But does it have to take 1 year for a non airliner like a 172SP?

 

I guess some people think that just because you sell something on a website that it must be a full time business with real staff, lol.

 

There are no full time FSX developers...they all have other jobs and typically work on the FSX stuff as time/patience permits them to do so. Maybe some weeks they'll put in 20-30 hours at nite...some weeks no hours at all...it takes many hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of man hours to build a top quality plane for FSX.

 

I would also suspect that during the summer months most folks would tend to put in less hours on their projects for obvious reasons.

LAdamson, you know with A2A aircraft you can keep them in tip-top shape if you treat them properly, right?  The wear-and-tear features only come into play if you don't handle the aircraft properly.

 

 

If one is a good pilot the A2A planes may stay fine for a long time, but I'm not a good pilot so I experience them quite often. Had a nice failure with the landing gear when taking off at madeiraa couple of days ago just because I was lazy and didn't do a walkaround and check the planes condition. Took me awhile to understand why the plane behaved so crazy when I raised the gears, then I noticed a red light that indicated that something whas wrong with the landing gears(turned out to be that only one of the landing gears was raised). While this happened I could hardly maintain a stable plane because of all the crazy turbulence at madeira and almost crashed(thanks to the new great weather engine FSGlobal Real weather), I managed to turn back and land the plane without any more trouble but I barely survived ^_^

...... If I thought that the real airplane was going to fail every so often, then I'd never step foot into it.....

 

 

That is exactly how I felt about the Katana! If things went wrong with the same regularity on a real Katana it would be a death trap. I certainly wouldn't get in one.

 

There are no full time FSX developers....

 

There are some full time developers (AFAIK Orbx, Carenado, Captain Sim, PMDG, etc are all full time endeavours and very well established businesses), however the smaller scale, part-time developers do appear to outweigh thouse able to make a full time business from it.

Yeah, accusim wear and tear module fails at a rate relative to the pilot's handling of the aircraft.  I have had the P-40 since it was released, I fly it fairly often.  Since I fly It like a bush plane, I tend to replace brakes a lot.   Other than that, I have never had problems with the engine.  I am always careful and adhere to recommended power settings.  I have never had to make a forced landing in the P-40 because of a component failure.  Occasionally I have had to replace a filter or something small, but the Allison V-1710 is a seriously rugged engine and can handle a lot.  Similarly the Lycoming in your 172 is a very rugged reliable engine that will last forever, especially if you treat it right. 

 

That being said, these A2A warbirds are very rugged airplanes, they won't blow up if you breath wrong.  They will put up with a certain amount of abuse from the pilot before biting.  These planes were designed for high-G combat, they operated out of desert and jungle airstrips and many were flown by proverbial 'kids'.  Part of the beauty of accusim and the Katana is that you the pilot learn to recognize things before they become a serious issue.  That is a great skill/instinct to develop for any pilot. 

 

Cheers

TJ

There are some full time developers (AFAIK Orbx, Carenado, Captain Sim, PMDG, etc are all full time endeavours and very well established businesses), however the smaller scale, part-time developers do appear to outweigh thouse able to make a full time business from it.

 

Don't know much about Orbx to be honest, but the only other one out of that bunch that I can believe produces full time would be Carenado. It's the only way they can have so many releases in a single year, so even if most of their staff is part time the business itself is run full time since there has to be someone working on something almost all day/everyday I imagine.

 

I don't think it's likely that PMDG is run full time, otherwise it wouldnt take 2 years for a single release. Think about it...I dunno how many are developing at PMDG but if you imagine only 4 guys working full time that equates to about 8,000 - 10,000 man hours per year which in their case would mean they'd have at least 12,000 - 15,000 man hours of labor into each release. Doesn't make much sense if you ask me because if they take in $160,000 in sales per release and are releasing only 1 new project every 18-24 months that means they're all working full time at a 20k/yr job (assuming 4 men splitting it evenly). You cant live on that. They'd have to sell at least 6,000 or more copies of every release for it to be feasible I think. 

 

...but if anyone could sell 6,000 copies I bet it would be PMDG  :lol:

Yes, it would be nice to get some update from the RA team. I guess they just are of the type who develop and just announce when it's ready . Nothing wrong with that approach. Nothing wrong with me (us) wanting a teaser either. What matters is what we eventually get. Not the wait, not how many teasers we got. I know the RA C172 must be really good. I am counting on it to be.

 

A2A looks interesting too. I have no experience of their products, so my expectations on that front are rather low. I'd put my pennies in for the RA plane. At least when it comes to FLIGHT simulation side of things. That's what matters to me. Not how I can test the fuel.

 

Tero

I don't think it's likely that PMDG is run full time, otherwise it wouldnt take 2 years for a single release. Think about it...I dunno how many are developing at PMDG but if you imagine only 4 guys working full time that equates to about 8,000 - 10,000 man hours per year which in their case would mean they'd have at least 12,000 - 15,000 man hours of labor into each release. Doesn't make much sense if you ask me because if they take in $160,000 in sales per release and are releasing only 1 new project every 18-24 months that means they're all working full time at a 20k/yr job (assuming 4 men splitting it evenly). You cant live on that. They'd have to sell at least 6,000 or more copies of every release for it to be feasible I think. 

 

...but if anyone could sell 6,000 copies I bet it would be PMDG

I think PMDG sells a lot more than people think. Rob bought a dc-3 so he's not broke.

I think PMDG sells a lot more than people think. Rob bought a dc-3 so he's not broke.

 

From occasional looks at VATSPY, where GA flights seem as rare as hens' teeth and the vast majority of flights are big iron, I wouldn't be surprised if you're right.

but the only other one out of that bunch that I can believe produces full time would be Carenado. It's the only way they can have so many releases in a single year, so even if most of their staff is part time the business itself is run full time since there has to be someone working on something almost all day/everyday I imagine.

 

Without trying to bash Carenado or anything but I think It's other reasons Carenado is able to do so many releases. They don't have to work on the complex stuff that PMDG, A2A etc are doing, they're just making simple planes without any system depth.... I believe there a lot more work making an accusimmed aircraift......

 

 

A2A looks interesting too. I have no experience of their products, so my expectations on that front are rather low.

 

I think A2A makes state of the art addons for FSX B)  They make complex planes with failures, wear and tear. The FDE's are just as good as Real Air, but Real Air doesn't do wear and tear...

If A2A didn't do this plane I would go for the RA, but they are making it so for me the choice is easy, I choose the A2A plane. Offcourse this is just my opinion. 

 

here's some interesting news from a2a:

 

"Redbird Flight Simulations has partnered with the AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) to create a new desktop simulator, called the “AOPA JAY” by Redbird. This new product has generated plenty of enthusiasm from top aviation organizations including the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association), Flying Magazine, IFR Magazine, Pilot Workshops, King Schools, National Association of Flight Instructors, Experimental Aircraft Association, Sennheiser Aviation, and the American Bonanza Society."

 

So I think we can even expect more realism from them in the future B)

 

This also look promising for the upcoming c172:

 

Quote from Scott A2A:

 

"The Accu-Sim C172 in development now is what RedBird / AOPA is licensing from us for their simulations."

 

 

I think PMDG sells a lot more than people think. Rob bought a dc-3 so he's not broke.

 

I think Rob may have some to spend since in real life he's an airline captain B)

I believe he is retired.

oh wow, really?...he moved up to management maybe? I guess after flying for so long as a job you must get burnt after awhile.

One nice thing about the realism of A2A aircraft is that it's not programmed or random failures.  The failure rate is directly related to maintenance and how you fly the aircraft, as it should be.  And there's a maintenance hangar for each aircraft.  You don't have to take off and hope everything is okay.  If you've flown the airplane for a bit (say, 20-30 hours), before hopping in again, open the maintenance hangar and check things out, just as you would do on an annual.  Fix what needs fixing, keep an eye on other things beginning to wear, or do a complete overhaul and bring it back close to good as new (it won't cost you anything).  Now that's the kind of aircraft maintenance I can get into!  

Well, while it's interesting to compare notes, both A2A and RA 172's will be purchased by me. I also have the Carenado which is equipped very much like the real aircraft I flew in my training. I also have the Bush version of their 182 for FS9, and several free downloads of 172s for FS9.

I'm REALLY looking forward to the maintenance aspect, as I tend over time to get sloppy. I want to have to do proper procedures and maintenance. I want to have to keep an eye on things. It's what happens in real life!

I wish RA would do even a slight mention "hey work is ongoing! The 172 is looking good!" something, anything.