Yes, you read the title correctly. After an extremely long journey of over four years, we have set a target beta date that we’re ready to announce. Before I jump right in, I’d like to cover a few important topics.

What will “beta” be for this product?

This will not be a several month beta process. We have been in what our community manager, Josh, has called a “progressive alpha” for just shy of a year. What this means is that many of the systems on the airplane have already been tested relatively thoroughly. They’ve been reviewed by pilots, checked against documents, and tested via aircraft sharing by testing team members and developers alike. The result of this is that our systems are no longer “bleeding edge”. Beta will be aimed primarily at finding and fixing “showstoppers”, meaning crashes, memory issues, or major system malfunctions.

How will post-release updates work?

No matter how much we prepare, test, and consider, finding EVERYTHING before release is impossible. We’re aware of this and we’re prepared to respond accordingly. Our addon manager will have the ability to deliver updates to the product efficiently (by that, we mean without remembering passwords, re-downloading the entire aircraft, or reactivating). Our intent is to consider the aircraft in active development immediately following its release. Problems will be corrected quickly and we will do everything we can to stay ahead of reported issues.

What should you expect from here?

We will post another article before release detailing exactly what to expect on launch day, details regarding our activation system, and preparations we’ve made to ensure the best possible service on day 1. Any questions or concerns expressed before then will be handled via that article.

When will the 717’s beta start?

Thank you for actually reading what I had to say. As of now, our target beta date is December 10th, 2016. At this point, it is time for the testers we’ve confirmed over time to contact us, as we stated you would be told. You must include a reference to your confirmation of acceptance to the beta team in your correspondence. We are not accepting new testers at this time.

We’re almost there folks. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks. We’re still on track for release this year. When we have a firm date, we’ll be sure to let everyone know.

You can discuss this article on the TFDi Design Forums by clicking here.