It is a collection of IFR approach charts and a worldwide airport directory. SimPlates X Ultra2 is developed by Dauntless Software. Read the full review of S. Ideally, this is a staff position reporting directly to upper management. And corrosion-resistant with minimal seams and NO cracks or crevices. Note: SimPlate for HPC does not require duplicate counts in the EPA-approved method. Tables for the original data (Table 9020:X) and their logarithms (Table.

SimPlates X By Nels Anderson (16 December 2007)auntless Software has been around for quite some time now,providing a variety of aviation related software. For flightsimuse, their most popular product has been SimPlates.

We actually first reviewed this product someseven years ago, as SimPlates 2000. The current version isSimPlates X and though the 'X' might make you think this is an FSXproduct that's not really the case. SimPlates runs outside yourflight simulator so it will work with any flightsim.We reviewed SimPlates again in 2004 at which time it includedsome 18,000 charts. If that sounds impressive, the currentSimPlates X is even more impressive as it includes over 30,000including approach plates, SIDs/STARs, airport diagrams and more.Approach types include ILS, VOR, VOR/DME, NDB, LLZ, SDF, GPS,TACAN, helicopter, visual and more. Wow, that's a lot ofcharts!I suspect you'll be hard pressed to find a significant airportfor which SimPlates X does not provide a chart. USA coverage isvirtually 100% complete and the rest of the world is well coveredtoo.There is more than just instrument charts included too.

Airportdiagrams, for example, are useful whether you are doing instrumentflying or not. The worldwide airport/facilities directory providesdetailed infomation on airports such as radio frequencies, runways,instrument approaches and much more. For the USA, there's a list ofpreferred IFR routes; these are the routes that the real world ATCis most likely to assign so using them really helps yourrealism.One thing that must be emphasized is that these are realcharts, the exact same ones being used by real pilots. We oftentalk about flightsimming being 'as real as it gets', well this isone case where that phrase is literally true.IFR Plates Menu: This is likely themenu you'll use the most. Check boxes are used to determine thetypes of plates you want to search for and then pull downs are usedto narrow down by country, state and city.NAVAID Info Menu: The Airport Info andNAVAID Info menus are similar and let you simply search by locationand name to find the information you want.INSTALLATIONBefore you can start using SimPlates X you of course have toinstall it. The package is available on DVD or by download, thoughgiven that there's 6 gigabytes of data involved, you need a goodInternet connection and some patience to go the download route.

Mycopy came on DVD.Installation was mostly standard, though with a coupleannoyances. To validate the software it was necessary to copy byhand a really long serial number from the box. Fortunately, I gotit right the first time. Then, there's an online verification too.Odd system; it rejects first time registrants because theirinformation is not found, but then tells you this is normal; youthen have to submit again.

Well, if you stick with it, it doeswork, it's just a bit of a nuisance.The Airport Menu lets you find highlydetailed text information about any included airport. Detailsinclude location, nearby navaids, runways, radio frequencies andmuch more.The airport info for U.S. Airports evenincludes FAA preferred IFR routings to and from theairport.Similarly, the NAVAID Menu lets you findhighly detailed text information about any included navigationalaid.USING SIMPLATES XOnce installed, it's easy to get up and running.

This is aproduct that really requires no instructions, since if you have anyclue what aviation charts are for (and you probably would not havebought this product if you didn't) the menus are fully sufficientto quickly find whatever you want.By default, SimPlates X requires that you leave the DVD in thedrive as the charts are not actually copied over during theinstall. Giving the large amount of data involved this may not besuch a bad thing. If you go for the downloadable version it will bedifferent of course since everything will go to your hard drive. Itis possible to transfer the charts from the DVD to the hard driveas well, though I did not try it.The charts are in Adobe Acrobat format. This is something mostpeople are likely familiar with, but just in case you don't haveit, the software won't work until you download the free AdobeAcrobat reader. As it happened, I was testing this on a new PC thatdidn't have Acrobat installed yet so I was delayed a bit gettingthat in place. If you've never done it, don't worry as it's a quickand easy download and installation.As soon as I started I ran into an annoyance.

For some reason,SimPlates X includes a collection of recorded ATC sounds that areconstantly played whenever you do anything. Sounds like a cuteidea? Well, not so much if you're also trying to run FSX and therecordings cover up all the FSX sounds. Usually fixing this kind ofthing would be simple, since Windows programs always have a menubar across the top of the window; just find the right menu, lookfor something like 'Sound' and click it off. Oops, no menubar.SimPlates X does not use this standard interface.

I went allthrough the program trying to find how to turn the noise off andfinally had to contact customer service. Fortunately they are verygood and fast in replying.

Turns out there is a picture of aspeaker in the corner that you click on to turn the sound off.Whew, I was glad to find that.The rest of using SimPlates X was obvious and quite easy. Fromthe opening screen you have five choices:, Help/About andExit. The meaning of each is certainly clear enough.IFR Plates is the heart of the program.

This selectiongives you a screen that lets you find the exact plate you want,using a simple form. You start by choosing the location and you canlimit the search to only certain types of charts if you wish.Quickly enough you'll have things narrowed down to just the airportyou are interested in and from the list can pick the appropriateIFR chart for your needs. The chart pops up in a new window, usingthe Adobe reader and there you go!

Like any Adobe Acrobat file thecharts can be viewed on your screen or printed and can be resized,scrolled, etc.Airport Info is text rather than charts, and it includesevery little detail you could possibly imagine about an airport.There are the basics like where it's located (latitude, longitude,elevation), to a complete list of radio frequencies for bothcommunications and local navaids, to things like FAA preferred IFRroutes to and from the airport (for U.S. Airports only). For amajor airport the info just goes on and on, the level of detail isexcellent.NAVAID Info is similar to airport info. You can look upvarious navigational aids such as VORs, NDBs, etc and get detailedtext information on their location, frequency, range, etc. There'slot more detail here than you are ever likely to need! Sample instrumentplatesFor some reason Dauntless Aviation is rather insistant thatcharts are best printed out rather than viewed on screen.

As withany Acrobat file, the printed results are quite nice and clear. Butwhile this does work well, it's kind of wasteful if you're onlygoing to use a chart once or are going to use many of them. It'salso kind of behind the times. Real pilots these days typically flywith a GPS or FMC that has instrument procedures built in and inaddition this past year the FAA legalized the use of ElectronicFlight Bags (EFB) and Electronic Chart Displays (ECD), for Part 91operations at least, which means these pilots do not need to carrypaper charts any more; digitized versions and a suitable displayare now considered fully sufficient. What I ended up doing most ofthe time with SimPlates X was something similar; with two monitorsconnected to my system I ran FSX on one and displayed SimPlates onthe other.

At first, I thought I had found a reason why printingthe charts was suggested: every time I switched to SimPlates FSXwould pause. Hardly realistic, as in a real plane the plane keepsflying while you fumble around for charts. However, this turned outnot to be a problem as simply changing a setting in the FSX menusfixed the problem and the plane continued to fly along while Isearched for and viewed charts. Sample instrumentplatesCONCLUSIONI really like SimPlates X. When I fly in the real world I amused to always having the proper charts and other informationnecessary to complete the flight; that is a legal requirement afterall. Flight Simulator lets you go anywhere in the world, butwithout the proper charts it just does not feel right.

Gettingactual paper charts is a solution,but a limited one as I never have charts on hand for all the placesI would like to sim fly to. With its huge collection of charts anddata and world-wide coverage, SimPlates X truly is the solution andbeing so easy to use it's an ideal one. No matter what kind of simflying you do, I'd certainly recommend adding SimPlates X to youradd-on collection.Nels Anderson.

S-LAYER is a sample layering sound creation tool for Reaktor 5 that allows you to create, edit and play new sound combinations. S-Layer is perfect for creating complex drum sounds, impacts, whoosh and pass-by sounds. By combining sounds from the included sample map or your existing sample library, S-LAYER facilitates the discovery of new oneshots, sound effects and loops from pre. Reaktor twisted tools.

Using SimPlates X UltraSimPlates X Ultra is almost entirely menu driven. Clickable buttons on all screens enable users to find information easily and quickly. Only the search feature requires keyboard input, which is to be expected. An especially handy feature is the display of mouse-clickable national flags for the more commonly accessed countries such as Australia, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, and the United States.Dauntless says the whole collection of 70,000 charts consumes 100 gigabytes of storage space, but they are not included with the program. Instead, the program accesses the plates as requested by the program user, and it downloads from a central storage facility. When a user requests approach charts for New York's Kennedy International Airport, for example, only those charts that were specifically requested are downloaded onto the computer. As with other Internet downloads, those downloaded charts remain on the user's computer unless specifically deleted after use.Dauntless cautions explicitly that these charts are not to be used in any aspect of real-world aviation.

After all, these are outdated charts. Any pilot needing charts for real-world aviation should look elsewhere. Technical MattersDauntless' SimPlates X Ultra can be used with any home flight-simulation program because it is a stand-alone program.System requirements are not specified. It worked perfectly on my Windows 7 system.Downloading and installing each took a few minutes. Connection with Microsoft.Net is required because it facilitates the downloading of these charts. This system will be automatically installed by the Dauntless installation program.

Then SimPlates X Ultra automatically uses this system to access the charts - users do not need to log on to anything. An end user license agreement is required for.Net but I did not see an EULA required for SimPlates.The charts provided by SimPlates are outdated government-issued charts according to the Dauntless website. A subsequent subscription is not required because there is no need for updating charts that are sold as outdated in the first place.Technical support is through forums on the Dauntless website, and a link is provided in the program.

Readers with technical questions not answered in this review should inquire of Dauntless because they are best able to answer such questions. A link for this purpose is provided on the description page of the FlightSim.Com Pilot Shop.PURCHASE FEATURESDelivery MethodInstant DownloadInstallation programYesLicense keyYesCopyright acknowledgmentYesDocuments includedNoneUninstall program includedYesTECHNICAL FEATURESSimulator VersionAnyOperating SystemXP, Vista, Win 7Disk SpaceUnknownSpecial SettingsNot applicableFrame RatesNot applicableTech SupportForumsPrice$39.99USAbout DauntlessDauntless sells numerous products for real-world aviation. It emphasizes repeatedly in its SimPlates product description, on its website, and in the product itself that SimPlates is not for real-world aviation. Its prior version, is also available from the FlightSim.Com Pilot Shop. SummaryI agree with the Dauntless claim that its SimPlates X Ultra is 'the single best investment you can make to enhance the fun, challenge, and realism of your sim experience.'

I know of no other source of so many authentic aviation charts that can be accesses so easily and quickly and for such a low price. The menu-driven program is easy to use, and the storing of these charts in a central location relieves users of the burdens of storing so many files on their hard drive or other storage media. The only downside I can think of is that the charts are outdated, but that is of little consequence regarding home flight simulation. Any flight simmer who likes to simulate instrument flight realistically and enjoys doing so at various airports around the world will surely find SimPlates X Ultra very useful.Bill Stack.Bill Stack is author of several books about flight simulation, a regular author in flight-sim magazines, and a contributor to Flight Sim Com. His website is.