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Guest Foizman

FS2Crew vs. Mike Ray

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Guest Foizman

Hi captains,I had much fun to learn Mike Ray's procedures in his excellent book "The UNOFFICIAL BOEING 747-400 SIMULATOR CHECKRIDE PROCEDURES AND TECHNIQUES MANUAL".When I would use FS2Crew, I needn't know these things any more cause FS2Crew moves the knops etc. for me?If so, doesn't such automatism devalue the complexity of the PMDG747 which is the essential fascination of this add-on?My goal ist onlineflying...Don't get me wrong: does it support or does it oversimplify the Queen?Regards,Volker

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Hello Volker,In some ways it makes the Queen more complex because you have to fly by the book more or less and you have to interact with your crew. However, in other ways FS2Crew makes it easier to fly the Queen because the FO flips a lot of the switches that you would otherwise control.FS2Crew models the SOPs of a real-world 747 operator; it basically allows you you to fly realistically from the vantage point of the Captain (from this one airline.)How much the SOPs modeled are in line with Mike Ray's book I do not know, never read his book.Hope that helps,Bryan

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Volker,In reality, the 747-400 was designed for a two-pilot crew in the cockpit. Without FS2Crew, you're essentially flying solo, which is definitely not realistic. Fs2Crew unquestionably supports more realistic operation of the Queen.In spite of FS2Crew, I keep Mike Ray's book within easy reach when I'm flying the 747, because it's a very valuable resource. Granted, much of the workload is "shared" with your virtual copilot, but it definitely helps to be intimately familiar with everything in the cockpit, just as a real world captain must.There are some differences in flows -- Mike was a United Airlines captain, and I believe FS2Crew was written from the operating procedures of an airline based below the equator -- but the knowledge you gained in Mike's book will stand you in good stead.


Best Regards,

Kurt "Yoda" Kalbfleisch

Pinner, Middx, UK

Beta tester for PMDG J41, NGX, and GFO, Flight1 Super King Air B200, Flight1 Cessna Citation Mustang, Flight1 Cessna 182, Flight1 Cessna 177B, Aeroworx B200

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I might be wrong about this...but I don't think so. It would seem that the FS2Crew procedures for the PMDG747 may be based on UAL procedures. They seem to be very similar to the procedures outlined in Mike Ray's book (especially the CDAP approach -800fpm on the final, which is a callout on the procedure).I agree with the premise here...Mike Ray's books are outstanding. That said, without FS2Crew, you are flying the bird doing the work of two people...and it really does take two people to fly the aircraft, especially if something goes wrong and you have to pull out the non-normal checklist. The rule there is: Fly the airplane, fly the airplane, fly the airplane. Usually, the other guy is working the checklist. Pretty hard to do when you are by yourself.The only thing that FS2Crew could do to make it more "realistic" is to put you in the Captain's seat. In other words, make it interactive, where you, as the captain, call for the item, checklist, etc. instead of pushing a button where the FS2Crew captain is talking. This is the only part of FS2Crew that I find somewhat hard to use, since I am used to calling my own checklists. However, voice response is expensive technology and to have it respond logically would take an enormous amount of programming, which would make the product ultimately cost prohibitive.So, finding the balance between the two, use FS2Crew and Mike Ray's book as the above poster has mentioned...it really is the best marriage of the two worlds.Cheers,David LambSenior Captain, United Airlines Virtual

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Hi David,The SOPs are not UAL. The airline asked that we not use their name officially, however, if you do a bit of research on this forum and the PMDG forum it's pretty easy to figure out whose SOPs we modeled.Voice interaction: It's a good idea, but very complex to do a meaningful way that consistently works. Maybe in a few years when the technology improves.Chrs,Bryan

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Perhaps a voice recognition system could be used as a halfway measure. Using something like game commander you could program in certain voice commands to select various keys. Perhaps each checklist could be activated by a voice command ie. Preflight checklist. The FO would then start to read the list. Each response from the captain could be mapped to the equivalent of the main button press on the joystick (probably too many voice commands to have each response individually mapped). I use it when flying the queen to heighten the realism. I only have to say LNAV or HDG SEL and it is pressed....just like the real world. You could also have a sound wave play when it is pressed so in theory you could use one of FSCrews sound files to respond to the command ie 'LNAV armed'.It would take quite a bit of setting up but would work.Just dont do what I did and have the command "finish" to shut down FS9. I thought i was being clever being able to say "finish" and the sim would close down. Worked well until one evening on finals with an engine out my partner says "dinners ready come and get it" to which I replied "I am just about to finish" ..........and it did. Right then and there!!!! Maybe something to expand on in the future Bryan?CheersSteve


Cheers

Steve Hall

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Guest Foizman

Hi Steve,sounds interesting. Which hardware do you use fpr voice-commanding?And: do you use PMDG747 AND FS2CREWPMDG747?cheers,Volker

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Volker,I haven't been doing too much simming lately but the program I have been mucking around with is a voice program called VAC. I use it with the PMDG 747 and FS2Crew. I have only just begun to explore the possibilities but they seem vast. It really does add another dimension to the whole sim experience. Try it for yourself with their free trial.It is very simple and intuitive to use.CheersSteve


Cheers

Steve Hall

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