I would imagine the system depth is similar to the TBM.  I autopilot is based on a Century IV, which appears to rely on pitch operation, not IAS or VS.  You must monitor airspeed during the climb and adjust power and pitch accordingly.  You can use the rocker switch or use CWS to lower the nose to maintain a safe speed.  The AP control panel is located on the pedestal like the King Air, and Black Square have included the ability to click on the annunciator AP panel to access the panel for mode engagement.  The King Air is the same way, you can click the annunciator to display a mode control panel. 

The weather radar, pressurization, environmental controls, and other items are the same or very similar to the other gauges Black Square uses in their other aircraft.  The RealAir did not have advanced lighting options or very many details in overall operation.  It was limited by FSX-era modeling.  The Black Sqaure will have a rather advanced or complete accurate rendition of engine wear, environmental control, lighting effects, GPS integration (GTN 750, GTN 650, GNS 530, and even an old school KLN-90B).  The KLN-90 is a 3rd party add-on which must be downloaded from GitHub, from what I recall.  It is a mostly text-based GPS.  You can download the manual here:  Bendix King KLN-90B User Manual

You also have working circuit-breakers, an engine heater, engine trend monitor, KNS-81 RNAV navigation system, functional inertial separator, enhanced strobe light visuals, and a tablet.  Again, if you have the TBM, or even the other Black Square add-ons, you will be familiar with a lot of gauges and operations.  You will just have different numbers to abide by and some nuance with the procedures.

FWIW, I do not have a pre-release copy or beta privileges.  Just watches a lot of videos and read a lot of the manual. 🙂

Edited May 3, 20242 yr by Orlaam

26 minutes ago, ryanbatc said:

Have you watched the preview videos from Just Flight?  

I loved the RA.  It was one of my most flown addons in any sim, ever.  But this is a night and day difference of increased realism and systems depth compared to the RA dukes.

Have only seen the JetCat video.  I did question if the video was fully representative, did I not?

 

6 minutes ago, fppilot said:

Have only seen the JetCat video.  I did question if the video was fully representative, did I not?

 

I thought you were asking for a more complete video...  I would recommend the ones direct from the Black Square dev - they answer your questions.

I think there's 9 videos pertaining to the Dukes

https://www.youtube.com/@justflight/videos

9 hours ago, Cognita said:

this is our last update to 2025 -- or for most of us here whenever 2024 releases -- and we will all be much more frustrated if it is released with a critical bug. They seem to be doing what many asked them to do in the early days, test fully and take the necessary time. 

True. I overreacted. It doesn’t really affect me that much as I’m on the beta. And I’ll probably hold off on the Duke as I recently got the Tomahawk, and not long before that the 146. 

Now that I’ve calmed down sufficiently, I’m able to appreciate that they’re taking the time to sort out as many issues as possible. Joining the beta is very easy (for those who are getting impatient) and I wouldn’t consider it risky with the proper precautions.

Sorry for derailing the thread with my rant. I’ll get back in the Tomahawk cockpit now 😊

I am growing skeptical of Youtube reviews that that are rushed to chase views by getting the first reviews out. The price is also a bit steep. I will wait for some more critical reviews of the official release.

 

4 hours ago, pinepix62 said:

I am growing skeptical of Youtube reviews that that are rushed to chase views by getting the first reviews out. The price is also a bit steep. I will wait for some more critical reviews of the official release.

I'm biased because I've had access to the aircraft (making liveries for it and some beta testing - but I wasn't an official tester).

I've seen a few comments about the price.  For the bundle then I think it comes out to around 65 or 70 USD with conversion.  

Basically around 32-35 for the piston (which actually has two variants with different flight models) and 32-35 for the turbine.  Some of the instruments and avioncs are the same but that's where the similarities end.  The sounds are unique, the flight models are vastly different, the exteriors are different etc.  

A high end multi engine addon for 35 USD?  That's more than reasonable.  Probably should have been 49.99 for each.  I think I bought the Carenado Mooney for 34.99 when it was originally released hehe.  The fidelity between that and the Dukes is wildly different.

I own too many addons hehe.  I adore general aviation.  Without a doubt this is the most advanced GA aircraft I've flown.

3 hours ago, ryanbatc said:

I own too many addons hehe.  I adore general aviation.  Without a doubt this is the most advanced GA aircraft I've flown.

I couldn't agree more! This is one of the best addons I've ever seen for any sim. And I've been buying payware addons for over 20 years now.

 

 

 

You guys are not making our wait any easier...

Will this have airframe wear and tear and failures like the A2A Comanche? Or just system wear and tear?

1 hour ago, outermarker said:

You guys are not making our wait any easier...

And we made a lot of paints....a LOT 😂 

And most of them are dynamic reg compatible so you can place a French or Canadian or German or British or whatever reg you want on them.

I feel sorry for my Chancellor when I finally get my hands on the Duke(s). Flew her yesterday (after quite some time), and it seems she’s had quite a few updates since last time I used it.

The Dukes though… seems that Black Square has created a new category in terms of hi-fidelity.

Edited May 3, 20242 yr by Cpt_Piett

1 hour ago, ryanbatc said:

And we made a lot of paints....a LOT 😂 

And most of them are dynamic reg compatible so you can place a French or Canadian or German or British or whatever reg you want on them.

So no IRL liveries then?

3 hours ago, Tim-HH said:

I couldn't agree more! This is one of the best addons I've ever seen for any sim. And I've been buying payware addons for over 20 years now.

 

 

 

 

Beautifully done sir!

Parallel 42 decided they wouldn't wait any longer for SU15 and released SimFX early... Maybe same thing will happen with this? Ah, probably not 😁