Captain Sim Releases 777 Captain To CIP Phase 2

Looks like Captain Sim is the first one out of the gate in the 777 add-on race this year.  They just released the 777 Captain (featuring full VC) to the Customer Involvement Program, Stage 2 (experimental).  This means there are likely still some issues with the product, but it is basically flyable.

It will be interesting to see what the initial impressions of this product are...my instinct tells me that they hurried this one out to beat PMDG out of the gate, but I really hope I am wrong on this.  Cost for now is €39.99, or about US $50.

(Well, I will say this much about the ongoing Euro economic crisis...at least it's making the exchange rates with the USD a bit more favorable for us here in the U.S. these days.)

Update: my initial hunch appears to be correct.  Some of the initial reviews over at AVSIM indicate that they pretty much rushed this one out the door to the CIP program.  I would advise letting this one bake a little longer before giving it a go...

Memorial Day

And I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to honor the brave men and women who have fallen in the line of duty to protect our freedoms here in the U.S. on this Memorial Day.  Thanks to them all for their service - without heroes like these, I would not have the privilege of being able to enjoy simple hobbies like flight simulation.

Captain Sim Previews 777 VC

Well, isn't this interesting?  Captain Sim has unveiled a little video of the upcoming Virtual Cockpit addition to their 777 Captain.  It looks quite nice - complete with a simulated Electronic Flight Bag.  As best as I can tell, it will be up to the user to populate it with charts, though.  Will be interesting to see how this one turns out.  Gotta give them credit, as they have done a nice job up to now.

QualityWings BAe-146 Released (Phase 1)

QualityWings has released the initial phase of their BAe-146 series today!  This release spans the newer AvroRJ series, and is for FS9 only for now.  The FSX version is in the works, and then they will work on the older BAe-146 series of the planes next.

Unfortunately I do not fly FS9, so no mini-review from me until the FSX version is out...

QualityWings is using the Flight1 eCommerce wrapper for this product, although this product does not show up at the Flight1 website at the moment..

Those of you FS9 flyers, I'm anxious to hear what you think about this product.  I've been looking forward to it for a long time.

Edit: initial impressions over at AVSIM are rather positive.  C'mon QualityWings, hurry up with the FSX version now!  :-)

Preview Video of Coolsky/McPhat DC-9

McPhat released this juicy video today:

They promise it will be out "soon" - getting excited yet?

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!

Flight Sim Labs Shows Off A320-X Screenshots

Check them out here.

Wow - so many neat projects in the pipe.  It's a great time to be a simmer!