Prepar3D v3.1 scenic flight over Istanbul in a Cirrus SR22

Prepar3d V2 Cross country winter flight

Here are some screenshots I took last week during a short cross country VFR flight at sunset with very nice winter weather in the Carenado A36.

Unfortunately I forgot to turn on HDR for better lightning, but still I really like the new rendering engine.

Microsoft Flight Gameplay video and release date announced

Microsoft posted a short gameplay video from the upcoming Microsoft Flight and also released new details about the game and the launch date.

You can find more details on  the official site. A more detailed description of the upcoming game can be found on IGN.

Microsoft Flight Beta program accepting applications

Microsoft announced the kickoff of the Beta program for the upcoming Microsoft Flight in January and they are currently accepting applications to participate in the program.

Motion flight simulator in your livingroom

A Spanish company is selling a very interesting product, a motion flight simulator small enough to fit a living room. The OVO 4 Home Flight Simulator cockpit is modelled to  resemble a light GA aircraft, but  looks very well built and fun to use.  Unfortunately the price tag doesn't really make it very accessible to the lower budget flight simmers around.
Nice gadget to have.

New screenshots from Microsoft Flight

Development team behind Microsoft Flight released a new batch of screenshots from the upcoming flight simulator. Also they have released a few details about the way missions will work in Microsoft flight. The post can be found in the news section of the official site and the screenshots in the Screens area.

New teaser video from Microsoft Flight!

A new Webisode was posted on Micrsoft Flight Official site. This time we can also see an interior scene from the virtual cockpit of an Microsoft Flight aircraft. We can note the dynamic shadows similar with the ones in the FSX DX10 cockpits. Also the lighting in the video looks to be similar to HDR.

250.000 $ for the first human powered helicopter flight

The Sikorsky Prize is a $250,000 reward established in 1980 by the American Helicopter Society to the first controlled flight of a human powered helicopter. It was named in honor of Igor Sikorsky.
The prize has not yet been won, although multiple attempts have been made, therfore people around the world can still have the chance to be mentioned in the history of aviation.
In summary, the requirements to win the Sikorsky prize include a flight duration of 60 seconds and reaching an altitude of 3 meters (9.8 ft) while remaining in a 10 meter (32.8 ft) square.

More details....

GE Flight Simulator - a flight simulator in your browser using Google Earth

I came around this website where you can play with a flight simulator based on Google Earth plugin, in your browser, and take off from everywhere in the world flying over the sattelite imagery. It can be even played multiplayer as you can see all the other players that connect trough the app. Very nice application to have fun from once in a while, and you can even use a joystick. Will be good to have a fast network connection to load the ground textures fast enough.

Updates and brand new screenshots from Microsoft Flight!

The development team behind upcoming Microsoft Flight title has released some brand new screenshots, as well as a news update communicating the fact that the game will contain an offline mode next to the online experience.

Read more details and enjoy the screenshots directly on the official site!

X-Plane 9 Mobile available for Android

In case you did not find out already, X-Plane 9 Mobile is now also available for Android OS.

The X-Plane 9 app includes the following aircraft:

• Cessna 172
• Columbia 400
• Piper Malibu
• Cirrus Vision
• Piaggio Avanti
• Beechcraft King Air
• Eclipse 500

and the following regions:

• Innsbruck, Austria
• Hawaii
• Boswell Bay, Alaska
• Southern California
• San Francisco, California
• Desert Sky, California

You can see more details about the app on it's official page.

High definition video of a flight over France

A nice and well done video of two aircrafts flying over spectacular places in France with very good image quality. Enjoy :)

More details about Micorosft Flight released by the development team

The development team working at the Microsoft Flight title posted beginning of this month some news, as an answer to the numerous questions they received from the public. It provides some details about what to expect from the game, with accent on the question on how it will be compared to FSX and what will be the overall experience they are working to achieve.

You can read the full release on the official page of the game by going to the news section. The article is dated December 8th.

Did you know snakes could fly?

Me neither.... But it looks like some species are capable of short gliding flights from tree to tree, as the video below proves it. Pay close attention at the way the snake moves and flattens it body to maintain a profile trough air.

More details about Microsoft Flight released

If you want to find out more details about the upcoming Flight game from Microsoft, check out the official page where some new info has been posted, which I would say gives important information’s about how this game will be.

Besides a new video episode, which is short and focus mostly one the story background, a new FAQ sections has been posted, which contains most of the important info.

It appears, from reading the section, that Microsoft did not gave up the simulation part of the game, but enhanced it with new game play options, challenges and social connectivity.

See more info on the official Microsoft Flight website.

Microsoft anounces Flight! Will it be also a simulator?

At Gamescom 2010 Microsoft anounced they are working on Flight, a new  game inspired by its old flight simulator series, which is in development since the beginning of the year.

As there are no details other that the official anouncement and a  short trailer video we are all wondering if this is going to be only a flight game or a true simulator. Microsoft has launched also a page dedicated to the new game, it can be found at the address: http://www.microsoft.com/games/flight/