Darren,<>I'm curious. Were you a beta tester for this new product? It only seems to have been out for a day or so and already the PSS version is coming in for criticism. What cheats or workarounds did you have in mind?I thought PSS did a very good job with such a difficult aircraft. So, were the designers of this new one able to workaround the FS9 limitation of 7 fuel tanks? That was why PSS could not replicate things as they were in the real aircraft.Can flight plans be stored into, and retrieved from, the INS?<>That's a bit harsh. I think the PSS version looks pretty good and as we have a Concorde here a Manchester (EGCC) I'm used to seeing one close up.I am a serious pilot (I have the Project Magenta Boeing package which makes me pretty serious I think) and I have always enjoyed my flights with the PSS Concorde. As the real Concorde required a Flight Engineer I would avoid any package that expected me to pilot the aircraft whilst managing the fuel balancing. Too much for one person INHO.Finally, does it have a fuel load calculator so that the correct amount of fuel can be loaded into all 11 tanks?Cheers,

Ray,In my experince whatever PSS do someone always does it better. Or you have to merge a generally excellent panel to get any kind of satisfaction and in this case the Concorde has also been done better. Not just a tiny bit, but big bit.I heard a comment somewhere before regarding PSS, use them if you are into arcade games, use PMDG, SSTSIM, Level D if you are a serious Flight Simmer.I hope to god that they pull their fingure out for the 777 because I really thought their 2002 version was excellent. Going on recent form though I fully expect to be merging the panel with a Meljet.Just my opinions.LeePlease see piccy of Fuel Load CalcLined Up 27LClimbing out of EGLL at dusk

Hi Lee,<>Could you be more specific? I think the PSS 2D panels are excellent and the FE panel is the best I've seen in any FS aircraft in the 13 years I've been following this hobby.I also think the air file is pretty good too which is the acid test of any commercial package. Unlike a 737, 747 or Airbus very few people have actually flown in Concorde so it's hard to judge how accurate the flight model is. I believe the PSS Concorde was tested by a former BA Concorde pilot and if it's good enough for him then I think the rest of us should be satisfied.Having said all that it is not without its problems the most frsutrating one being engine cut-outs when small but significant amounts of fuel remain. Having to manually enter a route each time into the INS is a pain too so if the SSTSIM one has an INS that can store plans then that would be a big plus for me.<>The person who said that is just plain silly. I can remember their first 747 and it had a very good air file and everyone was raving about the quality of the panels the like of which had not been seen before. That was for FS98 I think.It would be interesting if a skilled reviewer passed judgement on both the SSTSIM and PSS Concordes.Cheers,

Edited for spelling.Lee,Does the user need to enter the fuel load for each tank if the various fuel-load options are not used? Or does it calculate the amount for each tank based on a total amount supplied? If, for example, I wanted to fly from Manchester to Las Palmas could it calculate the amount of fuel and the distribution to each tank?I don't think there's any difference between full load and Barbados anyway as TBPB was just about at the limit of Concorde's range.Nice pics but the PSS one would look equally as beautiful ;-)Cheers,

>Darren,>>So, were the designers of this new one able to>workaround the FS9 limitation of 7 fuel tanks? That was why>PSS could not replicate things as they were in the real>aircraft.No, FS limitation is 11 tanks, and I can say with property as I designed the new fuel system, based on REAL data. Fill the tanks up and you'll be with CG at 54.3%, just like the real one, not 53.5% like the other one.>Can flight plans be stored into, and retrieved from, the INS?No, INS is provided by CIVA, because it's the closest reproduction of a 60s/70s INS by the moment. Concorde INS was a bit different, with capacity of loading sectors of the flight plan. Forget about loading complete flightplans on the INS, the real unit couldn't do that, so the guys at CIVA won't add this.If you want easy stuff, just press F9 and use FSNav. Or fly with the great LDS and PMDG birds.>I am a serious pilot (I have the Project Magenta Boeing>package which makes me pretty serious I think) and I have>always enjoyed my flights with the PSS Concorde. As the real>Concorde required a Flight Engineer I would avoid any package>that expected me to pilot the aircraft whilst managing the>fuel balancing. Too much for one person INHO.As you may not know, Concorde's First Officers were capable of assuming the Flight Engineer station if needed. So, it's if you're really serious about Concorde, you should know about the Engineer's panel. AFAIK, a Captain should know about all the aircraft systems, to make a correct decision.>Finally, does it have a fuel load calculator so that the>correct amount of fuel can be loaded into all 11 tanks?No. You'll open a remaked version of the REAL Refuelling Chart, and load by yourself on the Load Manager.Well, if you're interested in a different serious simulation, that requires more workload than the glass cockpit addons, you'll like it, and will be very welcome to share your experiences on our forum.L

Georg. What was your problem with the INS. I did the vid tutorials on the INS for SSTSIM. It was my hope, that everyone would be able to follow them easily. Was there something on the tutorial that was confusing to you. In case, some things wern't clear, I could possibly correct them in the future.Thank You. Enjoy ConcordeBest,David

HI dillion, did you get your stalling problem worked out.Best,David

Hello Ray, Nice to hear from you

I think you did a great job David... :-)

Yea I've been in contact with Andrew and it seems there

>Randy I just bought the update that required my old>Altitude/Koch Media Concord CD. Plus I've developed a sound>set for this exact package, it's the same bird just updated...>:-) >>Koch may not be involve directly anymore but the model is the>same as before just updated...Hi Dillon,Unless you can see the code involved, calling Concorde SSTSIM and KOCH Altitude, one and the same is incorrect. There is not one piece of code that was left unaltered from the Koch release making this a bit more than just an update. The reason for the use of the Koch/Altitude CD is to allow owners of the earlier release to benefit from the reduced price.I have also developed the new sound package for this release as I think the Koch sounds were a weak point.Koch is neither directly nor indirectly involved with this project and the models are all new along with the addition of prototype and pre-production models. This project is 100% Concorde SSTSIM.Cheers,JohnBoeing 727/737 & Lockheed C-130/L-100 Mechanic

Hi Dillon,I've been using ASV Enhanced and have no ill effects through the development phase. You have to realise a couple of key points in operating Concorde was to get to VMO as early as possible and that you can't get to FL600 off the start. Concorde required special handling below 10k' due to the high drag of keeping the airspeed below 250 knots. The controllers would normally give no speed restriction below 10k' which allowed Concorde to accelerate to VMO(400 knots) below 10k' and improve climb performance. During initial M2.0 cruise, you would uually level off, under AFCS control, and allow fuel burn off to lighten you up and get you to higher altitudes.Cheers,JohnBoeing 727/737 & Lockheed C-130/L-100 Mechanic

Thanks Dillion. Hopefully downline, I'll be able to do more tuts. I fly for a living, so time is a little limited. Glad your enjoying her.Andrew wrote an awesome tutorial, but folks need to read every section carefully...not skip past anything. If folks do this...they will as you said; have a very rewarding experience flying across the pond.:-) I can remember, my first sucessful flight from EGLL-KJFK. I fly b737's in realworld...so this aircraft was a challenge for me as well....But, what a BLAST!!!I have the ITVV DVD on Concorde. I could watch that DVD, then do almost the same procedures in SSTSIM...lot of fun!Just a tip for everyone getting experinced in this beautiful Concorde.When I was learning, to operate and fly her, I would take it in steps...like a building block principle.Start Cold and Dark. Follow the tutorial and checklists. All the way to the point of being ready for engine start. Then repeat it again, after a couple of times...you'll see that you are actually in a sort of flow pattern for selecting switches and setups. ONce you've done this a couple of times. Save the panel state to this point.Now, move forward with engine start...again repeat that procedure. Then taxi...repeat,takeoff...rinse,repeat..etc. I think you get the idea.after that is very comfortable, then practice with different auto pilot modes, so you can see clearly what Concorde will do with that particualr selection.Once your comfortable with that, time to go supersonic!:-) Follow the tut. closely...pause if you have too...to get a good handle on things. Also might consider saving the flight before going supersonic..so you can just return to this phase again. Fly supersonic, using the auto pilot systems...it won't take long to get the hang of it.:-)Also, as things are settling in supersonic flight..take a look at the fuel panel...if using the VFE...see how the VFE is operating the panel...so when the time comes for you to take the challenge, you'll have a better understanding.OK, now your comfy with supersonic.Let's slow down. Follow the tutorial for De-celFinally, when ready for setting up for landingsa...use the training fuel load...set a good point say 15-20 for an ILS intercept...save the flight at this point, so you can repeat stuff. Then use the Auto-Pilot System to fly the ILS in Normal,Land2,Land3 modes. Once you've done these step by step phases. In a few hours, you'll have a good handle on flying this beautiful bird.Lastly, read the AOM Fuel chapter fully. Get a basic understanding of how fuel is transfered in the plane. Once comfortable with the fuel systems, then follow cold dark phases again..this time turn OFF the VFE...try to manage the fuel yourself. It's not difficult, just different and realistic. :-)Finally, once you can follow the tutorial steps and checklists comfortably. Then do the across the pond tutorial....and have a BLAST! Guarantee, if you take a step by step phase approach....you'll have a very rewarding first flight across the pond! Also, by this time you'll have a very good handle on procedures flying this beautiful Concorde.***One last caveat I forgot mention**** Keep in mind, when resetting the panel state...the INS, WILL NOT reset as well. You'll have to enter the coords everytime. But, when training, this shouldn't present too much of a problem.There is also a great forum on www.sstsim.com, were Andrew Wilson and the Beta and Development team...will be to answer any and all questions.Enjoy everybody!:-) Best,David

Even more to it than that. The truth is it was a very rare event for Concorde to ever reach 60,000ft. It only happened a handfull of times on the transatlantic flights to New York in the aircrafts entire history.It happened more on the barbados run because the high-altitude air is actually colder over the tropics, allowing the engines to function better and climb that little bit higher. But still wasn't an every day event. So, just like the real aircraft, don't expect to reach 60,000ft every time you fly. You'll only get there in the right conditions and towards the end of the flight as Concorde climbs slowly (say 60-100ft per minute) once in the cruise as fuel burns off.Since no other aircraft operated at those altitudes and the Concordes kept to their specific tracks, there was never any danger of collision, hence the 'cruise climb'.

I've always said your videos were fantastic David, and I'll say it again! Fantastic mate, really excellent.>I have the ITVV DVD on Concorde. I could watch that DVD, then>do almost the same procedures in SSTSIM...lot of fun!And me! It's a tribute to SSTSIM that the fidelity is spot on. You could almost be there:)Cheers,Paulhttp://www.bavirtual.org/images/sigs/paul_sst.jpg