Well.. Guess I'll just have to pass on this one.. The J41 will be the only aircraft missing from my PMDG collection. Oh Well!! I just can't justify the expense of a new computer (one capable of running FSX) in order to buy a new aircraft..

No 2D Panels...that does beg the question (asked earlier in this thread, but didn't see an answer yet) - what about the NGX? I'm not going to ask "When will the NGX be done?", but I hope it's not too much to ask "Will the NGX have 2D panels...whenever it is realeased?"I realize that VC is a great medium for many, particularly if a person is using just one monitor. But if the user has multiple monitors, a VC only view is limiting. At least I'm not aware of a way to spread the VC view across mulitiple monitors up and down. (TH2go, yes.)Certainly there can't be many in this situation, but nevertheless, I'm sure they're must be some others that still prefer the 2D panels for whatever reason. Knowing what's planned for the NGX now, would be a way of 'letting me down easy'. I'm disappointed with this decision on the J4100, but I certainly understand it. No problem there. And it sure looks like the bar has been raised on VC. What's planned for the (non-express) NGX? Is 2D in?Thanks in advance.Noel WBrisbane

Oh well sounds like a very interesting plane but no 2d panel even though that VC is wonderfully modeled just throws me a big bucket of cold water, I'm sorry but I'm one the 2D panel guys! :( Leonardo Soares

You guys really have to see this panel in motion before you understand why the lack of 2D isn't a big deal... Virtually everything is a 3D object that moves through animation in the model, it's not like any of our previous VCs. The texture resolution is also orders of magnitude higher than anything I've ever seen in FS too.

I'm still worried about using the FMS, what with it being across the cockpit at an odd angle and all. -Alex

You guys really have to see this panel in motion before you understand why the lack of 2D isn't a big deal... Virtually everything is a 3D object that moves through animation in the model, it's not like any of our previous VCs. The texture resolution is also orders of magnitude higher than anything I've ever seen in FS too.

That's not really what I'm concerned about. Panning around the VC with a hat switch is a PITA, and I really don't feel like shelling out $130 for Track IR.Scott

Fantastic News!!!! The early pics of the J41 look stunning!!!I'm very much excited about the project and how far along it is, Will the Dash product be released before or after the 737 NG 2.0?Thanks very much for the update! Cheers!/Patrick/

- We have elected not to develop a 2D cockpit for this product. This will displease some users who very much enjoy their 2D cockpit- but this is a design decision that allows us to focus our efforts on on greater levels of innovation by saving a significant amount of development time as well as system overhead. We are also in the process of putting together a comprehensive series of pre-defined view points that will make it easy to navigate and utilize the virtual cockpit.come on guys lets give them a chance. I am anxious to see some of the pre-defined view points that were mentioned when using the 3d panel. I don'y use 3d panels myself but perhaps this aircraft will give the the push to give it a go.-I can definitely relate to the odd angle of reading text on an FMC and trying to pan around with a hat switch. The MD-11 has a few 3D cockpit views points that make it easier to manipulate and read gauges. I am currently trying to experiment more with the 3D view concept on a few other aircraft.

I'm no fan of 3D cockpits in planes bigger than Cessnas, however, this IS a PMDG plane so I probably will buy it anyway. :( The MD-11 broadened my flightsim horizon, so maybe the J-41 will also.Time to fine tune my Track IR I guess. :(

That's not really what I'm concerned about. Panning around the VC with a hat switch is a PITA, and I really don't feel like shelling out $130 for Track IR.Scott

Hat switch panning is old school! Why don't you use your mouse, it's much more fluid. You can setup a button on your stick or computer (easily accessible button) to go into pan mode, view freely with the mouse, then when you need to click on something hit the pan button to turn off panning (looking directly at the instrument now of course), do your clicking, then go back into pan mode. It sounds like a lot, but it isn't really (I use central button on my joystick), moving in and out of pan mode takes less than a split second and makes viewing without TrackIR a joy, you'll never go back to 2D panel, provided you are using a quality model of course!Thank you PMDG from stepping away from your normal and gifting us with this high-quality turboprop! This will be my first PMDG product and I'm absolutely stoked to see the finished product. Best of luck with the beta testing, I'll be back when it's done and released!-Jonathan

I presume not many of you guys who have concerns about there being no 2d panels have ever seen any of the RealAir aircraft. If you have seen the cockpit on the Spitfire for example you would see that you can simulate a 2d panel view by moving the view point/camera to a position directly in front of and square on to the area of the panel that's of interest. You can select these simulated 2d panel views with keyboard short-cuts if you wish. It's no where near as bad as you guys think, CHILL OUT you'll love it I'm sure. :(

No 2D panel....I have a multi-monitor setup this, just won't work for me. I am truley saddened........The model looks fantastic!!

I presume not many of you guys who have concerns about there being no 2d panels have ever seen any of the RealAir aircraft. If you have seen the cockpit on the Spitfire for example you would see that you can simulate a 2d panel view by moving the view point/camera to a position directly in front of and square on to the area of the panel that's of interest. You can select these simulated 2d panel views with keyboard short-cuts if you wish. It's no where near as bad as you guys think, CHILL OUT you'll love it I'm sure. :(

yea I have seen this work on a complex FSX add-on, I think it's a good way to go, but fir sure it would take guys who love 2d a bit of getting use to - a change in sim operating philosophy.doesn't doing away with 2d panels improve performance, or is it the vc that hit's performance anyway ?john

Since it's 3D only, I hope it has the usual pop up gauges? Jeff P.

I presume not many of you guys who have concerns about there being no 2d panels have ever seen any of the RealAir aircraft. If you have seen the cockpit on the Spitfire for example you would see that you can simulate a 2d panel view by moving the view point/camera to a position directly in front of and square on to the area of the panel that's of interest. You can select these simulated 2d panel views with keyboard short-cuts if you wish. It's no where near as bad as you guys think, CHILL OUT you'll love it I'm sure. :(

Hi,- Re Working without a 2D panel : others have done it before (you know, the "other" 737NG, yes, the expensive one...)- Re VC only : I guess it's much easier to manage if the instrument panel is narrow (a Spitfire for exemple). But even on an airliner-type deck with a - relatively - old sim (FS9/737NG) I've found that I fly more and more often in VC with trackIR, switching to a few preselected Active Camera (fixed) views when necessary (need to assign 2 or 3 buttons on the stick plus 2 more for Active Camera freeze/reset)- Re : Difficulty in operating the FMS : as long as it is available in a window, it's OK. That's the way it works today in a 2D cockpit and I am sure that's the way a lot of simmers use it - even when in VC view.Just my (2+2+2=)6 cents :( Cheers,BrunoPS : Since nobody mentioned it, I'll say the preview pics look...pretty good ! :(

No 2D Panels...that does beg the question (asked earlier in this thread, but didn't see an answer yet) - what about the NGX? I'm not going to ask "When will the NGX be done?", but I hope it's not too much to ask "Will the NGX have 2D panels...whenever it is realeased?"I realize that VC is a great medium for many, particularly if a person is using just one monitor. But if the user has multiple monitors, a VC only view is limiting. At least I'm not aware of a way to spread the VC view across mulitiple monitors up and down. (TH2go, yes.)Certainly there can't be many in this situation, but nevertheless, I'm sure they're must be some others that still prefer the 2D panels for whatever reason. Knowing what's planned for the NGX now, would be a way of 'letting me down easy'. I'm disappointed with this decision on the J4100, but I certainly understand it. No problem there. And it sure looks like the bar has been raised on VC. What's planned for the (non-express) NGX? Is 2D in?Thanks in advance.Noel WBrisbane

Thats correct. VC is good if you only use single monitor (which is probably the majority of users), but there are still users with multiple monitors, who have a separate visual and instrument displays. Thats why 2D panel is not entirely history yet. Lots of people still need it. Another thing is that with complex aircraft with FMS etc. it can sometimes be difficult in VC, to start programming the FMC and clicking all those switches, especially if you want to hand fly at the same time. It would surely be nice to know that at least the new version of NG will still have 2D panels.