I am going to go against the trend and say 747 without a doubt (for me atleast).1) Its a huge aircraft and lots of fun to hand fly and land it even before you learn all the system2) Plenty of training materials and tutorials out there for the 747 than for the MD-11 (I am pretty sure)3) I simply like the 747 in real life too.4) Once I leared the 747, I am able to use this knowledge to fly the 737, 767 and other Boeing aircraft systems.5) there are MCP (Goflight MCP for the PMDG 747 and the driver payware) for my personal home cockpit. and even FMCs hardware available for 747 Manny

OK, thanks for all your comments and advices! I have decided to purchase MD-11 and I tell you why:- better frame rates are very important to me- it is also weighty that MD-11 includes more advanced art and avionic features developed by PMDG Team- Boeing airliners (I mean 747, 757, 767 types) look quite similar as for avionics and handling. However because there is another very good Boeing jet model - Level-D 763ER - giving much better FPS than PMDG 744 I think in the future it would be better to buy this one if I wanted to learn operating Boeing jets in depth.@Tim: Unfortunately CS 757 costs now about 74 USD for full pack (passenger & cargo versions) - almost identical price as similar PMDG products are sold. It is impossible to buy advanced airliner add-on for 25 bucks anyway...

I have finally got that beast! I am positively very surprised I have high FPS with MD-11: 25 in VC and 40-50 in exterior views. Really good, indeed!

I have finally got that beast! I am positively very surprised I have high FPS with MD-11: 25 in VC and 40-50 in exterior views. Really good, indeed!

Wise decision far better as the 747 in all fronts ;-)

OK, thanks for all your comments and advices! I have decided to purchase MD-11 and I tell you why:- better frame rates are very important to me- it is also weighty that MD-11 includes more advanced art and avionic features developed by PMDG Team- Boeing airliners (I mean 747, 757, 767 types) look quite similar as for avionics and handling. However because there is another very good Boeing jet model - Level-D 763ER - giving much better FPS than PMDG 744 I think in the future it would be better to buy this one if I wanted to learn operating Boeing jets in depth.@Tim: Unfortunately CS 757 costs now about 74 USD for full pack (passenger & cargo versions) - almost identical price as similar PMDG products are sold. It is impossible to buy advanced airliner add-on for 25 bucks anyway...

That is indeed true, although you can occasionally find a sale price at CS. I'm glad you like the MD-11. It is a very well-made airplane and no doubt objectively better than the 747 technically as a new product. I will probably think harder about trying it again before I buy a 747 after thinking about the comments in this thread.

I think purchasing of PMDG 744 should depend mainly on your hardware. If your rig can handle it, there is no obstacle to buy it. Jumbo is wonderful aircraft but I would say everyone should evaluate composition of his virtual hangar and decide whether he needs it or not.

The MD-11 is more FPS friendly and simulation wise it's just as impressive as the 747. I really enjoyed learning the differences from the Boeing family. But I still came back to my favorite, the 747. As far as FPS, I have different saved display settings for different aircraft I have and the 747 has it's own special setting that I load up before each flight where I have most of the FSX graphics turned way down so I get a nice smooth flight. It doesn't bother me at all because any aircraft with this much simulation detail, you are so busy inside the cockpit during takeoff and landing you don't have time to look around at the scenery that much and when your up at 30,000+ feet you don't notice that much difference anyway. The MD-11 is the second best aircraft in my hanger, but just like in real life, I like the 747 better.

The MD-11 is more FPS friendly and simulation wise it's just as impressive as the 747. I really enjoyed learning the differences from the Boeing family. But I still came back to my favorite, the 747. As far as FPS, I have different saved display settings for different aircraft I have and the 747 has it's own special setting that I load up before each flight where I have most of the FSX graphics turned way down so I get a nice smooth flight. It doesn't bother me at all because any aircraft with this much simulation detail, you are so busy inside the cockpit during takeoff and landing you don't have time to look around at the scenery that much and when your up at 30,000+ feet you don't notice that much difference anyway. The MD-11 is the second best aircraft in my hanger, but just like in real life, I like the 747 better.

A man after my own heart. I am often surprised at how different people approach the same flight sim in completely different ways. I think that is sometimes the source of misunderstandings. Low and slow people want high frame rates and maxed out sliders, and think go-far guys are nuts when we talk about turning things down and being happy with lower frame rates as long as things look smooth from the flight deck.When I am in the A2A Cub, I want everything cranked up, and it is smooth for me. Then I can go oooh at the scenery. In a big airliner, I want (in order) no stutters, nice clouds, and a nice airport, preferably with static a/c because most of the time I just don't really like the way AI traffic works. So there is a lot of room for compromise there. Once I realized that I enjoyed flying complex airliner addons just as much with the sliders down and good performance, things have been more fun for me. Some day I'll have a system that runs everything the same way.So now I'm kinda pumped about the 747, because I thought I'd never spend time with the old girl again.

That's the beauty of being able to create multiple setting files with FSX. I have four - Min, Max, VFR & IFR.

That's the beauty of being able to create multiple setting files with FSX. I have four - Min, Max, VFR & IFR.

Would that be the fsx.cfg file? Never thought of doing it that way, I've been going via the settings screen all this time :(

No, not the fsx.cfg. Simply move your sliders to your preferred positions for that type of flying, then hit the 'Save' button, bottom left above 'Load', in the main FSX settings page.

I have both, and I love the 744 as an aircraft (Boeing in general- the similarities are there from the 737NG on to the 744- including the LDS 767)However, the simulation of the MD11 is better- smoother frames, and the systems are more complex to my eye. It's a newer product and more refined. I wantot see a 744 3.0 after the 737NNG (new next generation!)The killer for me is that it natively supports widescreen :) I need to resize the 744. No biggie, but I like to fly the 2d panel over the 3d one, and I have not bit on teh J41 yet (if ever)Tim

Well, I have also purchased PDMG B747 today! :(

Well, I have also purchased PDMG B747 today! :(

Let us know how it works for you.That is an excellent point about the widescreen support, too, on the MD-11. That was something I appreciated when I used the 2D panel.

I can say I have about ten more FPS flying MD-11 than on-board B747. However both planes are fully flyable on my rig if I tune graphical settings properly. I must say B747 looks really awesome during flight and is significantly different from MD-11 as for avionics, flight characteristics and so on. Of course I have not studied both airliners handling in depth but this will be very exciting "journey". :(I cannot notice any difference sitting in B747's 2D cockpit though I also use wide-screen monitor.