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

[Cann0nF0dd3r 21]

haha - adorable cat aside, we don't accept applications for beta testers. RSR describes it in more detail here.

Yea I know how it works, I'm just messing around, if your not a well known You Tuber/Streamer like Froogle or other insider don't hold your breath. I'm a nobody in the simming world, just a wallet. Who knows, maybe 4 years after this one comes out I'll finally be able to get it! LOL

[Boomer 1,619]

You just mind your biddness, I'm trying to get into a beta here!!! Probably the only way I'd get my hands on it anyways...LMBO!!

 

I hear ya, brother, and I'm after the more pricey P3D version this time.

[Cann0nF0dd3r 21]

I hear ya, brother, and I'm after the more pricey P3D version this time.

Same here! P3D is my primary sim. 

[willywonka 36]

I'm very impressed by the subtle curvature of the CRT screens!

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Preston-

 

Hey!  You noticed!

 

Wait until you see it for real.  We recreated the entire structure for that AND for the CDUs...  makes it very convincing to look at- especially in changing lighting conditions.

 

Oh- and i forgot to include an image with the LCD format...  I'll get on that...

[Tabs 2,790]

I'm very impressed by the subtle curvature of the CRT screens!

 

I'm really happy someone noticed this - it's one of those little details that's really apparent when you sit in the real CRT version cockpit. When you flip our displays to the LCD version they go flat and take on a more matte anti-glare look with less harsh reflections like the real things too!

[Cann0nF0dd3r 21]

I know the tanking functions wouldn't work and weight and balance probably wouldn't be near right but any chance of a skin at least for this bad boy! 

 

[Tabs 2,790]

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). 

 

For what it's worth, we've had a 3-dimensional fluid sloshing model in our fuel tanks since at least 2008 with the NGX development. Just because we don't go way out of our way to specifically market/advertise all the little things we do doesn't mean they aren't there.

[G MIDY 84]

Amazing that the whole software for this thing came on floppy disks in the maintenance binders... You really can't beat the older iron and it will be great to get back to a proper hand-flyer!

 

I really cannot wait for this release more than ever, 2 days vacation left to use before the end of the year, just tell me when guys! :wink:

[anden145 2,205]

For what it's worth, we've had a 3-dimensional fluid sloshing model in our fuel tanks since at least 2008 with the NGX development. Just because we don't go way out of our way to specifically market/advertise all the little things we do doesn't mean they aren't there.

 

Now that you mention it, I remember You where talking about it at some point... 

Thanks for pointing it out  :smile:

[jcrescent 1]

What great news, this particular bird I've been looking forward to fly for some time now. My first commercial flight was on a 747 from Lufthansa when I was around 2 and I've been admirer of the 747 ever since. The images shown definitely capture the beauty of the real deal. Nicely done guys, a real classic.

[Werner747 107]

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... 

Dear Robert,

 

when reading all of this, the first thing that goes through my mind is WOW...   The next thing is actually sadness - I always thought I had a good understanding of these amazing simulations, but when reading all of this, I am sad that a good 80% of simmers at least (like myself), who don't know about all of these things probably will completely overlook it!   The depth is so immense it overwhelms me!

 

I know you guys do it because it is what YOU want to see, but I have just committed myself to ever deeper study of the manuals and systems!   This kind of effort must be rewarded by actually managing to pick up on these little details.

 

Amazing job team, keep it going!

 

Regards

[Spidierox 4]

yes, same here... (see previous post) .

 

So maybe why don't you list these details in the aircraft introduction documentation, because so many good details are lost because we simply don't know... 

You have worked so hard for these details you should pronounce them more...

 

And as "just a simmer" I only get to appreciate the product with the level of detail even more as I start understanding fe. the fluid part.

-- now, after reading this I want to explore it and see how it affects : set up a flight in cold weather and watch the temperature.

 

Listing in a document must not be a novel but at least mention these things... It is not only about flying realistic but learning how the actual system works and having it modeled.

[Michael Moe 456]

Dear Robert,

 

when reading all of this, the first thing that goes through my mind is WOW...   The next thing is actually sadness - I always thought I had a good understanding of these amazing simulations, but when reading all of this, I am sad that a good 80% of simmers at least (like myself), who don't know about all of these things probably will completely overlook it!   The depth is so immense it overwhelms me!

 

I know you guys do it because it is what YOU want to see, but I have just committed myself to ever deeper study of the manuals and systems!   This kind of effort must be rewarded by actually managing to pick up on these little details.

 

Amazing job team, keep it going!

 

Regards

+1 to this

 

Great work as always and cant wait to get it in my hangar in P3D.

 

So many fantastic information in this thread regarding the hard depth and passion .

 

You should really consider a "behind the scene" video or "hand book" .

 

 

Those information would really be pretty hard to find in the FCOM i would guess

 

Many ways to have a learning  curve  :wink:

 

Thanks

 

Michael Moe

[NMahinK 10]

I'm very impressed by the subtle curvature of the CRT screens!

 

I thought something was playing with my eye sight!