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Just a little headsup from the development front: This is a copy+paste from our internal Skype-chat, written by me this morning: [09:30:47] Jan Vogel: ok everyone - I am just testing the latest revision, Tom has implemented a change of DEST "on the fly". I am flying over Los Angeles, changing my mind ALL THE TIME - entering new destinations (Van Nuys, LAX, Burbank, Santa Monica, etc...). The FMS is holding up beautifully - this is the way the FMS is supposed to help the pilot, being flexible, easy to use, no "kinks" to avoid... [09:31:01] Jan Vogel: (^) big one for Tom! [09:31:20] Jan Vogel: I am still finding some odd bugs, totally expected, I am really doing some stupid stuff :-) Just so you know we are not sitting on our thumbs, watching you squirm for a release date . Cheers, Jan

You can switch layout on the fly...

To reiterate here again, since I was just thinking about this very thing this morning....we will probably issue some kind of press statement as we get closer as to what we do and don't have. We want it all of course, but have to draw the line. The FMC is definitely the last major system to get in place, specifically the VNAV performance / calculations. We are well into them and will be entering a calibration phase shortly. We believe it is one of the more full-features FMS systems available, though it won't be 100%. What has been left out are rarely used features....we do want to put them in just the same asap. Jan has guided the feature set based on his experiences so what we have left out are not deal killers. We are focusing on flexibility and reliability for normal operations for the initial release. We are leaving out the more detailed "eye candy" and bells and whistles for the initial release, mostly with regards to animations and small detail 3D. For example, no cargo hold, a basic cabin, no animating doors, no voice-over flight attendants, no passenger sound-pack, no flight attendant panel, etc. We have put all our efforts into what goes on forward of the cockpit door. The rest of that stuff is easy, but takes back-burner status to the systems and operation from the perspective of the left seat. After the initial release, we will continue to refine the product and get all that cool stuff in not long afterwards. -tkyler

I see your point. It is one of those decisions between ultra-realism and ease of access. I think, however, that restricting the choice is a bit too harsh. It is not like either gauge form is "easy" and the other one "hard", so there is no unfair advantage of one over the other. Yes, switching gauges or winglets while at 37.000 feet is not realistic, but neither is changing the weather, weight or time of day (and X-Plane lets you do that). And changing gauges and winglets is just "optical" change, no functionality change. We don´t allow access to the "ground services" menu while the plane is in motion, I think that would be too unrealistic. But for ultrarealism regarding changing of aircraft equipment during flight: Don´t do it! Cheers, Jan

Completely remodeled my JFK airport!

Yes, the FMS is the last "big block" that needs to be finished for our initial release version tentatively dubbed V1.0. There will be many versions following up on that one, including many things that we would like to have on the airplane, but won´t have on the initial release due to time constraints. One example is animated cabin doors. We have the gui in place to operate them, but it takes a lot of time to model the animation correctly, and this won´t happen for the initial release, most likely. So if you plan to buy this plane that took 5 years to make to mostly sit and watch the doors open and close - hold off on your initial purchase . Jan

Here are two comparison shots, the first one from the cockpit of the IXEG 737, the second one from the cockpit of the default 747-400. Location is EDDM. As Cameron said, your mileage will vary, according to system properties, but this should give you an idea... Cheers, Jan

Beautiful! Just Beautiful!!! Pray for Paris!

Darn it! I guessed wrong, there was a debate in my head between the A330 and A340 and I went with the A340 The scenery is converted from FSX/FS2004, originally by FSDT: http://www.fsdreamteam.com/products_jfk.html

Except for the "historical coolness" factor I see no reason why you would want to use CIVA if you have a modern FMS. Even if you totally dislike putting in "full routes" you can just hack a few waypoints into the LEGS page, and off you go. Of course you can get out your VFR chart and use the stopwatch for some good old-fashioned dead-reckoning as well . We don´t have a skyport for shooting a fix on the sun or stars at night, Omega or Loran C either, though . Jan

What, you are not on the list yet??? How do you expect to receive your plane in 2016 then, we have a backlog of many hundreds of planes, and we can only manufacture like 10 a month! Viele Grüße, Jan

Not quite, though my previous response wasn't correct either. Having done some further research, I realise that the "standard" ATC language for a country is that country's official language - so French, Spanish, French etc. are standard if the country uses them as its first language. However, any communications in English must be responded to in English, so you can reasonably assume that any ATCO at an international airport will be able to respond in, and understand, English. Going back to LFPO, this means that French is totally legitimate language when flying into there, however you don't need to know any French to fly there; if you start speaking English on frequency, someone will be able to reply in English too. As far as I can tell, this wouldn't be expected of languages other than the host nation's and English though - E.G. you couldn't fly into Orly and speak Chinese on the radio and expect someone to understand you.

This product is about simulating the real version of this aircraft. As such, I can't ever see something like this happening.

Loving SkyMAXX v3! Long range clouds: A true overcast layer!

Sorry for the double post, but the beauty of X-plane requires more than one post

Hey! I can walk from Nihau to Kauai

Spent yesterday getting checked out on the Zlin and getting my high performance rating: And spent today flying solo practicing some procedures and maneuvers on the Zlin.

I just can't get enough of this...

Flying from Keflavik to Narsarsuaq (BIKF - BGBW) using Leading Edge Simulations' Douglas DC-3 for X-Plane. The Icelandic weather is rough

Back to x plane 9, Damage Graphic card... Running a HD5570 Now...

hi Ryan. It is an experimental sky. I have found this texture online ( http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/49173742.jpg) and manipulated sky with photoshop to create a new "x-plane hialt texture". The result is interesting. More screnshots with this experimental sky: