[01OCT16] PMDG 747-400 Queen of the Skies II is moving to beta testing!

[pedrotrindade 335]

Thanks for the update. Beautiful work as usual, I Want that beauty!!!

[ryanbatc 12,775]

Looks pretty good. On the model PMDG is going to release, what is MMO? Is it .90?

[olspsd08 8]

Great news and product. Will it have weather radar like the 777 and 737? Thanks.

[HighTowers 1,434]

Oh how sweet it is. She's a beauty. Thanks for update

[AirbusGuy1207 1]

The 747 development is finally contacting approach, preparing for arrival at the airport called "Product Release"...

 

Great news, thanks for the update!

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Great news and product. Will it have weather radar like the 777 and 737? Thanks.

Of course it will.

[zsolt23 9]

Stunning work gents, cant wait to get my hands on her!!!

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

For those reading the thread, I'll toss a few more interesting details into the mix to reward you for reading all the way through:

 

Interesting tidbits about the hydraulic system:

 

Back when we started writing the NGX, one of our Tech Team guys, a very high time NG captain, brought me a video of something peculiar he had noticed in the hydraulic system status display on his airplane.  We discussed it and researched it in house in order to explain what he was seeing.  Sure enough, it caused me to write an actual fluid flow model that has grown and expanded through the 777 and now also into the 747-400.

 

This is a very complex fluid flow model, that uses compression data from the pumps to determine how much heat energy gets added to the fluid as it transits the hydraulic pumps.  The higher output pressure of the pump, the more heat gets added, obviously.

 

Our pump models account for how much pressure each pump creates, but also how much VOLUME each pump is capable of moving, because this has an impact on the amount of work the pump can perform.  Some airlines have a mix of air drive and electrically driven auxiliary demand pumps- and a few even opted for ALL of their pumps to be air driven.  This means the systems on those airplanes will accumulate heat and build pressure at different rates than the airplanes with mixed systems...   and yes- all of it is modeled.

 

In each hydraulic system, there is fluid in the reservoir.  And that fluid starts out with a known temperature, gets routed through a pump, through a system, and through a heat-exchanger to extract some of the heat from the fluid for other purposes (in this case, fuel warming- but we will talk about that in detail some other time.)

 

The amount of cooling you get through the heat-exchanger will of course depend on the temperature of the fuel in the fuel tank, and the volume of the fuel in the fuel tank as well.

 

A few nights ago, Ryan was running some tests on a very short leg (KLAX-KSFO, I believe) and he only loaded as much fuel into the airplane as called for by his flight plan- without considering some of the limitations of the fuel system or the hydraulic system.  Shortly after leveling off at cruise, he was hitting me up to ask if I could think of any reason why the #2 and #3 hydraulic systems were overheating...

 

First question I asked him about was his fuel level...  (Which was low- even for a 737...  someone needs to talk to him about contingency fuel and limitations!  )

 

But the fun doesn't end there- either:

 

As the fluid returns from it's journey around the system, and gets dumped back into the reservoir, it has an impact on the ambient temperature of the fluid inside that system's reservoir.  If you pick up  a cold soaked 747 and feel like watching the living, breathing simulation that is a PMDG product-  pull up the hydraulic page and watch as the temperature and pressure slowly reflect the use of the system as it warms up to it's normal ambient level.

 

(In the 747-8, you will even get an advisory message if the fluid is too cold for takeoff- requiring that you exercise the flight controls a bit to warm the fluid levels in order to clear the message....  yes that is modeled...)

 

We have also modeled pressure fluctuations as a result of system use (cycle the flight controls, for example and you will see an impact on your system pressure levels) as well as temperature impact related to system use. 

 

When you power the airplane down, and hydraulic pressure gets below the level that can support the wing and tail flight control systems, you will notice that the yoke and the control wheel behave quite differently than they do when there is hydraulic pressure available.  Yes- we even went so far as to model the tension limits exerted on the control wheel by the lateral control packages...   (Lots and lots of pullies and cable...)

 

That is just a tiny glimpse into the level of depth you get with the PMDG 747-400 Queen of the Skies II... 

[Jeroen Doorman 29]

[Tatave 57]

Apologies if this has already been answered, but is it possible to access a list of the liveries that will be included? 

[l_jayma 6]

I truly appreciate the time and effort and the depth of detail. Very excited to see the end product and the liveries that will come with it.

 

Thank you

[Cann0nF0dd3r 21]

Can I join the beta team please!!!!

 

 

Hey it never hurts to ask!!!

 

[Rickie Welsh 27]

Hello Captain Robert,  Thank you for the very illuminating description within your above Post but I will be the first to admit that it was all above my understanding.  I shudder to think what reaction some simmers will have reading that Post and interpreting the meanings when the 747v3 is released. Regards.

[anden145 2,281]

Wow! You guys go into details... (You do know, this has to run on an home-build computer - not CRAY, right?  )

 

This is really one of times, where I've sit back after reading a post from a developer and thought... wow - the amount of detail mounted in this plane is simply beyond thought (first time, was when reading about 3D modeled fuel tanks in the FSLabs A320X). 

 

That level of simulation and immersion is simply amazing that it can be done - and with a platform which is so old (FSX is what - 10 years old, or something?) - and even more unbelievable, that it can be executed on a home computer.

 

Quite amazing! 

[rondon9898 84]

Is that detail of hydraulic fluctuation already modelled in the 777?