I wished today to test the latest MSFS2024 SU4 Update (v1.6.34.0) with the default (Asobo/WT) Boeing 787-10.

And regarding this flight, for reference and background, I wish to point out, here, one of my recent posts, where I'd replicated the longest stint in the air, so far, of my entire life...from Chicago O'Hare in the U.S. (non-stop) to India's (capital) city of New Delhi (see that post, if you wish). It was in an American Airlines 777, so, in that post, I'd simulated a (RW) B777 flight of Air India (since AA no longer flies this non-stop route); strictly adhering to the (RW) route between KORD/Chicago and VIDP/New Delhi. 

My own (RW) flight, flown more than a decade ago, had lasted a total of excruciating ~19 hours (just 5 hours short of a 24-hour cycle...🙂...while scrunched in the Sardine class of the airplane...🙂...). However, that flight did not actually end in New Delhi, as simulated in my previous post. When we'd reached New Delhi airspace after been in the air for nearly 17 hours, the local weather was dominated by dangerously low visibility conditions of dense fog (a common occurrence there in wintertime), further aggravated by unexpected and heavy rain showers and our late-night arrival. Been put on a hold pattern above Delhi Airport, as we circled overhead of the city, while anxiously awaiting a chance to land, I'd (exhaustedly) peered outside my cabin window, but could not see (or make out) anything at all in the darkness, except the streaks of rain on the window partition, along with occasional flashes of lightning, illuminating the overcast horizon of the distant sky. At the end of that ultra-haul journey, it felt like a most vulnerable and tense situation, afloat within a metallic contraption; machine pitted against nature...which I knew is usually won by nature.

No, we could not get clearance to land in Delhi, so, after a significant pause, the Pilots and ATC, eventually (and jointly) decided to proceed with a diversion, duly conveyed to us by a comforting and (seemingly) confident announcement from the cockpit crew. For alternate choices for New Delhi, there are several airports that could handle long-haul airliners (each within an hour or two of flight time). So, the pilots turned our 777, heading for the city of Jaipur (VIJP), in a southwesterly direction from New Delhi (see my MSFS EFB Map shot below), across a distance of about another 160 miles and an average flight time of about an hour. As we flew on towards (hopefully) our final destination, my (simmer's) mind was racing though all possible scenarios. I recall, being then a relatively newbie in the simulation experience of large and complex airliners such as the PMDG 777 in FSX...🙂..., but apparently under the misguided perception of being an all-knowing (virtual) Pilot-in-Command (PIC) of the 777...🙂...piloting in the comfort of home...far from the reality...

Anyway, during the diversion, I could guess that we were most likely already tapping into the reserve fuel that was allocated when we had lifted off Chicago O'Hare so long ago, and moreover, I wondered what if the weather in Jaipur, proved equally unwelcoming. Nonetheless, despite these tense moments, we finally (and safely) landed on the runway of Jaipur (VIJP) airport, under not much better weather condition, but one which the 777 (and its capable crew) could negotiate with the 777's excellent (ILS) capability that is designed and proven to perform highly automated and precision approaches and landings in poor (or even near zero) visibility conditions. These are the times when we gain new admiration for an airliner that, we think, we know so well from our real or virtual world experiences with it, and this was one such occasion for me.

So, here we go, as I replicate, here, that short eventful flight from Delhi to Jaipur, not with a 777 but, instead, a 787. After flying (post SU4 Update 1.6.32.0) the default (Asobo/WT) 747-8 in my previous post, I'm now flying the default (Asobo/WT) 787-10 for the first time, also post SU4 (1.6.34.0). My objective was to test if SU4 has improved the flightdeck issues (e.g., loss of avionics displays) with this 787 (and also the 748), that have persistently plagued my (personal) Xbox experiences with these two nice (default) airliners, since the early days of MSFS2020 through MSFS2024 (and btw also in pre-SU4 MSFS2024). 

I am happy to report that this 787 performed flawlessly today, within my domain of knowledge, from the moment I took off to the (suspenseful...🙂...) moment I touched down in Jaipur (see my concluding images), without a single occurrence of flightdeck stutters or any other avionics issues (despite frequently switching from cockpit to external views, for screenshots). I've activated and maintained (automated) LNAV/VNAV guidance from right after lift-off, all the way to the FAF Fix of ILS Runway 26 of Jaipur/VIJP, while also making good use of the rain-spattered...🙂... (very nice) HUD display of this 787. En route, T/C and T/D markers (routinely) came and went (see close-up ND shot), with this 787 (SIM) dutifully (and magically) auto-initiating descent at T/D, and then (exactly) meeting the altitude constraint of the FAF fix, pre-set on the FMC.

Hope you enjoy this collection of images of my namesake aircraft...🙂...the 787 (I'd derived my username for this Forum from one of the first 787-8 sightings in the ANA colors at the Boeing Everett factory), as it flies here, in the command of yours truly, in the livery of the (local) United Airlines, on a short but nerve-racking flight...🙂..., set in the hostile conditions of heavy rain and menacing clouds. There was, however, just a brief (uplifting) moment of bright sunlight and a rare double rainbow (see shot #1 below) ...breaking through to bless my 787...🙂...

Meanwhile, my mind is drifting back to the past (but vivid) memories of that (same) RW flight of mine, from the yesteryears...

Thanks for viewing...!

Happy flying...!

Fine set of shots !

cheers 😉

1 hour ago, pmplayer said:

Fine set of shots !

cheers 😉

Thanks much for the comment, pmplayer.

Cheers…!