Bravo to Geof's B33 - but even more to his support

[Guest]

I just thought I'd drop a line of thanks and recognition to Geof for his excellent aircraft - but even more to his personal attention and thoughtful support (in near immediate response times) for his craft once it was released. While every piece of software has the potential to have a few problems slip through, not every author has the will, desire or skill to stay on top of "customer" problems once they arise.Geof has done this in spades. As a freeware author, I find Geof has shown remarkable restraint to some of the posts which proclaim the end of the world (you know, those that begin with all caps and have copious exclamation marks added for attention: those drive me NUTS!!!!). That Geof has spent so much of his time post release to help those having any difficulty speaks volumes about his character - and showcases a freeware author's dedication to his work.So, heres to you Geof. I have gained much respect for you beyond the release of your superb aircraft.:-beerchug(Note: I had and have virtually nothing to do with the B33's development or release just in case anyone thinks I'm somehow biased here... I simply provided some server bandwidth to him and others during their months of hard work - and even then I messed up a few times. @-@)Take care,http://members.rogers.com/eelvish/elrondlogo.gifhttp://members.rogers.com/eelvish/flyurl.gif

[Guest]

Hi Elrond,I want to second your declaration of Geof's good stewardship of the remarkable Debonair B33. He definitely is a responsible author and gentleman. And I am amazed at the amount of time he has spent answering questions and putting together fixes to the very few glitsches that this great panel has had. And we must remember, this is Freeware. This author definitely is worthy of awards not only for his creation, the Deb, but also for his backing it up all the way.I rest..............Nick

[Guest]

Elrond, Well said. Geof's dedication to solving his "customers" problems has amazed me. The Deb is an outstanding product and his support has exceeded anything I've seen from a freeware author. Geof, Thanks for everything!Gardy

[MM 422]

Absolutely true. Geof and James have set the standard for excellence in our flightsim community. That we could emulate them...It is genuine pleasure to see these two men in action.Another tip of the cap to a class act.Mike

[Dean_EGTC 57]

Couldn't agree more Elrond. Geof's professionalism & courtesy in dealing with these tiny glitches, is remarkable.I hope to have my first repaint of this terrific little AC finished shortly :)Congrats again Geof.

[Geofa 108]

Thank you all-I am really blushing over this one!At least for me, in perspective it shows the whole difficulty of flight sims.We put out one simple aircraft-beta tested it by 6 persons before releasing, and with a few minor glitches it was deemed ready.Then it is released, thousands get it, and all the glitches you would have never imagined come out.It is interesting that out of now 3000 downloads now-I got about 12-15 emails and read a few assorted posts (but I expect there were more) about the hsi not showing up. What a wierd thing!!? Now what I found out is the hsi was the first gauge I started working on a year and 1/2 ago-at the time I used the bell206 gauge (if I recall right)and was using fs2000. Anyway-the problem seemed to be that it was a fs2000 gauge-and somehow was updated in fs2002. Why it worked fine on my computer, and it appears for the majority, but caused havoc for some I can't understand-but it shows how complex the variables are. I assumed a bell gauge was a bell gauge-and for some strange reason a lot of computers didn't seem to mind either-but some did...Now I worked all day yesterday redoing the gauge in xml-uploaded it satisfied that the problem is solved-and then screw up the upload on my end-why?-cause there are hundreds of little icon folders scattered all over my desktop with this version and that version, and modified this and that, and this panel.cfg and that....I hope it is right now! :-zhelpIn any case-I hope everyone will continue to be as patient and will finally end up with a nicely (but improvable) model of my aircraft. It does make you wonder with a whole complex flight sim like Ms2002 or Fly, the problems that can't be foretold, even with careful testing; and at some point you say it's time to put it out and see what happens.I'd like to take this time to (assuming the hsi thing is fixed for now) tell what is happening at this point. If the deb is pretty stable generally at this point, we will continue to monitor comments, and critiques-so have away at them. Some will try to be improved if the knowledge of how to do it is there(and even time)-and if you have the knowledge of how to do it please share it!The first day I uploaded the Deb I made a statement that I am not a flight model person and would appreciate some help. I am glad to say a kind person immediately emailed me and is already doing considerable work on this end (already sent me pages of data to look over)and a new flight model.James is trying again on the virtual cockpit-and again he informed me today that gmax decided to eat the whole thing. This part is frustrating as we get real close, and then to have to start at square one again is a real downer.W'ell see what happens-but hopefully at this point it will be usable for a while in its present version.Thanks again for all the nice comments from everyone-again this plane is not my single doing-but a lot of people's doings, and lots of contributions. Thanks,Geofhttp://members.telocity.com/~geof43/geofanim2.gif

[Guest]

I'd just like to chime in here after downloading this beautiful Aircraft, Geof,I think you and James have done a wonderful job!, there invariably is always a couple of things that slip through and your support of any little issues is quite amazing, my hat's off to you:)I've downloaded loads of stuff over the years and the Debonair to me is one of the best pieces of freeware I've had the pleasure of using, insofar as the care and attention to every detail to replicate that plane really does show.Fantastic work!! and am sure any little niggles will be sorted. A lot of comercial, nevermind freeware developers could do with taking a leaf out your book, Geof!;)Best regardsDave

[Guest RobA]

Hi Goef, I'd say it's more than just useable in it's present form! Just finished 10 hrs worth of flights in Sweden using Radar Contact. Flawless performance from the Deb and RC.FYI I installed the Deb into fs2k2 running Win98SE with no hiccups at all. I haven't put in the "fix", but I don't suppose it would hurt? 1.4 gig Athalon 512 MB DDR RAM GForce card w/64MB of DDR RAM..... very smooth. I've taken the liberty to scotchguard the seats. :-) Least I could do for the loan of this great aircraft you guys! Somehow, I feel I should chip in for the annual... he heBest, Rob[table border=2 bgcolor=#eeeeee][tr][td]http://avsim.com/flightdeck/images/Radar_small.gif[/td][td]Beta tester for Radar Contact] the premier ATC adventure add-on for FS

[Sonar5 3]

Whooowhooooo....It's the weekend. I've had a busy last couple of days, but I want to step in and say Congrats as well for a job well done. Geoff, the dedication you have put in on this post-release is impressive to say the least.I think like you said, out of 3023 downloads, it looks like only a few minor glitches.It is wild how neither you, nor I had the HSI concerns that others did, But I did find it somewhat humerous about the missing radio stacks... :-) I recall that one vaguely... hehehe... ;-)Well, enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend as you have made many others quite happy with plenty to explore in the Debonair. Great Job,Best Regards,Joe Cheers :-beerchugProud Debonair Beta Testerhttp://home.attbi.com/~jranos/mysig.jpg http://avsim.com/hangar/air/bfu/logo70.gif

[MM 422]

Dean,Hope that your repaint will have a European home. Let me lobby for British numbers...we need something to fly to Blackpool!The SE-KIU was a real beaut. :-sun1Mike

[Dean_EGTC 57]

Hey Mike,I was going to ask if you'd got SE-KIU :)See G-HOPE below ;)

[CharlieZ 0]

I have many aircraft on my hard drive, both freeware and payware, but my default aircraft on starting fs2002 is Geof's B33 Debonair. Thank you for sharing your marvelous aircraft with us. I am not a pilot, but have already logged over 20 hours on your aircraft in various parts of North America.Thanks again Geof,

[fbevard 0]

Many thanks to Geoff and James for a great piece of work !!!!I'm enjoying it immensely and have not had the HSI problem.

[Guest artl]

I am flying the deb with FS2002 non-pro, and it flies just fine!I was wondering.... Your panel.cfg has the [Window00] specifications showing the HSI as being gauge15=deb!Horizontal Situation Indicator, 336,796,130,123while the [Vcockpit01] specifications have:gauge12=b33!HSI, 305,547,67,141I was just wondering if the b33 should actual be the deb guage??The only problems I have:1. Outside views show the plane all black.2. Aileron knob turns, but does not seem to DO anything3. I do get the b33.gau warning4. I get an Fs2002 error ON EXIT, but by then the flight is over and who cares.Otherwise, I get all the keypad directional views (no passengers),the standard cockpit/cowl view, all the shift-# screens (all working),etc. Does it really fly that docile? I am not a pilot, but it seemslike a real pussycat.... stall under 40knots...Art.

[Guest artl]

re prev post....enclosed square brackets removed the enclosed words...Window00 section for the deb hsi, and Vcockpit section for the b33!Art.