Hi

New X-Plane 11 as now been released in a boxed Version £59.95 free shipping

The Aerosoft Edition also includes the following three Airports: Lugano, Toulouse and Weeze!

The 11th edition of XPlane offers a much more realistic and immersive experience. A new rendering engine makes the whole world appear in a new light – literally. Due to “Physically Based Rendering”, illumination and reflections behave in physically correct ways and change depending on viewing angle and the object’s surface. This technique works dynamically which means that graphical effects no longer have to be prerendered. It was also developed with very good performance in mind.

In the completely redesigned user interface, the control setup, aircraft, airports and weather options are now presented with a visual preview which makes editing them a breeze. The simulator can now be controlled much more intuitively thanks to this well thought-out menu structure.

Furthermore, XPlane 11 features a brand new sound engine that realizes 3D surround sound with high quality samples. This works on a global scale resulting in spatially correct audio placement of any aircraft and any object within the scenery while also taking the current location of the user into account. The sound engine is fully usable and extendable by third-party add-ons.

The content of XPlane 11 is also considerably expanded. Numerous new aircraft with 3D cockpits and extensive documentation are available to the virtual pilot; add to that more than 3000 airports with 3D buildings, static aircraft and dynamic environments.
The global scenery sees new cities specific to Europe and North America and an update to its overall layout based on recent Open Street Map material

Order Now

Hi

We hope that you still want to here from us

The  General Data Protection Regulation ('GDPR') comes into effect on the 25th of May 2018, If you would like to stay in touch, and to make sure we are compliant with the new Data Protection legislation that comes into force on 25th May

To help comply with GDPR consent requirements, we need to confirm that you would like to receive content from us.

We have updated our privacy policy, and to continue because of the new laws regarding the content that you receive from us, we need you re-confirm that you wish to continue
Hopefully you will continue, even though, as we have, you have received numerous emails regarding GDPR regislation

To help comply with GDPR consent requirements, we need to confirm that you would like to receive content from us.

You can also read our Privacy policy

We appreciate that your personal data is private and important to us, and will not be passed on to third party

We really appreciate your business and value you as a customer, and with your concent to continue senting you newletters about new products well as information about upcoming shows etc

You have the option to opt in or out unsubscribing at any time from our emails

In order to keep receiving emails from us, please confirm with a Yes or a No
 

Best Wishes

Carol

Summer/Autumn Newsletter 2018

Flight Simulation has been in a constant state of development over the last two decades and RC Simulations have always been at the cutting edge of this and 2018 is no exception. Apart from the numerous training consoles that we have built for the Air Cadets, our team have been hard at work developing cockpits, controls and software good enough to satisfy even the most demanding customers (and a lot of real-world flying instructors).
The new range of cockpits are called Solo-ACE and Dual-ACE. The "ACE" acronym stands for "Adaptable Cockpit Environment".  These are both registered trademarks of RC Simulations Ltd.

The salient features of both the new Dual-ACE and Solo-ACE cockpits are tough, double skinned glass fibre (GRP) construction. These should remain durable for years in flying club or youth organisations use and for personal use should last a lifetime.  
The Dual-ACE has been made easier for occupants to enter and exit by raising the cockpit by around 25 cm and fitting an access door to both sides. The doors are wide enough to swing the longest legs through and the seats (which are based on real aircraft seats), can be slid back to allow even better entry and exit. Any average size of person will fit comfortably in our Dual-ACE for long periods of time thanks to the comfortable padded seats.

There are two versions of Dual-ACE, one which is compatible with control consoles as supplied by Precision Flight Controls (PFC Cirrus II) for example or Elite controls
(Pro Panel II) and our General Aviation unit which features our own custom dual joystick and rudder controls. Dual-ACE cockpits can be supplied in a range of colours with custom decals fitted to suit any customer requirements.
A Butt Kicker is recommended as this adds a tremendous degree of realism by providing engine vibration and ground rumble through the whole cockpit for a relatively small investment. If the budget allows, we would absolutely recommend D-Box motion. With this you get up to +2G, -0.5G of heave generating realistic turbulence for instrument practice, pre-stall buffet and much more. 

Dual-ACE (dismantled) will fit though a standard door.

Solo-ACE is a single seat cockpit, originally based on the front end of a real glider. This has been altered and modified so that an individual of any height will fit in (and still be able to get out again). The construction is as the Dual-ACE. 

Versions can be supplied at lower cost to suit existing HOTAS game controller such as Thrustmaster A10 Warthog or Saitek X52 Pro etc. We would recommend our own stainless-steel pedals as there is no commercial off the shelf (COTS) pedals that will really fit properly in the tapering nose. The complete version of Solo-ACE is supplied with our own heavy-duty custom flight controls. We will talk about these next.
Solo-ACE and Dual-ACE controls are quite different to other controls in the marketplace simply because we have invested so much time and effort in designing and testing them and we have experience of flying real aircraft so getting them to feel right was very important. The innovative thinking behind our controls is based on the following. 

Flight Controls which are going to be used in flying training, need to be tough, and then some. The steel full length aircraft joystick must have no noticeable centring detente (unlike a lot of gaming joysticks) and whilst having a light but very accurate feel in its centre, should feel progressively heavier when pulled fully back as in the landing flare. This functionality is provided by 4 springs underneath and very high- quality maintenance free rose joints. The springs are arranged so that they do not "twang", a minor but important point. The joystick construction features stainless steel for extreme durability and the interface is 12bit USB.  
The dual controls are also designed for durability, bearing in mind the leverage available to an excited student due to the extra length of the joysticks. The same forward thinking applies to both the rudder pedals, throttle quadrant and elevator trim unit. 

All our controls have been designed so that they may be easily maintained by anyone with a moderate degree of mechanical aptitude. The vision that we have is that this should be as infrequently as possible.

Some of the thinking behind developing the Solo-ACE Basic consoles, is that more that anything they lend themselves towards Virtual Reality.
Virtual Reality is incredible. Nothing will convince you that you really are flying as much as VR. It has its drawbacks namely that the image is not clear enough to read things like altimeter pressure settings etc and small captions for switches. In our view, its best use is for GA flying and helicopters, however the next generation of VR headsets is on the near horizon (probably 2019) and in a short time (seems like a long time at present), these issues will become things of the past.

The Solo-ACE Basic series has been designed to be a "one stop" solution to some of the requirements of flying in VR. The GRP base is nonslip and moulded to take the custom seat and controls. The realistic aircraft style seat may be slid forward or backward, and the position of the pedals are adjustable, this console will accommodate the widest range of user sizes. The full-length joystick is at the perfect height and in the best position for comfort. In the case of the aircraft version has throttle, mixture and pitch levers as well as ergonomically placed switches plus an elevator trim wheel.  There is also an optional small seat side plate for placing a mouse and provision for securing the VR hand controllers in convenient locations where they may easily come to hand. The joystick is right or left hand neutral and the throttles etc can be specified to be fitted either side of the seat if preferred. In order to get maximum benefit, a helicopter collective lever can be supplied as an alternative and the joystick springs can easily be exchanged for dampers so that the joystick, which now becomes a cyclic, is un-sprung but stays in the position where it is placed There is a bracket on the chair for easy placement of a Butt kicker shaker unit. There is also an option to fit three actuator D-Box motion. We can provide you with custom options is you wish. 

The collective has a twist throttle, button on the end and two dampers. We really have tried to develop the smoothest helicopter controls possible. A further option is that the controls can be provided in an R44/R44 format, but this requires a slightly wider base than the 24” wide standard version. Further options include a stainless-steel monitor stand that is fixed to the base, with an option to extend this to support 3 monitors in an array
 The consoles quickly dismantle, which makes them ideal for transportation to public displays as they easily fit through a standard door frame. 

Software News
X-Plane News
By the time you read this newsletter, X-Plane 11 should be at version 11.30. This version is quite a major update in that the movement of air from a propeller (or rotor) has been remodelled and the skittishness during take off and landing should more accurately reflect aircraft handling. The clouds at night no longer are transparent, enabling you to see lights on the ground when you shouldn’t and smoke and other effects will be improved by better particle representation. Towards the end of the year we should hopefully see the implementation of Vulkan. Vulkan will replace Open GL to provide true multi-processor support. It is a major task requiring a major rewrite of some parts of X-Plane from scratch. It is hard to visualise how much of a benefit this will be at the moment but in my view anyone with a modern PC will see some improvements.

VoxATC 7.42 should be available even as you read this newsletter. For those not in the know, VoxATC 7.42 is a speech recognition-based Air Traffic Control interface for Microsoft FSX, FSX-SE and Lockheed Martin Prepar3D, Ver2, Ver3 and now P3D Ver 4 and includes 64-bit support. The voice recognition element with Windows 10 is really very good and allows for realistic and reliable dialogue when used with the above programs. The VoxATC 7.42 phraseology changes depending on what part of the world you are flying in and in the UK specifically follows the Civil Aviation Authority document, CAP413. Real pilots will benefit from practicing their RT and student pilots, even more so. This latest version of VoxATC 7.42 has been a very long time in development. The new features include the ability to map your position relative to the ground so that you should never be vectored into a hillside (CFIT) and because of this the program is able to support procedures like "Circle to Land". This new version also has support for networked PCs. VoxATC 7.42 actually controls all the AI traffic and as far as we know, is the only program of its type to do so. You will hear other visible traffic being given actual departure clearances, which they will read back and actually comply with.  This give a realistic "pace" when flying and you will need to listen before you transmit, just like in the real world. VoxATC 7.42, in the UK supports LARS, DACS, MATZ penetration and transits and radar vectoring to the ILS for example. VoxATC 7 also follows traffic schedules. You can fly IFR or VFR and you can test VoxATC 7.42 for 30 days before you buy which gives you plenty of time to make your mind up and see how excellent this add-on is. Consideration is being given to creating an X-Plane version. 

RealFlight Version 8 

When RC Simulations began almost 3 decades ago, we sold a model aircraft and helicopter trainer called RC AeroChopper. This had wire frame graphics (with hidden line removal) and ran on the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga computers. It worked extremely well and the numbers sold in were well in excess of what I imagined they would be. Eventually a version appeared for the PC and eventually the graphics became filled in (with hidden line removal). You really could learn to fly a model helicopter with this system (I did!).
The RC in RC Simulations stands for “Radio Control” and also Robert and Carol (us). 

We are now selling RealFlight8 which has totally realistic flying characteristics and just the software (we can supply an adaptor to match your own transmitter) can be supplied, or you can even fly it with an X-Box Controller. The best version, surely is with the full-sized custom controller box (shown) so you are not wearing out your real transmitter. RealFlight8 features a vast array of aircraft, helicopters and drones (including 1st person). In the case of model helicopter flying, RealFlight8 could save you a fortune. All that and it works with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive!
We will be attending Flight Simulation 2018 at the RAF Museum, Cosford. This is being held on Saturday 6th of October 2018. Be sure to put it in your diary. If you miss this event and are interested in what we might be able to do for you, make an appointment and visit us.
Bob and Carol Sidwick