Hello, so does anyone know what happened over at the Ready For Pushback forum and why They're going to pull the plug- It's a great addon and it's a shame if we lose another good developer! Cheers!

They've been concentrated on making essentially the same product for FS (highly detailed 747-200) since at least early 2000.My guess is that they have gotten 1) bored 2) digusted with the general attitude of users towards developers and therefore demoralised (though their forum is mostly free of that) and 3) out of money so in need of a real job.

Well if you read some of the replies from Ralph, it's none of the above. They have been approach by an airline company to produce a product that will be good enough for training purposes. I believe they will focus on this in the future.

I use the forums at Panelshop.com.. Last I checked they were still finctioning. I bought the new 2nd Gen RFP and its incredible and the price was right!

I meant to type functioning.. Sorry!

yes, they're functioning but have announced to close down operations within the next few months.The upcoming service release for the RFP2 will be the last except for some liverypacks which are in the works.

I quote Ralph in his official statement: "My desire for any involvment with the hobby is as low as it could possible get".Also: "The market and simmers are much different now than the good old days and the fun has been taken out of developing."Says enough I think.The negotiations with Atlas air have been ongoing for a good while now and haven't reached the state where they provide a stable income to the team so those cannot be the reason (though the time invested in them might be part of the reason to halt further development).

Maybe if they changed their business model a little bit and encouraged more purchases by making at least some liveries FREE, then I suspect the revenue angle might go up. Also not everybody likes flying the long haul air routes. I love the 747, but rarely fly it because I dont have multiple hours to sit thru a transatlantic or other long haul. My simming is usually about 2 hours or so at a whack, though I have been known to minimize the sim and come back to it for a second session etc. In any case, never begrudged anybody a right to make a living their own way. The other issue is simply the amount of competition. Seems everybody wants to make payware these days...there are only so many dollars to spend. And with every turkey on the planet seemingly wanting 30 bucks for their addons, this is a highly selective process. Some darwinism here I think?EJ

There are two livery packs for the 2nd Gen RFP, they don't require purchase. I can't really blame them for shutting down though, once the 2nd gen is updated there really isn't much else to do. I am anxious to see PMDG's 747!

Their marketing leaves something to be desired. Right on the front page they scare away a lot of customers by stating that the package is probably too advanced for the average simmer. So that leaves a small group of enthusiats as potential customers. Compare with PMDG that makes a lot of sales to casual simmers who only wants a great looking product. PMDG probably also has to put up with a lot of stupid support questions, but that's another matter. Problem number two: The panel graphics doesn't look very crisp. Sure, it isn't a problem with the hardcore crowd, but if you are undecided about buying you'd probably be scared away. With all the time that went into development is's a shame they didn't get some good panel photos. - Oyvind

They state that it is very advanced because it is. Try managing the fuel system while checking the navigational accuracy of the INS and keeping the plane on the right profile at once and you will understand why. The real plane required a three person crew to fly and you are doing the work of all three of them by yourself. I think that RFP is probably a handful even for a real 742 captain. Regards,

Yes its unfortunate they couldn't program something like an auto-co-pilot who would do the extra work for you. I too only have a few hours at a time to fly, and doing a 100 point checklist just to start the engines means theres no possible way I can enjoy the beautiful bird. What a shame, otherwise I'd be first in line to buy the RFP v2

I you read the manuals you there should be few problems, pushing buttons is not rocket science after all.- Oyvind

If you have a busy schedule and only have time for a 1 hr-2 hr flight, going through a whole checklist takes up too much time

I have to chime in here. I just bought the RFP a couple of weeks ago and I am OBSESSED. It is one of the most immersive experiences of flight simming I have experienced. Granted, it takes some time to get in the air but for me that is part of the process. I hate planes that you flip a switch or two and you're going. That's not the way it really is. I guess I am one of those geeks that uses airline schedules and tries to back-time up to an on-time departure. I usually start the sim about 25 minutes before scheduled departure and end up pushing back about 5 minutes early. So, yeah, 20 minutes to start when you only have an hour to fly is a bit much. But I don't enjoy "flying" an airliner anyway. It is staring at a screen while you cruise at 30,000 feet with no scenery visible below. So I usually start up... climb to cruise... kick in 4X... get about 120 miles from destination... then descend and land. I can do a New York to London flight in under a couple of hours that way. So, to each his own. I really enjoy the 747 and Ralph and crew are the most customer friendly lot I've run across yet. I'd love to see them extend the RFP philosophy to some other planes... RJs, etc. Wow, did I just get all defensive about a piece of software? EddieKABQ