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747-400 Pro
By Michael Reskovac (3 May 2001)
reetings
fellow flightsimmers. Once again I find myself strapped
to my keyboard typing as fast as I can only because at last I have
found the Crown Jewel, The Cream of the Crop, The Best of the Best,
Commercial Product I have ever seen. Yes, I know there are many and
believe me I have tried just about everything I can get my hands on.
However, this is the best in my opinion to date. Notice that I used
the word "to date". If the quality of this product is what it is now
then I can't wait for what's next. OK, I'm running away with this so
without further delay let me introduce you to a now available add-on
that I know you will enjoy for hours.JustFlight (www.justflight.com) has just released 747-400 Professional exclusively for Flight Simulator 2000, developed by Phoenix Simulation Software, which is regarded highly as an industry leader. Once I received 747, I wasted no time in getting it installed. Installation is a snap. Follow the instructions on your screen, pick which color schemes you want (there are 12 all together) or install them all, click Finish and that's it. If at a later time you decide to get rid of some of the planes you can modify the program rather then deleting it from your Add/Remove Programs menu. Also included with the 747 CD is your Pilots Operating Handbook, a full-blown operating handbook explaining almost everything (you will need Acrobat to read it though), a checklist for the 747 and last but certainly not least, a full 1-hour VHS video on the 747-400 cockpit including real flights and simulator sessions. The video is very informative and a must for any 747 enthusiast. OK, now that that is all covered, let's do some flying.
Exterior
Breathtaking, that's all I can say. Every rivet, bolt, and dirt mark is there for your enjoyment. The gear is amazing. All hydraulic lines, brake discs and even the flap rails are clearly visible. Tilting bogies are included. You could spend hours spinning around in an external view just looking at all the detail these aircraft have on them. Probably the best way I can describe the control surfaces is by this. If it moves on the real aircraft, then it moves here. Everything from the elevator to the flight spoilers moves, as they should.Let's take a few minutes and talk about the engines though. First off, they are 3D. Depending on which color scheme you chose, there are about 5 different engines you will find on your model. Thrust reversers are here and they work with the power levers and not the "/" key found on some airplanes. You can see through the engines like a real one and the fan blades are amazingly detailed. Another neat detail is the spoilers. Once they are raised, you can see the internal makings of the wing, again like the real airplane.
There are so many things I can go on and on, but aside from the
textures outside there's a lot more on the inside that requires a few
words. So that being said, I'll move on and let the screen shots
speak for themselves.
Sounds
Everything from the APU startup to the initial startup of all four engines is amazing. You'll even hear the generators kick online after a start. I found myself on more then one occasion lost in the realm of the external startup. Just stunning. Back on the inside, any EICAS message has the proper tone. This thing just has new tones and dings all over it. Some occasionally take you by surprise and you have no idea where it came from, but it's cool none the less. In my opinion these are the best set of sounds I have heard for the 747 as of yet. The external and internal sounds of the reversers kicking in is a total rush from any position almost bringing you to the point were you think you are there yourself.
Main Panel
There are tons of gizmos and gadgets to play with. There are so many to list that it would take me days to list them and make this review way too large. So, I'll touch on a few of them. As for the rest you will have to experience for yourself. First off, the main panel. The main panel is very simple with tons of information available to you. Your Primary Flight Display (PFD) is everything it should be. It's amazingly very accurate, just like the one in the video found with this product. Every type of situation that you have the airplane configured for is displayed on your PFD. The ND is just as good. The entire flight plan that you have loaded into the FMC will be displayed including any altitude or crossing restraints, just like the real one. Your EICAS displays any warning or caution messages that the airplane is experiencing and all your engine parameters are displayed.
Frame Rates
I have to take a moment and talk about frame rates though. These three gauges and the FMC do require a lot of CPU power and some users have experienced a slow frame rate. All my reviews are done on
a Pentium III 950 MHz with 256 SDRAM Dell Inspiron 8000 laptop. I
initially experienced some slow frame rates with the main panel only
when I first got started with this product.The recommended system configuration for this product is Pentium 700 or higher with 128 MB RAM or more. I said recommended only because I have talked to people that have gotten this to run on slower machines. After I contacted JustFlight about the frame rates I was getting, it was a matter of hours before JustFlight's tech support had a replay with answers to why I was getting a slow down. Phoenix has added a slider like the ones found on your scenery that lets you control the amount of CPU power that is provided to the main gauges. The icon for this slider is found on the main panel to make things very easy. You can adjust the amount of output provided to the PFD, ND, EICAS and FMC. You will have to try some different settings to get the right one for your particular system. The nice thing is that you can try different settings while you are flying.
The screen shot of that slider I provided will help but take note this is the configuration that worked well with my system. JustFlight however has assured me that if for some reason any of
This is where you will set up your weight for the type of trip you want
to take. Overall, a nice addition but remember to write down your ZFW
(Zero Weight Fuel) so that you can enter it into the FMC. By doing so
you will be given the right V speeds for all phases of the flight. This
screen is in all of the aircraft's main folders.
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The Remaining Panels
The FMC provided is very easy to use but it does take some practice to get used too. To figure out your weights or to set them up yourself, JustFlight has created an FSEDIT folder in each aircraft's folder. Set how many passengers and cargo you want and save it. Remember to write down your zero fuel weight since that is what determines your V speeds. My suggestion to any new users is to take your first flights by using the provided flight plans in your Pilots Operating Handbook. I did and it really gets you used to all the functions and exactly what the FMC can provide you and do.The pedestal panel is very detailed and comes with another screen that provides all of your system information. Very neat to play with.
The overhead panel has everything that you need to fly this airplane accurately. In first timer lingo I found that if it says "Press" then press it, because it must be important somewhere. I found a few bad things though. The overhead panel can only be closed by the 'X" icon in the top right corner of the panel. Be careful not to hit the wrong one and shut down your simulating session. I myself am guilty of that. It's certainly a downer. And last is the fact that none of the fire handles work. I would have liked it if I could pull them to make emergency's act out more realistically.
And last, which turned out to be my favorite, is a different view for
landing. I hated nothing more then to hit "Shift-Enter" to drop the
view down so I could see where I was going. This view includes the
entire autopilot that also works. You can change the autopilot any
time in this view. It does take some practice landing this huge
airplane in this view. It seems you are sitting up a lot higher then
the main panel view but I found that if you listen to the altitude
callouts you should be squeaking them on in no time.
All in all, these panels are seriously nifty. I suggest you follow the checklist that is provided to get yourself around the cockpit a few times. After some practice you can have this thing configured and ready to fly in no time.
Flying This Beast
I did numerous test flights. Anywhere from shooting approaches at O'Hare or a long cross-country from KLAX to Honolulu then to Tokyo. After some practice setting everything up with different weights and flap settings, this thing will fly itself, land itself but not taxi itself. Hey, something has to be left up to us to take care of. Everything just seemed to be in sync with everything else. The throttle response varies by how you have the weights set up which in my book is very realistic. The autopilot is easy to learn and very responsive. I did find a flaw though. When you have a certain speed dialed in and you select FLCH the aircraft tends to pitch down
rapidly to -3500 FPM, sending all galley carts to the ceiling. A minor
flaw, but maybe you like floating people in the cabin. I don't know,
I leave it up to you.AutoLand in this beast is a dream and amazing to watch from an external view. As you touch down everything from the spoilers, reversers, and brakes are taken care of. As I mentioned before, I'm a total keyboard flyer. For that, I have no idea how this flies with joysticks. So, that being said, I found this to fly like a dream. Turns are slow and heavy like they should. Response is lost as your speed increases and vice versa. With the amount of avionics on the 747, I don't reckon you will be hand flying that much but from my standpoint it flies very well.
Landing, hmmm, let me stress mine seemed to have a flaw. I'm not sure if it's the height or what but I did manage to dent some concrete while writing this review. Like I said, it takes some practice and watch your altitude callouts for reference. After some practice they will improve as did mine.
The Verdict
OK, drum roll please. I spent numerous hours with this thing and played with about anything that would click. As an airline pilot myself, I found the panels to be exact replicas. The characteristics are about as real as I have seen. The sounds are right on and happen to be one of my favorite things about this product. So, for as many hours as I spent with this, I was overly impressed with everything that this add-on has to offer everybody. The sheer value and quality of this add-on is another thing that makes this product stand by itself.
The Neat Stuff
