I don't think you can interact with the FA and ground crews from the VC if I remember correctly (there might be FSX menu controls for this but I don't recall). Also, to control the hydraulic switches I usually have to jump over to the FO position in the 2D panel. They are hard to see from the captain's seat even with my trackIR in my experience.

You need EZCA !I rencently made a profile for the Dog... I think I'll share it soon (still tweaking it a lil'bit) if some FSX Maddog pilots want it.

I've been eyeing this for awhile as well. However, I have an older Quad machine (two years old now). There has been some mention in their forums about framereates. I was wondering if those of you who have it on an older machine (XP and not W7) are able to fly it with decent framrates. I have UTX and GEX and that's it. Just wondering. My CS757 works well on my machine by the way (upper teens to low 20's). That works for me.Chris M.

It will work, Chris: I ran it ok using a C2D 6600 and 3.2gig on XP with TH2Go at 3840 x 1024. along with GEX, UT_USA, ASX, FSBuild, RC4 and FSPassengers. There is a Performance tab in the Load Manager interface that also allows you to wind back some of the settings - such as EOAP quality, FMA performance, FGCP Quality, etc., - eleven in all. For sure you will have to wind back your graphics/traffic somewhat, but you're going to be too busy to notice for a while. It is pretty "immersive" with a fairly steep learning curve. Dev support sucks - probably the worst in the hobby - but it's more than made up for by the general forum guys.

You need EZCA !I rencently made a profile for the Dog... I think I'll share it soon (still tweaking it a lil'bit) if some FSX Maddog pilots want it.

Already have EZCA.

The Maddog is a real pilots plane, you have to work with her and not just press CTRL-E to fire her up. She reqquires a lot of manual input at most stages of the flight. She is easily my favorite plane in FSX, ahead of greats like the PMDG MD11, LevelD 767 and Concorde X. When it comes to framerates I'd say she's slightly worse than Captain Sim 757, but its not much that separates them. This is in the 2d panel btw, I only fly 2d. The 2d panel is excellent. The graphics in the VC are outdated, but everything that is in the real plane works (the ground interaction buttons are not actually in the real plane like that). Superb plane, I highly recommend her to anyone who is into "serious" simming

It's designed for the Old Farts among us, Ben! The 80-series came about as a new version of the DC-9, but under the new ownership of McDonnel-Douglas in 1980. The DC-9 base aircraft has been around since 1965, and widely used. The 767 was the beginning of a new wide-body stream of aircraft, using the latest technologies throughout the aircraft.[...]

Maybe its for old farts, but though I am only 21, I can still love this plane for what it is: a nice-flying workhorse of a plane . It's refreshing that the plane doesn't do everything for you. I quite like the "independence" from the FMC (The Boeing 747 almost seems boring in comparison!). And indeed, I was talking to a MD-80 technician just yesterday, and she said some very interesting things: the link to the DC-9 is very apparent, since most of the MD-80 cockpit seems to be a direct copy of the DC-9 cockpit. That said, the autoflight options on the MD-80 are a great addition!Leonardo sure did a great job with their product, and as others have said, forget about jumping in and fly. You can't expect to get in, apply full thrust, and leave. If you do thay, you'll blow up your engines. It's a nice change of pace and even if you do not have loads of time to fly, that is not a real problem. What takes time is getting to know the plane, but I found that following along with the tutorial two or three times is a great start for understanding this bird. I still keep it as a guide, but if I'm in a hurry, I tend to scrap half the tests described and only do the essential parts. And if I don't make it to the end, i simply save the flight and the panel, and return to the cockpit the next day or so. The plane truly is great and and I feel you would miss out on something if you wouldn't give it a shot. I don't know of any currently released plane for FS that truly competes with the Maddog in the systems department. Not even PMDG or LDS. If any, maybe VRS (they did a stunning F/A-18 for FS2004 and FSX), but nobody else does.By the way, now that I cna sort of fly the MD-80, I was thinking of perhaps getting the Sky Simulations DC-9. Anybody have it? I find it a terribly cute plane, if you will forgive me for applying the word "cute" to an aircraft.

The Maddog is a real pilots plane, you have to work with her and not just press CTRL-E to fire her up. She reqquires a lot of manual input at most stages of the flight. She is easily my favorite plane in FSX, ahead of greats like the PMDG MD11, LevelD 767 and Concorde X. When it comes to framerates I'd say she's slightly worse than Captain Sim 757, but its not much that separates them. This is in the 2d panel btw, I only fly 2d. The 2d panel is excellent. The graphics in the VC are outdated, but everything that is in the real plane works (the ground interaction buttons are not actually in the real plane like that). Superb plane, I highly recommend her to anyone who is into "serious" simming

If there's one issue about this product (at least in FSX) that I have noted, it's that the installation and perhaps the intial configuration of the software appears (at least on my machine) to cause issues in the file EXE.XML. This is a file that works to provide communications with modules such as FSUIPC, as far as I can tell, and repeatedly installing the Mad Dog has corrupted the file. The solution involved editing this file, which is not hard once you know the formatting required. Otherwise, I think it's a great product.Thanks, Bruce.

If there's one issue about this product (at least in FSX) that I have noted, it's that the installation and perhaps the intial configuration of the software appears (at least on my machine) to cause issues in the file EXE.XML. This is a file that works to provide communications with modules such as FSUIPC, as far as I can tell, and repeatedly installing the Mad Dog has corrupted the file. The solution involved editing this file, which is not hard once you know the formatting required. Otherwise, I think it's a great product.Thanks, Bruce.

I've never experienced this problem Bruce but I am aware that some people have reported the same issue.

Already have EZCA.

I'll be happy to share my profile if you want. Helped me A LOT! Check it Here !

I'll be happy to share my profile if you want. Helped me A LOT! Check it Here !

Thanks!

I've been eyeing this for awhile as well. However, I have an older Quad machine (two years old now). There has been some mention in their forums about framereates. I was wondering if those of you who have it on an older machine (XP and not W7) are able to fly it with decent framrates. I have UTX and GEX and that's it. Just wondering. My CS757 works well on my machine by the way (upper teens to low 20's). That works for me.Chris M.

I bought the Maddog a couple of days ago. It is a very complex aircraft and you get an idea of the complexity by taking a look at the documentation of the product. Lots of systems are simulated, if not all! I managed to get it to the runways (started with engines on), but during the takeoff alert sounds came from all over the cockpit, lots of lights in the flight desk were flashing and though I managed to get the plane on the air I soon started to loose altitude... I landed on a lake and I think all passangers made it out of the plane hehe.It surely takes lots of fps. I have all sliders in FSX set to max and the ones in Maddogs config tab to normal (about mid position). Still it takes fps down to 18-20. I fly PMDG J41 at same airport at about 30 fps. All other planes fly at 45 fps (limit set to 45).I fly VC all of the time. I find it more realistic than 2D. Besides I am a TrackIR addict. Unfortunately the VC of the Maddog is a bit outdated as compared to newer addons, but the fact that all keys, knobs, levers are clickable kinda makes up for the lack of eye candy.Now I am considering FS2Crew for the Maddog and maybe TSS engine sound pack, but I think I will do some reading before and try to get to know this wild bird a little better and maybe I even manage to fly over the lake this time ...

Yes, I'm very curious as to the TSS sound pack. However, I first want to know what you guys make of it. Is it a good pack? And then I mostly mean if it sounds realistic from the cockpit.

Now I am considering FS2Crew for the Maddog and maybe TSS engine sound pack, but I think I will do some reading before and try to get to know this wild bird a little better and maybe I even manage to fly over the lake this time ... :(

FS2Crew is outstanding for the maddog, and it creates a lighter workload for the PF so that you can concentrate on actually flying the plane. Really is a sound purchase, don't hesitate. (I do not work for FS2Crew... :()

Yes, I'm very curious as to the TSS sound pack. However, I first want to know what you guys make of it. Is it a good pack? And then I mostly mean if it sounds realistic from the cockpit.

A post you should read about TSS sounds. It may influence your decision.http://www.flythemaddog.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=8826

There are a couple of freebee soundsets, too, Ben:md8x_soundset.zip from Avsim: by SimFantastic Sounds.pwjt8d.zip also from AVSIM, by Steven Persson. There is also an update for this one.I have also used the sound folder from the Coolsky Super80. I'm currently using the TSS pack, but they all work well, and only a r/w 80 driver could pick out the differences. There are also some 40 sounds that are built-in to the Maddog that are fully configurable.Hope this helps. :(

I'm glad I got the Coolsky, sick frame rates, and real simple learning curve with the panel states.

...It surely takes lots of fps. I have all sliders in FSX set to max and the ones in Maddogs config tab to normal (about mid position). Still it takes fps down to 18-20. I fly PMDG J41 at same airport at about 30 fps. All other planes fly at 45 fps (limit set to 45)....

There's quite a bit of performance to gain by tweaking the sliders in the maddog setup application, I'm sure you can make it run about as good as the JS41

I fly VC all of the time. I find it more realistic than 2D.

Well, I dont know about that. Ultimately you are looking at a flat monitor. Besides, the 2d panel in the maddog is photoreal and it is excellent as well. Just a great panel. I recommend giving it a try.