t
least, I didn't think I was actually airborne! I looked out my
left-rear window and as the ground began to recede, the clouds up
ahead began to look like...well, I was truly airborne, man! In my
now several years of simming', I've never felt more like I was
actually flying a jumbo jet than I have with Alpha Software/Data
Becker GmbH's 747 Jumbo Jet. My friends, you simply
haven't flown a desktop 747 until you've flown one of these. Alpha
Software has simply made a greased landing dead on the centerline
with their first foray into the world of MS Flight Simulator add-ons.
What Do You Get?
The package includes ten different Boeing 747's as dash 100's and
dash 200's in several different liveries, which includes Air Canada,
United and Scandinavian among others. They're also dressed in a mix
of cargo and passenger liveries. The most prominent paint jobs are
those representing Lufthansa. The program was developed with the
assistance of Lufthansa Flight Captain, Andreas H.G. Herbst.
Lufthansa has also provided much valuable data on the 747 in the
manual. There's also airport scenery provided for Dusseldorf, the
French Riviera, and Frankfort Main.
The installation CD provides many videos and photos to enjoy while
you're waiting for your next flight. After viewing a couple of the
videos, your next flight is imminent.
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A couple of nice features included on the CD are a full list of links
to different aviation sites on the Internet, from Boeing.com to
FlightSim.Com with a little description of each.
One other really nice feature is several photos and videos of 747
aircraft in action. The videos were especially cool. One video
features a Lufthansa 747 coming in for what is said to be a missed
approach in the description, but actually looks more like a pilot
doing touch and go's as he makes a near perfect landing before taking
off again. The music behind most of the videos is also enough to
make you stand up from behind your monitor and boogie. My toddler
and I were "gettin' down with our bad selves" during one session in
particular where the excitement of watching the jumbos and the sound
of the music was just too much! True material to psych you up for
flying one of the big ones!
The Panels
We're cleared for takeoff. Be sure you're sitting down before you
start your takeoff roll in this baby!
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Along with each aircraft are new panels. These panels, while
generally the same amongst all 10 aircraft, do represent several
subtle differences between models. None of the panels use the
default gauges and are brand spankin' new, created specifically for
this package. The autopilot controls are spread out much differently
from what you get with most freeware panels and are positioned to
represent their location on a real dash 200. The panels install
directly from the CD for FS98 users, but users of FSFW95 must also
install Chuck Dome's Panel Manager, which is included on the CD. I
like the panels a lot. They honestly closely resemble the real
panels used in the 747-200. Check it out, there are actual pictures
of the dash 200 panel enclosed on the CD.
The Planes
Ok, so you say 747's are all over the place at the click of a mouse
and a modem connection. Fellow simmers, the 747's in this package
are 747's and they fly and feel like a flight simulator 747 should
fly. I've flown many a heavy in my time with the Microsoft Flight
Simulator program. Trust me, these are the best. I only wish I
could find 747-400's that I feel are of the same quality in terms of
FS98 realism. This is the virtual real deal!
The natural metal finish on this United 747 is unsurpassed in its
true chrome-like appearance. Look at the gleam on those engines!
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The fuel consumption of the aircraft is accurate (within FS
limitations) which means if you fill up your tanks prior to take-off,
you're going nowhere fast! If you think you can fly from Hong Kong
to London on a full tank in a dash 200, you should think again...and
make sure you have crash helmets. To get where you want to go, you
better know how much fuel to load and how much to burn off before
climbing to your cruising altitude. This feature and the virtual
realism it provides is great fun. There is nothing I can say
negative about these flight models as virtual MS Flight Simulator
aircraft.
Visually the aircraft are also stunning. Of particular note is the
realism of the chrome finish on the aircraft that have areas of
chrome revealed. Natural metal is hard to replicate in almost any
medium. AlphaSoftware has made a true stunner with the level of
detail and believability in the natural metal of these aircraft.
This is especially true if you're flying in 3D!
In A Perfect World
The icing on the cake would have been to include sounds other than
using the default Boeing 737 sounds. I downloaded freeware 747
sounds to make this package complete. The lack of custom sounds for
747 Jumbo Jet is like the "straight A" student that gets a "C" in
phys ed.
All of the included 747's feature interior night lighting.
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There is also a problem with the enclosed scenery for Nice, France.
In FS98, it appears offshore from where it actually should be.
That's because the scenery was originally created for FSFW95. They
do provide a work around for this problem at the AlphaSoftware web
site
(http://www.alphasoftware.com/747/index.html).
You will also want to download the patch that, among
other things, fixes a problem you might encounter with some 3D cards
(ftp://ftp.alphasoftware.com/747PATCH.EXE).
With the quality of the aircraft being so good, it would also have
been nice to have thrown in a quality dash 400. That's not a
complaint really, more of a wish list item I'm requesting of the
manufacturer.
On the other hand, one completely non-technical aspect of 747 Jumbo
Jet is its accessibility. Unfortunately, most of the flight sim
add-ons we like can only be purchased via mail order. This also
means the addition of postal charges and wait time. I found 747
Jumbo Jet during a lunch break at a nearby computer store and was in
the air the same evening. It was also at a great price. I wish more
add-on products were accessible this way. Undoubtedly, this will be
a big plus for AlphaSoftware with their upcoming releases of DC-3,
Airbus, and Air Force One.
Conclusion
The program was tested on a P200/MMX with 48 megs of ram and FS98.
The program also works with FSFW95. This is one of the best add-on
products since this craze began. If you're into heavies,
particularly 747's, you'll be downloading less and flying more with
747 Jumbo Jet. Happy landings!
John Goodlow
Email:
njgoodlow@sprintmail.com
Visit Alpha Software at
www.alphasoftware.com
