I'm curious about this. In the RW doing forest fire suppression I did some time on the CL215......a little smaller, max 43,000#, 90+' wingspan, coming off the water after scooping a load (it will never be accused of being over powered, lol), 2-2100hp R2800 engines. I'm going to watch threads on this aircraft and see how it fares.

The celestial navigation is of interest as 25 years ago I flew a Be200 around the arctic on medivacs and we had an astro compass on board and actually received training on how to use it. 3-4 hour flights were not uncommon so we'd sometimes pull it out and experiment with it. The appropriate tables were available then. Very cool thing. I picked up an astro compass at a gun show a few years back for a good price as it seemed no one knew what it was. Got it sitting in a place of honor in my man cave. I have a lot of respect for people who are/were competent at this type of navigation. My career started when GPS was still a wet dream. There is a book, a true story, of a 4 engine flying boat that got caught in the Pacific at the beginning of WW2 and had to take the long way back to the UK/North America. Really an interesting story. They literally flew around the world.

At the flight sim convention 6 or 7 years ago in new England I met a fellow who had a booth there who was  creating this aircraft if memory serves me correctly. From the UK? Can't remember. We talked about this and I gave him my contact info to let me know how it was coming along but never heard anything.

5 hours ago, Dillon said:

Thanks Jerome for the clarification.  Do you offer preset viewpoints from various sections of the cabin so one doesn't have to scroll all the way through the cabin to view the whole thing? Also to add to what you wrote above we need opening doors not only concerning the exits but the door that leads into/out of the cockpit.  Looking forward the opening doors getting addressed/implemented.

Thank you Dillon for this question about preset viewpoints to Jerome, as it is mine also 🙂

At least I would like to know how to get to those various positions, because then a simple keystroke will save it 🙂

While opening doors or the roof hatch would be nice to see, it is not essential to the use of the plane. I hope there are other priorities for the team to address

Regards, and a big THANK YOU to Stefan, Jerome, and the whole team for this nice surprise...

Scorpio47

P.,S.
Actually my question re predefined views is obsolete, as the standard MSFS keys work as advertise, so that for instance CTRL+9 sits you in the pilot seat etc.
I did not realise that at first, but all is there, thank you!

Edited March 12, 20233 yr by Scorpio47

5 hours ago, dbw1 said:

There is a book, a true story, of a 4 engine flying boat that got caught in the Pacific at the beginning of WW2 and had to take the long way back to the UK/North America. Really an interesting story. They literally flew around the world.

The Long Way Home by Ed Dover, really good stuff. Free on kindle.

https://www.amazon.com/Long-Way-Home-Ed-Dover/dp/061521472X/ref=asc_df_061521472X/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312202813865&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14049114541557898645&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1015550&hvtargid=pla-492658095975&psc=1

14 hours ago, bobcat999 said:

Not sure about the base and pro versions either. 

The way I see things, the multiple versions apply to P3d but not MSFS?  I only see one version available for MSFS.

@PILOT'S could you verify this?  Only one version for MSFS?  Thanks!

38 minutes ago, Stearmandriver said:

The way I see things, the multiple versions apply to P3d but not MSFS?  I only see one version available for MSFS.

@PILOT'S could you verify this?  Only one version for MSFS?  Thanks!

Hi Andrew,

Yes, that particular base and pro version link was taken totally out of context and has absolutely no relevance to the just released PILOT'S B-314 for MSFS!

To make it crystal clear, there is only one version for MSFS.

Jerome

With regard to the discussion about a bare metal hull, parts of the 314 (including all control surfaces) were fabric covered and it also needs to be remembered the hull is going to be exposed to sea water on a regular basis.

Note the nose detail in the photos below, it was not a smooth surface.

 

 

 

Good article:

 

https://airscapemag.com/2017/05/10/boeing-clipper/

 

 

Edited March 13, 20233 yr by Glenn Fitzpatrick

This is sorely tempting me. Until we get a Short C-class in MSFS, it's the ideal aircraft to recreate the Empire flying boat service to Egypt, and south and east Africa. I do not like the green interior at all, but I'm sure the repainters will address that very soon. Well done, Pilots. 👍

One quick question:
what is this red turning knob for and how to use it?

And how to set propeller pitch with an axis on my Thrustmaster Throttle (as I do in other planes with variable props)

Thank you for a hint!

Cheers and enjoy
Scorpio47

21 hours ago, cavaricooper said:

Jerome- I would very much appreciate some detailed photos/video of the VC and the start sequence.
 

I have waited for a Night Over Water for a long time now, and am hoping to be a customer. 

Ta- C

Carl, thanks for your interest! I have no time to throw together a video, below are some more detailed shots of the VC.

In my opinion the texture artist has done a fantastic job in how the various materials are represented. Various added functionality, such as the moving armrests, make the VC a very useable workspace.

Jerome

 

23 minutes ago, Scorpio47 said:

One quick question:
what is this red turning knob for and how to use it?

And how to set propeller pitch with an axis on my Thrustmaster Throttle (as I do in other planes with variable props)

Jürgen, currently that red knob has no functionality associated with it. For the prop RPM control I would recommend playing around with these propeller control variables - see image below. I think the PROPELLER # AXIS should work well, DECREASE PROPELLER PITCH and INCREASE PROPELLER PITCH may also offer the functionality you're looking for.

The SimVar used for this action is A:GENERAL ENG PROPELLER LEVER POSITION, in case that info somehow helps you or others too.

Jerome

Edited March 13, 20233 yr by PILOT'S

Ta Jerome! That looks fine… now to wait for someone to cobble up a review that shows the start. With the sheer size involved, is there thought being given to depth and more patterns/textures/stains/ etc. for the walls and blank surfaces in the VC? A wee bit sterile and monochromatic atm.

BTW I would echo the observation about the fuselage exterior needing more variation and less flatness… these were working boats with their accompanying rash and bruises.

Does Pilot’s have plans for period authentic ports of call across the scheduled stretches of water across the globe?

I have a feeling that Andrew will not be alone as he sets off towards the setting Sun on the horizon…. There’s at least a couple of us wanting to be Masters of Flying Boats!

 

C

Edited March 13, 20233 yr by cavaricooper

I have to say, this really looks like an awesome airplane. To everyone at Pilot’s, awesome job! I have very great memories of flying the freeware Clipper around the Western Pacific over 10 years ago in FSX, so to see the same aircraft at such a higher fidelity now is really cool.

4 hours ago, PILOT'S said:

Jürgen, currently that red knob has no functionality associated with it. For the prop RPM control I would recommend playing around with these propeller control variables - see image below. I think the PROPELLER # AXIS should work well, DECREASE PROPELLER PITCH and INCREASE PROPELLER PITCH may also offer the functionality you're looking for.

The SimVar used for this action is A:GENERAL ENG PROPELLER LEVER POSITION, in case that info somehow helps you or others too.

Jerome

Thank you very much, Jerôme, for your speedy reply and explantion. I am still curious thogh to know what that red knob did in the real plane... 😉
 

As to the props, I have assigned this axis and knobs on my Thrustmaster Throttle (also rudder and pitch trim as you can see) and they obviously work, as I can see on the changes they produce, but there is no graphical movement for the Props it the FE station, but the trim wheel moves and so do the rudder pedals.

No big deal therefore and it seems that there may be a missing link to those four switches, because they also do not move when using assigned switches on the stick of the default keyboard commands for that function. Again, no big deal at all.
Overall I am very much impressed with your work and have not discovered major bug or glitches so far (it might still happpen 🙂 )

Thank you again and congratulations for an excellent product. I hope it will attract many customers and to boost that number it would be VERY helpful if you could offer some scenery of those classic destinations in their retro form...

Cheers

Jürgen

Edited March 13, 20233 yr by Scorpio47

3 hours ago, cavaricooper said:

Does Pilot’s have plans for period authentic ports of call across the scheduled stretches of water across the globe?

I have a feeling that Andrew will not be alone as he sets off towards the setting Sun on the horizon…. There’s at least a couple of us wanting to be Masters of Flying Boats!

I second that, C. !!

The challenge is not only the proper use and operation of such a huge plane, but also the immersion into its history and for that extra scenery would be a great help (plus a few of those lighthouse stations in the oceans of the world and of course the possibility to use the sextant as it was in P3D5) 🙂

Let´s hope for the best and one or the other update to come out soon....

Cheers
Jürgen

6 hours ago, PILOT'S said:

Jürgen, currently that red knob has no functionality associated with it

I would still be interested to learn what the function of this red knob was in the original plane.... Can you tell me, please? 😉