So what's new in the flight sim world?
- I picked up several new add-ons this fall: the QualityWings BAe146/AvroRJ, the Coolsky DC-9, the Captain Sim 737 Captain, and the Captain Sim 777 Captain. I'll post mini-reviews in time, but here is a quick summary: I like the Avro, I love the DC-9, the CS 737 needs some work, and the CS 777 is still a work-in-progress, although it is actually in a decently flyable state.
- PMDG head honcho Robert Randazzo gave the fans a nice status update on the state of various projects over at PMDG. They are trucking right along on the 777, and it is being modeled in amazing detail. It will be to the 777 what the NGX is to the 737 NG series. PMDG is starting to shift some developer resources onto other projects, which is a good sign that they are starting to enter the homestretch. Beta may begin very soon. Other projects (such as the DC-6B) have been essentially back-burnered so that resources could be prioritized for 777 development, but we may see more activity on those fronts again soon. Robert says the next service pack for the NGX (including the next expansion plane) is essentially ready, but they have been sitting on it for a while so that they could roll some changes arising from 777 development into the NGX as well. I think this has the potential to be a huge year for PMDG, once the 777 is out the door. Wouldn't be surprised if we will be adding the 777 to our virtual hangars by this summer, although there are no guarantees...PMDG will roll it out only when it's ready. Apparently the 747X 2.0 is going to be really sweet, too. Another interesting nugget: PMDG is still working on porting one of their projects to X-Plane. If they do that, I may finally have to consider giving X-Plane a serious look.
- Coolsky is readying a SP1 update for their DC-9, containing mostly bugfixes. Let me say it again: this plane is awesome. If you are looking for a great classic jetliner to tool around in, and you don't want to endure all the headaches of trying to fix Captain Sim's broken flight models (with their 727 and 737 in particular), then this is the plane for you. Get thee over to Flight1 and purchase the DC-9 post-haste.
- Aerosoft has released the Airbus X Extended. Scuttlebutt on AVSIM suggests that this is a better Airbus than the old Wilco Airbus series, although it lacks the depth of a full PMDG-style simulation. As for me, I am still holding out for the FlightSimLabs Airbus A320 series, which is promised to be a full PMDG-style treatment of the Airbus. Rumor has it that the FSL 'bus is in the paint shop now - maybe we will get to fly her in 2013 as well? That would be an absolute treat!
- And not to be outdone, the Majestic Software guys have been methodically working away at their Dash-8 Q400 for FSX. They have even released a cool trailer video, and it is looking really nice. There are even some rumors out there that we may see this one as early as Q1 2013 - stay tuned!
- Elsewhere, Aerosoft/DA is still plugging away at their CRJ. I'm still really looking forward to this one, but development has been rather inconsistent, so it's hard to say when it will hit the streets. Maybe 2013 will be the year for the CRJ after all!
- And unfortunately, no news on the Level-D 757. (Or, as Chevy Chase once said, "Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.")
Still tooling around in the PMDG NGX a lot, too. It is my go-to plane for most short-haul flights, as it is so well done. I really, really like it a lot, and it's been out for two years now.
I'm also toying with the idea of getting a SSD drive for my main FSX rig sometime in 2013, and migrating FSX over to that. I have heard others say that the performance of FSX is in another league when run off a SSD drive. Can't complain too much about my current setup, but I think I would like to give it a shot.
What are you guys flying these days? What are you most looking forward to in 2013?
