Hello,I just read the review of QOTS, along with the Virgin Atlantic pilot's own report of using QOTS, both in PC Pilot magazine. PMDG's QOTS sounds fantastic and I'm making efforts to purchase the program very soon. (I need to start from scratch and buy FS2004 first, I guess.)One of the questions I have concerns comments about how accurate the flight modeling is with QOTS. From the remarks made by the VA 744 pilot, it sounds like it has the same feel and response as flying the actual 744. Out of curiousity, how does PMDG go about "modeling" the characteristics of a 744 in flight to achieve this effect? Through some sort of theoretical, mathematical wind-tunnel algorithm measuring all aspects of lift/drag/etc against the speed/weight of the 744? In-flight number-crunching based on mountains of Boeing data?Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer my questions so as satisfy my curiosity :-) I'm eager to start on my path to learning how to fly PMDG's 744!!!Dr Foo

Vangelis, the man responsible for PMDG's flight dynamics, has a doctoral degree in computational fluid dynamics and actually creates mathematical airflow and engine performance models for real world aircraft and automotive makers. He used some very comprehensive data sets from Boeing and GE to model the engine and flight characteristics of the 747.He knows his stuff and that's how it's modelled accurately!

The aircraft has the most realistic feel of any heavy jet sim add on I`ve flown,it really capture the weight and feel of the thing.But don`t expect any miracles,no matter how good the software,you`ll never reproduce exactly right feel through a joystick or flight yoke on a PC.But within those limitations its a very good flight model indeedregardsJon

Thanks a lot, Jon and Ryan, for your answers.I imagine I'll need MSFS2004 to run QOTS; I also have a CH products yoke. But what other add-ons (software/hardware) would you suggest I get in order to maximize my experience with QOTS?I have a PC, 3.06Ghz, 512ram, nvidia geforce 5600/fx 128vram, just in case you need to know.Cheers,Dr. Foo

>Thanks a lot, Jon and Ryan, for your answers.>>I imagine I'll need MSFS2004 to run QOTS; I also have a CH>products yoke. But what other add-ons (software/hardware)>would you suggest I get in order to maximize my experience>with QOTS?>>I have a PC, 3.06Ghz, 512ram, nvidia geforce 5600/fx 128vram,>just in case you need to know.>>Cheers,>>Dr. FooI have the C&H Yoke & Pedels, fantastic.I bought the C&H QuadThrottle and had it congiguered with FSUIPC, again fantastic, particularly the reversers.After the SU my Quad configuration went south, got corupted, haveing a devil of a time reconfiuring. It maps differently than prior versions of MSFS.I'm hoping some will post the FSUIPC.cfg paramaters, as per request on another post.Too old to start building cockpits at home.Regards

I`ve found the track IR device a nice toy to scan around the flight deck with,it really adds a bit of realisim during the aproach,but I tend to take it off during the cruise.If you already have the CH yoke you`ll know its a good bit of kit but has limitations,the real yoke is as you would expect bigger and heavier.The CH throttle quad is one of the best possible add ons for multi engine jets you could buy.>One of the questions I have concerns comments about how>accurate the flight modeling is with QOTS. From the remarks>made by the VA 744 pilot, it sounds like it has the same feel>and response as flying the actual 744.Don`t listen that guy,he doesn`t know what he`s talking about ;-)regardsJon

Thanks. The track IR sounds terrific! And I'll ignore that Virgin pilot. What do they know anyway? :-)Dr Foo

Try a PFC yoke if you want the realsim factor turned up 100 notches! It has made flying simply incredible on the PC but it comes with a steep price....[h4]Randy J. Smith[/h4]AMD 64 4000+|ASUS K8V DELUXE|SAPPHIRE ATI X800XT PE|MUNCHKIN 3200|80 gig SATA|DELL 1905FP 19" LCD|TRACKir PRO|PFC JEPPESEN MOONEY YOKE|CH PRO PEDALS|

I'm sorry..."PFC" stands for what? (And I've also seen "FS9" in the forums, what's that?...I apologize, I'm new to MSFS and all the lingo).Dr Foo

Can't help you with PFC but I can with FS9. FS9 is Flight Simulator 9, also known as FS2004 or the flight simulator we are all using.

PFC = Precision Flight Controls http://www.flypfc.com/Very nice modelled yoke, but as with all pc -addon's the "heavy feeling" and the force you need in the real one is missing.B. rgdsMichel

QOTS has a really nice VC (Virtual Cockpit) however MSFS has no means that lets you "move around" (change the point from where you look from/the position of "your virtual head"), so I would suggest that you also got yourself Active Camera (http://www.anticyclone.be/).I have had problems using the build in Real Weather of MSFS so I would also suggest you look at a program like ASV (http://www.hifisim.com/), and a good flightplanner like FSNavigator or FSBuild is also things you'd like to have.Last but not least: if realism is the name of your game you should considder replaceing the default MSFS ATC with a more realstic alternative (hint: click the banner below ).http://jdtllc.com/images/rcv4bannerbeta.jpgPelle F. S. Liljendal

Thanks for the info. Wow, those addon's are pretty serious...and very nice. I guess I'm going to have to wait until my spousal maintenance payments drop a bit before I can purchase them...I still have to find a way to eat :-lol But a guy can dream, can't he?Has anyone on the PMDG forum uploaded any videos of their flights in QOTS? (or is that permitted on this forum?) Sure would be nice to see some take-off and landing action (maybe a little scenery, too!). Would make for some good advertisement/marketing, too, haha. Well, soon enough (after Christmas) I'll be making my way to the QOTS cockpit. Can't wait.Cheers,Dr. Foo

Thanks, Pelle. These sound like good suggestions. And yes, I'd like to make the experience as realistic as possible. It sounds like there's a level of intellectual/technical challenge I'm going to experience with QOTS, which will thankfully keep me from boredom.Cheers,Dr. Foo

BTW: Another "toy" I forgot to mention. You might want to check out VoiceBuddy (http://www.edimensional.com). Using this software with a headset you can simply say warious commands and then have VoiceBuddy feed the appropriate keypresses back to MSFS.For instance while flying I simply say "Flaps 10" and then my "Virtual Copilot" (VoiceBuddy) simply feeds the appropriate keycommands to MSFS and TQOS will have flaps moving to 10 degrees. It also contains a (robotic sounding) speach synthesizer so I have it setup so my "Virtural Copilot" will respond to the previous command by saying "Flaps moving 10" (so I know "he heard what I asked him to do" ).The fact that it contains a Speach synthesizer means that you can use it for other purpose than just feed keys to MSFS. For instance when I say "Before landing checklist" my "Virutal Copilot" will read the appropriate checklist, and I make sure I have remembered all the parts he goes trough (no more landing without landing lights, just becauase your forgot it ).http://jdtllc.com/images/rcv4bannerbeta.jpgPelle F. S. Liljendal