Flight sim developer Felis behind products for X-Plane like the Tu-154 has been hard at work developing the beloved 747-200 Classic for X-Plane 11. I was lucky enough to obtain a copy of the addon for this article, which will briefly touch on the 747-200 and what you can expect for release. Please note that this addon is not yet released and some things may change at release.
External Model
In short, the external model of the aircraft is nothing short of a work of art. The engines have the iconic metallic shine to them and are detailed down the the rivet, the wing, elevators, tail, and fuselage are also modelled accurately with impressive PBR texturing, with some added dirt to show the aircrafts age. The landing gear is detailed with the classic tilt when airborne. Small details like rivets, fin stabilizers, text warnings and markings are present.
Cockpit & Systems
The aircraft features a completely custom made 3D cockpit, with the classic steam gauges as well as a fully implemented engineers panel. The cockpit is textured and modelled to a high level, with just about every switch and knob functioning.
Systems wise, the 747-200 is very complex. Just about every system including the hydraulic, electrical, bleed air, and fuel system is functional and simulated at a study level.
As for navigation, the aircraft features a fully custom coded, true to life CIVA INS navigation system, as well as the default X-Plane FMC for people who prefer it. There will also be a future update after release featuring a custom LTN-92 FMS, a little less complex than the CIVA INS.
The autopilot is also simulated true to life as well as the auto thrust, both requiring a fair amount of knowledge to understand and operate correctly.
EFB & Sounds
The aircraft features a custom electronic flight bag, for inputting weights and fuel into your aircraft, viewing aircraft options, INS configuration, checklists, as well as AviTab integration.
You are also able to control ground services from the EFB like chocks, GPU, doors, etc.
The aircraft features fully custom sounds including for the engines. A first officers voice is also included to give handy callouts as crucial events in the flight take place, as well as an engineers voice to give callouts related to the aircraft systems.
In my opinion, the click sound of the CIVA INS buttons are not the best, definitely something that could be improved.
Cabin
The cabin of the aircraft is also modelled, it takes after the vintage look of a real 747 Classic cabin, with all seats modelled in first class and economy, as well as the iconic spiral staircase and the galleys with some complementary alcohol included, all textured to a high standard. The overhead bins and small details like the first class TV and lavatory doors are also modelled. Unfortunately there is no lavatory included.
Performance
The performance of the aircraft thus far is decent, not amazing but a long haul flight could be achieved comfortably for most users. I myself have quite a low end pc but still achieve around 30 FPS with 3rd party plugins and scenery loaded.
Conclusion
In short, the aircraft is very promising, and I think it takes the title for one of the best classic aircraft for X-Plane 11 to come. The 747-200 will definitely be worth investing in if you are a fan of classic aircraft, or interested in learning the complex simulation of the Queen of the Skies.
There is currently no release date or price being shared, although we can expect release relatively soon on the X-Plane.org store.
