Simulated aging of 747...

[Guest teeloo]

...or any other plane.Hi,I don't really want to comment on the developement of the PMDG 747.What I'd like to ask is (the real question is all the way at the end):Since you guys are about the best developers around in the sim world I'd like to address this question to you.Some software developers tried to approach it but really never got there: airline cost calculations, maintenance simulation on planes.I believe a lot of simulator enthousiasts, including me, not the screemers "when is that PMDG747 released", but the serious ones would love an addon, or rather a plane by itself, that ages!Of course I think you could start a new developement team to brainstorm on what to simulate. However I believe your team would be the best at it.Some rough idea's of what I think is 'cool' on an 'aging' plane, posted on this forum to proof I am the only one on this, or joined by others:Short term aging- bugs...on the windshield, not in the software :-)- tire usage (a crosswind landing uses more rubber)- brake temp (realistic temp over time)- logging real engine ours- realisic maintenance when 'on block' (with a maint. log etc)...Long term aging- paint becomes more and more faded, scratchy- cockpit panels become faded at key points- engine #3 keeps using more oil then the others (example)- oil stains on surface at verious points become more visable- bleed duct valve #2 has the history of failing (example) - reverser on #1 is a bit slower in closing then the others- stress over time (cracks in engine/pylon bolts)...Happy with people adding others...I want to make clear that I am not talking about some fancy visual effects or a 'goody' that makes flying more fun. I am talking about a complete simulation (addon or building or standard build in like an FMC) that keeps track of all sort of info. Being the easiest the 'bugs on the windscreen' and hardest 'stress simulation on bolts'Short: lets have that maintenance logbook make sense for real!I'd like to load that one plane and recognise it! Make screenshots of it and review them after many flights looking at a plane becoming aged!My final question:Did PMDG ever think of any sort of addon or feature like above to be developed anywhere in the past or future?kind regardsTeeloo

[Guest ahmedem]

I would imagine flight simulator will have to come along way before we see any of that. My guess is progressive ageing would have to be programmed into the simulator rather than the aircraft, maybe suggest it to Microsoft!! It would certainly be nice to see.

[Guest captbulldog 2]

FS doesn't support dynamic aging that I know of.

[michal 44]

Good ideas but probably well ahead of its times.It would only make sense if there was some randomness built into such 'decay' but considering how complex aircraft systems are it would be a monumental effort to implement it realistically. And I would rather first have more progress made in weather, sloped runways, icing, etc. before I would care for anything like what you suggest. Not to mention I still approach desktop flying on a per flight basis - in other words I don't care about any continuity of aircraft ownership - every flight is a totally seperate event.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2

[Guest teeloo]

Ahead of its times, indeed!Just checking the community on how it thinks about it. And of course PMDG.Of course there are still many subjects to be explored with a probably logicaly higher priority then this.I was charmed by the way PMDG offers the 747 model and I thought first how little it had to do with the software itself, but later realised to what customers PMDG is aiming for. The ones that really care about the 747. Make it their personal plane.So I was wondering about an old wish of mine if it could ever be realised: your own 747... but then in the simulator world.I am sure I'll be dreaming for a while on this matter.For all I know, there are so many things out there for improvement. PMDG making the biggest steps forward and Microsoft the smallest steps (this is my personal opinion).Teeloo

[Guest teeloo]

I'll give MS a try ;-)Teeloo

[Balint 18]

Teeloo,Certainly a very fine idea, a very fine thought on Desktop Flying. Also, people please take a look on Teeloo's attitude and approach to the community... A very welcome way.I hope your time comes soon, Teeloo!Cheers,

[Guest 737NGCapt]

Well considering Aeroworx has seemed to have worked out aging and stuff like hot starts, etc, it'd be interesting to see things like this brought into the mix. I certainly wouldn't mind having trouble starting engines after a really quick turn around. Also, Aeroworx seems to have been able to keep track of it's aircrafts flight hours, oil burned, wear on tires, etc in a menu almost like a repair shop, something like this one day being put into a PMDG aircraft certainly would be a nice addition to a product :)http://m.domaindlx.com/PacificAir/sig_3_small.jpg

[michal 44]

>Well considering Aeroworx has seemed to have worked out aging>and stuff like hot starts, etc,.. but at the same time Aeroworx had serious trouble with their takeoff/landing rollout for their King Air - missing real data by almost 30% (don't know how well they fixed them). This is what I meant - if you want to include aging, your basic simulation better be at 99.9%, not 85, not even 95 but at 100%. Aging effects can be so subtle that all other simulation errors can dwarf it by a huge margin. Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2

[Guest Lobaeux4]

There was a program for FS2002 called FSMaintenance (think it was from Lago) that tried to simulate this, either from aging or from abuse to aircraft. I thought it was pretty good, but haven't seen if it was updated for FS9.