Salute the titans of yore

[Patco Lch 1,465]

Saw a documentary the other day on the development of the 747. Interesting that the whale was conceived as a pipe dream between Alen of Boeing and Trippe of Panam on a fishing trip and agreed to a 24 month time line to wheels up on prototype. And they did it! The engines even had to be developed. The first hulls where rolled out with model engine pods because they didn't have an engine for the thing yet. Compare that to how long it takes our favorite  sim aircraft developer to  get a simulation to us from the time it is announced. I guess that's why they were the greatest generation.

[IFR7700 228]

But that was their main occupation.  Today's developers are generally doing their thing as an avocation.  They are working on your flight sim project during their spare time, as they get a chance.  Apples and Oranges.

[n4gix 4,947]

I am one who does work full-time at FSX/P3D development, and it still takes me up to two years per project... :He He:

[untoweechja 35]

I'll bet all nine people who worked for Boeing at the time were really, really, really busy!

[KevinAu 441]

The joke is lost on me, since Boeing was hardly a startup at the time they designed the 747.

[Patco Lch 1,465]

No joke intended though it was a poor comparison to sim developers. But keep in mind, though Boeing was no start up, the 747 was not a government contract with cost over runs accepted. Allen bet the company on the project. First they had to build a production facility big enough. At the time they didn't have advanced design software of today. They had to decide if they wanted a single isle double decker or the wide body concept. Had to explore the aerodynamic effect of things like wing flutter on such a large frame. The high bypass engines developed for the 747 exploded during ground test to name just a few of problems overcome. Though they had more then the above stated 9 employees, you guessed it, labor issues. So I say again, that was the greatest generation.   

[JB3DG 225]

A tad tough to compare to flightsim developers from this aspect as well...Considering the fact that many of us are trying to *almost single handedly* replicate complex systems that teams of engineers developed. Takes a while....

[mgh 89]

The obvious  difference is that Boeing had a large team of professionals working on the 747...