Weekly News Recap: April 8

Introduction

Welcome to Threshold’s weekly news recap for today the 8th of April, 2018. We aim for this weekly piece to be a collection of all the news that has occurred in the last week that we didn’t get to! The Threshold Weekly News Recap is released every Sunday.

In case you missed it

FlyTampa have dropped a bomb and released Corfu for X-Plane - this being their first scenery on the platform. Airworthy Designs release TNCM as part of their Princess of the Caribbean series. SimCoders release a REP for the Carenado C210 and FlyJSim show off some awesome previews of the upcoming 727 Professional v3.

FlyTampa release Corfu for X-Plane.

Skyline Simulations KCVG previews

Ex-Icarus team Skyline Simulations have released yet more WIP screenshots of KCVG Cincinnati. Announced back in November, Skyline have been slowly working away at this project, with Terminals 1, 2 and 3 completed, leaving only Concourse A and B left to do.

In this wave of previews, we see more of Concourse A at CVG. In a post on Facebook they said;

In-Development preview of Concourse A at KCVG! Modelling is complete and textures are ~90% finished!

"Some people yesterday had wanted to see pictures of Concourse A with jetways. Wait no longer!" Source: Skyline Facebook page.

Airworthy Designs TNCM gets 2K textures

Released last week, Airworthy Design’s Princess of the Caribbean TNCM has received a post-release update. After many complaints of low frame-rate due to poor optimization, AW responded by releasing a 2K texture set, replacing the default 4K set. Here is the changelog;

Patch 1.2

- FPS optimization at night

- 2k texture set option provided

To install version 1.2, overwrite on top of the existing installation folder.

VSkyLabs: Solar Impulse 2

VSkyLabs’ main project at the moment is the Solar Impulse 2, a solar-powered aircraft made in Switzerland. VSL have posted many preview screenshots of the “Si2” on their Facebook page, the most recent of which shows the cockpit of the 1 person propellor craft. Below are the first previews of the cockpit of the Solar Impulse 2.

vFlyteAir Cirrus SR-20 update

The Cirrus SR-20 from vFlyteAir has been updated to version 2.6. Released on April 2nd, the update adds a few nifty new features, including full VR compatibility. Here are the new features in v2.6:

  • VR Ready - all cockpit manipulators have been optimized for virtual reality in accordance with the Laminar Research Guidance for Authors, and tested with X-Plane 11.20vr6
  • Now includes the ShadeTree Micro Aviation AutoUpdate(c) plugin - your copy will be automatically updated (when needed) every time you load the Cirrus
  • New "Startup Cold, Dark and Healthy" option available from the Options pop-up menu. If you select this option, the switches, settings, etc. will be reset to a "cold and dark" state, and any failures will be reset
  • New menu control system - you can now reposition and resize your menus, and their positions and sizes are saved when you exit. Position the small control icon anywhere on the screen.
  • Persistent "save states" - (91) different preferences, options, switch settings, and weights are saved when you unload the Cirrus, and are restored when you fly the next time
  • Autopilot now disengages when Minimums are reached - according the Cirrus POH, the autopilot will not engage or will disengage either below 200' AGL or when your Decision Height Minimum is reached
  • Autopilot LVL function now turns on the autopilot servos and sets roll and pitch to zero (in accordance with the SR20 POH)
  • New NORMAL textures for interior objects - to take advantage of X-Plane PBR rendering system
  • The altitude number on the altimeter is now shown in steps of 10' (e.g. 1100, 1110, 1120, etc.) instead of one-foot increments (1101, 1102, etc.)
  • New LEDs appear near the HSI on the PFD to show Course and Heading changes when CRS or HDG knobs are being adjusted
  • Landing lights are now much brighter

SSG 747-8i v1.9 update

The SSG/VMAX 747-8 has received a small update this week, fixing a few small bugs and fine-tuning the auto-land system. Here is a full changelog;

  • Fine-tuned autoland to handle tailwind conditions
  • Fixed a bug that resulted in FMS not respecting altitude restrictions during descent
  • Floating window position and size is now saved when they are closed
  • Added additional default liveries to Intercontinental version.

Alabeo M20R v1.2

The second M20R Ovation to receive an update this week, with Alabeo posting the following changes to their Facebook page;

v1.2 list of changes:

  • Fixed interior lighting bug
  • made audio panel buttons functional in 3D.
  • made GNS530 start on when starting plane from cold and dark
  • Tweaked sounds
  • Enabled yokes to hide with X-Plane command (shortcut)
  • Improved electrical system.

IMPORTANT:

Customers should download the package again from the link provided. Downloads and installations were increased.

You should uninstall the aircraft before installing this new version.

HeadShake v1.9 released

SimCoders have released v1.9 for their freeware plugin, HeadShake. HeadShake is an X-Plane 11 and 10 free and open source camera plugin which adds POV effects while flying in virtual cockpit view. There has been no changelog given, which means it is a very minor update - the only word we’ve had is from the SimCoders Facebook page, where they said this;

HeadShake for X-Plane has been updated to v1.9. This update enhances the compatibility with some glance views in XP11.

AOA Simulations V-22 v1.1

AOA Simulations have updated their new V-22 Osprey. This post-release update adds PBR textures to the Osprey, amongst other fixes. V1.1 also allows for the V-22 to carry a Humvee as payload! Here is the changelog for v1.1:

  • New PBR textures
  • 2 additional liveries
  • Fixed low RPM issue on VTOL landing
  • HUMVEE payload added
  • Simplified auto-tilt logic
  • No cabin load at sim start

That's all for this week! Thanks a lot for reading, and happy flying!

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