gents,anyone here have the MD-11 Martinair DVD? What are your impressions, or comments on it? Is it as interesting as the Virgin 744? differences?thanks to anyone who has comments.maxim

I think it's a very good release, certainly very informative. The 744 is probably the best in the platinum series but having said that they're all so good that I have the lot anyway.If you're serious about getting ready for the MD-11 then it's WELL worth the money.

thanks mark

I havent seen the 744 video (yeah shame on me. :(), but I have the MD-11 and it is well worth every penny you pay. You get a good insight in the operation of the MD-11, the captain is good at explaining the various operations of the aircraft throughout the flight.

>anyone here have the MD-11 Martinair DVD? What are your>impressions, or comments on it? Is it as interesting as the>Virgin 744? differences?In my opinion this is by far the best DVD showing the MD-11. Difference to the VIR B744? Well Ruud Bakker is talking even more while he's flying than Alan Carter does. Turning himself to the camera while they are still decelerating on the runway, "welcome to Palma de Mallorca!"... classic! :)Regards,Markus

Yes - it is none of my favourites of the ITVV set. The MD-11 was an amazingly automated plane, quite ahead of it's time.

Nice sig banner Markus, love that retro MD-11 logo!

my favorite because they go into more depth, and they film the return flight!!!

Mark,We have to thank Bill for this. He wanted to have the MD-11's logo in his and our signature :) I can understand that because on the other PMDG dev. banner the MD-11 is greyed out and that doesn't do this airplane justice ;)Markus

are MD-11's still manufactured, or is it the existing fleet that still services the industry?also, who absorbed McDonnell Douglas, was it Airbus or Boeing?

Production ended in 2001, last delivery was to DLH Cargo. Today we can safely say this was a big mistake by Boeing as this aircraft is loved by cargo airlines. Every airplane that is phased out from passenger service get's an immediate conversion into a freighter. We would have seen a couple of orders in the recent years had Boeing not stopped production... So yes the industry will have to do with the frames that are still available...Regards,Markus

markus,alas, that sounds sad that it was so beloved and no longer is in production. honestly, i know very little about the md-11, i only got the itch to know because PMDG is developing her! so, in anticipation for her inevitable release, i purchased the martinair video, and watched a few segments last night. ruud bakker is quite a captain. very eloquent, and succinct.as you said earlier, you mentioned that it was a mistake on boeing's part to discontinue her, and that it was beloved by the cargo carriers. my curiosity is, why. why was the md-11 such a good cargo plane, and why was she so beloved? from what ruud bakker mentioned, martinair became big with it's ability to provide seasonal cargo service. so no doubt, cargo is a major player in airline revenues. so in essence, what is it about the md-11 that is so great, and compared with the 744F, what are her advantages over the latter?one thing i do like so far with the md-11 is it's beautiful streamlined body, and it's grey interior flight instruments.tomas

At the moment I believe they are pretty cheap to get (if you can find any on the market), they have a lot of power (so you can lift lots of cargo) and finally airlines like Fedex already operated the DC10 so it is pretty logical that they also ordered MD11s just like a lot of other former DC10 operators did. Regards,Basten Heidema______________________________[a href=http://www.ifdg.net]--iFDG website!--[/a]FLY DC JETS!

Tomas,There are several reasons why the MD-11 has such a high demand right now...- As Basten pointed out, they are relativly cheap to get- Many airlines are retiring them from PAX service so there are quite a few available for cargo operators these days.Why is this an advantage? B747-200F are expensive to operate (3 crew, old). DC-10F are also expensive to operate, at least more expensive than the MD-11F and they have much less payload capability. B744F are none available. If you want those you'd have to order them new. That makes you wait a long time. A300F is to small and has not enough range to compete.- The MD-11F has an excellent payload uplift capability. Loading them to the theeth still gives you a good amount of range compared to other cargo aircraft.So the only thing better for cargo at this time would be the B744F. BUT that aircraft is hard to get at this time and is just a lot more expensive than an MD-11F. That's the big advantage over the B744F. Of course the disadvantage is clear: No nose cargo door...This should give you a good idea about the MD-11 and it's position in the cargo market. Of course this will all change once the B777LRF is available...Regards,Markus

its sad that boeing picked company pride over what models really should have been continued after the buyout