Printed manuals PMDG MD-11.

by: Tino Broekstra

During the installation of the PMDG MD-11 into FS, the manuals will also be installed on your hard disk. The format in which the manuals are delivered is pdf. Altogether these manuals are over 1440 pages.

To fly the MD-11 the way PMDG intended you to do, it’s necessary for you read the manuals carefully. The most common way to read the manuals is to open Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the pdf files. Another way is to connect a printer to the computer and print all pages. This will take about 3 packs of paper and a lot of (expensive) ink. To store all the printed information, you will also need 3 binders.

However, there is another alternate to have printed manuals on your Computer’s desktop; you can buy the PMDG printed manuals. In Europe, Aerosoft is the distributing company. The entire set of manuals will cost you for €169.99. A complete printed set contains 2 binders (Aircraft Systems & FMS Supplements and the Flight Crew Operating Manual) and a spiral bound book (Quick Reference Handbook) you also get a laminated checklist for easy use during your flights. The amount of €169.99 seems to be a high price, but comparing to the real cost of home printing and the fact you get 2 binders, in my opinion it isn’t that expensive.

What are the benefits of the printed manuals compared to the DIY printing of the pdf files? To find out, I received a complete set from Aerosoft Germany and I started to study these manuals.

The manuals are on A5 sized paper. The outside of the binders is well Illustrated with a beautiful picture of the MD-11 in PMDG house colors. The first impression is a good one, very professional, and invites you to have a closer look. The size of the manuals is a good choice: it will fit on almost any desk for use during your flights. It is easy to locate any problem in these manuals.

The complete set. 

It would be a bit silly to mention the content of each page separately in this review, as it is the same content as in the pdf files that are already installed on your hard drive. I assume every buyer of the PMDG MD-11 will have the pdf manuals installed. Even non-PMDG MD-11 flyers are able to download the pdf manuals from the PMDG website.

During the development of the MD-11, PMDG has worked closely with the Boeing company. Part of this was because PMDG had access to the real manuals and were able to use parts of these manuals to include in the PMDG manuals. This makes the manuals very reliable.

The sim part is written in the same style as the real manuals and this is what makes them look very authentic. These manuals have all they need to become the MD-11 Bible for flight simmers. Below I will mention the content of each individual manual. To start, I’ll grab the first binder from my bookshelf:

Aircraft Systems & FMS Supplement.

In this binder are the following chapters:

Systems:

· Aircraft General

· Air

· APU

· Auto Flight

· Communications

· Electrical

· Engines

· Fire Protection

· Flight Controls

· Fuel

· Hydraulics

· Ice and Rain

· Instruments & Navigation

· Landing Gear

· Lightning

· Warning & Alerting

All chapters listed above are labeled with white tabs and are listed in alphabetical order. After the chapter “Warning and Alerting”, a couple of blue tabs are used for the FMS part of this manual.

The FMS part contains another 12 chapters, with again a tab separates each chapter. These chapters are:

FMC:

· Introduction

· Pre-flight

· Takeoff

· Climb

· Cruise

· Descent

· Approach

· Alternate Diversion

· New Destination

· After Landing

· Advanced Flight Planning

· Abnormal Procedures

As you can see, this manual is very easy to use. Every chapter has a tab, telling you what chapter you’re looking at. This is something you won’t find in your pdf file.

This book is the most expensive to buy, when buying the manuals separately: US$84.99. I only state the US$ price as the separate manuals are only available through the PMDG store. In Europe, you can only purchase the complete set.

Something I am very happy with is the fact that the tabs have reinforced punched holes. This prevents the holes from ripping, something that happens easily after some time of continuous use.

The Aircraft System and FMS Supplement, showing the FMS part.

The next manual is:

Flight Crew Operating Manual.

This book is a little less voluminous. It contains the following chapters:

Limitations

· Limitations/Recommendations

Normal Procedures

· Exterior Inspections 

· Cockpit Preparations

· Start Procedures

· Before Takeoff Procedures

· Takeoff

· Descent/Approach

· Landing

· Parking

· Checklists

Supplemental Procedures:

§ Introduction 

§ Air Systems 

§ Cold Weather Operations 

§ Autopilot 

§ APU Inflight Operations 

§ Fuel System

Emergency Procedures

§ Abnormal Procedures 

§  Alerts

§ Procedures & Techniques

§ Performance Data

The tabs of the Flight Crew Operating Manual.

This binder sells separately for US$59.99.

The last book in the series is the Quick Reference Handbook.

Quick Reference Handbook

This manual is a summarization of the other two books. The most important subjects are included in this manual. It is intended to be used to find a quick solution to a problem. If any additional information is required, one of the above-mentioned books can be used.

The QRH is a spiral bound manual. This makes it very usable, especially to have it on hand on the required page. The downside is that it is not possible to add new pages to this manual. With the binders, it is possible to add or remove pages to keep the manuals up-to-date.

In the Quick Reference Manual you’ll find the following chapters:

Emergency Procedures

§ Alerts

§ Non Alerts

Abnormal Procedures:

§ Air Systems

§ Configuration

§ Electrical

§ Engines

§ Fuel

§ Hydraulic

§ Misc. Systems

§ Level 1 & Level 0 Alerts

Normal Checklists

§ Full Cockpit Normal Checklist.

The Quick Reference Handbook is priced at US$44.99. The very smart size of the manuals makes these so easy to use. I have a similar manual for my Level D 767. The Level D manual, however, is less extensive in comparison with the PMDG manuals.

My Jeppesen Airway Manual is the same size and together these make a “nice couple” on my desk. Consuming all the information mentioned above, the following question becomes relevant: Are these manuals worth their price, especially since you have the pdf versions on your HD already? In my opinion, I would say Yes!

Keep in mind the cost you will have to spend on ink and paper when printing these pdf manuals and putting them into a couple of binders. As an additional service, you get a free laminated checklist when you order the full set.

I think you should not only look at the price tag of this set of manuals, but also keep in mind how easy these manuals are to use. Sure, you have all the same information available as an online pdf file, but keep in mind how it will be if “something” needs your attention during the flight, and you have to look at an online manual: You would have to press the Pause key, start Adobe Acrobat Reader and load the required manual.

In a worse case scenario, you would have to minimize FS to have access to this information. Sure, the Pause key is not necessary, but loading the pdf files will take some time, and your problem will continue to grow while you are not responding to it. The result might be a crash during your search for information or a solution. This is realistic, but also frustrating. It is even more frustrating when you know a solution (in the printed manuals) is available.

Loading the pdf file on a second computer screen or laptop is not always possible. It is not just the realism we are looking for. It is also the ease of use. Nothing is more simple than to pick up the right binder or book and solve the problem in a systematic way.

These kinds of manuals are also a “must have” in my opinion; however, the price might be a little scary for you. For those of you wanting to be a serious virtual MD-11 pilot, this set of manuals should be on your desk. For those of you just willing to have “another add-on” in your virtual hangar, the pdf files will be all that you need.

With the printed versions of the manuals, I think PMDG is offering a great product that compliments the great aircraft they are producing.

During the 2008 FSWeekend in Holland, I saw someone with a set of these manuals walking through the large hall of exhibitors. Many times this gentleman was stopped by a fellow simmer, and within the blink of an eye, they where looking into the manuals. Sure, you have something many simmers are willing to have. During the same show, Aerosoft had some manuals available at their booth. Here, many people took the opportunity to have a closer look at the manuals. At the end of the weekend, all sets that Aerosoft had, had been sold.

Reading manuals is something we simmers do not do often. Most of the time, we just install the aircraft, start FS and fire up the new “toy”. Be honest, who is reading the “readme” files after the installation has completed? Not to mention the installed manuals. When you have the manuals available as a hardcopy, you can easily read through the content during a flight. This will also upgrade your knowledge of the aircraft.

This set of manuals has a definite place on my desk, and I hope PMDG will also release the same kind of manuals for their Boeing 747 and alltheir future products. I would like to take the opportunity to thank both Winfried Dieckman of Aerosoft Germany and Robert Randazzo of PMDG for providing me with this set of manuals.

Links:
Aerosoft product page:  http://www.aerosoft.com/cgi-local/re/iboshop.cgi?showd200!0,5078271450,10852
PMDG product page: http://www.precisionmanuals.com/ProductCart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=16

Illustrations used with kind permission of PMDG!