Maddog 2006

[Orlaam 306]

I'm interested in the Maddog 2006 for FS9, and I've been looking at it for a few days. I know it doesn't have a VC and that's fine since I don't use them.My main concern is frame rates (performance) and flight dynamics. I've seen good comments about it's features and a little about performance, but is it the same as PMDG type of planes? The FeelThere 737PIC is one I thought was very poor in terms of performance, so how does this Maddog 2006 stack up?Flight dynamics - This can kill a good add on. Some of the add ons I think have excellent FDE's are the Flight 1 ATR, PMDG 747, DA Cheyenne, & Level-D 767. If they are rigid and heavy then I won't like them.Thanks!

[Brian Doney 127]

Performance seems to be tricky to gauge with this add-on, some with monster hardware are really having trouble, whereas my average to below average machine seems to be doing just fine with it. FDE, well, all I can say here is that it's one of the few aircraft I own that I really enjoy handflying...whether it's realistic or not, I couldn't say.None of this may be of any help, but one thing I would recommend, wait for SP1., due at the end of the month (fingers crossed). So many things have been improved upon/fixed, that any time spent with the currently available version would be kinda counter-productive. My $0.02

[Dougal 165]

Hi ChrisI don't think you'd be disapointed with the FDE, though IMHO it's not quite up there with the best. It feels very smooth and a joy to fly.On my PC, there's quite a hit performance wise, but not so much it spoils the flight.For me, it comes a very sturdy 3rd after my PMDG744 and the LDS763 in the big iron catagory.

[Orlaam 306]

Okay, thanks. I'lll wait for the SP1 to come out and see what happens. I just saw that thread regarding FPS on high-end machines and it had me worried. My computer does well in most situations, but some planes have hit me hard, as the FT 737 did.I really just want an MD aircraft that is on par with the Level-D and PMDG or Flight 1 offerings. I know Flight 1 has an MD-80 but it doesn't seem to be as good as it should be. Out of so many MD-80's, you'd think one would be perfect. I've lost all hope in the PMDG MD-11 at this point.

[Egbert Drenth 250]

Hi,SP1 will be released at the end of the month (most likely)This MD is one of the best aircraft I've ever bought and it's for certain up to par with LevelD, PMDG in my opinion.Also I have Flight1 MD80 and MDMax and they both don't come close.On some machines there indeed is a frate issue, however on my system it runs like a charm.About the flight model. I like it but of course I don't know if the real one behaves the same. Nevertheless one (and probably more) of the beta testers was a SAS MD80 captain and I know he's very picky when it comes to flightmodels.The initial release was good compared to some other releases lately but, as with all, it has some more and minor serious issues. Luckily the developer is very responsive regarding bug/issues and providing information.

[Guest]

I bit the bullet and went ahead and got it and it is fantastic. Yeah, a nice VC would be great but its still very enjoyable. It has attention to detail and polish a lot of developers don't have. Has great FPS on my machine, but I do believe it is hit or miss. The FDE is great for hand flying, very stable.

[Guest Jeff Berman]

I have had Maddog 2006 since day one and have not flown anything else since, quite a learning curve, you have to forget all the Boeing stuff and follow the correct procedures to get her up and back down....it is a blast :-beerchug

[Guest]

wish she had a VC, id fly her. looks like a nice addon

[Guest SilverCircle]

>wish she had a VC, id fly her. looks like a nice addonIt's one of the best addons currently available. In some areas, better than the common "big ones".The lack of a VC will be corrected at a later time at no cost, although, this will probably take months from now.The FDE feels good, but of course, most of us are not able to tell how authentic it flies. Like someone already said, the maddog handflies very nicely and also models some of the problems with the real MD (like the fact that it can be pretty hard to loose speed and altitude at the same time, so planning a good descent and approach can be challenging in this addon).Performance is ok on my system, which is definitely not highend, but still a decent FS9 rig.

[brucek 38]

I would agree with the posters here that this is a great aircraft. Lots of prep work before taking off, so as long as you are OK with procedures. I like the fcat thatb it will save the last configuration, so you can get it ready to take-off and save the config and then retrieve it later (if you don;t wish to repeat the start-up procedures). It also comes with a "ready to start engines" configuration.I have never actually flown one, but this flies perfectly for me. I also don;t have any frate issues, but note that some people do. The MD80 is in the very early transition to glass, so it's the best of both worlds- lots of complicated procedures to keep you busy, plus the FMS, TCAS, etc.Bruce.

[Orlaam 306]

I don't see that in their forums. What are the bugs you guys know of that are clearly getting a fix for the SP1 at the end of the month?

[Guest]

The only bug I've run into so far has to do with a model/livery selector in the load manager. Otherwise I've done many flights with no bugs making it unusable.

[Guest]

I assume for us people with widescreen displays, the panel looks awkward?

[Guest daniel.alm]

>I don't see that in their forums. What are the bugs you guys>know of that are clearly getting a fix for the SP1 at the end>of the month?None of the bugs are showstoppers IMO, there's a VNAV bug (the plane doesn't intercept constraints too well) and some other minor FMS bugs like a wrong fuel prediction. The Load-manager bug mentioned above and really some minor things in the panel like the boarding simulation that doesn't work with a saved flight, etc.I think SP1 will not only bring bug fixes but also enhancements. That said, the plane is already my favourite in the current state.

[Brian Doney 127]

I have the (hopefully final) SP1 beta in hand as of yesterday afternoon, about to take her out on a (again, hopefully final) shakedown right now.VNAV has been much improved, many other minor FMS fixes(incl. better fuel prediction), the A/T has been tweaked a bit, landing and rollout performance has been adjusted, etc..A feature/improvement/bugfix list will be made available as soon as the beta is locked.Performance should be better overall for anyone with an SSE3 capable machine(which is pretty much everything after AthlonXP), though in all honesty, it is still the most demanding aircraft I have, a title that was held by the PMDG744 prior to the Maddog.I can still maintain, for the most part, my framelock of 24, even with all the other crap I run alongside FS, so for me, that's good enough.I do wonder how VC performance will be, as though it is entirely flyable now, it does have it's moments where you can feel it struggle a bit.More later...