I have a few questions regarding the PMDG 747 CD version which is about to be issued.1. Will the CD version include the patches issued to date?2. If not, will the patches work with the CD version?3. I read a review that said it took about 80 minutes to get the plane ready for taxi from a cold start. This includes programing the flight plan into the FMC. Is 80 minutes a realistic estimate?4. How long will it take to get the plane ready for taxi if the plane is loaded with the engines running, and all that is needed is to program the FMC? I am proficient using the PMDG 737NG 600/700 FMC.5. I use FSBuild and Flight Sim Commander to create flight plans for my PMDG 737NG 600/700. Can I use FSBuild or Flight Sim Commander to create flight plans for the PMDG 747-400 without making any modifications? Thanks.Stanner

1. The CD version is 1.10 and up to date, yes.2. I see no reason future patches won't work.3. WHAT? I can have it ready to go LAX-SFO from cold and dark in 7 or 8 minutes literally. (with the fast IRS align option on) 80 minutes is insane - real preflights don't take anywhere near that long. That might be how long it took someone who had no knowlege of the plane and had to read through the manual to do everything, but someone who knows it well can have it up and running in a very short period of time4. I can do this in seriously 2 minutes if I know the route beforehand (which you should anyway!). There are differences between the NG's FMC and the 744's but they are minor, you'll be right at home.5. Yes the 744's flightplans are exactly the same format as the NG's.

>I have a few questions regarding the PMDG 747 CD version>which is about to be issued.>1. Will the CD version include the patches issued to date?The CD version will be Version 1.10, which is the most current, fully updated version.>2. If not, will the patches work with the CD version?They won't be needed... but any future updates we issue will always be compatible with both the download and the CD version.... (aren't we nice?!)>3. I read a review that said it took about 80 minutes to get>the plane ready for taxi from a cold start. This includes>programing the flight plan into the FMC. Is 80 minutes a>realistic estimate?Well... Sure.... First time out. After you've done it a few times- it should take you all of 10 minutes. :-) I've started this airplane so many times that i can get from cold/dark to fully running fully programmed in about 3 minutes..... but i've done it a couple hundred times for testing/validation.....The beauty of this simulation is that it is realistic- and you can learn it- and gain the satisfaction of mastering it!>4. How long will it take to get the plane ready for taxi if>the plane is loaded with the engines running, and all that is>needed is to program the FMC? I am proficient using the PMDG>737NG 600/700 FMC.If you know your route (or take the time to save the route so you can easily load it as a company route) i'd say <2 minutes.>5. I use FSBuild and Flight Sim Commander to create flight>plans for my PMDG 737NG 600/700. Can I use FSBuild or Flight>Sim Commander to create flight plans for the PMDG 747-400>without making any modifications? I'll leave this to simmers who use those programs. Surprisingly, i've only recently started installing other addons into my FS9 setup... just too busy testing/developing to really bother....Hope that helps!