09JUL11 Update on NGX Release Progress

[MorsAbAlto 19]

A question on behalf of the repainters:Will the paint kit make it for the final release or maybe even in advance?I'd love to get busy tinkering around with it to better cope with the pre-release anticipation.

[Rieder 3]

I`m just glad of the very welcome news. No questions, I`d rather let you get on with it.................................are we there yet? :( Steve Brooks

[Tabs 2,790]

One big difference with VNAV is that speed restrictions can now be hard or soft like altitudes - so you can enter in stuff like 180B/ or 250A/ etc and it'll respect that. That sort of variability in the programming is really hard to do because you have several different variables that have to interact. Is there enough space to slow down?, are there altitudes that conflict?, etc.One thing that I know was challenging to code for is a principle the real unit uses called "monotonic path" - basically this means that the FMC's "law" if you will is that in the climb phase altitudes and speeds always increase and in the descent phase they always decrease. It will not let you go up, then back down, then back up, or slow down, then speed back up etc. A lot of other addons' FMCs don't respect that principle and will happily let you do all kinds of wacky things that the real one would never do. If you try that stuff on the NGX, you get special error messages in the scratch pad like UNABLE 280 KTS AT (FIXNAME) or DES PATH UNACHIEVABLE Those kinds of things are letting you know you've tried to violate the FMC's internal rules and are asking it to do something it can't physically do. All those messages are covered at the end of the FMC section in FCOM Vol. 2. They're part of the real unit, not something we made up.LNAV is just as improved too - there's much better handling of curves now, better turn prediction, proper handling of intercept pseudo-waypoints, leg bypasses, missed approach procedures that are drawn right (this is insanely nice, wait till you guys see it) and so on. Most people don't know this but the magenta line in the real thing is prediction based too, just like the VNAV altitudes are. The FMC tries to predict what the plane will do based on performance libraries and algorithms - this is all again very difficult math and we're extremely lucky to have a guy that knows how to do it. The curve predictions and things like that will never be 100% exact (they can't ever be even in theory) but we're closer than anything else has ever come to how it really looks - our tech team pilots are all pretty happy with the drawing. We ran countless tests in the sim and the real airplane trying to make sure the NGX matches the weird test cases. The real airplane is not locked to the line on the ND like a lot of simmers think it's supposed to be - it doesn't always get the prediction right. Good cases are when the airplane is speeding up or slowing down, climbing or descending at a high rate and so on.

[remcoso 7]

Very nice info thanks!!! Let updates come!!

[brucek 38]

Congratulations, PMDG, looking forward to flying this bird.Bruce.

[SWA737 0]

This seems to be a hot topic. I wonder why? :(

[jordanal 70]

Thanks for the great update Ryan and RSR. I'm seriously looking forward to the release. Although, even after simming big irons for a couple of decades, the more this thing is described, the more nervous I get. It sure sometimes reads like a tough indoctrination in which I hope there will be plenty of 'fun' left to learning the nuances and actually completing sucessful flights. Can't wait.... :(

[Tabs 2,790]

Al,All that stuff is just describing what's going on behind the scenes - it's not difficult to use at all. The first tutorial flight is actually designed for the less hardcore simmer who just wants to get in and fly. There's a lot of explanation of why you're doing certain things, but there are not a bazillion flows and checklists and stuff to do in the first tutorial - I show a procedure that will let you set up almost any flight in about 5 minutes provided you load on the runway with engines running.

[RPRIEVER 52]

One big difference with VNAV is that speed restrictions can now be hard or soft like altitudes - so you can enter in stuff like 180B/ or 250A/ etc and it'll respect that. That sort of variability in the programming is really hard to do because you have several different variables that have to interact. Is there enough space to slow down?, are there altitudes that conflict?, etc.

Ryan, I had posted a question in the MD11 forum regarding this very topic. I was on the SEAVU2 arrival into LAX, and the crossing restriction at SEAVU is "at/above 12000, at/below 14000". I could program one or the other, but not both. The consensus was to just use "13000". Will the NGX be capable of such a thing (at/above, combined with at/below)?

[ahsmatt7 1,199]

This one goes out to all my peeps........Ah###!

[JokersWild 34]

Can those of us who've never complained and encouraged PMDG to take it's time get first dibs?

[VBHB 298]

Sweet as.Pete Walsh.

[alexczarn 37]

YEAH :D Thanks mate for the update!

[rquick 19]

These posts about all the detail in this plane is why I don't mind the wait.

[PUP4ORD 1]

Excellent update Robert!!! Now I can start making flight plans for the NGX.:(