Sky Simulations Adds Military Variants of DC-9

By popular demand, Sky Simulations has added some new military variants to their DC-9.  These include the C-9A Nightingale aeromedical and evacuation aircraft (USAF), the C-9B Skytrain II passenger/cargo transport (USN/USMC), and the VC-9C VIP transport (USAF).  All of these are available at no charge to existing Sky Simulations DC-9 customers, and are now included with new purchases.  Enjoy!

PMDG Releases NGX SP1c

This weekend, PMDG released the SP1c update to the 737 NGX.  Info and links to the files are available here.

The highlights of this update include:

• Numerous tweaks and fixes (see the link above for details)
• PMDG NGX SDK - for developers working on products that will interact with the NGX
• Tutorial #2 - this one teaches a few new tricks with the NGX, via a cool approach.  Capt. Randazzo highly recommends all pilots try this one out.

In addition, Capt. Randazzo notes that progress on SP2 and further expansions has slowed a bit, due to a "lack of data issue on a few key pieces."  Sounds like work is ongoing, but we should not expect to see anything right away.

Wilco 737 PIC Evolution v1.1 Update Available

Wilco Publishing has released the v1.1 update to their 737 PIC Evolution product.  Customers can go log into their Wilco accounts and download the update.

Fixes include:


Exterior model:
Re-modeled wingflex effects with flaps and spoilers seamlessly following flex angles even when deployed.
Revised and improved Krueger leading edge flaps and slats. Kreugers now have correct secondary retractable segments.
Revised spoilers and ground spoilers with more details.
Revised flap animations more closely resemble the triple slotted flaps of the real 737 classics.
New "flatter" profile windows now with visible frames.
Numerous gtweaksh to shapes and profiles, all over the airframes.

The cockpit has received attention in the shape of many revised systems and improvements to
functionality:
Correct TOGA switches are now present and functional on the throttle levers.
3D Engine start/fuel levers now function to match 2D popup throttles.
It is now possible to follow procedures from "Cold & Dark" state to flight entirely in the 3D cockpit mode.
Perhaps the most significant upgrade to the 3D cockpits is the ability to change out from digital to analogue instrumentation "on the fly" to match your selection of 2D panel.

I got this soon after it came out, but I was very disappointed with the initial release.  It was clear that it had been rushed out the door ahead of the holidays, and many things needed fixing.  I decided to let Wilco have a "do over" on this before I did a mini-review on it.

In other news, Wilco has posted a preliminary date of March 30, 2012 for the availability of the download version of the CRJ NextGen add-on.  I'm not holding my breath on that one yet, but maybe they will surprise us...

PMDG Updates 737 NGX to SP1b

It's been a relatively quiet few weeks in the world of flight sim, but there have been a few interesting developments of late.  First of all, PMDG has released the SP1b update to their 737 NGX product.  This is a free update that consists of mostly minor bugfixes.  The update comes in two parts - one for the original 800/900 series base release, and another for the 600/700 series expansion.  If you are buying new, the NGX installers have already been updated to SP1b.

More info about the update is here.

PMDG Readies NGX SP1b, and More

Robert Randazzo of PMDG recently posted that they are readying the SP1b update to their 737 NGX series.  This will be a free update that fixes some issues that they did not have a chance to address in SP1.  They are continuing efforts to work on the -ER series, the BBJ series, and the military series as well, but they have not yet revealed a timetable as to when these will be available.

Robert says the PMDG team is fully underway on 777 development at the moment as well.  He hopes to update soon regarding release timetables (unclear as to whether he is talking about the NGX expansions, the 777, or something else here) as well as some "announcements on new product offerings."  Oooooooh, the last part is really intriguing for me - can't wait for PMDG to open their kimono a little more and let us know what else they're cooking up!

Elsewhere, there seems to have been a bit of a rift developing between PMDG and McPhat Studios regarding the release of repaints for the NGX.  The exact nature of the rift is unclear, but the gist of it seems to be that McPhat claims PMDG did not provide them with all the legal clearance they needed to release repaints for the NGX, while PMDG claims they bent over backwards to work with McPhat, and are displeased by McPhat's lack of professionalism.

You can read the comments by Robert Randazzo of PMDG regarding McPhat here.

You can read the response to these comments by Terrence Klaverweide of McPhat here.

Best as I can tell, this is one of those things that should have been fairly routine, but seems to have escalated into a pissing match on both sides.  I hope cooler heads can prevail.  I like McPhat, and think they do some great artistry on airplane repaints.  Hopefully a little diplomacy goes a long way here - I think the flight sim world needs both PMDG and McPhat.

Captain Sim Updates 767 Captain to v1.5

Captain Sim released the v1.5 update to their 767 Captain product this week.  Details here.

This update is very similar to the recent 757 Captain updates, in that it removes the dependency on FSUIPC and eliminates some of the nasty rolling/rocking effects previously observed on ILS landings.  I have snagged the recent updates for both the 757 and 767, and I am pleased to report that flying these two planes is a much more satisfying experience now.

Elsewhere, Captain Sim reports that "good progress" is being made toward the full versions of the 737 and 777 - hopefully we will see one or both of these sometime in 2012.

Captain Sim Updates 757 Captain to v4.6

Hot on the heels of the recent v4.5 update, Captain Sim has squashed a few more bugs and rolled out a v4.6 update to the 757 Captain.  List of bugs fixed is here.

Some folks were grumbling that the v4.5 update did not quite fix everything as advertised, so hopefully v4.6 addresses those remaining issues now.

Captain Sim Releases 757 Captain v4.5

Captain Sim has released the long-awaited v4.5 update to their 757 Captain.  I'm really looking forward to this one - hopefully it will fix a lot of the problems we previously experienced with the aircraft rocking from side to side on approach.  They supposedly completely removed the dependency on FSUIPC, which apparently caused more problems than it was worth.

Hopefully we'll get some nice fixes for the 727 Captain next...

FlightSimLabs Updates Concorde-X to SP2

FlightSimLabs has updated their Concorde-X add-on to SP2. Read the announcement here.

This update adds a new Performance Calculator utility, and fixes several bugs and issues discovered after SP1 was released.

Still planning to pick this one up soonish, as I have heard lots of good things about it. Just been very busy this summer...

CoolSky Super80 Pro SP2 Available

CoolSky has released the SP2 update to the Super80 Professional add-on. This update picks up all the changes and fixes that had been under test in the beta patches that were put out since SP1, plus a few more. Visit their downloads page to pick it up.

If you haven't picked up the Super80 Pro yet, Flight1 will bundle SP2 as part of the installation package now. Trust me, you're missing out -- this is an excellent plane. Though I really should get my hands on the Leonardo MadDog 2008 sometime as well, as I have also heard many good things about that one, too...