Now that I have managed to get all the instruments to work and am getting reasonable fps in the 2D cockpit, I tried putting the 144 through its paces yesterday.Having scoured the internet for performance numbers (not much out there) I went for published figures of mach 2.5 at 18,000 meters (59,000 feet).After a number of attempts I was at 17,777 meters climbing slowly to 18,000 at mach 1.6. When 18,000 meters was attained the aircraft started to level off but could never settle down in stable cruise. Instead, it kept climbing and diving (not violently) above and below the selected altitude.Now, assuming the model's flight dynamics are OK, I suspect that trim could be the answer. Concorde used fuel transfers to attain optimum trim. Not sure about the 144. Tried using the normal trim controls but it just wouldn't settle down.Has anyone managed to tame this baby?

OK, I managed.Takes some practice, but by using the trim controls, it is possible to counteract the fluctuations until the aicraft settles in the cruise.Two items remain to be solved on the 144 panel now.1. There are two stabilizer switches marked 1 and 2 on the bottom left of the screen. They do work but I have yet to determine what they do exactly.2. The large Angle of Attack gauge on top of the "dash" is also adjustable. Not sure if this is just to warn you of excessive angles or does it actually limit the aircraft's A of A?Love this aircraft. Could have done with a proper manual though!Long-distance flights without the long flying times. Magic.

Hello John,I'm pretty sure that most of the users figured out problems with frame rates with this amazing aircraft. You are probably one of a few flight simmers who solved that problem. Could you please let me know which settings have to be done to achieve acceptable frame rates?Thanks and best regardsMatthias, Munich/Germany

Hi Matthias.When I first loaded up the 144, I was very disappointed to find that I had frame rates of 3-4 fps in the 2D Cockpit. With some 700 gauge files on the panel, this was not too surprising. I was running the sim at 1024 x 768. I then upped the definition to 1280 x 960 and was rewarded with 7-8 fps (don't ask me why! :)Found a discussion on 2D cockpits and found a tip that said that some simmers had noted improvements after adding the line PanelAsTexture=0 in the Display.Device section of Fs9.cfgI tried it and am now getting 12-13 fps, which is not great but very flyable.My setup is a rather humble one. A P4 1.7MHz machine with 512 MB ram and a Nvidia GeForce3 with Windows ME!Hope this helps.

Thanks John,unfortunately the PanelAsTexture=0 setting does not make any difference on my computer. The only way to get acceptable frame rates is pulling all sliders in my display configuration to the leftmost possition. Now I can fly with 20 fps but when I sit behind the 2D panel I still suffer from 6-8 fps. Very sad because it is such a nice craft. I'm pretty sure that some gauges causes this problem and I hope the developers will come out with an improved version of the panel. Another issue I recocgnized is the artificial horizon - both instruments do not work correctly. I cannot see any movement during flight, the current values are displayed in the tip strips only when placing the mouse cursor over the instruments. Seams that the gauges get their values but are not displayed correctly on my machine.Does anybody have similar experiences?Thanks and best regardsMatthias

Hi Matthias,Sorry to hear you still can't get reasonable frame rates in the 2D cockpit.It's a mystery to me why I am now getting 12-13 fps with a rather old graphics card (GeForce 3).Nothing wrong with the gauges, but it took me a while to find out how to switch on both Attitude Indicators.1. On the overhead panel, click the four switches as shown here in the red circles.These will activate the auxiliary attitude indicator (smaller one) and also activate the ILS indicators if you're tuned in and within range:2. Having turned the four switches shown above go to the Autopilot panel and click (top right) on the centre button to activate the main attitude indicator. (see below):Let me know if you're still stuck.As for the autopilot, I have set out the various buttons and switches in case this is useful to you.

Hi John,thanks for your help and the excellent screen shots. Now I'm able to fly the beautiful bird. I hope that Thomas Ruth and Claudio Mussner will provide a nice flight manual along with a future update. Best regardsMatthias

Glad to help Matthias.I read somewhere that Messrs. Ruth and Mussner were coming out with a virtual cockpit for the 144.Something to look forward to.All the best,

Sorry for the bump!But does anyone know whey there are so many flap settings? and what they do?Also I don't know wheather the real think has speed brakes or not, But when hit my speed brake key the A/C goes into "Kamakazie" Mode and nosedives!!Great aircraft though! (Just the flap and nose transits are a bit too loud!)Love the brake sounds and the glowing discs! very f1!Hans