There’s a lot going on in the image above. First, that new Airfrance livery on the LeadingEDGE DC3, but then you might note the waterline along the beach below, and even the sky colors are different. Last of all, with a keen eye you’d note that the ramps at LFMN Nice are even more clogged with ramp traffic. Well, that’s because four new files were involved in making this image, indeed all the images in today’s issue, so let’s get going and take a look at the news, then some files.

First, a word or three about Hurricane Isaac…and X-Plane’s real weather settings.

Because if you’d like to see what happened to an EADT x737/8Ng when it went flying into Isaac – in X-Plane, watch this short clip from Kevin Grimm:

737_2

And finally, another image from Kevin Grimm showing some promising cumulonimbus formations rendered by XP when weather was set to random weather generator:

Despite trying many times, I just can’t manually set weather and get results like this, and not being able to create towering cumulonimbus clouds at all remains a huge disappointment with this weather engine. Still, that’s a good set of clouds, Kevin! Time to experiment again. It’s been an idea of mine to go tornado hunting in XP and see if I can find those towering monsters. Anyone else care to try? Send in your images if you do!

• The Federal Aviation Administration is surveying owners and operators of general aviation aircraft, and blogger Scott Spangler encourages pilots and others to respond. “If we don’t care enough about general aviation to spend a few minutes filling out a survey, why should the FAA care any less than it does for the needs of GA?” he asks. Jetwhine.com
• A report from JetNet shows a slight improvement in the number of used business aircraft for sale. From July 2011 to July 2012, 13.5% of business aircraft were for sale. The percentage marks a slight decline from the 13.7% of business aircraft for sale in July 2011. AVweb
• Sikorsky Aircraft has signed on as a presenting sponsor of the Stuart Air Show in Florida for the second year in a row. “Sikorsky Aircraft prides itself on being the No. 1 helicopter company in the world, and the Stuart Air Show enables us to display our products and capabilities to the community along with assisting the airshow with presenting a first-class event,” said John Fischetti, general manager of the Development Flight Center at Sikorsky.TCPalm.com (Fort Pierce, Fla.)
• Angel Flight pilot Michael Lawless volunteers to fly patients in need of medical care aboard his Beechcraft Bonanza A36. “It’s really rewarding. Meeting these people, they teach me things. It gives you a certain perspective,” said Lawless, 34. JerseyMan Magazine online (New Jersey)
• Minn. pilot Dan Walker volunteers for Young Eagles events through the Experimental Aircraft Association to drum up interest in flying in the next generation. “We do fundraisers throughout the year, and our mission is to get kids involved in aviation,” Walker said. Walker estimates he has given more than 100 children free rides in general aviation aircraft through the program. Byron Review (Minn.)
• The Living Legends of Alaskan Aviation project seeks to shine the spotlight on pilots in Alaska. Pilots in the state create a lifeline to more than 80% of settlements that are accessible only by air year-round. The pilots nominated and selected for the project will be honored at a banquet on Oct. 12. AlaskaDispatch.com

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There’s an informative forum post going about which MsFS scenery files convert well (and don’t) to XP here. This could become a very important place to discuss these issues, so don’t miss out of this is your thing.

(note: incorrect link updated now!)

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John from UrbanMAXX is working on some ideas for the Grand Canyon and is asking for comments on the image you see just above. Well? Aside from”PULL UP, NOW!” coming to mind, I kinda like it. What about you? Large image, so click away.

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A bunch of early gripes about the 777 surfaced in comments here and elsewhere concerning a “cartoonish” look to the 777. But there’s more to this story, really. The more time you spend in this file the more systems complexity becomes the big draw. It’s the immersive nature of the file that will win you over, assuming you give it a chance. Here’s a thought. Did these people complaining actually buy the file, or just look at some screens? Have they studied the manual? Tried to get involved with the systems? Believe you me…after a few hours in the 777 you won’t think it’s cartoonish anymore. Move beyond the “looks” issue and get into the FMS, work the problems presented, learn the systems, and I think the more you do the more you’ll grow fond of the file. Here’s a hint. If looks are THAT important to you, fly at night! This is a great night cockpit, with very good lighting…but y’all know me by now. I love flying at night, and that’s where I spent 90% of my time in the T7 beta. Another hint: this ACF works quite well at AeroSOFT’s BIKF with airport settings dialed up a bit, but other objects way down. Hang out there while learning your way around the ‘pit to enjoy better FPS.

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Dan Klaue pointed out yesterday that the empty “innards” box I singled out on the glare shield of the new Alabeo Sukhoi Su26 is in fact a clip board that has been loaded down with popup activators, and you can see one of these below. This handy pop up features canopy controls and pilot’s visor up/down activator (among others), while another popup sets up some very nice camera angles. Sorry I missed these features, but I still think the “clipboard” looks kind of weird!

Regardless, the cockpit textures in this ACF are gorgeous, especially the tubular metal supports (very hard to get right in a 3D program and still have decent FPS). Even with all that Molly Ringwald pink, I love flying this ACF!

Because handling in v9 is fine, as mentioned, while v10 has hyper sensitive roll control and something is not quite right with the throttle controls. In v9 the ACF has no trouble accelerating easily to 300KIAS, while in v10 it’s difficult to get the aircraft past 150KIAS, and it barely climbs at all. Seems an easy fix, hope it is quickly. XP10.10b11 is supposed to offer a stable development platform for developers who have been slow to work in v10, so maybe it’s time to try?

Besides the Red Bull livery (seen top), there are two others included in a supplementary download. This red Honda version is a crisp, great looking affair:

While this blue CIAF version looks a screamer.

The Red Bull livery is really very, very well done.

If I left you with an impression I disliked this file, so sorry, but that’s just not the case. I enjoyed this one more than the Pitts in fact, and no, they don’t give us these files or pay us to say nice things about them! We buy ‘em, just like you do, and I’m glad I have this one, too! It’s a blast, just in v9 for now. Get it here.

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KLM | AirFrance + LeadingEDGE DC3 + Leen de Jager

org: download link  x-pilot: download link

Leen has done his usual bang-up job here, but this time out you get two for one – so to speak! Portside is KLM, and to starboard you’ll find France… AirFrance, that is! The arrangement may lead to a little case of split personality disorder, but you get used to it, and both sides are equally well done.

A good place to mention those sky colors, too. Note the very subtle (and I might add, very realistic) early morning sky in the image of the DC3 over the water (above) and with the Carenado Seneca (just below).

This is the new SkyCOLOR X file by OSM developer Tom Knudsen, and we most highly recommend this file. The colors rendered are very subtle, and lend a very nice feel to XP10.

SkyCOLOR X + Tom Knudsen

org: download link  x-pilot: download link

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revised: KHZR False River Louisiana + frede

download link

It looks like frede has centralized his downloads at his own site, and that’s good news. Frankly, some of the off-putting comments at the Org were simply painful to read. I tend too often to look at the world through a very cynical prism, one formed I’m afraid by Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, where the world is divided between those who possess artistic/engineering genius and those who don’t. In this fictional world the talentless spend their lives tearing down the work of genius, and the talented learn to move on. A good book if haven’t read it, and not as politically charged as her later works.

Oh yes, frede’s KHZR is revised! Another must have file updated! A good day!

That CocaCola livery on the Carenado Seneca is a kick in the pants too, ain’t it? Give it a try!

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Addon for AeroSOFT LFMN Nice 2.0 + letibo

download link

More static aircraft and taxiway signage marks this revised package. This is a v10 only affair that adds tons of ground elements to the default AeroSOFT LFMN Nice | Cote de Azur.

We highly recommended this before. It’s simply better now.

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And normal maps have been added to Matija Škerjanec’s Cassutt Racer, a WIP file we’ll be covering in more detail on release.

That’s all for now, and Hasta later – C

I know you’re getting tired of all the red and green skies, but I keep tinkering with all the permutations in SkyMAXX Extreme and keep coming back to these tones. While rare, these hues do present occasionally, but they’re fleeting and last only moments. The red tones are noticeable after volcanic eruptions too, or downwind from forest fires, and I suppose the more apocalyptic among us will find Biblical undertones in them. Kind of the sky you might expect to find the four horsemen riding across. The green? Often noted around huge thunderstorms, or after watching Linda Blair in the Exorcist.

Anyway, I’ll stop using them soon and hope they’re not too offensive!

A few very interesting livery files out today, as well as a few new and revised scenery files, and we’ll jump on those after the news:

•  Blogger Jamie Beckett uses baseball to illustrate the teamwork required to promote general aviation. “Whether you’re the star player, an alternate, or the guy who sweeps out the clubhouse, you’ve got a part to play in the next GA success your airport experiences,” he writes. General Aviation News/Politics for Pilots blog
• Ford Motor should return to its aviation roots and buy aircraft manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft, writes blogger Chad Trautvetter. “A total of 199 Ford Tri Motors were built between 1926 and 1933,” he writes. “Ford could once again revolutionize aircraft manufacturing. Using its vast expertise in manufacturing workflows, automation and management, Ford could bring Hawker Beechcraft’s manufacturing plants into the 21st century,” he writes. AIN Online
• “The Aviators,” a documentary television show about general aviation and other types of aviation, will begin its third season next month on PBS. “Many months and 36 segments later I’m more excited about ‘The Aviators’ than I’ve ever been,” producer Anthony Nalli said. “This season picks up where the last left off and continues to break new ground.” AVweb
• The 41st annual National Stearman Fly-In will be held starting on Labor Day at Galesburg Municipal Airport in Illinois. More than 100 Stearmans are expected to fly in for the event. The biplanes served as trainer aircraft during World War II. The Register-Mail (Galesburg, Ill.)
• Pilot Jerry LeMieux has founded a university offering degrees for pilots of unmanned aerial vehicles. Unmanned Vehicle University, which offers courses online, received its international accreditation last month. “We are trying to develop the future leaders of this industry. When you graduate from this school, you will have a job,” he said. The Washington Times
• General aviation in the U.S. is an “economic powerhouse” that offers countries a model as they nurture their emerging aviation sectors, said Craig Spence, secretary general of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA), in a speech in Shenyang, China. AOPA Online

And of course, and as promised, a few more T7 images, at BIKF with a very wide angle of view, and at KSEA:

Large images, so click away. You might check out the landing gears after you get your copy! Amazing detail, and we’ll have closeups in our first look.

Oh yes, Leen’s American/Sleeper is now posted at the Org. This file has the best bare metal skin we’ve seen.

Now let’s look at some files:

revised: KNEW + New Orleans Lakefront  +  frede

download link

Sorry once again, as I’ve got nothing but über dark images for you today of frede’s KNEW + New Orleans Lakefront, and as this latest revision is almost all about lighting I hope you understand. Fussing about with settings I came up with the image above using “complete” water reflections and base HDR, not 4x or post process, then I got the camera angle as low as possible and started back up. A few degrees up-angle and the lights exploded like this, and it’s really amazing to zoom in and out and look at how the spectrum of light changes with angle of view. Not to mention I think it’s a really fun image! Mardi Gras, anyone? The image isn’t much good for anything other than the effects, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

So, the airport. More buildings, including a parking garage, and all lighted now. Getting kind of cool, isn’t it?

The word from the man is that he’s going to keep this one kind of on the light side as there will soon be two more airports in the area. I call that a hint, don’t you?

Anyway, even with such a small canvas to work on, frede has managed to work his depth-magic once again. Look over the ramps and you’ll see what I mean.

With two more airports in the area FPS will become a major issue with HDR rendering on, at least until we have more hardware options. Still, these are great airports, and useful as long as HDR isn’t a mandatory consideration.

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revised + ENTC Tromsø + NorwegianPilot

download link

One of our favorite locations for Q-flights, ENTC Tromsø is located in far northern Norway, and while the terminal is not 100% true to the original – it’s a nice stand-in. Recommended.

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Sobelair + x737 + Belga12345

download link

Wonderful looking livery. A must have for OPS between Belgium and far-flung charter destinations..

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revised SAS + QPAC A320 + banner

download link

The LIT tail issues have been resolved in this release, but more importantly the center windshield post has been removed via a modified cockpit object that you can optionally install. A must have file now.

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AirAsia + A330/300RR + NZ2

download link

NZ2 continues to release great new A333 liveries, and this is no exception. A must have file, but no LIT tail?

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Lufthansa + Carenado C152II and C208B + Momix

download link

There are three files in this download, one for the Carenado Caravan and two for the Carenado C152II, and both for, of all things, Lufthansa! The 208 might find use around local airfields in Germany (and LOWI!), the 152s in Arizona or perhaps Frankfurt? Doesn’t matter, really, as each is well done, and dig those Star Alliance logos!

Also included in the same download, this classy LH WHITE C152II file, seen under a real worm worrying thunderstorm at Chaos Manor, aka KMPI Mammoth Yosemite.

All three are of course fictional, yet all three are fun and useful additions. Nice work, and thanks!

We’ll see y’all again soon. Hasta later – C

Ah yes. The Warning Wind. A big one just ahead, too.

Well, it’s no surprise really. Unofficial word of an imminent release of Ramzzess and Philipp Münzel’s 777-200LR has been circulating for days, but speculation about a hard and fast release date remains rampant.

Well, dust off those credit cards, and look for a release alert here later this week. We think you’ll find the wait has been worth it, and as an aside, the quality of the liveries is uniformly excellent, the panel’s lighting options are too. The learning curve is steeper than most, yet it’s possible to drive this monster around for a touch and go without spending too much time in the books. In the image below, the greenish cast comes from SkyMAXX Extreme, and I included this image to highlight both files. SkyMAXX simply turns XP’s often drab skyscapes into something quite magical, and XP10 carries these hues right into the T7′s cockpit. Some of the results are breathtaking, others merely excellent, and these alterations transform the experience of X-Plane. It’s fair to say that using the T7 is going to transform your perceptions of X-Plane, too.

Beta testing the T7 has been a privilege of course, and one we won’t soon forget. Our sincerest thanks to Ramzzess and Philipp.

Oh… Look for a few more images tomorrow.

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frede seems to have had a few busy nights of late. First he drops his latest – KVPS + Eglin Air Force Base – into the DM on Saturday, and on Sunday we get KNEW + New Orleans Lakefront showing up in there as well. When it rains, it pours, wot? Well, let’s take a quick look around.

This looks to be an early v1 effort, more a beta in some respects, but one that holds a fair amount of promise, too – and of course we’ll keep you advised as this facility fills out. The airport has long been a favorite, one my dad and I flew in and out of regularly. The old art-deco terminal building has been restored post-Katrina too, so perhaps this airport will see better days ahead.

The airport is called “Lakefront” for a reason, of course. Most of the facility is built on landfill and juts out more than a mile into Lake Pontchartrain. The famed French Quarter is about four miles south, and oh my goodness could I use a few dozen Oysters Bienville from Brennan’s or Galatoire’s. Maybe a pear cider, too.

New Orleans is of course God’s gift to people with serious eating disorders. It is impossible to visit for a few days and not gain two hundred and twenty three pounds, and should you splurge and head over to The Court of the Two Sisters for a few dozen brandy-milk punches and Turtle Soup before heading home, you can look forward to having to lose about three hundred pounds, plus or minus a few. I usually gain ten pounds just walking down Royal or Bourbon and breathing in the aromas. Heaven ain’t in it with the Quarter.

Which, I suppose, makes visiting the Big Easy in X-Plane all the more fun. Or less. More or less.

Anyway, great flights exist to frede’s other airports in Louisiana, and of course flights in GA aircraft to Florida, Tennessee and North Carolina all make good sense too. Nobody in their right mind would fly to Dallas, though. Take it from me.

So, with objects dialed up, the City of New Orleans takes her place on this stage, too…

That said, for a medium sized GA airport KNEW won’t disappoint, but throw in the added attractions of New Orleans and you have a real winner on your hands. Too bad we can’t get the Quarter and a few other local landmarks into an OSM package! There are, I seem to recall, even a few big sports stadia in the area too, but why not all those restaurants! And 3D Smellerama?

Oh well, how about a few more images from around the airport???

So once again, excellent work all ’round and frede seems to be on another roll. Let’s get out of his way and see what he comes up with next!

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Marginal’s SEATRAFFIC plugin – a nifty little file that animates sea traffic in XP – has just been revised. The plugin now adds reflections and wakes to ships, and a few display options have been added as well. Recommended add-on for all coastal users!

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Dominic Smith advises that a new Windows only flight-planner is available. Here’s the link, though I have not tried it (obviously, Mac users get a little steamed about these sorts of things): http://www.tasoftware.co.uk/planG.htm

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default XP10 747/400 liveries   +   cooleroonimike

link: Air Canada

link: Delta AL

link Korean AL

These three files have been out a while, but were not packaged well for download and there are a few goofs here and there, but the dev appears to be addressing issues and has at last made a nice download available, so hear goes. Both the Korean and the Delta have tail art that needs work (leading edge too wide and top of structure is painted, see below), and of course the Air Canada is now fictional. The broad silver stripe just under the main line of windows is a bear on this ACF as there are all kinds of bulges and bumps that a real paint shop can mask. It takes real work in XP to get these lines right, and maybe a revision will see the work done.

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City Airline (Sweden) + ERJ140 (johny23 conversion)   +   BANNER

download link 

Nice effort here, and the johny23 ACF isn’t too bad, either. Both are worth a try if you won’t purchase Dan Klaue’s much better payware file.

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Finnair A330-200GE + XPP Samen + NZ2

download link

Really nice execution here, and on a very good ACF. Useful for OPS all over Europe, and the carrier has an extensive route structure to Asia, as well as serving KJFK + New York City.

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A final note. In the comments to our Moruya post this weekend there was what I’d consider an abysmally mean-spirited swipe at Simon, and while it’s meanness was enough to send Simon away in a funk, it turned my stomach. So, Lyn the Trucker, or whoever you are, Thanks. It’s always nice to have such timely reminders why psychiatry remains a valuable, if underrated profession. Hopefully you live in a country with socialized medicine, and low cost medications. There’ll be no excuses then, will there?

And that’s about all I’ve got on my mind at the moment. Hasta later. Chip

There’s another nice sale going on through the weekend for Ramzzess’s Sukhoi SuperJet, and it’s now less than 20 buckeroos. Good time to pick this one up if you haven’t already, as this ACF is one of the better RJ files in XPs current inventory.

John at MAXX XP has released his SkyMAXX Extreme! software for XP10 – and for Windows only at this time (boo-hiss!).

This is the first time I’ve ever seen any sort of realistic vertical build-up in XP’s clouds, too. In the image immediately above you’ll note an anvil headed monster building just ahead of the F22. XP continues to miss the boat concerning this type of cloud formation, and it’s good to finally see someone with the moxie to pull this off and get it into X-Plane. The smushed “cotton candy” clouds in XP often just don’t do it for me, and I miss those West Texas Worm-worrying Frog-strangling Thunderstorms. Well done, John!

So…you want news…we got news!

• Pilot Keith Smith, the founder and CEO of PilotEdge, is a guest on the Airplane Geeks Podcast. Smith started flying in 1996 and now flies a Lancair 360. Smith founded PilotEdge, which connects flight simulators to PilotEdge air traffic controllers to better simulate real flight.Airplane Geeks Podcast
• Cessna CEO Scott Ernest is focusing on all aspects of manufacturing to determine profitability. The aircraft manufacturer, based in Wichita, Kan., recently changed its production to build two wings at a time instead of four wings at a time due to greater cost savings. Ernest also divided Cessna into five units for greater accountability. Reuters
• The Federal Aviation Administration has ended an import ban on Pipistrel Aircraft. The FAA required the Slovenian company to build a facility in Italy to comply with U.S. trade requirements. “We now believe we have sufficient evidence that the aircraft are manufactured at the Italian facility,” the FAA said in a statement. AVweb
• Pilot Jeremy Rowsell plans to fly from Australia to the U.K. in a Cessna 182 powered by fuel from plastic waste. “Our objective is to prove that this synthetic fuel made from plastic waste is viable for a number of practical solutions and by doing so replace the need to use fossil fuels from conventional sources,” he said. The “On Wings of Waste” project will use fuel produced by a company in Ireland. PlasticsNews.com
• Cargill Aeronautical Academy is holding an open house this weekend at Capital City Airport in Pennsylvania. The flight school, which opened this year, offers lessons in a flight simulator as well as aircraft. “Some people are apprehensive about taking flying lessons at first, but they love the simulator. They can crash as many times as they want, and it doesn’t cost them anything in terms of repairs,” said Christian Goss of the academy. WHTM-TV (Harrisburg, Pa.)

New files? Sure, we gots a few of dem, too. Let’s take a look:

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Trans Texas Airways (early version)    UPKEEP

Leading EDGE DC-3

Download link

The version today (as opposed to yesterday’s 1950s version) is an even earlier version of TreeTop’s paint from the late 40s. Well done, and a must have file, but sadly Upkeep announced he’s throwing in the towel and not making anymore DC-3 liveries. Well…PIFFLE! Anytime you want to change your mind is fine by us!

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revised Frontier Airlines   JOHN S

QPAC A320

Download link

Some tweaks here and there, and worth updating.

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SAS Scandinavian Airlines   BANNER

QPAC A320

Download link

An otherwise excellent effort marred here by two gremlins: 1) the LIT tail, and 2) the occluded cockpit glass. With the first issue, the underlying QPAC logo bleeds through if the LIT tail object is placed in objects folder, and if placed in the root ACF folder nothing at all shows up. Concerning the glass issue, this issue (with half the glass being covered by paint) happened in the v1 ACF. A little research ought to fix it up, unless the v1 paint kit was used here. We’ll let you know if things get tweaked. Again, nice effort otherwise.

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KLM Royal Dutch Airlines    THE DANGLE

744 (XP10)

Download link

What a grand effort this is, and a total must have file, too. The author notes a few issues, but nothing to keep you from enjoying this one. Outstanding work, highly recommended.

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1M5 Portland Tennessee Municipal   NTR09

Download link or here.

Located in far north/central Tennessee and hard by the Kentucky border, 1M5 is located atop the growing cluster of southern GA airports created by Ntr09. Further, this facility is located near the Cumberland and Kentucky lakes region, so you’ll be close to some very nice scenery indeed.

The file is a relatively simple affair, as is the real airport I suppose, but it’s well done and will prove useful for operations in the region. Useful for GA OPS only, but recommended for such. XP10 only.

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revised EGSC Cambridge    CHARS

Download link  or here.

More buildings added in this revision, mainly to an industrial development astride Newmarket Road, highlight this effort. About all that’s lacking now are more static ACF and ground vehicles on the ramps. Google imagery shows a lot of C130s on the ramps, and even a DC10, along with the more typical stuff found at a medium size facility such as this. However, the world’s least tidy garbage bins are located here as well:

Anyway, a must have file for GA and corporate aviation users near London, so don’t skip this v10 only file.

And it’s time to go trim some treetops in that new DC-3, so hasta later. Or in da Guv’s immortal words, “We’ll be back!”

Once again we’re seeing some new – and as yet unannounced – ACF that could shake things up this autumn, but once again we have to keep quiet about these new ACF until we get the go ahead from the devs. Still, here’s a peek at one new file getting close to beta (and click to enlarge):

You do of course know about the new Carenado B58 Baron now, and that’s just one more bit of good news, but there’s a lot more coming, and not just the 777. That said, we received yet another great new tubeliner to look at this weekend and I came away very impressed. So yes, things are looking up, yet we desperately need more payware quality scenery files to help light the fires again, and to keep up with all that wonderful fredeware in the pipeline.

A just announced European terrain mesh file from an FsX developer is in the works, too. Terrain XP Europe will replace the default XP mesh and will add buildings/houses, as well as waterway and forest features.

In the meantime, let’s look at some new gnews!

•  Hawker Beechcraft has sent a letter to employees, retirees and others seeking to clarify an earlier legal notice that had caused confusion over filing proof of claims in the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. A notice sent in July had warned that such claims had to be filed by the end of that month. This week, a follow-up letter from the company said that the July notice was required by law and that employees do not need to file claims to protect those interests. The Wichita Eagle (Kan.)
• Recognizing the vital role that aviation plays in South Carolina, Gov. Nikki Haley has declared this week Aviation Week in the Palmetto State. The state is home to 54 general aviation airports and 6,600 pilots, AOPA President Craig L. Fuller says. “These airports and aircraft expand local commerce, help facilitate medical care and disaster relief and connect communities of South Carolina with the rest of the country,” he said. General Aviation News
• An economic study released this week by the Aerospace Industries Association predicts a negative effect on U.S. air travel if Congress fails to create an alternative solution to January’s automatic budget cuts. The study estimates that the cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration’s operations could close 246 control towers and cost 9,000 security screeners their jobs. CNN
• Dallas began the first aerial spraying of a pesticide in the city in 45 years to combat the nation’s worst outbreak of West Nile virus, which has killed 10 people and sickened more than 200 others. Two twin-engine planes were deployed Thursday night to spray Dallas County.CBS News/The Associated Press
• The National Association of Flight Instructors says there’s no means now available to deal with the new Pilot’s Bill of Rights requirement that compliance records be kept. The organization says it’s working with the Federal Aviation Administration to develop a way that the added paperwork signaling that a pilot has been made aware of his or her rights can be maintained. General Aviation News

A lot happening over the weekend, so let’s dive on in and take a look, starting with an awesome pair from Nic Maurer, and both for the BK117:

A year in the making, Nic’s Colani Spaceship livery is a mind-bending rainbow of livery painting artistry. You’ll NEED this one if you own the BK117, and her second effort today is a precursor to the final file, and that looks almost utilitarian when compared to the final version. Her Colani Spaceship is simply a work of art…a true special occasion livery. Don’t miss this great file from a master artisan!

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AndrooC’s SKRG Cordova serves the city of Medellin, Colombia. The airport was covered in a payware package in more detail, but here we have a freeware alternative, and one that looks very good in XP10. Recommended for regional and international OPS.

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lrjtcaptain’s KIKK + Greater Kankakee is located just south of Chicago, and is a well conceived GA airport. Last two images above are nonHDR followed by HDR, with the HDR imaged a little later in the evening, but showing ramp lighting. I’d say “use this one” without HDR and save the frames! Recommended.

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Mercedes’s 65B Lubec Municipal file is mislabeled, and does not include an airport file; it is rather a series of lighthouses on the Maine Coast, and only north of Portland, Maine. This region of Maine  is referred to as “Downeast”, and is an area I’m intimately familiar with – as family has had homes in the Camden area for quite a while. I’ve sailed these waters regularly for decades too, and many of the lighthouses included in this download are old friends. That said, the Rockland Harbor lighthouse is misplaced in the file, and instead sits on the end of a very long rock breakwater that shows up (image above, bottom left) in XP10 as a sandy spit.

In the top image, the light points to this spot, and the Bonanza is about to overfly the exact point (the lighthouse shows up well in the Google Earth image just above, too, inset). Image bottom right shows Camden Harbor, and the Curtis Island lighthouse (not modeled) is one of the most famous in the region, and just beyond is the Rockport Harbor light (not modeled) which protects the entrance to what Walter Cronkite referred to as the most beautiful harbor in North America. The Rockport light is justly famous, and both should be included in this package for completeness sake. Knox County Regional (no model exists, a pity) would make a better starting off point for this part of Maine than Lubec, unless one wants to fly the entire coast. I think there are a few airports modeled around the Acadia National Park area too, but I’m drawing a blank tonight…

+++++

DerKutscher’s EDXG + Melle is located near Bremen and is convenient to our Helgoland Triangle we worked last winter. This is a nicely conceived and executed GA airport, and the nearby “autobahn” makes a nice feature in XP10. Though the layout appears functionally good, these are not custom buildings, so consider this a representative airport, and not an exact duplicate. Still, highly recommended for GA OPS in NE Germany and the low countries.

+++++

james7667-300′s VOLARIS for the latest QPAC A320 is another well executed effort for the growing collection of liveries for the final version of this venerable file. Recommended for OPS throughout Mexico and select US destinations. We’ll cover his LAN livery in the next issue.

Volaris flies this route network, BTW:

Mexico

•  Aguascalientes
  • Aguascalientes - Lic. Jesús Terán Peredo International Airport
•  Baja California
  • Mexicali - General Rodolfo Sánchez Taboada International Airport
  • Tijuana - General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport, Hub
•  Baja California Sur
  • La Paz - Manuel Márquez de León International Airport
  • San José del Cabo - Los Cabos International Airport
•  Chihuahua
  • Chihuahua - Roberto Fierro Villalobos International Airport
•  Colima
  • Colima - Lic. Miguel de la Madrid Airport
•  Guanajuato
  • León - Del Bajío International Airport
•  Guerrero
  • Acapulco - Juan N. Alvarez International Airport [seasonal]
• Jalisco
  • Guadalajara - Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport, Hub
  • Puerto Vallarta - Lic. Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport
•  Federal District
  • Mexico City - Mexico City International Airport, Hub
•  Michoacán
  • Morelia - General Francisco J. Mujica International Airport
  • Uruapan - Uruapan International Airport
•  Morelos
  • Cuernavaca - General Mariano Matamoros Airport
•  State of Mexico
  • Toluca - Lic. Adolfo López Mateos International Airport, Focus City
•  Nuevo León
  • Monterrey - General Mariano Escobedo International Airport
•  Oaxaca
  • Oaxaca - Xoxocotlan International Airport
•  Puebla
  • Puebla - Hermanos Serdan International Airport
•  Quintana Roo
  • Cancún - Cancún International Airport
•  Sinaloa
  • Culiacán - Federal de Bachigualato International Airport
  • Mazatlán - General Rafael Buelna International Airport
  • Los Mochis - Federal del Valle del Fuerte International Airport
•  Sonora
  • Hermosillo - General Ignacio Pesqueira Garcia International Airport
•  Zacatecas
  • Zacatecas - General Leobardo C. Ruiz International Airport

 United States

• California
  • Fresno - Fresno Yosemite International Airport
  • Los Angeles - Los Angeles International Airport Focus City
  • Oakland - Oakland International Airport
  • San Diego - San Diego International Airport
  • San Jose - San Jose International Airport
•  Colorado
  • Denver - Denver International Airport [begins December 8, 2012]^[2]
• Florida
  • Orlando - Orlando International Airport
• Illinois
  • Chicago - Chicago Midway International Airport
• Nevada
  • Las Vegas - McCarran International Airport

+++++

Thorax released three nice files for Carenado Pipers over the weekend, and the first we’ll look at is for the SenecaII. LV-ATG is a private registration operating in Argentina, and the file is nicely detailed, and recommended.

PG-332 is a SenecaII decked in in Argentinian Air Force colors, and very well done too.

LQ-MDF is an Argentinian Police livery, and is equally well executed.

+++++

Final item up today is a checklist for the Carenado F33A Bonanza. You’ll need Snailpup’s checklister in your plug-ins folder to get this up and running, and this text file in your F33A root folder, and then away you go. Be sure to check out the set up menu to customize the appearance and function of this checklist too.

Already a bunch to get out tomorrow, so hang on tight. We’ll get ‘em up as soon as we can! Til then…hasta later – C