Some one mentioned above that it's no more difficult to develop a 'Bus than a Boeing..... but it clearly is... there are a pleth... plef... a lot :huh: of 73x models out there, and one in particular stands head and shoulders above the rest. I've never understood why its so difficult to accurately model a 'bus.... or the reluctance to do so... considering many, if not most, of the developers are European, and the 'Bus is far and away the most commonly used airframe in Europe. I have the Aerosoft X - pretty good, once I solved the snags with control inputs; and the black box 0.54 - also pretty good. I will continue to upgrade the BBS model as service packs and patches are released - why not? I already paid for them - I will buy the extended edition from Aerosoft and will buy the FSLabs version. I also have the airsimmer FS9 Airbus Basic... of the three the sound and graphics immersion is far better on the airsimmer.... pity its almost un-flyable, and anyway, I've more or less abandoned FS9, and I've long since given up on the promised 'advanced' version, or even the 'basic' for FSX.

 

All in all, I could be a pretty exciting end to 2012 for 'Bus fans.... quickly followed -one hopes - by a release from Saitek of an affordable Stick/quadrant along the lines of the pro-yoke-quadrant especially for 'Bus-drivers.

Hey Ronan, you forgot to mention the very good testers at FSL. Eh eh!

How could I forget them, with their ability to spot a bug from a mile off and request features that even the pilots didn't know the aircraft had... :blush:

 

I think to summarise my point though, FSL, (and Aerosoft as well I'm sure), both have a great team of developers with years of experience behind them, and a back room team with years of experience on the real bus providing them with the info they need every step of the way to do their thing an produce a bus, the likes of which haven't been seen before. Just because it's not directly PMDG or LVLD doesn't mean you should write either companies product off at the drop of a hat without having even seen user reviews of either product.

 

Regards,

Ró.

Well, I didnt write of FSLabs or Aerosoft at all, I was simply commenting on the companies that have already released lacking airbuses for FSX. It would be ridiculous to write off addons that havent even been released yet, wouldnt it.

 

I have no doubts whatsoever that FSLabs will create an excellent bus, as their Concorde is one of my favorite airplanes for FSX. Judging by the reports from Aerosofts beta testers it does appear that their upcoming Airbus X extended will be a good bus as well, as one would expect from a company with the resources of Aerosoft. I have no doubt that these companies have the knowhow and the will to develop high quality addons. Some of the other companies on that list (that have already released their airbus addon) I'm not so sure about.

Before I started flying the 737, a PSS bus was my alltime favorite. If I had to choose which to fly in real life, I would also probably go for the bus. Right now my most flown aircraft is the NGX, but this is probably only due to lack of decent bus in the FSX.

 

So, yes, the team behind the FSL can be fully measured with the one behind the PMDG, their technical expertise and the whole crew. I know great things are coming and are patiently waiting for the 320. I know I'll be learning it inside out!

 

I have always wonderen about one thing, probably Ronan can answer this the best: all yoke aircraft are virtually the same on the left and the right side. Going FO to Captain doesn't require much of thinking. But going from flying a bus righthanded (for those who are righthanded) to flying it with a left hand, when you are righthanded. How does one cope with that?

 

And now when the airbus releases, we are going to be in need of an airbus joystick! Much like we fly with high quality yokes. Anything on there that would be the best suited for it?

I have always wonderen about one thing, probably Rónán can answer this the best: all yoke aircraft are virtually the same on the left and the right side. Going FO to Captain doesn't require much of thinking. But going from flying a bus righthanded (for those who are righthanded) to flying it with a left hand, when you are righthanded. How does one cope with that?

Well really it's the exact same if you think about it. Both Airbus and Boeing Captains have their left hand on the sidestick/yoke, and right hand on thrust levers / throttles. Both Airbus and Boeing FO's have their have their right hand on the sidestick/yoke and left hand on the thrustlevers/throttles. There isn't actually a difference with regards to switching over hands. You'd have to change over to using your other hand regardless of whether or not you fly the Bus or Boeing...

 

Regards,

Rónán.

Rónán, you are completely correct! Never thought about it like this. It has been a slight switch for me, going from a righthanded joystick (MSFF2) to the PFC yoke and the throttle on the right side (Capt. config), and when I think about it, I can now fly with both hands without problems.

So I guess, in the end, it isn't that much of a trouble, at least it wasn't for me!

 

PS. Sorry that I sometimes type your name without ó and á, I don't have those letters on my keyboard...

PS. Sorry that I sometimes type your name without ó and á, I don't have those letters on my keyboard...

No bother at all, I just seem to be a bit overly patriotic today and am going round changing the letters to the correct ones in everyone's posts I quote LOL. ^_^

 

Regards,

Ró.

I'm still trying to find the all inclusive Airbus based on the list of currently available models. I sort of got hooked on the A320 series back when the only non-combat sim I flew was called "A320 Airbus" by Thalion Software. It was a DOS based simulator released in 1992. All graphics were flat, but it was the first sim that I used allowing auto-pilot coupled ILS landing.

 

I don't think it was incompetency that sank those projects, but rather those developers approached these projects as hobbyists and didn't use any proper project management techniques e.g. PMBOK. IT/Software development is very risky with regards to delays and cost overruns and any team who wants to make money out of payware addons must have a tight management style with accurate estimates, tight project scope and knowledge in managing virtual teams spread around the world. I expect Rob at PMDG would be staring at his MS project Gantt chart every single day, looking at the critical path, deadlines, milestones and resource allocation. This is also the reason why I think Lefteris and FSLabs will succeed because he came from PMDG and he should know what makes that company successful.

 

A complex Airbus is a very difficult undertaking IMHO because of the Autotrim and how it reacts with various flight envelope protections, and what happens during transitions in flight laws e.g. From Normal law to Alternate law to Direct law. The autothrottle also seems to have a mind of its own with regards to flight envelope protections. Then you have to think about how this FBW system interacts with various joystick (or even yoke) setups. And then you have to think about how the FMGS can compute the flight path using stuff like "Groundspeed mini" and other obscure data and give it to the autopilot which have its own obscure logic. (e.g. You cannot find how the bank limiter works by looking at the aircraft manual/FCOM, you have to find it in one of the Honeywell manuals.)

 

However developing an Airbus can also have very significant advantages, as the underlying systems simulation can easily be scaled to a variety of very popular aircraft ranging from the A318 to the A340, or even the A380.

 

 

 

PMDG has a lot of support from Boeing engineers and pilots plus privileged access to their technical documents so It's only reasonable that PMDG should "milk it" for as long as possible. PMDG is a business and developing an Airbus would be a relative waste of time and resources.

 

What makes you think that dveloping and Airbus by PMDG be a waste of time and resources? (1) Becuase they don't have access to Airbus material? (2) Or because they are not capable, or (3) Becuase you don't like Airbus and you won't purchase it? :Big Grin:

 

Done it before have you? ^_^

 

Hello Andrew, is FSL still on track with bring out the big guys as well..the 330-300 and A-340-500, 600 ?

Right now, we're focussing entirely on the A320-X, A319-X and A321-X as the first aircraft in our A3XX Master Series.

In terms of ergonomics(and I think Ronan would agree),the "sidestick" on the Airbus is a brilliant concept, and very easy to transition to, from the typical Boeing style "yoke".

In terms of ergonomics(and I think Ronan would agree),the "sidestick" on the Airbus is a brilliant concept, and very easy to transition to, from the typical Boeing style "yoke".

Yup, agree there, tray table beats a yoke for me any day of the week....

Fictional dialogue from the time Airbus introduced the A320 family.

 

Nah, I don't buy that stuff. It uses computers and things and I saw computers in that movie, hat

. It didn't open the airlock! :angry:

But we have tray tables and no yoke between your legs. :smile:

Ok, I'll take two.

 

 

Seriously, I'm still looking forward to more Airbusseses ^_^ in the sim. But, in regard to the Aerosoft one, it's hard to keep track of that thread over there. Not the easiest read at times.

Fictional dialogue from the time Airbus introduced the A320 family.

 

Nah, I don't buy that stuff. It uses computers and things and I saw computers in that movie, hat

. It didn't open the airlock! :angry:

But we have tray tables and no yoke between your legs. :smile:

Ok, I'll take two.

 

Seems about right, you'd have the pilots onboard in jig time anyways.. ^_^

Can't wait to get my hands on the FSLabs Airbus. I have a very good feeling about it!