PMDG J41: is it for me?

[ryanbatc 12,775]

I'm still on the fence for the J41. I'm mostly concerned about frame rate. As you can see, my system isn't so hot nowadays. If you turn all the VC textures to max is it still flyable? I would love to see cockpit graphics like this (but fear for my FPS):I like complex systems, but wondering if I should stick with getting more in-depth with the LvLD 767? However I am considering the J41 because it cruises lower and slower, therefore I'd have more time to fiddle with things enroute, vs. the 767. The only other PMDG product I have is the Beech 1900D - for FS9 (which I never fly anymore anway). So I really have no experience with customer service from them or anything. p.s. sorry for stealing the title from that MD11 poster haha

[michal 44]

Iif I should stick with getting more in-depth with the LvLD 767?

Are you into extensive failure modes? The only thing J-41 doesn't have what LvlD has are failures. But J-41 does have nasty engine failures of her own. Other than the failure modes their 'depths' are equivalent obviously these very different aircraft in terms of complexity.I let someone else handle the frame rate part.

[Flamin_Squirrel 71]

I have an AMD 6400+ and 8800 GTX.The answer is 'it depends'. How fussy are you about frame rates? I run medium low scenery settings, getting about 10fps in the cockpit in busy areas, 20fps in baron areas.

[ryanbatc 12,775]

I have an AMD 6400+ and 8800 GTX.The answer is 'it depends'. How fussy are you about frame rates? I run medium low scenery settings, getting about 10fps in the cockpit in busy areas, 20fps in baron areas.

Thanks that helps. I'm relatively fussy. But I put up with addons like the Flight1 Mustang (the most complex glass panel acft I know of for FSX). In which I tend to avg 20fps in the VC in rural areas, and about 12 in big cities (I stay away from big cities 75% of the time with FSX in general) I like to see 30 fps in VC's, but I know that it is not always possible with my settings/system. You said you get 20fps in "Baron" places (I assume you either meant barren, or places where you would fly the Baron BE58, ie rural areas)... Is that with the VC textures looking like the picture in my original post? Or do you have to turn down the texture resolutions in the PMDG configuration thingy?Regarding failures - no, I don't care about them too much.

[Flamin_Squirrel 71]

Thanks that helps. I'm relatively fussy. But I put up with addons like the Flight1 Mustang. In which I tend to avg 20fps in the VC in rural areas, and about 12 in big cities (I stay away from big cities 75% of the time with FSX in general) I like to see 30 fps in VC's, but I know that it is not always possible with my settings/system. You said you get 20fps in "Baron" places (I assume you either meant barren, or places where you would fly the Baron BE58, ie rural areas)... Is that with the VC textures looking like the picture in my original post? Or do you have to turn down the texture resolutions in the PMDG configuration thingy?Regarding failures - no, I don't care about them too much.

Whoops, excuse me, tired! Yes I meant barren areas.That's with the VC settings turned up, looking as your screen shots.

[ryanbatc 12,775]

That's with the VC settings turned up, looking as your screen shots.

Excellent, I can roll with that! Do you happen to fly the Mustang at all? If I can get similar fps I could definitely put up with the J41

[Flamin_Squirrel 71]

Excellent, I can roll with that! Do you happen to fly the Mustang at all? If I can get similar fps I could definitely put up with the J41

No don't fly that I'm afraid.

[Tabs 2,790]

Excellent, I can roll with that! Do you happen to fly the Mustang at all? If I can get similar fps I could definitely put up with the J41

I think you're be fine with it.

[ryanbatc 12,775]

Ok thanks. Any more opinions on this bird?

[RudiJG1 172]

Ok thanks. Any more opinions on this bird?

I fly both the Flight1 Mustang and the PMDG J41 and love them both...the fps on my rig is slightly better with the J41 than with the Mustang, but both are emminently flyable. The J41 includes a configuration manager that can help tune it to go easier on your rig.Hope this helps.

[Guest ziporama]

The JS41 is a bit of a frame hog but certainly not the worst offender out there. I lowered the refresh rate of the instrumentation on the side I don't fly and I'm in the middle in terms of FPS from my other planes. VC is top notch so I guess we can't complain to much. The way I view it is when you have a 400HP engine, you can't complain too much about the gas mileage...I like the JS quite a bit for the genre. The system simulation is quite well executed for this type of bird, not excrutiatingly deep, but enough to force you to read the manual unless you get "surprises". The stop locks for the props will drive you crazy for the first few flights but once you get a hang of the correct procedure, it's a blast. Hand fly is nice, the FMC is yet another totally new system to learn (why can't they standardize those things?) and is full featured - need to get the Honeywell manual for it, helps quite a bit with the usage once you know what the buttons do (or not do).FSUIPC registered makes life with this bird much more tolerable as the keyboard shortcuts are in short supply, even with the patch, and there are excellent lua macros to use for hardware cockpits and aficionados of DirectX's direct-input capable gear posted on the forum - kudos for that.TrackIR too - that plane must be a handful without the ability to move your head around because the cockpit buttons and associated displays are all over the place, and not where you need them given the very small view window your PC provides.Cheers,

[dmaher 0]

Sorry, which aircraft is the screen shot from? It looks amazing

[ryanbatc 12,775]

The PMDG J41:http://precisionmanuals.com/priv/pages/prod/fsx/js4100.html

[theteeboy 0]

Just do it - great plane with enough detail in the systems to keep you entertained for quite a while. As posted above, the starting will drive you nuts (check out the support forum here for guides, they're very good) but otherwise she's easy.I'm running a E8500 Core2 @ 3.1 with 4Gb, Vista 32 (I know..) and ATI 4830 graphics (hardly a powerful graphics card) and I get about 26fps outside cities and airports. In airport areas it drops to around 17 fps on approach and I only see about 14 fps in taxi - all this from the VC. But I still find it smooth and only notice stepping during hard turns in taxi.I havent dropped the detail using PMDG's configuration tool either. And I use UK2000 airports (Birmingham is the biggest I'm using atm) so there is quite a bit of detail in the scenery.Of course, AI will kill all this stone cold if I turn it up above the default. Must get into overclocking...Nick

[Christopher Low 5,332]

I generally don't get involved in the systems management side of flight simulation. I prefer to hand fly my planes at all times. That being the case, you might ask why I decided to purchase a copy of the PMDG J41 if I have no intention of using a large number of its features? Well, simply put.....I am prepared to pay good money for an FSX aircraft that includes a great 3D model, detailed virtual cockpit, superb sound effects, and accurate flight modelling. Since I have always wanted to fly a simulated J41 in MSFS, this was a perfect product for me!I can confidently state that the PMDG J41 is an absolute joy to hand fly. Autopilots and ILS approaches are alien territory to me, so being able to control the plane on final approach using delicate adjustments of the engine torque was of the utmost importance. Obviously, this required a degree of trial and error, but I can now make successful hand flown approaches at least 90% of the time. Being able to land a relatively heavy plane (when compared to the Beechcraft Baron) entirely by "feel" is extremely satisfying!