ejoiner

Well, I never heard of Sam Chui. I never look at who took the shot when I go to airliners.net. (no disrespect, I just havent up to now.) second, you have to admit thats a highly highly unusual attitude to take a picture from in this day of ultra high FAA security in the USA. Also the picture looks just a little too perfect. I say that as a tribute to Mr. Chui, not a criticism.Eric

Looks bogus to me. But I did look at the guys other work, which is real enough. Man, that plane gets around...just looking at the other pics of her, this one flies regularly to Manchester, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Sydney, Zurich and Los Angeles (and back to Singapore!).Having been to Singapore a few times, I know its FAARRR Far away from most of these spots. Takes 23 hours of air travel to get from KATL to WSSS. (ATL is my home)Eric

Hi Steve,How bout some screen shots of this product integrated into a major city like Atlanta or Dallas or Chicago? I'd like to see how it integrates into city blocks etc. Also I would like to see it running at night and in evening time to see the lighting. ThanksEric

Holger, thats clearly evident in the screen shot of this product that F1 put up. For this reason, Im probably not going to be an early adopter of this addon. Great, great idea. However until I see how it looks running in a major city like Atlanta or Chicago or NYC, and see how it integrates at night, Im going to keep my coins in my pocket.Admittedly, though out west and in country settings, this could be something very neat.Eric

I can certainly appreciate such a loss. The market is small in the first place. So would seem critical to have a LOT of products out to spread the cost of overhead and to keep prices as reasonable as possible for all concerned. I can also imagine that most of the staff is multi-tasking on multiple products etc. Eric

While your point is well made, I dont think your estimates are accurate. I think they are high in a few respects. It doesnt take 300 hours to do documentation. I'd be surprised if it took 50. Most of the web sites are also not a big deal. However they do cost money.I'd say most of the time is in research and in the panel programming and the FDE. However that also depends on the airplane. Eric

Only minor gripe I have is I wish they had put in a more updated panel. Go anywhere on the net and you can see examples of these old 1950's birds still flying, but most have at least a more modern cockpit. Would be a nice add on feature for one of you panel gurus!I'd like to have the option of both old and new panels!Eric

I think I heard that the autopilot NAV systems were difficult to program and the plane had some counter intuitive systems compared to Boeing planes. Of course, this can be said of airbeese as well.EJ

I think it flies pretty good. Very stable. Easily trimmed. Stalls at the right speeds. Better watch a deep stall turning final. Good sounds. I fly almost exclusively in VC mode, which is great. Take off and landing speeds right at the numbers. The plane will do acrobatics, but you better have enough airspeed. If you fly inverted, you can hear the engine change pitch as if "you better not be doing this too long"... :-) I dont have a feel range accuracy yet because I havent done an XC yet. I also have no idea on spins. Thats not my thing. I'd love to get a "proper test pilot" report from somebody who is more technically minded.EJ

No worries mate... :-)I just had a helluva good time flying between two very familiar airports for me and shooting TNG's in this plane. 5-6 of em and back to the home base. (I live in Atlanta and the metro area has a couple of major civilian airports in KFTY Charlie Brown Airport, and KPDK Peachtree-Dekalb.) They are about 10 miles from each other as the crow flies ( :-) ) and navigating by eyeball reckoning was easy. Am going to have to get a little more involved in navigating by chart and ADF only...EJ

Jim, this airplane isnt even in the same comparison as any of those very complex airplanes. This is a basic trainer without even VOR navigation capability. Its a great day trainer and darn fun to fly. If you're looking for very complex air operations and systems management...this isnt it. However if you want to have to get out the sectional chart to navigate by ADF navigation and stick and rudder flying, then this is a great one because its also pretty fast...145 knots easy. My kind of flying. Eric

Gents, this thing is ABSOLUTELY the Cats A$$. Fantastic bird. The movement of the pilots etc in the cockpits in flight is amazing. Looks very real. Also the ability to fly from the instructors position in the VC is very cool. (have to slew the VC position, but the instruments all work from back there.)I was slightly disappointed not to get a navy version with the helmeted instructor in the back...and only two liveries...bare metal civilian and a yellow Navy version. Seems like I saw screen caps somewhere of a lot more liveries? Or maybe Im confusing another pending T-34 with this one.All I can say is this is a KEEPER. Hornit...get your credit card dude.Eric

"It was a crappy plane from a pilots perspective from those I have talked to about it."Sure was a nice riding passenger plane though :-) I Loved the L-1011 too.Eric

I didnt think DAL had gotten rid of the MD11's yet...Hornit...are they gone now? What a great airplane to ride in as a passenger. I flew on them to Japan quite a few times.Eric

Try the excellent products (freeware!) from ISD. Their italian airports are outstanding and FREE. I have noted no appreciable loss of frames using them with great satisfaction. Just do a search in the avsim library or check out their web site. (www.isdproject.com)Eric

Thanks boys.Answered my questions. I am pretty happy with the FS default in KATL anyway.Eric

Maybe if they changed their business model a little bit and encouraged more purchases by making at least some liveries FREE, then I suspect the revenue angle might go up. Also not everybody likes flying the long haul air routes. I love the 747, but rarely fly it because I dont have multiple hours to sit thru a transatlantic or other long haul. My simming is usually about 2 hours or so at a whack, though I have been known to minimize the sim and come back to it for a second session etc. In any case, never begrudged anybody a right to make a living their own way. The other issue is simply the amount of competition. Seems everybody wants to make payware these days...there are only so many dollars to spend. And with every turkey on the planet seemingly wanting 30 bucks for their addons, this is a highly selective process. Some darwinism here I think?EJ

Just a quick note. See where Simflyers has released a 2.0 version of their KATL airport scenery. Looks good based on screenshots. I am a former user of their 1.0 scenery back in FS2002. However dont use that version in FS9 because its a FPS hog. I'd like to use this 2.0 version and would pay for the upgrade if the FPS issues are resolved or not appreciably different than the default KATL. Before purchase, I'd like to ask that anybody who does take the plunge please post here so we can all see if any FPS improvements are available.ThanksEric

POSKY is donationware...this stuff is pure payware. No problem, but the guy ought to be clear. Im very interested in these because I have the RXP, but dont like a couple of things about them (like lack of XML capability, and the need to run a 16 bit "trainer" in the background.)EJ

This is an excellent util! I used it and my whole PC seems quicker. Good catch! Thanks.Eric

Only thing about the stealth fighter F-117 is that this airplane realistically is flown only at night at least in missions. So, if you love night flying in pitch black, this would be a cool airplane. Does it have night vision capability? EJ

Just a suggestion, but Bill Melichar has put a whole host of great freeware pacific island sceneries in the avsim library. Also if you are so inclined, Bill and Lynn Lyons did a yeomans job on their Golden age hawaii scenery and that comes with a flying boat to boot!Eric

I have the C441 and the C421. refitted both with Jetline 2 gauges from Reality XP. You cant beat either plane IMHO, though the Conquest is now my favorite between them.Eric

I can think of two reasons why this is happening. First, thats an early evening shot. FS9 transitions from day to night textures at some point during those hours and during that time will briefly show a mix that will correct itself within a few minutes with a complete transition.The second reason is whether you have full detail and reflections turned on for water and if your monitor cant refresh fast enough you will wind up with blank textures for a period of seconds. My monitor is an old 21 inch NEC Multisync 6FG. Great monitor, but will only work up to 60 mhz. I get brilliant graphics from the old girl, but if I try to push full water detail and try to pan around very fast, I'll get that blank texture thing. I hate that, so use less detail on water and all is well.Eric

Jeroen, pardon me, but I didnt see anything rude in the initial question. I think this is a matter of english as a second language. Something I think you may also benefit from because your posts more than a few times come across as terse and sometimes less than polite, which I do not think you mean. Chris Willis is extremely talented but also sometimes does not communicate well in english. (but I am thankful for his work and his efforts!)Take that advice for what it may be worth before pouncing on someone else. This is a multi-national community and Im grateful to contribute and benefit from it.RegardsEric