Dave Higdon/WICHITA
FlightSafety International has begun testing Microsoft's new flight-simulation software programme, FlightSim 2000, as an enhancement to its airline ab initio training programme at Vero Beach, Florida.
Microsoft says the FlightSim 2000 upgrade includes improvements to the graphics, functionality and versatility of the flight simulation software programme.
Bruce Williams, Microsoft's product planner, says FlightSim 2000 is the largest upgrade in the programme's 17-year history. It is also the first version to be offered at two levels - standard, for the average computer gamer or new pilot user; and professional, geared toward the licensed pilot interested in practising real-world instrument-approach procedures and cross-country flights.
FlightSim 2000 draws on input from corporate partners, including the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, King Schools and Jeppesen. New graphics and processing power allow it to display photo-realistic views of landscape, instrument panels and exteriors of any aircraft included - 10 in the standard edition. In a new feature, the programme imports free weather data from Jeppesen and converts it into a realistic depiction.
FlightSafety's Vero Beach campus is using test versions to "fly" each lesson from the syllabus before doing it in reality.
FlightSim 2000 has a database of more than 22,000 aerodromes worldwide - more than seven times the number available on the current FlightSim '98.
Source: Flight International
