Tonight I finished filming the video sequences I need to show you some cool features of the upcoming PMDG 737NGX, so I imagine I’ll be spending some time editing them into a YouTube-able video once I clean them up and reshoot any sequences that I goofed up the first time through…

I think you will enjoy what we have in store for you with these updates, as both show some aspects of the airplane that you will really enjoy!

As amazing as it seems, I had planned to shoot this video two weeks ago, but the non-stop effort to get the NGX into release candidate mode takes priority over just about everything these days. Currently the work-schedule is about 18hrs per day, so taking myself out of circulation for a day to shoot and edit videos isn’t a great use of my time. The work debugging my deliverables is beginning to slow down however- so with some good fortune I’ll have more time to show you some of the systems in depth now.

We are still holding the wide beta team on ice- as we have a few things that we just didn’t feel were ready for release. We could have kicked off the wide beta test just to be able to throw down an announcement in the forum- but at the end of the day we just don’t see the value in rushing the airplane into the final verification phase when we have something we know isn’t working the way we want.

On a positive note- we have VNAV operating about as close to the actual airplane as it can get. VNAV is, after all, the primary pitch mode used by airline crews around the world and it *must* perform as expected or the sense of «being there» gets destroyed. One of the beautiful things about VNAV is the intelligent way that it manages the airplane through climbs and descents while providing speed protections and accurate predictions by which the airplane is flown in order to reach the altitudes that define the vertical path of flight.

At PMDG we have always taken great pride on our LNAV/VNAV model, but I have to tell you that this new implementation blows the doors off of anything you have seen to date. The predictive methodology is so accurate that we were able to verify with Boeing that, in the real world the 737-800 Winglet airplane is significantly more slippery in the descent than any of her sisters. We’re talking about differences of 1/10th of a degree of descent slope, but the aerodynamic forces at play on the 800 in flight are nearly perfectly simulated in the NGX. Our VNAV model is able to handle this with aplomb and the airplane flies smoothly, on speed without throwing any strange behaviors or unexpected deviations at you, the pilot.

VNAV is *the* go-to pitch mode in the real world- and you’ll get the same benefits of reliability and stability with the NGX.

One of the other «cool» features that was implemented this week was the final version of the electrical production/consumption model. Most FS addons simplify the behavior of the electrical system on the airplane because it is VERY hard to come by the data required to do such a system in great depth.

On the PMDG 737NGX, however we have a fully simulated electrical cycles/volts/amps model that you can play with in many different ways. The most obvious way to see the model at work is to turn equipment on/off while watching the amperage demand change on the overhead electrical meter.

Every item on this airplane consumes some amount of amperage, and we have them modeled accurately out to the 1/1000th of an amp, based on the airplane’s certification data.

Don’t let this spook you- however, as the airplane is designed to be operated without the pilots having in-depth knowledge of the aircraft systems. But this detail level provides you with what is simply the most accurate simulation of the airplane…

Want a silly example? Okay- try this on for size:

The hydraulic Electric Motor Driven Pump (EMDP) consumes a WHOPPING 7.824 amps of energy while running. But, if the same-side engine driven pump (EDP) fails or is shut down, the EMDP is left carrying a much greater workload to keep the associated hydraulic system running, so the energy consumption increases by 4.3amps to a grand total of 12.124 amps!

This is a stunning amount of electrical consumption- and if you are watching the amperage load on the electrical meter, you will see this change take place just as it does on the airplane.

Why is this important to model? Well, it gives you the depth of simulation experience that we all crave. The reality is that 99% of users will never notice this type of detail or have it negatively impact them in flight- but if you wanted to sit down with your real-world flight manuals- the NGX is going to act just like your manuals tell you the airplane should behave….

But the TRULY nice thing about our detail, verification and testing process is that we are going to be delivering an airplane to you that is easy, dependable and FUN to fly- because it won’t go wandering off in unpredictable ways, thus destroying your enjoyment of the 737 flying experience.

Now- as for our release timetable- we have the window narrowed down pretty significantly- but we are still tweaking/tuning and refining- so we have a few more weeks at least. Once the wide beta team starts operating the airplane, we are VERY close to release- but for now my instinct tells me that we need just a bit more polish before we push her out to them…

Stay tuned- I will give you updates as we go- but please don’t panic if you don’t hear from me. It simply means we are busy!

Oh- one last item for those that like numbers: We are up to 610 total issues reported, with only 35 remaining unresolved at this point- so the «delta» is headed in the right direction. I looked through the open items list a few moments ago- and there are very few «big» issues pending. Most of the outstanding issue reports are for very fine detail items and options between various airline equipment. We are very close now…