Microsoft XML Notepad is an application that allows you to create and edit XML documents quickly and easily. With this tool, the structure of your XML data is displayed graphically in a tree structure. The interface presents two panes: one for the structure, and one for the values. You may add elements, attributes, comments, and text to the XML document by creating the tree structure in the left pane and entering values in the right pane's corresponding text boxes. XML Notepad provides a simple intuitive user interface for browsing and editing XML documents. Note: requires .NET Frameworks v2.0 From Microsoft Visual Studio

SBuilder X - Scenery Builder X is now a shareware program and produces scenery for FSX and requires that FSX is installed in the system. With it you can: • load background images directly into SBuilder from any image server (Ask, Yahoo, MultiMap, Microsoft Virtual Earth, Google, etc.) with some third-party dlls that are in the public domain; • use background images to automatically make custom (photo-real) ground textures; • create all vector terrain elements; • create FS compliant land and water class; • make old style textured polygons with textures of your choice; • place any FS X or FS 9 style library object, as well as all API and ASD macros; • exclude objects using BGLComp exclusion rectangles; • create windsocks, taxiway signs, place beacons and effects. The possibilities are innumerable and, as usual with SBuilder, the interface is simple and easy to use. Note: At the moment, there is no help file or complete tutorial - all that will come later as soon as there is time. But, use of the program is not complicated at all and most of the functions work exactly the same as in SBuilder for FS 9 so its help file is still valid for just about everything. From Luis Sá

This tool will try to kill processes for better FSX performance. The processes to kill are stored in app.config. You can easily add processes there via the "Add to Killlist" button. You can delete them via "Reset Killlist" button. With "Kill Processes" all Processes stored in app.config will be tried to be deleted. Note: This file is basing upon Microsoft .NET framework v. 3.5 You can download the .NET Framework from Microsoft. BugFixed: Removed installer, since the installed shortcut and startmenu entry did not work correctly. Added some error handling to prevent program termination if you i.ex. click "Add to killlist" without marking a process to add first. Removed unnecessary files. Packed in a blank app.config instead of a filled one. Added some colors. Removed the Messageboxes after killing each process. From: Chris Tester

Hi all, Release 18 of FSX Planner is now available. It can be downloaded at: http://www.zbluesoftware.com/clients/FSXPlanner.zip Here are the details: * Windsocks can now be added or edited. The tool for creating them is in the Navigation Toolbar. * Exclusion Rectangles are now created by using the Exclusion Rectangle tool from the toolbar. You click and drag the create the rectangle. To modify the size of the rectangle after it is created you can either enter exact lat/lon coordinates into the Exclusion Rectangle properties display, or when using the exclsuon rectangle tool, you can click and drag a vertex. The Exclusion tab of the Prepare Options dialog is now no longer included as it has been replaced by this functionality. * Apron Edge Lights were not being handled correctly. They were being loaded as individual points instead of as a string of lights. This has been fixed. Apron Edge Lights are now treated similarly to fences in that they consist of a series of vertices which are connected by a 'string.' They are midified in the same fashion as a fence. To create a new string of edge lights, select the Apron Edge Light tool and click where you want the first vertex to be, then click at the location of each additional vertex. Double click to end the string. If you hold down the shift key when double clicking the string of lights will be closed by adding an end vertex at the same location as the start vertex. To insert a vertex into an existing string of edge lights, select the apron edge light tool, then click on the string of edge lights to select them, then shift-click at the location on the string where you want to insert the new vertex. To delete a vertex, follow the same procedure, but control-click on the vertex to be removed. * Modifyied the add taxiway tool so that holding the shift key down when you are creating the start or end point of the taxiway will allow you to insert the start or end point into the middle of an existing taxiway. * The undo/redo/history functionality was not recording or undoing some of the runway details. This has been fixed and now all runway details are undoable. * You can now specify whether or not the DeleteAirport information should be written to and/or read from the airport xml file. This option can be set in the preferences dialog and is on by default. This allows for xml source files shared between different users to maintain what parts of the airport should be deleted instead of just blindly setting all delete flags to true. * There is a new preference option under the Option tab of the Preferences dialog which allows you to specify whether or not you want to read and write exclusion rectangles from/to the airport's xml file. * Added error checks for ILSs without Idents; and taxiway points that have incorrect types or orientations. * Added an error check for parking locations that don't have an appropriate Type assignment. * Airports can now be printed. You can specify the size of the page, allowing you to print from a regular letter size sheet up to a huge banner size many feet across. * The latitiude and longitude coordinates of a vertex associated with an Apron, Boundary Fence or Blast Fence are now displayed in the properties display when a specific vertex is click on during the editing process of the apron or fence. This allows for fine control over the exact placement of a vertex associated with the apron or fence. * There is a new preference in the Preferences Dialog that allows you to specify if lines should be drawn between the vertices of an edge light string when it is not selected. This option is off by default. * The Taxiway Names menu item has been moved to the Edit menu. The Lists menu has therefore been removed as it only had that one option under it. * Improvements have been made to the Taxi Name dialog to make it easier to handle taxi names. In addition the default blank taxi name is now assigned properly to all new taxiways even if no taxi names have been created for the airport. Note this does not affect taxiways that are being copied or created by extending an existing taxiway. * Cleaned up some of the UI to be more user friendly. NOTE: There seems to be some sort of issue with exclusion rectangles. If they are too small they do not exclude anything. In my tests is seems that any rectangle less than about 25 seconds or so to a side does not exclude anything. Also it seems that they are not exact rectangles, almost as is flight simulator was rounding them off, which might explain the minimum size issue. Alternatively FSX Planner could be writting the xml incorrectly. If some people have time to test this and see what they find, that would be extremely helpful! From zBlueSoftware

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX). It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery. Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily create the following types of "vector" based scenery. New features:- * Added BGLCOMP support for scenery exclusion rectangles ("ExclusionRectangle" tag). The exclusion rectangle will be defined by the "bounding" rectangle of the polyline/polygon. Supports the following parameters o ExcludeAllObjects o ExcludeBeaconObjects o ExcludeEffectObjects o ExcludeGenericBuildingObjects o ExcludeLibraryObjects o ExcludeTaxiwaySignObjects o ExcludeTriggerObjects o ExcludeWindsockObjects o ImageComplexity - VerySparse, Sparse, Normal, Dense, VeryDense, ExtremelyDense * Added BGLCOMP support for Extrusion Bridges ("ExtrusionBridge" tag). Draw a polyline and tag it with "ExclusionBridge", then use the vertice editor to set the height of each bridge segment. * Added "Change to" button on the Vertice Editor to change shape type from polygon to polyline and vice versa * Enhanced polygons holes so that if a polygon cannot be found in the same folder as polygon hole ("polygon folder") then the parent folder is searched for the first polygon preceding the polygon folder. This makes it possible to better organize a project by placing polygon holes (i.e islands) in a sub folder and still have them associated with a water polygon in a parent folder From Innova Software

Hi all, Release 17 of FSX Planner is now available. This cleans up several bugs as well as incorporating several new features. Here's the list of what has been updated or added: * Exclusion Rectangles have been added, allowing you to delete taxiway signs, windsocks, etc. To include an exclusion rectangle use the Exclusion tab of the Prepare Options dialog. You can specify the exact location of the rectangle, or have one created that covers the entire airport. You can also specify exactly what this rectangle should delete. * The cut/copy/paste feature has been implemented. You can now cut, copy and paste most objects. To copy or cut an object select it then use the right click popup menu or the ctrl-x or ctrl-c commands, When pasting an object it will be pasted at the current cursor location. Aprons and fences are pasted so that the center of the apron or fence is at the current cursor location. * Added the ability to specify default values for Runway Threshold Offsets, Blast Pads, Overruns and VASIs. These are available under the Runway tab of the Preferences dialog. * FSX Planner now recognizes Latitude/Longitude coordinates in five different formats. These formats can be used to enter lat/lon coordinates in any lat/lon text field within FSX Planner. They are: N40 46.6345, N40 46 38.07, 40 46.6345N, 40 46 38.07N and 40.77724167. * A Clean Taxiway Points check has been added. This searches the airport for taxiway points and parking locations that have no taxiways associated with them and deletes them. * A Clean All check has been added. This is a convenience option that runs all the Clean... checks. * The Clean... checks menu options have been moved to the Compile menu from the Edit menu. The Find Airport menu option has been moved to the File menu from the Compile menu. This was done to better group similar functionality. * Modified the handling of NDBs so that terminal NDBs can now be opened, saved and edited. * Tweaked the object property displays to help keep similar properties together. * A dialog is now displayed when you close an airport display within FSX Planner to ask you if you want to save the airport before it closes, or to cancel the close action. * The color used to highlight selected objects is now user definable via the Colors tab of the Preferences dialog. * The user can now specify whether selected objects should be outlined or highlighted. The default is to outline a selected object. This can be changed in the Display tab of the Preferences dialog. * The Compile Dialog has been adjusted to allow for more user configurability with regards to the final placement and name of the compiled BGL file. Bug fixes: * Fixed a bug that sometimes caused incorrect taxiways to be deleted when a taxiway point or a taxiway parking location was deleted. * FSX Planner was looking at file names in a case-sensitive manner. This would cause it not to display files with .XML extensions in the open dialog. This has ben fixed and file names are now case insensitive. * Fixed a bug in the Error Checking display that prevented taxiways, runways, NDB and VORs from being displayed when you clicked on their name in the results table. * Fixed a bug that caused VASI values to be read incorrectly from the XML file. From zBlueSoftware

This tool will try to kill processes for better FSX performance. The processes to kill are stored in app.config. You can easily add processes there via the "Add to Killlist" button. You can delete them via "Reset Killlist" button. With "Kill Processes" all Processes stored in app.config will be tried to be deleted. Note: This file is basing upon Microsoft .NET framework v. 3.5 You can download the .NET Framework from Microsoft. From: Chris Tester

Bring your static ships to life by creating the illusion they are moving - not dead in the water. The tutorial will show you, step by step, how to easily add animated wake effects to the default FS2004 ships as well as any ships you may add to scenery using one of the popular object placing programs. No programming knowledge is needed and all required files are included. Compiled in .doc and .pdf formats for your flying enjoyment. From: David "Opa" Marshall

I guess you may think that I have been sitting around in the Sun but that is not entirely true. There hasn't been a new build of ADE for a while because I have been looking at a whole lot of things. Still the next build should include: Full handling of Edge lights Full handling of Aprons Full Handling of Fences Correct handling of taxisigns - ADE now does what is needed to ensure that the default signs are excluded correctly Approach code is stripped out, as are waypoints to avoid problems with duplicated code or messed up data in the GPS etc. Future versions will allow users the choice as to what to retain. Full handling of Parking spaces and codes. It is now possible to select the airlines as per AFCAD. Also the right click menu now provides quick access to the last five airlines used so it is simple to add an airline code to a parking spot without opening the properties dialog. Also parking spots are now color coded (provided that the display settings are set to draw the spot in solid User definable colors (including transparency) for most elements. The transparency option seesm to work well for things like ILS and Glideslopes as they can be set not to obscure what is below them. Selected object is now hilghlighted with a user definable color I am not planning to release a new version for a little while. From Jon Masterson

This release cleans up a lot of display issues relating to decimal places, and especially to the XML output, which has been completely rewritten to be much more user friendly for those who like to hand code xml. Here are the changes: * The xml code write engine has been completely rewritten. The extra lines that were created before are no longer created. Attributes are now output in the order specified in the SDK documentation. There is now an option to display each attribute on a separate line (default), or all on one line. This can be adjusted via the preferences dialog. * Markers and VORs are now saved to the airport xml file. * There was a bug which would make the Find Airport feature give incorrect file/folder results for certain airports. This has been fixed. * You can now specify the default tee 1 - tee 4 offsets for a parking space. This is accessible through the Defaults tab of the Preferences Dialog. * All values that are displayed in spinners (ie altitudes, widths, lengths, etc) are now displayed and can be edited to 3 decimal places. * Modified how apron vertices, boundary fence vertices and blast fence vertices are added and deleted. To add a vertex, use the appropriate tool and shift-click where you want the vertex to be added. Note that you must click on a valid location for a vertex. To delete a vertex, control-click on the vertex you want to delete. This change was made to create a more uniform approach to adding and removing vertices throughout FSX Planner and also to allow for the right click popup menu. * The Navigation toolbar and the View -> Navigation Toolbar menu now communicates properly so that they stay synched. * The Airport Data Display and the Object Data Display panels are now tear-offs and can be moved to other locations on the screen, or to other monitors, or they can be hidden. To do so, click on the title bar of either the airport data display or the object data display and drag it to the desired new location. Clicking the X in the title bar will return the window to the docked location on the left. Clicking the X when the window is docked will hide it. There are two new menu options under the View menu which also control the visibility of these windows. If the panel is hidden and you want to see it, select the appropriate view sub-menu. If you want to hide one of the panels, uncheck the appropriate View sub-menu option. * The NDB tool has been implemented. You can now add, view and edit NDBs for the airport. This tool is available under the navigation Toolbar (View -> Navigation Toolbar). * A check for VORs and NDBs without Idents has been added to the error checking dialog (Compile -> Error Checking). * A check for taxiway paths that have invalid start or end indices has been added to the error checking dialog. (Compile -> Error Checking). * The Clean Up Taxiways option, under the Edit menu, now also checks for taxiways that have non-existant start or end points and deletes those taxiways. * The Find Taxiway Point dialog has been added. This is available under the Edit menu. It allows you to enter the index number of a taxiway point or parking location and then have that location displayed if it exists. This is intended to help in debugging errors within the airport due to incorrect or non-existant taxiway point indices. From zBlueSoftware

Release 15 of FSX Planner is now available. We relased this one sooner than expected to fix a bug with the creation of aprons which had occured as a result of a change made in release 14. Therefore not everything that we wanted to have in this release is actually in it. But so goes the development process. And we wanted the ability to create aprons to work again, as that is pretty important if you are creating an airport. So here's what is included in this version: * Fixed a bug that had crept in which prevented aprons from being able to be created. * Fixed a bug that made the recording of a taxiway point orientation inaccurate. * Fixed a bug in the undo/redo/history functionality that caused undo events to be generated when certain models were being initialized. * Runway Markers can now be displayed, edited, and added to an airport. By default these are not shown. To display them select the Show Markers option on the Display menu. To add a new Runway Marker click on the Runway Marker icon on the Navigation toolbar, which can be displayed by selecting View -> Navigation Toolbar. * VOR beacons and their associated DMEs can now be displayed edited and added to the airport. By default these are not shown. To display them select the Show VORs option on the Display menu. To add a new VOR click on the VOR icon on the Navigation toolbar, which can be displayed by selecting View -> Navigation Toolbar. * Updated the xml written during a save so that the taxiway points and parking locations are now written in numerical order. * The Prepare Options dialog has been enhanced to allow for specific runway, start location and frequency deletions. To use these you must not check the Delete All Runways (or Start Points or Frequencies) but rather check the rows within the table that you are interested in delting. The table is populated based on the currently selected airport. From zBlueSoftware

FSX Planner is an impressive professional freeware CAD application which allows you to graphically edit and create airports for FSX. It can open airport xml files, and once finished will also be able to open bgl files. It includes many additional features including error checking, continuously displayed properties windows, graphical toolbars and navigation dialogs to help you create and edit a fully functioning airport. Here is what has been changed/added/fixed for this version: * The icon used to draw the jetways has been modified to make it easier to see where the jetway is located and its direction relative to the parking space. * ILS Beams can now be added to the airport. You need to display the navigation toolbar (View -> Additional Toolbars), then select the ILS Cursor. Then an ILS beam will be added when you click on the airport. After adding the ILS Beam, make sure you assign it to the correct runway. * The runway propeties display has been rearranged to group all the runway lights together and to allow for VASI on both the left and right side of each end of the runway. * Approaches can now be fully edited, added or deleted. * Adjusted the width of the properties windows to be fixed width regardless of screen size. This should help provide enough room for all fields. * Fixed a bug with the undo/redo system that prevented items that had been undone from updating their displays in the properties window. * Fixed a bug that caused the undo/redo/history to ignore all changes (therefore making it impossible to undo a change) after opening an xml file that contained more than one airport. * A bug which prevented an ILS Beam and its asociated Glide Slope and DME from being assigned to the selected runway when the user modified the runway association from within the ILS properties display has been fixed. From zBlueSoftware

SceneGenX - This freeware program now builds scenery for FS2004 & FSX using the appropriate BGLComp compiler supplied by Microsoft. SCASM code is no longer used. The scenery source code is in a new XML format. First version with support for FSX! • FSX features added to runways, scenery objects. • Dual compiling capability added so that both FS9 and FSX scenery can be produced. In testing, the BGLComp compilers are not the same, and the correct compiler must be used for the target system. • Many other changes are needed to get SGX functional for FSX. From Tom Hiscox & Brian McWilliams.

FS Architect is very easy to install and use. The donation ware program installs and un-installs all files automatically, detects your current Microsoft Flight Simulator version, and installs a basic set of macro objects that are ready to use. With Architect, you can begin building your own airport scenery in just minutes! FS Compatibility: FS2000, FS2002, FS2004 & FSX. Works with Windows XP, XP64, & Windows 2000. Note: FS Architect is now FREE! Please consider donating $10.00 to the FS Architect project. Your donation in support of the project will ensure that the author can continue to provide new features, and a fast, dedicated, banner-free web site. From Pouk Software

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX). It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery. Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily create the following types of "vector" based scenery. This release offers 20 new features -PLUS- Issues resolved: Fixed issue with copy button. See authors Website for full details. From Innova Software

FS Library Scan will scan FS scenery folders for BGL library files. Unlike BGLScan in the FS SDK, it can cope with both FS9 and FSX library files. Information on library objects like GUIDs, multiple occurences, required and missing textures is written to a csv files. From Michael Heise

FSX Planner is an impressive freeware java application which can open airport xml files. At the moment the xml file should contain only one airport. The direct reading of *.bgl files is not yet supported. A tool, such as BGL2XML, should be used to convert the *.bgl file to the xml file. We have included the xml for La Guardia airport, which we have been testing against. From zBlueSoftware

Module Tool X can edit the module config files (exe.xml and dll.xml) for FSX. You must have installed .NET 2.0 framework library, freely available. With this release you can now restore backups of the files and sort entries in XML-files. * Bugfix Release. From Alexander Brand

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX). It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery. Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily create the following types of "vector" based scenery. v1.07 ßeta added a number of new features and resolved a couple of bugs. See authors Website for full details. From Innova Software

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX). It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery. Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily create the following types of "vector" based scenery. Additionally FSX_KML can also: • Place scenery objects (from the FSX library) along a polyline • Create landclass and waterclass “tiles” (1.2km sq) • Create a FSX flight plan along a polyline From Innova Software

The Scenery Design Engine (SDE) can read FS9 and FSX scenery BGL files generated by Bglcomp. This covers: • Airports (including files generated by AFCAD2) • Waypoints, Boundaries and Geopols • Navigational aids • Scenery Objects including library objects, effects, triggers, windsocks and generic buildings (note limitation that current version provides very limited support in relation to model data) • Extrusion Bridges (FSX) • Exclusion Rectangles SDE can also read in XML files created by other tools. From Jon Masterson

Bgl2Xml GUI is a simple windows application to decode FS9 and FSX scenery files and generate XML. The program uses the Scenery Design Engine (SDE) to do the work. Users can view the resulting XML file in their favorite XML Editor or Viewer directly from the application. Program requires Microsoft dotNET Framework version 2.0. From Jon Masterson

FSX CFG Editor is a simple, no-fills editor for direct editing of the FSX.CFG file. It was designed to (hopefully) forever put to rest the age-old question - "Where is my FSX.CFG file!!!". It is handy when you want to make a quick change to the FSX.CFG file and you don't know where it is, or can't be bothered looking for it (yes we simmers can be lazy sometimes). :) • Automatically finds the FSX.CFG file • Loads and displays all FSX.CFG items (except the [Trusted] section) • Button to open the FSX.CFG file in NotePad for manual editing • FSX-style GUI skin From Fermin Fernandez

This simple illustrated document explains the basic concepts in Flight Simulator X terrain, and how to change them using SBuilder for FS X. Make new water bodies, roads, vehicle traffic, airport flattens, remove autogen, add more detail - anybody can do it easily and quickly. From: Luis Féliz-Tirado

Bgl2Xml GUI is a simple windows application to decode FS9 and FSX scenery files and generate XML. The program uses the Scenery Design Engine (SDE) to do the work. Users can view the resulting XML file in their favorite XML Editor or Viewer directly from the application. Program requires Microsoft dotNET Framework version 2.0 Note: This tool is under constant development and may well have numerous bugs. The author would be grateful if you can help in reducing the number of bugs, by reporting any anomalies. Compatibility with future versions, not guaranteed! - use at your own risk. From Jon Masterson Website: scruffyduck

FS Zip is derived from the TweakFS Explorer Zip utility and has been released as freeware in a stand-alone format. It is a useful tool for unpacking Zip files downloaded from FS file libraries without the need for an existing 3rd-party Zip application, but the big handy feature is that it has a tree display of the Zip folder structure giving you a clear view of how the files will unpack and into which location. This folder layout display is also be useful for developers creating Zips to distribute their own work and aids in checking that no files are missing from the archive. From Fermin Fernandez Website: TweakFS

FSX SDK ToolBox is a handy Freeware application for those of us who need to delve again and again into the SDK for Microsoft's new release of Flight Simulator X. It's basically an in-house tool used by TweakFS and we thought it would be nice to make it available to other FS developers as well as the general simming community. Quick links to frequently-accessed key FSX folders such as the Main FSX, ApplicationData and MyDocuments folders are also included, as are direct links to major FSX configuration files like fsx.cfg, scenery.cfg, dll.xml, exe.xml files and many more. Note: New with this version: Added a tab on the Tool dialog for generating single and multiple GUIDs (for Cameras and Missions). GUIDs can then be copied to the clipboard individually or as a list. From Fermin Fernandez Website: TweakFS

Module Tool X can edit the module config files (exe.xml and dll.xml) for FSX. You must have installed .NET 2.0 framework library, freely available. With this release you can now restore backups of the files and sort entries in XML-files. From Alexander Brand

The Scenery Design Engine (SDE) can read FS9 and FSX scenery files based on XML source. This includes Airports (including files generated by AFCAD2), Waypoints, Boundaries, and Geopols, Navaids, Scenery Objects (including library objects, effects, triggers, windsocks and generic buildings), Extrusion Bridges (FSX) and Exclusion Rectangles. SDE can also read in XML files created by other tools such as SceneGenX. The engine is currently made available via a simple User Interface. Future versions will include graphical interfaces. The resultant information is shown in a tree view of objects contained in the file. The properties of these objects can be modified using a simple property grid. SDE can display information about the scenery in the several ways including XML The program can add, or remove, elements from the scenery tree. It can then compile the resulting scenery into a working FSX BGL file. It does NOT generate FS9 BGL files Requires Microsoft dotNET 2.0. Also to use the compiler functions you will need to have the FSX SDK that comes with the deluxe version. From Jon Masterson

FSX SDK ToolBox is a handy Freeware application for those of us who need to delve again and again into the SDK for Microsoft's new release of Flight Simulator X. It's basically an in-house tool used by TweakFS and we thought it would be nice to make it available to other FS developers as well as the general simming community. Quick links to frequently-accessed key FSX folders such as the Main FSX, ApplicationData and MyDocuments folders are also included, as are direct links to major FSX configuration files like fsx.cfg, scenery.cfg, dll.xml, exe.xml files and many more. From Fermin Fernandez

This version is current as of February 2007. More than 23000 cumulative downloads and counting. Now includes more images from FSX and tips on how to make the switch from FS9 to FSX. The attached PDF file is a short guide on how to make flight simulation on your PC more realistic. It includes elementary information about the use of scenery, weather, aircraft, AI traffic, ATC software and flight planners. Also included is a section on hardware and software issues. It applies to both FSX and FS9. Keywords: AFCAD, airport, AI traffic, ATC, aircraft, scenery, mesh, landclass, hardware, software, add-ons, configuration, weather, flight planning, routes, processor, dual-core, quad-core, graphic card, tweaking, FS9, FSX, navigraph, SID, STAR, AIRAC, charts, frame rates. Compiled in *.pdf format by Marten Weber:

Included in this zip are 12 pages of all the FSX commands and default control assignments. It was gathered from the "ALL" lists inside of FSX. Compiled in *jpg format by James Heany:

With v1.03 Beta - 28th 0ct 2006 as the base installation: v1.04 Beta - 20th Jan 2007 New features and issues resolved:- Use INI file (FSX_KML.INI) to remember settings including list of KML files and FSX folder settings Allow multi select of KML files in Add KML file dialog Display points for selected polygon/polyline Add REVERSE POINTS button to allow direction of polygon/polyline to be reversed Add POLYGONHOLE tag to support "holes" in polygons, eg for making islands in rivers Add LEGACY_LANDWATERMASK_WATER_NOFLATTEN tag for water polygons that "cling" to mesh Default freeway traffic to one lane of traffic v1.05 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 New features and issues resolved:- Added "Automatically Reverse Points In Polygon Holes" build option. This option will auto reverse points for polygon holes when creating the shape file. Apparently Google Earth always writes polygons in a clockwise fashion to the KML file irrespective of which way they are actually drawn in Google Earth. This option simplifies the creation of polygon holes because you no longer need to manually reverse point order in FSX KML. Option is on by default. Added "Output Folder" build option. This lets you specify the folder where files are written during the build process Fixed error when loading the saved list of KML files and a KML file can longer be found. v1.05.1 Beta - 21st Jan 2007 Issues resolved:- Fixed bug where directory would not be changed prior to running the RUN_SDK_TOOLS batch file

Tips and TricksHere’s an extended collection of hints for FSX, gathered from various sources, including the authors own trails and discoveries in “flying” the new flight simulator version. There are many new features, files, file locations and keystrokes in FSX, and here are some hints based on these changes. Compiled in *PDF format by Doug Horton for PC Aviator:

Although Lee Swordy's indispensable program includes very complete documentation, this tutorial illustrates several of the less obvious things you can do with the program. Topics include creating a quick flatten, decorating the edges of a runway, use of the polygon feature to enhance terrain adjacent to an airport, drawing "roads", creating invisible taxiways, moving or removing the Helicopter "H" and use of the "jump here" command. Even if you are an experienced user of AFCAD, you will likely find some useful ideas in this tutorial. Compiled in .doc and .pdf formats. From: David "Opa" Marshall

The Deluxe version of Flight Simulator X contains a very easy-to-use tool for placing scenery objects visually within the game. Unfortunately, the Microsoft developers neglected to tell anybody. This document contains an illustrated explanation of this tool and how to use it. From: Luis Féliz-Tirado

If you ever wanted to update textures in your FS texture folder, or other folders and maybe wanted to backup the original files you may find FS Texture Replacement Utility handy. This file is an update that fixes the start-up error in version 1.0.0. Use Add/Remove Programs to uninstall the previous version prior to installing this one. From Bill Tanner

This is a new and somewhat enhanced version of the BglAnalyze disassembler. Two programs are contained: one for FS9 and one for FSX. Both are now console programs, so they can be used in a batch process if you want to disassemble more than one scenery file. From Winfried Orthmann

Scenery Shortcut - simple way to create new FSX worlds - Available Now & It's Freeware. One of our goals was to find an easy way for users to make their own new worlds. So we've come up with a way for you to "drag and drop" your way to new FSX scenery. By taking advantage of the capable Mission Builders's Object Placement Tool (included with Flight Simulator X Deluxe Edition), you interactively add any of hundreds of predefined 3D objects to the landscape "live". When you've completed the scenery, save the mission file and Scenery Shortcut converts the info into true FSX scenery files. Once you install the program, you can view the two tutorial videos that will get you up to speed quickly. Note: you will be asked to register the program prior to download. From Peter Jacobson & Abacus

This PDF file is a quick guide on how to make flight simulation on your PC more realistic. It includes elementary information about the use of scenery, weather, aircraft, AI traffic, ATC software and flight planners. Also included is a section on hardware and software issues. It applies to both FSX and FS9. Keywords: AFCAD, airport, AI traffic, ATC, aircraft, scenery, mesh, landclass, hardware, software, add-ons, configuration, weather, flight planning, routes, processor, dual-core, quad-core, graphic card, tweaking, FS9, FSX, navigraph, SID, STAR, AIRAC, charts Compiled in *.pdf format by Marten Weber.

AutoStarx is a program that allows new features to be added to the night sky. It adds the brighter planets in the correct position for any date. Optionally it can add comets, images or user objects such as a lunar eclipse or Messier objects. The program can import the SAO star catalogue, thus allowing the number of background stars to be significantly increased. From C. P. Wright

LatLon2BGL is a useful utility that takes the known latitude and longitude of any airport in FSX and converts this data to indicate which file folder and *.bgl file contains your airport of interest. The author created a small *.xls spreadsheet to do the math for you ~ works with Excel & Open Office. From Loyd.

EZ-Landclass is a program that allows you to change the placement of landclass and waterclass textures in Microsoft Flight Simulator™. You can use it to add small towns that MS left out, for instance, or to correct the type of vegetation or ground cover in a certain area. Easy to use dialog boxes and project oriented scenery files are just two of the highlights of this program. Requires Microsoft Excel 97 or later. Freeware. - version 3.0 adds support for FSX. Works with previous versions of MSFS as well. From: Russel Dirks.

The PDF file is a quick guide on how to make flight simulation on your PC more realistic. It includes elementary information about the use of scenery, weather, aircraft, AI traffic, ATC software and flight planners. Also included is a section on hardware and software issues. It applies to both FSX and FS9. The December edition of the popular guide adds more information on FSX, Vista, sound files, scenery installation procedures and navigation data. Keywords: AFCAD, airport, AI traffic, ATC, aircraft, scenery, mesh, landclass, hardware, software, add-ons, configuration, weather, flight planning, routes, processor, dual-core, quad-core, graphic card, tweaking, FS9, FSX, navigraph, SID, STAR, AIRAC, charts. Compiled in *.pdf format by Marten Weber.

Xml2Shp is a small program to convert an xml file into a group of shape files which can be used as input for the SHP2VEC program in the FS X Deluxe SDK. Included are input sample files. From Winfried Orthmann.

SPB2XML is a tool to decompile SimPropBinary (SPB) files of FSX. SPB files are used by missions, dialogs and autogen configuration. This simple tool can decompile stock files and produces the corresponding XML source. Note: Requires .NET framework 2.0 From Lamont Clark.

A very quick and easy way to convert FS2004 (FS9) AFCAD files so they can be used in FSX. You do not need any real knowledge of AFCAD files or any other programs as all are included in this download. Also includes a small "batch file" that will help "auto convert" your FS2004 AFCAD files. From Ian Thatcher.

EZ-Landclass is a program that allows you to change the ground & water textures displayed in Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX, 2004 and 2002. Texture placement is very accurate - the program will even show you before hand where the textures will appear! No more trial & error. You can use it to add small towns that MS left out, for instance, or to correct the type of vegetation or ground cover in a certain area. This release uses FSConnect rather than FSUIPC. Note: Requires Microsoft Excel 97 or later. From Russel Dirks

13th edition of the popular introduction to realistic flight simulation, now starting coverage of FSX. This PDF file is a quick guide on how to make flight simulation on your PC look more realistic. It includes elementary information about the use of scenery, weather, aircraft, AI traffic, ATC software and flight planners. Also included is a section on hardware and software issues. Keywords: AFCAD, airport, AI traffic, ATC, aircraft, scenery, mesh, landclass, hardware, software, add-ons, configuration, weather, FS9, FSX, flight planning, routes, processor, dual-core, graphic card, tweaking Compiled in *.pdf format by Marten Weber:

An Excel® spreadsheet (and PDF version) of most of the FSX settings. Trying to get the best framerate is hard if you don't know what the 49 or so significant settings you or someone had to employ to get there. Prints on 2 pages and you can circle most of the settings, or enter it in .xls and save/send it. Compiled by Roger L Deal.

This file contains all the airports & navaids for Flight Simulator X and includes all com and nav frequencies, runway details along with any relevant ILS information. Extracted from the default FSX BGL scenery files in Nov 2006. Compiled by Ian Niblo.

Nicely executed Excel® spreadsheet provides a simple and easy means to determine which texture sets belong to which land class values. Eliminates the mind-numbing and time consuming searching, associated with the trail and error approach to looking through the world\texture folder. The catalog .xls file requires Excel®. From: Luis Féliz-Tirado

BglAnalyzeX is version 1 of a freeware disassembler for BGL-files in the new format of FS X4. It is a beta version that has been tested with a number of files, but which nevertheless may still contain some bugs. It has been tested with files of types APX***, BRX*** and OBX***; it might not work for otherfile types. The output of the disassembler is an xml-file, which in all tested cases could be compiled with bglcomp without errors. Note: This tool is under constant development and may well have numerous bugs. The author would be grateful if you can help in reducing the number of bugs, by reporting any anomalies. Compatibility with future versions, not guaranteed! - use at your own risk. From Winfried Orthmann.

Living World is a freeware animation tool that uses the Microsoft FSX Animal and GroundVehicle SimObjects and through the SimConnect SDK they move along a list of lat,long points provided in a LivingWorld.cfg file. Make most any Animal, Ground Vehicle and/or Boat follow a predefined path. The file LivingWorld.exe was created with Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2005. The sample .cpp file for AI Objects and waypoints was used as a template. From Ron Haertel

This document was compiled by the author from various post and threads at a variety of flight simulator community websites. • What this modified terrain.cfg does • Why you should install it • Installation instructions • What if I don't want water on slopes? • Scenery designers: special notes • Credits • Support Compiled in *.htm format From: Richard Ludowise & Luis Féliz-Tirado:

This tutorial will show you a short and easy way to modify the terrain to get a more realistic look in MS Flight Simulator 2002 and 2004. The area with this workshop is the island Ibiza in the West Mediterranean Sea with its small neighbor island Formentera. The modifications are based on the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data products, available for download. Everything needed is explained here, step by step and kept as simple as possible. From: Gerhard Scheuerecker alias flying_eddie

This package contains an "evolving" version of my FSX land class catalog and visual reference. Its main purpose is to help with converting FS2004 land class files to the FSX system and to guide new projects in terms of class selection. The catalog .xls file requires MS EXCEL. From: Holger Sandmann

You will learn here in a very easy way how to modify the area you fly over and give it the most realistic look without using photo realistic textures. There are plenty of Land Classifications available in MS Flight Simulator. With this workshop it is really easy to determine how the specific look of an area should be and to modify the area of your choice. This document explains the basic concepts behind the land class system, and the very easy-to-use tools with which to fix this. This is also one of the first tutorials to utilize the GoogleEarth® program. This is an *pdf document for universal compatibility. From: Gerhard Scheuerecker alias flying_eddie

FSX Keyboard Commands Table. Skillfully executed version of the original authors Word® file in a single page*.pdf format listing the keyboard commands for FSX. These are the final keyboard commands for FSX. Many are new due to the new features in FSX. Print them out. You'll find that they will enhance your flight experiences with FSX. The FSX Keyboard Commands are brought to us courtesy of RadarMan:

Microsoft online support is here! As reports and problems start to come in, online assistance is up and running, with frequent updates on problems and issues encountered by FSX users. Check out the Microsoft FSX support site for more details. While there, be sure to explore the new FS RSS feeds now available for up-to-the-minute news and bug fixes.

A wide-ranging guide on Microsoft's newest flight simulator, including: FSX in-game settings including: Graphics, Aircraft, Scenery, Weather and Traffic. FSX FS community tips & tricks including; Autogen, Texture, Hardware Performance. Blurries, Aesthetics and inside the FSX.CFG file. This document was compiled by the author from various post and threads at a variety of flight simulator community websites. If you've discovered a tweak that is not in this guide but would like it to be, please e-mail Greg. Compiled in *.pdf format by Greg Germanowski:

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX). It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery. Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily create the following types of "vector" based scenery: • Water polygons including oceans, rivers, • lakes and canals • Islands inside water features • Irregular shaped landclass polygons for cities, parks, beaches, forest, golf courses etc. • Airport boundries and flatten polygons • Shorelines • Streams • Roads and road bridges • Railways and rail bridges • Freeways (ie Moving traffic) • Utility lines (eg power and telephone lines) • Exclusions polygons Additionally FSX_KML can also:- • Place scenery objects (from the FSX library) along a polyline • Create landclass and waterclass “tiles” (1.2km sq) • Create a FSX flight plan along a polyline From Innova Software

FSX KML is a freeware scenery design tool for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (FSX). It converts KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files generated by Google Earth into FSX scenery. Using Google Earth to draw polygons and polylines you can accurately and easily create the following types of "vector" based scenery: • Water polygons including oceans, rivers, • lakes and canals • Islands inside water features • Irregular shaped landclass polygons for cities, parks, beaches, forest, golf courses etc. • Airport boundries and flatten polygons • Shorelines • Streams • Roads and road bridges • Railways and rail bridges • Freeways (ie Moving traffic) • Utility lines (eg power and telephone lines) • Exclusions polygons Additionally FSX_KML can also:- • Place scenery objects (from the FSX library) along a polyline • Create landclass and waterclass “tiles” (1.2km sq) • Create a FSX flight plan along a polyline From Innova Software

Library Object Manager/Scenery Maker version 2.00 for ßeta testing. This version can import and then place the library objects which are bundled with FSX (over 3,500 of them!). The program generates bgl files for FSX so this program is not for FS9. We have tested LOM/SM with the retail version of FSX and all the placement functions appear to work including effects, rotating beacons, etc and the compound object tools. Please bear in mind that there is still a lot to learn about FSX scenery and that this program is ßeta. From Jon Masterson "This may very well be the FIRST scenery design utility for FSX!"

Now in its 15th edition, the attached PDF file is a quick guide on how to make flight simulation on your PC more realistic. It includes elementary information about the use of scenery, weather, aircraft, AI traffic, ATC software and flight planners. Also included is a section on hardware and software issues, as well as a step by step guide on "upgrading" your flight environment from the standard MSFS installation. Keywords: AFCAD, airport, AI traffic, ATC, aircraft, scenery, mesh, landclass, hardware, software, add-ons, configuration, weather, flight planning, routes, processor, dual-core, graphic card, tweaking. From Marten Weber.

This dynamic document is a collaborative effort of the members of the AvSim Scenery Design forum: Scenery design for Microsoft Flight Simulator can seem complex, even bewildering, to beginners. Concepts and terms are vaguely understood, if at all, and it is difficult to choose the right tools for each task. This comprehensive (.html) document seeks to provide some guidance for those who are starting out. This is a "must-read" for anyone interested in scenery design, the single most comprehensive guide of its type today!

LOV is a utility to display FS9 Scenery Objects outside of the Simulator. This makes it easy to check out object libraries and the objects they contain. Objects are displayed in full 3D, can be rotated in three axes and scaled larger or smaller. The objects can be displayed in day and night textures (assuming there are night textures) and in solid or wireframe. It also takes thumbnails of the object as it is displayed which can be used in other programs. The program is currently Beta but is now a final release candidate and comes with a video tutorial on how to make use of it's features. From Jon Masterson

Liven up your desktop while you're away with the Flight Simulator X screensaver, and in the process let everyone know where your thoughts wander. The screensaver features several breathtaking views taken straight from the game. To install, simply download the zip file to your desktop, unzip the exe file and then double-click it to install. 2MB

Flight Simulator X Trial Version: The Flight Simulator X trial version includes two airports, three missions, and three different aircraft. All of the missions take place at St. Maarten in the Caribbean. Finally, here's your opportunity to experience FSX on your system. But, be warned it's a massive 636MB!

1956 was the year two of Cessna Aircraft Company’s best selling tail draggers would be modified into two of the most heavily produced tricycle gear airplanes in the world. Simply download the correct image from the most common monitor resolutions:

Bug Fix: Released For LOM. This is a cumulative bug fix release. It fixes two recently found bugs: 1) - the rotation values were not correctly used in the quick place and quick line functions 2) - libraries could not be deleted from the library filter list Both these are fixed in this release. This is an executable only release - replace the existing objectManager.exe with the one in this zip file. Note if you have not updated to version 1.002 from version 1.00 you should read the enclosed release notes for Version 1.002 which describe the changed functionality introduced in that version. You do not need to install version 1.002 - changes in that version are included in this release. Download: lom_1003.zip From Jon Masterson.

Library Object Viewer is a simple utility designed to display FS9 scenery objects as they look in the Sim itself. The program uses DirectX to display the object in 3D complete with textures and colors. You can rotate the object in all three axes, re-scale it, show it either solid or in wireframe and create jpg images of objects directly in the program. This version is a ßeta and has limited documentation. It is, however simple to use and there is a video tutorial available. Note: This addresses a couple of problems with the previous beta and adds the ability to show objects in day or night textures. You can also display single mdls which are not in libraries. The Tutorial has been updated. From Jon Masterson

is a quick guide to make flight simulation on your PC look more realistic. It includes elementary information about the use of scenery, weather, aircraft, AI traffic and flight planners. Also included is a section on hardware and software issues, as well as a step by step guide on "upgrading" your flight environment from the standard MSFS setting. This is the latest release of the file, version number 1.01. New in this version: Added reviews of Overland sceneries, Ground Environment Pro, revised AI traffic From: Marten Weber

Library Object Viewer is a simple utility designed to display FS9 scenery objects as they look in the Sim itself. The program uses DirectX to display the object in 3D complete with textures and colors. You can rotate the object in all three axes, re-scale it, show it either solid or in wireframe and create jpg images of objects directly in the program. This version is a ßeta and has limited documentation. It is, however simple to use and there is a video tutorial available. From Jon Masterson

Bug Fix: Released For LOM. A new version of the LOM/SM executable is now available. This will update you to v1.002. It is an update only release and you need version 1.00 installed. This fixes the bug in Scenery Maker where if you changed the scale of an object it was not remembered. Download: lom_1002.zip From Jon Masterson.

SceneGenX - This program builds scenery only for FS2004 using the BGLComp compiler supplied by Microsoft. SCASM code is no longer used. The scenery source code is in a new XML format. This first version will allow you to place runways, helipads, and scenery objects from the FS2004 default scenery in FS2004. From From Tom Hiscox & Brian McWilliams.

is a quick guide to make flight simulation on your PC look more realistic. It includes elementary information about the use of scenery, weather, aircraft, AI traffic and flight planners. Also included is a section on hardware and software issues, as well as a step by step guide on "upgrading" your flight environment from the standard MSFS setting. This is the latest release of the file, version number 1.00. New in this version: software setup recommendations and flight planning, step-by-step guide, revised AI traffic, revisions to aircraft section, added images. Keywords: AFCAD, airport, AI traffic, aircraft, scenery, hardware, software, add-ons, configuration, weather, flight planning, routes. From: Marten Weber

This tutorial is an attempt to illustrate one design process for animating sliding hangar doors using FSDS v3. Unlike the doors that rotate into the overhead, as described in FSDS v2 tutorials, these are on tracks and slide horizontally to each side much like many of the older hangar doors were constructed. The tutorial will concentrate on the front wall, four doors and their animation. The construction of the rest of the hangar or building will be left to the reader. From Woody

A comprehensive, step by step *.WMV (Windows Media Video) tutorial the proves the old adage correct. "A picture IS worth a thousand words". This is NOT for people who already have a handle on texturing in Gmax, but is designed for newbies who haven't quite put all the pieces together yet. From: Bill Womack

A P-51 Mustang, flown by Jim Beasley; an F-16 Fighting Falcon, flown by Maj. Dax Cornelius from Hill Air Force Base, Utah; an F-15 Eagle, flown by Capt. Tony Bierenkoven from Eglin AFB, Fla.; and an A-10 Thunderbolt II, flown by Capt. Jeff Yost of Pope AFB, N.C., fly over New York City on Thursday, May 25, 2006. The "Heritage Flight" pilots flew in the Jones Beach Air Show on Long Island. Complete installation instructions are provided. Please Note: This wallpaper is available in the following screen resolution: *Available upon request [*] 0640 X 480 [*] 1152 X 870 [*] 1280 X 960 [*] 1600 X 1200 x Download Now! [x] 800 X 600 [x] 1024 X 768 http://www.scenery.org Semper Fi Tom Gregor, Sr. Webmaster

There are two very different concepts called LODs within the simulator. One is the method used to map the surface of the Earth into squares, each LOD halving each side of the previous square LOD for the next 'level of detail'. Here I'm talking about the other one:) Like many of my tutorials, this is less of a step-by-step format, and more of a discussion. From: Robin Corn

Library Object Manager is a utility you can use to manage your collection of FS9 Library Objects. The main changes since the final ßeta are: • You can now save extended information about your libraries. • Thumbnail sharing - export / import. Scenery Maker has been completely re-written and has new tools that can easily create fences, object lines, bridges and fill areas with objects such as trees. Please visit the LOM page below for further details. Requires Microsoft dotNet Framework version 2.0. From Jon Masterson

Find All Duplicate is an utility to remove duplicate textures from Addon Sceneries in FS2002 or FS2004. It scans your Addon Scenery folder and keeps only one active copy of your texture files either locally or in the main texture folder. You can backup the duplicate files or delete them. Logs files may be created to see what has been done. From Gerard DURAND

or, how to install SBuilder 2.05 Rev 6 for those that are not lucky enough to get it to install the first time and need a more pedantic install tutorial. From: Jay Langham

Short guidebook and reference source to expanding your flight simulation experience once you are bored with the basic package. Explains in simple terms, concepts such as scenery, mesh, terrain, virtual ATC, AI traffic, etc. Compiled in *.pdf format. Note: This version offers a revised Weather segment. by Marten Weber:

This is the final beta of this utility which use can use to manage your collection of FS9 Library Objects. There are a number of enhancements and fixes to Library Object Manager. Scenery Maker has been completely re-written and has new tools that can easily create fences, object lines, bridges and fill areas with objects such as trees. Please visit the LOM Page for further details. Requires Microsoft dotNet Framework version 2.0. From Jon Masterson

A *.doc / *.pdf guide to creating (almost) static aircraft in FS2004. Using this guide will allow any FS2004 aircraft which is suitable for AI use to become an (almost) static object. Requires Lee Swordy's Traffic Tools 2.02 and AFCAD 2.21. A working knowledge of these two programs is strongly suggested. From: Patrick Finch

A *.doc guide on how to place an (almost) static vehicle in this example a jeep in front of the Barn at Eagle Field 7KS9. This guide is based on Patrick Finch's tutorial above. Requires Lee Swordy's Traffic Tools 2.02 and AFCAD 2.21. From: Mike Basford

The Scenery Hall of Fame came into existence in May 1996 specifically to make available a listing of all scenery related files uploaded to IUP on any given day. At the time, a useful service to the flight-sim community, who would now know the file name, file size, FS version, a brief description of the file and of course the author. Times change... and so have we. Thanks for ten terrific years! copyright © 1996 - 2006 SHOF

This dynamic document is a collaborative effort of the members of the AvSim Scenery Design forum: Scenery design for Microsoft Flight Simulator can seem complex, even bewildering, to beginners. Concepts and terms are vaguely understood, if at all, and it is difficult to choose the right tools for each task. This comprehensive (.html) document seeks to provide some guidance for those who are starting out. This is a "must-read" for anyone interested in scenery design, the single most comprehensive guide of its type today! "New VTP Lines Section Added" courtesy of Bob Brown.

This set of tutorials deals with placing API and MDL objects, creating LibraryObject (LibObj) files for certain API objects, and creating Exclude and Flatten zones. There are six tutorials listed in the main file; • Placing 3rd Party API Objects • Creating an API Library Objects File • Creating an Exclusion Zone • Placing API Objects from a Library Objects File • Placing MDL Objects from a Library Objects File • Creating a Flatten Zone From: Sarge Check Six! Designs

Short guidebook and reference source to expanding your flight simulation experience once you are bored with the basic package. Explains in simple terms, concepts such as scenery, mesh, terrain, virtual ATC, AI traffic, etc. Compiled in *.pdf format by Marten Weber:

A tutorial for modifying FS2004 (FS9) airport terrain using Luis Sa's Sbuilder 2.05. It is intended for designers or users who have created new or modified airport AFCAD files, and have found hills and/or trees and buildings in their airport layouts. From: Scott Smart

This dynamic document is a collaborative effort of the members of the AvSim Scenery Design forum: Scenery design for Microsoft Flight Simulator can seem complex, even bewildering, to beginners. Concepts and terms are vaguely understood, if at all, and it is difficult to choose the right tools for each task. This comprehensive (.html) document seeks to provide some guidance for those who are starting out. This is a "must-read" for anyone interested in scenery design, the single most comprehensive guide of its type today! "New VTP Lines Section Added"

Updated version with many new features. Library Object Manager is a utility designed to manage your collection of FS9 library objects. It does not work with API Macros (our API Manager can do that). Functions include importing object information from FS9 library bgl files; from SBuilder, RWY12 and EZ-Scenery. Categorizing objects by user defined category, by library name and by author. Exporting object information so that it can be used by SBuilder, RWY12, Object Placer XML, EZ-Scenery, and SceneGenX. Creating library files from your collection of .mdl objects. A quick placement function to allow you to place objects into your scenery for testing, creating thumbnails etc. A more extensive object placement program (Scenery Maker) which is similar in concept to RWY12 and Object Placer XML. LOM Requires Mirosoft dotNET Framework 2.0; bglxml.exe from Alessandro G. Antonini; FSUIPC from Pete Dowson for the scenery creation function to work; and bglcomp from Microsoft (included in this package). From Jon Masterson

EOD is a freeware program which allows you to create 3D objects for Microsoft FlightSimulator (98-2002). You can put a cube and a roof object together, choose the textures and your house is finished. EOD can save your work as a API object for the scenery design program Airport or as a SCM file for ASD. Note: Help files, in English are also available separately. "With this update it is now possible to select "no shading" for objects, which is very useful for trees. It is probably also the last release because I do not have enough time to continue with the development of EOD". From Matthias Brückner

Updated version with many new features. Library Object Manager is a utility designed to manage your collection of FS9 library objects. It does not work with API Macros (our API Manager can do that). Functions include importing object information from FS9 library bgl files; from SBuilder, RWY12 and EZ-Scenery. Categorizing objects by user defined category, by library name and by author. Exporting object information so that it can be used by SBuilder, RWY12, Object Placer XML, EZ-Scenery, and SceneGenX. Creating library files from your collection of .mdl objects. A quick placement function to allow you to place objects into your scenery for testing, creating thumbnails etc. A more extensive object placement program (Scenery Maker) which is similar in concept to RWY12 and Object Placer XML. LOM Requires Mirosoft dotNET Framework 2.0; bglxml.exe from Alessandro G. Antonini; FSUIPC from Pete Dowson for the scenery creation function to work; and bglcomp from Microsoft (included in this package). From Jon Masterson

An E-2C Hawkeye prepares for an arrested landing on the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Complete installation instructions are provided.

Library Object Manager is a utility designed to manage your collection of FS9 library objects. It does not work with API Macros (our API Manager can do that). Functions include importing object information from FS9 library bgl files; from SBuilder, RWY12 and EZ-Scenery. Categorizing objects by user defined category, by library name and by author. Exporting object information so that it can be used by SBuilder, RWY12, Object Placer XML, EZ-Scenery, and SceneGenX. Creating library files from your collection of .mdl objects. A quick placement function to allow you to place objects into your scenery for testing, creating thumbnails etc. A more extensive object placement program (Scenery Maker) which is similar in concept to RWY12 and Object Placer XML. LOM Requires Mirosoft dotNET Framework 2.0; bglxml.exe from Alessandro G. Antonini; FSUIPC from Pete Dowson for the scenery creation function to work; and bglcomp from Microsoft (included in this package). From Jon Masterson

The secret of great-looking photo-quality building textures is preparation. With a reasonable digital camera we can take all the pictures we want, but that's only the start. Converting the photos into textures requires a lot of work, so anything which can make this quicker and easier is very welcome...

This dynamic document is a collaborative effort of the members of the AvSim Scenery Design forum: Scenery design for Microsoft Flight Simulator can seem complex, even bewildering, to beginners. Concepts and terms are vaguely understood, if at all, and it is difficult to choose the right tools for each task. This comprehensive (.html) document seeks to provide some guidance for those who are starting out. Now available in Adobe Acrobat Version, courtesy of Bob Brown.

Every one of our United States Armed Forces and Aviation Games has been evaluated by game & flight-sim / aviation enthusiasts, and has been judged superior! “No need to worry that you’ll select the incorrect item” because their aren’t any “wrong” choices, we’ve seen to that! Plus, every purchase from the Game Store helps to defray operating cost. "Get yours today!"

SBuilder - Scenery Builder is now a shareware program and produces scenery for FS2004 and requires that FS2004 is installed in the system. The following types of scenery can be created with Scenery Builder: · Mesh Scenery · Land and Water Class Scenery · Standard and High Resolution · Photo Scenery · LWM and VTP Scenery Exclusion Scenery · Object Placement (FS8 and FS9 Library Objects, API and ASD macros and Rwy12 Objects). From Luis Sá

A must for any Flight Simmer!. Check 'em out at the Scenery Hall of Fame store. "Let 'em know how you REALLY feel!" Get Yours NOW!

This dynamic document is a collaborative effort of the members of the AvSim Scenery Design forum: Scenery design for Microsoft Flight Simulator can seem complex, even bewildering, to beginners. Concepts and terms are vaguely understood, if at all, and it is difficult to choose the right tools for each task. This comprehensive (.html) document seeks to provide some guidance for those who are starting out. This is a "must-read" for anyone interested in scenery design, the single most comprehensive guide of its type today!

This dynamic document is a collaborative effort of the members of the AvSim Scenery Design forum: Scenery design for Microsoft Flight Simulator can seem complex, even bewildering, to beginners. Concepts and terms are vaguely understood, if at all, and it is difficult to choose the right tools for each task. This comprehensive (.html) document seeks to provide some guidance for those who are starting out. This is a "must-read" for anyone interested in scenery design, the single most comprehensive guide of its type today!

In the interest of conserving bandwidth / server hard drive space, this series will no longer be hosted by the SHOF. Instead, the series can be downloaded from the known archives i.e. http://flightsim.com & http://www.avsim.com. We will however, continue this listing as a service to the flight-sim community. Compiled in *.xls format by John Burford & David "Opa" Marshall

The Fifth Tutorial using Sbuilder. This one looks at how to make FS9 library objects available in Sbuilder so that you can add them to your scenery. It uses an EZ-Scenery library as an example but the information is relevant to any FS9 library. I also cover adding thumbnails of Fs9 libray objects so that you can preview the objects before adding them to your scenery. From: Jon Masterson

Different scenery and other add-ons require different configuration settings for best operation. This tutorial shows a way to have several FS9.exe present, one for each configuration, which can be started right from the Windows desktop. From: David Roch

In scenery design, creating exclusion rectangles sometimes won’t work to the best of your advantage. In addition, when you want to completely overhaul an airport and delete everything default in the name of accuracy, you need to look at the source files to see what goes where so you can start removing the objects and replacing them with accurate versions of themselves. A comprehensive list of recommended programs and utilities is included. From: Steven Rosenow

We were searching for some special way to express our good wishes to you for Christmas and the coming year, but we discovered that there are some things in life that cannot be improved upon. So, please accept our very best wishes to you, your family, for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us here at the Scenery Hall of Fame. From our search, we did learn some facts that we hadn't known before, and hope you find them interesting. Saint Nicholas was a bishop of the Christian church of Myra, in Lycia, Anatolia. He enjoyed a reputation for great generosity and compassion. Legend has it that he saved the three daughters of a poor nobleman from a life of prostitution, by tossing a bag of gold through an open window of their home on three, separate occasions. This provided the young women with a dowry with which to procure an honorable marriage. The custom of giving gifts at Christmas is attributed to this legend. In keeping with this legend, we hope that Santa brings you and yours all that you want for Christmas. “Happy Holidays” - Tom Gregor Sr. Webmaster - Scenery Hall of Fame - SHOF

This is the third update (12/22/05) in about a year. It’s quite a change from the previous version, having switched to an entirely 3D display environment and included landclass and object handling, all in realtime. This update contains a fairly large collection of bugfixes and enhancements, mainly to do with object (model) handling. It should also be faster, and the author has started padding the manual out a little. The designer goes on to say: "I need to find out what people want, what works, what doesn’t work, what you think". Drop me a line below: Note: a summary of the NEW features, are as follows: • Landclass colors when not using textures are correct for all seasons • Can now select or deselect individual objects using 'Ctrl-Click' • No longer select an object behind the one you clicked on (ObjectID Z-buffering) • Support VTP polys with photo-textures • First try at animating models • Allow multiple objects to be copied • Save selected object definitions to XML file • Can now select the complexity level for displayed models • Display model complexity in info window • First attempt at loading generic buildings from XML • Show existing generic buildings in model previewer • Show bookmark locations visibly From Jim Keir

This is the fourth Tutorial in my series on using Sbuilder to design airport scenery. In this one I look at adding objects such as buildings, trees and vehicles to your scenery. I cover how Sbuilder displays information about, and categorizes objects. I show how to use FS default library objects, API macros and RWY12 objects to populate the airfield. From: Jon Masterson

This is a follow up to my Tutorial on using SBuilder and AFCAD2 to regress an Airfield to an earlier time. It builds on from that tutorial and describes adding modified landclass around the airfield and adding an access road using VTP2 lines. Whilst this tutorial was designed as part of a series on creating earlier age airfields the techniques in both should be of interest and use in the modern era if you are developing, or wish to develop, scenery using SBuilder. From: Jon Masterson

The third Tutorial using Sbuilder. This one looks at using Textured Polygons to create airport ground features. It uses the project file created in the first tutorial as the basis and replaces the land class runways and airfield with ones made using textured polys. I also cover flattens and a bit about creating slopes. From: Jon Masterson

This is a description of my personal approach to laying out a Golden Age Airfield. I use AFCAD2 and SBuilder. Although the tutorial is not specifically about SBuilder I do try and share some of my experience of using it and point out some of the traps for the newcomer. From: Jon Masterson

API Manager is a small freeware program to manage and categorize macros. Including: • Show authors credit • Object footprint data • Scale data • Missing textures From Jon Masterson

LWMViewer - This is the second update (12/09/05) in about a year. It’s quite a change from the previous version, having switched to an entirely 3D display environment and included landclass and object handling, all in realtime. This update contains a fairly large collection of bugfixes and enhancements, mainly to do with object (model) handling. It should also be faster, and the author has started padding the manual out a little. From Jim Keir

Texture Finder decompiles a scenery bgl (using scdis.exe from Takuya Murakami - available separately) and then identifies the textures used. It can then identify and move missing files into the appropriate folder. From Jon Masterson

Abacus Inc writes, "Over the past six months, we've had a team of noted aircraft and scenery designers working away with alpha and beta editions of the well-known FS Design Studio - commonly known as FSDS. Using its new and improved features, they've designed some very impressive models, which they'll soon unveil to the FS community. Our testing is almost complete and we're now preparing to release Version 3 of FSDS. Before Louis Sinclair invented FSDS more than five years ago, there was no practical way to design aircraft and scenery to take advantage of the features in then-new FS2000. The launch of FSDS V1 with its easy-to-use "what you see is what you get" look convinced a large number of users to take up design. Since then, tens of thousands of hobbyists have used FSDS to create a phenomenal number of aircraft and scenery objects for subsequent releases of Flight Simulator. FSDS remains the de facto standard for designers world wide. Never content with the status quo, professionals and novices alike have asked for even more new features. We've listened to their requests. This new version includes many new important features to make designs even more impressive and easier to achieve.

An F/A-18C Hornet assigned to the "Silver Eagles" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron One One Five (VMFA-115) clears the flight deck after launch aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).

A book of awareness to help pilots realize a total awareness of the situations he/she may face in the process of flying and landing a light airplane. Softcover. DLC: Airplanes--Landing.

There are two kinds of instrument pilots: those that fly in the system because they have to, and those that fly in the system because they love to. Rod Machado LOVES instrument flying. I've met him many times, and I can tell you that he loves thinking about instrument flying, talking about instrument flying, writing about instrument flying, and teaching instrument flying. Rod's the type of guy who you can imagine counting holding pattern laps instead of sheep in order to fall asleep at night. He's fascinated by the smallest detail on an enroute chart, by the challenges of tracking an ADF course in a strong wind, by the deep hidden meaning to be found in a K Index on a Composite Moisture Stability Chart. He's the type of guy you'd want for your "Phone a Friend" friend if you were ever on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and the big question was about takeoff minimums. The type of guy you'd want to be your instrument instructor.

This was a great tool for my flight instruction. Kershner has a way of explaining things that is better than the other books I was able to find. I read this on my own instead of ground school and past my written and practical - so, it worked!

FLY HIGH, FLY LONG, FLY FREE, FLY FOREVER This guide for new pilots proves that the fun has just begun when you pocket that precious certificate that says you’re free to fly on your own. Now, veteran pilot LeRoy Cook shows you what lies beyond flight school. This indispensable, skill-building.

Each guide in this comprehensive series covers the fundamentals of flying and the principal characteristics of a specific type of aircraft, gathered from the advice and experiences of leading experts in the aviation industry. Geared for pilots looking to supplement their individual plane's official POH.

FS-Interrogate is for Developers and Cockpit-Builder who want to learn/see which data Microsoft Flight-Simulator (MSFS) has to offer (via FSUIPC and/or WideFS - both by Peter Dowson). Basically the program consists of a "list of variables" (with description for each) and it lets your read/write these variables from/to MSFS. This way - hopefully - giving a better understanding of how it works and what is possible. For the last 4 years FS-Interrogate version 1.xx has been bundled with the FSUIPC SDK, however September 2005 FS-Interrogtate2 was made public available with the 26th release of the FSUIPC SDK. From Pelle F. S. Liljendal

Now that Autodesk no longer supports Gmax, there is uncertainty about getting a registration key online. This is what the crack is for. This is a work around [probably made by the company] that has been around for quite some time for those who have difficulties in obtaining the registration key for Gmax. This crack requires Gmax v1.2. Please see the "Read Me" file for information on how to use the crack [it's simple] and on ways to restore your computer in case anything happens [this crack adds an entry to the system registry in windows]. From Jessy Corrales

XMLMove is a small utility for scenery xml file displacement or to displace particular objects in a xml file. Note: Requires FSCUIP From: Vladimir Svoboda (Cesmina)

Compiled in .pdf format this handbook will guide you in the proper installation and set-up of your program. From: From Israel Roth, Seev Kahn and the RWY12 team.

Compiled in .pdf format this step by step, illustrated instruction manual will explain how to: create, edit, place and share your scenery. From: From Israel Roth, Seev Kahn and the RWY12 team.

This supplements the RWY12 Tutorial v1.2, which comes with the program. The document includes easy to understand, step-by-step procedures for installation, program setup, common problems, FAQ's and installing additional (new) library files. Contributors: Gary Mills, Charles "Ebenezer" McMillan, Israel Roth and Seev Kahn. From: David “Opa” Marshall

From: Seev Kahn & Israel Roth

LWMViewer - This is the first update (10/27/05) in about a year. It’s quite a change from the previous version, having switched to an entirely 3D display environment and included landclass and object handling, all in realtime. Almost the entire program has been re-written to make these changes. As you’ll probably find out, it’s still not finished. There are lots of rough edges and partially-complete bits. I decided to release it in this state for a few reasons. First, after working on it for so long I was losing momentum and it seemed that the best way of fixing this was to have a pack of people yelling at me to get on with it! Second, although bits are unfinished, many other bits are working and so it could still be useful. Also, I simply wanted to find out which bits people actually wanted to use; I’d had so many things I wanted to include I was losing focus on which were the important ones. Most importantly I just didn’t know if any of the new display code would work on anything but my own PC. Thanks then, for volunteering to test this out. I need to find out what people want, what works, what doesn’t work, what you think. Drop me a line: jimkeir@yahoo.co.uk From Jim Keir

AutoAsmis a program that creates LWM polygons (water or land) and VTP lines (roads, streams etc), as well as other scenery objects for use in FS2002 and FS2004. The input data is always in the form of a colour bitmap, though several data formats can be imported and converted to suitable bitmaps. The following scenery objects can be created: · LWM polygons for water or land. · VTP lines for roads, streams, railways etc. · VTP areas. · Terrain mesh. · Landclass. · Objects such as trees or buildings linked to VTP lines (similar to vector autogen). Note: Apart from a few minor fixes, the major new feature (for v1.0) is support for dynamic objects. You can now add ground traffic moving along roads as well as moving ships and flying aircraft. You can also add moving trains. From Chris Wright

This issue has somewhat of an International flavor to it as several items we are reviewing have come to us from distant shores. Our readers have again provided a number of very useful Tips and recommendations. Also included are the usual assortment of "How-To's", links to useful sites, and much, much more. In addition, there is a "from the E-mailbag" department where we try to answer a question of general interest submitted by a reader. We have also included a little something for the "kids" (of all ages). Updated indexes by John Burford in .xls (Excel) and .pdf formats for the entire series are included. As usual, I have attempted to include something of value for everyone, regardless of your experience level. Compiled in .doc and .pdf formats for your flying enjoyment From: David "Opa" Marshall

into new FS2004 format and produces an XML file to be compiled with Microsoft BGLCOMP (from FS2004 SDK). Besides disassembling all BGL records, it is also able to extract .MDL files from ModelData sections. This utility is freeware and open-source, licensed under GNU-GPL to help developers understand the new FS2004 BGL structures (contributors are welcome) - please read inside documentation for important infos. Also includes XMLSHELL, a GUI program for controlling bglxml from Windows Explorer. From: Alessandro G. Antonini (C)2004

FlattEx is a simple tool to help simmers to create "Flatten" and "Exclude" lines (described in FS2000 Scenery SDK) and to insert them in the SCENERY.CFG file. Data will be captured from FS through the free FDSConnection module. It can work with FS2004, FS2002 and FS2000. From: Mario Corallo.

into new FS2004 format and produces an XML file to be compiled with Microsoft BGLCOMP (from FS2004 SDK). Besides disassembling all BGL records, it is also able to extract .MDL files from ModelData sections. This utility is freeware and open-source, licensed under GNU-GPL to help developers understand the new FS2004 BGL structures (contributors are welcome) - please read inside documentation for important infos. Also includes XMLSHELL, a GUI program for controlling bglxml from Windows Explorer. From: Alessandro G. Antonini (C)2004

Undoubtedly the folks up at Redmond, Washington are in constant communication with all of their associates, most assuredly with AutoDesk , Inc. I think that it’s safe to say that the fate of Gmax® was determined long ago. Particularly in light of the next generation of Flight-Sim currently under development. And with that said, how could they (MS) move forward in their program development, without knowledge of AutoDesk intentions? Decisions of this magnitude don’t take place in a vacuum. One final point; keep in mind the ambiguous, and somewhat fuzzy statement announcing the supposed demise of Gmax® by AutoDesk. “As of October 6, 2005, Autodesk will no longer offer Gmax® software as a stand-alone product.” stand-alone product what exactly does that mean? I can see how the FS community might be in a “the sky is falling” frame of mind, As for myself, I’m not sure that the “other shoe has fallen just yet.” Just a thought. Tom G, Sr. Webmaster SHOF

In this issue there are several very useful Tips which have been shared by our readers. Also included are the usual assortment of "How-To's", links to useful sites, and much, much more. In addition there is a "from the e-mailbag" department where we try to answer a question of general interest submitted by a reader. Two "Bonus" files, which you are sure to enjoy, have been added also. Updated indexes by John Burford in .xls (Excel) and .pdf formats for the entire series are included. As usual, I have attempted to include something of value for everyone, regardless of your experience level. Compiled in .doc and .pdf formats for your flying enjoyment by David "Opa" Marshall.

will show you how to download and install the gmax program (plus additional needed files), so you can make and export 3D objects into FS2004.

Following is a multipart illustrated tutorial that will show you in easy to follow steps, how to create 3D models (FedEx truck) in gmax and how to export them to FS2004. In tutorial #1, 2, 3 and 4 you will create a truck with transparent windows. In the GMAX transparency tutorial (below) you will learn how to make semitransparent objects such as trees.

for making plain objects, such as antennas, trees, etc. where part of the object is seen and part transparent. A basic knowledge of gmax is needed.

is for advanced users. It will show you how to make your model “non-crash sensitive” in FS2004. I prepared the tutorial with the help of Stephen Legg http://www.fs9world.co.uk who explained to me how to use the “Max Script” and “No Crash” functions.

Six F-16 Fighting Falcons with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team fly in delta formation in front of the Empire State Building.

Bush Field, Ga. -- Airmen unload vehicles from a C-5 Galaxy. The Galaxy and its crew are providing transportation for cargo being used during Exercise Golden Medic 2005 which is being held simultaneously at three locations -- here, Fort Gordon, Ga., and Fort McCoy, Wis.

In this issue there is a discussion of the MS Traffic Tool Box addon which many may not know exists. Numerous recommendations for new and different things to do and audition are also included as well as the usual assortment of "How-To's", links to useful sites, and much, much more. There is also a segment reviewing some exceptional aircraft design work. In addition there is a "from the e-mailbag" department where we try to answer a question of general interest submitted by a reader. Updated indexes by John Burford in .xls (Excel) and .pdf formats for the entire series are included. As usual, I have attempted to include something of value for everyone, regardless of your experience level. Compiled in .doc and .pdf formats for your flying enjoyment by David "Opa" Marshall.

How to easily add an Animated Windsock to your scenery. Few items make an airport - especially a GA airport - look more realistic than a Windsock that reacts to wind speed and direction. You can easily add one to your favorite airport by using this short, step by step illustrated tutorial. No programming knowledge is needed. Anyone can do it. Compiled in .doc and .pdf formats. From: David "Opa" Marshall

This dynamic document is a collaborative effort of the members of the AvSim Scenery Design forum: Scenery