Boeing 747-200

[Goran_M]

It was my turn to make gutterall sounds this time.  Jason made a couple of renders with some really nice lighting and shadow effects.

[Airbus]

Abstract art in a way.

[Goran_M]

LOTS has been happening, lately.

I've been trying to use my time efficiently among my current projects to make sure everything will be done.  Seems to be working.  More mesh optimizing has been done to the 747 with a further 15 000 quads getting deleted and little to no detail being lost.  The detail that has been lost will not even be noticeable.  ALL gauges will have as much resolution and detail as I can efficiently put into them.

What I actually wanted to mention was that the 747 progress has slowed down (not stopped) as I am focused on the Saab.  I actually made a render of the 747 recently and haven't really gotten around to showing it.  

It's coming along nicely, though.  The glareshield is a work in progress.

Work continues...

[hobofat]

Nice smooth corners on the glareshield!  It seems like the glareshield is a hard thing to get right, as it is often not done well--but this looks great!  Thanks for the pic.

[MatthewS]

Nice smooth corners on the glareshield!  It seems like the glareshield is a hard thing to get right, as it is often not done well--but this looks

+1 

IMHO polygon budget needs to be spent on the places that are in the pilots viewpoint most of the time, thats the glareshield and pilots gauges especially the T.

[Sopwith]

So what happened?

[Goran_M]

So what happened?

With what?

[MatthewS]

So what happened?

With what?

Project stalled?

[Goran_M]

Not at all.

There have been some things happening with the 747 project that I cannot talk about yet.  It is still moving ahead.  And I can say with 100% certainty, that it will definitely be finished, hopefully this year.  Keeping in mind the manuals will be quite extensive and they take a bit of time to create.

It's not me being a tease about it.  But I have been talking to certain individuals and there have been some, shall we say, (positive) developments.  I will be posting these developments very soon when everything is 100% official.  It is kind of official now,  but I am waiting for the green light from someone to really set it in stone.

What I can say is the 742 is about 95% finished.  I'm waiting on a whole stack of manuals to get shipped from the UK and then I will get started on the other 2 engine variants.  What I have been modelling is the RR variant.  I still need some more information on the RR engine type and that's what I have been waiting for along with the PW and GE tech specs. 

Theo cannot UV map or texture the 747 as he is still quite busy with the Saab texturing and we want that done before programming for the INS gets underway.  The INS cannot get underway yet as the programmer, who is still ready, willing and able to program it, is still busy with another project he started last year.  As that project will be paying his bills, I dare not ask him to drop it and start programming the INS for me.  I'm waiting for him to finish that and THEN he can get underway with the INS programming. 

Also, another thing I can mention is the 742 will have a number of other custom systems programmed into it.  Really juicy stuff.  Going by this programmers credentials, this will be a "study" sim of a 747-200.  Steep learning curve?  You betcha! 

All will be known within the next week or 2.

[Gjalp]

I guess hitting CTRL-E wont start the engines then.....

This is getting more and more interesting as we hear updates from you guys.

Im not really a "heavies" fan or flyer...the biggest one I sometimes fly is the 737-800 (EADT version....), so my actually wanting to purchase this bird means something!!!!

Carry on and dont forget to say "hi" to us once in a while

Slainte,

Andy

NZCH

[MatthewS]

All will be known within the next week or 2.

Can you not have a "lite" version (without the INS and other engine variants) and an "advanced" version with those features?

People who own the lite version could buy it now and upgrade (for additional cost) to the advanced version when its ready.

[alexgeo]

I'm afraid I wont have enough time to do flights with this thing  ! Seems like I would have to devote a whole weekend to get a flight done...

But hell, I'm all for overly-complicated things...It's glad to hear all is going well.

[Goran_M]

I guess hitting CTRL-E wont start the engines then.....

This is getting more and more interesting as we hear updates from you guys.

Im not really a "heavies" fan or flyer...the biggest one I sometimes fly is the 737-800 (EADT version....), so my actually wanting to purchase this bird means something!!!!

Carry on and dont forget to say "hi" to us once in a while

I know I've flown a few short trips with the 742 every once in a while.

lol @ CTRL-E.  If you do that, I'll animate some 3D question marks coming out of the cockpit and a speech balloon that says "you're kidding, right???"

Can you not have a "lite" version (without the INS and other engine variants) and an "advanced" version with those features?

People who own the lite version could buy it now and upgrade (for additional cost) to the advanced version when its ready.

This something I have seriously considered.  Apparently, the very early 747-200's did not have an INS or FMC.  They used radio navigation.  And sure enough, the BA manual I have that shows all the panels of the 747-200 has a mode knob that does not have an INS option. 

I'll talk it over with Cameron and see what he says.

I'm afraid I wont have enough time to do flights with this thing  ! Seems like I would have to devote a whole weekend to get a flight done...

But hell, I'm all for overly-complicated things...It's glad to hear all is going well.

It's still definitely possible to do short flights with the 747-200.  I actually plan on adding a few tutorials to come with it.  I have written 3 tutorials for the FS9 version. 

London-Milan

London-New York

London-Kai Tak

One thing is for certain.  You won't be bored with all those systems to monitor.

Goran

[alexgeo]

This something I have seriously considered.  Apparently, the very early 747-200's did not have an INS or FMC.  They used radio navigation.  And sure enough, the BA manual I have that shows all the panels of the 747-200 has a mode knob that does not have an INS option. 

I'll talk it over with Cameron and see what he says.

This might actually be better for me, considering that I really don't need (I'm sure there are others out there too) the INS. Maybe having the INS option like FJCC's product might be a better idea for some of us. As much as I would love an accurate Inertial nav system, I think waiting for the gyros to stabalize would just frustrate me ;D. I'm sure some of us "simple" user's would do fine with just the X-Plane default GPS.

But then again, X-Plane is all about realism...right? 

[Stekeller]

I would like to correct something that has been said...

All 747s (from the prototype -100 series) came with triple INS capability when delivered new from Boeing. However, you always had the option to fly it using only navigation radios. The switch you talk about allows you to feed INS data to the flight director and autopilot, or you could use the navigation radios (VOR, ILS) instead.

Now, some 747s were later modified to include GPS or IRS units to replace the INS because it was bulky, heavy and expensive to maintain. Some were even fitted with full-blown FMSs. I don't know of any operator who removed the INS units and did not replace them with something equivalent - this is a long-range airplane. I know about the Japanese domestic 747SRs, and those had INSs too.

So if you want to fly a 747 Classic without messing with the INS, you can do that and simply slave the needles to the nav radios and just use the INS to indicate present position, drift, wind, or whatever without loading a flight plan.

On another note, I have some good resources/manuals for P&W 747 Classics so if there is something I can help with, let me know. I also have a good buddy who flew it recently so he should be able to answer some technical questions (P&W, INS and FMS models).

Finally, I am greatly looking forward to this. The 747 is my favorite plane of all time, and I even have some time in the 747-300 full motion sim - she was a beauty to fly, powerful, and very stable. I managed to fly without crashing or damaging it, even though I was only a student pilot at the time.

- Stekeller

KORD

[Goran_M]

Doesn't matter anyway.  Cameron and I spoke about it and he is against the idea of an INS-less version. 

It may be boring having to wait for the IRS's to align, but they will probably have aligned by the time the before start checklist is complete.

[alexgeo]

On that note, are there any plans to create a "modern" day 742 with a "glass" cockpit and a GPS system?

[Goran_M]

On that note, are there any plans to create a "modern" day 742 with a "glass" cockpit and a GPS system?

It's certainly not out of the question.  But it's definitely way too early to plan for something like that.  At least the important stuff is already made.

[Sopwith]

Good day Captain, how is the project going?

[Goran_M]

Good day Captain, how is the project going?

I really want to post my plans about this project, but I can't just yet.

The project is still moving forward, but I can't elaborate on it just yet.

I can say it will be finished sooner than expected and will have something extra "attached" to it.

[Simmo W]

Good day Captain, how is the project going?

I really want to post my plans about this project, but I can't just yet.

The project is still moving forward, but I can't elaborate on it just yet.

I can say it will be finished sooner than expected and will have something extra "attached" to it.

I love speculation! Attached? What could be attached to a 747? If u did, will u model the interior like this?

[Jacoba]

Good day Captain, how is the project going?

and will have something extra "attached" to it.

;D ;D ;D

[-TheoGregory]

As awesome as that would be, Nope. 

[Simmo W]

As awesome as that would be, Nope.  

Oh no, I thought that mustve been the shuttle transporter....

What else? Dear God, don't do this to her, spawn of Satan:

[Goran_M]

Use a bit of lateral thinking.

 

When I do eventually mention what I have in mind, you're going to say..."aahhh, so THAT'S what you meant!"