Good evening.Since the first version of the PMDG 737 came out until the 737-800/900 versions, numerous tutorials (PDF or video forms) have been written by many authors. There must be at least a good dozen of these works in English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish and probably many other languages which I do not read. I have downloaded many of these. I do not mention here translations but original texts.To write such a tutorial is very time consuming. I personally know what it means for working myself on a specific personal project. Let me express my sincere gratitude to all of you.One thing although puzzle me at this point. How comes that not two tutorials proceed somehow the same way to prepare the cockpit, to load the FMC or even to start the engines? They are sometimes so big differences among them. I have already been told that they are some light variations between the real airliner companies concerning some procedures, but for a newcomer, which will be the right tutorial to follow?Would it not be the time to organize the first world PMDG tutorial congress? :-)With best regardsRakhamToshiba Satellite P4 3.4 Ghz1536 DDR RAM nVidia GeForce FXWinXP ProYoke & Pedals CH Products

yes, good idea, please get together everyone and get a tutorial sorted that can be followed by all, included me!!

>yes, good idea, please get together everyone and get a>tutorial sorted that can be followed by all, included me!!The reason tutorials differ is that it is possible to use completely different "flows" and processes for setting up the aircraft, and they all work.I've got real world manuals from Boeing, Continental, United, and a couple of others, and while the airplane systems do the same things, there are marked differences in how they flow from one task to the next.Basically, there is no single "right" way to take the airplane from cold and dark to takeoff, besides the fact that you gotta start the engines before you fly, and you gotta calculate Vspeeds before you take off, and you gotta board fuel before you start engines, etc.Another factor is how much patience a user has - there are some tutorials designed to get you in the air and flying in 30 minutes, and there are others (like mine) that can take you through multiple flights before you ever see the FMC. .So, depending on your preferences, time available, and the operator(s) the tutorial uses as a guide, your experience can and SHOULD vary.

Agreed, Tim.The way I do it is when I fly for a virtual airline, I.E., Delta, I try to get ahold of their procedures if at all possible and follow them for realism. I found that this makes for a very satisfying simming experience as when i fly for multiple airplines I get a feel for how each and every one does things. Makes me feel more "real", if you know what I mean.I learned this AC first by following Tim's Advanced Oeprations Tutorial, then going on to airline specific procedures. Doing this helped me a lot. I flew a lot in flight simulator before the NG came along, but once I bought the NG, THAT's when I REALLY started getting serious about airline operations. And the way these manuals are written it makes it awesome.

You guys are going to love this.I am told there is a complete revision of the standard Boeing procedures on the way.Already the manuals talk about PM (Pilot Monitoring) instead of PNF and I undertsand that the 'areas of responsibility' will also change but that is all I know atm.Change is in the air :DTTYS

>I am told there is a complete revision of the standard Boeing>procedures on the way. Already the manuals talk about > PM (Pilot Monitoring) instead of PNF ...Yep, probably [a href=http://www.jethros.i12.com/FUN/PAGES/FLIGHTDECK_DUTIES.htm]going British[/a].Cheers,Martin

Tim, How long till we see your new Tutorials? JeffG

Oh my bloody goth -- if that British thing is a simplified version I'd bloody hate to bloody see the bloody full version.(Sorry was trying to use Bloody as many times as they used the word Handling in that artical **chuckles**)Chris

Tim, for the version 3 of your tutorial, might I suggest making it compatible with the flow procedures used with FS2Crew? That would be very beneficial I think...

Hi Tim,I understand the point you're making. However, despite the variety of airline procedures, I did expect the CHECKLISTS to be the same, because they report the vital actions that MUST be accomplished to operate the aircraft safely(at least, that is my understanding). But, NO, checklists differ across operators also!!??BR,Frank

You got that right, Frank. I have seen 3 versions of the same checklist through various airlines so far, and they vary in procedural order.However I did notice that, as Tim stated, no matter what order the routines were in, they all successfully got the bird in the air. There is no set order, just a set "suggestive" area of "departments" to accomplish before going to the next stage.Like one checklist I have here on my desk has to get extrernal power, do the prep, program the FMC, then start the APU only for purposes of starting the engines. Yet another checklist here has the APU started right off in the beginning of it all. Both ways are good, because they get the bird in the air without incident (if followed correctly).Really -- a checklist is nothing more than the particular airlines "summery" of their particular SOP.And, Martin, I am still cracking up about that British thing. Fits em so well.>>>>>EDIT<<<<< To correct my horrible spelling.

Thanks for corroborating my experience, Christopher."Really -- a checklist is nothing more than the particular airlines "summery" of their particular SOP."I wonder what checklists are specified in the the Boeing flight manual, before they get adapted by the individual airlines?BR,Frank

>Tim, for the version 3 of your tutorial, might I suggest>making it compatible with the flow procedures used with>FS2Crew? That would be very beneficial I think...The flows will be based on Continental procedures, but I will try and remember to indicate what actions would be done by the monitoring pilot.There are things that are done based on what seat you're sitting in, regardless of who's flying the airplane, so I expect that the convention will be that the captain is in the left seat and is the pilot flying, and the first officer is in the right seat and is the monitoring pilot.Is there a demo version of FS2Crew? I don't think I'd buy it, or use it often, but I would like to give it a page or two in the book.

>Thanks for corroborating my experience, Christopher.>>"Really -- a checklist is nothing more than the particular>airlines "summery" of their particular SOP.">>I wonder what checklists are specified in the the Boeing>flight manual, before they get adapted by the individual>airlines?>>BR,>FrankTHAT one I think Tim is the best one to answer -- I am as well interested in a Boeing official checklist before airline modification **smiles**I will actually go check the Boeing sites I know of and see if I can dig one up, but truely I think Tim has the inside on that one more than I do LOL.

Maybe Virgin could supply some "unadulterated" checklists?:-) :-)Frank