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/images/notams/notams22/infi1014.jpgIt's release day once again at Infinite Flight and today we'reproud to make available a fully reworked Embraer E175! In addition tothis versatile narrow-body airliner, we've made some changes to theuser interface, added a huge number of new 3D airports, and more. E175The most recently reworked aircraft in the Infinite Flight fleet isthe Embraer E175. Designed for short to mid-range flights, the E175opens a vast number of new route possibilities for Infinite Flightpilots. This release features 19 liveries for this E-Jet, includingthe official E175 house livery, thanks to some help from the team overat Embraer. As with all new Infinite Flight aircraft builds, this aircraftcomes complete with wing flex animations, and animated cockpitinstruments and surfaces. We're sure you'll find a lot to love withthis classic narrow-body jet! As previously announced, the othervariant of the E-Jet series to be reworked will be the E190, whichwill come in a future release. Please note that many of our 3D artist team is still in Ukraine andas the war rages on, this impacts the development of models and liverydesign. We thank you for your patience as work continues in spite ofthis. A New LookWe have a brand new look in 22.7! While the home screen layout willbe familiar to many, gone is the dark blue color and we've introducedan all-dark theme. These new colors are more on-brand for InfiniteFlight and give the home screens a sleek and cohesive vibe. Along with the color change, is a brand new home tab that featuresimportant news and information right inside the app. We have moreplanned for this section, but for now, all users will get essentialnews with the touch of a button. Other Great AdditionsAs with the last few updates, some new top-voted liveries have beenadded, including: B787-9 All Nippon Airways (JA876A)B737-800 Sun Country Airlines (N861AM)A320 Edelweiss Air (HB-IHY)A319 American Airlines (N9002U)B787-9 Air Canada (C-FRTG)Quality-of-life updates for 22.7 include the addition of a landingcount now being shown after each multiplayer flight, an aircraftground proximity warning while taxiing, and UNICOM radio calls nowreferred to as "Traffic" or "Radio" (UK). Note that the proximitywarning does not issue a violation and is meant as a reminder only!Last but not least, frequencies for airports in your flight plan willnow also show up first in the list in multiplayer if the frequency isactive. Airport UpdatesThis update also features 136 new airports. In this update, six 3D airports were updated by our scenery editing team. Source
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/images/notams/notams22/infi0829.jpgIt's release day again at Infinite Flight and today we're releasing the much anticipated, and fully reworked F/A-18E Super Hornet! In addition, we've added a selection of user-voted liveries across 5 aircraft along with some complimentary 3D airports. F/A-18E Super HornetThe F18 Super Hornet is a favorite among first-time users ofInfinite Flight, and military pilots. With paint schemes ranging fromthe iconic US Navy Blue Angels to Top Gun: Maverick, this new aircraftis bound to spark some fun and excitement for fighter jet lovers!Animated elements include cockpit instruments, canopy, wing fold,tailhook, and afterburner. Though Infinite Flight doesn't feature an aircraft carrier, you canstill practice your tailhook skills at one of eight airports aroundthe United States. Simply land on the touchdown markers with thetailhook deployed at one of the following airports for a simulatedarresting wire stop: KLSVKEDWKNUCKVADKSSCKNLCKNTUKNPAThe new F18 Super Hornet featuring a custom Infinite Flight paintscheme will be available to all users regardless of whether they havean active subscription or not. As always, Infinite Flight Prosubscribers will have access to all liveries. New LiveriesOur 3D artists and community managers are always looking at ways toexpand and improve our existing fleet. Once again, they havepin-pointed some top-voted liveries from our feature requests thatwill be available in 22.6! In some cases, these new liveries alsocoincide with recently released 3D airports such as the AeromexicoB737-800. This opens up new routes for pilots who love flying theirfavorite aircraft from point to point in 3D. The following new liveries are being added in 22.6: Fiji Airways A350-900Aeromexico B737-800Finnair A330-300Vistara A320Saudia A330-300Drukair A319Airport UpdatesThis update also features 71 new airports. In this update, 9 airport layouts and 31 3D airports were updated by our scenery editing team. Source
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/images/notams/notams22/infi0323.jpgInfinite Flight 22.2 released. Yesterday, we launched our 2nd update of 2022 which included newanimated pushback trucks, autobrake for airliners, and 40 new 3Dairports, bringing the year-to-date total to 88. This update also included a brand new livery for Avelo Airlines ontheir B737-800! Avelo reached out to us to inquire about adding theirpaint scheme and our 3D artists delivered. We're excited to have thislow-cost carrier on board. Source Earlier this year we released version 22.1 which included somegreat new features on the ground; animated jet bridges and standguidance! This was accompanied by some new liveries and 3D militaryobjects. Read the whole articlehere.
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/images/notams/notams21/infi1214/infi1214.jpgOur 10th year has been a big one for us at Infinite Flight! Themove to airports with 3D buildings and objects with a custom built-ineditor has laid the groundwork for a more immersive 3D world forpilots and ATC. To close out the year, Infinite Flight 21.8 includeseven more 3D airports and the brand new Airbus A220-300 with 21 newliveries. /images/notams/notams21/infi1214/infinite-flight-2.jpgA220-300In a community poll, our users were given the task of choosing thenext aircraft built for Infinite Flight. In a neck-in-neck race, theA330 came out on top with only a few votes out of thousands separatingit from the A220. So after the A330 shipped, it was an easy choice toput our efforts toward this new narrow-body aircraft that is makingits way to many fleets around the world. This new aircraft to the Infinite Flight fleet comes complete withan animated cockpit, full cabin interior, and those huge Pratt &Whitney PurePower PW1500G geared turbofan engines! /images/notams/notams21/infi1214/infinite-flight-1.jpgAirport UpdatesThis update also features 19 new 3D airports. And in addition toadding new airports, 21.8 also boasts a selection of brand new custom3D airport towers at CYYZ, ESSA, EHAM, ZBAA, EGPH, and KJFK. Source
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/images/notams/notams21/infi0518.jpgIn one of its most ambitious updates ever, Infinite Flight hasreleased version 21.1 with 3D buildings and clouds. Until now,Infinite Flight pilots have enjoyed global 15m/pixel satellite terrainimagery, along with other important benchmarks such as multiplayerflight with ATC. The focus has now shifted to an even more immersiveexperience with 3D objects and updated atmosphere. Life In 3DInfinite Flight put the focus on its multiplayer and ATC systemearly on. Connecting the community without the need for 3rd partysystems was a priority and has allowed pilots to enjoy the InfiniteFlight skies together. Now, the Infinite Flight team has pivotedtoward 3D objects at airfields. In version 1 of this venture, 3Dobjects including buildings, jetbridges, vehicles, and even radars andfences will be static. Developers plan on gradually bringing them tolife for even more immersion in the 3D world. 3D airports will be denoted by a symbol on the map, airport infoscreen, airport search, and on the ATC status page for multiplayer. Asmall collection of 3D airports have been released in 21.1 includingLos Angeles, Dubai, and London Heathrow. The full list of airports isas follows: CYTZ - Billy Bishop Toronto CityKDEN - Denver InternationalNZQN - QueenstownEGLL - London HeathrowKJFK - John F Kennedy InternationalOMDB - Dubai InternationalEGPH - EdinburghKLAX - Los Angeles InternationalPHNL - Daniel K Inouye InternationalEDDM - MunichKSFO - San Francisco InternationalRJTT - Tokyo (Haneda) InternationalFACT - Cape Town InternationalLFPG - Paris Charles-De-GaulleSBGR - Guarulhos-Andre FrancoMontoro International - FAORO.R. Tambo International - MMMXBenito Juarez International - URSSSochi - KDCARonald Reagan Washington - InternationalNZAA - Auckland InternationalYSSY - Sydney Kingsford SmithA hand-picked airport creation and editing team has been workingquietly in the background building airports using a yet-to-be-revealedairport builder. More details on how this works will be explained in afuture release. Cirrus Cloud LayerVersion 1 of clouds have made their way into Infinite Flight for21.1 in the form of a user-controlled cirrus layer. Clouds will reactto atmospheric conditions such as winds aloft and light, however userswill control their altitude and coverage in version 1. It wasimportant to Infinite Flight developers that the first iteration ofcloud cover reacted properly to the environmental elements. ATC ImprovementsAirports in the Infinite Flight multiplayer environment aresometimes subjected to unrealistically large volumes of traffic,especially during community events. It's important, especially duringthose times, for ATC to control the flow. New in 21.1, controllers canuse speed assignments such as "Maintain 160kts until 4 mile final" tohelp keep pilots arrive on time at their destination. New LiveriesMost Infinite Flight updates come with a selection of new liveriesfor pilots to choose from and 21.1 is no exception. We've also added a fresh coat of paint to our A350 and C172 incelebration of our 10 year anniversary! 21.1 Change LogFull list of 21.1 additions, improvements, and fixes: NEW3D Buildings and objects at 21 airports around the world. Infinite Flight is noweven more immersive and takes your simulator experience to new levels inmultiplayer and solo modes, and our 3D airport collection will grow quickly!User-configurable cirrus cloud layerATC approach speed assignments for better arrival flow into controlled airportsATC debrief page when closing a frequencyATC commands such as outside of center airspace warning, and back taxi for tower“Show Username in Flight†can now be changed while in session on select servers15 new liveries for various aircraftFIXEDMissing flight plans for users when the multiplayer server resetsStats not saving after aircraft crashTaxi speed violations after flying in XCubIMPROVEDAdding an approach procedure now automatically selects the airport as the final waypointAdded missing PBR textures to older aircraftInfinite Flight User GuideThe Infinite Flight community has historically been a great sourceof help and instruction for new pilots. In addition to this, users cannow reference a comprehensive set of user guides that range fromlaunching the app for the first time to in-depth instructions on howto use instrument procedures. Visit infiniteflight.com/guide to getstarted. About Infinite FlightInfinite Flight brings mobile flight simulation and Air Trafficcontrol to phones and tablets. Infinite Flight is a full-featured,multiplayer, mobile flight simulator for aviation lovers on thego. Enjoy the most comprehensive flight simulation experienceavailable on mobile devices-whether you are a curious novice or anaccomplished pilot. Fly alone in solo mode, or upgrade to the amazingLive multiplayer mode for the most engaging flying and ATC experiencewith other subscribers all around the world. infiniteflight.com
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/images/notams/notams20/infi0611.jpgIn its second major update of the year, Infinite Flight hasreleased version 20.2. It's an update that may seem to have widebodyvariants as the heroes, but if we dig deeper, there is much more atthe core. The overwhelming demand at Infinite Flight is for aircraft and howthey're painted. Airliners are the first aviation experience formany. Even if the real-world single-engine pilot is honest, they mightadmit to first hopping in an airliner to give a new flight sim atry. This time around, Infinite Flight focused on some importantquality-of-life improvements and a complete overhaul of userauthentication. But, since the aircraft development team was crankingout more top-notch 777 variants, those are here too. B77L/F/WIn the 20.1 update earlier this year, Infinite Flight launched thefirst major rework of the 777 family with the 777-200ER. With it camea new realistic sound pack and the sim's first fully animated Boeingcockpit. Now, users can enjoy a wide range of 777 aircraft with theaddition of the B777-200LR, B777F, and B777-300ER. Many liveries havebeen updated with new registrations to match their real-worldcounterparts, and the fleet boasts 17 brand new paint jobs for thisupdate. B77L LiveriesAir CanadaBoeingCrystal Luxury AirIraqi AirwaysB77W LiveriesAir CanadaAir IndiaEgyptAirEva AirKuwait AirwaysSaudiaUnited AirlinesB77F LiveriesANA CargoDHLEthiopian CargoEva Air CargoSaudi CargoTurkish CargoThe above liveries are new. A full list of 777 liveries is shownin-app when selecting aircraft. Feature EnhancementsInfinite Flight has paid close attention to its community and hasgiven some existing features a few highly requested upgrades. Theapp's comprehensive camera system now features a drone camera for allaircraft. Drone cam, which comes with interior and exterior sounds,allows the user to position the camera anywhere they like around theaircraft, even in flight. This allows for footage and screenshots thatwere previously not possible while the aircraft was inflight. Combined with the replay system, which replays flights even inmultiplayer, drone cam will give pilots full control over theirInfinite Flight storytelling. In another effort to create more realism in Infinite Flight, 20.2contains some callsign selection changes. For GA flights, the callsignselection screen shows a full list of countries from which users canchoose. The prefix for these country-specific callsigns will beautomatically filled in, and the appropriate ID parameters displayedbased on the real-world specifications. Reworked User AuthenticationSometimes the features that require the most work aren't ones thatusers can immediately get excited about. One such upgrade for 20.2 isto Infinite Flight's user authentication system, which has beenoverhauled from the ground up. One of the challenges to working withboth the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android is ensuringcross-platform compatibility, subscription handling, and a smooth userexperience for everyone. Further, server/backend updates are needed tokeep up with the growing number of users and to ensure that the apptechnology is modern so Infinite Flight developers can release regularupdates efficiently. A new authentication system allows Infinite Flight to offersubscription discounts, trial periods, and much more. In addition,integration with the sim's community forum means greater visibilityfor pilots and ATC, as well as easier identification of users insupport situations. Flight Plan SharingSharing flight plans in Infinite Flight just got a lot easier!Infinite Flight pilots can now use the flight plan share icon to saveto their device, send to another app or via other methods offered byiOS. Two-way ForeFlight compatibility means practicing with your EFBahead of the actual flight is more convenient than ever. Flight PlanSharing uses Garmin's FPL format, so users can explore other ways touse them with services like SimBrief and SkyVector. 20.2 Change LogFull list of 20.2 additions, improvements, and fixes: REWORKED B77F, B77W, B77L which include 17 new liveries, real 777 sound pack, animated cockpit with live instruments, improved flight physics, main gear steering, gear tilt, wing flex, and more. All are available to Infinite Flight Pro subscribersNEW Interior and Exterior drone cameras for all aircraft, which follow the aircraft even while in flight!NEW completely reworked login and user system with account linking to the Infinite Flight community forumNEW account settings screen for managing callsign, subscription, account linking, and accessing statisticsNEW customizable configurations for the flight data info bar. Switch using the “Interface†systems menuNEW warning sound prior to receiving violationsNEW battery information in info bar (iOS only) and for ATC and Angle of Attack (AOA) in info barNEW Anonymous mode for users with linked forum accounts who do not wish to show their username in flightNEW ATC commands including departure in sequenceNEW iOS Flight plan sharing/saving, compatible with ForeFlight, and moreIMPROVED callsign system with country-specific filters and rulesIMPROVED Autopilot SPD mode can no longer be enabled on the groundIMPROVED C172 power & high AoA behaviorIMPROVED “Unable to Communicate†no longer issues violation but disconnects userIMPROVED A320 engine geometryFIXED Map filters for ATCFIXED Visual approaches for centerFIXED Bug where winds would sometimes be based on camera position rather than aircraftFIXED Pushback bug which would allow forward momentum during pushbackFIXED Pronunciation of callsigns (KLM and DHL, letters in identifiers)FIXED Autopilot issues from when control sensitivity settings were changedFIXED Surface layer fog now updates smoothly between weather reporting stationsFIXED B777 flapsUPDATED Display names have been removed. Linking your Infinite Flight Community account in settings now allows you to display your forum username while in flightIMPROVED “WPT†for aircraft start position no longer added to flight plan as first waypoint when on the ground. Closest airport will be used if foundIMPROVED XCub can now land off-airport without warnings or violationsIMPROVED Better support for SmoothTrack with OpenTrackIMPROVED Back end systems with server performance improvements and bug fixesInfinite Flight User GuideThe Infinite Flight community has historically been a great sourceof help and instruction for new pilots. In addition to this, users cannow reference a comprehensive set of user guides that range fromlaunching the app for the first time to in-depth instructions on howto use instrument procedures. Visit infiniteflight.com/guide to getstarted. About Infinite FlightInfinite Flight brings mobile flight simulation and Air Trafficcontrol to phones and tablets. Infinite Flight is a full-featured,multiplayer, mobile flight simulator for aviation lovers on thego. Enjoy the most comprehensive flight simulation experienceavailable on mobile devices-whether you are a curious novice or anaccomplished pilot. Fly alone in solo mode, or upgrade to the amazingLive multiplayer mode for the most engaging flying and ATC experiencewith other subscribers all around the world. For more official news and information, please visit our blog: https://infiniteflight.com/blog
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/images/notams/notams20/infi0611.jpgAn updated version of the Infinite Flight flight simulatorfor mobile devices is now available. Based on requests from the InfiniteFlight user community it includes a reworked Boeing 777. In this firstupdate for 2020 the B772 is available with other variants to follow. There are other updates as well including: VNAV added to autopilot systemBoeing 737 cockpit reworkedNew real-world global navigation databaseATC updatesServer moderation improvementsAnd more... Source
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/images/notams/notams20/infi0521.jpgA long-awaited feature is making its way to Infinite Flight v20.1;Instrument Procedures. Infinite Flight pilots will soon be able to adda real-world arrival, approach, or departure to their flight planswith ease. And here's the best part: it will be available to all usersat no extra cost. A common question from real-world pilots at events like AirVenturein Oshkosh is, "can I shoot an approach into my home airport?" Ouranswer up until now has been, sort of. The answer after the release ofInfinite Flight v20.1 will be an emphatic YES! Coming in the next appupdate will be a global database of real-world nav data including allSIDs, STARs, and approaches. ALL? Yes, all. Okay, but what if I wantto plan an arrival into Ouagadougou Airport in Burkina Faso, you mightask. Well, you will be able to. Source
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/images/notams/notams20/infi0123.jpgWe're embarking on a mission to update some of the core codebasethat makes up our app; something we're calling ProjectMetal. Infinite Flight is standing the test of time, and we willcontinue to build on it and improve. To do this, sometimes it'snecessary to say 'out with the old'. This is what we're doing now,and here's why. The BackstoryThose of you that haven't devoured our various developer interviewsmight not know that Infinite Flight was originally developed forWindows Phone in 2011. There are a few reasons why we decided totarget Windows Phone, but mainly it was because we were more familiarwith the Microsoft development environment back in those days. Thismade it easier to ship the first version quickly. On Windows Phone, we used XNA as our graphics API, since this wasthe only choice. XNA was a framework that allowed game developers totarget Windows PC, Windows Phone, and Xbox with minimum codechanges. Yes, we had a development version of IF running on an Xbox360! Unfortunately, XNA was deprecated and not long after, so wasWindows Phone. Thankfully, we started working on an iOS version sometime beforethat, but in order to not have to recode everything, we used MonoGamewhich is an XNA implementation for many platforms. On iOS (andAndroid), MonoGame uses OpenGL ES as the low-level graphics API. Here's Where We Are NowUnfortunately (again), OpenGL ES has been deprecated on iOS devicesand Apple recommends using Metal; a more modern low-level graphicsAPI. OpenGL ES still works but it is stuck at an old version withlimited features and there is no telling if it will continue workingindefinitely (deprecating things is Apple's favorite). There are many features we want to do in Infinite Flight that arevery complex to implement with the limited feature set we are stuckwith. The only way for us to move forward is to overhaul our renderingbackend to be able to take advantage of the newer graphics APIs (Metalon iOS and Vulkan on Android). This is a pretty complex task that requires a lot of engineeringtime and won't result in any immediate visual benefit to theend-user. If all goes well, you won't notice anything! The mainbenefit will be performance; Metal and Vulkan are much more"low-level" than OpenGL ES, meaning they have less processing overheadand are more predictable. This should result in us seeing better framerates and fewer "stutters" overall. Another benefit will be that itwill unlock many possibilities for our developers to implement somecool new features. Some features we'd like to implement but have been eitherimpossible or too performance-inhibitive are things like: Dynamic lighting: the ability to have aircraft lights (airportlights, and more) illuminate the environment dynamicallyImproved aircraft shading that takes into account light comingfrom the environment around itRealtime shadowsVolumetric effects like dense 3d clouds and better fogTexture streaming improvements to allow more visible aircraft inmultiplayerOf course, an update like Project Metal isn't trivial. A lot ofwork is going on behind the scenes to make this happen. Our developersare hard at work laying the groundwork for the move to these updatedgraphics APIs. It doesn't mean other work is being abandoned. Work onthe B777-200 is moving along at a great pace, as is work onimplementing clouds. Ultimately these changes are great news for Infinite Flight users,even if they aren't immediately visible. As always, we will keep youupdated as we go along. Source
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/images/notams/notams19/infi1209/infi1209.jpgThe A350 has been the most requested aircraft in Infinite Flight'shistory. With the last update of the year, makers of the mobile flightsimulator are delivering on their promise to bring this wide-bodyairliner to the masses. Along with the A350-900, this Infinite Flightupdate brings the much-anticipated rework of one of aviation's mosticonic general aviation airplanes: the 172. Lastly, for this release,there is a completely reworked map, a reworked in-flight UI, theaddition of live instruments for the TBM, and more. /images/notams/notams19/infi1209/a350.jpgA350Never before has Infinite Flight seen so many requests for onefeature. The A350 is a popular choice for young aviators and flightsim enthusiasts with its sleek design and curved wingtips. 19.4 willshowcase the brand new A350 with a fully animated, glasscockpit. Active displays will include full or partial versions ofOnboard Information System, Primary Flight and Navigation display,Engine/System Display, Integrated Standby Instrument System,Multi-Function Display (this version displays flight plan waypoints),Radio Management Panel, Electronic Flight Instrument System, and AutoFlight System control panel. Another prominent feature request has been for Infinite Flight'sairliners to have properly tilted landing gear. The A350 marks thefirst jet in the fleet to feature gear tilt. With multiple animationsat work, landings in the A350 will be more realistic than ever as yourmain gear touch down. Extra features in the cockpit will also helppilots fly from camera views in the flight deck, such as a functionalslat and flap indicator in the PFD. The navigation display is there toassist pilots in monitoring their flight's progress, along with helpfrom waypoints in the MFD. The A350 comes with a whopping 34 different liveries to choosefrom, all available immediately to Infinite Flight Prosubscribers. /images/notams/notams19/infi1209/c172.jpgC172 ReworkThe 172 is a veteran in the Infinite Flight fleet and a favoriteamong general aviation enthusiasts. For this release, developers havereworked this airplane from the ground up with a new 3D model, flightphysics, and live instruments. 3D artists have gone to great lengthsin detailing this aircraft's interior and exterior. The 172 will be free to all users in keeping with the once free,always free motto. This version will come with a selection of liveriesand a steam gauge panel. As a bonus to Infinite Flight Prosubscribers, a glass cockpit version with G1000 displays will also beavailable for use. Aircraft releases often come with new features, and the 172 is nodifferent. This aircraft can be started from cold and dark usingstandard procedures with settings for fuel tank selector, masterswitch, magnetos and starter, mixture control, fuel pump, andthrottle. For users who want to get into the air quickly, anauto-start feature is also available for use. Electrical buses areconfigured in this aircraft in a way that ensures pilots use correctprocedures to be up and running properly. Updated MapThis version of Infinite Flight makes use of a completely reworkedmap, which opens up new possibilities for future development. Thesimulator's previous map was built to accommodate a selection ofregions, rather than the entire earth. In 19.4 the map has beenredesigned to provide more detail such as accurate borders andcoastlines in a more efficient way. One small but important addition to the map for this release is anautopilot helper, which shows the pilot where they will be when theyreach their desired altitude based on current speed and climbrate. This can be helpful when under the instruction of ATC. Thisarticle explains in more detail what went into the new mapdevelopment. /images/notams/notams19/infi1209/tbm.jpgTBM Cockpit UpdateInfinite Flight is working through its current fleet to add workingcockpits, and this update makes good on that promise by bringing newlife to the TBM-930. This first version contains two standby attitudemodules, PDF, and MFD. Updated User InterfaceAs Infinite Flight's aircraft systems become more complex, the 2Dmenus with which a pilot will access them must evolve to accommodatethem. Airliners require long and complicated startupprocedures. Infinite Flight's systems will continue to grow toincorporate these procedures, and the 2D menu must allow forthat. Startup and shutdown, of course, are the tip of the iceberg. Other Updates and ImprovementsDevelopers have gone to great lengths to squash any known remainingbugs for this release, including app crashes when switching cameras,suspending the app and flying an approach after a longflight. Enhancements and improvements have been equally important, andinclude the following: Added NDB/VOR NavigationAdded ability to tap airports in multiplayer page to go directly to spawn point selectionA320 instrument improvements (ECAM and Autopilot Panel)A320 ARC/NAV modeA320 liveriesiOS 13 supportProgressive braking on rudder pedal by tapping rudder control and sliding downStricter gate size restrictions online. Now adhering to actual restrictionsImproved live instruments performanceReworked user authentication for Android; Logging in with Facebook and Google is smoother without the need to reenter credentials each timeSource
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/images/notams/notams19/a3501024/a350-1.jpgThroughout the development process, there are always some progressupdates by our designers and developers that don't make it to socialmedia. Whether it's a slightly different angle on the autopilot panel,or a rendering for the purpose of furthering a discussion, some of thesedon't see the light of day. Today we'll change all of that by sharing some shots that didn't makeit. We'll start off with a beautiful wireframe of the A350's iconic wingprofile from early on in development. /images/notams/notams19/a3501024/a350-2.jpgEventually, it's useful for our 3D artists to see what a new aircraftlooks like with a fresh coat of paint. It helps them determine if the UVUnwrapping isready to work with. It's also a nice break from building the aircraftmodel! The very first livery out of the paint shop was Singapore Airlines. /images/notams/notams19/a3501024/a350-3.jpgAs development continued, so did work inside the cockpit. A question weget with each communication on new or updated aircraft is, /"Will thebuttons be clickable?"/ For now, we will still animate new screens,buttons, and switches that are tied to our 2D interface. One of ourgoals has been to allow users to keep both hands on the device whilemanipulating the controls. Keeping buttons and switches at "thumbsreach" during critical phases of flight is important to us, so usersdon't have to pan down, find a lever, toggle it, and reset their view.Having said that, this isn't stopping us from adding all of theappropriate elements to the A350's cockpit. /images/notams/notams19/a3501024/a350-4.jpg /images/notams/notams19/a3501024/a350-5.jpgOf course not all of these glorious switches will be functional out ofthe gate. Our aircraft pipeline is built entirely in-house, giving uscomplete control over development, and allowing us to accurately tradequality, performance, and speed. Please note that all renderings are subject to change and are an activework in progress at the time of this post. Renderings may not be a finalrepresentation of the completed aircraft. Source
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/images/notams/notams19/infi0819.jpgCelebrate #nationalaviationday all week by downloading InfiniteFlight at 80% off the regular price! Practice your flight beforegetting in the cockpit with seamless @teamforeflightintegration. Search theApp StoreorGoogle Playfor Infinite Flight today. About Infinite FlightInfinite Flight offers the most comprehensive flight simulationexperience on mobile devices, whether you are a curious novice or adecorated pilot. Explore high definition scenery in regions fromaround the world with our diverse inventory of detailed aircraft,tailoring each flight by choosing your time of day, weatherconditions, and aircraft weight configuration. FeaturesDozens of aircraft in a diverse fleet of airliners, general aviation and military aircraft (subscribe to Infinite Flight Pro to unlock all aircraft)Multiple regions featuring high definition satellite imagery, accurate topography and all major airports with precise runway and taxiway layoutsCustomizable time of day and weather conditions (real time or custom)Realistic atmospherics with the sun, moon, and starsAutopilot (supports control of all flight parameters, NAV mode to follow your flight plan, and auto land on select aircraft)Easy-to-use flight planning system with accurate fixes and Navigational AidsEngine startup and shutdownInstrument Landing System (ILS)Advanced replay systemWeight and balance configurationAircraft cockpit and door animations, suspension animations, and wing flex, on select aircraft.Subscribe to Infinite Flight Pro for an all-access experience whichallows you to fly anywhere in the world with live weather and ourentire fleet of aircraft. Join thousands of other pilots and airtraffic controllers for the most engaging online flight simulatoravailable today! Infinite Flight Pro subscription benefits: Join thousands of other pilots for a global multiplayer experienceFly the world with millions of square miles of high definition scenery with access to over 25,000 airports (no region lock-in)Enjoy all available aircraftAct as an Air Traffic ControllerFly through live weather and winds aloftinfiniteflight.com
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/images/notams/notams19/infi0806.jpgIn the third update of 2019, Infinite Flight is continuingon its mission to bring live cockpits to their fleet. 19.3 also bringsanother goal to fruition, in delivering the entire globe in 15m (meterper pixel) satellite imagery. Global HD SceneryThe move to global flight in 2017 brought with it parts of theworld in 15m satellite terrain imagery. In early 2018, roughly 30%more imagery was added, leaving South America and parts of Asiauntouched. Now, pilots will be able to discover every corner of theearth in true-to-life detail while flying. The original target for the updated imagery was first quarter 2019,but a few factors were involved in delaying its release. Along withreceiving the source imagery data later than planned, developersdecided to revamp the scenery processing pipeline to support moresource datasets (as well as improve performance on larger datasets). This came with many bugs in need of squashing. Streaming such a large imagery dataset to thousands of users inreal-time comes with significant challenges. With this update,Infinite Flight developers updated the scenery servers to make themmore efficient in terms of performance, reliability, and cost. Theyalso improved scalability for potential future scenery updates. A320 Series Animated Instruments19.3 is paving the way for the long awaited A350. To prepare forthat aircraft, developers have taken technology introduced with theXCub's glass displays and applied it to the A320 family. This firstiteration of glass instruments will include simplified versions of theaircrafts PFD, MFD, ECAM, FMS, COM Radios, Chrono/Clock, and Autopilotstandby altitude, altimeter, and airspeed controls. The developers' goal with these cockpit instruments is to addimprovements with each release. The A320 instruments are ready toship, however not yet feature-complete. This release also brings a newaircraft state system that instruments are built upon. It is a keycomponent of Infinite Flight, allowing the developers to add morerealism to the cockpit with minimal performance impact. It will alsoenable 3rd party developers more control over the simulator, andcreate even better companion apps. Source
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/images/notams/notams19/xcub0530.jpgHello, aviators! We are excited to share with you the official trailer for theupcoming XCub which showcases one of the most requested features fromour community. Enjoy the video and make sure to check out the FAQ below for moredetailed information. Q&AWill the glass displays be available to everyone? The XCub will be released as a free aircraft with a small selectionof liveries and a steam gauge panel which includes 2 small glassdisplays. Both panels (steam gauges + full glass panels) and allliveries will be available with a Pro subscription. How realistic are the displays? Not all functionalities are implemented at the moment but thedisplays will improve over time. Our teaser video is a greatindication of what we have now. We will do our best to matchreal-world instruments look and feel but some complex functionalitiesmight take a long time to get right. Will you add glass displays to other aircraft? Yes. We do plan on adding instruments to other aircraft in ourcurrent fleet. It will be done gradually, and for older aircraft, afull rework will be required to accommodate this. Will the A350 have glass displays too? You bet. However, since the A350 is basically all glass, not allfunctionality will be implemented right away. Our goal is always tosimulate real-world conditions, however, as you know this takes timeand processing requirements. We will improve over time. When is the release? Soon! As we put the finishing touches on this aircraft and squash afew bugs, we will preview XCub at our booth at FlightSimExpo inOrlando next week. The release will come sometime after that, however,we don't have a firm date set. Source
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/images/notams/notams19/infi0319/infi0319.jpgInfinite Flight has released its first update of 2019 with anexciting new feature that will give pilots and ATC the ability toreplay their entire flight or controlling session at any time. Alongwith replay comes a host of other improvements, fixes, and additionsthat will set it up for a great year of development ahead. Replay SystemPrior to 19.1, Infinite Flight pilots had the option to replay thelast few minutes of their flight in solo mode. Now, with thecompletely redesigned replay system, pilots and ATC can replay,favorite, delete, export, and share their past flights and controllingsessions. Replay starts with a new UI that's accessible right fromthe home screen, where users will be met with not only their pastsessions but any others that they've imported along the way. With aneasy way to export, users can also easily backup and store replaysessions to their favorite cloud service, AirDrop to another device,or share with a friend. /images/notams/notams19/infi0319/infinite-flight-3.jpgReplay now gives enthusiasts a way to get the perfect angle fortheir screen shots or videos, while also leading to a higher level ofaccountability for pilots on the expert server. Since all replayinformation is stored as network data as opposed to video files, thestorage requirement on the device is minimal. This also means thatflights can be replayed exactly as they happened, with traffic andATC. Super-Resolution Screen ShotsInfinite Flight on social media is about to be taken up a notchwith new super-resolution screen shots. From any point in a reply,pilots or controllers can choose their favorite angle and tap the newscreen shot button. Infinite Flight will take a series of large screenshots in sections and stitch them together (up to a 4x zoom) and placethem in a dedicated album in the devices photo app. Ramp Start Availability & Gate Size RestrictionsSpawning at the same start location as another user will be a thingof the past now that a new ramp start availability feature is inplace. In addition to this, parking size restrictions will preventaircraft from starting at a ramp location that is too small for theiraircraft. /images/notams/notams19/infi0319/infinite-flight-2.jpgA330-300/A330-200F UpdatesA last-minute addition to 19.1 is a very soft rework of InfiniteFlight's A330 fleet. Fueled by a vibrant and engaged online community,Infinite Flight developers strive to meet expectations and demand. Inthis case, inspiration came late in the game from an active featurerequest to improve the A330. Features that made their way into theupdate include: Autoland (APPR)8 New LiveriesWing flexGround EffectFlight physics updatesBetter crosswind handlingFixed autopilot issuesFixed flap issuesveries for the A330:Air Asia XAirbusGaruda IndonesiaSingapore AirlinesSouth African AirwaysSrilankan AirlinesThai International AirwaysWOW Air /images/notams/notams19/infi0319/infinite-flight-1.jpgOther Improvements & Fixes19.1 includes a plethora of updates and changes designed to makeyour simulator experience better. Spawn gate & frequency changes arenow shown in the ATC log for easy reference later. New violation andghosting visual warnings will make it much easier for pilots to seewhat they are doing wrong so they can correct their mistakeearlier. Also included to round out this update are: New map aircraft iconsNew smooth free cameraSimplified graphics options in settingsImproved aircraft and livery download systemMap bug fixes and new map animationsLivery fixes, updates, and additionsATC radar filter - Filter out aircraft by altitude to make management easierNew ATC commandsAbout Infinite FlightInfinite Flight continues to bring the best in mobile flightsimulation and Air Traffic control to phones and tablets. InfiniteFlight is a full-featured, multiplayer, mobile flight simulator foraviation lovers on the go. Enjoy the most comprehensive flightsimulation experience available on mobile devices-whether you are acurious novice or an accomplished pilot. Fly alone in solo mode, orupgrade to the amazing Live multiplayer mode for the most engagingflying and ATC experience with other subscribers all around theworld. For more official news and information, please visit our blog: https://infiniteflight.com/blog
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Infinite Flight A-10 Rework With Animated Gauges And B737 Updates
Nels_Anderson posted an article in HN
/images/notams/notams18/infi1206/infi1206.jpgInfinite Flight 18.6Infinite Flight has released its 6th update of 2018, focusing on acomplete rework of one of their veteran aircraft in the fleet: theA-10. This aircraft was one of the first in the simulator and is nowthe first to feature a cockpit with working gauges. The 737 alsoreceived some much-needed work with the addition of wing flex, groundeffect, and more. /images/notams/notams18/infi1206/a10-1.jpgA-10 ReworkAffectionately nicknamed the "Warthog" or "Hog", the A-10 is a twinturbofan, single-seat fighter used by the USAF. With a modestcomplement of steam gauges, this aircraft was the perfect testingground for introducing working instruments; something Infinite Flighthas been planning for some time. Added, are fully functional six pack,fuel flow indicator, engine fan RPM indicators, compasses, and glideslope indicator. This feature sets a new precedent for InfiniteFlight's aircraft development. Indeed, recent models have been made toinclude working knobs, switches, and instruments and the A-10 is thefirst to take advantage of this. /images/notams/notams18/infi1206/a10-2.jpgIn addition to this new level of realism, the A-10 also featuresnine new liveries, a new pilot with animated helmet visor, an animatedcanopy, new flight and ground spoilers, animated suspension, andcustom sounds. The flight physics model has been completely reworkedand tested by real-world A-10 pilots, to ensure a true-to-lifeexperience while flying. New camera angles, including multiple viewsinside the cockpit, allow pilots to get a better look at the newinstruments or go under the hood . The ability to refuel while aloftwhile led by another pilot in a tanker rounds out the A-10 list offeatures. /images/notams/notams18/infi1206/737-1.jpgB737 UpdatesOne of the staples in any fleet of aircraft is the iconicB737. While not in line for a complete rework, Infinite Flight hasadded some features that help bring the 737 to be more in line withcurrent aircraft standards. Included are: Autoland (APPR)30+ New LiveriesNew WheelsWing flexSplit Scimitar WingletsGround EffectPilotsNew Strobe Light TimingsAPU StrobeA small but often noticed issue with the Infinite Flight fleet wascoupled control surfaces and levers. This update marks a new precedentfor future aircraft work by animating the levers (i.e. the gear lever)and the surface it controls (landing gear) independently. Moving thegear lever is a quick operation, while the landing gear themselvestake more time to fully extend. /images/notams/notams18/infi1206/737-2.jpgOther ImprovementsA new loading screen has made its way into v18.6 with added tipsfor pilots as their flight loads. As well, for pilots flying in theUnited States, Infinite Flight has added an updated waypoint datasetof 25,000 fixes for the USA to the latest available from the FAA. Someperformance improvements for older devices have also been implemented,as well as an updated list of call signs. About Infinite FlightFlying Development Studio continues to bring the best in mobileflight simulation and Air Traffic Control to phones andtablets. Infinite Flight is a full-featured, multiplayer, mobileflight simulator for aviation lovers on the go. Enjoy the mostcomprehensive flight simulation experience available on mobiledevices-whether you are a curious. infiniteflight.com -
/images/notams/notams18/infi0927.jpgVersion 18.5 of Infinite Flight has begun to roll outand will be available to you as it makes its way to your app store! Ina move back to general aviation development for the first time sinceadding the Citation X, this update includes the much-anticipated TBM930, along with a few bug fixes and improvements. As many of you will know, our launch of this update was halted byan unexpected app store requirement. This meant more development timewas required in spite of the fact that we had an update ready toship. This also means we're implementing a gradual roll out to appstores. Android users will receive this update first, followed by iOSusers if all goes well. You, our community, responded very well tothis news and for that we say, thank you! Now, on to the update! New In This UpdateTBM 930 with new pilot clothingTBM map iconTBM Interior/Exterior turboprop engine soundsAmbient exterior sounds (wind, city noise, etc)Updated callsignsAdded NOTAM UIATC ImprovementsNew subscription workflow Source
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/images/logos/infinite-flight.jpgInfinite Flight 18.4Infinite Flight has completed the CRJ family of aircraft with itsfourth update of the year. With these new variants comes a host ofliveries, ATC updates and improvements, a new aircraft systems userinterface, and more. CRJ Family CompleteEarlier this year, Infinite Flight released the 700 and 900 CRJvariants, as well as a much-welcomed addition of wing flex animationsto the A320 family of aircraft. Following up on that momentum, 18.4brings even more realism with the CRJ200 and 1000. As with otherrecent releases, these models have been tested against real-worlddata, and flight tested by real-world CRJ pilots. With these newregional variants comes over 20 liveries fresh from the paint shop toplease users from countries around the world. /images/notams/notams18/infi0810/infinite1.jpgAs with other updates to this mobile simulator, Infinite Flight Prosubscribers can enjoy all features and updates by simply updating theapp. As a special bonus to all Infinite Flight users, the CRJ200 willcome as a free update with all liveries belonging to that variant. /images/notams/notams18/infi0810/infinite3.jpgOptimizations And ImprovementsAs with any app, bug fixes and improvements aren't usually the funpart to share, but are vital to its integrity and longevity. In thisupdate, Infinite Flight boasts some ATC optimizations andimprovements. Most notably is the ability for controllers to share thetraffic load by tag teaming multiple tower, ground, or radarfrequencies. Pilots will now be instructed which frequency to tuneinto based on their location via the ATIS. This is especially usefulduring peak hours and high-volume events. /images/notams/notams18/infi0810/infinite2.jpgA new aircraft systems screen now makes it easier to operateengines, lights, and other systems while flying or taxiing. Pilots cannow also request a runway in addition to their pushback request,taking the guesswork out of which direction they should push. About Infinite FlightFlying Development Studio continues to bring the best in mobileflight simulation and Air Traffic control to phones andtablets. Infinite Flight is a full-featured, multiplayer, mobileflight simulator for aviation lovers on the go. Enjoy the mostcomprehensive flight simulation experience available on mobiledevices-whether you are a curious novice or an accomplished pilot. Flyalone in solo mode, or upgrade to the amazing Live multiplayer modefor the most engaging flying and ATC experience with other subscribersall around the world. infiniteflight.com
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/images/logos/infinite-flight.jpgInfinite Flight releases CRJ-900 and A320 series updates. Infinite Flight 18.3Infinite Flight is here with its third major release of 2018 and isdelivering on its promise to continue adding to the CRJ family ofaircraft. 18.3 brings the CRJ-900, along with a not-so-insignificantupdate to the A320 series, and graphics performance improvements. /images/notams/notams18/infi0702/crj-900-1.jpgCRJ-900 Gets WingsMay 2018 saw a new addition to the Infinite Flight fleet with theCRJ-700. This aircraft was a major advancement with improved textures,and flight physics, as well as new camera angles and animations. Aftersome fine-tuning, the 900 variant is ready to ship with 11 newliveries and updated flight physics, tested and confirmed byreal-world CRJ pilots. /images/notams/notams18/infi0702/airbus-1.jpgA318/A319/A320/A321 Wing Flex and AnimationsThe A320 series of aircraft is back with some updates after beingreleased in November of 2015. Along with new, smoother landing gearanimations, the A320 series is leaving the hanger with true-to-lifewing flex. These aircraft will join the B787, MD-11, DC-10, and CRJfamilies that include wing flex which, when combined with InfiniteFlight's winds aloft model, creates an even more realistic experience. infiniteflight.com
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Infinite Flight Simulator Releases CRJ-700 and New Satellite Imagery
Nels_Anderson posted an article in HN
/images/notams/notams16/infi0806.jpgInfinite Flight 18.2The next iteration of Infinite Flight is here and has upped theante yet again in the mobile flight simulation space. The first ofmultiple CRJ series of aircraft is the CRJ-700, and newly added 15msatellite imagery brings more amazing views to your next flight. CRJ-700 Is Ready for Pushback /images/notams/notams18/infi0522/t/Infinite_Flight_CRJ-700_BA.jpgCreators of the mobile flight simulator, Infinite Flight have addedto their fleet of aircraft with the Bombardier CRJ-700 regionaljet. Flying Development Studio has included 13 new liveries, and somefresh animations on nose gear and suspension, exterior doors, andwindshield wipers. The true-to-life flight physics have been modeledfrom real world CRJ aircraft, and rigorously tested by real-world,CRJ-rated captains. /images/notams/notams18/infi0522/t/Infinite_Flight_CRJ-700_Cabin.jpgFlying your favorite regional routes anywhere on the globe is evenmore enjoyable with new camera angles, highlighting a brand new, fullytextured cabin interior. Wing flex can be enjoyed through added windowviews, and interior mood lighting is illuminated when the sun goesdown. /images/notams/notams18/infi0522/t/Infinite_Flight_Scenery_1.jpg15m Satellite ImageryWith the introduction of global flight in 2017 came InfiniteFlight's new and improved 15m satellite imagery. This is no smallfeat, since processing this data for the entire earth comes with itsown set of challenges, including processing areas with predominantcloud cover. Scenery is loaded on-the-fly and cached locally forblazing fast rendering on the return flight. /images/notams/notams18/infi0522/t/Infinite_Flight_Scenery_2.jpgIn 18.2, Infinite Flight released approximately 30% more 15meter/pixel satellite imagery, with only South America and part ofSoutheast Asia not included (planned for later this year), all in thepalm of each user's hands. Updated imagery is accompanied by anever-expanding list of airports, including thousands ofcommunity-contributed improvements. User Interface ImprovementsInfinite Flight is always looking for ways to bring data to theuser in meaningful ways. 18.2 brings an improved user grade screen,which helps pilots work towards honing their skills to increase theirexperience grade. A higher grade means access to expert servers wherepilots can roam the skies in good company with other seriouspilots. About Infinite FlightFlying Development Studio continues to bring the best in mobileflight simulation and Air Traffic control to phones andtablets. Infinite Flight is a full-featured, multiplayer, mobileflight simulator for aviation lovers on the go. Enjoy the mostcomprehensive flight simulation experience available on mobiledevices-whether you are a curious novice or an accomplished pilot. Flyalone in solo mode, or upgrade to the amazing Live multiplayer modefor the most engaging flying and ATC experience with other subscribersall around the world. www.infinite-flight.com -
Infinite Flight Developer Interview Conducted by Dominic Smith Matt, what were your reasons for deciding to create a flight simulator for the mobile market? Infinite Flight was initially started from a side project I had been working on for many years. When Microsoft decided to cancel the Flight Simulator franchise, I was working in Silicon Valley for a popular graphics card company. One of my colleagues and good friend (Philippe) and I decided that the timing was right to enter the market and join forces to create a new flight simulator based around my original flight model. After a few weeks, we quickly realized that while it would take years for us to reach the same level as existing simulators available on the desktop, we could create a minimum viable product for the mobile market. This product could then (theoretically) be updated frequently (based on community feedback) so as to build something competitive. About 6 months later, we shipped our first version: Windows Phone in 2011, iOS in 2012, and a year later on Android/Amazon. To summarize, it's not something that was decided in one day, it's more of an organic chain of events that made us go from a standalone hobby flight sim to a commercial mobile app. Tell us about your products and what you feel are its strongest and most fun features for the end user. Infinite Flight features dozens of airplanes, ranging from the Cessna 172 or Cirrus SR22 to large airliners like the Airbus A380, Boeing 777, as well as fighters, warbirds, and more. It has many flyable areas with hundreds of airports (full taxiway layouts), weather configuration, autopilot, flight planning, realistic flight physics, multiple camera views, extremely functional controls, time of day settings, replay system, and much much more. We also recently added a new multiplayer mode, we call it Infinite Flight Live. It's a world where all pilots connect and fly together with radio, real time weather, etc. The target audience is very wide as we've received feedback from students, real world GA and airline pilots, retirees and professionals; so quite a broad spectrum. In terms of strongest features, I'd say it is a mix of flight physics, detailed airplane models and our new Live (multiplayer) feature, the latter being the strongest one. Infinite Flight Live opened up a whole new world of possibilities and reinforced our commitment to community engagement. There's an extremely active community of fans on several Facebook groups, and these guys organize daily events and fly-ins in Live with different themes. We're going to reinforce this in our next update with more features for Live, including Live ATC where users will be able to act as ATC controllers for tower/ground/approach, etc. To give you an idea, it will be something similar to what is already available on IVAO/VATSIM. We've been beta testing this for a few months and all the testers love it! We also organize official weekly events, with different themes each time. This brings a lot of pilots together (think half hour queues before take off at KLAX). How is beta testing implemented at Infinite Flight? Is it open to the public, or do you have a set team? We have a core team of private beta testers; these include passionate users we've recruited over a period of time. Occasionally we do have open public betas. In fact, we actually have a semi open beta right now for the new ATC features we're incorporating. We couldn't really use the production server since the changes we made broke compatibility. Because of this, we opened a semi public beta. We do however filter the types of users we accept in this group. We need people that can help us find bugs, not give us more work if you know what I mean. What would you say the biggest challenge is when it comes to developing for the mobile market? The biggest challenge is the hardware. For two reasons; first, because even if mobile processors are getting more powerful each year, we still have to deal with a wide variety of device configurations. The second challenge we face is mostly related to Android. Some vendors release way too many mobile devices into the market without paying much attention to the graphics drivers they ship with them. This can lead to rendering problems that are hard to diagnose and fix, especially if this is happening on some obscure phone that only ships in one country. Is Infinite Flight purely for entertainment purposes or can people who are interested in serious flight learn things from it? I like to describe Infinite Flight as a serious simulator game. It's classified as a game because we really have no other choice in today's mobile market to gain any kind of visibility. However, you can't give this app to a 5 year old and expect that they are going to have fun. A slight interest in aviation is a prerequisite to fully enjoy Infinite Flight. To create the realism that Infinite Flight now offers, it meant working with airline pilots and aviation experts. This ensured that the latest flight models are as accurate as possible. The 737 is one of our most accurate models to date. Set the weight, flaps configuration, airspeed and you'll be right where the real 737 would be in real life! We even support things like density altitude, so if you take your Cessna 172 with four people to a place like Aspen on a hot day, you'll have trouble getting off the ground (due to the environmental modeling in the sim). Infinite Flight also supports complex flight planning as well as ILS approaches. You can just input any approach in the sim and practice it before you go fly. So we're in the games section in much the same way FSX was, but we're just as serious as they were in terms of simulation accuracy. What advantages do you see a mobile flight simulator having over its PC counterpart? Ease of use is one; there's no need to build an expensive rig and spend hours trying to figure out why the frame rate won't go over 10 fps. Ease of access is another, as you don't have to go into your office or bedroom to get your flight sim fix! You can be on your couch and when you feel like taking to the air, pop your iPad out and start flying! Why, you don't even have to be at home for that matter. We've got many shots of Infinite Flight being used in by passengers during commercial flights, even in the cockpit by the crew...on downtime that is! Another important factor is that mobile flight simulators are definitely cheaper (hardware and software) than their PC counterparts. While it's not an issue for someone who has a steady income, many students and kids (who want to enjoy flight simulation) rarely have the budget to build a custom PC, so purchasing a two year old iPad to play Infinite Flight becomes a viable and realistic option. Matt, does the mobile environment limit or constrain you with regards to what ideas you can implement? It does but it's getting better! Originally we were limited to devices like the iPod Touch 4th Gen, which had 256MB of memory and an extremely weak CPU/GPU combo, but as of today (only a few years later), we're running on multicore processors and covering both Android and iOS. The iPad Air 2 for example runs Infinite Flight extremely well, which means that we can definitely step things up a notch. That being said, we always try to be careful when adding new features. It's important to us to not exclude users with older devices. This is why we provide fallbacks whenever possible. What would you say are the major differences between Infinite Flight and X-Plane Mobile (which it is often compared to)? I'd say our key strengths are our detailed airplanes, the flight model, the flight planning and replay features, our camera options and general control layout. The Live Multiplayer feature is also one major difference. Matt, could you tell us a bit more about the physics engine of Infinite Flight? Sure. The physics engine is based on a third party physics library that handles the basic functionality of having groups of objects, in the form of an airplane with wheels attached to it, that sits on the ground. Without the flight model math, if you set this object 1000 feet above the ground, it'll just fall back towards the earth and crash. What we do is take care of the magic that makes the airplane fly, based on things such as airspeed, angle of attack and airplane weight, etc. About 30 times per second, the physics engine figures out what the relative wind velocity is from several points along each wing. It then computes the angle of attack from the data it receives. From this angle, it uses a lookup table to get the lift coefficient that corresponds to the AOA. Once done, it computes the force, and applies this force on the wing (meaning, it will apply a force at each point). It then adds all the types of drag (lift induced, parasitic, etc.). Once the physics engine has moved the airplane, we do the same thing over again. We also take many other variables into consideration during the lift equation such as the temperature, air density, humidity, etc. We're often asked to compare Infinite Flight to other sims, and whilst always subjective, I think our model is actually pretty accurate. Of course there's always room for improvement, especially during the more 'chaotic' periods of flight (spins, unusual attitudes, etc.) but overall, the model is pretty configurable, and with each new release, only gets better. The advantage that we have over other sims on the market is our use of lift curves. While some might say that inferring the lift data from wing shape is better, it's not necessarily true. You always end up cutting corners, there's always approximations, especially in stalled situations. This is where the curves help since you can fine tune the values for each section of the wing so as to make it match real world behavior. Tweaking airplane flight models takes about a month of on and off work. There's a lot of trial and error, and lots of back and forth with the beta test guys as we have to gather a lot of documentation on the airplanes, performance data, manuals, etc. A big chunk of that time is also spent configuring the autopilot, which is a highly complex system to tune. If I'm honest, it's actually my least favorite part! The difficulty in AP tuning is that we're actually making the airplane fly. What I mean by this, is that we're not putting it on a rail and telling the model where to go, we're actually moving the control surfaces, just like you would if you were in control. Believe it or not, keeping an airplane level at different speeds (with various flap settings) is not an easy task. There's no one set of parameters we can use for each airplane as each one uses its own custom set of parameters. Matt, could you tell us about the new multiplayer feature? The multiplayer feature has been in the sim since September. It's not a one-on-one multiplayer, but sort of an MMO flight sim, if you will. We've started with players in the same world, communicating in an FSX style, text based Unicom system, and our next update will bring a new way for users to act as Air Traffic Controllers. We're being careful with this though as we're definitely not going to allow everyone to have access to controller positions. Our beta testing has revealed that a good pilot isn't necessarily a good controller as it's an entirely different set of skills being used. Being vectored for an ILS approach by a controller that's not up to scratch is frustrating for all those involved and something we'd like to avoid. Testing so far has been extremely positive, especially ILS approaches. We're really excited about this new feature and we can't wait for people to try it. It should make our fly-ins much more fun and organized. OSM data is now being widely used in the generation of scenery, so will/could Infinite Flight incorporate this in future releases? We actually use OSM data already as the water bodies are imported straight from OSM. We've also conducted some experiments with roads and buildings. The pipeline to process all these things is there, we just need ways to render all these features efficiently on a mobile environment. Knowing how popular Infinite Flight is, have you ever considered porting it across to the PC/MAC? Of course. Since we started development on a PC, we've actually never stopped maintaining the PC version. Most of our development is done on PC, which is then shipped over to the mobile version. There's very little code that is specific to each platform, as most of it is shared. However, shipping Infinite Flight to the PC brings with it its own set of problems; graphics drivers, joystick configurations, etc. All this would would take time to iron out, but we definitely plan to bring Infinite Flight to PC at some point in time. Being a small team of only three developers, we have to prioritize. Only three developers? Matt, could you tell us what each member's role is? Yep, only three, that cuts the time we spend in meetings! Matt Philippe In the team, we've got: Philippe: He takes care of low level graphics rendering, optimizations, platform code, the sound system, the content pipeline (compiling and optimizing the things we render) and the terrain and airport rendering. RgBa: (it's a pseudonym, this guy is very secretive about his name). He takes care of graphics effects and various other aspects of the rendering engine. He worked on our outstanding and new water rendering, also airplane rendering and he's now working on smoke effects, fog and other awesome new graphics options. Matt: I work on airplane physics, the flight model, aviation related things (maps, flight planning...), the user interface, multiplayer/Live/database. Would you ever consider allowing community content (scenery/aircraft) to be added to the simulator in the future releases? That's something we're planning on, yes. The issue with mobile is that it's hard to upload user content on those devices, especially on iOS. We might have to rely on other methods to get the content there, maybe something like DropBox or other storage systems. What exciting features do you have planned for the future (which you can tell us about)? We have many things in the pipeline; buildings, better weather system, getting rid of regions to allow worldwide flights. One thing I can tell you for certain is that our next plane will be the most detailed we've done yet. It's in the process of being built, and it's going to be in orders of magnitude better than anything we've shipped so far! Links: We're heavily feedback based, so we've got a site where users can request new features and vote on existing ones. It's proven to be very useful in the past as it enables us to figure out what the community needs: feedback.flyingdevstudio.com We're also very active on social media: twitter@flyingdevstudio https://www.facebook.com/infiniteflightapp The most active Facebook Group of fans is Infinite Flight Fan Group www.facebook.com/groups/infiniteflightfangroup (they have about 11,000 members and growing. It's an extremely active community! YouTube Link: -
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