Contents and quick links

Arrivals   Screenshot   Fleet Update   Aviation news   Flight Safety   Quiz   Flightsim News   Videos   Funnies

Click the above links for quick access.

It’s funny how themes sometimes develop quite by chance while I’m throwing this together err, carefully crafting these magazines. Of course what I really mean is I fully intended to make this all about the early days of civil jet aviation, ahem!

Talking about the early days of civil jet aviation, FSX turned 11 this October! If like myself you have a lot of money invested in add-ons then you might be understandably reluctant to make the switch to a new flight sim’. I made the switch to Prepared v4 as soon as it was available and I won't lie to you and say it was painless but now most of my existing scenery works either through free patches or by removing incompatible files from the effects folder. The 3rd party aircraft were more troublesome but again publishers such as Just Flight, Carenado and PMDG to name a few have provided free updates. Active Sky weather, GSX ground services and REX textures are just some of the others to offer free updates. There are some cases where a charge has been made such as the Majestic Q400 and a lot of the older software will probably never be updated but as far as I know FS2Crew (shame on you, and possibly A2A) are the only publishers to charge almost the full price again.
Aside from encouraging anyone to make the switch (and I'm enjoying the simming experience now more than I ever have) I have started to sift through our fleet of aging freeware planes and update them to work in the new 64-bit sims - but don't worry the original aircraft will still remain available. Graham UKD140 put me on the path with his re-hash of the B737-400. The new downloads will include fully working virtual cockpits and sound sets where available.

Phil UKD101 has taken his passion for flying upside down a step further (against his doctors advise) and is creating a hub based in Melbourne, Australia (ICAO: YMML). There he is welcoming you to fly (or just buy a FSA ticket) into Melbourne and then enjoy flying domestic internal routes for a change of scene and weather. He also intends to have a flying medical service up and running in due course. More details here.


Use the quick links at the top or scroll down at your leisure for a selection of videos , screen shots, real-world aviation news, fleet updates, competition and humour.
Newshound aka Mark UKD171

“Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price”
Amelia Earhart

A screen-shot from Graham UKD140 of the Airbus A319 taken during his jaunt across South America . This is one of our existing models that has been upgraded and now works with the latest flight sim versions.


Do you have a screen shot you are proud of? Please send it in and share it with us.
To enter in the next e-magazine send your entries to Newshound: mark[at]planecrazy.me.uk 

Don't worry about editing pictures, sending them as a full size bmp is best and I’ll edit them for Directions

Again I must apologise even though I have repainted another five or so aircraft I am still failing to get these uploaded in time. I will keep at it and since the last edition I have uploaded the Virtuacol CRJ, a freeware DC-8, Just Flight Tristar and Alabeo Cessna 172. The Airbus Family and Boeing 737-400 downloads could be as big as 1Gb each so I’m looking at uploading them to Flightsim.com and Avsim.com

 Some of UKDirect / CDA ‘Project Airbus’ Airbus’ Family- A318, A319, A320, A321, photo’s courtesy of Graham UKD140. Included in this group is an Alabeo Cessna C172RG and Vistaliner Boeing 737-400.

Facebook Gallery

Various UKDirect aircraft taken by Andrew Ellinor, Ruud Blaauwijkel, Rafal Watroba, and Darren Williams. I have taken and edited these direct from our Facebook page, there are many other good ones there but I have had to omit many due to the resolution.

 

Boeing

How long are the most popular Dreamliner routes?

Most 787s are employed to show off their long legs on routes such as Norwegian’s impending link between Gatwick and Buenos Aires, or to allow carriers such as British Airways to test out a new connection – like Heathrow to New Orleans, coming next year. This was surely a plane built to connect Europe with the Americas, filling in the gaps in the route map?

The results are remarkable. Of the top five 787 airlines, who between them account for one-third of all Dreamliners, one is North American (Air Canada), two are Asian (Air India and All Nippon Airways) and one is a Gulf carrier (Qatar Airways). The fifth? Not a European airline, but Africa’s leading carrier, Ethiopian Airlines.
Europe does not get a look-in among the top 10 operators, and the US only scrapes in with United Airlines in 10th place.

Among the top Dreamliner routes – those carrying the most passengers – two transatlantic links appear: Heathrow-Chicago, thanks to American Airlines’ four-daily service on the 4,000-mile journey, and Madrid-Bogota, with Avianca running three flights a day on the 5,000-mile haul. But the top five above them are all routes that could be flown by a Douglas DC-3 piston-engined plane – which would still have enough range to fly back without refuelling.

In fifth place, at 400 miles: Tokyo-Hiroshima. Fourth is the only international link: Tokyo to Seoul, at 740 miles. Third and second also start or end in the Japanese capital, with destinations of Osaka (250 miles) and Fukuoka (550).

Top route for the Dreamliner by a long chalk, though, is the 720-mile, two-hour link between Vietnam’s capital and largest city.

Living the dream? Between the seat-belt light going out after take-off from Hanoi and back on during the approach to Ho Chi Minh City, passengers will barely have time to read an article about the planned Qantas link from Heathrow to Perth in Australia. But at 9,009 miles this will not be the world’s longest flight: that title goes to the Qatar Airways link between Doha and Auckland. That’s a 9,100-mile route, at least by the time the pilot has diverted around UAE airspace because of the current flying ban. And what sort of plane flies it? A dull old Boeing 777.   Source: http://www.independent.co.uk

Is the Boeing 747 in trouble? | CNBC International

A growing number of airlines are ditching the iconic Boeing 747 for more fuel efficient aircraft. British Airways on the other hand are investing millions on updating theirs.

United – A Fond Farewell to our Boeing 747

Since her induction into the United fleet, the Boeing 747 aka the “Queen of the Skies” has been one of our most recognizable aircrafts with her unique upper deck. Over the years, she's won the hearts of customers and employees alike. Join us as we look back at her history with United, before she flies into the sunset after 47 years of service on November 7.

Airbus

Airbus agrees to buy majority stake in Bombardier's C-Series

Airbus SE agreed to acquire a majority stake in Bombardier Inc.’s C Series program and will start assembling the jetliner in the U.S., vaulting a technologically advanced but slow-selling plane onto the front lines of the battle with Boeing Co. over global aircraft sales.

Without putting up a dime, Airbus will take just over half of a partnership controlling the C Series. The European planemaker’s marketing muscle and production expertise boosts the viability of the all-new aircraft after more than $6 billion in development costs forced Bombardier to rely on government assistance. The deal also thrusts Airbus into the middle of a bitter trade spat between the Canadian manufacturer and Boeing. Following a Boeing complaint that Bombardier sold 75 of its C Series jets to Delta Air Lines Inc. for “absurdly low prices,” President Donald Trump’s administration slapped the aircraft with import duties of 300 percent in recent weeks -- roiling U.S. relations with Canada and the U.K., where Bombardier makes the plane’s wings.

In a potential effort to circumvent the tariffs, Airbus will add another final assembly line for the C Series at its factory in Mobile, Alabama. The facility will serve U.S. customers and complement production in Canada, according to a company statement.
“This is a program that has been waiting for a deus ex machina, and wow, it really got one,” Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at Teal Group, said in an interview. The deal casts Airbus as a global player while Boeing comes off as “a bit shortsighted and protectionist. It makes Boeing look like they’ve been playing tic tac toe against a chess master.”

“The main risk would appear to be only that Airbus gets distracted,” Sandy Morris, a London-based analyst with Jefferies, said in a note.

It’s too soon to say if the new Alabama production line would enable the C Series to avoid U.S. tariffs. The duties were applied to C Series planes “regardless of whether they enter the United States fully or partially assembled,” according to a U.S. government fact sheet on the matter. Boeing said Airbus and Bombardier were just trying to get around the restrictions.

“This looks like a questionable deal between two heavily state-subsidized competitors to skirt the recent findings of the U.S. government,” Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, said in an emailed statement. “Our position remains that everyone should play by the same rules for free and fair trade to work.”      Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/

Is there a future for the Airbus A380? | CNBC International

CNBC's Phil Han reports from the Paris Air Show and finds out why the Airbus A380 hasn't been as big of a hit as many in the industry had once predicted.

BAE Systems to cut nearly 2,000 UK jobs

Britain’s biggest defence contractor, BAE Systems, is to cut nearly 2,000 jobs in a significant blow to the UK’s manufacturing sector and the government’s industrial strategy.
The company, which makes the Eurofighter Typhoon jet and Britain’s nuclear submarines, said on Tuesday that up to 1,400 jobs would go at its military aerospace business over the next three years, along with a further 375 in maritime services and 150 at its cyber-intelligence business.
BAE aims to achieve the cuts, which are due to be implemented by 1 January and will affect managers as well as people working on the production line, through voluntary redundancies where possible. It employs 83,100 people worldwide, including 34,600 in the UK.
Its aerospace bases at Warton, where parts for the Typhoon are made and assembled, and Samlesbury in Lancashire, which together employ 10,000 people, will see 750 job losses, twice as many as in 2015. Its other aerospace base, in Brough, east Yorkshire, which makes parts for the Hawk, will see its 900-member workforce almost halved to 500, another severe blow to the region after 500 job losses at the site four years ago.
It is the first move in a cost-cutting programme led by BAE’s chief executive, Charles Woodburn, following a lack of orders for the Typhoon jet.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/
 

Bombardier stock skyrockets after Airbus takes majority stake in CSeries

Bombardier Inc. stock soared after announcing that rival aerospace giant Airbus SE will acquire a majority stake of its CSeries program, a big strategic move that comes as the company faces the prospect of permanent massive duties in the U.S.
Bombardier soared more than 20 per cent at open. It was trading up 18 per cent at $2.79 in early morning while Boeing shares were down 0.8 per cent to US$257.66

Under the agreement, Airbus will acquire a 50.01-per-cent stake in the CSeries program and provide the division with procurement, sales and marketing and customer support expertise. Bombardier will now own approximately 31 per cent, while Investissement Quebec will own 19 per cent. There will be no cash contribution by any of the partners and the CSeries program will not assume any financial debt, according to a news release.

“Airbus is the perfect partner for us, Quebec and Canada,” Bombardier chief executive Alain Bellemare said in a statement. “Their global scale, strong customer relationship and operational expertise are key ingredients for unleashing the full value of the C Series.”

The partnership comes as Bombardier grapples with 300 per cent preliminary duties on U.S. imports of its C-Series jet, thanks to a petition filed with the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. International Trade Commission by its U.S. rival, the Boeing Co.
The Commerce Department imposed hefty duties against Bombardier, issuing a 220-per-cent countervailing duty and 80-per-cent anti-dumping duty, largely over the sale of 75 CSeries jets to Delta Air Lines Inc.

On a conference call with reporters, Bellemare and Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said the partnership was not motivated by the ongoing trade dispute with Boeing. Source: http://business.financialpost.com/

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26 Aug 2017  de Havilland DH.82a Tiger Moth    Private   G-ADXT   C/n: ?  First flight: ?

At 09.28 it was reported to Dorset Police that the Tiger Moth had come down and smoke was seen (near Compton Abbas Airfield, Dorset).
Police, said: “Sadly, two men have died in the crash – the passenger, 67 years old and from Shaftesbury, and the pilot, 64 years old and from Blandford. Fire and Rescue Service Crews and on site Fire crews extinguished the fire. 
The men, both of whom were in their 60s, were aboard a Tiger Moth biplane which came down on private land east of the Compton Abbas Airfield near Shaftesbury shortly before 9.30am.
Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the site after witnesses spotted the plane crash landing before smoke was seen billowing from a crop field. Despite the efforts of the emergency services, both of the men died at the scene. It is thought the pilot was a member of the airfield and the passenger was on the flight as a birthday present. Members of the passenger's family are believed to have been watching from the ground.
Witnesses heard the engine cut out moments after take-off. It crash-landed on farming land and burst into flame.

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27 Aug 2017  Airbus A320-214   Jazeera Airways  9K-CAK   C/n:4162  First flight:-??

Jazeera Airways J9787, an Airbus A320, sustained damage to the no.2 engine inlet cowling after the aircraft struck a tethered aerostat while on approach to Kuwait International Airport.
The aircraft was flying downwind for an approach to runway 15R. At the end of the downwind leg the airplane made a left hand 360-degree turn, likely to allow spacing with a preceding flight (J9125) that was turning on finals for runway 15R.
The aircraft flew precisely overhead a facility were a small tethered blimp was active.
The right hand engine hit the cable, causing two cuts into the engine inlet cowling. The flight proceeded on a right hand turn to finals and landed normally on runway 15R at 13:24 UTC.

An AIP supplement published by the Kuwait authorities shows a restricted area (OK-R-8) from the ground to 15000 feet covering the facility overflown by the aircraft. Altitude of the 360-degree turn was 5375 feet, according to ADS-B data.

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06 Sep 2017 Boeing 777-236  British Airways   G-VIIH   C/n: 27490  First flight: ?

A British Airways Boeing 777-200, registration G-VIIH performing flight BAW-82GD from London Heathrow, UK to Athens (Greece), was in the initial climb out of Heathrow's runway 27L when the crew received a number of fault messages for the #2 (right hand) engine's (GE90) FADEC. The crew shut the engine down, stopped the climb at 5,800 feet above Kent and entered a hold to work checklists. The aircraft returned to Heathrow for a safe landing on runway 27R about one hour after departure. The aircraft flew with gear down throughout. AIRLIVE reports that the cause of the engine fire was possibly due to a bird strike, with a bird being ingested into the #2 engine

Main flight BA-632 from Heathrow to Athens was flown by a Boeing 767-300 registration G-BZHB which departed on schedule about 20 minutes after BA-82 and is currently on the way back as BA-633. According to flight plan G-VIIH was assigned callsign BAW-82GD with flight number BA-632Y as a second flight.
A replacement Boeing 777-200 registration G-VIIM departed with a delay of about 6 hours and is estimated to reach Athens with a delay of 6 hours.

Contemporary newspaper reports showed dramatic pictures of flames shooting out of the right-hand (#2) engine of G-VIIH, and focus on the troubles of one particular passenger, Mr. Geoffrey Lye, aged 67, for whom this flight was the third (of four) cancelled flights in his attempt to fly from London Heathrow to Athens, Greece. He eventually reached Athens after a total journey time of 33 hours.

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07 Sep 2017  Boeing767-381ER(WL)    All Nippon Airways - ANA)   JA621A   C/n: 40566/998  First flight: ?

A Boeing 767-381ER of All Nippon Airways lost a panel covers emergency slide storage over the port wing during a flight of 7th September, operating as flight ANA/NH936 from Xiamen,China to Tokyo/Narita, Japan. The panel is trapezoidal measuring 147cm x 60cm, and weights 3.14 kg. The lost panel was located at an industrial site in Ibaraki prefecture, 22 km north-northwest of Narita and just below the approach course to runway 16L. This particular aircraft, JA621A, lost again the same panel during a flight from Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport (DLC/ZYTL), China to Tokyo/Narita next day of the first incident, 8th September as flight ANA/NH904. The second panel is still missing. No personal injuries on board nor on the ground were reported. ANA explains the cause of detachment the panel was leaking high pressure nitrogen gas which inflates slide in emergency.

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09 Sep 2017 ATR 72-500 (72-212A)  Swiftair  EC-KKQ   C/n: 763  First flight: ?

Air Europa flight UX4050, operated by a Swiftair ATR 72-500, was involved in a stall incident when it was passing through an area with icing conditions while climbing to FL170.
The aircraft took off normally in daylight conditions at 19:09 hours local time from runway 10 at Alicante Airport. On board were 22 passengers, and 4 crew members. The flight was to be carried out at FL170 and moderate ice conditions were expected on the climb up to FL150.
The aircraft made the CATON3A departure and was initially authorized to FL170. Ten minutes into the flight, with the aircraft at FL130, the crew activated all three levels of ice protection. Seven minutes later, at 19:26 hours, with the aircraft climbing to FL170 the aircraft entered a stall
The crew recovered from the stall and declared an emergency. The autopilot was switched off and the aircraft experienced a sharp drop in altitude and oscillations.
The crew declared MAYDAY to the air traffic control services and was given priority for landing in Madrid. During the approach, there was a blockage problem in the vertical stabilizer which was later linked to a TLU (travel limitation unit) operating problem.
The landing and taxiing took place without any further incidents. None of the occupants of the aircraft were injured.

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24 SEP 2017  Boeing 737   Badr Airlines  N852GT   C/n: 37571/1462  First flight:  SEP 2012

Badr Airlines flight J4 341, a Boeing 737, suffered a bird strike while approaching Khartoum Airport, Sudan. A large bird penetrated the nose radome, causing extensive damage to the radome.
A safe landing was carried out at Khartoum Airport.

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30 SEP 2017  Airbus A380-861   Air France   F-HPJE   C/n: 052  First flight:  2010-08-10 (7 years 2 months)

An Air France Airbus A380, operating flight 66 from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, to Los Angeles International Airport, California, USA, diverted to Goose Bay, Canada following an en route engine malfunction.
The aircraft was en route over southern Greenland at FL370 when the no.4 engine suffered an uncontained failure. The entire fan and engine air inlet cowling broke away.
A decision was made to divert to Goose Bay where a safe landing was carried out on runway 26 at 15:42 UTC.
After landing, ARFF reported damage to the leading edge of the wing above the no. 4 engine and debris on the runway.

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09 OCT 2017  Boeing 777-323ER   American Airlines   N727AN   C/n: 33541/1176  First flight:  ?

American Airlines flight AA192 was being loaded when a container loader suffered a malfunction. A fire erupted, eventually engulfing a cargo container.

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15 OCT 2017  Airbus A380-841   Malaysia Airlines   9M-MNB   C/n: 081  First flight:  ?

Malaysia Airlines flight MH3, an Airbus A380, lost the left-hand nose landing gear wheel on landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia.
 

Time to get that grey matter working!. Email answers to mark “at” planecrazy.me.uk or use the message facility on FS Airlines.  Answers will be posted in the next Directions but if you email me your guesses I will reply straight away (in confidence - so no need to worry about embarrassment).

1>  Which is a purpose of wing-mounted vortex generators?
 
A)  Delays the onset of drag divergence at high speeds and aids in maintaining aileron effectiveness at high speeds.
B)  Breaks the airflow over the wing so the stall will progress from the root out to the tip of the wing.
C)  Increase the onset of drag divergence and aid in aileron effectiveness at low speed.
D)  Channel the airflow over the wing so it remains clear of the aileron.


2>  Even a small amount of frost, ice, or snow may
 
A)  increase takeoff performance.
B)  hinder lift production to a point where takeoff will be impossible.
C)  decrease takeoff ground run.
D)  Increase MTOW


3>  What is the purpose of an elevator trim tab?

A)  Modify the downward tail load for various airspeeds in flight eliminating flight-control pressures.
B)  Improve yaw stability at various airspeeds.
C)  Provide horizontal balance as airspeed is increased to allow hands-off flight.
D)  Adjust the speed tail load for different airspeeds in flight allowing neutral control forces.

 

Answers to last Directions quiz:

1. What flight controls are controlled by the plane's yoke?
   c)        Ailerons and elevator
2. What does VFR stand for?
   c)    Visual Flight Rules
3. What happens when a pilot "flares" during landing?
   b)     The pilot raises the plane's nose and waits for the plane to settle to the ground

Flightsim News

PREPARED v4.1 well… P3D 4.1 is here and available to download from your account. The update brings some nice improvements but is slightly underwhelming. Mostly VR improvements, but at least we can all look forward to the ‘big releases’ releasing closely to the update.

Prepar3D v4.1 is available now!
The Prepar3D team is excited to release the first update to v4! We have been hard at work building upon the major changes made in version 4 to continue making Prepar3D the most feature-rich, stable, and performant training platform available. This release includes numerous enhancements, new features, and bug fixes based on user and developer feedback.

Virtual Reality (VR) is now available in any view and includes an interactive mouse pointer enabling cockpit interaction. Aircraft interiors are brought to life with support for 4k textures and cockpit rain effects. Many updates were made to further improve stability, add-on compatibility, and performance in this release.
 

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Fsdreamteam is happy to announce the release of the new Lousiville International Airport (KSDF), home of the UPS Worldport cargo Hub.

Featuring an unprecedented integration between the scenery and GSX, to simulate the special Cargo Stand loading platform, with new human animated characters that move containers to/from the airplane directly into the warehouse, with a precise placement system that supports several cargo airplanes as used by UPS ( 757, 767, MD11 and A300 ). The scenery use SODE jetways. It has been designed with Prepar3D V4 in mind, with many optimizations specific to it, but it's also compatible with FSX.  https://www.fsdreamteam.com/

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GSX major update - GSX, version 2.1.0.0.
https://www.fsdreamteam.com
GSX has also been updated with many bugfixes, new features and all the required additions to support the new cargo loading system at KSDF.

Here are the change notes…

NEW: Cargo Stand loading system, as used in KSDF UPS Worldport.
NEW: “Mirror” Docking System, as used in KSDF.
NEW: The Gate selection menu indicates the number of parkings suitable for the airplane in use.
NEW: Distance readout for every parking system.
NEW: Added new ULD types SAA and A1N.
NEW: “Warp to Gate” function supports planes with non-standard flight models (Majestic Q400).
NEW Airplane Editor: A cargo door can now support multiple ULD types.
NEW Airplane Editor: A separate Main Cargo door can be specified.
NEW Scenery Editor: Saves automatically when exit from Aircraft Editor (like Parking Editor).
NEW Scenery Editor: Preferred exit marker in Parking Editor.
NEW Scenery Editor: Each parking can be set to ignore the airplane Preferred Exit.
NEW Scenery Editor: New reference markers for Cargo Main and Preferred Exit doors.
New Ground Operators added: OneJet, Air North Yukon, Strategic Aviation Canada.
Bugfix: Pushback truck swirling around the gear on some sceneries (Aerosoft EDDS and others).
Bugfix: Aircraft will decelerate more smoothly when stopping Pushback manually.
Bugfix: Move the Passenger Bus closer to the wingtip.
Bugfix: Fixed an error while creating airplane Traffic cones.
Bugfix: Fix BaggageTrain and PassengerBus when cargo exit is on the rear left (CRJ 900).
Bugfix: Fix crash while cycling parkings very fast in the Scenery Editor.
Bugfix: Fix BaggageLoader and BaggageTrain with rotated rear left cargo door (CRJ900).

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Majestic dash 8 Q400  In the status update majestic posted on Facebook, they stated that the P3D v4 compatible product will be released on Monday 23rd of October 2017, we all seen this coming as Lockheed stated that they knew of some big products releasing near the time of P3D v4.1, and the Q400 was certainly one of them, they also shared the update prices previous owners would have to pay to upgrade to the P3D v4 version of the product, this was expected as converting a product to a 64-bit format requires a lot of work and changes, which Majestic talk about in their statement…

Attention ALL Majestic Software Q400 Captains, First Officers, and Virtual Airlines:

The wait has been a laborious one for all crew members that were grounded for the past 5 months awaiting their Q400s to become air-worthy for use with Prepar3D v4. We are pleased to announce that the x64 bit version of the Majestic Software Q400 addon is currently being tested in-house, and should begin beta testing shortly, and the “tentative” release date is now being set for Monday 23rd of October 2017.

As mentioned in previous updates, there has been a significant amount of work that had to done to resurrect the Q400 for the x64 bit version of Prepar3D, which included replacing a number of functionalities, such as the navigational database engine, 2D panel graphics engine, network and interfacing – to enable them to function and take the full advantage of the x64 bit platform. Hopefully, the beta testing stage will be fairly straightforward (fingers crossed).

So the question everyone’s been curious about: Will there be a cost for the transition to Prepar3D v4? – Yes, there will be. Current owners of the PILOT & PRO editions for FSX/FSX:SE/Prepar3D v3 Q400 PILOT and PRO will be discounted significantly for the Prepar3D v4 transition. The discounts will be provided by the stores where the original purchases were made, or by Just Flight Ltd for the Boxed editions.

Discount Pricing: APPLICABLE ONLY TO OWNERS OF THE Q400 PILOT & PRO x32 bit Editions.
PILOT – 14.95 Euros
PRO – 19.95 Euros
http://majesticsoftware.com/mjc8q400/

TOGA Projects have just posted a quick status update over on their facebook, giving clarity on the status of Envshade, as well as Envtex, with a new version coming soon (1.1.1) which brings ‘some completely reworked special effects’, they also confirmed that Envtex is 100% compatible with P3D v4.1 with no update required. Here is the full post…

We are glad to announce that Envshade will much probably enter beta testing at the end of this week, meanwhile Prepar3D v4.1 was released and Envshade is already converted.

As for Envtex, after a few tests we can confirm that it can be used completely safely on Prepar3D v4.1 and you don’t need to wait any product update to enjoy our textures and effects.

This doesn’t mean there won’t be any update coming : Envtex 1.1.1 will be released at the same time as Envshade with some completely reworked special effects !

Happy flights and keep an eye here for more information soon 
https://togapjcts.wixsite.com/toga

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FSUIPC latest versions:

FSUIPC5 5.121b for Prepar3D Version 4. Released October 2nd 2017 (3.3 MB)
FSUIPC4 4.971 for use with FSX, FSX-SE and Prepar3D 1.4-3.4.   Released August 16th 2017 (3.3 MB)

http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html