Finally! DC-8 For FSX!

[altstiff 71]

 

 

There isn't an INS. To be fair though the early era DC-8s featured in this package wouldn't have been fitted with an INS until later in the DC-8's career.

 

Thanks for that Engine Room.

 

How is the night lighting on the panel?

[alexcolka 183]

I really like the virtual cockpit at night. It was a surprise for me. Sorry for not sharing screenshots.

 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Guest]

 

 

Just reinstalled it on my DX10 FSX system.

 

Oh good, so no DX10 issues, lights all working well?

 

Thanks, Rob.

[JustFlightScott 911]

If you want a highly detailed DC-8 done to the level of a PMDG Boeing, or perhaps the Coolsky DC-9 you are going to be disappointed. If you want something that you can jump in and fly in relatively short order, captures the look and feel of a DC-8 and you aren't too concerned about recreating real world DC-8 procedures to the Nth degree then this is definitely worth considering.

 

JF have been around for a long time now, they shouldn't be strangers to anybody who has been around this hobby for any real length of time. They have plenty of products available for a long time now and there are plenty of reviews and threads around the various FS sites detailing their products. They've carved a niche out for themselves as producers of middle of the road stuff and don't really cater for the kind of flight simmer who gets all moist when thinking about spending three hours meticulously planning their next PMDG 777 flight.

 

At the end of the day they are producing interesting aircraft types at a decent pace, and they aren't charging over the odds for them. They support their stuff with patches and their customer support is decent enough - you can get a refund without too much hassle. Their loyalty points system is also highly commendable as is their recent practice of holding short term fire sales of recent products at rock bottom prices. There are plenty of other developers and publishers out there operating with shoddy business practices far more deserving of our criticism and ire.

 

To criticise JF because their DC-8 doesn't feature the kind of systems depth and fidelity found in other addons from developers who take far longer to put stuff out and charge much more money is very disingenuous. To paraphrase Basil Fawlty, what more do you want for £20? The moon on a stick?

 

There isn't an INS. To be fair though the early era DC-8s featured in this package wouldn't have been fitted with an INS until later in the DC-8's career.

 

JF are usually quite receptive to customer wishes, so I'd imagine if enough people ask for it they'd consider adding an INS in an upgrade pack later on, much like their BAe146 has an optional basic FMS.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

 

As of now we are collating feedback on the DC-8 and where possible we'll include fixes and improvements in an update. We're proud of the DC-8 for sure and believe AH have done a sterling job with it. At the same time we're aware it's not going to be perfect and will not fit the bill for some of you but as mentioned if at all possible we'll improve it over time with updates - but no promises on timings.

 

The price is fair we believe and based on trying to make it as affordable as possible but with one eye on ensuring we don't go bankrupt of course .  In no way is the price linked to the type or standard of aircraft we've supplied. We don't believe it's at Abacus level (despite gripes and the odd shortcoming).  It's designed for simmers who want more complexity, quite a lot more, than our F-Lite range but maybe can live without the great complexity that a product say from PMDG would offer. We believe it looks great, flies nicely and captures the essence and complexity of the real machine.

 

Really glad the majority of you are enjoying it.

 

Best,

Scott

[awralls 5]

Scott, thanks for the commitment to update the DC-8. Could you also give an idea of the roadmap for the additional models that have been mentioned by JF on this forum. For example, does it include the -70 series CFM-engine models? Does it stop at the -60s? If either or both of those are under consideration, would they also include freighter-specific models?

 

I'm not after any indication of release dates, just some idea of the eventual scope of the range.

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

[EngineRoom 205]

Thanks for the kind words.

 

No problem Scott. I think a lot of a criticism you guys get from some of the more demanding sections of the community is quite unfair. You guys are decent developers/publishers and don't make a habit of taking your customers for mugs like some others I could mention.

 

Having said that, you guys really dropped the ball with the Eurofighter - it was a huge disappointment, even after the service packs. Please don't do the same thing with the Canberra as I'm really looking forward to it! Any plans to expand the Canberra line further than the PR9? How about an earlier goldfish bowl model, or perhaps a B(I).8?

 

I'm a huge fan of British aircraft and I think our aviation heritage is hugely under represented in flight simulation, that's why I absolutely love the fact you guys did stuff like the Comet 4, Viscount and Lightning (my favourite aircraft). I asked about a VC10 some time ago and got some hints that one might be on the way from JF... if you guys could see to doing a BAC 1-11, Trident, Britannia, Viking, Vanguard, Sea Vixen, Scimitar, Javelin, Vampire, Venom, Meteor (Dave Garwood already has the Hunter pretty well covered!) they would be instant buys for me.

[flyforever 267]

Some people forget that in a hobby such as ours, passion, long hours, and less than perfection in a product still deserve appreciation and encouragement. For example, no one has praised JF and the developer for sticking to the delivery date. They said  early November and they delivered it before November.

Do the calculations:  one to two years coding a product( that's 4000 hours). Let's assume that a good software coder normally earns $50 per hour, that's 200,000 of time that some one( or more than one) has put into a product.

 

So the product comes out with some flaws, and if people shut it down as if some evil individual did it on purpose to get rich, it impoverishes the hobby.

New developers or existing developers with talent simply get ###### off and move on to other endeavors.

 

I had the experience the other day of a customer who stopped ebay payment , claiming of receiving a product that was different from what he had ordered.  After explaining to him that there are several products that I ship, and some have features that are not obvious, the customer still insisted that he didn't receive what he had ordered.  So I offered him a full refund less shipping expense. He quickly said that he would force me ( through ebay's lopsided rules)to refund him the shipping also. He offered to keep the product if I "lowered" the price. I replied that I would give him a full refund, including shipping, if he did not appreciate the value of my product. I told him( very politely and professionally) that my soul and passion go into my products and I didn't want a customer to have it unless he was happy with it. He quickly wrote back saying that upon closer inspection, he would keep it because it was "well made".

 

Is my product perfect? No. But in order to go through the various evolution of improvement, it needs to go out and get feedback. Honest feedback---not high testosterone filled insults.

 

It's a balancing act between a good product with great promise and one that's put out irresponsibly. As with all products, however, those developers who don't follow up on bugs and updates do deserve criticism and eventually loss of customer trust. And we have a number of good examples.

 

My point to this piece is one of timing.  I purchased the DC8 and love many things about it.

 

1. Very readable gauges to hand fly a big plane.

2. great handling( except for the nose up issue after touchdown)

3. great engine sounds and acceleration during take off phase.

 

And there's more nice things I like about it. There are some issue, but I think they are fixable.

Those folks who want PMDG fidelity can forget about it. But then the price reflects it. Personally, I like both types of aircrafts( high fidelity and lite) and in my assessment of the product I am careful about making comparisons.

 

 

So I am holding judgement on the product and have begun providing the developers my feedback.

I'll wait and see in a couple of months. At which time, I may decide to be more critical of the product if the developer has not followed up on the improvements.

 

tony

[JustFlightScott 911]

Scott, thanks for the commitment to update the DC-8. Could you also give an idea of the roadmap for the additional models that have been mentioned by JF on this forum. For example, does it include the -70 series CFM-engine models? Does it stop at the -60s? If either or both of those are under consideration, would they also include freighter-specific models?

 

I'm not after any indication of release dates, just some idea of the eventual scope of the range.

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

 

Andy

 

Sorry I/we don't have that information at the moment.  As soon as I know more I'll try and remember to let you know. Otherwise keep an eye on our usual spaces - website/FB/Newsletter etc for further details.

 

Sorry I can't be of more help.

 

Scott

No problem Scott. I think a lot of a criticism you guys get from some of the more demanding sections of the community is quite unfair. You guys are decent developers/publishers and don't make a habit of taking your customers for mugs like some others I could mention.

 

Having said that, you guys really dropped the ball with the Eurofighter - it was a huge disappointment, even after the service packs. Please don't do the same thing with the Canberra as I'm really looking forward to it! Any plans to expand the Canberra line further than the PR9? How about an earlier goldfish bowl model, or perhaps a B(I).8?

 

I'm a huge fan of British aircraft and I think our aviation heritage is hugely under represented in flight simulation, that's why I absolutely love the fact you guys did stuff like the Comet 4, Viscount and Lightning (my favourite aircraft). I asked about a VC10 some time ago and got some hints that one might be on the way from JF... if you guys could see to doing a BAC 1-11, Trident, Britannia, Viking, Vanguard, Sea Vixen, Scimitar, Javelin, Vampire, Venom, Meteor (Dave Garwood already has the Hunter pretty well covered!) they would be instant buys for me.

 

The criticism comes with the territory of course so we're aware we'll not be able to please everyone but we do try and achieve what we can within timescales/budgets etc and would never knowingly release something that is substandard. Even the Eurofighter, which has actually done well for us and has received praise from many quarters would you believe, wasn't rushed out or lacked time at QA. But I do take on board your comments there.

 

I don't think you need to worry about the Canberra, already looking splendid and flying very nicely too. Hoping it'll be top-notch. Not much I can say about the other suggestions, all good ideas. How many would work commercially is another question of course. 

 

Best,

Scott

[JustFlightScott 911]

Some people forget that in a hobby such as ours, passion, long hours, and less than perfection in a product still deserve appreciation and encouragement. For example, no one has praised JF and the developer for sticking to the delivery date. They said  early November and they delivered it before November.

Do the calculations:  one to two years coding a product( that's 4000 hours). Let's assume that a good software coder normally earns $50 per hour, that's 200,000 of time that some one( or more than one) has put into a product.

 

So the product comes out with some flaws, and if people shut it down as if some evil individual did it on purpose to get rich, it impoverishes the hobby.

New developers or existing developers with talent simply get ###### and move on to other endeavors.

 

I had the experience the other day of a customer who stopped ebay payment , claiming of receiving a product that was different from what he had ordered.  After explaining to him that there are several products that I ship, and some have features that are not obvious, the customer still insisted that he didn't receive what he had ordered.  So I offered him a full refund less shipping expense. He quickly said that he would force me ( through ebay's lopsided rules)to refund him the shipping also. He offered to keep the product if I "lowered" the price. I replied that I would give him a full refund, including shipping, if he did not appreciate the value of my product. I told him( very politely and professionally) that my soul and passion go into my products and I didn't want a customer to have it unless he was happy with it. He quickly wrote back saying that upon closer inspection, he would keep it because it was "well made".

 

Is my product perfect? No. But in order to go through the various evolution of improvement, it needs to go out and get feedback. Honest feedback---not high testosterone filled insults.

 

It's a balancing act between a good product with great promise and one that's put out irresponsibly. As with all products, however, those developers who don't follow up on bugs and updates do deserve criticism and eventually loss of customer trust. And we have a number of good examples.

 

My point to this piece is one of timing.  I purchased the DC8 and love many things about it.

 

1. Very readable gauges to hand fly a big plane.

2. great handling( except for the nose up issue after touchdown)

3. great engine sounds and acceleration during take off phase.

 

And there's more nice things I like about it. There are some issue, but I think they are fixable.

Those folks who want PMDG fidelity can forget about it. But then the price reflects it. Personally, I like both types of aircrafts( high fidelity and lite) and in my assessment of the product I am careful about making comparisons.

 

 

So I am holding judgement on the product and have begun providing the developers my feedback.

I'll wait and see in a couple of months. At which time, I may decide to be more critical of the product if the developer has not followed up on the improvements.

 

tony

 

Yep agree with all that.

 

As mentioned before we can live with the criticism, that's par for the course really. We take and enjoy the praise so we understand we have to big enough to listen to the dissenting voices too regardless of whether or not we agree.

 

Possibly the only thing that riles is this perception that if a product is not of PMDG quality it's a poor and inferior product. Might be true in some people's eyes but for others it might just hit the spot and they might be thankful of the fact!

 

Best

Scott

[skully 1,045]

Scott, I hope the DC-8 is JF's biggest success.

I can say without reservation that I'm very happy with it and also very grateful for your teams efforts to bring us this outstanding aircraft.

There will be a lot of virtual Jet A being burned this weekend. 

 

Clear skies!

 

 

Gene

[EngineRoom 205]

 

 

How is the night lighting on the panel?

 

 

Note how the flap position gauge appears to be not working.

[flyforever 267]

the flap gauge does work if you turn the battery switch on.

tc

[odourboy 1,290]

Thanks for the VC night lighting pics EngineRoom! Looks quite good.

 

A couple of questions on the topic: Are the levels variable or simply on/off? Are the floods/dome separately controllable versus panel back-lights? Are different zones (panel, overhead, pedestal, fuse panel...) separately controllable or is all-in-one?

[alexcolka 183]

the flap gauge does work if you turn the battery switch on.

tc

Yes it works, you have to look at a battery switch with a red cover, open it turn on battery and done, remember to select the proper electric source.

 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

 

[MarkW 1,494]

Is it possible to incorporate the CIVA INS into this addon? and if so, have you made it easy by creating the panel.cfg so we just need to add the INS ?