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This is the reason why we don't like announcing release dates (see shoutbox in below images). Please read more below the images... Some important discussions came about late last night through private discussion channels about certain, popular flight situations for a large portion of our customer base. There were some valid points made for this particular argument which has made us consider adding a few more features in order to accommodate these people. This is a very last minute, yet important decision that was not originally planned for. It's extremely annoying to see people make such posts when they are completely uninformed about the circumstances surrounding this delay, when we have our customers best interests at heart...particularly on release day. It's not an addition we even remotely anticipated, but we felt it was ultimately needed based on the importance and urgency from the individual who sent me the PM, quite literally at the 11th hour. This is not an extended delay. We're talking DAYS. In saying all of this, and taking into account the images that I posted, we will NOT be announcing release dates in the future, under any circumstances. We have worked far too hard and sacrificed many areas of our lives to get this aircraft finished as quickly as possible and to make it as complete as possible.

1 week in 3 years is 0.64 % ...perspective. It's a wonderful thing.

That was not a Rant.... That was calling it like I see it.

At the end of patience, there is the sky. (African proverb).

KAUG Agusta. Invisible prop! Stylish.... Landing at Washington Dulles. I had a lot more pics, but the screenshot hotkey wasn't working or something.

Unfortunately, for some people, their entire lives appear to revolve around release dates for flight sim products. I, too am eagerly awaiting the Saab, but unlike some, my fingers are not hovering over the refresh button awaiting news. Release when it's ready, and I, like most sane flight simmers will happily buy it.

I think the Saab is more like the 25 year old living in the basement.... get the hell out in the world and experience something! (and send some money home if you wanna be good to your parents...)

Dear flight simmers i want to show you our progress on DC9 cockpit! Take a look at the images and your we waiting your comments! Thanks!

I'm always amazed at the patience of developers, not just the SAAB team, but throughout the community. I don't think I would have anything like the resilience required to stick with something for several years and having to deal with all the frustration and obstacles that must be overcome to drive the project towards the line as well as constant questions about progress, delivery dates, requests for screenshots, videos, etc, etc. I don't know whether the SAAB team's primary source of income will be from sales, or whether they have other work that has to be kept going too, but fair play to you all. Shoutbox? THAT should be suspended. It's just asking for trouble.

I do not understand anymore those madness around a file release nowadays ... This is probably the most anticipated release of the decade, but dudes, it will surely be there within a month, so why demotivating and frustrating the hard working mans that LES are ? Why don't you go outside, make some jogging, sports, read on real aviation ( to understand how LOOOOOOONG real projects takes ... ) etc etc. IMHO, the best way to fully enjoy a product from the early start is to know it quite well, and don't launch an in-flight situation to throw it around, but directly starting from cold and dark, knowing the systems well and having printed all required checklists ... I know the LES 340A PDF manual is not out yet ( sadly ) but you will surely be able to find some real doc on google isn't it ?

I honestly do not mind if people prefer to sit at a computer and keep checking on the status of a flight sim add on that is nearing release. That's entirely their prerogative (I used to do the same thing in my FS9/FSX days). What I DO mind, is some of those same people losing patience and accusing Theo, Jim, Cameron and myself of creating vaporware when we don't hit the release date. My wife and child have asked me for release dates long before anyone here has, and I can't even tell them, purely because I don't know. We posted a release week because we saw everything was on the cusp of being done and would not take more than a week to complete. Then I get a PM from one of the testers who noticed a system was modeled slightly incorrectly. Then I get an email from another tester who used to fly the Saab 340 and whose wife is a Saab 340 Captain (and is astounded at how realistic ours is) giving us more information that can be described as tying up a loose end. Calling it vaporware will not make us finish it any sooner. Try that at x-plane.org with one of their products (like the 757 which was promised in June and delayed for reasons NOT linked to Laminar whatsoever...as was originally claimed) and see how far you get. I can promise you, the ban stick will hit you so hard and fast, it will make your head spin. We have worked on the Saab, LITERALLY every single day since last June. I speak to Jim, Theo and Cameron on a daily basis when it comes to work on the Saab. Some systems have taken months to create. Example: The throttle quadrant/Condition Levers took 3 to 4 months of 7 days a week of researching, programming and testing. As satisfied as we are with the Saab, we sometimes need the input of an outside enthusiast, and that came in the form of a private conversation I had very recently which I brought Cameron in to, to see what we could do about it. So now we're all working to have this addition included with the initial release so everyone who flies the Saab can take advantage of it as soon as it is installed...instead of waiting for an update that will come some time in the future at a date I couldn't even guess. To those who are showing patience and understanding, I speak for everyone on the team when I say THANK YOU! Your patience will be rewarded! With this latest addition we are working on, even more of you will be pleased. To those of you who keep insisting this is vaporware...there's not much more to say except that what you are doing will not make us finish it any sooner. It only serves to cause frustration and further delays.

Probably because you've been hanging out in the world of censorship that is x-plane.org. Anyways, no matter now. Your wait to see it and experience it will be far less than those that have followed it for years.

http://123d.circuits.io/

Looking very nice. Even more so, considering how quickly it's coming on, too.

Hello, Captains!, We're over here working feverishly as usual and I'm just finding a quick break in-between to provide you guys with a little preview on what to expect with our menu system for the Saab 340A! While this aircraft is complex by nature, we have taken a lot of things into account to make your life a little easier while inflight and prepping for a flight. So, let's get to it!... The Saab 340 menu's are all located in the Gizmo tool tray, which conveniently comes into view when you hover your mouse over the right hand side of the X-Plane window. While there are a number of icons that will pop out, we're going to focus just on the Saab icons, which are highlighted below in red: The first icon we have here is a '+' icon. This icon, when clicked, will pull up a window for the Condition Lever Joystick Assignments. The Saab has two condition levers, in addition to two throttle levers, so for those of you with hardware this will come in handy! In the below photo I have assigned one of the two levers to my hardware. The next item on the tool tray appears as three horizontal bars lined one after the other. This icon will launch the Saab 340A Virtual Checklist window, which is actually one of my favorite features. As complex as this aircraft is, and as much as we know a lot of customers don't like to read (come on, you know it's true), this comes in handy! I'll explain that in the following series of images. First, the window presented to you when you click the icon to launch the window... From the above image and for this example, let's click on the 'Preparatory Check' select button. This will then bring up that specific checklist, with a list of buttons and checkboxes. Below, I have clicked to view the first item on the checklist, and it takes me right to where I need to go on the overhead panel. No searching around, no reading the manual to figure out the location, and no scratching my head! Just verify what the checklist says and when I'm done, click to view the next item and let the camera take me there! Just for fun, I also wanted to show you what it looks like when you select to view the 'Walk Around' checklist... Okay, moving on to menu item number three in the tool tray we see a camera icon. If you haven't guessed already this launches a window to select pre-set camera views hardcoded into the product. This means that in addition to this, you may also make your own standard X-Plane pre-set camera views, but these will always be there for you! I'm going to walk you through what each view looks like. To start, here's the initial window you are presented with... Caution: Images contain razor sharp custom programmed EFIS display. And, the following images show where each button on this menu will take you to... Overhead Pilot VFR CoPilot VFR MCP Pilot IFR Ctr Panel CoPilot IFR L Side Pnl TQ (Throttle Quadrant) R Side Pnl Radios Continuing on with the next tool tray icon, we have a picture of a truck. This icon will open the Ground Support Equipment window. There are a number of visible features on the exterior of the aircraft that correlate directly to this menu. When you first load up the aircraft, the engines will be shut down and all of the 'Remove Before Flight' flags will be in place on the aircraft just like you'd find them in real life. Additionally, there are safety cones, chocks, and the ground power unit (GPU) selectable from this menu. It's pretty straightforward, but here's what it looks like... The next item in the tool tray available to you has the text that says "Saab TQ". This icon when clicked will open a very helpful menu which I think you pilots will use quite frequently and find very handy! This is actually a virtual window which shows a render of the throttle quadrant and the location of all the throttle and condition levers. Yellow represents where your levers are currently placed, while red represents a limit when in the air (flight idle). As you move your levers up and down, the yellow lines will animate on the fly and display a percentage value (also very important to know so you don't burn up your engines). When in the air, no matter how far down you move your throttle levers with your hardware, the red line will limit your throttle position from actually going below that point. This is a lock mechanism which is also present in the real aircraft. As soon as the plane touches down, you can then move below this red line and into the various positions (like reverse). A very handy feature, for sure! Moving along, the next available icon in the tool tray depicts charts. This is another really great feature on this aircraft! We allow you to create or download your own charts from the internet and place them in a folder. The charts will then be available to you in the Chart Selector window, where you can select the checkbox next to the chart you want, and it will actually place that specific chart into the chart clip on the yoke! Below shows a selection for Newark (KEWR). Note...in the below image there's an alignment issue with the selection vs. text, and it's just due to some code editing but I wanted to show you anyhow! Next up we have an icon of a speaker. If you haven't figured this one out by now, this is a menu for our 3D sound engine preferences (called soundXtreme). The Saab 340A has some amazing sound features included to really give you a great experience! Quite literally, we were provided the access to get EVERY aural sound from the cockpit, hydraulic pump sounds, interior and exterior engine sounds, button and dial sounds, stair sounds, flaps, wipers, recirc fans, you name it! I'll be sure to dedicate some time to further explain this, but I really can't stress enough how much the sounds in this product enhance it to a whole new level! The menu options for this window allow you to customize what sounds you would like to hear at what volume levels... The next item and icon selectable looks like a "play" button. For those of you who are short on time, or just want to get up and go (hey, the babies diaper needs changing, or sometimes you just need to use the loo), we haven't forgot about you! We realize the Saab 340A is a complex simulation with a lot going on and requires some reading if you really want to know how to do everything properly. However, some of you do not like that. We know this, and we want to include you in on this product too! As such, we have created an Auto-Start window for you. This window will quite literally move switches, monitor systems, and do the dirty work for you until all the important systems and engines are up and running so that the only thing you have to do is essentially move your condition and throttle levers forward to roll down the runway! For those of you who just like to watch and learn, we have made a Auto-Start interval input where you can tell the Saab how quickly you want it to flip switches during the startup sequence. This is great to slow down if you want to just get a feel for how things work! The following images depict a typical Auto-Start sequence... Last but certainly not least we have the User Preferences icon. This icon opens a window to allow user selection of certain data to be popped up on screen depending on an action taking place. This is REALLY handy for people who map these specific items to hardware, as the knobs (such as heading) are situated in the center pedestal. As virtual pilots, we don't have the luxury that real world pilots do to use our hands in one spot and our eyes targeted on another, so this helps heaps! I have two images to show you for this. The first image depicts the actual window that launches when the icon is clicked from the tool tray... And the following image depicts what happens if I select the 'Heading Selection Pop-Up' option, and then adjust my actual heading knob. You'll see in the upper left corner of the screen a real-time view of my current heading selection will come up until I have discontinued adjusting my heading. Really handy! A final word!.... In addition to all that has been mentioned above, night flying can be tricky due to dark conditions and these windows being bright blue. But, fear not! We have taken this into account for you, and during dark hours these windows will auto-dim so that you're not blinded. Think of it like a GPS when driving down the road. The GPS has a day and night mode, and we have the same here! So, that's a walk through of our rather expansive menu system for this product. We've tried to think of many scenarios that would initially be bothersome and implement them into easy to use interfaces instead! I hope you've enjoyed learning a little more about the Saab 340A, and that this helps you get a little more acquainted with the experience you're about to have! Cheers, and Blue Skies!

Video of Sikorsky S-92 patrolling the coast of Nusatope: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIYS6Qv0Z9E

You sir are an Ass.

I feel your consternation my friend and I TRULY appreciate what the LES Team and X-Aviation are doing! Forget the negativity ... it's just squashed bugs on the windscreen on the long haul through a development cycle . You are ALL doing a bang up job .. no doubts in my mind and anyone who's attempts to hold you to a schedule is a fool! Don't fall for it ... Cheers, Kris P.

This is just another affirmation that anything Steven Winslow ever tries to say is a light hearted poke and apologizes for is pure rubbish. Didn't believe him then, don't believe him now.

I'm sure its not like that...... Your kid going to school costs money. Them releasing the Saab will make them money. To top if off they then can take a breather. (I guess you can say the same for sending you kid off, LOL) Every day it's not out cost them money, I am sure they are working their butts off to get it out the door.

HeHe,Releasing The Saab has got to be like sending your kid away to school,You don't want to let go...but you have to.

Sorry Cameron, I misunderstood the first post. Assumed that (tonight, tomorrow morning, whatever) meant today.

That is good - near-100%-procedure-level-aircraft are what I wish to spend my money on, and I avoid the 'lite' stuff.

^-------What he said Just to add to that, we COULD choose to go the "lite" road, but we gave up on that and we're only interested in creating near 100% procedure level aircraft add ons.