SimPlates 2004

IFR Approach Plates and Flight Data for Serious Simulator and Educational Use

By Nick J. Ross (12 March 2004)

The SimPlates 2004 main menu gives quick access to IFR approach plates, airport info and navaid info.

auntless Software has already bought us such quality products as GroundSchool, as featured in my last review, and continues to excel with SimPlates 2004, a package which contains IFR approach plates for most international airports, as well as detailed airport information, NAVAID information and a useful help section. Over 18,000 actual IFR plates are available including all types of approaches, SIDs/STARs and airport diagrams. US approach plate coverage is claimed to be virtually 100% complete and worldwide coverage includes thousands of plates from major airport. Quite a package! All these options are brought together in a pleasing and functional menu.

On delving into IFR plates the user can use the menu to select exactly what plates to display, such as by arrival, or by choosing the features of the approach. Choosing FAA arrival displays all arrival plates for US airports. Alternatively one can place the ICAO code or place name of the airport we wish to view into a search and SimPlates will display all the plates for that airport on an international basis. These can then be viewed in .pdf format using Adobe Acrobat.

The plates themselves are, to all intents and purposes, replicas of the real things themselves, and they are easily printable using Adobe. All plates are stored on the first of two CDs which sometimes is a downside since those with the space could be given the option simply to install all plates to the hard drive. However, it wouldn't make sense to install all plates, especially those which may never be used; looking for the CD and loading the plates into Acrobat is simply part of your pre-flight preparation! Whilst Acrobat is useful as a viewer, I can't help thinking in some ways plates which were displayed within the product itself, complete with a print option would be better.

The program gives you a variety of ways to search for the info you need -- important given the huge amount of information included!
However everything is easy and functional with Acrobat; plates can be printed and put aside for later use. In addition to these highly realistic plates, searching the ICAO of an airport will also bring up a wealth of information from either the NIMA or FAA databases regarding that airport. A search for London Heathrow, EGLL, for example, shows basic airfield information such as co-ordinates and elevation, down to the specifics; "Lamp Post, 1521' from DER, 590' right of centreline"! Precise information is then given on each runway, far beyond the scope of Flight Simulator's directory. Each information sheet is displayed within Internet Explorer, which speeds up access and lends to easy printing/saving.

Another feature regarding airports is the 'preferred routes' databases. These show preferred NIMA and FAA tracks into the airport; either to, or from, and a list of 'from' airports is display, complete with preferred routes. This is applicable to most major airports, but not all. Airport directories, on the other hand, can be viewed for any international/regional/significant local airport I can think of.

A final choice from the main menu, is Navaid Info. This details VORs and other NAVAIDS around the world, featuring in-depth information on each beacon; its radio frequency, range, associated airport, etc.

A sample of the IFR plates included; these are just like the plates used by real pilots!
All these databases combined make this software essential for the serious flight simmer, and significantly aid flight planning, developing skills which are more applicable in the real world, as opposed to those GPS approaches on regular flight simulator! As a flight planning aid, and a non-direct enhancement to flight simulation, this makes the grade. It is very informative, interesting, and a pleasure to use. To summarise, a real enhancement of the flight simulator experience is available here.

SimPlates 2004 includes two CD-ROMs and comes in a nice DVD style case. It's available directly from Dauntless Software. The web site also offers free "Plate Packs" ready to download that offer a large number of additional non-U.S. plates that easily integrate into the program.

Nick J. Ross
skytecuk@hotmail.com

Visit the Dauntless Software web site

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