To all, especially to those still in debate about the VC...

 

I've been flying the NG in FS9 from just about the day it was released, but from the week for sure. I've spent thousands of hours learning the 'glass cockpit' and then flying for various virtual airlines and for fun as well. It was much easier for me to do all flying using the 2D cockpit since I was using a rather small monitor at that time plus it was fairly easy to just flip and switch on pop-up panels as - let's be honest - the whole sim comes in 2D when you're only looking at a flat monitor in your room. I've always been curious about how it feels to do it all from a virtual cockpit but none of the products at that time could even come close to twist my senses enough, the immersion of reality was completely missing.

 

I've bought the NGX the day it was released. Took a fairly long time wandering around in the VC and I was absolutely blown away with the detail. Yet, I was already used to 2D panels so much that I never gave up using them in the past 1.5 years (can you believe it's been released for such a long time?). But today I decided to do a couple of hand-flying training hops around Renton, using the VC.

 

I will never fly using 2D panels anymore. Never.

 

The massive immersion of reality is off-the-charts. I could go on about the small tells of a used cockpit, the sheer detail you get about every inch when you zoom in closely on anything or that every switch, knob or lever mimics the three-dimensional accurate movement of its real world counterpart when moved. I could praise the HGS until dawn, could applause the true-to-life original fonts on the displays and I could honestly bow PMDG about the setup of the aircraft instantly taking effect in/on the model without ever needing to restart FSX (the different cockpit layouts, MCP's, eyebrow windows and what not). But I'm not going into that.

 

I'm just simply joining the group of VC-converted simmers and do really not worry about the lack of 2D panels in the upcoming 777 anymore.

 

Hats off PMDG, you've given us a truly magnificent virtual replica of the original aircraft, something that has never before seen, something that I've been dreaming about since I was a little kid 'flying' the F-14 on a Commodore.

 

Money well spent, indeed!

 

PS: I know numerous topics exist in this forum about the very same topic and that it might raise yet another irritating thread about the pros and cons of both the VC and 2D panels. My intentions were only to share my amazement about the NGX and hope that the topic remains in this channel!

 

Cheers,

I too have been a die hard 2D panel baby, until i bought track IR which i highly recommend for FSX.

VC + trackir + ezdok = as close as you can get to the real thing

 

And a Buttkicker doesn't hurt either.

I  always use vc  in taxing  and  take off mode  and in landing mode, since its easier  to view around  to see where your  going  etc. Once  at the assigned  alt i switch to 2d  view for something  different till the  td

I find myself using the FMS and radio 2d popups. It's usually quicker than a pan down even with TIR.

The NGX's VC is awesome, especially when used with TrackIR. The only things I still like to use in 2D are the FMCs.

 

Only thing that has kept bugging me ever since is the fact that PMDG modeled a very run-down and dirty version of a 737NG cockpit. Nothing against a used look, but for me the NGX cockpit is way too grubby.

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing against a used look, but for me the NGX cockpit is way too grubby.

 

Yet when they showed it to some RL 737 pilots they all said it wasn't battered/grubby enough!

 

Iain Smith

Ever since the VC was introduced I couldn't face flying around with a 2D view. However, I do miss the 2D views if they aren't incorporated into an addon aircraft. Maybe I think of them as a real time updated diagram of the VC and that's quite handy.

Yet when they showed it to some RL 737 pilots they all said it wasn't battered/grubby enough!

 

Iain Smith

 

 

I find myself using the FMS and radio 2d popups. It's usually quicker than a pan down even with TIR.

It is true, for an aircraft on 'the line', the NGX rendition is relatively clean and I'd love if some aircraft I flew looked like that! Most of the time they probably carry god knows what bacteria and crap and the switches are pretty much worn down...that and the hundred and one inop stickers (maybe an exageration!).

I dont know, maybe it is the legacy of the sixties with all the switches that pop out and screws and holes and spaces between panels, but the 737s do get rather dirty, when compared with, for example, A320s.

It took a long time for me to convert to VC flying. Nowadays, almost all of the developers have perfected VCs with great instrument refresh rates, sharp textures, and minimal impact on fps (it also helps that many of us are using more powerful hardware). Since I don't use Track IR, I much prefer VCs that allow me to program a conrol button to bring up some 2d subpanels. GPS screens, some autopilot panels, overhead panels, are some examples of items I like to bring up in 2d.

 

Dale

Ever since I bought ezdok I fly only VC! I've preset my views and with a push of a button I can change to overhead, FMC, pedestal, etc. So amazing app this ezdok!!

VC + trackir + ezdok = as close as you can get to the real thing

 

And a Buttkicker doesn't hurt either.

 

Flyengravity or FDS + surround screen 180 degree warp? 

I am surprised that anyone could think that the NGX cockpit looks too "grubby". It looks nothing of the sort to me, and I prefer nice, clean looking VCs

Ever since I bought ezdok I fly only VC! I've preset my views and with a push of a button I can change to overhead, FMC, pedestal, etc. So amazing app this ezdok!!

 

 

How do you have enough easy to remember buttons for all the different views is what I'd like to know? Or do you have to cycle through all of them to get to the view you want?