ProPilot 99 |
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Tuesday, January 06 1999
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ProPilot 99 |
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Tuesday, January 06 1999
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ProPilot, you are cleared for takeoff |
| Dynaimix
seems to have duplicated the history of Red Baron, and
brought all the problems and technical glitches to
ProPilot 98, Dynamix's first attempt at the general
aviation simulation market last year. Like Red Baron II,
ProPilot was released in a very buggy and unplayable
state. Requiring several weeks of patching to become a
mediocre flight simulator. Also like Red Baron II,
Dynamix didn't give up on their software title, they kept
hard at work to produce a stable, working product. In the
end, they came out with ProPilot 99, what ProPilot 98
should have been. The most drastic and most apparent step up from ProPilot 98 is the addition of 3d accelerated graphics for those of us blessed with a 3dfx Voodoo, Voodoo 2, or Banshee 3d graphics card. Using 3d acceleration, the textures are smoothed, the sun glares and the clouds are wispy white puffs of moisture, some of the best clouds too be seen in a general aviation simulator. While the visuals are impressive, the ground textures are somewhat lacking. The textures seem to exaggerate the ground color. Dirt is dark brown, looking more like mud, while vegetation is a lush bright green, even in desert settings. While terrain doesn't look the best, it is modeled fairly well. Hills and mountains look realistic, and are accurately placed. Also, a total of 35 metropolitan area's are modeled, including many major cities and landmarks within the US, Western Europe, Montreal, Canada and Toronto, Canada. ProPilot does seem to lack the urban detail found in Flight Simulator 98 and Flight Unlimited 2. You wont be able to find your local shopping mall in this sim. But if your only looking for a sim to teach you the basics of flying real civilian aircraft, the lack of detail can be overlooked. Finding your way around in ProPilot 99 is simplified via an accurately modeled GPS (Global Positioning System) which is linked to your autopilot. Planning and flying cross-country flights has never been easier.
Sight-seeing in Western Europe |
 Cleared for takeoff Also, for those of you who prefer to use the more conventional VOR and NDB methods, those are also accurately implemented. Flight models are greatly improved over ProPilot 98, though they still need work, Landings, takeoffs and other basic maneuvers are done fairly well, though a little over-simplified. Having had my own personal experience flying the Cessna line of single engine aircraft, I found the flight model to be a bit too easy. The controls are too responsive and it doesn't seem to accurately model speed, drag, angle of attack or even lift for that matter. Stalls and spins are among the worst done in a flight sim since the days of MS Flight Sim 4.0. For example, when you try to do a loop, you'll stop in mid-air, and your nose will immediately drop straight down until you gain enough speed to pull out. The single most innovative and useful feature found in ProPilot 99 must be its online Operators handbook and set of tutorials. Each of the six aircraft included has its own Operators Handbook. This handbook in accessible while flying, to aid those new to the sim, or new to aviation itself. It includes taxi, take off, landing and many more standard flight procedures. This feature its not only good to learn how to fly in the simulator, but is also a real guidebook to real life flight operations. The Handbook was developed in conjunction with NAFI (National Association of Flight Instructors) to ensure accuracy. Overall ProPilot 99 is a good, solid flight simulator. It seems to be targeted toward the new, yet serious general aviation enthusiasts. Its handbooks and tutorials will guide you through the steps and procedures of becoming a real pilot. So you can get the feel of what flying by the book and following standard procedure is like. ProPilot 99 is great for those of you seriously looking into getting your pilots license, but if its adventure or sight-seeing you want, you'd be better off looking elsewhere. |
Company: Category: Flight Simulation NOTES: Interest: 70% TOTAL : 79% Requirements: Operating System: Memory: Sound Card:
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