Sartanius

Long time simmer, but been away for quite a while. 777 has drawn me back in; it looks amazing. Nick Collett's "PMDG 777 Initial Cockpit Thoughts" caused a drug-type reaction which left a pool of drool on my keyboard. It was like being in a euphoric trance! Thrilled that PMDG are letting it bake just a little bit longer so it's just right. Can't wait for this bird!

Ok, my post was a bit too complicated and it appears the pictures I added are no longer showing (not sure why, though). Bottom Line: What .CFG file do I edit to modify the Virtual Cockpit Pilot View to shift the CTL-Space "snap-to" position? Thanks!

I want to change the "snap-to" position in the "Cockpit View: Virtual Cockpit" view when I hit the CTL-Spacebar key combo. Right now the default setting for CTL-Spacebar is level with the windscreen and leaves most of the instrument panel out of sight below the view. I'd like the CTL-Spacebar position to pitch lower so that it shows me the instrument panel and less of an out front view. I can do this easily by adding a new, modified virtual camera view to the aircraft.cfg, but then I have one more panel view in the set of available virtual cockpit views to cycle through. Instead, I'd rather do this for the default virtual panel view, but I don't know where the configuration settings are. There's not a default virtual cockpit view camera configuration in the aircraft.cfg file; instead there are camera settings for "MCP View", "FMC", "FO Seat", "Radio Stack", "Overhead Panel", just not one for the pilot's "Virtual Cockpit" view. Attached are two pictures. The first shows the default view I see when I hit CTL-Spacebar key combo. The second picture is the view I want to see. Sorry if this is real confusing, but I appreciate any help locating where to affect the change to the default Virtual Cockpit camera configuration settings Default 'Snap-To' Virtual Cockpit View When Hitting CTL-Spacebar The View I Desire to See When I Hit CTL-Spacebar Thanks, Doug

I simply love the NGX! Without a doubt the highest technology addon available for FSX, bar none! Kudos PMDG!I also experience the same fatal FSX error when loading a flight that's descending. Enroute flights load just fine. Not a huge issue for me since I rarely load flights like this, but it is a problem that needs a fix at some point. Thanks for all the hard work!Doug Miannay

Got it. Thanks for clarifying!

Hi ???? [Don't see a name, which is required here in the Avsim Forums]VAs work a lot like real airline, hence the concept of a "virtual" airline. You join as a junior pilot and build time flying routes. Following each flight you're generally required to file a PIREP (pilot report) to log your flight and total flight time. As you build hours you climb the pilot ranks. There are many different implementations of VAs, so these general comments may be different for many that you find, however, the basic concepts are the same. Some VAs have their own aircraft paint schemes that you're "required" to use, but many don't have those requirements. You can also fly online in VATSIM if you choose, or offline on your own, it doesn't matter. They can be a lot of fun... give one a try!

Assuming you're flying the 747-400, you need to assign key strokes to open selected doors and cargo hatches. Bring up the FSX with the PMDG 747 loaded and select the "Add-ons" menu. Under "Add-ons" you'll see the PMDG menu, and within that menu, select "Keyboard Commands". With the "Keyboard Commands" dialgue opened, you'll see a subcategory labeled "Doors". Select that by clicking the small "+" sign and then assign keystrokes to the doors as you desire. Should work just fine for you.

Allan - occasionally I see a reference to the B744 Fuel Planner I created... thanks for the acknowledgement! Here's a link to the latest version on my server. Enjoy!Doug

You can give mine a try, although it isn't in the Avsim library. I created this B744 fuel planning utility as an exercise to learn .net programming. I'm certainly no expert, but the fuel planner seems to work just fine. It supports the -400 and -400/F as well as LBS and KGS.Doug

I, for one, was greatly saddened when Aces closed their doors and ended development on what, for me, was the most amazing legacy of PC flight simulation software available in the world. Yes, there were (are) other products like Fly!, ProPilot, X-Plane, etc., but none of them ever reached the level of flexibility and extensibility as MS Flight Sim for my tastes. When I discovered that MS had resurrected Flight Sim development, I was thrilled! I have no idea what the product will deliver, but am very excited to watch it evolve in the coming year or so. I have no idea whether it will be good or bad, but the fact that MS are at it again is very encouraging, indeed. What little we've seen and read seem to imply it will be very much like we're accustomed to, plus other features and improvements we haven't a clue about. We'll see. I am looking forward to this ride just like I did the rides between FS2004, FS2009 and FSX... but this one is a bit more special since the sim is rising from the ashes, so to speak.Good comments, and bad, are par for the course and we should all rejoice in the freedom to share opinions in a public forum. As long as the discourse remains about the product, anything goes... but personal attacks are definitely hard to read and understand. I hope those type interchanges are few and far between as we embark on this journey together. Blue skies, all!Doug

This happened to me as well after a fresh install of FSX and the PMDG 744X on a new PC. I found several forum topics that suggested a complete uninstall/reinstall of FSX which cleared up the problem in nearly every case. I took the plunge and the problem was resolved for me. I hope this works for you but YMMV.Doug

Dan - the numbers I used in my post above were from memory and turned out to be quite exagerated. It's interesting how far off I was in my judgement from what the numbers actually are. I did not have time to prepare the screenshots for posting so I'll post them tomorrow. In the meantime I will provide corrected numbers from a brief flight this evening. IAS only fluntuates 0.5 knots, and this is a constant cycle. Altitude varies +/- 20 feet, and this is a constant as well in unison with IAS. The "porpoising" is steady and continuous with the throttles and yolk joining in. This can't possibly be correct behavior since it is clear the Queen is hunting for the sweet spot and just can't settle down. Again, this also occurs during descent in VNAV. Screenshots tomorrow...Doug

Hi Dan... thanks for responding. I fly with the default FSX "clear" weather since my experience with third party weather apps has been a bit disappointing. This "porpoising" occurs at all cruising altitudes and is manifested by oscillating IAS (+/- 10 knots or so), altitude fluctuations (+/- 100 feet or so), with the throttles and yoke behaving as would be expected for the situation. This only occurs with VNAV enabled. VS and FL CH modes are quite solid. The Queen just can't seem to hold a steady altitude or follow a constant descent path in VNAV. This has always been the case with this aircraft since I've owned it. This does not happen with other third party aircraft in my stable.Thoughts?Doug

I have this problem as well. It's really the only troubling issue I have with the PMDG 744. This behavior only occurs when VNAV Mode is enabled, both during cruise and descents. Oddly it doesn't happen during the climb phase. I recently got back into flight simming and am using the PMDG 744X in FSX SP2 on a Dell XPS 720 H2C running Windows 7 x64 RTM. If this one issue with the Queen could be resolved it would make this combination nearly unbeatable. Suggestions welcome...Doug

I agree, Kevin. I wouldn't have believed it unless I'd seen it for myself. What's more peculiar is I get much higher marks with SLI in the 3DMark06 benchmark utility than what I get with a single GPU. Yet FSX does better with one than with SLI.Very strange, but I'll be using one from now on. My 4 core QX6800 overclocked to 3.73GHz is doing a great job!DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX (FW 175.16) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 | DirectX 10.0

Hi Tom,Thanks for weighing in on this! I watched your videos and reviewed your settings. I'm impressed that you use such a high AI setting for airlines plus autogen at "dense". Autogen at any level slams my system so I avoid it altogether.One interesting thing I just discovered... I have been running my twin nVidia 768MB 8800GTX cards in SLI with nVidia's latest drivers (175.16) and got the performance I described above. On a hunch I disabled SLI and went back to just one card and my FPS at KATL Gate 28 jumped to 30! Woot! There's obviously something amiss with the SLI implementation on this rig, likely drivers.DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 175.16) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 | DirectX 10.0

>Hope you saw Nvidia just released new WHQL motherboard drivers>for the 680i SLI motherboard. If you wait for Dell to update>the drivers on their site, you may be waiting for a long>time...>>Best regards,>Jim>Jim,Has there been any report that updating the motherboard drivers enhances FSX performance? Since I've had this machine I've shied away from updating the motherboard drivers since I understand this can be a bit delicate and could hose my system. Are there any detailed instructions on how to do this without breaking my 720 H2C?DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 169.25b) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 RC1 | DirectX 10.0

ajm254,I have the exact same PC and get decent FPS (high teens to mid 20s) in high density areas with no autogen and AI at 20%Could you please start up the LDS767 at gate E28 in Atlanta (KATL) at dusk and tell me what FPS you get sitting at the gate with engines running?I really feel I should be getting better performance from this beast but it's really marginal IMHO. If you're getting much better performance then I'd like to talk with you more about your PC configuration as well as your FSX.cfg settings.DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 175.16) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 | DirectX 10.0

Hi Steve,Testing has gone pretty well so far with only one tester unable to get the planner installed and functional. I have made numerous changes to the application since we started testing a week or so ago. Unfortunately for many I haven't implemmented KGs capability yet but already have a plan for how to modify the source code.If you're still interested, please send me a PM here at Avsim with your email address and I'll send you instructions and a link.Thanks, DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 169.25b) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 RC1 | DirectX 10.0

Update...After some "hit and miss" experiences with the fuel planner beta installation process (primarily due to Visual Studio ClickOnce web-based deployment issues) I have created a more traditional Windows Installer package to make distribution a bit easier.Again, if interested in giving the tool a try, please PM me here at Avsim with your email address.Thanks, and Happy New Year to all of you!DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 169.25b) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 RC1 | DirectX 10.0

I appreciate your comments Alex. It'll take some time to add "KG" capability to the tool but I'll start on the update right away.I bit of additional info here... since I don't have all the proper fuel burn calculation algorythms used by Boeing in a "real" fuel planner I have had to interpolate based on data in the table PMDG supplied on page 2-7 in the revised AOM. I created a database along those lines but added values for Trip NAM at every 200NM vs. the 400NM increments supplied in the table. That being said, a user of my tool can only select a route distance to the nearest 200NM instead of entering the exact route distance.If this does not supply the accuracy needed (or expected) by users of the PMDG 747 series then the tool may be of no use to some folks. I believe it does a great job for my standards, but there are likely much higher standards out there in the community. I'll have to get a lot smarter to make a tool that gives exact fuel calculations for precise route distances.DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 169.25b) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 RC1 | DirectX 10.0

Yes Ewing... I added the cargo capability last night and posted the update to my server. You are certainly welcome to give it a shot. You'll be the first to try it with XP SP1 so it'll be interesting to see how that works out.Send me a PM here at Avsim with your email address and I'll send you back the instructions.And thanks for helping me test the tool!DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 169.25b) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 RC1 | DirectX 10.0

John,Yes, the latest version (1.3.x.x) will allow fuel calculations for both the pax and cargo series aircraft. When I first sent this out for testing it was only for the pax version and one of the testers asked if I could add the capbility to do either. I finished that update last night. The only significant fuel system difference between the two aircraft is the basic operating weight. The cargo version is lighter. There may be some other subtle differences but I'm not aware of them.I believe you are the one I received an email from with your email address so I'll be sending you a link to the utility.So far only one tester has had a problem. All the others have installed it and run it with no problems. Thanks for testing this for me!DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 169.25b) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 RC1 | DirectX 10.0

I've had two beta testers report back their findings. One has had all kinds of problems with both the install and application and the other has had no problems at all. Both are running WinXP SP2. There are two others I've sent links to that I have yet to hear back from.So, mixed results at this stage. If anyone else is interested, please send a PM with your email address.Thanks!DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 169.25b) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 RC1 | DirectX 10.0

I've been using the 747-400X in Vista Ultimate x32 with SP1 RC1 for almost a week now with no flaws. It runs perfectly. This is the smoothest, most professional simulation I've used to-date! Well done, PMDG!DougDell XPS 720H2C (3.73GHz) | 4GB DDR2 @ 1066 | 300GB RAID0, 10k RPM (C: ) | 500GB (D: ) | 2 x 768MB nVidia 8800GTX in SLI (FW 169.25b) | SB X-Fi Sound | MS Force Feedback 2 | Vista Ultimate x32 SP1 RC1 | DirectX 10.0