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A "Jurassic Jet" — what better way to describe the big old 707? With a panel chock full of steam-driven gauges and four sets of fuel guzzling, politically incorrect racket makers strapped beneath its wings, the age of this classic is ever apparent. Yes, it's an old bird (it dates all the way back to the days of the Ed Sullivan show), but old isn't necessarily worse. Progress, after all, means different things to different people. It really does depend on your perspective.
From a flightsim perspective, though, simulating the modern day mechanical manifestations of what we call Progress (think automation in the grand LNAV and VNAV style) often means that we spend more time watching the autopilot track pretty magenta lines than we do actually flying the plane.
The 707, however, isn't subject to this sort of 'existential tedium,' for want of a less pretentious sounding term. While philosophers ponder the imponderables like whether things like automation make our lives better, certain things are simply beyond question. That the Boeing 707 hails from an era where pilots, believe it or not, had to actually fly the aircraft rather than merely push a few buttons is one such indisputable. (Rumor has it that in the Boeing 707, pilots even had to calculate their own Top of Descent point. They even had to manually tune their navaids while enroute. Whoa! The "olden days.")
Now what this means for flight simmers is that, if you elect to take the Boeing 707 for a little spin, you needn't worry about getting too bored. There's a lot to keep your little paws occupied. Remember: when the 707 was in its heyday, LNAV and VNAV were but dreams in some engineer's head.
But first things first: Before you can fire-up the 707 in FS2002 and simulate antagonizing the European commission on noise pollution, you'll need a good panel. Well, to that end, you need look no further than to Paul Golding to fill the bill. To keep the introductions brief, Paul is a gent whose reputation precedes him. He's been producing top quality freeware panels for a long time, and his skill as a designer is beyond question. His recently released freeware 707-320 panel—which, sadly, will be one of his last freeware products—doesn't disappoint.
Let's break down Paul's little Christmas present:
Installation
The 707 includes an automatic installer that makes installing the panel a breeze. All in all, I had the 707 installed on my system in about 30 seconds. Pretty speedy, that. Now one thing you should note, however, is that the package includes the panel and all related tid bits; an aircraft model, however, is not included.
But you needn't worry. All this means is that you'll have to find a 707 aircraft and link to it to Paul's panel. Don't fret, though; in the instructions Paul provides a link to the "Historic Jetliners Group." Once there you'll find a boatload of 707s in every conceivable livery. And fortunately for guys like me, Paul does a good job of plainly explaining how to set everything up. While away your days in panel configuration purgatory you will not. Thank heavens for that!
Documentation
The instructions come in HTML and look really good for a freeware project. That part really impressed me. The instructions are nicely laid out and everything is crystal clear. Mind you, compared to many other freeware panels, Paul's panel is somewhat less complex than you might expect. The upshot of this is that the instructions are not 100 pages long because they don't need to be 100 pages long.
Basically what you'll find in the instructions is a bare-bones guide to what you need to know in order to fly the plane and work the autopilot. If you're looking for performance charts and the like, you won't find any. But I wouldn't expect them to be there anyway. Paul's release deals with the 707's panel. All the other stuff is the responsibility of the aircraft modeler.
The panel
In keeping with Paul's previous releases, the 707's panel is visually quite fantastic. I for one really like the four different settings for night lighting. I won't belabor the visuals, just take a good look at the screen shots and see for your self. As they say, a picture truly is worth a 1000 words.
What's more, what makes this panel somewhat unique from other freeware panels is that in addition to the "normal view" a "pilot's" and a "landing" view is also included. These are pretty neat features. The "landing" view can be especially helpful on those tough approaches. The additional views are activated by hitting the shift key and a number on the keypad. The only issue I have with these views is that getting them to 'stay put', so to speak, is difficult. Now this isn't a problem with the landing panel, but if you're using the "pilot's" view it seems you have to hold down the key combination indefinitely in order to maintain the new view. Unfortunately this takes away from the "pilot's" view because it makes it rather awkward to use.
As for the stability of the panel: I've read many forum threads in which individuals have complained that Paul's panel is unstable. A common complaint is that if you switch views the simulator will go kaput. Well, I have yet to experience this. I'm running a fairly common system, so perhaps the problem is system specific (I think it goes back to the famous hardware syndrome: you purchase obscure hardware, you get obscure results.) Paul, however, has indicated on his website that he will be adding a FAQ section for the 707 soon. Perhaps some of these issues will be addressed there if you're experiencing problems.
Now one thing you should know about the panel (and Paul makes this really clear in his instructions) is this: Compared to a lot of other panels out there, even freeware ones, this panel is relatively basic (not that there is anything wrong with that, mind you.) Yes, it has GPWS and a couple of first officer call-out sounds, but with perhaps the exception of the two additional views, which admittedly are quite fun, the panel doesn't really push the envelope in any way, shape or form.
The long and short of this is that if you're a hardcore simmer, Paul's panel may be too simple to suite your style (you're just going to have to go out and spend your hard earned money on a payware product.) But if you're like most simmers, and you just want to look at a pretty panel and fly without having to worry about hydraulics and the like, this panel will do you just fine.
To quote from the manual:
Another thing that Paul mentions is that the panel has some issues. The panel lighting, for example, can only be turned off by resizing the panel. (Until I read the manual, I spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure that one out. Note to self: Read the manual before trying to fly the plane.)
Now if this was done in a payware product, I'd be sharpening my knives and dialing 911, but given that Paul does this stuff for free what can you really say?
On the plus side, though, the frame rates are really quite good and the panel includes some sounds that I really liked. The sounds aren't anything revolutionary, mind you, but the gear extension noises are quite satisfying and I like the sound of the airframe rattling as you roll down the runway.
As for the autopilot, it's unique and reflective of the time period in which the 707 saw service. While it seems to hold altitudes well, simmers will need to take some time to become acquainted with it (it's nothing like the default MS autopilot). Fortunately, though, Paul explains how to use it in the instructions. It's not mega-complex by any stretch of the imagination, but it will take some getting used to if you're not familiar with its style. (Note to readers: Learn from my mistakes. Read the manual.)
What it's like to fly with the 707 panel?
If you're coming from a glass cockpit background, flying the 707 will take some getting used to. Information is presented differently than it is in, say, the default 747, and basically you have to fly the plane with your own two hands and feet. Moreover, you also have to do a lot of your own calculations. In other words: There's no FMC to do your grunt work for you. You have to earn your paycheque on this plane!
Navigation, for example, is accomplished via the old VOR and ADF (I hope you remember your "Turn, time, throttle, tune, talk" sequence, and don't forget to leave the ADF ident switch on if tracking an NDB!)
Indeed, while modern day firms operating this aircraft (cargo companies mainly) would no doubt have some kind of GPS or RNAV type system installed on their planes, you won't find any of that technology on Golding's panel. A bad thing? Not really. Too much tech would spoil the fun and diminish the character of this classic bird. But if you really can't survive without a GPS, you can still use the default one offered by Microsoft.
I should point out, though, that the panel package includes the Project Freeware beta 707 airfile that can be plugged into whatever 707 plane you decide to use. Because these files are still in their beta stage, I will not comment on them.
Summary
Golding's 707 panel is quality work. No doubt about it. Mind you it's relatively basic compared to some other freeware packages out there, but for beginners that can be something of a blessing. A panel worth doing? Again, no doubt about it. The 707 is a remarkable aircraft that has served a long and distinguished history converting fuel-to-noise the world over. Indeed the 707 was Boeing's first passenger jet – it even served as the President's plane for quite some time – and for many it conjures up a romantic image (I always think of the line in that rock song: "In the early morning rain, big 707 set to go…" Now I can't sing all that well but I can say that you will enjoy pushing virtual throttles using this very nice, somewhat unique and ultimately very well done steam-driven panel.
You can download pg7072k2.zip from the AVSIM Library here.
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