If you are wondering about what other people think about the DC-9 Classic, here are a few comments made by our customers.

 

To Espen, Terrence, and everyone associated with the DC-9 project, a hearty congratulations on a job well done. I have already taken a couple of "sightseeing flights" around Seattle. I was blown away. As a Super 80 and Pro veteran, I was able to start the DC-9 up without too much trouble. Now, the Super 80 Pro is one of my all-time favorites, while admitting that the graphics are nothing special. The DC-9, on the other hand, arguably sets a new standard for the virtual cockpit. And that's without the McPhat UHDT option. It is crisp, and has some character to it. without looking as beat-up as another favorite classic of mine, the 727 by Captain Sim. I can't think of another virtual cockpit I would put in the same class. But there's more beyond the good looks.

The Nav Sim is brilliant. At first I thought it was just a stand-alone training tool of some sort. But I quickly realized that it was an ingenious navigation supplement to make radio navigation convenient without destroying the realism. It even dials in your frequencies if you want it to! This is the type of pilot-centered, above-and-beyond attention to detail that we have come to expect from Coolsky. More importantly, it makes this airplane accessible to a wider audience that may not feel confident in their radio navigation skills. (Let's face it, most hard-core sim-pilots are more likely to know how to program and FMC than navigate from one VOR to another.)

While you have to do the right things in the right order to start up from a cold and dark situation, it really isn't that difficult. An interactive training system walks you through step by step. While the cockpit may look intimidating at first glance, the airplane will help you master it. The autopilot is simple and solid, without any niggling little flaws. Even so, this is not a "fire and forget" airplane. You will have something to do during the entire flight.

So what Coolsky has done is produce a beautiful, complex classic jet, then made it easy to learn how to fly. No developer puts himself in the shoes of his customers like Espen.

Enough with the guts of this airplane. How does she look? Simply gorgeous, inside and out. I've already mentioned the virtual cockpit. Outside is nice-looking, too. McPhat has provided "Normal Definition" paints, but even those are superb. No doubt I'll be springing for an airline pack and the UHDT cockpit, although it's hard to imagine much of an improvement.

Airplanes are made to fly, so how does this one perform? I have been out of flight simulation for nearly three years. So I'm very out of practice. Yet, I had no trouble flying the DC-9. The autopilot, again, is easy to use, once you realize what it isn't going to do for you. You can use heading select, or -- with an assist from Nav Sim -- VORs and NDBs. I found the VOR tracking to be stable, without the snaking back and forth I've seen in other products. Hand-flying is fun. This airplane is not "twitchy," but has a solid feel. Some add-ons seem overly responsive, which leads to chasing inputs back and forth. Not the DC-9. It was easy and steady under the joystick. I was able to hand-fly approaches with ease. (There is an ILS assist, but I haven't gotten into the manual yet and practiced that.) The only thing that made me wonder a bit is that she does not want to become a mere land animal again. She floats down the runway, resisting my best efforts to settle her down until I say "enough of this nonsense," and put her down with more decisiveness than finesse.

I think this is a truly remarkable airplane that deserves a wide audience, based on my first impressions. Thank you!

-Tim Capps

 

Thanks to all and especially thanks to Espen for giving us the opportunity to enjoy the best DC-9 ever made!

-Gianluca

 

The DC-9 is just divine, especially with all the training and config stuff that comes with it!

-David

 

I am a member of many forums, and this would have to be the best. This is helped by the fact that the DC-9 would have to be the most accurate sim out there, and also that those involved are so willing of their time and expertise to help those of us with less experience.

Congratulations to all involved, and thanks to all those great people on this forum - it is a pleasure and an honour to be included amongst such wonderful people.

And thanks to Espen in particular who has given us the benchmark in flight sims.

-Mal

 

We've got to give Martin some good words too. He took all that raw data that was in front of him and translated it into a flight model. There are a lot of performance attributes which people don't even think much about, such as the accurate time it takes to roll down the runway at TO thrust, the angle of attack at all flight phases, or the way that setting the EPR with what the Thrust Computer is demanding will deliver performance that is so close to the real numbers. This is one of those planes that you can take out the unreliable airspeed chart, set power and pitch, and it comes very close.

-James

 

Just a quick note of appreciation to the Espen and the Coolsky team. There are only a handful of developers out there who deliver quality worth purchasing. I just downloaded the newly released [other product] much to my disappointment. That exercise made me appreciate the very few who put out quality. I took the DC-9 for a spin right after the [other product]. A completely different world. So thanks Espen and Co. for doing such a great job.

-Brian

 

Just bought this in the last week. I'm very happy with this creation.

-Dave

 

Not a coincidence that participants in this Forum are consistently a step above the rest. Quality aircraft, attracts quality drivers. The respectful and helpful exchanges on this board have been, and remain, remarkable.

-Mike