review

Ever heard of Bruce Artwick's Flight Simulator? Geoff Cramond's Aviator? Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer? These are some of the very first desktop flight simulators, and believe it or not, flight simulation is a quarter of a century old. Flight Sims certainly have come a long way sine then. The graphics in modern flight sims are simply stunning - you sit in extremely realistic cockpits flying over extremely realistic landscapes. But graphics isn't all what makes a flight sim, the underlying flight dynamics is what makes a virtual aircraft behave like its real counterpart - or not. After 25 years of flight simulation, we think it's time to have a closer look under the hood of two very popular ones: Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X and Laminar Research’s X-Plane 8.50.

I love hardware manufacturers who build cool stuff for us flight simmers. Virtual Reality Insight is such a company. We had a look at their stuff to see if it's worth your money.

Now, you can learn how to fly the 767 by simply popping a DVD into your player and watching an instructional movie from Angle of Attack. Is it worth your time and money? Read on to find out...

Maurie King had a look at the SIAI Marchetti SF.260 from RealAir Simulations. With such a well known developer, expectations are high. Have a read to find out if RealAir have created yet another masterpiece. (Spoiler: RealAir have reinvented aircraft design - find out why in the article).

Jason McKee has taken the Carenado Cessna U206G under the microscope to tell you if it's a worthwhile purchase. Read on to find out if Carenado's rendition of this popular aircraft is hot or not.

The Saab Safir certainly is more of an exotic airplane. Paul Kilsby had a closer look to find out if this add-on from SibWings is a worthy addition to your flight sim hangar. (Spoiler: If you don't want to miss out on must-have add-ons, better go read this review!)

The first flight simulator I ever laid hands on was something I wrote myself on a Sinclair ZX-81. It had no sound, and consisted of a few lines that moved up and down on screen, along with an altimeter than changed every few seconds. Jumping from that to Sublogic's Flightsim on the Apple II was amazing - color, a lot more instruments and even a hill or two! Flight Sims have evolved over the years since then to the point where they can look almost real at times. The difference between the scenery in FS2000 and that of FSX is particularly marked. The same however, is not true of the simulated sky. Although the default FSX clouds are now 3D and multi-layered, they have not gone through the same revolutionary changes as the rest of the simulation, at least to my eyes.

The guys from Sky Blue Radio have teamed up with our magazine to bring you the very best in reviews. Our first review comes to us from Sky Blue Radio’s news anchor, News Guy Larry. Larry keeps his watchful eye over the flight simulation and real world aviation communities bringing the listeners of Sky Blue Radio the best variety of news from the 4 corners of the globe. In this issue, News Guy Larry takes a look at the Columbia 400 and evaluates what the Eaglesoft Development Group has done with this sleek little general aviation aircraft.

Normally seen and heard scooting about in light GA craft of various sorts, I surmised the Messerschmitt Bf 109 would be like swapping the Family sedan for a Porsche 911. This aircraft certainly has a lot more power compared to what I'm normally used to, but flying in a WW2 fighter certainly made for an interesting change.

It is very rare to come across something where the initial impression is so profound, that you instantly know that this moment will become a new yardstick for future experiences. Test flying the Dornier Do-27 for FS2004 was such a moment. In my opinion, it has set a new standard for General Aviation (GA) aircraft for flight simming – nothing less. After spending a couple of hours flying the Do-27, I became very attached to this little beauty with loads of "aero-nality".

I have to admit to that I was really looking forward to reviewing the latest package from Robin Corn's RealNZ scenery. As an expatriate New Zealander, Robin Corn's Tauranga and Rotorua sceneries are the only way I have "visiting" home with any regularity. So it was with great delight that I opened this box when it came in the mail.

Ever heard of Bruce Artwick's Flight Simulator? Geoff Cramond's Aviator? Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer? These are some of the very first desktop flight simulators, and believe it or not, flight simulation is a quarter of a century old. Flight Sims certainly have come a long way sine then. The graphics in modern flight sims are simply stunning - you sit in extremely realistic cockpits flying over extremely realistic landscapes. But graphics isn't all what makes a flight sim, the underlying flight dynamics is what makes a virtual aircraft behave like its real counterpart - or not. After 25 years of flight simulation, we think it's time to have a closer look under the hood of two very popular ones: Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X and Laminar Research’s X-Plane 8.50.

What is better than owning a copy of Microsoft's new FSX? Some people may argue their FS9 setup does just fine, but how does FS9 in a fullblown Boeing 737-800 simulator sound? Early this year, I finally found some time to visit the team from Pacific Simulators in Christchurch, New Zealand, who specialise in the building of fully functional B737 cockpits. Having growing out of homebuilt cockpit solutions, their simulators are simply phenomenal - they are approved for pilot training and qualify as FAA level 4 trainers. Some of their simulators are built especially for their Flight Experience franchise which allows simmers like you and me to spend some quality time in their B737 sims. I visited two of their franchise outlets, one in Christchurch and one in Wellington, to learn more about what Flight Experience really is and how much fun you can have in one of their sims.