I've posted about this before, but I'll repeat (since it's on topic) that I've been reading Mark Vanhoenacker's wonderful book, Skyfaring, and I'm fascinated by the amount of soul and poetry he's able to find in advanced automation.  Really a nice corrective for somebody like me who didn't necessarily think that going in.  Worth a look before you write off the Triple 7.  Yeah, I know, he's a 744 guy, but the broader point still stands.  

 

I saw that book recently in Waterstone's in Cambridge, so on your recommendation, I think I'll get it.

 

Regarding the forthcoming release, I have the MD-11 ( R.I.P. ) and the 737NGX, so I'm very much looking forward to PMDG's 747. Well done, chaps. :smile:

 

 

I saw that book recently in Waterstone's in Cambridge, so on your recommendation, I think I'll get it.

 

I really think you'll like it.  Pretty much "Saint-Exupery flies airliners," which is not something I'd say lightly. 

 

I was just hitting stride as an airplane buff when the 747's came in  - summer of 1970 around JFK was a very big deal.  Capped it with a flight to Chicago on Northwest Flight 7.  So am really looking forward to that Northwest Red Tail.  Mine was a -100... but close enough.  There aren't a lot of airplanes that have an emotional pull, but the 74 is definitely one of them.  There are some passages in Skyfaring about that - "I hope you have a lovely day in that lovely airplane," another crew tells them over the radio, somewhere over Schiphol.  That and the airport workers at SFO stopping work to take pictures of them as they taxi out...  good stuff...

IIRC, I saw one screenie a while back that showed the Queen on the ground with all her gear doors open- as if she was in maintenance. Can anyone educate me on what function that is?

 

 

Mine was a -100... but close enough.  There aren't a lot of airplanes that have an emotional pull, but the 74 is definitely one of them.

 

You are  right about that!!

 

Back in the eighties I visited Schiphol (Amsterdam , EHAM) airport  and for the first time I saw a 747 up close.

A KLM 747-200 (still with the short upperdeck) was  taxiing in slowly, docking at the gate.

 

I still remember today the smell of kerosine, the view of the 747 and the "wow" factor it gave me, the red NorthWest DC-10's and 747 classics standing "tail to tail" with the KLM (blue)  747 -classics and 

DC-10's on the other side. 

 

In Holland we have an expression: I was sold immediately, which means: I fell in love right away. 

 

I guess that fort most you guys, this sounds familiar??

 

Regards (and enjoy the anticipation :smile: )

A wonderful book permanently in my bedside book shelf. You can just open a page at random and read the poetic descriptions and be guaranteed flying dreams. He looks and sounds like an all round good chap too.

Love it when he says he prefers the 747 over his previous rating on A320 - "...because the 747 has foot warmers and the Airbus did not."

 

I've posted about this before, but I'll repeat (since it's on topic) that I've been reading Mark Vanhoenacker's wonderful book, Skyfaring, and I'm fascinated by the amount of soul and poetry he's able to find in advanced automation.  Really a nice corrective for somebody like me who didn't necessarily think that going in.  Worth a look before you write off the Triple 7.  Yeah, I know, he's a 744 guy, but the broader point still stands. 

Interesting comments about the different automation level between the 737 and the 777. I finally decided to start learning how to fly the 737NGX properly this weekend, and worked my way through Tutorial #1. For a complete novice like myself, everything seemed to happen very quickly once I was accelerating down runway 08R at EGKK London Gatwick. Of course, this is almost certainly because I had to keep checking the manual with respect to what to do next, whereas you guys will have the basics hard coded into memory! I actually paused the simulator several times to make sure that I didn't overshoot any "bullet" point before I had the chance to complete the required tasks. Unfortunately, I fell way behind during the descent and final approach, and that's where everything fell apart. To cap it all off, as I made my final approach, I realised that Amsterdam Schiphol airport was missing!! I must have deleted it at some point when messing about doing scenery tests, so I was rapidly approaching a grass covered field!!   

 

Still, it was my first attempt. Once I have retrieved Amsterdam Schiphol airport from the twilight zone, I will repeat the test flight, and see if I can make a better job of it :wink:

Absolutely 100% agree on the comments re Mark Vanhoenacker's Skyfaring. One of, if not THE best books about flying I've ever read.

Great book. Read it over the summer on my commute to/from the day job (when I rode the subway when it wasn't on fire, shut down, or otherwise typically "Washingtonian").

Interesting comments about the different automation level between the 737 and the 777. I finally decided to start learning how to fly the 737NGX properly this weekend, and worked my way through Tutorial #1. For a complete novice like myself, everything seemed to happen very quickly once I was accelerating down runway 08R at EGKK London Gatwick. Of course, this is almost certainly because I had to keep checking the manual with respect to what to do next, whereas you guys will have the basics hard coded into memory! I actually paused the simulator several times to make sure that I didn't overshoot any "bullet" point before I had the chance to complete the required tasks. Unfortunately, I fell way behind during the descent and final approach, and that's where everything fell apart. To cap it all off, as I made my final approach, I realised that Amsterdam Schiphol airport was missing!! I must have deleted it at some point when messing about doing scenery tests, so I was rapidly approaching a grass covered field!! 

 

Still, it was my first attempt. Once I have retrieved Amsterdam Schiphol airport from the twilight zone, I will repeat the test flight, and see if I can make a better job of it :wink:

 

Excellent! Missing airport!

 

There's a bit in the tutorial .pdf that says about TO;

 

Everything is about to happen all at once so read through all the steps/ phases below before releasing the hand brake.

 

They're not joking. First time I flew the NGX it terrified me - sweaty palms, racing pulse, etc. and I made a right royal screw up of it. A few hundred hours later and I love the thing - it's my go to aircraft when the sim is starting to get a bit jaded - never fails to restore my love of the virtual skies.

Credit Card ready....

 

Looking over to FS2Crew now..

 

EDIT: I thought the 777 will always be my favourite, but I really love the NGX. Shorter hops, more to do... Fun to fly!

 

But when I fly the 777 I feel relaxed after touchdown. With the NGX and VATSIM coverage alll the way - I am DONE after landing. It feels like hard work.

There aren't a lot of airplanes that have an emotional pull, but the 74 is definitely one of them.  There are some passages in Skyfaring about that - "I hope you have a lovely day in that lovely airplane," another crew tells them over the radio, somewhere over Schiphol.  That and the airport workers at SFO stopping work to take pictures of them as they taxi out...  good stuff...

 

I hadn't thought about it, but yes, you're right - the 747 does have a dash of charisma that more modern airliners lack. Maybe it's the last of that breed. I used to travel aboard BA and KLM 747s on what they called the polar route to Japan; London Heathrow northwards over Greenland, then refuelling at Anchorage before the last leg to Narita. I have a memory of the rear five or six rows of centre seats being replaced by pallets of cold weather survival gear - now I can't remember if I really saw this, so perhaps someone in the industry could comment on it. It's been a long time, and memories become distorted.

 

Something I do remember very clearly is flying first class from Singapore to London aboard an SIA 747. Maybe the best airliner flight I've ever experienced. :smile:

 

Glenn, Kyle - thanks for the further recommendations of Skyfaring. I'll get it tomorrow.

Love it when he says he prefers the 747 over his previous rating on A320 - "...because the 747 has foot warmers and the Airbus did not."

 

I remember reading that and thinking two things:

 

1.  It's amazing the difference between what simmers think about and what flight crews think about.

 

2.  How long before somebody posts here to ask whether PMDG will model the foot warmers on the 744? 

 

 

the 747 does have a dash of charisma that more modern airliners lack. Maybe it's the last of that breed.

 

For me there were two factors - the leap forward in size, and the sense that airplane design was still making dramatic progress.  Since then, we've progressively standardized on two underwing engines in varying sizes.  There's bound to be good evolutionary reason for that - we've figured out what's most efficient and what's easiest to maintain - but standardization, by definition, lacks magic.  I'd hold open a slot for the 757 - the combination of long thin fuselage and heavy engines made for a beautiful airplane - but it doesn't feel like a breakthrough the way the 74 did.  You don't see major airline ad campaigns for the new breed the way you did for the 74, or the Constellation, or the 707.

 

I remember how exciting it was just to see them in the flesh for the first time - there were several parked at the TWA terminal at JFK that you could see from the road around the airport, and they completely dwarfed the 707s.  And then there was the first time you saw one fly over and you were just amazed that something that big could get into the air.  That plus the grinding sound of the high-bypass engines, which wasn't like anything you'd heard before.

 

Looking forward to recreating some of that experience later this week.

Great book. Read it over the summer on my commute to/from the day job (when I rode the subway when it wasn't on fire, shut down, or otherwise typically "Washingtonian").

 

 

Now remember - Safe Track is making the world a better place for us all.   :rolleyes:

I remember reading that and thinking two things:

 

1.  It's amazing the difference between what simmers think about and what flight crews think about.

 

 

 

 

He also mentions that footwell warmers are an optional extra - that many airlines didn't bother with - including BA - so they are available - but rarely taken up on the options.

 

I am actually quite scared about flying this beast. I've not flown anything bigger than the PMDG 777. It's going to be a big curve. I ain't half looking forward to it though.

 

Now, where's that SOP!

I remember reading that and thinking two things:

 

1.  It's amazing the difference between what simmers think about and what flight crews think about.

 

2.  How long before somebody posts here to ask whether PMDG will model the foot warmers on the 744? 

 

 

 

For me there were two factors - the leap forward in size, and the sense that airplane design was still making dramatic progress.  Since then, we've progressively standardized on two underwing engines in varying sizes.  There's bound to be good evolutionary reason for that - we've figured out what's most efficient and what's easiest to maintain - but standardization, by definition, lacks magic.  I'd hold open a slot for the 757 - the combination of long thin fuselage and heavy engines made for a beautiful airplane - but it doesn't feel like a breakthrough the way the 74 did.  You don't see major airline ad campaigns for the new breed the way you did for the 74, or the Constellation, or the 707.

 

I remember how exciting it was just to see them in the flesh for the first time - there were several parked at the TWA terminal at JFK that you could see from the road around the airport, and they completely dwarfed the 707s.  And then there was the first time you saw one fly over and you were just amazed that something that big could get into the air.  That plus the grinding sound of the high-bypass engines, which wasn't like anything you'd heard before.

 

Looking forward to recreating some of that experience later this week.

 

 

Now remember - Safe Track is making the world a better place for us all.   :rolleyes:

 

The first time I saw the 747 was in Boston s Logan Int. I was on the observation deck 2 stories high, not household  dimensions! The pilots were looking down at me. I could not believe my eyes. Much bigger than my Piper Colt I was flying at that time. No rubber bands on that landing gear!

Best

BaldyB

Denis Bolduc

As we speak I am taking the PMDG 737-800 NGX into LFMN (Nice Cote d'azur)

 

This will be a manual landing hand flying the ILS down to minimums.

 

Practice - makes perfect.

 

I think we 're going to need it.

Sorry, no screenshots - all a bit busy.

 

Can't wait for the queen.