General Update PMDG 07/07

por alexmagal Sáb 07 Jul 2012, 16:39

Captains-

Happy Saturday morning to all of you!

I have been out of circulation for the better part of a month, so I wanted to give you a quick update on some broader status items...

PMDG 777:
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The 777 continues to move along, but at a slightly slower pace than planned. I thought we would be pushing the airplane into testing late this month, but I think we are looking a bit further down the road before we take that step, as a few developers on the team have had to take some extended time away in order to tend to various family matters.

A new build has just gone out to the development team that includes some significant new progress in the areas of cockpit automation and crew assistance systems... The whole airplane is really beginning to come together and we will start showing parts of her to you in the weeks ahead.

This airplane really builds well on top of the technologies we developed for the NGX- and we are adding additional functionality to the SDK in order to accommodate features and capabilities that have been requested by various developers in the field. (I'm being intentionally **ue on what these new capabilities are in order to protect our concepts and the concepts of various development partners...)

Many of these features will be rolled backward into the NGX which will really be pretty neat.

Overall the 777 is looking fantastic and beginning to take shape well- we are looking forward to making the transition to testing- whenever that happens to be. (We aren't going to talk much about it until after it has gone to testing- as this "transition" is really an invisible one to end customers...)

PMDG 747-400v2.0:
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I appear to have created a bit of confusion by accident in an earlier post- so the information here replaces any earlier information on the topic:

Work on the 744v2.0 will begin to accelerate during the middle of next week, as we are finally ready to move the NGX/777 code base into the third project to be built on that platform. Vin is still touching up the 777 VC and he will begin working on the 744 just as soon as he is finished with the 777 (which should be very soon!)

The 747-400v2.0 project will initial model the 747-400 (well, duh, Rob... really?) and will then be followed by an expansion pack which adds the 747-8i, along with the required model/cockpit/systems/logic changes that are incorporated into the 747-8i/F fleet.

I'm not going to guess when we will begin previewing this airplane for you because the only way to describe that timeline is to do it in relation to the 777, and I don't want someone to jump all over me if the 744v2.0 preview starts earlier or later than described in relation to the 777... You follow my meaning? Good....

Douglas DC-6:
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A new build of this product went up for internal testing this week, and we anticipate moving this project into wider testing in the weeks ahead. We have one specific area on the airplane that requires the attention of a developer currently buried in the 777, but once he is free of 777 timeline obligations he will be completing his assigned tasks on the DC-6- and that will allow the airplane to go into beta testing!

We are looking for DC-6 type rated testers to help out with testing this project- so if you are rated on the airplane or currently working to maintain them- please reach out to us via our support ticket system. We'd like to talk to you!

IMPORTANT NOTE: We do not take beta testing solicitations in the forum, by forum private message, or by telephone. You should fill out a ticket describing your background and experience and we will get back to you to request proof of qualifications at a future date.

Also please note that this solicitation applies ONLY to the DC-6- and you must have verifiable experience with the airplane.

NEW PMDG HQ OFFICE:
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Effective Monday, 09JUL12 we will be inaugurating operations from our new corporate headquarters located in Alexandria, VA.

I have been out of circulation for slightly more than a month as we migrated from the west coast of the US to the east coast. The location of the office geographically and "time-zoneally" (I made that word up because I couldn't think of a better one!) should have no impact on any of you. Our average support ticket answering time is lower than it has ever been, and both Paul and Ryan continue to keep an eye on things even while I am trying to un-bury myself from a sea of cardboard boxes...

(Oh- and any stories you might hear about me hunting deer on federal lands in West Virginia are completely bogus. We all know I'm not any good with a firearm and that deer jumped into my lane anyway- so taking it out with my truck was just the natural course of animal instinct meeting bad timing and the irresistible force of physics.... )

PRINTED 777 FLIGHT MANUALS:
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We have completed the quality control check on the 777 flight manuals, and these will go up for sale very soon. These manuals will be a must-study for anyone serious about the 777!

XPLANE:
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There are no changes on this front- I will give you a further update later in July as we have time to evaluate the market for Xplane aircraft.

Okay- I think that covers the major topics for today... I hope you all have a really enjoyable weekend!

(I'll be inside and coding... going to be 106F with 80% humidity most of the weekend!)