Avsim.com
Encyclopedia
Avsim.com is a flight simulation review and resource website
that focuses heavily on Microsoft Flight Simulator
. It is one of the main flight simulation websites along with Flightsim.com
and provides users access to information and addons for the flight simulator series of games. On May 12, 2009 the website was attacked by a hacker which resulted in a catastrophic loss of data.
community identify the site as a key website within the genre, along with the similar website Flightsim.com. The Alexa
traffic website lists Avsim.com as the highest rating flight simulation website on its network, which Avsim.com claim makes them the most visited flight simulation website on the internet.
from 1983 until approximately the fall of 1995. Initially named CAPENET because it was located in Cape Cod
(a peninsula of Massachusetts
) during the early 1980s, it was renamed The Vine (The Virginia Information and Network Exchange) when moved to central Virginia
in 1987. These early forays into BBS systems, combined with an early exposure to aviation through flight lessons in the early 1970s, as well as Bruce Artwick's Flight Simulator 1.0, brought about the concept of developing an aviation themed website in the closing months of 1996.
The initial concept for AVSIM was the provision of articles and capture images of the flight simulation genre, collated into HTML
format as a monthly magazine and packaged into a zip
file. This was then made available for download among the major library servers on the Internet, including the file library system run and maintained at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania
, which was becoming one of the first major file libraries for flight simulation. The first issue was uploaded to the university and elsewhere on 1 March 1997. With the growth of the flight simulation community, the magazine moved into a continuously updated website in April 1997. The site began listing news items from the flight simulation industry in 1999, and has been doing so ever since.
Nevertheless, the recovery process went quicker than most expected. Sections of the site began restoration on May 26, and as of May 28, most of the site has been recovered to its original form, but the file library and some links are still being repaired. The cost of the recovery of the site is about $25,000 to pay for new servers and experts who will recover the files. Most of that cost has been funded through Avsim's donation system and advertisers. Limited service was restored after Memorial Day, 2009. The file library was then tentatively scheduled for reactivation in the first week of June, 2009 following file investigation, debugging and recompilation.
A gradual recovery of the site is currently in progress. The servers have been replaced, the email addresses and forums were recovered on May 26, and the front page and other elements of the site on May 28. On the 28th it was also announced on the front page that approximately 90% of the file library would be recoverable, and that all Flight Simulator X and Flight Simulator 9 files were intact. The library is back online as of July 26.
On September 7th AVSIM filed a civil suit in Britain against the person who hacked the organization in May. The AVSIM website issued the following statement:
As of July 2011 AVSIM have still not updated its users on the situation and it does appear that the matter has been brushed under the carpet given the last few words of the above quote.
The website runs a regular conference
and exhibition since 1999, most recently titled FANCON, focusing on aviation simulation
to showcase flight simulation technology, software, and hardware. This conference has been supported by leading manufacturers and developers in the industry, including Microsoft
. Previous conferences have been held each year at a different location from 2002 through to 2007, with the 2007 event held in Bellevue, Washington
from November 9 to 11. The event featured sponsorship from a number of major industry organizations, such as NaturalPoint. The website decided not to have a 2008 convention due to the decaying economy and an anticipated reluctance to travel but has announced a social meeting to take place instead.
In 2009, AVSIM planned to hold the convention in Dayton, Ohio
from September 4 until September 6, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
. However, due to poor advance registrations, it was cancelled.
, such as aircraft in addition to default planes, scenery, modified airport files, additional AI (artificial intelligence
) aircraft (Simulator-controlled air traffic) and programs which modify all of the above. Additionally, the website provides users with reviews of commercial content created for use with a flight simulator such as Microsoft Flight Simulator
. Full commercial reviews are covered as news items listed on the websites main page. The website's forums are used as a focal point for discussion of reviews, news within the industry, as well as general industry topics.
The website manages files of various content including:
The downloads are available from a section of Avsim called the File Library, which requires free registration.
Much of this content is created by freeware developers and offered to the community without charge. Occasionally, payware commercial developers will release products free on the site to generate interest in their other products.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that focuses heavily on Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulator programs for the Microsoft Windows operating system, although it was marketed as a video game. It is one of the longest-running, best-known and most comprehensive home flight simulator series...
. It is one of the main flight simulation websites along with Flightsim.com
Flightsim.com
Flightsim.com is a flight simulation review and resource website that focuses heavily on Microsoft Flight Simulator. It is one of the main flight simulation websites along with Avsim.com and provides users access to information and addons for the flight simulator series of video games.-History:The...
and provides users access to information and addons for the flight simulator series of games. On May 12, 2009 the website was attacked by a hacker which resulted in a catastrophic loss of data.
Popularity
The website is popular within the video game genre of flight simulation. Commentators within the flight simulation and aviationAviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
community identify the site as a key website within the genre, along with the similar website Flightsim.com. The Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
traffic website lists Avsim.com as the highest rating flight simulation website on its network, which Avsim.com claim makes them the most visited flight simulation website on the internet.
History
The publisher of Avsim.com, Tom Allensworth, had operated a Bulletin Board SystemBulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
from 1983 until approximately the fall of 1995. Initially named CAPENET because it was located in Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
(a peninsula of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
) during the early 1980s, it was renamed The Vine (The Virginia Information and Network Exchange) when moved to central Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1987. These early forays into BBS systems, combined with an early exposure to aviation through flight lessons in the early 1970s, as well as Bruce Artwick's Flight Simulator 1.0, brought about the concept of developing an aviation themed website in the closing months of 1996.
The initial concept for AVSIM was the provision of articles and capture images of the flight simulation genre, collated into HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
format as a monthly magazine and packaged into a zip
ZIP (file format)
Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...
file. This was then made available for download among the major library servers on the Internet, including the file library system run and maintained at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania is a public university in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, USA. The university is northeast of Pittsburgh. It is the largest university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and is the commonwealth's fifth largest university...
, which was becoming one of the first major file libraries for flight simulation. The first issue was uploaded to the university and elsewhere on 1 March 1997. With the growth of the flight simulation community, the magazine moved into a continuously updated website in April 1997. The site began listing news items from the flight simulation industry in 1999, and has been doing so ever since.
Hacking case
On May 12, 2009, AVSIM was attacked by a hacker, resulting in a catastrophic loss of data of the website. Tom Allensworth, CEO and Publisher of AVSIM, explained that the site used two servers to back-up the site's data, but that the hacker deleted the content of both, destroying the ability to use one server to restore the data of the other. The site had not established an external backup system. After AVSIM went offline, Allensworth issued the following announcement:
“We regret to inform the flight simulation community that on Tuesday, May 12, AVSIM was hacked and effectively destroyed. The method of the hack makes recovery difficult, if not impossible, to recover from. Both servers, that was the library / email and web site / forum servers were attacked. AVSIM is totally offline at this time and we expect to be so for some time to come. We are not able to predict when we will be back online, if we can come back at all. We will post more news as we are able to in the coming days and weeks….”
Nevertheless, the recovery process went quicker than most expected. Sections of the site began restoration on May 26, and as of May 28, most of the site has been recovered to its original form, but the file library and some links are still being repaired. The cost of the recovery of the site is about $25,000 to pay for new servers and experts who will recover the files. Most of that cost has been funded through Avsim's donation system and advertisers. Limited service was restored after Memorial Day, 2009. The file library was then tentatively scheduled for reactivation in the first week of June, 2009 following file investigation, debugging and recompilation.
A gradual recovery of the site is currently in progress. The servers have been replaced, the email addresses and forums were recovered on May 26, and the front page and other elements of the site on May 28. On the 28th it was also announced on the front page that approximately 90% of the file library would be recoverable, and that all Flight Simulator X and Flight Simulator 9 files were intact. The library is back online as of July 26.
On September 7th AVSIM filed a civil suit in Britain against the person who hacked the organization in May. The AVSIM website issued the following statement:
“Today, September 7th, 2009, AVSIM filed a criminal complaint with the Police Constabulary of London. We will not name any names, but have incontravertible evidence of the individual that performed the hack of AVSIM on May 12th this year. We have protected the forensic evidence and provided that evidence to the London police. We are committed to bringing justice to bear on this case...
[T]hough we tried to resolve this over the last three months out of court, giving this person two opportunities to settle with us, the individual did not avail himself of the opportunity - in fact, he has ignored our proffers. We are now doing as we promised this person we would do; ratcheting this up to the next, criminal, level. To the extent that prudence allow, we will keep you informed of future developments.”
As of July 2011 AVSIM have still not updated its users on the situation and it does appear that the matter has been brushed under the carpet given the last few words of the above quote.
Avsim Conference and Exhibition
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
and exhibition since 1999, most recently titled FANCON, focusing on aviation simulation
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
to showcase flight simulation technology, software, and hardware. This conference has been supported by leading manufacturers and developers in the industry, including Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. Previous conferences have been held each year at a different location from 2002 through to 2007, with the 2007 event held in Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue, Washington
Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
from November 9 to 11. The event featured sponsorship from a number of major industry organizations, such as NaturalPoint. The website decided not to have a 2008 convention due to the decaying economy and an anticipated reluctance to travel but has announced a social meeting to take place instead.
In 2009, AVSIM planned to hold the convention in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
from September 4 until September 6, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties in the state of Ohio. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field is located approximately...
. However, due to poor advance registrations, it was cancelled.
Services
The main focus of the website is providing additional content that users can use within a Flight SimulatorFlight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
, such as aircraft in addition to default planes, scenery, modified airport files, additional AI (artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
) aircraft (Simulator-controlled air traffic) and programs which modify all of the above. Additionally, the website provides users with reviews of commercial content created for use with a flight simulator such as Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Microsoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulator programs for the Microsoft Windows operating system, although it was marketed as a video game. It is one of the longest-running, best-known and most comprehensive home flight simulator series...
. Full commercial reviews are covered as news items listed on the websites main page. The website's forums are used as a focal point for discussion of reviews, news within the industry, as well as general industry topics.
Downloadable content
- Aircraft
- Panels
- Gauges
- Scenery
- Repaints/Replacement Textures
- Missions
- Sounds
- Utilities
The downloads are available from a section of Avsim called the File Library, which requires free registration.
Much of this content is created by freeware developers and offered to the community without charge. Occasionally, payware commercial developers will release products free on the site to generate interest in their other products.
See also
- Flightsim.comFlightsim.comFlightsim.com is a flight simulation review and resource website that focuses heavily on Microsoft Flight Simulator. It is one of the main flight simulation websites along with Avsim.com and provides users access to information and addons for the flight simulator series of video games.-History:The...
- Flight Simulation
- Microsoft Flight SimulatorMicrosoft Flight SimulatorMicrosoft Flight Simulator is a series of flight simulator programs for the Microsoft Windows operating system, although it was marketed as a video game. It is one of the longest-running, best-known and most comprehensive home flight simulator series...
- X-PlaneX-PlaneX-Plane is a flight simulator, designed for Mac OS X, but also available for Windows and Linux produced by Laminar Research. X-Plane is packaged with several commercial, military and other aircraft as well as basic global scenery which covers most of the earth. X-Plane also comes with other...
- Virtual airlineVirtual airlineA virtual airline is a dedicated hobby organization that uses flight simulation to model the operations of an airline. Virtual airlines generally have a presence on the Internet, similar to a real airline...