A Flight Sim Enthusiast's Notebook
-
Introduction to New Features in X-Plane 11
X-Plane 11 is now released. Please check out the latest report: Installing and Trying the X-Plane 11 Free Demo!
The official website has released some new information. For example, X-Plane 11 Focuses on Usability introduces that XP11’s user interface will be significantly improved, becoming more modern and user-friendly. It will not look as high-end and professional as in the past, which was very unfavorable for beginners to get started.
X-Plane 11’s New Aircraft introduces several new free aircraft models: Boeing 737-800 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Sikorsky S-76 Look at the following screenshots; they are quite stunning:
-
Saga Airport Releases New RNP AR Approach Procedures
More than two years ago, I introduced the complex approach procedures for Saga Airport. For the ILS RWY29 procedure, you need to pass over the airport at an altitude of 5000 feet, and then make a nearly 180-degree turn before you can land.
On the other hand, for a landing on RWY11, since there is no ILS,
you are required to fly a traffic pattern and circle around multiple times before touching down. -
Zhuhai Airshow 2016 Information
The 11th Zhuhai Airshow, also known as the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, will be held next week at Zhuhai Airport. Here is a collection of information from various sources.
Air Show Schedule List of Exhibiting Aircraft Traffic Guide Site Plan P+R (Park + Ride) Transfer Scheme Ticket Sales Outlets
It can be seen that although the list of aircraft is dominated by military jets, giving it the feel of an airshow combined with a defense exhibition, it is a rare opportunity to see commercial airliners such as the ARJ21-700, SSJ-100, and Bombardier CS300, which are seldom seen.
-
Visiting 2016 Tokyo International Aerospace Exhibition
The 2016 International Aerospace Exhibition was held at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center. Although this is an aerospace industry trade show, the final day is open to the general public, so it often attracts many aviation enthusiasts. I went to check it out on Saturday, October 15th. Here are a few photos to set the mood.
The iconic gate of the Tokyo Big Sight convention center
The big signboard of this airshow
-
New ILS Antenna at Haneda Airport
On October 1st, I went to see the Cathay Pacific 747-400 retirement flight, and inadvertently discovered that there were now 2 ILS GP glide slope antennas on Runway 34L. Zooming in, it looks like this.
The antenna on the left in the picture is slightly higher and slender; it is the one currently in use.
The one on the right is slightly shorter and stouter; it is newly built, but it is not yet known when it will be officially put into operation.
I checked the AIP, but couldn’t find any clues. -
X-Plane 11 to be released in November
X-Plane 11 has been released; please check out the latest report X-Plane 11 Free Demo Installation and First Look!
Seeing this webpage - X-Plane 11 Coming This Holiday Season, X-Plane 11 is indeed getting closer to us, and it will be officially launched next month.
There are several test images of the Cessna 172 on the official website. You can see that the texture of the aircraft surface is excellent, and the lighting is much more natural than the existing version. The realism in the 3D cockpit has greatly improved, making it very enviable.
-
C-47 Commemorating The Hump Flight Needs Help
A commemorative flight organized by civilians is currently underway. They are piloting a C-47 named “Buzz Buggy” from Australia to China, planning to fly over the Himalayas to commemorate the famous air route from World War II—The Hump. The homepage for this commemorative event is FLYING THE HUMP, and their Facebook page is here.
However, they encountered engine failure in Malaysia and are facing a severe funding shortage. As a result, they have launched a fundraising campaign online: Commemorative HUMP Flight to China. I donated a few dozen dollars a while back; although it’s just a drop in the bucket, it was a gesture of support. I just saw that they arrived at Seletar Airport in Singapore a few hours ago, but the funding issue remains unresolved.
-
The Grey Reality of KSMO Santa Monica Airport
Just a month ago I wrote A glimpse of KSMO Santa Monica Airport, and today I saw the news that the restaurant “Typhoon” mentioned in the article will close down next month. I was very surprised. This restaurant is located right inside the airport with a great environment, where you can eat and drink while watching planes take off and land. The food is also quite good, and there are regular live music performances. Why is this happening?
-
Farewell to the Retirement Flight of the Cathay 747-400 in the Rain
Back in August, I mentioned that Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 747-400 was about to be retired, and it was scheduled to operate its final commercial flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong on October 1st – Flight CX543. Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the day to say goodbye to the Cathay 744 has arrived.
Perhaps there is a more sentimental mood when saying farewell in the rain. For instance, in Tang Dynasty poetry, there is Wang Wei’s “Seeing Off Yuan Er on a Mission to Anxi”: “A morning rain in Weicheng settles the light dust; The willows by the guest house are fresh and green. I urge you to drain another cup of wine; West of Yangguan, there are no old friends.” And Wang Changling’s “Seeing Off Xin Jian at Furong Tavern”: “Cold rain enters Wu at night, linking with the river; At dawn, I send you off amidst the lonely mountains of Chu. If my family in Luoyang asks how I am, tell them my heart remains like ice in a jade pot.” Today, the light rain continued incessantly, as if the heavens themselves regretted the retirement of this Queen of the Skies.
-
'Review of the Movie "Sully'
The movie depicting the US Airways Flight 1549 accident, Sully: Hudson Miracle, was officially released in Japan yesterday. As an aviation enthusiast, of course, I went to see the IMAX version on the opening day and have simply written down my thoughts here.
Everyone is familiar with the story of Flight 1549, and the plot isn’t complicated, so I won’t go into details here. The two blog posts below offer good explanations, so you can refer to them. Information on Sully (Sully: Hudson Miracle) First Impressions of Sully
-
ANA Replaces Rolls-Royce Engine Turbine Blades on Boeing 787
I knew that ANA had started replacing the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine turbine blades on its Boeing 787 aircraft, but I hadn’t gone to the airport to see them. On this day, I went to shoot the STAR WARS Jet No.3, and I accidentally discovered a few parked in the cargo Apron area. Upon closer observation, I found that there were indeed no engines under the wings. These should be 787s currently undergoing maintenance and upgrades, so I took some photos to record the occasion.
-
All Nippon Airways Star Wars Livery No. 3 Aircraft
About a year ago, I wrote about the maiden passenger flight of the ANA Star Wars livery 787-9 JA873A and took another look at the R2-D2 special livery aircraft taking off . Half a year ago, I also introduced the ANA Star Wars livery aircraft No. 2 JA604A , but I didn’t expect that it would take another half year to finally meet aircraft No. 3, (because it generally flies international routes from Narita Airport to the USA) It wasn’t until yesterday that I learned on Twitter that JA789A had flown from Los Angeles to Haneda Airport. Despite the poor weather, I rushed to the international terminal and finally captured it in my lens.
-
Modifying the Saitek Flight Joystick
I was somewhat dissatisfied with the force feedback on my Saitek flight yoke, so I opened up the casing and made some minor modifications. Below is a quick summary of the process.
First, let me complain about the Saitek yoke’s issues. My dissatisfaction stems mainly from the Pitch and Roll operations, especially when in the neutral position. The internal springs are too stiff, requiring a certain amount of force to move them from the initial position every time. This leads to over-inputting force during precise attitude adjustments, such as during takeoff or landing, making it impossible to accurately control Pitch and Roll.
-
In Commemoration of the Father of the Boeing 747, Joe Sutter
Joe Sutter, the father of the Boeing 747 (Joe Sutter), passed away last week. Fellow netizen Mr. Wu Yong (also a 747 enthusiast) timely produced a commemorative program on the radio. Below, I have excerpted a portion to share with you.
The original article is here – The Forever “Queen of the Skies” Boeing 747 2016-09-06 Let’s Have Lunch Together.
The audio recording is available here, starting from around the 5-minute mark.
-
X-Plane 10.50 Is Out!
While the world’s attention is still focused on the iPhone 7 just released by Apple, the official version of X-Plane 10.50 has actually also quietly launched.
Although I couldn’t find any special news in the X-Plane 10.50 Release Notes, I still updated it immediately.
However, I haven’t noticed any changes after using it. -
Scenery Selection for Flight Simulation
Last time, netizen Wang asked about scenery suitable for flight simulation in Japan. Personally, I think places with good natural scenery are all quite nice. For example, the areas I often fly to include: The Mount Fuji region, Shizuoka Airport RJNS, The mountainous regions of Toyama and Nagano, Matsumoto Airport RJAF, Toyama Airport RJNT Kagoshima, Kagoshima Airport RJFK Hokkaido region, Obihiro Airport RJCB, Hakodate Airport RJCH, Kushiro RJCK, Asahikawa Airport RJEC. Generally speaking, these scenic spots won’t disappoint.
-
Enhance Site Security with observatory.mozilla.org
I used observatory.mozilla.org to analyze the website, and found that the Scan Summary rating was only F. So, based on the explanation on the website, I slightly modified the Web server settings, as follows:
Header set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload" Header set Content-Security-Policy "*" Header set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" Header set X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" Header set X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block"
Consequently, the rating rose to A-. If I were to add all externally called domains to the Content-Security-Policy, I should probably get an A, but testing that is too much trouble, so I’ll make do with this for now.
-
The Malfunctioning Delta 767 In-Flight Entertainment System
I usually don’t watch movies when I fly, so I haven’t really researched in-flight entertainment systems. On this trip, I took a Delta flight on a Boeing 767-300ER, and encountered a malfunction with the entertainment system. The overhead reading light just couldn’t be turned off. (The button for the light is on the entertainment system’s touchscreen; there is no physical switch.)
I asked a CA (Cabin Attendant) to take a look. They suggested restarting the system. After 3 restarts with no improvement, we finally resorted to a low-tech solution: taping an eye mask over the light with tape, which greatly reduced the brightness. This prevented it from disturbing the rest of the passengers around me.
-
Professional Flight Planning Website 1800wxbrief.com
1800wxbrief.com is a professional website for pilots, but simulation flight enthusiasts like us can also use it for free, so I will give a brief introduction today.
After registering on the website, log in with your personal information and aircraft information, and then you can start planning.
Enter the flight type, aircraft, departure and destination, click Evaluate for the departure time,
and you can see the meteorological conditions at the airport. It will become MVFR in a few hours; this information is very convenient. -
A Glimpse of KSMO Santa Monica Airport
I used KSMO Santa Monica Airport when testing X-Plane 10.50 Beta 6.
Actually, I recently stumbled upon the real location by accident (though I didn’t fly).
To commemorate this, I’ll write a simple note.Santa Monica Municipal Airport, code KSMO, translated into Chinese as 圣莫尼卡机场, is located in the city of Santa Monica, north of Los Angeles, just over ten minutes’ drive from the famous Santa Monica Beach. This is a typical general aviation airport without scheduled commercial flights, serving only private planes and business jets.