Hi guys, I'd like to know if; for example, when an airline orders a new aircraft like the 747-8i/F can it have the option to have its cockpit configured like a 747-400? With the CRT gauges, older (green text) FMC's and classic MCP's?Something tells me its possible, but I'm not entirely sure.If you wonder why I'm asking this is because I feel weird when I fly my -8i with the older 747-400 cockpit systems, but if it's something possible, It will feel more realistic. :PThanks for the info :)

It depends on the aircraft and the manufacturer. In the case of the 747 It's not possible to order it with the CRT displays. In fact some airlines have been refitting their aircraft with the LCD's. The LCD's are lighter, stay cooler, last longer, take up much less physical space, and are able to display things that can't be done with the CRT's, such as charts or video feeds from external cameras. Airlines have to think about the residual value of the planes they order. Having a small fleet of airplanes with non-standard equipment can make them hard to sell when the time comes to replace them.I can give you an example that I have personal experience with. When Mesa airlines ordered the Dash 8-200 the CEO/founder wanted electro mechanical flight instruments. Bombardier had stopped building Dash 8's with electro mechanical and had gone with the Honeywell EFIS as standard equipment. The EFIS had only been an option when they started production. We heard a lot of reasons why our CEO didn't want EFIS but the bottom line was that we didn't get the EFIS. Mesa payed over $1 million to have the old instruments on twelve Dash 8-200's. Those were the only twelve Dash 8-200's ever built without EFIS. Bombardier had to write seperate flight and maintenance manuals just for our planes. And the older they get they will be harder to support because those instruments have long been out of production. The CEO also wanted to have our CRJ-200's delivered with the electro mechanical cockpit from the Challenger 601. Bombardier flatly refused. They would have had to replace and re-engineer the entire flight deck, avionics bay, and many of the systems. It wasn't worth it for an airline that was only ordering 36 jets and wanted to go back in time. They did tell the CEO they would build the jets that way, but Mesa would have to pay more than double for each plane. So he decided to take what they were offering which was great for us pilots. The CRJ has a great cockpit to work in. It's getting a little long in the tooth but in the late 90's and early years of the century the CRJ had one of the most advanced airline flight decks.Hiram Hunt

Oh! I see! Thank you for clearing this up for me!

The 757/767 can get retrofitted with new larger screens in the cockpit. Also the 737 classic can get retrofitted. Still not getting close to the NG, but it's an improvement. However I doubt that any operator would want a 747-8i with a -400 cockpit. It would mean taking steps back in technology. But of course it would be easier for pilot training.

From what I've seen of the -8i flight deck it isn't that different from the -400 though it is maybe more capable (but a large of that is simply the computers).@Hiram: Why did he want electro-mech instruments?Best regards,Robin.

In regards to the Mesa DHC8's. My company is doing C checks on 2 of them right now, 437 & 454. We have been having alot of problems with the HSI's on both of those aircraft and parts are almost impossible to get ahold of without paying an arm and a leg. Good ol' Mesa for you...JR

Boeing has largely moved away from the philosophy of offering a bazillion options with the newer aircraft - the 777 and 747-8 have very few cockpit options when compared to the NG for instance.

You'll feel more realistic when 747-8i comes out~ I think PMDG is likely to do that in the future.