NG 737 800/900 fidelity for type familiarisation

[teropa 4]

Hi all,I am asking this on behalf of a friend, who is contemplating on purchasing the B737 800/900 NG (and naturally the base pack, because it's required).He's gotten a job as a 737NG first officer, and is due to start the type rating course in a short time. Since I don't own the 800/900 myself, I wanted to know from you (PMDG staff can answer too) what you think about the current state of 800/900 as a basic familiarisation tool for the 800/900 series? Are there many differences in the FMS implementation as compared to the real thing? Are the systems modelled accurately enough to facilitate basic line operations training and familiarisation?All opinions welcome.And yes, no need to remind that this is not a full-flight simulator, and all of that. I know the drill already :). Just seeking opinions on how the 800/900 series, being not old but not new either, would do as a basic learning tool. To get to know the NG 800/900 series a little before the type rating course (and why not during it!).Thanks for your help!rgds,Tero

[pschlute 37]

You can buy the 800-900 as a stand alone product, I have.I think you can only do this if you buy the CD version.Peter

[Tabs 2,790]

Tero,While we're obviously not going to qualify/promote the NG product as a real world CBT or something like that, I think it's pretty clear that it can be used in such a fashion as long as the user understands that it is technically an entertainment product and that he/she can't rely on it as a primary source of information for real world info and training. Someone would definitely be familiar with the cockpit and basic systems usage after using our simulation though. I just want to reiterate though that it's not a certified training tool and shouldn't be seen as one to the extent that such simulations (which are orders of magnitude more expensive than our NG) are normally seen.

[teropa 4]

Thanks for the comments, guys.Is there something especially "problematic" or "lightly modelled" about the NG in its current state, that should not be studied too closely ? I know it's hard to give criticism of your own product, but I am asking this with sincere intentions :).rgds,Tero

[Krister 51]

Terve Tero,obviously the PMDG 737 is an old design so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles you find in the LevelD or PMDG 747 (still it is the airplane I fly the most, offline as well as on VATSIM). Oh, and having a setup with CPflight MCP and EFIS doesn't hurt either...Anyway, this is what a B737NG driver (Brad "Zapper" Marsh) had to say: "NZCH is a hotbed of flight sim activity and the PMDG 737NG addon for MSFS9 is an amazing piece of work. It is so good we can use it to train for real world operations. In terms of a positive endorsement I don't think you can say much more than that about any sim.""The realism afforded by correct PMDG use is so close to the real thing that with sufficient training I could put you in a the real ship and you would have a good chance of being able to navigate it across the world.""I cannot praise the PMDG 737NG highly enough. It is so good I use it to train both myself and other real world Boeing pilots."Of course his comments where made before LevelD and 747 hit the scene, but anyway he seems to like it! ;)

[ronzie 21]

The Aerosoft CD packaged PMDG 737 NG 800/900 is a stand-alone product. Once you have the CD installed, you register the product on the Aerosoft.com site with the CD enclosed serial number for access to the product FAQ and service patches. There is one patch the last time I checked.While the complete PMDG documentation is on the CD, Aerosoft also includes two hard copy manuals in the package including one dedicated to the FMC.One thing you should do is go to the FSUIPC site and update it (the PMDG software will register you with FSUIPC - no additional fee for the features it uses) as the version with the distribution is outdated. See:http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.htmlfor the latest download version 3.73.

[Guest whoispankaj]

I know of a retired pilot who uses PMDG 737NG to teach about 737 Systems to fresh CPL holders who are about to go for 737 type-rating....Pankaj