The B737 Classic Project

[Wynthorpe]

I've just spent the best part of 2 hours last night and this morning going through this whole topic, this looks amazing guys! Truly excited for this in Xplane. 

 

In the Cockpit are you going to add little details to the windows like serial numbers and heater elements etc? Really adds to the detail on the PMDG NG.

[Tom Knudsen]

Its the classic, not the ng

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[john82088]

I am deciding on whether to purchase the B757 but this plane would be my preference if it was coming out in the next 2 months I would forget the b757. Is this plane within 2 months of completion or much further down the road? Just trying to plan my purchases.

[ktomais]

I am deciding on whether to purchase the B757 but this plane would be my preference if it was coming out in the next 2 months I would forget the b757. Is this plane within 2 months of completion or much further down the road? Just trying to plan my purchases.

 

This should answer your question. http://forums.x-pilot.com/topic/939-the-b737-classic-project/?p=62329

Edited November 9, 2013 by ktomais

[JGregory]

In the Cockpit are you going to add little details to the windows like serial numbers and heater elements etc? Really adds to the detail on the PMDG NG.

Its the classic, not the ng

Tom,

 

Are you saying the classic doesn't have serial numbers or heater elements on the windows?

[joandreas]

Will

 

I am deciding on whether to purchase the B757 but this plane would be my preference if it was coming out in the next 2 months I would forget the b757. Is this plane within 2 months of completion or much further down the road? Just trying to plan my purchases.

Pretty sure 737 is not out this year if not delayed to around summer 2014.

[john82088]

Thank you! That is very helpful to know

[Redfisher]

I am deciding on whether to purchase the B757 but this plane would be my preference if it was coming out in the next 2 months I would forget the b757. Is this plane within 2 months of completion or much further down the road? Just trying to plan my purchases.

 

Are you serious?

[Litjan]

I think I can definitely rule out next two months...

 

Again, forecasting a release date is like forecasting the weather in a few months.

 

As Morten has said, progress is slow but steady, and I will probably ramp up my preview-video production again soon. I have some interesting ideas, and in a little while it may even be time to start on a series of "official" tutorial videos that go along with our written documentation. For that I need the cockpit to be a bit closer to its final form, otherwise people will get a wrong impression from the videos.

 

Morten described the progress on the sound system, and I can only second his words, it is really immersive. We humans seem to rely on eyesight, but all the other senses are merrily feeding input all the same, so it is tough to create a "suspension of disbelief" on sight alone. Technology won´t allow us the "feel" and "smell" part (yet), but having a realistic sound environment helps a lot!

 

Now the correct sound is of high importance to me, because I spent roughly 6000 hours sitting in that cockpit. Alarms go off in my head as soon as something is slightly off, so getting those sounds right is a high priority. And I also believe that some of you will be a bit surprised as to what sounds to hear and how.

 

Let me give you two examples. First, the engines. Many of you have flown on 737´s as passengers and the experience of a passenger is very different sound-wise to that of a pilot. The cockpit is a noisy place, with lots of fans, airconditioning, standby altimeter vibrator and what not. You would be surprised, but when starting the engines, you don´t really hear a thing from them until they spin up to maybe 10-15% N1, the most sensory feedback on them turning is a low frequency vibration.

 

Another one is the flaps. Everyone knows that "wheeeeeeee" sound when the hydraulic flap motor moves the trailing edge flaps, just watch one of the myriad "omg I sat right on the window next to the flaps just watch my 15 minute video of them doing nothing most of the time supercool video!". Now when you are in the cockpit, you don´t hear them move at all, unless all the other "big" sounds (engines, aircon) are off. We create the same effect, so if you move your viewpoint to the cabin, (or outside near the wheel well) you will hear the flaps move, in the cockpit only when it´s fairly quiet.

 

I guess all I can say is hang in there, I sincerely believe it is worth the wait and you will not be disappointed if you are looking for a true replication of the 737-300.

 

Jan

[ONDR4.cz]

We create the same effect, so if you move your viewpoint to the cabin, (or outside near the wheel well) you will hear the flaps move, in the cockpit only when it´s fairly quiet.

Seriously guys, I've always wished you (or any developer for that matter) did this but kept my mouth shut because to me it seemed ludicrous to ask for such feature.

Can't wait to drool over the preview videos!

[Nicola_M]

Are you serious?

 

John82088, Redfisher's right.  Whenever this 737 comes out, you will want to purchase it regardless of what else is out at the time.

It is so groundbreaking, it is THE one aircraft you will want on your computer.  It's going to put everything else in the shade.

 

Unless you don't own a copy of xplane, I can think of no logical reason not to buy it.  I don't have xp10 (yet), but that 737 is on my order list regardless.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Nicola_M

[Wynthorpe]

Its the classic, not the ng

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I wasn't aware the classic was devoid of serial numbers etc, thanks for pointing that out.

[Orcair]

I wasn't aware the classic was devoid of serial numbers etc, thanks for pointing that out.

I think he was just pointing out that you mentioned the 737NG in your comment and he was highlighting that this is the classic (breakdown in communication). I would assume classic 737s have serial numbers

[Wynthorpe]

I think he was just pointing out that you mentioned the 737NG in your comment and he was highlighting that this is the classic (breakdown in communication). I would assume classic 737s have serial numbers

 

I think i should of put saracasm tags on my post haha...

[ktomais]

Hello guys, just some quick questions!

 

i). Have you managed to put a leash on X-Plane's turbulence system? Especially on moderate turbulence, the majority of planes dance around, like they're set on the intense cycle of a laundry machine. 

 

ii). Will the plane feature wing and engine physics? (In the context of flexing and engine "shaking").

Edited November 13, 2013 by ktomais

[tkyler]

We do not control turbulence from the aircraft side of things.   The turbulence model in x-plane is a bit crazy and I myself simply turn down x-plane settings along with the thermal climb rate, which introduces ridiculous turbulence.

 

We also do not put in wing flex and engine shake as of now.  We have a philosophy of operational accuracy first and secondary physical responses later. Such effects go into the "eye candy" category, which is not bad at all...we like eye candy ourselves, it simply falls at the end of our priority chain, so given the option of spending our time developing low priority eye candy effects now vs. real aircraft operational accuracy, we choose the latter as priority.

 

In addition, wing flex is not easy to get right.  Most folks use simple relationships and this results in excessive flex in hard landings, which looks bad.  We would like to implement proper beam flexure and stiffness models from mechanics and possibly forcing functions to get small wing vibrations while taxiing.  All that being said, the classic has relatively stubby wings and do not flex as much as longer wingspan aircraft so nobody on our team misses it, we're having too much fun just sitting in the cockpit.

 

In summary, yes we like wing flex but we will not put it in to simply make a longer bullet list for marketing.  Once we get everything else done right, we may turn to the wing flex for this model, we may not...the short wings may not be worth the effort involved for this aircraft, at least not for the initial release.  We are 3+ yrs into this and need to wrap up asap.   Once we have a product on the market, some revenue and more time to invest in this kind of thing, then you will probably see more eye candy features applied.  Right now the cockpit and sounds are just fantastic to experience IMO.  We are working towards another video as soon as possible.

 

TomK

IXEG 

Edited November 13, 2013 by tkyler

[Morten]

EDIT: Tom beat me to it

Edited November 13, 2013 by Morten IXEG

[meshboy]

please make that video! a video is the only way to stop me from going insain at the moment!

[ktomais]

Great, thanks for the answer. Looking forward to the release.

[FloB]

please make that video! a video is the only way to stop me from going insain at the moment!

 

I bet you will go insane the very second the video ends...and you realize that you still can't get your hands on it.

Edited November 14, 2013 by FloB

[Tom Knudsen]

please make that video! a video is the only way to stop me from going insain at the moment!

I bet you will go insane the very second the video ends...and you realize that you still can't get your hands on it.

And your point is?

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[FloB]

The point is that there's no cure other than release.

[Litjan]

Hi folks, no fighting or it´s off to your rooms!

 

 

It looks like the next preview videos will be two at just over ten minutes each, showing a full "cold and dark" startup, terminating when taxiing out to the departure runway.

 

I have done a "dry run" yesterday, and the team reviewed the video and we are implementing some minor tweaks and fixes to small issues that showed up during this test. One was some lit areas of the panel that were shining at night, even though there was no elec power, for example.

 

I will explain as I go in my usual rambling style, and barring any showstoppers I will shoot the final version next Monday/Tuesday and it will go up on our channel shortly thereafter.

 

If there is any system or process that you would like to have some more information on feel free to ask for it here, I will try to accommodate that in those videos.

 

The rough idea is an early morning startup for a completely dormant, unpowered aircraft, including all system checks. Secondary objective is to point out the different sounds that we implemented recently, all the way from gyro spin to pack outlets.

 

Jan

[ktomais]

If there is any system or process that you would like to have some more information on feel free to ask for it here, I will try to accommodate that in those videos.

I always have a hard time using and understanding the FMS, to set up a flight. If you could show some views of that, I'd be grateful. Also I hope that in the released product, you will introduce a "for dummies" tutorial of the systems.

Edited November 15, 2013 by ktomais

[tkyler]

The FMS is not complete enough for setting up a full flight ktomais.   Partso of it work, but not all of it.  The FMS is probably around 75% and we have to connect lots of loose ends together.   Tutorials are definitnely a big part of what we want to provide.

 

TomK

Edited November 15, 2013 by tkyler