FSBreak - The Flight Simulator Podcast

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Mark Stewart, Brendan Farmer. Listen Here: Download Here More information on Cascade Game Foundry Full Article: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=25919 Co-founder and managing director Kathie Flood spent about 15 years with Microsoft in various roles, mostly concentrated on Aces and sports titles like Project Gotham Racing 3 and 4; she's joined by co-founder and creative director Rick Selby, who spent half his 10 Microsoft years with Aces, primarily working on Train Simulator, product design and business development. The team is comprised currently of 15 individuals: "We're a bunch of people very passionate about working on sims that can take us to the next generation," says Flood. "We loved doing that inside Microsoft, and we decided we wanted to keep doing it. It turns out there are a lot of opportunities to do things different, better... as much as we loved doing it inside Microsoft, we're having quite a lot of fun." Resetting The Genre Selby sees an opportunity to "step back and do a reset of what sims could be about." The genre has traditionally focused on the same elements; vehicles, for example. "We thought there's a lot more you could really do with this," says Selby. The hardcore simulation audience is "a very loyal, viable entity for us to pursue," he says. "But I think there are some things we can build into the sim titles to give them more of a broad appeal." For example, Flight Simulator pleased its hardcore fanbase with its detailed renditions of the nuances and details of flying. "That's all still valid," says Selby. "But what's missing is... if you start thinking about what you could do around those single-player experiences that do simulate some aspect of a life or a location, suddenly you start to see a lot more opportunities." Flood says that traditional sims have been somewhat "intimidating" to those outside of the genre's fans, and Selby says that simplicity is definitely now a design goal for the team. "We want stuff to be simple enough that my mom can use it," he says -- and yet it's important to offer the opportunity for a player to grow into the high level of detail traditional sim fans have always desired. "We still want to give the ability to grow into that level of caring, but not eclipse any gameplay opportunities that may exist downstream from there... those complexities can't be a barrier to [other players] enjoying the experience." Reaching Broader Audiences Flood envisions "sliders on reality," simulation experiences where players can customize the granularity of realism to a level that's comfortable and interesting to them. "You could turn off or tone down certain elements so that somebody who is less knowledgeable can still enjoy the fantasy of the experience." And the idea of allowing players to control the complexity of their experience -- having further details open to them as they acclimate into the simulation -- necessarily lends itself to learning experiences, something Selby is excited about. Another area of focus for the Cascade team is offering high-quality toolsets alongside their projects. Flood notes that traditional simulation fans have enjoyed modifying and working with toolsets to customize their experiences even when those tools aren't very good. "Certainly, the tools that we will need to build the games ourselves... can be a much more accessible toolset, and extend the audience of people who can participate." Closing The Gap The challenge ahead of the Cascade team, then, is making experiences that are compelling and yet approachable -- and therefore bridge a gap Flood sees in the addressable audience. "There's such a big gap in the game market right now between, say, the big blockbuster first-person shooters and the casual online games. We feel like sims, if done correctly, the design would be multigenerational," she explains, pointing to the broad audience that enjoys television programming on Discovery Chan

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Mark Stewart, Brendan Farmer. Listen Here: Download Here Real Environment Extreme for FS2004 Released   Complete with the same great flight planning and weather tools that come with the FSX version. It also includes great HD 3D clouds, and more. More screenshots and details here. It is slightly cheaper than the FSX version, at around $35 US.. Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer var so = new SWFObject("http://www.db798.com/pictobrowserp.swf", "PictoBrowser", "600", "500", "8", "#FFFFFF"); so.addVariable("source", "album"); so.addVariable("userName", "fszone"); so.addVariable("names", "REXFS9"); so.addVariable("albumId", "5413095742114998289"); so.addVariable("titles", "off"); so.addVariable("displayNotes", "off"); so.addVariable("thumbAutoHide", "off"); so.addVariable("imageSize", "medium"); so.addVariable("vAlign", "mid"); so.addVariable("vertOffset", "0"); so.addVariable("colorHexVar", "FFFFFF"); so.addVariable("initialScale", "off"); so.addVariable("bgAlpha", "90"); so.write("PictoBrowser091208235747"); AirSimmer A320 Basic Edition Released   AirSimmer A320 Family is a complete, ultra-realistic and immersive simulation of an Airbus A320 Family of aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 and Microsoft Flight Simulator X. The A320 Family comes in two editions: Basic and Advanced. The Basic Edition is perfect for Flight Simulation enthusiasts who are just introducing themselves to flying the A320 and want to learn the basics without the pressure of having to read extensive documentation. It is also perfect for those who enjoy top-quality visual models, immersive sound environment, and the ease of flight that the A320’s Fly-By-Wire technology offers.   The Advanced Edition is geared towards seasoned flight simmers and hard-core Airbus fans who want a simulation that will challenge their knowledge of both Standard and Emergency Flows, Systems, and airmanship. The table below allows you to see which edition is perfect for you. Whichever one you choose, there is no compromise in regards to the fidelity of  simulated systems and features. To learn more about product features, click on the feature title.  More details here. Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer var so = new SWFObject("http://www.db798.com/pictobrowserp.swf", "PictoBrowser", "600", "500", "8", "#FFFFFF"); so.addVariable("source", "album"); so.addVariable("userName", "fszone"); so.addVariable("names", "Airsimmerbasic"); so.addVariable("albumId", "5413095354636734353"); so.addVariable("titles", "off"); so.addVariable("displayNotes", "off"); so.addVariable("thumbAutoHide", "off"); so.addVariable("imageSize", "medium"); so.addVariable("vAlign", "mid"); so.addVariable("vertOffset", "0"); so.addVariable("colorHexVar", "FFFFFF"); so.addVariable("initialScale", "off"); so.addVariable("bgAlpha", "90"); so.write("PictoBrowser091208235818"); QualityWings Ultimate 757 Collection Released   The Ultimate 757 Collection is the most extensive 757 Package ever created for Microsoft Flight Simulator. There is truly something for everyone. Every 757 ever to come off the line from Boeing has been reproduced for your enjoyment. And with Mid-Level systems programming, we've simplified the simming experience while providing you the look and feel that makes the Boeing 757 such a special airplane to fly. For full details, click here! Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer var so = new SWFObject("http://www.db798.com/pictobrowserp.swf", "PictoBrowser", "600", "500", "8", "#FFFFFF"); so.addVariable("source", "album"); so.addVariable("userName", "fszone"); so.addVariable("names", "QualityWings757"); so.addVariable("albumId", "5413095935972225841"); so.addVariable("titles", "off"); so.addVariable("displayNotes", "off"); so.addVariable("thumbAutoHide", "off"); so.addVariable("imageSize", "medium"); so.addVariable("vAlign", "mid"); so.addVariable("ver

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Mark Stewart, Brendan Farmer, and Special Guests Scott Gentile and Cody Bergland. Listen Here: Download Here A2A Simulations Join us as we talk to Scott and Cody with A2A Simulations about their history and future, and their Piper J3 Cub with AccuSim, and past and future products from them. Recommendations Eric: Plan-G - Free IFR and VFR Flight Planner for FS9 or FSX http://www.tasoftware.co.uk   Google Maps interface for rich topographical and satellite detail Shows airspace, airports and navaids on the map (from Flight Sim data) Configurable levels of detail (objects displayed) for each zoom setting Fully editable plans can be saved in FSX or FS9 format Existing FS plans can be loaded Reverse flight plan Print map and PLOG Customisable database of user waypoints, VRPs, airstrips etc (UK CAA VRPs, plus some OZx airstrips already defined) Connects to FSX via SimConnect Aircraft telemetry, breadcrumb trail, traffic, weather etc available when connected to FSX Saved flight trails can be displayed for later analysis Range Rings can be configured to show distance or flight time Mark: FourFlights Four flights is a web site that publishes 4 flights a day to find 4 different degrees of weather happening in real world locations. Danton: Ground Environment X Europe Ground Environment X Europe represents our new approach in texture design, incorporating high level detail graphics in the default Flight Simulator X 1-meter texture resolution format. This delivers a hi-fidelity image without using excessive disk space or processor power. Our design allows a simulation pilot to enjoy clearly defined visuals from nearly ground level up to higher altitudes. Brendan: ZurichX airport scenery for FSX and FS9 Zürich Airport is a scenery developed for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX) and Flight Simulator 2004 ( FS9 ). It's has been created with great attention to visual quality and performance, using the latest available programming techniques, both in FSX and FS9. The product is sold as 2 Products in One. This means, by buying one version, you will automatically get the other for free, since activation and serial codes are shared between FSX and FS9. Voicemail X-Plane and 8 Cores from Ben E-Mails E-Mail from Gerry My name is Gerry First I want to congratulate you and your team. FSBreak has grown to be a fantastic podcast of the highest quaity. You should be very proud. I have listened to every broadcast and look forward each week to the next one. I've been a flight sim fan since the very beginning and spend a lot of my flying time on Vatsim. It's hard to believe when I look back and think how excited I got flying in a wireframe environment. FS has on gotten better and better since then and I look forward to what the next generation will bring. This is for Danton, but Eric should also go this route. As one who uses Matrox Triple Head-2-Go, I could never see myself going back to a single monitor. I don't care how large the monitor is, you still only have a narrow field of view. The additioal monitors give you an expanded view that you will not believe. And yes, you can still use your track IR. Go to Matrox web site and look at the examples they provide. Since you are building a fantastic system, you should take another look at this type of setup. You won't be sorry. Keep up the great work. Many thanks again, Gerry New Bush Pilot VA I was wondering if you guys could give my new VA a plug, I have Bill Womack as a pilot, and John from FTX, has given us his endorsement! I know you probably don't do this type of thing, but what we have is something unique! We are the Only VA designed for A2A's J3 Piper Cub! With Hubs and FBOs located in TongassX, FTX Australia, PNG, Plum Island and the Pacific Northwest! Our Forums are only open to pilots, but I have a few things to look at! Stop by! And give Us a Look & Shout! http://www.backcountryservicesva.com Thank you for your time and considerat

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Mark Stewart, and special guests Matt Olieman and Vybhav Srinivasan. Listen Here: Download Here MyCockpit.org We talk with Matt and Vybhav from the website MyCockpit.org, here are some links you might find useful!   MyCockpit.org A340 Project XUIPC $100 Hamburger: North Carolina Nights Click here to download! Click here to share your results in the FSBreak forum! Recommendations Danton: FTX AU 3 Disk Set Eric: BananaBob's Kodiak PhotorealKodiak Textures Super Pack! E-Mail Correction from Ben Hi Eric, Hrm...looking at those Tom's Hardware numbers for MSFS, I can only speculate that: - Core configuration isn't that important for MSFS because MSFS isn't bound by pixel fill rate. Remember, core config is telling you that many hands make light work when it comes to filling in pixels on screen. But what if there are no more pixels to fill? Many hands then make many idle workers. Looking at the Tom's hw numbers, MSFS doesn't go much past 30 fps even when bigger and bigger video cards are thrown in. Other games do see an increase. This implies that MSFS is bound up on CPU speed or some other separate system bottleneck. The implication of a CPU bottleneck is that a nicer video card simply won't help you much _at all_, and that money should be spent on better single core CPU performance. This is, of course, all speculation..I have no idea what goes on inside MSFS. I can tell you for X-Plane that whether we are bound on pixel fill rate (in which case core config of the GPU matters _a lot_) or CPU (in which case throughput of a single CPU core matters) has everything to do with how the user uses the sim. Some features hit one, some hit the other. cheers ben    

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Brendan Farmer, Mark Stewart, and special guests John Venema, Holger Sandmann, and Bill Womack. Listen Here: Download Here We talk with John, Holger, and Bill about FTX and the Pacific Northwest The A2A Simulations Piper Cub and Orbx's FTX NA Blue make the ultimate companions! Listen to the first part of the show for an entire interview with John Venema and Holger Sandmann of Orbx Simulation Systems, creators of FTX AU and the much awaited Pacific Northwest (PNW) scenery. We also talk with Bill Womack about the Pacific Northwest region too! If you're following this project at all, you're not going to want to miss this episode. Listen to this week's show for several surprises! Also, Eric wanted to share just a few of his screen shots from the PNW region using FTX NA Blue, check our gallery here. Of course a huge thanks to Orbx for letting us bring this content for you.   "Around The World" Repaint Contest Winners Over the past few weeks Aerosoft was nice enough to lend us their user base and offer a free download to anyone who did a repaint of the Carenado Mooney M-20J for the upcoming "Around The World" flight. (Check out our PBY Catalina or Discus Glider X Reviews if you need some ideas for your free download!). The grand winner got an additional two downloads (Three Total) and three runner ups got one additional download (Two total). And here are the results!! First Place (3 Downloads) - Kurocl Eric's Pick (2 Downloads) - RedEye Brendan's Pick (2 Downloads) - FourtyFreak Mark's Pick (2 Downloads) - Guenseli All winners should be contacted shortly. Here is the original thread! And here are all of the entries, good work everyone! First Place: RedEye (Runner Up): FourtyFreak (Runner Up): Guenter (Runner Up): Other Entries: Want More AU Burger Flying? Well, we are extending the usual $100 Hamburger updates since it took longer than usual to get the last one up. But Steve has also published a second flight which you can download here to hold you over! Thanks Steve! Recommendations Danton: FSXMark07 & Fraps 2.9. Set Up of FSBreaks's FSXMark07 Challenge! Download: Fraps 2.9 Download: FSXMark07 1) Download and install FRAPS 2.9. 2) Configure FRAPS FPS options as follows: A) Disable Overlay Display Hotkey B) Set Benchmarking Hotkey to P C) Leave "Only Update Once a Second" off D) Set benchmark to automatically stop after 300 seconds E) Check box to save "MinMaxAvg" statistics 3) Download FSXMark07.zip and unzip the contents into your "Documents/Flight Simulator X Files" folder 4) Under Settings in FSX, customize the Graphics settings to: A) Target Frame Rate: Unlimited (far right) B) Full Screen Resolution: to 1280 x (800 or 768 or 720, depending on your screen proportions) x 32 C) Advanced Animations: ON D) Light Bloom: OFF E) Preview DirectX 10: OFF F) Lens Flare: ON G) Global texture resolution: High I) Anti-Aliasing: ON J) Filtering: Anisotropic 5) Click OK and at main Settings window, set Aircraft, Scenery, Weather, and Traffic all to Medium High 6) Load FSX and select Free Flight 7) Click "Load", select FSXMark07 in the saved flights, and click "Fly Now" 8) When the game is ready, it will be paused. Hit "P" which will unpause the autopilot flight and start the benchmarking at the same time. Let the autopilot fly the plane! 9) After 5 minutes, the yellow FRAPS frame counter will reappear to show benchmarking is complete 10) Right click the FRAPS icon in your system tray to see your benchmarks 11) Post a screenshot of the results! Brendan: http://www.protu-154.com/index_e.html Project Tupolev Tu-154M Eric: Two Picks First: FSX.cfg modification to make autogen easier to handle (Credit: John from Orbx): This simple tweak will limit the number of autogen trees being displayed whilst still allowing you to have a high autogen slider setting. Add the following two lines to your [TERRAIN] section in your fsx.cfg file: [TERRAIN] TERRAIN_MAX_AUTOGEN_TRE

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Brendan Farmer, Mark Stewart, Cam, Ausin Meyer, and Mathijs Kok. Listen Here: Download Here So while trying out the Pacific Northwest scenery, all of the hosts forgot that we had a show to do this week... ;)  Well, only kidding a little bit... This episode is a combination of two of the best moments we have had on the show so far. If you had asked me almost 1 year ago that we would have a weekly show to this date after the shut down of ACES I would have laughed and predicted we would have gone no more than a month. But so much has come out of it, and it has only made the space more interesting and more competitive. Especially when you look at sims like X-Plane, Aerosoft's new "AFS2012", and the recent "Cascase Game Foundry". But for the time being, we have developers truly pushing the boundaries of the MSFS engine, with upcoming scenery from Orbx, and addons once thought impossible like A2A Simulation's Piper Cub... I realize now this isn't the end, this is just the beginning!

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Brendan Farmer, and Mark Stewart. Listen Here: Download Here FSBreak Announces World Exclusive on Orbx's new FTX Pacific Northwest Scenery That's right, as Danton alluded to on the forum. We're happy to announce that the folks over at Orbx Simulations has graciously allowed us to have access to exclusive media copies of their newest FTX Pacific Northwest Blue scenery. We will be previewing it over the coming weeks! But for the time being, enjoy these screen shots and video from their product page: Win a free copy of FTX PNW once it is released... That's right! You have the change of winning One of Two free copies of FTX's PNW Scenery on DVD once it is released! Just visit our forum, in and in the FSBreak forum tell us in 25 words or less... "I love flying in the Pacific Northwest because..." And that is it! Whoever comes up with the best and most creative reason will be picked to win a copy! A2A Simulation's Piper J-3 Cub with Accusim Review Listen to this week's episode for a full review, including an in cockpit recording! Check back shortly for the entire written review! Videos:   Want to learn more about the Piper Cub? Check out the website here.   Danton & Steve's $100 AUD Hamburger Sorry for the delay everyone, you can find the PDF download for the $100 Hamburger Flight HERE. Steve was even nice enough to put together an audio clip explaining the flight, you can listen below, or download here. Be sure to share your shots in the forum, here are some of Stevo's shots from X-Plane! Mission Design Contest Winners A HUGE thanks to everyone who entered our mission design contest! Everyone did a great job and we got a lot of creative ideas. Unfortunately we had to pick only two winners, and they are... Faris Hassan, and his Tuscan Night mission for First place. And Kev Middleton and his Twister Mission for a close second. Great job everyone! First place gets to choose two items from the Aerosoft online store, and second place gets to choose one item from the Aerosoft online store. We're also submitting both mission ideas to Thorsten Reichert, who has created plenty of mission packs such as African Airstrip Adventures, for FSX for consideration for actually programming the missions. We decided to share all of the entries we have received because many are great ideas for flights as they are, and would make great starting points for some $100 Hamburger Flights! You can view them all here, they are all in PDF format for easy printing: First Place: Tuscan Night from Faris Hassan Second Place: Twister Mission from Kev Middleton    Mission 90210 From Dave AU Air Taxi Service from Steve Berlin Airlift from John Canada Olympics from Maxwell Gaudet Cascade Mountain Adventures from Luke Corporate Pilot Mission from Bman D.B. Cooper Flight from John EAA Airventure Arrival from John The Flying Anglers from Bman Hayward Air Rally from Tory Schulz Labor Day Flight from John "The Living Airport" from Bert Daanje Mountain Air Hamburger Fly-In from Tory Schulz Wildfire Adventure from Tory Schilz "How do I get myself into these things" from Naveen The X-Game Pilot from Bman Thank you to everyone who entered! Recommendations Mark: Snow Dog Tours FSX Scenery--Snow Dog Tours v2.0. Includes 147 airports and seaplane bases in Alaska (AK). Includes Glacier Bay National Park. Eric: Gazelle.com - Sell, Donate, or Recycle old electronics without having to deal with the hassle of listing them on an auction website. Brenden: VATSIM Chart Finter  

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Brendan Farmer, and Mark Stewart.

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, and Brendan Farmer. Listen Here: Download Here On Location at Avsim Social 2009 in Chicago, IL  It was a blast meeting up with everyone who showed at the Avsim.com Social event in Chicago this weekend. This episode was recorded with Eric and Danton, and Brendan joining as usual over Skype! Here are just a couple shots... A shot with many of the folks at the Fancon Event Danton and the setup at the hotel for recording the episode   Cirrus SR-22 & It's Glass Cockpit   Reminders Win up to TWO free downloads form Aerosoft, check out the mission design contest. We're still looking for everyone's $100 VOR Hamburger Screenshots, Post them here! Aircraft Painting Contest, Each Entry gets a free Aerosoft Download, Full Details Here!    E-Mails Hi In the last FSBreak podcast there was a discussion about using a three monitor setup, using the Matrox Triplehead2Go adapter, versus using a single large screen, like a big LCD TV. I'd like to take the opportunity to recommend the Triplehead solution. Here is a picture of my monitor setup: it's three Samsung 22 inch widescreen monitors running FSX in 5040 x 1050 resolution. I set it up recently, and I've been having a fantastic time using it. Just in terms of immersion, it really adds a lot to the flightsimming experience. Add to that having the Virtual cockpit really scaled up, so you can see all the gauges clearly, and the panoramic view of the scenery, it's really something special. There are some things to think about. The monitors have to run the same resolution. Mine are running 1680 x 1050, and that requires a monitor that supports 57hz screen refresh rate. While LCD monitors are very inexpensive at the moment, the adapter itself isn't cheap. I've heard that the new range of Eyefinity graphics cards from ATI will be able to do something similar, without using an adapter. On the widescreen gaming forum website, there is a section with lots of information on triplehead gaming: http://www.widescreengamingforum.com Anyway, just wanted to share my experience. Pharis Congratulations to everyone who did the hamburger flight on Vatsim this weekend. I wish I could have been by my computer Saturday to join you. I was able to carve out some FS time today however, and I just finished putting together a functional trim wheel. It ain't pretty, but it works great, and it's very cheap to throw together--maybe even free, depending on what you've got kicking around the house. Supplies: 1 coffee can 1 old USB mouse that was collecting dust (with scroll wheel) 1 wooden chopstick (free with order of Shanghai noodles) 1 small screw some scotch tape 1 free usb port To get this contraption functioning like a trim wheel, all you need to do is check the"use your mouse wheel as a trim wheel" function in the miscellaneous section of a registered copy of FSUIPC. If you don't have a registered copy of FSUIPC, you can download the free "RealTrim" module (http://code.google.com/p/fscode/wiki/RealTrim) and enable "mouse wheel as trim wheel" under the "modules" menu inside the sim.   The only glitch I had testing the trim wheel for the first time was that the trim wheel in the VC was turning in the opposite direction I was turning my coffee can lid. I solved this by installing a free program called "X-Mouse Button Control" (http://www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/XMouseButtonControl.htm), which includes an option for inverting mouse wheel scrolling.   Like I say, it may not be much to look at, but it really does work great, and having a trim wheel adds a lot to the simming experience. So if you've got an extra mouse, some other junk, and about 15 minutes to slap it together, give it a try.     I have only recently happened upon the podcast but I LOVE IT. I am an avid Uncontrolled Airspace listener and you guys fill that niche for the Flightsim world. I noticed that lately you guys have been "coming of age" on VATSIM...good for you! Yo

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Brendan Farmer, and Mark Stewart. Listen Here: Download Here Aerosoft announces more details on: Aerosoft Flight Simulator 2012 Announced on Aerosoft forums on October 1st: Gentlemen, I will make this a short and sweet post. Last weekend we had a lot of meetings regarding the new possible simulator to be done by Aerosoft. Now first of all I got to state that we are NOT yet ready to say that there will be one. But I can say that the probability is a lot larger now. From 50% last week to 80% now. We are currently investing officially money in this project. We are currently using the unofficial name Aerosoft Flight Simulator 2012. A brilliant name if I say so myself, we got our name (Aerosoft) in it, we got what we intend to do (Flight Simulator) in the name and we even got the release year in it. I do not expect this name to be used for the release btw, but for now lets call it AFS2012, okay? Mathijs also mentions (Joking or not) Easter 2012 as a possible release date? Read all details, and participate here.   Related: Aerosoft Simulation4U Section Okay, not exactly brand new. But we just wanted to talk about the new Simulation4U section at Aerosoft. What are your thoughts? Avsim Chicago Social Chicago O'Hare Hilton on Saturday, October 10th, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. If you are under the age of 21 you must be accompanied by an adult. RSVP with Avsim for entry. Danton and Eric are also thinking about going... If you are going, let us know! Also: Avsim File Library now accepting uploads! Our tech team has been hard at work since the commencement of the AVSIM restoration to bring the website back to its previous state. We are happy to announce that as of today, our Library upload capability has been restored. Your uploads will go through the same process as before, approved and edited by the Library Managers ans then placed on our electronic shelves for your access. Thanks to all of our Library users for their patience. Let the uploads begin.... http://avsim.com $100 Hamburger: Palm Springs VOR We highly recommend downloading the full document here, you will find screenshots and sectionals! If you flew the two previous $100 Hamburger flights (Lost in Traffic, and the ZLA Swarm Event) you should now be a master of your COM radios and your Transponder. In this flight were going to learn how to use your NAV radios to navigate the airways using VORs. What is a VOR? (VHF Omnidirectional Range) I think this definition from the excellent website navfltsm.addr.com (Recommended by Danton) sums it up best:  The VHF Omnidirectional Range navigation system, VOR, was probably the most significant aviation invention other than the jet engine. With it, a pilot can simply, accurately, and without ambiguity navigate from Point A to Point B.  The widespread introduction of VORs began in the early 1950s and 50 years later it remains the primary navigation system in the overwhelming majority of aircraft.  The basic principle of operation of the VOR is very simple: the VOR facility transmits two signals at the same time. One signal is constant in all directions, while the other is rotated about the station. The airborne equipment receives both signals, looks (electronically) at the difference between the two signals, and interprets the result as a radial from the station.  The GPS, Global Positioning System, is making inroads onto the navigation scene and offers a flexibility unavailable with either NDB or VOR systems. However, it is supplementing these systems, not replacing them. What is a DME? (Distance Measuring Equipment) Aircraft use DME to determine their distance from a land-based transponder by sending and receiving pulse pairs - two pulses of fixed duration and separation. The ground stations are typically collocated with VORs, as shown in the picture above. In short, VORs allow you to navigate to a specific location, from anywhere as long as you are in range. DME’s tell you

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Danton Berube, Brendan Farmer, Jordan Greene, and special guest Thorsten Reichert. Listen Here: Download Here (MP3)   SimFlight 2009 Award Results In To see the winners, click here! What do you think, were you happy with the results? Let us know in the forums, or by contacting us! AirHauler 10 Day Trial Released The demo is limited to 10 days of use and includes almost all the features of the full release version. It won't let you install add-on aircraft and scenery into Air Hauler, use AI pilots or upload your company statistics to the Air Hauler Portal, but otherwise includes almost all the many flexible features which have made the full program such a hit. Click here for all information. Thorsten Reichert, Scenery Designer & Mission Designer for Aerosoft Joins Us A huge thanks to Thorsten for spending a little more than an hour with us, he tells us about his background of devloping for Flight Simulator, and the process of creating scenery and mission addons for FS. He has been a part of almost too many addons to name, but a few of them include African Airstrip Adventures, Flight Tales, and Bush Hawk XP! You can also check out some of Thorsten's Freeware work here, and it has come to out attention that if would like to help with the recent Drought problems that have risen up in Kenya, you can help out by donating to the Kenya Red Cross.   FSBreak's Mission Design Contest As a side contest, we're announcing the Mission Design/Mission Concept contest! In this contest, you will do as much as you can twards designing the concept of a mission for FSX. This can include: Ideas for missions Story Lines for missions Flow Chart/Chain of Events for a mission Photos/Screenshot Samples You can even recommend scenery and/or aircraft for your mission More? You can do as little or as much as you want, but the more complete your mission is the higher chance you have in winning! Prizes include... 1st Place: TWO (2) items from Aerosoft's Online Shop, you are able to select any two products as long as they are in electronic/downloadable form. (IE, No Boxed Products) 2nd Place: ONE (1) item from Aerosoft's Online Shop, again electronic delivery only. A HUGE thanks to Aerosoft for sponsoring the prizes for this contest! Contest Deadlines You have until October 28th at Midnight, winners announced Episode 41, November 4th. Also, there is a chance that if you mission is interesting enough, Thorsten may consider coding the mission for you and releasing it as FreeWare! FOR FULL/UPDATED DETAILS, AND INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ENTER... Please see this link to our forum! Recommendations Eric: The "New to the Show" section at the top of the FSBreak website for my personal picks of episodes to start out with if you're a new listener. Brendan: HDE - High Def Cloud Textures for FS2004. Danton: Scenery Tech's African Landclass - Replacement land class areas for Africa to make the default textures look MUCH more complex and much better. Jordan: Wilco "E-Jet" series - Embraer 170/190 Addon   ZLA $100 Hamburger Screenshot Contest If you are a regular to the forums, you will have seen a chance for a small reward for posting a screnshot of our recent Swarm event. Congradulations to 'FSXHD' and his screenshot of LAX in the Mini-Route!   E-Mail: Graham has some SquawkBox Tips Good show Sir! I'm really sorry that I couldn't do the ZLA swarm this year. It sounds like I missed a great event. Anyway, couple of things: you recommended QuteScoop, did you know that is is an offshoot of Dolomynum (for Windows) http://dlnm.net Also, for SquawkBox users, there is some documentation on the website about the dot commands but for your info, here they are (they are a great time saver)   .msg callsign message (send private message) .info ATCcallsign (get info from ATC callsign) .com1 frequency (set com1 to the frequency) .com2 frequency (set com2 to the frequency) .x nnnn (set transponder to nnnn) .metar ICAO (get weather for ai

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Mark Stewart, Danton Berube, and Casey. Listen Here: Carenado PA-28-181 ARCHER II for FSX FSX features: external dynamic shadows internal dynamic shadows on VC volumetric normal mapping specular mapping and bloom lights Polygon optimized model Friendly FPS IFR certification Three models: with and without fairings and a mix of both Four different paints plus a blank texture Maximum details and realistic textures Original HQ digital stereo sounds (44100 HZ) recorded from the original aircraft GPS 295 installed in the cockpit Includes: Interactive virtual cockpit Full moving parts: Ailerons, elevators, rudders, flaps, rolling wheels and trim tab Animated sections such as: doors, sun visor, copilot seat and vibrating antenna Lights: Navigation lights, beacons, landing lights Transparent windows - 3D modeled pilot and cockpit area Many details as: pitot, antennas, chocks, pitot cover, baggage area Custom VC panel and gauges This model doesnrsquo;t have a 2D panel Realistic light effects on gauges Nightlight effects on panel Built-in zoom gauges - Separate switches for instruments lights and dome light Toggle yoke at VC Full checklist and reference text about the procedures Realistic performance - Real behavior compared to the real airplane Real weight and balance Pilot, copilot and passenger views Price: USD $ 25.95 [Link] AS332 Superpuma From Nemeth Designs Nemeth Designs - Eurocopter AS332 L2 Superpuma The AS332 Super Puma is a medium-weight helicopter with a large cabin and exceptional lift capability. With excellent power reserves, operational safety level and comfort, the AS332 is well suited for offshore and other civil operations, as well as para-public uses. A full de-icing system (rotor blades, engine air inlets, stabilizer and windshields) enables flight in known icing conditions, and the Super Puma is equipped for true all-weather IFR operations. Integrating the latest technologies in safety, aerodynamics, avionics and maintenance, the AS332 has proven to be a worldwide best-seller, with approximately 70 percent of the Super Puma fleet being operated for offshore transport. For utility work, the Super Pumarsquo;s takeoff weight of more than 20,000 lbs. can accommodate heavy loads, and its maximum cargo sling load is 9,920 lbs. Large sliding doors allow the transportation of bulky freight, while the helicopterrsquo;s rear access facilitates the handling of long loads. The L2 Super Puma Mk II features a further fuselage stretch permitting a further row of seats, EFIS flight instrumentation, spheriflex rotor heads and longer main rotor blades with parabolic tips. Some of the features: Accurate and detailed interior and exterior visual models Custom exterior and interior animations Fully clickable dynamic virtual cockpit with 3D instruments Perfectly flyable from the VC Realistic flight dynamics Four liveries PDF manual Price: 29.74 Euro [Link] From SimFlight. X-Plane Betas #38; USB Key Beta 5 Refinements in EGT-modeling. We get closer to redline in redline power and mixture conditions. Refinements in CHT-modeling. CHT should not go to huge negative values when you enter unrealistic values in Plane-Maker. Better ability to hold position on the runway under high power settings, if the real plane would have the braking ability to do so. Flight path should plot in the proper place in the weather-map in the set-weather window. If the localizer fails on a localizer or ILS with DME, the DME will continue to broadcast, as in reality. If you are in approach mode and hit the APR button, it will drop you out of all approach modes, as in reality. New button in Plane-Maker to enter the number of degrees off that the autopilot will auto-select back-course on. Enter 0 to not auto-select back-course. X-Squawkbox works aga...

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Mark Stewart, Danton Berube, and Brendan Farmer. Listen Here: Movie Talk: One Six Right The Romance of Flying is an independent film about the general aviation industry as seen through a local airport. Within a short period of time, it has achieved a passionate following and presence among pilots and aviation enthusiasts worldwide who see the film as being able to communicate their passion for aviation. Concurrently, the film has garnered both local and national political attention in the United States as an accurate depiction of general aviation and its important contributions to all aviation industries worldwide. As recommended by Danton, you can find more info on this movie in several places: Their Website Purchase DVD from Amazon.com Rent the SD or HD (Recommended!) movie, or purchase it from iTunes Also recommended from Danton is the Sprit of St. Louis! Pushing Tin Brendan recommends the movie Pushing Tin. A slightly more "hollywood" and less "aviation", but still a good watch! Here is the link on Wikipedia, and you can watch it for free on Hulu.com. PS, we know that likely all of the links for the movies will probably only work if you are in the US. Please don't be mad at us! :-( Share your thoughts about the movie in the forums! Future of FS in Bing Perhaps? An interesting Post by Danton ended up spinning off into a brainstorm session of a new "MMO" flight simulator. Be sure to listen for our ideas! What did you think? And here is the link for that "Google Maps" based ship simulator... Interesting. Payware models and 2D Cockpits Online Surveys#160;#38;#160;Market Research FlightSimX.Co.Uk Becomes FlightSimDaily.com This may seem a little sudden given Irsquo;d only just mentioned that I was thinking about moving domains, but the truth is, Irsquo;d been thinking about it on and off for over a year. The biggest reason for not moving prior to now was not being able to think of a good (hopefully!) domain name to use. I came up with FlightSimDaily for a couple of reasons. One, it removes the emphasis from Flight Simulator X to something more generically flight sim and also implies that wersquo;re more of a Flight Sim Daily News site, which is indeed what we are. Wersquo;ve also now got a ldquo;properrdquo; .com address, which I hope also emphasises that wersquo;re aimed at a global audience. Irsquo;ve given everything a thorough test and everything is looking good. All old links to FlightSimX.co.uk and any sub-pages should automatically redirect to the corresponding page on FlightSimDaily.com. If you notice anything weird, please do let me know. If yoursquo;ve been kind enough to link to us, please also change your links to the new flightsimdaily.com address. Abacus UAV Predator Released The UAV Predator is a stealth aircraft. UAV is short for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. This state of the art aircraft is remotely controlled and takes on the multi-role tasks of quiet evesdropping and reconnaisance. Its sophisticated electronics allow it to be controlled from tens of thousands miles away. You'll fly the Predator from either the Ground Station control panel or from the spot view. Bonus for FSX users - Eight challenging missions. Screenshots: What do you think of Abacus products? Why do you or why don't you like them? Share your results in the forum! X-Plane 9.40 Beta 1 #38; 2 Released Beta 1: X-Plane 9.40 Beta 1 has been released for Windows, Mac and Linux. Herersquo;s whatrsquo;s new (itrsquo;s a big list and itrsquo;s Austinrsquo;s usual emphasis!): New features, mostly added for total system-realism for FAA-Certification: New elec sys modelling improvements. Now you can have up to 4 buses, and each system can draw from any of, or all of, those buses. As well, you can assign any generator and any battery to any bus. As well, each generator can have a different max amperage. This really lets you start to dial in the electri...

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Mark Stewart, and Danton. Listen Here: FREE Airport from JustFlight! FWI La Gomera (GCGM) FREE AIRPORT FOR FSX This airport is to show off JustFlight's FWI Canary Islands X Product. Features: 3D Signage and taxi lights Numerous static objects New Landclass New Mesh terrain Corrected coastlines For FSX only. [Link] FSDreamTeam Products on Sale until August 31st Save 30% on all FSDreamTeam Proucts until August 31st. Brings their JFK from $35 to $24.50 Brings their O'hare from $33 to $23 All of their products have demos/free trials. More details [Link]. Building Recreational Flight Simulators Released This is a broad ranging introduction to building a flight simulator for recreational use. It touches upon most aspects of simulator building. Because the focus is on recreational rather than training simulators, the common thread throughout is improving the flight simulation experience rather than building a picture perfect training device. Each topic is presented in terms of what it can do to enhance the illusion of flight and deepen the sense of immersion. This provides a means for prioritizing where onersquo;s time and hard earned cash should go. The book is intended for hobbyists, and takes a strong hands-on approach. There are many projects, both large and small. However, even the most enthusiastic DIY-er, will occasionally want to buy rather than build. I feel it is important to present at least some information about purchase options. (From other vendors, not me!) This is something of a risk. Our hobby is small and does not support many vendors. Frequently, new vendors learn the hard way and vanish overnight. Portions of the book might rapidly go out of date. Nonetheless, making the reader aware of options other than building seems valuable. Check out this page with more info and a sample! [Link] Danton Talks R/C With Us! Links to all items we talked about in the show: Multiplex Easy Star Complete Kit $190 (Maybe the best starter plane, especially learning by yourself) [Link] HobbyZone Super Cub LP Complete Kit $180 (Slightly more advanced model of my first plane) [Link] ParkZone F4U Corsair Complete Kit $280 (2.4GHz warbird suitable as an aileron trainer with help) [Link] Find a local club to give R/C a try and learn for free [Link] Academy of Model Aeronautics (Membership required by most clubs; provides insurance policy) [Link] Park Pilot website (Focusing on smaller electric planes ideal for beginners) [Link] RC Groups ndash; Beginners Forum (Over 10 million posts on the website!) [Link] RealFlight G4.5 R/C Flight Simulator with controller $200 (FSX of R/C sims, but easier on computers) [Link] ESKY Controller with FMS R/C Flight Simulator $29 (Cheap, but far less eye candy) [Link] Danton also sent along these videos, check them out! Corsair RC - Onboard Video! RC Slideshow - With Info on RC Aircraft Easy Star RC Aircraft Training Flight 3D RC Demo Video RC Combat Flight New $100 Hamburger Flight: LA Lost In Traffic HEY YOU! Before preceding, download the FULL PDF which includes all of these notes, graphics, and all charts and sectionals required! By Mark Stewart Welcome to Los Angeles! This is a very personal Hamburger for me having done all of my flight training in this airspace and worked in this airspace as well with Professional Pilot Training (PPT). This is hands down one of the most challenging airspaces in the country. You have the San Fernando Valley with Van Nuys airport. It is the airport of legends, with the likes of Amelia Earheart and Howard Hughes. Many famous movie and television studios have used this airport over itrsquo;s 80 year history. Van Nuys is currently the #1 busiest general aviation airport in the world and #25 in busiest airports period, of all airports worldwide. I feel privileged to have ha...

Hosted by Eric McClintock, Brendan Farmer, Danton, Vybhava Srinivasan, and Josh Rice. Listen Here: FS-GS Experience Danton tells us more about his experience with FS-GS, a professional Flight Simulator tweaking service. More about their "Level II" service: This service is conducted through live chat and involves a detailed investigation of the hardware and software environment of the users machine. We will investigate the problem and use hands on methods to enhance both the machine performance and the graphic software performance. On this level we will also make recommendations to the user regarding hardware or software upgrades that may be necessary and we will follow through with detailed descriptions of installation methods. Danton is very pleased with it, as are many other customers! You can find out more about the service at fs-gs.com. Real Environment Extreme 2.0 Released Completely re-written Weather Engine that is detached from flight planner. They also Added new Random Weather Generator system. Completely re-written Flight Planner. Simplified processes and added ability to load/delete previously created flight plans. Ability for user to import FSX/FS9 flight plans. Added new waypoint mapping feature. Improved overhead performance throughout. Improved graphic user interface. Increased speed of graphical map overlay generation. Increased process performance. Enhanced realistic Thunderstorm Shear/Turbulence. Added support for VATSIM weather Added the ability to add/delete waypoints within the flight planner. These items are just a few among the long list of features #38; fixes. The update is free to existing customers. X-Plane: Inside Passage #38; Final Frontier Airports On Sale The sale lasts until August 14th! Inside Passage Scenery Pack: 75+ Airports 600 Miles of custom scenery from Vancouver to Prince Rupert, BC. Includes Mountains #38; Glaciers, as well as airports. Final Frontier, Alaska Scenery Pack: Covers the South East panhandle of Alaska - From Misty Fjords National to Skagway. More than 120 Airports #38; Seaplane bases. The pack includes thousands of miles of scenery, including mountains, airports, seaplane bases, and ships. It also includes winter textures. Inside Passage + Final Frontier Pack: $34.95 for both. [Link] Orbx Hervey Bay Airport for FSX Orbx Simulation Systems is pleased to announce the immediate availablility of FTX YHBA Hervey Bay Airport. Key Features: Uses photoreal imagery captured directly overhead from an aircraft. More than 100 square km of 60cm photo real scenery of the surrounding township... 16cm resolution around the airport and surrounding areas. The entire township is reproduced in precise detail, with custom modelled marina, shops, hotels, apartments, jetty and much more. The detail on the ground is such that you can drive a vehicle around on the roads and peek into shop windows, walk along the piers or boardwalks or even land a helicopter at the marina pontoon. Includes: Full GA AI traffic. GPS Nav Approach Support Airport Terminal, Hangers, vehicles, etc. Price: ~$34.00 [Link] Interview: Vybhava Srinivasan from IVAO This week we spent about an hour talking with Vybhava Srinivasan, who serves as the PR Director, NPO Assistant Secretary, and NPO Governor #17 for IVAO. Check out IVAO at IVAO.aero! Recommendations Danton tells us more about Aerosoft's African Airstrip Adventures, and shares his screenshots! More information on African Airstrip Adventures: African Airstrip Adventures (AAA) is a cross over product that merges an advanced mission mode with high definition scenery. This addon will bring you closer to the fascination, the wildlife and the beauty of Kenya/Africa. The African Airstrip Adventures take FSX to the adventure level. With this addon you can finally experience all the wildlife yo