There are moments that define history. Without pausing and reflecting, it’ll be all too easy to let it pass right on by.
One of those happened to us at Angle of Attack in the last 24 hours.
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We received the PMDG 737NGX Beta in our hangar yesterday and apart from all the excitement regarding the look, framerate, quality of the VC and feel of the aircraft we can’t help but notice that this really isn’t what strikes us as the most important factor.
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You see, every so often, someone in our tight-knit community of Flight Simulator does something spectacular and out of the ordinary. Usually we get a lot of great stuff consistently, but rarely do we see what are known as ‘Game Changers’.
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When we stepped onto the flightdeck of the PMDG 737NGX, hearing the engines wind down and the delivery pilots passing us by on the way out, we noticed something different in the air. It wasn’t the distinct smell of fresh paint, but rather an aura that this ‘one’ is not only something new and fresh, but it is also a work of art down to every last detail.
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Nothing about this cockpit screams, ‘Look at me, I’m fake!’. You’ve got fingerprints, dust, scratches, reflections and every bit of detail when zoomed in closely.
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As we went through the many controls, setup our company options in the FMS (a great new PMDG features), played with a bunch of switches and so on, we thought it was time for less fiddling and more flying!
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Setting up for takeoff, really only by memory at this point and not ‘by the book’, it was a dream to see the sleek and capable workhorse that is the 737 sitting there lined up in Anchorage, Alaska on a warm Summer day ready for its trip to Seattle.
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Engine thrust set 70% N1. The power starts to come alive with a forceful push reserved for the lucky few. TO/GA switched on, autothrottle takes over, and we’re off to the races!
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As speed increases, so does the rush of air over the windscreen and the blur of the runway lights rushing past us.
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Dancing on centerline with toe-tappin’ rudder control, making the callouts when necessary, we’re now careening down the runway hoping and longing for that tape-moving lift.
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The shakes get more intense. The corrections get fine, calculated, and quick. Vr is quickly approaching and the tension builds until it’s time to softly and authoritatively pull back on that control column.
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Wheels leave the pavement, wings flex skyward, and everything goes still…
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Now just above the runway, where these shots were taken in this one moment, the PMDG 737NGX has left the Angle of Attack hub in Anchorage on its way to Seattle for its maiden voyage. The first of countless flights to come, the cameras are now rolling and the curriculum is being fine tuned so that when YOU take delivery, you can experience this for yourself.
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No one said this simulation being built by PMDG would be easy to program, just as no one believes that you can fly the 737 without proper training. We don’t know a thing about programming an amazing simulation like what we’re seeing here in our first impressions, but we do know art when we see it. And this is that.
Angle of Attack is now in full forward, onward and upward, video training production mode!
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