Virtavia C-17 Globemaster III is OUT!!!

[Gatorlph11]

Great pics Mal!!

J.J.

[Warrant]

Wow....Just stunning images there, Mal!
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....
Must stop looking or i'll buy now....

[GB]

It needs special tallent to take shots like Mal's.

That's why I said that I don't even think about ruining anybody's view with mine..

Really nice shots.

[mfitch]

That second to last picture in mal's post really emphasizes the size of these things. I am continually amazed at what they can do (real life). One of my favorite flight training memories is a C-17 lifting off as I crossed the runway line in a Diamond Eclipse. Perhaps I will have to buy this one and re-enact the scene.

[fox18delta]

Watched a C-17 perform a max-rate turn at CFB Trenton...inside the airfield boundaries ! Wow.
C-17 reminds me of Thunderbird 2, Virgil's aircraft . LOL

This one looks like a beauty :-)

[strykerpsg]

Absolutely gonna get this one! Admittedly, would like an FMC (FSAFRANEK, any insight on an upgrade perhaps?). The price is a bit steep, but was going to buy it before at a high price mark too, without the VC, so not definitely want this one.

Matt

[jim]

Anybody know if the Alpha repaints of the C17 will work with the new Virtaria C17?

[mal998]

Fellas,
Thanks for the kind comments on my screenies.

For those who have purchased, your comments and critiques are being taken under advisement and will be incorporated into an update wherever possible.

The Alpha repaints will work on the new Virtavia aircraft.

[strykerpsg]

Mal,

Do you have any visibility on the possibility of an FMC addition? As mis-stated in my last post, I most definitely want this, even if there is not an FMC but do think an FMC would help justify the higher price mark for some. Just a thought.

Matt

Fellas,
Thanks for the kind comments on my screenies.

For those who have purchased, your comments and critiques are being taken under advisement and will be incorporated into an update wherever possible.

The Alpha repaints will work on the new Virtavia aircraft.

[mal998]

Matt,
I have forwarded your question to the boss regarding the FMC. I'll certainly let you know if I get any feedback.

It's a fun plane to fly!

Big, yet agile... ya' come screaming into a short runway, deploy the spoilers, slam on the reverse thrusters, tap the brakes... come to a screeching halt...it's fun!

BR's,
mal

[Kiwikat]

I'll buy this one after/if they install a FMC in it. For the same money you can get arguably one of the best airliner addons of all time.

I really hope they decide to further develop this one.

[strykerpsg]

Matt,
I have forwarded your question to the boss regarding the FMC. I'll certainly let you know if I get any feedback.

It's a fun plane to fly!

Big, yet agile... ya' come screaming into a short runway, deploy the spoilers, slam on the reverse thrusters, tap the brakes... come to a screeching halt...it's fun!

BR's,
mal

Mal, thanks for forwarding. I look forward to this and an FMC would certainly qualify this beauty for the higher dollar point. Also, Area 51 made mention of a possible FMC with theirs as well, so hoping the competitive spirit swells to give us more options to choose from. Bottom line, I really like the detail on this and the paints. The FMC would just be the icing on the cake for me.

Please forward my regards to the team for completing their work of art.
Matt

[dvj]

Fellas,
Thanks for the kind comments on my screenies.

For those who have purchased, your comments and critiques are being taken under advisement and will be incorporated into an update wherever possible.

The Alpha repaints will work on the new Virtavia aircraft.

Recommendation for update:

Would it be possible to change the contact points of the tires? Right now they don't look they are carrying any weight for an aircraft this large and heavy.

[fsafranek]

Recommendation for update:

Would it be possible to change the contact points of the tires? Right now they don't look they are carrying any weight for an aircraft this large and heavy.

That's an easy mod you can do yourself by editing the [contact_points] section of the aircraft.cfg file. The original value #3 was "-13.85". Below I've changed it to "-13.70". That presses the tires a bit but not a whole lot since there is no cargo in there. Experiment a little and comment back with your results.

 
//--------0------1-------2-------3--------4------5-----6-------7-----8------9------10------11------12----13---14---15-
point.0 = 1, 58.50, 0.00, -13.70, 1250.00, 0, 1.55, 45.00, 0.68, 2.00, 0.80, 18.00, 13.00, 0, 250, 250
point.1 = 1, -10.00, -13.50, -13.70, 1500.00, 1, 2.05, 0.00, 0.84, 2.25, 0.65, 17.00, 13.00, 2, 250, 250
point.2 = 1, -10.00, 13.50, -13.70, 1500.00, 2, 2.05, 0.00, 0.84, 2.25, 0.65, 17.00, 13.00, 3, 250, 250

:ernae:

[mal998]

hold on, i'll have a look at the ground stance

Beat me to it. :-}

That looks better!

[StormILM]

Hey guys, is anyone else having an issue with the C-17 Autopilot in FSX? I am using the VC and for some reason, the AP master switch is inoperative(it will not move when moused/clicked). The readouts for setting the Alt and Heading, etc work fine but no engagement of the AP function. The other items that seem affected by the issue are the GPS and the Backup Artificial Horizon which are also INOP. Oddly, the Autothrottle works fine and all other instruments and displays work perfectly. It makes me wonder if there is a Electrics mapping issue or something interfering with the affected gauges/systems. I have reinstalled and no joy, same issue. Support ticket in to Virtavia but just wanted to know if anyone else besides me has an issue like this?

Otherwise, the model is incredible and the frame rates on my dated system are excellent at this level of detail.

[dvj]

hold on, i'll have a look at the ground stance

Beat me to it. :-}

That looks better!

Yep, much much better, thanks!

[GT182]

Yep, it looks just like the ones that fly over my house here in DE. And just as pretty too..... but noisy as all get out. LOL

[mal998]

Storm,
I reported it and am waiting for the crew to check it out.

Update: I re-loaded the aircraft and the switch, which is located on the right hand side of the panel, actually worked ok. So, i don't know at this point I'll keep an eye on it.

Update 2: switch seems to work ok. reloaded aircraft, went to panel switched on autopilot and it worked fine.

[dougal]

Oh I sooooooo want this, it looks great.

Sadly, it would need the FMC in place though.

[StormILM]

Storm,
I reported it and am waiting for the crew to check it out.

Update: I re-loaded the aircraft and the switch, which is located on the right hand side of the panel, actually worked ok. So, i don't know at this point I'll keep an eye on it.

Update 2: switch seems to work ok. reloaded aircraft, went to panel switched on autopilot and it worked fine.

Mal, I am going to uninstall and start over just to make sure if something may have been corrupted. I went and checked out the B-1B and some other models to make sure there was no FSX anomaly going on that were interfering with gauges but only the C-17 was experiencing the issue as described. When I get the model reinstalled, I will advise if there is any change.

FYI folks, there is a good freeware Honeywell FMC over at Avsim that should be a drop-in for the C-17 panel. Also, I tested EasyFBW freeware program with the C-17 and it worked perfectly adding Autotrim and other Fly-By-Wire aspects without pitch & bank limiters.

[Merlin216]

Here is my little review.



It flies nicely. I am sure Mr. Ogluin can get better flight data than anyone here. At low speeds it handles very much like a fighter, but when you add cargo you can definitely feel the extra weight.

The VC looks spot on. It does miss a few functions, most noted was the FMC. I would prefer a map page much similar to the actual C-17s, where you can at least see the flight plan, but the GPS map is not bad either. Everything else is pretty straight forward minus the EPR ratings, which just take some time to play around with to fully understand.

The one thing I have to complain about though, is the HUD. The HUD is displayed at a 45 degree angle or so, and it is comparable to trying to look at a laptop screen also angled at 45 degrees. In my second picture, you can see what I am talking about. I personally find the HUD useless in this case, as I just cannot see anything from my default view angle. The two times I have sat in the cockpit of a C-17, the HUD has been off so I cannot really say from actual experience, but videos and pictures I have seen show the HUD to be flat rather than at this angle.



The last little complaint I have about the HUD, is the Flight Path Marker. It is several times larger than an actual FPM, but more so it does not work. Upon approach my FPM was at the other end of the runway, not where I was about to touch down. Overall it just doesn't seem to work like the FPMs in other aircraft, such as the Aerosoft F-16.

Please do not take anything I said above negatively towards Virtavia. I am very pleased to see the VC after this very long wait, and personally think it came out quite nicely, minus the 3 things I mentioned. I do hope something is done about the HUD and FMC though, as those two alone would greatly increase my fun in the aircraft.

To those of you asking about the Reverse Thrusters, yes they work very well. As for the repaints done a long time ago, I think they will work, but I have yet to test them.

Thank you Virtavia for your hard work and great product.

[fsafranek]

Mal, I am going to uninstall and start over just to make sure if something may have been corrupted. I went and checked out the B-1B and some other models to make sure there was no FSX anomaly going on that were interfering with gauges but only the C-17 was experiencing the issue as described. When I get the model reinstalled, I will advise if there is any change.

FYI folks, there is a good freeware Honeywell FMC over at Avsim that should be a drop-in for the C-17 panel. Also, I tested EasyFBW freeware program with the C-17 and it worked perfectly adding Autotrim and other Fly-By-Wire aspects without pitch & bank limiters.

It could be that the small patches over the full install are causing the problems. The AP was working fine last week. I flew a flight plan course using it to control heading and altitude changes as well as approach. I just looked again running a full set of tests and am seeing issues now -- it does turn on/off for me however. In the mean time until it is sorted, the AP on the 2D panel works fine and does update the AP in the VC.

The backup artifical horizon is working fine for me so not sure what's up there.

The standalong FMC that Storm mentioned is "fmc-1.zip" by Garrett Smith at flightsim.com. I've had it installed on the default 737-800 and am working on getting it to work here as well.

Thanks for screen shots and comments Merlin216. I agree about the flight plan on the map view. I asked for that feature during testing. Also during testing I flew her with some of the repaints by Nathan Havercroft from the original release and they do work with this version. Just do a search for "alphasim c-17" and you'll find several.

Going to scrape the whole thing off now along with the 2-3 mini patches and reinstall the full package and see how it looks after that.
:ernae:

[Merlin216]

Thanks for screen shots and comments Merlin216. I agree about the flight plan on the map view. I asked for that feature during testing. Also during testing I flew her with some of the repaints by Nathan Havercroft from the original release and they do work with this version. Just do a search for "alphasim c-17" and you'll find several.

Going to scrape the whole thing off now along with the 2-3 mini patches and reinstall the full package and see how it looks after that.
:ernae:

Thank you Frank. Your updates near the end were very nice to have.

I could not remember whos name it was that did the repaints. Nathan has done quite a few, and are definitely work checking out. I am glad to hear they work still.

[dvj]

One great sim....

Attachment 39785