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Aircraft and Environment
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004:
A Century of Flight - Part 3
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The Flying Machines
Flight Simulator 2004: A Century
of Flight has a slew of new aircraft to fly. The title says
it all. You get to fly all kinds of historical aircraft from
the dawn of powered flight right on up to the present day
and the Boeing 777. Most of the default aircraft from FS 2002
are still here. By now I am sure you know the list of new
additions so I won't get to detailed about it. What follows
is a list of improvements and changes to the default aircraft
and a few of my favorite new aircraft. Just a quick caveat
here, most of the problems and faults with flight models still
exist in this version of flight sim. I don't have enough time
yet to put my finger on specific improvements to flight models
and dynamics. I'm sure there are some, but my gut feeling
tells me not too much has changed in the way flight dynamics
are done in this sim. We will just have to wait for the release
version to pass judgment on this issue.
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Learjet
The
Learjet has had a serious makeover in all departments.
It now has a first class virtual cockpit, as do all
the flyable aircraft. The flight model for the Lear
is also vastly superior to what we had before, very
nice aircraft to fly now and also pleasing to look at. |
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Mooney
The Mooney has also seen a transformation into a smooth,
fast, and sleek aircraft. Again major attention to the
model, the virtual cockpit, and the flight model. It’s
a really fun machine now. |
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Robinson
R-22
What a fun little helicopter. She is easy to fly and
has a great virtual cockpit to boot! I will be doing
a good bit more helo flying with this one! |
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Piper
Cub
What can I say? A classic flying machine and it has
a wonderful 2D cockpit coupled with a great virtual
cockpit. She comes in classic cub yellow with the black
stripe and some wonderful old-time small aircraft sounds.
Take advantage of this one for those low and slow evening
flights in the fall. Microsoft did an excellent job
on this one. I think it may be my favorite of the new
additions. |
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DC-3
The DC-3 is very well modeled and she is as stable as
a rock. The repainters should have a field day with
this one. The Virtual cockpit is spectacular and the
sounds are great. |
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Ford
Tri-Motor
The old corrugated Tin Goose. She comes in several liveries
and is easy to fly. Not fast but stable and can carry
a load. It's always amazing to see how far we have come
when looking at the cockpits of these oldies. This one
is also really well done. |
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Wright
Flyer
This is a unique machine. Its a bit difficult to fly,
but this model gives you an appreciation of what Orville
and Wilbur really did back that cold December day 100
years ago. I guess its a bit of a novelty and I probably
won't fly it much, but never the less its an interesting
addition to Flight Simulator. |
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Ryan
NYP "Spirit of St. Louis"
The legendary aircraft in which Jimmy Stewart crossed
the Atlantic.....err excuse me, of course I mean Charles
Lindbergh! It was a great movie! This one too will
give you an appreciation of how difficult it must have
been to undertake what these men did. Just try sitting
in that cockpit for 30 hours or so and almost half of
that in the dark! A very nice job on the model with
this one and the sounds too. |
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