PMDG Readies NGX SP1b, and More

Robert Randazzo of PMDG recently posted that they are readying the SP1b update to their 737 NGX series.  This will be a free update that fixes some issues that they did not have a chance to address in SP1.  They are continuing efforts to work on the -ER series, the BBJ series, and the military series as well, but they have not yet revealed a timetable as to when these will be available.

Robert says the PMDG team is fully underway on 777 development at the moment as well.  He hopes to update soon regarding release timetables (unclear as to whether he is talking about the NGX expansions, the 777, or something else here) as well as some "announcements on new product offerings."  Oooooooh, the last part is really intriguing for me - can't wait for PMDG to open their kimono a little more and let us know what else they're cooking up!

Elsewhere, there seems to have been a bit of a rift developing between PMDG and McPhat Studios regarding the release of repaints for the NGX.  The exact nature of the rift is unclear, but the gist of it seems to be that McPhat claims PMDG did not provide them with all the legal clearance they needed to release repaints for the NGX, while PMDG claims they bent over backwards to work with McPhat, and are displeased by McPhat's lack of professionalism.

You can read the comments by Robert Randazzo of PMDG regarding McPhat here.

You can read the response to these comments by Terrence Klaverweide of McPhat here.

Best as I can tell, this is one of those things that should have been fairly routine, but seems to have escalated into a pissing match on both sides.  I hope cooler heads can prevail.  I like McPhat, and think they do some great artistry on airplane repaints.  Hopefully a little diplomacy goes a long way here - I think the flight sim world needs both PMDG and McPhat.

Captain Sim Updates 767 Captain to v1.5

Captain Sim released the v1.5 update to their 767 Captain product this week.  Details here.

This update is very similar to the recent 757 Captain updates, in that it removes the dependency on FSUIPC and eliminates some of the nasty rolling/rocking effects previously observed on ILS landings.  I have snagged the recent updates for both the 757 and 767, and I am pleased to report that flying these two planes is a much more satisfying experience now.

Elsewhere, Captain Sim reports that "good progress" is being made toward the full versions of the 737 and 777 - hopefully we will see one or both of these sometime in 2012.

feelThere! Releases Embraer Phenom 100

feelThere! has released their Embraer Phenom 100 VLJ addon for FS9 and FSX.  This is labeled a "LE" product, which presumably means "Lite Edition".  It does not come with a full implementation of a FMS, instead relying on the default FS flight planner to drive the Garmin 1000 avionics simulated in this product.  (In essence, that means no direct support for SIDs or STARs, and grossly outdated navigational data.)

The Embraer Phenom 100 is available at the feelThere! site for US $34.99.

Note this product is also available for sale through Wilco Publishing, too.

Captain Sim Updates 757 Captain to v4.6

Hot on the heels of the recent v4.5 update, Captain Sim has squashed a few more bugs and rolled out a v4.6 update to the 757 Captain.  List of bugs fixed is here.

Some folks were grumbling that the v4.5 update did not quite fix everything as advertised, so hopefully v4.6 addresses those remaining issues now.