Just Planes Videos?

[Guest twsimfan]

I was looking at the Just Planes' World Air Routes DVDs figuring that they could be good study material for my sim time in September... wanted to get one or two that showed 737-300s and/or 747-400s. I ended up ordering six of the things.Has anybody seen any of there videos or DVDs? Are they any good?

[Guest effyouthree]

6 of 'em? Gee Tom, you ARE serious!I'm actually hiring out a plane next Saturday and all I did was download a checklist for it :-eekBut then, it IS only a Warrior :-lolHey, don't laugh - it's cheap, OK?:-waveRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Guest twsimfan]

Jon,"6 of 'em? Gee Tom, you ARE serious!"A bit excessive... but that happens with me sometimes. :-("But then, it IS only a Warrior :-lol"Now that sounds like fun! :)I just watched the first one:http://www.worldairroutes.com/FreedomAir.htmlKinda in your neighborhood. This one didn't have a explanation of the instruments but I knew that. It is short at 103 minutes so it was a good one for this evening. The scenery is great but you have to watch close to keep track of what the pilots are up to. The others I bought are supposed to have more detailed explanation of the cockpit.Almost enough to make me want to move to the land of Kiwis. ;) Brisbane was nice too! :)

[Guest effyouthree]

Don't worry, Tom - I get carried away with everything :-lolYes, weather pending, Saturday should be good. If the weather's bad, it's more harrowing but I'll get some instrument time in then ;)I looked at the site - nice videos. I've never flown FreedomAir as they don't fly from Sydney. We usually use Qantas for NZ. I note there's a takeoff and a landing from WLG (Wellington). This is a spooky place to land as the strip is perched on a spit between two sets of hills, with water at both ends, usually bathed in fog. I've never known an international airport that's closed so often. One week I was over there, it was closed every morning until 10AM and closed every afternoon about 4!Photo from the http://www.worldairroutes.com website:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/76564.jpgThis was an unusually nice day...Commonly known as 'Windy Wellington' (or 'Wundy Wullungtin' if you're a Kiwi :-lol ), one often spends the night over in Christchurch if the weather's bad. Bad? Try 40kt crosswinds with fog and rain - and it was fine when we set out 2 hours earlier :-eek All that said, on a nice day, Wellington is really beautiful.:-waveRegards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Guest twsimfan]

Jon,"Yes, weather pending, Saturday should be good. If the weather's bad, it's more harrowing but I'll get some instrument time in then ;)"I wish I could go along. :-( (;) )"I've never flown FreedomAir as they don't fly from Sydney. We usually use Qantas for NZ."Actually on the video they say they do... along with a number of other Australian cities. But considering that they also cover a bunch of New Zealand cities and that they only have 4 planes (the video puts you on each of them) they probably don't get there as often as they might want to imply."I note there's a takeoff and a landing from WLG (Wellington)."That was a really pretty one on the video."This is a spooky place to land as the strip is perched on a spit between two sets of hills, with water at both ends, usually bathed in fog. I've never known an international airport that's closed so often. One week I was over there, it was closed every morning until 10AM and closed every afternoon about 4!"When I was stationed in Seoul Korea I took a vacation to Cheju Do (an island off the tip of Korea... great vacation spot). When we got ready to go back the airport (the only airport) was all fogged in. It was only then that I found out that they had no nav aids at the airport... none... not even radar. No, it was not 1923... actually 1973 (which probably sounds about the same to you). We ended up being there for 4 extra days... the lucky part is that I had 5 days more leave planned... just hadn't planned on spending them there. :-lol The drill was that you called the airport each morning to see if they were flying that day. Having said that I must admit that those 4 days were the most fun part of the trip... and I had very much enjoyed the earlier portion too. We accidently ran into some US Navy guys who had a tiny tent (just like the ones in M*A*S*H) base on the Northern edge of the island. They were there to send out a homing beacon for a geoloical ship that was mapping the sea floor between the island and the Korean Penninsula... not a very demanding job (sending the beacon I mean). They invited us to go stay with them... we did... and we had a ball. They were living like kings there. Their cook was a 1st class petty officer that had been the chief chef at the Seattle Hilton but got fed up and re-joined the Navy... we had good eats! :)I'm about halfway through this one now:http://www.worldairroutes.com/dba.htmlIt sure seems to rain a lot in Germany! :-lolLets see... what have I learned so far?Different airlines program the voice annuciator to their taste. FreedomAir's say 100, 50, 20, 10, then you hit the ground. DBA's do it 500, 100, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 and then thump.The runways & taxiways in New Zealand seem to be VERY bumpy. :-boomI had no idea that the trim wheels would move around so violently with the AP engaged.The pilots seem to spend a lot of time moving the throttle handles when the speed control is engaged. ???At times the pilots can be seen to be moving the yoke around a lot when it would appear the AP is engaged and the ADI does not seem to reflect their actions. ???I guess that is about it so far.

[Guest effyouthree]

What? You like zero visibilty in a Warrior, trying to navigate within controlled (but very busy) airspace? Under these conditions, we have very strict limits as to where we can go - 5-7 mile radius (can't remember but I'd better get THAT one right before Saturday :-eek ) and 3500ft. Basically, you are limited to a holding pattern, unless you've submitted a flight plan to get out of there. I'll take some shots anyway - you'll either see Sydney or a white-out!As to FreedomAir, they probably DO fly from YSYD but I've never seen them there!It's surprising as to what strips DON'T have. I was surprised to learn that YSYD has no auto landing system at all - only basic ILS. They say they cannot justify the money since it's rarely closed due to fog anyway! I believe WLG is the same, hence why they abort many landings. I've sat in the terminal, and in 5 minutes, the weather has changed from clear and sunny to pea soup. You cannot predict it either as it's so localised. In fact, when the airport is closed, only a mile or so out to sea it's clear.At least you had good food and good company in Korea. I don't care if it is the Hilton - when I'm 1,000s of miles from home and I'm supposed to be achieving something, it gets very lonely in a strange city. More so when you don't know how long you're stuck there! When skiing in NZ 10 years ago, we landed in Christchurch, only to find out that Queesntown airport was closed. They offerred us a bus seat or a 5-star hotel. We took the bus and were skiing by 9AM the next day. Those who didn't take the bus were marooned in snowy Christchurch for a day. I remember 1973 well. I got my first motorcycle - later in the year my Mother passed away. Definitely NOT 1923 (which by sheer coincidence, was when she was born!).As to the voice annunciator, I thought there were mandatory settings - like all GPWS' must callout at 500ft etc. I am aware that they reprogram the voices as I've overheard a few. One airline and aircraft (no names mentioned) has rather humorous calls - like 'yairfihunnertfeet', 'twofifty', 'woaaaahunertfeet', 'yairthenfiftyfeet' and 'ohyairtwenny', 'tayn' etc. I was almost in stitches - so were the crew playing them back! Bumpy runways? Well, WLG is pretty bumpy, Auckland and Christchurch seem better but I don't know about the rest (Queenstown seemed OK too but it WAS a Saab 340...)Trim wheels? I've seen them in a blur a few times - mostly when turning across the wind on approach where, due to the lower speeds and greater turbulence, lots of small changes are required. As to moving things when the AP is on, this isn't unusual. In fact, I believe it's mandatory under some conditions. For example, you may be descending under instruction to 3000ft. You know that at 3000ft, you will be levelling off and require more throttle to maintain speed. You *could* just sit there and wait for everything to happen but what if an error occurs or you hit a sudden downdraft? You're gonna need some quick thinking - or...Approaching 3000ft, you pull back gently on the stick and commence sliding the throttles forward. If you over-react, you'll feel the AP working against you. I suppose it partly safety, partly just the pilot verifying that everything's under control. I do it on simulators (and will also do it in real aircraft when I'm qualified enough to actually use one :-lol ).They probably disengaged the yokes during cruise. Not sure where the law is here but I believe one MUST be engaged all the time. In some aircraft, the yoke must be disengaged for either crew to go to get out of the seat during flight. I've noticed that some 737 pilots (again, no names mentioned) push the yoke fully forward during taxiing. Apart from reducing wash, it gives you more space to fold out the taxi diagram!Ah, this reality stuff - it's a new ballgame for all of us ;)Regards,**************Jonathan Point**************"I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here"

[Guest twsimfan]

Jon,"What? You like zero visibilty in a Warrior":-lol... not what I meant... I just think it would be neat to be able to go flying in a sporty little plane. :)"At least you had good food and good company in Korea."That I did. It was one of those trips where almost nothing went as planned but all worked out for the better... the kind you always remember!"I remember 1973 well. I got my first motorcycle - later in the year my Mother passed away. Definitely NOT 1923 (which by sheer coincidence, was when she was born!)."You are obviously older than I thought. I got my first driver's license in late '66... but had about 3 motorcycles before that. Well if a 49cc moped and a 250cc Lambretta "style" scooter count. (Both Allstate (Sears) brand). The 3rd was a HD... but not much of one. My mom was born in 1924 and she is still with us but my dad died in early '74 so I can sympathize.Thanks for all the technical info... much appreciated! :-sun1I watched the rest of that DBA video last night. The pilot (Captain Puschner) on the Munich to Cologne flight really explained the systems in great detail... quite a talker that guy. :-lolThis afternoon I watched:http://www.worldairroutes.com/Atlas.htmlI need a change of pace from the 737-300s. ;)They had a nice cockpit presentation on the Anchorage -> Miami flight... then with a different crew on the Miami -> Chicago flight they went into more of the life of a cargo pilot... man those guys really get around! :-eekThe Dallas -> Atlanta flight in the 747-200 was somewhat of a shock... man that thing looked like Fred Flintstone's roller car compared to the 400.That did really highlight something I have been thinking about MSFS for several days now. In FS04 we have a B737-400 & B747-400. The 737-400 looks pretty much identical to the 300 as far as the panel goes. While the 747-400 has much more of a "glass cockpit" than does the 737-300 both have pretty sophisticated nav systems. Both have MFDs that can combine GPS with HSI and radar. The 747-400 can also display terrain detail although the pilots don't seem to do that... not sure if the 737-300 can do that or not. The FS Boeings nav displays are on par with the 747-200 (and not quite that since the 200 has a earlier version of the FMS... can't remember what they called it). Of course you can get most of that info (except the radar) by using the separate GPS but why can't they put them together as they should be? The display in the FU3 BeechJet does a pretty good job of it so it isn't like the capability isn't there. (Note to Chris Low: This is just reflection on my part... not a invitation to start a round of FS bashing. :)) I hope they can sort that out next time.