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mSparks43 / 747-400

A Boeing 747-400 aircraft for X-Plane 11 & 12
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Sparky744: The Boeing 747-400 fleet

You can follow progress, make requests and generally chat about the 747 on the 747-400 channel on the Go Ahead discord server. and follow the project on twitter

Feel free to join the conversation, fork the github repository, and make the plane your own.

Major Overhaul of the Laminar Boeing 747-400

This overhaul attempts to capture the life of the 747-400 aircraft in as much realistic, intricate detail as can be achieved by the flight simulator community.

The latest release includes accurately recreated performance and displays for all three engine variants, new object models for RB211 engines, highly performant new systems, cross platform voice commands, VR support and all new FMC with integrated ACARS/CPDLC.

This project is an open source project, consisting of developers gathering from all over the world wanting to recreate the worlds fleet of 747-400s.

Several accurately recreated 744 airframes are included, along with a 744LCF, 744BCF variants can be recreated by downloading an appropriate BCF livery. New fuselage models, including the 744F are a work in progress.

The general concept is to bring each aircraft as close to the real version as is achievable, please refer to original 747-400 material such as the widely distributed FCOM for details on how the aircraft functions.

Contacts:

Please use the github issue page if you find a problem. If your issue is already listed please add your details, problems that can be recreated are generally fixed quickly.

The 744 project was licenced as CC-BY-NC 4 on the 1st of May 2019, anyone with any confusion as to what this means should review the licence

Installation

To install, extract the zip into your aircraft folder (delete any existing copy, do not overwite an existing aircraft installation)

Integration with Terrain Radar and AutoATC is included which require installing separately. Make sure you are using the latest versions of both for the fullest experience.

X-Plane 11

In addition to the main zip file, X-Plane 11 users should extract the "Sparky744.XP11.backport.zip", overwriting the files contained in the installation zip. This file contains older versions of certain objects where the new ones are not XP11 compatible. Please note, less and less testing and use is being conducted on XP11, specific issues will still be addressed if highlighted (contact us on the Go Ahead discord server), but as time progresses more and more features will either break or stop working on XP11. Please upgrade to XP12 as soon as possible.

Linux users (and all others)

Extract the contents of the zip file to your aircaft directory

Windows users:

Two executables are included in the release zip file, these are required to have been installed for the aircraft systems to function.

MacOS users

After extracting the zip file to your X-Plane aircraft directory you will need to execute

sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine *

From a terminal inside the X-plane folder.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Some general notes:

Does this aircraft work in VR?

Yes! Very much so. A complex aircraft simulation working well in VR is a key motivation of many contributors and users. Once you try this plane in VR it is likely you will never want to go back to 2D.

How did you achieve such high frame rates?

This overhaul converts all the existing 744 systems, along with all the numerous additions from XLua, which is single threaded and directly impacts X-Plane frame rates, to XTLua, a fork of XLua which maintains general compatibility with XLua, but takes all the aircraft systems off the X-Plane flight simulation thread and makes full use of a modern multi-threaded operating system (use Linux for the best results, but Microsoft Windows and macOS are also supported).

XTlua is described in more detail here

XTlua source is here

How do I use ACARS/CPDLC

ACARS/CPDLC provides real world data to the FMC and as such requires a "provider" to be written and installed. An AutoATC provider is included (Android connection required) which currently provides full flight planning, METAR and TAF reports along with ATC integration (AI ATC now with discord support a work in progress). Other networks, such as VATSIM/Hoppie and IVAO will require a similar provider integrating with the aircraft systems. You should refer to the Go Ahead discord server. and the respective networks support channels for further information and help.

(Please note; providers that do not support all platforms will not be accepted into the aircraft distribution)

How can I remove the boarding music or PA announcements?

Head to the FMC MENU > AIRCRAFT CONFIG (R6). Here you can find many settings for the aircraft, including sound options.

How do I connect ground power?

The GPU can be connected in the FMS ground handling menu.

How do I go direct to a waypoint?

Flight plan manipulation is currently a "best effort" wrap around the default flightplan fms pages to get it as close to what is in the FCOM without going completely back to square oue.

What is the black console window that opens when I start the plane?

Don't close it. The console window is part of the systems monitoring used during development and will give important information needed to report issues. For example if the plane crashes to desktop. This and the X-Plane Log.txt are the two primary tools for investigating issues. This can be disabled by deleting the xtlua_debugging.txt file from the aircraft's plugins/xtlua/64/ folder.

All my cockpit is black and I can't click anything?

Windows users: Please install the installers described above. Also check that the plugins/xtlua/64/win.xpl extracted correctly. Some users have reported their antivirus blocking it from being extracted. Please send an angry email to your antivirus provider along with a copy of the file if you have your time wasted by this.

Why can't I move?

The aircraft brakes require hydraulic pressure to function, to prevent the aircraft rolling away before the hydraulics are pressurized the wheels are fitted with chocks when starting cold and dark, remove the from the ground services menu in an FMC.

Additionally, the brake lever and X-Plane brakes are now separated, there is a new command to engage the brakes by lifting the parking brake lever.

Why are half my screens blank?

IRS alignment cannot complete until you set the IRS position in the FMC. (INIT REF -> POS -> R4 to copy GPS position, R5 to enter it into current position. Make sure you don't move while it's aligning!

Why do I have flickering lights and sounds when connecting to Ground Power?

You may be experiencing this if you have SAM v3. To fix, disable the "Jetway External Power" option in SAM3 settings.

Changelog:

See the commit history for a detailed change log.

Thank you all for your support and contributions!

Release XP12.1.0-2024/06/02 (OP Program XP12-10-2024/06/02 08:57):

Small but meaningful fixes

Bug fixes

Release XP12.1.0-2024/05/26 (OP Program XP12-10-2024/05/25 10:35):

Updates focusing on systems, ACARs and autopilot.

Bug fixes

Enhancements

Release XP1206-2023/10/01:

Bug fix and enhacements release of issues reported since previous release

Bug fixes

Enhancements

Release XP1206-2023/08/12:

Bug fix release of issues reported since previous release

Bug fixes

Release XP1206-2023/08/05:

XP12 and XP11 release improving XP12 lighting support and updating systems

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Release XP1205-2023/04/09:

XP12 Milestone release based on extensive flight testing and user feedback.

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Release 3.0a1 for XP12 (OP Program XP1150-2022/10/25):

Release 3.0 brings compatibility with XP12 and starts to incorporate some of the new features now available.

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Release 2.4 (OP Program XP1150-2022/09/04):

Release 2.4 is a bug fix release.

RB211 engines repositioned by Andromeda95

Bug fixes

Release 2.3 (OP Program XP1150-2022/06/26):

Release 2.3 focuses on flight model enhancements and bug fixes to the existing systems. A very special thanks to MCCVeen and oMrSmith for their extensive testing and accurate reporting of issues, a very large number of fixes in this release wouldn't have been possible without the detailed breakdowns they provided.

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Release 2.2:

Release 2.2 focuses on enhancements and bug fixes to the existing systems and flight model.

Enhancements

Bug fixes

Release 2.1 (OP Program XP1150-2021/12/11):

On 11/12/2020 at 13:15 UTC, the last, the very last British Airways 747-400, G-BYGC took to the skies for one last flight from Cardiff (EGFF) to St. Athan (EGSY). Despite the short hop to the breaker's yard, it became an emotional farewell to an aircraft that was used by British Airways for over 50 years.

G-BYGC is a 747-436 sporting RB211-524G engines- the aircraft first flew on 01/11/1999, and served with British Airways for another 21 years until its retirement on 12/11/20. The aircraft is now preserved at MOD St. Athan, and still lives on despite its official retirement.

The Sparky744 Release 2.1 celebrates this historic aircraft, bringing the RB211-524G engines into the simulator and enabling you to continue the task of recreating G-BYGC, and all the other 694 airframes built, with all their complex detail and history.

Special Thanks from Dyno (RB211 engine models)

BottleRocketeer

Bottle Rocketeer was the quintessential person in allowing me to succeed within 3D graphics, aircraft development, and the RB211's. He single-handedly taught me how to open a new file within Blender, add a cube, and shape it into what is now an engine.

SamWise

SamWise was one of the, if not the most important person in getting the visual element of the RB211's to modern-day standards. While I can make a boring, grey, shape, he added life and color to the grey shape- something I fail to do, and am incredibly lucky to have been able to work with him. Thank you for everything Sam!

Pilot Mathews

Pilot Mathews- Pilot Mathews breathed completely new air into our 747, despite the limitations imposed by the paint kit. After working many hours a day, he delivered VH-OEJ and VH-OJM to the highest possible standard, picking up the smallest details such as patches on the wings, how straight the lines of the wings are, scuffs caused by jetways, and much more. VH-OEJ and VH-OJM are both included by default in Patch 2.1, but go check out his other excellent liveries on X-Plane ORG forum!

Changes 24/09/2021 - 11/12/2021:

Release 2:

Special Thanks

kudosi: kudosi was extremely instrumental in providing all of the complicated engine and atmospheric formulas to calculate N1, N2, EPR, and EGT for both the GE and PW engine variants. his tireless work to help model the engine behaviors was the key input needed to code the EEC module. kudosi also helped with review and testing and compared XP results to real-world 747-400 flight data to ensure a realistic experience.

Dyno: Dyno was a great help in testing the engine variants and providing feedback on technical issues and abnormal behaviors. His efforts were greatly appreciated, especially on last-minute requests to test things prior to release.

v1rota7e: v1rota7e provided valuable insight into real-world operations of a 747-400. He gave guidance on engine and EICAS behaviors, and gave feedback during test flights on where he saw things that were both good and bad from a realism point of view.

jcomm: jcomm helped considerably resolving vspeed and speed tape and other behaviours which proved difficult to resolve.

Everyone else: A huge thank you to all the others who helped, tested, crashed, took her for long and short hauls and filed issues when they found things awry.

Changes 02/11/2020 - 23/09/2021:

Release 1: up to 02/11/2020:

Introduce the LCF model variant by Lee_Hyeon_Seo (with permission) with the existing improvements, check out the working his A340 developements

Custom sounds from FTSim+ (with permission)

We greatly thank FTSim+ for the former soundpack, and wish them good luck on other soundpacks! Check them out!