Pro Pilot Preview

Here's a twist: industry giant Sierra assuming the role of David in its attempt to topple Goliath. Sierra's Pro Pilot is going head-to-head against Microsoft's Flight Simulator - a daunting task.

Flight Simulator's been around for 15 years and has a virtual lock on the civilian flight sim market. Created by Sub-Logic, it first appeared on TRS-80s and Apple IIs and is the best-selling and longest-running entertainment title for the PC. Sub-Logic started working with Microsoft in 1980, and late last year Flight Simulator's lead programmer, Bruce Artwick, joined Microsoft. He brought the FS code with him and went to work on FS 95, its sixth iteration and the first to run under Windows. Its release is imminent.

Meanwhile, as Artwick was linking up with Microsoft, Sierra was buying Sub-Logic, whose personnel moved from Illinois to Eugene, Oregon, and joined Dynamix, the creators of several air combat simulators such as Red Baron II. They did not bring any code with them, just a huge geographical database "massaged" from USGS maps, along with their solid flight sim expertise. "We wanted to combine Dynamix's proprietary 3-D tool set with the sharp minds and massive data of Sub-Logic," says Pro Pilot producer Graeme Bayless. "Pro Pilot is not based on the old Sub-Logic technology. That old code is not all that valuable."

They're creating a full-blown, private and commercial flight training system complete with superbly detailed, realistic terrain, and true-to-life air traffic control procedures. Sierra is hoping flight sim enthusiasts, student pilots, and would-be pilots will make the switch because of this title's "dramatic" improvements in accuracy.

"Microsoft has gotten a little lazy," says Bayless. "There's nobody pushing them. They are the only game in town. They've given FS 95 some nice eye candy but they haven't addressed the technology side of it very well."

We can't yet make any direct comparisons, but using Microsoft fact sheets and Bayless' comments, some differences are clear. Pro Pilot will have:

· more accurate control panels;· many more airports: 2,500 versus 300 for FS 95;· better instruction "pathways" mirroring true flight instruction, including the option of unannounced, simulated engine failures and other emergency situations;· improved instruction videos, accessible in flight and demonstrating control techniques as well as instrumentation changes;· performance ratings of flight maneuvers;· a much faster terrain display frame rate;· four user-definable external cameras offering better "situation awareness";· air traffic control radio commands consistent with your plane's location and procedures, plus radio traffic from nearby aircraft;· a more logical sequence of aircraft types reflecting a typical instruction curve, from single-engine propeller to corporate jet.

Those five aircraft, in order of flight complexity, are: Cessna 172; Beechcraft Bonanza, Baron, and King Air; and Cessna Citation corporate jet.

In many ways Sierra is looking past Microsoft to two very high-end instrument trainer panels: X-Plane and FS-200, both of which retail for $600 to $800. "They are superlative products," says Bayless, "but they don't bother with visuals." Sierra hopes to offer the best of both worlds, but Pro Pilot will offer full instrument flight rule (IFR) capabilities anyway.

Terrain detail will vary by geographic location. Pro Pilot will have photographic quality imagery for 20 major metropolitan areas and highly detailed texture mapping for the lower 48 states. Dynamix used 3D Studio to create the urban landmarks, and PhotoShop for the overlays. The inclusion of 27 million elevation data points ensures the accurate placement of all major roads, rivers, and mountain peaks.

Each instrument on the finely detailed flight panels will be a separate bit-mapped image, accessible with the mouse. To display all the instruments on the Citation's crowded and complex panel, Pro Pilot will use additional pop-up and drop-down images.

Accuracy is this product's byword. "The instrument panels are improved and the planes' physics, flight models, and performance characteristics are more accurate," says Bayless. "Pro Pilot realizes the promise of today's technology and is where advanced civilian flight simulators should be."