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Found 20 results

  1. NEWS! Updated - FlyJSim updates Q4XP Dash 8 quickly to version v1.36 While the release of the FlyJSim v4 Boeing 737-200 is imminent (weeks now, not months). The developer has presented another update for the excellent Q4XP or De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q400 as version v1.34.... that was very quickly updated to v1.35 the next day, then v1.36 just the day after (compatibly with TrueEarth GB North XP12). The v1.34 update covered those tricky doors, in trying to open/close them on the JPAD (Tablet). It was a very if an annoying tricky operation to open any door, certainly the left rear with the cargo door overlapping the passenger door "Fixed Pressurization limiting doors operation", is yes finally a fix v1.35 "yeah", but like I mentioned in the earlier news notice it was still annoying, even frustrating in using the Q4XP doors... The custom Universal UNS-1 Flight Management System has had attention here to fix crashes, or bugs in the system... the same UNS is coming to the B737-200 as well! In v1.35 there has also been an adjustment to the engine idle speed, and noticeable for M1 Mac uses in that the "Luajit" option is now available on the JPad. LuaJIT is a tracing just-in-time compiler. LuaJIT chooses loops and function calls as trace anchors to begin recording possible hot paths. Function calls will require twice as many invocations to begin recording as a loop. Once LuaJIT begins recording, all control flow, including jumps and calls, are inlined to form a linear trace. This tool can be used for increased speed in the processing on Apple Mac processors. Version 1.36 (March 28th 2024) - Fixed crashing Issue related to TrueEarth GB North for XP12 Version 1.35 (March 27th 2024) - for XP12 only - XP11 remains 1.34 - Doors will definitly open now. - Fixed FPS on M1 mac, you know have a LuaJit toggle in the options menu of the JPad. - Adjusted engine idle speeds. Version 1.34 (March 22nd 2024) - Fixed Pressurization limiting doors operation. ## UNS: - Fix crash caused by terrain display database at high latitudes (ENSB). - Fix crash due to bad input validation on HOLD FIX page (when entering 0 instead of a valid leg item number). - Fix crash when deleting flight plan FMS heading mode was on. - Fix once-a-second stutter due to wrong OpenGL texture transfer format for EGPWS display. ## FIXES - Change LNAV tracking algorithm to match the one used by the real FMS. - Fix incorrect overfly turns when sequencing to a CF leg. - Fix truncated procedure names in clearance-format flight plan (FPL > MENU > CLEARANCE). - Fix non-IFR airport not shown in database. - Fix incorrect COM-radio frequency validation in FMS TUNE page (frequencies above 135 MHz were incorrectly rejected). - Fix some conditional legs not being parsed correctly (altitude legs with Flight Level values). - Change texture transfer format for EGPWS terrain display to minimise stutter. - Improve direct-to roll out computation to avoid S-turns where possible. - Fix holds not computed properly if inserted at the current TO leg with less than 15 seconds left before sequencing (plane was steering for 360° and never turning back inbound). - If "DISABLE M/APPR" is selected in the NAV MENU, show the missed approach regardless once navigating to the last approach leg. - Fix HSI/FMS desired track display. The FMS was flying great circle paths correctly, but the HSI desired track was not updating along the (changing) great circle heading. - Improve display of DF (Direct-to-Fix) procedural legs with roll-out/PPOS point on MFD. Update download v1.36 is now available via the X-Plane.OrgStore (Account) or use the Skunkcraft Updater. Re-authorisation is required (A full restart is also recommended). Support forum for the Q4XP ________________ Yes! the Q4XP v1.36 by FlyJSim is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Q4XP by FlyJSim Price is US$79.95 Requirements X-Plane 12 or X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.5 GB Current version: 1.36 (March 28th 2024) ________________ NEWS! was Updated by Stephen Dutton 29th March 2024 Copyright©2024: X-Plane Reviews Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Right Reserved.
  2. NEWS! - Aircraft Updated : Q4XP v1.16 by FlyJSim FlyJSim have released an update of their Q4XP Dash Q400 to v1.16. Focus of the update is to add in TCAS integration to the Q4FMS plugin, in other words a working TCAS. The other focus in the update is on Improving the LNAV HDG intercept trip logic (reduces chances of overshoot), Transmission of LNAV submodes over avionics bus (LNAV HDG SEL, LNAV HDG INT) and overall Improved LNAV hold tracking (which seems to be common theme lately in X-Plane. Two other changes include a fixed issue with fuel display not displaying on the engine display, and the Fixed takeoff config switch not being spring loaded to off. The rest of the update includes bug fixes. Full v1.16 update changelog is here. NEW: TCAS - Add TCAS integration to Q4FMS plugin. ### SYSTEMS - Fixed issue with fuel display not displaying on the engine display. - Fixed takeoff config switch not being spring loaded to off. - Improve LNAV HDG intercept trip logic (reduces chances of overshoot). - Transmit LNAV submodes over avionics bus (LNAV HDG SEL, LNAV HDG INT). - Improve LNAV hold tracking. - Fix 0052/ARINC section & subsection not sent in crossfill packet. - Fix 0053/cursor not moving to next field on HOLD DEFN page. - Fix 0054/DTO page crashing with out-of-bounds leg indices. - Fix 0056/heading field on NAV HDG page not accepting 360 as valid entry. - Fix 0057/FMS causing crashes in replay by stopping FMS updates. - Fix 0065/Crash when engaging LOC BC autopilot with VOR tuned. - Fix 0068/Procedure turn courses are not normalised and cause assert fails. - Fix extra fuel not added into reserves on FUEL 1/5. - Fix true track procedure legs not parsed correctly. - Fix overfly flag not syncing between flight plan and nav legs. - Fix approach disarming when enabling HDG INCPT mode. - Fix End-Of-Approach gap sequencing without go around switch signal. Updates to Q4XP can be done via the built in Skunkworks updater (can be checked to in being the correct version via the JPAD - Q Home page) or reloading a full new version from the X-Plane.OrgStore. Go to your X-Plane.OrgStore account. A full MEGA review X-PlaneReviews of the release version of the Q4XP is available here: Aircraft Review : Q4XP by FlyJSim _________________________________ Yes! the Q4XP v1.16 by FlyJSim is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Q4XP by FlyJSim Price is US$79.95 Requirements X-Plane 11 Support for X-Plane 11 and X-Plane 12 when available Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.5 GB Current version: 1.16 (April 2nd 2022) ________________ News by Stephen Dutton 4th April 2022 Copyright©2022: X-Plane Reviews Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Right Reserved.
  3. Aircraft Review : Q4XP by FlyJSim In August 2019, FlyJSim signed off their original development of the De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q400, by giving it a "Legacy" title as it was an aircraft that is originally dated back from 2012. No doubt it was a really great simulation and has flown countless hours in simulations worldwide, it was also a personal favorite of mine as the Dash8 (Dashy) is very close to my life in flying on the aircraft many numerous times (mostly Qantaslink and even FlyBe)... another attraction is that propeller regional aircraft are also extremely popular as simulations, with their short routes and multiple sectors in one day flying, final plus is that the aircraft can also be very rewarding to fly, that is a certainty in the Dash8's case with it's T-Tail configuration and unforgiving flying characteristics, so master the Dash8, and you will go straight to the top of the class in skill and honours. From FlyJSim's perspective it was actually far easier to totally redo the Dash8-Q400, than try to modernise the current (Legacy) Q400 version, so the announcement was made that the all new aircraft would be called the Q4XP and v2, and that moniker has stuck. But another aspect was in a way that FlyJSim had also cornered themselves into a very, if extremely high expectation with the new v2 design. Their Boeing TwinJet 737 had already set out a higher (If even an absurd) level of detail and quality, and the new Q4XP had to not only match that expected level, but even to deliver more, or even vastly more to keep the leadership of quality and features title in the X-Plane Simulator. That aspect can create even an unrealistic or even unattainable expectation, so the biggest question to be asked in this review is, "How much better is the Q4XP". Simulation at this level is about making serious decisions. An aircraft in this category like the FlyJSim Q4XP is a serious investment, they are not cheap, so it is a decision made not only on the feature list and the quality... but really on how you will use the aircraft. My belief is that value comes in anything that you use, even a very expensive car is not worth anything unless you actually use it, and something as your phone has far more personal value because you use the tool everyday, even every hour (minutes?). So your first decision with the Q4XP, is on how much will I use the aircraft? A few flights a month is just simply throwing away your money, as the aircraft actually demands consistent flying, not only in monetary terms, but in the demands the aircraft will make on your skills. So you are not just purchasing the FlyJSim Q4XP, you are also making a serious commitment to it.... and that is where it's biggest overall value comes from. First point to make is that the Legacy version was very good to begin with, it was always a very detailed and quality aircraft to look at, and outwardly the two aircraft do look very much the same, but the huge jump in quality is certainly built in here. Hi-Res 4K textures and combined with the fused built in lighting effects of PBR (Physically Based Rendering) reflections... get in close and the Hi Res quality simply blows you away. Modeling has become an art form, but it is in the real minute detail that really wins the contest. Yes rivets can be nicely aligned, but without the correct shape and size they look unrealistic, but here it is total perfection... and the detail is absolutely "Staggering", and yes I used that word before in the FJS TwinJet review, but it is, even more amazing in the absolute detail here as well. To a point we have become even very tedious in the way we even expect a certain level of detail... we usually get it as well (certainly at this extreme level), but then that makes everything else just blur into each other. "blah, blah, yeah it's good", but do we really consider on how REALLY good we do now get in this sort of intimate detail that now presented before us. Yes we are paying for this, but it is also a miracle of what can now actually be achieved in simulation now before our eyes. It is a moment to quietly savor and totally admire.... but more so here, as it is a masterclass of extreme detail. The Q400 comes with a Pratt&Whitney PW150A with a maximum continuous rating of 5071 SHP (3782 kW), although the engine is actually capable of up to 7000 SHP. Has a 3 stage axial low pressure compressor instead of the centrifugal NL unit on other variants. It also sports the larger, six-bladed 13.5 ft (4.1 m) Dowty R408 propeller that spins at slower rates of 1,020 rpm at takeoff and 850 rpm at cruise speeds. The Dowtys have both been perfectly modeled here and come with the automatically adjustable pitch (and reverse thrust). Aerodynamic surfaces are excellent, each wing profile is exact by the required standards. Notable are the flap tracks, not one, but four to cover each side of the engines, incredibly well detailed. Undercarriage Excellent gear detail we are again used to now, as everything is focused on the gear assemblies, but more so here. The long-legged main gear is so exposed, that to do the modeling badly, is to ruin the whole Dash experience... but not to worry? there is again some exemplary talent to see here from FlyJSim. The great feel here is in the way FJS has done the brilliant texturing... you see the original grey paintwork, but later overlaid with a sort or wear and grittyness that says "hardworking" in service aircraft. Perfection, oh.. and the assemblies, strut, and hydraulic piping and their connections are pretty well brilliant and flexible as well. Up in the wheel well, you get the same feel of exceptional detail, note the amazing hydraulic rams, and it is just as dirty up there as you would expect. Strut labels are also easily readable, and the tyre rubber is lovely in a reflective sidewall and dry tread. Note watch the gear in action on landing to see the flexible hoses and rams in great animation. Nosegear is also complex and highly detailed... the single taxi light and hydraulic piping is simply "off the planet" in amazing detail... Most developers highlight the tyre manufacturer's name (here Dunlop), but to create the tyre's construction detail is something else again... the wheel rims are not too bad either. Everything comes across over as photographic, not modeled, and that is the whole point in extreme realism in a simulator. Glass At first glance the glass looks quite transparent? but move into the correct lighting conditions and the glass comes alive with wear, tear and rainbows. These dirt elements are also highly visible internally as well (you want to consistently wipe the windows of the dirt), so it is all very authentic. Librain is included, but XP12 will have the rain effects built in anyway. Cabin windows are also exemplary... brilliant reflections show off the wear and glass materials, with the larger inner circular, highlighting the outer window... again totally realism 101. Doors There are five doors that can be opened on the Q4XP. Front Left Stairs, Rear Left Stairs, Forward Right Baggage and Right Rear Stairs, plus the very large Cargo Door. It is not so much the doors can be opened, but the insane detail of not only the door opening action, but the animations as well... Not only do the door handles pull out and turn (External and internal), but the modeling around the door frame on the aircraft and the door construction itself is mindboggling, note the lower door flap that opens with the open door(s).... Compartments are fully fitted out (beautifully) but nicely worn after years of abuse... there are four ways to open the doors, directly, by key commands (recommended) and the JPad. There is also an auto mode of which we will see later. Cabin The FlyJSim TwinJet 737 cabin was a groundbreaker in detail and functionality... still the best in X-Plane (The Carenado S430 was a great runner up). So you are expecting a lot from FJS again this time around... fortunately FlyJSim deliver again, if now even taking the title of the best airline cabin in X-Plane. You feel this cabin, and well before you even get inside it! First though admire the front left stairs.... close up detail is again astounding, no door on a shell here, the full door construction is very well presented. The view we all love.... boarding! Inside this cabin is looong. It is 61 ft 8 in/18.80 m long with a capacity of 78 passengers plus crew (Four- two Flight Deck and two Cabin) Interesting as you board is the Cabin Control Panel... up high to the right? We will come back to this panel in flight. There is in front of you a "Crew Only" area, but it opens for us to reveal the forward baggage compartment "your kidding me... right!"). There is another door by the other side of the baggage compartment... the toilet "no way"? But yes... toilets are not uncommon in X-Plane... but this one is amazing? Once in you can lock the door behind you, to do your "ahm business".... for the Women (can you say that now?) you can have the seat down, for us males we know that Women get shitty about leaving the seat up, so you can do that here if you want to.... ... the coup de grâce is that you can also set a key command to yes... "flush the toilet!". you gotta laugh man. I'm reviewing toilets no less? The personal view inside the toilet is very tight, but highly authentic from personal experience. I have mostly sat at 2A, and the view from the same seat is simply photographic... The seat design, complex materials with folds are excellent, the front row seats are designed separately from the bulk of the seating... There was a lot of toys to play with on the FlyJSim TwinJet 737, and here on the Q4XP you get get another brilliant toybox to play with. All seats have animated drop down trays, with the front row seats the trays that come out of the armrests (as they should). Window blinds are adjustable, and all the luggage bins open as well... Only again is that there is no global (open)close on the multitude of items... close one window shade or open a luggage bin, then they have to be all reopened or closed again individually, and it is no easy if tedious task on the long barreled airliner? Rear seat detail is again extremely realistic "did I put my used Coke can down there"? You finally get to the rear of the cabin. Note the extreme detail of the inner rear left door (and right side), it is amazing, plus the folded up rear stairs. The rear crew member's Jumpseat can be turn out ready for takeoff (or landing)... Galley is simply supreme, metal heating boxes, blue metal carts and all held in by their red catches... perfect. Cockpit A great as the cabin is (if even brilliant), it is through that tight door it is the real reason we purchase these aircraft. Oddly the first view inside looks if even extremely familiar? It should do, because we have spent a lot of time in the Q400 Legacy's cockpit, it sorta "feels like home", but now with a major home makeover. This is an interesting point to make... The FlyJSim Dash Q400 is so familiar, so in your first instances everything can be very, very deceiving in here. The Q4XP is really like a Russian babushka doll, on the surface it is all very much the same, but you can open it up and reveal another layer, then another, and another... It is only when you go back to the earlier Legacy Q400 that you then realise the huge steps forward that have been taken with the Q4XP. Like with most, to convey the sort of extreme detail you have in this Q400 cockpit is to focus on the small stuff. Rear wall left... here there is a large Circuit Breaker (Fuses) panel (there is one on the right as well). Note the rivet heads on the bulkhead, sublime... the wear and age on the circuit breaker panels, excellent... The coffee cup, yes a coffee cup, but a dirty sipped coffee cup at that, that would not go out of place on my desk? Circuit Breakers that actually work... ALL OF THEM. Go lower to the seat, and it is not just any construction of a flight chair, but EVERY SINGLE COMPONENT including the copper screws to hold all of the assembly together, it is just astounding detail? Molded trim is sensational, including the rear radio panel, and note the excellent roof trim molds, they also look and feel as original in being photographic real, and these are not photographs here, but created detailed modeling, but you couldn't actually tell the difference... do we now have another extreme level in detail, absolutely yes. Carpet is tired and actually beautifully disgusting!. There is even a rubbish or throwaway container box built into the floor for all those used coffee cups. There are more extreme molded panels surround the "Emergency" cockpit hatch, and yes you can remove it, but only by moving the catch, and then separately pulling the hatch downwards and on to the floor, the reverse motions are then required to refit the hatch. The two pilot chairs are perfection, not only in the construction as noted, but the three element seating The seating cloth material is very authentic and has a nice weave to it as well. And all the armrests (four) can be moved up or down. You can get quite obsessive with on how much detail you can put into simulation these days, but never in all my days have I seen anything quite like this Q4XP. JPAD (Menu) The aircraft's menu is accessed by a Tablet or JPad which is situated on the left and right side windows in a portrait mode (the same angle as used on a real Q400), you access them by pressing the Hotspot (Suction cups) on the lower windows, or by using the X-Plane MENU/PLUGINS/FJS Q4XP dropdown menu which puts the JPad on a separate moveable (and scalable) window (for Home Cockpit builders). There are four Icon tabs; Q (HOME), PAYLOAD, CHECKLISTS and SETTINGS. Q-HOME : There are three sections on the Q - HOME page, VER (Version), AIRCRAFT and PAYLOAD. The HOME page is mostly a summary of the setup of the aircraft. VER (Version) shows you your current aircraft build and Patch (Update) notes, which can be updated via the SkunkCrafts Updater plugin (In the MENU/PLUGINS). AIRCRAFT : The Aircraft page is a summary of the aircraft, including details of the CREW, AIRPLANE (Airline, Rego, SELCAL and Year built) and great AIRFRAME data (Hours, Flight Count...). Notable is that you can actually change the data in the Crew/Airframe data, and the input can be directly done via your keyboard... a JPad icon shows in the lower left corner (arrowed above right), to say you are now in the keyboard mode. To be able to change these data details is excellent, I loved the personalisation of the aircraft to your own needs. The PAYLOAD option can be accessed via both the HOME page and the PAYLOAD page, as they are one and the same. PAYLOAD : The page displays the aircraft's currant STATUS. With PAYLOAD INFO/, STATE, and some options in "Connect/Disconnect GPU", "Auto connect GPU", "Board using both doors", "Call Pushback" once loaded and "Fuel Before Loading Pax" options. You don't have a dedicated Ground Elements menu as a most of the actions on the ground are automatic... Once you have arrived and parked, three states have to occur (Park Brake - Landing Taxi Lights off - Both props at less then 350 RPM), then the (ground crew) will add chocks to the wheels, and put out cones around the propellers... Once the props have stopped turning, then the front door will open, and then the rear door and stairs if you have selected that option (Board using both doors). You can control all the doors via the visual aircraft profile (or set Key Commands), but you can't turn off the auto option. The rear stairs can be quite awkward to select, and has to be activated after the opening the door, just make sure you have the right (Aft Airstairs) signal. The excellent GPU (Ground Power Unit) can be selected automatically (Auto connect GPU) or added in manually if you want to stay on the internal APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) while on the ground, the same three states are required to addon the GPU in auto mode. Now it is time to LOAD the aircraft via the SELECT LOAD button. This brings up a loading data sheet on how the aircraft is loaded with Passengers, Cargo and Fuel... ... Weights can be set in either Kgs or Imperial units (arrowed above left). There are general loading choices via Icons, that show Empty, Qtr, Half, 3 Qtr and Full loads. Or you can also input all the loading data manually via your keyboard, and if you are overweight, the RAMP WEIGHT will turn RED. When done you can do a LOAD SUMMARY, that will show you a LOADING SHEET, with a C.G% M.A.C graph. Happy then press the CONFIRM LOAD button to lock the data in. Now you can START LOADING the aircraft, but note the option right to "Fuel Before Loading Pax" option. In other words the aircraft refueling will be done, before the passengers are loaded onto the aircraft, and that does add in a significant extra time on the ramp? Another option is to do a FAST LOAD, which loads the above load data instantly... Now the fun starts! The Fuel cart will first appear and then the cart is connected to the ramp tank, and a stand appears (arrowed below right)... and then both the grounding cable and then the large fuel hose are connected to the aircraft... ... when all done the refueling then takes place, and the refueling amount (and weights) are shown on the PAYLOAD/STATUS page plus the time it takes to refuel the aircraft. The reverse procedure when the refueling is completed is now done. Now the loading of the passengers and their baggage starts, first if the doors including the cargo door are closed they will now open, and extend the stairs. Then the boarding sequence starts... it does take time to cover all the boarding sequences at around 19 minutes... when done the aircraft will now close all the doors... .... and then takes away the cones, chocks and everything except the GPU as you require it to start the aircraft (unless you have chosen not to via the options). Now loaded you are cleared for an "Engine Start". If you wish, you can check each of the passengers "Boarding Pass", with a Name, Age, Sex and Seat No. When completed you can then add the roof back on to the aircraft or toggle the internal or external areas. Bags and Weights can also be checked by moving the mouse over the cargo areas. You can select the (Better)PushBack truck to come immediately, but I found it far to quick in locking up to the aircraft, so I just did it the usual manual way... you can also connect the GPU immediately automatically on landing, but again I like the manual control better. Obviously the whole unloading procedure is reversed on landing, and it is quite exceptional in operation, but it does take the manual control of all these elements out of your hands... for some that could be a problem, for me though it works very well and takes a lot of the loading work out of your hands, plus in timing it is extremely realistic. CHECKLISTS : The "Checklist" tab shows you the checklist options. Then each checklist sequence.... in a deeper explanation of each check item, you can press the "Show More Info" tag, and each checklist item is explained in detail... again brilliant, but there is no "Auto" check list procedure (yet anyway). SETTINGS : The SETTINGS page is for global setting on the aircraft... -Engines Off State : Three options are available for; Cold & Dark, Long Turn (around) and Short Turn (around). Actually there are four states of start... Cold&Dark is just that in everything off. Long Turn is like overnight in operating on GPU, with batteries off. Short Turn is GPU connected, or APU running, as in a state as if you just changed crew during a turnaround. Final option is if you click the X-Plane "Engines Running" checkbox, the plane will load as ready for takeoff. -Your Role : Three options for; Captain, 1st Officer or Auto. You can set this to Captain for the left seat, 1st Officer for right, seat, or if set to auto the simulation will try to determine which seat you are in by the position of your camera. -KGS/Lbs : Global selection of kilograms or lbs -Baro Units : use IN or HPA as the units for all three barometers -Baro Sync : use either IN or HPA as the units for all three barometers. -Seasonal Weights : This options sets which base weights the payload system will be using to estimate the load on the LOAD DATA page of the payload system. With changes for Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall or Auto. -JPad Location : This option sets which side of the cockpit, if any to display the JPad tablet... Left shows the JPad only on the left side, Right shows the JPad on the right side, Both will have all the JPads displayed or None in no JPads displayed in the cockpit. -Yokes : Show or Hide (A key command can set this action as well) -ClipBoards : The Yokes also have these little clip boards, which can be hidden independently from the yokes. -Steering Axis : Three options in TILLER - YAW - ROLL This option give you the choice of these three options to control the steering, in just the Tiller (manual) operation, Yaw were as the nosewheel moves with the rudder, or Roll were as the nosewheel turns with the side Roll movements. (Note... this option was originally labeled "Yaw Axis as Tiller", and the idea didn't work very well at all, so it was changed back to the basic Tiller-Yaw-Roll Commands.) -Control Display : The control display will help you to keep informed and teach you about the correct power selection on the Q400. You have three options. -Always On - it will always be on screen. -Fade Away - it will appear momentarally when either running into a gate, holding a command to go through a gate, entering the rating area, or being at the top of the EMR area. -Off - The control display will never appears. __________________ Instrument Panel Power on is via the DC Panel upper far left on the OverHead Panel (OHP). (GPU is connected to power the aircraft). The Dash-8 Q400 uses a Honeywell electronic flight instrumentation system (EFIS) with five displays. And the startup sequences are simply excellent... You can have the power connected, but the five pack instrument displays will still be blank? The displays have to physically all turned on separately... this is done via each side EFIS Control Panel in two knobs (per screen, each side). The displays will act like real cathode ray tubes in sync on, then do a self test "T" and go through a series of startup lighting procedures... it is all simply brilliant! Note that you also have to turn on the central Standby COM unit as well? All screens can be actually active, but will still need the brightness turned up to actually see them. The central MFD (Multifunction Display) is switched on via the knob on the rear separate EIS panel called Engine and System Integrated Display Control Panel. The display control panel (EIS Control) is situated on the rear of the pedestal along with the excellent Radio layout and Trim Panels. Each display panel can be moved to another display and then further changed in four options; PFD (Primary Flight Display), NAV (Navigation), SYS (Systems) and ENG (Engine), The opposite is set on the other pilot's position as shown here. You can also switch displays on each flying side, while the central display is for the main Engine details. Notable TRQ (Torque), PROP RPM, ITT (Interstage Turbine Temperature) as main, and sub categories include; NH (High-Pressure%), FF (Fuel Flow), NL (Low Pressure%), OIL Temp and Pressure and FUEL capacity... and SAT (Static Air Temperature). We are extremely familiar with the PFD. It has the Speed and Altitude ribbons, with a rate of turn above the Artificial Horizon. Right is the V/S Vertical Speed indicator, and the built in ILS bands and Baro. Set below is a HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator), with built in Heading, Course, ILS Freq, and VOR1 and VOR 2 indicators. MFD or MAP/NAV (Navigation) Display is to the right, with the MAP/NAV set upper and the PFCS (Primary Flight Controls) indicator lower. Be aware the FMS1 frequency shown is for the NAV only, it does not change on the NAV SOURCE to VOR 1 (ILS), VOR 2 or same FMS1 if you adjust the frequency. Notable is the separate Integrated Standby Flight Display (ISFD), upper right. Two panels cover (Centre right) the Landing Gear, GPWS Landing Flap control (Ground Proximity Warnings), and Flap 35 Approach, with lower the Hydraulic Control Panel... ... lower on the front pedestal is from top; FUEL CONTROL, ENGINE CONTROL and PROPELLER CONTROL Panels. Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS), is to all Legacy Dash 8 flyers already very familiar, and in reality it is not at all different here in layout or operation. Both Timers at each side are independent, but otherwise the Course, Heading, NAV Source, Altitude are all the same as are the central selector buttons. Spoiler FLIGHT - TAXI selector works exactly the same as well. OverHead Panel also looks like the Legacy, but in fact it is far more highly detailed and intricate. Still spit into four rows with the huge FIRE Panel top centre dominating... DC Electrical and Ice-Protection are far left row, with AC Electrical, AIR-CON/BLEEDS, SIGNS far right row. Centre Right top are the PANEL LIGHTING, APU CONTROL and ENGINE START panels. Centre lower-middle are the PRESSURISATION panels and front lower are the EXTERIOR LIGHTS panels. The Caution Warning Panel (CWP) is HUGE, 14x6 set alerts and Warnings that can be tested, as can the (Advisory) on the full OHP and FIRE sections. Another nice feature, is that you can set your rudder pedals in distance via the turning handle mid-floor, wind the handle untill you find the correct perfect position! __________________ UNS-1Ew Flight Management System There have been attempts to bring the Universal UNS-1 Flight Management System to X-Plane, but certainly not as authentic or as in-depth as this FlyJSim system. This is the first installation of the UN-1 that I have used, and it has created by a leading coder Amy Parent. It is very, very authentic, and again sets the bar in X-Plane amongst other simulators in recreating real world systems for Simulator users at a high quality level. First important thing to note, is that the UNS-1Ew is a separate system for each side, the units are not connected in any way, and both sides (with a few XFILL helpers built in) are required to be programmed as a system completely and separately. On turning the Management System on... each system then first goes through a full self test, and that can take a few minutes, then the system's author shows a copyright screen... Left side up and currently running, and now the right side sets itself up, again the same self-test procedure, and when done you have to "Accept" the current FMC version by key LK5 to lock in the current GPS position (EKCH-Copenhagen). Both systems have pop-out windowed panels for ease of use, and they can moved around the screen but not scaled. The input system is via numbers, and not with actual direct input (except for waypoints), once understood it is a very easy system to use... The current airport EKCH is now shown at the top of the FPL (Flightplan) selection. There is a side menu by pressing again the ON/OFF/DIM button... this brings up a unit menu for Screen BRIGHT(ness) or DIM, CANCEL, DISPLAY or OFF... OFF turns the whole unit off, so you will need to do another self-test to get back to your current situation... ... DISPLAY will adjust the unit screen up or down to your preference, and CANCEL will take you back to the home screen. Flightplaning To create a route is actually easy... the current position is already set 1 EKCH. To enter the Departure data, you press the MENU button, that brings up the Menu list including both the DEPART (Departure) and ARRIVAL options. Press LK4 to select DEPART. Which then displays the options of your departure runways. I'm using 22R so that is No.5 on the LIST, so 5 is inputted into the runway box LK2, and ENTER is then pressed to activate the departure runway... then the available SIDs (Standard Instrument Departure) options will show... again my SID is LANG1C, or No.7... ... then press ENTER to actvate. I have no TRANSITIONS, so I just press ENTER to input, and the Departure detail is complete. Get used to inputting the numbers, and it is very easy if very quick to use. Now the FPL shows the departure waypoints... .... and you can scroll through the waypoints via using the PREV or NEXT buttons. Entering (DCT) waypoints is easy. Just select the next key below the last waypoint and directly add in the ICAO waypoint code (DEGUL), then press ENTER. There is check if it is the correct waypoint and it's coordinates. If again correct then press ACCEPT to insert the waypoint... easy. Airways are just as easy... Select the next waypoint, then press LIST to bring up the option lists of the various NAVAIDS available... AIRWAYS option is RK2 on the right. Input your preferred AIRWAY (No.1) and press ENTER, then the termination waypoint from the list (No.2 EEL)... then press ENTER to lock in the airway.... again very easy. Other NAVAID options available on the LIST page include; AIRPORTS, NDB, INT, VOR and GAP. You can of course delete any waypoints directly by just selecting it directly.. or use the same on the LIST page. *GAPS* can be inserted into the flightplan to break up the waypoint sequence, if not required then they can in the LIST page also be deleted DEL again. Now I add in both the intermediate flightplan waypoints and their airways as per my SimBrief routing. Now for the ARRIVAL data... select MENU and this time select ARRIVE RK4. The ARRIVE airport is ICAO EGCC (Manchester) so that is inputted directly RK1, and the UNS-1 shows you if this is the correct airport, if yes then again press ACCEPT. Then inputted are the runway (05L), STAR (Standard Terminal Arrival Route) ROSU1F... then the type of APPR (Approach) No.5 ILS/D 05L As you know, I like to adjust my approaches to a custom flightplan.... So deleting the set arrival route, with a custom approach route via CROFT, KOLID, EKLAD and NOKIN and then into 05L was extremely easy. You can see the route on the MFD via pressing the FORMAT button on the EFIS Control Panel (Pedestal) to the corresponding MFD side. Obviously you can SAVE, DELETE and RELOAD Flightplans on the MENU page. And that is the flightplan completed. Holding patterns using the UNS-1 are also available, as are RNAV, Geometric VNAV, RNP and Curved Legs options. We will look at DTO (DIRECT TO) in flight. There is a PREF (Performance) page, but you don't fill in any data. The only other area to fill in is on the FUEL page. FUEL DATA There is no auto fill-in from the JPad to insert in the Fuel data, but you only have to add in the PAX number, CARGO and actual FUEL load, and then the optional; ALTERNATE, HOLD and EXTRA fuel data for the Fuel Reserves. XFILL Once you have only done the Flightplan data for the left FMS unit. To transfer the flightplan there is the XFILL FPL on the MENU page. This will cross reference the flightplan to the other FMS unit. (Just make sure you don't mix them up, as they are on the opposite unit). Same with the FUEL page, when completed in filling out the fuel data, then press MENU and fill in the fuel amount... then press the XFILL button to again transfer the data to the other FMS unit. It may look a bit complicated, but the UNS-1Ew Flight Management System is extremely easy to use, you will be filling it in like a Pro very quickly. __________________ Flying the Q4XP by FlyJSim So we are loaded (Passengers, Cargo and Fuel) and are ready for flight... First impressions are the extremely familiar as with the Legacy, the same forward view and my nemesis... the same throttle quadrant. The Q400's throttle quadrant is a very workmanlike, very rugged... tough, something you would find more on a farming machine than an aircraft. Left to right is first the Trim setting, then the Parking Brake handle. The twin throttle levers themselves are quite petite, compared to the huge CONTROL LOCK handle behind. Then there are the twin PROP/FUEL (Lean-Rich) and Fuel Cut-Off levers and finally far right is the Flap lever 0º-5º-10º-15º-35º. But don't make no mistake as the quadrant is beautifully done. So why do I hate it so much. The problem with the Legacy Quad, was that it was diabolical to use? There was a really annoying system, that switched the twin PROP/FUEL levers into an active mode with the twin throttle Flight/Idle position. This resulted in a non-fuel flow to the engines, and hence mostly sitting on the ramp for twenty minutes or so trying to make the throttles go live. It was never fixed... it was simply a "a Pain...." and ruined many a good simulation. Thankfully here that issue has been rectified, mostly by creating very distinct lock positions (the PROP/FUEL levers go up and lock back down into the gate... very nicely done) and the levers are now simply controlled by an up and down arrow manipulator (sigh of huge relief). Only one point to say is that the far right PROP/FUEL lever can be hidden and hard to move from the left pilot's position, as the manipulators get lost behind the right PROP/FUEL lever... so you have to physically move your visual view to adjust the lever, but I can live with that aspect. The Throttle gate to achieve the "Beta" reverse is another complex annoyance. The issue created was that the twin throttles had to be held on 30% position and not full back on the stop, and if you went back to the gate or missed the idle point, the props would of course go into reverse... In Flight! I hated it with a passion. There has been a significant change on the Q4XP, as the throttles now have detents or gates behind the throttle. You can see the layout via the pop-up "Control Display" (CD) right lower corner. Now the throttles (on my Saitek X56) sit at the correct full back position, but on the CD, there are two more detents to the rear that can still be accessed. First is the DISC (or Disconnect) which is like a pressing your clutch down in a car, but for propellers. The second detent is the REV (Reverse) of the propellers. There are a few key commands set up to go through the separate detents. One in the "Toggle Thrust Reversers", that works, but extremely slowly with four (yes four) separate clicks to go two detents back to reverse, and it moves extremely slowly with each detent movement? which is not great on landing and wanting the reversers straight away? then another four clicks to go back up to the IDLE position. FlyJSim do provide another key (I use my joystick trigger), in the Q4XP Commands called "Use to pass the gates on both Power Handles"... quite a mouthfull, but it does basically the same as the Toggle command, but a bit more quicker with the timings of the detent movements, it can still be (far) too slow (in trying to make the movements realistic), but overall after a little practise it does work, and give you effective reversers on landing. It does however need to be speeded up, just a little more to be realistically effective. So the PROP/FUEL and Throttle arrangements are certainly a huge step forward from the Legacy set up, not perfect, but better... leaving the CD on the screen on landing can help with knowing if first, the throttles are actually moving through the detents, and secondly in what position they the detents are currently in. While we are on the subject of pain. Of the huge feature list you get here, one vital important feature is missing... Global and Current saves. As noted above with the extensive loading of the Q4XP and the extensive programming of the UNS-1Ew, and with two separate units. If you restart the flight or want to reload the same flight (say the next day). Then the only way to do that is from total scratch? that is 20mins gone at the start of your simulation, just getting back to same ready to fly position as you were at before... add in a lot of current CTDs and it is a massive if wastefully time consuming. For myself, I have just come straight off the ToLiSS A340 review, which has that excellent Global and Current save system. My point is it makes the difference in wanting to do a regular simulation in the choice of aircraft for the day, the ready to go A340, or the backbreaking total reset of the Q4XP. Shut the forward door, and a call to BetterPushBack... Both PROP/FUEL levers are set to "START&FEATHER", but you only have to start one engine, usually the right side, BLEED OFF and select the No.1 Engine and hit the starter button... unlike the Legacy the PW150A starts up immediately. Now you get the feel of the first time of the redone sounds. The FMOD sound pack in the Q4XP is highly specialised, and provides a fully 3D positional experience. And you hear the change in treble and bass as you advance from minimum to maximum prop, subtle changes in the mixture are also highly noticeable, as are all the clicks and bumps on the switchgear. Sound is far better than the Legacy, and that was actually very good anyway. You have been doing simulation for ten years, but sometimes you can look like a complete absolute dummy.... I couldn't move the yoke(s) in a roll movement as it is locked, and I lost earlier a full fifteen minutes trying to unlock it? It was the huge "Control Lock" behind the throttles (Duh), then they came free. Note the excellent "Stick Shaker" situated behind the Yokes. To steer you also have to switch on the "STEERING" on the left panel by the Tiller (yaw by rudder is set on the Settings page). Notable is now the NAV page is filled on the FMS, as more data can be seen, but even more later from the UNS-1Ew. Important is that the Hydraulics are powered up? Power is taken from the engines to pressurise the hydraulics, but here it is critical that the pressures are powered up on the Braking Hydrualics, no pressure and then simply no braking effect... this aspect can easily and will totally ruin your day. The settings can be set on the Hydraulic Control panel and pressures are seen in the lower "HYD PRESS" of the right MFD. (And yes I had no braking effects, until I had worked it all out)... Once both engines are running, all the hydrualic lights should be active (STBY HYD/PTU CONTROL) and the all the HYD PRESS markers active and level. On all the Dash8s I have flown on, they only taxi on one engine (mostly to save fuel)... But as I reach the threshold of EKCH Rwy 22L, I start the No.1 (Left engine). When both running, the Bleed is switched back on and the APU is shutdown. Trim centre is set... You can't actually input any of the switches on the Yokes, but you can set the Commands to do so, so the Trim switches will work when you adjust the trim, as does the A/P DIS (disconnect) and TCS. Interesting is the Push-To-Talk (PTT) switch, as X-Plane 12 will come with a Push-To-Talk action! A vital need is to set the "AUTOFEATHER" centre ENGINE CONTROL for takeoff. This syncs the propellers for the maximum thrust required... But just as VITAL is that once airborne and leveled out is to turn the "AUTOFEATHER" back off! If you don't you will get a nasty engine failure further down the route, mostly as you start your descent. So many users did this simple mistake. Timer(s) going (yes you have to start both), PROP/Fuel levers are set to Rich (MAX), and up go the twin throttles... Basically the Dash8 wants to kill you! Both of those Dowty R408 propellers rotate to the right with both having 5071 SHP in doing so. So the Dash will pull strongly to the right, adjusting the throttles to match can help, but a firm hold of the yoke is required, the tricky part is on rotation as the Dash will also lean as it leaves the ground... so the Q400 is a bit of a handful. Speed Bugs can be set (left of the PFD) You feel the gear retraction... it is nosily in operation and locks up with with a load of clunks. The list of Dash 8 landing gear incidents would fill a book, the worse was the Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 1209, registration LN-RDK, that just like us, had taken off from Copenhagen Airport, Denmark, and after a second incident in Vilnius, SAS grounded its entire Q400 fleet consisting of 27 aircraft, and then a few hours later the manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace recommended that all Q400 aircraft with more than 10,000 flights stay grounded until further notice, this notice affecting about 60 of the 160 Q400 aircraft then in service worldwide. As a result, several hundred flights were cancelled around the world. Horizon Air grounded nineteen of its aircraft and Austrian Airlines grounded eight. The cause was corrosion inside actuators on 25 of 27 aircraft checked. Accordingly, SAS decided to continue the grounding of its Q400 fleet until all the affected parts were replaced, and gradually the Dash 8 fleets returned to the air. Once in a "Positive Climb" around 10º... when you turn on the Autopilot, the aircraft will go directly into a PITCH HOLD, WINGS LEVEL mode that keeps the Q400 in a set climb and straight heading, it takes away a lot of the workload instantly. If you need to adjust the V/S (Vertical Climb) then you can do so, or connect in the LNAV for the system to do the route navigation. Your only eyes are on the speed ribbon... there is no Auto-Thrust or engine mode helpers here, as speed adjustment is only through moving the throttles directly, and the speed will very quickly run away at any leveling out at any set Altitude if you don't contain it. Once in the air the UNS-1Ew gives you a lot of data, there are five pages of route and fuel data to absorb... You also have to move physically between the route pages on the FMC, if not the waypoints move on ahead without you (on both units). Behind you, you can drop the jumpseat for a third crew member in the cockpit, but it bars the door if you want to use the toilet. The average high speed cruise for the Q400 is around 300–360 kn/556–667 km/h, with a range of 1,100 nmi /2,040 km, and a ceiling of 27,000 ft / 8229 m. The trick of these regional turbo-props are their excellent economics, they are very cheap to run vs payload. Once you reach your cruising altitude and speed... you set the PROP/FUEL condition to MIN 850 to highlight the lean running nature of the aircraft. You can via the MENU, use the PPOS to WPT, display distance and time from present position to each flight plan waypoint. Another inflight tool is the DTO or DIRECT TO. It is there in If you want a direct course to another waypoint in you do a Direct-To to insert (change) the waypoint at the top of the route list. Easy use, you just fill in the required ICAO Waypoint and the UNS-1 will update the route list to take you DIRECTLY to the new inserted waypoint. Note the HOLDING waypoint selection is also set on this DTO menu page. Lighting Internal This year we are getting some excellent cockpit lighting, the Q4XP is absolutely no different in this respect. OHD, GLARE SHIELD, CTR (Pedestal) FWD&AFT are all adjusted via the PANEL LIGHTING on the OHD. Pilots side lighting is supplied by two knobs, one is above on the roof, and another MAP light is directly to left or right of each pilot. A third spotlight is positioned above the door entrance, again adjustable. DOME lighting is two selections, STORM and STORM/DOME on the OHP. Overall excellent, and the significant approach instrument lighting is also highly adjustable and comes with great external visibility. Cabin The cabin lighting is controlled by the brilliant "Cabin Control Panel" up right at the door entrance... You can not only set the cabin temperature in ºC or ºF, but "Warmer or Cooler", you can test the panel as well. Cabin lighting can have "Sidewall" (On/Off), or "OverHD" (On/Off) lighting, and extremely nice it is in here as well. Other area lighting includes... BOARDING, AIRSTAIR built into the stair steps and LAVATORY. Inside the toilet it is nicely lit, and so are the rear doors... but I couldn't find any galley lighting (It looks incomplete?) Signage lighting is also excellent, all the Seatbelt/No Smoking Signs work separately. "OCCUPIED" and "LAVATORY" and all the EXIT signs are perfect (EXIT signage only works in ON mode, ARM is just that in ARMED). Final note on the CCP is that you can turn on the NVS System, or The Noise and Vibration Suppression system (NVS), which is the Q in Quiet in Q400. Noise and vibration have always been a problem with turboprops, and so the "Quiet" uses an Ultra Electronics noise and vibration suppression (NVS) system. Microphones are concealed about the cabin send noise signals to a computer which also receives propeller speed information. The computer then signals tuned vibration absorbers mounted on fuselage frames. These absorbers generate vibrations to diminish the original resonance. Bombardier claims that NVS in the Q400 reduces the cabin noise levels to around 75dB- the same as in the CRJ jet cabin. External Again the Q4XP shines (pun intended) externally... ... there twin landing lights built into each wing... Anti-Collision can be in two selections RED (Ground) or WHITE (In the air). All Navigation lights are Red, Green and twin top tail lights... there are no wing strobes. The WING lights are set to cover inboard and outboard of the engines (Twin) and look excellent from the internal cabin view. There is also a single nosewheel light on the front gear that swivels in the direction the gear is pointing. Overall the Dash looks amazing at night and is highly and visibly realistic. Going up or coming down, you always felt the pitch within the Q400 aircraft with it's long barrel body... .... That is great attraction on flying in Turbo-Props, as they are far more athletic in the air, and you feel all of the changes of height, direction and the sheer thrill of flying in a machine far more. Manchester EGCC beckons. I'm going in the long way around via Liverpool, and into Rwy 05L. And I love this approach as it is always very interesting and realistic. The final turn to go directly into Rwy 05L is a V tight turn at NOKIN, so I set the Q4XP up early with a Flap setting of 10 and 170 knts... I am using the ILS approach to 05L. In most cases you would always land the Q400 manually, but I wanted to test something? Early flights on the Q4XP in the ILS approach cone, then caused severe weaving around the center line, not good and quite scary. That was updated in v1.02... has it been fixed? Just before the ILS beams I set Flap 15, and after the ILS contact, the speed goes down to 145 knts... you rarely use the full STOL capabilities of the Dash. So Flap 35 is again rarely used as 15 flap is enough. Speed control is absolutely vital. The Dash is a high T-Tail aircraft, and it is not an easy aircraft to fly on approach.... many users just don't like it (mostly because it fools them into a inert state). So with the combination of that severe propeller right thrust pull, then no or immediate loss of tail lift... .... on approach the Dash now REALLY wants to Kill you! The trick is speed, and getting it absolutely right, too low and the aircraft will sink you quickly into the ground... too high and the Q400 will float, and that speed fluctuates quite a lot, and this were your throttle skills come in, you want more power, but don't ask for too much... or you will go over your speed, and again in the opposite direction, think and move like a surgeon at a delicate part of the operation, just go slow and precise on the throttle movements... .... all the way down the slope the Q4XP felt solid, (I think the bug is fixed?), and puts me into a false sense of security. But 800 ft above the ground the Dash's tail starts to sway, small at first, then massively! I was ready for the twisting, so took control immediately. For most, in the same situation it would have been an easily calamity, or a full TOGA powered missed approach procedure. But I am used to the Dash's antics, so was able to correct and sort out the direction and get the Q400 to do a correct alignment to touchdown, obviously the bug is still there, I did the same approach later, but manually and it was a perfect landing. Again speed or thrust power is absolutely critical to get right on flying the Dash on finals. Now the sounds we really love... the reverse thrust power on FULL. Watch the blades twist and go from thick to thin then thick again as the reverse procedure is in action. No issues from the reverse gates, a couple of triggers and down they go, and the opposite way back to the higher idle position. Once at a taxi speed I shut down engine No.1, mostly you would do this on the taxiway, but the turnoff at onto Taxiway J is a bit twisty, so I am doing it earlier. Taxiway J-G4-G and into stand 55, my favorite parking stand at Manchester... then shutdown Once the nose taxilight goes out, then the chocks are placed at the front wheels (one at a time), then the cones around the props. When done, then the two front and rear doors open (your choice to open the rear door or not).... and I didn't even have to lift a finger! Press the "Start Unloading" button on the JPad STATUS page, and the aircraft starts unloading, you can of course do an instant unload if you want to... ... but it is only 5min 14secs to do the unloading anyway, notable is that the rear cargo door opens later, and waits until the baggage carts arrive before unloading the bags! You can check your weights usage, and the FMS will also show you your Flight times in; Takeoff, Landing and Fuel use. The Q4XP is certainly not an aircraft you don't just shut down quickly and move on from... you sit there and take the Q4XP all in, even in the fading light. Inviting you... wanting you to fly the Q4XP again, and again. Liveries There are 18 liveries and one blank. All are the same basically as the Legacy list. The Legacy also built up a huge list of 3rd party liveries, and you can expect the same wide variety for the Q4XP. Quality is 4K and Hi-Res with excellent detail. ______________________ Summary FlyJSim created the first De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q400 in 2012. But that aircraft was relegated to a "Legacy" title a few years ago as FlyJSim announced an all new complete from the ground up version called the Q4XP. This is that all new Q4XP aircraft, and it comes with a huge expectations as a follow on from FlyJSim's last epic release of the Twinjet 737 and the aircraft has been over three years in development... yes you guessed right, we expect a lot. The level at this high Ultra quality in the X-Plane Simulator has reached a crescendo in the last few years, mainly because of the leap in quality of the FJS TwinJet. Can you actually go any higher, well if you could or can, then this Q4XP fills that category. But a note in Ultra High quality. It is easier to do in a General Aviation aircraft because of the size of the machine, but to scale up to a large transport aircraft is another and far more difficult challenge, but a massive challenge that FlyJSim was up to. We have mentioned Ultra Quality, but here you see it and feel it. External and Internal details are overwhelming in detail and right down to the small intimate detail of screws and rows and rows of working circuit breakers. The cockpit is per high realism, but the cabin details are also of the "blow your mind" category, plus a working toilet no less... Lighting is sensational both in the cockpit and in the cabin with a Cabin Control Panel with NVS System available. JPad is a great menu system, Loading&Weight, Payload Manager, Checklist and settings panel. But the system also allows for very realistic passenger and cargo load/unload scenario, with auto external placement of ground elements and door openings. But there is no built in AviTab. Sounds are also high quality and a leap better than the Legacy. With FMOD sound pack, and 3D positional axis experience, both in the cockpit and cabin. But there is no actual sound panel for adjustments. Systems are extreme in detail. Flight controls and hydraulics are very and highly specialised (Brakes don't work unless activated), Electrical includes DC and DC Power systems, including batteries, busses, TRUs, ECPU, and starter generators. Pneumatic, bleed air, ice protection system are all simulated. Full Indicating and Recording systems, Fire Systems and Fuel System, including all tanks and valves which are fully simulated. Highlight feature is the excellent The UNS-1Ew Flight Management System, a first for the X-Plane Simulator with True-to-life route rendition of the flight plan on the MFD map, two independent FMS units must have their routes and fuel data synchronized manually through the crossfill simulation (XFILL), holding patterns using the UNS-1’s graphical holding definition page and geometric VNAV support. Notable is the complexity, and a no global save system requires a complete rewrite of data and set up details of every flight that can become tiresome, ditto no global opening and closing of blinds and lockers, there is no AviTab (but available from the plugin folder), niggles with different 3rd party external Throttle and Joystick, No VR Support and updates that can be done via the SkunkCrafts Updater. Expectation was extremely high for the FlyJSim Q4XP, so does it deliver? Certainly yes, and in every single area and category. But this is also an extremely complex simulation, and the Dash Q400 has a reputation of being quite a handful in the air, and on the ground. It is a very, very hands on flying machine and that aspect has been thoroughly transposed into the simulation. Skill and dedication is required to get out of the aircraft the very deep qualities built into it, so like we mentioned... the Q4XP is not just another purchase, but an investment, not only in the aircraft, but in the time spent flying the machine thoroughly... so no "Flybynighters" need to apply here... the Q4XP is for the serious minded of the simulation pilot's out there. Once intergrated... you will be flying currently the overall best simulation in the X-Plane Simulator. it is overwhelmingly that good. Obviously Highly Recommended... and to all the really serious fliers out there. _________________________________ Yes! the Q4XP by FlyJSim is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Q4XP by FlyJSim Price is US$79.95 Features Incredible Aircraft Model We have always had a great 3d model, but for the Q4XP we went above and beyond to bring you the best visual experience we can. Get up close and personal with this intricately detailed Q400 model complete with 4k PBR texture throughout. Explore the fully functional aircraft cabin. Sun in your eyes? Close the window shade. Load your bag into the overhead bins. If you’re hungry, have some food using the tray tables. Board the aircraft through the cabin doors. Explore the luggage compartments through the dedicated loading doors. Load up food and drinks through the service door in the galley. Control the cabin with the Flight attendant control panel. Set the lighting to your taste, see what the cabin temperature is, check the status of the NVS system. The Flight Deck We set off to make the most accurately modeled and textured aircraft cabin we have ever created. Your new office is beautifully and accurately modeled and textured. Explore the exquisite detail of the flight deck and all the equipment inside. The controls are detailed and animated, just like the real aircraft. Enjoy the brand new intuitive prop and power controls, ensuring you have realistic and convenient control of your engines. Just like the real plane, all switches and buttons work and move just like they should. Our Famous detailed Lighting Returns We have always had a passion to get the lighting authentic and aesthetically pleasing, and we have created a beautiful night environment both inside and outside the aircraft: The Dome, Storm, and all flight deck lighting work and can be customized to your taste with the brightness knobs. Dim or brighten all flight deck displays, including the UNS. Your jump-seater even has their very own reading light The Cabin is lit with full overhead lighting and sidewall lighting with realistic flicker controlled by the flight attendant panel. Fasten Seatbelt and No Smoking lighting work just like the real aircraft It’s safe to board at night with the air-stair door lit just like the real aircraft Cargo compartment and service areas are properly lit so your ground team can load and service the aircraft, no matter the time of day All exterior lighting, including the taxi, flare, landing, wing, navigation, and tail lights illuminate not just your aircraft but the surrounding environment. The dual-functioning anti-collision/strobe switch lets you distinguish between ground operations and flight operations, just like the real plane The UNS-1Ew Flight Management System For the first time in X-Plane, we’ve created an accurate rendition of the UNS-1Ew FMS, its unique way of managing your flight plan, its lists & unique menu system, and the interaction between the two units: Full procedure compliance: fly in and out of any IFR airport, no matter how complex the SID, STAR, or approach. RNAV, RNP, curved legs, you name it! Includes simulation of the FMS heading mode: follow vectors to final without ever disconnecting LNAV True-to-life route rendition of the flight plan on the MFD map Like in the real plane, the two FMS units must have their routes and fuel data synchronized manually through the crossfill simulation Create holding patterns using the UNS-1’s graphical holding definition page Geometric VNAV support The UNS-1 doesn’t know about your plane’s performance — remember to cross check your fuel usage! 2D pop up and direct keyboard entry support Aircraft Systems The Electrical system is the backbone of the rest of the aircraft’s systems. The following Electrical systems are modeled in detail: DC and AC control panels MFD electrical display DC and DC Power systems, including batteries, busses, TRUs, ECPU, and starter generators APU power External DC power Circuit breaker panel Flight controls and hydraulics are an integral part of the flight experience. The following are simulated in detail: All flight control surfaces (Ailerons, Geared tab, Ground adjustment tab, Spoilers, Flaps, Elevator, Fore and Aft rudder) Primary Flight Control Display on the MFD Flap and Hydraulic display on the MFD Rudder pedals with adjustment and brake animation Trim control panels and trim system Hydraulic push-off switches Yaw damper Roll and Pitch Disconnect Flight/Taxi switch Gust lock Stall protection system Hydraulic power distribution: Standby AC pump operation PTU operation Alternate hydraulic system Pneumatic, bleed air, ice protection system simulated including: Bleed air control panel Environmental control system with optional FA panel operation temperature control Air conditioning panel Air distribution Pressurization indication and control panel Fwd safety valve selector Avionics cooling Ice protection panel De-ice system and components, including boot inflation Aircraft deice pressure indicator Pilot and copilot wipers Ice detection system Indicating and Recording systems include: EFIS brightness control and authentic boot-up sequence. EFIS & ESID control panels Index control panel AHRS control panel Clock systems EFIS display manual reversion and display unit failures. Central Warning System Warning tone generator Stall protection system ADC and ARHS system Fire Protection, for the “unlikely” event of a fire, will allow you to put it out. The fire protection panel along with the fire tests and fire suppression is simulated. Fuel System, including all tanks and valves. We have also simulated aux pumps and fuel transfer and well as the MFD fuel page. Autopilot: The Flight Guidance Control panel is your home for the auto flight system in the Q400, and everything here is simulated. Radios : The unique radios of the Q400 comes with two Audio and Radio Control Display Units, ARCDU’s to tune your com, nav, adf, and atc radios all in one unit. We additionally support channel tune mode for saving your most used frequencies. Sounds A Q400 wouldn’t be complete without the iconic roar of the twin turboprop engines, and we’ve gone to great lengths to re-create this experience for you audiophiles. Continuing from the success of the 732 Twinjet, FlyJSim has developed an accurate and immersive FMOD sound pack, which provides a fully 3D positional experience. Hear the change in treble and bass as you advance from minimum to maximum prop, or the subtle nuances as you pass through each power range (including beta range sounds) Sounds are completely dynamic. Every switch, knob and click is fully replicated and randomized. Aural attention sounds, wheel rattles and cabin doors all create the most immersive experience in any X-Plane aircraft. Animations With this release, FlyJSim is proud to release a new and improved animation system. With the goal of a more immersive experience, each switch, lever, knob, and anything you can select will animation smoothing from one position to the next. This small addition adds to the overall feel of the simulation. On top of that, you will find we have animated almost everything we could. The JPad Every plane these days needs an EFB to make it complete. The JPad is our solution to the UI and menus used in the past. You will have access to a 3d tablet in the flight deck or as a 2d pop-up. The Features here are only the start of what we have planned to come for the JPad, but already you have several things you can do: Always stay up today with notifications of patches right on the JPad home screen. Patch notes are also available to be read in sim. See your aircraft statistics per livery, including total flight and engine hours, and how many passengers you have carried. Set yourself as Captain, and your friend as First Officer, your weights will be included in the operating weight of the aircraft. Load and service your plane using the Payload Manager. You will be able to enter your desired flight load and watch your passengers and baggage load and even check boarding passes for each passenger from the Payload Status page. Keep track of the status of your flight using the built-in checklists, never miss a switch or a setting again! Configure the aircraft to your liking with the onboard settings menu. These include selecting loading state, your role as captain or first officer, weight and baro unit selection, and baro syncing and much more. If you feel like not having a 3d tablet, you can hide it on the fly with a click-spot on the forward suction cup. Requirements X-Plane 11 Support for X-Plane 11 and X-Plane 12 when available Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.5 GB Current and REview version: 1.04 (November 3rd 2021) Installation Download of the Q4XP is 1.44Gb and it is installed in your Airliner Folder as a 4.01Gb folder. Activation is via the standard authentication Key. Auto-updater by Skunkcraft is Included for any updates and changes Documents There are Three Manuals Included with the package. All are extensive and well laid out with great details including detailed instructions to program the UNS-1. Note the main "Manual" is a URL or online, and is updated frequently to reflect any changes. Q4XP Manual.url Q4XP_FMS_Taskbook.pdf Q4XP_Tutorial.pdf _____________________ Aircraft Review Updated by Stephen Dutton 19th November 2021 Copyright©2021: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications:  Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit -32 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 1TB SSD - Sound : Yamaha Speakers YST-M200SP Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.55 Plugins: Global SFD plugin US$30.00 : Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 : RK Apps XPRealistic v2 - US$34.99 Scenery or Aircraft - EKCH - FlyTampa Copenhagen XP (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$31.00 - EGCC - Manchester Airport XP10 by Aerosoft (X-Plane.OrgStore) - Sorry not currently for sale (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
  4. NEWS! - Aircraft Released : DHC-8 Q400 Q4XP by FlyJSim FlyJSim have after over three years in development released their new v2 of the De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q400. Also in originally releasing the original "Legacy" Q400 for the X-Plane Simulator, here is it's successor... and bigger and better in every area. The Q4XP comes with exceptional 3d modeling, 4K textures inside and out, and a fully custom UNS-1Ew flight management system. The feature list is huge, and so is the quality; Incredible Aircraft Model We have always had a great 3d model, but for the Q4XP we went above and beyond to bring you the best visual experience we can. Get up close and personal with this intricately detailed Q400 model complete with 4k PBR texture throughout. Explore the fully functional aircraft cabin. Sun in your eyes? Close the window shade. Load your bag into the overhead bins. If you’re hungry, have some food using the tray tables. Board the aircraft through the cabin doors. Explore the luggage compartments through the dedicated loading doors. Load up food and drinks through the service door in the galley. Control the cabin with the Flight attendant control panel. Set the lighting to your taste, see what the cabin temperature is, check the status of the NVS system. The Flight Deck We set off to make the most accurately modeled and textured aircraft cabin we have ever created. Your new office is beautifully and accurately modeled and textured. Explore the exquisite detail of the flight deck and all the equipment inside. The controls are detailed and animated, just like the real aircraft. Enjoy the brand new intuitive prop and power controls, ensuring you have realistic and convenient control of your engines. Just like the real plane, all switches and buttons work and move just like they should. Our Famous detailed Lighting Returns We have always had a passion to get the lighting authentic and aesthetically pleasing, and we have created a beautiful night environment both inside and outside the aircraft: The Dome, Storm, and all flight deck lighting work and can be customized to your taste with the brightness knobs. Dim or brighten all flight deck displays, including the UNS. Your jump-seater even has their very own reading light The Cabin is lit with full overhead lighting and sidewall lighting with realistic flicker controlled by the flight attendant panel. Fasten Seatbelt and No Smoking lighting work just like the real aircraft It’s safe to board at night with the air-stair door lit just like the real aircraft Cargo compartment and service areas are properly lit so your ground team can load and service the aircraft, no matter the time of day All exterior lighting, including the taxi, flare, landing, wing, navigation, and tail lights illuminate not just your aircraft but the surrounding environment. The dual-functioning anti-collision/strobe switch lets you distinguish between ground operations and flight operations, just like the real plane The UNS-1Ew Flight Management System For the first time in X-Plane, we’ve created an accurate rendition of the UNS-1Ew FMS, its unique way of managing your flight plan, its lists & unique menu system, and the interaction between the two units: Full procedure compliance: fly in and out of any IFR airport, no matter how complex the SID, STAR, or approach. RNAV, RNP, curved legs, you name it! Includes simulation of the FMS heading mode: follow vectors to final without ever disconnecting LNAV True-to-life route rendition of the flight plan on the MFD map Like in the real plane, the two FMS units must have their routes and fuel data synchronized manually through the crossfill simulation Create holding patterns using the UNS-1’s graphical holding definition page Geometric VNAV support The UNS-1 doesn’t know about your plane’s performance — remember to cross check your fuel usage! 2D pop up and direct keyboard entry support Aircraft Systems The Electrical system is the backbone of the rest of the aircraft’s systems. The following Electrical systems are modeled in detail: DC and AC control panels MFD electrical display DC and DC Power systems, including batteries, busses, TRUs, ECPU, and starter generators APU power External DC power Circuit breaker panel Flight controls and hydraulics are an integral part of the flight experience. The following are simulated in detail: All flight control surfaces (Ailerons, Geared tab, Ground adjustment tab, Spoilers, Flaps, Elevator, Fore and Aft rudder) Primary Flight Control Display on the MFD Flap and Hydraulic display on the MFD Rudder pedals with adjustment and brake animation Trim control panels and trim system Hydraulic push-off switches Yaw damper Roll and Pitch Disconnect Flight/Taxi switch Gust lock Stall protection system Hydraulic power distribution: Standby AC pump operation PTU operation Alternate hydraulic system Pneumatic, bleed air, ice protection system simulated including: Bleed air control panel Environmental control system with optional FA panel operation temperature control Air conditioning panel Air distribution Pressurization indication and control panel Fwd safety valve selector Avionics cooling Ice protection panel De-ice system and components, including boot inflation Aircraft deice pressure indicator Pilot and copilot wipers Ice detection system Indicating and Recording systems include: EFIS brightness control and authentic boot-up sequence. EFIS & ESID control panels Index control panel AHRS control panel Clock systems EFIS display manual reversion and display unit failures. Central Warning System Warning tone generator Stall protection system ADC and ARHS system Fire Protection, for the “unlikely” event of a fire, will allow you to put it out. The fire protection panel along with the fire tests and fire suppression is simulated. Fuel System, including all tanks and valves. We have also simulated aux pumps and fuel transfer and well as the MFD fuel page. Autopilot: The Flight Guidance Control panel is your home for the auto flight system in the Q400, and everything here is simulated. Radios : The unique radios of the Q400 comes with two Audio and Radio Control Display Units, ARCDU’s to tune your com, nav, adf, and atc radios all in one unit. We additionally support channel tune mode for saving your most used frequencies. The JPad Every plane these days needs an EFB to make it complete. The JPad is our solution to the UI and menus used in the past. You will have access to a 3d tablet in the flight deck or as a 2d pop-up. The Features here are only the start of what we have planned to come for the JPad, but already you have several things you can do: Always stay up today with notifications of patches right on the JPad home screen. Patch notes are also available to be read in sim. See your aircraft statistics per livery, including total flight and engine hours, and how many passengers you have carried. Set yourself as Captain, and your friend as First Officer, your weights will be included in the operating weight of the aircraft. Load and service your plane using the Payload Manager. You will be able to enter your desired flight load and watch your passengers and baggage load and even check boarding passes for each passenger from the Payload Status page. Keep track of the status of your flight using the built-in checklists, never miss a switch or a setting again! Configure the aircraft to your liking with the onboard settings menu. These include selecting loading state, your role as captain or first officer, weight and baro unit selection, and baro syncing and much more. If you feel like not having a 3d tablet, you can hide it on the fly with a click-spot on the forward suction cup. 3rd Party Integrations Automatically have your pushback truck called for you once you are done loading with support for Better-Pushback Plugin: Better Pushback Plugin : (https://github.com/skiselkov/BetterPushbackC/releases) SAM and Autogate supported. Compatible with Honeycomb flight control hardware, we handle the default commands assigned so you can just plug and play. Works with Pilot Edge, VATSIM. Autopudater via Skunkcraft Updater The Q4XP is simply great value as well, as you are getting a US$100 quality aircraft for a release price of US$79.95 To note there is NO offer of an “upgrade” price for Q400 Legacy owners. This is all new aircraft, in every single absolute detail. A X-PlaneReviews MEGA Review of the Q4XP is coming soon... ___________________________ Yes! the DHC-8 Q400 Q4XP by FlyJSim is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : FlyJSim Q4XP Price is US$79.95 Requirements X-Plane 11 Support for X-Plane 11 and X-Plane 12 when available Windows, Mac or Linux 4 GB VRAM Minimum - 8 GB+ VRAM Recommended Download Size: 1.5 GB Current version: 1.02 (October 30th 2021) ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 31st October 2021 Copyright©2021: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
  5. NEWS! - Aircraft Announcement : FlyJSim Q4XP (Dash Q400) Coming Soon! FlyJsim have announced that their second total revision of the De Havilland Canada (DHC) DHC-8 Q400 series is on final for release. Their first Q400 for the X-Plane Simulator, now renamed the Q400 Legacy, was finalised over two years ago.. this the complete revisualization of the aircraft called the Q4XP is a masterwork in the wanting for regional propeller aircraft. Make no doubt, we expect a lot from this new development, but I am very sure that FlyJSim can deliver on it's promises... the highlight of course will be the unique and the first for X-Plane, the Universal UNS-1Ew FMC unit, but expect also the depth of systems and cabin details as the FlyJSim 737 - Twin Jet that took features and detail to another level only a few years ago... Details released are listed below; . . . . Let’s start with the outside and work our way inwards. The Q400 Legacy has a reasonably well made exterior model when it was released, however as time has marched on its age has shown through. Working from this, it quickly became apparent that a completely new aircraft was in order. In fact, the only thing we kept in the end is the propellers model. The Q4XP that we will present soon is not a v2, but an entirely new aircraft, rebuilt and redesigned in totality. Briefly, here are some of the most important features in this aircraft: External Details The texturing takes advantage of X-Plane 11’s lighting model, using plenty of 4k texture maps to fill in a lot of details. The propeller and spinner have been retextured, and additionally we have included engine intake covers and prop tie downs for those extended stays. We have modeled the wing details to the extreme, flaps extend and retract, and there is even a jack screw moving if you care to look that close. Also included are inflating de-ice boots and, of course, wingflex. The landing gear has about as much detail modeled as the rest of the exterior, giving it a strikingly sharp look. The tail is included with its million and one rivets, and a shiny APU exhaust port. We have included all the exterior lighting, this includes all your normal lighting, plus the logo light and wing inspection lights. You may open all the doors, main cabin door, L2, R1, R2, and main cargo door. Following the airstair theme from the 732 we have included the airstairs for the rear boarding door, which is optional in real Q400. A ground scene included that reveals the chocks, cones, and other items present when the aircraft is parked on the ramp. Also a GPU will appear for you. 10 liveries will be provided with the default aircraft, they are Air Baltic Air Canada Air Iceland Alaska Austrian Eurowings FlyBe Purple FlyBe White Horizon Porter Qantas WestJet Wideroe We have teamed up with the most talented painters in the community to help bring to you a whole set of liveries to choose from come release time. We have already added over 20 additional liveries that will be available for download on release, with more being worked on every day. Cabin On the Q400 Legacy, the cabin was more of an afterthought than a plan executed. This time we wanted to fully realize it so let's show you what we had executed for the Q4XP. We now have a fully realized cabin interior complete with 78 seats and each overhead bin fully animated. You will note the inclusion of passenger signage over each seat. The main cabin door can be opened from the inside as well as through the menu, with a fancy falling animation. The Flight Attendant control panel allows you to adjust the cabin lighting as well as temperature settings The cabin lighting includes fluorescent panels running along the windows and ceiling. Each cabin shade is adjustable and randomly positioned. The forward cargo bay is included, with entry from inside the cabin or from the exterior. The main cargo bay is fully modeled as well with its massive door. And to top if off, you can forget to put the seat down. Cockpit The place you will spend most of your time is of course the cockpit, and we have given it the attention that it deserves. Just as with the exterior, we built the cockpit from scratch, using the most accurate dimension information available, as well as all our knowledge from previous developments poured in. What came out is a pure work of art; all textures are PBR, much of the surface detail hand crafted by our amazing texture artist. One major change over our previous work is how we implement our animations. You will see fluid movements throughout the cockpit and the rest of the plane. Just about everything and anything that can be animated, was animated. To highlight for you some major features: The cockpit seats are just as detailed as in the original, but this time we added a few things extra, as well as moving arm rests. Each EFIS display operates and is configurable like the real aircraft. We have the real fonts, and a better color palette. Even the correct bevel on the displays has been painstakingly modeled. You will have a jumpseat, along with its own radio panel just in case your invisible friend shows up and wants to tag along. We also saw fit to model the escape hatch, which can be opened up either just slightly, or all the way so you can get out. The Q400 legacy had few lighting options, so this time we included all the lighting options. Everything from dome to storm and pane lighting, to reading lights, to map lights, to ice detection lights, and even breaker lights. We hope we can give you as good of a night flying experience as we have given you in the 732 and 727. Wiper animations used to be the staple of what made a good flight sim product, so of course we had to add them in. They include a three speed switch, and we included the alternate wiper switch which turns on the pilot’s wiper independently of the knob on the overhead. Sometimes we get feedback saying users couldn’t read the placards in the cockpits, due to low resolution. This time we have given each placard a texture just for them, so they are high resolution and readable at all times. Isn't technological advancement amazing! The Breaker panels are modeled with all 360 breakers included, each with readable text. Under the breaker panels are the avionics equipment bays, which house most of the avionics and electrical equipment and are fully modeled. We also include items like the hatchet and fire extinguisher, which are modeled in detail. You will feel right at home here. Systems We believe we have created one of the most detailed cockpits to come to flight sim. What really makes the cockpit and aircraft complete are the systems. We rebuilt the systems from scratch, continuing the high level of systems accuracy you have come to expect from our 727 and 737. Truly, the meat of the Q4XP is here, and we’d love to show it off to you. The first step in modeling any aircraft’s systems correctly is the electrical system, and we have surely taken it to a new level. We have created a system that accounts for each battery, bus, bus connector, transformer, generator, and other electrical components. Each is connected and relays power as they should, and obviously not when they shouldn’t. This takes into account feeders vs distribution busses, and the breakers on them. The result is a system that properly simulates at any time various states the electrical system may be in, nominal or otherwise. Similar in execution and just as important to the foundation of the plane is the hydraulics simulation. This as well was built from the ground up, accounting for all three hydraulic reservoirs, and all 4 hydraulic pumps, plus the PTU. Our hydraulic system faithfully and accurately simulates the Q400s hydraulics. You will also be able to operate the alternate landing gear extension, so get ready to pump. Closely related to the hydraulic system are the flight controls. The Q400 has a hydraulic rudder, elevator, flaps, and spoilers, but the ailerons are good old fashioned cables. Naturally, the entire flight control system is faithfully and accurately modeled in the Q4XP. As a cable system, the ailerons have their own gust lock. Of special note, you will be able to use the pitch and roll disconnect, and the side of the cockpit you are flying from will change which yoke you are using. Everything is working just as you would expect. As a propeller driven aircraft, the Q has its own unique power management settings that may not always translate well to your hardware. To this end, we have created an on screen visualization that appears on the bottom right of the screen to show you the positions of your engine and propeller levers when a control input is made. This will help guide you as the power and prop controls are linear, however, you must get the power lever into just the right spot for the FADEC to take over. We hope you will find this feature very helpful. This was described in more detail in development update #6 The ARCDU radio system that the Q400 uses is fully simulated here with dual and separate interfaces, and all buttons and volume selectors workings, all sub pages and their functions there-in. It really is a neat little radio that stands out as something wholly unique to the Q400. Certainly the most unique and highly visible system in our Q4XP is the FMS, the UNS-1Ew . A significant amount of development time has been spent working to make the most accurate representation of the real unit in the aircraft. Price? The 737 - TwinJet is priced around the US$70, mark, so I would expect the Q4XP to be around the same price point, even at that price for a regional airliner it is great value for what the aircraft will deliver... Release, FlyJSim have mostly always released aircraft mid-to-late August on record, and I think that is the same timetable set out here... so start saving up those pennies right now! All images and feature text are courtesy of FlyJSim FlyJSim are here; Home l FlyJSim On release the FlyJSim Q4XP Dash 8 will be available from the ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 26th July 2021 Copyright©2021: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
  6. News! - FlyJSim gives more Q4XP Details We noted at the start of 2021, that one of the coming significant releases for the X-Plane Simulator in 2021 will be the FlyJSim Q4XP. Development has been now ongoing now for about three years, but for a while now the news coming out of FlyJSim has been quite sparse. FlyJSim did a final update of their original Dash 8 Q400 Legacy, even now as far back as August 2019, in readiness for the far more higher quality and detailed version of the De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q Series called Q4XP. The biggest expected feature is a fully custom Universal FMS and not the usual fall back Laminar FMS. Let us see the notes put forward by the main FlyJSim developers Jack Skieczius and Joe Vermeulen. "Hi There, has been a long endeavor crafting this aircraft ranging all the way back to 2018. We’re not quite there yet today, but we can see the finish line. Q4XP Visuals We’re pleased to report that modelling is complete, and texturing is about 99.9% complete. The largest chunk of this work that we haven’t really shown publicly to date is the cabin work. Needless to say, Jack and Valdudes poured their heart and soul into this one. The Q4XP will be our most interactive and complete cabin we have ever made, expanding on the standards we set in the 737-200. Seats are highly detailed to look like those classic, wafer thin sheets of plastic of this compact economy class cabin. We're using a -78 seat configuration with our Q4XP. This includes the front luggage compartment and active emergency exit. We even have a toilet, but you aren’t quite ready to see that yet. It smells odd in there anyway… One of the coolest components is the cabin crew “Master Display Panel” (MDP), which allows flight attendants to control the environment within the cabin. So you can have full control over lighting on the overhead, sidewalls, doors and entrance areas. The MDP is also tied into our pneumatic system. Pilots have the option to allow FAs to take control of the cabin temperature, which is reflected in the Q4XP. And as always, you can expect exceptional night lighting in the cockpit and the cabin! This includes working sidewall lights (which flicker with a characteristic filament bulb), overhead lights, entry/galley, toilet and stair lights. One of the few systems we can talk about today is power management, and some of the changes we’ve made from the Q400 legacy based upon feedback and a desire to simulate the appropriate conditions. This also ties into a UI that we have developed to assist pilots. To help, we've provided a small diagram down below. The Q400 does not have an autothrottle however, for those of you worried about that, don't. We have properly simulated the FADEC flight ratings so all you need is set your throttle into the rating detent, and your good to go. Sounds simple, but let's go into more detail. The FADEC is responsible for the management of engine parameters and talking to other components that govern the engine. How you “talk” to the FADEC is split into two sub-controls, the “Power” and “Prop” levers. The "Prop Levers" controls you would normally use, set a condition that the FADEC uses to determine the power while the Power Levers are in the Rating Detent. You have four settings, start/feather, 850, 900, and 1020. This is how you set the FADEC to give you Normal Takeoff Power(NTOP), Max Climb(MCL), or Max Cruise(MCR). You can also override these via the engine control power to get derated takeoff power or max takeoff power. The "Power Levers" are set-up as a 1:1 ratio with gates to limit your ability to move the power levers into the wrong zones. There are only two gates, one to go into Reverse from DISC and one to go into flight mode from DISC. Going past the gates means using one of a number of commands you may already have setup and only requires you to hold it for a short time. These are any of the power up or down commands, which are defaulted to F1, F2 on your keyboard, or you can use the beta toggle, thrust reverse toggle, or thrust reverse hold. The Power lever angles diagram above shows how this 1:1 ratio works with respect to the Q400s FADEC and what power you may get overall. Because this is such a critical component of operation, we had a few problems to solve. How do we teach users about power rating? How do we provide positive feedback to users about where their throttle is all the time? How do we avoid the issue of the Q400 legacy, where the power lever was mapped 1:1, and consequently users had a difficult time distinguishing the beta range from normal power mode? How do we avoid users selecting the wrong setting at all times? That last one in particular is something we would like to avoid... So to solve this, we’ve implemented a few things Created an on-screen overlay that will actively display when an axial input is detected. The UI will tell you where your aircraft axis is, where your hardware axis is for synchronization, and what mode is active, Separated out beta range/fuel cut-off portions of each axis with a gate. Requiring users to bind a button to pass into each region. This prevents pilots from accidentally cutting off fuel or going below the idle range (which is forbidden in flight). Implemented a subtle notch/notation for the prop lever Designed a system that is seamlessly accessible to multiple types of inputs. You can interact with these controls via mouse input, keyboard command, or bindables...and switch between these at will. Our intent is for something unobtrusive and functional, and we hope pilots appreciate this handy feature whilst they focus on the flying." The following images were taken directly from X-Plane with courtesy of FlyJSim and ShadeX If you want to peruse through FlyJSim's Boeing 732 TwinJet v3 Professional by FlyJSim, then it puts these images into some perspective on the sort of quality and detail that will be coming on the Q4XP aircraft. FlyJSim also previewed a few of the coming liveries with the Q4XP aircraft including; NextGen (Factory), Sata, Air Canada Express, SpiceJet, De Havilland House, Horizon (New), Horizon (old) and Aero. Hopefully our local QantasLink livery is on the list as well? Price and release date... Price (not yet locked in) will probably be around that US$69.95 point as per the FlyJSim Boeing 737 TwinJet. Release, in putting my Nostradamus hat on, it will be late Q3 or significantly early Q4, but FlyJSim do have a record of releasing aircraft in August. Certainly this De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q Series from FlyJSim is a must have to any X-Plane collection... we still are waiting, but the signs are getting better on how soon we may be to getting our hands on the controls of one of the most exciting regional turbo-props flying today. Images and comment are courtesy of FlyJSim. DEVELOPER UPDATE 6 : Take your seats! notes are here ____________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 4th (May the force go with you) 2021 Copyright©2021: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) All Rights Reserved
  7. Aircraft update : Rainman Package for B727 Series, 737 TwinJet by FJS FlyJSim have released an update package for both of their Boeing 727 and 737 packages. Dubbed "Rainman" it covers actually two plugins, first is the Librain water effects plugin and the second is the AviTab (iPad) plugin. Both aircraft had significant V3 updates last year, with the Boeing 737 TwinJet back in February 2018 and the Boeing 727 Series following in August 2018. So this package is really just an annual update to keep everything flying (pun actually intended). Boeing 727 Series Boeing 737 TwinJet Librain Effects The package is noted as "Rainman" for the added librain effects from skiselkov. First a note in that these github effects are still in development, and in areas the rain and ice effects can be still a bit hit and miss, however when they work they are excellent, first the B727. I landed both aircraft at Mexico City MMMX (somehow MMMX can always be counted on for rain, maybe it is the altitude?) and the rain effects work well, and it look all pretty good sitting in the B727 cockpit, however they are not edited to the actual glass so the drops show also on the black glass surrounds as well, so it looks a bit odd... now the B737 TwinJet I really like the way the effects build up on the wiper sweep line, and drip at the bottom, but the wiper coverage area in both aircraft is basically useless, and you will have to adjust your line of sight to see through the small clean areas, no librain effects on the side cabin windows was a serious disappointment, and you have all of that excellent cabin to sit in and no rain to look out from, as it is just a clean window... however the cockpit eyelet windows work well. A final note on librain is that in most cases my global librain plugin (In the X-Plane plugins folder) that works with all librain active aircraft would not work with the FJS versions, so it had to be removed before becoming active. Added OpenWXR for weather radar, and the Issue with ILS frequencies at ends of the spectrum not being recognised has also been fixed. AviTab These vintage Boeings both now have the AviTab feature, and yes I am a big AviTab fan... .... the design and the feel of the installation is excellent and you can select to show either side of the cockpit, but... the position of the tablet is extremely low from your normal pilot viewpoint, so you have to look down, and so the low display is more a long but slim slot view of your charts? to see the tablet full straight on visually you have to get right down and move backwards and to be almost level with the yoke? so yes I loved it, but hated the unworkable position. The 737 TwinJet position is the same... ... try to taxi and use the AviTab chart at the same time is almost impossible, as it is completely out of your viewpoint, I had to use Navigraph on my (real) iPad to do the taxiway navigation. Note a Navigraph account (subscription) is required for the charts seen here in this review. VR Support Of all airliners then these two classic Boeings are just the best for the VR (Virtual Reality) experience, these cockpits are unique in their design and so with this update comes some refinements for VR. Now there is added yoke, throttle, and several other additions, and also enhanced VR manipulators courtesy of SimVRLabs on the B732 TwinJet. X-TCAS In last years B727 update, FlyJSim added in the more modern TCAS VSI (Vertical Speed Instrument). Now that same instrument is available in the B737 TwinJet... .... the TCAS has full integration into the VSI including full TA/RA. You can of course still revert back to the original V/S dial, via the menu. B737 TwinJet FD/AP The custom FD-108 flight director and SP-77 autopilot is now fully modeled and the two systems are now accurately independent It is unusually for an old aircraft in that this system is quite complicated when it shouldn't be as the servos are distinctly for ROLL and PITCH via two large switches, so study is certainly required. However I found odd business in that the "Pitch CMD" didn't work? and only the Yoke hold pitch which was or is tricky to use, was the only way to climb and descend, with the AP (Pitch) turned off the manual trim didn't work either very well, and even hard to set up on the ground before flight while even using the "Trim Quick spot". It needs a lot of practise as do both of these aircraft in their styles of slow thrust changes and the feel of heavy weight, but they are extremely rewarding to fly. Replays Noted is "Custom replay system improvements and bug fixes", but I found the replays a bit of a issue... most of the instruments are blank?, switches flicker very badly and the cabin blinds have a complete bonkers mindset of their own. As I use replays a lot in the reviews, it was practically useless unless viewing externally. Finally the FMOD sounds have been adjusted and GPWS callouts, morse code, and beacon audio are now all audible, so sound is excellent, although I did have to drop the external sound by 50% compared to the internal sound, but in this department the Boeings are both very aurally satisifying. Oddly enough these original Boeing 737-200's aircraft are working hard again, the 32 few that are left airworthy are being put back into service to cover for the grounded 737 MAX, and people are loving the chance to fly on these old geriatrics again, and so would I in a heart beat. The -200's are also still highly in demand in Canada with their dirty runway FOD (foreign object debris) capablities... so long live the -200 Summary FlyJSim have done an annual update to their Boeing 727 Series and Boeing 737 TwinJet. Features added is the wet weather librain effects and the installation of the AviTab (Tablet), plus the addition of the X-TCAS in the TwinJet. The rest is all just nice bug fixing and touchups. But it is an odd update... the AviTab set at a low rear position is in reality useless if you want to use it while taxiing or flying the aircraft, you just want to unsucker the sucker and move it somewhere more usable, to note it can be hidden if you don't want it in view. Librain effects are excellent as they usually are, but no side cabin window effects was a big letdown for me as a cabin window hogger, same with the replays that you can't use them really internally, so admiring my lovely piloting skills can't happen here. Updated FD-108 flight director and SP-77 autopilot should be easy to use but needs a lot of study as it is now also independent, although there are two sets of notes in the comprehensive set of manuals, more of the autopilot operations I think is required, certainly with the separated systems. For the sheer experience of these amazing very hands on flying machines, they are also a very specialised simulation. feedback and flying immersion is bar none out there in the simulator, but you do needs the skills and even a fair bit of study to get the very best out of both of them, but to the diehards they are both exceptional experiences. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Boeing 727 Series Pro V3 by FlyJSim is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : 727 Series Professional V3 Your Price: $59.95 Currently the package is now for all three variants, the aircraft are now not sold separately. Optional : The plugin for the CIVA Navigation System addon that costs US$10 is here: CIVA Navigation System Full Release Review : Aircraft Review : 727 Series Pro V3 by FlyJSim ______________________________________________________________________ Boeing 732 TwinJet v3 Professional by FlyJSim is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : 732 TwinJet v3 Pro Price is US$69.95 Full Release Review : Aircraft Review : Boeing 732 TwinJet v3 Professional by FlyJSim FJS - 727-737 Series - Support forum FJS - 727-737 Series - Developer Site For current purchasers both aircraft can be updated to the "Rainman Pack" via the Skunkcraft's updater: Updater download page : Skunkcrafts Updater v2.5 _____________________________________________________________________________________ Update Review by Stephen Dutton  24th August 2019 Copyright©2018: X-PlaneReviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 1Tb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.35 Addons: Saitek x56 Rhino Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro v1.07 US$69.90 : XPRealistic Pro v1.0.9 effects US$19.95 : WorldTraffic 3.0 Plugin - US$29.95 : BetterPushBack - Free
  8. Aircraft Update : Dash 8 Q400 Legacy by FlyJSim It is not very often in reviewing that you actually have the chance to say goodbye to an aircraft, it is a bit like the retirement of the final flight of a design that has been the backbone of an airlines for years, and it is now happening with regularity with the retirements of aging MD-80 Series and Boeing 747-400 fleets. To note this De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q Series is not being totally withdrawn by FlyJSim, as it will still be available to buy for X-Plane11 users and noted under the new "Legacy" moniker (from the XP11 label) to differentiate the version from the coming newer v2 Q4XP. So price wise you are going to get a good deal (currently around US$30) but to note as we shall see here it the aircraft is originally dated from 2012 and it is a full 10 Years since the commencement of the project and yes it has been well developed to keep up with the changes in that time of the surrounding simulator versions. The Dashy has weathered the years well... and in this new v2.19 Legacy version has now PBR or Physically Based Rendering textures as well. So the exterior textures now have a more believable glossiness and metalness effect and the Dash 8 shows it all off here very well. The hull and tail is now more highly reflective and note the particle effects that power out from the exhausts. Close up and the detail is still very good, with new NML's (normals) showing off the design. Those six-blade R408 propeller system propellers on the Bombardier Q400 incorporates an advanced swept blade design and optimized ARA-D/A airfoil and are still exceptionally well done here. Glass has been redone, but with no reflections, so it looks good, but could have been better. Menus have been updated to reflect the new Legacy name, both external and internal Weight & Balance menus are still here. The external is now quite simple, but the W & B menu is still one of the best out there (note the Summer and Winter weight setting). Q400's are extremely weight sensitive (most flights will require you to move seats for weight corrections in real life)... and that is highlighted here if you get the loading balance wrong... 25% of MAC is the best setting. But I will note the nosewheel now also sinks slightly into the ground... odd. The Dashy was always a tricky aircraft to fly and many users couldn't quite master it's quirky nature. For me I always found it not to bad, but it could be slightly frustrating the use and fly... just those small things that annoy you. The largest and still not fixed here is the throttle to mixture levers that are complicated to use.... so shut the Q400 down and it is hell to restart, if nigh impossible. Never fixed if the mixture levers are set to Fuel (cut) Off then you can't reset the throttle levers to idle, they need to click in again to restart, and in most cases only a full engine running restart will get the aircraft started? another issue is again the throttles and the built in beta (reverse) selection. Sometimes it works in beta mode, and sometimes it doesn't? (I use an external twin throttle Saitek system and the settings just don't like the unit) So throttle idle is somewhere, or where you sometimes have to guess... thrust reverse is like Quantum Mechanics, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Personally over the years these areas it has drove me batshit, but when it works the Dashy is a great aircraft. Cockpit detail is still extraordinary even after all these years, pure FlyJSim work of art, although a few of the switchgear items are now showing their age. New PBR reflections have lifted the cockpit to new heights, it can be gorgeous in here in the right lighting conditions, and yes the detail is almost ten years old, but it still feels as good as new. Main instrument PFD and MAP/NAV displays have been made brighter and sharper, and you notice the significant difference. The cabin however with no updates since the original release and really shows the original age, and it is not pretty back there. So for me it is the last flight of this original Q400 from LPPR - Porto to LEBL - Barcelona... ... in flight she feels as good as ever, the update has brought on some new dynamics with the newer current 11.35 flight model and with that comes some increased drag and better handling, and yes the aircraft does feel really nice (if balanced correctly). You will work hard at the controls in the Dashy, and it requires very fine throttle control to fly this of all X-Plane machines a very manual hands-on aircraft... .... speed and balance is everything, but get your balance right and the aircraft is extremely rewarding, but get it wrong and that nose can be so light. \ So you have to use your skills to the max and you will then get your high-five reward. My last landing in the Q400 Legacy? maybe, certainly for now, but it doesn't have to be your last ride in an X-Plane classic. It will be extremely interesting on the differences between the not so old and the new compare when the Q4XP arrives, and there is currently no arrival date yet for that aircraft... until then savior the legacy. Summary This is currently the last update v2.19 and a change of name to the "Legacy" for the Classic FlyJSim Q400 until the Q4XP version 2 arrives. The update brings in a lot of the latest X-Plane11.35 features to the aircraft, including better performance and a new flight model, PBR effects (glossy and reflective) and glass tweaks. The quirks including a difficult throttle/mixture and unreliable beta (reverse-thrust) are still as maddening to use as ever as is the engine start up from shutdown, and still also a very tricky aircraft to fly but ultimately very rewarding this Q400 is a long time in service aircraft and certainly deserves classic status from the simulator. Like with most and even the greatest of aircraft designs there comes a time the aircraft has to make way for the new. And so it is here for the FlyJSim Dash 8 Q400. For those that don't want to spend a huge amount of dollars, but want a quality and tried and true aircraft then this "Legacy" version will keep you very happy and test those skill levels on a the manual of manual flying by the fingertips aircraft, so there is great value to be had here. For me it will be interesting on how the newer Q4XP measures up to an original classic machine. ________________________________________________________ Yes! the Dash 8 Q400 Legacy by FlyJSim is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Dash 8 Q400 Legacy Price is US$30.00 Note make sure you have v2.19 when downloading, All previous purchasers can now update via your X-Plane.OrgStore Account Features *NEW* PBR Enabled Exterior Accurate Flight Characteristics Created from over 60 hours of flight tests with information from real world data and backed by actual Q400 pilots. Detailed Exterior Model Created from extensive research of hundreds of images and references. Everything from the airfoils used on the wings to actual tire sizes modeled with detail in mind. Includes a full set of high resolution textures including normal maps, specular maps, and night lighting. Highly Accurate 3D Cockpit Fly happy knowing what you are looking at really is to scale. 3D cockpit modeled from detailed Q400 data. Textures created from thousands of images taken of the interior. Detailed Interior & Exterior Night Light Be able to see the plane at night along with strobe and beacon lights that light up the fuselage. Cockpit lighting as well allows you to still see everything and enjoy flying in the dark. Custom Sounds Hear what the real Q400 sounds like. We have recorded real world Q400 sounds, including cockpit call-outs. The sounds alone add so much to the experience. Plugin enhanced: We use plugins to add more systems and features that would otherwise be impossible to be implemented if left to use the default X-Plane logic. Load & Balance Manager: A first in X-Plane, the Load & Balance Manager is a pop up screen which allows you to change the load-out and balance in real time. Pick from thousands of combinations of seating arrangement, cargo hold weights, and fuel amounts. See the Center of Gravity change as you load the aircraft differently and burn fuel in flight. Many Liveries available: V2.19 Changlog FlyJSim Dash 8 Q400 changelog v2.19.rtf ______________________________________________________________________ Update by Stephen Dutton 8th August 2019 Copyright©2019 : X-Plane Reviews  (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)
  9. News! - In Development : FlyJSim Dash Q400 - Q4XP Images FlyJSim have released some more development images and notes of their forth coming new version of the Dash Q400. Anticipated around the last quarter of 2019, then this regional prop liner has a lot to live up to with the current detail and quality required for X-Plane11 lately. But as FlYJSim won my best overall for the year in 2018 with their excellent Boeing 737 TwinJet then there is everything to lose and not to gain. FlyJSim's notes are as followed: "This month we’re going to be presenting some early work of the modelling and texturing. We’ve set a high bar for ourselves following on from the modelling of the FlyJSim 732 Twinjet V3. For the Q4XP, we’re making sure that the external visuals are carefully crafted to accurately represent the aircraft. We stress the following images are early work-in-progress and are subject to change, but hopefully will serve as a tease as to what is to come. The following images are also taken directly in X-Plane 11." "Here we have one of the main gear struts for the Q4XP, one of our most detailed external areas. With the help of our Q4XP experts and technical data, we have near millimeter accuracy on every wheel, strut, screw and pipe. It’s just a fraction of the amount of detail X-Plane can actually handle. The texture work here is done by Valdudes. His PBR workflow has captured the subtle roughness of the tires, and the mattness of the brake dust across the gear to create a Q400 which feels worn out and abused." "That detail extends to the Turboprop housing. We’ve split our model over multiple texture maps, ensuring that we can cram as much detail as possible. Every screw and dirt streak will be visible from close proximity. We can’t wait wait to see how painters utilize our HQ textures. We also cannot wait to see our YouTube pilots fly some interesting approaches, and replay their landings with the gears and engine in view." "And finally, a preview of the rear APU outlet and tail/stabilizer. Take particular attention to the discoloration of the APU exhaust outlet. Observe the linkages in the tail, or the dirt around the APU door housing. Everything represented is handcrafted modelling and texturing to invoke the spirit of the Q400. As we transition into the interior model, you’ll slowly see parts of the cockpit and cabin come alive, and we hope to bring you a truly stunning rendition of the aircraft." FlyJSim also note that the development of their current aircraft of theBoeing 732 TwinJet and the Boeing 727 Series and note... "There should be an upcoming “quality of life” patch to these aircraft that is going to lightly refresh the 727 and 732 with some small new features and aircraft performance/flight model tuned for X-Plane 11.30. What new features exactly? Well, you will have to wait and see…" As the FlightSim Expo is coming up on the 5th-7th June and FlyJSIm are due to appear their, then expect not only the updated B737/B727 to be updated and present, but even maybe a few views and an earlier beta of the Q4XP. Images and text are courtesy of FlyJSim ________________________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 25th March 2019 Copyright©2019: X-Plane Reviews
  10. News! - Aircraft Update : 727 Series Pro V3 patch by FlyJSim After any major release the developer will always do an update to cover general bugs and tidy up loose ends... and so it is with the mega Boeing 727 Series Pro v3 from FlyJSim. Changelog note v3.1809.1125: Fixed an issue where the spoilers would not deploy. Fixed Mach Hold no longer working after previous patch. Fixed how the mach tape moves. Fixed the elevator position indicator showing the value reversed. Fixed VMO indicator, indicating the wrong mach value. Fixed trim value at plane load-up. Fixed LE Flaps not deploying with alternate flap system. Fixed issue where only the left inner flap would fail. Set gear to fail down under 180 kts if no hydraulics available. Changed chance of having a gear failure. Less likely now. Fixed issue where you were not able to reconnect the CSD drive after having to disconnect it. The maintenance system will not fix it properly. Standby Altimeter setting will now match pilots altimeter on plane load. You will now be able to fix the tail skid if it gets hit and wont come up through the maintenance system. Added maint system feature that will pop tires or collapse a gear if you land to hard and too heavy. You will need to land significantly hard to trigger these. Fixed issue where occasionally the starter valves would get stuck open with no way to close them. Added aft cargo door visual to the 727-100 variant. Update can be done without a full download to the installed aircraft via the SkunkCrafts Updater. A rekey activation on all three versions of the aircraft -100, -200 and Freighter is required after the update install. Full X-PlaneReviews review is here: Aircraft Review : 727 Series Pro V3 by FlyJSim _____________________________________________________________________________________ The 727 Series Pro V3 by FlyJSim is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : 727 Series Professional V3 Your Price: $59.95 Currently the package is now for all three variants, the aircraft are now not sold separately. The v3 upgrade is however not free but it is an pay upgrade and the deal is for those who bought the complete earlier 727 Series package can get this new aircraft package at 50% off the purchase price - Find your coupon code in your original 727 order. Optional : The plugin for the CIVA Navigation System addon that costs US$10 is here: CIVA Navigation System ______________________________________________________________________ Update News by Stephen Dutton 21st September 2018 Copyright©2018: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)
  11. Aircraft Review : 727 Series Pro V3 by FlyJSim The release of FlyJSim's Boeing 737 TwinJet v3 Pro earlier this year was a landmark moment for X-Plane11. This outstanding aircraft was really the very first large scale aircraft to really use all the full features and elements of the X-Plane11 simulator. You would note that there was already aircraft in X-Plane to take note and use the XP11 features, but the FlyJSim B732 TwinJet was really the first to do so from the ground up and not be converted across to or from one simulator version to another, and that difference was very apparent. The original aircraft here for X-Plane is not actually new, as FlyJSim released their initial Boeing 727 Series just days before Christmas back in 2012, that is now nearly eight years ago. So it was for it's time a very advanced and certainly in it's modeling it was a very high quality aircraft. In the mean time to date the aircraft has had numerous upgrades, including collecting the status of being a "Study" style aircraft and in that the B727 was then designated as a "Professional" or "Pro" Series in the v2 upgrade. The last upgrade was just to allow you to fly the B727 Series in X-Plane11 was just last in March 2017, it was fine, sort of... but in reality it was just a few performance tweaks to make the aircraft behave correctly with the very different X-Plane11 dynamics. I flew the aircraft a lot, but you felt it was not quite, quite there, then the B732 TwinJet X-Plane11 comparison then made the point that the Tri-Jet was now feeling it's age a little. So to here is now the full (and it flies only in the) X-plane11 upgrade that is designated as v3 (Version 3). First of all let us get one major point across early. This Boeing 727 Pro v3 Series does not have a cabin installed like the B737 TwinJet did... that item was noted very early on by FlyJSim and they have re-enforced the position that no cabin is forthcoming, well not in the anytime near or distant future. I personally found that item a bit of a head scratcher, because the Boeing 727 has the same barrel size (Fuselage) as the already completed B737? So a conversion, in details like the internal barrel, panels, doors, galley and seating are all in all exactly the same and just needed to be a little bit longer to fit the longer fuselage of the B727 compared to the B737? But I do acknowledge that it would have taken time to do all three versions to cover the full series here which includes the original B727-100 (short fuselage), B727-200 (most popular) and the B727-200 F (Freighter). As all are different and all would require three different internal layouts... and that is a lot of work. Boeing 727 Series v3 Pro From the very start there was these three versions of the Tri-Jet in the B727-100, B727-200 and the B727-200 F, and in the v3 Pro Series all those same three aircraft variants are still part of this v3 package, but are now not sold as separate aircraft. B727-100 Airliner short version The 727 followed the 707 quad-jet airliner of with the same upper fuselage cross-section. The 727's fuselage has an outer diameter of 148 inches (3.8 m). This allows six-abreast seating (three per side) and a single aisle when 18 inches (46 cm) wide coach-class seats are installed. And could carry 149 passengers in one-class or 131 passengers in two-classes. B727-200 Adv Airliner Long version The stretched version of the 727-100 became the 727-200, which is 20 feet (6.1m) longer than the −100. A ten-foot (3-meter) fuselage section ("plug") was added in front of the wings and another ten-foot fuselage section was added behind them. The wing span and height remain the same on both the −100 and −200 (108 feet (33 m) and 34 feet (10m), respectively). The original 727-200 had the same max gross weight as the 727-100. The MTW became 184,800 lb (83,800 kg) but the range was decreased to 1,700 nmi (3,100 km). At that short range the aircraft then evolved quickly as a series of higher gross weights and more powerful engines was introduced along with other improvements, and then from line number 881 727-200s where then dubbed −200 Advanced (Adv). The aircraft gross weight eventually increased from 169,000 to 209,500 pounds (76,700 to 95,000 kg) for the latest versions. The range increased slightly to 1,900 nmi (3,500 km) (Standard) but if you loaded the aircraft carefully you could get 2,600 nmi (4,800 km) (Optional) range with 189 passengers (one-class) and 145 passengers (two-class) with a higher Cargo capacity which was the same for the standard -200 version. Ceiling was increased to 42,000 ft (13,000 m). The first 727-200 flew on July 27, 1967 and received FAA certification on November 30, 1967. The first delivery was made on December 14, 1967 to Northeast Airlines. A total of 310 727-200s were delivered before giving way to the 727-200Adv in 1972. B727-200F Freighter A freighter version of the 727-200 Advanced became available in 1981 was designated the Series -200F Advanced and was powered by the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17A engines. The F (Freighter) version featured a strengthened fuselage structure, with an 11 ft 2 inch by 7 ft 2 inch forward main deck freight door and a windowless cabin. This was the last production variant of the 727 to be developed by Boeing and 15 aircraft were built, and all for Federal Express. The last 727 aircraft to be completed by Boeing was the Series 200F Advanced for Federal Express in 1984. In all the total Boeing 727's built was 1,832. Although only fifteen Freighters were actually built. Many Series -200Adv passenger versions were converted to -200F's. The 727 is one of the noisiest commercial jetliners in service and was categorized as Stage 2 by the U.S. Noise Control Act of 1972, which mandated the gradual introduction of quieter Stage 3 aircraft. Current regulations require that a 727 in commercial service must be retrofitted with a hush kit to reduce engine noise to Stage 3 levels. All current flying -200F's are stage 3 except for some flying in parts of Africa. Other versions of the B727 were C's for convertible - passenger/cargo version. The C had an additional freight door and strengthened floor and floor beams, with three alternate fits: 94 mixed-class passengers 52 mixed-class passengers and four cargo pallets (22,700 lb, 10,297 kg) Eight cargo pallets (38,000 lb, 17,237 kg) Detail Even the earlier converted X-Plane10/11 727 version looked great in X-Plane11, but that version still used the original textures and older lighting dynamics. The new 727 v3 textures and developed X-Plane11 dynamics are a world away from the older versions, for one the scale is far bigger at 4096x4096, and printed out together in their real size they would cover the wall like with a large Beastie Boy poster. So certainly with that large a scale you are going to get really excellent detail and quality, but they also going to tax out your graphic power as well. I found I had to drop my texture resolution a notch to "High" to accommodate them, but the scale is so large that you lose nothing in the quality of the detail (you might lose slight detail with your airport scenery or A.I. traffic), but these big scale textures are the normal now. As with the earlier FJS B732 TwinJet the quality is now just astounding, jaw dropping... as metal (in aluminium) is perfect with highly realistic reflections and are bringing in a realism that you could have only dreamed of when this aircraft was originally released, don't get me wrong the FJS B727 was always good in this area, but now it is levels again higher. Certainly the X-Plane11 dynamics do a lot of the work, but the right grading of metalness also now brings out the shear realism. Boeing standard rivets are perfect and would pass the inspection. Engine inlets and external details of the T8D-15A engines are excellent. Exhaust outlets are highly realistic and detailed, and inner Cam-Shell thrust reversers work as required, and it is superb detailing. The series comes with different engines for different variants as with the JT8D-9 for the 727-100, JT8D-15 for the 727-200 and the JT8D-17 for the 727-200F. Cockpit glass is excellent with that rainbow effect that shows off the depth and strength of the glass. Side cabin glass is fake, and it is noticeable compared to the excellent B732 TwinJet cabin windows, as you lose all those reflections, the depth and the inner cabin detail. Wing detail is better with the higher grade textures, but overall all the detail here is all carried over from the original version. The animations of the complex systems are still one of the best in X-Plane, as the Boeing 727 flap system it is very complicated to allow the aircraft to land at very low speeds (130knts!). There are leading-edge devices (Krueger, or hinged, flaps on the inner wing and the extendable leading edge slats out to the wingtip) and trailing-edge lift enhancement equipment (triple-slotted, aft-moving flaps) are in a 0º, 2º, 5º, 15º, 20º, 25º, 30º and 40º selections, but the 40º is rarely used. They also create a lot of if a huge amount of drag. Landing gear is also carried over, but it was excellent in the first place, again the higher graded textures bring out more of the detailing, and in flight the animations of retraction and extraction are again first rate. It is surprising on how low actually the Boeing 727 sits close to the ground. 8 FlyJSim was always one of the best modelers in X-Plane, and the aircraft has lost none of that experience and quality in the upgrade, in fact everything is and feels more highly evolved, and in most areas have been touched upon and the quality has been enhanced. Menus The menu arrangement is upgraded to the same layout and system as on the Boeing 737 v3 TwinJet... the only difference is the missing "Doors" panel. FlyJSim pioneered originally some of the best menu ideas in X-Plane like with their Vcard, Weights & Balance menus. This layout is now the new standard throughout all of FJS aircraft and replaces the older layout. There are five panels accessed by the pop-up tabs on the left side of your screen. The five panels consist of : Vcard, Weights & Balance, Options, Maintenance System and Pilot notes (Checklist) Vcard and Weights & Balance The Vcard works in association with the Weights & Balance manager and so we will look at them together. The Vcard is your Vspeeds for takeoff and landing. These selections are reflected in the way you load the aircraft via the Weights & Balance panel. The Weights & Balance is powerful but a very easy way to set up the aircraft with fuel, passengers and cargo and it notes the aircraft CoG (centre of Gravity) of MAC (Mean Aerodynamic Chord). Most functions given are to load the aircraft in three options with F - Full. E - Empty and R - Random, of course you can add or subtract passengers and cargo via the blue containers or set the exact fuel required. The Red items denotes aircraft over weight or warnings. The aim is of course to create the best balance on the aircraft to make it fly easier, the wrong settings on this aircraft can make it a very big handful of trouble. Options The options panel allows you to select certain general options for the aircraft. On the panel you can : Select the aircraft's time to be local or zulu... the note system (arrowed) on the bottom of your screen will also tell you the various operations and tips for using the aircraft Have the Co-Pilot call out vSpeed's for you or not. Yokes (below) can be visible or not.  Weights can be in Pounds or Kilograms Weights & Balance, Enabled or Disabled - This will disconnect the Weights & Balance system for the use of FSE compatibility Cockpit Windows can be Dirty or Clean (can be seen later in the review)  TCAS VSI A new feature in the v3 is the TCAS VSI (Vertical Speed Instrument). This instrument is a dual digital instrument that combines the TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) display and the Vertical Speed Instrument. This option allows you to have the new instrument or switch back to the older original VSI. The TCAS has full integration into the VSI including full TA/RA. There is the option to turn on the Ground Power Cart and Engine Start cart. The power can be selected on the upper Engineer's Panel and is registered power on, on the DC Dials... ... but there are no physical carts sitting outside the aircraft, which is disappointing considering the overall detail and quality of the aircraft? To get around the missing items I use the JARDesign Ground Handling Deluxe (GHD) plugin (US$14.95) that will provide the power cart and other aircraft service vehicles as shown above. Field of View, Exterior and Interior Sounds can all be adjusted. You can have three settings of options for the FMC (Flight Management Computer) and first is the clear empty blank panel... Second option is the for the Delco Carousel IV-A Inertial Navigation System. Nicknamed "CIVA", CIVA Navigation System which is purchased as an add-on for $US10.00 and it is a basic navigation system that can give automatic navigation of up to 9 waypoints. (you can load X-Plane .fms plans) and it can also be used in the FlyJSim B737 as well as any other other aircraft of that 60's/70's era. It is well worth the additional cost. (note the CIVA plugin is loaded into the "Aircraft's" Plugin folder and not the X-Plane/Resources/Plugin folder... and you need to load it separately into each aircraft variant). NOTE. To use the CIVA in X-Plane11.20 or higher you will need to use the recently updated version v1.31, any earlier X-Plane version or X-Plane10 will still require the v1.20. Third option is the native X-Plane FMC. The X-FMC option has been dropped, which I think is disappointing as the X-FMC is far more powerful than the native basic version as was in the earlier v2 Boeing 727 which I find a little bland and not as versatile. At least you get the pop-out feature. Maintenance System  The aircraft comes with a built in Maintenance System that covers the Airframe, both engines and the APU. If you have used the FJS Maintenance System before you will know it is quite unforgiving and all repairs can only be done on the ground, but it is highly realistic. But if you can't handle the surprises then turn the system off. Pilot Notes This is in reference a checklist... or setup helper in both ways to get through the myriad of switches and systems. Easy to use and scalable... You can also create your own notes and then add them into the book... it comes with a max of 32 pages, which is very helpful and professional. Cockpit Overview It is hard to imagine that this cockpit design is now six years or more old. So brilliant it was in the first place. But that is only really half the story, as yet over the years the cockpit has also changed quite significantly with more and more active systems being added in and more design items have also been included, as the original OverHead Panel (OHP) if you remember was actually quite blanked out and very empty compared to the comprehensive OHP version in this Boeing 727. One of the very best cockpits in X-Plane? as that point is always debatable, but certainly in a clockwork environment then the answer here is yes. As noted the aircraft went to a "Study" level in v2, but I felt compared to other study level aircraft this B727 just finely and slightly missed the mark, but here and now in this v3 then does this B727 now come up certainly to that required level of Pro skill. And so the question is to be put forth in the point "is the FJS B727 now a full Professional aircraft" The title notes that "Pro" moniker of course, but sometimes that title can be shall we say exaggerated a little bit to create sales. But not here, the one thing that really strikes you with this v3 B727 like the with the companion FJS B732 TwinJet is the true completeness of the aircraft, a single whole in feel, as systems wise this B727 was always a complicated aircraft, as it should be to reflect the 60's era design. But "Study" is now the point in question, remember you are doing the flying in this aircraft for three people?, The Pilot, First Officer and the Flight Engineer on the rear right panel, and that is a lot of workload, and a lot of systems to understand, so yes now the "Study" aspect is heightened certainly more to the fore than ever. The cockpit could be called "simple - complicated" in that the era required a simple design but it looks complicated to the untrained eye. All these flight panels are completely active, every switch, knob and dial all work and are connected to the realistic systems to fly the aircraft. Only a few panels on the rear bulkhead are active, like the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) panel and the fuel transfer panel, the rest are just perfectly matched images. Setting the texture quality to the lower setting of "high" does make the images a little if slightly blurry, but not enough to make them a visible annoyance. Detail is beyond glorious, and now with the X-Plane11 dynamic PBR effects to highlight more the pure 60's feel and environment. You pay for quality and that uber detail.... well certainly you get your money's worth here, and more. Just the best of the best. Cockpit Lighting Cockpit lighting was improved in v2. And it was extremely good before, but is even more outstandingly brilliant now. You have that great collection of eleven dials and switches (four more dials and a dome switch are on the engineers station). Left and right flying instrument and centre engine instrument panels are all fully adjustable as is the OHP and the central throttle quadrant. There is the choice of red or white cockpit illumination. This feature was on the v2, but just as a hidden colour, now in v3 you have the actual lighting domes on the ceiling for both the red and white illumination, the difference they make is excellent in lighting and also as a visual representation. Add in two fully animated reading spotlights and your life in the dark does not get any better than this. Another v3 new lighting feature is the amazing fluorescent lighting, there is one light over the main instrument panel (below right)... ... and the other fluorescent light is over the Engineers Station, turn either on and they flicker realistically and noisily as they illuminate, just brilliant and perfection. You can change (or play?) around with the huge range of various lighting conditions that can satisfy even the most dissenting pilot for low lighting judgement conditions, but remember to fly the aircraft as you can become seriously distracted with all this extensive lighting knob tuning.  Main Panel & Instruments The 727 cockpit is very different in that it is all gauges and dials (known as a "Clockwork Cockpit). There are no glass screens or menu driven tabs in here. There is also a third person to help you handle out with the aircraft systems as well with the Flight Engineer (FE) who is situated sitting rotated 90º behind the First Officer. His panel is bigger than the main panel and in today's modern aircraft as then most of his systems have been transferred over to the Overhead Panel (OHP). The instruments are all the basics that are required for flying. The Standard Six - Artificial Horizon (sometimes known as the attitude indicator) with built in turn indicator, Heading, Compass, Vertical Speed (both versions), Altimeter and Speed (in knots and Mach speed, added to the SS is the back up instruments of Artificial Horizon, Altitude, Radio Altitude, Clock and (outside) air-temperature, the DME 2 - NAV 2 (distance - in Miles) are also situated lower down. The First Officer's set of instruments is very similar except they have a TAS (True AirSpeed) dial and DME 1 - NAV 1 (distance - in Miles). The landing gear lever is also on the right side of the panel. The Flap indicators are here as well for Outbound and Inbound flaps (0º, 2º, 5º, 15º, 20º, 25º, 30º and 40º settings) dials. Lower down are the dials for Pneumatic Brake Pressure and hydraulic Brake Pressure. The center of the panel is dominated by the sets of three engine dials covering "Pressure Ratio (RPM), N1, EXH (Exhaust) Temp, N2 (RPM) and Fuel flow to each engine. To the left is the there items of the Altitude select panel, Total Air Pressure and upper and lower rudder trim pointers. The detailing of these dials is breathtaking and simply eye-widening in operation and in fact the whole panel is exquisite in detail and great design from FlyJSim. I doubt you will never get a better 60's cockpit like this. Step out of a General Aviation aircraft and into this B727 and you would feel more at home than a current line pilot would in the way you interact with the instruments. The three red fire handles are on the top of the glare shield that twist and fire for each engine and the fire system can be tested. Left is the Flight Director (FD). The full flight director system is worked together with the authentic Sperry SP-150 Block V autopilot that is situated in the middle of the throttle pedestal. The autopilot system is quite basic, and it does not pop-up either, so you have to set a point of view that where you can see the autopilot and the vertical speed Instrument at the same time, it is slightly awkward but you do get used to it. For a large airliner it is quite rudimentary. In fact your GA has probably a far more powerful AP than the Boeing 727. The AP may be rudimentary, but it is still highly effective in its simplicity. Radio Panel is also very authentic to the period. The frequency is set and then you just flip a switch over to activate the frequency that you require in all settings from COMM, VOR 1 and 2 and NDB (ADF or Automatic Direction Finder here). Below the radio are the large Rudder and Aileron "Trim" knobs. New to v3 is a fully operating WRX weather radar. which has accurate cloud reflectivity, full simulation of energy dissipation and signal attenuation and simulation or radar returns and terrain interference. You can also tune the gain and tilt to scan through the cloud layers appropriately for your position in fight. The differences with the Overhead Panel are highlighted here with the original (left) and the v3 (right). One thing to note is that the aircraft's manipulators are new and clever. They come in two forms in half-moon for each side movement and a circle to drag (and turn) in the centre, and the ease that you can adjust knobs and switchgear is excellent and fast. There is a full Anti-Ice panel and Window heat, engine start and full external and internal lighting switchgear that are all now active on the OHP. One feature has however been deleted from the last version and now the same as the FJS B732 TwinJet is the is the pushback truck. FJS recommends now to use the BetterPushBack Truck as the alternative. The aircraft has been tuned so the BetterPushback works perfectly with the B727, and the same feature is also available in that if you press on the OHP the "Ground Call Button" on the OHP the BetterPushBack truck will answer your call.... great. Flight Engineer's station is quite simply perfection... ... and it is quite complicated to use as all the major systems in : Electrical, Pressurization, Air-Conditioning, Oxygen, Air-Bleed, Heating, Fuel system, Hydraulics are all active in use and operation, yes you need to study the systems in depth to understand them all and the provided manual is a good place to start in explaining the systems, but in not confounding you in too much jargon... it is called a "study" aircraft for a reason. Flying the Tri-Jet v3 The flight today is from EDDL (Düsseldorf) to ESSA (Stockholm - Arlanda). I set my passenger and cargo loads to a ZFW of 126030lbs and a fuel load of 25710lbs for a total of 151740lbs GW, and I selected the native X-Plane FMC and I used the standard .fms file but adjusted the Departure (RWY 05R-Meve3T) and Arrival (RWY 01L - NiLU1J) routes to match the SimBrief routing. The rear stairs do work (sort of) but the view inside is quite weird with no internals? use the (shift) F1 key to raise or lower the stairs. You can start the aircraft with the provided GPU and Engine Start cart, but I started up the APU on board to make my departure quicker. It takes about a minute to power up and settle. The checklist is quite comprehensive and there is a lot of items to check off and test. The passengers are boarded and we are ready to start the engines. So first it is... Window Heat "on" (OHP) and Beacons "on" (OHP). On the FE Panel right down low you turn on the hydraulics and then the eight boost fuel pump switches on the fuel panel. High right is the Air-Conditioning panel, but right now we are only concerned with the "APU Bleed" switches (magenta arrows) to start the engines. So the Air-Con (A/C) packs (green arrows) must be off and with the bleed switches open and then the PSI will show on the dial. As noted you know the APU is pushing power to the aircraft by the AC (centre) dials (It will show the same power output on the APU panel as well). The three engine start switches are on the very top position on the OHP and are covered by black covers, flip each one open and the inner switch can go into two settings "Flight" and "Ground". Here we are starting on the ground so you would use "Ground" selection as the other setting is for restarting the engine in the air (Flight). Clicking the switch down on number 3 engine (Start sequence is 3, 2 (center) and 1) and the dial will start to move in the n2 gauge, when it reaches 17-20% you introduce the fuel by flipping up the "flow/cutoff valve" up. From here on the engine will power up to full idle and you can now start the other engines in sequence. The start up sequence still has that "oh wow" factor even after all this time, watching the dials turn and work, then settle down is highly realistic. When done you can switch on the electrical power from all the three engines and close down the APU (before flight). In it is now not requiring the "Bleed" function, then you can set your Air-Con A/C packs to provide bleed to the aircraft's pressure and cooling systems. Easy to do? yes after a few run throughs it does actually get easier. In knowing what dial or switch does what easily helps you find your way around. The trick is understanding the bleed and A/C packs and that the required pressure is correct in starting the engines. The sound of a Boeing 727 in idle is that loud whining squealing noise that was so familiar only a few years ago. The FlyJSim sounds are extremely good... Noisy, but good. And they get better. But I have a AC generator failure on Engine no.3... damn? It shows if I turn the switch to Gen 3 and the low power is shown on the no 3 Bus Tie. So I now have two choices, fly with the fault (yes you can) or fix it now by shutting down almost every thing including the GPU and doing the required maintenance. I choose the latter, fix it now and so you don't have to worry about a broken generator all the way to Sweden. All restarted and we are finally ready to go.... As I am sitting on a remote stand, and so I don't need the BetterPushBack option. The B727 needs a bit of thrust to get moving but once it does, then you can pull the thrust back a bit... At the RWY 05R hold point there a few items to checklist... Flaps at 5º, Getting the right flap setting is crucial between lift and drag... There is a hidden active area (arrowed) in the green area to set your current takeoff trim, this is one action you must not miss... unless you want to end up a crash statistic. Use the Vcard to your Vspeeds (bugs) for takeoff, i also usually note them down and add 10+ to the v2 rotate. Power up and keep the power around 90% rpm, no need to go to absolute full throttle, and if you do you will regret it. Takeoff roll start is slow, but you build speed very quickly and you need some forward yoke to keep the nosewheel on the ground until the rotate point. Rotate at v2 is here around 150knts. The B727 may look dramatic, but in reality you have to fly it with skill. On rotate you keep the pitch at around only 5º-8º until the aircraft actually drags itself into the air and then has some space under the wheels before then gaining pitch to a more 15º or 2000fpm. You have a rear skid under the rear in case you mess it up, but that would be a sign of a poor pilot if you scratched it?... The aircraft handles very smoothly under the climb and you can hold the pitch perfectly. The aircraft does have pitch hold system if you require it. The aircraft is very hands on, you are working very hard in there and you have to be very disciplined in your actions, and procedures. Aircraft handling is very, very good. FlyJSim were always the masters of getting a lot of feel into their aircraft... but now there is the added dimension of the X-Plane11 dynamics and performance. Compared to the v2 the B727 it does feel different, depending on your overall weight. So your focus is on really flying the aircraft via throttle control and with the balance of the controls, and to be honest your whole focus at this stage of the flight is just on doing all that, and even a simple thing like turning off the wing lighting and the passenger signs are usually left far later than you would usually do... Flap retraction for 5º is 189 knts, 2º 190 knts and all in just below 200 knts. You have to maintain your vigilance and focus on your "Press (pressure) Ratio". Go above the marker at 19 and nasty things can start to happen. The B727 does not have any engine management systems, so you (the pilots) are responsible in keeping the engines within their operating limits. push those JT8D engines too far and they will burn out... or you will be pulling fire handles. You work with "aims". I set up to aim for a certain speed and altitude and more importantly aim for a certain position... or waypoint. Once there you can activate the Sperry Autopilot to take over a lot of the workload, but have to know or set every thing up in advance to make sure you know in what direction you have to go (with the course needle), where you need to be when you get there. So following a set of headings to the flight-plan markers will help... ... as you simply you don't have any helpers in here, as there is no Navigation/Map display? the WRX says map, but it is only for the weather aspect, so you have absolutely no idea of where you are unless you plan it out before hand... a bigger trick is locking into your FMS flightplan, because you can't see it or even know where it actually is? the earlier X-FMC option had a built in route map pop-up, but you now don't have that feature available in here. Most departure SID's usually have a VOR point as their exit from the controlled airspace zone. Here in my case it is MEVEL, on track to the OSNABRUCK (114.30 OSN) VOR dial, so I set my VOR pointer to lock into and fly that radial that will take me to OSN via MEVEL, once close to MEVEL I do a "Direct-To" to lock in the flightplan and activate the waypoint as my next position on the flightplan... as you can guess you have to work all this out before departure, so the procedure goes as smoothly as you can execute it, so you will need your charts, heading numbers and distances to make it all work, or you can cheat and use the built in X-Plane local map, but you don't do that... do you? These 60's jets are fast, really fast... the B727 will cruise easily at m8.5 or if you want to even at m8.6, so you have to keep a sharp eye on the speed and adjust the throttles to keep the aircraft from going over it's limiter (warning), as at the same time to adjust the throttles for the lighter fuel load as you cover the ground speed rather quickly. There is not of a lot of automation in the B727 cockpit, so you have to take the notes and do the adjustments. range in the -200 adv is quite limited at 1,900 nmi (3,500 km), both the -100 and the Freighter have far more range at 2,250 nmi (4,170 km). Of course there is also the differences again with the different versions of the JT8D engines installed in each variant with each individual performance tuned to that type of engine. Now and again you can look out of the windows at that incredible view. There is the option to clean the aircraft's windows, but the "clean" option is that the window surrounds are darker than with the "dirty" option? The exceptional original wide range of sounds are still here, but the DreamEngine that has been on the aircraft since 2012 has been removed for the now standard native FMOD engine... like I noted, nothing really has been lost and in fact I found a more sonic change in moving around the cockpit (more realism) and the full 180º range around the external aircraft as well, and even down to the detail of the buzz of the fluorescent lights, and the APU is quite loud. Arlanda The trickiest part is getting the B727 down into the lower speed zones, the different markings on the Speed dial do show you where you can use which flap setting and when. But getting the aircraft down under the initial 200knt zone without putting your nose high is a bit of a skill, worse is that the initial 2º are just the forward edge flaps and not the nose leveling rear, so you need to get your speed down to the 15º flap to have that flap speed control, and it is not as easy as it looks. I have got to know the aircraft very well over the years, but the X-Plane11 dynamics have created a whole new ball game in the way the aircraft flies and you are having to relearn a lot of the differences between the new and the old, like I have already mentioned in that the FJS aircraft are very finely tuned, and this newer XP11 version now lift's your game again into that higher skill range. The Sperry Autopilot is very accurately modeled including the manual glideslope with intercept mode and altitude capture, which is available here with mode interlocks. Again even in auto mode or with your manual flying the pure thrust throttle control is highlighted on your approach slope... you can see why older pilot's enjoy the purity of this era's aircraft, as your flying skills are highlighted. One bonus is that your approach speed can be quite low, almost GA speeds. This was to help with landing at remote airstrips that isn't done with aircraft this size anymore. So 140knts and 25º flap can be used on arrival, and this gives you a great steady platform to get your landing correct. But the thrust is high compared to the speed to overcome the huge flap drag. Final approach and 130 knts with 30º flap is about perfect, and it is a total feel thing... speed, thrust and handling, as it should be. The aircraft does have both Autobraking and Flare, but you don't really need either, as for one your approach speed is quite low and you sorta automatically use your throttle and lower the speed once you are over the threshold and create your own perfect flair as the speed rubs off. Like all rear-engined aircraft (MD-88) you need to watch the nosewheel doesn't get too high, it needs a firm hand to keep it under control and also keep tracking the aircraft directly. If you watch any videos of aircraft flying and landing like this you usually see some pretty violent yoke movements at these points to keep the aircraft steady. Even though the engines are a fair way back from the cockpit... the huge roar of the reverse-thrust is still highly noticeable, and it is brilliant if seen and heard externally... a note is that these era aircraft Autopilot and Flight Director don't disengage on landing, you have to switch them both off manually. Cleaning up the aircraft and taxiing to bay 38 is a doodle after all that, you certainly get a serious workout with these older aircraft. The B727 is fully VR (Virtual Reality) compatible for the very best immersive experience. External Lighting All external lighting is excellent. There are four landing lights, but the outer lights are covered by the forward leading-edge flaps if the flaps are retracted, front wheel strut taxi (moves), runway turnoff, wing/ice, navigation, strobe and beacons are all covered as is the logo light on the tail. All lighting reflects on the ground including the strobes. Liveries All the original liveries are available, but that huge B727 collection that you built up over the years is now useless, as the paintkit has been changed to accommodate the larger scale files and quality. The painkit is already available for use, and so it won't be long before they will start reappearing again... FlyJSim have also created a site for these liveries to be hosted and can be downloaded here... FlyJSim Liveries the Painkit (1.04GB) is on the same page. Provided liveries are: 727-100 American (N1996), United (N7001U), Eastern Airlines (N8102N) 727-200 Alaska Airlines (N294AS), FlyJSim v3 House Colours (N727FJ), Lufthansa (D-AFBI), Pan Am (N4737), PSA (N533PS) 727-200F DHL (N741DH), FedEx (N466FE),Kelowna Flightcraft (C-GWKF) Summary To a point this review is preaching to the converted as this Boeing 727 Series from FlyJSim has been around since late 2012. Some of the basics are still here of that initial aircraft, but in reality this is a very different aircraft from that earlier aircraft in almost every way. Earlier updates mostly focused on systems including Electrical, Pressurization, Air-Conditioning, Oxygen, Air-Bleed, Heating, Fuel system, Hydraulics, Anti-Ice, and then the layout for both the FD-108 flight director that is fully independent from the Sperry SP-150 autopilot to bring it into the full "Study" paradigm. Even taken into account of the era of the aircraft it is at it's heart still very highly technical, if old school flying machine. This v3 upgrade is more than simply making the B727 X-Plane11 compatible, as it has been totally revised in many areas, the details covered here are huge if only intimate in changes, it may not look so from the surface, but you know the difference when you fly it. Dynamically in texture quality and performance it is levels above the previous version and this is certainly in every way THE X-Plane11 version and delivers the overwhelming features that X-Plane11 has to offer, but that is also noticeable on your computer in the effect it has on your graphic power, a step up in all the sheer detail available here, this also means another step down in the way you have to absorb it. New v3 features include the custom weather radar modeling that simulates realistic cloud reflectivity, radar scanning, energy attenuation, and interference. and the full TCAS integration into a VSI instrument, including full TA/RA. A few changes from the v2 with the removed X-FMC, which was better than the native FMC, and the older livery collection does not now work and the menu system is improved. The release of FlyJSim's Boeing 737 TwinJet set the bar very, very high, to the point it could be even be one of the very best aircraft ever created for X-Plane. The Boeing 727 is overall a far more dramatic aircraft than the B737, and so the B727 Series should be even better again, but as the B737 was a totally complete airliner, then the B727 doesn't have it's cabin and rear internal features, including opening doors. But to compensate for that you do get in almost every area better and bigger systems and the best cockpit in X-Plane, but also the three different variants of the same aircraft. FlyJSim is an exceptional developer, now not one but two of their aircraft with the release of the Boeing 727's v3 after the earlier Boeing 737 v3 TwinJet as they both sit at the top of the list or pile in their sheer dynamics and quality, both give you an extraordinary experience, but also come with the requirement that you have to study and fly them like a Pro or with the professional approach they both require, but at least you know you are getting your money's worth back with all that work you have to put in, and know in the knowledge that you have mastered and is flying the very best of the best old school airliners... Highly Recommended _____________________________________________________________________________________ The 727 Series Pro V3 by FlyJSim is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : 727 Series Professional V3 Your Price: $59.95 Currently the package is now for all three variants, the aircraft are now not sold separately. The v3 upgrade is however not free but it is an pay upgrade and the deal is for those who bought the complete earlier 727 Series package can get this new aircraft package at 50% off the purchase price - Find your coupon code in your original 727 order. Optional : The plugin for the CIVA Navigation System addon that costs US$10 is here: CIVA Navigation System Features Study Level Systems and Dynamics Designed with input and testing by former 727-200 pilots and mechanics. FD-108 flight director that is fully independent from the autopilot. All modes accurately modeled and with accurate mode interlocks and animation. SP-150 autopilot accurately modeled including MAN G/S intercept mode and altitude capture. Accurate mode interlocks and animation. Altitude alert system acquisition and deviation modes and flaps 30/40 cutout modeled. Autobrake system modeled to match real world data Fully custom weather radar modeling. We now simulate realistic cloud reflectivity, radar scanning, energy attenuation, and interference. Full TCAS integration into a VSI instrument, including full TA/RA. Compatible with the Pilotedge network. Accurate simulation of an APU, ground power, generator paralleling and sync lights system. Every annunciator light is push to test. Bulbs burn out, so be sure to spot the burnt out bulbs during preflight! Independent and functional navigation and communication systems, including separate nav radios, adf radios, VHF radios and more. Bleed systems and performance physically modeled, and respond to temperature, altitude, wear, and humidity. Pressurization and environmental cabin control systems faithfully modeled. Get the packs on before loading passengers on a hot day, and watch the cabin temp cool as the sun sets. Auto, Standby, AC and DC manual modes all faithfully modeled. Aft cabin zone heating system is modeled. Duct overheats and pack trips and resets are modeled. FMC and CIVA units realistically coupled to pilot HSI for improved situational awareness Fully custom hydraulic systems and electrical busses Instrument Comparator GPWS including test functionality Warning systems Fire protection systems Weather radar Extraordinary Exterior Incredible textures. Revamped textures show every rivet, crease, dent and oil stain on the exterior of our aircraft. Watch as light realistically reflects and reacts with every corner of this aircraft Detailed animations. All exterior control surfaces animated accurately to real world behavior and smoothly driven even in replay using our enhanced custom replay system. Accurately animated control surfaces, landing gear, flap deflections, and wing flex all help immerse you when piloting the aircraft. Detailed lighting. Lighting is based off real 727 data. Landing, taxi, taxi turnoff, strobe, beacon, navigation lights, wing and even logo lights have been faithfully modeled using the real angles and dimensions from real 727 documentation. Sound They called it the whisperjet… but the sounds are anything but quiet. Continuing from the success of the 732 Twinjet, FlyJSim has developed an accurate and immersive FMOD sound pack, which provides a fully 3D positional experience. Experience the realistic screech of a 727 JT8D engine at full power. You will hear every engine, switch, and greased trim wheel. Definitely an experience you will want to keep the headphones on for! Comprehensive Menu System Redesigned and unobtrusive menu that dynamically appears only when moused over Weight and Balance Manager provides detailed loading of passengers, cargo and fuel to accurately and dynamically shift the aircraft’s center of gravity (CG) V-card popup provides dynamic V-speeds for landing and takeoff including improved flap schedule calculations for user selected takeoff and landing flap config Additional customizable options menu to configure the plane and navigation systems Checklist and notes provided in sime with a 32-page fully customizable window that includes checklists and an overview of the aircraft. Have something you need to reference in the flight? Add it into the notes page! Our menu system is now 4K ready and can be easily scaled and moved to best suit your screen resolution X-Plane VR compatible For anyone who is as excited as we are for the technology, the FlyJSim 727 Series Professional is now fully compatible with X-Plane’s VR system. Now with custom and interactive manipulators, teleport hotspots and magnetic surfaces. Requirements: X-Plane 11.20+ Windows, Mac or Linux 4Gb+ VRAM Video card Current review version: 3.0 (August 10th 2018) Installation : Download file size is 1.4gb and is inserted into your X-Plane - Aircraft Folder. All Installed file sizes are 2.31gb 727_Series_Pro_V3_-200Adv_C2 (847.40mb) 727_Series_Pro_V3_-100_C2 (931mb) 727_Series_Pro_V3_-200F_C2 (708.20mb) Documents : Four documents that cover almost everything you will need to fly the Boeing 727 Pro. The procedures manual is really well done. 1. FJS 727 Series Manual.pdf 2. FJS 727 Series Procedures.pdf 3. FJS 727 Series Manoeuvres.pdf 4. FJS 727 Series Systems.pdf FJS - 727 Series - Support forum FJS - 727 Series - Developer Site _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton  10th August 2018 Copyright©2018: X-PlaneReviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.25 Addons: Saitek x56 Rhino Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro v1.07 US$69.90 : XPRealistic Pro v1.0.9 effects US$19.95 : WorldTraffic 3.0 Plugin - US$29.95 : BetterPushBack - Free Scenery or Aircraft -EDDL- Airport Dusseldorf by Aerosoft (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$27.53 -ESSA- Stockholm Arlanda by tdg (X-Plane.org) - free
  12. News! - New Version Coming : Boeing 727 Series Pro v3 by FlyJSim Jack Skieczius from FlyJSIm has released details of the next upgrade to their Boeing 727 Series to v3.0. The aircraft will get the full X-Plane11 treatment like the earlier this year upgrade to the FJS sensational Boeing 732 TwinJet, but the v3.0 B727 upgrade will NOT however have the same exceptional cabin fitout? no the doors in v3 will stay firmly closed. The focus here on this upgrade is on the systems, menus, X-Plane11 dynamics and PBR features and a even better FMOD Sound (it was pretty good already). Those excellent metallic textures however will be part of the upgrade, as highlighted here on the Retro American version. All three variants will also be covered with the Boeing 727-100, Boeing 727-200 and the Freighter versions. The B727 had one of the best clockwork cockpits in X-Plane, so expect it to be upgraded to and even more realistic level with new textures, and to be more functional as well. The full released update changelog is as noted: Flight model upgraded to be X-Plane 11 compatible for all three variants of the 727 series. Interior and exterior PBR texture upgrades. Updated cockpit manipulators and additional mouse wheel support. Updated support for the X-Plane 11 native FMC. Updated menus, similar to the FJS 732 Twinjet Pro. Upgraded maintenance system. Upgraded pressurization system. New enhanced replay system, similar to the FJS 732 Twinjet. Highly immersive FMOD sounds The Boeing 727 Series v3.0 Release is expected around the end of June. Images and text are courtesy of FlyJSim ________________________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 11th June 2018 Copyright©2018: X-Plane Reviews
  13. Aircraft Review : Boeing 732 TwinJet v3 Professional by FlyJSim I have had a strange relationship with FlyJSim's Boeing 737 TwinJet. In reality I shouldn't have because it does everything so well. If you want the most outstanding 60's/70's clockwork dial aircraft in X-Plane you can't go past this Boeing 732 and as an recommendation I gave and further more still do give the aircraft high marks, but somehow I personally just couldn't warm to the aircraft? This is very odd because I totally adore FJS's Boeing 727 package and the FJS Dash Q400 is my absolute favorite prop liner, so why not the B732? So what was missing for me? I totally understand the focus on the pilot and the way the aircraft flies is totally paramount for a simulator and in that area the FJS B732 certainly delivered... but, and this was a big but. Before leaving the gate you couldn't do anything with the aircraft, you set it up for the flight, but that was it. It was the same scenario when you landed in the fact that after you berthed the aircraft and then shut it down and.... well not much else. At night it flew like a big black hole in the sky, lovely cockpit, but really nothing else. So my overall feeling is that it felt sort of incomplete with nothing but empty space behind the cockpit door, half an aircraft so to speak. A few years ago in X-Plane that was the normal, but is it now after the FlightFactor B757/767 and Rotate's MD-88 when you have absolutely everything and both sides of the cockpit door. 732 TwinJet v3 Pro So here is version three (v3) of the Boeing 737-200 TwinJet from FlyJSim. It has actually been a long time coming (the last update was 15th Aug 2015), but the wait for the changes have been well worth the wait. To note this is not an update, but a completely redesigned aircraft with the only best elements of the original transferred over, it is a completely different aircraft to the original. First impressions of the v3 are overwhelming, the original was good, but the detail here is staggering. The older B732 liveries in your collection do still work with this v3 aircraft, but they are 2K and not the Hi-Res 4K as seen here, so there is a significant difference close-up and with the totally overwhelming feel of the aircraft. These Hi-Res liveries and all aspects of the higher detail of this v3 aircraft does also significantly impact on your graphic card. Before even keying in to authorise the aircraft (or load it), it is wise to reduce your "texture quality setting" to "High", or you are faced with a 6045mb loading crash, set in "High" that is reduced to 3230mb which is still quite high but now workable with a 4gb graphic card. As you can see in the above images, the lower texture quality setting still allows for the very high detail and quality aircraft to be used, as so you are losing almost nothing in the lower setting. So that very first view is very impressive, and it gets better... Now the door will open and majestically the built in stairs will unfurl and then allow you to board the aircraft... There are rear stairs as well which are highly animated for their height above the ground. In fact all the doors for passenger and cargo open... The native Ground Services also work well with the aircraft, but there is now also a JARDesign Ground Handing set to use with the B732 for more control and livery versatility. The entry up into the cabin look's enticing, but first let us look around the Jet's exterior details. Most of the detailing is from the original B732 version which was beyond great in the first place, but something more has been translated in the process to the v3 and it is in the sheer quality of those 4K textures in bringing out the intricate design and detail. Note the excellent JT8D's which were in their time the trendsetters of jet engine design, now recreated here and not sitting somewhere in a museum. The full body and barrel shape of those 60's Boeing is now beautifully highlighted here, it is realism in it's extreme. There is no doubt that the X-Plane11 lighting effects (PBR) are a huge help here, but there is something else going on to bring out all that colour and detail. There was something bland and flat with the original FJS B732 Southwest livery (top) which contributed to my feelings towards the aircraft, compared to the current v3 Southwest colours (bottom) that now brings the aircraft alive. The reality was that although the aircraft was sensational in the flying aspect, it was dreary in the visual aspect. So the 2K liveries were to the disadvantage of that feel more than anything else. But there was something even missing again on those liveries, and that was any life beyond the cabin windows.... ... the cockpit was fine, but the rest of the aircraft was dead, because it was as there was really nothing behind the windows. But get up close now as you enter the the aircraft and it all looks that so much more real.... there is now something behind the glass. Walk on board and you are faced with one of the best Jetliner cabins in X-Plane. It is so extraordinary good, and so you say "it is cabin, so what!" but it is the space filled out and the aircraft now feels whole, complete. All the textures are astounding with great fabric and seat styling, as with the cabin section separator panels and there is full detail of air-vents and switches above your head, it is as real a cabin as your going to get. And you have total control over the cabin as well with switches that work to turn on signs and adjust the cabin lighting (more in lighting below)... and open and close the airstairs by the above door panel (airstair lighting as well!). Rear stairs can also be extended and retracted via the switchboard (arrowed) and the workspace galley lighting can be switched on or off. (note the AC power or APU has to be running to use any opening or closing of the stairs) All window blinds are individual in that you can manually open and close them (to open (or close) all the shades does take a little time?), and is this a first in X-Plane... opening overhead luggage bins, yes you can also open and close the bins yourself, totally brilliant. It is all sensational detailing, but there is only one thought (not a criticism). The cabin colour scheme is a little USA all the way around the Mid-70's, in other words it is very bright and comes with a lot of colour and make no doubt it is a very excellent layout... but with European liveries like the KLM or Aer Lingus it looks well... a little too bright and mid-western USA, and it doesn't quite match the more dour European corporate outside to the brighter USofA inside... It would be nice to have the choice of a more subdue cabin layout for these liveries. Boeing 732 v3 Menus FlyJSim pioneered some of the best menu ideas in X-Plane like with their Vcard, Weights & Balance menu. The menu system overall is mostly the same as before but upgraded with extra panels and features and to match the newer X-Plane11 menu style. This layout will also be the new standard throughout all of FJS aircraft. There are six panels accessed by the pop-up tabs on the left side of your screen. The six panels consist of : Vcard, Weights & Balance, Options, Doors, Maintenance System and Pilot notes (Checklist) Vcard and Weights & Balance The Vcard works in association with the Weights & Balance manager so we will look at them together. The Vcard is your Vspeeds for takeoff and landing. These selections are reflected in the way you load the aircraft via the Weights & Balance panel. The Weights & Balance is powerful but an easy way to set up the aircraft with fuel, passengers and cargo and it notes the aircraft CoG (centre of Gravity). Most functions given are to load the aircraft in three options with F - Full. E - Empty and R - Random, of course you can add or subtract passengers and cargo via the blue containers or set the exact fuel required. To note that the door(s) and cargo doors have to be open to load on passengers or cargo. Full aircraft weights are shown and as noted reflected on the Vcard that will also set the speed vRef bugs on the Airspeed Indicator. Any weights above the required weights are shown in red. Options The options panel allows you to select certain general options for the aircraft. On the panel you can : Select the aircraft's time to be local or zulu, Have the Co-Pilot call out vSpeed's for you or not. Yokes (below) can be visible or not. And the HF aerial (cable) can be also visible or not. Weights can be in Pounds or Kilograms Weights & Balance, Enabled or Disabled - This will disconnect the Weights & Balance system for the use of FSE compatibility PAX Sounds, You can have passengers sound coming from the cabin or switch them off. Cockpit Windows can be Dirty or Clean (can be seen later in the review) There is the option to turn on the Ground Power Cart and Engine Start cart. The power can be selected on the "Overhead Panel" (OHP) and registered on the DC Dials... ... but there are no physical carts sitting outside the aircraft, which is disappointing considering the overall detail and quality of the aircraft? Field of View, Exterior and Interior Sounds can all be adjusted. You can have three settings of options for the FMC (Flight Management Computer) The clear empty panel... .... and the native X-Plane FMC. The X-FMC option has been dropped, which I think is disappointing as the X-FMC is far more powerful than the native basic version as in the Boeing 727 which I find a little bland. Third option is the for the Delco Carousel IV-A Inertial Navigation System. Nicknamed "CIVA", CIVA Navigation System which is purchased as an add-on for $US10.00 and it is a basic navigation system that can give automatic navigation of up to 9 waypoints. (you can load X-Plane .fms plans) and it can be used in the FlyJSim B727 as well as other aircraft of that 60's/70's era. Well worth the additional cost. (note the CIVA plugin is loaded into the "Aircraft's" Plugin folder and not the X-Plane/Resources/Plugin folder). Doors Besides the direct activation of opening doors and extending the airstairs, there is a menu option to do the same as well. The menu covers all doors including passenger and cargo doors and the airstair operations. It is important to note that the doors won't open if the aircraft is still pressurized which is noted in your lower right position of your screen, and so you have to depressurize the aircraft via the switch on the OHP pressure panel from Flight to Ground. The note system on the bottom of your screen will also tell you various operations and tips for using the aircraft Maintenance System The aircraft comes with a built in Maintenance System that covers the Airframe, both engines and the APU. If you have used the FJS Maintenance System before you will know it is quite unforgiving and all repairs can only be done on the ground, but it is highly realistic. You can, if you can't handle the surprises then turn the system off. Pilot Notes This is in reference a checklist... or setup helper in both ways. The "Jack is Awesome" is well noted... Flying the Boeing 737 v3 Turn left on entering and open the cockpit door and your office awaits you. Note the reflective mirror on the crew door. The original cockpits of both FJS's aircraft in the Boeing 727 series and the Boeing 737 TwinJet set new high standards in quality and detail for X-Plane (this was before the B757/B767 of FlightFactor fame). And still they really deliver in the sheer detailing that is possible in simulation today. Long gone now are the days of a 2d panel in X-Plane, now you get immersion 101 in the great era of 60's jet flying. If looking back at the original FJS B732 cockpit and it was and still is very comprehensive, there is still the overwhelming feeling that far more has been added in here and a more completed feel is noted throughout the cockpit. Certainly the rear circuit breaker panels have been noted to have been redone (but not yet active) but the OHP has had more detailing added as well, and again that overwhelming feeling of completeness is certainly evident throughout this v3 aircraft and so it is here again in the cockpit. FlyJSim noted their last Boeing in the B727 Series as a "Study" sim, or the systems were so complete they can be used as a high grade simulator of that aircraft. This aircraft is not noted as the same "Study" simulation but as a "Professional"... which is in reality the same thing as the system depth on this aircraft is astounding in detail and operation and it is certainly "study" worthy. All the major systems in : Fuel, Fire Protection, Electrical, Pressurization, Air-Conditioning, Oxygen, Air-Bleed, Anti-Ice and Heating, Hydraulics and Radio Equipment are seriously comprehensive in use and operation, yes you need to study the systems in depth to understand them all and the provided manual is a good place to start in explaining the systems, but not confounding you in too much jargon. The use of real Boeing manuals are also very handy as well to understand the systems in theory. This is the depth of the aircraft and to fly it correctly then you are going to have to study it and work at this level of simulation flying... it is that comprehensive. There is also a feature for PilotEdge (www.pilotedge.net) users , in a audio volume control and transmit/receive light. Which allows you to adjust com volume and monitor communication directly from the center pedestal in the 3D cockpit, for the ultimate experience in online ATC simulation. Route EDDL (Dusseldorf) to ENGM (Oslo) When this review copy of the B732 v3 came from FlyJSim, it came with a note... fly the aircraft a lot before reviewing. You need to take heed of that note, even if you have flown this FJS B732 before. The aircraft's basic performance and systems have all been altered quite comprehensively from the original machine. Aside from the very different X-Plane11 dynamics, the aircraft and the systems have been rewrote to be more closer to the correct outputs and workings of the systems areas. FJS was always a very dynamic in a system developer, but this aircraft goes to another level again in detail and operations, and an add-on throttle system is a major benefit when flying this aircraft and is highly recommended. I set up the aircraft at 70% Gross Weight or 102505lbs. The B732 does fly better with a bit of weight on the airframe, not too heavy, but certainly not too light. Once done you can set the Centre of Gravity automatically by pressing the centre of the green area on the trim guide (note don't even think of pressing this green area in flight or your "going down"). For some reason, FlyJSim and bleeds and myself never really had a good relationship? Starting both the complicated B727 or god help me the Dash Q400, of which sometimes turned into swearing contests and even mostly downright frustration... ... but I have (thankfully) not had that frustration here in this B732. Bleed setup from the running APU is easy and engine start is to turn the engine switch to GRD and watch the n2 rise on the dial, when it gets to 20% n2 then click up the fuel lever and you get a "fuel Flow" pressure and an engine start... easy. I am going am divert a little at this point to mention the sounds. All sounds are FMOD, which is very good, but here FJS has used a Daniela Rodriguez Careri a sound specialist to create this FMOD package. We are now already used to FMOD sound in delivering 3d directional sound and sound in certain zones around the aircraft. But this FMOD package goes far further than that in specializing in sounds in a niche way. These sort of niche sounds are available in BlueSkyStar sound expansion packages, but here they are using the FMOD system to create the same sort of expansive sound package with out the huge cost associated with that sort of detail. So small sounds like clicks, rumbles, system air-conditioning noises and even passenger noise are all here in concert. Engine start is as good (as is engine shutdown) but it is in the smaller minute of sounds that all bind together to create the overall aircraft environment of realism. It is showing now how good the FMOD system really is for the simulator when used professionally, and so in sounds this package ups the game again to new higher level and certainly on par with BlueSkyStar sound expansion packages. Engine no1 start is complete and engine no2 is getting started, so it is time to clean up the OHP with electrics, and heating (window/pitot) and when both engines are running then turn off the bleed and set the Air-Conditioning, and engine power generator source from the APU power. A small bit great feature is that the No Smoking and Seat Belt signs illuminate, A small thing, but it is a surprise on how many aircraft at this level don't have this feature as standard. Vcard settings can be adjusted to your flap settings in here 1º, 2º, 5º or 10º I stayed with the 2º setting. Your setting is reflected on the vRef bugs on the Airspeed Indicator. One feature has however been deleted from the last version... is the pushback truck. FJS recommends now to use the BetterPushBack Truck as an alternative. The aircraft has been tuned so the BetterPushback works perfectly with the B732. "oh" and yes the operator hates your aircraft lights being on in his face, "sorry" but that is a habit that is hard to break. A neat feature is that if you press on the OHP the "Ground Call Button" the BetterPushBack truck will answer your call.... great. The BetterPushBack is well... far better and more versatile, and you get the thumbs up when your "good to go", yes certainly a good choice. Departure EDDL RWY 05R Clearance and power up... You need a fair bit of thrust to get the aircraft moving, but once rolling you pull it back ... the B732 is very nice and heavy to taxi. The PITCH CMD is only a guide in setting the pitch as it shows on the Horizontal Situation Indicator. On full power you have to be aware of wear and tear on the JT8D's, in other word's you have to be kind to them. Full thrust is fine, but not for long, and as soon as possible then pull them back into the green zone... the full takeoff sounds are glorious!. (I will note that I removed the "smoke" file out of X-Plane because it is really too poor at the moment and unrealistic, the aircraft does do the dark sooty smoky trail very well with it installed). The aircraft is a bit sticky on rotation and if you don't get the positive climb angle correct then the aircraft will not lift away cleanly from the runway, the Boeing needs to be sort of manhandled into the air with a lot of care but still forcefully with the yoke and rudders, once clear of the runway you go from a pull of the pitch backwards to gradually forcing forwards, you really have to fly this machine hard. It takes a lot of practise to get the pitch just right, when you do, you feel very much in control of the aircraft. Watch then the pitch as the flaps are retracted and don't let the speed runaway from you, as you need to stay in control, or this aircraft will control you. "Sperry SP-77 (option version)" auto-pilot (A/P) and is not quite the standard layout autopilot system we know today, as say that of the A/P version was fitted to the later B737-200ADV. It is split between the F/D (Flight Director) on the left and the A/P (Auto Pilot) on the right. Still very simplistic in nature, it was and is very powerful in operation, but that simplicity can confuse you in that it has more functions to use than it looks. The point is, is not to get confused between the AIL or Roll function for heading and GPS (FMC) use and the ELEV function for pitch changes... Once activated then the "heading" switch is used to follow the heading and the VOR LOC is used for the FMC, there is another GPS/NAV switch on the panel to activate the FMS that switches the setting from NAV (NAV1) to GPS (FMS). Trickier is using the pitch CMD, turn on ELEV and the aircraft will hold that pitch until it achieves the "Set Altitude" then goes to ALT HOLD. To climb (or Descend) you have to turn "OFF" the ALT HOLD, and adjust the pitch via the Yoke. The tricky bit is moving the yoke to get the right pitch you want, and give it too much movement and you will get squeals of spilled hot liquids from your rear in the cabin. So your trick is finding the right backwards or forward touches to the yoke to find the pitch you want and hope it sticks there. The Boeing 732 does not have any "AutoThrust" function and so all speed adjustments is just yourself with the throttles. So watch out for over-speed and then falling speeds if climbing, and then over-speed again when you level out at the set altitude. Corrections are required through-out the flight on the throttles as the fuel burns off and you go faster as you are lighter. Harder is descending... You need to reduce as much speed as you can before descending, as the aircraft will quickly build up extra speed on the descent, so use the airbrakes to control the speed if required, and just getting the aircraft to go down cleanly and at the right rate of descent can be tricky. The hardest point is that you don't have any modern tools to help you fly the aircraft. There is no NAV/MAP display and that means you have no line or pointers for TOC (Top of Climb) and TOD (Top of Descent) and or for capturing the flightplan sequence. Working out your descent is an art and you have to use "gasp" a map or charts to get it right. You do need to be at the right altitude for the approach phase as the aircraft in a runaway speed is unforgiving, in other words you need to be at the right altitude and the correct slow speed before commencing your approach. The dirty windows are very authentic, and can make the approach visually tough in certain lighting conditions. As Oslo's RWY01L shows up your workload is very high, it takes skill to balance the throttle speed to the selection of the flap position and if you are still descending or on the ILS slope and then the speed changes constantly to all these conditions... and so you react to that, which is the wrong thing to do. So using the ILS approach is very tricky, as the slope can runway your speed, worse is that as the slope releases the aircraft at the bottom of the ILS beams and then the aircraft actually falls or drops at a stall speed as the thrust is usually too low, and yes you usually crash... There is a trick (always a trick with this aircraft) and that is to have all your speed and flaps set before you go into the ILS beams, no doubt many of you will fly this aircraft totally under a manual (throttle) approach, and most will probably use a much shallower angle down to runway to contain the speed, and yes that will work well, but that speed can and will still need a lot of control with the throttle levers... The Vcard says at 40º flap to set your speed at 118kts? But at that set speed my nose is pointing to high skywards, the best speed approach here was 135knts and it felt right. The weather didn't help in landing at Oslo in a snowstorm. Sliding down the slope and eye-balling the speed dial is the main task... .... so speed control on the descent is critical and the smoother you adjust the speed the better landing you will have, practise will of course favor the brave in honing up this approach phase, but the aircraft is superbly responsive and feedback is excellent. FJS have added in a few extra details to the X-Plane replay system, to give you better replays with the aircraft that help a lot in reviewing your flying. The replay is an important part of the simulator and many developers don't adjust their work to be replayed cleanly, in the account that the replay will have no flaps set, or the dials are wrong on the instrument panel, of which are of no benefit to the student... so this a small but very worthy feature in learning the aircraft. Gauging the flare and letting the aircraft down is another practise require to learn, but you get it right and after a time when you understand how the aircraft reacts. If you used the ILS, then make sure the A/P is disconnected as soon as you are on the runway... or the aircraft will simply fly again. You hear the "can's" as they open and the thrust noise as the power is again pushed on for the reverse thrust, it is not as powerful as a modern jet considering the considerable noise they make, but they do work. So landing the Boeing 737-200 is a challenge, and the X-Plane11's new thrust dynamics are of course excellent but require the skill to master in an aircraft of this lower power and vintage. But that is also the challenge of simulation, the good news here is that this aircraft is one of the best in this area, master it and you are then to be in that upper echelons of a skilled pilot. Aircraft Lighting The cockpit already had great lighting from the original version, with three sets of overhead lighting with : Off-Dim-Bright (switch is high on the OHP) Two overhead Spot/Map lights are also available for both the Pilot and Co-Pilot, left and right and are both adjustable in brightness and beam positioning. The panel and OHP is highly adjustable as is the excellent pedestal lighting with another "Flood" feature. In most cases the rear cabin and its lighting is usually an after-thought, but not here in this FJS B732. This is one of the most spectacular lighted cabins in X-Plane. You can adjust the side lighting on or off, and also set the cabin mood lighting in four ways : Night - Off - Dim and Bright There is also a Ground Service light and Work Area lighting with the Door Entry light are all available from the switch panel by the door. Rear galley area has the same lighting. If you activate the "Emergency Exit" lighting is is simply superb, highly realistic. Externally the lighting is also very good... In the dark flying at night the aircraft looks sensational and very alive... Landing lighting is the standard Boeing 732 in two inside lights and two wing drop-down lights. Runway Turn-off, wing and taxi lights are also available. On the ground you get great lighting for landing and taxiing to and from the runway. Only comment is the landing lights look a little blobby directly front on and maybe needed to be a little more tighter in radius like on the original version. Liveries All the nine liveries and the one blank livery are all the same as the original versions, but as noted above they are all also substantially upgraded in detail and to 4K size and quality... All are mostly retro in use with one a logo FlyJSim and a chrome Lufthansa that I would rather be the standard all white fuselage version, The WestJet is very nice for modern use. A 4K paintkit is available as well from FJS. Summary To a point this aircraft represents the new era in X-Plane. The X-Plane11 era. Yes already there has been some brilliant releases for the simulator in the last year and for X-Plane11, but this aircraft represents something far more. This aircraft takes all the features that X-Plane11 delivered and uses them to their fullest and to a highly significant degree. It is an extraordinary aircraft in some respects and it is hard to believe it is another version that has been released before in X-Plane10, but the two versions or aircraft could not be so much different, and only that original virtual cockpit is in reality the only thing linking the two aircraft as one and the same, and here again this area has also been upgraded to another level. The highlight of the aircraft is actually in most aircraft the most mundane... the cabin. This cabin for a jetliner is like none other in X-Plane, in both features, ideas and lighting, it is again extraordinary. But its main function is to create a completeness of this aircraft as a total whole. You can board it, fly it and move around the aircraft as if it is as close to the reality of being on an airliner that you can get in simulation. It is functional as well, not with gimmicks, but fully usable features. Systems are certainly "Study" simulator level and are very highly comprehensive and are extremely workable and accessible. All Fuel, Fire Protection, Electrical, Pressurization, Air-Conditioning, Oxygen, Air-Bleed, Anti-Ice and Heating, Hydraulics and Radio Equipment operations are covered and in serious depth, this is certainly the best 60's/70's era jetliner you can fly and understand what aviation was like and why it is still so revered of that great era. There isn't a lot to criticise about here with this FJS B732, and so mostly it is personal preferences. The missing external GPU and Air-Cart is a surprise (again) and it is little thing but a requirement for an aircraft of this category. I would like the option of the X-FMC even if it is dated as it is more functional than the native version, and somehow the main landing lighting needs to be less blobby head on, the lighting is great close up, but not at a distance and the cabin textures are a bit well... colourful for a European airline, and an so called more sombre option would be nice. Again that whole completeness comes through, from the excellent sounds, to the feel and flying ability, to the depth of the systems you can access, it is all here wrapped up in a beautiful machine that looks amazing just sitting there ready to fly or in the air. This is not an easy machine to fly or operate either, it takes skill and discipline as all Jack Skieczius (FlyJSim) aircraft always are as he is one of the very top notch of developers in X-Plane right now, but the rewards here are exceptional if you master the machine, this is simulation at it's very, very best or even it's extraordinary best... it is that brilliantly good. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Boeing 732 TwinJet v3 Professional by FlyJSim is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : 732 TwinJet v3 Pro Price is US$69.95 Note - If you have already purchased the 732 TwinJet by FlyJSim, you can upgrade this new 732 v3 for 50% off for a limited time. Find your coupon code under your 732 TwinJet invoice at the store. Some users will note the significant upgrade price here, but in reality you are getting far more than double your monies worth in features and details than the original aircraft, this aircraft is now at this price category standard and is priced accordingly, once flown you won't be unhappy with your purchase, it is excellent value. Features: True-to-Life Exterior Incredible textures in v3. Rivets, reflections, and surface bumps all add up to give you that extra bit of realism. A completely accurate replica of the 737-200 Adv, down to the last hand placed rivet. Detailed animations in v3. All exterior control surfaces animated accurately to real world behavior and smoothly driven even in replay using the custom replay system. Exterior sounds in v3. JT8Ds have a roar like no other. Detailed lighting. Lighting is based off real 737 data. Landing, taxi, taxi turnoff, strobe, beacon, navigation lights, wing and even logo lights have been faithfully modeled using the real angles and widths of the real 737 lights. And the lighting looks better than ever as they light up these new v3 liveries. Wing flex. Of course. You wouldn’t want them to snap. Immersive Interior Fully interactive and dynamically lit cabin in v3. Detailed seats, adjustable lighting and interactive doors and air-stairs, movable window blinds, and baggage compartments you could stow away in! Unprecedented cockpit lighting in v3. All cockpit lights are controllable. These include all indirect lighting on the panels, storm lights under the glare-shield, center console light to shine onto the throttles, dome light to illuminate the entire cockpit at night, and two map lights. Light spills realistically from annunciators onto nearby switches. Flying at night doesn’t get more fun. Each of the over 300 lights fades in and out like authentic incandescent bulbs. Best in class cockpit manipulators are even better in v3. The dedication to Intuitive cockpit manipulation that you would expect from a FlyJSim product continues in v3 with mousewheel support added for the knobs you want it on. Great care has been taken in setting up just how you interact with the switches, knobs, and levers in the cockpit. Dial in your headings, course, altitude, and radios with ease, even while flying online. Animations everywhere. Each switch, lever, knob, and handle is animated. Press to test functionality on annunciators. Standby compass stowable. Both map lights adjustable. (You do have that approach plate onboard, correct?) Precisely dimensioned 3D cockpit. Modeled using real dimensions down to the size of the switches. 3D modeled circuit breakers in v3. As you go to check out the cabin, be sure to notice these beautiful breakers. You might spot a couple of surprising system breakers. Study Level Systems And Dynamics in v3 Advanced flight model utilizing the absolute latest XP11.10 vector based flight dynamics, including refined down-wash and ground effect. SP-77 autopilot modeled including Control Wheel Steering (CWS) modes JT8D-15A engine performance tuned across the full flight envelope Control surfaces driven using fully custom coding, simulating hydraulic pressures, blow-down effects and standby control surface modes in the event of failures. Autobrake system modeled to match real world data Every annunciator light is push to test. Spot the burnt out bulbs during preflight! Bleed systems and performance physically modeled, and respond to temperature, altitude, wear, and humidity. Look in the FCOM to find the N2 requirements for a cross-bleed start. Pressurization and environmental cabin control systems faithfully modeled. Open the doors to let a breeze in, get AC on before loading passengers on a hot day, and watch the cabin temp cool as the sun sets. Auto, Standby, AC and DC manual modes all faithfully modeled. Cabin doors are pressure locked. FMC and CIVA units realistically coupled to pilot HSI for improved situational awareness Fully custom hydraulic systems and electrical busses Instrument Comparator GPWS including test functionality Warning systems Fire protection systems Weather radar Comprehensive Menu System Redesigned and Inobtrusive Left-side Menu that dynamically appears only when moused over Weight and Balance Manager provides detailed loading of passengers, cargo and fuel to accurately and dynamically shift the aircraft’s CG V-card popup provides dynamic V-speeds for landing and takeoff including improved flap schedule calculations for user selected takeoff and landing flap config Additional customizable options menu to configure the plane and navigation systems Checklist and notes provided in sime with a 32-page fully customizable window that includes checklists and an overview of the aircraft. Have something you need to reference in the flight? Add it into the notes page! Maintenance System For Added Challenge in v3 3rd Party Integrations Ground call button integrated with the free open-source. Better-Pushback Plugin Plan and push from the gate without leaving the immersion of the cockpit. Better Pushback Plugin : (https://github.com/skiselkov/BetterPushbackC/releases) PilotEdge volume control and transmit/receive light. Adjust com volume and monitor communication directly from the center pedestal in the 3D cockpit. The ultimate experience in online ATC simulation. PilotEdge Website : (https://www.pilotedge.net audio) Custom 3D model to make full use of CIVA navigation system Civa Plugin : (http://store.x-plane.org/CIVA-Navigation-System_p_196.html) Smartcopilot compatible. Requirements X-Plane 11.10+ Windows, MAC or Linux - 4Gb+ VRAM Recommended Current version: V3.1801.1111 - ( January 12th 2018) Installation Download of the FJS 732 TwinJet is 543mb and it is installed in your Airliner Folder as a 970mb folder. Important Installation Note: I recommend to start X-Plane and load in another aircraft (native Boeing 738?) and then adjusting your "texture quality setting" to "High" if you have a graphic card of 4GB, even then still do so the same as I had the same issue with a 8gb graphic card. The textures are huge in Gb if the texture settings are set high and will crash the aircraft (or X-Plane) when you come to do the key authorisation. When activated then restart X-Plane from the desktop for a clean plugin and aircraft loading. There is now no pushback truck supplied in the FJS 732 package... recommended is BetterPushBack Truck by Saso Kiselkov. It is installed in your X-Plane/Resources/plugin folder. Documents Documentation is excellent with three manuals covering the aircraft's features, procedures and systems, with a step checklist which are all included: FJS_732_Simplified_Steps__Checklist_v3.pdf FJS_732_TwinJet__Manual.pdf FJS_732_TwinJet__Procedures.pdf FJS_732_TwinJet__Systems.pdf Systems covers all aspects of the location and operation of the aircraft's systems, well worth or required reading. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 13th January 2018 Copyright©2018: X-PlaneReviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.05 Addons: Saitek x56 Rhino Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 : XPRealistic Pro v1.0.9 effects US$19.95 : WorldTraffic 3.0 Plugin - US$29.95 : BetterPushBack - Free Scenery or Aircraft - EDDL - Airport Dusseldorf by Aerosoft (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$27.53 - ENGM - Airport Oslo XP by Aerosoft (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$24.99
  14. Aircraft Update : Boeing 732 TwinJet by FlyJSim FlyJSim have done an update noted as Version 1.1508.1036 on the Boeing 732 TwinJet, and it is a very good and extensive one. FlyJSim's approach to aircraft is highly detailed and functional... you could even say complex. But I would prefer to say they have extensively developed systems and they are certainly some of the most immersion types of simulation you can fly in X-Plane. The focus is also on older aircraft in the Boeing 727 Series and this Boeing 737-200 TwinJet and the bombardier Dash Q400. The link between the aircraft is they are all very manual to fly in dials and throttle control and modern automation is rarely used and that makes the aircraft also extremely interesting and challenging to fly. The aircraft has had a lot of adjustments (Full Changelog below) but it is more than just a fix up of smaller details as new items have been added or original ideas have been updated. The menu system located on the lower left of your screen is excellent, as noted the aircraft is complex but FlyJSIm have been thoughtful in the way you can quickly set up the aircraft for flight and have a lot of data you require at your fingertips to not only get airborne quite quickly but to be able to fly at the performance boundaries in an visual way, the system is excellent in that case Menus are noted as - WnB (Weights and Balances) - V/Card - OP (Options) and INS (CIVA GPS optional). WnB (Weights and Balances) It is extremely easy to set up the weight, aircraft load in passenger and cargo and fuel load. All the information is there and easy to read or noted, and your center-of-gravity is also easily balanced and noted. In the update you can now disable the Weight and Balance system from changing X-Planes values for payload and CG. This was a request from FS-Economy users. V/Card I really love the V/Card visual menu on both the FlyJSim B732 and B727 Series aircraft, it is totally brilliant. When you set your aircraft weights and balances via the WnB menu it translates directly to the V/Card to give you your V speed references, your weights are also noted and updated on the V/Card to the current weight and fuel as you fly so you know exactly what the aircraft is in weight and can note that for takeoff and landing. The speed bugs automatically set to the vRef's required as well to make that perfect takeoff in speed and your landing speed is noted on the Landing tab. Another brilliant feature is that if you press the green zone on the trim setting indicator it will automatically set the trim to the weights and balance for takeoff. These few setting helpers can get you perfectly set up in a very short time, but also have the aircraft correct and ready for flight. There have been a few changes to the V/Card in the update including an added trim setting to the takeoff Vcard, the EPR setting on Vcard for takeoff now changes, which is used usually for hot and high takeoffs. When the Vcard is open to takeoff, the EPR bug on the engine display is updated for you if takeoff flaps are not set in the Vcard, it will now actually sync to your takeoff flaps when passing 80 kts during your takeoff roll to ensure you get the proper bugs and callouts for the V1/rotate. OP (Options) On the OP-Options Menu you can now disable Copilot Callouts if they get annoying and the HF wire from the fuselage to the tail can be hidden. Both the external APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) and start up (Engines) Air Cart can be accessed by the menu, but no physical units are shown outside which are now usually available for aircraft of this quality? INS (CIVA GPS optional) For the FlyJSim Boeing 727 Series and this Boeing 732 aircraft the Delco Carousel IV-A Inertial Navigation System, nicknamed "CIVA" can be purchased as an addon: CIVA Navigation System for $US10.00. it is basic navigation system that can give automatic navigation of up to 9 waypoints. (you can load X-Plane .fms plans) but it is quite a difficult beast to use, but also very authentic for navigation systems of the 60's and early 70's eras. It was installed in classic airliners like the Boeing 707 and 727, the Lockheed Tristar, the Douglas DC-10 and the Boeing 747-100 to -300 and a special variant, the Carousel IV-AC was also installed in the Concorde and used to cross the North Atlantic at supersonic speeds. But like I noted it is a bit of a bully to use, and personally I wasn't greatly supportive of the feature as it was just to time-consuming to program. (every Lat/Lon had to programmed in) That was then and this is now as there has been since a great plugin released to ease all the pain and make the navigation system more user friendly and far more easier to program. This is called the CIVA Helper plugin 1.10 by Yoyoz and it is a great piece if kit (You will need Sandy Barbour's Python interface installed) Another bonus also is that the xCIVA is now in this update actually installed on the lower part of the panel of the aircraft if you own the feature. The popup is still there if you need it, but somehow the 3d version is far better to use, and it looks sensational. (For the B727 Series pleeeese!) You can input a set of waypoints (fixes) or just cut and paste a route from a route planner and make up a flightplan in seconds, then just push the fix directly into the xCIVA, the great thing about this plugin is that you can select only the waypoints you want to make up the maximum of the nine allowed, you don't need the airport as your first fix but POS in "Position" to tell the xCIVA the current coordinate position of the aircraft. Zero numbers are not also allowed as the xCIVA will not accept them. Another bonus is that you can create a double flightplan with inputting the first nine into the system and then having nine or more ready to input as you fly along to compensate around the nine fix input barrier (like they did in the old days). You can also do a sort of Direct-To by jumping to a certain waypoint or diversion fix. So the helper plugin makes the xCIVA an everyday usable system so it is a well worth download and the new panel location really helps as well. Pushback The built in pushback feature has had a few changes as well. You select the pushback now by pushing the "GndCall" button on the overhead panel. And it appears as a popup menu. You now have two choices in Manual pushback, or Automatic pushback. Manual will allow you to steer the aircraft with your joystick or rudder pedals and the Auto mode pushback allows you to set the distance, tail turn and turn degree. You can also display a ghost of the aircraft as an estimate of the pushed back position on the ground. KOAK - Oakland Intl to KPDX - Portland Intl I flew the updated Boeing 732 from Oakland, San Francisco to Portland to have a look at MisterX's new scenery, I had the aircraft very heavy but only half-full of fuel for the relatively short hop to Oregon. I will be totally honest and admit I never was completely in love with the B737-200 from FlyJSIm, mainly because it was so overshadowed by the bigger more dramatic Boeing 727, of which I love more than I can explain. But with this update the aircraft and myself have had a more closer if more intimate relationship with each other. I feel I didn't use the aircraft in the right context enough to get the best return from it, but now we seemed to have reached an understanding of each other and will move on to the next level of getting to know each other more closely and intimately. I felt more at home and enjoyed the aircraft immensely this time. So was this the update or has X-Plane matured more to meet the combined goals of the aircraft and myself or just the xCIVA now working better that created a more better atmosphere. There is no doubt in the depth of the aircraft's systems and more have been added in a new Instrument Comparator system, the GPWS system, has new system sounds and functionality and the Compass/NAV/Vert Gryo switching system is also new. I also liked the new Trip/Date recorder system, which you can change to whatever you like, just hit the button and it saves it for you. I am still wishing on the B732 like with the Boeing 727 Series that the rear cabin would be completed and installed, and the doors would open (Other close users note the missing items to me as well), And although the cockpit is without doubt certainly one of the very best in X-Plane, It still feels a little empty back there. But as a pilots aircraft it is astounding in design and in performance, it uses the excellent Dreamfoil - DreamEngine & Turbine Sound Studio sounds. The B732 rumbles and it roars in that 1960's unhushkitted noise as those JT8D-15A engines pore out the power and dark smoke that bellows from that more less environmental period. New sounds have been added in here as well as all the switches, knobs, buttons all now have 3d positioned sounds, recorded from actual 737 panels and the click and tick just as they should. You can hear APU now as well in the background. I love the wizzing around Trim wheels on these aircraft and the sounds have now been realistically heightend, spoiler arm deploy sound for landing and spoiler deploy low rumble are also significant aural changes that sound great. You can adjust the external and internal sound volumes by the menu to enjoy the audio to the maximum. The basic Sperry 77 Autopilot is quite different from today's fully automated cockpits but excellent to use, so it gives you a totally different dimension to flying a heavy aircraft, Radio's are really good for flying VOR radials and NDB's which you heavily rely upon. The red line on the MAP display has been removed. I accept that it is not a realistic point on the aircraft, but its removal means you don't know if the xCIVA is running the right waypoints or if it is set correctly at all or even working... so do you need that red line back? This is the -200adv version of the 737 family and you can see the larger Boeing barrel size (six across seating with a single aisle) on the shorter fuselage length. But there is no doubt it is a nice looking aircraft and a pure Boeing. Nice details are the retracted undercarriage (FlyJSim always did amazing undercarriages) and the long tube almost rocket looking engine pods, a different era. The yaw damper was too sensitive in turbulence and has been adjusted so you can now keep it on. And you will noticed that the on the HDG and CRS display they now show values greater than 360 degrees. Cabin lighting now shows externally at night and park brake light, trim light, marker lights, Fire lights and some radio lights now work correctly. You get one blank white livery (there is a paintkit available) and five airline colours in WestJet (very modern) Aer Lingus, Air France. Aloha (old) and KLM. But you are not short of liveries and restricted to just these five, as there is 132 available on the X-Plane.Org site! It is a lot and all are very good, like this superbly nice DeltaExpress livery in this upgrade review. Portland Intl was now on approach and I was seriously impressed with MisterX's work, the scenery is simply excellent. The FlyJSIm Boeing 732 is certainly a very challenging aircraft to fly in X-Plane, it demands to fly it well a knowledge of its deep systems that are crafted to perfection and the aircraft requires time to really get the best performance on all levels out of it. You get those angled offset clamshell reverser doors which are very dramatic and the airbrakes are armed as noted on the panel, the before noted V/Card approach and landing speeds are excellent and the often neglected autobrake system has been better tuned now with proper deceleration rates and the aircraft feels better in that speed reduction phase. The door alignment has been done (I did it earlier anyway) so the airbridges (jetways) now connect correctly, but not here at Portland as they don't go lower but only sideways. Smart CoPilot features have been added to cater for that addon in the 3D CIVA is now synced and master controlled, and the files have been updated to this new version. And of course the most important item to be fixed is the PAX chime now bings when turned off as well, Thank god that has been done. Summary This update Version 1.1508.1036 is more than just an aircraft bug fix and clean up, there are a load of small but good new features in there, but the most significant thing is the aircraft really feels more complete and satisfying. You really can't put your finger on it, but like most upgrades when they come you realise that those items either didn't work or were missing, but there is still more going on here this time. Like I noted earlier, I never really felt totally comfortable in the aircraft and I could not put my finger on it, but certainly the B727 Series overshadowed it. Now I find the B732 TwinJet a lot more to my liking and I flew the aircraft more consistently, so maybe there was something more in there I was aware of but couldn't actually touch that has been ironed out. No ground vehicles or equipment like APU's and AirCart or pushback truck makes the aircraft look a little lonely now out there on the ramp, and no opening doors (so well done on FlyJSim's Dash Q400) makes it boring sitting at the gate, and you expect that now at this price range and features. But overwhelmingly is the sheer dynamics of the aircraft and THAT cockpit, that is with the FJS B727 an amazing design and certainly both are the best in X-Plane for 60's era heavy jet flying. They are both amazing places to be in, use and very different in the context that one (B727) is a three crew aircraft and this B732 is a more advanced two crew machine. So a very good update from FlyJSim to a now excellent period aircraft, for flying a early period classic jet Boeing airliner, you can't invest in any aircraft better than this and go back to fly in a period of a glorious jet age that will always be a classic period of aviation. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Boeing 732 TwinJet from FlyJSim update is now available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Boeing 732 TwinJet - Price is US$47.00 Current Version 1.1508.1036 is Aug 15 and if you have already purchased the 732 TwinJet then go to your X-Plane.Org Store account and upgrade now! Features include: FlyJSim quality, including attention to detail and flight dynamics Realistic Sound engine provided by DreamEngine & Turbine Sound Studio sounds Detailed exterior Accurate replica of the 737-200adv Detailed textures Detailed animations - Wing flex Detailed lighting Superb Cockpit Interior Detailed 3D cockpit High resolution textures on panels Detailed cockpit lighting - Intuitive cockpit manipulation Systems Simulated Many custom systems have been coded to replicate the behavior of the real aircraft: Air system - Anti-Ice Autopilot(SP77) Com/Nav radios Electrical - Fire protection Hydraulics Fuel Warning systems Weather radar Other features: Realistic flight model Weight & Balance Manager Detailed manuals 6 liveries included - Designed by FlyJSim (Jack Skieczius and Joe Vermeulen) Developer Site: FlyJSim Dev Support : FlyJSim Support _____________________________________________________________________________________ Requirements X-Plane 10.30+ (any edition) - MAC, Windows, Linux - 1Gb+ dedicated VRAM Video Card - 10.20 or higher - 32 and 64 bit compatible. X-Plane 9 is not supported - Recommended: 1+ GB of VRAM, and 8+ GB of system memory Current version: Version 1.1508.1036 (Last updated August 17th 2015) _____________________________________________________________________________________ Full Changelog: Bugs fixed: Fixed bug in APU bleed pressure staying around even if APU was turned off. PAX chimes now sound when turned off as well. Fixed Engine start sounds playing when no bleed pressure to start engines. Fixed BUSS typo. Fixed typos in options menu. Fixed issue where the Flight Director knob would not turn to approach mode. Fixed the stick shaker sound not playing with the system test. Fixed issue were aircraft would turn the wrong way when capturing the ILS. Spoilers now retract if throttle moved up for takeoff while in ground. Fixed issue with yaw damper being too sensitive in turbulence. You can now keep it on. Fixed door position for autogate. Fixed Gen drive temp issue where they were only shown if generator was attached to the bus. Added breakaway thrust so the plane will no longer roll forward with idle thrust at the gate or after pushback. Fixed APU fuel consumption, APU now takes fuel from the left tank. Fixed issue with APU sound playing when no fuel in left tank Fixed HDG and CRS displays from showing values greater than 360. Fixed some LIT texture bugs on the copilot side. Added text for the aft console FLOOR and PANEL lights. Map FMS red line removed from the weather radar. Fixed fuel valve closed lights. Now show as dim. Fixed Vertical gyros to be wound down on cold and dark properly Redid the autobrake system. Now should work properly, with proper deceleration rates. New Sounds Switches, knobs, buttons, etc, all now have 3d positioned sounds, recorded from actual 737 panels. Added APU sounds. Added Trim wheel sound, Added spoiler arm deploy sound for landing Added spoiler deploy low rumble New Systems added Added Instrument Comparator system Added GPWS system, with new system sounds and functionality Added Compass/NAV/Vert Gryo switching system Added Trip/Date recorder system. You can change these to whatever you like, hit button and it saves. Added Compass system panels. Changed graphics on cockpit voice recorder panel, including the test needle animation Added 3d CIVA panel for those who have CIVA installed on this aircraft. Added voice recorder test functionality(needle moves) New options - Added Option to disable Copilot Callouts Added option to disable the Weight and Balance system from changing X-Planes values for payload and CG. This is a fix for FS-Economy users. Added option to remove HF wire. Vcard changes Added trim setting to the takeoff Vcard EPR setting on Vcard for takeoff now changes, usually for hot and height takeoffs. When the Vcard is open to takeoff, the EPR bug on the engine display is updated for you. If takeoff flaps are not set in the Vcard, they will sync to your takeoff flaps when passing 80 kts during your takeoff roll to ensure you get the proper bugs and callout for V1/rotate New Pushback system Added Pushback popup system, activated by hitting the Gnd Call button on the center overhead. Gives option for Manual pushback, or automatic pushback. Auto Pushback allows you to set distance, tail turn, turn degree. Can display a ghost of the aircraft as an estimate of the pushed position. Cockpit light changes Added light glow to several annunciator lights in the cockpit, including the park brake light, trim light, marker lights, Fire lights and some radio lights. Exterior lighting Added cabin lighting to exterior Smart Copilot Smart Copilot files updated to reflect system changes. With 3D CIVA, now synced. Master controlled. Update by Stephen Dutton 17th August 2015 Copyright©2015: X-PlaneReviews
  15. Aircraft Release : Boeing 727 Series Study v2 by FlyJSim Every developer has a long list of features and ideas to incorporate into their X-Plane aircraft project. Many items on the list are essential, but many are just great features that will enhance the final aircraft to the buying purchasers and are not essential to the overall flying and operation of the aircraft. But to develop and refine those ideas can take time, and then there is the constantly evolving evolution of the simulator itself that can render even the most up to date aircraft, out of date within only a year of its release. So there is usually a compromise in not only features but in the amount of time a developer can need to devote their considerable time to release the aircraft to not only get a return on their investment, but to be also current to the market forces around them. Spend too long developing an aircraft can bring out substantial problems in that the development cycle which will be slower than the ever changing ideas and constant revision of the simulator can mean constantly redoing already done work that is already out of date. Known as "being behind the ball" it then becomes a fight to release the aircraft in any sort of condition to meet the current markets demands or to just simply give the whole project away as a lost cause. So a first release aircraft is always a compromise between quality and time, and then a flurry of updates can follow to rectify and major issues and even add in a few more promised features. Over a few years the developer can refine and update the aircraft to keep the aircraft in the current condition as required by the new features and new versions of the simulator. Then after many years a complete new version with many ideas and a load more new features can be added in to give even the very best aircraft a new lease of life and add a bit of new shine on an old fuselage. The bonus is that the developer has had the extra time to do the work without the pressures of a first release and can be more thorough in the refinements and new ideas and create an even more better aircraft (or scenery) in its second release without losing the original release's best attributes and features. FlyJSIm Boeing 727 Series v2 The FlyJSIm Boeing 727 Series has been around X-Plane since just before a few days before Christmas in 2012. This classic aircraft of a classic 60's icon is certainly one of the best aircraft in X-Plane, certainly the very best 60's airliner you can fly in the current simulator bar none. In simulator terms you could note it as old, but certainly it is not out of date with the constant updates keeping it current. I never kept a log on how many hours I have spent in the office of FlyJSIm's B727, a lot, substantial and mostly far too many hours to count over the years. In value of return of pleasure to the dollar it is off the chart in the direction of how do you measure the return of giving up a large part of your life to fly on a computer... The B727 gives a lot to make all that time worthwhile and give you the many returns of huge amounts of flying satisfaction. Okay, so I like the B727 a lot. I like it a far more better now because now it has been released as totally new version as in Version 2 (v2) and a quoted "Study" Series, and that means a lot of new features and even more refinement for an aircraft already a best in the simulator. There are three versions in the Original -100 (short fuselage) then the most popular version in the -200Adv (Advanced) and the most current flying version in the -200F - Freighter. And all of these three aircraft versions come with the FlyJSim series v2 package, the single purchase version aircraft have been dropped. Externally there are no changes to the v2 of the B727 Series There is still not in v2 any ground equipment, engine covers, chocks or tags or other external options, WYSIWYG. So if you like your operations equipment (like I do) then I recommend to use JARDesign's excellent Ground Handling Deluxe plugin that has a great B727 set included in the plugin's default sets. Another feature not included in v2 is the internal cabin or cargo floor for the freighter. Both features have been promised for years but are still not included in the package. Most users will note that "I don't need a cabin, I fly from the front and I don't care what is in the rear". But I think that is a pretty old fashioned view today. I have spent many hours replaying my flights from a passenger seat and enjoying my (excellent!) piloting skills and just enjoying the views, ditto in flying freighters and loading and unloading the cargo is all a big part of my simulation timeline and the B727 has a large list of cargo routes I can fly with. But I don't use this aircraft because at the end of the flight all you can do is shut the aircraft down and walk away from a sealed hull, there is no fun in that. In the early days after the original release the aircraft was noted as quite heavy in frame-rate, and the cabin would have added in too much frameweight. That is also not a consideration anymore with 4gb graphic cards and superpowerful processors. The cabin and freighter features for the B727 Series have been again noted as coming, but I feel the aircraft will not be totally complete until they are (finally if ever) installed. In 2012 the cockpit of FlyJSIm's B727 was a revelation of brilliant design. And still today it has that huge "wow" factor in every single time you see that cockpit for your next flight. The design work is still here and still simply exceptional, breathtaking in its scope and usability, and now updated in v2 to an even better and higher quality texture feel and detail. Beauty is there to behold, with the complex engineers station, the metal mechanical mechanisms of the levers and throttles of the throttle quadrant, the radio and overhead panels and the almost "put it in a museum for 3d art" with those exquisite chairs. For v2 you would at first glance have to look really hard to see if it was anything different, but it is and with a lot of new features. The differences between v1 and v2 are not apparent until you put the aircraft actually side by side, and then you realise how much change there actually really is in the new v2 cockpit. Original Release Version v2 Release Version The menus have been expanded by two more extra tabs (left screen). VCard and WnB (Weight and Balances) are the same but the "options" is not "OP" anymore and has been expanded. INS (for the CIVA popup) is still there, but there are now two new tabs for "Maintenance" and "Checklist". The excellent 'in real time update" vRef VCard's is a great feature of the FJS B727/B732 and has EPR and Trim targets added. So is the Weights and Balances (WnB) manger (right) which was a pioneer of this sort of visual aircraft loading and settings page, still the best and easy to use. A note on using the WnB set up in that it is important to get your CoG (centre of Gravity) correct. You can't adjust the CoG in the X-Plane "Weight and Balances" menu later or at all, and get it wrong and the aircraft feels badly balanced (as it should) and makes landings almost impossible. So take your time and get that CoG right at the start for a perfect flight. FMC Choices The biggest new v2 feature is on the pedestal... Original Release Version v2 Release Version The v1 (original) pedestal was a pretty blank affair. You can have the same look in v2 if you want that and fly VOR point to point only. In the "Options" menu tab there is now a new selection for three different FMC or Navigation options. No NAV Option 3D CIVA INS 3D XFMC FMS No NAV Option 3D CIVA INS So the "No NAV Option gives you a pretty blank panel and more so than in the v1, as also the pedestal is missing now the FLT DIR (Flight Director) panels on the lower sections, as they have been moved to the glareshield. CIVA: (Delco Carousel IV-A Inertial Navigation System. Nicknamed "CIVA") was available in v1 and is an extra addon that costs US$10. In v2 you still have to pay for the CIVA addon, but it is now fitted directly into the pedestal of where it looks very good. It still popups with the menu INS tab (only the popup was available in v1) and for the US$10 investment you can use it in FlyJSim's Boeing 732 as well. So it is a worthwhile investment. X-FMC: The third NAV option is now you can use X-FMC Project's Flight Management System in the B727. It is free to download (but I think a small donation would be nice), and again it is well intergrated into the upper pedestal. A popup is available as well using the F9 key, which is slightly annoying as it conflicts with a few X-Plane settings I use. It uses the NAVIGRAPH or Aerosoft NavDataPro (VasFMC and KLN90B) files and can be updated (with a fee) to the latest data packs. As FMC's go, the X-FMC is not too bad, and a good choice for the Boeing 727. I struggled with locking in the DEP (Departure) airport (KRSW) and associated SID's and had to settle for just a waypoint departure pattern, and the landing STAR had to be adjusted on arrival as it went from the last waypoint directly to the runway, but not to the correct runway angle, so I had to readjust the approach waypoints for to work correctly. But as the FJS B727 does not have a Navigation screen to use, then there is a handy popup screen that shows you your route and for planning. The popup is a bit basic, and not very detailed and in need of a better version of the idea. but it is far better than setting up the system blind. As an FMC it is very good considering the diverse of selection of aircraft it has to be used with. You do get all the performance settings, thrust-limits and takeoff and landing prefs. Climb, Cruise and Descent pages, and a great PROG (Progress) pages and Radio setting page. So why an FMC is a 60's era aircraft? Well many of these 60's era aircraft are still flying if mostly in a cargo role, so a modern FMC is not out of place on a modern B727 flightdeck. Maintenance Another new feature is the "Maintenance" tab. This feature covers the maintenance of your B727. It covers the airframe, the three engines and the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit). It is powerful as well because this B727 is not a modern efficient aircraft, it comes with it's 1960's design and wear. Noted is "if you push the engines to the limit, you may have them catch on fire, or just get damaged a bit more than usual; Engine oil now gets burnt off, and you will need to refill this every now and then; Tail strikes on takeoff may induce pressure loss; exceeding flap and gear speed may lead to jams or collapses; Over exciting the engine or apu generators can lead to them failing; over pressurizing or excessive speed or g-force can lead to airframe damage". The maintenance feature is not however a random failure system (like the annoying X-Plane failures) but a progressive in use, wear and tear programme to make the aircraft more realistic in service or with constant use and flying hours. And yes it works with my landing at KDFW (Dallas Fort Worth) I had to contend with a broken left flap system. A quick look at my maintenance sheet told me it needed fixing before my return flight to KRSW, but only on the ground. You can leave the issues to pile up if they don't create a flight risk, but all will have to be attended to at one point or another. The active maintenance feature can be turned off in the "options' panel. Checklist Last new tab is the "Checklist" feature. 60's aircraft require a lot of procedures, and FJS aircraft are renowned for their depth and procedural starts from cold. So this feature is very welcome to help out with the workload, it pops out and is very easy to navigate. You can also modify or add into the checklist with 32 pages available which is a really great idea to adopt the lists and notes to your own preferences. Overhead One of the biggest visual changes in the cockpit is on the "Overhead" (OVHD) panel. Original Release Version v2 Release Version Nine extra items have been added onto the OVHD, and also note the new two spotlights either side. Areas included are: FLT Control Warning test and speaker grill (left). Flight recorder (test), Compass, VHF NAV - Compass (1), Vertical Gyro, Cargo Fire (centre). Compass (2) and Microphone Monitor (right). The "Autobrake" function now has a (working) RTO selection and the standby compass at the lower section of the OVHD panel can also now be stowed upwards if required. Pushback has been moved from the "OPS" (options) panel to the "Ground Crew Call" button on the OVHD panel like on the FJS B732. Auto and Manual options are still available with a "Ghost" feature to show you where the aircraft will be positioned after the auto function is completed, there is no physical pushback truck. A note is required in that the pushback truck will not turn if the hydraulic systems of the aircraft are not pressurized, or if the engines are not running. Original Release Version Yoke v2 Release Version Yoke A twice look back at the B727 Yokes reveals that they are quite basic and even look unfinished. In v2 the Yokes from the FJS B732 have been installed and look more the part. Most of the already excellent engineers panel is still the same, except for the addition of a radio panel on the lower left and the Radio panels have also been added to each side lower panel by the Pilot and First Officer. The workings of the engineers panel has had however a lot of attention starting with the Pneumatic and Engine start system which has been totally overhauled. Engines start now require sufficient bleed air to turn the turbine. This now works similar to the 732 Update. Cross bleed starts are also now possible and the brakes do also require hydraulic pressure to work effectively and rate of pressure depends on gear wear and tear. The Electrical system has been overhauled as well. The electrical system now works more closer to the real thing, requiring more effort on the users part to make it work as it really should. Power consumption is now closer to the real Boeing 727 power use as well, and the APU can’t now run everything. Bus ties are also no longer tied together. External power and air simulation has been added, but no external cart (I use the Ground Handling Deluxe unit), As noted the FLT DIR (Flight Director) panel has been moved up to the glareshield. This is now the same as the FJS B732, but the quirks remain. The awkward Autopilot (AP) panel behind the throttle quadrant is still needed to select certain functions that are accessible on the glareshield unit? The Nav Selector unit won't work for certain positions like Auto/GS or APP which is really annoying on approach finals. And the Pitch Command knob is still slightly quirky to use until you work out that holding down the manipulator to turn it will over or under pitch the dial (the issue is the time for the knob to respond to a command, so you hold it down and then the slow delay finally clicks in and you are well down or round the dial). The trick is just to do one click or several clicks at a time and not hold it down, but it is messy to use effectively, it drove me nuts on the B732 as well. The fire panel has had some attention with the new engine fire warning cutout button and fire test feature to the glareshield, there also has been added a APU fire test system as well. Engine fire suppression system also now works as it does in a real aircraft. The original cockpit was even in the first instance stupendously good for detail, can you make it even better? well yes... ... as most of the finer details have been redone or many items replaced as used on the FJS 732. Window bolts, updated cockpit glass items to look better, and the standby ADI now has glass. Wipers park correctly, Clock stop watch feature and cockpit sounds have all been updated to include all switches and knob sounds. Knob manipulators are now duel action with both half-moon and arrow (each-way) functions. But I found the half-moon functionality a bit slow and why do you need two actions for the same thing? The original arrows quick movement was very practical and worked just fine and still does. Lighting The lighting has had in v2 a work over as well. Very good before it is outstandingly brilliant now. You had that great collection of eleven dials and switches (four more dials and a dome switch are on the engineers station), and the choice of red or white illumination aspects. Add in two fully animated reading spotlights and life in the dark does not get any better than this. You can change around with the huge range of various lighting conditions that can satisfy even the most dissenting pilot of low lighting judgement conditions, but remember to fly the aircraft as you can become seriously distracted with all the lighting knob tuning. Approach and landings are more impressive in the confines of the lighting in the Boeing, It is a wonderful place to fly at night. External lighting is very good, with a nice tail illumination, great navigation, strobe and beacon lights. Ground and landing illumination is excellent... with four main landing lights in outboard and inboard. The outboard lights however require a flap setting of at least 5º to work through the front leading edge spoilers. Side left and right runway turnoff lights, single taxi light (swivels with front gear direction) and wing lighting are all excellent for ground manoeuvres and taxiway work. X-Plane lighting is a bit too large, bright and blobby for my tastes at the moment, but that effect is not to bad here. Only note on the lighting is that the tail illumination lights from some angles shine through the tail? KRSW (South West Florida) to KDFW (Dallas Fort Worth) Time to put the v2 Boeing 727-200adv into service, with the Delta route from RSW to DFW. If starting the B727 from cold it is a very complex and procedural task, add in the route planning of the X-FMC or CIVA (only nine waypoints) then you will need a fair bit of time for pre-flight planning and setup. The new checklists really help here in setting up the aircraft, but it is a study aircraft if you want to understand all the detailed systems and controls... but that is the attraction of the aircraft, so you wouldn't want it any other way. The complex and excellent flap animations still bewilder and amaze you every time you pull another notch of the (noisy) flap lever. The tyres have had a retread and new textures as well in v2 and they look all the better for it. The ground handling and braking system has been changed in v2 and that makes the Boeing easier and more realistic while moving around on the ground and while taxiing. The great vRef speed bug settings feature is still there for takeoff and landings, the text is now however in blue. External ground sounds were always excellent, but put on full power and you can hear those JT8D engines roar. You can adjust the internal cockpit sounds and the external sounds via the "options" menu, I thought the JT8D engines were a bit loud for a cockpit so far forward of the rear engine mounting positions, and so I adjusted them down a little, but they are very good. Of any of the heavy aircraft in X-Plane then the FJS Boeing 727 is I think one of the most manual hand's on aircraft to fly. The cockpit work load is high and you are constantly working every aspect of the flying. No engine management systems here, so you are the hands on adjustment to keep those JT8D engines in working order and under their operating parameters... if not they let go, in a big plume of smoke and with a severe loss of power. Flying with the X-FMC does not take away that 60's feel. In fact it is quite good and saves you a lot of time in VOR hunting. Two progress pages are both very good (both shown side by side), and gives you a lot of information that is not available with the CIVA or blank setting. I found the digital speed in TAS very helpful in finding the exact speed with the throttles, because in the past with the analog panel instrument you tend to hunt the speed, in once going too fast and then too slow with the throttles, with the digital digit I was able to find the exact speed and hold it by the more minor adjustments with the throttle. I found you also become more aware of the speed vs weight vs fuel burn factor in that the aircraft need less power for more speed as the fuel load is burnt off, in an engine management system aircraft this is of course done automatically for you, but here you notice it in an increase of speed and so you need to constantly over a period adjust the throttles manually to compensate for the fuel rate burn. Only minor gripe in flying the FJS B727, is in replay mode... you get this annoying initializing loading alert box throughout all your replays, it was there in v1 and is still there in v2, and while replaying a takeoff or landing and it covers over parts of the instruments and it really sticks out at night... annoying. With that high T-Tail the B727 is a sensitive aircraft on approach and landing. With 30º flap is the highest you dare to go without stalling the aircraft out of the air with all that drag, dropping the gear then creates more drag, but the v2 aircraft feels better than the original on approach and with a not so "on the limit" feeling than you had before, you seem to have more room to flex and find a balance. It is still a "hard days work" in flying and landing the aircraft, so let us not kid ourselves or get too far from the fact that you have to be "on your game" and use your skills to get it perfectly right... ... but then that is the huge attraction of flying the Boeing 727, it is a real hand's on aircraft to fly and fly really well. Liveries Noted here are the liveries with the series package for all versions -100, -200Adv and the Freighter. On the X-Plane.Org there is a huge selection of FJS B727 liveries available (mostly for the -200Adv version) as is this Delta version as shown here in this review, so there is no shortage of choice selection. All liveries here are of really great quality except the M-Star which I don't care for. B727-100 Most -100 liveries (six) are all Retro themed, but all are very good, and new inclusion with every version is the FJS brand house livery which is very nice. B727-200Adv There are five liveries with the -200Adv. The Alaska is excellent, but I am not sure about the over saturated coloured M-Star? Freighter - F All the usual cargo suspects in FedEx, DHL and UPS are all represented, with FJS doing their own parcel delivery service now. Summary How do you make a "classic" even better, well release a new version with a lot of new great features and don't mess with the important areas you have got right in the first place and refined over the years... and that is what you have here in this new v2 release of the FlyJSim Boeing 727 Series. Quirks are few, but today's aircraft have to be more rounded in what they deliver for their purchase, you do expect ground support (in 3d objects) and a cabin (freight floor) in this price range, as simulator users flying aircraft now do more than just sitting in the left front seat, it is a complex and complete simulation experience that you want from block to startup to taxi to takeoff to cruise to landing to taxi to shutdown to block and you want to load and unload the aircraft as well, yes the FJS B727 does certainly deliver more than this, but externally on the ramp you can't do much with the aircraft. As this is a new version and not an update, there is special price of US$10 to upgrade to Version 2 if you have the original v1 aircraft. Single aircraft package's can be upgraded for US$25 but will get all the versions as part of the upgrade package. The "Study' aspect to the title is that "to operate the 727 from startup to shutdown just like a real 727 captain, and making this model the only study sim of a 727 in X-Plane". And that notes the very deep systems and operations that you get here with this aircraft, so the aircraft is not for complete novices and "Study" is the right word if you want really fly this Boeing really well. It does require a discipline and fine flying skills to get from this aircraft the huge return it can deliver. But as a simulation and one of the most iconic aircraft of the 60's and even ever, the FJS Boeing 727 is an amazing experience and does deliver that "Best of" in X-Plane Simulation. The second release of the Boeing 727 Series is not only to bring the aircraft up to date and to the same high quality as FJS's excellent Boeing 732 TwinJet, but to also to add in more features and refines the aircraft to a higher degree, it goes far past that initial feature list and goals with set out with the original version. In every area the B727 is certainly far better, with better sounds, better sharper quality, better flying, more systems and more features... The FlyJSim Boeing 727 Series was really good before, now in this new version it is up to date.... and certainly it is an X-Plane classic that deserves to be in anyone's top aircraft list in the simulator. _____________________________________________________________________________________ The Version 2 Boeing 727 Series Study by FlyJSim is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : 727 Series Study v2 Your Price: $60.00 The v2 upgrade is however not free but it is an pay upgrade and the deal is for those who bought the complete original 727 Series package, it will be only a mere $10 USD to upgrade to v2. Or for those who only bought the cheaper single packages of the 727 Series, it will be only $25 dollars to upgrade but you will get all versions as part of the package. Features in Version 2: In this 727 package you have the choice between three different navigation systems: (There is a easy option in the menu to select your system of choice) 3D X-FMC - For modern FMC Navigation 3D CIVA - The original inertial Navigation system installed on many 727 and early airliners (optional) Standard VOR-NDB Navigation The Complete Series includes not one but all three versions of the 727 : 727-100 - Airliner short version 727-200Adv - Airliner Long version 727-200F - Freighter Features: Detailed exterior model which comes with details textures and a full set of animated surfaces Detailed 3D cockpit with hundreds of animations, high rez textures, and night lighting Simulation of all major systems including: Detailed Electric system: Electrical, Bleed air, Air conditioning, Pressurization Fuel Pumps and fuel heating Hydraulic systems, including A and B Braking system with dependency on hydraulic pressure Exterior and interior lighting WX radar - Sperry SP-150 Block V autopilot Engine fire suppression system - Anti Ice System Radio stack including Com 1/2 Nav 1/2 and ADF 1/2 Comprehensive Menu system: Weight and Balance Manager allows you to change the weights for PAX, Cargo and fuel, with dynamic effect on CG Vcard popup showing dynamic Vspeeds for landing and takeoff Options menu popup Navigation selections, various display options Pushback manager Maintenance Menu Shows you the state of the aircraft and repairs needed Checklist and notes Requirements: X-Plane 10.40+ (any edition) - running in 64 bit mode Windows, MAC or Linux - 64 bit Operating System Minimum: 1+ GB of VRAM, 2Gb+ VRAM Recommended. Current version: 2.0 (Last updated June 22nd 2016) X-PlaneReviews covered the original aircraft in a special profile of the aircraft and flying the FJS B727. Aircraft Profile : Boeing 727 Series by FlyJSim (Part One) Aircraft Profile : Boeing 727 Series by FlyJSim (Part Two) "Flying the Boeing 727" FJS - 727 Series - Support forum FJS - 727 Series - Developer Site _____________________________________________________________________________________ Installation and documents: Download for the B727 Series is 639.80meg and the unzipped file is deposited in the "Heavy Metal" X-Plane folder at 1.08gb. The plugin for the X-FMC GPS systen can be downloaded (Free) here: X-FMC Project The plugin for the CIVA Navigation System addon that costs US$10 is here: CIVA Navigation System The X-FMC comes with an installer that puts the correct files into your X-Plane Plugins folder. The CIVA - XCIVA plugin is installed in the aircraft's plugin folder (same place for the B732 version as well) and is required to be registered via the X-Plane plugin menu. Documents: There are three items included in the documentation - All are excellent : FJS-727 SeriesChecklistandProceduresManual (67pages) FJS-727 SeriesManouversManual (9Pages) FJS-727 SeriesSystemsManual (55pages) ______________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 23rd June 2016 Copyright©2016: X-PlaneReviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 8 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.45 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini : JARDesign Ground Handling Deluxe plugin Scenery or Aircraft - KRSW - South West Florida Intl by Aerosoft (KRSW - SouthWest Florida Intl - X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$24.95 - KDFW - Dallas Fort Worth - American Country by Tom Curtis (KDFW-Dallas/Ft. Worth X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$24.95
  16. News! - Update Coming Soon - Boeing 727 Series v2.0 by FlyJSIm Hands up those who love the FJS Boeing 727 Series! Yes a room full of hands... The FJS B727 Series is a brilliant aircraft and yes it is in my best of top ten (certainly the best 60's era aircraft in X-Plane) and the accolade after accolade for this aircraft is well deserved. So what is the FJS B727's secret? There is something special about the B727 that is hard to explain, intimacy and a deep connection to the systems make this a flying machine like no other, many a flight has left me with a big smile on my face and with a good feeling in my soul for days... I certainly love this aircraft. Last year FlyJSim started an upgrade to the aircraft called version v2.0. And has now announced the upgrades features, it is extensive (but still no cabin or opening doors?) upgrade and the focus is on the aircraft's FMC or Flight Guidance systems, now you will have 3 nav options, non/VOR, XFMC, and CIVA, which can be switched in the options menu, the CIVA was available before on the B727 but not intergrated into the pedestal of which it is now like on FJS's Boeing 732. Another major addition in v2 is the inclusion of a persistent maintenance and failure system. You got a taste of this in the original release version in that if you flew those Pratt & Whitney JT8D-1's hard then you suffered the consequences and the consequences were not good. That idea has been expanded and I'll let Jack note the new changes: "The system is based around user induced failures. If you fly the aircraft wrong, or not perform maintenance every several flights, you may run into issues. I want to stay away from completely random failures as we can all admit; they aren’t that fun. Some things you may run into are: if you push the engines to the limit, you may have them catch on fire, or just get damaged a bit more than usual; Engine oil now gets burnt off, and you will need to refill this every now and then; Tail strikes on takeoff may induce pressure loss; exceeding flap and gear speed may lead to jams or collapses; Over exciting the engine or apu generators can lead to them failing; over pressurizing or excessive speed or g-force can lead to airframe damage. Just to name a few." Sounds like fun... you bet. Other large changes include: • New cockpit panels and textures adjusted, adding better textures for knobs, etc, and fixing for gauge clarity. • Electrical system overhauled. The electrical system now works closer to the real thing, requiring more effort on your part to make it work. Power consumption is now close to the real bird as well, the APU can’t run everything. Bus ties are no longer tied together. • Pneumatic and Engine start system overhauled. Engines start requires sufficient bleed air to turn the turbine. This works similar to the 732 Update. Cross bleed starts are also now possible. • All manipulators updated to work how they do in the 732, which is now my standard for cockpit manipulation. • Auto Pushback system implemented with the ability to see where you will push to. • Cockpit sounds updated to include switches and knob sounds as well as many more. • New Systems including, radio panels, instrument gyro switching system, comparator system, flight director system, 3d CIVA, 3d XFMC, and GPWS system. • Complete overhaul of the cockpit lighting system. All lights are now available. There are a lot of lighting options. This makes flying at night so much fun. And other minor updates to the aircraft are: • No more 2d mode, with 2d default fmc, this was silly. • Updated options menu. • V-CARD updated to change text to blue, and now shows EPR and Trim targets. EPR is set on the ED. • Added ability to set takeoff trim from the trim area, like in the 732 TwinJet. • Added map lights (map light simulator 2016! Woot! ). • Added Window bolts like in the 732. • Added 3 radio control panels, allowing you to listen to VORs, NDBs, etc. • Gyros set properly starting from cold and dark. • Added text for flight control test system on left overhead. • Added Mach airspeed and warning test switches, as well as over speed que to airspeed gauge. • Added yaw damper ground test switch and functionality. • Added engine fire warning cutout button and fire test feature. • Added APU fire test system. • Added cargo fire system to overhead. • Cockpit rolling dials updated to move correctly. • Added press-to-test feature to all annunciators. • EPR bugs now able to be set, and are set automatically when V-CARD is opened. • External power and air simulation added. • Tire textures updated. • Added text for the auto pack trip system, and yes auto pack trip system does work. • Wipers now park properly. • Spoiler now retracts proper if power applied. • Animated cooper vein, and limited rear air stair deployment to ground only. • Ground handling and brake system changed. The plane will now be a lot easier to taxi. • Standby pressurization mode added. • Added the 732’s yoke into the cockpit, which looks a lot better. • Engine labels now correct for each variant. • WnB disable option for FSE users. • Updated cockpit glass items to look better, and now the standby ADI has glass. • Clock stop watch feature added. • Flight director now works like in the 732. • Standby compass can now be stowed. • Autobrake system rewritten to include RTO. ____________________________________________________________ The v2 upgrade is however not free but it is an pay upgrade and the deal is for those who bought the complete 727 Series package, it will be only a mere $10 USD to upgrade to v2. For those who only bought the cheaper single packages of the 727 Series, it will be only $25 dollars to upgrade. X-PlaneReviews will of course do a full upgrade assessment for when the aircraft is released which is very soon, if not a just a week away. In the mean time if you want to catchup on the details of the original releases of the FJS B727 Series then checkout our two reviews that covered the package and features of the aircraft and the flying of the B727. Aircraft Profile : Boeing 727 Series by FlyJSim (Part One) Aircraft Profile : Boeing 727 Series by FlyJSim (Part Two) "Flying the Boeing 727" ____________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 9th June 2016 Copyright©2016: X-PlaneReviews
  17. Aircraft Review : Boeing 732 TwinJet by FlyJSim Route: KDFW (Dallas Fort Worth) to MMUN (Cancun) The Boeing 732 TwinJet is the third major release from FlyJSim after the Bombardier Dash-8 and the Boeing 727 Series. Without doubt the Boeing 727 Series was the aircraft of the year for X-Plane in 2013 (It was released just before Christmas 2012) and this Baby Boeing is in a very similar if not a perfect compliment to the bigger Tri-Jet. The 8000th Boeing 737 has just been delivered and that makes it the most built Jetliner in history, But this Boeing 737-200 known as the B732 is very different and from another totally different era than the common -800NG series that dominates our skies today. First thing to note is which Boeing 737 is which. The launch aircraft that was rolled out on January 17, 1967 was the -100 version of which only 30 737-100s were ordered and delivered. Then there was the -200 version rolled only months after the -100 version June 29, 1967, and entered service in 1968 of which was an extended fuselage version of the -100. This aircraft and this aircraft released here by FlyJSim was successful at 991 sales (C-Cargo 104), but not straightaway as in fact In 1970, Boeing received only 37 orders and facing financial difficulties. Then after the cancellation of the Boeing Supersonic Transport and the scaling back of 747 production, enough funds were freed up to continue the project. Next was the Boeing 737 Classic -300/-400/-500 Series built between 1984 to 2000, 1,988 aircraft were delivered. The next version was the Boeing 737 Next Generation −600/-700/-800/-900 Series, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG. which brings us up to the present day. 4,887 737NG aircraft have been delivered by the end of April 2014, with more than 6,700 ordered. In the future is the coming 737MAX and that aircraft is scheduled for first delivery in 2017. The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range twinjet narrow-body airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engined airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 it has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers. The 737 is Boeing's only narrow-body airliner now in production. The -200 seats 136 (maximum) and 97 (2-class, typical) and is powered by the Pratt & Whitney JT8D 14,500–17,400 lbf (64–77 kN) low-bypass (0.96 to 1) turbofan engine that is also in the Boeing 727. Performance : Maximum speed Mach 0.82 (544 mph, 876 km/h) - Cruising speed Mach 0.74 (485 mph, 780 km/h) - Maximum range, fully loaded 1,900–2,300 nmi (3,500–4,300 km; 2,200–2,600 mi) - Service Ceiling 35,000 ft (10,700 m) Weights: 69,800 lb (31,700 kg) empty : 128,100 lb (58,100 kg) Takeoff. FlyJSim Boeing 732 TwinJet This review has to be considered in if the user has flown the FlyJSim Boeing 727 series or not. If you have then the conversion to the B732 is quite straight forward and although the cockpits are arranged quite differently (The B727 has a third flight crew member in a Flight Engineer) the systems are organised and used is a similar way but for two engines on the B732 and not the three on the B727. If you are new to the FlyJSim Boeing aircraft then there is a bit of a learning curve to understand the various systems and procedures. The aircraft handle very differently as well, in mostly their age and the era that they flew in... There are no mod-cons on offer here. However like with our Aircraft Profile : Boeing 727 Series by FlyJSim (Part Two) "Flying the Boeing 727" we found a certain and if not more fulfilling and simplistic way to fly these aircraft and the B732 here is no exception. Looking into the cockpit of a cold (unpowered) B732 aircraft and the difference of the era compared to today's glass cockpit driven aircraft is quite a shock. How could you believe that these aircraft could and did transport millions of passengers with such naked little instrumentation, mostly from the navigation perspective. They did and they did the work very well and even today there are some aircraft still flying around up there still doing so. There are some great detailed cockpits in X-Plane today, but in both the B727 and here in the B732 the design is simply brilliant. Big clunky switchgear and almost to the touch flick switches, you are in cockpit heaven. The cockpit panel is all dials and gauges (sometimes known as clockwork cockpits) and the detail is simply overwhelming. You really do get the feel of the sixties style cockpit in perfect perspective. The chunky (and quite worn) Pilot and Co-Pilot yokes do take up a lot of the panel view, removed you can now see the instrumentation clearer. The standard six aircraft instruments are as they should be are front and centre. Very clear and easily readable. The Standard Six are - Artificial Horizon (sometimes known as the attitude indicator) with built in turn indicator, Heading with built in OBI, Compass, Vertical- Descent Speed, Altimeter and Speed (in knots and Mach speed). Then there are the back up instruments of Artificial Horizon, Altitude (spare), Radio Altitude, Clock (large) and the DME 2 - NAV 2 (distance) is also situated lower down. The compass allows for the VOR and NDB to be switched on two separate pointer needles, VOR 2 on the pilot's side and VOR1 on the Co-Pilot's side. The Co-Pilots set of instruments are very similar except they have the (outside) air-temperature, hydraulic Sys, Oil and Brake temperatures and the DME 1 - NAV 1 (distance) indicator. The landing gear lever is also on the right side of the panel. Centre stage of the panel are the main engine instrument sets of two engine dials covering "Engine Pressure Ratio" (EPR), N1, EXH (Exhaust) Temp, N2 (Percent RPM) and Fuel flow to each engine. Left of the main engine dials are the three fuel tank gauges, and to the right the twin Engine Oil - Pressure, Temp and tank quantity. Finally the Auto-brake selection switch is here as well. If you know the B727 panel you would feel right at home here as the differences are quite small, just twin dials instead of the three on the larger jet. The biggest difference of a few years of development between the Boeing 727 and the Boeing 737 is the "Sperry SP-77 (option version)" auto-pilot (A/P). In the B727 it was a very simplistic system set behind the pedestal. But here it is more of a modern version set out on the glareshield. Not quite the standard layout version we know today, as that A/P version was fitted to the later B737-200ADV. It is split between the F/D (Flight Director) on the left and the A/P (Auto Pilot) on the right. Still simplistic in nature, it was and is very powerful in operation as we will see in flight. Besides the change of position of the A/P to the glareshield. The removal of the Flight Engineer's station on the B727 also moved the aircraft's systems and operations to the now more familiar place on the overhead panel (OHP). looking over the panel quickly it hasn't really changed much since either on the subsequent B737's versions, and yet it would be very familiar to you as well as it was laid out on the B727 engineers station. Only now a few items have been made automated. They are however still grouped together in their various areas of systems (mostly in long tall sections) in hydraulics, boost fuel pump switches, electrical, APU, air-conditioning, de-ice, bleed and all the various lighting switches. The engine start is now the familiar GND-OFF-LOW IGN -FLT switches. The pedestal is almost identical to the B727 version except it is now for two engines and not three. In craftsman like work the pedestal can not really be bettered. It is sublime in detail and so real in operation you can't really believe it is only a computer generated image. in the cockpits 3d world it is realistic in every form. Besides the beautifully crafted throttle levers there is the speed-brakes (with auto), park brake, engine fuel flow idle/cutoff's levers, stab trim (electric) and flap indicators for the outbound and Inbound flaps (0º, 2º, 5º, 15º, 20º, 25º, 30º and 40º settings). The radio is set out behind the pedestal below the three red fire handles (two for engines and one for the APU) and is very easy in operation. Just set you frequencies and flick a switch to make one or the other active... how easy can that be. Comm's and (early digital!) transponder are set out here as well. Above the pedestal is an early weather radar that just shows the standard X-Plane weather images. Detailing on the rudder pedal's is to be admired. Like everything else here in the B732 cockpit they are extremely well crafted and designed. Missing from the radio panel however are the ADF knobs... they are both (one each side) situated high up besides the throttle part of the pedestal, and have a three way setting that is excellent and very easy to tune. Powering up the Boeing 732 TwinJet Nothing is more exciting than bringing a machine to life. Certainly with a flying machine, and the B732 is no exception. But first we have to set up the aircraft. There are four menu options on the middle-lower left of your screen - V/Card - WnB (Weights and Balances) - OP (Options) and INS. We will start with the "Weights and Balances" menu (manager). Here you can set all the aircraft's weights and fuel and passenger/cargo loads. And as you do so the system will calculate for you the correct number relating to the aircraft's status and also show you your CofG (Centre of Gravity). The important number is your "Max landing" number shown in red. Here I have made the aircraft quite heavy at 117988lbs but I have a fair distance to go so I will certainly be under the landing weight. Cleverly if you open the Vref menu (or V/Card) the Vref's are calculated for you correctly and so are the landing vRef's, note that if you change the flap degree the vRef will change as well to compensate... a more clever idea again. Another note is that the landing speed is incorrect at this point because the aircraft's weight is wrong, this will change as you burn off the fuel or the weight. The other Menu item is the "Options" card. Here you can set all your options in: Cold and Dark startup or Engines running (hot) and set the time to Zulu. Hide the yokes and set weights to Kg's and finally select if required the Ground Power and Air Cart (to start the engines). Views and sound adjustments can also be adjusted. Weights and fuel set we can now power up the aircraft. Battery on via the "battery switch", You know that this does give the aircraft power but not for very long. You do have the Ground Power and Air Cart in the options menu to use. I found that in many instances they don't work? or connect up to the aircraft, which is slightly annoying. You don't get a power cart or air cart either outside the aircraft which are now usually de rigueur with aircraft of this price category. Here at KDFW it does connect and you can connect up the power via the switch and turn the AC switch to GND/PWR. Another option is the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit), start it up via the switch and wait, the unit takes it time to warm up... and then switch it over to APU/GEN on the A/C bus. Now ready to start the engines we can switch on the fuel pumps and hydraulics and the outside anti-collision beacons. The panel is "if it is lit, it is not active" so as you do the start up the OHP should clear until all the lights go out. Here FlyJSim has done a brilliant amount of work to make the panel so authentic, in most cases we take it for granted by using it all the time. But this is great work in that how you interact with the panel now is so real. APU to bleed and make sure the L & R Packs (air-con) are off and you are ready to turn on the engine switches to GND (start) if you are flying you then re-start via the FLT (start). As the engines power up then add in the fuel via the levers on the pedestal, and the rest of the engine start up is automatic. The engine gauges in the centre panel will spiral and note the conditions of the engine to the idle position. then all you have to do now is clean up the OHP with turning on the aircraft electrics (buses), pitot heaters and when running at idle turn off the APU bleed and the (air-con) packs on. As they say "A clean panel is a good panel" and you are good to go. One other option is the INS menu... You can purchase the Delco Carousel IV-A Inertial Navigation System. Nicknamed "CIVA", CIVA Navigation System for $US10.00 that is a basic navigation system that can give automatic navigation of up to 9 waypoints. (you can load X-Plane .fms plans) and it can be used in the FlyJSim B727 as well as other aircraft of that era. Well worth the addition cost. The JT8D's are whining now outside, sounds are excellent and 3d in rotation of the aircraft and has the "Realistic Sound" engine provided by DreamEngine & Turbine Sound Studio sounds. These early engines are noisy and smoky, but you certainly miss today the futuristic missile look of those long engine pods, beautifully done here... they just were not what the future turned out to be. The original engine nacelles incorporated thrust reversers taken from the 727 outboard nacelles. Unfortunately they proved to be relatively ineffective and apparently tended to lift the aircraft up off the runway when deployed. This reduced the downforce on the main wheels thereby reducing the effectiveness of the wheel brakes. In 1968, an improvement to the thrust reversal system was introduced. A 48-inch tailpipe extension was added and new, target-style, thrust reversers were incorporated. The thrust reverser doors were set 35 degrees away from the vertical to allow the exhaust to be deflected inboard and over the wings and outboard and under the wings.[ The improvement became standard on all aircraft after March 1969, and a retrofit was provided for active aircraft. This accounts for the odd angle of the thrust reverser doors and the very long tail pipe, but the main reason was that in thrust reversal deployment the original B727 version would actually lift the aircraft off the runway on landing! The undercarriage is excellent as well, great linkages, legs, tyres and animation. the engines hide most of the work, but it is worth checking out. The wings are very similar to the B727 in forward leading edge slats (inner and outer) and the seven position trailing edge flaps. wing and flap detailing is overwhelming and work to be admired, certainly in the powering out of those flap extensions. The landing light pops out under the wing(s) as well on the flap runners, the lower the flap position then the lower and change of angle of the landing light... great detailing. Flying The Boeing 732 On the options menu you have a pushback built in. No truck outside but the aircraft will pushback when the brakes are off and you press the pushback tab. It moves a little to quickly for me, and turning is via the rudders. Brake to stop and disconnect the pushback. A final check of the takeoff vRef charts shows me my markers, note that vR (rotate) is vR (vRef) +15knts, the bugs will call out the vRef's as you pass them (you get the landing heights as well) which is very authentic. A last check of the gauges at the hold and when cleared the B732 is on the KDFW runway 17R. Power goes up but the JT8D's take a little while to build up the thrust, once there the push is long and quite powerful, the noise builds as well into that unmuffeted roar. Vr and you only need a light pull back of the stick to get airborne, once clear of the runway and you are heading slightly to the right and you can feel the great central balance of the aircraft in the yoke, the aircraft is just under MTW, but the B732 feels very good and turns and climbs without much drama. Boeing pilots note it was always the best handling version of the B737 series, and here you can quickly feel why. In this era it was mostly VOR to VOR navigation, with a few NDB's thrown in for good measure. If you have the mentioned CIVA then you have a flightplan to fly to, If not then the navigation come down to you. It is best to be well prepared with the correct headings and VOR/NDB frequencies at hand. I found like with the B727 that the VOR's can be a little slow coming on line sometimes. NDB's seem to be slightly better for giving out the right direction. It helps here that the NDB knobs are in a great place just down to your right (pilot's side, left Co-Pilot) so I found I used them more in the B732. You want to fly the B732 by hand all the way to your destination as the B732 is so easy on you. But the autopilot is very good as well, if not excellent. You do wonder if change does make system better. In this case the A/P is so simple but so powerful you wonder why they had to change it. The Sperry SP-77 (option version) is a brilliant bit of kit. As you are already pitching in your correct angle, you will notice the pitch knob is following you, engage the autopilot via the big switches and the aircraft just holds the pitch! Select the altitude you want (8500ft transition) and click on the ALT HOLD on the top of the A/P panel. Make sure the IAS-OFF-ALT HOLD switch is in the off position (It should be already) and the aircraft will then climb and level out to the selected height. Want to hold any altitude then flick the switch to ALT HOLD. Note: that to change the pitch (climb or descend) you have to OFF the ALT HOLD first. The pitch is analog so you have to be aware that it won't go back to dead centre when leveling off, It seems to wander around, in that you set it correctly on the straight and level, you could however be descending down (or up) a little. The pitch is also a little big in its click settings as well, A click up or down and you are going 400ft, a second click is nearer 2000ft in pitch, you really need more intermediate settings to get a finer pitch adjustment. but overall the pitch system is excellent in just turn the knob (ALT HOLD off) and up or down you go... You have to click on a separate switch to activate the heading mode, and the Flight Director (FLT-DIR) switch as well, then the aircraft will turn to the heading bug. you can adjust the heading bug on the A/P panel and on the heading instrument as well for ease of use... In fact it is good to note that most adjustments have two sets of manipulators, arrows and curves and both work fine to what you like to use best. The VOR needle will note your direction and the distance is shown in the lower display. The aircraft will climb very easily but don't over stress the engines (they will burn out), keep everything well with in the green or with just a little yellow if required on the dials. As noted you don't need to stress the aircraft even while it is still quite heavy. I am flying quite high at FL350 and only 500ft under the service ceiling, That will cost me a little in a fuel penalty, but still better than the stronger winds just below. At altitude the aircraft is nice and clean everywhere (OHP is nice and blank) and I only have to watch the navigation points. The route took me down the east coast of Mexico as far as Corpus Christi. The Boeing 737-200 could not operate over water as there was no ETOPS (Extended range Twin Operations) allowed in the 60's and 70's in fact only one B732 was made certifiable. most 2-engined jets were restricted by the 60-minute rule. So I kept a visual sight to the coast all the way down before heading out to cross the coast at Campeche. Liveries You get seven liveries with the aircraft and unlike the B727 there will be no livery packs for the B732. A paintkit is coming. All liveries are excellent, but a few more American based liveries would have been nice... The Westjet is the best on the aircraft, the KLM is good as well. Also I checked and there was no hull fatigue cracks on the Aloha... so you are safe there. Night-lighting The cockpit lighting in HDR is gorgeous and yet you only have two adjusters in behind the dials and a flood up high. But you can find that perfect lighting setting and just the dials for landing in the dark. There are two fully adjustable spot lights overhead either side of the OHP. Turn on at night with the switches by the captain left side you can illuminate almost anything, the lighting detailing and reflection is amazingly good. Beacon, navigation, tail (logo) and strobe lighting is very good, but the cabin windows are dark and not lit making the aircraft a black hole at night, FlyJSim says this will be fixed in the update. Landing at Cancun You have to watch your speed on the descent. Pulling back the throttles means losing the power, but the aircraft will still gather speed as it descends. so allow for a period of space to get the speed corrected just under 200knts before your final approach. Yes you can use the speed-brakes but most pilot's pride themselves on not doing so, however sometimes you have no choice if you stay at the cruising altitude to long. The speed can be controlled though but don't expect it to recover until the aircraft is absolutely level again, and then the speed falls off quickly. You will again find the handling of the aircraft to your wishes while manoeuvring the aircraft though the turn to the heading of the airport and switch the A/P back on to use the near perfect VOR alignment to the runway for Cancun MMUN's runway 12R. Be careful though as RWY12L is noted and displayed, but it does not exist in reality? So don't select that one unless you want to land on the grass. Be careful of the speedbrake arm as it doesn't click into a position, only a green light on the panel shows you it is armed. Autobrakes are set to MED. Coming in close to the airport I recheck my land vRef card at 30º flap I can use 126knts, which is very slow... As the flaps go down each notch you need to work the throttles to keep the aircraft from not going into the stall while still losing off the speed. I settled at 130knts going into the ILS system and the really slow approach allows you the one thing you never get in big jets... time. One thing noticeable was that it was also in the daylight back at Dallas are the strong light reflections from the panel. Here on approach with the setting sun behind me some parts of the panel were blanked out, it is authentic no doubt, but it makes you work just that a little bit harder. At 130knts your ride over the runway keys is very slow and the B732 giving you all the time in the world to position the aircraft down on the tarmac right where you want it. No autoland here either, so watch that float. Those wonderful clamshell engine reverser doors bang into place and start the pushing out thrust to slow your speed, but they are not nowhere near as powerful as today's powerful reversers, so don't rely totally on them to slow you down. Power off and you are in the pace taxi mode and clean up the aircraft ready for the exit to the taxiway. X-Plane's HDR lighting is great on the ground. Strobes, strobe brightly and red and green nav lights illuminate the runway, you have four landing lights that can all be turn on with a flick of a small panel behind all the switches. there are also taxiway turning lights and a turning front wheel position taxi light. All lights illuminate the areas around the aircraft to making taxiing at night one of the best and easiest yet. (hard to do in X-Plane) only the RWY turn taxi-lighting is a little dim at the source, the actual lighting is however fine. A taxi to the bay and the flight distance was 1114nm, Fuel was getting low as well with that high altitude at just over 5000lbs left. But a shutdown and connection to EXT Power and the aircraft was ready for the morning return to KDFW. Summary The Boeing 732 will be certainly compared to the FlyJSim Boeing 727 Series. If you liked the B727 then you will certainly want the B732 and you won't be disappointed. In quality and detail they are exactly the same. The B727 was a bit of a drama queen, but then that is what you really loved about the aircraft. The B732 is a more neutral flying aircraft and is really more composed in balance compared to its bigger sibling. The B732 feels smaller than the B727 and in that context you may feel your not getting as much aircraft even though you are paying less (there was three variants as well for the B727 with the full series). But that will be missing the point. there is really not much to slip between both aircraft, They would really depend on your mood in that if you want to wrestle an aircraft (B727) or if you would just want a good no-nonsense aircraft (B732) that is very nice to fly over a continental distance, and both have a time and a place and both aircraft hark back to an era in that when aircraft were in a period of a glorious adventure and breaking aviation records. If you have flown the B727 then you will easily slip into the left or right seat of the B732 and feel right at home. If you are new to these FlyJSim 60's era aircraft, then yes there is a bit of a system's and operation's learning curve, but the results are well worth the effort. All aircraft systems including: Air systems - Anti-Ice - Autopilot(SP77) - Com/Nav radios - Electrical - Fire protection - Hydraulics - Fuel - Weather radar - Warning systems and cockpit call outs are fully active. There are a few more benefits with the B732, the Sperry Autopilot is a gem to use and not hidden away behind the throttles (B727) but right there where it should be on the glareshield. The lighting (except for no cabin lighting?) is excellent and the whole aircraft is so well put together in every area. You don't get a lot of extra features with FlyJSim aircraft, but you do get quality and great flying machines. And the Boeing is certainly a great if not a sensational aircraft to fly and great overall value. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Boeing 732 TwinJet from FlyJSim update is now available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Boeing 732 TwinJet - Price is US$47.00 Installation and documents: Download is 294.40meg and the aircraft is deposited in the "Heavy Aircraft" X-Plane folder at 381.80 meg and requires a key-code for activation. Note: If you have purchased the xCIVA navigation package it goes in the B732 aircraft "plugin" folder and not in the X-Plane plugin folder... There are three documents covering the aircraft: -Designed by FlyJSim (Jack Skieczius and Joe Vermeulen) Developer Site: FlyJSim Dev Support : FlyJSim Support Small note : in that the actual review was conducted in X-Plane version 10.25, I also flew the aircraft in the b10.30b1 to check for any differences (there was none and the frame-rate was excellent in both versions) a few of the images however were taken in b10.30b1 to check out the clouds... In frame-rate it is worth noting that if you switch off the "draw per pixel lighting" which highlights textures you will gain 30frames!. The aircraft will look slightly plainer outside, but 30frames is still 30frames... And yes I know that Southwest Airlines fly from Dallas Love Field and not KDFW, but there is sadly no KDAL scenery in X-Plane? _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review By Stephen Dutton 30th May 2014 Copyright (2014) : X-PlaneReviews 2014 Technical Requirements: Windows, MAC or Linux X-Plane 10.20 or higher - 32 and 64 bit compatible. X-Plane 9 is not supported Recommended: 1+ GB of VRAM, and 8+ GB of system memory Current version: 1.0 ( v1.1405.1025 ) - Last updated May 28th 2014 Review System Specifications: Computer System: - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27” - 6 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 4850 512mb Software: - Mac OS Mavericks 10.9.2 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.25 (final) - Hi rez planet textures from ISDG - Hi-Res Runway textures by Jack Skieczius Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle Scenery - KDFW - Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport by Brian Godwin (X-Plane.org) - MMUN - Cancun International Airport Mexico by 5171 (X-Plane.org)
  18. Aircraft Thoughts and Opinions : Boeing 732 TwinJet by FlyJSim Test Route: LSZH (Zurich Airport) to EGGD (Bristol Airport) The FlyJSim 737-200 TwinJet is a massive release for the x-plane community, its not often that somebody makes a massive jet! This 732 is special; its not as technologically advanced as its bigger brother the 777, yet it is easier to fly than a 757. This aircraft has been long awaited by many of us, and finally its here! If the "200" part of the name (737-200) puts you off, be assured that the systems have been greatly modeled. And you can also wait about another few months or less for the new release of a 737-CL by IXEG, but that "classic" model still classes as a 737-100/200. Today I am going to give my views and opinions of certain features on this fantastic jet, starting with aesthetics. Exterior Aesthetics: This aircraft looks almost vintage from outside, its a shame some of the liveries do not support this and look "clean". However from its design you can clearly tell that this aircraft is old and well maintained. One of many of my favourite features are the long sloped Pratt and Whitney JT8D's, with their reflective mirror like look, nowadays by chance it is very unlikely that you will see these engines attached to a 732 as normally airlines choose the later updated 737-700/800. I also like the thickly shaped fuselage with the fat nose, it looks and feels like a tank when flying! Despite all of that there is one thing that I do not like about the exterior of the 732, the passenger windows. In my opinion the window textures are to clean and repetitive. The glass texture that jack and the team chose for the passenger windows looks dull and to bright, I believe that to improve the texture FlyJSim should use more of photo-real glass texture so it feels as though you are looking in when viewing the aircraft exterior. But an argument against that is when you fly you sit in the cockpit, not outside the aircraft ;-) Another thing I also like about the 732 exterior are the landing lights! These lights are amazing and greatly animated and designed! The lights under the wing hang off of the flap runners and move when the flaps are extended etc.. A great feature! Interior Aesthetics: Pictures do not do justice for the 732, you need to see it to believe it. The B732 is very immersive, with a slight window reflection on the captains and first officer side in the cockpit and high resolution textures, I nearly forgot I was sat at my desk and not flying high in the sky! My favourite part of my journey from Zurich to Bristol was having to go-around at 600ft on my landing due to a casual yet annoying feature in x-plane, deer on the runway! My normal reactions would be to click "local map" and move the deer far, far away, but I forgot I was in a simulator so I decided to go-around at 600ft when I spotted them. This turned out great as the low 6200ft sharp turns over the city of Bristol looked great! So you can relate to my previous comment about being immersed in the B732. When looking behind toward the door to the cabin the back wall texture in the cockpit is slightly blurry, it still is at a high resolution just not as high as the main panel textures. It would be great if the circuit breakers were modelled just like in the FlyJSim 727, but unfortunately they are not. However the photo textures on the back walls of the cockpit have been taken in the pilots perspective, this means that the photo real textures on the back wall look slightly 3D. The yoke looks phenomenal, it has an amazing worn look which looks very realistic. I also like the fact that you have the option to disable viewing of it however it is much easier to click on it to disappear such as in a Carenado aircraft. The gauges also have nice textures, a slightly worn affect. Jack Skieczius (lead dev of FlyJSim) did comment during his live stream of the 732 that he is planning on adding another seat texture where you will be able to switch between the two. The new seat texture will be "fluffy" it will look near enough identical to the seat texture in the 757 by Flightfactor. Despite the great things listed above the cabin is not modelled? The closest you can get to the cabin is through the "call flight attendant" the button simply plays the PA sound. I did ask Jack during his live stream why the cabin was not modelled, he replied with something like: "well, the cabin wasn't modeled because I simply don't go there in flight, I sit in the cockpit". This is a very fair point by Jack, sometimes though I think its nice to have a look back there in flight whilst the pilot is 'stretching his/hers legs'! Across the main panel you also get reflections from the sun, I am not talking about shadows, no, I am talking about the sun leaving a white cast on the gauges. This is a fantastic visual effect, the only issue I have is that it is a bit bright and when holding short at Zurich I could not monitor my engine gauges as I could not see them! Overall though I suppose all visual effects add to the great realism. The overhead panel contains many switches and knobs that all have the same cream texture, this looks great but it could be even better if some have a weathered look. This point is just being really picky and it doesn't matter really. The cockpit floor is pretty detailed, you can see the dirt and mud engraved into the groves of the metal, in my opinion when entering the cockpit the dirty floor adds to the realism. Overall the interior looks very close to reality which makes this 732 cockpit/plane one of the best modelled and available for X-Plane 10. Lighting: The in-cockpit lighting is truly first class! You have many options for lighting, my favourite is the overhead moveable light (map light), you can spin the light and it will cast a spill on wherever you have positioned it. Ass well as this you get your general lights such as "dome" , "overhead switch" lighting, "main panel" lighting etc.. all of the lights look great as you would expect. There is not a lack of lights but it would be even nicer to have a few more such as the orange lighting which casts over the A/P panel. Apart from the main lights you expect I find not much more here. Systems: Nearly all of the systems aboard the aircraft are modelled in detail which I think is great and therefore worth the $47 price tag. The following systems are simulated: . Air system . Anti-ice . Autopilot (SP77) . Com/Nav Radios . Electrical . Fire protection . Hydraulics . Fuel . Warning Systems . Weather Radar My favorite three systems are the Sperry SP77 autopilot, the weather radar system and the warning system. The SP77 Autopilot is very simple to learn and use. For a detailed explanation read The autopilot is easy to operate and see, despite its simplicity the autopilot is very effective. my second favorite system aboard the aircraft is the weather radar. I love how you can adjust lots of options you have for the weather radar! Next to the radar on both sides is a yoke. The yoke itself isn't really a system that FlyJSim spent many months on but it is connected to a system that they did, the A/P (autopilot). The yoke moves around by itself as the autopilot navigates the plane, it's phenomenal seeing the yoke and the trim wheel both working together in unison. Another system that I think should also be implemented is ground services. The a320neo does a fantastic job of this, it would be great to see moving airport utility vehicles around the 732 also. If you would like a detailed explanation of all of the systems and how to use them then I suggest for you to check out Stephen's 732 review. Overall I believe that the systems are simulated spectacularly. Sounds: First the warning system. The sounds of the warning system are very realistic, especially the altitude call outs. I believe that the altitude call out (500, 100, 50, 40, 30 etc..) have been recorded real time and refined. I also like the sound of the over speed warning, the loud repetitive sound will surely grab your attention! Also the autopilot disengaged sound is near enough perfect to match the real thing, according to youtube videos! Another thing I noticed was the v1 and rotate call outs! After hearing Jack's voice from his live stream I think that the call outs are actually him! so your virtual cop-pilot is Jack ( lead dev of FlyJSim) and he is with you for every flight you go on! The call outs that you hear are v1 and rotate, it would be great to hear many more of these whilst flying such as 'positive rate of clime' and 'gear up'. The engines sound great this is because the sounds are from dream engine and turbine sound studio. Although my personal opinion is that they sound a bit strained, the engines still look and sound realistic. The only other sounds the aircraft makes are the knobs and switches. They all make clicking sounds that sound okay, maybe a bit quiet? Sidebar menu: The side bar menu comes with many different options. You have four boxes that you can select to bring up options, the level of options is great but it could be even better if you have the options of service vehicles like I mentioned above. Despite that there are still many different options you have. I think that the options menu can feel a bit basic after a while but its still a great feature that's there. The artwork behind which looks good. The blue and cream colour scheme for the release of the 732 can really be seen here especially behind the weight and balance manager. The weight and balance manager is also great, my favorite feature is the one to click in the blue rectangles to fill up the passengers, the same is applied to the cargo which is nice. Liveries: The aircraft comes with 7 liveries that are all at a high resolution. only including 7 is a bit strange, but not to panic there are many extra to download for free on x-plane.org. Here is a list of the default liveries included: blank (white) Southwest Westjet Aer lingus Air france Aloha KLM My favourite livery has to be the Westjet, don't you agree? if that's not enough then there are many to download for free: Pan Am ( clipper morning glory ) (two liveries, one clean and the other dirty) Pan Am ( traditional ). US Air Force : this livery is just fantastic! Air One United Airlines Cayman Airways Continental "red meatball" Air North Lufthansa (the livery used in this "thoughts and opinions" post) There is now also a category dedicated to all new painted liveries for the B732: on the x-plane.org Landing at Bristol International: Overview: Overall this aircraft is truly phenomenal and you have to experience the simulation in x-plane yourself to agree to the praise I have gave it. The FlyjSim team have really gathered all of their talents for this plane and it that is shown throughout the plane. There are many sounds that play behind the scenes but it would be nice to have a few more such as the extra co-pilot call outs! You have a range of options to chose from but it would be even better to have more such as: changeable cockpit textures from 'worn' to 'clean' the option to change the seat texture options for service vehicles such as 'catering' and 'stairs' But apart from those small picky points not much more can be changed. It was a shame that the interior cabin was not modelled however Jack gave a valid reason for not doing that! This aircraft is most definitely worth $47, every cent is well spent!! Especially when you also receive a free copy of KILM Wilmington worth $30! I would urge you to grab a copy for yourself just to experience this amazing aircraft, I forgot I was sat at my desk and not at "27'000ft"! Just imagine this with the oculus rift virtual reality headset! Here is my personal list of my favourite features: just to list a few: cockpit textures flight dynamics aircraft systems sounds night lighting So there are all of my truthful thoughts and opinions of the B737-200 TwinJet by FlyJSim. If you are looking for a full review please read Price : $47.00 - Boeing 732 TwinJet You also get a free copy of KILM Wilmington with your purchase!!!!!!! This"thoughts and opinions" post for the B732 was conducted in x-plane 10.25. If you wish to find out about the B732 in 10.30b1 you can refer to the bottom of Scenery used for the test route: LSZH : Zurich Airport EGGD : Bristol International Copyright©2014 : X-Plane Reviews Review System Specification: Computer System: - Intel Core i5 3330 @ 3.00GHz - 4.00gb of RAM - Geforce GTX 650 Software/hardware: - Windows 7 64 bit - X-Plane 10 Global version 10.25 - Saitek Pro Flight Yoke System - 732 TwinJet by FlyJSim - Skymaxx pro
  19. Aircraft Profile : Boeing 727 Series by FlyJSim (Part Two) "Flying the Boeing 727" Route: KDFW (Dallas Fort Worth) to KOAK (Oakland International) Distance 1375nm The FlyJSim Boeing 727 Series is a way of time traveling to another era. In this case the 1960's. Here is an aircraft that transcends time like no other in the feel and the flying environment of one of the "Golden" periods of flight. The Boeing 727 was in many ways a very unique aircraft and very popular with operators and passengers alike. The 727 was a creation of its time in that many airports were really very basic in the 1960's compared to even the smallest commuter airports of today. And the B727 was very able to land on short runways (around 4800-ft (1463m)), but to also unload/load passengers and even power itself while sitting on the ground. The aircraft brought a Jet service to even the smallest and remotest communities. It was also had an excellent range for short- to medium-range international flights and the safety of three engines over water. So what was airline flying like back then. How different was the way you operated the Boeing 727 compared to today's computer based systems and workflow cockpits. To do that we will fly the aircraft in this case the 727-200adv version from Dallas to San Francisco (Oakland), so buckle up and enjoy the ride. Cockpit introduction On any question an aircraft is an aircraft in the way it is basically laid out and flown. From a General Aviation trainer to the Airbus A380 you can easily see the the same controls and instruments and the way you fly them is in generally all in the same way. What has changed today is the way you interact with the machine. Today digital rules, as computers now run the flight-deck from the management of the engines to the routing and navigation and even now to the controlling of the flight controls (fly-by-wire). So if you took all this away then what do you have, In our case a Boeing 727. The integrated chip was still non-existent in the day the early B727's took to the air and yet these aircraft could and did function in the same capacity as the aircraft fly today, The main difference between them is cost-efficiency and reliability, and even then these Boeing aircraft were very reliable for their day. Looking at the Boeing 727 on the ramp you have to admit it has character, with that high large T-Tail and rear mounted engines (two exposed JT8D's and another one is buried in the tail). This left the wings clean and engine noise situated well into the background (they needed to be then as the engines were also very noisy and dirty) The 727 cockpit is very different in that it is all gauges and dials (known as a "Clockwork Cockpit), no glass screens or menu driven tabs are in here. There is also a third person to help you handle out with the aircraft systems as well with the Flight Engineer (FE) who is situated sitting rotated 90º behind the Co-Pilot. His panel is bigger than the main panel and today most of his systems have been transferred to the Overhead Panel (OHP). The instruments are the basics required for flying, The Standard Six - Artificial Horizon (sometimes known as the attitude indicator) with built in turn indicator, Heading, Compass, Vertical Speed, Altimeter and Speed (in knots and Mach speed, added to the SS is the back up instruments of Artificial Horizon, Altitude, Radio Altitude, clock and (outside) air-temperature, the DME 2 - NAV 2 (distance) is also situated lower down. The Co-Pilots set of instruments is very similar except they have a TAS (True AirSpeed) dial DME 1 - NAV 1 (distance). The landing gear lever is also on the right side of the panel. The Flap indicators are here as well for Outbound and Inbound flaps (0º, 2º, 5º, 15º, 20º, 25º, 30º and 40º settings) The center of the panel is dominated by the sets of three engine dials covering "Pressure Ratio (RPM), N1, EXH (Exhaust) Temp, N2 (RPM) and Fuel flow to each engine". The detailing of these dials is breathtaking and simply eye-widening in operation and in fact the whole panel is exquisite in detail and design from FlyJSim. I doubt you will never get a better 60's cockpit like this. Step out of a General Aviation aircraft and into the B727 and you would feel more at home than a current line pilot would in the way you interact with the instruments. The three red fire handles are on the top of the glare shield and the "Radio" panel is situated behind the throttle pedestal. Each frequency is set and you just flip a switch over to activate the frequency that you require in all settings from COMM, VOR 1 and 2 and NDB (ADF or Automatic Direction Finder here). Below the radio is your large Rudder and Aileron "Trim" knobs and above the radio is the Autopilot (AP). For a large airliner it is quite rudimentary. In fact your GA has probably a far more powerful AP than the Boeing 727. The AP may be rudimentary, but it is still highly effective in its simplicity. On the Overhead panel there is plenty of empty real estate, It dominated mostly by the (large swivel) lighting knobs and De-Icing switches (wing and engines), The pedestal is simply a beautiful sculpture to the age of mechanics. You can feel the levers and the metallic coldness in the design. In the three throttle (Built in reverse thrust) levers, Flap lever (right), Spoilers (left) and those huge trim (whirling) wheels with trim indicator. Lower down are also the three (one per engine) fuel flow/cutoff valves. All warning lighting (large) on the OH and FE panel works in the modern way in that all dark means everything is fine, lit lamps (usually red) means a problem, unless they are green which means the item is activated (De-Ice). Bringing the Boeing 727 Alive The checklist provided by FlyJSim is very comprehensive "SeriesChecklistandProceduresManual", You need to study it and understand all of the procedures correctly to get the best out of the B727. Another manual "SeriesSystemsManual" will show you were everything is located A third in "FJS-727 SeriesManouversManual" helps in the flying areas. A bit of study time early will provide a better experience later. Again to the untrained eye it all looks complicated, but it isn't if you you understand which block or set of panels does what. The main power (battery) switch is central high up on the FE station, If you have (AC) ground power then you can use that by selecting EXT PWR on the "Essential Power" dial switch, and switching the EXTERNAL power on (There is no power cart), However you will mostly use the APU engine (DC) and the APU panel which is situated on the back bulkhead. Flip the switch to start and wait while it warms up, Then select APU on the Essential Power dial switch and the two dials will show you the power supply. The B727 come with a great set of menus that are situated on the left of your screen. First open the "Weights and Balance Manager" (W&B.) Here you can set your passenger and cargo payloads by selecting seats or containers, in doing so you can also see your Centre-of-Gravity (CoG) and the balance of the aircraft. Fuel loads can be selected here also and every change you make is reflected in the comprehensive weight (either Ibs or kg) references. Better still open the "V card" and this menu will give you a full set of vRefs (flap settings as well) for the aircraft on Taking off or landing. No spending hours in going through tables here, just set your weights and then just note your vRef's... can't be easier than that. I'm going for a pretty heavily loaded economy class load, and so the aircraft is pretty heavy at 170,751Ibs. A final menu is for (O) Options in Cold and Dark start, Engines running, Field of View, Interior/exterior sound levels, Zulu time, Default view in 2d, Hide the Yokes and to set the Ibs or kg in the W&B manager. A look over at the fuel panel on the FE station and the fuel loads are now registered on the dials. As noted the checklist is quite comprehensive and there is a lot of items to check off and test. The passengers are boarded and we are ready to start the engines. Window Heat "on" (OHP) and Beacons "on". On the FE Panel right down low you turn on the hydraulics and then the boost fuel pump switches on the fuel panel. High right is the Air-Conditioning panel, but right right now we are concerned only with the "APU Bleed" switches (red arrows) to start the engines. So the Air-Con (A/C) packs must be off and the bleed switches open and the PSI will show on the dial. As noted you know the APU is pushing power to the aircraft by the (yellow arrows) dials (It will show the power output on the APU panel as well). The three engine start switches are on the very top position on the OHP covered by black covers, flip each one open and the switch can go into two settings "Flight" and "Ground". Here we are starting on the ground so you would use "Ground" the other setting is for restarting the aircraft in the air (Flight). Clicking the switch down on number 3 engine (Start sequence is 3, 2 (center) and 1) and the dial will start to move in the n2 gauge, when it reaches 17-20% you introduce the fuel by flipping up the "flow/cutoff valve" up. From here on the engine will power up to full idle and you can now start the other engines in sequence. When done you can switch the electrical power to the engines and close down the APU (before flight). In now not requiring the "Bleed" function, then set your Air-Con A/C packs to provide bleed to the aircraft's pressure and cooling systems. Easy to do? yes after a few run through. It is slightly complicated but with a few practices it comes to you pretty easily. Knowing what dial or switch does what easily helps you find your way around. The sound of a Boeing 727 in idle is that loud whining squealing noise that was so familiar only a few years ago. The FlyJSim sounds are extremely good... Noisy, but good. And they get better. Flight Preparation Flying the an aircraft of this era will mean many items you take for granted are not available to you. Flying today still means you have to prepare for a flight and a route basically still the same way. But you didn't have GPS points however in the 60's or mapping tools to plot your course to almost within a few feet of your route. Routing back then was mostly VOR to VOR (Nav-Aid) Navigation. So any route was mostly created around these Nav-Aids. NDB was also used but they don't have the distance (To or From) so they were a secondary aid. Still more importantly was that you had to have your course (Route) defined by headings, which was really the heading from one VOR to the next VOR (or NDB if used). So a preparation of a route is required that has this basic information. You can't use a standard FMS plan in the Boeing 727 or the later FMC routing systems. There is however as an optional extra (US$10) for the FlyJSim 727 an early inertial navigation system (INS) called CIVA for"Delco Carousel IV-A Inertial Navigation System". It can use a standard X-Plane FMS plan, but it is quirky to set up and use. Worse it has only 9 useable waypoint settings. Here I need far more waypoints than the CIVA can provide, and so I am doing the route VOR to VOR. The route created and printed out will give you the frequencies of each VOR you require and more importantly plus their headings. I have set the first VOR UKW (freq 112.40) on the heading using the course (305º) needle (the FL NDB (219) is also set as my turn point to the VOR). On the radio panel the first (UKW - Freq112.70) and second VOR (SPS - Freq112.70) frequencies are set ready. It is extremely important you have this information collected and ready before a flight including the right charts and that the settings are correctly set on the radio panel. Here the VOR needle is pointing correctly to the UKW Nav-Aid and the course is set to the same direction. Taking Off You have a "pushback" included in the (O) Options menu. It is very basic and no visible tug. select and then it pushes back, turn via the rudders and brake to stop. (You can use reverse thrust, the real 727's actually did. But watch those brakes as you can lift the nose off the floor if you stop to quickly. Take-off flap setting is a very long 20º (or 4 clicks). FlyJSim's flap animation and detailing is the best I have ever seen in X-Plane, So complicated and so beautifully assembled. The Boeing 727 flap system is very complicated to allow the aircraft to land at very low speeds (130knts!). There are leading-edge devices (Krueger, or hinged, flaps on the inner wing and extendable leading edge slats out to the wingtip) and trailing-edge lift enhancement equipment (triple-slotted, aft-moving flaps). They also create a lot of drag. The 727 will need a fair push of the throttles to get some movement, The weight feels very realistic. But be careful as to much speed will drag the front wheels if you turn to fast. Find the right speed and it works perfectly, Walking pace allows you to turn the aircraft on a dime. Power off and slow... then power on to turn. On the taxi down to departure KDFW Runway 35L I recheck my completed Vrefs on the menu, v1 is 131kts, vR is 131knts and v2 is 143knts... Cleared from the runway hold position I turn the aircraft on to 35L.... and straight into the full power up of all throttles to around 97% on the N1. The noise is deafening, but brilliant perfect sounds. The aircraft gathers speed but very slowly at first, and at 145kts (v2 +10 is recommended) I pull the stick back. You are not going to go into a very steep climb at first and only to... 5º-8º until the aircraft has some air under the wheels before gaining pitch to a more 15º or 2000fpm. You have a rear skid under the rear in case you mess it up, but that would be a sign of a poor pilot if you scratched it?... Flaps in quickly to 5º to reduce the drag and as you approach 250knts then they are fully retracted. The aircraft handles very smoothly under the climb and you can hold the pitch perfectly. At the right point now switch on the Autopilot and the AP will hold your pitch for you. You have to maintain your vigilance on your "Press (pressure) Ratio". Go above the marker at 19 and nasty things can start to happen. The B727 does not have any engine management systems, so you (the pilots) are responsible in keeping the engines within their operating limits. push those JT8D engines too far and they will burn out... and quickly. So even in the climb you are finding the best compromise between the PR at 19 (or below), keeping 250knts and having the best pitch of around 2000fpm. You don't let that speed fall, not even by a small amount because that stall comes very quickly with a very quick loss of the speed. The B727 will climb very nicely if you get the balance right, keep to 250knts under 10,000ft and 300knts/Mo.78 above 10,000ft. Watch the speed in the other setting as well when you level off as the knots can then climb the other way very quickly, expertly adjusting the throttle can keep you in the right speed range. You don't want to lose the 727 in any situation, it is very hard to recover (It can be done...) the spins are lethal, but most of the time you will be going in to the ground. It is important to know the limits of the aircraft. Select HDG SEL on the AP to turn to the heading bug set on the course needle (305º) and the 727 bird will turn to the heading. Then select "ALT SEL" (altitude select) on the AP to confirm to level off in this case the selected height of 15,000ft. The selection is on the top of the centre of the panel in large numbers (the switch will select 1000ft or 500ft increments). It is shown on the pilot's and Co-Pilot's panels that the "HDG" and "ALT Select" are active. Now comes the tricky part? The aircraft is still holding the set pitch, and you want more control over the climb angle. To do this on the AP you switch to "VERT SPEED" (V/S) and adjust the pitch via the Climb or Descend selector. But the transition from the held pitch to the V/S is a bit of a guessing game. So you have to find the right angle you want very quickly in not to lose your current climb or any height. Practice can make the pitch switch over go smoothly, but it is a bit of an art to get it just right. Reset the altitude to 29,500ft and the speed around 300knts is going to keep the climb clean. 1000fpm pitch and reduce to 400-500ft per minute as required (I usually do this in the last 3000ft). Past now Waypoint UKW and the next waypoint is SPS (freq 112.70), I reset the old UKW WP to the next in line which is CDS (Freq 117.60) ready for the next switch over. The change in heading is small between UKW and SPS (301º) Just before the SPS waypoint. I set the next heading ready (281º) on the course needle. When I switched over the frequency from SPS to CDS the VOR (2) needle goes flat? Not every VOR station will register as you leap from one to another Nav-Aid. So your homework better be correct. and your charts must be handy in case your not. Get it right and when the VOR signal for CDS finally locks on you should be directly on the right course. (Cue big Smile ) There is the option on the AP to use the VOR Lock (NAV LOC), selecting this option should lock you on to the set Nav-Aid. It is yellow when searching and turns green when locked (you need to be on the right heading anyway). But it does work? At lock the aircraft turns away from the selected VOR heading noted by the the direction of the red arrow. Which is really annoying as you need this feature of the AP in the way you navigate. For reliability just stay on the heading setting (default) from VOR to VOR. So even though the Autopilot is very basic, it is very good and covers most of the functions you require. Our route now covers the waypoints - TXO - ABQ - GUP - PGS - BTY - BIH to SAC (Sacramento). This is an amazing aircraft to fly across a distance. And there is plenty to do in navigating and monitoring the systems (both now are mostly automatic functions on modern aircraft). Remember you are doing the work of three people in the B727. The only item that came at me was the alert of "You have ice on the wing by being below -20" It snapped the B727 into a deadly spin. Next time flying I switched on the Anti-Ice wing heaters (OHP) and the problem never came back... But FlyJSim says its not implemented into the systems. But it worked for me every time? Landing the Boeing 727 Just past VOR - BIH (Bishop). I started the descent down to 10,000ft at SAC (Sacramento). You usually put the throttles to idle at a 2000fpm descent. However sometimes in the B727 you may need to use the airbrakes to control the speed back down to 250knts at the 10,000ft arrival altitude. A look along the wing with the airbrakes (spoilers) set shows the complexity of the FlyJSim B727 wings... It is also incredibly realistic with excellent wing flex. At SAC I set up the Oakland Runway 11 frequency (NAV1) of 111.90 and inserted RWY29 at 108.70 just in case I had to land from the south. heading to SGD at 234º and then I set up the SAU turn at 186º, In reality I will turn just slightly before SAU to line up directly for OAK's RWY11. Height is reduced from 10,000ft to 5500ft to a ILS collect at 1800ft. I usually get well below the ILS to control the speed down the beam. Using the flaps on the 727 is a devil you do or the devil you don't. The settings are 0º, 2º, 5º, 15º, 20º, 25º, 30º and 40º, but the 40º is rarely used. This lowest setting is very close to the stall speed noted as 106knts (which is very low anyway). The high T-Tail configuration would literally let the aircraft fall out of the air. There was a debate about this and 30º flap was made the maximum lowest setting to be used by most operators. The wing is effective down to 15º, but below that you get very heavy drag. Drop the undercarriage and the drag gets far worse. So as you set up your speed and lower the flaps past 15º you need a lot of engine power to counteract the drag, by 30º flap your thrust is quite high to keep the aircraft in the air. In saying that the B727 is very stable at these low speeds and excellent in a hands on landing. The landing lighting is excellent with two sets of lights on each wing, you can select all four lights or outbound or inbound lighting. Wing and runway turnoff lights are also available. The Menu "V card" is showing me a vRef of 132knts and so I will aim for a landing around that. Auto brakes are set to "MIN", and the ILS is selected by "AUTO G/S" on the AP. And lock on is very good. A manual landing is also very good with more throttle control to adjust the height and speed. As noted landing speed is very low at around just under 140knts (135knts at touch). Light control of the throttles is needed to contain the correct speeds. The aircraft is great on the flare but slightly nose up to control the drift down to the runway. I have never made a bad landing in the B727 and that shows the control you have in the flare. Once you have contacted the runway then up the spoilers. These are manual so you have to work them up (and down) yourself with no auto deploy. Flip the throttle thrust-reverser handles and feel the power (and noise) of the engines reverse-thrust (Clam-shells close in the engines) and let the speed drop to a crawl. The Auto-brakes can grab the main wheels, so watch that and a flick of the brake should release them. Once down to taxi speed then pull off the runway and clean the aircraft up. Heading for the gate the aircraft is lighter but still easy to manoeuvre in to a tight ramp area. When shutdown via the fuel flow/cutoff valves, I checked the Weights & Balances of the empty aircraft to note my final settings. Summary Flying the FlyJSIm Boeing 727 is an experience. It sends you back to another era of flight and you are immersed in the the way flying was done back then. The Boeing 727 is a very interesting aircraft to fly for many reasons. The main one is how much you had to do back then that is totally automated now. And that is the the deeper experience that comes out of the aircraft. preparation is the key in learning the aircraft in detail, right down to the little stuff of how the fuel, electrical, Air-Con,hydraulics the lot and how it all works and the limitations of the engines and systems. Also your routing has to first rate to get the flight perfect and get the aircraft from point to point. Through the flight you are constantly adjusting the speed and checking systems while navigating the aircraft across a fair distance. It is hard work. But get it right and do a perfect Gate to Gate service and you will be happiest person for days. So it is challenging the B727 but highly rewarding. It is a brilliant aircraft to fly, and fly you do. One of the best aircraft available in X-Plane.... without doubt. ____________________________________________________________ The FlyJSim Boeing 727 Series is available from the X-Plane.OrgStore : 727 Series Complete : US$62.00 - Currently on sale for only US$50.00 727 Series 100 : US$32.00 727 Series 200adv : US$32.00 727 Series 200F : US$32.00 Technical Requirements: Windows, MAC or Linux X-Plane 10.20 or higher - 32 and 64 bit compatible. X-Plane 9 is not supported Recommended: 1+ GB of VRAM, and 8+ GB of system memory Release Date 12th December 2012 : Last updated: March 23, 2013 ____________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton ©copyright2014: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27” - 6 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 4850 512mb Software: - Mac OS Mavericks 10.9 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.25 (final) Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle Scenery - KDFW - Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport - Brian Godwin (X-Plane.org) - KOAK - Golden Gate , KSFO and South Bay - Tom Curtis (X-Plane.org Store US$34.95)
  20. Aircraft Development and Announcement : FlyJSim Boeing 737-200 Twinjet Jack Skieczius and Joe Vermeulen have announced their next aircraft to be released. The Baby Boeing the in the Boeing 737-200 Twinjet. Images posted by Jack (below) show an aircraft that is very similar to his wonderful Boeing 727 Series. And will be no doubt a great addition to your Boeing Family. Release date? No idea... But Jack would not have announced the aircraft unless he was a long way along the development process. Teasing us, yes of course he is and it worked. Stephen Dutton 2nd February 2013 ©copyright2014 : X-Plane Reviews (Images courtesy FlyJSim)
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