Page 1
Article Type: Review
Article Date: September 27, 2001
Hardcore civilian flight simulation is not for everybody. Sure, Microsoft’s venerable Flight Simulator (MSFS) series is the best selling flight sim product ever, but most buyers of the MSFS series seldom do more than simple rides “around the patch” or the occasional VFR cross-country.
Another very popular use of MSFS includes flights in which the virtual pilot attempts to do things to their simulated aircraft which, in real life, would get one suspended at best, killed at worst. You know, fun stuff, like barrel-rolling a Concorde just when the glitterati on board are being served their second glass of seventeen-year-old scotch, or conversely, landing the world’s only supersonic airliner after partaking in a bit of scotch oneself. [In deference to the victims and families affected by the events of September 11, 2001, we would like to point out that this article was written prior to those events. We could've edited out these remarks but we decided to draw a line in the sand and not let the terrorists' acts color every single thing we do. Flight sims are supposed to be fun and people do this stuff with them. No disrespect intended. —ed.]
The hardcore civilian flight sim fan, however, usually disdains such silliness. Modern aviation, especially in the commercial world, is serious business. In a mindset almost diametrically opposed to combat flight sims, success in the hardcore civsim world is measured in terms of how well you follow the rules, not in how creatively you can skirt them. Obtaining a clearance, then being at the given intersection and proper altitude while dialed into the right frequency is what it’s all about. Unfortunately, Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2000 (MSFS2K) (even the “Professional” version), as it comes out of the box, is woefully inadequate for this type of challenge.
Enter Europe’s Wilco Publishing, filling MSFS2K's hardcore void with Airport 2000 Volume 3 (AP2Kv3). Since the release early this year of the excellent 767: Pilot in Command, Wilco has figured out how to put value into a retail-sale add-on. While the previous versions of the AP2K series were basically just airport scenery packs with a smattering of substandard new aircraft and flawed “Adventures” tacked on, Wilco continues the post-767 trend of improvement with AP2Kv3. When it comes to injecting some operational reality into the world of commercial flight operations, Wilco has delivered. So, let’s check the creases of our pressed white shirts, straighten out those epaulets, and adjust our ties for a check flight of AP2Kv3.
Hold on a second, I dribbled some ketchup on my lapel. Be right back.
The primary selling point of the AP2K series has been the detailed modeling of various international airports. Once again, with Volume 3, pretty places to lose one’s luggage abound. In this volume, the Wilco models the European airports of Berlin Tegel (EDDT), Copenhagen Kastrup (with the rather nasty ICAO identifier of EKCH), London Gatwick (EGKK), and Paris Orly (LFPO).
The U.S. airports of Denver International (KDEN), Seattle Tacoma (aka SeaTac, KSEA), and that wonder of modern dysfunction, San Francisco International (KSFO) are modeled in all their anal-retentive grandeur. The amount of detail really is amazing, what with aircraft taxiing busily about and various forms of ground support vehicles scurrying to unknown destinations.
As in the previous versions of AP2K, however, they are literally just a part of the atmosphere. Smacking into any of the buildings or dynamic scenery—including aircraft or trucks—yields no ill effect on any of the involved parties. I have ranted about this in a previous review of the AP2K series, and as a result have gotten over my disappointment over the lack of collision modeling. Well, mostly. Just pretend that you didn’t actually clip that Jet-A tanker truck, and you’ll learn to deal with it.
Obviously using utilizing of the glass-panel rendering of 767:PIC, the high-tech MFD displays in the front office of all of these airplanes are very crisp and clear, even at hyper-high resolutions. Don’t expect the deep system modeling of 767:PIC, however. The panels are greatly simplified, and this is to be expected, as the title doesn’t promise deep system modeling. What you do get, however, are beautifully modeled airplanes with a more-or-less functional suite of buttons and a pretty interior. Also included is nicely-modelled Flight Management Computer, also an obvious offshoot of 767:PIC.
Not bad, for a title that promises as its headliner a group of buildings as its Claim to Fame. The aircraft are nicely faceted, and the in the case of the jet airplane the movement of the fan and spinner looks downright cinematic. The rendering of the turboprop Dornier is also no slouch, and is a huge improvement over the “Hell, I could’ve downloaded this for free” slop of AP2Kv2.
As far as the handling of the new aircraft goes, um, it was good. The Dornier flies like a bigger King-Air, and the airliners fly like, well, airliners.
Crap. Now I’ve a drop of mustard on my tie. I’ll be right back.
With a modifier, a request or command is sent to whatever—Tower, Center, Approach—and responded to with audio and text. These adventures are appraised according to difficulty in the FS2K scale of Beginner, Intermediate or Expert. This scale of difficulty must have some basis in reality, but I’ll be jumped if I know what it is. They are all similarly taxing to me. The voices of ATC are very well done and authentic-sounding, and include a few smart-guy comments from Flight Service.
A great move by Wilco is the inclusion of step-by-step tutorials on each Adventure, though much of the required info is only supplied on Adobe Acrobat documents. Be prepared to either print out more pages than Gutenberg or to be forced to refer back to the Acrobat documents often throughout your flight. You’ll need the airport diagrams and approach plates in order to fly by the book, and in commercial IFR operations the book is everything.
There are a couple of small glitches. One of the Adventures is a flight in a Dornier from Gatwick to Orly, and there is a point where London Center will not respond to a request for clearance. Unlike the numerous such bugs in AP2Kv2, however, this does not get one stuck in an inescapable loop and end the flight before it has begun. Ignore it, and continue on.
Another very cool feature of the Adventures is the inclusion of a co-pilot. Your First Officer actually performs useful functions, such as tuning the radio for you and calling out critical airspeeds. He can also take over the more uneventful parts of the flight, provided that you have the autopilot properly programmed. Another huge improvement over the previous versions of AP2K is the fact that your co-pilot no longer looks like a flesh-eating zombie reject from a Clive Barker film. How about a First Officer that looks like Heather Locklear for AP2Kv4, Wilco?
Now, does anybody know how to get burger grease stains out of an Arrow shirt?
Reviewer's System:
Printer Friendly
Airport 2000 Volume 3
by Bob "Groucho" MarksArticle Type: Review
Article Date: September 27, 2001
Hardcore civilian flight simulation is not for everybody. Sure, Microsoft’s venerable Flight Simulator (MSFS) series is the best selling flight sim product ever, but most buyers of the MSFS series seldom do more than simple rides “around the patch” or the occasional VFR cross-country.
 |
| Wilco Publishing's Airport 2000 |
Another very popular use of MSFS includes flights in which the virtual pilot attempts to do things to their simulated aircraft which, in real life, would get one suspended at best, killed at worst. You know, fun stuff, like barrel-rolling a Concorde just when the glitterati on board are being served their second glass of seventeen-year-old scotch, or conversely, landing the world’s only supersonic airliner after partaking in a bit of scotch oneself. [In deference to the victims and families affected by the events of September 11, 2001, we would like to point out that this article was written prior to those events. We could've edited out these remarks but we decided to draw a line in the sand and not let the terrorists' acts color every single thing we do. Flight sims are supposed to be fun and people do this stuff with them. No disrespect intended. —ed.]
The hardcore civilian flight sim fan, however, usually disdains such silliness. Modern aviation, especially in the commercial world, is serious business. In a mindset almost diametrically opposed to combat flight sims, success in the hardcore civsim world is measured in terms of how well you follow the rules, not in how creatively you can skirt them. Obtaining a clearance, then being at the given intersection and proper altitude while dialed into the right frequency is what it’s all about. Unfortunately, Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2000 (MSFS2K) (even the “Professional” version), as it comes out of the box, is woefully inadequate for this type of challenge.
 |
| A UAL Airbus climbs out over KDEN |
Enter Europe’s Wilco Publishing, filling MSFS2K's hardcore void with Airport 2000 Volume 3 (AP2Kv3). Since the release early this year of the excellent 767: Pilot in Command, Wilco has figured out how to put value into a retail-sale add-on. While the previous versions of the AP2K series were basically just airport scenery packs with a smattering of substandard new aircraft and flawed “Adventures” tacked on, Wilco continues the post-767 trend of improvement with AP2Kv3. When it comes to injecting some operational reality into the world of commercial flight operations, Wilco has delivered. So, let’s check the creases of our pressed white shirts, straighten out those epaulets, and adjust our ties for a check flight of AP2Kv3.
Hold on a second, I dribbled some ketchup on my lapel. Be right back.
 |
| Geez, where's a Skycap when you need one? |
Installation
Installation was a bit problematic, with some of the scenery files hosing the basic (and virgin) FS2K install, even following the AP2Kv3 install of the last Microsoft patch to FS2K. To be honest, I was doing battle with a slew of other stability problems while trying to install AP2Kv3. The install finally took, however. Is this typical? Doubt it, but your mileage may vary.Documentation
Wilco’s biggest sin. Aside from a slim pamphlet outlining the history of each airport, the included documentation on paper is useless. Useful stuff, such as checklists, plates, and tutorials, are only available as Adobe Acrobat documents. Luckily, the systems are kept simple.Airports Alive
 |
| The gates of Copenhagen Katsrup Airport |
The primary selling point of the AP2K series has been the detailed modeling of various international airports. Once again, with Volume 3, pretty places to lose one’s luggage abound. In this volume, the Wilco models the European airports of Berlin Tegel (EDDT), Copenhagen Kastrup (with the rather nasty ICAO identifier of EKCH), London Gatwick (EGKK), and Paris Orly (LFPO).
The U.S. airports of Denver International (KDEN), Seattle Tacoma (aka SeaTac, KSEA), and that wonder of modern dysfunction, San Francisco International (KSFO) are modeled in all their anal-retentive grandeur. The amount of detail really is amazing, what with aircraft taxiing busily about and various forms of ground support vehicles scurrying to unknown destinations.
 |
| A colorful (garish?) BA 747-400 gets serviced at SFO |
As in the previous versions of AP2K, however, they are literally just a part of the atmosphere. Smacking into any of the buildings or dynamic scenery—including aircraft or trucks—yields no ill effect on any of the involved parties. I have ranted about this in a previous review of the AP2K series, and as a result have gotten over my disappointment over the lack of collision modeling. Well, mostly. Just pretend that you didn’t actually clip that Jet-A tanker truck, and you’ll learn to deal with it.
New Aircraft
Showing that they’ve learned a thing or two over the last year, Wilco has vastly improved the quality of aircraft included in AP2Kv3. Focusing on the smaller (regional) end of the airline feeding chain, AP2Kv3 features the Airbus A320, Boeing’s stretched 737-800, and Dornier’s 328 turboprop.  |
| A Dornier climbs out of Berlin |
Obviously using utilizing of the glass-panel rendering of 767:PIC, the high-tech MFD displays in the front office of all of these airplanes are very crisp and clear, even at hyper-high resolutions. Don’t expect the deep system modeling of 767:PIC, however. The panels are greatly simplified, and this is to be expected, as the title doesn’t promise deep system modeling. What you do get, however, are beautifully modeled airplanes with a more-or-less functional suite of buttons and a pretty interior. Also included is nicely-modelled Flight Management Computer, also an obvious offshoot of 767:PIC.
 |
| Airbus A320 panel |
Not bad, for a title that promises as its headliner a group of buildings as its Claim to Fame. The aircraft are nicely faceted, and the in the case of the jet airplane the movement of the fan and spinner looks downright cinematic. The rendering of the turboprop Dornier is also no slouch, and is a huge improvement over the “Hell, I could’ve downloaded this for free” slop of AP2Kv2.
As far as the handling of the new aircraft goes, um, it was good. The Dornier flies like a bigger King-Air, and the airliners fly like, well, airliners.
Crap. Now I’ve a drop of mustard on my tie. I’ll be right back.
Adventure Now!
This is where the civsim hardcore sing a chorus of hallelujah. Wilco’s AP2Kv3 includes a group of seven new FS2K “Adventures” involving the detailed airports of the add-on. These adventures require the virtual pilot to “talk” —albeit through keystrokes—to all the entities of controlled flight.With a
 |
| Flight Plan |
A great move by Wilco is the inclusion of step-by-step tutorials on each Adventure, though much of the required info is only supplied on Adobe Acrobat documents. Be prepared to either print out more pages than Gutenberg or to be forced to refer back to the Acrobat documents often throughout your flight. You’ll need the airport diagrams and approach plates in order to fly by the book, and in commercial IFR operations the book is everything.
There are a couple of small glitches. One of the Adventures is a flight in a Dornier from Gatwick to Orly, and there is a point where London Center will not respond to a request for clearance. Unlike the numerous such bugs in AP2Kv2, however, this does not get one stuck in an inescapable loop and end the flight before it has begun. Ignore it, and continue on.
Another very cool feature of the Adventures is the inclusion of a co-pilot. Your First Officer actually performs useful functions, such as tuning the radio for you and calling out critical airspeeds. He can also take over the more uneventful parts of the flight, provided that you have the autopilot properly programmed. Another huge improvement over the previous versions of AP2K is the fact that your co-pilot no longer looks like a flesh-eating zombie reject from a Clive Barker film. How about a First Officer that looks like Heather Locklear for AP2Kv4, Wilco?
 |
| A Delta 737 Strectch at SFO |
Filling the Niche
Is AP2Kv3 for everybody? No. Most private pilots avoid the huge airports that are so lovingly modeled here as if they were FAA ramp inspectors. The glass-panels of the airliners in AP2Kv3 are nicely done, to be sure, but aircraft of similar quality can be downloaded for free; and the casual civsim player will have no use for the well-scripted and highly authentic IFR Adventures. If flying heavy iron around in the complex world of the modern airspace is your particular kink, however, AP2Kv3 is an awesome addition to your FS2K installation.Now, does anybody know how to get burger grease stains out of an Arrow shirt?
Reviewer's System:
- CPU: Pentium 4 1.7GHz
- OS: WinMe
- RAM: 384MB PC-800 RDRAM
- Video: ASUS GeForce3 64MB Video card
- Controllers: CH Products Flight Sim Yoke USB / Pro Pedals USB HOTAS
Printer Friendly