Buying the 737ngx pmdg & concorde X

[tam210 0]

Hey guys just thought i'd get some opinions on these two addons i have the pmdg 747 best addon so far love it. im going to get theses 2 maybe for christmas i know the pmdg 737ngx will be good and just wanted your thoughts on it. the one that im not sold on however is the Concorde x as this is there first addon i have read the review on here about it but im still not 100% about it. i have the concorde professional for fs2004 it was such a good plane but im just wondering what you guys think of this new flight sim labs version as i have been reading up alot and its like some people complaining about crashes etc with the lower end systems then you have people saying its not as good as it makes out in the flight modelling and characteristics then you have people saying that its fantastic and is the best complex addon they have so im just wondering if i should get it or not and get peoples opinions on it as i cant find many video reviews on it so far so what you think. thanks hayden

[vc10man 727]

Have no idea where you are in the globe, but if you can get a copy of PC Pilot,read a professional review by a real-world pilot on that SimLabs Concorde X product. I have the FS2004 version as well as this new one, and having been a Concorde engineer at BA,can vouch for it being better than the 2004 version. Thing about reviews is that one man's champagne is another man's sauerkraut.

[Chock 12,368]

The FSL Concorde is like the old Concorde Pro one which has been given a PMDG-style makeover, i.e. it is really good, although I suspect part of the problem with reviews of it, is that Concorde is a very specialised and complex aeroplane. It all looked effortless to the world at large when Concorde made a flight, but flying it was a three-man job and it was in fact more like a space-plane than a conventional airliner, so there's a lot to learn if you are to do it right. And even when you do do it right, there aren't that many real world flights you can simulate with it, because it was so geared towards the Paris/London to JFK route as an inherent aspect of its design. Thus any enjoyment you get out of it will be proportional to how much you are prepared to put into learning the thing and how much you want to make transatlantic flights, as opposed to something like the PMDG 737, which like the real 737, is so ubiquitous and flexible that you can fly everything from 30 minute hops with it, right up to trips across the Pacific, so there are bound to be more people who look favourably upon it. Al

[tam210 0]

Thanks guys for that :) and im from scotland, I appreciate it i will try and get a copy of that pc pilot review maybe someone will have a written version etc on the net so thanks for that VC10man and also thanks chock and yes i tottaly agree with you that only the concorde enthusiasts will buy this as i think it would take around 6-7month to fully understand by reading the manuals then taking her up for a few touch and goes for a few weeks to get used to the handling and power of the thing and yeah i suppose for £50 pounds you can go around the world so i see it from a buyers point of view.I have always had a thing for the concorde as i think she was the nicest plane along with the 707 that had a bit of character and a pesonality to it not like your normal 747 etc as they are millions of them now and see them on a regular basis.I i think i will just get it then if its better than the sst pro one for fs2004 as i loved that plane but just couldnt get to grips with the complex systems back in the day i got it at 12 a bit intimidating to say the least and im wanting to eventually do the around the world trip they done in i thing G-BOAD back in 1999 this would be an accomplishment to say the least if it could be done on fsx :) thanks guys if you know or find any reviews on your travels then could you send them ti my inbox if you have the time

[vc10man 727]

Nice one, Al. Your post was bit more elaborate than mine, and more so informative too. As usual to your meticulous standards of assistance. JW would be proud of you.

[vc10man 727]

@tam210 What memories you evoke, mentioning G-BOAD, my favourite, at BA. It was the one with the Singapore Airlines scheme on the left side with the BA on the right. Pity Indonesia and its fledgling Garuda felt so intimidated that they had to ban it just as as it was in supersonic flow over the Malacca Straits coming down into WSSS, thus killing off that partnership. Brit technology at its best, and ahead of time. I used to get a kick out of it watching the late evening JFK-LHR arrival on short finals above my head as I ended my shift heading towards Hatton Cross tube, a flight I was part of a team preparing the night before. Nostalgia and sweet memories.

[CoolP 283]

Maybe one can sum up some major concerns and also the benefits regarding the Concorde X addon. On the concern side, there surely is a large resource impact, which doesn't mean that fps are harmed on large scales, but mainly points to the nee d to be current and somehow light on all other addon stuff in FSX. As an example, the people with a non current UTX Europe installation had reproduceable trouble around the already heavy London area. So, when running a nice addon airport there, maybe some other UK addons in the surrounding and an underlying UTX, make sure to be current and also prefer a 64 bit version of your OS.She isn't the lightest load on e. g. the RAM usage in conjunction with detailed scenery of any kind, therefore the highmenfix=1 value in your fsx.cfg should be a standard. With your system from the signature, this whole addon shouldn't be a problem at all. In fact, some guys with older dual cores seem to run her fine in light scenery as far as the fps impact goes. As the thread title names the NGX too, I can only state my personal experience.The NGX replaced the Concorde X on the leading resource eater (as said, not talking about fps there), with the Concorde X being stable on my end, while the NGX struggles for whatever reason with different symptoms, mainly and still panel freezes. SP1 will help her, I guess and hope. I only saw an out of memory error once with Concorde X, at the mentioned London spot and with an older UTX running. I never had panel freezes or something, which are a thing to happen 'out of the blue' in the NGX so far. Once again, referring to my system only. Benefits. Well, it's the only Concorde sim in FSX and surely the most advanced when looking at all previous renditions.The unique character of the rw plane gets reflected and you therefore will feel the need to think about some techniques having formed up as habits from flying normal planes. Some of them aren't of any use on the lady. I mainly thinking about landing her in that aspect, but also managing the speeds in the low speed regime for example and the clear focus of flying the barber pole all the time if possible.Of course, the sustained supersonic flight is the main attraction here. So unique, so fascinating, such an achievement for aviation history, that's her rw character and one gets to know that one in the sim too. The systems are well done and the fuel panel alone would justify the money going into that plane in my eyes. But it doesn't stop there, so you'll get electrics, pressurization and the also unique automated flight system to be explored and managed too. All of them are based on custom coding, so no default 'one engine runs like the other three' behaviour. A virtual Flight Engineer helps when needed and I would recommend using it on the first few flights unless you are really experienced in the handling of the numerous panels and the workload they cause.Since there are different levels of the VFE's interaction, one will surely find it's personal best. As far as I can tell about the accuracy itself, I can only summarize what I've experienced and then compared to the rw cockpit videos and books I own.They had to tweak the fuel burn on the first few versions of her, but the current, and so far final, state will give you by the book values. Same goes for the automated flight modes, maybe except for the 'track' feature, which seems to struggle from time to time. At least it does here. So you'll get rw reheat times, rw fuel burn values and rw matching acceleration times. Nice thing and surely a lot of work that went into that aspect. I had and have her running around the globe, online and offline, and the only aspect which may come in as negative and positive at the same time may be the very need for planning your stuff before even starting FSX.Although the tool (performance calculator) helped a lot, she will never be a jump in and fly plane, by design. In fact, that's where one really gets to know the high workload character of Concorde, so you not only make up your mind about the actual route (avoiding any boom-annoyance, so planning into really supersonic capable corridors), but also on the fuel, the whole INS details and operation and the times on when to start accelerating, decelerating and stuff.With that, even 'long' flights don't offer too much of the 'stare at the blue' time which one experiences on other birds.Some may like this aspect, some may not. At least, it's unique in my eyes, even among my other old school 3 man operated birds in the hangar which I love too. I can only recommend to leave known tracks with her, since the London - New York schedule didn't give me the full excitement she can offer. Planning your own routes or looking at the charter flight plans which come with the plane raised the fun on large scales. I also saw a very nice 'Welcome, Concorde!' online, more than once to be precise and of course on locations which could and also did handle the plane in the rw.So forget about London City there, but maybe think Middle East, Alaska or Asia or something. The New York and London locations sometimes where quite filled, with all sorts of Concorde flying talents (with me being the worst of course), so you may not feel much spirit there, but everywhere else. Again, personal impression. In conclusion, it's really about operation a unique plane and they guys at FSL did very good on catching the character in my eyes. The current FSX 737NGs are all well done, but the thrilling flying doesn't happen there when you compare them to the delta wing.The moment where the visor comes up and you accelerate to VMO is worth all the pre-flight work, guaranteed. But, be aware that you are reading something from a huge Concorde fan. So while any US or European fatty doesn't raise much attraction, I could watch departures like this one all day long. Except for the fact that it was the last one of course

I hope my text helped a bit.

[MarkW 879]

I have both and have flown the ConcordeX extensively. I fly it without the help of the VFE and have to say that it is a pleasure to fly. Yes it is difficult but once your learn it (and it is manageable with the fantastic tutorial that accompanies the purchase) you will really enjoy it. The NGX is a fine plane as well but if you already fly the 747 you will find the NGX a similar flying experience, that being a glass cockpit Boeing, different but similar. Flying Concorde is a completely different experience from the systems, flying technique and the navigation system. If you want a different challenge I say get the Concorde X. Now the right answer is the get both, you may just need to wait a while until you have the cash for the one you don't choose. Mark.

[tam210 0]

Thank you all guys there's a real sense of community in here that i dont find on any other forums :) and thanks to everyone who has wrote in im going to buy the pc pilot mag for the review. It has the x65f flight controls and throttles that i will be getting when the money permits me to aswell. and yeah she is a fantastic bird i have been on her at the museum of flight near edinburgh what a plane it must have been to actually get a seat on. Its such a shame that she retired and i think she should atleast get fired back up for the 2012 olympics with the red arrows once more what a welcome that would be british engineering at its best. I also always wanted to one day get on a flight to barbados on her but i dont see that ever happening now. And i also have the concorde dvd called 27 years of supersonic flight its absolutley fantastic and can be bought off of a website called qleap for £10 its worth every penny. And my pc is running some amount off addons to say the least i have all vfr gen X of england up to about newcastle,and all the popular ones like REX etc. I'm also am a fan of the aircraft aswell stunning piece of kit and piece of engineering. Im not too worried about fps as with the gen X and pmdg and mega airport Heathrow my frames rarely drop below 23fps.I have all the Bojote tweaks and Nick n enchancer settings in my Nvidia control panel.The only thing i have bother with is when i fire fsx on it crashes about 4 times before it sorts itself out then it works like a charm (touch wood). I also was taking a back with technical difficulties with fsx but am getting seriously back into my flying again had a fantastic landing at Birmingham on gamespy tonight was on a ILS autoland to 1000ft then took control my v speed and touchdown were fantastic for my first flight back in my pmdg for months. I'm also hoping to get vatsim fired up but am a bit intimadated with the charts sid,stars and airport procedures, so i will see how i get on with that maybe after christmas i will venture into vatsim so if anyone knows or flys on Vatsim could you tell me all the does and dont's for a newbie. I also was very good at my aircraft etiquette at one point but havent been doing much online flying since maybe 2009. I will need to get that brushed up and build some confidence with myself before i get Vatsim. Ive kinda forgot what to say for clearance etc im sure it will all come back to me after some youtube vids and some practice on Gamespy if my mic would work as i have a Logitech F540 gaming headset that is plug and play i have it setup with the voice recognition but can't remember if theres a setting in fsx etc to get my mic working as i was trying to do a mic test on Gamespy tonight but no one was getting back to me but the mic is working on msn and the like and voice recognition. Sorry ive kinda went off subject but thanks for the help and support all of you and i will continue checking this post for more info and updated posts thank's again, and p.s to Coolp i remember watching that on the news back in the day what a emotional week that was Hayden