PMDG King Air - just dreaming out loud

[Guest SkullxBones]

How about a PMDG version of the King with the Collins Pro Line 21 glass cockpits. Looks like you can even get them with FMC's in the center console which can been seen in the last link by panning down in the virtual cockpit. Just a few tweaks to the Queen's gauges and FMC and the PMDG boys could have this thing cranked out in a couple weekends, right?Click on the pictures to enlarge them.http://www.airliners.net/photo/Beech-Super-King/1185787/M/ahttp://www.airliners.net/photo/Aerotaxi-Ge...King/1330507/M/ http://www.airliners.net/photo/Teuto-Air-L...King/1212233/M/ http://www.hawkerbeechcraft.com/beechcraft...ckpit_tour.aspxJeff

[MELKOR 5]

Hahaha, right.... 2 weeks!! (Since I'm neck-deep in the software industry myself, I feel entitled to that laugh...) :-)Have you ever checked out Fly! II? They have an amazing King Air B200. Fly! never gained the populatiry that MSFS did (and is essentially dead now), probably due to the "true to life" complexity of their planes. But, being a PMDG fan, you understand that's the whole point, no?- Bill

[michal 44]

>Fly! never gained the populatiry that MSFS did (and>is essentially dead now), probably due to the "true to life">complexity of their planes. I would strongly dispute this statement.But talking about the King Air - there are already King Airs (C90) certified with Garmin G1000 avionics. I would argue it is even better than Pro Line 21 but so much more difficult to simulate.Michael J.http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/9320/apollo17vf7.jpg

[Guest SkullxBones]

I haven't tried FlyII but it looks like I might get part of my wish for FSX King Air. Aeroworx is supposed to have a very nice B200 King, but FS9 only. Looking at their forums they are hinting version 3 will be FSX compatible and they said it might have a glass cockpit, just not the Collins Pro 21 you get from the factory.I just wish PMDG had a bigger staff and could crank out more planes like this and still keep the quality they are known for.

[MELKOR 5]

I'm sorry Michael, that was poor wording on my part...What I meant to say was:Since new development of Fly! is not planned, the simulation engine is at a dead end (meaning: there is no chance to get in new features and bug fixes).Wonder how much GOD Games would want for the rights to the code? :-)- Bill

[mburkhard 23]

Thanks Jeff for that one link, I'd never have guessed the KingAir would be available with a Dual FMC setup... amazing... Regards,Markus

[Guest hmstiger]

Fly! and Fly2! were the work of Richard Harvey and his team of developers. Sadly, Richard passed away at a very young age several years ago from cancer, a great loss to his family and the community -it is in his honor that the scholarship AVSIM awards every year to Embry Riddle is named. http://www.avsim.com/pages/scholarship.shtml Fly!, and its upgraded final version Fly2K, was a terrific simulator - far better than FS98 and FS2K at the time. PMDG delivered its first add-on airplane for Fly - the 757. I remember if fondly. It think I could probably find the installer on an old hard drive if I had to. A community of developers created a terrific free product called Terrascene that included upgraded textures and an engine for updating land use information in the sim. It made VFR flight possible with a sectional - and put the Microsoft engines of the era to shame. I enjoyed many hours kicking around the Southwest in the Malibu. The planes were excellent - with a heavy empahsis on realism. Fly2 was released early under pressure from the publisher - it was incomplete, and it never really had a chance after its weak launch, which was a shame because it held great promise. For example, no rivers or inland water ways were included in the initial release. St. Louis sat in the middle of the plains, dry as a bone. PMDG and the developers even talked briefly about providing their 777 as part of the final product, though it didn't happen. A great deal of work went into patches and updates from a dedicated group of developers and community members. It had some wonderful graphic effects, including terrific skies - but by the time it was coming into its own, FS2002 and COF were out there. Fly 2 did include a terrific Pilatus PC-12 that was an absolute joy to fly. So, the short history of Fly! I wanted to make sure that some of the newcomers to this forum learned about Richard and his work and got a bit of an idea what he did for our hobby. Colin WarePortland, OR

[wijnand 11]

Hi Colin,I also have good memories of FLY and FLYII.The time when a group of people, called themselves Precision Manuals Development Group, wre working on a 757 for Fly.(And I thought they, judging their name, were focused on manuals???)The 757 (and later the 767) for fly were great addons.If the development of fly had continued, I think we would have a serious competitor for FS today.Wijnand