1. France Vfr Paris Review

Product InformationPublisher:Description:Collectionof add-on sceneries and aircraft.DownloadSize:71 - 489 MBFormat:Self InstallingSimulation Type:FS 2004Reviewedby:AVSIM Staff Reviewer -July22, 2006IntroductionBefore we get into things – I want to make it very clear that allof these products are purchased and distributed separately. The reason we’rereviewing 6 different scenery products here is to give you a sensationof all the different areas covered, and that the French VFR developers havegiven us such an awesome variety of products to review.What Do WeHave Here?Unless you decideto go on a crazy spending spree, you may be only interested in oneor two of theseproducts. Here is a list of the featured add-ons, including price andrequired disk space. All of these were developed by France VFR. FlightCorse Base Pack - $32 USD – 390MB.Flight Corse Autogen - $19 USD – 71MB.Flight Paris Base Pack - $32 USD – 414MB.Flight Riviera Base Pack - $32 USD – 489MB.Mayotte – $19 USD – 96MB.Reunion - $25 USD – 180MB.Aircraft Collection - $31 USD – 426MBReviewer'sNote: I used an online currency converter to determine the product costsfrom Euro toU.S. Dollars – if these prices are slightly incorrectI apologize.Installation and DocumentationEach of the featured products are downloaded upon purchase.

Warning:some of these files are pretty large (the largest is over 300 meg) and of coursethey install even more. Before you consider any of these products, insure youare aware of the final file size – after I installed these packages Ilost a few gigabytes on my hard drive.TestSystemIntel Pent 4 2.66GHz512MB RAM PC2700DDRASUS A955040 GB HD 5400RPMFlyingTime:20 hoursThe installersrequire a serial number to install, and these are supplied after purchasing.The install will tell you how much diskspace isrequired before going through the process – so again you know exactlyhow much hard drive space you’ll lose. I recommend closing any otherprograms and applications before installing, this will allow the processtobe much quicker.Each sceneryincludes manuals in both French and English in.pdf format. In each sceneryfolder you will find another.pdf file for charts ofthe airports that the relative scenery covers.

I first came across France VFR when using FS9. They had made some very good small regional airports with good local scenery such as Belle isle, Quiberon and Ouessant as well as Toussus le Noble near Paris, and others, and whilst they were perhaps, not to the same standard as, what we can now have from the likes of.

The manuals go intodetail onwhat exactly you’ve purchased, lists the airports and display tipsto get the best out of the package.I’ve included a few screenshots from the Flight Riviera manual – allof the features you see are included with all the other scenery productswe’relooking at.The aircraftmanual is also in French and English. It contains the same quality of informationas thescenery documentation.

That’sup until you surpass the table of contents, copyrights and other miscellaneoussections. Allother checklists and panel labeling are in French. Now, I know verylittle French, and basically I couldn’t understand the manual at all.I opened the French manual and it was in the respective language. Whyis there anEnglish version included if 80% of the manual is in French?The SceneryAll of these scenery packages were developed from quality aerial photographs,and all include custom mesh. Unfortunately, each of these titles only includesummer textures – so you won’t get a varied range of coloursdepending on which season you wish to fly in. All of the airports that arecovered have been given new AFCAD’s, but unfortunately only Mayottecontains a whole new look – the remainder of the airports that Ivisited use default textures, which makes sense, considering this is notan airport scenery add-on.Flying the Stampe SV4 around LFTF (Flight Riveria)The colours around this area are much more brown than other areasOn final, VC view from the SV4All opened upEachand every scenery package is simply astounding.

The terrain,mesh and textures simply look beautiful. Any words I say here simplycannot do theproducts justice. You know what they say, a picture is worth a thousandwords.Departing Gillot (Reunion) in the TB09Heading into the mountains (Reunion)Ihave to say, this is the most realistic and beautiful scenery I haveencountered in the sim (I have not purchased any Mega Scenery titles).Although this sceneryis designed for VFR flying, I particularly enjoyed getting out the F-22 anddo some high speed ops. If you do plan on doing something similar, watchout – becausethose peaks can come out of nowhere!Climbing out of Orly (Flight Paris)Airport textures have also been replicatedParis from the cockpitThereis one airport that has been totally re-worked, Dzaoudzi (don’task on the pronunciation on that one!) from the Mayotte package.This airport isroughly 290 miles east of Mozambique – and includes some very niceultralight and commercial AI traffic. The airport scenery itself is veryconvincing; however,the terrain textures for the Mayotte package in whole seems less detailedthan the other packages.Dzaoudzi airport (Mayotte)The Beech Twin has nice textures, but overall lacks model qualityThe colours around the coasts of Mayotte are very brightThe textures seem less detailed compared to the other productsMyfavourite airport is Corte (LFKT) which is covered in the FlightCorse package.

The mountains around here are simply incredible.The airport issqueezed tightlyamongst the mountains, and approaches into here can get tricky. Personally,this is my “pick of the lot”.

I love the detail, the sceneryis incredible – andmakes for some awesome flying.Corte airport overheadThe awesome terrain of CorteFlying amongst the mountainsHowTo ChooseIf you’reinterested in these products, you may be asking yourself “whichone do I choose”? You may opt for the cheapest product – whichin this case would be Mayotte. Remember, there is only one airportthat this area covers – and it has been completely re-worked.The airport scenery is great, it has all the bells and whistles you’dexpect and all the fine details us simmers have come to love. Ifyou are interested in Mayotte, this is a very small island,and I suspect this is why only this airport has been re-created.As I mentioned above, the textures seem less clear and detailed whencompared to some of the other titles.If youprefer a more populated area, you may want to check out Flight Paris,the photo scenery here is awesome. If this is the case, youmay want to fork out more for the autogen pack (not reviewed here).From what I’ve seen at the developer’s website, the autogenpackage will put the icing on the cake; and it looks like it doesn’tinterfere with the photo real textures. Some of the more populousareas are the “Flight” titles (Corse and Riviera).You maybase your purchasing decision upon what sort of flying you do. Thebest way to fully utilize any of these packages is to grab a niceVFR aircraftfrom the file library, and spend some time getting to know thearea and enjoying the sights and sounds.

1. The The Paris-Ile de France VFR - Airport pack Vol.1 scenery models a pack of 10 detailed airports and airfields located in the Western part of the Paris-Ile de France region. This scenery can be used as a standalone product or as an extension for our Paris-Ile de France VFR scenery already available.
2. France VFR - Paris-Ile de France VFR 3DA for FSX/P3D. It is the result of years of experience and practice in flight simulation and 3D modeling. 'VFR Regional' products embed all enhancements from the new 3DAutomation® technology developed by France VFR. This technology already allows to generate the most realistic and dense environments ever seen.

Another option is to purchasetwo of these, and do some commercial jetliner flights in and outof thesedestinations. Reunion is especially good for this as it has a nicesized airport and the approach next to the mountains is lovely,plusit includessome nice AI traffic like Mayotte does.It’sup to you, but do choose carefully. I am pleased to say each productis worth the price being asked – so you won’tregret any decision you make.TheAircraftAircraft included in this package:.

SocataRallye. Socata TB09 Tampico. Socata TB10 Tobago. Socata TB20 Trinidad. Stampe SV4. APM 20 Lionceau.

Beechcraft Twin Bonanza. DeHavilland Twin OtterTheTB20 wearing a US paint schemeIhonesty was disappointed by the quality of the aircraft.

France Vfr Paris Review

Mainly becausethey all contain default gaugesand sounds.A big petpeeve for me is commercial aircraft packages which containdefault gauges and/or sounds. It shows a lack of detail andeffort fromthe developers. Honestly, I’d stay away from purchasingthis Aircraft Collections unless you get one of the sceneryadd-ons too, even then you’ll want to have a good hardthink.

I find there are better freeware aircraftthat are designedfor low ‘n’ slow flying. However, all of theseplanes are good for VFR flying – despite the lack ofdetail in and outside the cockpit. The up side of includingdefaultgaugesand sounds, is that it requires less disk space – whichis always handy for those in my situation who do not have monstroushard drives.Simplyput, these are freeware quality,nothing more, nothing less. The included skins are indeed detailed;it’ssurprising how much of a difference this makes.

Each modelhas a visible pilot from the exterior – with a movinghead. The head movement isn’t smooth, and gives the illusionone is suffering from poor frame rates.All of theplanes fly nicely – and are well suited forVFR flying. During my test flights, I noticed all of them handledsimilarly – which makes sense considering they are allof similar size and design, but I would appreciate more distinctionfrom one plane to another.

My favourite was the DHC-6 TwinOtter, which includes a few liveries and a float model.Thedocumentationpoints out some routes you can fly with this plane – whichis handy. A few aircraft contain up to 4 or 5 liveries, fromall over the world. So for one plane you can decide if youwant a French, Greek, Italian or Australian variation, thoughnotall planes include multiple liveries.PerformanceThe onlymajor issue I experienced was the fact that when starting fromone of the covered airports, the terrain can take minutesto load once you’ve hit the “Fly Now” button.Instead of watching the progress bar crawl along slowly, go brewanother pot of coffee – that way you’re all fueledup for a lovely flight.I did noticea small decrease in frame rates, not very evident to the eyehowever. If you’rea simmer (like me) who often checks out the frame rate display,you won’tnotice any reduction in performance.

I noticed all of the featuredscenery add-ons have roughly the same performance.The planes run smoothly, and rightly so, as they do not haveany complex systems.ConclusionIf you’re on the hunt for some visually amazing VFR scenery – thenhave a look at the publisher’s or developer’s website.Unfortunately, the website is entirely in French; they do have anEnglish version on the horizon but looks to be some time before completion.In all honesty,I’d stay away from the Aircraft Collection.To be frank, there are better VFR aircraft you can explore thisscenery (and other scenery) with for free. These aircraft are differentfromour usual Cessna’s, Piper’s and Beech’s. Theplus side to this package is that it focuses more on quantity overquality – ifthey were offering two or three planes at this level of detailI would be disappointed. The package includes a nice pick of Frenchplanes, and if you are looking for something different, perhapsyoushould check out this title.All of the sceneriesI’ve reviewed here are amazing. Thetextures compliment the mesh, and vice versa. No matter which titleyou choose, you won’t bedisappointed. The prices are very reasonable, with the exceptionof the Corse autogen packagewhichI feel is over priced – considering all you are getting isan autogen set.Thumbs up for the scenery, thumbs down for the aircraft.

PrintingIf you wish to printthis review or read it offline at your leisure, right click on the linkbelow, and select 'save as'StandardDisclaimerThe review above is a subjective assessment of theproduct by the author. There is no connection between the producer andthe reviewer, and we feel this review is unbiased and truly reflects theperformance of the product in the simming environment.

This disclaimeris posted here in order to provide you with background information onthereviewer and any connections that may exist between him/her and thecontributing party.© 2006 - AVSIMOnlineAll Rights Reserved.

France VFR has released Strasbourg X for FSX. This add-on is a highly detailed representation of Strasbourg Entzheim, a regional airport located in eastern France.The add-on scenery covers about fifty square kilometers, and includes a photo realistic portrayal of the surrounding area, with precise autogen. The add-on also includes high-definition ground textures and night textures.You can use this scenery add-on as a standalone tool, or, you can use it with Alsace VFR scenery – no adaptation is required. The scenery is compatible with any mesh you may want to use.Features and Specifications.Photo-realistic ground textures in very high definition.Photo-real 3D buildings.Includes night textures.Autogen for the whole area – for the airport and surrounding area.The add-on features road traffic.Independent conception of mesh (all mesh are compatible).Many 3D animations and objectsLocated in Entzheim, the airport is 10 km from Strasbourg. Recent statistics show that the airport handles about 1.1 million visitors every year.