Select Page

See Orbx Northern California

November 17, 2019 | 0 comments

Orbx Simulation Systems is proud to present to you … TrueEarth US Northern California in SD and HD quality!

Take off from across the sprawling region and explore to your heart’s content with over 212,000 square kilometers of orthoimagery and accurately placed autogen. The wide-range of landscapes, detailed mountains and stunning coastlines will redefine how you travel across the state in X-Plane 11.

Special care and attention has been given to color correction, editing and balancing the orthoimagery to ensure the highest fidelity and quality. Using the latest technology, millions of trees have been accurately placed throughout the entire region and grouped together to create an immersive environment if you enjoy flying close to the ground. The vegetation has been hand-coloured to ensure it blends in perfectly with the ground textures.

Northern California prides itself on its varied landscape, giving you plenty of choice for places to explore. Yosemite National Park, famous for its stunning valleys and flower-covered meadows, find life in X-Plane thanks to the TrueEarth technology. If the wilderness isn’t your thing, then take a trip up the Northern California coast and catch the west-coast sunshine as the light bounces off of your aircraft. The sights you will see will be truly breathtaking.

Some of the key features:

  • 212,000 km2 of hand-corrected/cleaned aerial imagery in 2m/px resolution
  • Millions of individual autogen trees/shrubs
  • Stunning San Francisco Cityscape crafted with full PBR effects
  • Nearly 1,000 custom PBR POIs placed around the state
  • All major cities accurately modeled
  • Millions of themed and efficient PBR autogen buildings
  • Ultra detailed elevation mesh sourced from 10m DEM
  • Many marinas have hand-placed 3D boats added
  • Blends in seamlessly with TrueEarth US Oregon and the upcoming TrueEarth US Southern California

TrueEarth US Northern California SD quality is for those of you who have less then 8GB vRAM while the HD quality is for those simmers who have more then 8GB vRAM. While the SD package comes with ZL16 (Zoom Level) sharpened textures, the HD comes with ZL17 textures. Further on, the SD package has textures with a 2.4m/pixel imagery and the HD is of a 1.2m/pixel imagery. Besides all of this, the disk space differs also a lot between SD (54GB ) versus HD (195GB).

Curious to this gorgeous package? Check it out at the dedicated TrueEarth US Northern California SD and HD Orbx store pages.

Utility Review | Laminar Research Control Pad app

November 13, 2019 | 0 comments

It’s time for another utility review. Time for a freeware iOs or iPad OS review. It’s time for Laminar Research Control Pad app.

According to your personal reporter Angelique “When you own an Apple iPhone or iPad, and using X-Plane 11 on your Mac, Windows or Linux, then this article could be very interesting to you. Oh yes, I’m aware that this free Apple Store app is already for a long time available, but I get the impression that it’s a bit “a forgotten Laminar Research app”. But first, let me introduce you to the Laminar Research X-Plane Control Pad.”

This was fun.
I know this Laminar Research app already for a while, but I’m not always using my iPad in combination with X-Plane on my Mac. Strange isn’t it and at the same time also a shame since many other developers make also great add-ons to project for example the FMS MCDU on the iPad and/or iPhone or maps, charts and so on. That said, this Laminar Research app is free of charge. It doesn’t cost anything and you can change settings, change the aircraft, change the airport and so much more on the fly. Worth trying it out I would say and that was also the idea of writing this review/impression; try it!

Curious what Angelique has to say about the Control Pad app? Check out her in-depth review of the LR Control Pad.

Aircraft Review | Carenado F50

November 11, 2019 | 2 comments

Once in a while new X-Plane 11 add-on products have a kind of wow factor. That’s for example with this Carenado Fokker F-50 aircraft. Originally made in the Netherlands, but for you reviewed by our dedicated reviewer Bruce Knight. The same as for me, Bruce flew as passenger, many times with this Fokker F50 while I worked during those days at Schiphol-East and have seen the Fokker models – F27, F28, F50, F70 and the F100.

Back to Bruce and his Fokker adventure. As you can expect, once Bruce is enthusiastic about a product, he can’t stop but the end result is a comprehensive and very detailed with lots of examples how to handle the aircraft. According to Bruce “textures- both internal and external- are very well done. All the flight deck and cabin functions as well as the gear animations are very good. The aircraft is a joy to fly, and is stable in flight so that those who would rather fly the aircraft without the auto-pilot will enjoy doing so. Carenado have incorporated a functional passenger cabin, including moving arm rests, tray tables as well as working lighting. I would recommend this aircraft as being ideal for short-haul regional operations. It’s a fun aircraft to fly!”

Curious what else Bruce has to say? Check out his in-depth Fokker F50 review at X-Plained.Com.

Airport Review | Bristol Definitive Airport

October 16, 2019 | 0 comments

We’re pleased to offer you an in-depth review of the Pilot Plus Bristol Definitive Airport, written for you by our dedicated reviewer Andy Clarke and your personal reporter Angelique van Campen.

According to Andy “There is considerable attention to detail throughout the scenery and whilst it should be remembered this is flight simulator scenery there is something to view at ground level when taxiing an aircraft or generally moving around the airport.” Angelique adds to this “I’ve very happy with what I see. I do like the modeled airport a lot, especially when you compare it with real photos. That the default Laminar Research EGGD is not what you expected from it or that it can’t compete with the Pilot Plus Bristol Definitive Airport, makes sense. That said, EGGD is worth every penny!”

All together worth the read. That said, we invite you to read this comprehensive Pilot Plus Bristol Definitive’ review.

Aircraft Review | Milviz Turbo Otter

October 1, 2019 | 0 comments

We’re pleased to offer you Andy’s in-depth review of the Milviz DHC-3T Turbo Otter for X-Plane 11. Andy Clarke, our dedicated reviewer, took the time to find out all the ins and outs of this Milviz X-Plane product.

According to Andy “The way this aircraft is modelled gives it real character. Exterior and interior views are created with great realism and are weathered and worn in a convincing way to show an aircraft with lots of hours os service. These systems are realistic and varied and the user interface allows the model to be configured in several ways. The systems also have their own character and do need to be learned to be used effectively but again this is part of the qualities of the model and users should persist as the rewards are worthwhile.”

But there’s much more. Check out via the following link Andy’s comprehensive Milviz Turbo Otter review.

Airport Review | KLAX Funner Flight

August 30, 2019 | 0 comments

We’re at X-Plained.Com are pleased to inform you, on behalf of Bruce Knight our dedicated reviewer, that Bruce took the time and effort and even virtually flew to KLAX to figure out all the ins and outs of the Funner Flight KLAX version 2.5 airport. You might think … this was already updated a while ago, but actually, it has been updated recently in August 2019.

Bruce thinks that “This airport scenery is well done, and reminds me of how much difference third-party airport scenery makes to the immersion of the flight sim experience. Even though the taxying aircraft do not follow traditional ground routes to and from the terminal gates and the runways, they certainly provide immersion.”

Bruce continues “The addition of buildings surrounding the airport (such as hotels), plus the auto traffic in those areas, is another piece of the immersion. The use of options to render the scenery as desired by personal choice is something I have rarely seen before, at least to this scale.”

But there’s much more to explore. Check out our dedicated in-depth review Funner Flight KLAX link written by Bruce.