PC Pilot - 119 - January-February 2019 PDF

SPITFIRE!
A FLIGHT SIMMER’S GUIDE
Flight Simulation - Your complete guide www.pcpilot.net
UPGRADE!
Downloads
Videos and
Freeware
See Page 8-11
PMDG’S 747-8
Optimising
X-Plane 11
A hints and tips guide
MAC
Attack
Modern Air Combat
by Eagle Dynamics
Game
Changer
Orbx’s TrueEarth GB South
PLUS! REVIEWS: Just Flight’s Hawk T1/A for X-Plane 11, A2A’s Bonanza January/February 2019 Number:119
www.pcpilot.net UK £4.99
V-Tail, Aeroplane Heaven’s Lancaster B Mk.I, Drzewiecki Design’s Seattle City XP
and Seattle Airports X and VSKYLABS’ Tecnam P2006T. INTERVIEW: Prepar3D
v4.4. FEATURES: Flight Sim 2018, Challenging Airports and Flight Adventure.
HARDWARE: Wired2Fire’s X15-V2 PC. TUTORIAL: Back to Basics GA series.
R E F E R –
WHATSD O YO U P
O R T H ? OB O T H?
R
OU TH O R N
Available as download:
www.aerosoft.com
EDITORIAL
PCPilot
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facebook.com/pcpilot
Visit us
Flight Simulation – Your Complete Guide www.pcpilot.net
Exciting Times!
H
by any other scenery product.
Prepar3D version 4.4, a feature
for which starts on page 48,
is considered by its maker,
Lockheed Martin, to be “the
largest and most comprehensive
point release to date”.
A2A Simulations continues to
raise the bar for GA simulation with
the release of its Beech Bonanza
V-Tail (pages 24-26), which our
own Peter Stark considers to
be one of the most outstanding
GA products in recent times.
So, in terms of progress
H
ello and a warm and innovation, it would be
welcome to an exciting fair to say that flight simmers
issue of PC Pilot. These have never had it so good.
are indeed exciting Other exciting news includes
times for our hobby as we are the imminent release of Eagle
currently witnessing so much Dynamics’ newest combat
development and progress within flight sim aimed at a broader
the industry, which is borne out audience entitled Modern Air
by the products covered in this Combat or ‘MAC’ for short. of a new series in which we put
issue. Here are a few examples: We have an in-depth interview the spotlight on well-known
PMDG’s 747-8 Queen of the with its producer, Matt Wagner, military aircraft. Each instalment
Skies II expansion pack (reviewed starting on page 40, who provides will include a brief history and
on pages 12-15) features several us with much information a detailed look at the flight
ground-breaking innovations that on this new franchise. simulations currently available
raise their own bar even further. In addition, given X-Plane’s for the aircraft being covered.
ORBX’s ground-breaking
scenery TrueEarth GB South
ongoing development in recent
months, we thought the time
To get this series off to a flying
start, we begin with the iconic
SUBSCRIBE
for X-Plane 11 (pages 20-23)
includes a tremendous amount
was right to offer an optimising
guide for this platform, for
Vickers Supermarine Spitfire.
We hope you enjoy this issue.
AND SAVE!
of elements and detail which both old as well as new users; Happy flight simming! Subscribe to PC Pilot and make
create a reality within the host you’ll find this on page 80. Derek Davis, Editor great savings on cover price!
simulator that is as yet unmatched Finally, this issue sees the start Derek@pcpilot.net See pages 78-79 for details.
EDITORIAL MARKETING Postmaster: Send address corrections to PC Pilot website. We are pleased to recognise
Editor: Derek Davis (derek@pcpilot.net) Group Marketing Manager: Martin Steele PC Pilot, Key Publishing Ltd, C/O 3390 Rand all trademark and copyright holders and try to
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www.pcpilot.net #119 PC PILOT / 3

CONTENTS
Contents
Regulars Hardware
72 Full speed ahead - Wired2Fire’s
03 Editorial X15-V2
06 News
08 Downloads
76 Letters Interviews
40 Modern Air Combat -
Reviews An interview with Matt Wagner
12 A benchmark in innovation - We recently learned that Eagle Dynamics
PMDG’s 747-8 Queen of the was working on a new and exciting
Skies II Expansion Pack project called ‘Modern Air Combat’ -
designed to appeal to a wider audience
16 Advanced trainer -
of flight simmers. We contacted Matt
Just Flight’s Hawk T1/A Wagner, Eagle Dynamics’ Senior
20 Southern Britain presented Producer, to find out more…
in extraordinary detail -
Orbx’s TrueEarth GB South 48 Prepar3D v4.4 - An interview with
24 A2A continues to raise the Adam R Breed
bar - A2A Simulations’ Prepar3D version 4.4 is, according to
Beech Bonanza V-Tail Lockheed Martin, “the largest and most
comprehensive point release to date”.
28 The Dambuster - Aeroplane We spoke to Prepar3D Engineering
Heaven’s Lancaster B Mk.I Project Manager, Adam R Breed to
32 X-Plane 11's default city now discover what the new update includes.
available from Drzewiecki - 72 Wired2Fire’s X15-V2
Drzewiecki Design’s Seattle Features
City XP 52 Flight Sim 2018 - A special show 60 Challenging Airports: Sucre,
36 A round-robin trip visiting report Bolivia (SLSU)
Seattle’s airports - Drzewiecki Now in its sixth year, ‘Flight Sim In this instalment, we travel to Sucre, the
Design’s Seattle Airports X Show’ is an annual event organised capital of the South American country
44 The flexible, economical by Just Flight. Over 1,800 people of Bolivia. Located in the highland
light twin - VSKYLABS attended this year’s show, the largest valleys of the Central Cordillera and with
since it began. Thomas Haynes mountain peaks to over 21,000ft, it is an
Tecnam P2006T brings us this special show report. extremely challenging region for aviators.
Next Month
The next issue of
PC Pilot (Issue 120) will
be on sale in UK shops
on February 21.
12 PMDG’s 747-8 Queen of the Skies II
4 / PC PILOT #119 www.pcpilot.net

Modern Air Combat 40
68 The Spitfire – 64 Norway Flight Adventure
A Flight Simmer’s As spring arrives in the far north,
Guide: Part 1 Peter Stark flies through south-
western Norway and again takes
a closer look at another aviation
classic – the Piper PA-31 Navajo.
68 The Spitfire – A Flight Simmer’s

Guide: Part 1
In this new series, we put the spotlight
on well-known military aircraft. It will
include their history and a comparison of
the flight simulations currently available
for each type in terms of their internal
and external graphical presentation,
systems modelling and flight dynamics.
80 Optimising X-Plane 11 -
The arrival of X-Plane 11 has pushed
the platform into the mainstream arena
of our hobby. Jessica Bannister-Pearce
provides valuable hints and tips on
getting the most from this simulator.
Tutorials
56 GA Back to Basics:
Executing your flight plan
In this instalment, we will complete
the flight plan started in our
previous issue before taking
off and putting it into practice,
while learning some simple
techniques to keep us on track.
56 Executing your flight plan 48 Interview: Prepar3D v4.4

NEWS
Vulcan
Just Flight has announced its highly
takes flight
range of realistic payload options, ground The Vulcan B Mk2 saw service in the Cold
anticipated Avro Vulcan B Mk. 2 for Prepar3D equipment, detailed animations including War and XM655, on which this product
and FSX is now available. The aircraft has a multi-stage brake parachute, along with is based, was delivered in 1964 and saw
been developed by Just Flight’s in-house custom-coded systems and avionics. service as part of the UK’s nuclear deterrent
team after comprehensive hands-on The 3D virtual cockpit features an force throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
research with a real Vulcan B Mk. 2, XM655, operational oxygen regulator system, It is now being preserved by a team of
based at Wellesbourne Airfield. Featuring authentic VHF/UHF radios, checklists, volunteers at Wellesbourne Airfield. The
11 high-resolution paint schemes, it covers fully functioning magnetic indicators, Vulcan is available on the Just Flight
its time in RAF service and comes with a warning lights and push-to-test buttons. website (www.justflight.com) for £39.99.
IL-2 Sturmovik updated

1C Game Studios (1CGS) has released a high speed is another step closer to reality.
major update to IL-2 Sturmovik Bodenplatte The damage system of simple AI-controlled
and Flying Circus. Version 3.007 features vehicles is much more detailed and AI
four new aircraft: for Bodenplatte, the pilots have been improved. In addition,
P-47D-28 and Bf 109 K-4 and for Flying several improvements have been added
Circus, the Sopwith Camel and Pfalz D.IIIa. to the simulator, including new mission
The flight model now takes types in career mode and fixes to make
aerodynamic compressibility at high the multiplayer experience smoother.
Mach numbers into account. Important changes have also been made
This complex modelling is required for high- to the game stats that adjust the kill
Goodwood
speed piston and jet aircraft, which 1CGS registering logic along with improvements
plans to introduce in Bodenplatte. Now all to the graphics, user interface, physics and
for X-Plane
aircraft in the Great Battles series have this aircraft systems. For more information
feature, so dogfighting at high altitude and visit https://il2sturmovik.com/news/
Announced
Orbx has revealed that the next UK airport
for X-Plane will be EGHR Goodwood.
This airport was the first that the
developer had previously released for
England for FSX/Prepar3D. Almost every
object seen at the real airport has been
photographed, modelled and placed.
Highlights include high-resolution ground
imagery, static aircraft and vehicles and
animated Ferrari car racing, along with
custom vegetation, Goodwood House
and racecourse and animated clocks.
For the best experience, Orbx
recommends using EGHR in conjunction
with TrueEarth Great Britain South. EGHR
Goodwood Airport will be available to
purchase from OrbxDirect for $24.35
(£18.50 approx). Previous customers who
purchased the FSX/P3D version will get
an automatic 40% discount. For more
information, visit https://orbxdirect.com/.

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The Flying Boxcar Ready for Take-Off

Aeroplane Heaven has announced the Fairchild
C-119 Flying Boxcar for FSX and Prepar3D is
now available. The package features a high-
fidelity 3D model with eight authentic liveries and
a paint kit for creating custom artwork. Other
highlights include accurately rendered Pratt &
Whitney radial engines, a custom stereo sound
pack and various animations such as control
surfaces, flaps and the undercarriage. Up front,
the virtual cockpit has also been accurately
portrayed with authentic, animated controls.
Aeroplane Heaven has modelled three
variants: a paratrooper transport, cargo
carrier and a clean ‘Thunderbirds Support’
model. The cargo bay has been recreated
in detail with operational doors along
with 3D pilots, loadmaster figures and
paratroopers. A configuration tool can be
used for customising various options such
as setting a ‘Cold and Dark’ state, select
cargo options and carry out parachute drops.
The Boxcar is available on the Aeroplane
Heaven website (www.aeroplaneheaven.
com) for $29.95 (£23 approx).
Denver Airport released After eight months and well over 1,000 hours
of development, KDEN Denver International
Airport is available on the x-plane.org store.
Developed by X-Codr, the scenery is a
detailed recreation of Denver Airport featuring
custom buildings and concourses with
modelled interiors and glass reflections.
Detailed orthophotos have been included
along with winter and wet rainy textures. The
package is World Traffic 3-compatible and
comes with animated jetways, vehicle traffic
while ground services will service your aircraft
on request. Other highlights include detailed
under and overpasses, sloped runways,
taxiways and ditches. Denver is available for
$27.95 (£22/€24.50) on www.x-plane.org.
SIAI-Marchetti SF-260 for X-Plane

JRollon Planes has announced the release spark plug fouling or carburettor icing. Other features include 3D audio effects
of SIAI-Marchetti SF-260 for X-Plane 11. Wear and tear also extends to the cockpit, for the engine and systems in both
Designed to be a highly accurate recreation which means instruments can fail and may internal and external view. The sounds
of the SF260, the package features a give incorrect readings, light and indicator are muffled by closing the canopy and
detailed 3D model with 4K textures and bulbs may start blinking and fail and the wearing the headsets. The package is
nine liveries. A blank template for creating phosphorous lights will dim at night as time Virtual Reality (VR)-compatible and is
custom paint jobs is also included. passes. A full set of working circuit breakers is designed to be light on frame rates.
Other highlights include code-driven flight also included, so in case of generator failure, The SIAI-Marchetti SF-260 is available on
dynamics with realistic take-off, landing you can use them to shed the battery load. www.x-plane.org for $44.95 (£35 approx).
and cruise performance. Aerobatics have
also been modelled with authentic stall
and spins. The Reality Expansion Pack
(REP) from SimCoders is also part of the
package, which introduces realistic systems
modelling and adds aircraft persistence,
with each livery having its own state that
is saved between flights with cumulative
damage. A maintenance report can be
used to check the status of the aircraft
and perform maintenance and repairs.
The Lycoming O-540-E4A5 is modelled down
to the smallest bolt with an accurate fuel and
oil system, so it is possible to experience

DOWNLOADS pcpilot.net/online-content
Downloads
Movies
As usual, we have a fine
Specially selected
demos, videos
and flight sim
products
collection of videos for you this

issue complementing some of
the articles featured in this issue.
VSKYLABS’
Tecnam P2006T
This presentation is unusual in that it shows A2A Simulations’ Beech Bonanza V-Tail
VSKYLABS’ Tecnam P2006T being used This superb video, presented by A2A’s the approach and design philosophy
in native VR. It also highlights the wealth of owner, Scott Gentile, gives the viewer adopted by the team at A2A in creating
detail that has been included in this product a thorough explanation of the concept this simulation. You can read our full and
– a review for which starts on page 44. behind the V-Tail Bonanza, as well as detailed review starting on page 24.
Just Flight’s
Hawk T1/A
This video showcases the photorealistic
quality of Just Flight’s high-fidelity Hawk T1/A
designed for X-Plane - both from internal
and external perspectives. The realistic and
3D quality of the cockpit, as well as the
glass-like appearance of the instruments,
is also shown off to good effect. Read
our detailed review starting on page 16.
CD Contents now Virtual Airlines

available via download We have some interesting newcomers to our references (with accompanying issue and
Due to popular demand, we are pleased to VA and flying club listing for you. Take a look page numbers) to all our past reviews of
announce that the entire contents of the PC to see if there is one to suit your taste. The software and hardware as well as features,
Pilot cover disc is now available to our print experience and fun of being part of a virtual tutorials and more. Now you can find that
and digital readers via our website. club or airline are second to none. elusive article you’ve been looking for.
To gain access to the files just go to
www.pcpilot.net. PC Pilot Index Utilities
Click on the ‘Online Content’ button Looking for a review on a particular product, You’ll need WinZip and Acrobat Reader
located on the right-hand side of the page. feature or tutorial? Then look no further. Our for reading PDF documents and opening
Input the following code: 7616-319022 regularly updated PC Pilot Index includes Zip files.

Eagle Dynamics’
Modern Air Combat
True to form, Eagle Dynamics has produced
another amazing video, this time to
showcase their latest product Modern Air
Combat. ‘MAC’ allows you to fly combat
jets from the Korean war, Vietnam, Iraq and
modern-day. Aircraft from each of these
eras are included in this exciting and highly
polished trailer. To find out more, read our
interview with Matt Wagner, Senior Producer
of Eagle Dynamics, starting on page 40.
Drzewiecki
Design’s Seattle
City XP and
Seattle Airports X
The amazing and extreme detail
present in these two scenery products,
both designed for X-Plane, is shown off
to good effect in this video. Our reviews
for Seattle City and Seattle Airports,
respectively start on pages 32 and 36.
Orbx’s TrueEarth
Great Britain
South
This presentation shows off the
amazingly beautiful and photorealistic
look of Orbx’s TrueEarth Great Britain
South – designed for X-Plane. Features
highlighted in this video include: the water-
masking along the coastlines, the millions
of accurately placed life-like trees, the
new autogen technology, VFR landmarks
and custom-modelled 3D ‘points of
interest’. Our review starts on page 20.
Reviews -
Screenshot Galleries
To help give our readers a better appreciation of the products
reviewed in this issue, we have compiled the screenshots
accompanying some of the articles into a series of galleries.

DOWNLOADS
Featured Download A fine workhorse that

Mihaly has captured
in great detail.
Let L-410 Turbolet

O
ur featured aircraft in this
Once again we have a collection of high-quality freeware files for you issue was designed by Mihaly
to enjoy. These aircraft, scenery and utilities easily compare with many Alberti for X-Plane 11.20 and
commercial products but don’t forget, if you’ve enjoyed a particular file above. It’s based on an aircraft
manufactured by the Czech aircraft
please let the author know, it’s their only payback. By the same token manufacturer Let Kunovice (named
we’re always interested to hear from you if you’ve downloaded or Aircraft Industries in 2005). The design
was initiated by the need of the Soviet
designed a file that you think is worth sharing. By Joe Lavery airline Aeroflot to replace its ageing fleet
Star Performers from the Internet
1 2 3
1: Synthetic ILS 3: Ermolaev Er-2 Russian 4: Lewiston Nez-Perce City
This instrument enables the selection bomber Airport
of any of the 24,491 airports that exist Here’s another fine aircraft from the prolific Lewiston Nez-Perce City Airport, is two
in the database of FSX and Prepar3D, A F Scrub. It’s a slight deviation from miles south of Lewiston, Idaho. It’s classed
and then the selection of any runway at his usual fighter range. This time he has as a primary commercial service airport
that airport. It will also give you distance, concentrated his undeniable skills on a by the FAA, with close to 40,000 aircraft
bearing and steering data plus a lot Yermolayev Yer-2 - a long-range Soviet operations a year. This version was
more. Designed by Karol Chlebowski. medium bomber used during World War Two. designed for FSX by Sidney Schwartz.
Author: Karol Chlebowski Author: A.F. Scrub Author: Sidney Schwartz
Platform: FS2004/FSX/Prepar3D Platform: FSX/Prepar3D Platform: FSX
2: Douglas Dolphin
The Douglas Dolphin was an amphibian
designed at the end of the 1920s as a luxury
air yacht. However, its market was ruined
by the Great Depression and it became
mostly used as a military aircraft. The model
here was designed by David Wooster.
Author: David Wooster
Platform: FS2004 4 5

of Antonov An-2 aircraft. The prototype
first flew in 1969 powered by two Pratt &
Whitney Canada PT6-27 engines, however
the aircraft depicted in this package, the
L-410UVP-E, first flew in 1984, with full
production only beginning in 1986. The
main difference from the original design
was the aircraft’s short take-off and landing Little
capabilities (STOL). It was also fitted with Navmap
Walter M 601 E turboprop engines, combined
with Avia V-510 5-blade propellers.
Mihaly has done a superb job on this Just two textures are provided, one passenger and one cargo.
design, particularly within the cockpit where
just about every switch, button and lever I also have to commend him for his excellent controls, accompanied by clear images of
is modelled but more importantly they all manual, which stands as a fine example the area being described... fantastic work!
function. Producing such a fine model is quite that many commercial companies could Author: Mihaly Alberti
an achievement, particularly for one person. emulate. It has detailed descriptions of all the Platform: X-Plane 11
The 3D modelling of the

cockpit is superb and
fully functional.
PERMISSION
Although the authors of these files have very kindly given us
their permission to include them on our website, they still
remain the property and copyright of the authors. You are
free to enjoy them for you own use, but they must not in any
circumstances be distributed, copied, uploaded to any other
websites or disassembled in any way whatsoever.
5: Bavarian Harbour Lindau

This is something of a departure from
our normal recommendations as it’s not
an aircraft or an airport. It’s the harbour
at Lindau in Germany. It was designed
by Erwin Welker, who has included a
rather nice steerable boat for the trip.
Author: Erwin Welker 7 8
Platform: FSX
7: Kertajati Airport 8: Dunedin Airport
6: T-80 Falcon II Bandar Udara International is the second Here we have a very detailed rendition of
It’s hard to believe that Jenn Kimball biggest airport in Indonesia, located Dunedin Airport, located at the bottom
(A-Pilot) designed this little warbird in a at Kertajati, in the West Java Province. tip of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s a
week. He tells me it was to see if he’d It’s a beta version designed by Hery beautiful, sometimes wild place, populated
forgotten how to do it! Well, I would Frianto (SceneryDesignIndonesia) that by particularly friendly people. Designed
say he hasn’t; what do you think? currently only has day textures. for X-Plane 11 by Stefan Lorenz.
Author: Jenn Kimball Author: Hery Frianto Author: Stefan Lorenz
Platform: X-Plane 11 Platform: FSX Platform: X-Plane 11
Library files
Most X-plane users will already know
that many freeware airport designers
make use of the freeware library files
to enhance their creations. Consequently,
it’s important to read the documentation
within each file, to find out which libraries
have been used. These library files need
to be installed in order to experience
these airports as the authors intended.
6

REVIEW ADD-ON FOR FSX AND PREPAR3D
747-8 Queen o
PMDG’s
F
or those of us who transverse the
The Air Force One fleet globe in our virtual jetliners, PMDG
is due to be upgraded needs little introduction. Over the
with two Boeing 747- years the company has established
8s. The aircraft are
scheduled for delivery a solid reputation for developing ultra-realistic
by December 2024. airliners while introducing new technologies
that have set a benchmark for innovation. Its
latest product, the PMDG 747-8 Queen of
the Skies II, was released as an expansion to
the 747-400V3 base pack (reviewed in Issue
109) and includes both the freighter and the
passenger versions. It also features several
ground-breaking innovations that promise to
raise the bar even further. So without further
ado, let’s take a closer look at PMDG’s latest
flagship product to find out how it measures up.
A brief history of the Boeing 747

There are not many aircraft that have changed
the landscape of aviation like the Boeing
747. When it first took to the sky in 1969, it

PCPilot PCPil
PLATINUM CLASSI
AWARD AWARD
of the Skies II
Expansion Pack PCPilot PCPilo
Classic Classi
A new benchmark in innovation
opened the world up to affordable long-haul air fly-by-wire control system was fitted for the standard, capturing the massive and sleek
travel. For more than four decades, the iconic spoilers and outboard ailerons to save weight. shape of the -8 - from the streamlined
jumbo jet, with its distinctive hump, reigned The freighter version entered into service with fuselage to the raked wingtips and saw-
supreme as the world’s largest passenger Cargolux in 2011 and the 747-8 Intercontinental toothed engine cowlings. Details such
jetliner, carrying millions of travellers to exotic passenger variant was delivered to Lufthansa in as control surfaces, flaps/slats and the
destinations to the farthest corners of the globe. May the following year. Although the type has undercarriage are all accurately modelled
During its lifespan, the type has gone through seen limited success on the passenger market, and fully animated along with the passenger
several upgrades, from the classic 747-100 as airlines have opted for cheaper and more and cargo doors. A new physics-based wing
and -200, equipped with a three-crew analogue economical twin jets such as the 777, it has flex model was also introduced on the -8.
flight deck, to the updated glass cockpit of had a greater uptake with cargo operators. On the ground, the wings now droop when
the -400. The third generation of the Boeing To date, Boeing has confirmed orders fully laden with fuel, and in flight the amount
jetliner, the 747-8, has undergone even more for 150, comprising 103 freighters and 47 of upward flex varies depending on how
technological refinements. The fuselage was passenger aircraft. As a matter of interest, much lift is being generated. Wing flex is
extended by 5.6m (18.3ft) and the maximum the US Air Force is planning to upgrade also affected by turbulence and in bumpy
take-off weight was increased to 975,000lb. It its 747-200s that currently serve as Air conditions they are buffeted and the engines
was fitted with more economical and quieter Force One with two -8s. The aircraft are sway on the pylons. These effects are also
General Electric GEnx-2B67B powerplants scheduled for delivery by December 2024. extended to the cockpit, which shakes and
along with more efficient wings with raked rattles when flying through turbulent air.
wingtips to reduce drag in the cruise. The Walkaround As with the 747-400V3, the -8 features a
flaps and slats were redesigned to provide As can be expected with products from PMDG, fleet of service vehicles including air stairs,
improved low-speed performance while a the exterior model is made to an excellent fuel truck, ground power unit, cargo loaders

and maintenance vans. You can even call cabin

cleaning or get catering to top up the bar. If you
set real-time refuelling, the service vehicles will
arrive in time with the actual fuelling process,
which gives you a real sense of immersion.
Flight deck
Although on the surface, the flight decks of
the 747-8 and -400 appear similar, the former
has received some significant upgrades. The
mechanical trim indicator has moved from the
throttle quadrant and is now a digital readout on
the upper EICAS display, the overhead has been
simplified, particularly around the engine start
panel and the NavComs on the centre console
have been upgraded to more modern units.
A new feature debuted on the -8 is
RainMaker, which introduces dynamic rain,
snow and condensation effects on the
cockpit windows. These effects depend on
weather conditions and are affected by the
aircraft’s systems such as window heat and
windshield wipers. According to PMDG,
insects can be splatted on the windscreen
depending on the season and metrological
conditions, but the winged pests managed
to avoid hitting my windscreen during the
various test flights. RainMaker is only available
in Prepar3D version 4.3 and higher and is
not compatible with the FSX version.
There are also larger upgrades to the flight
deck including Aircraft Communications
Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS),
Electronic Checklists (ECL) and a brand
new Electronic Flight Bag (EFB).
Aircraft communications
One of the key systems introduced on the -8
is ACARS. Real airliners use this system to
communicate with the outside world via radio or
satellite. In previous PMDG aircraft, the ACARS
data link was simulated in the background
without the need for the sim pilot to manually
establish a connection to access data such as Above: RainMaker introduces dynamic rain, snow and condensation effects on the windows in the cockpit.
Below: A fleet of ground support vehicles are standing by to service the aircraft on arrival.
weather, flight plans and performance data. In
the 747-8, you can now establish an ACARS
data link and enter flight planning information
such as departure/destination airports, estimated
take-off time and time en route, very much like
on the real -8. The ACARS feature is however
optional and it is still possible to load flight plans
using the traditional company route method, as
with the original 747-400 base pack. According
to PMDG, the ACARS feature is part of the
upcoming PMDG Global Flight Operations that
will provide users with advanced functions such
as obtaining weather forecasts or airline-specific
information, although this will also be optional.
Electronic checklist
Another new system that has found its way on
to the flight deck on the -8 are ECLs, which System requirements
are similar to those found on the PMDG 777. Minimum system requirements: Simulator: Prepar3D v3.4+ or Microsoft Flight Simulator X/FSX: Steam
The checklists are displayed on the ECAM Edition. Processor: Dual core, 2.5GHz or faster. Memory: 4GB. Graphics: 2GB minimum, DirectX 9
displays and cover normal operating procedures compatible Nvidia or ATI card. Onboard motherboard or CPU video is not supported. Some of the newer
from startup to shutdown. In case of a failure, Intel designs may work but PMDG cannot guarantee compatibility. Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit
the appropriate checklist is automatically (older operating systems such as Windows XP may work, but PMDG cannot guarantee compatibility or
support). Recommended system requirements: Simulator: Prepar3D v3.4+ or Microsoft Flight Simulator
displayed, providing a step-by-step guide to
X/FSX: Steam Edition. Hardware: Quad Core, 4.0GHz or faster. RAM: 8GB or higher. Graphics: DirectX
solving the problem. As well as monitoring 11 capable video card with at least 4GB of dedicated VRAM. Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit.
critical failures, minor faults and conditions are Test system: Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz overclocked to 4.2GHz. Graphics: Nvidia GTX1060
also covered such as fuel imbalance or a failed 6GB. RAM: 16GB DDR3. Hard Drive: 512GB SSD.

PCPilot PCPi
PLATINUM CLASS
AWARD AWAR
Right: Interactive electronic checklists cover normal

operating procedures as well as abnormal conditions.
Left: Up front, the flight deck on the 747-8 has been
PCPilot PCPil
modernised with cutting-edge technology.
Classic Class
Below: One of the more innovative features introduced
in the 747-8 is the EFB (Electronic Flight Bag).
fuel pump. The checklists are interactive, so on your simulator, so the view you see out the a Flight Crew Operations Manual (FCOM),
some items are checked off by the pilot, while window will match the airport diagram on the Quick Reference Handbook (QRH), a detailed
other items need to be physically set on the ND. When installing new add-on airports, the introduction to the 747 and a tutorial flight.
aircraft such as the flaps, trim or fuel pumps. EFB will even remind you to rescan the scenery It also comes with a supplementary section,
While there is a lot of commonality with the library to keep it up-to-date. This feature is a which highlights the differences between the
PMDG 777 ECL, there are also some differences. superb solution to providing an accurate map -400 and -8. Combined, the manuals provide
Where the mouse is used to manipulate the of airports in your scenery library and is one detailed information on the inner workings
checklists via a touchscreen interface on the of the most elegant and innovative systems of the 747 family as well as an in-depth
777, on the -8 it is used to operate a push-to- I have seen in flight simulation. Nice job! description on how to operate the aircraft.
select function knob on the side of the centre
console. So the physical mouse is used to Vertical Situation Display Conclusion
manipulate a knob to make selections on the The second addition to the ND is the Vertical PMDG continues to raise the bar with every
ECL. It is however possible to revert back to the Situation Display (VSD), which shows the product release and the 747-8 is no exception.
old style 777 ECL touchscreen interface via the position of the aircraft in relation to the terrain Visually, the aircraft is made to an excellent
options menu on the Control Display Unit (CDU). and the vertical profile during climb, cruise and standard. The flight deck is the heart of the
descent. This is very useful when flying in areas simulation and has been recreated in incredible
Electronic Flight Bag surrounded by high terrain at night or in bad detail, both in terms of 3D modelling and
One of the more innovative features weather. The ND also displays any suitable airport system’s simulation. In fact, the depth of systems
introduced in the package is the Electronic alternates in case you have to land in a hurry. modelling is such that it is impossible to cover
Flight Bag (EFB). This is a central system every nuance in this review and I could easily
used for calculating take-off and landing Flight model spend months learning to master the aircraft.
data. Parameters such as weight and fuel, Despite its size, the PMDG 747-8 is stable It does come with a steep price tag. To fly
runway in use, flap settings and weather and responsive. Take-offs are smooth and at the -8, you first need to purchase the PMDG
information can be entered on the EFB and the light weights; it climbs like a homesick angel. 747-400 base pack. That said, it is one of the
Vspeeds are then automatically calculated. Even at maximum take-off weight, climb and most complete packages for a single aircraft
The EFB comes with several additional pilot cruise performance was superior to the -400. type that is available for flight simulation
utilities including a basic calculator and unit During the approach, there was little change in and will keep you busy for years to come.
conversion functions. It can also be used for pitch when the flaps and undercarriage were Overall, I found the 747-8 to be absorbing,
viewing the accompanying documentation deployed. According to PMDG, the engine and fun to learn and very rewarding. PCP
for the aircraft and to display terminal charts flight model is within 5% of the actual aircraft, By Richard Benedikz
for the departure and arrival airports. You including data and parameters specific to the
can even select which charts to display, GEnx engines. Frame rates were also good for
zoom in or out or view the charts in day or such a complex aircraft. On our test system PC Pilot Verdict
At a glance: PMDG has captured the spirit of
night mode. If you have an active Navigraph (see box-out), frame rates were around 25 to 30
Boeing’s latest high-tech jetliner. The sheer scope
subscription, Navigraph charts can be at detailed airports and around the mid-40s in of the package combined with in-depth systems
viewed on the EFB, which is a nice touch. the cruise. Overall, these are impressive results! modelling will keep experienced virtual airline
pilots happy for months (if not years) to come.
Airport Map Display Operations Center Developer: PMDG Simulations
The Navigation Display (ND) has also undergone As with the current PMDG fleet, the ‘Operations Price:
significant upgrades. First up is the Airport Center’ can be used to install the generous Prepar3D
747-400V3 base pack: $139.99 (£109 approx)
Map Display. This provides a top-down view selection of historic and current airline liveries 747-8 expansion: $69.99 (£54 approx)
of an airport when you set the range scale including real-world operators, so you can FSX
to 0.5nm or below. As well as displaying an fly aircraft with the same equipment as 747-400V3 base pack: $99.99 (£78 approx)
airport diagram, it lists the taxiway names, gate the actual airline. New or updated liveries 747-8 expansion $49.99 (£39 approx)
numbers and shows the location of the aircraft automatically become available as they Website: www.precisionmanuals.com
on the airport map. This is an excellent way to are released. The Operations Center also Flight Model: Excellent
improve situational awareness on the ground checks if the aircraft is up-to-date in case Graphics: Excellent
at unfamiliar airports when making your way to any patches have been released. Links to Documentation: Excellent
Systems: Excellent
95
the departure runway or finding the right gate the documentation are also provided, which
PC Pilot Score:
on arrival. The EFB scans the scenery library consists of official Boeing manuals including

REVIEW ADD-ON FOR X-PLANE 11
Hawk
Just Flight's
System requirements
X-Plane 11. CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at
3.5GHz or faster. 8GB RAM or more. DirectX
12-capable graphics card from Nvidia, AMD
or Intel with at least 4GB VRAM (GeForce GTX
1070 or better or similar from AMD). Windows
10 / 7 / Vista / XP, Mac OS 10.10 (or higher) or
Linux. 2GB hard drive space.

PCPilot PCPi
PLATINUM CLASS
wk T1/A
AWARD AWAR
PCPilot PCPil
Classic Class
Advanced Trainer W
hile X-Plane has matured rapidly in
the past few years, X-Plane add-on
developers have largely ignored that
subset of simmers who enjoy flying
military aircraft within the confines of a civil
aviation simulator environment. With combat-
related flight sims faring well in their own space,
it isn’t too much of a problem but it is very nice
to see a large entity such as Just Flight throw its
weight behind bringing a superb military trainer
to the virtual skies of X-Plane. With its Hawk
T1/A Advanced Trainer, Just Flight hasn’t just
broken into the X-Plane military add-on market,
they’ve come screaming down the valley into it!
Brief history
The BAE Hawk is a British single-engine jet
trainer that has been flying for nearly 45 years.
Originally manufactured by Hawker Siddeley
in the mid-1970s, production was continued
under British Aerospace and ultimately BAE
Systems into the present day. Over the course
of its production run, multiple variants of the
Hawk have emerged with ever-increasing
capabilities that go beyond even advanced
trainers with some export customers making
extensive modifications to turn them into
frontline light attack aircraft. The Just Flight
Hawk models the T1/A Advanced Trainer
with tandem cockpits, some limited weapons
functionality and the ability to configure
for clean wings, airshow configuration
or with weapons pylons and loads.
Options galore!
The Hawk ships with a dozen superb paint
schemes that include eight RAF squadrons
or training schools and four export liveries
including the Finnish, Indonesian, Royal
Saudi and Swiss air forces. An additional
payware livery pack is available for a modest
£9.99 that further expands the line-up with
another dozen gorgeous repaints with eight
more RAF squadrons, Royal Navy, Hawk
Demonstrator and an additional Finnish
Air Force livery for a total of 24 repaints
when the original package is included.
A pop-up configuration panel has nearly
two dozen options to tailor the Hawk to your
personal preferences on the fly. Settings
include pilot helmet visors, checklists, chocks,
engine and pitot covers, internal or external
boarding ladders, canopy and storage hatch
open/close, left and right frequency display
Above: The cockpit modelling,
panels, HUD option, external stores/weapons,
texture clarity, reflections, centreline smoke generator pod, T1 or T1/A
wear and gauge update rates external appearance, hide control stick, cold
are simply top notch in all
regards. Left: The Hawk can and dark toggle, pilot/instructor toggle and
be flown with two pilots or solo a quick livery changer. All of these options
from the front cockpit.
are available without reloading the aircraft.

REVIEW
Cockpit
The 3D modelling and texturing artwork in
the Hawk is simply top notch in every regard.
Instruments are intricately rendered and
move with perfect fluidity. The large, ball-type
attitude indicator dominating the main panel
is one of my personal favourites for allowing
a level of precise instrument flying that I’ve
Above: Though most of the liveries reflect the Hawk’s predominant utilisation with the Royal Air Force, some
not experienced with card or EFIS-type ADIs. additional liveries such as the Royal Saudi Air Force and a few other export customers are included.
A large, easy-to-adjust HSI is also perfect for Below: The Just Flight Hawk is capable of carrying a small array of X-Plane default weapons which are not
joining radials and shooting precision and non- necessarily approved or realistic weapon loadouts for the actual aircraft.
precision approaches. Since TACAN ground

stations are not simulated in X-Plane, the
TACAN equipment in the Hawk is paired to the
NAV2 VHF frequency and can be referenced
from an included chart. Cockpit work can be
a bit busy simply because you have to divide
your attention between flying the instruments
without the aid of an autopilot or flight director
– it is very much a hands-on aircraft. That said,
there is a tiny little cheat you can use if you
need a little relief. Even though there is not
a physical autopilot control modelled in the
Hawk cockpit, you can still use the X-Plane
key commands to map autopilot commands
that will function in the aircraft. Thus, you
can map a keyboard or HOTAS command ejection seat but the rear cockpit is elevated you are in a hurry. The hydraulic, electrical and
to AUTOPILOT HEADING SELECT and the slightly to help improve the field-of-view. It engine systems are well reproduced allowing for
Hawk will faithfully follow commands from the also helps to lean outboard slightly to the left fun experimentation with failures and relights.
HSI bezel heading selector. Other autopilot or right when you want a better view over the For those times when attempts to restart the
commands such as ALTITUDE HOLD appear nose from the rear cockpit. Fortunately, in the engine are unsuccessful, an entertaining, if not
to work as well. Do with this knowledge what approach and landing attitude, the aircraft exacting modelling of the ejection sequence
you will – but don’t tell your instructor! has a bit of a wheelbarrowing attitude that will send you flying out of the aircraft and
An ILS receiver with glideslope and localiser results in near zero pitch angle and affords gives you a sense of hanging in your chute.
allow for precision approaches, but without a nice view of the runway. It is also worth
a GPS receiver all navigation will have to be mentioning that the cockpit looks fantastic Weapons
conducted using traditional VOR- and ILS- when viewed in a virtual reality (VR) headset. Default X-Plane weapons such as bombs,
based navigation, a nice break from the missiles and fuel tanks can be loaded on the
constant data entry of a modern flight deck. Systems Hawk even if they may not be historically
The aircraft can be flown from the rear cockpit Aircraft systems seem well researched and accurate. Wing pylons can be removed for a
but navigation radios and some other systems implemented. The aircraft is remarkably easy to clean aircraft if you so desire. The weapons safety
like the HUD display adjustments are only bring to life with just a few steps and it does not switch and pylon power is modelled, allowing
accessible from the front cockpit, which is take long to run through the system checks to weapons to be deployed, giving a bit of weapons
why solo flight can only be done from the get airborne. Of course, the menu system also training utility to the module in X-Plane. A HUD is
front seat. The view from the rear cockpit allows for quick state changes from cold and available in the front cockpit but as in real life, it is
is obviously slightly blocked by the forward dark to ready-to-fly with the push of a button if only capable of projecting a reticle that can then
Below: The Hawk makes for a good primary jet trainer
since it is more affordable to purchase and operate
and does not put maintenance pressure on front-line
fighters and attack jets.

PCPilot PCPi
PLATINUM CLASS
AWARD AWAR
be adjusted for drift and depression. Dropping

bombs appears to alter the aircraft CG in a PCPilot PCPil
Classic Class
meaningful way as the aircraft rolls into the side
loaded with asymmetric stores but aircraft weight
does not show a corresponding decrease when
stores are released, so I’m not sure what kind of
modelling is going on there. Whatever the case, A payware livery set is available that features 12
the Hawk definitely reacts to weapons leaving the additional paint schemes such as this RAF 100
Squadron XX312. Below: An excellent pop-up
wings, requiring aileron trim to counter the rolling menu is provided that allows for nearly two dozen
moment. A weapons and fuel loading utility that configuration changes on the fly.
avoids the default X-Plane menu system would
be one of my few recommended improvements.
Flight model
The Just Flight Hawk clearly represents the
culmination of a lot of research and testing
with regard to flight and systems modelling.
The aircraft just feels ‘right’ in all respects and
is a joy to fly. Approaches at around a Vref
speed of 130 knots seem to work out well,
letting speed scrub off over the threshold
for a landing of around 100 knots. With 30
minutes of reserve fuel and a weight of 8,700lb,
the Hawk comes to a stop in just 1,566ft.
With one hour of fuel and two pilots (roughly
9,000lb) the Hawk uses just 1,380ft of runway
for take-off. At a maximum gross weight of intimately aware of how the Hawk would choice for Just Flight / Thranda Design to
12,566lb, the take-off run extends to just about respond to certain control inputs, but I did model due to its approachable systems
3,400ft – still a respectably short distance. find myself getting into some interesting complexity and light weapons modelling.
Manoeuvring feels like what one would corkscrewing spins that seemed to develop The avionics are simple and effective for the
envisage this trainer to be capable of. and sustain themselves, eventually requiring purpose of training students and allow the user
At high speeds, the Hawk is snappy and some anti-spin inputs to exit. Out-of-control to really enjoy the basics of flight and focus on
precise. Manoeuvres that load up the wing flight does seem very dynamic, although it manoeuvring and precision flying. PCP
with G-forces scrub off speed authentically. is hard to say if it is accurate. Inverted flight By Chris Frishmuth
Wingtip vapour trails and fuselage vapour is sustainable given the aircraft’s negative-G
during high-G manoeuvres are paired up fuel compartment and fuel boost pump. One PC Pilot Verdict
with excellent FMOD sounds that create of the options is to set the Hawk in the Red At a glance: A very nicely modelled jet trainer
a variable whooshing sound that sweeps Arrows type configuration with clean wings with well researched and implemented systems,
flight model and superb graphics all around.
over the cockpit in response to the airflow and a centre-mounted smoke-generating pod.
Developer: Just Flight / Thranda Design
change. Sounds from engine start to the I was unable to actually activate the smoke Download Price: $44.99 (£35 approx)
scream of high power in the external pod, saving Londoners the embarrassment of Website: www.justflight.com
views are very immersive and contribute having to witness my pitiful airshow routine. Flight Model: Excellent
to the overall quality feel of the module. Graphics: Excellent
Traditional aerobatics are a blast with the Conclusion Documentation: Excellent
Systems: Excellent
95
Hawk. The very edges of the flight envelope The Hawk is a near perfect military fast
PC Pilot Score:
are a bit harder to judge since I’m not jet for X-Plane 11 and was a very good
Flying from the rear/

instructor cockpit requires
you to lean slightly outboard
to get an unobstructed view
out the front of the canopy.

TrueEarth G
Orbx's
S
o here we come to the next
chapter in Orbx’s ground-breaking
TrueEarth series of products. If you
haven’t yet heard of them, they
combine the features from earlier regional
sceneries while adding a photoreal base
layer, similar to those you’ll find at all their
airports. Moreover, they include a tremendous
amount of additional elements helping to
create a reality within the host simulator that
is as yet unmatched in any other scenery.
Installation
This is a huge product that’s compressed
into an equally huge file of over 27GB,
so typically it must be installed via
the Orbx FTX Central application.
Alternatively, you can download it
manually; keeping the file for later use
in case you ever need to reinstall it.
Above: The nuclear power station on the shores of Lake Trawsfynydd. Below: All major landmarks in central London
Installation is a four-stage operation
are modelled, including Tower Bridge, The Shard and City Hall. HMS Belfast can be seen moored on the Thames. where the file is firstly downloaded,
System requirements
X-Plane 11. Microsoft Windows 7, 8, 10.
Processor: 2.4GHz (or higher). RAM: 4GB (8-
16GB recommended). Video Card: 2GB DirectX
9 compatible (4GB or more recommended).

PCPilot PCPi
PLATINUM CLASS
AWARD AWAR
GB South
PCPilot PCPil
Classic Class
Orbx presents
southern Britain in
extraordinary detail
unzipped, converted and then entered into a reasonable user community-contributed in the next update of X-Plane. They may
the scenery libraries in X-Plane. However, version within the sim already. Instead, Orbx not always be as good as the payware
be prepared - even on a fast system this is porting its previously published FSX/P3D versions, but they are free and undoubtedly
can all take more than two hours. HD airports from FTX England, Scotland and better than the X-Plane default ones.
Wales over to X-Plane 11 as payware add-ons. As something of a footnote, during the
Orbx TrueEarth GB South These will typically offer very highly detailed time I spent reviewing GB South, Orbx
With this product Orbx has concentrated its environments and will range from light GA released the first airport for this product,
undeniable talents on Great Britain; not the strips, through to full international airports Southampton, which if the screenshots
whole country but encompassing southern capable of handling commercial operations. are anything to go by, looks amazing.
England and most of Wales. It covers a This is a bit disappointing, as I was
remarkable 42,000 square miles of hand- looking forward to seeing my home airport Flying over the GB South scenery
corrected, colour-matched aerial imagery. in X-Plane. Orbx did a fantastic job of The best test for any scenery is to fly over
Moreover, it also includes a wealth of hand- Cardiff (EGFF) for Prepar3D, yet it looks it, preferably above an area you might be
placed houses created in styles typical of those like I’ll have to wait until the add-ons are familiar with; then it provides a good base
found in the UK. Orbx will eventually release released before I can see it in X-Plane. for any comparison. As I am always based at
TrueEarth scenery for the whole country in Well, it seems there is another option as Orbx Cardiff, I used this as my departure airport.
three sections: South, Central and North. has also provided a link to the official X-Plane- For my initial short trip I planned a flight to
approved freeware scenery map. This has links Bristol, then on to Exeter for a cuppa, finally
No detailed airports to each of the airport files currently available, landing at Newquay in Cornwall. This took
Unfortunately, X-Plane users will not see any making it easy to download any approved ones me out across the Bristol Channel where I
enhanced airports in TrueEarth Great Britain that may not yet be installed. I understand had my first glimpse of the coastline. The
as Orbx maintains that there is likely to be these approved airports are normally included Orbx team has water-masked the entire

coastline, so you don’t see that abrupt

demarcation between the land and the
water. In fact, in most places, the blend
from one to the other is very subtle and
consequently very natural-looking. The only
thing missing is any movement in the water.
When I arrived at Exeter I was pleasantly
surprised at the quality of the airport,
which after a little investigation I found was
designed by Anthony Dyer, (known in the
community as anthony_d). This is just one
of 180 freeware airports he has designed,
which have already been accepted for
inclusion in the X-Plane update schedule.
In my opinion this is a brilliant idea by
Laminar, getting its users to provide airports
to replace the default ones without charging
for them. Lots of designers do this for the
freeware community anyway, so having them
included in the X-Plane updates is much The GB South scenery is full of airports designed by X-Plane users.
better than trying to install them manually.
Continuing on, I tracked along the south- a week’s holiday with my family in Hunstanton see what the mountains of mid-Wales looked
west coast of Devon before turning almost last year, so I thought that might be interesting like with GB South installed and I must say
due west for Newquay. That’s another area I’m to see from the air. It’s on flights like these I wasn’t disappointed! For this trip I took off
very familiar with, both from the air and from that I realised how diverse and true-to-life this from Welshpool (EGCW), flying northwest to
many happy holidays spent there. The estuary scenery really is. There’s no repetition in the pass over Lake Vyrnwy, which is on a direct
at Exmouth, followed by the bay at Torquay landscape. All the roads, towns and even the heading for the Snowdonia National Park.
is beautifully executed, as was the realism of small hamlets fit perfectly within the natural The rendering of the mountains and lakes is
flying across the peninsular to Newquay. boundaries that surround them. Here again magnificent with unmatched clarity making
The area covered by this release extends as the airports at Birmingham and Leicester are them more realistic than ever before.
far as the Wash in the Northeast, so I flew up nicely detailed, both, as it happens, designed
to Birmingham, then across to Leicester, before by the same author I mentioned earlier. Points of interest
flying east to the coast, mainly because I spent As a Welshman, I was obviously going to Other areas I visited included London, which is
modelled using hundreds of bespoke buildings.
Some of these are highly detailed and easily
recognisable, others not so much, yet the
overall effect is one of flying over a city that
anyone from the UK would instantly recognise.
It’s pretty much the same in my own part of
the world, where the two stadiums at Cardiff
are reproduced in detail, as is Cardiff Castle
just behind the Millennium Stadium. The new
developments within Cardiff Bay, including the
barrage are also easy to spot as they are one
of the Visual Reference Point (VRPs) for pilots
visiting Cardiff Airport. Strangely though the
Windsor Castle is nicely modelled.
new Severn Bridge is missing, yet the old one
Very nicely modelled, but we only have

one bridge across the Severn River.

PCPilot PCPi
PLATINUM CLASS
AWARD AWAR
PCPilot PCPil
Classic Class
Lake Vyrnwy heading for

Snowdonia National Park.
is there and, I might add, very nicely detailed. only has one option, whether you want to overall this is without doubt a superb
I queried this with Orbx, who said a lot keep or remove the default X-Plane roads. product that provides another level of reality,
more 3D elements will be added in the next If you chose to remove them, you only see particularly for those who like to fly Visual
update, which they have done religiously the roads included as part of the photoreal Flight Rules (VFR). The view from the cockpit
with most of their scenery areas in the past. textures. That was the option I chose as you is stunning and I enjoyed flying around
will see in my accompanying screenshots. different parts of the UK that I’ve flown over
Performance There’s also a section on compatibility, as a real-world pilot myself. At the normal
Although technically GB South is a together with a map of the area covered and a cruising height, the visual effect is very close
replacement for the textures already in list of the new features included in this release. to the view you get when looking out of a
X-Plane, these are rendered at a higher real cockpit. For that reason, it’s my opinion
resolution. So I would hazard a guess that this Conclusion that Orbx has produced yet another ‘must-
also means they are larger in size as well. There’s no doubt that GB South is a step up have’ product for all flight simmers. PCP
To be fair, I didn’t notice any loss in from the usual satellite-based imagery used By Joe Lavery
performance with GB South installed, except in the past. It is nonetheless still based on
while flying over London, where there are photographic data which in most areas looks PC Pilot Verdict
literally thousands of buildings for the system fantastic, yet there are a few places where At a glance: Orbx starts its UK transformation
to cope with. What effect this eventually the textures are not quite so convincing. This with True Earth GB South.
Publisher and Developer: Orbx Simulations
might have with some of the highly detailed was more noticeable in parts of the coast and
Price: Download via Orbx FTX Central AUD$
airports installed, I have yet to find out. in urban areas such as London (and other 54.95 (£31.20 approx)
cities), where the ground textures were not so Website: http://fullterrain.com
Documentation crisp. I must admit that I’m being picky here, 3D Modelling: Excellent
The user guide for GB South contains full and generally I was flying pretty low at the Graphics: Very good
instructions on its installation in addition time. However, this blurring you get at close Documentation: Very good
to the options that are available in the quarters is always a problem with photographic Performance: Acceptable but as
always this is hardware-dependant. 95
‘Control Panel’ which is included with most textures, regardless of the resolution. PC Pilot Score:
of their scenery products. In this case it So, putting my comments into perspective,
This is Gatwick submitted by Anthony Dyer.

Beech
A2A Simulations’
Bonanza
S
ome aircraft have a reputation
for distinctive looks, others for
distinctive handling characteristics,
and others for being a great
commercial success. How about an aircraft
V-Tail
that is known for all of the above? Well,
the V-tail Beech Bonanza has it all. So, to
create a simulation of such an aircraft with
those kind of credentials would require a
company with the pre-requisite skill-set and
experience. Enter A2A Simulations…
A pedigree
There wouldn’t be a pilot that hasn’t heard
of, and perhaps dreamt of owning or flying a
Beech Bonanza. Despite its design originating
in 1947, it is still in production today with an
astounding 17,000 having been built. From the
outset, the quality of the build and fit out of the
Bonanza has attracted pilots and is still a status
symbol among GA pilots. As time passed,
variations included more powerful engines,
fuel tip tanks to extend the range to a possible
A2A Simulations continues to raise the bar
The package includes four liveries -
1000nm and refinement in seating numbers and with you being able to select many
layout, as well as the best available avionics. options via the A2A Configurator
But the most written-about feature of the and Workshop pop-up.
Bonanza range would be the very distinct
V-tail of the V35. This type of tailplane
configuration was patented many years
before and had featured on several aircraft
designs. The theory was that it would be
lighter and create less drag than a typical
T-tail design, which should translate into
more speed, range and payload. However,
none of this was correct; in fact it was
quite the opposite, albeit marginally.
Much of what has been written about
the early V-tail configuration is less than
flattering but much of it flawed. In the years

PCPilot PCPi
PLATINUM CLASS
AWARD AWAR
PCPilot PCPil
Classic Class
Above: Night lighting in Prepar3D extends to LED night lighting that is both variable and directional. Here the
red and green lights are directed to different parts of the panel. Below: The cabin is pure Beechcraft – simple
and well laid out with quality fittings.
immediately following its release, there were The usual A2A ‘walk-around’ sequence is Accu-sim aircraft. Full details of the enormous
a large number of accidents involving mid-air available via a pop-up panel and with such capabilities of Accu-sim can be found at the
breakups. Astute writers also noted, however, a high-quality and superbly realistic add- developer’s website and you are urged to
that this period coincided with the post- on, it is essential that you make the walk- read it to get a full appreciation of the aircraft
war period when general aviation expanded around a part of your normal routine as you model. For the benefit of newcomers to A2A
rapidly and new pilots simply were not may find problems with your aircraft that will Simulations, Accu-sim essentially monitors
taught how to fly new high-performance GA impact on your coming flight. It also gives all your aircraft systems and how you treat
aircraft such as the Bonanza. After training you an opportunity to enjoy the absolutely the aircraft, and reacts accordingly. The
curriculums were updated, the V-tail accident stunning high-resolution textures and maintenance history of each flight is retained
rate fell below the overall GA accident rates. appreciate the detail on every single panel. within the model and takes into account, for
example, how long it is since you last cranked
The A2A Package First glance it up, how well you flew, how conservative
The A2A Bonanza is available via a 370MB The cabin is all ‘Beech’ with optional curtains, with the brakes you were etc. Over time, even
download which includes the V35B Accu-sim dual-control yoke, timber grain panels and the best maintained aircraft show signs of
model in four liveries, the A2A Bonanza Input luxuriant seating for four. Later models allowed wear, with gauge needles starting to vibrate,
Configurator and Aircraft Configurator utilities, you to place two small seats in the luggage flaps becoming looser in their tracks etc.
and as with A2A’s other products, the best area to allow six to fly. At first glance, the Even the amount of charge in your battery
available Pilot’s Operating Manual produced panel looks like a standard, albeit well laid is related to previous usage, drain and even
for GA flight simulation. The Configurators out, design that hides the complex Accu- ambient temperature. Accu-sim does this
allow you to select between default and add- sim physics written into each gauge. and so much more, creating the current
on GPS systems, lighting (particularly in In fact, it is difficult to know where to start pinnacle of GA aircraft systems simulation.
P3D) and some visual eye-candy options. when it comes to the features of any A2A Visiting the Workshop pop-up allows you
Above: Accu-sim is always ‘watching’ and in addition

to normal wear and tear, pilots can cause system
and control failures through misuse. Left: The V-tail
configuration flies differently to the conventional
arrangement and this is reflected in the unique flight
characteristics of A2A’s Bonanza.

once you do leave the ground, the cumulative that in cruise, you can simply use the yoke to
Minimum System effect of the engine torque, V-tail stability make a balanced turn with no, or very little,
Requirements and crosswind means you may well get a rudder input. Interestingly, this feature is still
FSX (SP2), FSX: Steam Edition; Windows XP, nasty surprise as the nose does some sky found on conventionally-tailed Bonanzas today.
Vista, 7,8,8.1 or 10; 2.0GHz CPU (3.0GHz dancing while you clean up and enter your Speed is your friend on approaches and
multicore rec.); 250MB HDD space; DirectX 9 climb. It instantly proved to me the remarkable maintaining 90 knots until you are near the
compliant GPU with min. 128MB video RAM attention to detail modelled in this product threshold allows you to make a smoother
(512MB or better rec.). Prepar3D: 2.2GHz CPU
(3.5GHz multicore CPU rec.); 600MB HDD
and that it would take some time to get to transition to landing. However, the Bonanza
space; DirectX11 compliant GPU with min. know. Part of the secret is a well-balanced hasn’t quite finished with you yet. The
2GB video RAM (8GB rec.). aircraft where you simply must have the relatively short wings translate to a high
correct amount of trim and even to the point wing loading so as soon as you pull back
to inspect the status of the engine, ancillary of adding some weight in the luggage in order the throttle over the threshold, it will sink
systems and even cockpit gauges and if to maintain the Bonanza in these tight limits. – fast. Keeping a little power on will assist
required, make repairs. This is also where Climb to altitude is quick and in the cruise the transition to a smooth touchdown.
you can elect to change between the 285 you can scoot along at up to 170 knots. The
and 300hp engine, other battery types, tyres, A2A Bonanza is fitted with dual VOR, LOC/GS, Conclusion
tip tanks and even cabin curtains for the ADF, autopilot and GPS avionics and so can A2A Simulations continue to raise the bar. The
discerning sim pilot! In addition to the above, be flown fatigue-free for many hours. The night feature list grows with every model and the
Prepar3D users will find some extra features panel and cabin lighting is simply excellent unique handling characteristics of the V-tail
such as the variable intensity and rotatable and provides realistic and easy-to-read gauges V35B Bonanza have been beautifully captured
cabin and panel lighting, and some very nice and switches in all light conditions making the by the A2A team. Just as the real-life high-
windshield rain effects where the raindrops will Bonanza as versatile as the real-world version. performance Bonanza is not considered an
run along the curved windscreen at different In general, the V-tail can be a beast to fly if ideal aircraft for inexperienced pilots, this
rates depending on prop and air speed. you venture out of the normal flight envelope product also demands some attention on
too quickly. These handling challenges of your part to fly well. Persistence and practice,
In the air the Bonanza come from the fact that it has however, will ensure you start to master this
Start up, warm up and taxi are all quite neutral stability. Think of the Bonanza superb model and continue to fly it for a very,
straightforward by following the checklists as being balanced on a pivot. Make smooth very long time.
PCP
and any GA pilot will feel comfortable. The and gentle changes in position and you can By Peter Stark
bungee cord connecting the ailerons and manage it well. But make sudden inadvertent
rudder has already been mentioned. As you changes and you will incur the wrath of this PC Pilot Verdict
introduce some rudder while taxiing, the design. This is easily exacerbated during At a Glance: One of the most outstanding
initial turn effect is modest, tempting you to low-speed flight such as at take-off and GA products in recent times. The attention to
push harder. Suddenly, the bungee cord is landing where you do need to focus. detail permeates every aspect of this model and
extended and the nose swings suddenly. So To appreciate both the complexity and beauty accurately reflects the distinctive characteristics
of this venerable aircraft.
on the ground and in the air, ‘gently does of the design, simply watch the tailplane as
Developer: A2A Simulations
it’ is the key to happy Bonanza flying! you move the yoke and rudder pedals. The Price: $49.99 (£38 approx)
The Bonanza will also want to get airborne ‘ruddervator’ surfaces move in synchronous Website: www.a2asimulations.com
quickly, but it's more aerodynamically stable harmony so that whether you move the ailerons Flight Model: Excellent
if you can take-off with no flaps and with or rudder, the V-tail control surfaces work Graphics: Excellent
some slight forward yoke pressure until you
reach 80 knots. You do need to be on the
together to create the required aircraft response.
As a bonus, the yoke and rudder pedals are
Documentation: Excellent
Systems: Excellent
95
PC Pilot Score:
ball if you are taking off in crosswinds, as linked to the ruddervators by bungee cords so
Below: Introducing the Beech V35B in HD glory.

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Complete Edition - (FSX/P3Dv4)
Version 2 (FSX/P3Dv4)
Lancaster B Mk.I
Aeroplane Heaven’s
The Dambuster
I
first became aware of the Avro could not wait to get hold of a copy to find out addition of wear and tear applied in appropriate
Lancaster as a young boy on a what AH had done with this iconic aircraft… areas. Special note should be made of the front
visit to my local model shop. As gun turret which is animated from the external
I looked around this Aladdin’s Virtual unboxing view and you can also elevate and traverse
cave stacked full of potential adventures, my So, what do we get in this virtual box? the guns from inside the gunner’s position.
gaze settled upon the box artwork of one Well, the package includes six B Mk.I Special propeller animations have also
particular model made by Airfix. It depicted Lancasters along with three ‘bonus’ Mk.III been introduced which are in sync with the
a dramatic scene of an aircraft attempting to liveries that can be applied to the exterior; engine start-up sequence. A nice touch is
land at an airfield just before dawn (having no all of which have been nicely rendered. the inclusion of a number of external ancillary
doubt returned from a night mission) with its In terms of the simulation itself, on first equipment comprising a refuelling truck, bomb
undercarriage lowered and flames billowing inspection it becomes apparent that AH has trolley and ground-start trolley; all of which
from its port outer engine. The subject of made every effort to replicate the internal and can be toggled on and off from the cockpit.
this painting was the Avro Lancaster. My external details of this imposing-looking aircraft A configuration panel is also provided,
imagination was immediately fired and my as faithfully as possible, within the limitations enabling you to add individual crew members,
enthusiasm and interest in the Lancaster has of the host software (FSX and Prepar3D). arm turrets, as well as load, individually arm
remained strong ever since. So, when I heard From an exterior perspective, AH has and also drop your bomb load. AH provides
that Aeroplane Heaven (AH) had released accurately captured not only the characteristic you with 16 conventional iron bombs and
a simulation of the Lancaster B look of the Lancaster, but also the fine surface one large ‘Cookie’ bomb, which was the
Mk.I for FSX and Prepar3D, I detail of the aircraft’s outer skin, with the standard load for a Lancaster on a regular
System requirements
Flight Simulator X (with SP2/Acceleration), FSX:
Steam Edition or P3D v2/v3/v4. 2GB RAM
(minimum). 512MB graphics card. Windows XP
SP3 / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10. 1.8GB hard drive space.
Download Size: 464MB

PCPilot PCPilot
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PCPilot PCPilot
Classic Classic
Above left: The instrument panel is beautifully

rendered and is particularly striking as shadows move
across it. Above: Here we see the Navigator’s station.
In this simulation an Automatic Direction Finding
(ADF) system is used for navigation purposes. Below:
This is the Wireless Operator’s position. However, the
equipment provided in this area does not function as
the original. Left: This shot shows the Flight Engineer’s
panel from which you can monitor the instruments,
fuel and electrical supplies.
bombing mission. This panel also allows you Finally, AH has supplied two PDF documents. compass, the port and starboard fuel cocks,
to initiate a ‘cold and dark’ start option. One is named ‘Cockpit guide and flying notes’ the feathering switches and the protruding
Internally, the same degree of attention has and covers every aspect of the simulation, plus throttle and propeller levers dominating the
been paid to the various stations. As far as it includes a detailed ‘Flying Guide’ tutorial bottom centre of the instrument panel.
the latter is concerned, the developer has which takes you from pre-start-up through to The Lancaster was also fitted with a
modelled the main positions of the Lancaster approach and landing. The other document is rudimentary ‘autopilot’ in the shape of
apart from the mid-upper and tail turrets and an exact copy of the original ‘Pilot’s and Flight a system called Auto Controls, which is
the rear section of the aircraft. You therefore Engineer’s notes for the Lancaster’ handbook. replicated in this simulation and located to
have access to the following positions: front Now that we have an overview of the package, the left of the pilot. In essence, this controlled
gunner, the bomb aimer, the pilot’s cockpit, let’s take a closer look at this simulation by the aircraft’s attitude and heading.
the engineer’s station, the navigator’s examining each of the aircraft’s stations.
room and the radio operator’s station - Engineer’s position
all of which include accurately rendered Pilot’s position The flight engineer’s primary role was to
equipment; much of which is functional. Part of the appeal of this simulation is the fairly monitor the instruments, fuel and electrical
high degree of functionality that is present supplies via a panel located on the starboard
in each of the modelled stations. This is wall of the fuselage. On this panel you will
particularly applicable to the pilot’s position. find items such as the fuel tank cocks and
The instrument panel is beautifully rendered boost pumps, oil pressure and temperature
and is particularly striking as shadows move gauges, ground supply switch and the
across it, with the instruments exhibiting a radiator coolant temperature gauges. You
convincing glass-like quality. Comparing this can also toggle the fuel tank and bomb
to the photograph of a real example which trolley on and off from this position. More
is included in the accompanying ‘Pilot’s and importantly, the engineer’s panel is accessed
Flight Engineer’s notes’ handbook, confirms during the Lancaster’s start-up sequence.
that it is a faithful reproduction of the original.
The modelling of the rest of the cockpit is Navigator’s position
of a good standard, although one or two Next to the pilot, the navigator was the key
elements lack a little polish, but that may have member of the crew. In order to carry out
more to do with the style of the rendering. his duties, he had a few instruments at his
The cockpit is dominated by the control disposal which included position indicators,
yoke which has a metallic look about it and an early navigation system called GEE
can be toggled on and off to aid access to (which is inoperative in this simulation) and
various switches and levers located on the a duplicate altimeter and airspeed indicator.
instrument panel. The latter is dominated by A Direction Finding (DF) aerial was mounted
the six ‘blind-flying’ instruments, comprising in the roof above his head and was operated
the altimeter, airspeed and vertical speed by a wheel control. In this simulation an
indicators, directional gyro, artificial horizon Automatic Direction Finding (ADF) system
and turn and slip indicator. Other notable is used and the wheel can be turned to
items which are nicely rendered include the P8 tune the ADF receiver and instruments.

REVIEW
Wireless operator’s position

Here you will find the equipment necessary
for communications and tuning to navigation
frequencies. The equipment provided in
this area does not function as the original.
However, for those interested in IFR and
cross-country navigation, the developer has
provided a set of modern Collins radios.
These are neatly concealed behind a panel
built into the fascia of the Navigator’s ‘T1154’
transmitter and is accessed by clicking
on the central panel, at which point the
Collins’ suite will slide forward for use.
Bomb aimer’s position

When you first enter the Bomb aimer’s position, In terms of handling qualities, Aeroplane
you will see a large box to your left which is the Heaven’s Lancaster generally performs in
accordance with documented reports.
bomb computer. However, this is inoperative
in this simulation. On the right are the bomb I initially had trouble starting the engines. At around 100mph, I find it best to gently pull
switches and release gear. Directly in front is However, with the kind help of AH’s owner, back on the stick to enter a shallow climb.
the computing bombsight which was used Barry Bromley, I ultimately succeeded. As Barry Once speed reaches approximately 130mph,
in conjunction with the computer. The sight pointed out, ‘After turning each red fuel wheel you can clean her up by raising the landing
was fitted with a slave auto control so that the to Tank 2, the crucial element is to remember to gear and flaps and re-trim accordingly.
bomb aimer could make the final adjustments centre-click each wheel (which is highlighted in In terms of handling qualities, Aeroplane
to the steering of the aircraft on the bomb run. the manual), using the centre button or wheel Heaven’s Lancaster performs in accordance
on your mouse. If you don’t centre-click, the with documented reports I have read during
Nose turret position engines may not start.’ This centre-click issue my research. In fact, the Lancaster was fairly
As touched upon previously, the front turret is has apparently been ‘the major contributor manoeuvrable for an aircraft of its size, which is
the only modelled gun position on this ‘Lanc’. to people not getting the engines started’. borne out in this simulation. It is fairly sensitive
However, you do have a certain degree of Once started, however, the sound of each in pitch and has a good rate of turn. The ailerons
interactivity built into this station. The turret of those four Merlin engines bursting into life are fairly heavy but that is to be expected. Given
can be rotated left and right using the hand in sequence, one by one, is very satisfying its size and weight, you have to think ahead of
controls, accessed via the mouse, once the and fully and faithfully captures the sound the aircraft when it comes to control inputs. This
turret has been unlocked from its straight of the original. After the initial start-up, the is particularly noticeable when in the landing
ahead position. You can also deploy, raise engines settle down to a harmonious hum. pattern. As with all good landings, planning
and lower the seat’s vertical height by turning As you advance the throttles, the speed and the approach is key. The main segment to
a handle mounted on the turret control panel, builds up fairly slowly, as with the real aircraft, watch is the downwind leg and the turn on to
again via the mouse. However, I did notice and you should watch out for a tendency of final approach. You should allow for the large
that when one switched to the external view, the Lancaster to swing to the left, but this size of the aircraft and the radius required when
the turret’s position remained unchanged. is easily countered by opposite rudder and turning on to finals. Initially, I would overshoot
differential braking. For a shorter take-off the turn. However, once you have mastered the
Operating and flying the run, you can drop 15 to 20 degrees of flaps. approach, the Lancaster is fairly straightforward
Lancaster In addition, you can dial in a few degrees to land; just don’t permit the speed to bleed
As mentioned previously, this simulation of forward elevator trim (nose down). off too quickly and once over the threshold,
provides you with the ability to start the aircraft Once speed builds to around 80mph, gently allow the aircraft to settle on to the tarmac.
from a ‘cold and dark’ state. A detailed tutorial push the nose forward to lift the tail off the
is provided in the manual, which takes you ground. Hold the aircraft in that position until Conclusion
through the various steps. In spite of this, the aircraft attains a speed of at least 95mph. Aeroplane Heaven’s Lancaster B Mk.I is a
fine tribute to this iconic aircraft. In visual
Aeroplane Heaven’s
Lancaster B Mk.I is a fine
and audio terms, it scores highly, with the
tribute to this iconic aircraft. sound of those Merlin engines being faithfully
captured. The level of internal functionality
and systems modelling is also good, although
the limitations of the host software was
evident in one or two cases. Regardless of
those limitations, this is without doubt the
most detailed simulation of the Avro Lancaster
to date and I would highly recommend it
to all fans of this legendary aircraft.
By Derek Davis
PC Pilot Verdict
At a glance: A fine tribute to an iconic aircraft.
Developer: Aeroplane Heaven
Publisher: Just Flight
Price: £27.99
Performance: Good
3D Modelling: Good
Graphics: Good
Documentation: Excellent 90
PC Pilot Score:

Drzewiecki Design’s
Seattle City XP
X-Plane 11's default city now available from Drzewiecki
installed X-Plane 11. I’m talking of course
about Seattle in Washington State.
Installation and
documentation
In common with most Drzewiecki
Design products, Seattle XP is perfectly
straightforward to install by means of a
single executable file. If you’re a Windows
user the install only requires you to
remove any conflicting products from the
sim, which essentially means you have
to uninstall any other versions of the city
you may have previously installed.
All this information is provided in the manual,
together with an extensive history of the city
taken from the Wikipedia website. It also
contains links to the support forum and to
SkyVector, where you can get free up-to-date
Leaving KSEA with the city ahead. Below: Seattle’s Sky Tower is modelled inside and out. IFR/VFR charts, although strictly speaking,
you don’t need charts for city scenery.
S
adly I’ve never actually visited the just as many places I’ve yet to visit in Europe,
United States, other than to transit which is a lot closer. So products like this latest Seattle
through Los Angeles on my way to one from Drzewiecki Design allow me to get at Although I’ve mentioned that Seattle was
New Zealand. I say sadly because least a flavour of those faraway destinations. the launch pad for X-Plane 11, this product
there are many places I’d like to see there, yet On this occasion it is the default city does not include that airport or in fact any of
like many other people I find that there are that every user first sees after they have the airports in the vicinity. However, as you

PCPilot PCPilot
PLATINUM CLASSIC
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As you approach the city with the amount of detail the design team
the Columbia Centre
dominates the skyline. has managed to cram PCPilot PCPilot
in. All this I might
Classic Classic
add, with minimal impact on the frame rates
(when compared with similarly dense areas of
habitation in X-Plane 11’s default scenery).
As you climb away from the airport, Seattle
will be clearly visible in the distance. It’s
a bit difficult to miss really because there
are many skyscrapers towering over the
city. Some of these, such as the Columbia
Centre, reach nearly 1,000ft high.
Just before you reach the city there’s a large
red brick building set in front of a massive
freeway intersection. This is the former US
might have guessed, Drzewiecki Design has Marine Hospital Building, now used as a
produced a separate product (also reviewed
Points of interest community and education centre. Almost
in this issue), that covers both Seattle- A few stats for those who like to know what directly inline but to the left of this, are two
they’re getting.
Tacoma International (KSEA) and the four stadiums: Safeco Field - the home of the MLB
The Seattle scenery includes over 2,000
other airports within the Seattle metropolitan custom-made buildings, including the whole Seattle Mariners and Century Link Field - the
area. Both products can be used as stand- of the downtown area in 3D, plus many home of the NFL Seattle Seahawks. Then
alone but are obviously designed to be used other landmarks. There are custom bridges, further left again is the massive dockyard
together. Just to be clear, I’ve installed Seattle stadiums, harbours and marinas, trains, and container complex that runs from
here without the airports, so what you’ll see container ships, seaplane docks and heliports. Pioneer Square shore, roughly northwest
Also 59 miles south-southeast of Seattle you’ll
in my screenshots of this product is what past Downtown Seattle, ending at the Broad
see the snow-capped top of Mount Rainier
you’ll get if you install the city on its own. in the distance; this is the highest mountain Street site of the Olympic Sculpture Park.
For those unfamiliar with Seattle, it’s a in Washington State and is in fact an active You’ll need to climb to about 2,000ft to
seaport city on the Pacific Northwest of the stratovolcano. All of these components include see the city in all its glory, particularly
USA, within Washington State. It stands on night textures and are surrounded by a mass of if you fly at dusk or after dark. It’s
an isthmus between Puget Sound (an inlet detailed autogen appropriate for the area. just a magical experience.
of the Pacific Ocean) and Lake Washington. As you go past Virginia Street, you’ll see the
It’s also the largest city in the region with Drzewiecki Design’s Seattle Seattle Space Needle, originally built for the
a population approaching four million. The Although the designers maintain that the city 1962 World’s Fair, in the distance. At 605ft
area has been inhabited by the indigenous scenery does not include any airports, I was tall it’s somewhat dwarfed by some of the
Duwamish people since the end of the last pleasantly surprised to find that the X-Plane buildings around it, yet its slim design and
glacial period, roughly 8,000-10,000 years default version of KSEA (or Sea-Tak as it’s flying saucer-shaped top makes it look a lot
ago. The tribe still has a longhouse and commonly known) was not that bad. So I higher. It was completely renovated recently
cultural centre within the city, which was in used that as my departure airport to fly my with a rotating glass floor on the restaurant
fact named after Chief Seattle; (this name first approach to the city, once again using level that looks straight down to the streets
however is an Anglicisation of the modern the default Cessna Skyhawk, which I find below; I guess not very comfortable for
Duwamish conventional spelling of Si’ahl). is also quite a nice aircraft for exploring. anyone scared of heights. This structure is
It’s quite a short flight as the airport is modelled to death, even extending to inside
just 13 miles south of downtown Seattle. the saucer where there are carpets and seats.
So I took the easy option and chose So you can sit and survey the whole city
Runway 34L for my take-off, which at least while sipping your coffee. Oh, and if you’re
had me pointing in the right direction. worried about getting to the top, there’s
The scenery extends much further south than a fully working lift to take you up there.
KSEA. In fact, it starts in the City of Federal It’s fair to say that the modelling of the city
Way, right up to the city of Everett in the north, is quite spectacular and from just about any
a distance of roughly 46 miles as the crow flies. perspective it has a reality that (particularly in
Now that’s some area to model, particularly X-Plane), is about as good as you’ll find with
The Washington Mutual tower.
PC System used for review

Intel Core i7 4770 3.40GHz processor.
16GB DDR3 1600MHz RAM.
GTX 1050Ti, 5GB GDDR5 video card.
240GB SSD.
2 x 1.5TB hard drives.

REVIEW
Above: Very nice detailing on the Seattle Great Wheel

on Pier 57. Above right: I climbed up to take a few
screen shots and nearly ran into this KC 10 tanker.
Right: The Norwegian Pearl is animated and
beautifully rendered. Below: The two stadiums are
nicely modelled, particularly the roof structures.
any of the software

System Performance airport pack, if you prefer your airports to
currently available. As usual, the performance you get will depend look more like the real thing, you’ll probably
I say that because
requirements on the specification of your PC, combined with find it’s well worth a look, (or at least read
(in my opinion) X-Plane 11 the scenery settings you apply. As it happens my review, which starts on page 36).
Recommended PCP
the atmospheric I had very good frame rates while flying over By Joe Lavery
3.4GHz processor
rendering in (Quad Core processor Seattle; in fact the performance was no
X-Plane is very different to any other highly populated area.
realistic. However,
or higher system).
8GB RAM. As I mentioned earlier I was flying one of the
PC Pilot Verdict
3D graphics card with At a glance: The Drzewiecki Design team
if you start weaving default aircraft, so I would expect to take more has modelled Seattle City and much of its
between the minimum of 2GB RAM of a hit if I was flying one of the more resource-
SSD Drive. surroundings in extraordinary detail.
skyscrapers you’ll hungry aircraft. I guess it boils down to what Developer: Drzewiecki Design
soon realise that your preferences are: high frame rates or highly Distributor: Drzewiecki Design
the ground textures (although quite detailed) detailed scenery; you can rarely get both. Price: £21.56 by direct download
are not rendered at the same resolution as For reference you’ll also see my system Website: www.drzewiecki-design.net/
prodSeaCity_XP.htm
the buildings. This is nothing new in flight specifications elsewhere in this article.
simulation and, until the hardware outpaces 3D Modelling: Excellent
the software, is something we’ve all come Conclusion Graphics: Very good
to live with. Yet from the safe altitude you This is another fine product from Drzewiecki
Documentation: Very good
Performance: Good 90
would normally be required to fly at, the Design that I have no problem recommending. PC Pilot Score:
overall perception is nonetheless stunning. While it works perfectly well without their
The city looks amazing, both at

sunset or in full darkness.
34 / PC PILOT #119
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Seattle Airpor
Drzewiecki Design’s
A round-robin trip visiting Seattle’s airports

Installation and documentation
T
his review examines the second layout and plentiful hangarage was obviously
product from Drzewiecki Design, With a danger of repeating myself in this designed more for GA traffic. There’s not a
one that complements the Seattle review, I should first mention that things like great deal more to say about Auburn because
City review which starts on page the installation and even the documentation other than the small clubhouse and a profusion
32 of this issue. Depending on the order you are common (in part) to both products. of hangars, there’s not much to see there.
read them, you may already know that this However, it’s worth mentioning that the That’s not a criticism because it’s basically
article concentrates on the five airports located manual for this product also contains in-depth what’s actually there. Yet, as I departed for
in and around Seattle, Washington State. information for the airports it features. KSEA, I saw a large train carrying what appear
They vary from major international airports to be 737 fuselage bodies, obviously destined
to typical US General Aviation club fields, Drzewiecki’s Airports for Boeing’s factory at Renton. Just beyond
catering for anything up to 450 operations a Auburn Municipal Airport that, I noticed the biggest structure in the area,
day. To give you a flavour of what’s on offer, (FAA LID: S50) the Emerald Downs thoroughbred racetrack.
I’ve done a sort of round-robin trip starting Auburn Municipal is the smallest and furthest Apparently it was named after Seattle, which it
in the south and working my way north. south of the five airports in this package and seems is often referred to as the Emerald City.
Also, to be clear, I installed the Seattle City caters almost exclusively for GA aircraft.
product first. So the areas outside each Perhaps to emphasise the point there are Seattle–Tacoma International
airport and possibly the cityscapes you no commercial services operating from here, Airport (ICAO: KSEA)
may see in the background will possibly yet its close proximity to Seattle makes it I covered the short distance to KSEA
contain images derived from that product. an ideal destination for visiting GA pilots. fairly quickly, yet the airport was easily
Needless to say, both products can be The airport is set in quite an industrialised visible from quite some distance away.
installed in a standalone setup, yet they area, surrounded by lots of distribution centres It’s very impressive and most realistic on
are optimised to be used together. and large retail outlets. Yet the spacious approach, yet all that magnificence did
System requirements
X-Plane 11. Recommended 3.8GHz
processor (i7 or higher system).
16GB RAM. 3D graphics card with
minimum of 4GB of VRAM. SSD Drive.

PCPilot PCPi
PLATINUM CLASS
AWARD AWAR
orts X
This is the 900ft long skybridge
due to be installed by 2021.
PCPilot PCPil
Classic Class
have an impact on my frame rates. scattered around... No, they’ve modelled Facility and Satellite terminals, which are
I landed on 34R and taxied in to park everything from the cavernous roof beams expected to be completed by 2021.
in front of the massive Blue Alaskan to the snack bars, tables and chairs and
Airlines hangar. You can’t really miss it lamp standards, which are draped with Renton Municipal Airport
as there’s a Warhol-style Eskimo face hanging baskets full of plants. Here’s (ICAO: KRNT)
painted on the side, which also adorns another example for you: there’s a 900ft Renton is just a stone’s throw from KSEA, so
the tailplanes of all their aircraft. long elevated walkway (skybridge) between literally a five-minute flight away. It’s nothing
Also known as Sea-Tac, Seattle International the south Satellite and Concourse A, which like as developed as KSEA, yet the modelling
is the largest airport in the package and appears to have transparent glass sides. is certainly of equal quality. In terms of traffic,
the largest airport in the Pacific Northwest. So I thought: “Let’s see how far they had Renton caters mainly for recreational aircraft, with
It’s extremely detailed, with more aircraft gone with this detailing.” I manoeuvred less than one per cent scheduled commercial
and more of the usual airport paraphernalia my viewpoint inside the walkway and sure traffic. However, it also caters for seaplane
lying around than I’ve ever seen before. The enough the huge cantilevered beams and traffic, I guess mainly due to its proximity to Lake
Drzewiecki design team has really pushed moving walkways were all modelled. Sadly, Washington at the northern end of its runway. It’s
the boat out with Seattle; it’s simply fabulous. the walkway was not animated... (In case you also at this end that you’ll find the Boeing Renton
Not content with modelling the whole hadn’t realised, I was being facetious there!) Factory where they manufacture the 737 line of
airport in almost insane detail, they had Incidentally, this skybridge is one of the aircraft. A quick peek inside this facility shows
to go even further and model features in the scenery which has yet these aircraft in various stages of assembly.
inside the terminals as well. Additional to be built. To give the product I must say I’m amazed at the individuality
Here again we’re not talking some longevity the modelling of the buildings at all of these airports. I can’t
about a few photo textures
screenshots of the airport includes the imagine how long the research and modelling
Sadly we don’t have space for
and a couple of objects anything like the number of new International Arrivals must have taken to create them in such detail.
screenshots I took during this review,
nor can we print them at the full
resolution in the magazine. So, we
have set aside some space on our
PC Pilot website where you can
see many more images in
the resolution that they
were taken.
Above: Sea-Tac looks fantastic as you approach. Left: Paine Field showing the massive Boeing factory.
Below: I noticed the Emerald Downs thoroughbred racetrack as I was leaving Auburn.

The detail inside

The view from the the skybridge, (no
control tower at Sea-Tac. moving walkway…).
Boeing Field, officially King Paine Field (ICAO: KPAE) Performance

County International Airport Last, but certainly not least, is Paine Field, also Now we come to the difficult subject of
(ICAO: KBFI) known as Snohomish County Airport and the performance. As I’ve said many times
Next up is Boeing Field, named after the home of Boeing’s Everett Factory. This is where before, we have to be careful what we wish
founder of Boeing but more commonly known Boeing builds all its largest aircraft, in what is for because with fantastic scenery comes
as King County International. These days it the largest building (by volume) in the world. a need for serious amounts of hardware
handles mainly GA and cargo traffic; in fact it’s It’s also where the Drzewiecki designers went or you will get a performance hit.
had no scheduled airline service since 1971. completely off piste, by recreating the whole To be fair X-Plane 11 is better at handling
The rendering here is once again of a Boeing factory in fantastic detail. That includes this issue than FSX, simply because of its
very high standard, with many bespoke all the assembly lines, overhead cranes and 64-bit architecture, so it doesn’t have the
buildings, including the original passenger aircraft in various stages of assembly - even same constraints as the other platform.
terminal, which by modern standards is the huge workstations and office blocks that Having said that, you still need a decent
tiny. Looking at it, it’s hard to believe that it divide the different assembly areas. If you’ve processor and video card to be able to run
was once the only airport serving Seattle. ever wondered what it must be like to be inside a product like this at the levels it’s capable
The influence of Boeing here is quite obvious this factory, this is where you can find out. of, while still achieving high frame rates.
wherever you look: from the huge maintenance It’s not often that I get completely overawed My own system was originally set almost
hangar with the name Boeing emblazoned by a product, yet these airports have done with all the sliders maxed out, and in that
on the front to the dozens of aircraft parts that. They’re also tremendous value for money. configuration the sim was only just flyable,
seen lying all around the aprons. There’s You may have noticed that I haven’t with frame rates mostly in single figures.
also the prominent grey Boeing terminal and mentioned Paine Field yet, well fear not However, it didn’t take a great deal of
conference building which is also modelled it’s another superb example of 3D design, tweaking to get it back to an acceptable
both inside and out. At the southern end of combined yet again with literally thousands level and the screenshots were taken
the airport you’ll find the Museum of Flight. of objects scattered wherever you care to then, so you can see it didn’t make a
Within its different buildings and pavilions look. This is what breathes life into an airport lot of difference to the external view.
you’ll see famous aircraft from many eras. as that’s what real airports look like. While I’m well aware that my system
It’s extraordinary; the designers have added many designers add a few aircraft and a (particularly the video card) is badly in
a profusion of detail in places many users smattering of other paraphernalia around need of an upgrade, so I’m leaving a
will never look. Now that’s quite a testament their creations, they still look rather clinical in few hints for Christmas. For reference,
to the designers’ quest for perfection! comparison to these from Drzewiecki Design. you’ll see my system specifications
at the bottom of this article.
Conclusion
This product from Drzewiecki Design represents
phenomenal value for money. The airports are
superb replicas of the originals, rendered in
extraordinary detail. As always with products
of this calibre you will need some serious
hardware to get the best from it. PCP
By Joe Lavery
System used for review

Intel i7 4770 3.40GHz processor. 16GB DDR3
Inside the 1600MHz RAM. GTX 1050Ti, 5GB GDDR5 video
Boeing factory. card. 240GB SSD. 2 x 1.5TB hard drives.
PC Pilot Verdict
At a glance: These airports are a fine
accompaniment to Drzewiecki Design’s superb
Seattle City product.
Distributor: Drzewiecki Design
Price: £34.49 by direct download
Website: http://www.drzewiecki-design.net/
prodSeaADs_XP.htm
Developer: Drzewiecki Design
3D Modelling: Excellent
Graphics: Excellent
Documentation: Very good
Boeing Field is home to

Performance: Very much
hardware-dependant
95
the Museum of Flight. PC Pilot Score:

Developed for X-Plane 11
TrueEarth Great Britain Central
The second of three incredible photoreal scenery packages covering
Great Britain, TrueEarth GB South covers over 37,000 square miles
and includes the central parts of England and Wales including
Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Llandudno, and the Lake District.
This is not an autogen package!
With TrueEarth Great Britain Central, you'll be able to fly over recognizable cities,
towns, and villages in the central UK along with thousands of custom-modelled
buildings, point-of-interest 3D models, hand-corrected color matched imagery,
millions of trees with correct species and height, spectacular coastlines, accurate
road and rail traffic and much more!
Also coming to Prepar3D and Aerofly FS2
orbxdirect.com
INTERVIEW MODERN AIR COMBAT
Eagle Dynamics
wanted to create a
sense of balance of
adversary aircraft
such as the F-15C vs
Su-27, for example.
An interview with
Modern Ai
Matt Wagner,
Senior Producer
of Eagle Dynamics
W
e recently learned that Eagle and fun but without the steep learning curve. MAC will also feature a new interface, better
Dynamics was working on a Fly 14 aircraft ranging from the Korean War era online gameplay features with accomplishment-
new and exciting project called to modern day, and it includes such aircraft as tracking and leader boards, a large amount of
‘Modern Air Combat’ designed to the F-86F Sabre and MiG-15bis, A-10A Warthog single player content, VR support, and many
appeal to a wider audience of flight simmers. and Su-25, F-15C Eagle and Su-27 Flanker, of the great features that make DCS World
So I contacted Matt Wagner, Eagle Dynamics’ and many more. The product also includes so great. MAC will be a separate product
Senior Producer, to find out more… the large Caucasus map and several smaller from DCS World, but use the same graphics
maps around Nevada and the Persian Gulf. engine and share many of the same assets.
PC Pilot: Hi Matt, thanks for taking time
out of your very busy schedule to take
part in this interview. May I start by asking
what is the main concept and objective
behind Modern Air Combat (MAC)?
Matt Wagner: MAC offers the most realistic
systems and flight dynamics but with a
technically easy approach. From start-up to
weapons launch, procedures and interfaces have
been simplified and standardized to take pilots
straight to the action while still giving them a
sense of purpose and accomplishment as they
steadily deepen their knowledge. DCS ‘pro’
modules focus on authenticity and full fidelity,
MAC is more about the combat, competition and
gaming fun while offering ease of access to the
most sophisticated combat simulator available
today. It’s a true stepping stone for those who
feel the need to grow out of the arcade games The MiG-15bis Fagot is authentically matched-up
against the F-86F Sabre.
and into something real, with all the excitement

ir Combat
PC Pilot: Why did you decide to
produce this kind of product?
Matt Wagner: While DCS World has
certainly been a great success for us, its
realism and required level of study can be
a bit intimidating for casual players. Many
The L-39C Albatros. Using
a training aircraft like the
L-39C Albatros means that
MAC is a great choice for
flight simulation entry to
learn the base-skills.
PC gamers enjoy an experience they can

jump into and have fun but still feel the
immersion and sense of authenticity. MAC
is designed for them. We also see MAC as a
great stepping stone for players to try study-
level simulations featured in DCS World.
PC Pilot: Who would you say is
your main target audience and are
you aiming to broaden your market
with the release of MAC?
Matt Wagner: Yes, certainly. While we are
not aiming for MAC to be a console-level,
arcade experience, we are designing it to users, MAC will feature an all-new keyboard F/A-18C Hornet (tongue firmly in cheek), it’s
be accessible to a much larger audience control system that makes the aircraft quite not for everyone. At Eagle Dynamics, we
than DCS World. MAC is created for those easy to fly with just a keyboard and mouse. want to create an array of products based
interested in combat aviation but do not PC Pilot: Following on from my previous on a common Simulation Operating System
have the time or desire to devote to study question, do you think some flight (SOS) that appeals to different players;
and train on an aircraft. MAC is more simmers find the current high level of one game cannot rule them all well.
geared to fun than detailed simulation. fidelity of DCS products intimidating? While in DCS World we had Arcade and
We also recognise that many casual gamers do Matt Wagner: I have no doubt. While I other simplified modes, they were inadequate
not own a joystick, much less a separate throttle cannot fathom why someone would not for casual gamers and a dedicated title
controller. To support keyboard and mouse enjoy spending 15 minutes starting up an focused on their needs is needed.

INTERVIEW MODERN AIR COMBAT
PC Pilot: In terms of flight fidelity

and systems modelling, how do the
aircraft in MAC differ from your other
standalone study simulations?
Matt Wagner: All the MAC aircraft will
have the option for either VERY realistic
Professional Flight Models (PFM) or a more
relaxed and forgiving flight model. This is also
true for the Flight Control Systems (FCS) of
these aircraft. You can choose either realistic
flight controls or a more forgiving one that
auto-trims the aircraft and keeps the player
from stalling and getting into trouble.
PC Pilot: Will MAC be a standalone product
The MiG-21bis Fishbed.
or will potential users need DCS World? MAC includes 14 aircraft
Matt Wagner: MAC will indeed be a ranging from the Korean
War era to modern day.
standalone product but you can still purchase
other maps to integrate into it. Both DCS dedicated servers, online achievement Map and two small maps of the Persian
World and MAC will use the common tracking and rewards and live voice chats. Gulf. Mission content for all 14 aircraft
Simulation Operating System but they are PC Pilot: Would you say MAC is an will be available for all these maps.
designed to be rather different products entry- or intermediate-level simulation? PC Pilot: Can you tell us the names
that are built for different types of players. Matt Wagner: Both. Particularly using the aircraft that will be included in MAC
Both MAC, DCS World and future Eagle a training aircraft like the L-39C Albatros, and which of these will be flyable?
Dynamics products will all operate as unique MAC is a great choice for flight simulation Matt Wagner: There will be 14
apps within our Simulation Operating System. entry to learn the base-skills. Players can flyable aircraft including:
Each is geared to a unique consumer. then graduate to more complex aircraft
F-15C Eagle, A-10A Warthog, F-5E Tiger II,
PC Pilot: What would you say such as the Su-33 navalized Flanker and
F-86F Sabre, Su-27 Flanker, Su-33 Naval
makes MAC different from other the A-10A Warthog for more involved,
Flanker, J-11A Chinese Flanker, MiG-29A
combat flight simulations? intermediate combat operations.
Fulcrum, MiG-29S Fulcrum, MiG-21bis
Matt Wagner: It fills a vacuum between PC Pilot: Will users be able to choose
Fishbed, MiG-15bis Fagot, Su-25A Frogfoot,
arcade console games and study-level PC the level of complexity of each aircraft?
Su-25T Frogfoot and the L-39C Albatros.
simulations. Also, it focuses on combat jets Matt Wagner: Players can select between
with a wide array of choices. There is no the level of realism and complexity of the In addition to the flyable aircraft, MAC also
other current title that really does this. flight models and flight control systems. This includes a huge number of AI-controlled units
PC Pilot: What types of missions will be includes the option of professional level flight and weapons: 84 aircraft, 105 ground vehicles
included in MAC and will it come with models or more relaxed ones, as well as and 19 ship types, as well as 156 types of
scripted or semi-dynamic campaigns? options such as auto-trim, spin prevention weapons. These can be used to create a wide
Matt Wagner: For all 14 aircraft, each will and gunnery lead-assist. Operations of the range of missions over the various MAC maps.
have interactive training missions, instant action aircraft cockpit, sensor and weapons systems PC Pilot: Why were these particular
missions, more involved single missions and will be consistent though and very similar aircraft chosen?
narrative campaigns. On top of this, we are to the Flaming Cliffs series in DCS World. Matt Wagner: They are a combination of
creating an all-new mission generator that allows PC Pilot: Which geographic regions casual aircraft modules created for DCS
players to quickly and easily generate their own will be included in MAC? World that fit in well to MAC and adding
missions based on mission type (like close air Matt Wagner: In addition to the huge others like the F-86F, MiG-15bis, MiG-
support, combat air patrol, fighter sweep etc). Caucasus map that includes Russia 21bis and L-39C to create a more well-
Players can also play MAC online with or and Georgia, we’ll also include portions rounded experience of jet combat aviation.
against friends with new gameplay modes, of the Nevada Test and Training Range We also wanted to create a sense of

balance of adversary aircraft such as the Eject, Eject, Eject!
MAC is a great
F-86F vs MiG-15bis, F-5E vs MiG-21bis, stepping stone for
F-15C vs Su-27 etc. This is particularly players to try study-
level simulations
important for a great online experience. featured in DCS
PC Pilot: Will there be opportunities to World.
purchase additional aircraft MAC’s release?
Matt Wagner: Initially, maps can be
purchased for use in MAC. Later, we hope to
make additional MAC aircraft available for sale.
PC Pilot: Will MAC include a ground war?
Matt Wagner: Oh, yes. Much of the
mission content will focus on ground war
operations. Using the common Simulation
Operating System allows our mission and
campaign content creators to include large
and small ground battles. This is one of the
key areas where Eagle Dynamics shines
compared to other flight simulation products…
realistic combat theatres and operations.
PC Pilot: Comparisons will be made
between MAC and your previous franchise
‘Flaming Cliffs’. Can you tell us how
the two product lines differ, if at all?
Matt Wagner: The biggest differences with
MAC are the inclusion of many new aircraft
and dedicated maps, new interface, new online
capabilities and improved gameplay scalability.
More important, Flaming Cliffs was a bit of a A pair of Su-27 Flankers on the prowl.
Players can also play MAC online with
fish out of water compared to all the other DCS or against friends with new gameplay
World aircraft. MAC is designed to give this modes, online achievement tracking
and rewards.
type of product a proper home and support.
PC Pilot: Would you describe MAC as a PC Pilot: How do you hope current Matt Wagner: As with DCS World, we
single- or multi-player flight simulation? fans of DCS will view MAC? plan to offer additional MAC modules that
Matt Wagner: Both. A ton of single player Matt Wagner: MAC is not really designed for can be purchased and integrated into MAC.
content and a significant growth in multiplayer the core DCS World player. It is a more relaxed Most of this will be focused on converting
features are included, such as dedicated game that does not focus on the extreme existing DCS World aircraft for MAC.
servers, online statistics and accomplishment accuracy and realism that DCS World strives In addition to DCS World and MAC,
tracking, rewards system based on for. For those who enjoy Flaming Cliffs 3, MAC we have plans for other independent
performance, new online gameplay modes like should be very appealing though. Because products within the Simulation Operating
Capture the Airfield and King of the Hill, and Flaming Cliffs 3 and MAC will share several System, but we’ll talk about those later.
voice over IP chat for MAC; content is king. aircraft, Flaming Cliffs 3 owners will be able PC Pilot: Finally, what will be the
PC Pilot: How many players can be online to purchase MAC at a substantial discount. retail price of the initial release?
in a particular scenario at any given time? PC Pilot: Will MAC include training missions Matt Wagner: That is to be determined.
Matt Wagner: It will depend on how and if so, what format will these take? PC Pilot: Many thanks to Matt Wagner for
much is going on in the mission and Matt Wagner: Yes, interactive training missions taking time to answer our questions and we
player connections, but our goal is for are being created for all the MAC aircraft. wish him and his team every success with
stable 60-player official servers. This is a PC Pilot: Do you have any future plans this new and exciting venture.
central drive behind dedicated servers. for MAC after its initial release? By Derek Davis
The F-15C Eagle. Players can select between the

level of realism and complexity of the flight models
and flight control systems.

Tecnam P20
VSKYLABS'
The flexible, economical light twin lot of bang for the buck with two variants
offering up different cockpit experiences.
Brief specs
The Tecnam P2006T is an Italian-manufactured,
all-metal twin-engine piston aircraft powered
by a pair of 98hp Rotax 912 four-cylinder
engines. The four-person cabin (pilot plus
three passengers) is unpressurized, with a
service ceiling of 14,000ft and an approximate
range of 742 nautical miles. The shape of the
P2006T is undeniably a genetic cousin of
the P.68 Partenavia, not surprising because
the same engineer, Luigi Pascale, was the
design engineer. With hundreds of P2006Ts
being flown around the globe for everything
from training to aerial mapping and military
reconnaissance, the aircraft appears to be a
commercial success. With a price tag ranging
from £267,000 to £300,000 depending on
equipment, the P2006T offers significant cost
Above: The analogue panel is presented in a clean fashion, with primary gauges in front of the pilot and engine savings over more traditional piston twins
and systems gauges, as well as secondary instruments, in front of the co-pilot. Below: Owing to the high-wing costing upwards of £688,000 to £1.07 million.
design, the main landing gear on the P2006T retract into the fuselage instead of the wings.
Granted, the P2006T doesn’t quite perform to
O
ver the past few years, we’ve love for less mainstream aircraft, a recent the specs of aircraft costing near £764,000,
seen the small-scale developer addition to the VSKYLABS line-up is the but for those interested more in the utility of the
behind VSKYLABS move from fantastic twin-engine, four-seat Tecnam aircraft, the P2006T is an attractive alternative.
his exceedingly fun and quirky P2006T. The non-traditional high wing
experimental and historically interesting design is at once attractive and somewhat Package
aircraft, into fully fledged X-Plane modules familiar to those of us who might have The VSKYLABS P2006T is a smart little
that offer excellent quality at an attractive happened upon a Partenavia P.68 in our package that offers users the choice of
price point. Not straying too far from his travels. The VSKYLABS P2006T offers a flying both an analogue panel and a Laminar

PCPilot PCPilot
PLATINUM CLASSIC
AWARD AWARD
006T
PCPilot PCPilot
Classic Classic
Research G1000 glass panel variant. While

this sounds like a small detail, the difference
between the two panels is impressive and
required a total reconfiguring of the panel
layout. In essence, customers are getting two
aircraft for the price of one. Documentation
consists of an online developer webpage Above: Single engine performance seems to be in-line with real-world performance. The 98hp Rotax 912 is
that is brief but outlines most of the basic capable of an adequate 200ft per minute climb at max take-off weight with one engine feathered. Below: The
Tecnam P2006T is a sporty-looking high-wing design that shares some basic genetics with the Partenavia P.68.
information needed to operate the aircraft.
The online format does allow for quick surfaces are nicely modelled. Reflections and from the pilot seat. Standby flight instruments
dissemination of information about updates, shine from the model surface look great and are also included on the co-pilot panel as a
which the developer issues quickly and the paint and wear detailing are very good. With backup. Engine start and ignition buttons are
regularly. Links to actual P2006T operating only two liveries available in the package (one logically and conveniently placed on a small
manuals provide for more in-depth systems for the analogue model and one for the G1000 overhead panel, while throttles, carb heat and
descriptions, checklists and performance model) users will have to settle on the default propeller RPM levers reside in a somewhat
data. The aircraft was recently updated to paint schemes or adapt to what is offered by poorly 3D-modelled quadrant between the
include better Virtual Reality (VR) optimisations the user community to spice up the choices. dual yokes. By that I mean instead of 3D
and to add some nice features such as slots for the levers, the entire face of the
AviTab plugin support, giving users access Analogue cockpit quadrant is a texture overlay that doesn’t
to a virtual tablet mounted to the yoke. The analogue cockpit is very good, with quite match with the quality of the rest of the
distinctive VSKYLABS quality that is easily panel. Noticeably absent are the fuel mixture
External model recognisable once you’ve flown a few of their controls since the real aircraft is equipped
The P2006T is a unique looking aircraft by other offerings. Gauges, systems controls with automatic mixture control. Gauge update
any measure. The high wing with blended and switches are all nicely modelled, if not to rates are phenomenally smooth and in VR the
winglets and main landing gear retracting into exhausting detail. At the package price point, cockpit is just about perfect in every regard.
the fuselage are design features that set the I don’t expect fully functional circuit breaker I only have three relatively minor complaints
P2006T apart from more traditional multi- panels or features such as a maintenance about the cockpit. 1) The autopilot LCD panel
engine piston aircraft. VSKYLABS did a nice module to be included. VSKYLABS seems to is a bit dark and hard to read when in shadow;
job recreating the smooth lines of the fuselage focus on providing a nice visual model and it could use some sort of backlighting to allow
and the nice blending of the engine nacelles attention to flight dynamics rather than getting for easier reading of what modes you have
into the wing. External components such as caught up in modelling ashtrays and armrests selected. 2) The old-school directional gyro
the landing gear, flaps, propellers and control – a design decision I’m very happy to see. brought back distant memories of my initial
As a trainer, the analogue cockpit is perfect training aircraft and flight instructing, but for
for its logical use of panel space, providing an aircraft of this calibre, I’d upgrade the DG
the standard six-pack of instruments as the to an HSI. 3) Cockpit night lighting is a bit
dominant focus while putting the Laminar dim and not quite as adjustable as I’d like.
G430/530 GPS and radio stack in a central
pillar. The placement of the flight director G1000 cockpit
at the top of the stack is simply perfect for The glass cockpit variant is superb and adds
allowing pilots to keep heads-up while selecting a huge amount of value to the package. While
autopilot modes. Engine and system gauges the analogue cockpit features a primary trainer
are perfectly situated on the co-pilot’s panel type instrument layout, the Laminar Research
and so are visible with a sideways glance G1000 cockpit substantially rearranges the

REVIEW
The combination of the

landing gear actuator
pods, high-wing
design and winglets
give the P2006T a
modern appearance.
panel real estate and provides additional done a good job with performance data. dynamics with a blue line (Vyse - best single-
advanced features with the more powerful In tests I compared cruise power settings engine rate-of-climb velocity) performance
navigation suite. Standby gauges are moved to recommended by the actual Pilot Operating at maximum take-off weight (2,601lb) of
the bottom of the centre portion of the panel Handbook (POH) to simulator performance and around 200ft per minute climb with about
and back-up analogue engine gauges take the the numbers were fairly close. For instance, at 2° of bank and electric rudder trim keeping
place of the right side pilot instrumentation. 9,000ft, high-speed cruise has a book value the ball halfway out of centre. At a more
The G1000 multi-function display also of 21” of manifold pressure and 2,265 RPM, modest weight of 1,900lb, blue line yielded
contains engine instrumentation data including giving 139 knots true airspeed. In the simulator, a respectable 500ft per minute climb rate.
manifold pressure, propeller RPM, fuel flow, using those power settings I was indicating
cylinder head temperatures, oil temperatures 131 knots giving a true airspeed of 146 knots. Conclusion
and pressures, fuel quantity and ammeter Take-offs and landings were predictably The ‘two-planes-for-one’ feature of the
loads. Both the primary flight display and docile with the aircraft performing well to VSKYLABS P2006T is a deal that is hard
multi-function display can be popped up to and from short fields. At max gross take- to pass up. With a nice cockpit, good flight
2D windows to provide easier manipulation off weight I recorded a take-off distance characteristics and panels that range from
and a clearer view of the displays. of 1,250ft and a landing distance of 700ft, the basic trainer with advanced GPS to a full-
bringing pretty much any airport you’d like to on G1000 space-age panel, the aircraft is a
Flight dynamics travel to into the realm of possibility. Engine- really nice fit for many types of flyers. PCP
With a maximum take-off weight of 2,601lb, out procedures are perhaps a bit too forgiving By Chris Frishmuth
the P2006T is substantially lighter than most with respect to Vmca (the minimum speed
piston twins - in part due to the smaller Rotax that directional control can be maintained with PC Pilot Verdict
engines and their efficiency, resulting in a lower one engine inoperative). The aircraft can be At a glance: A great package with all-around
fuel burn and requiring less fuel to be carried. flown into a stall on one engine and there is good performance, modelling and graphics
with the fantastic option of both analogue and
Though I haven’t flown a P2006T in real life, little tendency to break and roll into the dead
G1000 cockpit layouts.
the pilot reports I’ve read indicate the P2006T engine as rudder effectiveness is retained System Requirements: X-Plane 11.05+
is an exceptionally forgiving aircraft with no enough to counter the engine power produced Developer: VSKYLABS
bad tendencies. Pilots rave about the trailing by the operating engine. Instead of breaking, Price: $28.50 (£22 approx)
link landing gear, a configuration that tricks the aircraft will mush ahead, stall, sink and Website: www.vskylabs.com
many passengers into believing that their pilots then recover slightly in a series of small pitch Flight Model: Good
are masters of their craft. The liquid-cooled oscillations even with the elevator fully aft. Graphics: Good
Rotax 912 engines are not overly powerful More traditional engine-out procedures, Documentation: Good
Systems: Good
85
but given the light weight of the aircraft, they such as flying normal single engine missed PC Pilot Score:
don’t need to be. VSKYLABS seems to have approaches and V1 cuts have great
Above: A nice feature is the developer’s choice

to support AviTab, a useful yoke-mounted tablet
that provides checklists, moving maps, airport
information, Navigraph data and a PDF viewer.
Left: The glass cockpit P2006T features the Laminar
Research G1000 - a very capable and useful avionics
package that transforms the cockpit into a sleek and
modern flight deck.

INTERVIEW PREPAR3D V4.4
Prepar3D v4.4
An interview with
Adam R Breed,
Lockheed Martin’s
Engineering
Project Manager
T
he launch of Prepar3D (P3D) version simulations for sensors and
4 marked a major milestone in other systems that rely on the
the product’s history. Not only material properties of a surface.
did it introduce new features PC Pilot: With the introduction of
such as dynamic lighting, improved autogen PBR, will these effects be immediately
and enhanced weather effects, its 64-bit visible to the end-user or will developers
architecture propelled Prepar3D to the next have to update their products to take
level. Since then the platform has improved advantage of this technology?
at a steady pace with new features and Adam Breed: The effects will not be
fixes constantly being added. Version 4.4, immediately visible to the end-user but this
released last November, was according, release is laying the groundwork for the
to Lockheed Martin “the largest and most next generation of content development.
comprehensive point release to date”. In this It is a fair assumption that the process of
exclusive interview, we spoke to Prepar3D updating aircraft can possibly be a little
Engineering Project Manager, Adam R easier - there are only so many materials
Breed to find out more about this update. that make up an aircraft. On the other hand,
scenery developers will have many more
PC Pilot: Thanks for agreeing to speak Rendering (PBR) materials starting with the types of textures and materials to rework,
with us about Prepar3D version 4.4. May I v4.4 update. PBR allows content creators to so it will take time for all ecosystem scenery
begin by asking what you consider to be the develop the most realistic-looking vehicles developers to fully update their products.
most significant update in this version? and scenery. Metal will look more like metal, Third-party developers were a driving
Adam Breed: We are proud to announce fabric will look more like fabric. It is also a force behind getting PBR included in
that Prepar3D supports Physically Based large component of doing higher-fidelity Prepar3D and the updates we have seen

during beta phases have blown us away.
We know end-users will be very pleased
as these products get released.
PC Pilot: What impact has PBR had
on performance during testing?
Adam Breed: We have not noticed any
significant impact on performance when
setting up the PBR materials. As with most
visual improvements, there is likely to be
some trade-offs between photorealism and
performance, but PBR strikes a great balance.
PC Pilot: Will PBR be implemented
on the default aircraft?
Adam Breed: When developing v4.4 we The image above shows the default F-16 before PBR and the one below has been upgraded with PBR
focused on the F-16 as an experimental test materials. The result is a much more realistic shading model as can be seen on the front of the fuselage and
canopy. (All images: Robert McCarthy, Lockheed Martin)
case for our PBR pipeline. We will definitely
continue to iterate on our PBR system as we
continue enhancing Prepar3D v4. We will
first focus on ensuring new content is built
with PBR and then revisit currently released
content. Things that are not updated to PBR
materials will still
look and
function
great,
but PBR
will give us
a lot more control
over how real things look.
PC Pilot: Have any parts of the
scenery or autogen been updated?
Adam Breed: The main request
we received was for the ability to
increase the limits of the texture
resolution for photoreal scenery.
We were able to increase
those upper limits in
Prepar3D v4.4 due to the 64-bit architecture. you can now place 2D panels in 3D space
Photoreal textures can now be rendered at a and the new gaze selection capability will
resolution of both 512x512 and 1024x1024. allow seamless control interactions in VR.
PC Pilot: In the release notes, you stated PC Pilot: One of the new features added
the update “includes numerous user and is Augmented Reality support. Do you see
developer requests including multiple fixes this technology becoming affordable for
identified by the community”. In your opinion, individuals using P3D for flight training?
what are the most significant fixes? Adam Breed: Absolutely, we are starting to
Adam Breed: There are a few hundred fixes weave in Mixed Reality (MR) and Augmented
and improvements in Prepar3D v4.4. There Reality (AR) capabilities in Prepar3D. You
are multiple performance improvements, can now use the HTC Vive camera to create
various instability fixes and even a handful portals to see the outside world inside the
of new multiplayer capabilities. I’d say a Virtual Reality (VR) headset. I think MR/AR is
couple of big improvements are related to coming quickly to flight training. In fact, many
our multiplayer system. As a multiplayer host, VR headset providers are starting to include
you can now change time and weather during basic stereo cameras, making it extremely
a session and there were many updates to affordable for users to try out MR/AR. It really
the voice and chat system. Multiplayer is a is a natural evolution of our VR capabilities.
big focus for us, as learning to interact with PC Pilot: With all these updates to the
others is a key piece of effective training. We graphics engine, is DirectX still fit-for-purpose
also made a couple of fixes to better support or are you starting to look at alternatives?
third-party flight plans, which was a major Adam Breed: The history of Prepar3D is
request stemming from Prepar3D v4.3. rooted in DirectX. Prepar3D also leverages
PC Pilot: What about the atmospheric effects many ancillary SDKs that are associated
and lighting. Will we see any changes here? with DirectX to accomplish things like
Adam Breed: In Prepar3D v4.4, the sounds, multiplayer and controller support.
moon phase now impacts the ambient Overall, Microsoft Windows 10 is what
lighting levels in night scenes. This the vast majority of users have as their
adds more realism to flying at night. primary operating system and combining
PC Pilot: In terms of Virtual Reality support, that with the history of the baseline helps
Main image: Lockheed Martin will continue to are there any new features added to V4.4? align the engine with DirectX. Still, the team
enhance Prepar3D with PBR effects as well Adam Breed: Yes, we continue to is always looking to push forward with
as update existing content in future versions.
Inset: Prepar3D Engineering Project Manager, make big jumps in our Virtual Reality (VR) the best technology, so there is always a
Adam R Breed. (Lockheed Martin) capabilities. In fact, with Prepar3D v4.4 chance that could change in the future.

INTERVIEW PREPAR3D V4.4
The default C-130 received several

updates including various texture fixes.
PC Pilot: Moving forward, are you able to tell the user’s experience. The team does have Prepar3D as we want the most performant
us what aspects future P3D development will primary development focuses but we also and stable simulation experience. Additionally,
focus on? Will it be improving the graphics, understand each component of our platform as you can see with PBR, we will always
scenery, airports or performance optimisation? needs to be frequently revisited to ensure we continue to adapt our platform to support the
Adam Breed: Since 2009, Prepar3D are continuously viewed as the simulation most realistic graphics techniques possible.
has undergone continuous development - platform of choice. I think performance PC Pilot: Improving Air Traffic Control
increasing the platform’s fidelity and improving optimisations are always a key focus of (ATC) has been high on the agenda
with many users. Can we expect to
see any development in this area?
Adam Breed: The ATC system is
composed of many pieces, so it requires
a holistic approach to ensure it is changed
in a positive direction. It is absolutely on
our radar for major improvements.
PC Pilot: Do you have plans to
update the default airports?
Adam Breed: Yes, default airports are being
addressed. With each point release we update
a handful, but it is a larger project to update
the tens of thousands of default airfields and
all associated navigations aids. We will provide
more information on where we are heading
with the default Prepar3D globe in 2019.
PC Pilot: Will we see live real weather
in P3D?
Adam Breed: We do not currently support
live weather feeds in default Prepar3D.
Physically Based Rendering effects also extend to the cockpit. The image above shows the F-16 cockpit before Fortunately, I am aware of a handful of third-
PBR and the one below with PBR. parties that use our SDK to create add-
ons that pipe in real-world weather states
into Prepar3D’s full earth weather system.
PC Pilot: Finally, how many further
updates to version 4 will we see or
is version 5 on the horizon?
Adam Breed: Prepar3D v4 still has
a lot of life left in it and it is likely to
be the longest active release we have
done. Our users should expect updates
to Prepar3D v4 throughout 2019.
PC Pilot: Adam, thank you for taking
the time to speak to us. Is there
anything else you would like to add?
Adam Breed: Thanks to PC Pilot for
supporting the flight simulation community
and we encourage your readers to reach out
directly to our developers on our forums at
Prepar3D.com to give us their feedback on
version 4.4. See you all in the skies! PCP
By Richard Benedikz

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FEATURE FLIGHT SIM 2018 SHOW REPORT
Flight Sim 2 A special show report
A
s is typical with the UK, it was
raining as attendees for Flight
Sim 2018 (back in October)
queued up outside Hangar
1 of the RAF Museum at RAF Cosford,
Shropshire. Now in its sixth year, ‘Flight
Sim Show’ is an annual event organised by
Just Flight. Over 1,800 people attended this
year’s show, the largest since it began.
Walking down the line, a myriad of
different languages could be heard, an
indication that visitors had travelled from
not just all over the UK but from all over
the world to be here, in the rain. The mood
of the attendees was a combination of
excitement and anticipation as they began
to file through the doors into Hangar 1.
Exhibit Hall
Distributed among the iconic aircraft,
such as the Comet and the Gnat T.1,
were the exhibitors who represented
36 companies from all across the flight
simulation industry and were showing off
what they had to offer to the hundreds of

2018 attendees packed in among the aircraft. There’s something special about having a
Orbx was showing off its new TrueEarth flight simulation show in a hangar bursting
Great Britain South scenery for X-Plane at the seams with aircraft. The atmosphere
11 as well as allowing people to fly around in Hangar 1 shortly after the doors opened
in the sim. This was a treat for visitors was electric, visitors in their hundreds were
because at the time, it hadn’t been released. moving around the vendors - each on a
REMEX Software, the maker of Deadstick mission to get to the front, so they could
Bush Flight Simulator had a build of its talk or interact with what was on offer.
simulator on display; as always the team
allowed show-goers to play with it to their Presentations
hearts’ content. The simulator has a damage For many of the visitors to Flight Sim 2018, the
model so there were a lot of wings being attraction of the event was not just the exhibit
ripped off after visitors crashed into trees. hall but the presentations that happened
It was iPad’s galore over at the Infinite Flight throughout the day in the National Cold War
stand. The mobile flight simulation firm was Exhibition Hangar, adjacent to Hangar 1. A
making a debut appearance at this year’s mad dash in the rain was all that was required
show with a large number of its team on to enter yet another hangar full of aircraft. Six
hand to talk with users about the platform. presentations were on offer at this year’s show
It wasn’t just software-based exhibits on and a wide range of topics were discussed
display. Flight Sim 2018 was graced with the by people with a wealth of knowledge and
presence of many hardware and accessory experience in the flight simulation industry.
manufacturers. Skalarki Electronics had its The presentations took place in the
full-scale A320 cockpit on display allowing auditorium with proceedings kicking off
visitors to fly it. There was no shortage when at 9.45. Just Flight’s Operations Director,
it came to PC manufacturers - Chillblast, Dermot Stapleton, took to the stage to
Midland Computers, Wired2Fire and Alpine officially welcome the audience to the show.
Flight Systems were all on the show floor Commenting generally on the flight sim scene
demonstrating what they had to offer for the he said: “We are in a very exciting time in flight
flight sim enthusiast. Chillblast in particular simulation currently, there’s plenty of activity
was highlighting the capabilities of its laptop going on and I think the fact that that we’ve
flight simulation systems by running a got quite a lot of people here at 9.45, this
virtual reality setup - certainly a testament ungodly hour on a wet morning, is a testament
to the power of the machines in question. to how exciting everything is getting.”
Above: A large turnout for Infinite Flight’s debut

appearance at Flight Sim Show this year. Right:
Orbx was here in full force as it launched True Earth
Great Britain South for X-Plane. Above right: Orbx
had its True Earth Great Britain South scenery for
X-Plane on display, allowing attendees to test it out.
Below: Philipp Ringler was representing X-Plane
at this year’s show. He was last on stage giving a
presentation about the platform. Left: Stuart Morton
(left) and Chris Cheetham (right) from REMEX
Software - the company behind Deadstick Bush
Flight Simulator.

FEATURE FLIGHT SIM 2018 SHOW REPORT
Left: A hard day’s work for Just Flight making sure

the event ran smoothly for all who attended.
Below: Virtual reality was a big focus at this year’s
event. Chillblast was showing off the performance
of its laptop systems by running Virtual Reality
headsets on them.
First to take the stage was Laura Laban and Speaking after the presentation, Orbx commented: “I love coming here; it’s the
Jason Rosewell from Flying Development CEO, John Venema said: “I am incredibly perfect venue. I’ve been noticing that there
Studios, the company behind the popular encouraged by the positive response has been a definite increase in X-Plane
mobile flight simulation platform, Infinite Great Britain South has received both on usage at the show which is encouraging.”
Flight. Laura Laban, who’s the co-founder the stand and in the presentation.” Chris Cheetham of Deadstick and developer
and CEO of the company, spoke about When asked why he wasn’t on stage of Bush Flight Simulator: “FlightSim 2018
what Infinite Flight is and what features himself, Mr Venema remarked: “I’ve been was a fantastic event for us and a great
it includes. Following this, Laura was doing presentations for years; I thought opportunity to put Deadstick in front of
joined by Jason Rosewell who talked the I’d chuck Jarrad in the deep end.” both new and familiar faces for a test flight.
audience members through the air traffic The final presentation of the day featured The attendance was brilliant and we were
control systems the platform has to offer. Philipp Ringler from X-Plane’s development blown away by the enthusiasm and positive
The pair then moved on to what was team. He told the audience: “X-Plane is feedback for what we have achieved so far.”
coming soon to the sim. The A-10 was on the platform to be on right now.” This was Scott Phillips from Just Flight said: “My
the list, with an updated model due out followed by a short introduction explaining favourite thing about the event was the
soon with more polygons and eight liveries the flagship features the platform offers. general vibe and feel-good factor I think.
included. Live Replay was another feature X-Plane has what are called ‘Land Mark’ There was a feeling of togetherness from
mentioned. It was revealed that when this cities. These are cities which are recreated all exhibitors and show visitors that can
feature is released, users will be able to at a greater detail than standard. Mr Ringler only bode well for the future. Next year you
replay their sim while in multiplayer mode, said that Chicago has just been finished and can expect more of the same but maybe
something not possible until now because that New York City would be next to come. something even bigger and better; we’re still
of technical limitations. The Infinite Flight The presentation then moved to focus on working on the arrangements. It’s early days,
presentation concluded with a short question the incoming 11.30 update and the transition but we’re committed to this long-term, so
and answer session allowing audience to a new rendering engine called Vulkan. expansion plans are very much on the cards.”
members to speak directly to the creators.
As I approached the auditorium shortly General impressions Conclusion
before 1pm, a low murmur could be heard Overall it was a busy and jam-packed Although a wet and rainy day outside, inside,
emanating from inside. On opening the show which can only be described as spirits weren’t dampened as the general
door, I was met by people waiting for the a resounding success. Here are some feeling from those I spoke to was that Flight
next presentation from Orbx. It was obvious comments from developers and exhibitors: Sim 2018 was another resounding success.
that this was a very popular presentation Bill Womack, Orbx Simulations: “I’m Since its beginning, the show has been
as not a single seat was available. really impressed with the calibre of the confined to one day but after speaking with
One of Orbx’s Airport Developers, Jarrad attendees and the really great questions the team at Just Flight, it has been revealed
Marshall, took to the stage to deliver the and comments when meeting people.” that it is in discussions about making it a
company’s highly anticipated presentation. Laura Laban, CEO and co-founder, two-day event next year. We at PC Pilot
He started by introducing the company and Infinite Flight said: “I love the environment would like to thank Just Flight for organising
highlighting the recent product releases such with all the planes around us. It’s great to a fabulous show and I look forward to
as the triple airport Kiruna package. He then meet and interact with the community.” (hopefully!) a two-day event next year. PCP
moved on to what everyone in the room had Philipp Ringler from Laminar Research By Thomas Haynes
been waiting for: the announcement of Orbx
TrueEarth Great Britain South for X-Plane
11 - a photoreal-based scenery package
for the southern part of Britain (a review for
which starts on page 20 of this issue).
Marshall then moved on to address
the matter of freeware region scenery in
X-Plane. He said: “We know there are
free competitor versions available; we
take them seriously. We make sure you
get an experience far beyond anything
else you’ll be able to get in X-Plane.”
He added that the release of the central
region for TrueEarth Great Britain would
follow “not too far behind” the release
of the Southern region and that the
Northern region would come in 2019. Above: Just Flight was showing off some of its in-house projects that are in development.

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W W W. A I R T R A C T O R E U R O P E . C O M
TUTORIAL BACK TO BASICS
Executing your
BACK TO BASICS
Series 2, Lesson 3 is simple to do and only requires a basic

protractor (or better yet, an inexpensive
By Peter Stark aviation-specific navigation protractor)
I
n our previous issue, we started and the chart with our planned route
some basic flight planning for drawn in. Figure 1 shows how we measure
our first navigation exercise. In the angle using the lines of longitude.
this instalment, we will complete In this case, our true track from Eugene
that planning before taking off and putting Oakridge State comes out to about 123°.
it into practice while learning some simple However, you are probably aware that
techniques to keep us on track. the earth’s magnetic field varies across
the planet with magnetic north often being
True vs magnetic considerably different from true north.
The next section of our flight planning we The dilemma for pilots and seafarers alike
need to complete is to determine our required is that charts are drawn in reference to
ground track. To do this for our first leg from true north while compasses obviously
Eugene/KEUG to Oakridge State/5SO, our use magnetic north. As the magnetic field
first turning point, we need to measure the wavers, we may find that the difference
angle between that track and true north. This Fig 1 – Determining our true track is straightforward. between the two is very significant indeed.

flight plan
from https://albar965.github.io/littlenavmap.
html. Both will measure true and magnetic
tracks as well as distance via a map interface.
We have now almost completed our basic
flight plan. At our planned cruise altitude for
the flight, the C182 flies at a true airspeed
of around 150 knots. As we will be flying in
nil wind conditions, this will also be our G/S
This difference is called magnetic variation almost always the case), our magnetic heading (groundspeed). From the data we have entered,
and is simple to convert using this rule: will not necessarily take us directly to our we can now enter the estimated time interval
Magnetic East = Magnetic Least and destination (Figure 2). This first exercise will (ETI) between each waypoint. Use a flight
Magnetic West = Magnetic Best. We can be in zero winds, so our magnetic heading will computer or simple calculator to determine the
find the local magnetic variation from local be exactly the same as our magnetic track. number of minutes flying between points. For
aerodrome charts and from some navigation example, Leg 1 shows a distance of 38nm.
charts. In this area the variation is about Time and distance (38nm / 150 knots) x 60 = 15 minutes
15° east, ie magnetic is least, or subtracted The final piece of information we need to Work through the remaining legs and add the
from our true track. Therefore the magnetic extract from our charts for the moment is the magnetic heading, distance and ETI for each
heading is 123°T - 15° = 108° magnetic. This distance between each navigation point. Most leg to your flight plan. Remember you can
can now be entered in the relevant TR(M) - aeronautical charts are of a scale that allows download a basic flight planning spreadsheet
magnetic track - field in the flight plan form. simple measurement of distance directly from from the Download section for this issue at
the chart using rulers with the appropriate www.pcpilot.net and we will continue to add
Wind scale. You may consider purchasing a full- to this spreadsheet as the series progresses.
In the first part of this series, we learnt about scale chart and navigation ruler or revert to Astute readers may be asking: “How can the
some of the properties of air and how that can the simulator to measure these distances for ETI be 15 minutes if part of the route (the climb)
affect aircraft. If there is any you. Alternatively, investigate the Plan-G utility is made around 90 knots?” A good question,
wind along our route (which is from www.tasoftware.co.uk or LittleNavMap and while we will deal with climb calculations in
a later exercise, you can use a handy general
aviation Rule of Thumb. Simply add two
minutes to your first leg ETI and in most cases
the result is spot on. If you are flying at a high
level like we are on this flight – simply add three
minutes. Our first leg ETI becomes 18 minutes.
Having completed our flight plan from
Eugene’s Mahlon Sweet Airport to Prospect
State, it’s time to get airborne and learn some
useful techniques that will help us navigate
accurately. We are using the outstanding
A2A Simulations Cessna C182 for this part
of the series for its outstanding realism
in terms of performance and handling.
If you choose another aircraft, of course
your speeds and times may differ.
Sim settings and

enhancements
Select a clear skies weather theme or remove
all cloud and winds for this exercise and
ensure your tanks are full of fuel. As outlined
previously, we won’t be taking fuel planning into
account for this short flight but will dedicate
another part of this series to fuel management.
If your computer can cope, try to slide the
mesh complexity up so that the land relief
is enhanced while flying ‘low and slow’.
The normally aspirated light aircraft engine
Above: Fig 2 – A world without wind would be simpler,

however we will take a close look at managing winds
and navigation later in the series.

TUTORIAL BACK TO BASICS
by several methods which we will examine

in more detail next issue. For this exercise
therefore, I suggest you either set your aircraft
realism settings with the Auto Mixture box
checked (FSX/P3D) or lean the mixture every
2,000ft to maintain a smooth running engine.
In this series, we also use Orbx Simulations
scenery with this flight being covered by the
FSX/P3D Pacific North West package which
is available from www.orbxdirect.com.
You can fly the series without it, but you
must be prepared to accept that some flight
Above: Fig 3 - Dead reckoning is the simplest form of simulator scenery isn’t perfect and some visual
navigation and usually the least accurate.
references we discuss, particularly certain
roads and water bodies may not necessarily
appear on your sim. The navigation principals
however, will remain exactly the same.
The A2A Simulations
Getting Airborne C182 Skylane shoots
along and has excellent
After completing your flight planning and under-wing visibility.
aircraft pre-flight checks, jump into your
aircraft and plan your initial taxi, take-off and continuing our climb. Once we have reached
departure route. By now you have plenty of 1,000ft AGL, we can turn on to a downwind
practice in selecting the relevant runway so we heading of 160° as we keep climbing at our
will not dwell on that. However, we do need C182 cruise-climb speed of around 90 knots.
to plan what will occur after take-off and the Once we are passing 1,500ft AGL, we can
best time for that is well before we become turn to intercept our outbound track. For
Above: Fig 4 - Pilotage is simple for short routes. airborne. We need to consider our ground simplicity and accuracy, try to do this as
Below: Even urban areas have some distinctive visual
navigation fixes. track from take-off to the point where we you pass overhead the airfield, taking note
become established on our outbound track. of the departure time in the relevant field on
requires the correct ratio of fuel and air to As the winds are calm, let’s use Runway 34. your flight planning sheet. The reason we do
burn efficiently and hence produce optimal Start up the aircraft and taxi out to the runway this overhead the airfield if possible is that
power. When we fly at low altitudes, this usually holding point remembering all your relevant it will allow us to later make some accurate
means we have the mixture control in the full checklists. You’re all competent aviators, so calculations to determine our estimated
rich position. As we ascend, we have already from now on we’ll assume you always use time of arrival (ETA) and our first navigation
learnt that the air density decreases and if we good airmanship, the correct local procedures waypoint. After our initial burst of activity,
are to maintain the correct air-to-fuel ratio in and the techniques already discussed in this we should now be continuing our climb to
the engine, we must correspondingly decrease series. Line up and take-off. At 500ft AGL 9,500ft at around 90 knots, while ensuring
the mixture as we climb. This can be achieved we can turn onto a crosswind of 250° while we accurately fly our heading of 108°M.
Dead reckoning vs pilotage

No, dead reckoning does not refer to the likely
outcome if we don’t navigate properly. It is a
common way of navigating between navigation
points or fixes. For example, if we fly due east
at 105 knots for an hour, we would expect to
find ourselves exactly 105 nautical miles east
of our departure point (Figure 3). Of course any
winds will change this and later in the series we
will look at how to allow for this in some detail.
Sometimes, however, there are objects
such as lakes, rivers, major highways, rail
tracks, mountain peaks, water towers etc
close to our planned route. For shorter
flights, it is quite acceptable to fly a zigzag
route via these major features and this
technique is called pilotage (Figure 4).
On longer flights, this can become quite
labour-intensive and the zigzag course can
make calculating time and fuel usage more
difficult. So the most common method of
cross-country navigation is a blend of the two
(Figure 5). Here we fly our direct route which
uses less fuel, less time and with simpler time
and distance calculations whilst simultaneously
using the major visual features to ensure we
are staying close to our required track. For
example, if we plan a route as in Figure 6
and we pass over the lake, we know we are
too far to the left of course. If we pass over
the satellite dish, we know we are too far to

approaching a fix, we can be reasonably sure
that after two hours we are at oasis B, not
at oasis A and make our change in track.
Through careful planning and exceptional
flying skill, we arrived over Oakridge exactly
on time at 13:18 and we can note the time on
our planning sheet and turn on to our second
heading of 144° magnetic. A glance at our flight
plan tells us we should remain at 9,500ft and
our distance to travel is 51nm with an expected
time interval of 20 minutes. Adding 20 minutes
to our arrival over Oakridge State comes PCP
to an ETA over Crater Lake of 13:38.
the right of course. This is very simplified reports to Flight Service Stations or ATC at
but does demonstrate the benefit of using regular intervals and these must be within plus
these two techniques while navigating. or minus two minutes of your planned time. For
example, if we made our departure call from
Moving right along KEUG at 13:00 and our flight plan indicates we
While we climb towards Oakridge State, it will pass over Oakridge State at 13:18, ATC will
makes good sense to check that we are in usually wait until 13:20 until it tries to contact Above: Fig 5 - A combination of the various navigation
methods is the most efficient. Below: Fig 6 – Planning
fact flying along our preferred ground track. you to ensure all is well. So you must be aware our route near easy-to-identify features will greatly
We must resist the desire to over-navigate of your time frame and be prepared to alter simplify your job.
and not make sudden changes so early into your ETA should winds or conditions cause you
our leg. Our chart shows that the track should to fly to the reporting point quicker or slower.
take us just to the south of the long lake which Secondly, when flying on more remote
runs in the approximate direction of our track. areas with minimal navigation fixes, careful
So as long as we focus on flying our correct calculation and updating of your ETAs also
heading, a glance out the side of the aircraft allows you to anticipate the arrival at a specific
shows we are not drifting wildly off track. navigation feature. As a simple example,
If you made an accurate departure and flew imagine we are flying over a desert for hours.
your heading well, you too should pass abeam Our planned track has two oases along the
the western side of the Lookout Point Reservoir track at equal distances before we must turn.
about 10 minutes into the leg. Using time as a We would expect to pass over the first oasis
navigation aid serves several purposes. Firstly, after an hour and the second after two hours.
you are generally required to make position So by knowing at what time we should be
Next issue
When we return, we’ll complete our flight to
Prospect State while learning more about fuel
planning and management when navigating.
You can find the flight planning spreadsheet and
While we are chart images of the legs in the Download section
navigating for this issue at www.pcpilot.net.
visually, you
can always use
‘IFR’ – I follow
roads, rivers
and railways.

FEATURE CHALLENGING AIRPORTS
Challenging
Sucre, Bolivia (SLSU)
S
ucre, the official capital of the South
American country of Bolivia, is
located in the highland valleys of the
Central Cordillera. With mountain
peaks to over 21,000ft, Bolivia is an extremely
challenging region for aviation, with obvious
geographic obstacles, mountain weather
and route pairings that have challenges from
take-off to landing. For over four decades,
passenger services to Sucre were enabled
by Juana Azurduy de Padilla International
Airport (SLSU), carved out of the high valley
floor at an elevation of 9,527ft. In May 2016,
the airport was transferred to military control
and a new airport (Alcantari Airport / SLAL),
20 miles to the south, was opened to serve
the city. With our flight simulators however,
Above: Keep in mind that some automatically

calculated aircraft performance data may not take
into account the extreme elevation, resulting in
significant performance reduction.
Top right: The missed approach point on the VOR/
DME to Runway 23 has a high minimum descent
altitude (1,043ft AGL) and a missed approach
escape route to the south down the valley.
Right: Some piston aircraft are only a few
thousand feet from their service ceiling when
operating from the 9,527ft field elevation.

Airports
we can still enjoy the unique challenges
that the old Sucre Airport provided.
Geographic challenges
Sucre Airport featured a single 9,432ft long
runway oriented along a northeast/southwest
axis (Runway 5/23). The runway length was
a requirement due to the extremely high
elevation (9,527ft) that severely impacts aircraft
performance, requiring extended take-off
and landing rolls. High mountains between
11,000ft to more than 16,000ft surround the
airport in all quadrants, requiring aircraft to
drop into the geographic bowl at the bottom
of which the city sits. Enroute altitudes to
and from Sucre from other regions of Bolivia,
as well as the surrounding countries of
Peru, Chile, Argentina and Paraguay, can
require flight altitudes of up to 24,000ft.
A frequent co-conspirator with high terrain
is highly variable weather conditions that
mountainous regions seem to generate.
The weather in Sucre is typically mild
with a very narrow average daily high-
temperature range throughout the year
varying only by a few degrees between
66°F to 70°F. The dry season (winter) runs
from April to September, while the rainy
season (summer) runs from October to

FEATURE CHALLENGING AIRPORTS
March. The rainy season brings frequent in accelerating for the take-off roll when
thunderstorms and highly variable weather How to fly to Sucre (SLSU) departing Runway 5 and conversely aids
that can include heavy fog. Keep in mind Flights to Sucre Airport can be replicated using in decelerating aircraft that are landing
that the higher elevations just a few miles any X-Plane or FSX/P3D aircraft that is suitably upslope on Runway 23. The near 2% initial
away from the airport can have significantly equipped to fly a VOR/DME approach to a high- slope of Runway 23 does have the drawback
different weather at any given time including elevation airport. Piston aircraft pilots should of presenting pilots with a sight picture
freezing temperatures and severe icing. consider performance requirements. Historically that is a little off from what they are used
accurate aircraft that were recent visitors to SLSU
just prior to closing were: Boeing 727-200, 737-
to. The uphill slope can make pilots think
Runway challenges 300, BAe 146, Metro III, and CRJ-200. they are approaching at a higher-than-
The long runway at Sucre is an interesting normal angle, which causes pilots to adjust
While stock X-Plane and FSX/P3D airports can be
study in making the best of what the by descending to make the sight picture
used, I’d recommend enhancing the experience
local geography has to offer. Removing with custom free scenery packages available on 'right'. This visual illusion can cause them
mountains and levelling ground is a costly X-Plane.org or the payware SLSU scenery by to fly a shallower-than-normal approach
and time-consuming process and given LatinVFR for FSX: https://secure.simmarket.com/ path and Sucre already has significant
the technology that was available when the latinvfr-sucre-bolivia-slsu.phtml threshold displacements due to terrain off
airfield was constructed in the 1970s, it is no Approach charts can be found here: both ends of the runway, so flying lower
surprise that eventually a more modern and http://www.firbolivia.org/descargas/SLSU%20 is definitely not a desirable outcome.
capable airport (Alcantari) would eventually Cartas.pdf The aforementioned displaced thresholds
replace it. The immediate first impression The RNAV procedure can be seen by Googling also present the pilot with an unusually
you have when positioned ready for take- the following PDF document: ‘Cartas de Aproxi- large amount of runway that you must fly
off is that you can only see a portion of the macion PBN SLSU’. over prior to reaching the threshold and the
runway as it slopes away near the middle touchdown zone beyond. The listed landing
towards the northeast. The overall slope Top: Runway 23 has a start elevation of 9,431ft and distance available is 7,077ft for Runway 5
an ending elevation of 9,527ft – a significant upslope
of the runway is a smidge over 1% but the that leads to the visual illusion of being too high,
(2,355ft of displaced runway) and 7,707ft
majority of the elevation loss occurs in the often resulting in shallow approaches. Below: Though (1,725ft of displaced runway) for Runway
last 4,000ft of the runway, giving closer to a the runway has an impressive 9,432ft length, due to 23. Remember, you can use the displaced
terrain on the approach path, the displaced threshold
2% slope over that portion of the runway. only allows for 7,707ft when landing on Runway 23 threshold at the far end of the landing
Obviously, the downslope assists aircraft and 7,077ft landing on Runway 5. runway for rollout, but you are not allowed
to land short of the approach end threshold
markings. Thankfully, both runway directions
at Sucre are equipped with PAPI lights to
assist with flying the proper approach path
and to help pilots overcome both the runway
gradient illusions and displaced threshold
factors. An additional consideration is
that there are no runway lights at Sucre,
so night operations are prohibited.
Navigation aids
With SLSU decommissioned as a civil
aviation airport, you’ll have to search a bit
on the internet for some older approach
charts to use with our flight simulators.
Both the official government charting
agency (FIR Bolivia) and Jeppesen have
published approach plates for SLSU. Two
SID charts (departure procedures) lead to
points north and south of the airfield and
a fantastic VOR/DME approach with a fun
and challenging DME arc to Runway 23 is

the only approach plate I was able to locate.
The VOR/DME approach consists of an 11
DME arc around the terminal VOR (Sucre /
SUR / 116.5) starting at 14,800ft to 15,000ft
to avoid high terrain. Radial-based stepdown
fixes ease you down to 13,000ft upon inbound
course interception. Flying the arc, monitoring
the DME, and managing the vertical profile
are a great challenge and a check on your
instrument flying proficiency. After turning
inbound, further stepdowns to 11,220ft and the
10,500ft minimum descent altitude (MDA) are
accomplished based on DME fixes. The MDA Above: Extreme elevation has severe penalties on Vyse) just to survive and even then I was only
aircraft performance. Losing an engine in a piston
and missed approach point is set to an altitude twin like the Cessna 404 will result in a climb rate of squeezing out 100-200ft per minute of climb.
(1,043ft AGL) and distance (3.8 DME) that only 100-200ft feet per minute. In Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC)
Below: Advanced avionics such as the Garmin GTN
would allow for a normal descent on a roughly 750 may contain an RNAV approach to SLSU, as well
conditions, you would be very hard pressed
3° approach path to the runway. Visibility as providing excellent situational awareness of the to not run into a mountain in such a scenario.
requirements range from 1.25 statute miles for surrounding terrain. Even turbine aircraft suffer from performance
Category A aircraft up to three statute miles for degradation at such a high-altitude airport,
Category C aircraft. The high minimums reflect requiring higher take-off speeds, longer
the respect for the extremely high terrain in ground rolls and careful consideration of high-
all quadrants and the need to establish an speed aborts, particularly given the near 2%
early climb to the missed approach level off runway downslope when departing Runway 5.
altitude of 15,000ft. Circle-to-land minimums
are also published that increase the MDA by Physiological factors
300ft to 690ft depending on aircraft category. Though we can’t really duplicate it in our
In doing research for this article, I also came home simulators, it is also worth mentioning
across an RNAV Z approach to Runway that an airport such as Sucre can affect the
23 that might have been used by some air human body in ways that can have an impact
carriers towards the end of the airfield’s life on flight performance. Some individuals who
as a civil aviation airport. You may see the travel to Sucre from sea level origins can be
approach listed in X-Plane or P3D in your struck with the rapid onset of altitude sickness.
GPS. The RNAV approach is constructed in Headache, nausea, shortness of breath and a
the typical ‘T’ pattern for the initial approach feeling of fatigue can be symptoms of altitude
fixes, and has slightly lower minimums for sickness. When tasked with flying into or out
the approach with a reduction of the MDA to of Sucre in IFR conditions, with procedures
10,300ft and a reduction of the Category C that require you to be on your ‘A’ game, even
visibility requirement to 2.25 statute miles. a slight bit of altitude sickness could lead
to poor decision-making or execution.
Aircraft performance at such a high altitude would be anaemic.
With all of the considerations about the terrain, Pity the poor Piper Warrior 140 pilot who Conclusion
airport and navigation facilities, it is important decides to visit relatives in Sucre, leaving Though many of our favourite airports over the
to remember that aircraft performance is one only a bit over 1,400ft above field elevation decades have faded into the history books as
of the most important variables that must before reaching its service ceiling. newer and more capable facilities have been
be taken into consideration when operating All humour aside, piston engine aircraft would constructed, the beauty of flight simulation
to Sucre. By way of example, consider a obviously suffer the most at such a high- is that we can keep nostalgic favourites such
Cessna 172M sitting on the ramp at Sucre altitude airport. In tests with the excellent as Kai Tak, Meigs Field and Sucre in our
– it will only be a bit over 3,500ft below its Alabeo Cessna 414 Titan at mid weights, an folder of exotic locations. And who knows,
published service ceiling. As such, you would engine failure just after take-off required quick the replacement airport, Alcantari, doesn’t
have to lean out the engine considerably feathering and a religious attention to flying exactly look like a cake walk either! PCP
just to get it to start and power production at blue line (best single-engine rate of climb / By Chris Frishmuth
A climb in visual conditions is the safest

departure technique from this high-altitude
airfield, but IFR departures allow for take-off
down to as little as half a mile visibility.
#119 PC PILOT / 63
FEATURE
Norway Flight Adve

Peter Stark explores the Piper PA-31 Navajo
A
s spring arrives in the far north, Becoming available in 1967, the PA-31 Navajo services and even as private aircraft for
we fly through south-western featured a wide cabin and aisle, generous the well heeled. Pilots and operators
Norway and again take a closer baggage compartments and perhaps loved the Navajo as it was easy to fly
look at another aviation classic importantly for its ultimate success, no real and was fitted with a reasonably priced
aircraft – the Piper PA-31 Navajo… competition. During its 17-year production autopilot, had good operating range and
life, the base model was modified, extended was quite economical for the era.
Our aircraft and upgraded so that by the time production As the Navajo is such a successful and
Spurred on by their company founder, ceased in 1974, almost 4,000 had been built. common aircraft, you will have no problem
engineers at Piper Aircraft designed a six- to It was primarily operated by small feeder in finding one for your preferred flight sim
eight-place, twin turbo piston-engine model. airlines, freight carriers, executive transport platform. This issue, we are flying the
Carenado PA31 Navajo HD for X-Plane 11.
Users of FSX/P3D shouldn’t despair as
Carenado also produces a PA-31 Navajo for
FSX/P3D and the Pilot Notes for this issue also
contain listings of suitable FSX/P3D scenery,
including the excellent Orbx Simulation
Norway series. You can find the Pilot’s Notes
and some relevant charts in the Downloads
section for Issue 119 at www.pcpilot.net.
Note that the first two legs are purely VFR
and rely on some attention from the pilot
(you!) to maintain track. We recommend
a utility such as Plan-G (www.tasoftware.
co.uk) which uses OpenStreetMap data
to give you details of some of the visual
features you’ll be overflying. This utility
works with FSX/P3D and X-Plane and also
allows you to connect to the sim so you
Loading up the paying guests at Bergen.
can position yourself on a moving map. All
aerodrome and approach charts are freely

The Norwegian fjords are a beautiful place to fly – on days like this anyway.
available online and you will certainly want easily cover the 250nm legs with enough
to obtain the ENNO aerodrome and LOC12 in reserve should this unseasonably nice
RWY 12 charts, and the ENGM aerodrome weather deteriorate. Once you have warmed
and ILS RWY 19R charts as a minimum. up the engines, taxi to the threshold of
Runway 17. After take-off, maintain 171° and
The customer is always right! track direct towards the Stord Sorstokken/
We are placing you in the captain’s seat of STD VOR on 113.40MHz as you climb to
your Navajo based in the Norwegian city 2,500ft. Why so low? This is a VFR flight
of Bergen/ENBR. You work for a charter and we want to give our paying passengers
operator which flies tourists on scenic fjord a good view when we head up the fjords.
excursions of various lengths, as well as Overhead Stord Sorstokken, turn left and
some private business charters across south- track up around 046°M through the broad
west Norway. Your first two flights of the day entrance to Klosterfjorden. Depending on
take six passengers on a flight up two of your scenery, you may need to extend your
Norway’s most iconic fjords, Klosterfjorden southbound leg another 5nm or so to clear
and Sognefjorden. They are both quite close the southern end of Stord island before
to Bergen and you have been asked to make tracking northeast. Visually track up the
enture
a stopover at Sogndal Haukasen/ENSG for fjord and enjoy the scenery as the sides
a bite of lunch before returning to Bergen. gradually close in. You should pass over a
In a rare stroke of fortune, the weather bridge at Hardangerbrua and this is your
today is just stunning with clear skies, mild cue that the fjord is about to fork. If you are
temperatures and light southerly winds. confident in handling the Navajo, initially
Before loading your passengers, ensure take the right fork towards Eidfjord as it is
your fuel tanks are about half full as this will very pretty. Then make a 180° turn to track
Time to explore another iconic Norwegian fjord – Sognefjorden.

FEATURE FLIGHT ADVENTURE
The approach into Notodden can the ILS to avoid the built-up areas and higher
be challenging in poor weather.
terrain to the east. After landing, bid farewell
to your very satisfied guests and head to the
crew room, where you are given a new charter.
IFR Charter
Norway has a large number of relatively small
airfields with runways under 3,500ft. Hence
the Navajo is very well suited to lower level
operations here and while using an IFR-
equipped Navajo for VFR tourist runs up the
fjords is fine, it is also the regular business
charters to these smaller communities that
help pay the bills and this type of work has
been the core of the Piper Navajo’s workload.
Your next leg involves flying some Norwegian
back towards the fork and this time take the Sogndal on Runway 24 and climb to 5,500ft Civil Aviation Authority officers from Bergen to
north-east fork and start to climb to 5,500ft. as you follow the Sognefjorden in a generally the town of Notodden/ENNO where they will
You will soon see that this part of the fjord westward direction. Your arrival back into inspect some gliders, as Notodden is a well-
rises to meet a serious mountain range ahead. Bergen will be via the Vollo/VOO VOR known gliding centre. You will then return them
If you maintain 5,500ft or above, you will clear 114.85MHz. Given the terrain between you and to Oslo that evening. The weather is starting
the broader range and only have to watch out Vollo, continue to follow the fjord westward to deteriorate and you can expect reduced
for the occasional peak. As you reach the end until you can intercept the 210° radial inbound visibility and gusty south-westerly winds.
of the fjord and are clear of the hills, track at 5,500ft. This will give you some ground Set your visibility to less than 10nm, surface
012°M. Your passengers will delight at the clearance without you having to track all the winds 220/12kts gusting 20kts, QNH 995
rugged terrain not far beneath them as you way to the west coast. From Vollo, track 171° (29.94 In Hg) with scattered cumulus between
maintain this track for 20nm, at which point south to intercept Bergen’s ILS for Runway 17 5,000 and 10,000ft. Make sure you have
you will see the waters of the Aurlandsfjorden on 109.90MHz. If you prefer to make a visual sufficient fuel for the 128nm run to Notodden,
between some ridges. You can now start a approach, do so from the western side of plus the 83nm run to Oslo’s Gardermoen
descent to 2,500ft as terrain allows. Follow
this fjord in a northerly direction until you
enter the wider Sognefjorden – another iconic
Norwegian fjord. As you enter this fjord,
your planned landing ground at Sogndal
Haukasen/ENSG is 5nm to the northeast and
is serviced by the SOG VOR on 114.20MHz.
Sogndal airstrip is a 1,109m (3,300ft) asphalt
strip running 06/24. Note that it is at an
elevation of 1,632ft and is not at the edge
of the fjord but rather about half a nautical
mile inshore and may be partly obscured
by the adjacent hill. Your track sets you up
nicely for downwind on Runway 24. Taxi to
the main tower building after landing and
allow your passengers 90 minutes for their
lunch. Hope you brought your sandwiches. As the sun starts to set, we depart Notodden on our last leg of the day.
Once your guests have returned, depart
Many regions of Norway are

sparsely populated so you
must stay on the ball when
it comes to navigation.

Climbing out from
Notodden requires you
to track direct to the
HE NDB to avoid the
surrounding terrain.
Airport and 60 minutes reserves should first attempt, descend to 6,000ft and line up 4,000ft, it is safe to make a right turn and
the weather become more severe while en on the localiser by 20nm inbound. You can use track direct to the Sigdal/SIG VOR 117.70MHz
route. Your first leg flight plan is ENBR HE the HE NDB (324KHz) to assist you. Slow to on the 035° radial. Level off at 7,000ft and
EDDO at 9,000ft. After take-off on Runway be at around 140 knots at 13.5DME when you navigate to Sigdal before turning right and
17, turn left on to 080°M to intercept the should lower your gear and at least one stage tracking direct to the Gardermoen/GRM VOR
108°M radial outbound on the Flesland/FLE of flap so that you can start this steep descent on 115.95MHz. Start your descent to 5,000ft
VOR on 114.50MHz as you climb to 9,000ft. right on 13.5DME at around 110 knots. at approximately 20DME, but be aware of
Enroute you will pass over some spectacular An aviation rule of thumb tells us that the generally high ground to the west of
scenery including the deep Hardangerfjord. we should descent at around 750fpm Gardermoen. At 15DME, make a left turn and
As we cruise along, we have a little time to make a 4.1° glideslope at 100 KIAS. fly the 13DME arc to intercept the Runway
to explore some interesting features of the The ENNO LOC RWY 12 approach chart 19R localiser (111.30MHz). You can descend
Navajo. It is a credit to the designers that highlights the key altitude versus distance to 3,000ft once you are within 10nm of the
even today, it remains a recognisable aircraft parameters for this approach, and provided runway. Fly the ILS or make a visual final
with the long nose, wide, high cabin and you don’t descend below 1,440ft you approach and exit the runway to the right after
those props that seem to stand a very long will be safe. If you don’t want to land touchdown so you can taxi to the general
way in front of the engine cowling. This is with a small downwind component, fly a aviation apron on the west side of the airfield.
no accident and they have been called Tiger right downwind leg over the lake before
Shark cowlings as they look so sharp and turning back to land on Runway 30. Well Done!
aggressive. The reason they are so far forward Remember to download the Pilot’s Notes
is so that the props operate in completely On to Oslo on the website as it suggests a number
clean air which has not been disturbed by It is now dusk as your clients arrive back of optional flights for X-Plane and FSX/
the large fuselage. This results in greater at the Navajo to be taken on the 83nm leg P3D, which will give you a taste of
efficiency and reduced operating costs, which to Oslo Gardermoen/ENGM Airport. Take- what flight simulation in Norway can
of course is always a bonus to fleet managers. off on Runway 30 and climb straight ahead offer. Until next issue – Farvel! PCP
Many a young pilot proudly flew the PA-31 towards the HE NDB as you climb. At around By Peter Stark
as it was a much bigger aircraft than anything
in the class at the time and they were held The end of a long day as we land at Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport.
in awe by other pilots. But what these
proud young pilots didn’t let on was that the
Navajo was in fact a very easy aircraft to fly
despite the size. It was a dream to handle
as long as you followed some rules and
the single engine minimum control speed
(Vmc), which was often the scourge of light
twin pilots, was actually lower than the stall
speed when in the landing configuration.
This was unheard of at the time and meant
that even if one engine quit on late approach,
a pilot could safely continue to land
without fear of losing directional control.
It is now time to start planning our arrival
into Notodden. The airfield lies next to a lake
at the eastern end of a narrow valley and the
NDB/LOC approach requires you to track 112°
inbound on the NT localiser (110.70MHz) while
also descending at a much steeper-than-
normal glideslope of 4.1°. To give yourself the
best chance of making the approach on the

FEATURE THE SPITFIRE: A FLIGHT SIMMER’S GUIDE
A Flight Simmer’s Guide – Part 1

Spitfire variations
In this feature we will be focusing on
the following Spitfire simulations: A2A
Simulations’ Mk I and II, Aeroplane Heaven’s
Mk Ia, Eagle Dynamics’ DCS Spitfire LF
Mk IX, 1C Maddox’s Cliffs of Dover Spitfire
Mk I and II and finally RealAir Sims’ Mk IX
and XIV from their Spitfire 2008 package.
At this point, it should be pointed out that
although RealAir Sims is no longer trading,
I felt it was worthwhile including its product
in this article for the benefit of those who
still own this simulation to see how it
compared with the more recent Spitfire
offerings. Furthermore, new installers for a
number of RealAir’s products are available
on their website (http://realairsimulations.
Aeroplane Heaven’s Dunkirk Spitfire provides three models of the Mk I Spitfire.
net/) that, it states, will “allow you to continue
W
elcome to the start of a new series
in which we put the spotlight
on well-known military aircraft.
Each instalment will include a
brief history, a survey of the flight simulations
currently available for that type, how each
product compares in terms of its internal and
external graphical representation, cockpit
functionality, systems modelling, flight
dynamics and audio treatment. Additional
features such as liveries and, where applicable,
flyable missions will be discussed. In addition,
we will be providing hints and tips on how
best to operate and fly each aircraft. So to
get this series off to a flying start, we begin
with the iconic Vickers Supermarine Spitfire,
which will be presented in two parts. In this
instalment, we will first give a brief description
of and differences between the various Marks
of Spitfires that have been modelled by the
developers in this survey, and then give
an overview of their respective features.
An introduction to the Spitfire

‘You didn’t get into a Spitfire, you strapped
it on!’, ‘She was a delight to fly’, ‘It was an
honest, viceless aircraft’, ‘It spoke to you,
and would give you due warning if it was
being abused!’ These are just some of the
compliments that have been paid to the
Spitfire by veteran pilots when describing
Reginald Mitchell’s masterpiece. First flown
in March 1936, it was designed as a short-
range defensive fighter for rapid interception of
raiding fighters and bombers. When production
of this aircraft finally ceased in 1949, a total of
22,000 Spitfires and Seafires had been built.
In fact it was the only British fighter to have
been in continuous production before, during
and after the war - with a total of 24 different
Marks of Spitfire being ultimately produced.

using your RealAir products going into
the future. Installers for the Spitfire, Scout
and SF260 will be available shortly.”
As you can see, the companies mentioned
above have modelled different versions of
the Spitfire. So, with that in mind, it will prove
useful to now give a brief description of the
main technical specifications of each of the
Marks involved, starting with the Mark I.
Spitfire Mk I
The Mark I, modelled by A2A Simulations,
Aeroplane Heaven and 1C Maddox in Cliffs of
Dover, was the first production version of the
Spitfire and entered RAF service with numbers
19 and 66 Squadrons in 1938. Powered by a
Merlin II engine, which produced 1,030hp at
16,250ft, it had a top speed of 347mph. It also
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs
had a three-bladed variable pitch propeller of Dover includes three
which replaced the original fixed pitch unit. versions of the aircraft: the
Mk I, Mk IA and the Mk IIA.
Spitfire Mk II
The Spitfire Mark II is simulated by A2A and is result, the Mark II had an improved maximum Fw190. The Mk IX came in three flavours,
included in Cliffs of Dover. Although externally speed and rate of climb over its predecessor. designed for low and high altitude: the F.IX
the Mk II was virtually identical to the Mk I, the was powered by a Merlin 61 producing
most significant difference between them was Spitfire Mk IX 1,565hp, the HF.IX had a Merlin 70 engine,
the engine. The Mk II incorporated the Merlin The Mark IX, modelled by Eagle Dynamics which produced 1,710hp and finally the LF.IX
XII engine, delivering 1,175hp, which gave a and RealAir Simulations, was designed as came with a Merlin 66 producing 1,720hp. In
small increase in speed over the Mark I. As a an interim version to combat the Focke Wulf terms of performance, the F.IX’s maximum

FEATURE THE SPITFIRE: A FLIGHT SIMMER’S GUIDE
A2A Simulations has modelled

Spitfire Marks IA, IIA and IIB. A2A Simulations
(Mk I and Mk II)
A2A Simulations has modelled Spitfire Marks
IA, IIA and IIB. With this product, A2A adopted
a new approach in the way it created its
simulations, with the ultimate goal of increasing
the level of fidelity currently available. The
team achieved this goal by effectively
designing its Spitfire ‘outside’ of FSX, thereby
bypassing the confines and limitations of
the host software. This approach allowed
A2A to produce a product that took desktop
simulation to a whole new level of fidelity.
Features in this package include a choice of
three types of propeller (two-blade fixed pitch,
three-bladed two-speed variable and a three-
bladed constant speed) and full modelling of
the piston combustion engine technology of
speed was 408mph at 25,000ft, the LF.IX’s top the two-bladed Watts propeller and flat- the Rolls Royce Merlin encompassing features
speed was 404mph at 21,000ft and the HF.IX top canopy, a Mk I which was in service such as electric and explosive engine starters
could attain a speed of 416mph at 27,000ft. at the time of Dunkirk in 1940 and a Mk and the effects of overheating and spark plugs
IA which took part in the Battle of Britain. getting clogged. The oil pressure system is
Spitfire Mk XIV Early Mk Is were originally fitted with a two- modelled, along with oil viscosity and the
Finally, the Mark XIV, represented by RealAir’s blade, fixed pitch, wooden propeller but in effects of oil temperature and dilution on the
Spitfire, was powered by the Griffon 65 engine 1939 this was replaced with a three-bladed engine; dynamic systems failures along with
that produced 2,000hp. The Mark XIV’s top metal variable-pitch airscrew. Early Mk Is the primer system are also included, with the
speed was 448mph at 26,000ft. Characteristic were also fitted with a hand-pump-operated prevailing ambient temperatures affecting
features included: a five-bladed propeller landing gear system. A distinguishing feature the number of shots required. A2A’s Spitfire
and enlarged fin and rudder. It also came of the Mk IA was its larger ‘bubble’ canopy, also provides the authentic simulation of the
with either a ‘high-back’ or cut-down rear- designed for increased head clearance. battery, the capacity of which is affected by
fuselage, the latter of which was designed to This model also includes animations temperature and lowers over time and degree
allow for the incorporation of the tear-drop comprising: ‘safety’ stage door opening (which of usage. Other notable features include a fully
canopy, which improved all-round visibility. locks the canopy in the open position when clickable and functional cockpit, a complete
Now that we know a little about the landing), the Mk I hand-pumped landing gear, maintenance hangar, allowing you to view
differences between the Marks of which is correctly simulated (30 pumps to the current state of your aircraft, its engine
Spitfire which have been modelled, let’s lower, 15 to raise) and the later hydraulically- and various systems (and affect repairs and
take a look at the main features of their operated landing gear, animated goggles and tests if required), plus a completely audible
simulated counterparts, starting with oxygen mask (automatically set at altitude), cockpit and engine system. Sound is dynamic
Aeroplane Heaven’s ‘Dunkirk Spitfire’. ‘shake’ of airframe at engine start and idle, and is driven by physics rather than being
and an authentic engine start. In addition, event-triggered, with 300 sound samples
Aeroplane Heaven’s Dunkirk the surface detail on these models includes utilised. Finally, your Spitfire is a ‘persistent’
Spitfire (Mk I) individual rivets and fabric effects and a high- aircraft which means its prevailing condition
Aeroplane Heaven’s Dunkirk Spitfire package definition texture set, complete with weather is carried over to your next flying session.
for FSX and Prepar3D provides three and wear effects. Finally, nine liveries are So, for example, if you made a rather heavy
models comprising a very early Mk I with supplied for the included Spitfire variants. landing on your previous flight, a trip to the
Eagle Dynamics decided to

model the most produced variant of
the Spitfire series: the Spitfire LF Mk IX.

Spitfire Cockpits
1: Real-world Spitfire 4: DCS World
2: Aeroplane Heaven 5: Cliffs of Dover
3: A2A Simulations 6: RealAir Simulations
RealAir Sims’ ‘Spitfire

2008’ package models the
Mk IX and Mk XIV variants.
maintenance hangar the next day may reveal speed cruise; but both have to be manually
repairs that are needed on your undercarriage. set. The Mk IA, ‘Mk IA October’ and IIA 2
are all equipped with the constant-speed
DCS Spitfire (LF Mk IX) propeller, which, in essence, automatically
Eagle Dynamics (ED) decided to model the sets the correct pitch angle for any given
most produced variant of the Spitfire series: speed. The latter propeller improved the
the Spitfire LF Mk IX. ED has used data from Spitfire’s rates of acceleration and climb.
scientific research and documentation, as CoD’s Spitfire also comes with a fairly
well as consultation and tests conducted by high degree of cockpit functionality but
real world pilots of the Fighter Collection, ED’s not as comprehensive as the previous
parent company, based in Duxford, England. two offerings. The features lacking are
As well as providing high-fidelity flight, the ability to manually operate both 3
engine, fuel and electrical systems modelling, the Primer and the Starter button.
it also includes a fully functional cockpit,
armament, radio operation and gunsight use. RealAir Simulations Spitfire
ED also provides you with a number of (Mk IX and XIV)
scenarios in which to experience the Spitfire: RealAir Sims’ ‘Spitfire 2008’ package
Instant Action, which comprises Cold models the Mk IX and Mk XIV variants and
Start, Take-off, Free Flight, Landing and both versions are accompanied by sub-
Dogfighting; and an interactive training module variants and a variety of liveries. As an
(accompanied by an event-triggered voice- added bonus, a reproduction of RAF West
over) which focuses on four aspects: engine Malling airbase (circa 1944), complete with 4
start procedure, taxi and take-off, landing AI-controlled Spitfires, is also included.
and aerial gunnery. Instant action, single Spitfire 2008 provides the following
and campaign missions are also available. number of livery variations: six Mark IXs with
The former two come with the module, elliptical wings, four Mark IXs with clipped
while the latter are available as additional wings, four Mark XIVs with elliptical wings,
purchases in the form of ‘Operation Epsom’ six Mark XIVs with clipped wings and one
and ‘The Big Show Campaign’. ED’s Mark ‘Contra Prop’ Mark XIV. Features include:
LF IX also comes with eight liveries covering Virtual Cockpit (VC) glass reflections, visible
four British and four Russian aircraft. and audible pre- and post-stall buffeting,
a refined spinning routine allowing you to 5
Cliffs of Dover Spitfire continue a spin once established, airframe
(Mk I and II) overstress sound effects, high-speed (high-g)
Reflecting the Marks of Spitfire that took part stalls, realistic engine torque effects, engine
in the Battle of Britain, IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs failure (which is portrayed both visually
of Dover (CoD) includes three versions of the and mechanically), a choice of textures
aircraft: the Mk I, Mk IA and the Mk IIA. An between 16-bit or the higher quality 32-bit
additional ‘Mk IA October’ is also included variety (the latter improving the look and
but there seems to be no apparent difference appearance of the external modelling of the
between this aircraft and the standard Mk 1A. aircraft), and finally, the user can control
As mentioned previously, the Mk I was fitted the strength of the stall buffeting effect.
with a Merlin II or III engine, while the Mk II 6
was powered by the more powerful Merlin In part 2…
XII, which markedly improved the aircraft’s Now that we have established the essential
performance; this being apparent when ‘ingredients’ of each of the featured Spitfire
flying in the simulation. Another important simulations, the next instalment will take a
factor which affected the performance of the look at their respective graphical treatments
Spitfire was the type of propeller fitted to the (internal and external), compare their
aircraft. CoD includes Spitfires with two types individual flying characteristics and how well
of propellers. The first is the three-bladed - each of them has replicated the magical
two-pitch (for fine and course) variant used sounds of the Merlin and Griffon engines. So
on the Mk I, with the ‘fine’ pitch setting used until next time, happy flight simming! Visit www.pcpilot.net to see larger versions of
for take-off and the coarse pitch for high- By Derek Davis these shots.

HARDWARE
Wired2Fire’s X15-V2
Full speed ahead
U
pgrading flight sim computers
can be a stressful and confusing
exercise. Not only do we need to
dig deep into our pockets but we
also have to know what components to select.
Advances in hardware development continue
at a brisk pace and keeping up-to-date with
the latest technology is a challenge. This
year’s highlight is arguably the release of the
RTX 2080 graphics card from Nvidia. Storage
technology has also moved on and we are
now seeing super-fast M.2 solid state hard
drives (SSD) becoming more commonplace.
Rather than using the SATA interface like
conventional hard drives, M.2 drives connect
to the PCI Express (PCIe) bus – the same
interface that is used by the graphics card
and there are significant gains to be had in
data transfer rates. SATA 3 has a maximum
speed of 600MB/s, while M.2 drives are
capable of 3500MB/s – nearly six times faster.
The flight simulation world has also
moved on. FSX sales appear to be losing
ground to other platforms and while third-
party developers continue to create add-
on packages for it, the focus is increasingly
shifting to Prepar3D and X-Plane, while on
the military side DCS World is ‘top gun’.
These simulators have injected a breath of
fresh air into the hobby as they have evolved
to take advantage of modern computing
hardware such as more efficient graphics
cards, improved multi-core processing and
of course a 64-bit memory architecture.
In this article, we are going to see how the
latest hardware handles the most popular
platforms on the market: Prepar3D, X-Plane
11, DCS World and FSX. To this end, we got
in touch with Wired2Fire, which sent us the
latest iteration of its high-end flight simulation
X15-V2 Specification
Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K
Case: Phanteks Evolv X RGB Tempered
Glass Case
Heat sink: Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240
CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Strix Z390-F
Memory: Corsair 16GB 2666MHz
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080
8GB GDDR6
Hard drive: Samsung 512GB 970 Pro
NVME SSD
Power Supply: Cooler Master MasterWatt 750
Bronze Modular PSU
The Phanteks case
features RGB digital Sound Card: Onboard high definition audio
lighting resulting in Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
excellent visual effects. Warranty: Two-year return-to-base.

PCPilot PCPilot
PLATINUM CLASSIC
AWARD AWARD
PCPilot PCPilot
Classic Classic
Above: Although X-Plane can bring the mightiest computer to its knees, the X15 was able to hold its own.
Below: As well as nine USB ports, the Asus Strix motherboard features onboard Ethernet and audio.
The Nvidia RTX 2080 comes with two HDMI ports, two display ports and a mini display port, enabling it to
support up to four monitors.
computer, the X15-V2. Equipped with cutting-

edge components, it is built for one purpose - The NVIDIA RTX 2080
to run flight simulators at maximum frame rates. The GeForce RTX 2080 is part of Nvidia’s latest
generation of graphics cards. Based on the
Built for speed Turing architecture, it introduces several new
At the heart of the X15 sits an Intel Core i7 technological improvements such as faster
-8600K processor. Based on the Coffee Lake GDDR6 VRAM and faster GPU cores. But the
architecture and boasting six physical cores, new graphics cards have also introduced a
technology known as ray tracing. This is a way
it runs at a base speed of 3.7GHz and with
of rendering computer graphics by tracing
a turbo boost of 4.7GHz. Temperatures are individual light rays as they bounce off multiple
kept under control by a liquid-cooled Cooler surfaces, creating realistic reflections, surface
Master CPU heat sink, which is mounted on scattering and translucency.
an Asus Strix Z390-F gaming motherboard Because of the high overhead, ray tracing has
- with onboard Gigabit Ethernet and high previously not been possible in real time, which
is needed for applications such as games or
definition audio. Taking care of the graphics
flight simulators. In fact, the only place ray
is Nvidia’s latest RTX 2080 GPU with 8GB of tracing has been used is in movies where
GDDR6 VRAM. With 2x HDMI and 2x display banks of supercomputers render individual
ports, it can support up to four displays. frames over several hours.
A 512GB M.2 drive is loaded with a 64-bit So what does the introduction of real-time
version of Windows 10 Home Premium to ray tracing in the RTX cards mean for flight
take advantage of ultra-fast Corsair 16GB simulation? At this time, not very much.
Ray tracing capability needs to be built into
2666MHz DDR4 memory. Other features the graphics engine and currently, no flight
include front- and rear-mounted audio outputs simulator supports this technology (although
and nine USB ports. The system is built it is starting to roll out in the gaming sector).
around a Phanteks Evolv X RGB tempered
glass case in a stylish black finish, while The X15 features 2x front-
power is provided by a Cooler Master 750W mounted USB 3.0 ports
PSU. The case doesn’t include any 5.25 bays along with headphone and
microphone jacks.
for a DVD player, although it is possible to
fit an external USB optical drive. As with all
its products, Wired2Fire allows you to fully
customise the system by changing or adding
various components such as hard drives,
memory or graphics cards to name a few.
The company also offers a free over-clocking
and tuning service and included in the price
is a two-year return-to-base warranty.
Performance tests
FSX has been around the block a few times
and is starting to show its age, so any
performance or graphical improvements have

HARDWARE
really peaked. The problem is the platform

was designed when dual-core processors
and DirectX 9 were cutting-edge. Installing
FSX on a modern high-power PC is like
fitting bicycle wheels on to a ‘muscle’ car, we
simply can’t transfer the ‘horsepower’ to the
road. We are now up to DirectX 12 and multi-
core processors have been commonplace
for several years and FSX simply doesn’t
utilise this hardware to its full advantage. For
the test, we loaded several popular add-ons
including Active Sky, various Orbx sceneries
and Aerosoft Mega Airports. Flying complex
aircraft gave us an average speed of 60fps
in light scenery areas and at larger airports
frame rates varied from 25 to 35fps – not
much of a change from a high-end system
from three years ago. One area where I did see There is a definite chill in the
air thanks to this water-cooled
an improvement was the drawing of external Cooler Master CPU heat sink.
textures on the aircraft at high detail settings.
On slow graphics cards, when switching to resolution, anti-aliasing and HDR lighting gave whatever you throw at it. Even at high detail
external views, it often takes a few seconds us average frame rates of 35fps, which is settings, I was sometimes seeing close to
for the textures to be drawn on to the screen. good enough for a smooth flying experience. 100fps, although in busy combat arenas,
This was almost instantaneous on the X15. While X-Plane 11 can be tweaked to run frame rates dropped to 50fps due to the
Prepar3D was a different story. The platform on most computers with a 3D graphics card, computing overheads of extra field units, but
has undergone performance improvements it can also tax the most powerful machine performance overall was superb. Even when
and the load balancing between the CPU and if the settings are turned up. Medium detail turning the graphics settings to maximum,
GPU is much better. Various graphics engine settings with antialiasing set to 2x SSAA+FSAA frame rates averaged at 40fps, which is
enhancements and better multi-core support resulted in respectable frame rates between ample for a smooth flying experience.
means we can take better advantage of more 50 and 70. Increasing the level of detail to One aspect that really impressed me was the
powerful graphics cards. With the same add- 4x SSAA + FXAA produced between 35 and speed of the M.2 drive. Booting into Windows
ons installed, at low detail settings, frame 40fps. Overall, a very good result for X-Plane. was lightning fast. In fact, it took longer for the
rates ranged from the high 80s in rural scenery Finally, moving on to DCS World, I find BIOS Power-On Self-Test (POST) to complete
areas to the mid-40s at detailed airports. that this is a platform that never ceases to than starting Windows. Loading flight simulators
Increasing the level of detail including texture impress me as it seems to take and utilise from an M.2 device is also significantly faster
with all platforms starting up within a minute.
Compared with conventional SATA III drives,
the difference is phenomenal, which bodes very
well for the future as these drives have been the
major bottleneck in PCs. In terms of stability,
the X15 was excellent and CPU temperatures
remained rock solid at around 45°C, rising to
50°C under load. Once you put the computer
to work, there was a bit of noise from the CPU
fan as it kicked in but that is to be expected
as water-cooled heat sinks tend to be noisy.
Conclusion
Wired2Fire has produced a well-rounded
system that is made to a high standard.
The build quality is excellent and while the
price of £2,080.99 represents a significant
investment, it is very reasonable considering
the hardware specification. It is a VR-ready
machine and combined with the latest
Core i7 processor, the RTX 2080, 16GB of
DDR4 memory and a blindingly fast M.2
drive, promises to deliver a silky-smooth
flying experience for years to come.
By Richard Benedikz
PC Pilot Verdict
At a glance: The X15-V2 is a worthy addition to
a strong brand from Wired2Fire. A solidly-built
machine that packs a serious punch.
Manufacturer: Wired2Fire
Price: From £2,249
Website: www.wired2fire.co.uk
The stylish tempered glass case features
a transparent side panel, enabling you to
Specification: Balanced selection
of components 90
admire the excellent build quality of the X15-V2. PC Pilot Score:

FLIGHT SIM COMPUTERS BY DESIGN SINCE 2004
WIRED2FIRE 2018
“Sim X15 V2 PC”
PC Pilot Classic Product
Graphics Card
Model: RTX 2080
Cooling
Memory: 8GB GDDR6X Model: MasterLiquid 240
Memory Speed: 14Gbps Air Flow: 66.7 CFM
Clock Speed: 1710MHz Noise: 6-30dBA (Max)
TIM: Arctic MX-4
Storage
Model: Samsung 970 Pro
Type: M.2 PCI-E 3.0
Total: 512GB
Speed: 3.5GB/sec Read Memory
Model: Corsair DDR4
Amount: 16GB
Speed: 2666MHz
latency: 16-18-18-35
Motherboard CPU
Model: Asus ROG Strix 390F Model: Intel Core i7 8700K
Power: 10 Phase Base Speed: 3.7GHz
USB: 8 x USB 2.0 8 x USB 3.1 Overclock: upto 4.8GHz
Audio: ROG Supreme FX Cache: 12MB
More than just a hardware retailer. Get the full service with Wired2Fire.
Sim X500 Sim X1000 Sim X3000 Sim Xtreme
Intel i5 8400 CPU Intel i5 8600K CPU Intel i5 8600K CPU Intel i7 8700K CPU
GTX 1050 Graphics GTX 1060 Graphics GTX 1070 Graphics GTX 1080 Graphics
8GB DDR4 2400MHz 16GB DDR4 2400MHz 16GB DDR4 2666MHz 16GB DDR4 2666MHz
£790 £1053 £1360 £1775
01306 882211 - sales@wired2fire.co.uk - www.wired2fire.co.uk

COMMS
Join the conversation

Dear PC Pilot
I recently came across the questionnaires
the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer, with a
few German warplanes thrown in to keep
interest, please pass on my email address.
By the way you have a cracking mag; I’ve
that you posted on the PC Pilot Facebook me interested. been reading it since Issue 19.
and would like to submit my responses. Q3: Have flight sims become too complex? Best regards,
Q1: What's your sim? A: No. I feel flight simming is a bit like chess: Steve Hancox
A: FSX - I prefer civil aircraft. it’s as complicated as you want it to be. It’s
Q2: What’s your aircraft? a good thing that our hobby affords us this PC Pilot
A: 40s and 50s piston airliners. Mainly: the amount of diversity. Hi Steve,
Douglas DC-3, -6 and -7, the ‘Connie’, B377 I’m in the process of trying to build a DC-6 Thanks for taking the trouble to send in
Stratocruiser and the Lockheed L-188 Electra. cockpit. I would love to hear from people your responses to our questionnaires,
Also some British ‘tin’ such as the Percival in my local area (not necessarily flight sim and good luck with your DC-6 cockpit.
Pembroke, de Havilland Dragon Rapide and clubs). I live in Coventry, so if there is any Cheers, Derek
X-Plane
Dear PC Pilot Subsequently, I spend most of my time in
Thank you so much for the latest issue chase view. My weather engine is Skymax
of PC Pilot. The focus on X-Plane Pro. I’m not sure the clouds are the best
made it the best issue for years. but it does then allow me to use the Real
I played my first flight sim in the early Weather Connector which is brilliant.
1980s which was just a green line showing I find photo scenery is the best
the glide path as you tried to land a 747. scenery to use with X-Plane because
Since then I’ve tried various combat it’s the most true-to-life. I tried FSX to
sims but took up a civil sim after being see what all the fuss was about with
inspired by your magazine. I chose regard to Orbx but have to confess
X-Plane 9 because it calculated the to not being 100% convinced. The
flight model based on actual physics. objects are superb but the ground
I’m now on X-Plane 11 and love it. My set- doesn’t achieve the same standards.
up is limited by budget so I can’t dial the I have flown for real in Monument
settings up full, but with my Nvidia GTX Valley and so can compare all three
1050 Ti graphics card, an i7 CPU and worlds: real, Orbx and Forkboy2’s
32GB of RAM, I can have lots of objects US orthophotos sceneries.
onscreen but still achieve good frame rates. I am currently flying around the UK to
What I do have are two tablets (thanks every airport in alphabetical order of
to work): one of which runs Airtrack to ICAO code. Next leg is EGJJ to EGKA
display an EFIS and the other has the (Jersey to Shoreham). I use the photo
‘X-Plane to GPS’ app which shows my scenery from RC Simulations but that
virtual location on Google Maps. is getting a bit dated, so I will be trying
I love looking out of the window when Orbx True Earth for GB. The publicity
I fly for real and so my flight simming shots look stunning but we’ll see what
is mostly about scenery rather than it’s like on my system. I’ll let you know.
systems. ATC is just a nuisance, I just Thanks for a great mag.
want to take-off and look around! Kind regards, Laurence Martin

Contact us Visit us Follow us
mail@pcpilot.net www.pcpilot.net facebook.com/pcpilot
Too complex?
Dear PC Pilot
Firstly, let me say that your magazine
is a pleasure to read and a must
for us ‘much older’ simmers.
I have had a flight simulator for over 20
years now and still thoroughly enjoy every
flight (my virtual logbook has 25,664 hours as
of today); I really do have another life… The
more complex and realistic the simulation,
the better. I have an aviation background,
so my hobby is a follow-on to my work.
My main aircraft are the PMDG 777
and 737NGX, the very good Majestic
Q400 and the Aerosoft CRJ 700/900. I fly
these aircraft a great deal but there are
many others (72 in my virtual hangar).
All my aircraft flights begin at the factory of
manufacture and they are delivered to their
respective airline/owner. If there is Canadian
content, either manufacturer or registration,
they fly from the factory to my home airport
St Catharines ON (CYSN) for the smaller
aircraft and all turboprops, or to Hamilton ON
(CYHM) for the heavier ones. All my flights are
continuous, ie wherever I land is where that
aircraft will start from again. I fly from CYHM to
all the F1 car races and also to all the NASCAR
PC Pilot
Hi Dan,
races in the US, as well as to other sport
Thanks for your email and for the kind words
venues. I am also flying to all the capital cities
about our magazine. What a great and idea
in the world and all the airports in Canada. one of the best simulations around and equal
you have there for your aircraft flights. It
Right now I am flying your excellent if not better than many payware aircraft.
would be interesting to hear from our other
download of the European Air Transport So, this is my main hobby and I
readers on how they use their flight simulators.
Service DC-3 to all the EATS bases around still have lots of places to fly to.
So please write in and let us know.
Europe. This is after picking up the aircraft Thanks again for a great magazine.
Cheers, Derek
at the factory and flying it to Europe. This is Dan Oswald
Flight Sim
Groups
South West Flight
Simulator Group
We are based at Ipplepen Village Hall,
Somerton Devon TQ12 5SB and hold monthly

meetings on Sundays 9.30am to
U3A Flight
3pm. Our next meetings are on the
following dates: January 13, February
17, March 17 and April 14.
Simulator
We have a full range of interests,
skills and hardware and new
members are very welcome.
Group South West Flight Simulation runs two

ATC-led online flights each week, with
worldwide destinations and diverse flight
types including airliner and GA events.
On the theme of connecting with forum and topical subject presentations. Fly with us to find out why we are
other flight simmers, I would like to We would be pleased to hear from anyone consistently the busiest FS host group.
make those in our vicinity aware of who might be interested in joining us You can find details of SWFSG
our small but enthusiastic group. and assure them of a warm welcome. meetings, News, NOTAMS and our
We are the Somerton (Somerset UK) Interested parties should contact me for 24/7 SWFS server and TeamSpeak 3
U3A Flight Simulator Group and have further details. servers on http://swfsg.blogspot.co.uk/
been active for more than seven years. Many thanks, Many thanks
We meet monthly on the first Thursday from Graham J Foster Rory O’Neill
10am to 12 noon. We have a mixture of open (Email: grahamjfoster@uwclub.net)

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FEATURE OPTIMISING X-PLANE 11
Optimising X-Plane 11
side of this is that, just like the sims of old, to
get the best experience out of XP11, a little
tuning is required before we can guarantee a
T
he arrival of X-Plane 11 (XP11) many newcomers, XP11 is a revelation. Its smooth flight. So, let’s dive in and get started.
has finally pushed XP into the rendering engine is a huge upgrade on FSX X-Plane 11 has a few things in common
mainstream area of our hobby. and leaves Prepar3D v4 playing catch-up in with more modern software when it comes
While nerdy users like myself have many areas. It’s powerful and will use all of to adjusting settings. XP10 was notorious
been enjoying XP since version 6 or so, for your current hardware and then some. The flip for its ability to change just about every part
of the sim experience. It was a confusing, if
powerful, mess. For XP11 the user interface
has been redesigned and scaled back. Now
the whole sim experience is controlled by
just five sliders and two checkboxes. It’s
streamlined to say the least. The first three
sliders control much of the rendering settings
and antialiasing. The other two on the right
control the autogen and reflection options.
The two checkboxes, one on the left and one
the right, offer you a setting for shadows on
scenery and a setting to draw parked aircraft
at airports; that’s it. The lower half of the
screen deals with screen resolutions, point-
of-view offsets and other items designed
for projector or much bigger projects. So,
to begin, let’s detail the main sliders.
Visual settings
First up on the left is the visual setting
slider. Five settings are available, from the
minimum all the way to the HDR+SSAO at
Top: Reducing the AA to something more usable brings the FPS up with only a minor reduction in image
quality. Above: If your FPS is too low, check the size of textures currently loaded. I had over 1.5GB more than the top. The first three settings essentially
my 6GB GTX 980 graphics card could handle. give you a sim with the HDR rendering

With a few little tweaks, Half Moon
Bay shows some fantastic FPS figures.
engine off, the last two with it on. Almost Number of world objects be airliners, and then waited as they taxied
all modern GPUs can handle at least the Moving to the right side of the screen, the to the holding point for the runway. As the
HDR setting. Mine is set to maximum. ‘world objects’ slider is self-explanatory. Unlike queue grew, my FPS remained steady
the other sliders, this one is CPU-dependant. at around the 33 mark. Removing the AI
Texture quality I’ve adjusted this no end and I’ve seen no caused the FPS to gain almost 20 frames
This slider is the one you’ll need to adjust appreciable difference in performance. Unless per second, hitting a rather nice 50fps.
the most. Texture quality is just that, it you’re running XP11 on a really underpowered The other area to look into for optimisation
controls the quality or rather the size of machine, set this to max and forget about it. are the default clouds. XP11’s clouds can look
textures used; and size is important. If I set beautiful but they can slow the sim to a crawl.
it to maximum with no compression, there Reflection detail One way to combat that is to get a new set of
are areas in the sim that will fill my GPU’s This slider proved to be the dark horse of the cloud textures to replace the default sprites.
memory completely, which leads to a drop sim, at least for me. Like the world objects I use some freeware clouds downloaded
in frame rates per second (FPS). Users with slider, this one is supposedly CPU-dependant. from Aerosoft as part of the Sky tools pack
at least 8GB of VRAM will find this setting When I set this anywhere above minimum, I get for XP10. The clouds have not changed that
can be left at maximum without too much quite a noticeable drop in FPS. In light scenery much and it’s just a matter of overwriting the
worry. If you have 6GB or less, consider areas, this isn’t a problem but on approach to original files (after backing them up of course).
keeping this slider at either maximum a major city, that drop could be the difference The reason I still use these older clouds is
with compression or high. I keep mine at between stutters and smooth flying. If you that they have a set of lower resolution 512px
high for large scenery areas that include do move above minimal though, the FPS is clouds to choose from. This helps keep my
dense autogen and third-party airports. negligible between low and max. Use sparingly. texture load low for the sim, which aids the
GPU as well. You can also download the
Antialiasing Other areas to optimise excellent freeware FSEnhancer 0.5 from the
This is the single biggest frame rate hog Away from the main settings, there are a few web, which offers various new texture sets
of them all. There are six settings but even other areas that can help if you’re suffering including clouds. Finally, there’s the payware
on a single screen, I daren’t move the an FPS issue. The in-sim AI is notoriously SkyMaxx Pro 4 for XP11 that replaces the
slider much past half way. XP11’s choice of heavy on the system. As an example, I sat default clouds for something a lot better. The
antialiasing is better than its predecessor at Dusseldorf Airport with the maximum settings in Skymaxx allow for performance
but it’s still a tricky balancing act. number of AI available, 19. I set them all to tweaking while keeping the sim looking good.
Third-party airports and heavy aircraft can take its

toll. Proper tuning of your settings is essential.

FEATURE
Lugano, with UHD Mesh,

third-party scenery and
X-Europe 2 installed and it’s
a painful experience without
adjusting my settings.
setting. FPS remains stubborn though

Autogen is always a difficult balancing act. Here at 'low', I’m seeing the counter bob around the 45-50
mark. At 'full', it is still around the mid-40s to 50+ mark. and it isn’t until I adjust the reflections
to minimal that I see the figures return to
the 30+ mark, even in cloudy weather.
The reflections slider is a mystery, and I did
a little more testing to see if I could notice a
difference in use. For 90% of all my flying,
I saw little, if any difference at all. The only
time I spotted a slight difference was when
flying at sea level. I noticed with reflections on
complete, I could maybe see a subtle change
in reflections in the distance. However, not
enough to be notable during regular flight.
Conclusion
X-Plane 11 is powerful, of that there’s no
doubt, and I’d love the chance to test it on
a Core i9-900X/NVIDIA 2080 RTX-based
machine to see how much headroom the
In-sim good. Adding in the cloud, however, hits the sim really affords a powerful PC. For all
To look more closely at the effects these FPS. Looking at my Texture Quality settings, that power, however, it remains fantastically
sliders have, I’ve chosen two areas to do a the total textures loaded add up to almost scalable and achieving a decent level of
little testing with. First up, I’ve chosen Half 7.5GB, a full 1.5GB beyond the 980’s max. performance is possible, often without
Moon Bay in California. Here the sim is as Reducing the slider down to just Max with adjusting too many sliders to the left. Where
default as it can possibly be. There’s a mix compression sees the level fall to 5.3GB. it really struggles however is with resolutions
of autogen and mountains, water and the Next, I switched off the scenery shadows above 1920 x 1080. Users of 4K monitors
city of San Francisco behind me. With it, and parked the aircraft. That’s a huge FPS report FPS struggles, while those using
I am using the default Beech Baron 58. winner and now the sim is super smooth. three screens, like myself, will see FPS cut in
For a more challenging area, I loaded up Moving to Lugano and our CRJ, things half with a single card. The arrival of Vulkan
the JRollon's CRJ at Lugano in Switzerland. are not as ‘friendly’. From the mid-40s the (X-Plane’s upcoming graphics engine) may
The airport is produced by Aerosoft and as current FPS is just about hitting 20. Outside, change all this, possibly making much of
an added torture, I’ve installed Alpilotx’s and in contrast to Half Moon Bay figures, this guide out of date. Until then, this basic
excellent UHD mesh v4; in short, a sim killer. the sim is sticking at 20fps. The Texture tutorial should give you a good grounding in
For each scenario, I’ll first look at the area Quality is hitting the high 7GB usage mark getting your XP11 sim fluid and fun. PCP
on a clear, cloudless day, then add three again, so I have to reduce it to the High By Jessica Bannister-Pearce
layers of cloud. I’m starting with a single
screen and the settings all turned up to 11. New particle effects were introduced in X-Plane
Finally, my test system specs are: Intel 11.30, but they bring frame rates down.
Core i7 7700K overclocked to 4.5GHz,

16GB of fast ram, Nvidia GTX 980 Ti and a
screen resolution of 1920 x 1080, all built
and tested by PC specialist Wired2Fire.
The first results at our default area are
impressive. In the cockpit, it’s 13fps, while
leaving the aircraft, the outside is pushing
50fps. Not bad for an Nvidia GTX 980
Ti. Adjusting antialiasing to my usual 2x
SSAA+FXAA sees the FPS recover nicely
in the cockpit, now over 40fps; so far, so

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