[01OCT16] PMDG 747-400 Queen of the Skies II is moving to beta testing!

[BaldyB 20]

I think the days of there being a big difference between computer monitors and TVs is passing.  Today there are many good 4K TVs with 16:9 ratio that are capable of knocking your socks off.  I've had the 42-in Samsung for most of the year and I love it. The only thing I notice different from a computer monitor is that I have to turn it on and off, the HDMI 2.0 is easily capable of the 4K resolutions at 60Hz although I use it at 30Hz refresh and 20 fps locked frame rate.

Things are changing fast, 4K-5K, refresh rates etc. I read about one, If memory serves, had a 16.9 ratio and a curved screen which mitigated a problem for some regarding viewing angles? A conversation about HDMI 2.0 and Display ports ensued, it seemed to settle on the the Display Port being a bit more robust,faster regarding refresh rates. Naturally a few folks disagreed.

Their is one fact that's firm, larger TV/Monitors are coming, and you don't need to have the eye site of an eagle to see the difference.  I can envision a day when we will be able to sit down and initiate a flight in real time with Google Earth. We will be able to look down and check out the traffic and see if the wife broke down if she's a little late. We will be able to call up past times and seasons to relive/visit events Good or Bad and get an overview of what actually did transpire! You will need to inject your flight in real time, (or have the option) with real time ATC. I know that,s a tall one! Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself a bit, however I remember when I only had a command line, no graphics and 256K of system memory was all you will ever need. I remember paying $5,000.00 for a 5 MB hard drive, feeding 14-5.25 floppy's into a Digital Professional System 425 for it's Operating System.  The hard drive wasn't big enough, and no made one big enough! I also remember Mosaic, the first graphical browser, It was created by Mark Andresson at a Darpa University site. Read Al Gore, he created the legislation! 

We  have come a loooong way baby!

BaldyB                                     

[Steve Dra 7,588]

 

 

I can envision a day when we will be able to sit down and initiate a flight in real time with Google Earth. We will be able to look down and check out the traffic and see if the wife broke down if she's a little late. We will be able to call up past times and seasons to relive/visit events Good or Bad and get an overview of what actually did transpire! You will need to inject your flight in real time, (or have the option) with real time ATC. I know that,s a tall one! Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself a bit, however I remember when I only had a command line, no graphics and 256K of system memory was all you will ever need. I remember paying $5,000.00 for a 5 MB hard drive, feeding 14-5.25 floppy's into a Digital Professional System 425 for it's Operating System. 

 

I hope I'm around when this happens...but I'm sure by then we'll all be on very advanced VR headsets... and big monitors will be what we look back at and say "remember how silly we were about getting a large monitor to sit in front of for such an unrealistic 2d experience?":smile: 

I also envision a body suit you wear with your VR headset that gives you tactile feedback on your fingers when you push a button or turn a knob in your VR world.  And when you grab the yoke and pull pack, it will send a single to the arms in the VR suit to increase resistance, just as if you're really pulling back on an actual yoke.  Finally, the chair you sit on will have a full axis movement motor that will complete the immersion. (well... sound, smell, temp and pressure would also be simulated by then to "really" complete the experience, but I'll take what I listed above for now, hehe.

 

With all that said...one has to wonder how far Holo-decks really are off into the future?

 

Back to the 4k recommendations, I have a 55" 4k running just under the full 4k resolution with a 970 and it works very well (using HDMI input, not even sure if its ver 2 or not).

In all honesty, I'd hold off buying a big monitor if you can and see where VR goes in the next year.

 

I'm hoping for an Oculus soon...so maybe I'll be putting my monitor up for sale. (its really a TV but now-a-days that is becoming moot). 

[Qavion 19]

EE CLNG SUP FAN (Status message) ??? Aircraft power and Equip Cooling switch seems to be normal.

 

 

I figured out why the message was there in Froogle's v3 preflight/startup video. After replaying the video... I see the Utility Busses were selected off....

 

A trap for old-timers who never switch off the Utility Busses  

 

Cheers,

John H Watson

[BaldyB 20]

 

 

I hope I'm around when this happens...but I'm sure by then we'll all be on very advanced VR headsets... and big monitors will be what we look back at and say "remember how silly we were about getting a large monitor to sit in front of for such an unrealistic 2d experience?":smile:

 

Me too! Was born on the same day as George Washington, 2/22. I then had to explain to the kids what a difference years can make. They were telling their teachers that I was with George when he chopped the cherry tree down? Didn't get that from me!

On the other hand I'll only be 82 next Feb. I say you gotta live until the day you die, came close many times, before Korea.

Best of Luck.

Baldy B

Denis Bolduc

[r_stopnicki 92]

 

 

Finally, the chair you sit on will have a full axis movement motor that will complete the immersion.

 

Now you are talking Steve!!

I know there are some moving chairs out there, but I don't think they are ready yet for the "average Joe".

I already have pedals, yokes, throttles, buttons, dials and other doodahs! One of those chairs would certainly make a big difference. 

 

 

On the other hand I'll only be 82 next Feb

 

Fantastic Denis!! May you post here for decades to come!!

I am only 68, building plastic models and fighting my grandchildren for MY simulator!!

 

Cheers!

Roberto

[Steve Dra 7,588]

Me too! Was born on the same day as George Washington, 2/22. I then had to explain to the kids what a difference years can make. They were telling their teachers that I was with George when he chopped the cherry tree down? Didn't get that from me!

On the other hand I'll only be 82 next Feb. I say you gotta live until the day you die, came close many times, before Korea.

Best of Luck.

Baldy B

Denis Bolduc

Hey Denis,

I agree with your philosophy about living to the day you die, and I had a few days over in the Persian Gulf that had me wondering as well.

 

I'm just a young'n at 55, but I always say its not the years, its the mileage, hehe.  

 

I'd like to offer you a repaint of your choice for the Queen when she's released if its not already included, to thank you for your service to our country.  I've been known to paint requests in the past, and although you actually haven't requested a paint, I like to offer them to deserved members of our community. :wink:   If you like freighters then you're really in luck as I do as well, and I plan several liveries for this release.

Let me know if you have a livery in mind and I can start looking for good resources to paint her.

[Boomer 1,619]

Well done, brother Steve.

[Spidierox 4]

when will it be relesed

 

hhahaha..nice try

[BaldyB 20]

 

 

I'd like to offer you a repaint of your choice for the Queen when she's released if its not already included, to thank you for your service to our country. I've been known to paint requests in the past, and although you actually haven't requested a paint, I like to offer them to deserved members of our community. :wink: If you like freighters then you're really in luck as I do as well, and I plan several liveries for this release.

Let me know if you have a livery in mind and I can start looking for good resources to paint her.

 

Steve, thank you for the most generous offer!

"PA PA Buck's Air Freight" would be fantastic for the Grand & Great grand kids. To many to name on one plane and your generous offer should not be taken advantage of in an ungracious manner. I would like your name on the tube so they will know who painted her. Thank You.

I will leave it to you as to what colors or layout is best, your the expert. I couldn't paint a set of barn doors!

 

Thank you again.

Best!

BaldyB

Denis (Buck) Bolduc   

[Steve Dra 7,588]

Steve, thank you for the most generous offer!

"PA PA Buck's Air Freight" would be fantastic for the Grand & Great grand kids. To many to name on one plane and your generous offer should not be taken advantage of in an ungracious manner. I would like your name on the tube so they will know who painted her. Thank You.

I will leave it to you as to what colors or layout is best, your the expert. I couldn't paint a set of barn doors!

 

Thank you again.

Best!

BaldyB

Denis (Buck) Bolduc   

Hey Buck,

I'm ready to use my artistic license to create an aircraft you'll enjoy flying and showing to the kids!  However, we're faced with certain issues that can be easily resolved by a few answers from you.  (All the answers can be PM'd to me, or just email me the info)

1. Name your favorite 2 colors
2. Do you have a family crest? (If so and you want it on your plane, just send it to me (via PM).)
3. Do you have a co-pilot name you'd like under the FO's cockpit window? 
4. I can fit all the kid's names on the plane (Its a 747 for goodness sakes! hehe).  If you'd like them on the plane just send me a list, and every name on the list will be on the plane. (and if the name of the child can be either gender, please indicate which...Chris (M) or Chris (F) for example, I have a design idea that they might like to easily identify gender.) :wink:
5. If you have a pic of your mug you want in the pilot's seat, send it too, the kids would get a kick of actually seeing Pa Pa's face on the pilot, LOL
6. Since we don't actually have this lovely rendition of the Queen yet, do you happen to have the PMDG 777F I can put the textures on? (or the "other" 747 that I'm currently painting).  I'll surely transfer them to the PMDG Queen when we take delivery.

Please don't be concerned that this will actually be hard to do...quite the contrary.  Fictional's are very easy to do because you're not constrained with lining things up (down to the pixel when possible) and making the FS version look exactly like the real thing...which really takes the most time for a painter. 

If I get the answers to the questions by this evening, and you have another airframe I can paint on in the interim, you'll be flying the 1st rendition this weekend. 

I'm actually very excited to paint this one, its not often us painters get to take the training wheels off and show what we can do when left to our own imagination. 

[harvester21 34]

Hey Steve and Buck,

 

Please do share the result here when it's done, you have gotten me curious

 

Thanks!

[Steve Dra 7,588]

Hey Steve and Buck,

 

Please do share the result here when it's done, you have gotten me curious

 

Thanks!

Hey Sander,

I will ask permission to continue it here, but I think I'll post the progress shots in the Screenshot forum and post the link here if that is acceptable for the PMDG family.  That would be the proper thing to do as to not throw this topic off the tracks.  :wink:

[Gabriel Teles 172]

Thanks, Kyle.

Also.... from the beta video... a few observations...

 

Should there be an ANTISKID OFF msg? This usually means that there is no electrical power to all antiskid channels (or park brake valve not fully open when park brake is not set).

 

EE CLNG SUP FAN (Status message) ??? Aircraft power and Equip Cooling switch seems to be normal.

After entering the ORIGIN on the CDU, you can't downselect the entry into the scratchpad (same for DEST) on the real aircraft.

 

During the light test, the RCP digital displays and lights should flash (and LCD's on MCP where LCD MCP fitted).

 

CARGO DET AIR message shouldn't be displayed (at least 2 engines must be running for this fault message to appear)

 

The APU Gen ON lights seem to be taking too long to extinguish during engine start. Same for the GEN CONT OFF light to extinguish. I'd say that the lights should extinguish around the time the engine start valve light extinguishes. Caveat: It's been a while since I've observed this. Can you get real world pilot confirmation (on particular engine types). 

 

Preflight video operator errors....

 

 

"FUEL TRF MAIN 1&4 should be off" .. during preflight.... The wrong switch/es were pointed to.

"LDG ALT Switch" Why was this turned on? An EICAS message was generated and a MAN flag appeared at the bottom of the Upper EICAS.

When starting the engines, the procedure for AUTOSTART was used, despite not having an AUTOSTART switch (lucky there wasn't a fire). :wink:

 

For Engineering...

APU OIL QTY may need topping up soon (minimum is 0.60 running, 0.80 not running)

The Multi-Input Printer needs paper! (indicator shows close to empty and there is a red stripe showing on the paper)

 

Looking forward to more videos. :smile:

Thanks!

John H Watson

 

 

I figured out why the message was there in Froogle's v3 preflight/startup video. After replaying the video... I see the Utility Busses were selected off....

 

A trap for old-timers who never switch off the Utility Busses

 

Cheers,

John H Watson

 

Great posts! It's always great to hear from the experts. :smile:

[Qavion 19]

Thanks :smile:

 

However, as Mr Randazzo said in another message, there are lots of things that even the experts who have been working on these aircraft for decades don't understand.

 

I'm currently looking at the manuals trying to figure out if that EE CLNG SUP FAN Status message is "latched" (and can't be cleared just by repowering the Utility Bus). There is a procedure in the manuals which says if you have a problem with an equipment cooling fan and you fix it, you still need to reset the Equipment Cooling system by switching the Equip Cooling switch to OVRD for 30 seconds. OVRD is the position you use If you have a fan failure. This mode automatically shuts down all Equipment Cooling fans and reconfigures valves to dump Equipment Cooling air overboard (using cabin differential pressure). Also, arming either (Fwd/Aft) Lower Lobe Cargo Fire switch puts the Equip Cooling system into a kind of OVRD mode. It sucks smoky air out of the fuselage rather than recirculating that air through the equipment and lower fuselage.

 

Sometimes Equip Cooling messages pop up during pushback (in the real world). For example, if the APU is broken prior to departure, you can still fly the aircraft, but you need to start 1 or 2 engines at the gate before disconnecting external power and bleed air and pushing back from the gate. Sometimes ATC will only let you start one engine, so you have to run the whole ship on one engine generator during pushback. The electrical system doesn't like this and starts tripping off non-essential systems ("Loadshedding"). Sometimes it trips off a fuel pump or two, sometimes it can stop parts of the equipment cooling system from operating. This can cause system Status messages to pop up and not go away. If you're lucky, the guy on the nosewheel has a few tricks up his sleeve and knows how to reset these messages  :wink: (that is, if the pilots can't find what they're looking for in the Quick Reference Handbook)

 

Switching off the Utility Busses on my old airline was a no-no. A lot of the inflight entertainment (IFE) system is powered by the Utility Busses. If the IFE experts were doing one of their software loads and you killed the Utility Busses, it could take them hours to get things back to normal again. There's really no reason to switch them off. Even if you only had one external power lead plugged into the aircraft, you can always switch off other things like recirc and gasper fans to reduce power usage. With only one power lead, the lead can get really hot if you start switching on too many systems. It has caused fires in the past.

 

Anyway.. I'm rambling again

Cheers

John H Watson

[Richard McDonald Woods 168]

Great to see you on-song again, John.

Many thanks for the explanations.

Regards, Richard