Yeah... We aren't quite finished yet...

[MikeGroven 0]

Ken-Bringing a project as sophisticated as the NGX to market is far more complex than most folks realize. We are looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 changes that have been made to the base NGX package, with the addition of about 100 more to support the 600/700. As a matter of procedure each of these changes needs to be tested thoroughly.After more than a decade of doing this- we have developed a pretty good sense for when a product is stable and ready for market. When it came to V1 on Friday- my instinct, and the instinct of other members of the team was that it would benefit from additional time in testing.This type of decision is not unlike knowing when to pull the freshly baked bread from the oven... There isn't a science to it. It is an acquired skill.But I think this serves as a fantastic example of why we do not normally give you a calendar date expectation. There is a tremendous amount of expectation to hit that date, even though the dynamics of the product testing process may change significantly even one hour prior to midnight...So then I come here and move the date, and folks inevitably get upset, start second guessing our decisions, etc... So we won't be doing this again.

Robert,Things would be so much easier for you if you simply published a tenative change log, and then never announce a release date or estimated release date. PMDG has never, ever met an estimated release date that I'm aware of :), so announcing one is rather futile and leads to inevitable frustration for your customers here.

[hookandbook2 0]

I have both Satiek rudder and yoke ....both work fine. I don't use Satiek's software...never have. All works well on my machine.

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

+1 ex-nuke EM

OMG, I'm surrounded. Bubblehead too?

[tamba765 54]

I flew the real 737-800 and even after extensive flight testing by Boeing pilots, there were still problems that popped up in actual line flying that were never encountered in test flights. I guess the same is true of software.Go figure. I think it will be worth waiting for.

[Pilotdude3407 11]

Ken-Bringing a project as sophisticated as the NGX to market is far more complex than most folks realize. We are looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 changes that have been made to the base NGX package, with the addition of about 100 more to support the 600/700. As a matter of procedure each of these changes needs to be tested thoroughly.After more than a decade of doing this- we have developed a pretty good sense for when a product is stable and ready for market. When it came to V1 on Friday- my instinct, and the instinct of other members of the team was that it would benefit from additional time in testing.This type of decision is not unlike knowing when to pull the freshly baked bread from the oven... There isn't a science to it. It is an acquired skill.But I think this serves as a fantastic example of why we do not normally give you a calendar date expectation. There is a tremendous amount of expectation to hit that date, even though the dynamics of the product testing process may change significantly even one hour prior to midnight...So then I come here and move the date, and folks inevitably get upset, start second guessing our decisions, etc... So we won't be doing this again.

Robert,My apologies if I came accross as though I do not appreciate the complexity of the aircraft. I most certain do and I respect the amount of time your people (including yourself) spend writing pure code. That in itself is skill that I have long since realized I will never be able to have. I am not (forgive me if I come accross this way) one of the people that am whining just because I don't have the airplane. I think you are right, people do not know about what you have to do to be able to get this aircraft built and working right before a release. I wish there was enough time and enegery to explain some of these "200 changes" that have happened. I realize that you have said some of the fun is not knowing and realizing them when flying the aircraft, however I personally really enjoy reading over the changes that have taken place and look forward to then finding them in the finished product. All of our manuals at my airline have a place on the back of the "Revision Status page" they have a "summary of revision changes for current revision" page that in a brief one sentence says what they changed. I always have to look at that so I know what I am changing in my book. I realize it is a lot of time for someone (maybe/probably you) to write out all 200 (does't have to be all of them) changes so we can have something to look at and for me, I appreciate what was done a lot more when I can say "oh yeah, I see that it does that, that is pretty neat". I know that will never happen here and I understand that.Thank you for putting a perspective on my previous post.CHEERS

[bob34 124]

Bob-Ack! Thanks for the confidence- but lets no go that far out... I am absolutely capable of making mistakes- and I don't like any environment where my thoughts and decisions aren't challenged. As a captain, a chief pilot, or in my current roles as a director and a consultant to airlines around the world- I find that my own ideas always improve with input and a good firm critical challenge or review from someone else.To put it another way: I don't mind disagreement or disappointment, but it doesn't have to be disagreeable....

Agreed but I'd hate to see you go dormant due to the grief you get when you're simply keeping us informed. The status updates, whether I'm happy about them or not, are MUCH appreciated.I'm still waiting on a status update for that A310 from another developer I bought 9 years ago. I'm sure it will be any day now. :D

[YukonPete 594]

Then we wait for the military models! ;)

[Artur Munteanu 1]

I'm still waiting on a status update for that A310 from another developer I bought 9 years ago. I'm sure it will be any day now. :D

!!!! Hope PMDG is not taking so much... LOL!

[FBC57 1]

I believe that would be the 737- Sandman version with the optional roof racks.As you can see these birds are from the Gold Coast, as they already have thier surfboards mounted.....Frank CooperEx- Sandman owner!

[Brenchen 51]

I believe that would be the 737- Sandman version with the optional roof racks.As you can see these birds are from the Gold Coast, as they already have thier surfboards mounted.....

Wow, they up on Coast? When was this taken?

[badderjet 181]

Heheheh! Now how many antennae were that again? And what on earth is that black bubble that replaced the winglet?

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Agreed but I'd hate to see you go dormant due to the grief you get when you're simply keeping us informed. The status updates, whether I'm happy about them or not, are MUCH appreciated.I'm still waiting on a status update for that A310 from another developer I bought 9 years ago. I'm sure it will be any day now. :D

Bob-Thanks for the humor. I think I am still waiting on that one too...I have extremely thick skin when it comes to forum drama. Heck, I ran for office... Although I'd prefer not to try it out- my skin is so thick it might be bulletproof. We've been running this forum for nearly twelve years- and at any given moment in time there is always someone trying to create a scene. The ones that make me laugh are the folks who come here to play suicide by moderator. (Create posts that they know violate the rules or are just plain out of bounds, then scream with righteous indignation when we kill their posts and/or ban them from the forum outright... You can always tell these ones because they are the folks who claim that we are infringing on their free speech rights, or they accuse of being intolerant and dare us to delete the posts... Easy decision: <delete>)One of the things that helps maintain our "perspective" is that we know how many customers we have and we know how many use this forum, so when we compare it to the number of folks creating drama, it reminds you how few folks really do go out of their way to draw negative attention to themselves.Suicide by Moderator... I think we might have to trademark that one.

[Jigsaw 8]

Suicide by Moderator... I think we might have to trademark that one.

I like that. NO!! Hands off the ban button! I meant I like the phrase!

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

I like that. NO!! Hands off the ban button! I meant I like the phrase!

Funny Patrick, very funny!

[WhiteKnuckle 11]

Robert,Your updates are very much appreciated! I have not installed HF4 as I'm really not having problems with this amazing masterpiece so plan to wait for SP1. So much to learn - it will keep me engaged for years to come I'm sure.