An outstanding add-on for Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2002 and the upcoming 2004 version. A detailed replica of the restored real thing on show at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum, Reading, PA.
For two decades, Microsoft flight simulator has provided entertainment for thousands of aspiring pilots and aviators alike. With expansion programs being developed at an ever-increasing rate, users can experience flight in anything from a 1943 bomber to a modern day fighter such as the Tornado – or even the Eurofighter “typhoon”. One such expansion is the B-25 Mitchell “Briefing Time”. Briefing Time has been developed for use with Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2002 and replicates the real aircraft, restored and displayed at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA. The design team – Bill Rambow, panel designer, Jan Visser, aircraft designer, FS gauge programmer Fred Banting, and Rob Young, flight dynamics specialist – are renowned for producing expansions of the very highest quality and B-25 “Briefing Time” is no exception.
“When she was restored – and she was the first Mitchell restored to this complete level of wartime condition, winning the Best Bomber at Oshkosh, back then, she looked like she had just come off the factory floor. She had a new paint job outside a couple years back and is hangar kept when she is not flying or being displayed at shows, so she is still in almost pristine condition outside”, explains Bill.
Exterior
Before starting up, any good pilot will always carefully look over their aircraft, and it’s clear in this case that panning around the computer model, the designers have made attention to detail a priority – right down to the bolts holding the wheels together. Nose art, decals, even the engine type is detailed, and if the sun’s out, the aircraft shines too! Animations include working cowl flaps, bomb bay doors, rolling wheels, suspension movement and the forward crew entry hatch extends and retracts (refer to the manual for key selections). The captain looks relaxed in his cockpit and if it’s a warm day, he slides open his window to rest his arm on the edge, adding a degree of fun to the realism.
