The B737 Classic Project

[Morten]

Jan, it would be great if you could provide a realistic cameraposition for correct eye of the captain or the f/o. I find it hard to know how much out the window you see in the 737.

 

No problem, we have a custom view control panel where you easy can save a bunch of predefined view positions to any location and angle you like

So doesnt matter what your monitor settings etc are, you can customize it to fit anyway.  Click a button and the camera "fly's" to the wanted position.  

We can do a demo video of it.

 

M

[Litjan]

Pilot viewpoint, a good subject.

 

When you are in the real aircraft, you will try to position your seat in a way that allows you to see the bottom of the ND over the yoke (high enough) but also low enough to still see the yaw damper indicator. If you are too far back, the yoke will block the ND, if you are too far forward you can´t work the controls all the way (dependent on the size of your belly ;-) ).

 

You also move a bit constantly, dependent on what you focus on - outside for landing, inside for IFR or manipulating switches on the various panels.

 

While it´s not easy to find a perfect head position in the real aircraft, the problem is even bigger in a virtual cockpit. The closest you can get is with the aid of some virtual reality controller - I use TrackIR, and I am sure the future will see some really cool stuff (oculus rift?). 

If you can´t afford a technical solution like this, then preset viewpoints for various situations will be the next best thing. This (X-Plane allows you to set and store like 10 of them) in conjunction with right-click and mousewheel for zoom will allow you to adapt the view to your needs.

 

Also, as Morten said, we have a UI panel that zooms you to some default view positions for various tasks (overhead, FMS, etc.)

 

Jan

Edited March 14, 2013 by Litjan

[79carboy]

All this is making my mouth water, This is an AMAZING project. Keep up the good work!

[Litjan]

Will my goflight MCPPRO work with your aircraft or will your plugins not allow that?

 

I really couldn´t say if it would, because I (and the other teammembers) don´t have one or know how the MCPPRO interfaces with the simulation. I know Tom is very interested in making this aircraft accessible for cockpit builders, so I would definitely not rule out the possibility of getting it to work.

 

I know it is fairly easy to make custom datarefs available to "hook" them up to certain keypresses or joystick buttons, though. I have a few autopilot buttons (TOGA, A/T off, toggle AT speed mode, disconnect AP) mapped to my joystick, for example. If using the MCPPRO is working in the same way as mapping those to regular joystick buttons, then I don´t really see a problem in adding all the MCP buttons to the list, so you can map them.

 

Jan

Edited March 15, 2013 by Litjan

[Dozer]

If you are willing to make the yokes vanish on command - I think that's an acceptable compromise when trying to fly a plane and see the cockpit using only a computer monitor and a mouse...

 

Meshboy, you can use Sandy Barbour's PilotView plugin on any 3d cockpit to position the camera anywhere you like. And assign up to eight presets.

[meshboy]

i know how to move the camera and set presets, i just dont know what a real pilot see through his eyes. but i have an idea tnx to Jan. =)

[MTR1994]

Will there be a TCAS? 

[flightime56]

I don't know if you have seen these You-Tube's on the B737-200.

I admit it is not the -300 but it is really interesting information, great video's as well, the landing was a work and a half...

 

The take-off is really short...

 

 

But the landing is excellent, check out the ancient FMC!

 

 

Flightime56

[Litjan]

Nice videos!

 

I am sure everyone is aware, but these show the 737-200, the "classics" predecessor, that got phased out in the 90s (just saying so no one comes online and complains how the cockpit looks so different from ours ;- ).

I trained on the classics in ´96, we still flew the -200s then, but unfortunately I wasn´t trained on them anymore.

 

All the pilots that flew the -200s loved them for their small aircraft feeling - jump in, tune the VOR and off you go. Funny how I think the classic is like that, compared to the Airbuses I fly now :-(.

 

Jan

[pryoski]

That was fantastic Flightime56! I love the 'older' planes ... especially Boeings!

[ptru]

Here is an addition about 733:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taImB7r7Mdg&list=UUSn5T3Gn8RqrY5DCtxaDxJA&index=4

 

(I believe whole his channel is interesting)

http://www.youtube.com/user/aircraftpilot15?feature=watch

[horani]

Here is an addition about 733:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taImB7r7Mdg&list=UUSn5T3Gn8RqrY5DCtxaDxJA&index=4

 

(I believe whole his channel is interesting)

http://www.youtube.com/user/aircraftpilot15?feature=watch

 

hi ptru,

 

nice video, thanks for that. btw, any updates on the lkpr scenery?

[ptru]

btw, any updates on the lkpr scenery?

Hi horani

 

Well - we've made quite big progress these days, but not yet any WIP pics we'd like to show.

Working hard on it

[horani]

Hi horani

 

Well - we've made quite big progress these days, but not yet any WIP pics we'd like to show.

Working hard on it

 

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to have my hime airport in X-Plane. Good luck with the job!

[Litjan]

Hi everyone,

 

we are busy chipping away on the 737. The exterior is coming along nicely, recent work added landing gear detail and further improvements in various areas. We had quite a time getting the landing gear strut compression and damping coefficients right to maintain the great crosswind capability this aircraft enjoys - so I figured I upload a video of a crosswind landing like I did many during recent testing.

 

The video shows a landing at a very stiff crosswind, more than I have ever done in the real aircraft. In fact the limit for dry runways for us is 30kts. Boeing demonstrated 35kts - but thats for testpilots, the right stuff and all that .

 

 

Tom is also in posession of the next two autopilot videos, narration and cutting is done, he just needs to annotate them with his nifty arrows. This might give you guys a chance to follow my rapid-fire rambling. Pester him to finish and upload them if you please.

 

Jan

[tkyler]

EDITED:  No longer relevant

 

TK

Edited March 25, 2013 by tkyler

[FloB]

Wow, looks like you need new tires now. 

What would be the max. save crosswind speed for landing a 737 classic?

Probably depending on RW conditions and RW width too...

 

Flo

[Morten]

Wow, looks like you need new tires now. 

What would be the max. save crosswind speed for landing a 737 classic?

Probably depending on RW conditions and RW width too...

 

Flo

 

The max crosswind limit is company dependant.  Boeing don't give limits, they give guidelines.

Demonstrated crosswind on the 733 is 35 kts Most company's therefore set their max limit of about 30 kts.  

It also depends on the runway and weather conditions, an unexperienced pilot can also have a lower limit.

 

NOTE:  One can land in higher windspeeds if the wind is a bit more on the nose.  It's the wind component

from the side (90 deg) that should not exceed 30 kts.

 

In other words, one would probably not land in conditions like this in real.  We show you this video to

prove it is possible to land in such conditions in X-Plane if the aircraft is designed to handle it and the pilot is good.  

Note there is also gusts and turbulence in the video which the aircrafts also handles very well.  This means you can

fly with realweather on and still master most "normal" conditions with a bit of training.  When doing the xwind performance

testing I hunted for real low pressure systems on the weather maps, loaded up realweather in the sim and shoot approaches

wherever the wind was - great fun 

[79carboy]

Wow, the plane is really amazing

[ONDR4.cz]

I'm just curious, are you guys planning on doing a sound preview as well? I read a year or two ago that you have a real expert on sounds on your team. We could hear some of his work in Jan's 'LFMN pattern' video but the sound was very muffled and quiet so we could hear Jan speak. I reckon that many will agree that sound, if done properly, can greatly enhance the experience and is sometimes more important than the graphics. Will the sound of windshield wipers be included? They can get very loud from what I saw on youtube. And did you use any plug-in for the sounds?

[Litjan]

We haven´t decided on a sound solution, yet. The development version is running with the dreamengine plugin that the developer was nice enough to let us use for our prototype - hence the nice sounds you could hear on the LFMN pattern movie.

 

For the final product I can only say that we will not be using default X-Plane sounds - because we totally agree, a realistic sound scenario goes a very long way in the suspension of disbelief.

 

Jan

[meshboy]

any autopilot movies for the weekend? =)

[tkyler]

its on my todo list that is for sure.

 

TK

[meshboy]

sounds great Tom! tnx

[tkyler]

 

and a sneak peek at some cockpit texturing currently underway.   3rd video on autopilot will be posted by the weekend also.

 

Edited April 4, 2013 by tkyler