PMDG have a long history of creating award winning high quality add-on aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Similarly, Aerosoft have a history of publishing only the finest add-ons available for FS. Surely this combination is a match made in heaven.
History Lesson
The J41 is a
regional turboprop airliner and is a major development of the
J31/32. It entered service in 1992 with the goal of competing
directly with other 30 seat aircraft like the Embraer Brasilia,
Dornier 328 and Saab 340. The J41’s fuselage is 8 feet longer
than the J31/32 and was a completely new design that didn’t use
any parts of the old fuselage.
The aircraft was
fitted with Garett TPE331-14 engines which eventually delivered
1,650 SHP. These engines have been accurately reproduced by PMDG
in this simulation. The flight deck is equipped with a modern
EFIS setup that has been recreated in exacting detail by PMDG.
There are over 90 J41’s in operation today with airlines such as
Eastern Airways, South African Airlink and Brindabella Airlines.
Until now a
complex simulation of this aircraft has been missing from the FS
world, PMDG have decided to right that wrong in emphatic
fashion. What started out as a ‘lite’ product (similar to the
B1900D and B1900C) quickly turned into a fully fledged complex
simulation. During its 9 months of development no stone was left
unturned in the quest for absolute realism. The head of PMDG
actually used to be a captain on the J41, so I would expect
nothing less that perfection!
 |
Installation & Setup
The installation
was a little different to the norm for products from Aerosoft.
You are able to download the 220mb file (250mb installed) and
install it without the need for a registration key. However, you
will be prompted to enter the reg-key when you first select the
aircraft in FSX and you will need an active internet connection
to activate the add-on. I would suspect that the boxed version
wouldn’t require this step.
After
installation is complete a new folder will be created on your
start menu which includes a configuration manager (more on that
later), the aircraft operating manual – 543 pages , tutorial –
98 pages, checklists and an introduction/overview document – 93
pages. As I’m sure you will agree PMDG cannot be accused of
providing lack of information. In all honesty, you will be more
than able to fly this aircraft by reading the tutorial only. But
if you are unsure of something, the main AOM is there for
reference. The overview manual is just that; an over-view of the
aircraft. I would recommend reading this through so that you are
aware of what to expect when you jump into the cockpit. There
are some new features included which take a little time getting
used to; left clicking to decrease values and right clicking to
increase values is one that I took a while to become used to.
The
configuration manager is a very useful tool, although different
from normal configuration tools for FS aircraft. Rather than
setting the load-outs for panel states, it is used to help tune
the add-on to suit your system. This is a complex aircraft and
will cause FS to take a hit on frame rates, this tool helps to
reduce that effect by allowing you to alter several variables:
EFIS/EADI refresh rates, panel resolution, engine operations,
external model (icing/passengers) and the virtual cockpit model.
I tried running everything at max level, but coming into major
airports the frame rates took a huge nose dive. With some
tweaking I’ve managed to achieve respectable frame rates of
around 15-20fps
I strongly
advise anybody who buys this add-on to read the tutorial flight
before attempting to fly this aircraft; Ctrl+E just won’t cut it
(or work!). Unless you follow the start-up procedures to the
letter you will end up with a destroyed engine and a fire on the
ramp, not to mention all that planning time wasted. If you put
the time and effort in to learn this aircraft then you will be
richly rewarded. I have found that the easiest way to load the
aircraft in the correct state is:
·
Load up the
default Cessna at an airport and ensure it is in a cold & dark
state
·
Then load up the
PMDG J41 tutorial flight
·
Reposition to
your departure airport – you will need to set the time & date
·
Fly!
It does take a
little longer to do it this way, but it’s the best way that I’ve
found to avoid any issues when starting up. Patience pays off
with this add-on.
 |
 |
What do you get?
Apart from the
excellent aircraft and comprehensive manuals, not a lot. I was
very disappointed that there was only 1 livery included; PMDG’s
own. However, there are lots available to download for free from
the PMDG site which are all easy to install. I can see this from
both sides of the coin; you only install the liveries you want,
which helps save precious hard drive space, but it would have
been nice to have at least a few extra liveries included. This
aside, you can expect to find the usually vast array of
animations, excellent modelling and superb flight handling that
PMDG are well known for.
Also included is
an interactive load sheet. This allows you to change the payload
of the aircraft in real time; if you add passengers this will be
reflected in the weight of the aircraft and the passengers that
you can see. Similarly, you are able to alter the amount of
baggage on the flight which will affect the handling
characteristics.
This is a fantastic addition and is a far better way to load the
aircraft than the default payload editor. You will, however,
need to load the fuel by the payload editor as there isn’t a
fuel planner included. Not that you need one as fuel
calculations are easy; 1,000lbs fuel burn per hour plus
reserves. Easy! The speed cards are also accessible from the
cockpit, which eliminates the need for you to be switching
between the AOM pdf file to acquire the relevant speeds.
Internals
Unfortunately
the J41 only has a virtual cockpit, which may put off users who
prefer the option of a 2D panel. The cockpit is stunning and
possibly the best I’ve seen to date. Although I feel that to
enjoy the full experience Track IR is needed due to you needing
to switch between a few panels in quick succession during the
start up phase. The speed cards would be very difficult to read
if I wasn’t able to move my head closer to the cards. I know it
is possible to zoom in using the keyboard, but I think that
takes away some of the realism.
 |
At first finding
your way around the cockpit may be a little daunting, but
perseverance and some time with the manuals will pay off in the
end.
It is a fantastic place to be though; each and every
button, knob and switch is modelled in fantastic 3D accuracy.
The clicks and clanks when moving switches all sound realistic
and help you feel part of the aircraft. Everything is logically
laid out, meaning that after a few flights you will feel right
at home in this excellent 3D cockpit.
There are several camera
angles in the cockpit which help make different areas of the
panel become clearer/closer to you, these are also all modelled
in 3D and are pin sharp even close up. In a recent flight I
noticed that even the areas underneath the panel have been given
some attention. It would have been easy to leave these bits out
as I doubt that many people will want to look underneath the
panel!
 |
There is also an
FMC included which is very easy to use after you have programmed
a few flights. It is nowhere near as complex to operate as the
aircraft such as the 737 or 747, but you will still need to read
the manual to gain a full understanding of how to operate it.
External Model
Once again PMDG
are raising the bar with another jaw dropping model. It seems
that with each new release the bar is raised.
The external model has been accurately modelled including
the smallest details and has been painted using high resolution
photo-real textures. It’s amazing that such detail can be
included without the PC grinding to a halt. You can expect to
find all the usual animations and some more.
|
Realistic icing has been included, but can be
switched off in the configuration manager if needed. If you don’t pay attention to the weather conditions and the warning lights in the cockpit you will soon be flying a block of ice. It was fun to sit on the ramp and set the weather to freezing and watch how quickly things began to freeze over, including the cockpit windows. Unless you use the windscreen heater you will not be able to see anything.
When
applying the anti-ice the engine temperatures will increase,
meaning that you will need to think ahead and reduce the power a
little to prevent engine failures. If you run the engines too
hot for too long they will fail, and yes, fire and smoke is
included! |
How does she fly?
After the long
process of learning how to start the engines, which need to be
constantly monitored, and finally getting to the hold short
point you are ready to go. Remember to remove the start-locks:
these hold the propellers at fine pitch during the start-up
sequence to reduce the drag induced by airflow as the propeller
is rotated in the start-up sequence. In order to get enough
power to take-off you will need to remove these, which is
accomplished by applying the reversers until you hear ‘start
locks removed’ called out. Then press F1 to return the throttles
to idle. DO NOT use your flight yoke throttle to do this; more
often than not I found that this destroyed the engines. Next you
will need to move the propellers to take-off RPM as they will
still be in taxi-mode. Move them forward to 100% and you will
hear ‘condition levers flight’ called out. The props only have 3
settings you need to know about: 100% for take-off, 96% for the
rest of the flight,72% for taxi. It’s easy to tell when you are
moving into flight condition as the noise increases
substantially.
You need to be
gentle with applying the power so that you can make sure you
don’t move the engines outside of their operational limits.
Blast down the runway and the J41 will lift away and climb out
according to the published numbers in the AOM. The handling is
just sublime; almost as if you are flying a small GA aircraft.
It’s very easy to fly departures and approaches by hand, and
also a lot of fun. Once you have been cleared to your cruise
altitude turn on the auto-pilot, sit back and keep an eye on the
engines. The auto-pilot is very easy to use and won’t require
too much studying to become proficient at using it.
One thing to bear in mind with this aircraft is ‘slow down and go down’. It is very difficult to slow this aircraft during a descent; she just loves to go fast. Careful planning and fore-thought are needed to prevent you from shooting past the runway. Fortunately the manual has a section devoted to preventing you over shooting the runway.
 |
Sounds
As I have mentioned previously, the cockpit sounds are fantastic. The
different clicks for the switches and knobs, although subtle,
all add to make this add-on fantastic. The pièce de résistance
of the sound set are the engines. They are loud! I had to turn
the engine sound down in the FSX settings just so that I was
able to hear ATC. The sounds round of the add-on superbly and
give it that polished feel of a fantastic add-on. There has been
no effort spared in creating any part of this add-on.
Verdict
This add-on is
fantastic, and since downloading it several months ago I’ve used
it extensively. It might not be the best add-on for a casual
simmer, but if you like spending time getting to know an
aircraft and learning how to operate it correctly then it will
be perfect for you.
If you don’t have the time to read the manuals to learn how to
start her up, there are lots of videos on YouTube showing you
how. I mentioned at the beginning of the review that it was
surely a match made in heaven with PMDG and Aerosoft teaming up,
and indeed it is.
It will require some tweaking to get your system set-up to run
it as you like; lower end systems will struggle with all the eye
candy and extras activated, but it is well worth it. It’s not an
aircraft you can just jump into and go; it will take at least 15
minutes to get to the stage where you can taxi if you are
programming the FMC with your route.
I’ve thought
long and hard about what score to award the J41, everything
points towards a full 10/10, but I feel that the lack of extra
liveries included in the download lowers to score.
So I will have to award 9/10,
however, this will easily become a 10/10 if more liveries were
included!
/Rob Scott
  |
System Requirements
|
|
|
|