6 hours ago, diajohn said:

Now if we could get some -8 liveries for the I-Fly

I am pretty sure you have all the liveries for the passenger versions. The rest would be fictious. I dont think the Air Force One 748i is operational yet.

The improvements in Service pack 3 make for a really enjoyable aircraft, the VC texturing has been sharpened and a lot of time gone into the visuals inside and out. iFly have also  tweaked the engine sounds, they are now more throaty and deep, akin to the real 747. The flight model has not gone untouched with some work done throughout, the handling seems more definite and the sloppiness in the previous version has now gone. I'm currently flying from YSSY Sydney to SCEL Santiago as QF27, so this 13hr flight should give me a further appreciation of the improvements. The landing will reveal if iFly have removed the nose wheel castor that was evident in v2. All in all - a very good product and excellent alternative to the PMDG release - and with the bonus of the 747-8, which is loaded with new features. With Qantas still operating 747 routes, I now have another aircraft to use with my VA.

5 hours ago, tooting said:

I know  Mr Alan Chock will be along in a minute singing the praises of bbs

Since BBS make neither a 747-400 or 747-8, there would be little point in doing that, thus I presume you are referring to the fact that in the past (only when it has been relevant to the discussion at hand, which it isn't in this instance) I have pointed out that the BBS Airbuses are not as bad as some people would have you believe. I have indeed said that, because it is true when taken in the context to which I stated that, which was that at the time there was no other A321 available for P3D V4, and presently there still is no A330 nor A340 for P3D V4, thus they were an option should someone want a reasonably okay simulation of those aeroplanes.

At no point have I ever said they were the be all and end all of flight simming and anyone who has even slightly noticed my post history might also have noticed that I have the FSL A320 (both for FSX and P3D) as well as the Aerosoft A318, A319, A320 and A321 in addition to those BBS ones, and I would hardly have spent the cash on all those other ones if I was of the opinion that the BBS equivalents were the pinnacle of what is available and needed no substitute.

Thus your suggestion concerning me 'singing the praises of BBS' is in this instance not only a straw man, but also an ad hominem (go on, Google it). So full marks for managing to be irrelevant as well as wrong twice in one sentence, that takes some doing.

Edited December 26, 20187 yr by Chock

Wouldn't exactly consider myself an expert on the Boeing 747-8 by any stretch of the imagination, but thus far from a quick flight in the thing from Cologne to Manchester, it does seem like quite a nice addition and is certainly a welcome bonus considering it is basically a freebie for those of us who had already bought the 747-400.

Coincidentally, since it was quiet at work last night and I was out on the remote stands at EGCC tidying up the LDs, I was actually having a good nosey around a Virgin Atlantic 747-400 which was parked up there, so it was a bit spooky to come in to the crew room straight after having done that and then look at the Avsim forum on my phone and see that iFly had banged a service patch out for their 747-400 with the addition of this nice freebie 747-8 in there as they had promised.

As far as comparisons go, I do have the most recent PMDG 747-400 for FSX, although I couldn't bring myself to buy that one again for P3D at the price which was being charged for it, even though I do think it was great value in its  FSX form and a fantastic simulation of the real bird, so I dunno about the PMDG 747-8, although I am certainly looking forward to the JF 747-100/200 which is going to be released shortly too, and will be hoping they'll do an SP variant.

So I'll cheerfully admit that most people probably know a lot more about the 747-8 than me, from what I do at least know about it, this iFly 747-8 seems a bit more in depth than I was expecting it to be. I was under the impression  it was really only going to be a bit of a lookalike and not much more than that, although the developers were not exactly very forthcoming about how much they'd get into doing the EFB and stuff like that, but given that when I installed this service pack, it popped up with a little utility that allowed it to scan my entire airport sceneries files, it seems the developers might have gone a bit further with that than I supposed they might do. The EFB does seem to do a hell of a lot.

Anyway, here's a pic of it climbing out of EDDK for that first try out flight:

 

Edited December 26, 20187 yr by Chock

Judging the value of a product on the sole basis of its price is a meaningless discussion really! Before jumping to hasty and abusive statements, try to understand at least four factors (there are many others) that will play an extremely important part in the pricing of a product:

• how is the product made and by whom (full time developers vs free time sim fans),
• what is the business model (for profit company vs hobby lovers or part-timers) 
• where is the location of the development company (compensation levels, operational costs)
• what is the commercial policy of the developer (volume vs high average revenue per unit sold)

This is also called "globalisation" and it applies to a very large number of products and services...

So I am afraid "you get what you pay for" can be a very misleading statement nowadays! (Technobrain Tokyo anyone?) Only a side by side comparison will clear the matter usefully for everyone.

Edited December 26, 20187 yr by Jean-Claude

Chock wrote "The EFB does seem to do a hell of a lot."

Can you eleborate a bit on that please? Ie.can it show charts in pdf, load fuel and passengers / cargo via the EFB? etc.

How well does the OANS (onbord airport navigation system) work?

 

Jlund

13 hours ago, tooting said:

For once we agree on something anders

Yearh, I know. I guess, it was bound to happen... 

12 hours ago, GSalden said:

You mean : you say it as you think as it is ....

Just like any of us : an opinion..

Come on! Of course it's an opinion. So was my own subjective view. Everything is written in their own and personal opinion - viewed by our own 'glasses'. Please don't raise criticism or bash other people, because you presume otherwise.

But despite that, I still standby what I meant. In my view, you do get what you pay for. PMDG and FSLabs are expensive, yes. But everything from the the immersive sound environment, the modelling factor, details and realism like calculations of fuel, oil and hydraulics flow and temperature simulation. 

It's not a simulation of an 747 - it's a living, breathing machine you're entering... and you can feel it, the second you enter the cockpit.

The WOW-factor of these addons, so to speak. That is what makes the difference, IMO.

31 minutes ago, Anders Bermann said:

It's not a simulation of an 747 - it's a living, breathing machine you're entering... and you can feel it, the second you enter the cockpit.

The WOW-factor of these addons, so to speak. That is what makes the difference, IMO.

And? Do you own the iFly version? The PMDG is great. We all now that. Apart from that any of your comparisons without owning both products are completely pointless.

6 minutes ago, carlito777 said:

And? Do you own the iFly version? The PMDG is great. We all now that. Apart from that any of your comparisons without owning both products are completely pointless.

First: I have tried the iFly 747-400 and iFly 737 series for both P3D and FSX. I found both (and yes, this is my own personal opinion) subpar to PMDG! 

Second: Why are you stating that I'm comparing anything?! Come one. Don't put meaning into my posts, which isn't intended.
I wasn't comparing anything! I simply expressed my own view (again, my own personal reflection) as to why I think, the PMDG (and FSLabs and similar premium addons) are worth the extra price. 

Please don't infer any meaning or conclusion from my posts, which isn't expressed!

Thank you.

Jeez - kind of a sensitive crowd in here...

Edited December 26, 20187 yr by Anders Bermann

43 minutes ago, Anders Bermann said:

First: I have tried the iFly 747-400 and iFly 737 series for both P3D and FSX. I found both (and yes, this is my own personal opinion) subpar to PMDG! 

Second: Why are you stating that I'm comparing anything?! Come one. Don't put meaning into my posts, which isn't intended.
I wasn't comparing anything! I simply expressed my own view (again, my own personal reflection) as to why I think, the PMDG (and FSLabs and similar premium addons) are worth the extra price. 

Please don't infer any meaning or conclusion from my posts, which isn't expressed!

Thank you.

Jeez - kind of a sensitive crowd in here...

Point is that this is a thread about the iFly 747, isn‘t it? So what else are your praises on PMDG good for other than trying to convey that it is superior to the iFly? Isn‘t this a comparison? And it is one made without even owning the iFly. I would rather prefer hearing from those who actually own the iFly what their experiences are with the new update. Thanks. 

Edited December 26, 20187 yr by carlito777

40 minutes ago, carlito777 said:

Point is that this is a thread about the iFly 747, isn‘t it? So what else are your praises on PMDG good for other than trying to convey that it is superior to the iFly? Isn‘t this a comparison? And it is one made without even owning the iFly. I would rather prefer hearing from those who actually own the iFly what their experiences are with the new update. Thanks. 

Couldn’t agree more ...

5 hours ago, Chock said:

The EFB does seem to do a hell of a lot.

I should give an input in here.  The EFB is not modelled in the iFly 748.  Not all -8 aircraft have the EFB in.  All of my companies aircraft that have it are functional, however we don't use it at all.  And we have one aircraft where it was never installed (N859GT you can find a pic of the flight deck online).  What @Chock is referring to is the ND Airport Diagram.

Someone asked about fuel and cargo loading. It's all handled inside the CDU as well with a bunch of other options.

@Anders Bermann

You can say a company Sub-par (which means Below Average in case you really didn't know what it meant). And then say "I'm not comparing things. Dont be critical of what I'm saying". 

It's rude to the iFly team and highly niave.  The iFly producst are actually above the standard.  You have full systems modelling, failures can be simulated, the ECL is functional, TSS makes the sound pack etc,. I mean what is the standard for you?  Do we need to go around look at all these developers and tell them they are Sub Par?  

Lots of misinformation being thrown around....

So taking off my developers hat here for a second, and from a purely personal perspective :

iFly makes a darn good product. They are a very talented outfit. If you take your f.a.n. b.o.y. glasses off for a split second, you'll be able to see that.

FWIW iFly properly simulates RNP with actual Radius to Fix legs with their L/R Arc and distance. It doesn't use fake placeholder wpts to draw RNP arcs. That is an impressive development feat.

They also simulate GLS and GBAS as well on the 737 too. Not sure about the -8 but I know the real thing, like the 787 is GBAS capable.

Kudos to iFly on putting out another spectacular product.

Edited December 26, 20187 yr by American 833 Heavy

12 hours ago, Chock said:

Since BBS make neither a 747-400 or 747-8, there would be little point in doing that, thus I presume you are referring to the fact that in the past (only when it has been relevant to the discussion at hand, which it isn't in this instance) I have pointed out that the BBS Airbuses are not as bad as some people would have you believe. I have indeed said that, because it is true when taken in the context to which I stated that, which was that at the time there was no other A321 available for P3D V4, and presently there still is no A330 nor A340 for P3D V4, thus they were an option should someone want a reasonably okay simulation of those aeroplanes.

At no point have I ever said they were the be all and end all of flight simming and anyone who has even slightly noticed my post history might also have noticed that I have the FSL A320 (both for FSX and P3D) as well as the Aerosoft A318, A319, A320 and A321 in addition to those BBS ones, and I would hardly have spent the cash on all those other ones if I was of the opinion that the BBS equivalents were the pinnacle of what is available and needed no substitute.

Thus your suggestion concerning me 'singing the praises of BBS' is in this instance not only a straw man, but also an ad hominem (go on, Google it). So full marks for managing to be irrelevant as well as wrong twice in one sentence, that takes some doing.

******* it was a joke, calm down