Stephen

 

Scenery Review : SBGL Rio de Janeiro Intl by Richard G Nunes Scenery

 

Nothing was more exotic or remote in the 60's than Rio de Janeiro, it was the sounds of the music that brought it into context or the refrains of Bossa Nova "new trend" which is a lyrical fusion of samba and jazz. And at the same time aircraft became fast and global through Jet propulsion and the VC10's, Boeing 707's and DC8's now ruled all hemispheres and the Jetset were on the move in their thousands. Airline posters of the day (I have a fair collection) where of these exotic destinations... India, Hong Kong, Egypt, South Africa, Japan and Australia, They infused early a dream of world traveling that is still my deepest desire and love.

 

 

But for a wannabe jetsetter Rio was the big one, visions of coming into land past the gaze of the "Christ the Redeemer" iconic statue was right at the top of one of my biggest set of bucket list of destinations, the holy grail of travel...  the really big one. I never got to Rio (well not yet anyway) but many others have been crossed off the BOAC list, but the dream lives on.

 

So any X-Plane scenery that can at least fulfill even a slight longing of flying to Rio de Janeiro was always going to be a big deal, it is and here is the main destination for any arrival in that Southern Continent's most vivid city in Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport .

Rio is also in the news for other reasons lately, the Football World Cup has been won and done, but in 2016 is the turn of the behemoth Olympic & Paralympics Summer Games to grace the city, and SBGL - Galeão will be again at the forefront of the public reception point for the city. The airport is located 20 km (12 mi) north of downtown Rio de Janeiro.

 

First Impressions.

My entrance to SBGL was via a short flight from Sao Paulo going north and approaching the city from the south. My fantasy of gliding past "Christ the Redeemer" was not going to happen as there is actually no approach path across the front of  the summit of Mount Corcovado where the statue is placed. Instead I would be using a direct approach via SANTA CRUZ VOR (SCR-113.60) and MERITI NDB (IT- 290) that gives you a direct approach into SBGL RWY10 though the valley east of Serra do Mendanha. NARA 10 STAR will give you both north and south arrival patterns through SANTA CRUZ VOR.

 

 

Visually it is a great approach, but you can't see any of the iconic Rio visual feasts in the forementioned "Christ the Redeemer" or "Sugarloaf Mountain". SBGL Galeão Airport itself is built on its own complete island called Governador Island (Ilha do Governador, in Portuguese) and is the largest island in Guanabara Bay. The name Galeão was a beach on the island.

 

The history of the airport begins on May 10, 1923 when a School of Naval Aviation was established near Galeão beach on Governador Island. On May 22, 1941 with the creation of the Brazilian Air Force Ministry, the school became the Galeão Air Force Base; a terminal and hangars were built and the runway extended. Those buildings still exist and Galeão Air Force Base is still active. When Brazil declared war against the Axis on August 22, 1942, the aerodrome began to be used intensely by the Allies for military operations related to the World War II.

 

At the end of the war, Santos Dumont Airport was unable to handle the increased tonnage of aircraft flying on international routes and number of passengers. For this reason, international flights were gradually moved to the site of the Air Force Base. The services were however precarious and a decision was made to build a brand new passenger terminal, opposite to the Air Force Base, and set across the runway.

 

On February 1, 1952 the new passenger terminal was opened and remained in use with enlargements until 1977. This terminal is used by passenger flights operated by the Brazilian Air Force. The cargo terminal is also located in the area and all-cargo aircraft usually park at its adjoining apron. The whole complex is now informally known as the "old Galeão."

 

On January 20, 1977, when the airport was receiving all of Brazil's major international flights, this new terminal was opened and all scheduled passenger flights were transferred to the new building. This building is known today as Passenger Terminal 1. During the year 1991, Passenger Terminal 1 underwent its first major renovation in preparation for the United Nations Earth Summit held in 1992. Its annual capacity was increased to 7,5 million passengers/year. On July 20, 1999 Passenger Terminal 2 was opened. (wikipedia)

 

 

Both runways 10/28 and 15/33 are in a wide V shape coming from the southern direction, with excellent overwater RAIL lighting (Approach Lights Systems (ALS) to guide you in. The main airport terminal complex is in the centre of the V and is an excellent visual sight on both RWY10 or RWY15 approaches.

 

 

Runway visual features and runway textures are simply excellent 10/28 is concrete (15/33 is Asphalt) and are highly realistic in wear and rubber marking. There is grass, but on approach it looks a whitish than a more darker grass, but still a nice feature. Taxiways are concrete center and runoff wider tone asphalt, and very well done. Departure from RWY10/28 was by link taxiway CC to main taxiway N. On taxiway CC you have the excellent large TAP maintenance & engineering hangar and service ramp area. (yes the same Portuguese TAP, the area was bought from bankrupt VARIG in 2005).

Turn to taxiway N is required but you can't stay on this section. If you run the WorldTraffic 2.0 plugin from Classic Jet Simulations (highly recommended) there are some great sets of ground routes available for SBGL here: GroundRoutes_SBGL v1.0

 

But no routes. I have listed my settings for the WT Route Generator below as a download to get the routes I created for SBGL and they look brilliant in operation. But one thing is noticeable in that taxiway N is the north direction main departure route and Taxiway M is the south direction route to the terminal area. so you need to dogleg at link taxiway W to get off N to get to M as soon as possible between traffic flows if the departures are to the south.

 

 

One thing must be stressed early in using this Richard Nunes SBGL is that the "runways follow terrain contours" tickbox must be on. There are many reasons for this but the main two are that if not the RAIL approach lighting will be very odd and sit well above the runway?

 

Secondly is for a great feature of the scenery, as taxiway M goes past the main junction of Q and O link taxiways you then cross over a taxiway bridge, M for going west and another bridge for taxiway N going east. Brilliantly done you enjoy the view as an WT aircraft crosses on the other bridge (If "runway contours" is off the bridges will sit too high?)

 

 

The one area X-Plane misses out on is this sort of traffic and high taxiway crossings, but here it is an excellent way to create such a solution.

 

 

Over the taxiway bridges there is on the right is a fuel storage and airport maintenance collection of tanks and buildings.

 

On the left is the appearance of the terminal and ramp areas. The whole area is created like a semi circle amphitheatre, dominated by these huge high concrete lighting towers, it feels very Aztec at a first arrival it is an amazing space. Taxiway and ramp linage is excellent, but going on to the main ramp area it can get confusing with so much lineage, so you do find yourself turning in long wide arcs to get around to the gates

 

 

The double huge semi-circle terminal buildings are extremely well represented, highly realistic and there is a large amount of well positioned and well selected static aircraft to fill in the gates (If you do use WT you may have to edit a few gates to get the right mix of static and WT aircraft). 

 

This is a very busy ramp area as well, not only the moving WT aircraft but the scenery comes with a lot of animated vehicles, there is everything going on here in buses, fuel tankers, tractors, tugs, catering and baggage trucks. So you have to be very careful on not hitting any crossing vehicles.

 

 

Around the outer rim of the ramp area there is a huge amount of nose in remote parking, and my parking gate 51 was on the second terminal set of gates. All gates have built in (marginal) animation and aircraft parking guidance indicators. In the gate there are also walking worker animations, not that many but they are all spread around the airport work areas going about their business. (the gate marshalls however are static).

 

 

So first impressions are very impressive, very realistic and a great way to arrive in Brazil's and Rio's most significant airport.

SBGL Rio de Janeiro International Airport

 

SBGL Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport

(IATA: GIG, ICAO: SBGL)

10/28 4,000m (13,123ft) Concrete
15/33 3,180m (10,433ft) Asphalt
Elevation AMSL 9 m / 28 ft

 

 

With the airport layout set on an island gives you many ways to make a scenery great, and that is the case here with SBGL. There is a slight colour (darker) difference between the airport ground textures and the surrounding X-Plane default textures, but not enough to cause any visual angst. So the layout is very good from any angle, very realistic while on approach or departure. There is great default traffic and bridges around the north of the island that connects the airport to the mainland in two places and traffic flows around and directly into the scenery itself.

 

 

The concrete and asphalt differences between the main runways are excellent and the quality of the scenery does show from the attention to detail of all the different ground textures.

 

 

Highlight is the detailed Approach Lights Systems (ALS). A lot of work has gone into this element of the scenery by Richard Nunes and it shows, These features are the ones that standout and make exceptional scenery, visual an approach at almost minimum light and limited visibility and then the RAIL is showing you the way home... 

 

Terminals

 

 

Outwardly the two huge terminals look like they were built at the same time, but there is differences and Terminal Two is certainly more modern. There is no separate Domestic or International areas or terminals, but Terminal One covers more International flights. There are no A380 flights to SBGL yet, but both Emirates and Lufthansa run heavy equipment into the airport and a change to the A380 is always possible as the airport is already code F A380 certified with three gates and the Olympic Games will attract aircraft of this capacity.

 

Terminal One

Terminal One has gates 1 - 12,  is presently served by  Aerolineas Argentinas, AeroMexico, Air France, Alitalia,  Avianca, Azul, British Airways, Copa, GOL, Iberia, KLM, & Taca Peru airlines.

 

The building is set out in a semi-circle design and the construction here is excellent with great textures covering the faded aged concrete worn look gives the building a real authentic air. There is a huge amount of detailing in covering not only the actual terminal, but the surrounding elements of both the ramp and arrival sides of the building. Vehicle animation is prevalent throughout the scenery and right around the arrivals areas, giving you a great buzz of activity. There is some good ramp equipment, but placement is not overwhelming in that every gate area is saturated with the usual amount of equipment that aircraft servicing requires, walking staff do add to the activity feel.

 

Those distinctive huge concrete lighting towers are also placed around the the outside of the terminal adding to the feel of the airport and its different cultural aspect...  you know you are somewhere different.

 

 

Galeão's distinctive Control Tower which is situated at the rear of Terminal One is well reproduced as along with a lot of associated administration buildings and carparks. It is a great design and the tower can be seen from all points of the airfield to note the location of the central terminal area for good orientation.

 

 

Tower view is good, but confined into a window based viewpoint, you can love or hate this sort of viewpoint for aircraft replays, but it does work well here and gives you a great overview look of the airport.

 

 

There is a large Airport Administration building that connects between Terminal One and Terminal Two.

 

 

Like all buildings in the scenery the Admin building is a great reproduction of the real counterpart and adds a great deal to the overall look of the airport. Detailing at the rear is very good and right down to the excellent road systems, lighting, foliage and signage. There are however a few objects (mostly roofing) that are not placed correctly from these lower angles.

 

Terminal Two

Has gates 22 - 39, and is currently served by Air Canada, American, Delta, Emirates, Lan Chile, Lufthansa, Passaredo, TAAG, TAM, TAP, United & US Airways airlines (American Airlines).

 

 

 

Outwardly T2 is similar in design to T1, but on closer inspection it is quite different. Roof elements and glass at the rear are a totally different design, and there is a large multi-story carpark built in unlike just a flat open carpark at T1. Again the terminal is faithfully reproduced and well designed.

All gates have full docking (Marginal Plugin) facilities and aircraft parking guidance indicators as noted.

 

Remote parking

All around the outer rim of the main ramp areas are a lot of nose in remote parking stands. 13-36 are main rim stands and stand 37-43 cover the south boundary.

 

 

In front of the stands are the numerous depots of various fuel suppliers, from the well worn to the modern they are all very well represented with animation of vehicles transferring their products around the airport.

 

 

The south ramp boundary parking and another good parking area zone adjacent to the Military Base is a fully working building site. Cranes swing and tractors level the red earth, it is busy place and well done, I hope in the future the scenery changes to represent the completed buildings and areas.

Galeão Air Force Base – BAGL (ICAO: SBGL) Terminal do Correio Aéreo Nacional (Terminal of the Brazilian Air Force Passenger Services).

Part of the scenery on the southern island boundary is the original Galeão airport and the current Brazilian Airforce base.

 

 

There is a huge amount of objects in here covering a fair area, this would be a significant scenery just by itself...  Outwardly it looks more like a Hollywood Film Studio, with not only with its dense maze of buildings, but with chequered water towers, tennis courts and swimming pools.

 

 

There is a lot going on in here and it is all very well done to represent a significant part of Rio's aviation heritage.

 

 

Galeão Cargo

When the existing relationship between the Airforce Base and Passenger division became overwhelmed as more and more the passenger traffic grew it became time to move the passenger division to a more spacious and separate area. So on 1 February 1952 the passenger terminal area was transferred and opened across the southern end of runway 15/33. This area was operational until January 20, 1977, when the main airport facilities were again moved to what is now Terminal One. After the transfer the older passenger terminal area was converted to the main cargo area for the airport.

 

 

In reality the old terminal is there and the area is not much changed over the decades, reproduction of the area like most of the scenery is again excellent...  It certainly is not a modern cargo port but that is of course its attraction. There are two main cargo facility buildings and an odd sort of hangars and cargo covered areas.

 

 

Cargo ramps are well done but a little empty of activity except for the odd tug, however a few cargo aircraft and equipment would not go amiss to fill out the scene a little.

 

Road traffic is excellent around this southern western boundary, X-Plane works its magic to create great traffic, so have your settings up high.

Fuel Depot and Airport Maintenance

 

To balance out the dense building area of the Brazilian AirForce Base in the south is the same for the fuel depot and airport maintenance area on the north boundary.

 

 

The fuel depot tanks dominate, but there also a lot of maintenance buildings and offices to fill out the area, the area is very prominent on both RWY10 and RWY15 Approaches...  well done.

 

There are many various airfield buildings and towers dotted around the areas, all very authentic and great visual fillers from the aircraft and seen on the taxiways.

 

Night Lighting

 

 

Airport lighting is excellent, really good. You get great lighting area variations with numerous different styles of lights, from any approach SBGL looks brilliant. Runway 10/28 is excellent in lighting and as are taxiway directions, but runway 15/33 does not have any centerline lighting or centerline taxiway (green) lights? so it is a dark trek to the terminal area...  

 

 

The chance not to use those high concrete towers could have been easily missed, but it wasn't. High powered lighting covers the ramps and it is a spectacular arrival or departure with great flood lighting while working on the ramp, well done done there.

 

 

Terminal night textures are also very good, so is the arrival lighting and area coverage with great spot lights.

 

 

Fuel depots and the TAP maintenance area is also very good lighting wise and realistic.

 

 

Southern boundary areas are also good, with the AirForce base having well lit tennis courts and a swimming pool for a late night game or swim, cargo area is on par with the rest of the airport, and turn up the traffic settings for great night activity.

 

Christ the Redeemer Statue

 

 

The iconic Mount Corcovado "Christ the Redeemer" Statue, can just be seen from Galeão Airport, yes it is just a speck in the distance, but what scenery in Rio de Janeiro would be without it....   it just wouldn't work. It is like having no "Statue of Liberty" in New York's approaches, it just is not on.

Thankfully you get a great statue reproduction here, a really great version to watch over Rio, to get a better look then jump in a chopper or GA and take a flight over to see the Rio-ness of it all.... love it.

 

More than just the actual statue is that all the tourist trap elements are also covered, ticket booths, cog railway, buses, cafes and their umbrellas are all here, great stuff.

 

If you thought that "Christ the Redeemer" is great in the daylight, then the wow factor really comes out at night, as it is totally brilliant

 

 

 

   

 

"Christ the Redeemer" has all the X-Plane world to watch over as the lighting snakes away to the horizon and Galeão Airport gleaming in the distance...  heaven.

Routes and Services

Rio is dead center of the eastern seaboard to cover any roads of South America. This southern continental area is great for exploring and a flights to all points of the continent are interesting and with great visual vistas. International routes are many and varied. Connections to Europe (London and Paris is very popular) and North America in Miami, Atlanta or New York are old routes to be savoured. And don't forget the Olympics in 2016.

Most international popular destinations are:

Passengers

1.  Argentina - 249,305
2.  United States - 171,124
3. France - 80,478
4. Chile - 80,001
5. United Kingdom - 66,447
6. Italy - 57,061
7. Germany - 55,865
8. Portugal - 43,380
9. Spain - 35,135
10. Colombia - 23,563

Cargo Operations covers

1. ABSA Cargo Airline - Belo Horizonte–Confins, Cabo Frio, Campinas, Ciudad del Este, Curitiba, Manaus, Miami, Porto Alegre, São Paulo–Guarulhos
2. Centurion Air Cargo - Miami
3. LAN Cargo - Amsterdam, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Frankfurt, Miami, Montevideo, Santiago de Chile
4. LANCO - Bogotá, Lima, Miami, Quito Rio Linhas Aéreas - Recife, Salvador da Bahia, São Paulo–Guarulhos
5. Sky Lease Cargo - Miami

 

Summary
To cover Rio de Janeiro/Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport was always going to be a huge task. It is a big area of scenery and in parts very dense with buildings and infrastructure. The airport has a distinct feel as well, those huge lighting towers means you are nowhere else on the planet...  it all covers a very impressive arrival.

Quality and detail is excellent as is the sheer number of objects and item presented in the scenery, faithful to the airport, and as scenery and the best scenery for Rio this SBGL cannot be discounted, you even get Jesus! (as a statue)
So I know what you are thinking "All this must come at cost somewhere", well it does but not on the dollar values as it is great value scenery for what you get.

You however need a recommended 2G of VRAM (just get away with 1GB) and a pretty powerful computer to process all those objects. No doubt that this scenery is frameweight heavy. You can reduce your object settings to "default" to help, but even then in my case I was still on the line, switch HDR on and all that lighting effects is another world of power unless you have the fastest HDR resolution setting available.

Great scenery and in a great destination is a wonderful combination in your investment in X-Plane. It's Rio de Janeiro! It is Brazil, now we have the means and now a great destination to deliver another great experience of simulation, Yes SBGL Galeão airport is certainly that, a great destination.

 

_____________________________________________

 

 

Yes! the SBGL- Rio de Janeiro Intl Airport by Richard G Nunes Scenery is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here :

 

SBGL- Rio de Janeiro International Airport 

 

Price is US$24.95

 

Features

• Orthophoto textures and Occlusion environment
• The Christ the Redeemer statue is included in this scenery package
• Custom Runways, ground and taxiways textures
• 3D Grass, based on the lawn type found at Rio Airport

Auto Gate Ready

• AutoGate Plugin by Marginal (included in the package)
• Custom Jetways

Animated Traffic

• Animated objects, vehicles, people and aircraft
• Ground Traffic and aircraft traffic
• Using Ground Traffic by Marginal

Many extras

• Modeled Underpass under runways M and N (Bridges)
• Customized Approach Lights Systems - ALS
• Night texture and HDR lighting
• Construction work on current expansion is included
• Charts included

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Documents and Installation :

 

Download: 817mb : Installed main scenery 1.73gb, and mesh file (24.10mb) and roads file (15.20mb)

Installation requires three files - SBGL - International Rio de Janeiro Airport v1.1 / SBGL - Mesh / SBGL - Roads.
Roads and Mesh need to installed below (or at the bottom of your ini file) to allow the mesh to conform to the taxiway bridge features.

Runway ILS alignment data needs to be changed and all instructions and X-Plane co-ordinates are supplied (read the manual).
Marginal's "Auto Gate 1.6" and "CustomSBDatarefs004" plugin are supplied for airport docking and animations.

Full set of 62 charts and airport layouts, English and Portuguese manuals included.

 

 

Attachment : WorldTraffic SBGL Generator settings, just download and unzip the image.

 

 SBGL_WT Generator Settings.zip

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Requirements

X-Plane 10+  - Windows, Mac or Linux - 1Gb VRAM - 2Gb VRAM recommended

Current version: 1.1 (Last updated October 16th 2015)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Review System Specifications:

Computer System:  - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”- 9 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 6970M 2048 mb- Seagate 512gb SSD 

Software:   - Mac OS Yosemite 10.10.1 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.42

Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose  Soundlink Mini : WorldTraffic Plugin

Addons

- Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle

Aircraft- Airbus A320-214 CFM Engine by Peters Aircraft (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$54.90

 

 

 

News! - Released! C404 Titan by Alabeo

Alabeo have released the Cessna 404 Titan that was the Cessna's company largest twin piston-engined aircraft at the time of its development in the 1970s. he Cessna 404 was a development of the Cessna 402 with an enlarged vertical tail and other changes. The prototype first flew on 26 February 1975. It is powered by two 375 hp/280 kW turbocharged Continental Motors GTSIO-520 piston engines. Two versions were offered originally; the Titan Ambassador passenger aircraft for ten passengers, and the Titan Courier utility aircraft for passengers or cargo.

Features Include:
Custom C404 Titan sounds
Default X-Plane 10 GNS430
Volumetric side view prop effect
High quality 3D model and textures.
Blank texture for creating your own designs.
Accurately reproduced flight characteristics
64-bit compatible.
Plugin-enhanced
FPS-optimized model.
SuperManipulator scroll wheel support

Also Included:
5 4K HD liveries
1 Blank texture
Normal Procedures PDF
Emergency Procedures PDF
Performance Tables PDF
Titan Limitations PDF

Yes! theC404 Titan by Alabeo is now available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : C404 Titan - Price is US$32.95

Requirements

Technical Requirements
Windows XP-Vista-7-8 (or higher) or MAC OS 10.6 (or higher) or Linux
X-Plane 10.40 (or higher)
Pentium 2 GHz - 4GB RAM - 1GB Video card
405MB available hard disk space

Price is US$32.95

Images are courtesy of Carenado©

Developer site : Carenado.com

Stephen Dutton

Updated 31st October 2015

Copyright©X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews

Aircraft Update - Cessna 172SP Skyhawk v1.40 by AirfoilLabs

Updates to newly released aircraft can come a quite a rate after the initial release, and mostly are nips and tucks to cover the wide spectrum of users and computer specifications. Airfoillabs were extremely good at clearing the way through their first time release of the Cessna 172SP for this new developer on the X-Plane simulator.

Reaction and quick implementation to comments and even ideas can gain you a lot of credibility and resales into the future, and no doubt Airfolilabs have done a great job to cover the notes and this update is noticeable in that the developer is willing to make big changes very early in the release period. 

What is interesting here is that the changes in v1.40 are not focused on the aircraft, but mostly on the menu structure.

It was not like the original menus were poor in the first place, in fact they were very good, clear and well laid out. But here in v1.40 they have been already comprehensively redone. I do at this point recommend to read the full comprehensive X-PlaneReviews release review here :

Aircraft Review - Cessna 172SP Skyhawk by AirfoilLabs

Before understanding the changes between the release version and this update v1.40.

The original release version put the menus side by side (original on the left) and you can see clearly the complete overhaul and look of the two menu versions.

First off there is now a transparency look on the main menu tab, it is darker (as all the menus are) in black and blue than the white/grey look of before. I personally welcome the change as the white was sometimes a bit overwhelming on the bright computer screen, the darker tone works far better.

Menus can be moved around the screen, but not compressed.

The seven "Menu" tabs are situated left centre of your screen.

The alphabet tabs have also gone and now each tab is just worded

They still represent  Quickstart - Camera - Payload and Fuel - Settings - Controllers - Engine and Checklist. 

That adds in two new tab items in Controllers and Checklist.

On the "Quick Start" there is no change in any items, and they are...

Quick start in "autostart" or "cold & dark" when starting the aircraft up (cold and dark is the default), "Secure aircraft" will shut the aircraft down and add in the static elements in one click. "Prepare for Start" will have the aircraft ready to the point of turning the key. The other two options are to connect the GPU and use a flashlight.

"Autostart" is now excellent if you want to fly quickly, just watching the aircraft light up, set and start itself is great fun.

The "Camera" tab has been completely revised.

All the same choices in views are still there in (Internal) Pilot, Radio Panel, Fuel, Co-Pilot/Pass1, Passenger 2 and Passenger 3. (External) Left wing, Right wing, Tail and Front. A slider is now your controller of the "Field of View" by degrees, instead of a - or + button.

"Go Outside" has been changed to "GO OUT/IN" but has the same function of moving you into the pilots seat or outside the aircraft.

The "Smart Camera" choices have been moved from the old settings menu to the Camera menu and have been completely changed.

G-Effects OFF - G-Effects Basic - Compatibility Mode -G-Effects Advanced are the new settings and you also have a slider to adjust the amount of effect in % you can have. The % effect slider is a great change, I didn't like the heavy movement effects in the original review it was even very disruptive to operating the aircraft, but now it is perfect as you can find your correct feel (of the brakes and movement), a great change.

One thing that is better in the G-Effect changes is that if you switch them off (G-Effects OFF) you get full movement back in the cockpit via your keys. Before you were locked into the pilots seat point of view only and restrictions if you wanted to move to the left or right or up and down around the panel.

The "Dynamic View" and "Simulated walk" (around the aircraft) options have now been moved to the bottom of the tab menu screen.

Overall on this tab the changes have been a significant improvement over the original ideas.

The "Weight and Fuel" menu is also a major change and even in name from the old "Payload and Fuel" menu.

The menu has been greatly expanded and sliders again replace the old - and + adjustment.

It is brilliantly clever in being able to select the exact weight of the pilot and passengers on board, and so also the baggage. The fuel is easier set as well. Even more great is the fact as you change the weights you can see the shift and changes in the aircraft's Center of Gravity and the set limits of where that weight goes on the aircraft are shown on a very well prepared graph. Both "Total Payload" and "Total Fuel" are noted on the bottom of the menu.

Zero Fuel is the aircraft's weight with no fuel on board (the default position) and the Takeoff weight of the aircraft with the adjusted Center of Gravity, both weights are shown.

The seat forward and aft adjustment has been removed.

The "Settings" menu has also had a total makeover.

The "Smart Camera" options on the original settings menu as noted have been moved to the "Camera" tab. The settings "Engine Running at Start", "Start with pilot inside" and "Disp Footer Panel" have been moved to the the top of the menu with "Display Text Messages" added in to the list. I have never seen a "Pilot Inside" yet? even though I have always had the box ticked on?.

Sounds have been completely redone into a set of five sliders covering; "All Sounds", "EXT. Sounds", INT. Engine", "INT. Environment" and "INT. Instruments". This set up gives you far more control and more great options to create better sound out of the aircraft, settings are on % of 100%. The "Intro Tutorial" on the older menu has been dropped.

Bottom of the Settings tab menu are three new options for "Glass" in; "Glass", "Fog effect" and "Ice Effect".

The "Glass" setting at this point does not seem to do anything, so is that for lighter or darker glass or rain effects?, ditto "Ice Effects", I cooled the aircraft down to -13º and put it in a snowstorm and could see nothing happening?

Fog effects however are amazing!..

If the outside temperature is around or below zero the windows start to fog up...  and pretty soon you can see bugger all. Your thoughts are how can I land this aircraft and using a cloth and a wipe of the (computer) screen is not an option?

A panic pulling of every knob and a search for any demisting switches was solved by pulling out the "Cabin HT" and "Cabin Air" knobs buried behind the Co-Pilots yoke...  and the screen thankfully slowly clears clean, frighteningly authentic.

Add in to the tab menu structure is a "Controller" menu. Many users wanted more control of their Saitek Yoke addon system to get a better response to the feel of the aircraft, and this menu is in response to that feedback. It allows you to switch from the standard X-Plane axis settings to a custom set you can adjust to your perfect handling of the aircraft, again the "Saitek" option is a separate custom setting just for that addon gear or you can have the "Joystick" option. And the sliders cover the Pitch, Roll and Yaw axis areas of "Sensibility" and "Artificial Feel"

More tickbox options cover "Yoke Movement Swicthes (Switches) Autop. Off" in other words if you take control of the yoke the autopilot will switch off and give you back control.
 "Disable Rudder Trim" and  "Disable Aileron Trim" are two other options.

The engine menu tab is not changed and the panel is still blank. I thought this would have been operational in this v1.40 update...  but no.

The new "Checklist" Tab is just sensational!

Designed around a spiral tabbed Aircraft Checklist notebook, its simplicity is so clever you wonder why it wasn't done before. The main tabs cover five areas in "Contents", "Preflight", "Takeoff-Cruise", "Landing" and "Emergencies". Navigation to other pages is via the arrows on the bottom of the notebook and the contents include almost everything you would find in a real checklist pad.

"Crosswind Component" graphs, Landing distance tables, Emergency failure procedures and great vSpeed references are all in here besides the usual start up and shut down checklists...  just amazing.

No doubt this tab menu selection is vastly improved over the original system, it looks far better as well, a great improvement.

In the aircraft walk-around if you now touch the Rudder, Flaps or Aileron you get a popup info chart and tickbox checklist.

I like the idea, but this means now if you are doing your walk-around if you touch the surface you have a menu option on your screen to click away before moving onto the next one, doing all the surfaces means a lot of boxes opening up and being closed again...  I am a visceral person, in the moment and I liked the idea of moving around the aircraft checking the surfaces ready for flight...  popup boxes will in this context would spoil that in the place and moment feeling, that is my view anyway.

KLAL Lakeland-Linder to KFMY Page Field, Fort Meyers

A quick run from KLAL to Page Field KFMY was decided to see how the C172SP felt with the upgrade. First up the effects in now being adjustable remove an irritant that I didn't like first off in the original aircraft, so I was more comfortable straight away. The loading of the aircraft was fun as well with the new "Weights & Fuel" menu, and the checklist pad was simply excellent.

Speed is still pathetically slow, so take a book to read even on a short sector. But that is missing the point, as this C172SP is a trainer and not a long distance cruiser. I was slightly indifferent to the AirfoilLab C172SP with my first encounter with the aircraft, I found it overly complex for a simply trainer that would be aimed at first fliers (and sometimes new to simulation as well) learning the ropes. But now I feel this aircraft is turning into an X-Plane classic...  it is brilliant, and with tons of features.

More adjustment in v1.40 have been inserted were it counts and the aircraft is more sorted and complete than the release version was and that was certainly very good.

I really enjoyed the flight down to Page Field, it just worked really well and you know you want more flying time when after a slight rest you just turn around and fly back to base at KLAL, that means you want more, more fun and more time on the aircraft, that then makes it a good sign it is a great aircraft.

Summary

Like I noted at the start of this update review, great developers listen and change to what the users want, doing that quickly and even throwing away good ideas to do better ones are certainly paying off for AirfoilLabs and this C172SP is turning into simply a sensational aircraft, a classic even for X-Plane.

Most of the focus in v1.40 has been on the "Menu" system and the effects the changes in there has on the aircraft, which in this case is quite comprehensive, there are a still a few notchy things like sometimes the engine is missing when you remove the covers? and some items like the tiedown won't disappear but these are very, very minor issues. But the changes to adjustablity in effects, Addon (Saitek) control and sounds are a good big move forward.

The choice now in X-Plane in the General Aviation category is one of the fiercest and competitive areas in X-Plane and more so in the this higher price range bracket. To spend and invest here means you want value for your high investment, no doubt even at this early stage the AirfoilLab's C172SP Cessna is a great deal and a long termer in usability in your hangar and overall there is no doubt that AirfoilLabs will be a major player in X-Plane in the future.

The Cessna 172SP Skyhawk by AirfoilLabs is available from the New X-Plane.Org Store here : Cessna 172SP Skyhawk

And is priced at only US$34.95

If you have already purchased the Cessna 172SP from AirfoilLabs then go to your X-Plane.OrgStore account, log in and download v1.40 from your account.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Fully featured and including:
FLIGHT MODEL

Very accurate Flight Model. Tested and approved by real world Cessna 172 SP pilots and flight instructor
Realistic weight and balance - lateral and longitudinal loads placement
Custom made flight characteristics derived from the real aircraft flight recordings and based on real flight manual performance data 
Calculation of real KIAS based on KCAS according to flight manual
Realistic stall characteristics
Climb performance according to flight manual performance data
Cruise performance data precise match (PRESS ALT, TEMP, POWER, KTAS, GPH)
Electrical system derived from the real ELECTRICAL SCHEMATIC
Functional Circuit Breakers logic

HIGH QUALITY 3D MODEL, TEXTURES AND ANIMATIONS

High resolution 4K textures
Easy to read, high-resolution panel
All switches, buttons and knobs animated
Volumetric side view prop effect
Realistic 3D night lights effects. 
Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Installation :   Download file size is 567.80mb to your X-Plane - GA Aircraft Folder. Installed file size is 962.80mb

Notes: None

Documents :  You get a Manual that at this point is still a bit of work in progress and you can check and download a manual here: AirfoilLabs.com

Requirements : X-Plane 10.40+ (any edition) running in 64bit mode - Windows 7+, Mac OSX 10.7+ or Linux Ubuntu 14.04LTS or compatible 64bit version required - Microsoft  C++  Redistributable  2013  64bit is required - 1Gb+ Dedicated VRAM Video Card (2GB VRAM Recommended)

Developer Support Site : (AirfoilLabs X-Plane.Org Support)

Full v1.40 update notes

NEW MENU SYSTEM
NEW CAMERA SYSTEM WITH MORE COMPATIBILITY
NEW PRE-FLIGHT SYSTEM WITH WINDOWS AND NEW ACTIVITIES
NEW SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLERS SETTINGS
CHECKLISTS
WEIGHT AND BALANCE SYSTEM
WINDOWS FOG AND ICING EFFECTS
REDESIGNED ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WITH FUNCTIONAL CIRCUIT BREAKERS
UPDATED SOUNDS AND ADDED SOUND SAMPLES (AVIONICS FAN, ENGINE COOLING, STALL BUFFETS, etc.)
REDESIGNED SOUND MANAGEMENT WITH MORE OPTIONS AVAILABLE
INSTRUMENTS, AVIONICS AND RADIOS FIXES
NEW CUSTOM COMMANDS FOR EASIER INTERACTIONS
TEXTURES CORRECTIONS AND NEW TEXTURES
3D MODEL FIXES

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Update Review by Stephen Dutton

26th October 2015

Copyright©2015: X-Plane Reviews

Review System Specifications:

Computer System:  - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”- 9 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 6970M 2048 mb- Seagate 512gb SSD 

Software:   - Mac OS Yosemite 10.10.1 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.40 (final)

Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose  Soundlink Mini : WorldTraffic v2

Scenery or Aircraft

- KLAL - Lakeland Linder Regional Airport 2.01 by Drankum (X-Plane.Org) - Free (note: personal added items in an office (okay demountable building and vehicles)

- KFMY - Page Field, Fort Meyers by Timbenedict3 (X-Plane.Org) - Free

Plugin Update - WorldTraffic update to version 2.1.3 by Classic Jet Simulations

The excellent WorldTraffic plugin has been updated to v2.1.3 in the addition now that WT is being available now to Linux users. The conversion to Linux was done by Bill Sparker a well known Linux coder. The update is here:  WT_Update213.zip  2.5MB. The full version if you want to do a clean install is here: http://www.classicje...loads/WT210.zip

Again there was a list of tweeks, but the plugin has certainly matured very well since the update to the v2 series run. Full changelist is below.

While we are on the WorldTraffic page there was another great ground routes editor "AGRE Ground Routes Editor 1.2.1" released by Chopinet here: AGRE Ground Routes Editor 1.2.1

It is windows only and I have tried it out with WINE on my mac, but was not quite successful. But it uses the Laminar Research's WED WorldEditor and nodes to add in the routes, and quick it is...  worth adding to your toolbox.

Full WT changelog v2.1.3

- (2.1.3) - Added plugins for linux
- ATC Radar plugin for Mac now included
- Navigraph Approach data is now being used which is apparent for places like the old Kai-Tak airport
  or airports in mountainous areas.
- You can turn off Navigraph approaches if you want to use the automatic approaches which often work better
  for airports in flatter terrain.  There is an option for this in the preferences menu.
- The ground model has been enhanced so that aircraft now anticipate turns so that they will turn early
  before a waypoint with a sharp corner so as to roll out on the direct line between waypoints.  The aircraft
  will also make steering corrections to stay on this center line.
- Waypoint angles in ground routes can be any angle now.  A  waypoint is considered as passed if the relative
  angle to it is greater than 90 degrees and the distance is inside of the aircraft's turn radius.
- Code optimizations to eliminate pause when lots of flight plans were use tail numbers. This should allow you
  to run all of the Germany flight plans without pauses now.
- New SET_PRIORITY command for ground routes to override priority which by default is determined using the
  ground route distance with the shortest ground routes having the highest priority.  See the manual for details.
- Planes will now agressively try and get on the runway center line when landing which is evident for
  places like Kai-Tak
- On resynch make sure to put aircraft at the end of appropriate ground route files instead of picking any
  ground route file
- Limit taxi speeds to 54 knots for jets and 35 knots for prop planes so thrust reverers don't cycle on
  and off during landing and to ensure aircraft are slowing down enough to make their exits.
- Aircraft no longer have to land in between the first and second waypoints in a ground route, just after
  the first one. Many ground routes not following this old rule had aircraft back-tracking to missed waypoints
  on the runway.
- Make final STAR speeds variable based on distance to runway so they don't end up on final approach way too fast.
- Exit STARs early if necessary to not overshoot the runway center line.

Fixes:
- Fix freezing issue resulting from trying to read too many files from call to XPLMGetDirectoryContents function
- Fix problem loading flight plans from random folders when a new region folder is added
- When waiting to cross runway, don't hold for planes on runway unless they are in a state of taking off and moving
  otherwise planes can delay for way too long waiting to cross a runway.
- fix problem when adding a new region and they all end up getting enabled
- Fixed problem where aircraft could use SIDs/STARs from another airport after a resych due to airport id
  changing if different regions get enabled or disabled... store airport name instead of airport id with STAR/SID file
- Fix problem where ATC was ignoring user aircraft when it was a light prop
- (2.1.1) Fix problem on Mac when freezing trying to open hidden .DS_Store files
- (2.1.1) Fixed the Durian dataref - cjs/world_traffic/tracked_aircraft_id
- (2.1.2) Fixed overshooting problem with rising terrain before runway
- (2.1.2) Fixed SID processing to make proper use of VECTORs
- (2.1.3) Fixed STAR approaches using multiple runways to not always pick one runway, but instead pick one randomly
- (2.1.3) Fixed Overshooting planes to use ground routes instead of disappearing once landed

X-PlaneReviews have done a quick overview of WorldTraffic here: Plugin Addon Viewpoint : World Traffic by Classic Jet Simulations v1.2.3

World Traffic by Classic Jet Simulations is now available from the New X-Plane.Org Store here : World Traffic and is priced at only US$24.95

To use World Traffic in its full capacity you need a key (after purchase) that will be emailed to you from (Classic Jet Simulations) to install within the plugin to make it work.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

WorldTraffic Extensive Features include :

General Features

    Now with Random traffic generation based on an airport definition file specifying traffic type, connecting airports, and traffic volume to allow you to quickly generate air traffic for your favorite areas.

    Sample flight plans and ground routes are provided for KSEA. These illustrate almost all of the functionality of the application and may be used as examples for your own flights.

    Several default aircraft are provided with many more to come. Users may create their own aircraft as well.

    Flight plans can be grouped into zones to enable/disable flights for a specific region or to enable/disable flights for a specific vintage of aircraft. You can organize the flight plan folders however you wish and enable or disable whatever regions you are interested in.

    Custom sound engine with directional, multi-track aircraft engine sounds with doppler shift.

    Simple ATC system to allow you to interact with the World Traffic application so that it is aware of your position and can vector you and and assign you arrival/departure runways.

    Flight information window allows you to quickly find active flights, flight information about that flight, and it lets you view that flight with the track camera.

    Collision avoidance features for ground traffic so aircraft hold for approaching and departing aircraft, aircraft will overshoot if they are too high or too fast or if there is a plane on the runway, and planes will enter holding patterns if the airport is too busy or their crosswind landing limit is exceeded.

Flight Plans

    User-defined flight plans to specify the flight path of an aircraft or a formation of aircraft.

    Settable altitudes for each steerpoint in the flight plan where altitude can be in feet above sea level or feet above ground level for terrain following flights.

    Flight plans can be defined for specific aircraft tail numbers so that a specific aircraft can be defined to follow a multi-leg route.

Ground Routes

    User-defined ground routes to specify specific parking locations for aircraft. Ground routes can be specific to a general type of aircraft, a type of aircraft, or a specific tail number so you can have planes park in the parking spots you want

Flight Model

    Simple, tunable flight model using aerodynamics and ballistics equations from the NASA web site to provide a natural looking flight model accurate enough that you can follow the World-Traffic controlled aircraft.

    Wind and turbulence affect aircraft so that they will bounce around in turbulence and crab into the wind in flight to maintain desired headings.

    Afterburner thrust is settable so afterburner-equipped aircraft can accelerate quickly when required, perform vertical departures, and fly supersonic.

Aircraft Object Animation and Lighting

    Custom datarefs are provided to provide your aircraft with full animation of control surfaces, landing gear, canopy, nozzle, engine blades/prop, thrust reverser, lights etc.

    All types of aircraft lighting is supported and the lights will function correctly depending on the phase of flight and aircraft type. Landing lights will go on and taxi lights will go off when the aircraft taxis onto a runway for takeoff. The strobe lights will turn off when the plane arrives and turns off the runway.

    Cabin lights will stay on and aircraft doors will stay open for a few minutes after an airliner parks until the passengers are all off the plane. Most other lighting turns off when the aircraft engines are shut down.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Developer Site : Classic Jet Simulations

X-Plane support Sites : World Traffic Downloads

                                      Support Threads

Stephen Dutton

24th October 2015

Copyright©2015: X-Plane Reviews

Would the guest that sent the last (long) comment in this B777 thread, please either become a member so we can reply in kind...  The other point is that you can get specialised answers quickly to these sorts of question on the .Org thread (that is what it is there for) Boeing 777 Worldwide professional .Org  Thanks SD

I am no American, But it is still noted here as Candlestick? and the logo is the "Sticks"? AT&T is a brand name of course and those brands can change quickly when the money runs out...

Update Scenery Review : Golden Gate, KSFO and South Bay v1.5 by Tom Curtis
 

Golden Gate, KSFO and South Bay is a huge massive area of scenery that covers the San Francisco and South Bay area. There are already in this scenery a large list of the areas airports including:

KSFO - San Francisco International airport

KOAK - Metropolitan Oakland International Airport

KSJC -  Mineta San Jose International Airport

KHWD - Hayward Executive Airport

KPAO - Palo Alto Airport  - General Aviation

KHAF - Half Moon Bay - General Aviation

KSQL - San Carlos Airport

GG01 - Clipper Cove, Located on Treasure Island

GUQ - Moffett Field

And not to mention other items including Golden Gate Bridge, Oakland Bay Bridges, San Mateo Bridge and the Dumbarton Railroad bridges.  Alcatraz Prison and the Nike Missile Site Museum. For a full cover review these areas and the above airports from X-Plane Reviews then go here:

Scenery Review : Golden Gate, KSFO and South Bay by Tom Curtis (v1.4)

This 1.5 version release of Golden Gate, KSFO and South Bay covers the extra inclusion of more detailing on the San Francisco city and port areas. To have a better view of the additions I flew the excellent X-Trident's Bell AB412 to get a closer look. Departure was from KSFO on the Coast Guard pad and flew north towards the San Francisco city area.

My render setting are important here to relate what you see in what is part of the Golden Gate package and what X-Plane autogen scenery adds to the overall viewpoint...  so the texture res is set at "Very High", number of objects is "Too Many" and the World Distance Detail is set at "High".

At first glance the the package does not seem that much different except for a more densely populated city skyline. But standing out is the Candlestick Park Stadium on Candlestick point. It is the smaller additions that can add in visual detailing and you can see the many wharfs and finger maritime warehouses that are located around the shoreline. The Oakland Bay Bridges dominate the view as they stretch out over towards Oakland on the other side of San Francisco Bay. Traffic on the (all) bridges are animated and that adds into the vibrant movement that you require to bring bustling cities alive.

Once past the Oakland Bay Bridge you are downtown. Tom Curtis has replicated most of the iconic buildings in this city area, there are too many to list here but the most important ones (or the highest) fill out the view including the Transamerica Tower and the Telegraph Hill-Pioneer Park monument "Coit Tower".

The Embarcadero is the main frontage of the main wharf area of the city and the iconic "Ferry Building" is well modeled as well as all the wharf fingers. At Pier 27 is a luxury Liner.

There is more items in vessels parked at wharf's (tugs), showboats, clippers and various ferries. Shipping is dotted around on San Francisco bay and many are animated. Famous "Fisherman's Wharf" is well replicated, but more a tourist attraction than a working Wharf.

The cities bridges in the Oakland Bay Bridges, San Mateo Bridge and the Dumbarton Railroad bridges are not new to this release, but are significant to mention again in their detail and the added animated vehicle traffic.

The "Golden Gate is of course a stand out, and the heavy Oakland Bay Bridges, San Mateo Bridge and the Dumbarton Railroad bridges and the heavily animated traffic is excellent.

"The Rock' Is also the first lighthouse and US built fort on the West Coast besides its infamous past as a prison.

And is always worth a flyover.

So how much does the X-Plane autogen contribute to the scenery...  quite a lot actually. I have always been a promoter of the fact that to engineer realistic sceneries quickly in X-Plane it is a great idea to use both angles in creating the basic icons of cities and then letting the autogen do the major point of filling in the surrounding areas. This way you get the very best of an efficient engine and can cover a large area without the large framerate hit you can get with a totally filled out 3d city. Yes I admit it is not building to building perfect, but all you are really requiring is a replica skyline of the city and this approach can deliver that with efficiency.

With the autogen scaled back you can see the actual added scenery provided by the package, there is no hope to cover the whole area with efficient 3d buildings, yes there is the Open Street Map conversions and very good they are as well, but it is framerate at a premium we are looking for.

Complex and realistic, with North American autogen, for once the San Francisco package works in your favour.  Time to head back to KSFO.

Nightlighting

The San Francisco cityscape is very good in the low light. The city building textures are very realistic and from any angle including the excellent approach to KOAK RWY 09R is excellent. The autogen lighting does not match the package as it is darker... but overall it is pretty effective.

The spot lighting on the bridges, doesn't really work, but the wharf areas are quite good. The highlight is the Candlestick Park Stadium at its full candle watt power, as it does look very realistic. Overall at night it is very impressive.

Summary

This scenery is already an extensive collection of airports and bridges and sharp details that go up to make the San Francisco Bay area. Full of great value and with excellent frame-rate. So it defies logic on why you would want it to be part of your scenery collection.

Now there is the added bonus of the full San Francisco cityscape, and in a cohesive way v1.5 rounds off the scenery as the full complete package.

Tom Curtis has a great reputation in X-Plane to deliver clever intelligent scenery that gives you a lot for your investment, and here Tom Curtis delivers again. Great scenery, Great package and now even better than ever in this new 1.5 version.

TheScenery Review : Golden Gate, KSFO + South Bay by Tom Curtis is available now from the New X-Plane.org Store :

Golden Gate KSFO + South Bay

Price is US$34.95

If you have already purchased Golden Gate , KSFO + South Bay, Then check into your X-Plane.OrgStore account

Features:

KSFO - San Francisco International Airport
KSJC - Mineta San Jose International Airport
KSQL - San Carlos Airport
KOAK - Metropolitan Oakland International
KPAO - Palo Alto Airport - General Aviation - 18 miles south of KSFO
KHAF - Half Moon Bay Airport - 10 miles west of KSFO
KHWD - Hayward Executive Airport - 8 miles south of KOAK
GG01 - Clipper Cove Located on Treasure Island

All airports include :

All gates and terminal
Global Night Lightning
Custom ATC
Frame rate friendly

Golden Gate Bridge

Detailed model of the world's most famous bridge

Alcatraz Island

The 'Rock'. Used to be home of a federal jail until 1963

Other landmarks

All of the piers and other structures along the shoreline from AT&T (Baseball) Park all the way to the Presidio near the Golden Gate bridge.
Transamerica Tower located downtown San Francisco
Nike Missile Site Museum

Bay bridges

Oakland Bay Bridge, San Mateo Bridge and the Dumbarton Railroad bridge

Developer Site : Scenery4XP

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Tom Curtis provides a full set of instructions on how to install the scenery under: "OPEN FIRST!" Golden_Gate+South_Bay_Open_Me.

Internet is required for installation instructions as it is an address HTML link.

GOLDEN_GATE+SOUTH_BAY_150_XP-10 is the main scenery file and four other files are noted under GND_TRAFFIC are - GG Bridge, Banner Tow, San Meteo Bridge and SF Bay Bridge are all to be installed in the "Custom Scenery" Folder (These are bridge traffic animations).

Supplied also is the "Red Flag" flag animation plugin. Folder "CustomSBDatarefs004" is installed in the X-Plane Resources/Plugin Folder.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Technical Requirements:

X-Plane 10 (any edition). - This scenery is not compatible with X-Plane 9
Windows XP or Windows Vista or Windows 7 / 8 (32 or 64 bit) or MAC OS 10.7 or Linux
1Gb VRAM - 2Gb VRAM Recommended.

Current version: 1.5 - Last updated October 14th 2015

Update Scenery Review by Stephen Dutton

21st August 2015

Copyright©2015: X-Plane Reviews

Review System Specifications:

Computer System:  - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”- 9 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 6970M 2048 mb- Seagate 512gb SSD 

Software:   - Mac OS Yosemite 10.10.1 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.42

Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose  Soundlink Mini : WorldTraffic Plugin

Addons

- Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle

Aircraft

Bell AB412 by X-Trident is available at the (Bell 412) X-Plane.OrgStore $35.95

Well Dom I was born in the 1950's, the Cold War was my childhood. Czechoslovakia was over there and the only reason they changed it to the Czech Republic was that no one actually could spell it!, mostly it is still actually Czechoslovak, but in now two republic states.

News! - Released! SBGL- Rio de Janeiro Intl Airport by Richard G Nunes Scenery

South America! This lower hemisphere continent is rarely on on X-Plane's radar, but that's all going to change as here now is a great scenery for Rio De Janerio in Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport (IATA: GIG, ICAO: SBGL), or as it is popularly known by its original name Galeão International Airport.

This new scenery from Richard G Nunes is feature rich:

• Orthophoto textures and Occlusion environment
• The Christ the Redeemer statue is included in this scenery package
• Custom Runways, ground and taxiways textures
• 3D Grass, based on the lawn type found at Rio Airport
• Auto Gate Ready
• AutoGate Plugin by Marginal (included in the package)
• Custom Jetways

• Animated Traffic
• Animated objects, vehicles, people and aircraft
• Ground Traffic and aircraft traffic
• Using Ground Traffic by Marginal
• Many extras
• Modeled Underpass under runways M and N (Bridges)
• Customized Approach Lights Systems - ALS
• Night texture and HDR lighting
• Construction work on current expansion is included
• Charts included

A real highlight of the Rio scenery is an excellent "Christ The Redeemer" the famous statue that presides over this famous city.

 

Get this great addition to your X-Plane scenery and be ready for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games!

Yes! the SBGL- Rio de Janeiro Intl Airport by Richard G Nunes Scenery is now available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here :

SBGL- Rio de Janeiro International Airport 

Price is US$24.95

Requirements

X-Plane 10+  - Windows, Mac or Linux - 1Gb VRAM - 2Gb VRAM recommended

Current version: 1.1 (Last updated October 16th 2015)

 

Aircraft Review - Cirrus SR20-G1000 by vFlyteAir

 

Would you fly right around the world in a small 200 hp (149 kW) engined aircraft? Well it can be done, and to be the youngest pilot at 19 years old to do so. Ryan Campbell an Australian did that record breaking attempt in an Cirrus SR22 in September 2013 called "Teen World Flight" (at the time, since beaten by Matt Guthmiller who is only 10 days younger). It took 10 weeks and flying 24,000 nautical miles to complete that journey, it is certainly long way to be cooped up alone in a small cockpit, but it also shows you can fly anywhere if you want to, but if you do get the urge then you would want to try then to keep clear Indonesian airspace...

 

It was a great read of Ryan's book of his world navigation attempt (Born To Fly) and it gives you some background on long distance GA flying, It can be done, but don't kid yourself, it is still highly dangerous even today in our world of GPS flying as the weather is one variable we can never control.

 

But the aircraft was fascinating as well, The Cirrus is a Continental IO-360-ES piston-engined, four-or-five-seat, composite monoplane built by Cirrus Aircraft from Duluth, Minnesota. With a composite airframe. Even though the first flight was in The SR20 was first flown on 21 March 1995 and FAA certification was achieved on 23 October 1998. At the time of the airplane's release, the general aviation industry was badly struggling, and the SR20 was only the first of its kind to earn FAA Part 23 certification in several years. As of June 2015, more than 6,000 Cirrus aircraft had been delivered and for a GA in this era that can be counted as an success story.

 

There are a few reasons for its success, first are the operating costs which are reasonable, a base cost of US$359,900 helps as well, but it is the famous "Cirrus Airframe Parachute System" that can lower your aircraft to the ground that is safety system that has earned the aircraft its plaudits.

 

Feeling the engine go then reduce your speed and pop the parachute and you may live to see another day. It is as clever as the airbags in your car, never needed until you need them. For the record the system has been used 53 times carrying 107 survivors to date.

 

Another Cirrus feature is the Cirrus Perspective avionics suite (by Garmin) with dual 10-inch (250 mm) or 12-inch (300 mm) screens: one primary flight display (PFD) and one multi-function display (MFD). That makes this aircraft a great tourer and excellent for cross country/state flying or if you wish, fly round the world.

 

Performance - Cruise speed: 155 knots (288 km/h) 178.4 mph - Stall speed: 56 knots flaps down (104 km/h) 64 mph - Range: 625 nautical miles (1454 km) 719 miles - Service ceiling: 17,500 ft (5334 m) - Rate of climb: 828 ft/min (4.2 m/s) - Wing loading: 21.0 lb/ft² (101 kg/m²) - Power/mass: 15.25 lb/hp (0.108 kW/kg)

vFlyteAir Cirrus SR20 with the G-1000 avionics suite

 

So I was very interested to see what the Cirrus would be like to fly after reading the book. To put myself in Ryan's position and feel that certain aircraft, it a great ride as we shall see but I have no current plans to round the world in it.

 

 

The design of the Cirrus is a typical composite shape of a low frontal area, bulbous cabin and tapered tail, as per course the aircraft is made up of as few external components as possible with the only extra panels needed for external access to service items. The wings are a lighter wing of greater area than the original SR20, and incorporate a carbon-fiber spar for strength. As a design I like the profile and the vFlyteAir has done the aircraft proud with a seriously quality aircraft with great detailing. Composite aircraft can look bland compared to classic 1960's designs, but that is not the case here. it is excellent.

 

 

A sprocket located on the lower left of your screen is the "Menu" tab. As menu's go it is quite light in features, but there is a lot to use on there, so you are not wanting. Three selections open doors in the Pilot Door, Passenger Door and side Cargo door. the lovely gull wing style doors are excellent in animation and look, you can open them from the inside as well. The behind the rear seats baggage compartment has a few nice bags in there. You can add a Passenger/Co-Pilot to the right seat and the aircraft's weight will adjust to the extra person for 70 kgs (175 lbs), the other pilot is not removable even when you close down the aircraft, which I always find odd...  sitting there in the complete darkness. Final menu feature is wheel chocks and pitot covers and tags. 

 

There are no "Views" menu so you will have to use the default X-Plane version.

 

 

The cabin design, quality is excellent, extremely good. All surfaces have great realistic textures that would want you to run your fingers along. Molded side and roof fittings are very real, highly realistic...  so you a really lovely cabin with all the fittings.

 

The focus on this aircraft is certainly going to be the G1000 Garmin Avionics suite as it is front and centre, and it does not disappoint.

 

 

But the panel instrumentation and switch gear is sublime and very well represented. The layout is quite different from most panels as the G1000 screens are angled toward the main pilot and so is all the switchgear, the co-pilot if he is wanting to fly has only the single-column yoke (stick?) and rudder pedals, and all the instrumentation is on the left hand side, making it hard to fly and certainly on approaches.

 

But I love the layout, it is a beautiful place to be. Incredible detail, highlights are the air-vents. Keystart is on the far left of the panel and Fan, Cool/Heat dials on the right.

 

 

The centre raised panel is sheer craftmanship in detail. It hold three areas of switchgear and radio selections.

The top section is the main programming area for the G1000 system in flightplanning, and HDG (Heading), CRS (Course) and ALT SEL (Altitude Selection) knobs.

 

Middle section is the built in "Autopilot" and the lower section is the Garmin GMA 350 radio set. Set lower on the panel is the Oxygen selection and Flap selection in "up", "50%" and "100%" flap.

 

Left of the centre panel in front of the pilot are lower three standby dial instruments in "Airspeed", "Artificial Horizon" and "Altitude".

Above on a shelf are the main rocker switchgear for (L to R) Battery/power (Bat 1 & 2 - Alt 1 & 2 and Avionics), Exterior lighting (Nav - Strobe - Land and Ice), Pitot Heat, Ice Protection (On -Hign) , a MAX Ice setting, Pump and Wind shield heating. Two knobs on the far adjust the panel and interior lighting.

 

 

You have to love the design of the single-column yoke, it is very well done with moving innards inside the panel. Most of the pop-fuses work, but not all of them. But still very well featured.

 

 

Centre pedestal has a few items. There is a fuel pump three way switch for "Prime", "Normal" and "Boost" and the twin fuel tank gauge is set out below in "28 USGallons". The fuel tank switch is a red pointer below, with left - right tanks and push for off, and you have to watch the gauges through the flight and keep switching the tanks over to use the fuel up evenly.

 

The throttle lever is lovely, in look and feel. The "Single Lever Throttle Control”  automatically adjusts the propeller speed through the use of the throttle lever. There is no separately-controlled propeller lever on the aircraft. To the right is the red knobbed "Mixture" lever with "Rich" to "Lean" adjustment.

 

Garmin G1000

Garmin G1000 avionics suites seem to be popping up everywhere today for X-Plane. This version is certainly very good, but not a completely Garmin system but a variation in the aircraft and noted as a "Perspective system", but close. basically it keeps the X-Plane MAP system in place, which unlike the Carenado 182 G1000 system it simulates which map as well. The X-Plane flightplan system is there as well, which saves time in saving and loading flightplans (fms).

 

You press the "Avionic" rocker switch to power up the system, you first get splash info screens and then they come to life.

 

 

Primary Flight Display (PFD)

There is a huge amount of information on the main Primary Flight Display (PFD), you could note it as confusing at first glance. The G1000 PFD is dominated by the huge artificial horizon that covers the whole display. Built in pitch, Rate of Roll (very nice with built in indicators called "Trend Vectors"), speed and altitude tapes (built in Vertical Speed - or +) and lower Heading, with built in CRS (course) and selectable ADF, Nav 1 & 2 needles. The Course selector is also your Nav 1, Nav 2 and GPS selection and built in CDI (course deviation indicator) for runway ILS alignment.

Most items on the screen are accessed by the buttons on the lower panel (Softkeys) that change to the selection required. It can get confusing with the amount of settings and items you can access. Items covered include in "Inset Windows" Map (A smaller version of the main map on the right display), ADF Frequency, Timer/Vr speed References, Nearest Airports, Flightplan and the ADF, NAV 1 and NAV2 settings are displayed on the bottom and left - right of the heading rose, all are switchable to the needles you require.

 

Top of the PFD is an information strip that covers "Engine Power%", Autopilot status, Prev and Current waypoints when the flightplan is activated, Distance to the next waypoint, Est time to next waypoint, COMM 1&2 Frequencies. On the Altitude tape is also top; Altimeter and VVI and bottom Baro pressure.

 

Lower screen information strips covers Outside Air Temperature, Transponder/XPDR, Clock.

If you are familiar with the default X-Plane GNS 430/530 GPS system then the knobs and buttons down the right of the display will be a no brainer. Comm 1&2 selector, CRS/Baro  adjustment, Map range, (buttons) Direct-to, FPL (flightplan), Clear and Enter (ENT). PFD/FMS inner/outer is at the bottom.

 

 

If you press the red "Display Backup" button between the displays, it will aggregate the two displays in one left screen. This is called the "reversionary mode" It includes the engine information section (EIS) and activation softkey, the inset map is moved to the right side, the indicators for ground speed (GS) and outside air temperature (OAT) are moved below the speedtape and the “Power” section on the upper bar is replaced by the NAV1/2 frequencies from the MFD upper bar.

Multi Function Display (MFD)

 

 

There are two main modes for display on the right hand Multi Function Display (MFD), in ENG (Engine) and MAP modes.

 

Engine Mode

 

The ENG (Engine) selection is quite comprehensive, it looks absolutely brilliant as well. There are two modes here as with the "DCLTR" softkey allowing you to "declutter" the display by removing a lot of the digital linage.

 

The EIS here is comprehensive, there are two modes for the EIS, the full page mode (above), and the side tab version.

Engine parameters covered are "Engine Power%", "Engine RPM", "Man In HG" (Manifold Pressure), "FFlow" (Fuel Flow), "Oil" Pressure and Temp. "Engine Temperatures" are covered in CHT ºF and EGT ºF. Anti-Ice Amount (in GAL) and Oxygen Pressure.

 

Electrical output section covers both Current (A) and Bus Volts (V). The Fuel section displays "Fuel Qty" (in GAL) for both tanks, and fuel calculation data in "Used" - "Rem" (remaining), "Time Rem" and "Range" on the remaining amount of fuel in both tanks. I found the fuel data really helpful in planning and in flight on managing your range and fuel tank selection.

 

Map Mode

 

 

In MAP mode the EIS moves to its left side tab to give you your main engine and fuel parameters. The rest of the display is the standard X-Plane moving map. A side note that in this display mode you can also activate the inner "Trims" display for Flaps, ELEV and RUDDER Trim.

Nice visual pointers are the two large Nav1 & Nav2 arrows on the large rose, which are great for easy directional heading selection.

Other display options include, charts (you can insert 20 of your own .png charts in the “Cockpit_3D/generic/Rotary/User” folder) and a comprehensive checklist.

 

G1000 Flightplanning.

This Cirrus G1000 system setup is one of the best for creating and entering flightplans. Ease of use is converted to speed in entering the data via buttons, and the flightplan is also saved as a standard .fms file and so can be used in other aircraft or you can insert an already completed flightplan.

 

Pressing the "FFP" key on the centre console (also a softkey on the display), will bring up the flightplan screen on the right hand side of the MAP display.

 

 

To start to create a new flightplan then press the centre of the "FMS Knob" in the centre of the top part of the main programming panel. This will give you the standard half-moon manipulators in large and small and also note your current GPS position on the display. The large manipulators are used to move down or up a line of your flightplan (segments), the same as your standard GNS GPS. The smaller higher manipulators will open another window to insert the Nav-Aid/Fix (these smaller manipulators have a different action than on the standard GNS GPS). This input is done via the alphabet/numeric keyboard.

 

 

You have to select an input of ARPT (Airport), FIX, NDB and VOR to tell the flightplan which nav-aid you want to search for, you can do this before or after you input the nav-aid code. ARPT is default.

 

 

If you make a mistake you can use the BKSP (backspace) to go back one digit, which is a real timesaver over the default GNS GPS in which you have to start again from the first digit. CLR will clear the Nav-Aid/Fix.

When done just press ENT (Enter) to enter your Nav-Aid/Fix.

 

Distances can be shown either leg by leg or by cumulative; use the “LEG-LEG” and “CUM” softkeys for changing this option. If the current waypoint has an altitude constraint, the constraint is also shown in the “CURRENT VNV PROFILE” section below the flight plan.

 

 

Use the small manipulators to go back into the entered waypoint to set the Altitude that is changed by pressing the ENT button and then the curser moves to the VNV box and then you can input the altitude via the numeric keyboard, then press ENT again to enter the Nav-Aid/Fix/Altitude.

 

Sometimes I found you have to go back up a segment with the larger manipulators to re-input the altitude? (but I think it is bug?)

You then use the large manipulators to move down or up a line of your flightplan to input or to correct a Nav-Aid/Fix.

 

 

The flightplan does not scroll up or down, so to see more of the flightplan you have to go to a new page and follow on from the bottom of the last page. Repress the "FMS Knob" to exit.

Save the completed flightplan in a clever way as a standard .fms file by clicking on the lower SD card on the side of the display, to load a flightplan then press the upper SD card.

It takes longer to explain this flightplan system than to use it. If you have your list of Nav-Aid/Fixes handy, then it takes no time to input the waypoints and quickly create a flightplan. The button input system is a real timesaver compared to the small manipulator input on the X-Plane default GNS/GPS, you will load this aircraft just to create flightplans quickly and then save them...

 

Flying the Cirrus SR20

First thing you notice sitting in the pilot or front passenger seat is the blinds on the roof reduce your visual view forward. Not that bad but they do infringe down into the windscreen view, revolving them up the other way does help (a little). 

 

 

The one thing that you like about the Cirrus is that it is not a complicated aircraft, it is easy to do anything. Mixture up and select a fuel tank from the left or right tanks, boost fuel switch on, lighting on, and turn the key and the Continental IO-360-ES bursts into life.

 

If the front view is slightly restricted by the high glareshield and the low blind then the side view is not, so that helps with turning and taxiing the aircraft.

 

 

I like the sounds of the Cirrus. Sounds are custom, and they really give a great feel to the aircraft, smooth and not overbearing, so you can travel for a distance and you do not get that whining sound in your head that is tiring.

 

 

The aircraft is nice to taxi, easy to trek out to a faraway runway. Your vSpeeds are right in front of you, setting you up for the right rotate speed. Yes there is a slight left pull when the power goes on, but that is easily corrected. The aircraft has plenty of power but requires a little longer run than you usually require to get to the Vr 83knt speed.

 

The lower speed zone is marked on the PFD, and so are the vSpeeds, it really can't get easier than that, only a slight pitch is required to go flying. The aircraft does have a tendency to be very tight around the centre of gravity, so you can find yourself easily slightly banked either way, and you have show a lot of balance to keep the aircraft level, but that is not saying the aircraft is nervy, but it is quite the opposite in being a really nice aircraft to fly...  you soon feel very comfortable in the design.

 

 

There is no searching for the Autopilot controls which are grouped on the centre console, so activation and setting the heading is a another easy task, I also like the close by knobs for adjusting the HDG (Heading), CRS (Course) and ALT SEL (Altitude Selection) which saves so much time in quick adjustments because you don't have to travel all over the panel to do each. GPS selection on the CDI softkey, and NAV on the autopilot panel and your flightplan is locked in.

 

 

You cruise just above the 150knts mark (153knts) and no doubt this is a nice cruiser of an aircraft. Engine performance is visually excellent and as noted the fuel outputs are great for flight management.

 

 

 

Flying eastwards along the Hawaiian chain, you feel very confident...  fly around the world?, yes you could.

 

 

Yes there is a lot information on the PFD, but you can choose to declutter the the screen and fly on the basics. For myself, I like all the navigation aids working to my advantage, so the ADF and VOR2 needles give me my aim to the airport on PHOG - Kahului Airport, but to get there I have to do a sharp left turn and fly right down a valley right across the island of Maui.

 

Selecting the altitude and adjusting my vertical speed to reach the correct point of approach to runway 02. A note the V/S adjustment arrows don't appear until you select the V/S button. The power output is also a great tool to select just the right amount of power for any climb, but more useful on descending.

 

 

Two stage flaps ("50%" and "100%") are just right with nice drag to control your speed without making you climb when deployed, but you still have get the power right to keep the speed liner

 

.

 

Again the aircraft is nice in the final approach but watch the roll and keep it level. Touching down means getting your speed as low as you must. Stall speed is 56 knots, but you have to find anything around just over 60knt so you don't bounce on the runway, the Cirrus will easily skip and bounce if you are not aware of it. Run off the speed and your there.

 

Cirrus Airframe Parachute System

The safety parachute system is built into the roof just above the pilots and front seat passengers position.

 

 

Push the panel to deploy the parachute...   But make sure your airspeed is as low as possible, and if not it will...  act like a parachute and drag the aircraft almost vertical on its tail.

 

 

And if you think the aircraft is going to do a slight touch soft landing...  then it isn't, it is a crash, so make sure your insurance is still paid up!

Aircraft lighting

 

vFlyteAir have modeled the lighting on the Cirrus using X-Plane's parameterized lighting. But externally its horrible.

 

 

You get large blobs of light at a small distance and it varies from tight to huge at different angles, at night flying it looks like you have a flashing UFO on each wing. In the daytime it is not much better.

 

 

Really close up it is not too bad and the spread from the landing lights is good, but otherwise I fly with as much external lighting off as I can.

 

 

Internally in the cabin it is thankfully much better. One adjustment knob sets the instrument brightness although the standby instruments could be a little brighter, and the other knob adjusts a nice red glow.

 

 

There also two switchable spot lights on the forward roof, the buttons are hard to see as the blinds cover them up, but they are are very effective. There are two more lights middle roof, again very good but the rear seats are in darkness?  A slight change of the middle spot light throw rearwards would have done the trick and lit the rear as the front spots cover the front area well.

 

Liveries.

There is default vFlyteAir livery and nine authentic liveries based around a single theme, with only one (G-CIRU) a single red upper body colour. All liveries are 4K quality and as noted authentic of real aircraft as Cirrus has a special painting system that covers the painted aircraft for the best slipstream flow efficiency. 

 

 

Summary

First impressions always count, some aircraft can deceive in that they can take time to show their excellence, but others have an instant effect and you love them immensely immediately. This vFlyteAir Cirrus SR20 fell easily into the latter category.

The quality immediately hits you and you love it, and the cabin and that panel is simply overwhelmingly good. Beautiful textures abound, it is a very, very nice place to fly.

The aircraft is nice fly as well, I was completely and easily at home very quickly and enjoying the performance and handling, all round here the Cirrus is a great aircraft.

 

The Garmin G1000 is of course debatable. The purists will note that although 90% of the system is a great G1000 system, there is still that 10% of X-Plane map and flightplan background that is still in there. Without doubt the benefits certainly totally outweigh the negatives, but simulation is about authenticity, in replicating the real world systems. One huge bonus is that this system with the keyboard input is one of the best and certainly fastest way to create GNS GPS flightplans, overall the system is very good.

 

For the quality and features this is a great price for this aircraft at well under US$30, so a great investment.

 

Negatives and only the external lighting spoils what is an exceptional aircraft, otherwise I loved it immensely, a really nice aircraft to fly, be in and enjoy one of the best four seater propeller cruisers in X-Plane...  would I fly the Cirrus around the world like Ryan Campbell in this aircraft, certainly that is possible with this avionics suite, and there would be very much worse ways to break flying records...

Overall a really nice aircraft.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

The Cirrus SR20-G1000 by vFlyteAir is available from the New X-Plane.Org Store here :

 

Cirrus SR20 G1000

 

And is priced at only US$27.95

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Features

 Flight Display (PFD)

• Artificial Horizon with high-resolution attitude indicator, flight director and roll scale
• Speedtape with custom display of reference speeds
• Altitude tape with custom vertical velocity indicator and minimums display
• Enhanced HSI with turn indicator and three fully configurable bearing pointers for GPS, NAV1, NAV2 and ADF
• Switchable inset windows for timer/references, minimums, wind, ADF, map, nearest airports, and flight plan
• Cirrus-style top bar with power setting, frequencies and detailed GPS & autopilot information

On the Multi Function Display (MFD)

• Engine information system with switchable trim status
• Detailed system page with engine parameters, declutter mode, used fuel, remaining fuel, remaining range, remaining time, anti-ice & oxygen gauges, density altitude, temperatures, ISA deviation
• Custom user interface for creating and editing flight plans (accessing X-Planes navdata and default FMC)
• “Nearest” page for airports, navaids and related frequencies
• Cirrus-style top bar with destination window, frequencies and GPS information
• X-Plane default map with weather radar and traffic warnings with custom icons
• Interactive checklists and user-definable charts

System-wide specifics:

• X-Plane autopilot with ROL, HDG, NAV, APPR, ALT, V/S, IAS modes and detailed status information
• Custom calculations for ground speed, true airspeed, fuel & ranges, bearings and distances
• Reversionary mode with engine information system and system summary (reacts on fuse & MFD failure)
• Hypoxia is simulated at above 12,500’ cabin altitude. The screen will begin to dim if you are flying above 12,500’ MSL. Use the OXY switch on the lower center console to turn on oxygen supply and avoid hypoxia!
• Oxygen supply is simulated – you have approximately 3 ½ hours of usable oxygen on board. The oxygen supply will begin to deplete slowly when the OXY switch is ON
• Anti-Ice fluid is simulated – there are 3.5 gallons of anti-ice fluid available. The supply will deplete when anti-ice switch is ON
• ICE lights are modeled – use the ICE light switch to inspect the wing leading edges for ice build-up at night
• The Cirrus BRS® parachute recovery system is modeled – click on the BRS handle on the cabin ceiling to deploy the parachute in case of emergency. NOTE: Engine should be OFF, and airspeed should be below 120 KTS when deploying the parachute!
• Cirrus “Single Lever Throttle Control” is modeled – the SR20 automatically adjusts propeller speed through the use of the throttle lever. There is no separately-controlled propeller lever.
• Customized HDR night lights – there are four dome lights inside the cockpit that will provide white flood lighting with HDR on in your rendering settings
• Custom exterior lighting – all lights on the exterior (landing lights, strobe lights and navigation lights) are modeled using X-Plane parameterized lighting.
• 10 Factory liveries provided – because Cirrus uses a special heat-resistant paint for their airplanes, the 10 liveries provided are based on Cirrus originals.
• Custom sounds – try opening the passenger or pilot door while the engine is running!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Installation :   Download file size is 420.60mb to your X-Plane - GA Aircraft Folder. Installed file size is 420.50mb

Documents :  There is excellent documentation with a full tutorial, a avionics tutorial and a third document that covers the features of G1000 avionics system.

 

 

Requirements : X-Plane 10.40+ (any edition) - Windows, Mac or Linux - 64bit mode -1Gb+ Dedicated VRAM Video Card
Current version: 1.0 - Last updated on October 12th 2015

Developer Support Site : Support forum for the SR20

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Review by Stephen Dutton

16th October 2015

Copyright©2015: X-Plane Reviews

Review System Specifications:

 

Computer System:  - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”- 9 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 6970M 2048 mb- Seagate 512gb SSD 

Software:   - Mac OS Yosemite 10.10.1 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.42

Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose  Soundlink Mini : WorldTraffic Plugin

Music - Lots of Dire Straits - Chris Rea - Eric Clapton

Scenery or Aircraft

- PHJR - Barbers Point USCG, Hawaii by Fred De Pues  (Fred-E-NETS sceneries are currently being updated to the X-Plane-Org)

- PHOG - Maui, Hawaii by joyfulsongster (X-Plane.Org) - Free

 

 

Hummmm....  This is a scratch the head one? Isn't it supposed to do that?  If your diamonds are centre (which means you are aligned correctly on the ILS) and you press APP which is activating the ILS guide approach then it should start to descend the aircraft along the ILS beams...  in other words the V/S will align to the usually minus 300fpm to descend down to the runway? But If you get a sudden drop in altitude then your speed is not right? my guess it is too slow...  SD

News! - Now Available - Cirrus SR20 by vFlyteAir

Now available at X-Plane.OrgStore from vFlyteAir is a very nice modern General Aviation success story in the Cirrus SR20. To date more than 6,000 Cirrus aircraft had been delivered of this excellent four-or-five-seat, composite monoplane built by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. The aircraft is powered by a Continental IO-360-ES engine that provides 200 hp (149 kW).

X-PlaneReviews has exclusive images of this great new aircraft.

Beautiful modeling is coupled with great quality design.

The highlight is the inclusion of a full G1000 glass avionics suite. Although based on the X-Plane FMS system, it is very comprehensive and excellent to use and programme.

Features Include:

 Primary Flight Display (PFD):

• Artificial Horizon with high-resolution attitude indicator, flight director and roll scale
• Speedtape with custom display of reference speeds
• Altitude tape with custom vertical velocity indicator and minimums display
• Enhanced HSI with turn indicator and three fully configurable bearing pointers for GPS, NAV1, NAV2 and ADF
• Switchable inset windows for timer/references, minimums, wind, ADF, map, nearest airports, and flight plan
• Cirrus-style top bar with power setting, frequencies and detailed GPS & autopilot information

Multi Function Display (MFD):

• Engine information system with switchable trim status
• Detailed system page with engine parameters, declutter mode, used fuel, remaining fuel, remaining range, remaining time, anti-ice & oxygen gauges, density altitude, temperatures, ISA deviation
• Custom user interface for creating and editing flight plans (accessing X-Planes navdata and default FMC)
• “Nearest” page for airports, navaids and related frequencies
• Cirrus-style top bar with destination window, frequencies and GPS information
• X-Plane default map with weather radar and traffic warnings with custom icons
• Interactive checklists and user-definable charts

System-wide PFD and MFD specific features:

• X-Plane autopilot with ROL, HDG, NAV, APPR, ALT, V/S, IAS modes and detailed status information
• Custom calculations for ground speed, true airspeed, fuel & ranges, bearings and distances
• Reversionary mode with engine information system and system summary (aircraft reacts on fuse & MFD failure)

Certainly one of the classiest and well laid out panels I have seen, beautiful place to fly.

• Package comes with 10 liveries, Tutorial, Avionics Manual and Avionics features
• Simulated CAP^® Parachute system
• Custom Sounds
• Custom 3d Cockpit
• Fully Animated
• Selectable animated co-pilot
• Functional Fuse Panel
• Hi-Resolution Graphics

Other Notable Features:

• Hypoxia is simulated at above 12,500’ cabin altitude. The screen will begin to dim if you are flying above 12,500’ MSL. Use the OXY switch on the lower center console to turn on oxygen supply and avoid hypoxia!
• Oxygen supply is simulated – you have approximately 3 ½ hours of usable oxygen on board. The oxygen supply will begin to deplete slowly when the OXY switch is ON
• Anti-Ice fluid is simulated – there are 3.5 gallons of anti-ice fluid available. The supply will deplete when anti-ice switch is ON
• ICE lights are modeled – use the ICE light switch to inspect the wing leading edges for ice build-up at night
• The Cirrus BRS® parachute recovery system is modeled – click on the BRS handle on the cabin ceiling to deploy the parachute in case of emergency. NOTE: Engine should be OFF, and airspeed should be below 120 KTS when deploying the parachute!
• Cirrus “Single Lever Throttle Control” is modeled – the SR20 automatically adjusts propeller speed through the use of the throttle lever. There is no separately-controlled propeller lever.
• Customized HDR night lights – there are four dome lights inside the cockpit that will provide white flood lighting with HDR on in your rendering settings
• Custom exterior lighting – all lights on the exterior (landing lights, strobe lights and navigation lights) are modeled using X-Plane parameterized lighting.
• 10 Factory liveries provided – because Cirrus uses a special heat-resistant paint for their airplanes, the 10 liveries provided are based on Cirrus originals.
• Custom sounds – try opening the passenger or pilot door while the engine is running!
• Photo-realistic textures by Igor Kirilove – all textures are very hi-res (4K), providing a very realistic look
• Fully animated model – all the details are in this model. Check out the door hinge mechanisms when you open and close the doors!
• Super accurate 3D modeling – the model is extremely accurate in scale and dimensions.

For more information then visit vFlyteAir

Yes! the Cirrus SR20 by vFlyteAir is now available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Cirrus SR20 Perspective® G1000 - Price is US$27.95

Requirements

X-Plane 10.36+ (any edition) - Windows, Mac or Linux - 64bit mode - 1Gb+ Dedicated VRAM Video Card

News! - Bell AB412 updated to v1.6 by X-Trident

X-Trident have updated the excellent Bell AB412 to v1.6. This is a minute update of:

Release notes:
-Added sling loads management
-Added a bunch of custom commands
-Fixed some bugs

X-PlaneReviews covered the main update features here: Aircraft Update : Bell AB412 1.5 by X-Trident

Yes! the Agusta Bell AB412 from X-Trident is now available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Agusta Bell 412 - Price is US$35.95

Current version is v1.6 and if you have already purchased the X-trident Bell AB412 then go to your X-Plane.Org Store account and upgrade now!

Requirements

X-Plane 10.30+ (any edition) - Mac, Windows, Linux - 1Gb+ dedicated VRAM Video Card

Hummmm....  Peter Hagar's aircraft are very good, the A319 might not have all the bells and whistles of the JARDesign A320, but performance wise it is usually very on the money and it has QPAC's great Flyby wire plugin in there. You don't give any details on why it is a waste of money?, I think you should spend time on the aircraft and not make a sudden snap decision before disclosing it, It is a very good aircraft and a large percentage of a number of users will certainly back that up...  SD

It's in the Plugin/sounds "sounds1d", but I don't know which one....  SD

Yes you can dim the facia lighting, It is the "Avionics Panel lighting" knob on the overhead panel.

I agree the main cabin lights do not switch off...

Yes you can, the hand manipulator will move either of the throttle, Prop or condition levers and the cross will move both levers. If you move the cross manipulator left or right you can also adjust either lever with one action.

SD

There are a few liveries on the X-Plane.Org, but you have to be careful that you select the right one for the right version in Low-res : Medium-res : High-res, one won't work in another. The only way you can change the call sign is in the actual art; for the record it is "l_panel1.png" and the night version "l_panel_LIT.png". Both have to be changed and the audio rego change is done in Plane-Maker. SD

News! - Released LEBL El Prat-Barcelona by Dai-Media

After their excellent LEVC - Valencia Manises. Dai-Media have now released their next scenery which is the main gateway to Catalunya, in LEBL El Prat-Barcelona.

This is a huge scenery and it has taken a eight full months of intensive work to create another excellent destination for your X-Plane routes.

Features include:

• Layer Orthofoto 20cm/pix
• 2 main terminals and lot of buildings high detailed and textured but optimised (specular maps for windows).
• All animated local jetways with objects on ramp.
• 3 runways actives customized.
• Custom navigation objects, all light markings and ground markings.
• Volumetric 3D grass and local vegetation.
• Static and dynamic vehicles, e.g. buses, baggage carts, services, firefighters, police, medical, etc.
• Custom roads with custom traffic in airport roads.
• Scalable options according your X-Plane configuration.
• Option static aircraft can be traffic enabled or disabled.

Full X-Plane HDR night-lighting

All terminals of LEBL, are equipped with their own auto gates jets which are animated and have safe dock guidance. On each ramp you can find different vehicles, from airport and cargo services, all of the X-Plane Barcelona airport roads have a new type of custom roads included and defined with precision with the real LEBL X-Plane Barcelona. All vehicles Policia, Guarida Civil, Firefighters, Follow Me, AENA vehicles, etc. are represented.

LEBL El-Prat Barcelona is Available from DAI-MEDIA here : DAI-MEDIA El Prat

And is priced at Euro €34.00

Includes: Static aircraft and Airport Layout Charts

Requirements

X-Plane 10
Airport will work with and without: runways follow contours (on/off)
Scaling allowed with X-Plane system preferences.

Stephen Dutton

2nd October 2015

Copyright©2015: X-PlaneReviews

 

News! - X-Plane 10.40 goes Final!

Yes Girls and Boys X-Plane is now up another version to 10.40 Final. Laminar Research has also released a Control Pad app with the release as noted here by Ben Supnik.

X-Plane 10.40 and Control Pad now available

 

Classic Aircraft Review - DHC-2T Beaver Turbo by Shade Tree Micro Aviation

 

The classic DHC-2 Beaver is seemingly everywhere, but its claim to fame is as the "workhorse of the north", Alaska north that is. But when production stopped in 1967 when the original line was shut down, there had only been 1657 aircraft built. But as the Beaver's reputation grew the de Havilland aircraft company of Canada had no choice but to put the aircraft back into production. It is one of those aircraft that should have been long out of production since its first flight August 16, 1947. But the DHC-2 solders on in not only are there hundreds still flying, but many have been totally upgraded and converted to modern powerplants from the original Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Jr. radial engine, with 450 hp (336 kW) to this modified version created by Viking Air of the versatile Pratt & Whitney PT6A-27 680 hp (507 kW) turboprop engine.
Viking became the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of de Havilland spare parts for the DHC-2 Beaver in 1983 when they acquired all the original jigs, drawings and Type Certificate (STC) for the aircraft from de Havilland Canada.

Performance : Cruise speed (km/h) 250 - Maximum speed (km/h) 280 - Range with max payload (km)  960 - Maximum operating altitude 15,0260ft (4580m) - Rate of Climb: 1,425fpm (feet per minute)

 

 

Shade Tree Micro Aviation

A motley crew of six talented individuals (Jim McNeill, Kerry Cross, Bob Feaver, Mark Roberts, Todd Denning and Benjamin Whitehead) make up Shade Tree Micro Aviation (STMA) and between them they have being creating great X-Plane aircraft since the early days. Mostly STMA design mostly small rugged bush aircraft like the Beaver Turbo here, but also the original Beaver and Sherpa K650T Turbine Bush Plane (Review - Sherpa K650T) and the Pilatus PC-12/47G (Review - Pilatus PC-12/47G), good solid flyable aircraft, and this Beaver Turbo is right there in the same context and design.

 

DHC-2T Beaver Turbo

The aircraft comes in various versions and variants, in this package you have three choices for different roles.

 

Bush Tundra

 

 

The "Tundra" is the wheeled version of the aircraft. "Tundra" is a noted reference to those huge balloon tyres that are created to land on subsoil that is permafrost, or permanently frozen soil which is abundant in these northern climes.  There is no standard wheeled version.

 

Float

 

 

The float variant comes with a set of Wipaire 6100 Amphib Floats, worn and extremely well done. The wheels are retractable and so are the rudders which can be lifted out of the water to lessen the drag for takeoff.

 

Ski

 

 

The Ski variant has two large plates on the front undercarriage struts and and a smaller plate on the tail wheel. They can be raised or lowered above or below the wheels.

 

DHC-2T Beaver Turbo Exterior

 

 

A bush plane is a workhorse, nothing more and nothing less, So these rugged aircraft have big job to do and their appearance can sometimes mask their abilities. STMA have done a great job in creating an authentic workhorse in design, and in someways the longer turbo nose of the aircraft is quite different from the original stubby faced Beaver that we all know and love.

 

You are not short of options here. There is a menu panel that slips out of the lower left of your screen that covers a lot of good options when setting up the aircraft to the way you want to fly it. There is a coloured code to check what is active and what is not in Yellow just text, Red not active and Green for selected. First four options are for in the cockpit in: PFD (Primary Flight Display) Zoomed or MFD (Main Flight Display) Normal. You can also choose if to hide or show both or either of the Pilot's and co-pilot's yokes.

 

 

There are five doors on the aircraft: pilot's, co-pilot's, rear passenger door left, rear passenger door right and an Alaska door or large cargo door. All can be opened and closed on the menu. And there is a large cargo pod on the bottom of the aircraft that can be installed or removed.

Other menu features include wheel chocks and flags, controls (yoke) locked and aircraft tie-downs. Noted is that for the some menu items to work you have to install a plugin (HangarOps) in your Resources/Plugins folder this does include the "tiedown" feature.

 

 

The "HangarOps" plugin is also required for the "Tug", a hug block like vehicle to move the aircraft around. You can control (steer) the tug either from the tab menu or the remote control inside the aircraft. It is straight forward in either: front, back or left and right, but it goes too fast in forward/reverse modes to look realistic.

 

 

You can have the choice of two interiors in: "passenger interior" and "Cargo Interior", you get four seats and a cargo net with the "passenger" version and what looks like metal bars to strap cargo too in the "Cargo" version, but I think that actual cargo (boxes or crates) would have been more pleasing).

 

 

The last menu item actions you can do is to lower the rear seat backs, blue colour notes down position and green notes up.

The aircraft panels are engraved on the fuselage, which gives the aircraft its shape, but the rivet's are flat (painted) and not raised making the panels slightly flat in appearance, but overall the external design is good and well made, highlighted by the corrugations on the flaps and rudder.

DHC-2T Beaver Turbo Internal

 

 

There is another variant choice in the cockpit...   You can select the "Retro" version which is based on the original Beaver panel or the... "Tundra" version which is to represent the more modern (Viking) style of a flat squared off panel. Both panels are fitted with add-on instruments and GPS navigation units, which reflects the approach that most Beavers flying around today are mostly in this guise. Personally I prefer the older "Retro" version and mostly because the black panel breaks up the bright blank facia look of the "Tundra" it looks the more interesting of the two.

 

 

There is another Panel variation in the works from STMA is a GLASS feature "PILOT FLIGHT DISPLAY (PFD) AND MULTIFUNCTION DISPLAY (MFD): This variant is equipped with STMA's version of a EFIS (electronic flight information system) consisting of a PFD which is the primary flight and avionics (radios, transponder, and autopilot, etc.) display, and a MFD which has an identical set of bezel mounted controls but primarily is used to display the moving map navigation display and engine controls. This will be part of the package when released which is currently noted as "soon".

 

So the combination of different variants you can choose to make up your ideal Turbo Beaver are quite numerous in "Retro" or "Tundra", "Tundra (Tyres)", "Floats" or "Ski" and finally "passenger" or "Cargo". All can be mixed to get the actual variant that you want.

 

In the panel instrument layout and switch gear they are identical, so we will follow the design of the "Retro" version.

 

 

The Beaver even in this guise is still a very basic aircraft, The standard six instruments (Airspeed Indicator, Attitude Indicator or Artificial Horizon, Altimeter, Turn Coordinator (old style) and Vertical Speed Indicator) are front and centre, but only on the pilot's side. Added to the standard six package is a fuel tank four set of indicators for left/right and two centre tanks and ADF pointer dial.

 

Below is a an "Autopilot" that is easy to use, and then at the bottom of the panel a full row of switches to cover: Ing (Ignition), Fuel boost (two), Landing lights, Strobe, BCN (Beacon), Pitot (heat), NAV (Navigation Lights), INST (Instrument lights), MAP, Gen (Generator) BAT (power - battery) and Radio. A overhead light knob is on the right of the panel. On the far left is a fuel tank transfer/switch.

There are a set of crude annunciators above the Standard six instruments and the flap setting position indicator noted as: Cruise, Climb, Take-off, Landing and Full-Flap.

 

Right panel has the X-Plane large Garmin GNS 530 GPS unit (with pop-out panel), a great vintage ADF tuner and large Volts selection and fuse popper panel.

 

 

The centre panel is dominated by large dials and the two main levers for Throttle and Conditioner (there is a third back-up Throttle lever), Below the levers is a twist knob for propeller feathering called here the Propeller Vernier Control. Above the levers are the two engine dials for Torque Pressure and Turbo Inlet Pressure and with a mid- screen mounted compass. Mid-Panel are two gauges for RPM and lower two gauges that cover (left) Oil Temperature Indicator and Oil Pressure Indicator (right). Lower panel is a working Hobbs Meter and Chronometer.

 

On the roof is an outside Temperature gauge and great trim wheels, but they move quickly and with not much finesse.

 

 

The rudder pedals are well done and there is the flap lever and a pump lever down on the floor by the pilot's seat, the flap lever is a pump/stroke affair to lower the flaps. Two levers on the lower part of the panel covers Shutoff (firewall) and a Cabin Heat. The park-brake is a push-pull action.

Overall the instruments are large and the Standard Six are good, but instruments and mostly on the centre section don't have great resolution, this review was conducted in the texture resolution setting of "very high" and yet still some dials are still low-res and buzzy to look at.

 

 

In the rear you can feel the space of the Beaver's square shape, but the textures are a bit plain and not very hard working dirty or worn.

 

Flying the Turbo Beaver

Of all the variants you can have with the STMA Turbo Beaver the one I liked the most is the Retro-Float version, especially for flying around Anchorage or the inside passage areas of lower Alaska. Here I am flying from Lake Hood, central of PANC (Anchorage International Airport) to Finger Lake which is slightly north-east of the city.

 

 

I have become quite good at flipping float fitted aircraft in and out of X-Plane water, so this was a smooth transition from terra-firma to a liquid runway.

 

 

On the float version there is an extra panel for the operation of the float undercarriage and to lower or lift the rudders out of the water (yes up for takeoff for less drag). One thing is noticeable is that the aircraft is very manoeuvrable on the water and far more than most float aircraft have been in the past, that makes it easier to set yourself up for takeoff even with a slight wind from the south.

 

 

The turbine and power of this aircraft overcomes most of the Beaver's oldest liability...  power. You very easily overcome the drag and sheer long hesitant runs to struggle to get airborne like you do in the standard radial Beaver, It just flies to state a cliche.

 

 

Top speed Vne is around 139kts with floats attached and the 152knts Vne is 13kts faster than the standard Beaver in wheeled trim. But it is that torque that you have that is more usable, and the engine is more smoother and flexible. Overall you cruise at around 145kts, so no Beaver is going to break the sound barrier is it.

Climb rate is better as well with only 1,000fpm maximum for the standard Beaver and 1,400ft fpm available here, so can very easily climb to 5,000 - 7,000ft and quickly, even with a full load on board.

 

 

If one thing that stands out is that STMA are very good at getting the flight model and performance really good. You love to fly the aircraft because it responds very well to that stick and rudder person in you, it gives the meaning "flying by the seat of your pants" a whole new meaning, because you do love flying the Beaver...  even if the aircraft's low speeds does take you some time to actually get there.

 

 

I feel so comfortable with the Beaver that I can choose to land on the smaller cross section of Finger Lake, reducing the speed to around a stately 70knts with full flap and the aircraft is quite docile there in that speed range, and it is quite easy to pitch directly to the point of just popping it quietly on the water. Even a then little reverse thrust (beta) will stop you almost dead. 

 

 

Lower the rudders and you can easily steer to your mooring point, flexibility is one of the Beaver's strengths. Carry anything anywhere is great fun and a lot of different scenerios with this aircraft can easily be created.

 

 

No doubt the power of the Turbo-Turbine version is the aircraft's advantage, you miss the noise and rattle of the radial, but this a smoother ride with more versatility, it is the way you want your Beaver that counts here, and this is the best for the longer faster routes.

 

Liveries

The "Olivia" C-GODH is the default livery with RCMP Services, A great TurboBeaver, Epoch Air, Black Beaver and white Jet Share

 

 

All liveries are available with each Tundra, Ski and Float variant.

 

Summary

Shade Tree Micro Aviation have a huge reputation in X-Plane and they rarely fail to deliver interesting and highly flyable aircraft. No doubt the Turbo Beaver is in that same category, it delivers what you expect, huge features, lots of ideas and many different aircraft fit-outs and variants, so anybody who has purchased STMA before knows what they will get and they will be more than happy with the aircraft here.

They will also overlook the low-resolution panel and instruments and interior design, they are not bad of course, but X-Plane is now getting down to very high-resolution in quality in this area, realism is very much in vogue and those annunciators are just really average today, and worse they are right in your sight line. These few items distract the aircraft from being very good to being really excellent as everything else is very good.

Overall the Turbo Beaver is great value, a great aircraft and certainly a great addition to your "bush Pilot" experience. Fly around to your heart's content and enjoy the scenery and that is the Beaver life.

__________________________________________________________________

 

 

The DHC-2T Beaver Turbo by Shade Tree Micro Aviation is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here :

 

DHC-2T Beaver Turbo Package by Shade Tree Micro Aviation

 

And is priced at only US$25.95

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Features:

Installation :   Download file size is 301.30mb to your X-Plane - GA Aircraft Folder. Installed file size is 389mb

Notes: You have to install the "HangarOps" folder in your Resources/Plugins folder, and this operates the tie-down straps, Push-Back Truck and the Hangar door animation feature. There are also enclosed textures to create hangars to be placed in your X-Plane scenery (via the OverlayEditor) and when used with the aircraft you can open close the doors at your command. There is also a "deHavilland DHC2T Turbo Beaver X-Adventure" coming as part of the package.

Documents :  There are three sets of Checklists for main, Emergency and Abbreviated. Great original De Havilland performance charts and a History document of the "Beaver" and there is POH (Pilots Operational Handbook) but it is not in the "Documents" folder but in the aircraft folder under "DHC2T_Owners_Manual"

 

 

Requirements : X-Plane 10.30+ - Windows , Mac or Linux - 1Gb VRAM Video card

Developer Support Site : DHC-2 Turbo

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Review by Stephen Dutton

30th September 2015

Copyright©2015: X-Plane Reviews

 

Review System Specifications:

Computer System:  - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”- 9 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 6970M 2048 mb- Seagate 512gb SSD 

Software:   - Mac OS Yosemite 10.10.1 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.40

Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose  Soundlink Mini : WorldTraffic Plugin

Scenery or Aircraft

- PANC - Anchorage International Airport by Aerosoft (X-Plane.Store) - US$29.95

 

 

Yes basic X-Plane default scenery is only used and no HD scenery is in the numbers here. In this update the autogen was not a priority unlike v10.30 but Laminar Research will have to refocus again on that. the visual element has come a huge way in X-Plane 10 but still has a way to go as well, it is in the small elements now that are needed, churches, carparks, football stadiums and that sort of thing, and of course regional elements.

Both X-Plane and world2Xplane use the same OSM data, the difference is that world2Xplane uses the data to create shapes of buildings to more match the shape of the building in the real world, in other words the Pentagon in Washington will be a building shaped liked the real Pentagon, where as X-Plane default scenery will just put in a shape building to match. So overall the world2Xplane world is more realistic, but that also comes with a big (huge in my case) framerate penalty, as the world2Xplane buildings are not as efficient as the default autogen. SD

News! - X-Plane 10.40 now on Steam

Laminar Research have announced that the latest X-Plane version 10.40 is now available for update on Steam. This is ver RC3 of 10.40, but note it is not Final, but in reality it is a given that RC3 or RC4 will be the "Final" release version.

Steam users: to try the release candidate, you’ll need to go to the “properties” of X-Plane (in the steam client) and opt in to betas.

A note to Steam users is that if you buy the "Full" X-Plane10 package you can participate in beta development...

You can buy the "Full" version here at the X-Plane.Org Store here : X-Plane 10

X-Plane 10 + Global Scenery

Price:US$59.99

Aircraft Review - Beechcraft Duke B60 by RW Designs

The Beechcraft Duke was originally created as a gap filler in between the Beechcraft Baron and the Beechcraft QueenAir in the Beechcraft Twin-Engine sales lineup, but the aircraft never became a big sales hit (only 598 Aircraft were produced), and many commentators noted that overall Beechcraft didn't want to take sales away from their highly successful (and profitable) KingAir lineups, so the aircraft became really just a small niche aircraft in Beechcraft's history. That is not taking away that the aircraft was not popular, because it was. As many are still flying and is still very popular amongst the owners who treat the aircraft as others treat their classic car collections. That is mainly because the aircraft was very advanced in its time, with Electro-mechanical systems when the aircraft was introduced, but the aircraft does has its downsides in that it has a very poor drag factor, and crash one and they were impossible (meaning very expensive) to repair.

Two factors however kept the aircraft flying with an update that included an improved pressurized cabin that utilised a advanced bonded honeycomb construction, lighter and more efficient turbochargers and improved elevators over the Baron it competed with, this was the B60 as represented here and this aircraft was powered by the Lycoming TIO541-B4 engines that develop 380 hp each, and a second development, Rocket Engineering of Spokane, Washington, replaced the Lycoming reciprocating engines with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-21 or -35 turbine engines that gave the aircraft the sort of performance it should have had in the first place. As noted the Turbine upgrades the take-off length required  by over 1,500 feet to only 1,000 feet and the landing distance is reduced by over 2,000 feet to only 900. The maximum rate of climb is increased from 1,600 feet per minute to whopping 4,000 feet per minute, reducing the time to climb to 25,000 feet from 25 minutes to 9 minutes. The cruise speed is increased to 290 knots at 29,000 feet. The modification does have some disadvantages as it increases fuel burn from 56 gallons per hour to 66 and lowers the certified ceiling from 30,000 feet to 28,000.

The Duke first flew on 29th December 1966 when the prototype made its first flight. On 1st February 1968 the FAA issued the type certificate for the aircraft.

Performance B60 version: Never exceed speed: 235 knots (434.5 km/h, 270 mph) (IAS) - Maximum speed: 248 kts (460 km/h, 286 mph) at 23,000 ft (7,010 m) - Cruise speed: 178 knots (330 km/h, 205 mph) 45% power, 20,000 ft (6,100 m) - Stall speed: 73 knots (135 km/h, 84 mph (IAS) - Range: 1,227 nmi (2,274 km, 1,413 mi) 45% power at 20,000 ft (6,100 m), 45 min reserves - Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (9,145 m) - Rate of climb: 1,601 ft/min (8.1 m/s).

RW Designs - Beechcraft B60 Duke

You have to give some credit to RW Designs that they are not if anything give you a lot variety in their choice of aircraft. First it was the Airbus A330-300 (updated to Version 2) and then the workhorse DHC-6 Twin Otter -300, and now here is a general aviation aircraft in the Beechcraft Duke B60.

The B60 is without doubt a striking looking aircraft, mostly because of that tall sharkfin tail and long snouty nose, but it is roomy aircraft as well for its size. You could call it a big twin aircraft, but a medium twin would be closer to the mark. So the aircraft has a real presence sitting on the parking area.

The external detailing is very good of the Duke. lines and panels are really well done, with all the riveting in place to conform the panels. That distinctive tail is excellent, with main and trim rudders. Most designs today really have to live up to even a basic high standard that users now expect, certainly the Duke delivers in that area. And the minor detailing is well done in aerials, static-dischargers, undercarriage assemblies and the glass transparency is also first rate.

DW Designs does not here give you any special features. So there are no Menus (tabs), static elements, Ground Power Units (GPU) or weight, fuel or aircraft load sheets. In that area it is a basic aircraft...  so it is WYSISWYG.

The aircraft has only one door on the left rear, it opens via the inside latch to give access to the cabin.

The aircraft is set out in a four seat club arrangement and two more forward seats for the pilot/co-pilot, so six seats in all. There is a built in table but it doesn't flip up (or out). There is a sense of space in the cabin and the seat design and textures are very good, but the cabin looks very new and there is not a lot of wear or tear, so it looks a little plain compared to some of the grotty worn Carenado's we are used to. There is a baggage area behind the rear seats but no luggage.

Cockpit and Duke Versions.

The RW Designs Duke comes with the choice of two variants The variant is selected by choosing a different aircraft in either the:

Original : Lycoming TIO541-B4

Royal Turbine : Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-21

...   versions, so you really get two very different aircraft in the one package. Outwardly and externally the aircraft are identical except for the different propellers, as on the Lycoming it is a standard 3-bladed propeller and on the Turbine it a newer 4-bladed Hartzell propeller (reversible), but in the cockpit and certainly in performance they are quite different.

Basically it is analogue for the Lycoming (left) and digital for the Turbine (right) in the context of engine displays, the Turbine also has a few rows of annunciator indicator or warning lights under the centre glareshield.

I am flying the Turbine version, but will note the analogue version differences as we go along.

Pilot and Co-Pilot instrument panels are quite basic in both having the main standard instruments. The standard six instruments (Airspeed Indicator, Attitude Indicator or Artificial Horizon, Altimeter, Turn Coordinator and Vertical Speed Indicator) are central large and clear on both sides. I like the idea of putting the navigation instruments on the below the standard six, but this arrangement can also hide them behind the excellent yoke and you need navigation dials clear and easy to glance at.

The Navigation instruments are the ADF pointer (both sides), CDI (course deviation indicator) for VOR OBS (Nav2) and Radar Altitude. Above the standard six is the VOR1/VOR2 distance/speed/time (both sides) and Autopilot annunciators (pilot side only).

Most of the main switch gear and dials are on the lower panel. It is quite a crowded set of panels, but well laid out.

On the far left are the main "De-Ice" switchgear including pitot heating. Middle-left is the Fuel gauges, which are dials and digital on the Turbine and analogue gauges on the Lycoming. Below are the main lighting switchgear with two lighting adjustment scroll panels below. Undercarriage position lights are under the lever.

In the centre panel are the gauges and dials for electrical loads, Volts and Prop-Amps.and two large dials for Oil Pressure.

On the right side lower panel are flaps (3 stage - UP- APH (Approach) - DN) and the rest of the panel is for your controls and dials for the aircraft's pressurization system, shutoff valves and cabin temperatures. The rest of the right side of the panel and the far right is your sets of electrical fuse poppers.

A small and compact centre pedestal has your Throttle, Propeller and Mixture (Rich/Lean) levers, noted is they are all dark grey in the Turbine, but the Lycoming uses the Blue (Propeller) and Red (Mixture) standard colored knobs, which are more attractive. Great trim wheels with the main large pitch on the left side and the main and fine trim wheels on the rear.

Fuel Tank selection is between the front seats on the floor.

Engine Instrumentation and Equipment Stacks

As noted there are differences between the Turbine and Lycoming variants on the left of the pilot panel and the main central panel.

Turbine Variant

There is an aftermarket fit-out of dials and digital readouts for engine performance in TRQ (Torque), ITT (Interstage Turbine Temperature), Ng (compressor speed), RPM, FF (Fuel Flow), FP (Fuel Pressure) for each engine.

A full set of annunciators are set across the top of the panel under the glareshield.

Bendix King equipment Stacks consist (left stack) of the standard KMA 28 TSO Audio set with both a Garmin 530 and Garmin 430 GPS units (X-Plane standard), below is a KFC 225 autopilot unit that covers the actions of HDG, NAV, APR, ALT, VS, ARM (altitude) and Yaw Damper.

Right stack has two KX 155A TSO Radios top with one for COM1/NAV1, and the lower one covers COM2/NAV2 settings. Then the KT 70 TSO Transponder and the lower ADF - KR 87 TSO with built in flight timer (FLT) and elapsed timer (ET).

The Turbine side panel has switches for "Bat" (Battery) Avionics "Master" and a standby inverter as well as a primary inverter.

The GPS Units (Both GNS 430 and GNS 530) are controlled by a Master Avionics Switch. All other Radio’s are connected by directly to the battery by switches Bat - Gen (1,2) finally their are two fuel boost switches. 

To start you just hold the lower part of each rocker switch down for an engine and then when the engines are running push the rocker up to activate the generators. Below there are two Hobb's meters and cowl flap switches which I don't think work.

Above is a lovely large "outside temp gauge".

Lycoming Variant

The Lycoming panel is dominated on the top by a large set of five analogue dials and gauges, that cover left to right: Manifold Pressure, Prop RPM, Fuel Flow and one gauge for each engine for CHT (cylinder head temperature), Oil Temp, Oil PSI. A note on the dials is that there are two needles per dial for each engine. If both are running together in the same performance then they are together as one indicator, but slow one engine down and you will see them separate to show both engine parameters. 

The Equipment Stacks are set out exactly the same as on Turbine, but with the add-on digital dials removed the whole set up is moved over to the left of the central panel area.

The main annunciators are moved to the side panel on the Lycoming. with the "Avionics" standby inverter as well as a primary inverter switches top and then the "Gen" - "Bat" - "Gen" switches below. Then the two fuel boost switches and starters are a (nice) red twist knob for each engine. Below two Hobb's meters and cowl flap switches are the same as the Turbine.

Flying the Duke, or should I say Duke's!

I decided to fly the Turbine version up the coast from EGNT - Newcastle to EGPH - Edinburgh and then back again in the Lycoming to get the feel of each variant.

Power up and with the VOR2 set to "ST ABBS" VOR (112.50) and the prop/mixture levers full up, a push of each rocker switch starts the turbine whine of each P&W PT6A-35 turbocharged engine that pushes out 580 hp. I like the blue glow of the digital readouts, it makes the cockpit look more modern and efficient.

 

Plenty of power to move the aircraft but it is hard to find that sweet spot between moving too fast and the aircraft rolling to stop in the taxi, I found it but the range is very narrow. The windscreen is very tall for a GA, so the view forward is quite good, but the glareshield is high as well, so you sort of peek over it.

With over 1100 hp the aircraft easily moves forward and you are very quickly at rotate speed of 130knts, the aircraft tracks centered as well and you feel the air and control the vertical speed of 1800fpm with no effort at all. Speed will still build quickly if you level out early so you need to pull back the power to keep the best V/S and the climb rate.

The Duke looks nice in the air "Stately" like its name is a good statement. The huge engines set far forward out of the wing can really block the view from the pilot's perspective. You have to crane forward and look through the main window to see features or navigation landmarks.

Because the aircraft is pressurized, you can climb easily to the high 20's (30,000ft is the ceiling) and the noted "1,227 nmi (2,274 km, 1,413 mi) 45% power at 20,000 ft (6,100 m), 45 min reserves". So it is no doubt this is an aircraft for extended cruising and distance covering, but I would recommend the Turbine version for the extra power in covering distances.

The panel lighting is good but it took me awhile to get the right combination of roller adjustment to get the one I liked, not too dark or too bright.

The ADF needle is on a set compass so it can look odd against the other navigation instruments and looks out of alignment, but you soon use it the way it is supposed to be used and it worked well with my set course needle to align up EGPH RWY24.

The aircraft does not like tight turns at speed, I'm surmising that the airframe has now engines of too much power in the turbines that it was not designed for. Banking on the autopilot and you get a very pronounced - or + vertical speed fluctuation, back off the power a little and it does quell the bouncing a little, but you have to give the yoke a bit of forward and back adjustment to soften out the fluctuations, you get used to it and are prepared when you need a turn, but it can get wild if you are not on your game.

The excellent John MD River Forth Crossings (Bridges) shows you the approach to EGPH. With the flaps down you can easily stay around the 100knt approach speed. The drag is there, but to more in your favor than having to push the power to the wall to get through the drag, so it is a usable approach in that the turbine power can allow you to finely adjust your approach speed.

The stall speed is noted at 73knts, which is quite, low, but around 85knts is ideal on final's, and the aircraft is quite stable.

You get reverse prop on the Turbine, but not a "beta" setup, and on contact with the runway you can easily run off the speed, and taxi to the GA ramp.

EGPH to EGNT, Lyncoming and lighting

There is a lot of panel and cabin lighting adjustments, 4 small scroller's, two larger scroll wheels and two switches. Here it is set to the overhead lighting so I can set up the aircraft, it looks good and the area is workable.

Starting is via the two red knob switches but otherwise there is not much difference between the two variants. But pull away and it is very evident that the power is now not there. You are a full 200hp down on each engine (380hp) and your throttle is now traveling a lot more up its gate to get the aircraft moving, its slightly sluggish as well and even more trickier to taxi power wise.

Takeoff is also going to need more nerve as your takeoff run to the 130kts rotate speed, only it now takes forever to build up the speed, you use a lot more runway to do exactly the same thing, a bonus however is once airborne the aircraft is more docile with less power and slight better feel in the yoke and rudder pedals, banking and a slower rate of climbing is smoother and less frantic than the over powered Turbine.

You are not going to climb fast either, you have 1800fpm at your disposal, but if you are going to climb to the high 20's then it is going to be a long afternoon as 1200fpm to a maximum of 1500fpm is going to be your best effort.

Lighting

A bit more fiddling and you can get the panel to look really good in the right balance of feel and look, and very attractive it is. It is debatable if the Turbine digital look is better than the glowing analogue dials, but I feel the analogue version is better at night. Note the separate needles for each engine performance on the dials.

Rear cabin is well lit and looks nice, but there is no actual light fitting, so the lighting seems to glow out of the ceiling. External lighting is good.

Beacons, Nav and Strobe look good in the dark, there is wing light switch (Ice) but I couldn't see and lighting on any wing.

Cockpit has a nice feel at night and you get good visuals out of that tall windscreen. Outside the landing and taxi lighting only works when the wheels are down, they look good, but are hopeless in operation. Runway approach is dark, so it is hard to gauge the depth to the tarmac. Once down and there is no reverse thrust in the Lycoming Duke and you bleed off speed far slower on a dark runway. That done and you then have to taxi around with no lighting either. They are three beams out there but they are not seen from the cockpit. 

More grunt is needed to keep the flow right to taxi to the GA area, but I have found myself more familiar now with getting the aircraft around the traps.

Shut down the piston version of the Duke and you are thinking of how you like the aircraft. Sounds are well improved and now Sasl plugin driven and better than the older standard X-Plane sounds. There is a slighter higher whine to the Turbine but my Carenado Caravan sounds more turbine than the Duke.

Liveries

There is one blank white and four design liveries, and all liveries work on both aircraft types. All are good and 4K resolution but the range is small for an aircraft of this design. There is a paintkit included.

Summary

Overall the Beechcraft Duke B60/Royal Turbine is very good. There is a slight basic feel to the aircraft, no nitty gritty details or visual realism in depth, but then again those aircraft are in another higher price range. No special features here either like menus or static elements and animations that you can play around with to enhance the fun factor.

But the Duke is an interesting aircraft to fly and for the investment you get really two quite different aircraft for the price of one, so it is good value. In design the aircraft is well done, and the different panel versions add in a change of scenery without changing aircraft. And it is wholly debatable of which version you will like the most, with the Lycoming more challenging to fly with less power but the Royal Turbine having the legs and thrust to fly higher and faster further.

I'll let you decide on that, as overall the Beechcraft Duke is a very interesting aircraft to put in your hangar, and by history a niche design to wonder if it should have been more successful than it was.

The Beechcraft Duke B60 by RW Designs is available from the New X-Plane.Org Store here : Beechcraft B60 Duke

And is priced at only US$26.95

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Features:

2 versions of the engine Beechcraft Duke:

• Lycoming TIO-541-E1C4: 380 hp variant
• Royal Turbine PT6A-21: 580 hp variant

Highly detailed Model

• High-Resolution 3D Model
• Each variant has its own true to life cockpit
• Ultra-High Resolution 4K textures
• Full 3D exterior model
• Night lighting
• Optimised for both HDR and non-HDR

Liveries

• 5 paint schemes in 4K
• The Paintkit is included so you can paint your own liveries
• Interchangable liveries between engine variants

Custom Systems

• Programmed Radios
• Customized Garmin 430 and Garmin 530
• Custom flightmodel using SASL for ultra realism.
• SASL powered sound authentic to the engine variants

Installation :   Download file size is 186.90mb to your X-Plane - GA Aircraft Folder. Installed file size is 266.40mb

Notes: None

Documents :  Two sets of Checklists for both variants (Lycoming and Turbine) and POH (Pilots Operational Handbook) for the B60 and supplemental for the Royal Turbine.

Requirements : X-Plane 10.30+. Windows, Mac Linux - 4Gb RAM. 1Gb+VRAM Video card

Developer Support Site : (RW Designs X-Plane.Org Support)

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Review by Stephen Dutton

24th September 2015

Copyright©2015: X-Plane Reviews

Review System Specifications:

Computer System:  - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”- 9 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 6970M 2048 mb- Seagate 512gb SSD 

Software:   - Mac OS Yosemite 10.10.1 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.40 ( RC3 is close enough to final)

Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose  Soundlink Mini

Scenery or Aircraft

- EGNT - Newcastle Airport 2.0 by tdg (X-Plane.Org) - Free

- EGPH - Edinburgh, Scotland by Joyfulsongster ((X-Plane.Org) - Free

- Forth River Crossings by John MD (X-Plane.Org) - Free

To remove the static elements then open the tab on the right of your screen and the tick box is in there...  Mine works fine, so just make sure you have the latest version or check out the X-Craft support on the X-Plane.Org

Butnaru did note he was updating all his sceneries, when he will get around to KFLL I don't know, but notes on the changes have been taken, so there is a good chance they will be done. SD