Product Review: VR Aircraft Co. 7XX Throttle Quadrant

I received my VR throttle in the mail a few weeks ago. This is the most important and expensive piece in my sim build. From the time I ordered to the time it arrived was about 2 weeks. You leave a deposit to reserve a throttle and when it's finished you pay the balance and shipping and they ship it out.

It looked great in the pics on the VR website. I called customer support a few times and had all my questions answered before I bought the throttle. I am extremely apprehensive about spending $800 not having first examined what I was buying. It took a great leap of faith on my part to buy this site unseen.

The quadrant arrived and I ran to get a knife to open this thing up. Opening the box I smelled what turned out to be fresh paint. I pulled the throttle quadrant out of the box and the throttle knobs were still tacky with paint. It looked like they were painted with a paintbrush by a kid in a kindergarten art class and not allowed to properly dry. One of the reverser knobs was loose and fell off. The bolt used to hold it on was too short and the nut had one thread attaching it. I was upset to put it mildly. The quadrant looked great, and first impression was that it was engineered well despite the problems.

I noticed that the knobs on my throttle were different than in the pictures I had seen. The knobs pictured on the website and these were different in material and size. The website pic also shows metal throttle levers which were not present on my throttle.

The throttle quadrant is made almost entirely from polycarbonate plastic which is more flexible than I would have liked. Without the aluminum plate sandwiched in the throttle lever there is not as much rigidity as I would like to have. It was explained to me that the aluminum throttle lever was only for those who ordered the auto throttle option which I did not. It would have been nice to have made a note on the website that this would be omitted from models without auto throttles.

Whenever you move a lever it is polycarbonate rubbing on polycarbonate. It makes a squeaky cheap sound and doesn't provide for the smoothest movement. It would have been nice to have seen some type of lubrication used to make things smoother and quieter. Polycarbonate cracks very easily. This throttle is delicate and is not a toy. Care needs to be taken when handling it.

Assigning functions to each control on the throttle quadrant using the instructions and the utility included with Vista was very easy. It took about 10 minutes.

You will need to buy a USB cord to connect the throttle to your computer as it is not included. Vista recognized it immediately and loaded drivers. The USB port is located on the bottom of the quadrant so you will need to mount this on something you can drill a hole in to pass the USB cord through to reach the quadrants USB port. I imagine most people are going to build a home cockpit so this shouldn't be an issue.

Using a quadrant like this adds tremendously to the realism and sim experience. The quadrant resembles a 757/767/777 quadrant and has controls for stabilizer trim, spoilers, throttles, reversers, flaps, stab trim cutout switches, fuel cutoff switches, TO/GA switches and an optional parking brake switch with LED light which I opted for.

Something that wasn't explained to me was that the switches do not operate normally. Up is not "on" and down is not "off". The switches need to be moved through one cycle of up and then down in order to move the switch on the flight sim screen. So sometimes up is on and sometimes down is on. This is true for the parking brake and the start levers. The thrust reversers are either "open" in MCT reverse or "stowed" there is no way to modulate reverse thrust. It seems it's a software issue there is no working around as it was explained to me. This is moderately annoying and wished this would have been explained to me as well before I bought it. Maybe this was my ignorance.

I had to call VR a few times for the throttle knob issue and for technical questions when setting up the throttle. I had no problem reaching someone when I needed to and my e-mails were answered quickly.

My replacement knobs were sent out to me and arrived quickly. It was explained to me that they were not happy with the knobs they sent in the first place. I'm not really sure why they sent them. The replacements were better, but still not the ones in the VR website pictures. I am still pursuing an answer to the question as to why the knobs were changed. I would prefer to have the ones on their website.

I understand that a product like this isn't mass produced like something from Saitek or CH. Injection molding components isn't an option. Using more aluminum in the construction would have made this unaffordable for me. So I am willing to accept some issues and make compromises. Overall I am happy with the throttle so far. Time will tell if this quadrant ages gracefully or falls apart. If it breaks easily it won't be worth any price. It's going to get a lot of use.

Product Review: CH Rudder Pedals

I ordered a set of CH rudder pedals which I received today. I had never seen these before except in pictures. They looked better than the Saitek pedals so I pulled the trigger and bought a set.

The pedals are well built and look great. They feel sturdy and look like they will easily hold up to use. The pedals connect via USB and Vista 64 recognized them and installed drivers automatically. Plug and play.

I wasn't happy with the angle of the pedals. It looked like an unnatural vertical seating position would be required to rest my feet flat on the pedals which is how they were designed. It was hard to get into a comfortable seating position where my feet were flat on the pedals.

I also wasn't happy with the pedal feel when pushed. They offer no resistance which is needed to accurately model an aircrafts pedals. The Saitek pedals have adjustable resistance. These have none. The brakes have no feel to them either and are very light. In a real aircraft as in a car as you apply the brakes the pedal meets hydraulic resistance so you can gauge where you are in the pedal travel by the amount of resistance felt. Due to the lack of resistance the brakes are difficult to modulate.

When flying an airplane you put your heels on the floor and control the rudders with the balls of your feet. CH designed the pedal with a heel cup which doesn't allow you to rest your heels on the floor or use the balls of your feet. I will be looking into modifying the pedals by cutting the heel cups off with a Dremel so I can rest my heels on the ground. Without your heels on the floor it is hard to be accurate with the rudder.

These pedals were not designed by anyone with any time flying airplanes. They are disappointing but the disappointment doesn't hurt that bad for the $92 they sell for on Amazon. For the casual simmer who never flew a plane they will be fine but for a simmer looking for realism I would look elsewhere for a set of rudder pedals but expect to pay a lot more money.

Product Review: FSDreamteam LAS Vegas Scenery

I bought this scenery the other day and love it as Ido all the FSDT airports. This adds to my growing network of FSDT airports. In addition to LAS I also have JFK, FLL, and ORD. HNL should be out soon and will give me a nice network or airports around the US to fly the PMDG 747. Watch the video and HD and enlarge it to full screen.

Product Review: PMDG Boeing 747-400X For FSX

I have some very limited experience in the real world flying the 747. When I was about 7 years old I was on a PanAm 747-100 flight and my dad had brought me up to the cockpit to have a look around. Even at this point in my young life I new I wanted to be a pilot. Even then. My dad told the crew that when I grew up I was going to be a pilot. Little did anyone know that day that I would. Dreams often die hard. I was invited by the co-pilot to push a button on the panel and froze in 7 year old fear that I would push the wrong button and doom the aircraft. I was terrified and quickly ran to hide behind my father as 7yo do. For another 22 years that was my experience with the 747.

I had the opportunity a few years ago to get a few hours in the 747-200 simulator down in MIA I was just getting out of a sim session in the 727 and an FO flying support for a FE's training session in the 747 was a no show so I was invited in for a 4 hours of flying in the right seat. So I do have some idea of what a 747 should feel like.

Every pilot aspires to fly a 747. It's the pinnacle of ones career. It's the place where old, grey haired, experienced pilots go before they die. Undoubtedly this is currently Boeings flagship and hasbeen for the last 39 years and will be in the foreseable future. The 747 is what everyone pictures when you mention the word Boeing. If you tell people you fly a Boeing they assume it's a 747. Even if you tell them you fly a 727 they ask if that's like a 747! It's happened to me on more than 1 occasion. Of course I tell them "Yeah... it's eactly like a 747!" Then they look at me like a god!

PMDG has given the PC sim world the gift that is the 747-400X for anyone that is brave enough to give it a try. Be forewarned! This is not the default FSX 747 in any way. This plane has to be flown as a real 747-400 is flown... by the numbers and by way of the FMC. Knowledge of the FMC is a necessity. Everything in the 747 revolves around this often reviled system by pilots unfamiliar with it. Once you learn it it's a piece of cake and greatly reduces workload. If your going to take the plunge into the world of the FMC this is the plane to do it. PMDG's documentation makes the transition easy.

Configurations

747-400 Pax with GE/P&W/RR power
747-400 Freighter with GE/P&W/RR power

The shortened upper deck present on the freighter is modelled.

Initial impression

My first impression sitting in the "Cold & Dark" cockpit was that the learning curve was going to be steep. Every system is modeled as in the real plane except the weather radar and ACARS. Taxiing this beast around the airport is quite demanding. It is a very large plane. In the air you are in no way aware of it's size until your back on the ground again. You will have to relearn the correct "out the window" view. When this plane flares the cockpit is some 70 feet off the ground. It feels weird the first few times. Runways and taxiways definitely get a lot narrower looking out of this cockpit.

Views

As I am a pilot and this being a flight sim I'm only interested in the virtual cockpit views and will not be going into detail about the external or pax views which are available.

Cockpit Views

2D
Virtual Captain
Virtual FO
MCP Panel
FMC 1 Radio Panel
Overhead Panel

The VC is composed of all 3D panels on par with anything Captain Sim has to offer. The textures are 1st class. The virtual cockpit is impressive. The cockpit textures and visual presentation are the best in the business. There is nothing to complain about here. There is a touch of wear and tear added giving it that realistic used look. There are many animations in the virtual cockpit such as seats that move with stowable armrests and sunshades. Too many animations to mention all of them. The plane is designed to be flown from the VC. With a TrackIR head tracking device the realism is at epic levels. TheVC textures on their new Jetstream 41 are even better than the 747. And the 737 NG they are working on now promises to have the same level of visual accuracy as the J41. Wow! Can Haz Now Please?

Exterior Modeling

Simply put the PMDG 747-400X has a beautiful and accurate exterior model. At all angles this is a perfect rendition of the Boeing 747.

Animations

All main entry doors, upper level emergency exits and the belly cargo hold doors operate on the passenger version. In addition to these animations the freighter version the nose door and aft side cargo door operate. The plane has it's own loading equipment and push back tug. Wings flex as they should on the ground and in flight and bend realistically as wing loading increases.

Liveries

Included with your download is PMDG's attractive house livery for all 3 engine versions of the 747. For an additional selection of free liveries visit the website. Pick your favorites and download them. There are a good many to choose from. The Cathay Pacific freighter is my personal favorite in bare aluminum.

Sound

PMDG has a unique sound package for each engine configuration and they all seem to represent the real deal. The Rolls RB-211 has that sound only the RB211 can make. Cockpit sounds include a co-pilot voice for V speeds, a GPWS system, flap handle movement and all the aural warnings/cues the 747 should have.

System Simulations

This is what the PMDG aircraft are known for. The system modeling is so accurate and so thorough there is likely no discernable difference between this simulation and the real plane. The FMC models just about every function the real FMC does minus a few obscure features no one will miss. The FMC is the heart and soul of the 747's flight deck and is the primary point of interaction between the pilot and airplane. All performance data is derived from the FMC such as EPR settings for various auto throttle thrust modes. The FMC calculates the weight of the aircraft during all modes of flight as fuel burns off. It keeps track of fuel burn, and tracks the fuel remaining comparing it to the fuel required to reach your destination and will alert you if your destination cannot be reached. The FMC calculates the TO & LNDG speeds for all flaps settings. It is a critical piece of equipment and it's accurate modeling critical to a great simulation. The PMDG FMC is impressive.

The MCP (mode control panel) features the auto throttle, speed control, autopilot functions, heading select, and LNAV/VNAV is also modeled accurately. All EICAS functions are modeled. ACARS and weather radar are not.

Just about any failure you can think of can be simulated including random failures. Failures can be programmed to occur at critical phases of light such as a V1 cut. Everyone's favorite!

All buttons and switches are easy to manipulate in virtual cockpit. Much better than the default FSX aircraft.

Cockpit Lighting

One of my sore points when it comes to sim planes is they never seem to get the panel lighting correct. In short PMDG does allowing panel flood to be independent of instrument lighting. All LCD/CRT panels are dimmable

Supporting Software

To add complete realism to your flying PMDG is supported by TOPCAT, FSBuild and Navigraph.

FSBuild flight planner should be used to create fuel burn data to derive an accurate fuel load. Plug in a real world route from flightaware.com cruise altitude and FSBuild will give you an accurate fuel requirement some supporting programs will plug in winds aloft some will not. If you do not have a program to do this just take into account the winds and adjust fuel accordingly by best guestimate. FSBuild offers free updates to their AIRAC FMC navigation data every 2 cycles.

TOPCAT is a takeoff and landing performance calculating program. TOPCAT downloads real world METAR/TAF reports and prepares takeoff and landing data such as V-speeds, engine power, load plan including % MAC and stab settings. It will create random cargo weights and load the aircraft in balance. Plug in the fuel required derived from the FSBuild program and TOPCAT will create a load sheet, flight report, and runway analysis information for takeoff and landing. The numbers produced on these programs should be compared to the data the airplanes FMC generates. The numbers should match. Any numbers not in agreement should be looked into further.

TOPCAT & FSBuild will give you the data & paperwork you need to fly legally. If you want realism then these programs are a must have.

Navigraph & Planepath both offer FMC AIRAC navigation data updates for the FMC. Navigraph charges a small fee and Planepath is free.

With these programs and FMC updates to the PMDG 747-400 you will have real world dispatch capability.

Nice To Have

The "panel state loading & saving" feature allows you to save a panel configuration and load it again form a menu whenever you would like. For example my most frequently used saved panel state is a flaps 10 departure. When I'm just in the mood to go flying I don't have to go through all the panel flows and checklists. I just load up the saved panel and I'm configured for a flaps 10 departure.

For more accurate balancing of fuel loads PMDG has created it's own fueling panel which distributes fuel to maintain aircraft balance. The FSX fueling utility should not be used with the PMDG 747.

PMDG gives you is the ability to decide between CRT displays or the newer LCD displays. You can also choose the colors for your PFD (primary flight display) and allows you to pick between "single cue" or "pitch roll" flight directors. You can choose the performance of the FO and captains displays for optimizing FPS. The higher the settings the more computer resources will be dedicated to the displays. It is nice if your system is not great on frame rates. If you like to shoot raw data approaches and hand fly in IMC then the highest setting will suit you best as the displays will be very smooth.

Manuals & Checklists

PMDG by far has the best supporting documentation for it's aircraft I have encountered. Included is an aircraft operating manual, FMC handbook, and tyore rating courses, The aircraft operating manual is a light version of a real AOM. It does not go too in depth but gives you what you need to know. The FMC handbook is thorough and well written. The 4 type rating courses are tutorials which help get you going with the 747. PMDG has further support by way of an Angle Of Attack training DVD. It is not included but well worth the cost. The aircraft comes with a checklist. There are other checklists available around the internet if you care to use another. Each airline builds it's own checklist. Find one you like.

Computer Demands

This is one area the PMDG bird does not do well. But with the cornucopia of visual splendor and system modelling this had to be expected. It's simply the price you pay for an aircraft of this complexity. Add in low visibility instrument meteorological conditions and your FPS could be in the single digits. I am using a quad core i7 920 processor overclocked to 3.0GHz with 12GB DDR3 RAM. FSX is not very demanding on video cards. FSX places a large burden on the processor and RAM. In short a fast quad core processor and DDR3 triple channel RAM is needed here for optimum results.

PMDG Support

PMDG has an extensive knowledge base accessible from the website. Subjects include troubleshooting, known issues and how to tweak your computer and FSX for the best FPS. E-mails to customer support were quickly replied to. PMDG offers a support forum on their website. You just need to register to use it.

Conclusion

For $80 it's an expensive add-on aircraft but worth every penny unlike the Captain Sim products. No regrets here. PMDG is certainly at the top of the game of FSX add-on aircraft. My only gripe with PMDG is that they aren't producing planes at a faster rate. If every aircraft PMDG makes is produced with this much care and attention to detail then you can't lose with PMDG. If it takes a long time to produce quality aircraft then I will have to learn to be more patient but when it's this good it's hard to wait.

Screen Grabs/Videos

I'm going to post up a short clip I made using TrackIR and FSDreamteam JFK scenery. Watch the video in HD and full screen! No fancy music or editing. Just flying!

Product Review: Captain Sim "Boeing 727 Captain" For FSX

I used to fly the 727 and it was one of the best flying planes I have ever flown. Any pilot who has flown it will tell you that he looks back at it with fond memories. I wanted to get an accurate simulation for FSX and found Captain Sim's new release for FSX of "727 Captain". The initial thing that caught my eye about this sim were some screen grabs I saw of the virtual cockpit. The shots were amazing. I had to have this sim. After seeing the virtual view of that nasty, dirty old cockpit I was instantly hit with the nasty old plane smell that goes along with it. The visual is so good it triggered some response in my brain where I was actually smelling the thing all over again as if I were back sitting in the pilots seat. The first thing you wanted to do after a flight in that plane was get a shower and get the plane smell off of you. The longer the flight the more you wreaked of Skydrol, JET-A, and Exxon 2380. The engines were always leaking and dripping some fluid onto your shirt and hair as you did your walk around inspection. Back to the review....
Configurations

-100 Pax-100 Pax QW (Quiet Wing)
-200 Pax
-200 Pax QW
-100 Freighter QW
-200 Freighter
-100 Valsan Super 27 with -217 engines (sort of)

Initial Impression

Upon initial inspection I thought they did an amazing job with the visual modeling inside and out. It will pull you in and make you buy this thing. I was expecting a lot for the $80 they charge. This was the most money I have ever paid for an FSX aircraft add-on. I also liked the fact that this was DirectX 10 compatible even if there are some nagging issues with DX10.

Views

The simulation is well equipped with interior and exterior views. Interior views include a 3D virtual cockpit with perspectives from the captains seat, copilots seat, flight engineer seat, and main cabin view. All seat view positions swivel 360 degrees. Exterior views are left/right pax window views, landing gear view, exterior 360 view. The modeling done on this plane is the best I have seen. The detail is amazing both inside and outside. For this alone you will want to buy this plane. The screen grabs speak for themselves. One flaw I spotted in VC view was that at some of the panel joints like in the captains rudder pedal area the panels were not completely joined and you could see the ground rushing by throught the gap. Not cool!

System Simulation

The simulation modeling in contrast to the visual modelling is unfortunately very poor. It seems they took the time to get some simulations right like fuel dumping but forgot the important stuff. Roll and pitch rates were accurate but pitch changes that occur with flap extension weren't. To tell the truth I have never seen this accuratley modeled by any FSX plane. Engine sound was accurate as well as the slow spool up time of the old JT8D engines. The fuel system, electrical system, hydraulic system, pneumatic system were modeled accurately just like the real aircraft.

There were many systems I found to be poorly modeled. I noticed that the flap handle does not enter the detents and accordingly does not correspond to flap settings indicated on the flap indicator dials. The flap detent markings on the pedestal are incorrect. The real 727 has flap settings for 0/2/5/15/25/30/40. The flap handle markings in the sim are 0/2/5/15/20/25/30/40. The flap indicator gauge is correctly marked. The third detent which should be flaps 15 is marked flaps 20 but displays correctly on the flap indicator dial as flap 15. Just ignore the handle position and rely on the gauge as an indicator of flap position as they won't correspond.

The stick shaker stall warning system did not test when the switch on the test panel was actuated. The stick shaker should make noise and shake. it doesn't. There is no takeoff config warning horn, no landing gear config warning horn, no autopilot disconnect warning horn, and no pilot control input autopilot disconnect. The engines won't produce rated power. A realistic takeoff EPR cannot be reached. At 59 degrees F and 29.92 at sea level the max EPR I could get was 2.0 at firewall power. Takeoff EPR at those settings should be approx 2.12. As the plane climbs EPR drops as air thins and temperature drops. This is modeled, but since the takeoff power was so low upon flap retraction when you go to set climb power you are already below the climb power setting found in the Boeing manual. So keeping the power at firewall from the begining of the TO roll to Top Of Climb is completely unrealistic.

Another issue I found that was quite serious and particularly annoying was that the main stabilizer trim motor operates too quickly making flying the plane extremely difficult since precise stabilizer trim adjustments were impossible. These planes are hand flown and the trim simulation makes this a pain in the ass to fly. The cruise/autopilot stab trim operated correctly. I hope Captain Sim reads this and corrects that overbearing and annoying issue because it makes a nice plane suck!

There is no outside air temperature gauge which is imperative for setting engine power. There is no sound when the flap lever is moved, or the trim is in use. The only audio panel that works in the plane is the FE's. So if you want to identify navaids or hear maker beacons then you have to turn to the engineers panel and set the audio panel up. Uhhhhh.... OK.

Exterior Modelling

While the 3D graphics in the VC are stunningly real the aircraft series configuration is a bit of a mess. One configuration offered is the -200 Valsan Super 27 conversion with larger JT8D-217 engines in the #1 and #3 position. There doesn't seem to be any corresponding performance increase with flying the Super 27 which has 22,000 lb thrust engines in 1&3 position while the -100 had -7 engines rated at 14,500 lbs of thrust. If your going to offer us a Super 27 then make it a Super 27 and offer us the performance increase that goes with it. The FedEx freighter has bucket reversers which in reality is equipped with cascade reversers.

For some good news the flap modeling is fantastic and very accurate. The 727 has one of the greatest wings ever built. It was optimized for high speed flight, but with it's massive triple slotted fowler flaps and leading edge slats and flaps extended it had a great short field capability. I would like to see the leading edge flaps extend and sag when the aircrafts engine driven "A" system hydraulics are un-powered as they do in the real aircraft otherwise they did a great job here.

The doors are animated including the main cargo door, belly cargo doors, L1 entry with boarding stairs, aft airstairs, and engine nacelle.

Liveries

There are a lot of liveries available especially older classic liveries which is nice. The liveries are detailed and accurate.

Manuals

The manuals included are fine for flying the sim. They aren't too overwhelming and give you just enough info to fly the plane. There was no system overview, just a "this switch does this" rundown. There is no limitations section, or performance charts which is unthinkable in my mind. For accurate simulations you need a takeoff, climb & cruise EPR chart, and Go-Around EPR chart. Some V-speedcharts were included.

Checklists

Checklists are included.

Aircraft Configuration Editor

Both the freighter and the passenger version are equipped with their own load configuration editors for weight and balance. This is a nice feature. It would have been nice if they included fuel loading here as well. You still have to go into the fuel planner in FSX and fuel the plane.

Panel State Saving/Loading
Not Included

Computer Demands

This add on is very heavy on frame rates. The virtual cockpit view uses the most system resources. My system has a NVidia 9800 GX2 card (that's 2 GPU's) and I only get 25-40FPS. Expect 20-30 FPS with a single high end card and fewer with an older card. The only add-on I have that is more demanding is the PMGD 747-400. If you like to fly in instrument meteorlogical conditions expect about 10 FPS as the weather drags the performance down considerably.

Conclusion

I would say $80 is expensive and it won't buy you much more than a pretty plane. You have to decide if the $80 price is worth it for a simulation with this bounty of visual splendor and a not so minor system issues. The system modeling has to be there to justify this high price. The trim issue is an unforgivable flaw which needs to be addressed. CS falls short of in their attempt to make a realistic simulation of the 727 that can be flown as it is in the real world. But it is easy on the eyes for those interested in making those Youtube videos where no one really cares about the systems. These CS 727 captain should sell well to that croud. If you want to actually fly it then your out of luck.

An admin on the Captain Sim message board put it this way.... "But we keep receiving comments pointing some differences between the real B727 aircraft and our product. Please be reasonable, it is not the real B727, it is just a software game!" PMDG and Level-D don't take that attitude so if you want a real attempt at an accurate flying simulation go to them instead.

Screen Grabs

This plane looks good from any angle especially with those huge flaps at 40 degrees. I couldn't stop taking pics!

Cockpit

Cabin

Approach & Landing