Captain Sim Boeing 727 Captain Pro Line

727

LEARNING CURVE

Moderate

This product is developed by Captain Sim. Sales information and acquisition of the product may be attained here.

TEST FLIGHT CONDITIONS

This one is a bit different in that I did not use a single leg for the flight. The reason being is some issues I personally had with settings and conflicts between my system and this particular add-on, which I will detail in the narrative of this review. At least readers can get a full round robin here of a Federal Express 727. This is actually a regular route flown by Fed Ex.

=================================================================
FDX2420 Federal Express Corporation "FedEx" (Memphis, TN)
Aircraft McDonnell Douglas DC-10 (tri-jet) (H/DC10/L)
Origin Memphis Intl (KMEM - track or info)
Destination Denver Intl (KDEN - track or info)
Route SGF ICT J28 KYLER J28 GCK LAA QUAIL5 (Decode)
Route Decoded KMEM SGF ICT KYLER GCK LAA WEYYO HYMNS HGO CONAL
QUAIL JEFEL HUNTN CELMI FQF
Duration 1 hour 42 minutes
Departure 03:41 CDT
Arrival 04:40 MDT
Speed 477 kts
Altitude 34000 feet
=================================================================
FDX1487 Federal Express Corporation "FedEx" (Memphis, TN)
Aircraft Boeing 727-200 (tri-jet) (B722/W)
Origin Denver Intl (KDEN - track or info)
Destination Grand Junction Regional (KGJT - track or info)
Route ROCKI6 DBL V134 JNC (Decode)
Route Decoded KDEN DEN CONNR DBL LINDZ GLENO SLOLM RIYNO HUGSI
EDUKY PACES JNC KGJT
Duration 33 minutes
Departure 05:42 MDT
Arrival 06:20 MDT
Speed 435 kts
Altitude 28000 feet
=================================================================
FDX1287 Federal Express Corporation "FedEx" (Memphis, TN)
Aircraft Boeing 727-200 (tri-jet) (B722/W)
Origin Grand Junction Regional (KGJT - track or info)
Destination Colorado Sprgs Muni (KCOS - track or info)
Route JNC HBU DBRY1 (Decode)
Route Decoded KGJT JNC HBU DUFEL FLOOD STANO FSHER PYNON KCOS
Duration 0 hours 43 minutes
Departure 20:19 MDT
Arrival 21:02 MDT
Speed 429 kts
Altitude 27000 feet
=================================================================
FDX1287 Federal Express Corporation "FedEx" (Memphis, TN)
Aircraft Boeing 727-200 (tri-jet) (B722/W)
Origin Colorado Sprgs Muni (KCOS - track or info)
Destination Memphis Intl (KMEM - track or info)
Route BRK110R JEWLS GCK J28 ICT RZC GQE3 (Decode)
Route Decoded KCOS JEWLS GCK KYLER ICT RZC MARBI IGLOO COCKO
WILSU GQE BEERT BOWEN MEM KMEM
Duration 1 hours 59 minutes
Departure 21:54 MDT
Arrival 00:53 CDT
Speed 457 kts
Altitude 35000 feet
=================================================================

ActiveSky X was used for real world live weather during this review.

I did the first 2 legs with a load of 5 containers on the freighter. The second 2 legs had 10 containers once I fixed the power issues.

INSTALLATION

Once you purchase and download your product, you simply run the exe file to install. During the install, you do need to enter your order number, so you will have to have an internet connection to install this product. This product is not available anywhere on CD, however offline activation is a possibility with this product, so it is not absolutely necessary to have FSX on an internet capable computer to install and activate her, but you do need internet to download and get the required files to do so.

INTERIOR

I loved the interior. One of the things I have grown to like about Captain Sim is their "used" look. With modern "next generation" airliners, you tend to expect a more mint condition look, but when it comes to classics such as the 727, I guarantee in real life you will not find one that does not look aged in some way. Thus the realism comes alive on the flight deck when you look around. The systems are 3D, interior lighting is as I would expect on this old bird and the gauges are easy to read.

I would like to point out that I, like other users on the developer's forum, also had an issue with flight deck sounds disappearing. I edited files and also installed the dll file as instructed in this thread:

msvcr71http://www.captainsim.org/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1226425760/15

Installing the dll did not appear to help, but I did that before editing the cfg file and that did the trick -- I got my sounds back.

In all fairness to the developer, Captain Sim has acknowledged this issue exists and states it will be looked into for a future service pack. No ETA is given for such a fix as it is not yet certain what is causing the issue. I will be editing and updating this review once such a fix has been implemented.

727

EXTERIOR

Visually, the exterior of this aircraft is outstanding with only one shortcoming:

There is no sound pack included with this product at all. The product is shipped aliased to the default Boeing 737. However the devloper has recently annoucned that they are working on a professional soundpack for this product and it will be released as a free update.

I'd also like to point out that at first, it looks like the engines are not animated as far as the fans go, but this is actually correct and right. I googled and found out that Boeing actually designed the fan screens in this manner, so there are stationary "blades" in front of the actual fans. Upon closer inspection in FSX, you do see that this is the case with the flight model as well, as you can indeed see spinning fans behind the stationary blades. This is not a glitch and has taught me a new thing about these engine types.

727

FLIGHT DYNAMICS, HANDLING AND SYSTEMS

With the exception of one major issue, the handling of this aircraft is outstanding. She performs and handles dynamically as I would expect this old bird to in real life. Her systems are well done and simulated, and it is an absolute pleasure to fly her.

So what about the issue? Plain and simple, it was the engine power. Reading the developer's support forums, it is evident that a recent patch "reduced" the engine power of this bird. A lot of users seem happy with this. I am not sure how they can be, or if I managed to install a version they do not have, but on initial install she seemed way underpowered. I attempted a takeoff from a 12,000 foot runway with only 5 freight containers on board, left at their default weight values in the ACE manager. At both flaps 5 and 15 attempts, she overran the other end of the runway without even coming close to V1 or Vr. I checked my weights and was within limits. Even at max gross weight, this aircraft SHOULD be able to become airborne from a 12,000 foot runway!

My solution was to go into the aircraft.cfg file and adjust the static thrust from 15500 to 25000. I tried at 20000 and while it did increase thrust, it still took almost the entire runway to take off at the same weights. 25000 did the trick for me, and she took off as expected by the charts I have. The drawback is in the air at this point. With 25000 pounds of thrust, you have to seriously throttle back to keep within the 250 knot limit below 10000 feet. Even at higher altitudes she goes rather fast with my thrust edit, so I have to throttle back to 70 percent to maintain speed below the red line. This is, however, a good tradeoff as I'd rather fly with higher thrust than not be able to get the bird off the runway.

If anyone has a lead that can point me to something I may have been doing wrong power-wise, or a file that I may have missed, do let me know and I will happily edit this review to reflect it.

727

UTILITIES

A tool is included with this product called the ACE utility. It acts as a load manager for the passenger variants as well as a repaint manager. For the cargo pilots, the freighter is loaded using an animated loader while in the sim itself, but the weights of each crate can be set beforehand using the ACE utility.

DOCUMENTATION AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT

For the price of the product and the complexity of aircraft operation, the documentation covers the absolute bare minimums for getting you started. There is no flight manual that takes you through the ins and outs of the sim. There are three documents, which are not installed with the product. Instead you must download these separately from the developer web site. The first manual is a user manual which takes you through installing, uninstalling, and the load manager for the freighter and the icons. It also explains how to use the ACE utility.

The second manual describes all of the aircraft's systems, but does not go into any detail on the proper use of these systems.

The third manual is the operations manual. While this title is assigned to this document, it is not really a manual, per-say, as much as it is simply a compilation of the aircraft normal checklist and performance charts. Abnormal procedures are not included with this product.

While the documentation is not what one would expect for the price of the product, this is made up for by customer support. There are the expected ways to get in touch with customer service - by opening a support ticket or posting on the forum. The forum is more of a community forum and is not officially used for technical support. The developer does actively participate there, but to receive official support you must use the trouble ticket system.

The staff at Captain Sim have been nothing but nice to me since I started using their products in FS9 days. They seem to be professional and well worth talking to if you have issues. They seemed to have a borderline reputation with their "Block" system of releases -- but no one forces you to buy those blocks. I, for one, am one of those customers who will wait for the professional, completed product to be released. The good news is, once CS releases a professional pack of their product line, it is the complete product (minus the sound in this case).

It is also of note that CS does listen to their customers. At first, they were going to leave the sounds off and have this plane stuck with default 737 sounds. However, with customer demand and feedback, they did decide to announce they are making a sound pack for her which will make it complete. This earned much kudos in my book that a developer is willing to change a decision they have made to make their customers happy. I was going to dock 10% off their score for the lack of sound pack, but on an honor system that the pack will be released in good time, I am going to leave that out of my scoring equation for now.

CONCLUSION

When it comes to any add-on categorized as an "advanced airliner add-on", such as the 727, I tend to be more critical and expecting than with basic GA product lines. With that said, it is fair to acknowledge that I have noted a lot of negatives in this review. However it is also fair to acknowledge that Captain Sim has acknowledged publicly in their forum that they are aware of these issues and are working to correct them (all but the sound pack).

If I did not possess this add-on, would I spend the money to buy it knowing what I know now? I have to admit I am on the fence with that one. At the time of this writing, the 727 Captain is retailing 59.99 Euros/$80.00 USD. If you want models for the 300 and Freighter, they are 19.99 Euros/$26.00 USD each. That adds up to a total cost for the package of 99.97 Euros/$132.00 USD. In that price range, I would expect a sound package already completed and probably at least a tutorial document to guide me through a practice flight to properly introduce me to the systems. If I did not already have a high quality MD80 with a high quality sound pack, I would be caught searching the internet for a justifiable package for her engines. Fortunately, with the announcement of a sound pack, that add s alot to such a buying decision. Also, a couple of authors wrote some good tutorials for the CS727, and if i were them, i would see about striking a deal to include that in the downloads area alongside their manuals.

In this case, unlike my other reviews, I am going to have to sit back and not give a recommendation on whether or not to buy this product. Instead, it is best to read what I have here, and also skim the Captain Sim community forum, and make a decision for yourself based on what you would personally want from a 727 add-on.

LIKES

Excellent visual quality
Excellent customer support
Easy installation
Excellent handling (after fixing thrust)
Exterior animation and inclusion of airstairs, engine covers, escape slide, dust covers, etc.
Animated loading of the freighter.

DISLIKES

No sound pack! Aliased to Default 737 (for now. A sound pack has been announced for future release as a free update).
Underpowered engines (I had to edit a CFG file just to get her off a 12000 foot runway at half gross weight!).
VC Sound Bug - Had to do a manual workaround by editing a CFG file.
ATC call signs in aircraft.cfg incorrect. I had to change them from "757" to "752" and "751" respectively for them to be recognized by ATC properly during radio calls.

SCORE - 86% - "B"

Out of an expected 125 items expected for this add-on, 108 passed. This gave the product a base score of 86% for a "B" grade. This score is based also on the announcement that CS is releasing a sound pack to go with the product as a free upgrade to current customers.

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