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AVSIM Commercial Aircraft Review
Concorde SST SIM
Product Information
Publisher: Flight 1
Description: Accurate simulation of Concorde for FS2004.
Download Size:
283 MB
Format:
Download
Simulation Type:
FS 2004
Reviewed by: Gavin Hendrie AVSIM Staff Reviewer - Aug 15, 2006
Introduction
It’s not often one gets the opportunity to review a legend. It’s also not enough that transportation takes a step
backwards but air travel did just that with the demise of the BAC/Aerospatiale Concorde. Our ability to travel in a
commercial airliner beyond the speed of sound is now gone. Your only opportunity to do so now is by being a Military
pilot or the very, very lucky passenger of one!
Second World War fighter pilots came very close to Mach 1 in dives, some reporting control difficulties due to the
incredible forces acting against the control surfaces. In 1943, a Photo Reconnaissance Spitfire dove from 40,000ft
and by 27,000ft had reached a recorded speed of M0.9. Man first officially travelled beyond the sound barrier in
October 1947 when Captain Charles “Chuck” Yaeger of the USAF took the experimental X-1 up to Mach 1.1. It took
another 6 years for Mach 2.0 to be achieved, but by now developers were beginning to appreciate the difficulties
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associated with flight at this speed.
Nonetheless the 1960’s saw the British Aerospace Corporation (BAC) and the French firm Aerospatiale come together
to build an aircraft capable of carrying passengers faster than any of the current jet aircraft. It was, even by today’s
standards, a terribly ambitious project. On 11 December 1967 though, the French rolled out F-WTSS or Concorde
001 to over 1100 guests in Toulouse. By September the following year, BAC unveiled Concorde 002 (G-BSST) at
Filton near Bristol, England. The aircraft began a long path of testing and route proving until finally, in December
1975, the French and British Concorde’s each received their Certificate’s of Airworthiness (CoA).
The aircraft operated commercial flights until 24 October 2003 when the last BA flights landed at Heathrow and
Concorde was officially retired. In almost 40 years of commercial service, Concorde had only 1 accident. On 25 July
2000 an Air France Concorde departing Charles De Gaulle, Paris with 109 people on board suffered a catastrophic fire
causing it crash with loss of all lives and 4 people on the ground. The previous day, BA had withdrawn G-BOAE from
service following the discovery of non-critical cracks in the wings. Within a few short weeks, the Certificate of
Airworthiness was revoked and Concorde was grounded. The accident led to questions being raised about the
aircraft’s suitability to continue flying given its age.
Modifications were made to tyres, wiring and particularly the fuel tanks to ensure an accident on the scale of that
seen in Paris could not happen again, but the damage was done. CoA’s were re-issued by the British CAA and French
DGAC on 5 September 2001 but the events of the following week dented any chance the airlines had of reinstating
public faith in air travel, let alone air travel in Concorde. Both Air France and BA were unable to operate Concorde
profitably and the only economically viable solution post 9/11 was to retire the fleet.
And that as they say, is history. The development team for this offering have themselves quite a history when it
comes to Concorde development for Flight Sim. Two of the team members, Andrew Wilson and Hervé Dongmo
helped develop the freeware Project Mach 2 Concorde for FS2002. Following this, they were then invited to join a
commercial project supported by Koch Media and, with painter Ben Hewitt and flight model designer Paul Varn, they
released the Altitude Concorde for FS 2002 and FS9. After release, they continued to work on the project and a
number of contributors joined the development team, namely – John Ramberg, Lúcio Robalinho and Jan Schreiber.
With the interest generated by the previous title they found many helpful resources and a much more detailed
creation began. This product is a vastly updated version of the boxed Altitude add-on and an upgrade is available at
a discounted price rather than buying and installing the full separate product. If you already own the Altitude
Concorde, this may be of interest to you.
Installation and Documentation
At 283Mb this is a BIG download. Like all Flight 1 wrappers, you can download then purchase. If, however, you are
still on dial-up then you can request a CD with the Flight 1 wrapper on it, a good bit of customer service if ever there
was one. The installation process is straightforward enough and at the end you are asked if you would like to install
the CIVA INS. This should be a YES every time, though unfortunately, I was guided to a defunct website and unable
to download the required file.
I contacted the developers who informed me that the guys who developed the CIVA INS were having a problem with
the hosts of their file. However, the CIVA INS is available here at AVSIM.com given its freeware status, so you ought
not to be without it. The install over and done with, you’ll now find a few utilities and documents on the SST SIM
option installed in your Program Files menu.
Test System
One is for the load and takeoff calculator, one for the fleet manager, one for the fuel
calculator and one for the repaint manager. The fuel calculator is little more than a
rough guess-timate which ensures you’ll have enough fuel to make your destination
and I’m sure there is scope for improvement on this. The fleet manager enables you
to set which airframes within the British Airways (BA) and Air France (AF) fleet using
32 bit textures and which use the lower quality DXT3 textures. When installing
Repaints, another utility allows you set whether it’ll use a combination of 2d Cockpit
only, 2D, VC and virtual cabin and/or 2D and a Hi-res VC. The Load and takeoff
manager is a very good piece of software though and allows you to adjust the load of
the aircraft to suit.
Once the load and fuel is set, the takeoff calculator then works out the relevant V
speeds and more. Various throttle and fuel bug settings are determined along with
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Pentium P4 3.0Ghz 800Mhz
FSB
1GB DDR3200
Windows XP Home
GeForce 6200 PCIx 256MB
17” TFT 1280x1024x32
CH Products Pro Pedals
the noise abatement time. This was the point on takeoff that the reheats be turned
off to limit noise. They need to be on long enough for Concorde to reach speed, but
not too long that they upset the locals! The necessary V speeds with one reheat
failed are also calculated and all are stored for your flight. Essentially, this means
that upon loading the Concorde, you’ll find all the bugs set as they were calculated,
including the timer on the stop clock which will run down to zero once you
commence take off roll.
As you approach zero, you’ll hear the co-pilot on the BA flights call out “3-2-1-Noise”
at which point you switch off the reheats. Brilliant! The documentation also includes
a whole host of BA and AF Flight Plans and an Air Operating Manual which gives an
interesting insight into the aircraft, although it isn’t 100% required reading for
mastering this add-on. The minimum system requirements are Windows XP, a
1.8GHz P4 (or equivalent), 512Mb RAM and a 32Mb Graphics card. The recommended system though is a 3.0GHz P4,
with 1Gb of RAM and as with most modern add-ons, the best graphics card you can afford. My system spec is the
same as the recommended and I can report having had no problems in terms of performance or frame rates.
Flying Time:
35 hours over 4 weeks
Load Manager
Fleet Manager
Takeoff Calculator – note the link to
Active Sky weather
Panel
Concorde is a child of the 60’s and is therefore not blessed with LCD units like the latest Boeing or Airbus offerings.
The only LCD screen is the TCAS which was retro-fitted to ensure compliance with aviation law in the US. Updating
the cockpit was considered but the cost involved would never have been recovered during the lifespan of the aircraft.
Nevertheless, all the information you need is there, just don’t expect to have the same situational awareness you
may be used to flying a Boeing or an Airbus.
There is no MAP or PLAN display so no Magenta line to follow, no FMC to step through your waypoints and ensure
they join a coherent line between you and your destination. Check, check and check again is the order of the day
here when inputting your flight plan into the INS. If you’ve got it right, then the HSI will point you in the correct
direction. Alternatively, you can use the RAD/INS switch to take your Automatic Flight Direction from the NAV radios
and follow VORs. The process may be different but the principles are just what you’re used to. The panel has a
number of hidden clickspots to access the various sub panels used in preparation and during flight. Learning where
everything is can be a complex and frustrating time and I personally felt that this process was more easily achieved
the PSS way. That’s not to denigrate the SST SIM Panel, which is complex in line with the real world panel, yet still
works beautifully well.
The differences between the British and French panels are modelled such as the different clock used and the fact that
the AF noise procedure called for pilots to call out “Moins 5” and “Reduction.” Each panel also contains a placard with
the registration of the particular airframe and also it’s unique SELCAL code on. The 2D panel gave me perfectly
acceptable frame rates at Gary Summons Heathrow Pro however, you will get noticeable slowdown if you crank up
the AI traffic at detailed airports.
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Both the Air France and the British Airways panels have slight differences
and each are accurately represented
Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the beast. A very detailed panel, with lots of gauges constantly in need of
updating will drain even powerful systems if you ask too much from them. As with any modern flight sim offering,
faster CPUs, more memory and better video cards never hurt, but at least on my moderate system, SST SIM
Concorde does not cause total carnage with the frame rates.
The only negative I can give the panel is for its overall look. It’s not that it’s in any way bad, just that I prefer the
PSS Panel, but that may not be the opinion of the masses, only my personal preference.. There is no doubt though,
that the SST SIM Panel has more features and functionality than its PSS contemporary. The overall functionality is
something which sets this product apart from other commercial add-ons. Over 200 buttons, switches, gauges and
dials are modelled and every one of them seems to do something. Of the few areas that aren’t modelled, my guess is
that the development team will not be happy letting the grass grow under their feet. If they can find a way to model
it, they will.
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The difference between the two pedestals: Air France on the left, British
Airways on the right. Note the CPT SID plate on the BA model!
The blurb on the SSTSIM website says that the panel has: “Advanced functionality, programmed using engineering
schematics with input from a whole range of Technical Advisors” and “Concorde SSTSIM requires continuous
attention throughout the flight!” I’ve copied this direct from their website because in all honesty, I could not have put
it better myself.
The Automatic Flight Control System
(AFCS) Panel or autopilot to the rest
of you.
Ask yourself how many of us have set up a flight, departed, taken off, and then got up and left the PC whilst
“George” flies your A340, 744 or 767 across the Atlantic? Some modern add-ons even have a “pause at Top of
Descent” option. Why? Do they have that in real aircraft? No, but shameless hour builders in VA’s love flying longhaul whilst they are actually asleep, selecting this option so that in the morning they can awake to find that 14 hr
flight to Sydney is all but done, with only the descent, approach and landing requiring their attention.
OK, so maybe that’s not the exact reason, but it’s certainly what some people use it for. Don’t expect any of that
here as this is an aircraft modelled ultra-closely to its real world counterpart and like that aircraft, requires constant
attention. The panel allows you to do the job of three people quite easily and the virtual fuel engineer lightens the
load considerably. Of course, should you wish to add to the challenge, then turning the VFE Off will mean you have
to transfer the fuel yourself, enhancing considerably the difficulty associated with flying Concorde. Mastery of this
cockpit will bring enormous satisfaction and is not by any means impossible.
Engineers Start Panel
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Upper Overhead Panel
Lower Overhead
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Engineers Fuel Panel
Electrics and Hydraulics Panel
CIVA INS
Concorde doesn’t have an FMC with thousands of stored waypoints, as they didn’t exist in the 1960s. Instead an
Inertial Navigation System using co-ordinates of latitude and longitude to determine its position in the world is used.
It needs aligning in much the same way as the IRS units on a Boeing but other than that, all you need to do is feed
in up to 9 waypoints that the aircraft can follow in sequence. If you have not completed your flight by the time you
reach waypoint 9 you simply go back to waypoint 1 and use it. Forget to do this and you’ll find the aircraft turning at
waypoint 9 and heading back to the first fix on your flight.
Just as the IRS updates itself from VOR fixes, you can do the same with DME updating on an INS, a feature which is
modelled on the CIVA INS. It should be noted that the Carousel Inertial Navigation System is not actually developed
by the same team as the rest of the package. To that extent, it’s perhaps not fair of me to review it. However, it is
such an integral part of the Concorde SST SIM experience that it cannot go without a mention. It is also an awesome
piece of work which deserves credit.
It is a freeware gauge which can be implemented into any aircraft such as the RFP 742 or the Captain Sim 707 and
727. It is well worth a look, as getting to grips with this is key to gaining full enjoyment and mastery of the
Concorde. My only concern in this respect is that a fundamental part of the package is not ‘owned’ (for want of a
better word) by the Concorde SST SIM team. Their explanation of this is 100% sound in reasoning – why develop
something when it already exists as freeware?
The CIVA INS System – all three of
them!
Exterior Model
The 3D model is of a quality you’d expect from any of today’s big developers and waaaay better than the PSS model.
It’s been created using GMax and the beauty of it is not to be understated, it is quite simple stunning. All three
Concorde variants (Prototype, Pre-production and Production models) have been done along with a host of textures
for them, both in high-detail 32 Bit and the lighter DXT3.
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Prototype model
Pre-Production
Post-Production
Practically every rivet on the body is modelled, the nose and visor is done in an accurate way as is the landing gear.
The variable nozzles, including thrust reversers operate very well and the dirty smoke which comes out of the four
Olympus 593s in reheat is very authentic. The Prototype model was particularly bad for this and this extra dirty
smoke effect is modelled.
Indeed the reheats themselves are modelled very accurately, taking 5 seconds to reach full effect with the lag in the
number 4 engine quite clearly visible when you advance the throttles on take off. The Ramp doors, which slow the
supersonic air into the engines and the spill doors, which dump excess air out of the nacelle are all detailed and
operate as they should. In the event of power failure, Concorde had, just like modern jets, A Ram Air Turbine (RAT).
This is also detailed and can be deployed from a cockpit switch.
A detailed model in every respect
The exterior model is as detailed as you can get and near flawless
The elevons droop prior to starting the engines, and the split rudder will move with the wind due to a lack of
hydraulic pressure just as they did in real life, a nice touch of detail. The passenger doors and rear cargo doors open
and are quite detailed, window wipers operate in 2D, VC and external views and condensation effects on the big,
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delta wings only occurs when the atmospheric conditions are correct. When departing from a wet runway, you’ll also
see a cloud of spray behind the aircraft as it hurtles down the runway. Put simply, this exterior model is without
question the best rendition of a Concorde yet seen for Flight Simulation, let alone the three separate types of
Concorde you get!
Condensation effects only occur
when the atmospheric conditions are
correct
The variable thrust nozzles
Engine intakes – note the No1 engine
is running whilst No2 is not.
INTERIOR MODEL
The Interior model comes in two options, either a Hi-Res VC and forward galley or a low-res option with a passenger
cabin. The passenger cabin is modelled in line with the carrier and also in line with the particular livery. For example,
a BA Concorde pre-2001 had a grey leather interior. Post 2001 you can see the seats are blue and even a different
style! The famous Concorde display on the bulkheads welcomes you aboard before departure. During flight it gives
the Temperature, Ground Speed, Altitude, Distance remaining and the all important Mach number. On arrival it
thanks you for flying Concorde!
The prototype and pre-production models have a cabin full of test equipment and the view from the flight deck is
different due to the different nose and visor configuration. All of this shows an exceptional level of detail but what
really is beyond the expected is the forward galley. As an example, the BA Concorde has the Speedmarque logo on
the galley units, a pot of coffee brewing and a toilet complete with toiletries! This is arguably the most detailed
virtual cabin I have seen yet, particularly with respect to the passenger displays which actually show real-time
information, namely speed, altitude, OAT and distance to go. On seeing this, one wonders when a developer will
have working TV screens for showing movies etc on the back of seats.
The famous BA display greets
passengers as they board
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Virtual Cabin
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Virtual Galley – Coffee anyone?
Virtual Bathroom!
The VC is fully clickable and surprisingly, quite flyable. In fact, I found that this is the only aircraft where I prefer to
land manually using the VC rather than the 2D panel. Frame rates on my machine were in the low teens but that is
quite astonishing considering the complexity of the cockpit. Using the Hi-Resolution VC for me did not necessarily
increase the quality of the panel and gauges but did reduce the fps. This may well be a system specific thing, but for
me, Hi-Res VC whilst flying online was a killer and as I said, did not bring a particularly noticeable improvement in
gauge quality anyway.
Cockpit
The confined Virtual Cockpit
VC Gauges are not XML, but they are
still VERY good
SOUND
Fantastic. Awesome. Amazing. Tremendous. Glorious. Excellent. I am literally running out of superlatives to use in
describing the soundest.
The callout of the co-pilots (English accent for a British Airways Concorde, French for Air France), to the difference in
noise levels between reheats on and off, to the differing noise levels between the visor being up or down, they are all
remarkable (OK so I’m not running out of superlatives, it’s that good I really could go on all day!). Developed from
scratch using recordings from both internal and external sources, this sound set is an excellent rendition of what I’d
imagine Concorde sounded like. Even the chimes associated with the trim wheel movement are included.
Many of the development team have travelled on Concorde at least once, including Andrew Wilson and he believes it
to be the most authentic representation of Concorde sounds ever heard in FS. He and a few others had airside
access to a Concorde on the last flight into Filton, where they were able to record some sounds direct from source –
the Olympus 593 engines! Internal cockpit sounds were sourced from the BA Simulator. I’ve not travelled on
Concorde, but nor I’m I going to disagree with him.
This package is almost worth the sounds alone. I am conscious of the fact I have written less about the Sounds than
any other package. All I need to say is that they are beyond question the best sounds I have heard in FS to date.
The only thing they lack is the Captain’s PA address to the passengers and crew and in turn the cabin crew address
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which we know and love so much in the LDS 767. But that’s a VERY minor observation let’s be honest.
FLIGHT MODEL
Many packages proclaim to have been tested by real-world pilots, but in this case, there have been more people
stand on the summit of Mt Everest than have piloted Concorde. Therefore to claim to have this model tested by a
real world Concorde pilot, is quite something else. In fact, no less than FIVE Concorde pilots (British Airways
Concorde Pilots, including Captain Mike Banister, Captain David Rowland, Captain Adrian Thompson, Captain Tim
Orchard and First Office Chris Orlebar ) have flown this particular add-on and have provided positive feedback on its
relative performance.
BA Chief Concorde Pilot Mike
Bannister takes the Controls of SST
SIM at Surrey University, England
BA Concorde pilot Adrian Thompson
does likewise
Concorde Flight Performance Manager Ian Gardiner and US Flight Operations Manager Campbell Pritchett have also
flown it and added their thought to the development process. The Concorde Training captain at BA Virtual, Paul
Haworth is also on the team and an excellent source of Concorde related information in his own right, that's very
helpful on the support forum, believe you me.
Now, I am but a flight simmer like many of the rest of you, with 1 solitary hour in a Piper Warrior and a handful of
hours in Gliders, so if BA’s Chief Concorde Pilot Mike Bannister says the airfile/flight model is realistic, then who am I
to argue! Enough said?
Summary
After reading this far, I’m guessing that you’re wondering if you should go out and buy this add-on? If you’re a
serious Concorde fan then the answer is a definite “YES!” If you currently use the PSS Concorde, you will get more
out of this package but to be honest, if you use your PSS Concorde only now and then, you probably won’t be
getting that much extra value from upgrading to the SST SIM. With the SST SIM, the 3D model is far superior as is
the sound set, documentation and utilities but at the end of the day, they are both complex renditions of the same
aircraft, the SST SIM just having a few more ‘bells and whistles.’ It is through those extra bells and whistles though,
that makes the difference.
This Concorde handles very well and is a joy to taxi and fly. Anyone who is familiar with the PSS Concorde, the
Captain Sim 707 or 727, or the Ready For Pushback 747-200 will be at relative ease in the cockpit. Those of you who
are users of modern Airbus or Boeings may well find the set-up overwhelming. If, however, you consider yourself a
‘serious’ flightsimmer, then this challenge ought to inspire. Any idiot can get in a military jet and break the sound
barrier, but it is a whole new ball game to do so in a commercial jet full of passengers sipping Champagne.
Meeting the challenge of crossing the Atlantic at Mach 2.02 and FL600 for the first time was, for me, the pinnacle of
my virtual flying career. It cannot be understated that anyone who gets to grips with this Concorde will gain
enormous enjoyment and satisfaction from it. It is so complex that you will have to fly by the checklist or else you
will simply miss something. That one thing could be the difference between a successful flight and an unsuccessful
one.
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If you are wary at all of purchasing add-ons for FS9 in the knowledge that FSX is not far away, then you needn’t be
worried about this product. It is the developer’s aspiration to release a boxed version making use of whatever new
features they can for FSX. They intend to make some sort of upgrade patch available to those who already own a
copy of this add-on for FS9.
When all is said and done, in my opinion, the developers of SST SIM deserve much recognition and praise for their
work. Andrew Wilson and his team have created a product which matches great titles such as the LDS 767 and
PMDG 744 in every respect. The model is as good as anything I’ve seen and the soundest better. Had the panel been
a bit more easily navigable, this would have been as near to perfect as it could get, but certainly don’t let that put
you off. There is no question in my mind that the Concorde SST SIM team should be held in the same high regard as
the ‘blue-chip’ developers like PSS, PMDG, Captain Sim and Level-D. This Concorde add-on is as good as anything
the ‘big 4’ have rolled out recently.
Be warned though - If you like to just jump in and fly, then this aircraft is not for you. It does take time to master
and things can go easily wrong if you try to take short cuts or don't pay attention to detail. The support forum is
worth its weight in gold and will have you at Mach 2.02 in no time at all. I need to say this though because those
who read this review and think “I want that add-on” will feel that I’ve sold them a dummy when they realise the full
weight of what their cash has just bought. If you have the time (and inclination) to learn about an important aspect
of aviation history or you consider yourself to be a serious flightsimmer wanting to take your simming to another
level – go out and buy it.
What I Like About Concorde SST SIM
●
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Accurate rendition of a complex and historic aircraft
Support Forum is exceptionally friendly and helpful
Documentation is quite simply awesome
Load manager and fuel planner very useful
SOUNDS!!!
All 3 Concorde models included in great detail
Didn’t annihilate frame rates
Tutorial included was easy to follow
CIVA INS is a excellent inclusion
What I Don't Like About Concorde SST SIM
●
●
●
Terribly complex – which will not appeal to everyone
Sub-Panels were (for me) not terribly intuitive
The CIVA INS ‘belongs’ to someone else
Printing
If you wish to print this review or read it offline at your leisure, right
click on the link below, and select "save as"
Concorde SST
(adobe acrobat required)
Comments?
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Standard Disclaimer
The review above is a subjective assessment of the product by the author. There
is no connection between the producer and the reviewer, and we feel this review
is unbiased and truly reflects the performance of the product in the simming
environment. This disclaimer is posted here in order to provide you with
background information on the reviewer and any connections that may exist
between him/her and the contributing party.
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