Pilot Products

The review copies of Microsoft Flight Simulator X came in motion sickness bags. Whether or not you appreciate the humor, it certainly serves as a tipoff to what Microsoft's marketing team feels are the salient upgrades to a longstanding leader in flight simulation programs. The level of detail within the terrain and scenery database, including digital elevation data modeling (which means the hills will be where they are in real life, unless someone's moved a mountain), the interactive tools and online functions, and new aircraft (including airplanes with a Garmin G1000 glass cockpit) combine to make what Microsoft developers hope is a simulation so real that it could make your head spin.

After putting together a PC setup robust enough to run Flight Sim X well, we loaded the program on a PC connected to a Hot Seat Flight Sim chassis (see "Pilot Products," November 2006 AOPA Flight Training), with yoke, pedals, and throttle console. Upon initialization, that huge terrain database takes a while to load, but subsequent changes took less time. In the background, you see ships moving in the harbor, and cars on the roads--if you have time to look out the window. The automatic scenery-generating feature ("autogen") makes sure vegetation matches the region and type of terrain over which you're flying. Yep, the detail is nothing short of amazing, but the frame rate can lag on all but the most optimized machines. Pay attention to the system requirements for performance. But how does it fly?

Fidelity seems at least as good as Flight Sim 2004, which means that as far as instrument panel realism and basic flight characteristics are concerned, it works and looks like the aircraft it represents. As far as a procedures trainer, instrument proficiency tool, and means of fun escape on a bad weather day, Flight Sim X does the job well.

There are dozens of missions to choose from; you can even collect rewards or trophies for your efforts. The program models the Red Bull Racing pylon course, as well as more realistic challenges such as airline trips and backcountry flights. An enhanced air traffic control function in the Deluxe version allows you to play tower controller; both versions allow users in multiplayer mode (in which you fly with other users via the Internet) to serve as ATC for other players.

Price: $49.95 (standard edition) and $69.95 (deluxe edition, which includes additional aircraft and Garmin G-1000 glass cockpits in three aircraft). For more information: www.microsoft.com/games/pc/flightsimulatorx.aspx

ASA Symphony Training Kit

If you're learning to fly in a Symphony two-place aircraft, be advised that there's a student pilot kit developed just for you. The Symphony Student Pilot Kit, available from Aviation Supplies and Academics, is based on ASA's Private Pilot Virtual Test Prep DVD course and The Complete Private Pilot Syllabus. It includes Bob Gardner's The Complete Private Pilot as the primary textbook, as well as ASA's Federal Aviation Regulations/Aeronautical Information Manual and Private Pilot Test Prep books. Finally, the kit comes with the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards, Private Oral Exam Guide, and Visualized Flight Maneuvers for High-Wing Aircraft, as well as a fiberboard E6-B flight computer, an Ultimate Rotating Plotter, and a standard pilot logbook. All materials are packaged in an ASA tote. --Jill W. Tallman

Price: $249. For more information: 800/426-8338; www.asa2fly.com

Flying the G1000 IFR Like the Pros DVD

In the latest training program from Advanced Flight Deck Training, Columbia Aircraft and Cirrus Design factory-authorized instructor and Master Flight Instructor J. Robert Moss discusses how to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR) using aircraft equipped with the Garmin G1000. The program follows the same format as Flying IFR Like a Pro (see "Pilot Products," September 2006 AOPA Flight Training), an animated presentation with audio recorded on a two-CD set. The presentation uses a variety of graphics and avionics simulations and is based on Webex online seminars the author has given.

You need to have basic instrument fluency in a G1000-equipped airplane in order to get the most out of the program, which makes an excellent addition to a flight instructor's library and continuing education on advanced avionics.

Each volume runs two hours (four hours total); when tested, this program loaded much faster than Flying IFR Like a Pro. You can pause, reverse, and fast-forward the presentation as you wish.

Price: $160 for the two-CD set. For more information: 310/966-7655; www.flyinglikethepros.com

Sporty's Air Facts: IFR in the Eastern Mountains DVD

Sporty's adds a significant volume to its Air Facts series of DVDs with IFR in the Eastern Mountains, hosted by Richard Collins. Collins has spent much time flying in this part of the country, primarily the Appalachian Mountains. The weather concepts and flying techniques apply to all mountain flying, but specifically those mountains east of the Mississippi where moist air predominates and topography is truly more dramatic in real life than it appears on the chart. The DVD fills a gap in pilot training materials for mountain flying, as much of the focus has been traditionally on flying in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada.

The in-flight footage features several flights that Collins conducted in a Garmin G1000-equipped Cessna 182. He flies several approaches in clear weather to illustrate how flying exactly on published courses is of critical importance because of the terrain and obstructions. He also uses a portable GPS with terrain awareness depiction to show how this kind of device can become a valuable tool in helping you to avoid the terrain. Visual approaches and departures are also discussed and flown.

"Margins vanish in the mountains," says Collins. And that's probably the most important thing to remember when flying in the high country--east or west. The DVD makes an excellent addition to your training, no matter what part of the country you fly in.

Price: $25. For more information: 800/776-7897; www.sportys.com