The panel looks very similar to its predecessor. The most noticeable change comes in the engine instrument screen and the Primary Flight Display. In this version, the PFD also displays the aircraft heading and includes a flight director similar to Eric Ernst's Boeing 767 panel. But instead of lines like in Eric's panel, this panel uses purple circles. The other cool feature in the PFD is certain airspeeds are color-coded. For example, the rotation speed is indicated by a green arrow. Cruise speed is indicated by a light blue bracket.
The engine instrument gauges now have some color instead of just plain white. The numbers are green with a red arc indicating restricted area of operation. The speed brake and flap levers have been changed since the last version. Next to the throttle levers are two switches. One of the switches removes the throttle levers, revealing another CRT that displays oil system information and flight control position information. You think you're missing an instrument, you're not, so don't worry about the blank space.
One problem with this panel that I had was with the night time lighting. I found it too low. You may have to check twice to see if it's even on, or at least I did. Hopefully, Fred will release a patch to correct
this problem. Also, with the previous version, the four engine version only had two engine start switches on the overhead panel. I just couldn't find the other two switches. This time, all four switches are next to each other.
All in all, this is a good panel. I wouldn't give it an excellent rating because there aren't a lot of new additions to this release. It's basically the previous version with a minor face-lift. Still, pilots looking for a panel that looks just like the real thing should definitely give this panel a look. It is a must have to learn about air planes. If you love air planes play this game it is very fun to play this game.
