Pilot Products

From the opening animation sequence, the look and feel of Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator 2: WWII Pacific Theater set it apart from other games by its retro-comic book style. You're either an American or Japanese pilot flying an aircraft deployed on a specific mission in the Pacific theater of operations during World War II. Here is where many people, adolescent or not, argue successfully that a simulator can be a learning tool and more than just a video game. Just take a look at the extensive pilot manual that comes with the program, which includes detailed aircraft information and combat operations; notes from interviews with Gen. Joe Foss (U.S. Marine Corps ace) and Saburo Sakai (Imperial Japanese Navy ace); additional pilot biographies; and a bibliography for further study. The attention to historical detail continues when you enter the game itself.

During a presentation honoring Foss and the late Sakai at the U.S. Navy Memorial last November, Foss commented on the devotion of the Microsoft team to historical accuracy: "It's very realistic - of course, I take [the sim] a little more seriously." This was critical to the program's creators. "Kids today will play with a simulator instead of building models like I did," said Michael Ahn, content lead on the project.

You can fly the sim in several different modes. Free Flight lets you gain proficiency flying over Rabaul. I used Microsoft's Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 joystick, and while pilots may note a little bit of delay on the stick, it was generally responsive enough to make the most of the simulator's high level of control realism.

When you're proficient, move on to Quick Combat, which lets you jump into the action. The Single Missions function provides a list of historic missions to choose from, including Wake Island and the Battle of Midway. Or you can go with Campaigns, in which you create a pilot who will participate in a series of missions. Just like the real heroes, this pilot has the opportunity to garner medals and greater rank within his squadron. A multiplayer function lets you play with friends over the Internet, as with other Microsoft Flight Simulator modules.

Basic system requirements are a multimedia PC with 266 MHz or faster processor; Windows 95, 98, 2000, or Mil- lennium Edition; 32 MB RAM (64 MB when running Windows 2000); a quad-speed CD-ROM or faster; a Super VGA 16-bit color monitor (capable of 800-by-600 resolution, though 1,024 by 768 is needed to work with the Mission Builder function that allows you to design your own missions); DirectX 7.0 API (included on CD); 350 MB of hard disk space; a joystick or yoke (though aircraft are flyable with mouse and keyboard); and Microsoft DirectSound 7.0 API-compatible sound card with speakers.

The price is $54.95 retail, and at press time the sim was available for purchase on Microsoft's Web site for $10 less ($44.95). For more information, visit the Web site (www.microsoft.com/games/combatfs2).

Quiet Fone Anr Adapter For Passive Headsets

If you have a headset that's become your comfortable old standby - or maybe you don't have the cash for a new ANR model - a recent offering from Namlak can give you the benefits of active noise reduction (ANR) for a reasonable price. The Quiet Fone is a retrofit active noise cancellation device that works with most passive general aviation headsets. A foam-covered transducer fits inside each ear cup and is wired to a battery/electronics pack. This setup means that you won't need to permanently alter your headset to get the ANR upgrade. Cloth covers help to hold the transducers inside the ear cups if you want to keep them placed in one headset between flights, though the transducers will stay in during flight without the covers (which are sold separately through other sources).

The Quiet Fone purports to reduce noise levels by 10 dB in the 70- to 200-Hz range. In flight, I noticed a reduction in the engine noise, though the Piper Archer in which we flew wasn't overly loud in the first place. You may find the transducers uncomfortable if you have a particularly clampy headset or small ears. A little experimentation can ease this. The unit retails for $99.50. For more information, contact Namlak, Post Office Box 804, Mamaroneck, New York 10543; telephone 914/698-1310; or via e-mail ([email protected] ).

Softcomm's ANR Centurion C-100

When launching an active noise reduction (ANR) headset these days, a company needs to debut something truly new in order to make an impact in this competitive market. SoftComm's ANR Centurion C-100 does that by requiring no external power. While ANR headsets are typically powered by a battery (either internal or in a pack) or a panel power unit, the C-100 uses the aircraft's microphone bias power to energize the noise-canceling feature. In case of electrical failure, the passive noise reduction is a reasonable 24 dB. The electronics provide an additional 18 dB of noise reduction. Of course, when faced with a loss of electrical power, a headset's noise reduction plummets on a pilot's list of concerns. The headset draws about the same amount of power as a typical passive headset.

The C-100 also features a 3.5-millimeter jack for cell phone input and a push-to-talk switch mounted on the exterior of the ear cup (to use if you don't have one installed on the airplane's yoke). The C-100 retails for $429 and weighs 15.3 ounces. For more information, contact SoftComm Products, 2310 South Airport Boulevard, Chandler, Arizona 85249; telephone 800/342-4756, or 480/917-2328 outside the United States; fax 480/917-3557; or visit the Web site (www.softcommheadsets.com).

Anthony T. Kern's Plane Of Excellence Trilogy

If you've experienced the flight training environment, you're probably familiar with a syllabus. While most syllabi do a great job of outlining the various maneuvers and corresponding completion standards which you must attain, other soft skills, such as decision making and cockpit discipline, are more difficult for instructors and students to quantify. McGraw-Hill recently released a trio of books, written by Maj. Anthony T. Kern, U.S. Air Force, that provides a framework for identifying and refining these skills.

Redefining Airmanship, originally published in 1997, forms the cornerstone for the set, helping pilots to integrate their knowledge of themselves, their aircraft, their environment, their crew, and the risk in any mission. If I had to choose one book out of the set, I would select Refining Airmanship because of its thorough overview of aeronautical decision making and the detailed, six-month plan it contains for pilots to upgrade their airmanship. Flight Discipline expands upon Airmanship by delving into one aspect of the flight environment, cockpit discipline, which civilian pilots are often newly introduced to when they begin flight training. Putting this concept into concrete terms, if everyone operated their cars with cockpit discipline - personal integrity; crisis management; prioritization; structuring changing situations; and procedural, regulatory, and communications discipline - driving to the airport would no longer be more dangerous than taking off.

Despite its melodramatic title, Darker Shades of Blue: The Rogue Pilot contains valid information about bad attitudes and maverick traits that are active in a few pilots but latent in far more pilots than most would care to admit. The third in the series, published in 1999, The Rogue Pilot is a tool for pilots, specifically instructors, to use to identify hazardous traits in others as well as themselves.

The series is a valuable addition to any instructor's or flight school's library, the benefit being that, since there is some overlap in the three books, they can each be lent out to students as needed. The set retails for $59.95; individually, the books sell for $29.95. Kern's books are available at major bookstores and online retailers or through McGraw-Hill's Web site (www.bookstore.mcgraw-hill.com).