Hello again and welcome to a review ofthe Wilco Tower Simulator. This is quite different to what I normallyreview in as much as it is a stand alone program and is not allied toany other flight simulator software.

Let's begin by seeing how Wilco describes their product...

"Tower Simulator puts you in the controller's chair, high atop amajor or complex airport, to choreograph the movements of incoming andoutgoing air traffic."

"Tower Simulator takes you into a world of authority andresponsibility, in which the lives of thousands of passengers dependon your ability to make split-second decisions."

Very dramatic words for a simulator don't you think? Well, let'stake a look at this simulator and see if it's as high pressured asWilco claim!

Initial Impressions

Unlike the virtual worlds of MSFS and X-Plane which containthousands of airports, Wilco have very wisely added a selection ofjust five locations, and these are as follows:

• Chicago O'Hare International (KORD)
• Munich International (EDDM)
• Orange County Airport (KSNA)
• Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris (LFPG)
• Saint Maarten Airport (TNCM)

Looking at the supplied airports, it is apparent that Wilco havethought very hard about what airports to include, and these vary interms of the volume of air traffic and geographical location. We donot have the scope to look at all five airports, so for the purpose ofthis review, I will concentrate on Orange County Airport (KSNA). Thisis the airport I would suggest as a starting point for newcomers, asit has the smallest volume of air traffic of the five.

The initial screen we are presented with, gives us the selection ofour desired airport and runway, the time of day and also the desiredweather. There is also a nice description of our chosen airport onthe right hand side. Having selected our airport of choice, a shortdelay will occur while the loading screen does its work. Whencompleted, we find ourself in the hot seat of the tower of our chosenairport.

Our initial view would seem somewhat distant from the terminal asseen in the above picture, but this a good representation of what ATCwould actually see from their vantage point.

A 'binocular view' is available by using the mouse wheel. Theability to pan the view is achieved by holding down the right mousekey and moving the mouse around. However, the lateral view is limitedto 180 degrees as viewing behind the tower is not necessary in thisenvironment.

As well as our main view, four additional windows appear, and theseare explained below.

Command Window

This is our communication tool between ourselves (ATC) and thearriving and departing aircraft. As aircraft inform ATC that they areready to taxi, their call sign will be heard and also seen in thehistory box (HIS). An aircraft issuing a call "With You", is anincoming aircraft near enough to the airport to either land or goaround, depending on your response. This is carried out by selectingthe desired aircraft from the following 'Strip' window (arrivals ordepartures) and choosing from a list of supplied instructions.

Strip Window

As an example, we hear a call from AAL1779 (which we can see fromthe strip is an arrival) and is a request being "With You". From thisinformation, we know that he is requesting to land. We issue thecommand by double left clicking his callsign in the pink section ofthe arrivals window with 'CTRL U', which is the 'cleared to land'command or 'ALT 5' for 'go around'.

Note: something which I found to be highly useful, and which helpedme out a great deal, was to print out and laminate the list ofcommands for easy reference.

When it comes to dealing with departing aircraft, the format is thesame, but with a larger number of options. For example, ASA499 (adeparting aircraft) issues the call 'ASA499 'ready to taxi'. Wedouble left click on his call sign (the purple area of the strip)followed by a ground command from our list. 'ASA499 CTRL R' would tellhim to 'hold short' or 'ASA499 CTRL 3' is 'taxi to runway'.

Air Radar Window

Air radar gives you a visual display of what to expect regardingyour traffic load, and will help you formulate a flow plan knowing thein-air location of aircraft around you.

In this window, we see AAL1779, an incoming aircraft, who willshortly be issuing a 'with you' call. This is where the pressurebegins to build, as more and more departing and arriving aircraftmount up!

Adirs Window

In our final window, 'Adirs', we see an overall view of ourairport, with ground traffic identified by their call signs. The twogreen lines facing out, represents our field of vision, which rotatesas we pan the main view. Zooming in with the mouse wheel will makethem narrow to a smaller field of view.

By double left clicking on any of the above windows, we can movethem to a custom position on our screen. There is also the option tomake the text and view larger. One minor negative point here, is thatthe program does not unfortunately remember your custom windowpositions, and so they need to be set up to your liking each time theprogram is run.

Graphics

In terms of graphics, it's true, they are not the most impressive,but the aircraft are good. The traffic and particularly the weathersettings are also very good. The trees have an animated sway in thewind, which is something even newer simulators would be enviousof!

The picture above shows Southwest Airlines SWA687 landingperfectly on the runway...

Cost

Final Thoughts

The Wilco Tower Simulator is a clever little package with a lotgoing for it. Yes the graphics, in particular the ground textures,are indeed lacking, but the aircraft are all good, and the landing andtakeoff animations are done well. The ground traffic, includingpushback tugs also do a good job at bringing things to life.

The spoken requests and commands are first class, and are in factbetter than some of the latest software and plugins found in certainsimulators. The thing to remember is that this is not a 'flying overnice scenery' package but more of a strategy/simulation game, and soWilco can be forgiven somewhat on the graphical front.

The Verdict

As is customary with my reviews, I will award in my opinion, ascore reflecting both the positive and negative aspects of thepackage.

Wilco's Tower Simulator is a highly engrossing game, and one whichI found to be extremely refreshing. With that said, I award it ahealthy 8 out of 10.

Paul Mort

Purchase Wilco - Tower Simulator