 The 20th anniversary of Microsoft Flight
Simulator coincides with the 100th anniversary of powered flight. Nine historical aircraft debut in Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight, joining 15 modern craft. In-cockpit experience has changed a great deal also; both on the ground and in the air.
Now you will fly through real and genuinely unpredictable weather, generated in real time and in three dimensions. Your 3-D cockpit is now fully interactive, and air traffic control plays a major role in planning and in the air.
Early flights took a toll on pilots that today seems to bear almost no resemblance to our experience of aviation. The strain, fear, and exhaustion felt by pilots attempting to cross the North Atlantic in an open-cockpit biplane would in the 21st century more likely be ascribed to phobia. Flying today is unimaginably comfortable from the perspective of a pilot airborne 80 years ago, or even 50 years ago.
Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight brings unpredictability to the weather, and more real-world randomness (and intelligence) to the behavior of air traffic control systems and AI-generated air traffic. Add to this the advantage of fully interactive 3-D cockpits and it's possible to imagine the great unknown waiting in the skies. Ground support and meteorology were mere figments of the modern standard, and even consistent handling behavior was more than some pilots could hope for when they made their famous firsts. Flight Simulator will always be as real as it gets, and for this version, that can mean leaving the safe and familiar world behind.
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Key New Features.
Dynamic weather system based on realistic atmospheric physics, with true three-dimensional clouds that form and dissipate, and automatic real-world weather updates when you're connected to the Internet.
Weather themes that generate a wide variety of stunning--and challenging--flying conditions with just a few clicks of a mouse
Enhanced interactive air traffic control (ATC), including traffic at all airports around the world (including non-towered airports), altitude changes en route, pop-up IFR clearances, and precision and non-precision approaches to multiple runways
Interactive 3D virtual cockpits--tune radios and operate key aircraft controls and avionics by pointing and clicking in the virtual cockpit view.
Scenery improvements, including taxiway and runway signs, enhanced auto-gen 3D objects, more high-detail airports, and improved lighting and sky effects
Garmin 500 and 295 series GPS with color moving maps and airport/facility information
Improved full-color map view with terrain display
Improved support for 3D graphics hardware acceleration in multiple windows and across multiple monitors
Learning Center--a Web site on the disc available while the simulation is running that includes a Key Topics visual guide to the features in Microsoft Flight Simulator, direct links to flights and lessons, flight briefings, how-to procedures, aircraft handbooks, and more.
New and expanded lessons and ground school topics
Kiosk mode for unattended demonstrations |
