I've been away from the 737NG for about 10 months while using other planes such as MD80, ERJ, biz jet, and some turboprops. When switching planes I've always found that it takes a few flights to get used to the dynamics of plane, as it should. I fired up the 737 yesterday and was again struck by stability and feel of the plane. However, after hand flying the plane from 40 nm out on the approach and making a perfect landing, I had a thought: "This was too easy!"; especially compared to some of the other planes I've been flying. Is the real 737 that easy to fly?? Is the PMDG flight model overly stable? Any real 737 pilots, or someone who has flown a real airline 737 sim care to comment? Thanks. Mike

To ultimately answer your questions do a forum search. You will find a few posts from folks who have significant experience using the NG and have had the opportunity to use a commercial Level D simulator. In summary, they have praised PMDG for how real the model

This is strictly my opinion on this subject after having flown several manual & A/P flight hours in the 737NG-700 real simulator. The PMDG software is no doubt 'the best software development package' to date. The only drawback to the whole simulation immersion is the 'Hardware' end of this business. By that I mean the Yoke, rudder pedals and throttle quadrants. These are in my opinion once again the most critical aspects of the flight simulator. All the other button pushing devices are shear and utter eye candy at best.I have not found a decent yoke or throttle quadrant that are realistic enough to identify with the real feel of the 737NG throughout the flight envelope. I have, however, heard that 'flypfc.com' is coming out with a 737NG yoke in addition to 'flyengravity.com' who are also on the verge of developing a yoke that would simulate to a greater degree "the motorized control load" feel of the forces when flying".The subtle forces of a superior yoke, in conjunction with a decent set of rudder pedals and throttle quad, will make this 'as real as it gets' vision to the point of it being almost like the real thing... if that makes any sense...You can push all the buttons and have the latest MCP, overhead panel, fmc's etc., but without a decent yoke, rudder & throttle quad, you are wasting a whole lot of money chasing this vision. In my opinion, the answer now lies in those who can develop these hardware devices. I personally and again, I say personally, wouldn't pay alot of money for anything other than these three essentials to the flightsim immersion. It's not going to be cheap but, it will be a lot more realistic than what is currently out there.Regards & just my opinion. You asked for it, and I'm just responding to your question.jack

Thanks for the responses. I did some real flying MANY (don't ask! :-) )years ago (C150, C172, and an Aero Commander), so I do have some "feel". I have the CH yoke and pedals. I appreciate having my doubts removed by those of you have had some more recent real experience. The comments concerning the FS flight models in general is confirmed by my own experience. I spend much time with almost any plane I get, payware and freeware, adjusting the aircraft.cfg. The comments on pitch are particularly relevant as I've found that almost everyone screws up the moments of inertia in pitch in their models. PMDG, and one other payware plane, are the ONLY ones I haven't touched. More realistic feeling yoke, pedals, and throttles are important. I was just at Disney with the kids. We spent a lot of time at Downtown Disney at Disney Quest (3 story arcade) where Sega has a full size airliner sim. I spent much time on it: 2 things were apparent. 1) the feel of the yoke and throttle was great. and 2) having the left and right forward 45 degree views was fantastic! I suddenly had the peripheral vision I've missed since starting simming. I now need to figure out a way to have 3 monitors showing those views. With such there's no need for a VC at all! Mike