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Proo Pilot 2000 Interview
by Ed "Lozhechnik" Reddy |
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ProPilot 2000 is nearing beta, and looks to improve over ProPilot '99 in virtually every way. We fielded an interview to the PP2000 team and will do a hands-on report as soon as it becomes possible. Q. What improvements will we see over ProPilot2000 from the 99 version? A: Beginner Assistance: From Pro Pilot's inception two years ago, we have always focused on the core consumer, who are very savvy when it comes to aviation. As the interest for general aviation has grown, we have created a product that has "Auto" functionality or "Manual" functionality. Auto is for a user that may not have any aviation experience. In this mode, we have a one-keystroke selection to start the aircraft engine, with an audio co-pilot to handle all radio communications, while providing audio assistance on flight maneuvers. Manual functionality is for the more experienced aviators who wish to procedurally perform all of the piloting tasks.
 Decathlon Aircraft: For those core consumers who have requested an aerobatic airplane, your prayers have been answered. Pro Pilot 2000 has incorporated the American Champion Decathlon 8KCAB to its list of fully functional aircraft. Navigation and ATC · New in-dash GPS: The Pro Pilot series was the first flight simulation to include a Global Positioning System right out of the box. Now, this GPS system is mounted within the cockpit panel of each aircraft and is coupled with a moving map display. Air Traffic Control: Listening to our core audience, we have placed major emphasis on creating an ATC system that is completely realistic. See next question Weather Systems: The Pro Pilot series was the first simulation to capture the true essence of cloud formations and translucency. To bring more real world weather to a desktop, Pro Pilot 2000 will provide automatic, dynamic, and adverse weather conditions for real-world beauty and real-world challenges. - Weather includes: Precipitation, hail, snow, lightning, thunder, and turbulence Geography and Flight Planning Geography: Over 38 million elevation points from the U.S. geological survey data- used to insure precise elevations of mountain ranges and terrain. This creates a 3-dimensional world of quality and true-to-life viewing of your favorite snow-capped mountains, hills, canyons, and valleys. With 37 major metropolitan areas Pro Pilot offers more metro areas than any other flight simulation without the purchasing of add-on packs. Each city is reproduced in photographic detail, while surrounding areas cover an additional 20 square miles. That's over 14,800 square miles of photo realistic terrain. Additions to the Flight Planning Wizard: This simple select and click wizard allows an individual to select a departure airport, arrival airport, aircraft, and the waypoints in between destinations, and much more. Or, let the Flight Planning Wizard's Automatic Route Generator select the waypoints in between your departure and arrival automatically. If you do not like the waypoint selections, you can always change those to your satisfaction. Once your aircraft, departure, destination, and waypoints have been selected, the Flight Planning Wizard will provide weather information, fuel consumption, travel time, wind velocity, wind strength, and waypoint frequencies. Users can customize weather, select dynamic weather or adverse weather conditions. SIDs, STARs, Approaches and alternate airports can also be selected. |
 Q. One of the features of PP99 were the ATC communications, has this been changed in PP2000? A: The ATC system of ProPilot 2000 will be the best in the industry. Complex airspace and vectoring models were implemented to ensure flawless vectoring creating an authentic ATC experience. A complete frequency database and approach vectoring provides the user with familiar and realistic ATC at their home airport and abroad. ATC includes: Multicom, Unicom, FSS, ASOS, AWOS, ATIS, approach, center, departure frequencies, pilot chatter, and additional support for VFR & IFR terminal procedures.
 Decathlon Panel
Q. A big limitation of PP99 was graphics, 3dfx only at 640x480. What graphic cards are supported in the new version and what are the graphic resolutions? A: Pro Pilot will have new graphics support in addition to the existing 3dfx support. Screen resolution has been increased to 800x600. Q. The flight planning Wizard was a great feature of PP99. Can we expect to see any new tools? A: The flight-planning wizard has been updated to reflect advances in the ATC system, co-pilot assistance and the weather system. You will be able to customize the flight by using the menu options and dialog screens. New Aircraft Q. There were 6 flyable aircraft in PP99. What new aircraft can we expect to see in PP2K? A: We have looked at the advances in the Pro Pilot system and have included two aircraft that are new to the ProPilot series. We have replaced the older 172P with Cessna's newest model 172, the 172SP (Special Performance). We have also included a fantastic tail wheel/ basic aerobatics trainer: the American Champion Aircraft Super Decathlon. The other aircraft in ProPilot are: Cessna 172R, Beech Bonanza V35, Beech Baron B58, Beech KingAir B200 and the Cessna CitationJet Model 525. Q. One feature I loved about PP99 was the clickable cockpit. Are there improvements to the cockpits of the existing aircraft with respect to added functions and clickable controls? A: Since all of the panels were reconfigured for the new, high-resolution support, we were able to implement several aircraft specific features not seen before. Complex autopilot panels, flashing annunciators, in-dash GPS and complete EFIS systems are among the additions to the aircraft panels. All usable controls and features on the panels continue to sport the clicking features from previous Pro Pilot releases. Go to Page Two
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