PMDG 737 NGX Approach Checklist, please!

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Captains-Back in the "old days" you could tell when you flew over a station along your route because you would lose the Morse signal as the airplane passed through the "cone of silence" directly above the station.With very little fanfare, I am pleased to say that we have just passed through the cone of silence on the PMDG 737NGX final approach.I have uploaded some videos tonight- but before we get to those, I want to address a few issues with respect to what you can expect between now and release day:First- we have taken some justifiable criticism these past few months for "going silent" on NGX progress. I'd like to apologize for the silence, and while there has certainly been no lack of debate about it, I'd like to set the record straight on the topic: Our silence since January has been born primarily out of workload, and partially out of a need to protect the product from over exposure as we finish putting together what will easily be the finest product yet created for FSX.I know that some have taken our silence as arrogance, and others have used our silence as an opportunity to fabricate information completely divorced from reality- but at the end of the day we just needed to commit all of our energy and effort to the product- and this has been our operating mode so far in 2011.Second- I am happy to report that we have been in beta testing for about a month now, and the process is going exceptionally well. We are using our narrow test team of 737 experts and they have had us busy during system operation verification, flight testing, etc. As of tonight we have had approximately 400 issues reported by the technical team, and as of this moment all but 63 have been resolved. (Note for those who like math: 400 and 63 are fluid numbers... and the 63 will never reach 0...but as the 69 shrinks it indicates that fewer and fewer issues are being reported by the testing teams.In the next few days we anticipate rolling the NGX out to our wider beta team- and they will carry the product through the installation/flying/documentation portion of our testing process. We anticipate this taking only a short period of time, as the product they will receive should be largely issue-free.Thirdly, with my second item (Above) in mind, I believe that we will be announcing the estimated release date a day or two AFTER our wider beta team sees the NGX... I do not make a habit of projecting such dates until we have reached some very specific mile-markers, and it is looking like we are going to reach those markers in the next five days or so.We are going to begin rolling out some really interesting updates that should give you an idea just how wonderful the PMDG 737 NGX really is. From the beginning we have set out to create a truly scalable simulation of the 737 so that it is robust and easy to enjoy for simmers who want a good looking, easy to use product- while also providing a level of depth that is simply un-matched by any product ever released for FSX.We are also going to leave a few things un-announced- in order to surprise you on release day... Okay- so... We have shown you quite a few static screen captures- but the PMDG 737NGX in motion is where things really happen- so you are going to see us make a decided shift toward video while we roll up to release. Tonight we have uploaded two videos that were taken as part of our normal testing process- but they both show some unique aspects of the NGX that we thought you might enjoy!The first video gives you a short demo of the panel back-lighting and display dimming capabilities, followed by a very quick tour through some of the options you can select to populate your NGX. A few of the failures menus are also displayed, and in true PMDG forum we have provided you with new ways to interact with mechanical failures so that you can challenge yourself (or not!) as your tastes desire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kidx6xrp9Qg?hd=1

I have intentionally left the panel flood lighting turned off in this video, as we are still tuning the light distribution and we aren't perfectly happy with it just yet- but this video will give you a really good idea of how the dimming functions work, testing of the lighting dimmers, etc.Stay with the video to the end and you will be rewarded with the sound of growling CFMs... One of these days when we all have a bit more time on our hands, I will share with you the story of how Ryan drove the entire development team nuts for a week by providing us with frequency calculations...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD4KQrrfATs?hd=1

The second video was put together because one of you asked for a "daylight VC view." We will create a more in-depth VC tour- but this video showed some pretty cool use of HUD technology during a test flight into KCLM in order to test the braking distance and energy absorptive characteristics of the carbon brakes.While watching this video, pay particular attention to the aircraft velocity vector in (the circle with the wings near the center of the display.) The approach was flown with a 25 knot crosswind and it demonstrates clearly how effective HUD technology is when it comes to flying difficult approaches in adverse conditions. A 25 knot crosswind makes it challenging for a pilot to accurately fly the airplane down to the runway surface with minimum control inputs, but when you are looking at the runway through the center hold of the velocity vector- all that remains is proper energy management and you are home free!If you watch the airspeed during this approach, you will notice that the HUD provides really nice speed management information, allowing the approach to be flown within a knot of predicted speed with VERY little effort!This day VFR approach was a test of the autobrake system primarily, so reverse thrust was not used...Both of today's videos show you the airplane being operated largely manually, without much FMS work at all... The PMDG 737 NGX is remarkably easy to fly and of course she demonstrates the same stability and robust handling qualities you have come to expect from PMDG!Enjoy the updates- we are already prepping the next round for your viewing pleasure...

[oneproudaussie 4]

:) amazing perfection on all levels!

[Lenny 5]

Thanks! And good luck and fun with the remainder of Beta testing!

[sijenks5 0]

Excellent update couldn't have asked for anything better thanks Dev's

[aceridgey 330]

Thank you Robert,I look forward to the surprises greatly? Perhaps what is being worked on next will be announced with the realese date of the 737?All the best

[Efussander 0]

I feel like I should say something, but I really don't know what to say. Thank you so much for bringing us up to speed. I guess the recent references to alpha version, etc were just to throw us off of what was really going on? :(

[Tabs 2,790]

Thank you Robert,I look forward to the surprises greatly? Perhaps what is being worked on next will be announced with the realese date of the 737?All the best

777 is still next, that hasn't changed.

[b0gey_dead_six 11]

Looking great. Amazing how far Flight sim has come.

[Efussander 0]

777 is still next, that hasn't changed.

Maybe he was referring to the secret project(s)? :(

[pow0011 8]

Thanks for the update Robert and the video's :(

[Sumits81 9]

Loving every bit Robert! Many thanks to you and the PMDG team!Cheers

[pandy2806 0]

Just thought that I'd mention a little something that I noticed on the second video. During the approach I was watching the radio altimeter readout, and noticed that the altitude callouts were sounding 10 feet above the actual altitude it was suppost to......e.g at 510 feet it would say 500 and 410 it would sound 400 .......Should the callouts be at the exact altitudes on the displays?Other than that, a very good job! :)

[oneproudaussie 4]

Somewhere in the cockpit will be a hidden sticky note on it revealing what the secret project is

[Wizz84 4]

hey, nice video .. the reflection on the yaw damper gauge in the day video is amazing...1 qeustion to the altitude callouts .. the b737 from youtube (yes, i know...) sounds different... are there more soundsets from boeing? or do you use a custom one?

[willultra99 8]

Thank you for the update. The vids look great!!!William Coade