Although it is not finished yet and much work remains to be done, I decided to put news ONLY THERE from now on. Too much time lost trying to maintain multiple websites !!
Not so much to report this weekend. We are all waiting for the FSX model of the Lysander to be delivered from the 'workshop' in Canada. Once we have it we can start working on the gauges, the sound (Aaron Swindle) and the flight model (Rob Young). And of course the scenery and missions that are planned to come with it.
Here are a few shots of the textured cockpit, to make your mouth water....
March 13th, 2008
Progress Report on our aircraft and AES for Grenoble
Nina and I are leaving for the mountains for a short break, so here's a quick update before we leave:
The Cessna 180 Skywagon is in research stage. I have posted some pictures of the models we will be using here (and below).
The Lysander is in design stage as you know, and a few more pictures of the 3DSMax model can be found on the other site too.
Last but not least some more news on our Grenoble Isère Airport: there will be AES support for it too in the near future. Oliver Pabst is now working on that and pretty soon you will be able to purchase AES (marshaller, follow-me cars, push back vehicles and staff, etc.) for Grenoble!
That's it for this week folks, we're off for our little brake and back in a little over a week or so!
A bientot! ;-)
March 6th, 2008
Grenoble Isère Airport for FS2004 Released
Grenoble Isère Airport by Totingue!
We haven't forgotten our still large contingent of FS9 customers and Grenoble Isère Airport is a wonderful addition for those flying in France. Even more so for users of the FranceVFR FlightAlpesNord package ! Antonio Totingue has made Grenoble Airport fit into the FranceVFR scenery and adapted a few textures for it as well.
You can use it without too, of course.
Grenoble comes with all the buildings painfully copied from the real ones, with airport traffic, lots of animations, changes according to season, opening hangar doors, and much more.
Most of all it provides a very realistic 'feel' of a typical French regional airport and allows for great flights in the area, where other such airports (like Chambery and Annecy) can be found too.
Yesterday we released Jim Keir's fabulous Mission editor for FSX. Due to all last-minute changes we had it on simMarket before we could even spread the word on our won web sites. Never mind, it is available now..... and FREE to try (or even keep) in a limited version!!!
You can download it from the simMarket product page (WITH the User Manual) and try your hand at making missions for as long as you wish. For the REALLY yummy features we'll ask you to PURCHASE the full version of course, but at only 14,95 Euros ex. VAT that can't be a problem.
Now you can unleash your imagination and creativity and make your own missions. And even publish them for free or for a small fee.
(For our professional colleagues we have a special licensing schem in place, so pleae contact us if you're interested).
So it took awhile. We had some problems with customers running Vista systems, but that’s now addressed.
So here is Joe’s second installment of his Central Florida range, adding yet another slew of enhanced airfields to the Sunny State.
Check out the product page here for a list of all fields included. Volumes 3 and 4 will follow within 2 weeks from now. Each one only costs US$ 11.11 and is sold using the Flight1 system. Soon on simMarket too !
I applaud our Customers..... and some more news !!
Yes..... AND 'my' developers too.
This has been on my mind for some time, so I'd better get it out......... :
Ever since I have started FSAddon.com (and a few other activities on the side) I have had the distinct privilege of working with some of the best, and above all conscientious people in the business. They ALL go the extra mile to help customers when in trouble. There is NEVER anybody left hanging out to dry in our support forums, and I can count the people on the fingers of ONE hand that did not get a solution in the end!
At the same time, our Customers are just fabulous ! I can't remember anybody 'making trouble' or being rude in any way. On the contrary, many actually HELP us make our products even better, finding that LAST little itchy quirk that we overlooked, and providing ideas for improvement.
Our products, PLUS Flight Simulator, PLUS Windows AND PC's are ALL very complex things with almost a guarantee of something going horribly wrong at times!
And yet we get nothing but understanding and yes, help, from our customers...... which I would almost title as 'fans'!
For which, my dear people, I would like to thank you! I feel we have built not only a company, but indeed a community of mostly like-minded people who support each other. Thank you again, all of you.
And now the news.....
Jim Keir is now just about finished building his brand new Mission Editor for FSX.
If you ever tried making your own missions, you'll have noticed that it is NOT easy. With Jim's new editor and above all his User Interface, it is still 'work', but made a lot easier !
The JK Mission Editor will be FREEWARE for the 'base version', and a more extended version, including MSI installer, will be for sale via FSAddon Publishing.
Check out some of the demo's Jim made:
Although we're still working to get a 3D model of the Lysander ported to FSX, before Ron can start doing his magic on the flight model, we are already working on our NEXT FSAddon.com aircraft.....
And yes, we aim to make an FS9 model as well as an FSX model !
Since we're fast becoming the 'bush specialists' in the business, the choice of our next baby will be no big surprise to you.....
a Cessna 185 Skywagon
First phase has started.... getting photos from an existing model. Our intrepid photographer in BC is on the job already.... !!
And last but not least.........
..... we are working on a THIRD aircraft project..... another old-timer!
This we cannot divulge yet, but we aim to work with yet another group of people who keep old aircraft flying, and we want model one of their oldies..... and support them to keep it airborn for as long as possible.
More news as soon as we have more details.... I can assure you, you'll love it !!
January 30th, 2008
Lysander progressing.....
Whereas we could only show a mesh model a few months ago, and after some unexpected delays, there is progress in the building of our Lysander, FSAddon's FIRST aircraft. As you can see texturing is now almost completed (this is a copy of the aircraft as it is flying out of Old Warden's Shuttleworth collection!). Next it will go into the workshop to get a proper (FSX) flight model, made by none other than Rob Young.
January 17th, 2008
It's Your Plane new version, new pricing, new features
Pacific Feelings and FSAddon Publishing are.proud to announce the release of version 3.0 of our highly advanced It's Your Plane add-on to FS2004 and FSX. IYP now comes in 4 versions:
-
a free trial of a Cessna 172
-
2 'light' versions (C172 and Boeing 737 both with full checklists)
- the Standard Full edition with checklists for ALL default MS aircraft, and then some!
IYP is now sold on its own website for ease of access and reference and for allowing separate pricing (as shown below). Apart from the versions above there is also an UPGRADE available to go from any of the 'light' versions to the full version!
MAJOR ENHANCEMENT in Version 3.0 is the ability to use IYP off-line, without being connected to the Internet (of course you WILL miss certain features in that mode).
As for pricing: IYP is now offered for 14,95 and 24,95 (light versions) and 34,95 for the full version.
Let me spell that out for you: this means for customers living in Europe the price remains Euros 34,95
as before, but for our American customers it is US$ 34,95 (instead of US$ 50 with exhange rates), In Canada IYP costs CAN $ 34,95 and in Australia AUS$ 34,95. All other regions pay the Euro price.
FSAddon Publishing and Pacific Feelings have promised to reach out to a majority of our customers being 'punished' by bad exchange rates and we are now doing so, paying for the difference out of our own pockets.
There are two other exciting products waiting in the wings as well, also based upon the main engine of IYP. Stay tuned !!
It's Your Plane information and purchase available on the dedicated IYP website here.
January 17th, 2008
'Plug' for a non-FSAddon product
Today I’d like to introduce a new ‘Discovery’ of mine (pun intended), namely the Space Shuttle Mission 2007 product. I have been reporting on it at simFlight, kindly got a beta and then full version and wrote ashort review on simFlight too.
Space Shuttle Mission 2007 is a REAL simulation, and NOT an add-on to any existing flight simulator. It does a lot more than just shoot you into oblivion, errrrm..... orbit, with gorgeous graphics, too! You are supposed to 'manage' the Shuttle and all its systems, handle the cargo arm, do spacewalks, and get her safely back to earth again without turning all into a giant barbecue.
This product is a major achievement and (after a learning curve) a real joy to 'play' !
I think we are not alone here at FSAddon.com Publishing worrying about the US economy and feeling sorry for our US customers. Being a European based company we have to charge in Euros for our products, but that nowadays means that things have become very expensive for our US customer base and all those whose income is linked to the US Dollar.
So we have been working on a solution, which we will put in place over the coming months! We will set up a new website where our customers can buy DIRECTLY from us. Thats not earth shattering news, is it?
However, you will be able to buy in YOUR OWN CURRENCY (depending on where you live) WITHOUT currency exhange rates applied!!! Now THAT IS earth shattering, right!? There are some limitations: Euro region, US $, Can $ and AUS $ only.
So how does this work? Simple. WE - the publisher and developers - take a 'hit' on the currency problems, instead of YOU, the customer.
It means that you can buy a product like 'It's Your Plane' for 34,95 Euros in Europe, for 34,95 US Dollars in the US, or for 34,95 CAN$ in Canada.
Now how's that for doing FAIR BUSINESS !!??
In addition we will found a new, foreign based company this year, thereby leaving the expensive 'VAT Region' that Europe has become. It means that European buyers will be responsible for paying VAT themselves if they so choose to, but our prices will NOT have VAT imposed onto them!
The first product to benefit from this new setup and policy wil be Robert Cezar's wonderful It's Your Plane series, and we'll start selling the new version on February 1st !!
Stay tuned !!
December 30th, 2007
Vancouver+ FSX gets Gold Star Award from Avsim
Jeff Shyluk, one of Avsim's Senior Staff Reviewers, has awarded our Vancouver+ for FSX an Avsim Gold Star Award for Excellence and published a very extensive and well-written review on their website. You can read the review PLUS an interview with Holger Sandmann here.
We're of course tremendously happy with the honest Avsim review, knowing that lots of people will read it. And if you found our site through it, even better, so we can show you around (see our Products Pages) and introduce you to some other top-notch products...... and more FSX and FS2004 products to come in 2008
Last but not least, where to BUY Vancouver+ FSX? For now it is available only through simMarket.com, but in early 2008 you will also be able to buy it on CD directly from us. Stay tuned!
December 20th, 2007
Product updates, news, and a warning
Grenoble Isère Airport is in 'packaging phase'. Unfortunately this last part of our production process proves to be exceptionally difficult. We have to deal with a number of variations in the installations, and figuring out how to make the installation as smooth as possible for the user is giving us some headaches = delays. We are sorry.... but keeping in FSAddon's true spirit of 'stellar customer support' we are NOT prepared to market a half-baked product. So we'll need to fix this. We beg for your patience !
We ran into a snag with the installer program of Central Florida Airports.... turns out that Windows Vista (foreign language?) users may have a problem installing it. We are feverishly working on finding out what happens and in fixing it ! Meanwhile it works just fine in XP.
AND customer reactions so far are encouraging !
We'll keep you posted !!
Last but not least an IYP 'lookalike' has been published; Flight1's Cockpit Chatter. And we're thrilled !!
For one because it proves that we were right! There is a market for these products !
And also because it shows we are WAY AHEAD in terms of functionality. There's a lot of ground between 'chatter' and a full-fledged co-pilot who can actually FLY THE PLANE for you, and do a myriad of other things RIGHT.
We're working on a nice comparison table to show you the difference... stay tuned ;-)
Meanwhile the first NEW IYP package is being tested and will be published early next year, soon followed by a range of exciting extensions. We'll have a TOUR GUIDE for you, AND a Tour Guide DESIGNER package in test as well! And of course (limited) cheaper 'entry packages' and a limited (to Cessna 172 and Boeing 737) demo.
The new version will also run OFF-LINE, so you do not need to be connected to the internet anymore if you don't want to (you will miss a few exciting features of course...... ).
Oh, and last but not least, we will have some exciting news early next year for budding MISSION BUILDERS !!
From the entire FSAddon 'crew' we wish you and yours a
MERRY CHRISTMAS
and a wonderful, healthy, prosperous and
HAPPY NEW YEAR !!
December 17th, 2007
FScene Design Network's first title
Yup, finally got 'round getting most of the preliminary work done. You have NO IDEA how much work it is to get a new series set up, including a new way of selling it.... or perhaps you have and I am just the biggest clums in the business. Who will know !??
Anyway, I can now present you Central Florida GA Airfields - Volume 1
for FSX, by none less than Joe Watson, well-known for his many freeware contributions to the hobby.
Go straight to OUR PRODUCTPAGE for more info and to purchase it ! We use the famous Flight1 Wrapper system for our FDN products, so you know you're in good hands !
Of course I am not sitting on my hands, and already working on the other three volumes of this series, so you can have all of central Florida complete in no time!
AND....... the packaging of the next FSAddon title (for FS2004 !!) is also almost done and should be ready for Christmas!
This is the already announced Grenoble Airport
by Antonio Totingue of France.
Last but not least we have a brand new page added to our website, especially for the FScene Design Network titles and upcoming titles..... check it out here !!!
As soon as I find some time (yeah, right) you can expect the following: - a series of Joe Watson add-ons for FSX, under the new Triple-7 ‘brand’
- a wonderful airfield near Grenoble, France, by Antonio Totingue, for FS2004
- a whole new series of IYP products, with varied pricing and additional functionality!
- the beta start of Tongass Fjords for FSX
- previews of Emma Field X ….. depending on Bill for now.
- newly packaged FSAddon products ON CD, produced ‘in-house’ !
- the ability to shop from my own website via the Flight1 wrapper system !
- a new FSAddon website…. see a preview here
- a Lysander add-on (with or without scenery)…. when our UK designer gets it out the door!
- a real e-commerce shop of our own… if and when I can solve some really nasty technical problems (i.e. I need a few months to get my programming skills back up to par)
- a real expansion of our ‘apparel’ shops
- a review of the new Space Shuttle Mission simulator
- a review of the Digital TripleHead2Go from Matrox
- write in Computer Pilot Magazine
I guess the GOOD NEWS is that a lot of things are coming…… the bad news is that I must ask you to not hold your breath because my insurance wouldn’t cover the claims that would undoubtedly ensue from such a life threatening action
Wishing you all a good Friday and a Good Weekend !
November 20th, 2007
We're back ! And It's Your Plane will go in hyper drive !!
With our Family Trip annex BMW Riders Meeting in Florida, the Microsoft FS Developers Conference in Seattle, and our Canada Trip out of the way, we're now back to talk business !
I will pick up work on the web site changes and internet shops we're building, but foremost on the list is a total 'restyling' of our IYP package. We know Flight1 is coming out with something similar, although it can't be better *cough*, so we'll have to parry. And we will !
For one, It's Your Plane is now 'proven technology'.... all our customers just LOVE it (click here, scroll down and see the comments we received). Robert has continuously improved and expanded it... even too much! We can't keep up!
So we're going to change a few things over the next few weeks.
We will have MULTIPLE offerings now, including some LIGHT VERSIONS for those who want more than a trial period, but do not want to spend all their money on the full package. So you will have a choice of a CHEAP PACKAGE if you want (and you can UPGRADE later on).
We will also have 'off-line' versions, both in download and in CD format, so you no longer have to stay connected to the internet (of course there are some things you will miss by doing so).
AND we will have two very specific ADD-ON programs to all these versions..... but we won't tell you until the competition is out with their product. ;-)
STAY TUNED FOLKS ! It's Your Plane has grown up now and is an adult killer app just waiting to be applied!!
October 23rd, 2007
Before I leave.........
Bags are packed, managed to keep them just a tad under 20 kilo... all THREE of them !! My notebook is still humming on the other desk, camera sits in the little rucksack, passports, credit cards, driver license checked. Adventure, here we come !!!
I don't want you to 'remain behind' empty handed though, so before I leave let me give you two small peeks of what I've been working on these past days....
The bit of news for my Flightsim friends and customers....
this one is VERY MUCH 'under construction', but just so you know things are a-coming !!
Taddaaaaaaaa..... !!!
My good friend Didier who made the pictures of the real one for us:
Hope to have more news for you (lots more, actually) upon our return, November 16th !
We'll hopefully have news and pictures of Florida (Fantasy of Flight maybe??), Seattle and the Microsoft FS Developers Conference (although most will be under NDA), and Vancouver (planned visits to Pitt Meadows, Vancouver Island, Vancouver itself, a ride in a Beaver.......
........... stay tuned ... and wish us good weather ! ;-)
October 11th, 2007
Westwood Inn Flying Club
Something else for a change. NOT the announcement of a new FSAddon.com Publishing product, but rather the announcement of a club of people who do their virtual flying in an area and with add-ons that we at FSAddon love so much too: bush flying in the Pacific North West! They had a 'closed club' for some two years now, and decided it is time to 'open up'.
Here's their official press release, please join me in wishing them well !
We are glad to announce ... The Westwood Inn virtual flying club
No, we are not a virtual airline. It does not even come close to that.
The club members are a small bunch of german speaking back country pilots who are dedicated small aircraft nuts. Whether we fly Bellanca Scouts or Piper Cubs, Pilatus Porters or Beavers, as long it has one propeller attached to the nose and big fat tundra tires or pontoons, we regard it as the real stuff. We drive 'em hard between the rocky mountains, over the endless tundra of the alaskan hinterland or at treetop levels in the heart of BC.
The Westwood Inn flying club is all about online flying (FSaddon's server) and what is related to it. Well, there are some minor deviations: discussing whisky, listening to real stories, ...
Located at ... well, the first Westwood Inn exists no more. It has long been burned to the ground. We feel at home where we are: by the camp fire at the shore of a lonely lake, at the bar in Maloney's Tavern, or in the air on a long trip to Sheldon's Cabin.
But a new one is on the drawing board. It will be one of the deserted airstrips at the Alsek River Dry Bay.
Its time now to open the doors and welcome new participants who are also interested in back country flying. If you are willing to fly with us on a regular base (almost every Monday), feel free to join us. The forum is our meeting place where things get organized and discussed. As a German and Swiss community we speak German, although we can understand some English too.
All you have to have is a weakness for small airplanes and the urge to fly them into the bush of the grand pacific northwest area. We have no fancy flight schedule, no duty roster, no heavies. But we have a lot of fun !
Alright chaps, get hold of the stick of your lil' plane, fly over and have drink at:
Antonio Totingue is one of our new authors and now working on his first commercial product. Antonio stems from Russia originally, but now lives in Europe's highest city, Grénoble, the capital of the Alps. So it is no coincidence that he decided to try his hand at an airport near to him, being able to make photos and get information first hand!
Antonio is building the St. Geoirs airport of Grénoble-Isère, a nice regional airport in a wonderful area, just at the foothills of the French Alps. We have the much appreciated co-operation of FranceVFR thereby enabling Antonio to make it fit the excellent FranceFRV Alpes Nord scenery and render that much more realism to the field and its surroundings. But he is also making a 'default mesh' version of it.
We have now posted more information on the product, including a bunch of screenshots of the Alpha version of St. Geoirs. Check out the Preview Page here !
September 28th, 2007
FDAddon's current projects
It has been quiet around our projects lately, for a few good reasons. Of course Summer is always a bad time for this business, both in terms of sales and of development. And FSX has made it necessary for most developers to learn lots of new things, and subsequently re-plan their projects.
But don't worry, we haven't sat on our hands at FSAddon, as the list below will show you. Here are some of the projects we are currently working on (and TWO projects are even for FS2004!):
NEW! Grenoble Isere Airport for FS2004, in conjunction and co-operation with FranceVFR's Alpes Nord Base Pack and Autogen Pack.
NEW! Emma Field X : you all know this one I presume. Bill and Holger have started.
UPGRADE. Tongass Fjords X : Holger has an early Alpha version already.
NEW! Lysanders at Moonlight : our FIRST complex AIRCRAFT (for FSX), with some scenery and missions. The base model is ready and Rob Young (of RealAir and MAAM fame) will start on the flight modeling soon!
NEW! 777 Series: FDN Joe Watson X Vol 1-4. 4 add-on packages for FSX to enhance the default scenery of ALL small Florida airfields.
NEW! European Mountain Airfields : This is will be a series of fields situated in the Alps in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France.
NEW! Emma Field Flying School : after we launch Emma Field we'll also launch a brand new flying school for FSX (and later for FS9 probably too). It will use the IYP Server Technology, but encompass 'dynamic scenario's' with an instructor able to take over and get you back on track when you deviate from the lessons.
NEW! Misty Fjords X : later, folks.... Holger's gotta do Tongass first NOT 'just' an upgrade, because there will be major changes in this one.
NEW! 777 Series: FDN Scenery Collection : some authors are designing scenery objects to be sold separately and to be used for 'placement' in FSX by either Microsoft's standard tool or 3d party placement tools. First ones are basically ready.
NEW! The Big Secret : sorry, can't tell you about this one, just that it will be HUGE and aimed at having FUN in your FS World. Think 'The Sims' ..... ;-) Maybe even your wife will now learn to love Flight Simulator!
NEW! FSCargo X : started already many months ago, but stalled. The new FSCargo for FSX will have NEW functionality and concepts.
Special Projects
Boxed products : having boxed products produced for Flight Simulator is VERY expensive and a total waste of time to have it done by major publishers. The money that remains for the actual authors is just not worth it at all. So we decided to start making them ourselves and only sell them on request/order. Thereby we forgo the expense of having them produced in numbers AND distributed to retailers. The FSAddon Boxes will be expressly produced for people who can not download huge amounts of data, or want to have a CD in their hands.... in a plastic protective box, of course.
FSimShop : FSAddon Publishing will open its own on-line shop in addition to our major partner simMarket, for a number of reasons. We want to market low-priced FScene Design and other non-FSAddon products and can not bear the additional cost of a distributor. We also want to provide our customers an alternative place to shop for FSAddon products. And last but not least we want to have the ability to market some products of other developers and publishers as we see fit.
FSAddon US Shop : What with the problems in exchange rates these days, i.e. the US Dollar having dropped in value so much, many product's prices have become a real 'pain' for our US Customers! In order to support those customers specifically, we will open a US-ONLY on-line shop, with US Dollar prices. We will sell our products at competitive prices, thereby reducing the 'gap' between European and US customers possibilities. Since it means being paid LESS for both developers and publishers, we can only do it for products where the developers agree. I will be in the US and Canada in November to meet with local partners and make arrangements for this initiative.
FSSupport International : founded already back in 1999, this idea is finally being worked on. Over the years we got so many calls for (paid) help, that we feel now is the time to start this up officially. Not something that seasoned simmers and/or PC users will be interested in. But the group of 'first time users' is growing rapidly, there are still many people that live in remote places, or do not have many internet skills. We will provide FS support to them AND our partner (an established international company) will provide professional PC support where needed.
September 19th, 2007
FREE Newsletter for IYP
FSAddon.com's latest product "It's Your Plane" for FS9 and FSX is constantly being expanded and improved.
For instance it now not only supports most default MS ai craft but we also started implementing add-on ai craft, with Carenado's Cessna 182Q being the first fully featured model.
IYP now also supports OTHER speech technology and voices (AT&T's for instance).
There is too much going on to print in press releases every week, so we have started a newsletter service to keep you updated. You can subcribe to this FREE newsletter by clicking HERE.
Don't miss ANY of the enhancements and expansions anymore!
September 15th, 2007
Mystery at Emma Field
Sunday morning
It was one of those rather murky Sunday mornings with moisture dripping from the trees - teardrops of fog falling softly on the bed of old pine needles below. Sounds were dampened by the fog and visibility was poor all around. Even the animals stayed huddled up in their holes, dens or whatever sort of shelter they occupied.
Emma Field Airfield, normally bristling with life and a pool of noise in the otherwise quiet forest, was now a pool of silence. Not even the stork could be seen or heard. Gone was the usual hammering sound coming from the hangar near the runway. No smoke rose from the clubhouse or restaurant chimneys. Airplanes were tied down; their cockpits covered and wings glistening with moisture.
There was some movement at the far end of the deserted runway. It looked like a white-grey rabbit of sorts, diving back into its burrow. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light.
All doors on the buildings were closed and so was the gate to the field.
The quiet, almost solemn atmosphere was not that unusual this time of the year, with the summer gone and the rainy season starting in a few weeks, but it emphasized the somewhat decayed state of many of the buildings. At one time Emma Field was really thriving with over a thousand enthusiastic club members. Now, most of them remained only on paper, and forgot to pay their contributions, or to spend any dollars in the restaurant on Sundays. The tied-down aircraft along the runway belonged to the last hardcore Emma pilots!
The club had all but run out of money and things looked bad lately, especially since Fritz, the caretaker, was often away trying to find some other income somewhere.
But unknown to most, this was going to change!!!
If one could have taken off from Emma Field and flown west and if there hadn't been this darned fog, one would have seen a thin column of smoke rising from the dense forest towards Lake Cushman.
SOMEBODY was out there!
And it was this hint of smoke, or rather what was at the base of it, which would change the history of Emma Field once again!
Visitors
That Sunday morning a car engine could be heard approaching from the south. The driver slowed down as he approached the gate to the airfield, and then pulled over across the road from it. Two men got out. They looked like hunters and were dressed for the damp and cold circumstances. They locked the car, looked around, studied the deserted airfield for a while and then suddenly took off into the woods across from Emma Field. The only witness was a small dog sheltering from the drizzle underneath the overhanging roof of an old shed. The puppy didn't think much of it, of course, other than that he would have a few extra car tires at his disposition to pee upon.
Now, just walking off into the woods like that would be a tricky thing to do. You see, rumor has it that there is a still being operated in them there woods. Mind you, rumor also has it that a few ATF inspectors are said to have mysteriously disappeared over the past few years. Perhaps all this talk about stills, moonshine, shotguns and Fritz' old Uncle Elmer was just something to take the mind of flying on those dreary winter evenings, while propping up the bar at the Emma Restaurant,. None of this has ever been officially confirmed but locals would think twice before heading out into those woods.
Anyway it was already getting dark that day when the two fellas reappeared from the depths of the dark forest. They seemed pretty happy, laughing and slapping each other on the back before they climbed aboard their Ford truck. They took off with some vigor and headed back south to where they had come from.
Rumors
The reason I have reported the above story is because there are more rumors - AND some facts - to share with you.
The rumors have it that the two guys mentioned above came down to Emma to do 'business'. And with 'business' we mean that they talked to Uncle Elmer about expanding his ‘fluids business’ to a much larger area than just family and the local flying club!
THAT would explain where Fritz, all of a sudden, found extra funds to have a MAJOR upgrade done to some of the buildings. And perhaps how he got the money to finally get that old Piper Cub airborne again?
And facts......
Well, I leave the rumors for what they are and you can discuss them in the bar or in the clubhouse. Let me get down to some facts about Emma Field X then:
FACT #1: the work on Emma Field X (our rendition for the new Flight Simulator X), that had already started, has been stopped. The original main author, Richard Goldstein, regrettably has no time to work on it anymore and had to bow out of this long-running project.
So, with that bad news out of the way, here's the good news:
FACT #2: we have found two worthy successors to Richard and the NEW Emma Field X will be built from the ground up by them. They are Bill Womack and Holger Sandmann !!
FACT #3: Emma Field X - and its community - will continue its long tradition of being a cozy, secluded and quiet place for GA pilots, built with the highest quality of techniques, creativity and support. Yes, there will be some changes but the atmosphere of the place will remain the same!
FACT #4: we have started work on the new title and we welcome ideas and suggestions from all customers and potential customers. That said, we will NOT add an ILS or other newfangled stuff that bush pilots and Sunday flyers really can do without ;-)
We will keep you all updated via our various websites and forums, and above all via the Emma Field Community Forum on simFlight!
September 8th, 2007
Partnership with Carenado
FSAddon.com and Carenado are happy to announce that FSAddon Publishing's unique "It's Your Plane" software now also works for Carenado's excellent Piper Dakota aircraft. We have included the full checklists for the aircraft. And of course Michelle, your virtual co-pilot, can assist you through every minute of your flight. Or just help you with certain things if you like.
Carenado's Piper Dakota was originally designed for FS2004, but with a patch provided free on their website, all aircraft can be upgraded for use in FSX! More information on the Piper Dakota can be found on Carenado's website and it can be purchased from simMarket.
"It's Your Plane" will add a virtual co-pilot to your aircraft AND a full range of checklists. You can interact with Michelle via voice commands and she will understand ALL regular (and even not-so-regular) aviation commands from you. Not only that, she will also EXECUTE all requested actions from you and can even fly the plane entirely by herself!
Plans are for other Carenado aircraft to be interfaced as well. We will keep you posted of progress!
September 2nd, 2007
Sneak Preview of Tongass Fjords FSX
Holger Sandmann is hard at work to bring us Tongass and Misty in FSX !
Tongass Fjords will be the first one out the door, because Misty needs more work in adding more detailed airfields, to make it up to the same level as the (newer) Tingass Fjords.
Holger writes "......When I showed those first shots last December (!) I was blissfully unaware how much work really is needed to develop a landscape/airfield package that fully utilizes what FSX has to offer in terms of data/texture resolution and features. Basically, we started from scratch......". Find thescreenshots here !
July 5th, 2007
It's Your Plane - Dedicated Website
It's Your Plane is a program with a considerable threshold and some learning curve. That means that many people find it somewhat daunting to get it installed and running.
Fact is, it's easy! But so is everything once you know how it is done, right? So our efforts are twofold ever since we've released it:
continuously expand the program with more functions, more aircraft and more checklists
trying to make it easier to install and use
In order to do the latter we now have added a dedicated website (AND integrated in our FSAddon website here), that will hopefully address some of the problems users have been battling with lately.
We also have GOOD NEWS...... we are going to offer you an INTRODUCTION PRICE of 30 Euros (instead of the regular 34).
And we have MORE good news: if you already own Vancouver+ for FS9, we will give you a DISCOUNT of 20% on the FSX Version (when bought through simMarket.com!!!).
Stay tuned for a release date somewhere early July !!
May 31st, 2007
First VancouverPlus for FSX pictures
Jon and crew have picked up work again after Microsoft's FS SP1 was 'frozen', and work on VancouverPlus for FSX is now progressing rapidly. A LOT of enhancements AND additions have been worked into the original FS2004 version, a LOT of work had to be 're-done' due to technical changes in the FS technology, AND there are new features added, such as the complete, highly detailed airfield of Langley !
CLICK HERE for some of the Vancouver City shots and CLICK HERE to see what is going on at Langley Field !
May 19th, 2007
Crashing Heavies - And learning to live with Michelle!
We have been watching the hesitant first steps of a bunch of people taking us up on the 15-day trial. Surprisingly we have NOT heard from most of them, although they are on-line most every day. So we are in some sort of vacuum in space and time, not knowing what is happening.
But we DO have a suspicion!
We suspect that the learning curve is rather steep.... and we are working on a better website to help users on their first steps !
But it may also be that users are too shy to admit they are having some 'challenges' with getting Michelle to be cooperative.
Just to show you that this isNORMAL, I have written down my OWN experiences when starting with It's Your Plane. Bear in mind, I am a General Aviation, VFR pilot in real life.. and a very unexperienced one at that, and usually fly similar smaller planes in the sim as well.
So driving a Boeing 737 is NOT something I do often, I didn't like it very much up till now, and am certainly not experienced in the whole procedure of getting from A to B in one.
Okay, so we took a few days longer to get it in the shop..... but it's here now!
We were fiddling with a few minor items that popped up in the last minute, and decided to postpone selling It's Your Plane for a few days..... while people could already start playing with the Trial anyway!
We've had over 500 visitors to the sample pages in the past two days, so there is enough interest it seems.
We continue to URGE you to try before you buy, because we KNOW it takes some getting used to. We also know that once you have it all running, you will NOT want without Michelle anymore. So, once you reach that point, go to the simMarket product page here, and buy your license !!
Meanwhile we're already hard at work to add more aircraft to the Base Pack and the FSX version is already running and 90% ready !!!
May 1st, 2007
It's Your Plane now available for TRIAL
As promised, May 1st sees the release of It's Your Plane - Base Pack !!
And oh surprise... you can NOT purchase it yet !! Nope, we'll keep the shop closed until Friday ... ! We do NOT want your dollars when you don't like this product.. so try it first!
The trial is FULLY FUNCTIONAL, no limitations.... just that it will STOP working after 15 days ! Check back here on Friday, May 3rd, 2007, or go directly to simMarket at that time.
We have ALL found that this is GREAT software and a true enrichment of our simulation experience, but IT NEEDS TIME and a little perseverance to get to know it and fully appreciate it.
So do yourself a favor.... and set some time aside ! You will thank us for this later !!!
Richard Goldstein and I have started discussing the actual scope of the 'new' Emma Field (for FSX). Richard has now finished his Yellow Stone Park product, moved house, got a new Internet connection and can now finally focus his attention on this long-promised new Emma Field.
We already have a pretty good idea of what will be 'in' and what will be 'out' (after all, this is a 5 year old product now, and not everything is still interesting), but we still want YOUR SUGGESTIONS. No promises as to whether or not we can include them, but we'll try !
Jon Patch and Team have been hard at work these past months to make a new version of Vancouver+ 1.1, so FSX owners can enjoy the added reality as well. VancouverX will be much MORE than just a 'port' from FS2004 to FSX. Jon and Holger have added many new features, making the 'X-version' definitely an 'extension' to the FS2004 version !!
One of those 'extra's' will be the inclusion of a further detailed airfield, Langley Regional Airport. Read below what Jon has to say about it:
"....Inspired by Kevin Herlihy (who contacted me over a year ago), we’ve been working on adding a new detailed airport to Vancouver+ for FSX: CYNJ, Langley Regional Airport. Airport manager George Miller has allowed Kevin excellent access to the site for photography, and we are in process of purchasing high-resolution airphoto data from the Township of Langley. We will provide photoreal models of major buildings and objects, and photoreal display of the airport area. Runways and other maneouvering surfaces will be FSX standard textures.
The facility is currently adding new hangers, and turf runway 07/25 is temporarily closed during construction, and will be shifted in position slightly when re-opened. We may be able to squeeze these changes into the release.
Home to 300 aircraft, I’m very pleased that we’ll be able to add this busy field to Vancouver+.....".
April 18th, 2007
"It's Your Plane" Software gone GOLD
After many 10's of thousands of miles of testing and more testing, "It's Your Plane" Base Pack software is now finished and ready for production. We are working on getting the final documentation up to specs and add some more documents to help you use IYP and ALSO to help you make better use of your Flight Simulator. THAT is what much of the product is about.... increasing your enjoyment and the level of realism !
Target date for release is May 1st..... please help us cross our fingers... this IS a software project after all ;-)
Although FSAddon.com and Silver Cloud Publishing so far have mainly marketed their own products, we are now happy to recommend something that is not ours, nor made for MS Flight Simulator.
Being a helicopter fan myself I have 'played' every helo simulation and only one or two were good enough to keep me glued to the monitor. The first was
the good old Longbow, and the other was Enemy Engaged.
Released in 2000, the original Enemy Engaged set the standard for 21st century flight sims with stunningly realistic visuals and attention to detail. Enemy Engaged 2 is set to take the series even further with new dynamic missions and a complete overhaul of the graphics and audio to bring the game up to date with the latest and best flight simulations available.
Enemy Engaged 2 has been in development since early 2005 and is scheduled for release in April 2007.
JUST CLICK ON THE BANNER BELOW to pre-order ENEMY ENGAGED 2 !!!
March 29, 2007
Try Before You Buy
I have always found that a great concept. How many times have you wondered about this or that 'tool' for your PC, but were not sure if it would REALLY do what you were looking for?
In the FS industry it is often difficult to incorporate that option into products. We're having stuff pirated enough as it is already. But with It's Your Plane we can offer the option, because it runs on a central server that we can easily control.
So It's Your Plane will have a try-before-you-buy option and we hope our customers will appreciate it...... and THEN buy it, of course *grin*.
March 26 , 2007
Mysterious Michelle is on her way to your PC
Captain, it's your plane....', Michelle says with a melodious but firm voice.
You grasp the yoke a little firmer and peer through the fog, trying to make out the runway lights that should be visible by now.
"Flaps 20", you bark to your co-pilot, hands moist with tension.
"Flaps 20...", Michelle repeats and moves the flaps lever to the required position.
You 'feel' the slight attitude change of the big aircraft, and you see the speed reduce further.
Where the heck are those lights.... !!??
At that point your wife pokes her head around the door of your 'office'.
"Dinner is ready in 5 minutes, hon !"
Poof ! There goes the 'dream'....
Michelle says nothing......
Another botched landing in London's dense fog......
Well, we can't do anything about your wife intruding in your simulated flying, nor would we want to, really. But we CAN make your experience so much more real !
When you install 'It's Your Plane', thereby adding our wonderful co-pilot Michelle to your Flight Simulator by doing so, we can guarantee that your flying will never be the same again.
It's Your Plane is different from all 'speech' and 'sound' add-ons for MS Flight Simulator published so far. It goes way beyond being just a sound addition, or even an artificial co-pilot. It's Your Plane adds virtual co-pilot Michelle, who TALKS to you, and LISTENS to you AND actually performs ALL co-pilot functions that a real co-pilot would perform. It's Your Plane uses Peter Dowson's FSUIPC interface to accomplish the latter.
In fact, you can now fly a Boeing 747 from cold and dark start-up all the way till landing 1000's of miles away without EVER touching the controls YOURSELF...... and without touching the KEYBOARD! Or various other planes, for that matter.
You tell Michelle what to do and she will fly the plane, if you so choose.
It's Your Plane is the first in a series of products that will forever change the way you use Microsoft's Flight Simulator. No longer are you alone in the cockpit, no longer are you talking to yourself or to a non-listening artificial ATC, or even VATSIM controllers. From now on you have a companion who will help you fly your aircraft, read out all the checklists and make sure that checks are complete, communicate with the outside world and even control the various switches, levers and dials for you !
It's Your Plane is conceived and programmed by Robert Cezar of Canada, and brought to you by FSAddon.com Publishing
This is an exciting program. WE are excited that it is almost ready. Our beta testers are excited at how GOOD it is. And we are convinced that YOU will be excited once you have started using it.
You want to know who this mysterious Michelle is? You are curious to learn which aircraft have been prepared for you and her ? You are itching to learn our further plans for the series?
Holger posted a few pictures himself in our Beta Forum, and I didn't want to withhold them from you. Just an impression how wonderful this FREEWARE title is going to be...... it will complement Misty Fjords and Tongass Fjords wonderfully !!
Last night I toured around Holger Sandmann's Beta Version of his new Glacier Bay product. Glacier Bay Version 2 will be freeware and quite a few other authors have chipped in to make this yet another breath taking Alaskan experience. It includes wonderful airports such as Juneau and Yakutat, many smaller fields and settlements and basically all the goodies you find in products such as Misty Fjords and Tongass Fjords.
Glacier Bay connects seamlessly to the north of our Tongass Fjords, thereby making the total 'real life' area in that part of the world one of the best available in all of FS2004 !
The first is a small PATCH for Tongass Fjords. It turned out that one particular seasons file was at fault, causing problems in adjacent areas of photo scenery (among others Orcas Island was affected. Holger fixed it and now all is well in that region !
The other addition is the newer version (update) of Mark Smith's Bremerton Airport. It has been available for a long time, but I always forgot to upload it here.
January 9th, 2007
A New Year and a NEW Multiplayer Server !!!
After having wrestled with the availability of the Multiplayer Server, I have finally found a new provider. This one is based in the US as opposed to the old one in The Netherlands. That will probably mean better performance for US users, and a bit slower response for us Europeans... we'll see.
Unfortunately in order to get a better price I had to pay a YEAR in ADVANCE, and the funds for the old one were already depleted. So...................
although the use of it is FREE to anyone, some financial 'help' is VERY WELCOME !
If you want to help me finance the server, then please donate some money via my PayPal Account (on the name of Silver Cloud Publishing, my private company):
AlternatIvely you can also use simMarket, but in that case not the entire amount will be used for the server.
December 30th , 2006
Another rave review of Vancouver+ 1.1
Larry Mudge, together with Nick Churchill (pictures) wrote another enthusiastic review about our Vancouver+ product. We're too modest to repeat his words here (well, not really, but we'd rather you read it ALL...<ahem>) so here is the LINK to read the review !
Many thanks to Larry for his kind words, and to the many customers who already bought Vancouver and sent us their compliments!
Let us also take the opportunity here and now to wish you ALL
a very
HAPPY, PROSPEROUS AND ABOVE ALL HEALTHY 2007 !!!
December 14th , 2006
More awards for FSAddon and its Authors .... !!
Today the Austrian based and German-language Bush-Pilots.net published their 2006 awards on their forum!
The Bush-Pilots are a fast growing
virtual club catering for the needs of the German language enthusiasts and were actually founded when Misty Fjords was published! No wonder then that they just love such landscapes and sceneries.
FSAddon.com is proud and happy to share in their enthusiasm and be at the 'base' of it in many ways.
Today Holger Sandmann recieved the Bush-Pilots Award for BEST FREEWARE (for all his work), and FSAddon.com and its authors received the Bush-Pilots Award for BEST PAYWARE SCENERY with our Tongass Fjords.
A warm THANK YOU
to all Bush-Pilots members who cared to vote !
December 7th , 2006
FSX just got a whole lot better .... !!
No, they didn't release another patch....... something BETTER ! Holger Sandmann (and our other authors too) has been very busy trying to get to grips with the new simulator 'inners' and he just posted the first results on the Tongass Forum. But it looks SO good, that I wanted to put them up here too.... just for those of you who don't watch the forums ;-)
Holger writes ".......Below are a couple of landscape shots I took this evening. The ground textures in use are actually the 4-m res Tongass sets (the FSX versions will probably include 1- or 2-m sets) but it looks pretty neat even with those; and no desert-like default textures anymore!
Special thank-you to Jay Langham whose ice float models you see in the glacier shots. Very cool the way they reflect in the water........".
I just HAD to put these up here....... isn't it amazing !??
November 28th , 2006
FSCargo Large Areas uploaded to FSAddon
To get you started flying larger cargoes, Jaap van Hees has kindly provided a zip file with some larger cargo areas, situated in Western Europe. You can find the file in the Cargo Area Download page here on FSAddon.com (check here).
With the built-in editor in FSCargo 1.2 you can of course easily make your own areas, anywhere in the world, for any size aircraft and airport now !
Have fun you freight dawgs !!!
November 23rd , 2006, Thanksgiving Day !
FSCargo Version 1.2 for FS9 NOW AVAILABLE !!!!!!
Ha ! We did it a few hours before our self-imposed deadline...... and 4 months later than planned.. oh well... !
FSCargo 1.2 is NOW ready for download for existing customers... FREE !!
Just hop to your simMarket account and get the Upgrade Patch that will be available at your original purchase page.
And for the HEAVY FLYERS..... now is your chance.. we support anything from the 172 to the 747 now !!!
Have fun !!!!
November 21st , 2006, Europe/US
FSCargo Version 1.2 for FS9 ready!!
.... and will soon be published...... THIS WEEK !!
For current owners of FSCargo 1.0 there will be an 'upgrade' available on their simMarket User Account Area (in purchase History), that will patch BOTH existing versions (1.0 and 1.1) automatically.
NEW customers will get Version 1.2 from simMarket on purchase and do NOT need the Upgrade Patch.
I will post a message HERE and on our Support Forum when the version is available later this week.
For more information about WHAT is INCLUDED, check our FORUM.
November 12th , 2006, Europe/US
Vancouver Upgrade to Version 1.1 Available!!
As announced (below) the new versin of Vancouver, Version 1.1, is ready and now also available.
There seem to have been quite a few questions from existing users, so let me answer a few of them here:
- YES, Vancouver 1.1 is for FS9 only.
- YES, Vancouver 1.1 is FREE for existing customers, and you can download it from simMarket fater logging into your account there.
- PLEASE NOTE, that existing users FIRST have to run the 'CONFIGURATOR' (which you used on initial installation), and choose Restore Defaults from it !!
This will restore some of the changes that have been made for Vancouver 1.0. THEN you need to UNINSTALL Vancouver 1.0 (the option can be found via your Start menu in Windows), and AFTER all that you can install Version 1.1.
We hope this clears things up a bit. But you can always visit our dedicated support forum, and ask for help there ! We'll be happy to get you going again!
Jon Patch and Team have finalized the Upgrade of VancouverPlus for FS2004 and we will upload it to the distributor (simMarket) this week. VancouverPlus Version 1.1 is available for FREE for existing customers. New customers will get VancouverPlus 1.1 automatically on purchase from simMarket.
Just a very small pick of the many improvements, fixes, additions and enhancements: new, additional AI float planes such as the DHC-3 Otter and the DHC-6 (Twin Otter), extensive AI float plane traffic modelled after real-world flights, and fixes of minor problems on AI aircraft.Fixed problems on some airports, improved quality of building models and textures, modified various airports. Added many buildings, improved textures on them, and created new textures for corrugated roofs. The SkyBridge was added and other bridges were enhanced. Boats and AI ships were enghanced and some problems fixed (such as AI boats shpwing up in the Aircrft list).
Also some issues with Ultimate Terrain were corrected and new installation options added to further improve compatibility.
And many many more... they are all listed in the 65-page manual accompanying the product (included in the download).
We'll post a brief message here as soon as the simMarket product page has been updated !
November 1st, 2006, Europe/US
Finally, some news !
So FSX has hit the streets and PC's of customers. And sparked the 'usual' spike in forum posts all around the world, but primarily from (not-so-happy) hard-core flightsimmers. No surprise really, and no different from most previous new releases. What IS different this time is that MS has already promised a follow-up, because the current hardware and software is not really 'up to it'. MS planned for FSX to be run on Windows Vista, and with use of the new DX10 graphics software and new graphics cards..... none of which are available to the public yet !!
Unfortunately this is somewhat of a mystery to many customers, either because they are not aware (all those beginning simmers out there !!), or because they don't understand. Whatever the case, it DOES mean that one has to upgrade his/her hardware and software some time next year (again), it means that currently nobody can run FSX anyhwere near its maximum potential, and it also means we'll certainly be supporting FS9 products for more months than we anticipated!
On to some news then:
FSAddon.com on the Dutch FS Weekend
Firts of all, we really look forward actually MEETING our (Dutch?) customers. FSAddon.com has rented a booth (table <grin>) at the Dutch FS Weekend this Saturday and Sunday (4 and 5 November) at the Lelystad Airport (Aviation Museum Aviodrome).
This is our VERY FIRST presentation 'as FSAddon' and we're really looking forward to it. Although we have only very limited means (an old, slow spare PC with a very mediocre ATI 9600 graphics card in it), we can at least TELL you about our products and plans ! ;-)
This is truly the world's largest FS event (don't bother with the other claims ;-) ) and you can find more info about it right here.
VancouverPlus Version 1.1 is almost ready for publication. This will be a free update for existing customers. Jon has added tons of stuff such as new buildings, addtitional AI planes, flight plans, bridges and more. He also changed, fixed and improved a myriad of small details (and some bigger ones). A complete list is part of the (adjusted) documentation.
FSCargo Version 1.1 is also almost ready. We have now added cargo items for mid-sized and larged aircraft. It means you can now load up your old DC-3, or your 747 Combi Freighter! Not only the freight objects have been added, but also the cargo area objects. For larger freigt operations we have new light poles. AND there now is an indicator showing you where to find the cargo area. We expect release soon after the Lelystad FS Weekend.
Emma Field for FSX -- for all of you familiar with this wildly successful and innovating scenery product originally released by LAGO in Italy, there is good news. Since LAGO all but retreated from the FS add-on market the only thing keeping Emma alive was the vibrant user community on the Emma Field Flying Club, hosted and managed since its inception by yours truly, on the simFlight Network.
FSAddon.com has contacted both the original authors AND the LAGO organization, and it looks like we're very close to taking over the 'brand name' and able to build a NEW Emma Field, for FSX, published by FSAddon.com. We will keep you informed on any progress on this exciting project !
September 30th, 2006, Europe/US
Finally, some news !
Yes, it has been quiet around here, but that doesn't mean nothing is happening. As with most developers and publishers the upcoming FSX has a big influence in the day-to-day runing of things. Not different here. And we have some exiting news... BUT... we are not yet abandoning FS9 as some of our colleagues prophetize ! Of course most NEW development will be for FSX now, but we have some good news for current FS9 customers too. Let's get to it:
First of all, Vancouver+ Version 1.1. Jon and crew are almost done with a major upgrade of Vancouver+, making it Version 1.1. It has just landed on the machines of our Beta Team and should be ready for publication in a few weeks. That's a FREE upgrade for existing customers !
Secondly, FSCargo Upgrade: this one has been long planned and been delayed quite a few times. But we now have a new Beta Version ready that will go to the B-Team this weekend ! The MAJOR improvements are two-fold: an indication of WHERE the cargo area is..... and LARGER cargoes so our airliner pilots can start having some fun too !
FSX News:
There is that too. As you all will have noticed it has gone VERY quiet around Vauchez and his plans to build us Vancouver Interational, CYVR, as we and he intended a year ago. His Portland was delayed until today, and hence so was Vancouver. Even to such an extent that we have now decided together that he will NOT continue to plan on it.
That's the bad news.
The GOOD news is that instead Bill Womack and Jon Patch will work to build a detailed CYVR for FSX, fitting for Vancouver+ !!
More good news comes from Maurizio Gavioli, the 'Wizzard of Oz'. He has managed to 'crack the code' of FSX, needed to build a NEW FSCargo that will have similar ... and MORE... functionaility as our wildly succesful FS9 version of it.
We can't give you ANY timeframe yet, because we will want to add some new and very interesting functions to it..... some of which we are already testing now !
So you see... there IS news, and some of it will be ready to download fairly soon even !
Now.. back to work... thanks for reading !
August 24th, 2006, Europe/US
More Awards for FSAddon's Products !
FSAddon's top products Misty Fjords and Tongass Fjords raked in more awards !! We would like to take the opportunity to thank our customers and the various magazines, FS sites and reviewers for publicly showing their appreciation. Half of the fun of creating something is to see others are happy with ones creations!
Misty Fjords received a place amongst the 'Best of Flight Simulator 2004' products list of the French Micro Simulateur magazine. They published a 'special'
to honor all special FS2004 add-ons that have been piublished for the sim over the past three years! We are proud to be in the company of such brilliant programs as FSNavigator, MAAM's B-25, FSUIPC, Bill and Lynn Lyons' creations, FlightZone's Rhode Island..... and Emma Field !!!
Tongass Fjords too received some awards already, most notably TWO from Flugsimulation.com of Germany. They awarded us an Award for Excellence and an Award for Innovation. We got two more awards from two different Polish reviewers, with which we ar equally happy !
Even though FSX is around the corner we are very happy with the interest for our Tongass Fjords, which indeed makes the area look better than ANY other add-on.. and we're pretty confident that this will not change anytime soon ;-)
August 11th, 2006, Europe/US
Performance Update for Tongass Fjords
Bill Womack and Holger Sandmann have been hard at work to make some changes to increase performance of Tongass Fjords. A small number of customers experienced problems in certain areas of the scenery, and so Bill and Holger set out to try and tweak Tongass Fjords some more. After all, no matter how well a product gets tested, each and every PC setup is different and there will always be cases where a product causes problems non-observed by others.
The result is an Update that can be downloaded from our FSAddon Download Page and installed onto the original Tongass Fjords. Instructions are provided of course. Click here to go to the Tongass Download Page.
July 29th, 2006, Europe/US
Add-on for Tongass Fjords -->> FSCargo Areas !!!
Jaap van Hees and Emmett McRobie have made another wonderful FREE addition for FSAddon's FSCargo. This time they are offering you over 50 Cargo Areas for the Tongass Fjords area, including an excellent and extensive manual !
Download it from our donwload pages (check here !).
AND we have a new video, showing some of the many features of Tongass Fjords. This one is contributed by Jeff Greth and can be found on the download page too.
Tongass Fjords has already sold hundreds of copies in the first few days after being released and is well on its way to become another 'classic' FS scenery ! Please see our product page and the simMarket shop for more information !
July 26th, 2006, Europe/US
Tongass Fjords is LIVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our BEST title to date without any doubt.....Tongass Fjords covers 70.000 square kilometers of breathtaking Alaskan landscapes between Misty Fjords and Juneau. An area far larger than Switzerland, for
instance. Also included Sitka Airport and town, Petersburg, Wrangel and many more. Airfields, seaplane bases, AI shipping and air traffic.
Also in BUNDLE with Misty Fjords.... with a 25% discount on the latter !!!
"....It has ALL of the REAL landscape's features; exact coastlines, lakes, rivers, mountains..... based on topographical maps of the area. Special textures to show you glaciers, forestry work, gravel beds in the rivers, forest and snow dependeing on altitude and season, townships etc.
All the roads (not that there are many), settlements, towns, with special Landclass files.
We ran into a snag with the installer program of Central Florida Airports.... turns out that Windows Vista (foreign language?) users may have a problem installing it. We are feverishly working on finding out what happens and in fixing it ! Meanwhile it works just fine in XP.
NOT 'just' an upgrade, because there will be major changes in this one. 
