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Screen shots by Perfect Flight |
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This package of airline missions by Perfect Flight takes us to 15 cities in Europe that are flown by the real airline, Air Berlin. Most of these missions are in Germany, and some are in Spain and Italy. The missions are arranged in a sequential circuit that ends where it started after all missions are flown. Perfect Flight highlights these among other features of its missions package:
According to the manual, the goal of each mission is to land in the appropriate airport. (Believe it or not, there are recorded cases of certified airline pilots landing at the wrong airports!)
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LOCATION MAPS
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Screen shots by Bill Stack |
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Examples of the 15 missions are "Nurnberg to Hannover," "Alicante to Hamburg," and "Zurich to Tegel." ("Nürnberg" and "Hannover" are German spellings; "Nuremberg" and "Hanover" are English spellings.) Each mission includes a complete flight briefing and checklist.
Flight Briefing. Flight briefings in text and images describe the flight and provide useful information about the involved airports such as frequencies and runways, and they include relevant charts. They are displayed automatically when the mission is selected, and they remain on the screen until the user clicks on the "Fly" button to begin the mission. A short audio briefing is available as soon as the mission appears.
Checklists. After the audio briefing, checklists appear in popup windows. They are short lines of text accompanied by interactive audio of the two pilots conducting their checklist steps. Each checklist step is displayed separately accompanied by a pilot's reading of the respective step. When the user clicks on the task, the pilot or copilot echos the step to confirm its completion, and the next step in the sequence appears. These checklists are based on real flight operations adapted to use in conjunction with FSX, developer Marco Martini explained.
These missions last from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the distances between their origin and destination cities. The mission-selection screen in FSX shows the flight's estimated duration. Some are at night, and others are during daylight. Dates, times, weather, and aircraft can be changed only by changing the FSX settings in the Options menu, which is typical of FSX missions.
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AIR BERLIN MISSIONS
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Selection Screen |
Mission Briefing Screen |
Mission Briefing Screen |
Mission Briefing Screen |
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Screen shot by Bill Stack | |
Because of the time involved, I chose the shortest mission for a thorough analysis — Dresden to Leipzig-Halle — and flew it from beginning to end including their briefings and all their checklist steps. My analysis of this mission for this review required much more time than the mission's estimated 30-minute duration. My overview of other missions chosen at random suggests that Dresden to Leipzig-Halle is typical of all fifteen missions.
It begins with Perfect Flight's A321 on a ramp and with engines not running (some missions begin at a gate). When "Begin Briefing," is clicked, an audio narration describes the flight overall without accompanying text. After this audio introduction, a screen appears giving users the option to play the Before Start checklist or skip the checklist.
If the checklist is chosen, an audio of two pilots going through the checklist begins. Nothing happens until the flight simmer clicks on the checklist task that appears in the window. Each task must be clicked before the next task appears, but the simmer may click and approve tasks without actually doing them. I saw no way to bypass, go back, or exit without clicking on all the tasks.
After all checklist tasks are completed and taxi clearance is received, a pilot voice is heard announcing to passengers that taxiing is beginning: "We expect to be first in line for take-off," he says. This followed by audio of flight attendant giving safety instructions to passengers.
Pilots call out airspeeds during take-off roll, they call out tasks such as gear up and flaps up during take-off, and they verify completion of checklist tasks after take-off. After the aircraft passes through 10,000 feet, the pilot announces to passengers that the seat-belt signs have been turned off and recommends keeping seat belts fastened "in case it gets a little choppy." This is followed by an announcement by a flight attendant that the captain has turned off the seat belt signs: "It is safe to move about the cabin," she says. "We'll start our inflight service shortly." Pilot callouts and crew announcements such as these continue throughout the flight when appropriate.
Checklist steps, pilot callouts, and passenger announcements seem very realistic, and the voices are professional. The developer says the scripts are based on real cockpit tasks and the voices are from professional narrators.
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DRESDEN TO LEIPZIG-HALLE
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Preflight Briefing
Preflight Checklist
Inflight Checklist
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A complete Airbus A321 airliner with Air Berlin livery is included in the package. The texture artwork is by Leonidas Theofilopoylos from Greece.
Since Perfect Flight's A321 is installed among other FSX aircraft, it can be used in "free flight," without the missions. It is listed in the Aircraft Selection menu under the manufacturer "Perfect Flight" instead of "Airbus." No other aircraft can be selected for these missions, however, because the missions' briefings, checklists, and procedures regard only this aircraft.
The virtual cockpit seems identical to the FSX A321's virtual cockpit. In response to my question, developer Marco Martini explained that textures have been completely reworked using Adobe Photoshop to provide a more readable 3D panel.
A radar-panel popup window shows AI aircraft in the area and lists them in a text box. Nothing is said in the manual about using this unique panel. Marco Martini said he made the radar panel using gauges available during a multiplayer session. "In order to know how to use any single instrument," he said, "please refer to the Learning Center of FSX in the section MULTIPLAYER, then Acting as a Tower Controller."
Performance of Perfect Flight's Airbus A321 seems identical to the default FSX A321, and performance characteristics in both aircraft.cfg files are identical. The developer said it is the default FSX aircraft with the panel improvements described above. Because the A321 is not the principle product of this package, and because it is nearly identical to the FSX default A321, I did not review its performance thoroughly.
Users will enjoy these missions more when they are familiar with the Airbus A321's operations and instrument panels, and with the various popup windows in FSX. Neither ATC nor the crew cut any slack while users fumble around the flight deck looking for various controls for performing checklist functions and responding to ATC instructions.
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AIRBUS A321
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A321 Exterior |
A321 Exterior |
A321 Virtual Panel |
A321 Radar Panel |
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Screen shot by Bill Stack | |
This product is for FSX.
Purchase and installation from the Pilot Shop are very easy. Downloading and installation are quick. License key is not required, but acknowledgment of copyright is required.
System requirements explained in the manual are:
The installation program defaults to install the mission and aircraft files into the folder named "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X." The program enables buyers to select a different folder if desired. Instructions are included in the manual.
After installation, the missions and aircraft can be selected in FSX as usual, and the manual explains the procedure.
A 16-page manual in Adobe Acrobat format explains system requirements, installation instructions, use of the missions, and basic operation of the Airbus A321. Being separate from the executable file, this manual can be opened and read prior to installation, which is sensible because it includes installation instructions. The guidance it provides for flying the Airbus A321 is detailed yet elementary.
Removing the product (if desired) must be done manually with a file-management program such as Windows Explorer because no uninstall program is included.
Technical support is available through an email address provided during the installation process and in the operations manual. Responses to my questions were very quick, which bodes well for users needing assistance.
Readers with technical questions not answered in this review should ask the developer. Using the links below, go to the Pilot Shop page where the product is listed and described, then click on "Manufacturer Tech Support" in the right column.
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AIR BERLIN MANUAL
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Cover Page
Page 5
Page 9
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PURCHASE FEATURES | |
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Instant download from the Pilot Shop |
Yes |
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Installation program |
Yes |
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License key required |
No |
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Copyright acknowledgment required |
Yes |
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Manual included |
Yes |
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Uninstall program included |
No |
Information about Air Berlin and the European airports in this package can be found from numerous sources that would be impractical to list here. The following are good places to start.
Perfect Flight makes aircraft and missions for Microsoft Flight Simualtor, such as British Airways Flight Operation X, Beechcraft Baron 58, and Fly the Heavies. "Our goal is offer to the simmers - with an intermediate skill - a realistic aeronautical ambiance," says developer Marco Martini. "Our missions are simple to use but at the same time realistic. That's the reason of the plurality of our products."
These missions provide a realistic means of simulating commercial airline flights and/or learning how to simulate them. The scripts are thorough and realistic, and the voices are clear and professional. The 15 missions provide enough variation to maintain interest and enthusiasm. Although all are rated "Expert" by Perfect Flight, none is overly complicated. The shorter flights are ideal for novices and experienced flight simmers, alike. While the A321 is the default FSX aircraft with new livery and improved 3D panel, the Radar Panel is unique. For years I have advocated realistic simulation by simulating realistically, and this product comes closer to that realism than any product I have seen. Doing checklists, listening to pilot and passenger announcements, and keeping up with ATC in a real-world airline route is very realistic indeed.
Bill Stack
billstack@flightsim.com
Learn More About Perfect Flight's Air Berlin Missions for FSX.
Bill Stack is author of several books about flight simulation, a regular author in flight-sim magazines, and a contributor to Flight Sim Com. His website is www.topskills.com
