally for the windows. Cabin and instruments are exceptionally well done, and all is very quality work in feel and look, but there are restrictions with only a singe door hide, and there are not many options for different fitout versions (Medi-Vac, lift hook) and role-playing that is mostly common with Helicopter packages. Lighting internally and externally is again excellent, but for ant whites around the frames with the spotlight feature. Although the official Bell 407 Manual and Procedures are very nice (authentic), a JRX Design manual was also required here.

 

The updated v1.30 also comes with the sensational CINEFLEX camera system, hung on the nose, you have a full control of the camera and it's storage, v1.30 also has some other nice visual and menu tweaks as well.

 

The JRX Bell 405 flies very well, I loved it as it was certainly not a edgy machine to fly, too benign, no I don't think so, so great for first timers and novice fliers, performance and dynamics feel also perfect.

 

Would I like JRX Design to also do the famous 206 Jetranger? After this 407 I certainly think so, as it would be an excellent idea to do a fly off of their different capabilities, but more options overall would be nice.

 

I love the 407, to a point now it is my current favorite helicopter to fly, I don't love niggly machines, I want to fly, hover and do things without the stress, throw in the sheer quality and X-Plane 12 realism and the JRX Bell 407 is a worthy winner...    highly recommended.

________________

 

 

 

 

NEWS! - Aircraft Update : Robinson R44 Raven II v3.0 to X-Plane 12 by vSkyLabs

 

 

It has been the world’s best-selling GA helicopter for more than two decades with the Robinson R44 Raven II. The R44’s four-seater aerodynamic fuselage optimizes airspeed and fuel economy. It is powered by Lycoming IO-540 fuel injected engine and it cruises at 110 knots and can fly 300 nautical miles and up to 14,000 feet. And now the R44 by vSkyLabs is available for X-Plane 12. Note, this latest v3.0 version is for X-Plane 12, but the original R44 XP11 version is still available.

 

Yes Aerosoft One notes to use only SAM 3.1.10, so update when prompted. Another Aerosoft One annoyance is that if you update to a newer X-Plane 12 version, you have to redownload all the sceneries for that version, it however also keeps the older versions on file, so you have to manually throw them away (Bin).

NEWS! - Scenery Released : Airport Zürich XP12 by Aerosoft

 

 

Whatever...  I have just commented that since the release of X-Plane 12, then Aerosoft has been extremely slow in updating/upgrading their extensive scenery catalogue to the new X-Plane 12 format, but lo and behold, the first week into the New Year 2024, here comes an upgraded scenery of one of the very best from Aerosoft....  Airport Zürich!

 

The scenery is noted as v2? but in reality this is a complete overhaul (the third) of this excellent scenery for the X-Plane 12 Simulator.

 

The buildings and objects in this scenery were modeled with numerous 3D details and photo realistic textures; in some parts, even high resolution 2K textures were used. A multitude of animations for the radar systems, windsocks, airport traffic and more move this airport even closer to its real counterpart. The faithful signage and lighting of all taxiways and runways round off this impression. And thanks to baked textures in combination with X-Plane’s HDR rendering, Airport Zurich will shine at night as well with excellent effects. The new changes are...

 

NEWS! - Scenery Released : KGNV - Gainesville Regional Airport, Florida by Skytitude

 

 

Skytitude is back after the excellent Montauk Airport, with this time it is a regional airport in Florida...  KGNV - Gainesville is located in Gainesville, Florida, just minutes away from the University of Florida, GNV provides a close, convenient and competitively priced “gateway” into the Heart of Florida.

The airport normally operates 16 daily hub and spoke departures on American Airlines and Delta with nonstop services to the international hubs of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas Fort Worth and Miami, providing access to 343 destinations around the world in one stop.

 

In July 2021 Gainesville Airport has open new Terminal Expansion to increase airport capacity and expand flight network. And the expansion is well noted in this first release for the X-Plane 12 Simulator.

 

Yes definitely. System wise it is deep, only thing still missing is the AUTOLAND, which I thought it should have be resolved by now. Harder to fly as well, getting to Mach 2 is a challenge without burning off too much fuel, landing is an exact science, but rewarding if you get it right 😏

 

Behind the Screen : Year in Review 2023

 

Optimism, loads of optimism. After the late release of X-Plane 12 in 2022, compiling the last Year in Review 2022, I was in an optimistic frame of mind, the worst had to be behind us after all. At that point X-Plane 12 had finished it's beta run and had gone final 16th December 2022, just clear up the few issues and by Easter we should have a very stable Simulation tool to do our flying in. I was ready for a better year and so was everyone else...  then it all just as quickly fell apart.

 

Laminar Research

Within days of the New Year with a new release in v12.01r1 it was not a great start to the New Year, in hindsight, there was even a mention of it in the November Q&A, as Laminar wanted more framerate, a better smoother none dropping frames Simulator. But what we got was massive "Vulcan device loss errors", odder clouds and the high winds which were also more nastier than ever, lighting was now even darker and harder to use as well.

It all felt like very backwards jump...  a mess really, and costly in my case with the immediate requirement of a new graphics card. It didn't end there. GRIB Files that X-Plane 12 uses for the Simulator for downloading live global weather went wonky, .dds files also started to fail. Admittedly a lot of these spot fires were quickly fixed, but the GRIB took a few days as they were on a American national holiday weekend. So for the first time on a few occasions in the year, my X-Plane Simulator was actually non-working for a few days, the .dds files and the GRIB blackouts (yes there was two blackouts, with another later in the year) causing most of the damage.

 

Laminar's focus however was somewhere else. It was called Zink. With the change to the Vulkan/Metal API, a lot of the original OpenGL plugins didn't work. So Zink was installed to convert (or to be a bridge) between the old OpenGL and newer Vulkan/Metal API's. I don't use Zink, mainly because I don't have a big library of plugins, but a lot of computers also needed the fix as the AMD users out there got a lot of flickering and CTD (Crash to Desktop).

 

It was not a very good start to the year, and X-Plane 12 thoughout the next few months was a not a bundle of fun either. First relief came in 12.04b1, late in February. That release fixed a lot of the New Year problems. At the end of March 2023 came v12.05b1, and Laminar finally delivered the update for their A330-300 . Here finally it included in this release was the custom MCDU for the aircraft, which was due on the original release of XP12.

 

v12.06/7 in Mid-August did live up thankfully to it's game-changer forecast. It fixed the weather (not completely, but far better) and came with Cirrus high level clouds and now none of those hideous pyramid shape clouds, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford class in X-Plane now had a full complement of static aircraft, cranes, tugs and more, on deck and below in the huge deck hangar. ATC also got a huge makeover.

 

There was another big advancement update in v12.08, this release covered Landing Gear Physics, and made aircraft easier and more realistic to land (takeoff as well). An annoying X-Plane anomaly for years was finally fixed and the flight model got improvements to the way that X-Plane simulates engine performance, projector warping/blending was also totally revised, as was networking and the “totally out of VRAM” crashes.

 

Biggest announcement with v12.08 was that X-Plane was having an increased price of from the 1st of November 2023 to US$79.95, from US$59.95, the first in a decade, and that a new X-Plane version numbering system would be coming (after v12.08) to v12.1.0, adding in an extra digit for more frequent updates. That aspect will certainly change the way we resolve issues quicker in 2024.

 

X-PlaneReviews started an annual new roundup review in September called "State of the Union", this was to fully detail the changes of X-Plane 12 from it's public release date, and there is a lot here to browse on the fully detailed on the X-Plane 12 changes to that yearly date.

 

In reality 2023 ended far, far better than it started for Laminar Research. There was some magic hidden in X-Plane 12.08 that made the Simulator smoother, easier to use...  finally the tool was maturing.

But with X-Plane 12 already a whole year late, then another year in limbo, the Simulator per se had taken many many hits. This aspect shows below, delaying projects and keeping developers away to consume MSFS 2020, the impacts on the Simulation landscape was all to see. But X-Plane did actually and finally get there, the Simulator feeling now more better and cleaner than ever before, being more benign and thankfully usable. I have had the best six weeks flying for a long time, the relief is in my relaxed view of 2024. It might even tempt those still on X-Plane 11 to come on over?

 

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2022

First is "Why is this here in an X-Plane site?". Because it is a reference between the Simulators, and the gap between them grew immensely wide over the year 2023. February kicked off with World Update XII New Zealand, In April Oceania, June France and Texas, July Central Eastern Europe, August Western Europe, November Nordics and Greenland, the Caribbean, and the last of the year is European Cities 1. Development updates were on average two, to three a month. Added aircraft included Antonov An-225 Mriya, Model 307 Stratoliner, Aero Vodochody Ae-45, MU-2, Dornier Do X, Saab B 17A and the Carenado 207...

 

At the FlightSimExpo in Houston, Laminar Research was there, well sort of with just the PR Guy and Phillipp Ringlar in attendance, and they were competing with Asobo Studios/Microsoft, who arrived to announce the next installment or version of MSFS, called "Flight Simulator 2024". Austin Meyer or head developer Ben Supnic were also notably absent, as Asobo read off a load of X-Plane features including helicopters, SARS, water and fire particles, oil rig scenery and landing pad, crop dusting, wildfires and even animated skydivers... on top of that they also threw in a Ford 4-AT Trimotor for good measure.

 

But it is the sheer gargantuan absolute volume of releases coming out on to the MS platform in 2023 that was simply gobsmacking, every person and their dog is doing something to cash in on the goldmine, but oddly they are not only mostly middle-regional scenery and odd flier classic aircraft, at really low prices. The worry as a layman with a normal income, was how could you simply buy all this? even picking the low hanging fruit, it would have a serious impact on your bank-balance...  it is a marketplace that is currently creating more questions than it answers? as hundreds of brand new developers are getting in the game, they all can't survive.

 

Trend of the year

In most areas over 2023 it was divided significantly into two categories. New products of which there were few, and the main market which was the transition market of products created for X-Plane 11 being reimagined for X-Plane 12, most were upgrades (pay), but a few were also updates (free). These products dominated the year, and currently most of the quality transitioning product is now mostly all transferred to the X-Plane 12 platform. As noted last year, as a lot of product became obsolete, a majority of X-Plane 10 aircraft and even scenery that crossed over to X-Plane 11 now finally succumbed to their fate, so the results are a much more smaller scale of aircraft and scenery available for X-Plane 12, that said these products in X-Plane 12 are of a much higher quality and have far better detail than their earlier counterparts, but your hangers are certainly more than empty than a few years ago.

 

Aircraft

As major releases go, then 2023 was very, very quiet. In fact only two major releases covered the whole year, the biggest and best was the X-Crafts Family E-Jets in May. Four different variants (with the Exec still coming) it was a great vision into the X-Plane 12 dream of extreme quality and features, the ERJ Series is also coming from X-Crafts in 2024, another one to look forward to with the same high quality standards.

 

ToLiSS was extremely busy in 2023, not only releasing an Airbus A320-271N NEO in March, but also introducing not only a new menu interface, ground vehicles, ice clearing features, many, many more circuit breakers, but then spreading the good word over each of the other ToLiSS Airbus products to the same standard. Their flag bearing certainly climbed higher in the year, consistent with brilliant features and products, they are at the top of their game at the moment.

 

Supercritical Simulations Group (SSG) merged into Flight Procedures Simulation, and released their own version of the E-Jet. Unlike the X-Crafts, this E-195 was not totally new, but a very highly redevelopment of the earlier SSG Embraer E-Jet, it was very good, and at a much more lower price, so it was in reality an E-Jet year if you loved these regional hub-spoke busters. In reality, that was all that was new in airliners this year.

 

For X-Plane 11 aircraft, that was transitioned to X-Plane 12 it was a bit of a feast. Early Colimata did another excellent update to the Concorde FXB v3, and the SSG Boeing 748 had loads of incremental upgrades all year. The most notable was the Rotate MD-11 with several updates and the revised Rotate MD-88 Pro was also very welcome in May. The Felis Boeing 747-200, also had many an update right throughout the year, and some quite considerable, it is a complicated Simulation but highly rewarding.

 

The DeltaWing Simulations CRJ 1000/900/700 was always having numerous updates, and the series came to a far more better quality Simulation, as a first ever developer release it was commendable, but there is still far more refining required to be truly great.

 

INISimulations did hold up their promise to update the A300-600, who would have thought, not a spectacular X-Plane 12 revise, but at least users were happy to see the aircraft actually available. IXEG also finally updated the Boeing 733 to XP12, and it came with a new cabin as well for your US$15, still a great Simulation, if not one of the best.

 

FlyJSim had a very quiet year, but at the end the Boeing 732 and 727 upgrades still didn't make it into X-Plane 12, both are to be worthy additions to the Simulator, expect early 24 . FlightFactor were also nowhere to be seen in 2023. The Boeing 777 v2 was previewed a few times and a rough cut was shown at the Expo, but the promised release again never happened in Q4, but now a noted certainty for a public beta in March 2024, the still in development FF Boeing 787 Dreamliner also had a few sneak previews as well, but don't expect anything there until late 24. Notable in another release for 2024 is an ATR 72, in fact two with one noted from Deltawing, the regional prop is well overdue for the X-Plane Simulator.

 

General Aviation

Generally the trend was the same with General Aviation, a few new aircraft, but the majority were transitioning aircraft from X-Plane 11 to Twelve.

 

Aerobask started of the the year with the Diamond DA-42 NG, to follow up their Katana DA20 late in 2022, also the Epic Victory G1000, Lancair Legacy RG and the Epic E1000 G1000 Edition all had revisions to X-Plane 12. If you like your Diamonds, the SimSolutions upgraded the DA20-C1 Eclipse and DA40NG. COWS also announced a DA-42, later to be also ported to the MSFS platform, this was August, and yet to see the light of day (a lot of promises). At the end of the year Aerobask also released the Shark UL, a genuine release for X-Plane 12, it was excellent with the custom Skyview Touch Avionics.

 

There was the cute Van's RV-8 /8A Duo by AOA Simulations, but most of the year in GA belonged to Thranda Design. They started off early with a brand new (XP12 only) Cessna 377F Skymaster, then another new design BN-2A Islander XP12 in June. Then they upgraded in succession the Daher Kodiak 100, then weeks later the 172M Skyhawk to XP12. In October it was the turn of the XP12 upgrade of the classic DH-2 Beaver. There was also another Cessna 337G pressurised version from Skytouch of which I really liked.

 

AirfoilLabs upgraded both the KingAir 350, and the 172SP, and later the 172SP with an Analog cockpit (again just lately). vFlyteAir only upgraded their Piper Twin Comanche PA30 to X-Plane 12, and again nothing new in 23 from these premier GA developers. Considering their backlog catalogue, JustFlight had a quiet year, the upgrades only covered the Robin DR400, and Piper PA-28-181 Archer TX/LX to X-Plane12, there seems to be a waning interest to continue to support X-Plane from this English developer.

 

NhAdrian did the excellent cheeky Rand Robinson KR-2S, and X-Hangar updated a lot of their aircraft, mostly from as early as X-Plane 10, and finally we wrapped up the GA segement in 23 with an upgrade to the Aerostar 601P from Avio71, and a nice way to see in Christmas.

 

Classic Aircraft

Since dividing into three separate variants the DC-3. vSkylabs updated the C-47 Skytrain and the DC-3 Airliner significantly, though the analog and glass instrument versions moved them even further apart. Late in the year Khamsin and Skunkcrafts updated the P-51 Mustang to X-Plane 12.

 

Business Aircraft

This category was very quiet this year with nothing new released. Aerobask surprisingly didn't release the much vaunted Falcon 6X, it was expected, even now well overdue for release, so we will move on again to 2024 for that one. The winner of the 2020 best Bizjet the Citation C-560XL by AirSim3D was upgraded to X-Plane 12 with the serious results, really it was the only significant release of the year. The AKD Studio GulfStream 550, had almost monthly updates throughout the year, and yes the detail and quality are now showing, but it still needs that something extra to give the aircraft the polish it needs, I liked flying it though.

 

Military

This Military segment was quite busy this year. Highlight was of course the release of Colimata's supreme F-104 Starfighter, only released for X-Plane 12 later in the year, certainly a landmark release for all the right reasons. Another oddity was the He-162 Project from Vskylabs 'Test-Pilot' series. The rest were transition aircraft from X-Plane 11. MLADG revamped three aircraft for XP12 in the MiG15, Aero 29 Delfin and the Messerschmitt bf109.

 

AoA (Angle of Attack) had three revision aircraft released, the excellent T6A Texan II, the F22 Raptor and a completely revamped T-7A Red Hawk for X-Plane 12, all great value, AoA are also releasing a V22 Tilt-rotor for 2024! There was FACO's F-15 package, and the Grumman F7F Tigercat was converted to X-Plane 12 by Virtavia.

 

Helicopters

After a few very productive years it was a quiet one with no helicopter releases in 2023 for Cowansim, he went to MSFS with his aircraft conversions, and there was no announcements if any more X-Plane 12 aircraft will be released or converted in the future. Back in full flight though was the master himself...  Dreamfoil Creations, with the transition of his Schweizer S300CBi to X-Plane 12. It was a brilliant comeback, and all the rest of the Dreamfoil fleet in the AS350, B407 are all following in succession in 2024. Talking of 407's, then on the brink of Christmas Eve, JRX released their excellent Bell 407 for both X-Plane 12 and 11.

 

Excellent also was the Eurocopter EC130 B4 for X-Plane 12 by HSF. This modern machine came with loads of options including a Medivac version, HSF also released the Alouette III as a freeware, and it is well worth the download. vSkyLabs released the Hungarocopter HC-02 in October, and it was an interesting mite of a machine. The X-Trident CH47D Chinook had a quiet update to X-Plane 12 in June.

 

There was a few of oddities this year 23 in machines. One was the Gerry Anderson inspired Vskylab Skyscenders 76, three very different orbital bodies to master, a lot of fun as well. VSkyLabs also released the boatlike ICON A5 as well. NHAdrian produced two very different concepts in the AirCar Project, and yes it is a real flying car...  the highlight though was the amazing LLTV - Lunar Landing Training Vehicle, an amazing concept to try, and fly like a Lunar Lander.

 

Scenery

I have already mentioned the colossal amount of scenery being released for MSFS 2020. It is simply mind-boggling and even overwhelming... overall even a bit silly. How much of this scenery can you actually use? Yes X-Plane scenery will never be on par with Microsoft's Flight Sim, but at least what we have released is actually usable. Sadly the cross-platform (except for a very few) pollinations between the Simulators has not emerged either, but let us see what 2024 delivers before saying the last rites.

 

The biggest scenery story of the year was AutoOrtho or streaming ortho imagery. Some bright spark wants to recreate the Microsoft ortho steaming system in X-Plane. To a point it is very successful, but a fast internet connection and a powerful computer is required. The trick is downloading the tiles as you need them, not storing the tiles on your computer, but I'm not a fan of flat photo images, or jerky simulations. To add on top, another success this year has been SIM HEAVENS X-World scenery Series. Now far better coordinated and comes with better realism, it does start to deliver the sort of visual requirements X-Plane desperately needs. But ultimately they are both clunky additions to the simulator, requiring a lot of wasted power to work. But the enthusiasts swear by them.

 

In the Laminar Q&A. Austin Meyer finally acknowledged that after a year or even years of consistent griping. That X-Plane does need a newer and better scenery system, and that Laminar are now evaluating ideas and theories to up the visual content. More highly (data) dense tiles are coming short term, but a complete new system to replace the DSF limitations is also finally on the white board. You would say X-Plane 13 for this, but I don't think that Laminar have that a long wait time in three years to meditate around the problem...  one story to follow in 2024.

 

There was a few gateway dumps, one in the first quarter, then another later in the year, and both were comprehensive. Suddenly we had Golf Courses everywhere, and then shipping became more realistic, but overall the promised ports and even more autogen buildings failed to materialise in 2023. They noted to be part of v12.1.0.

 

Again like everything this year there was many conversions to X-Plane 12 from X-Plane 11, but still even quite a few good sceneries were released. Like mentioned there wasn't a lot, but the few we had were very good and highly usable.

 

X-Codr was very, very busy. He updated his mammoth KDEN with everything you could name, it was complex but a serious statement of what X-Plane can deliver, even moving escalators and people. More importantly it was the sheer quality of the buildings that stood out. Other smaller sceneries from X-Codr also stood out, KMMH-Mammoth Yosemite, KSEZ-Sedona, Grand Canyon West - 1G4, KTEX-Telluride were all excellent.

 

Maps2XPlane (via Aerosoft) delivered not only an (XP12) update to their sensational Faroe Islands XP, but added the even more extravagant remote Svalbard XP in July (a personal favorite). Frank Dainese and Fabio Bellini spent the year updating their earlier sceneries over to X-Plane 12, we started off with the Alps UHD package at the start of the year, Dolomites in March, Banff National Park UHD in August and finally Everest Park-Nepal 3D in late November.

 

We left 2022 with the Taimodels EGLL-Heathrow, and we had some great experiences with Taimodel's scenery in that year, and in 2023 they didn't disappoint either. It started rather slow with KSMF-Sacramento, then VHHH-Chep Lok in Hong Kong followed in April. Another smaller scale airport with Newport News / Williamsburg, with then another biggie with Oslo Gardermoen Airport in August. Closer to home turf we had YBCS - Cairns International Airport in Australia in November. A pretty impressive output, all great value.

 

Cami De Bellis was back after a health break to update her particular style of scenery. All projects got the X-Plane 12 treatment with both first La Tontouta Noumea and Dolpa Nepal in June, quickly followed a few weeks later by Kathmandu Tribhuvan Intl and Paro Intl Airport, Butan. New from Cami however was the excellent FHSH - St Helena Airport, the place in the South Atlantic were Napoleon ended up.

 

HSimulators converted his FlightSim pole landscapes to X-Plane 12, with both the Grand Arctic Scenery and lower Antarctica Mega Scenery XP12 adding landmass to the X-Plane Simulator. NorthernSky Studios heavily upgraded PAJN-Juneau International and PAEN-Kenai Municipal Airport, and added in the new PAWG - Wrangell Airport, all in Alaska. His focus is now on both XP and FS Simulators, this showed in the lower release output for the year.

 

As he broadens the mix, ShortFinals Design only up dated the magnificent EDDM-Munich to full X-Plane 12, but there are a lot of projects coming in 2024 from ShortFinal, including a completely new revolutionary bigger scale autogen system.

 

There was two new releases from Aerosoft with Airport Marseille XP (Brilliant) and Menorca XP (not so brilliant), and Dortmund XP12 was upgraded later in the year. Sadly considering the considerable amount of Aerosoft scenery for X-Plane, very little, if any are being updated to X-Plane 12? If 2024 doesn't deliver, we could be seeing a lot quality Aerosoft scenery being abandoned in the future.

 

Orbx did deliver a brilliant YBBN Brisbane and an addon Brisbane city scenery very early in the year...  but nothing else.

 

Other standouts included the KJAX-Jacksonville International by FS Designs, Montauk Airport by Skytitude, and two airports I used a lot in 2023 with ESGG - Göteborg Landvetter Airport by Chudoba Designs and the great effort of KPHL - Philadelphia International Airport by StarSim.

 

So what's the summary of 2023 for scenery? Again the numbers are far better than what you expected, and a far lot of it is seriously quality scenery. X-Plane 11 turnover to X-Plane 12 is say just above the average, I expected more, so again 2024 is going to interesting to watch.

 

Plugins

I will state upfront that I am not a huge plugin connoisseur, so I only run what I call essential plugins in my simulator, running the VRAM profiler (Menu/Developer) can give you the horrors of how much these little monstrous tools can gobble up your framerate and their overall efficiency, I take out as many of these laggards as possible.

 

Again there were a a lot of tools to adjust your skies, but the best was VisualXP Extreme, it is well worth the money. The biggest noise of the year was the new Skunkcrafts Standalone Updater Client v3.0. Moved from your plugins folder to your desktop, it was an excellent highly fast new tool. There was the Scenery Enhancement tool X-Oil Rigs Vol 1, Vol 2, and X-OilShips Vol 1, that filled up the oceans, and it gave a little more activity to your water views.

 

Navigraph was again the king of the tools, now they added in Weather Layers to Charts 8, plus later also added Flight Telemetry, ATIS, OFP. The companion SimBrief also had a major layout overhaul, and was present directly now in a lot of the most advanced aircraft simulations.

 

WebFMC Pro, WorldTraffic 3 and Traffic Global all had updates throughout the year. But I found major conflicts with the JustFlight tool in 2023, with time and replays that went past annoying and creating desktop crashes.

 

X-PlaneReviews

X-PlaneReviews as a site in August passed the decade busting 10th Anniversary of providing quality and detailed reviews for the X-Plane Simulator. Yes we have been here for ten and half years and in this year 2023 have delivered even more consistent reviews than any year before.

 

The team has grown as well...  besides the dynamic Dominic Smith, who also contributes immensely to the X-Plane.Org Weekly Roundups and Developer Interviews, is a major contributor in X-PlaneReviews as well, plus the extra talented reviewers of Alan Ashforth (alpeggio), Peter Allnutt, Dennis Powell, Nick Garlick, Stéphane Tolédo-Paul (Tieman68), David York (datadave), Stuart McGregor (Scottish Wings), DrishalMAC2, Michael Hayward and Joshua Moore, all genuine talented and contributors to not only X-PlaneReviews, but to X-Plane in general.

 

Passing a major Anniversary always makes you look back, but also forward. Certainly we have met our goals in providing invaluable information and details on the X-Plane Simulator. Again this review site cannot function without all the great and exciting work by the tireless developers that give us all this exciting and incredible product to fly and use, as they and X-Plane has come a long way and created leaps in quality and complexity in the last few years, certainly in the jump to X-Plane 12, and to a point I was very proud of the work they have produced, it is world class if not the very best in simulation product ever produced, and they are all top notch and very clever. To the X-Plane.OrgStore who supports this site with review products, service and updates, a really big thanks to Nicolas Taureau, as this site just also would not function without that outstanding support.

 

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We will finish off with the X-PlaneReviews famous best of the year awards…   So I will now list my Best of the Year 2023🏅

(note the awards are given to only products I have seen and tested and so the only ones I can vouch for)

 

Overall Best of the Year : E-Jets Family Series by X-Crafts 🏅 🏅🏅

 

Best Aircraft : E-Jets Family Series by X-Crafts.🏅
A look into the future of X-Plane 12 quality and design, it jumped off the screen at you in the incredible detail.
Honorable Mention : Any ToLiSS aircraft, just delivers on any level.

 

Best General Aviation Aircraft : Aerobask Diamond DA-42 NG

Aerobask were very consistent with quality aircraft and interiors, almost every release was perfection, but the DA-42 NG just nudged above
Honorable Mentions : All Thranda Design output was excellent with clever ideas, but lately they have become incessantly dark, externally and internally.

 

Best Classic Aircraft : A tie here, Felis Boeing 747-200 and Colimata Concorde FXB v3

Both the B742 and Concorde FXB are not new, but seriously improved over the year with X-Plane 12, both seriously complex as well.

Honorable Mention : P-51 Mustang from Khamsin and Skunkworks, glad to see new fresh blood in the water.

 

Best Business Aircraft : Cessna Citation 560XL XP12 by AirSim3d

We said it would be great in X-Plane 12, and it is, but the category overall was below par this year. Aerobask Falcon 6X anyone.

 

Best Military :  F-104 Starfighter by Colimata 🏅

Insanely clever and insane to fly, it is X-Plane at it's Skunkworks best.

Honorable Mention : AoA T-7A Red Hawk, certainly the most improved of the year.

 

Best Helicopter : Eurocopter EC130 B4 by HSF 🏅

The talented Frenchmen made a big impact on Helicopters this year with the EC130, and with the freeware Alouette III

Honorable Mentions : Dreamfoil Creations, with the XP12 transition of his Schweizer S300CBi, the master was back!

 

Best Landscape Scenery : Svalbard XP by Aerosoft Maps2XPlane🏅
Sublime and distant, all the Svalbard Islands were covered in detailed landscapes, just make sure to see them in the Summer.

Honorable Mention : Dainese and Bellini condensed all their packages to make better products, brilliant in X-Plane 12, but nothing new on the shelves.

 

Best Airport Scenery : KDEN - Denver International by X-Codr 🏅🏅
Not a new scenery, but KDEN was a totally revamped project that had everything, it was spellbinding in detail and clever animations.

Honorable Mention : Taimodels delivered the most and detailed sceneries consistently, filling in areas that have been wanting for years.

 

Best Plugin(s) : Skunkcrafts Standalone Updater Client 🏅

A plugin... it was, but still the biggest standout tool of the year, it's so fast!

Special Mention(s) : Navigraph for their excellent navigation tools, and seriously clever new additions.

 

Person(s) of the Year : ToLiSS

The developer that just consistently delivers outstanding authentic ideas and systems, yes my vote goes to person that saves me days by reviving crashed or loading aircraft back to life perfectly, with the SAVE feature

 

Best Moment of the year 2023 : Nothing really stood out, but the first viewing of X-Crafts E-Jet was mind-blowing.

 

Worst Moment(s) of the Year 2023 : Not the worst, but the most embarrassing moment was the Asobo Studios/Microsoft reeling off the new features for FS 2024, they were almost gloating. Personally, when my Graphic Card expired because of an overloading X-Plane 12 vulkan device error, it was expensive to replace.

Biggest distractions of 2023 : ...  It was very dark in there....  pitchblack! 

 

Biggest overall feeling of 2023 : Tough hard year, but the outlook towards 2024 felt far better towards the end of 2023, X-Plane 12 was finally starting to shine, but it took a long time to get there.

 

Personal Favorites of 2023 : Any ToLiSS (the save system allows ultimate flexibility) and they got the most hourly flying time, Q4XP (Dash) brilliant, Rotate MD-80 still awesome, MD-11 bigger awesome, Thranda C206G, IXEG 737 Classic returned with a cabin.

 

Routes...   Copenhagen, Copenhagen and Copenhagen, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Vienna, Brussels, Barcelona, Roma, Helsinki, Oslo, Munich, Tel Aviv, London Heathrow and Dulles and Sydney. Notable is that with the newer scenery, Brisbane, Amsterdam finally came on-line in 2023.

 

That is X-PlaneReviews for 2023, and we will be back after a very much needed recovery and the review site returns again early into the New Year on the 3rd January 2024.

 

So Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year 2024

 

Stephen Dutton

23rd December 2023

Copyright:X-PlaneReviews 2023

 

 

 

 

NEWS! - Aircraft Released : JRX Bell 407 for X-Plane 11 and 12

 

 

Just in time for Christmas, JRX have released their version of the Bell 407 for the X-Plane 12 Simulator. Both X-Plane versions are actually catered for here, but purchase price is the same for either of the X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 versions, there is no deal for both. Obviously the X-Plane 12 version comes with better effects, dynamics and lighting.

 

The Bell 407 is a four-blade, single-engine, civil utility helicopter. A derivative of the Bell 206L-4 LongRanger, the 407 uses the four-blade, soft-in-plane design rotor with composite hub developed for the United States Army's OH-58D Kiowa Warrior instead of the two-blade, semi-rigid, teetering rotor of the 206L-4.

 

The Bell 407's fuselage is 8 inches (20 cm) wider, increasing internal cabin space, and includes 35% larger main cabin windows. The more powerful Rolls-Royce/Allison 250-C47 turboshaft allows an increase in Maximum Takeoff Weight and improves performance at hotter temperatures and/or higher altitudes. The helicopter has standard seating for two crew and five cabin seats.

 

NEWS! - Aircraft Release : Mustang P-51 XP12 HD by Khamsin Studio and Skunkcrafts

 

 

Khamsin Studios have again teamed up with Skunkcrafts to upgrade the World War ll sensation the P-51 Mustang for X-Plane 12. It comes with a newly refined XP12 flight model, reworked 3D and cockpit, updated XP12 logic, new Option Panel and Avitab Support. Both X-Aerodynamics (Cameron Garner) have again revised the aerodynamics and Daniela Rodriguez Careri has also improved the soundscape. This is an X-Plane 12 only aircraft.

 

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, amongst other conflicts.The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October.

 

Prewar doctrine was based on the idea "the bomber will always get through". Despite RAF and Luftwaffe experience with daylight bombing, the USAAF still incorrectly believed in 1942 that tightly packed formations of bombers would have so much firepower that they could fend off fighters on their own.] Fighter escort was a low priority, but when the concept was discussed in 1941, the idea was soon reversed, as the P-51 Mustang was a solution to the need for an effective bomber escort. It used a common, reliable engine and had internal space for a larger-than-average fuel load. With external fuel tanks, it could accompany the bombers in giving protection from England to Germany and in so then creating a legend.

 

 

 

This P-51 is displayed in the markings of the 351st Fighter Squadron, 353rd Fighter Group, Eighth Air Force. (source: Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum)

 

Original X-Plane 11 purchasers can get $12.50 off this new XP12 version, just see the coupon on your X-Plane.OrgStore account.

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The North American P-51D Mustang XP12 HD by Skunkcrafts is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here :

 

P-51D Mustang XP12 HD

Priced at US$34.95

 

Requirements

X-Plane 12 (not for XP11)