Sky Simulations MD-11

[WA6MQI 0]

Now how did this this one get by me? never heard of these guys beforelooks interesting though. Dave

[FlyinIron406 3]

i was hoping to hear how it is :(

[moss1 11]

I would also like to know the performance hit for anyone that gets her. It has a small mention of not effecting frame rate. Some of the detail makes me think it will be very heavy on frames. I looked everywhere on the Devs site and there is no contact information anywhere or a forum set up. I do hope they follow the forums here. I always like to E-mail a developer when asking pre purchase questions. I quess time will tell. Sure looks like a nice product. The requirements are not that demanding, so I am not sure what to think.

[SAS263 1]

Looks nice, too bad they

[alsummers 0]

I had a look at their page, but definately hanging on for the PMDG version.

[Guest]

Maybe this will make PMDG move a little faster...their development work is progressing at a snail's pace these days! :-hmmm

[graemeb 14]

With respect - your assumption is based on ignorance.

[ThreeGreens 7]

"With respect - your assumption is based on ignorance."That wasnt called for I feel.Scott

[Guest smileymiley]

Wether people are hanging on for PMDG or not the product shots look very impressive. Would be great to hear from someone who has puchased the product and answer one question from a systems junky.The website says that the FMC is partially functional with back up from the Flightsim GPS. I presume that means all flightplanning is via the inbuilt flightsim flightplanner.This would sway it for me as true to life flying and systems is what I enjoy in the heavy irons.Anyway good luck to them and amazed only 1,250 hits on their website in 4 months as of this morning. At least they did not have the dreaded "So when is it going to be released"Cheers GuysMilesWatching a great lightshow over Sydney harbour - I love the thunderstorms here.

[LarryRF 0]

Hello all, I purchased the MD-11. Here are some initial thoughts...Nice modelling. Not PMDG or Level D yet but above Aerosim, Overland etc.Panel. pretty good :) but I'm no airliner jockey. Framerates: Good. I'm locked at 30, no fluctuation at Stevens international on the ramp, most sliders to the right. AI at 100% using Traffic 2005 in fair weather.Animations: Approaching Captain Sims 757 here. We have pushback trucks, loaders, fuel trucks, cones, engine cowlings that open. Very nice eye candy.Paints included; Also very nice.Problems so far:Uses a dual format installer: Looks like it can install FS2004 and FSX. From the simmarket site I assumed we were getting both versions. Cannot install the FSX version. It says I'm missing files. When you purchase from Simmarket. Your not downloading the entire model. It's only 488kb's. After you run the program, it connects to the Sky Simulation (?) site and downloads the product. About 100MB. Now, I've no idea if there is a problem with the installer, or I was not given the proper downloader tool. But it refuses to install the FSX version. It says some files were missing and to check out the FAQ's on their site or contact support. I checked their site, no FAQ's listed yet. I tried to email the support address given by the installer. Bounced back undeliverable. I don't see any other way to contact them. Not good at all...Hopefully this is just new business quirks and it will be ironed out soon.I haven't had time to fly her yet but he sure looks pretty sitting on the tarmac. I'd really like to see her in FSX...As for avionics, flight fidelity, etc I can give my opinions later but again, being no airliner pilot it would be completely subjective. Anyone else having a problem installing into FSX ?Larry

[Bob Scott 7,721]

I'm waiting to hear about flight dynamics and what the FMS situation is...an adaptation of the FS GPS with no nav data update possibilities or that can only take a fixed flight plan prior to flight just won't cut it.Also, there's no support at all on release day? No FAQ, no forum, not even a working e-mail. All too reminiscent of the SSW A310 a few years back...a promising looking sim that ended up in the virtual scrap heap because it was never properly supported.I'm not jumping into this one early with an unknown developer...had it been a refundable product (in a Flight1 wrapper for example), maybe I would have...RegardsBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VSantiago de Chile

[moss1 11]

As Bob says..Also, there's no support at all on release day? No FAQ, no forum, not even a working e-mail.This doesn't make sense. In todays market, I think this will really hurt sales for these guys. Most of us have made the mistake of jumping in over the years and regret it later. I wonder if there was a beta team involved that also follows the forums here at Avsim? In this case, there is no where to turn for help. I personally would feel better about it if they had some sort of contact info. I wonder if an E-mail could be sent to simmarket about this, if they would be able to help? I would assume since they are selling this product for them, they must have some sort of contact info for the Dev if permission was granted first. I guess some answers will hopefully come as more people try the product. EDIT: I just did some digging. There is mention that they were part of vansairco at one time. I found a forum with no mention of the MD11, however, I E-mailed the moderator with hopes of them knowing who these folks are. I will post back if they reply.

[MarkRey 16]

This product, while nice looking is not in the same league - at all.One look at the ND and what I see is the fs9 gps, a la Pspanels, Skydecks and others. This means the entire fms is greatly simplified.Reading the features I see basically a sugar filled offering which just might be quite a nice, easy break from 'having to load wind data'.Sometimes I actually do like a break from the demands my beloved 767 or 744, so I'll keep one eye on this one.regards,Markhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/a320/custbanner2.jpg

[Dillon 2,197]

O.K. guys here goes after the little time I spent with this last night,I bought this plane because I wanted a framerate friendly aircraft for those FEDEX runs into KEWR and Heathrow. What I found when buying this add-on was what I've been asking for for quite some time now. An airliner that has PMDG style visuals but lite on the Avionics front for the more framerate intensive destinations I fly to in FS9.Although I can't quite say the graphics are on PMDG's level but just the same this is something I wish CLS would have done for their add-ons. At first sight it looks like a complex hardcore aircraft. All the eye candy is there but just the same it's a 'lite' non-hardcore product. You have the default GPS on the ND screen (that's operated like it would be in the MD11) and the underlying autopilot is default but laid out and operated much like an MD11 (with the exception of activating the Auto Throttle). It's a fun product for those not wanting anything too complex.You do get many of the MD11 engine, diagnostic, and hydrolic display screens. You get the MD11 PFD but don't expect true hardcore aspects here like what's been expected from FeelThere's A320. The FDE feels a little lite in my opinion and doesn't quite give the feel of a heavy (but I only took one flight trying to figure out how to activate the auto throttle). Full flaps have you approaching at 123 knots which seems too slow for the MD11 on approach. All in all I'd say the FDE needs work. The sounds are great with the exception of spool up. You get voice call outs for things like flaps and speed brake. What surprised me is you get a 'HUD' in the VC. A nice touch although it's not illuminated at night and looks to be in a square box versus the clear unabated look it should have. VC night lighting is nice which is a plus.It's marketed as having 'Gravity and Aerodynamic actuated Flexible wings' which I didn't see. All other visual items seem to be there although I haven't tested everything. Much like the PMDG 744 you get full cargo loaders all around the plane among other things for the cargo version. The eye candy is outstanding in many aspects.So all in all this is a great visual 'lite' add-on that can be allot of fun. The only problem I see at this point is more work needs to be done on the FDE. Just imagine an add-on visually a cut below PMDG but a better experiance than CLS or any other 'lite' product you've seen on the market. For those that want an aircraft that's easy to get into and fly yet retain all the visual candy of our most complex add-ons, you'll love this package. This is the standard that companies like CLS should look to. There's a huge market for this type of add-on. Visually impressive yet accessible. I'd say this is a great effort and a worthy purchase in the event PMDG takes the FSX high road with their MD11. Again if this group supports this add-on and updates this birds FDE, they'd easly knock CLS or anyone else out the ball park for this class of add-on (if they went head to head with CLS for an A300/310 this company would be a sure win). You can't beat visuals like this that'll get you into ImagineSim's KEWR with fluid framerates.Great job SKY SIMULATIONS, I just hope you support this bird... :-beerchug

[Dillon 2,197]

Just thought I'd add the 'HUD' is a clickable feature. You can turn it on and off easily in the VC...