We are getting ready for release and I have some things to share with all of you. Launch date will be the 2nd of April 2022. It goes without saying that if we run into major issues in the next few weeks, we might need to push the date a bit back, but I’m confident that we can wrap up development rather quickly from here on out.
What’s the plan?
The Wing42 Boeing 247D is an incredible add-on! The depth of the systems and the meticulous detail is currently hard to find on the MSFS market and if this was still the time of FSX and P3D, I would probably set a price at around 60 USD for it.
Let’s not do that, ok?
The Wing42 Boeing 247D will sell for $19.99!
My expectation is that this add-on will sell enough to keep Wing42 growing, while at the same time reaching more people than ever before.
On the other hand, I would like to point out that this is an experiment and as such I will retain the option to adjust the prices for our future products, if it turns out that the low price point is not economical in the long run.
Here are the reasons:
The Asobo’s Microsoft Flight Simulator opened the door for 3rd party developers to publish add-ons directly on the integrated marketplace. Many developers, me included, were amazed by the number of sales generated on that marketplace, where even mediocre add-ons sell thousands of times.
But for some reason, it seems that the prices for add-ons are still on the same level as they were on FSX and P3D. I think we can do better and I want to find out if I’m right!
It is always difficult to pick a price for goods and services you sell. You have to make a lot of assumptions about the number of units sold to make sure that the business can grow. But the price of a product also conveys a sense of quality – which is why an Apple or Samsung phone sells for almost double of what a comparable device goes for.
However, the flight simulator market operates very differently and it’s mostly due to the fact that the platform is still new and the market (especially for aircraft add-ons) is not even close to saturated. We end up with prices that are all over the place – you can find really decent quality add-ons at a bargain, and crappy, money-grabbing husks of add-ons for ridiculous amounts of money.
Over the past year, I gained some experience with the sale of the Wing42 Blériot XI. The Blériot can be considered a niche product in an already niche market, but I still think that the data gathered from her can be useful to deduct some information about the market.
Whether you sell 100 units for $10 or 10 units for $100 Dollars makes little difference for a digital product, but in the former case you end up with 90 more people enjoying your product and potentially showing it to their friends. The only downside is that you will have to deal with more support tickets the more units you sell.
I’m curious what you guys think, so please let me know! Meanwhile, it’ll be developer’s hell for the next two weeks for me…. Buckle up!
– Otmar
63 Replies to “Wing42 Boeing 247D Release Date and Pricing”
Noah
Hope the issues I’m experiencing after sim update 8 get fixed, this will then be a must buy ☺️
speedwoblz
I’m so excited about this bird! Your market reasoning is sound and I welcome the great price! It will certainly be easier for me to buy it for both my Steam version and Xcloud version at that price. So there’s that to think about! 🙂
Can’t wait to cruise the clouds, bend some props in the crops and set some engines ablaze!
Thanks for your Endeavors!
-speedwoblz
Odd "Elvis" Goderstad
I have my card at high readyness! I hope you sell lots of airplanes, and if the documentation is as good as the Bleriot’s it might lure many people into this niche (Historic, study level aircraft) of niches (Flightsim). If someone could make historic airports also…. hmmmm…
Ala13_Kokakolo
I love vintage old planes, but i do also love realism. I will buy any plane that captures the experience of an era already gone, but also with a complex (realistic) engine management (not a forgiving one) and a flying model well done. So far I only know the DC6 (PMDG) with this caracteristics.. If your plane tick those boxes, I will buy the plane. The price is not a problem.
Cal Fox
At this price, I will happily buy it for myself and a couple of friends. Thank you so much for setting a better standard for addon pricing. I hope it pays off many times over in volume!
Ed
That is a fantastic price and a very good approach. I appreciate that you took time to explain your pricing to us and how the market works. Really looking forward to the Boeing! Thanks!
Simon Taylor
I’m so excited for this plane. It’s right up my street, and will be promptly added to my hanger upon release.
Topofdescent
I appreciate your honesty and approach. I’ve been looking forward to this oroduct so much, and if it’s as good as it promises to be l would happily pay 3 times the planned price!!
Duke of Goa
20 bucks invested in honest developers! Instant buy!
Austin Kramer
So, I support this, but it doesn’t change my plans that much.
I was originally planning to buy this day one for $60 and immediately take off to recreate the MacRobertson Air Race.
Now I’m planning to buy this day one for $20 and take off to recreate the MacRobertson Air Race with a $40 bottle of whiskey.
Still, you’ll get all the support I have to give. I really do hope this brings to a wider audience the joys of piloting aircraft that require more careful attention and more complex skills to fly and navigate.
Richboy2307
Look forward to this fantastic bird, Vega and other future projects. I believe you have started a great company here and catering to an area of the FS Market that has remained largely under-represented at the quality levels Wing42 intends to bring to the table. I speak from experience of owning the Vega for P3D and look forward to flying and streaming the joy of it with others soon.
Keep it up, and hope to see it on Apr 2nd CTP Day, should be a fun stream heh!
Mark
Just watched Dreamsofwings preview of this beauty on Youtube and it will be an instant purchase for me for sure! These vintage planes are what flying is all about. They are just so beautiful and the combination of this aircraft with the beauty of VFR flight in MSFS is something we could have only dreamed about just a few years ago. Thanks so very much for creating this work of art! Looking forward to release day.
Charlie McEwan
Hello,
Well how refreshing to hear from a dedicated and more than fair approach to the community, I just watched the review by Dreams for Wings and can say that I am very impressed with the fidelity of the product, look fwd to final release with the tweaks you may be working on.
I wish you and team every success and your continued high standing in the market place ( third party)
Many Thanks and kind regards.
al watt
I have got to buy this as the price and quality of work is amazing Thank you
Tom
This is a no-brainer. I’m not going to compare this product to any other of a similar type but it looks GREAT! I’m in too. Another low and slow from a bygone era…oops that’s my era *@%****!
Lloyd Polter
I think the price is really fair just, keeping in mind the crazy prices such as… ($50) or even($100)… developing companies are showing now (expecting for people to get crazy and start buying, but no one is buying nothing with those crazy prices, so what is gonna happen is or they go down with reasonable prices or just stay there with no one buying) as it is until now….GOOD JOB AUDIENCE… OR FAIR PRICES OR NO ONE BUYING
Russell
I’ve been watching the flightdeck2sim YouTube video trying out this plane. It looks like a lot of fun and a challenge to learn, and the attention to detail is amazing! I feel like this plane offers excellent value as entertainment and as a learning experience. I’ll be very happy to contribute $20 to show my appreciation and see what I can do with it. Thinking it may be a great NeoFly aircraft!
Ala13_Kokakolo
I was thinking the same. The only problem is the lack of modern avionics, like a VOR or ADF.
Peter Suranyi
I see it the other way around. FINALLY there’s an aircraft, where I can simulate olden times. It’s a challenge! This is why I’m not interested in Local Legends, stucking a godd*mned GPS into that Junkers ruins the immersion. If you really get lost, there’s always the VFR map in MSFS.
Otmar Nitsche[ Post Author ]
This is in line with my thinking too. Alternatively, you can skip the VFR map, admit defeat and try again 😉
Ala13_Kokakolo
true, I want to do a around the world with this plane, but i need at least and ADF for some legs. I do not like GPS, basic radionavigation is my thing, but some parts of the world only have VORs
Austin Kramer
I think the GPS was only in the version of the Junkers with the modernized cockpit, which I think is modeled on an actual airplane that is still flying today and has modernized avionics. I wholly support the entire Local Legends push to include obscure but groundbreaking aircraft with bush trips to recreate their flights. One of the most interesting things that sets MSFS apart from the competition.
But that said, they definitely nerfed those airplanes in the standard default Asobo way – it’s impossible to break them. This means you only have a superficial level of engagement with what made the airplanes the airplanes. I presume most people just get in, push the button to make it go, and then push the stick right or left until they get where they are headed.
When I read something like Fate is the Hunter or La Terre des Hommes, there’s something vital and dangerous about flying back in the pioneering days, and it keeps you sharply focused on the fact that you are using a very complex machine to trespass into the sky and hope you don’t get caught.
That’s where the old A/N navigation system makes things interesting, and I’m really glad that’s built into the 247. That alone is enough to justify $20. But MSFS navigation can go so much farther. The fact that the night sky is accurately simulated is the most underrated feature of the sim. I’ve been able to use my actual sextant to take readings on the screen, adjust for elevation, dip and image compression, and then get a position fix. This is hands down the best navigation simulator I’ve ever seen.
Ala13_Kokakolo
Omar, what are you doing here? I thought you had a plane to release today…. 🙂
Duke of Goa
Absolutely right! That is precisely the point!
If the plane is all I think it is it will be the best add-on aircraft so far in the MSFS 2020!
I wouldn’t mind to pay 15 extra in an expansion pack later on for the developer to start working on letting us get out of the aircraft and do, oil, refuelling manually, and checks around the plane!
When an honest developer comes around we all should treasure it and make him a study case for the Industry to see!
Duke of Goa
Release the flying roaring poetry of a begone era as we barely can wait!
Today when?
buedi
I think Otmar mentioned in a stream that he is aiming for 1600Z.
Otmar Nitsche[ Post Author ]
That’s correct. We’ll see if we can make it. There are still a handful of items on my to-do list….
Duke of Goa
Oh common just sell it already! You have a masterpiece in your hands and we are suffering…don’t you take pity on us mere mortals?
guitartom47
Anticipation is for the birds. I want my cool plane NOW!
Just a joke of course – there are many who will love this plane and all the detail and old-style navigation. This is going to be a deeply innovative product. Can’t wait to try it out. It’s hard to believe a string of ones and zeros inside our computers will bring such a great learning and entertaining experience.
Derek Michael Coaker
Came here to find out the same thing.
serge.lasserre
Je suis tombé sous le charme de cet avion ! J aime le côté retro de cet avion .. il est magnifique..et si on pouvait avoir un environement, aéroport, véhicules etc… de cette époque, cela serait le top .. Merci pour vôtre travail acharné et passionné.
Flutter8
April fool’s
Otmar Nitsche[ Post Author ]
Correct. There is no Boeing 247D for MSFS. It was all a big hoax!
Adriano
But is there hope it will be released today or not? Just so that I can stop checking every 15 mins!!!
Otmar Nitsche[ Post Author ]
Yes! Getting there, getting there! Need to run one more test…
Ala13_Kokakolo
I am going bed now. I will check tomorrow.
Lee Rose
Awesome ! Can’t wait ! Thanks for what looks like an amazing addition to my hanger ! I’m sure at the price that you will sell this at ! You will get many flight simmers purchasing ! I have alerted members of my flight group and they are keen too !
I watched the dreams of wings you tube video and I’m seriously excited to get this bird !
Good Luck with it !
I have a feeling it’s going to be mega popular !
Happy Landings !
👍🙏🏻👨✈️✈️
andy.kauffman
Hello, Otmar!
So glad I stumbled upon your site a few months ago. I’m really excited for the release of the 247. I’m doing my best to be patient – the previews I’ve watched over the last 24 hours though have me quite excited!!!
Duke of Goa
Unless there is a major bug they should avoid missing the announced release date…just my 02 cents!
Adriano
Not “they”, it’s just the poor Otmar that is now probably getting mad to fix the last little issue! Let’s bear with him, what we’ll get is well worth the waiting! I’m a developer too and I know perfectly how it is in these last few moments…
[Wing42] Pam
There are seven of us actually..I’m simply trying too help Otmar anwer any questios that arise..
[Wing42]Pam
Resident Wizard..
Alex
They already posted in Twitter that they have problems to upload it to the MSFS store, it was supposed to be released at 16.00Z
th3simpilot
I’m afraid we will not see the Boeing 247D released today. Let’s hope there was not a major bug that affected the release date. It’s already 22:00z. Perhaps something happened that changed the plans.
Duke of Goa
FIRST!
Released finally but not on MSFS marketplace yet!
Only a non simmer will pass this plane it is absolutely mandatory to buy, congratz for a wonderful job!
adrianomassi
Just took a first flight with advanced settings turned off (realistic engine starts etc) and I can set this is simply INCREDIBLE!!! Never heard engines sound like this and it’s a real joy to fly!! Months of learning and enjoyment await!! This is such a fantastic airplane! Great job Otmar, thank you!!
Matthew Picio
Wow – looks like the website is getting hammered now that it’s released. Looking forward to trying it out, and I hope all the database connection errors means you’re making a LOT of sales!
Joaquín Fernández
First flight with this amazing plane. Comments: I love how it flies. Very “natural”. I have spotted a couple of minor issues. The left engine crank has no sound. Also, the radio keeps in the frequency you select in the plane but it doe not change if you try to do it from the ATC pannel. It is realistic, but a pain to move to the copilot seat to change the frecuency by hand all the time. And last, i did not manage to start the engines with the “real engine start” on. I tried like 20 times and being carefull everything (priming, electric, fuel, fuel pressure, etc. was OK).
Joaquín Fernández
I meant the right crank, not the left
Joaquín Fernández
Ok. I did several flights in the 247. I am loiving it. The only minor details to address are related to the sound and the radio communications. It is the same I address in my comment above. Also, the engine sounds are too loud compared to windows open / close and some sounds in the cabin are also too loud compared to real live. The fly model is superb. Very smoth but tricky to fligh. The radio works well. Would be possible to add more Radio Beacons in the rest of the world? (and some Radio Stations, because there are none!!!) or is there the possibility to add more ourselves? And finally, It seems to me there are no sound of wheels when touchdown…
adrianomassi
Yes, I think too the touchdown sound is not present at the present time. Or at least was so faint I didn’t hear it
sybull66
Are you using a honeycomb yoke ? I had the same frustration, then realised that despite the magnetos in the cockpit being on, the magnetos on my yoke were off and that is what the system was looking at !
I disconnected all magnetos from my yoke and use the mouse in the cockpit. That way you can tell if they are on or not.
Also the state saving I think is bugged. I find I have to twiddle all the levers and switches at the start of every flight just to make sure they are set. Sometime the state of a switch is showing showing correctly in the cockpit at the start. (I have tried to start, but failed until I twiddled the fuel switch. I think despite it showing as on both it was off).
Always check the fuel levels on the clipboard. I have noticed if you restart a flight, it empties the tanks.
Last tip. When winding up the flywheel let it carry on winding for 5 or 6 seconds after the MESH buttons turns green. Sometimes this lets you have 2 presses of the Mesh Button which helps the engine to catch.
pjoerg
Hi Otmar,
I’d so love to buy the plane. I had created an account on your shop site yesterday (before release – same email adress as here), but never got the confirmation email with the password – and yes ofc I checked spam etc. I tried resetting the password and also did not get any ‘reset’ mails. Now, when I try to purchase the plane, the shop wants me to sign in, but I can’t, because I never got a password :/
Can you help me? Maybe delete my account, for me to create a new one?
arturpomajda
After a whole day with that beauty:
1. right crank indeed have no sound ( i think that crank sound is a bit too loud )
2. maybe it is just me but plane cannot be trimmed in such way that she flies straight – even tiny rudder change causes plane drift left or right
3. C&D button would be a nice addition, especially when flight has ended with crash 🙂
4. manual says that carb heat should always be above 100F – to do so have to keep carb heat fully open whole time even ambient temp. was 70F. Radial engines do not fly with carb heat always on
5. fuel pump – would be nice to have wobble action by keeping pressed button instead moving ball back and forth ( i use trackball )
6. after flight reset must rotate fuel valves, otherwise fuel will not flow and engines cannot be started
7. engine priming has no sound – if there is any …
8. levers have opposite logic ( moving middle mouse wheel forward drives levers backward or downward ) – oil shutters levers for example
9. cannot set altimeter on zero – always either slightly less or more but never on zero
Otmar – plane is masterpiece- congrats !
DAVID CABRAL
Well said agree with most points. I too have no crank sound on right engine. Also no touchdown sounds?
I have been having issues with engine temp as well. Letting both engines idle around 1,000 rpm and they never fully warm up.
Some inconsistencies with Oil temp physics.
Anyway, amazing job Wing42 team! Thank you for the wonderful aircraft.
Artur
Temperatures are different topic.
Cylinder heads in flight are below 200F which is hard to believe in real plane
Carb heat already explained
Oil temp – acc to manual max temp is only 165F…
Given temperatures are extremely low, and i have never read or found other piston engines with such low values of working temperatures, unless those engines are somehow special.
Ala13_Kokakolo
I have noticed the same inconsistent behaviour of the temps. Also I have noticed leaning the mixture does not seem to affect cylinder temperatures nor does affect closing the cowler flaps the temp of the oil. I am going to do more tests today with the realistic settings of MSFS (not the plane) off to see if both systems are affecting the temps working together at the same time.
Alex
nice plane. is there a visible co-pilot in the interior view?
svenwd
Hi,
I went through the documentation (ok, scanned it rather), not so mich the tutorial flight. Is there any chance to include a tutor to that plane? Something that guides one to actually handling the engines correctly? So far I haven’t made them go up in flames, but after 15 minutes of flying i cannot even rev the engines up to 2200 rpm anymore. I thought i was careful… I like the plane but this is getting frustrating. Ii would love to fly it realistically.
arturpomajda
I feel u Sven.
I did not put them into flames yet, but all my flights end up in the bush as engines suddenly stopped – most probably due to seizure
Ala13_Kokakolo
Hi Svenwd. That plane barely goes beyond 2200 RPM while in flight. I recomend you to read this manual (a real manual for the airoplane) and keep in mind in this plane, unlike modern planes, does not keep constant RPM. When you climb the RPM will drop and when you dive they will speed up.
Manual: https://digitalcollections.museumofflight.org/items/show/46674
svenwd
I’ll have a look. What I meant with the 2200, my understanding that is the expected rpm on take off, for 5 minutes. After my flight, i don’t reach it anymore. From what I’ve seen, she’s quite delicate to handle. Will take more time with this old lady.
It is just unclear what is the state of my plane. But i need.to say, when I was impressed to see how quickly the oil cooled down when I tried to go down with reduced power and how hard it was to get temperatures up again. It’s a great plane, hope the manual will help. Thanks for that.
bogdan.ghica
Such a great plane! Really enjoyed the 3 flights I had with it so far.
First was a short one a successful from Cannes Mandelieu to Nice (France) then I got cocky and flew from Cannes to Courchevel up in the Alps only to have my engines die one after the other under 5 miles from the landing runway so I crashed landed and cartwheeled on the side of the runway… we were fine.
In the morning I tried to fly again but the plane barely started and shortly after take off I loss power so much than I hit a building with the belly of the plane and crash-landed again in the grass.
It was fun and adrenaline filled but I would like a way to instruct/talk with the mechanics so they can tell me in what state the plane is… preferably before getting airborne 😀 😀 😀 😀
Thank you very much for the plane and for the price on it! For me it really made a difference. I like a lot of planes but if they “fly” at 50-80€ range is just not for me… I would simply prefer to buy food instead. 😀
Best regards from France!
Serge
Hey folks! How do you fly at night? This great aircraft requires a lot of management over oil shutters, at least in the first phase of the flight when the temps get settled and also when you started to descend. And I love that a lot! However, at night time, it is so dark in the cockpit, that I literally cannot see the oil shutter levers. Also, I noticed that often when you need to close/open shutters even one little mouse wheel scroll is a bit too much and you can do a better adjustment by just dragging the lever with the mouse rather than using the scroll wheel. And I flew in different ambient temperatures but never had to open/close more than 3-5%, not even saying 50% or the full movement of the levers. Wondering if this is a correct aircraft behavior.