Timeline changes maybe?
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Question. In one of the recent BlackSquare manuals, I saw a photo of a "Black Square Caravan Professional" as - among other Black Square aircraft, mentioned as "also available".
I am wondering if this Caravan is anywhere near release? I own the MSFS 2020 version but somehow did not spend much time in it, I think I did a flight or two and that was it. Nevertheless, I sure will buy the new, Professional version, and will fly the heck out of it hauling cargo.
Can we expect this aircraft in the near future, please? Or is it not the next-in-line BS product?
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Question. In one of the recent BlackSquare manuals, I saw a photo of a "Black Square Caravan Professional" as - among other Black Square aircraft, mentioned as "also available".
I am wondering if this Caravan is anywhere near release? I own the MSFS 2020 version but somehow did not spend much time in it, I think I did a flight or two and that was it. Nevertheless, I sure will buy the new, Professional version, and will fly the heck out of it hauling cargo.
Can we expect this aircraft in the near future, please? Or is it not the next-in-line BS product?
@kityatyi It will be next, and I am sending the latest build to beta testers as we speak! I'm glad you're excited for the aircraft, but I'm also sorry that there has been such a delay from when it was announced. It's just been a number of factors conspiring against the timeline, but it's finally come together in the last week. You can expect the In-Development page, preview manual, and a news update next week. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions, and I'm always happy to answer!
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Thanks for the heads up Nick. A bunch of us are really excited about it! Can't wait! Have a good weekend.
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@kityatyi It will be next, and I am sending the latest build to beta testers as we speak! I'm glad you're excited for the aircraft, but I'm also sorry that there has been such a delay from when it was announced. It's just been a number of factors conspiring against the timeline, but it's finally come together in the last week. You can expect the In-Development page, preview manual, and a news update next week. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions, and I'm always happy to answer!
@Black-Square lmk if u need an extra beta tester
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@django1489 That's the nicest nagging I've probably ever received
I'm glad you're so excited, and I apologize that this one has particularly dragged on from when I announced it. It's just been a number of items on the critical path that have conspired to cause the delays, but we're on the final stretch now. You can expect a general development update on all my projects on the Just Flight homepage within the next week or two. That's when we plan to release the Caravan manual, and new screenshots.@Black-Square btw Nick, just a humble request from my end - your models are superb. They have gotten me into trying those categories for which i was never interested earlier like for eg GA. I am loving the baron that i already have. But the request is would it not be possible to include wear and tear like landing gear damage in your models? Makes it all the more challenging and fun.
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@Black-Square lmk if u need an extra beta tester
@SadBucket perhaps beta testers will upload some preview videos on YouTube?
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@kityatyi It will be next, and I am sending the latest build to beta testers as we speak! I'm glad you're excited for the aircraft, but I'm also sorry that there has been such a delay from when it was announced. It's just been a number of factors conspiring against the timeline, but it's finally come together in the last week. You can expect the In-Development page, preview manual, and a news update next week. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions, and I'm always happy to answer!
@Black-Square I absolutely love the fact that a developer does not bite my head off for asking about a release. Try it at certain forums, and you're a dead man walking.
Thank you for the update, Nick, it really made my day! I look forward to the Caravan, it is exactly the missing link in the chain in my virtual ops, haha! Short haul, small-scale cargo flying!
I watched this video (accident case study) about a year ago and since then I've been wanting to fly a Caravan. I already owned the "old" Black Square one but didn't want to go back to MSFS 2020 so I killed the flame in me but deep inside I hoped a new Caravan would suface. And it will! How cool is that!
So yeah, cargo feeder flights like crazy, in the US and of course, out of my native country, Hungary, too! Ontario->Visalia, Ontario->Santa Barbara, Salt Lake City->Burley, etc.
I have no specific question because I know it will be awesome given the fact we're talking about a Black Square product. If there is one thing I'd love to know is whether an option will exist to load cargo (perhaps visble goods, boxes pallets)? But even if this is not supposed to be revelead just yet, we'll find out in due course anyway.
Best,
Zsolt -
@Black-Square I absolutely love the fact that a developer does not bite my head off for asking about a release. Try it at certain forums, and you're a dead man walking.
Thank you for the update, Nick, it really made my day! I look forward to the Caravan, it is exactly the missing link in the chain in my virtual ops, haha! Short haul, small-scale cargo flying!
I watched this video (accident case study) about a year ago and since then I've been wanting to fly a Caravan. I already owned the "old" Black Square one but didn't want to go back to MSFS 2020 so I killed the flame in me but deep inside I hoped a new Caravan would suface. And it will! How cool is that!
So yeah, cargo feeder flights like crazy, in the US and of course, out of my native country, Hungary, too! Ontario->Visalia, Ontario->Santa Barbara, Salt Lake City->Burley, etc.
I have no specific question because I know it will be awesome given the fact we're talking about a Black Square product. If there is one thing I'd love to know is whether an option will exist to load cargo (perhaps visble goods, boxes pallets)? But even if this is not supposed to be revelead just yet, we'll find out in due course anyway.
Best,
Zsolt@kityatyi If you haven't already, you can see the cargo pallets loaded into the back of the plane in the preview screenshot here. We had some discussion earlier this week about a more advanced cargo loading interface. While I don't have any immediate plans for this, it's exactly the kind of micromanagement that I love, so I will be thinking of how exactly to implement it in the most fun and elegant way possible.
So glad you're looking forward to it. I know that it's been a long time since it was announced, so I'm glad everyone hasn't forgotten about it. It's feels great to finally be in the home stretch! The work of releasing an aircraft might not be my favorite, but seeing you all enjoying it after release makes the year's worth of work worthwhile
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Holy cow! I haven't seen that screenshot before and that's exactly what I was hoping for! Hello, virtual cargo feeder ops! Finally, not just "imaginging" that the boxes, pallets are there, or "thinking" of my passengers as if they were cargo. Nope; proper cargo! It will be awesome! And the new turboprop simulation will make it a joy to operate! I bought the Bonanza a few days ago and love the TP variant a lot, the sounds are super immersive - it will be awesome to have a "big" turboprop soon - I have no doubt the sounds will not disappoint either!
Until this moment I thought it's the King Air I am most excited about but I think it's the Caravan!
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Holy cow! I haven't seen that screenshot before and that's exactly what I was hoping for! Hello, virtual cargo feeder ops! Finally, not just "imaginging" that the boxes, pallets are there, or "thinking" of my passengers as if they were cargo. Nope; proper cargo! It will be awesome! And the new turboprop simulation will make it a joy to operate! I bought the Bonanza a few days ago and love the TP variant a lot, the sounds are super immersive - it will be awesome to have a "big" turboprop soon - I have no doubt the sounds will not disappoint either!
Until this moment I thought it's the King Air I am most excited about but I think it's the Caravan!
@kityatyi And just in case you didn't see the article that screenshot was part of, here is a link. There is also a short "What's New?" PDF that you might be interested in, though some of the claims might actually be out of date and have improved ever further by now. Enjoy, and feel free to ask any more questions
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Nope, haven't seen them either, thank you! Super Cargomaster included! Hell yeah!
I am already thinking about my "imaginary" feeder cargo operations, with potential routes, hubs, etc. Truly, this aircraft was the missing link. We already have large cargo aircraft, many different types (777, A300, 727, 737, MD11, etc.) we have all kinds of passenger and GA aircraft, but this kind of cargo ops was not entirely possible realistically (the PA12 or the Kodiak are sort of in this league yet not entirely), unless a lot of "imagining" was also imvolved.The Caravan will be the first such dedicated aircraft, purpose-built for this kind of ops. Of course, not limited to cargo, although I will use it 80% cargo, 20% pax ops, probably. The hype is real!
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@kityatyi And just in case you didn't see the article that screenshot was part of, here is a link. There is also a short "What's New?" PDF that you might be interested in, though some of the claims might actually be out of date and have improved ever further by now. Enjoy, and feel free to ask any more questions
@Black-Square any plans to include landing gear wear and tear systems maybe?
