June 2007 - Posts
There's a new online FS magazine in circulation that has caught my attention: Sim Pilot Magazine . Run by a fellow FS developer Christian Stock, issue #1 covers some very interesting ground. They review Digital Aviation's Dornier 27 (which just...
The Jet . Cirrus Design unveiled their newest concept aircraft to the public today and it is nothing that I imagined it would look like. The V-tail is a nice touch. What do you think of it? I see they are continuing the tradition of dual doors, an uncommon...
Barrington Irving completed his around-the-world expedition this morning with an eventful arrival into Opa Locka airport. Ron Hamilton and Bob Hayes were two of several hundred people who greeted him with a huge celebration, complete with CNN and CBS...
While we were in Batavia this weekend, I realized that the predominant color of Roy's chromalusion paint is really a teal color (shown below) and highlights a bright purplish magenta color. So, I spent today modifying my textures to represent this...
Roy was kind enough to invite me along on a flight to visit the home of Sporty's Pilot Shop in Batavia, Ohio today. It just so happened to also be a CFO fly-in where the AOPA Catch-A-Cardinal would be displayed with a (nearly) complete airframe. The...
New from Jeppesen is version 4 of their SIMCharts add-on for Microsoft FSX at a reduced price. Originally released in November of '06 at $59.95 USD, the price is now $41.95 USD with an unlimited subscription duration! Some FAQ information: Does SIMCharts...
I had a request to get a short video up showing the color change on the Twin Comanche, so here it is! Video: Paint flip-flop on Twin Comanche in FSX Read More...
So you thought that polygon counts are not as important as they used to be. Well, according to Adrian, you are right ... sorta. It is vertice counts that can get you! Adrian does a much better job of explaining exactly what this is all about in his latest...
News has quickly spread about the passing of flight dynamics expert Ron Freimuth. Several examples of his work can be experienced with the Dreamfleet Archer II, Cessna 177 Cardinal, Boeing 727, T37 Tweet , Feelthere Caravan , and many other freeware and...
After a long wait at Schemya, Alaska, Barrington made it to Anchorage on Sunday. Today he is enroute to Juneau and is on US FAA radar for the first time since March 30th! Barrington is attempting to make it to Seattle, but I understand a bit of rough...
I did some further tweaking of the ChromaLusion paint... This is looking at the fuselage at a normal angle. I realize that real chromalusion paint works based upon the angle of viewing, but this specular technique is the best possible means to replicate...
I'm in the process of getting the Twin Comanche going in FSX with a true FSX aircraft model, and I've been working on the specular maps today. I was so delighted with the results, I thought that I would share the first public image of the Twinkie...
There's a lot being said lately in the FS blogosphere... Adrian explains when a draw call is not a draw call. Arno has some lessons learned when developing 3rd party jetways in FSX. Jon provides some Vancouver+ comparison shots and has been experimenting...
Video: Roy Wilbanks' Twin Comanche When Roy and I returned from Griffin yesterday, he asked me to get a video of him doing a fly-by so that he could hear what his airplane sounds like from the outside. Everyone has told him that the aircraft sounds...
Before I get to the topic at hand, let me give some background on how things unfolded. My good friend Roy Wilbanks was out at the airport on Monday morning updating his GARMIN GPS databases when a slick Globe Swift taxied up to the FBO. Roy stepped outside...
I'm a sucker for unconventional airframes, and the Dornier Do-228 certainly fits in that category. I was saddened to hear about the demise of OSS and with it the Do-228 for MS FS in September of last year . I am delighted to see that Viktor Schacht...
Mike Singer has a nice write-up about Barrington's trek from Japan to Shemya, Alaska, complete with screen captures of his flight on the tracking map Microsoft is hosting for Barrington. Barrington made the trip Saturday, and wrote an entry on his...
Phil Taylor keeps the ball rolling with his weekly FSX tweaks and tips posts. This weekend, we are treated with two topics: " AI at 80% max " and " Water slider and FPS costs ." In " AI at 80% max ," Phil makes a stern suggestion...
Adrian Woods published a very enlightening article elaborating how draw calls affect performance, thus he titled his post " performance art ." 3rd party developers, this article is for you . Adrian states that often they (MS) are blamed for...
Every once in a while I'll run across something so impressive and ground-breaking that I've got to spread the word about it. This afternoon was one of those moments, and its name is Photosynth by Microsoft Live Labs. Microsoft Live Labs is a collection...