Best B737NG for FSX?

[BimmerCop 332]

Hi guys,I am really considering the best route to take in starting my very own home cockpit project and basically it comes down to two aircraft models: B767-300 or B737NGFor the B767-300, I obviously would use the Level-D flight model but I do not know what is the best B737NG for FSX. What you guys think is the best B737NG flight model for FSX?Thanks in advance!

[Guest firehawk44]

Hi guys,I am really considering the best route to take in starting my very own home cockpit project and basically it comes down to two aircraft models: B767-300 or B737NGFor the B767-300, I obviously would use the Level-D flight model but I do not know what is the best B737NG for FSX. What you guys think is the best B737NG flight model for FSX?Thanks in advance!

There are none for FSX. I would go directly to the Boeing website and develop your home cockpit based on photos located on that site. V/R,Jim Young

[BimmerCop 332]

There are none for FSX. I would go directly to the Boeing website and develop your home cockpit based on photos located on that site. V/R,Jim Young

Hi Jim,Actually, there is a website which sells most of the B737NG cockpit panels and components already made. Since none are available for FSX, I guess my best option, if I take the B737NG route, is to go with FS9 and base it off the PMDG NGX for FS9?

[PingPong 60]

Ariane makes a 737 NG for FSX that's pretty good, PMDG is working on one, but it may not be out for a bit.

[Chock 17,769]

Ariane Design make about the only current 737NG for FSX (several variants, including the 7/8/900 and the BBJ), all the other 737s for FSX are the 300/400/500 variants (basically either the Wilco PIC or possibly the Fifty North, with some tweaking).The Ariane 737 is pretty good, lots of people slam it, but they're mostly having a pop at Ariane the company rather than the Ariane 737 itself, which, even in its FS9 incarnation is one of the best you can get (it certainly has the best virtual cockpit by a long way, and it models a lot of things other FS 737s do not, including the airstairs, the cabin crew stations such as the galley, and all the correct lighting in the cockpit, which is very well done indeed, much more convincing than any other FS 737). I have heard that many of their FS9 737s also work in FSX, but don't bank on it, it's just what I have heard. I can tell you that the FS9 Ariane 737s have very nice flight model, although to be fair, so do the Wilco and PMDG earlier 737 variants, so it's not alone in flying nicely.The downside with Ariane - and among the reasons they come in for a lot of flak - is that they've not exactly got a very 'user friendly' reputation from the way they have been in the past with people with regard to support and product activation (this is mostly because they are massively overzealous when it comes to product piracy - with some justification since their products have been subject to 'torrenting', as have Wilco and PMDG).Ariane's reputation is not helped by the fact that their products are, and always have been expensive, but, you do get what you pay for in most respects. There's little doubt their 737 is very nicely modeled and you could argue that other developers of very detailed sims are now approaching the kind of prices they charge, so the gulf is narrowing on pricing. I think I'm right in saying that Ariane are also one of the few developers who've got into producing their own FMC database, rather than relying purely on an external company to provide it all, so whilst that has led to some stuff not being in their 737's database, it does at least demonstrate that they wanted to offer a full package by themselves, although there are certainly some critics of that approach. There have also been some criticisms of their CDU not modelling absolutely every single feature of the real thing, and this is at least partly true where fixes are concerned, but it's certainly no 'lite' treatment (as evidenced by the fact that it is a Boeing-licensed product) and I have heard that their FSX version is much improved, although not having their FSX 737 myself, I can't say that for sure.There are signs that Ariane have cleaned up their act a bit in recent months, their website used to be a confusing mess, which made it hard to determine what you were getting, notably because they were one of the first companies to sell 'variants' of their aircraft as separate products, which was hugely confusing, not to mention expensive, because they charge extra for liveries and other engined variants etc. They don't like people putting repaints online for free (their EULA forbids it and it's not the first time Ariane have raised the ire of the freeware community with such a stance, which is another reason they come in for criticism).These days their website is a lot better and is worth a look, although their support forum is only available to people who have bought their product, so it is kind of hard to gauge satisfaction levels if you are not a customer, and if you don't like what you've bought, then by the time you can get on their forums, it's too late, they've got your cash! But, as I said, their 737 is nice and if you don't want to wait for the PMDG 737NG, it's your only option.For a slightly independent view of Ariane's products, you could try reading the reviews on SimMarket, who also sell their stuff (not all reviews are complimentary on there incidentally, so 'caveat emptor' and if you have any doubts, wait for the PMDG 737NG). Ariane are a bit like Captain Sim in some ways; you'll hear people defend them who say their products are great, but you'll also hear people who are not happy with them too, so judge for yourself. You can also make of it what you will that they rarely get a mention on Avsim, but I suspect that it mostly down to Ariane's insular nature rather than the quality of their products.Al