.....do I need to buy the 737-600/700 before buying the 737-800/900? Just a bit confused here....Please bear with me as I'm sure this question has been posted before. Thanks.

Yes. the 737-600/700 is required to install the 737-800/900 but if I were you I would wait till the NG 2.0 is released. It will include all variant models and will also improve the airplane drastically.

Thanks Mike. As a side note, is it hard to learn to fly the 737? How long did it take you (assuming you have it)?

Thanks Mike. As a side note, is it hard to learn to fly the 737? How long did it take you (assuming you have it)?

That depends on your skillz level, if you allready know how to setup the FMC, using the autopilot etc. Then it shouldnt be too hard, it took my a week to get familiar with the MD11.Just go through the tutorial and you should be off to a good start.Also, the 737NG is a very user friendly aircraft from what I know/heard. :-)

The Boeing 737 has probably one of the most intuitive cockpits of any modern airliner, so it is relatively easy to learn how to fly it. A big help is the fact that it is the most popular airliner in the world, so there are a vast number of resources to be found for learning its systems - probably more any other airliner. Here is a website which should prove useful: http://www.b737.org.uk/And here is an excellent guide to flying earlier 737 'classic' variants, which should also help with learning the NG: http://www.b737.org.uk/eparksnotes.docAl

Thanks again! Those are both great websites.For now, Im going to wait for NG 2.0 to come out (its for FS2004 and FSX, right?). Meanwhile, I hope the QualityWings 757 hurries up for release!To be honest, I think I will be overwhelmed with all the systems to worry about, but then again, im not flying the 747. lol

Thanks Mike. As a side note, is it hard to learn to fly the 737? How long did it take you (assuming you have it)?

I think I can describe the NG quite well. As far as being easy to fly, it certainly is very intuitive and it does not take long to pick it up and fly. With that being said the simulation is very complex and learning can be described along a continuum. I mostly fly the 747 in FSX. In FS9 I flew the 747 & the 737 a lot (waiting patiently or impatiently for the NG 2.0), with both aircraft I am still constantly learning all the time. So to answer your question. Yes you should be able to program a flight plan and fly directly from airport A to airport B and land the aircraft. You can try a managed descent and learn the systems and this will keep you busy for a long time especially if systems are your pleasure. If you simply like to hand fly the aircraft then it should be straight forward, however; it might be the equivalent of only driving a Ferrari at school zone speed. :(

Thanks again! Those are both great websites.For now, Im going to wait for NG 2.0 to come out (its for FS2004 and FSX, right?). Meanwhile, I hope the QualityWings 757 hurries up for release!To be honest, I think I will be overwhelmed with all the systems to worry about, but then again, im not flying the 747. lol

System wise the 737 and 747 are very very similar in the cockpit, nearly identical besides the fact you have two more engines.Ryan

As far as the why, the 600/700 was the initial product for FS2002 and we followed it about a year or a year and a half later with the 800/900 as an addon that upgraded the systems, added an FS9 clickable VC, the 800 and 900 visual models etc.If you want a 737NG now, I wouldn't wait for the 2.0, we're still a ways off from releasing that (ie 6 months at the very least) - the current one is by no means bad and while the panel looks a tad dated at this point, I'd still bet on it against pretty much anything out there right now... It has stood the test of time we think! :(

As far as the why, the 600/700 was the initial product for FS2002 and we followed it about a year or a year and a half later with the 800/900 as an addon that upgraded the systems, added an FS9 clickable VC, the 800 and 900 visual models etc.If you want a 737NG now, I wouldn't wait for the 2.0, we're still a ways off from releasing that (ie 6 months at the very least) - the current one is by no means bad and while the panel looks a tad dated at this point, I'd still bet on it against pretty much anything out there right now... It has stood the test of time we think! :(

If you only want the Boeing 737-800/900, you can buy the CD version from Aerosoft, which is what I did. It is quite useful, as all the liveries come on the CD, and they give you a printed FMC manual as well as a brief tutorial flight.CheersRudy

If you want a 737NG now, I wouldn't wait for the 2.0, we're still a ways off from releasing that (ie 6 months at the very least) - the current one is by no means bad and while the panel looks a tad dated at this point, I'd still bet on it against pretty much anything out there right now... It has stood the test of time we think! :(

Hi Danny,I'll second that (and I don't work for PMDG). As Ryan said, the NG2.0 is AT THE VERY LEAST 6 months from release.I don't know if you already have experience with other high quality airliner sims but if you have FS9 and if you are interested in the 737, go for it (and get FS2Crew with it). There's a lot to learn but the product is mature and there are plenty of great tutorials. You won't regret it. My 2 cents,Bruno

Go for the Aerosoft box one Danny - the 800/900. You'll learn a LOT. It's a handful to start with trying to get the descent right for a landing but learnable. It obviously isn't as refined as the MD or 747 but it is better than any fs standard plane. Ryan is right, it has stood the test of time.I'm only just getting to grips with it myself, being as it's a 'recent' purchase but then I didn't know of pmdg till I bought the 747X from them a while back.Sure teaches you how to adjust your flying to suit. As everyone will attest, brill tutorials out there too.I reckon the 'at least 6 months' is a bit premature lolol. Go for it :( John Ellison

Thanks again all. I had forgot that Aerosoft had the boxed versions of it too. I think that getting the 737 would be the next step into my overall FS experence. I've never handled anything more complex then POSKY's planes (not that theres anything wong with them)!

Danny-I have been flying the 6/7/8/9 NG series from PMDG for at least 4 years now and it is still one of my favorite paywares. It is not as simulated as the newer PMDG planes but it is a brilliant aircraft to fly. If you have never looked at a overhead or FMC before its going to intimidate the living daylights out of you but there is a great series of tutorials from this guy:http://www.youtube.com/user/WTurbiaszThey are great for beginners like you.I wish you luck with your venture into the 737NG range, learning the complex systems of planes is really the final and biggest step to making FS "As real as it Gets."

As far as the why, the 600/700 was the initial product for FS2002 and we followed it about a year or a year and a half later with the 800/900 as an addon that upgraded the systems, added an FS9 clickable VC, the 800 and 900 visual models etc.If you want a 737NG now, I wouldn't wait for the 2.0, we're still a ways off from releasing that (ie 6 months at the very least) - the current one is by no means bad and while the panel looks a tad dated at this point, I'd still bet on it against pretty much anything out there right now... It has stood the test of time we think! :(

If you really want to purchase a 737 and you simply can not wait then, yes this would be the aircraft to purchase. I also could not wait for the NG 2.0 since I am an exclusive FSX flyer. I purchased a competitors offering which offers one variant at the purchase price. All I can say is that I was extremely disappointed and I no longer am flying this aircraft due to reactivation issues. :( Compared to the competitor the NG that which was built for 2002 is a much better plane then the competitors version which was built for FSX. In addition it is a lot cheaper. So in the end if you can not wait and you want a very good aircraft compared to the competitors, then the choice is easy.