2D panels?!

[pilotextwo 0]

One thing that helped me a lot when it came to navigating around the VC was this little program called X-Mouse. It basically allows you to look around (and zoom) in cockpit by using just the "wheel" on your mouse. I know some wireless/gaming mice might come with this utility but for those who haven't heard of such a program or never used it, I suggest you give it a try. Download and install X-Mouse HEREThen in FSX controls, assign ENTER (instead of SPACE) to "Mouse - View Direction". You will see 3 of them but just change the first one. And in the X-Mouse control window, assign ENTER to the Wheel Button on your mouse. Now you can look around the flight deck by pressing the wheel. You can even zoom in while looking around the flight deck all by using the wheel on your mouse.

[kiwikat 506]

Keep laughing bud, this is already our best selling product since the FS9 747.

It can't be! Everyone uses FS9!ROFLMAO. I love how PMDG consistently proves the FS9 a really excited user wrong. :(

[pilotextwo 0]

It can't be! Everyone uses FS9!ROFLMAO. I love how PMDG consistently proves the FS9 a really excited user wrong. :(

Agreed! And statistics don't lie! :(

[Deltalpha 3]

It can't be! Everyone uses FS9!ROFLMAO. I love how PMDG consistently proves the FS9 a really excited user wrong. :(

ROFLMAO. I love how your going to ruin another thread with your flame wars.

[tracker99x 0]

very newbie here! Please dont flame me for maybe a very uneducated question!I am a real world PPL, mostly on 172s and Piper Cherokees and am very interested in creating a homebuilt cockpit similar to many I have come across through various forums. I am more interested in twin turboprops than the heavies, which seem to be the most popular for home cockpits and parts availability for that matter.This aircraft is great for realism of flight systems and for this reason I would be interested in creating a homebuilt cockpit based on this aircraft, but if there are little to no keyboard assignments and no 2d panels this would be very hard to accomplish.Trevor Leslie

[fx4guy 0]

It took some getting use to but I now find the VC cockpit the way to go. I have even been flying my LevelD in vc when i do fly it. I hated the idea of only a VC but I gave it a fair chance. I tend to do my scrolling through with my hat switch and the space bar and mouse. I may give the other program you suggested a try. I have track ir that a friend gave me but man i feel like im getting sea sick when using it. Not sure why maybe need to mess with the sensitivity of the track ir to get it right. You have to give the VC a fair shake before you can say it stinks. There are plenty of people on this board that will help if you ask but to just say its sucks and its a waste of money due to you not reading everything is no ones fault but your own. No different then when I just purchased my new computer case and did see that one letter was different which changed the side panel. Its the manufactures fault its mine for not paying attention to detail. Give a chance and you may find you like it. I dont use multiply monitors but i would think the VC would spread with no issues if you dont run FSX in a window state and run it full screen. Just my 2 cents.

[martybuzz 2]

I am a 2D panel die hard. That was until the Jetstream came along! Now it's just about all I fly. If the FSX 737NG is going to be this good, then not much will get done around my place.Martin Buzzell

[ckyliu 1,749]

Maybe I am over simplifying here chaps (God forbid that around here!), but can you not simply open additional view windows (using the ] key) and select those to virtual cockpit, then position and angle the camera to view whatever system it is you want on show, then drag said window to whatever monitor you please? You could shove the whole overhead on it's own monitor using the above method, should you so desire. It's not quite as quick as the 2D route and obviously it uses more system resources than the 2D approach, but if you can afford upwards of 3 monitors than I would of thought you'd be able to spend a few quid on powerful hardware. It does have its advantages too; you can put precisely what you want on show, at any size, without fear of distortion or having to resort to painful editing of panel bitmaps and configuration files. And you get some very nice shading which matches lighting conditions in the cockpit.So far as I can tell, in the JS41, I can manage fine panning about to reach stuff, nothing is awkward to access or read, even at 1280*800 on a 15.4" screen. My big qualm is performance, I'm on a budget and sometimes my framerates can be bloody awful!Chris Liu

[Big_Les 1]

No 2D panels is pants.... I'm not flying this bird anymore because the frame rates get hit so hard it becomes unplayable. MD-11 is ok with 2d panels. So Jetstream has been consigned to the hanger.Please please please DONT release anymore products with no 2D panels.

[Zachiii 0]

The J41 is for experienced sim pilots.I almost did not buy the J41 because of the no 2D panel issue.I bought it anyway because PMDG is the best, and I wanted a super, complex turbo-prop.Well, it took some adjusting. I've burned up 8 pairs of engines...but now I have adusted and feel the J41 is not perfect but it is still the best sim ever made!I spent a fortune on my new rig and it runs the J41 smoothly with high frame rates.I'm very well pleased, and I love the J41 IFR communter flights.zach

[gritz 0]

Why do we really NEED a 2D Panel anyway? It's more realistic without it in my opinion. There are no shortcuts when you fly the real thing. Myself, I did not even consider the 2D Panel when I purchased the JS4100. I just looked at the quality first, and the price of the aircraft second and said "I've gotta' have that one". For me the learning curve was very steep .... lots of reading and lots of notes and then lots of practice. But what fun to fly to places you've been and see sights you've missed .... and all for less than the price of an evening out. IMHO :(

[Paul_Smith 92]

One unexpected problem I have encountered with the abscence of 2D panels was caused by the fact that I had to get used to the VC. Even though my frames rates are poor, the sim is very, very smooth, and the visuals are engaging and engrossing. I pulled my LD767 from the hanger the other night and was really disappointed with the childish and cartoon like VC, while flying with 2D left me feeling, I don't know, uninvolved?

[Sigmar 5]

I just looked at the quality first, and the price of the aircraft second and said "I've gotta' have that one". For me the learning curve was very steep ....

I absolutely agree ... just completed my first flight (ferried G-MAJA from EGLF/Farnborough to EGNS/Ronaldsway). Took my time, did it step by step, read a lot, hence made it without burning engines (I did *not* deactivate that option! :( ), and my Saitek Yoke, Throttle quadrant and Rudder pedals worked perfectly with the J41 even with an unregistered version of FSUIPC. My reason for buying the J41 was merely because it is "made by PMDG", as IMHO only LevelD comes near it, the rest being waste of money if one takes this seriously. I do like 2D panels (especially the one for the LevelD 767 optimised for my 16:10 LG monitor) and I do look forward to the MD11-experience in 2D, but I was immediately caught by the 3D-cockpit. Running on a good system (Vista 64 bit, 8 GB RAM, QuadCore processor and nVidia GTX 275 graphics), not having to worry about width:height ratio (most 2D's still expect 4:3 monitors!) is great.... If a "nice look" is your priority, you can buy Flight1 or even CaptainSim products; if you want a realistic airplane (as far as FSX permits), go for PMDG, no matter whether 2D or 3D cockpit. As I started right away with the now defunct Aerowinx PS1 747-400, I was not ready to settle for less and have stuck with LevelD767 and PMDG ever since transiting to FS9 (737NG and the Queen), kept the Queen when going over to FSX, recently added MD11 and J41 & really look forward to the new 737 family...!Congratulations to everyone at PMDG!Sigmar

[Ian McPhail 55]

I have used a 3+1 screen setup for some time. It is a Matrox TH2Go with a fourth screen coming off the second outlet of the video card.Matrox opens in Full Screen with VC automatically, and it would be almost negligent to waste that magnificent 3840pixel view, by opting for windowed mode and a 2D flight deck.The beauty of the four screen set up is that 2D pop-ups can be called and then moved to the fourth screen where they remain regardless of the view chosen on the 'wide' screen.The overhead for startup, then closed and replaced by the GPS, radio stack, EFIS controller, autopilot, kneeboard, ATC window .. whatever combination you want. Its a pity that ACES has disappeared because it would have been fantastic to get the map function into a 2D pop-up. The hat switch allows a fantastic sweep inside and outside the plane. Or Track IR.And for the die-hards, Shift+1 toggles the 2D panel on those aircraft that have one. I must say that the JS4100 just doesn't need it, the VC is beautifully functional. So where, oh where, is the 737NGX .. first half of 2010 I hope.I am an ex-real world flyer, and VC and Matrox are far closer to reality.Ian McPhail

[aentwis 61]

Ian, I would love to see a shot of your set up and view with the TH2Go... I bet it is a stunning view...I have been a VC only flyer ever since the first aircraft began to appear with smoothish gauges and fully clickable environments. It has always been the criterion for me for purchasing payware and/or downloading freeware that there is a fully interactive VC environment. My current hangar reflects this: PMDG, A2A, Carenado, Dreamfleet, Digital Aviation (though not the little Fokker... only if they actually do release the VC for it...), Real Air, Sibwings... and so on...I never really hit it off with the 2D frozen view of the panel and the snapshot side views always looked like what they are, snapshots, particularly with some FO or whatever copilot sitting looking at the same document... :(Andrew