Hi, While the 737 NGX is going to be my first purchase of a PMDG product I'd like to ask something on the printed manuals:

• The content of them will be exactly the same of the digital manuals that are going to be dispatched with the software?
• Is it going to be any restricion on printing the pdf manuals?
• Any discount on the printed manuals when buying the software? or on the software after buying the manuals?

I'm not very keen on printing but studying and checking 1000+ pages can be quite uncomfortable on screen...Thanks in advance for the answer(s)

I think I am right in thinking the Boeing PDF's will not be printable but the PMDG will be.I would be nice if they made any of them available to DL before the release because who knows how far away that is.

Hello.I think it is worth it the version they are offering for purchase is just really nicely printed in very nice binder and all, somethign you really can't expect to get by printing the thousands of pages on your own :PI think they told the manuals would be printable if I'm correct, but also that the manuals at least the official one from boeing would not be available for download but only with the product. If I'm correct that is the only limitations there will be.Cheers

Hi, While the 737 NGX is going to be my first purchase of a PMDG product I'd like to ask something on the printed manuals:

• The content of them will be exactly the same of the digital manuals that are going to be dispatched with the software?
• Is it going to be any restricion on printing the pdf manuals?
• Any discount on the printed manuals when buying the software? or on the software after buying the manuals?

I'm not very keen on printing but studying and checking 1000+ pages can be quite uncomfortable on screen...Thanks in advance for the answer(s)

On the first item, I believe they have said several times that the NGX will have the full set of manuals in digital format.Two, there are no printing restrictions, kill all the trees you want.Lastly, there will not be discounts on the manuals and or NGX via bundle deals. PMDG stated that they do not have a big markup on the manuals. They also mentioned that the quality of their printed manuals and materials used surpass that of the original Boeing manual set. You get a lot for what you pay for and PMDG aren't making a whole lot in the end.

Hello.I think it is worth it the version they are offering for purchase is just really nicely printed in very nice binder and all, somethign you really can't expect to get by printing the thousands of pages on your own :PI think they told the manuals would be printable if I'm correct, but also that the manuals at least the official one from boeing would not be available for download but only with the product. If I'm correct that is the only limitations there will be.Cheers

Sounds correct to me.

Hi, While the 737 NGX is going to be my first purchase of a PMDG product I'd like to ask something on the printed manuals:

• The content of them will be exactly the same of the digital manuals that are going to be dispatched with the software?
• Is it going to be any restricion on printing the pdf manuals?
• Any discount on the printed manuals when buying the software? or on the software after buying the manuals?

I'm not very keen on printing but studying and checking 1000+ pages can be quite uncomfortable on screen...Thanks in advance for the answer(s)

1. I belive so.2. I once answered this question [with yes] and really got my bum burned, so I would now assume the answer is no.3. I don't think so. There has been no hinting about it from PMDG anyways.

No. I splashed out for the Captain's Flight Manual Set and I regret the purchase - it's just generic Boeing stuff and not at all centered on the product. My negative assessment may be colored by the fact that we thought it was a signal that product release was imminent, so be advised.Also on my print run, the print quality for one of the books was quite poor - this was acknowledged by PMDG, but the final response was: tough luck. In fact, on hindsight, I think it was a keep-the-product-alive-in-the-holiday-season move. While I guess this is SOP for any company, now that we've gone 6+ months since then with no product release for the corresponding printed manual, it just feels wrong to me. Some PMDG apologizers will point how I'm wrong, but I'm just offering my tuppence.So, it wasn't a positive buying experience for me. In fact, you might find the Bill Bulfer materials a better use of your money - I know I have.

The printed publications are in fact the real deal for the actual Boeing 737NG. If you work on aircraft in real life, and would like to replicate that experience while sitting in front of the PC then these books are legit. I am sorry to hear others have regretted their purchase. It is understandable since they are several hundred dollars. I think the quality you get, and quanitity of information though greatly outweigh that. I print out the manuals for all my FSX aircraft anyway, and index them the way they would be in the real world. I find it is easier on the fly when you have an emergency to actually flip through the pages. The MD-11X publications are excellent for this. At a minimum I would recommend the QRH just so you have a quick reference in your lap for what actions to immediately take during emergencies. Either way they are not necessarily for everyone, and is something that you should really think about. I give them a thumbs up though. I am qualified to turn aircraft in real life for maintenance purposes, and just having that QRH at my side helps make my flight simming experience that little bit closer to real. As a side note they purposely did not modify the Boeing manuals. This should be a significant indication that the NGX will in fact do almost everything that the real Boeing NG will do. Being an owner of both the MD-11 and NGX books the MD-11 books were highly modified, and tailored to the simulator/MD-11X capabilities. Comparing them both side by the side the NGX manuals are a lot larger, and contain far more information which indicates to me that they have done everything contained in the manuals. Afterall just look at the screenshots and videos they have shown thus far.Most likely there will be no discount for buying the books with the aircraft. I bought the MD-11X books with the aircraft, and there was no discount. I think for the material provided it is a fair price. Especially since they are having to pay Boeing for the copyright. The box that showed up to my door was of substantial size/weight for $300, and they take up an entire cubby in my computer desk.

I'm a flight sim nut and aviation crazy so to speak....! I purchased the Captain set and I'm very pleased with my purchase. The posters are a very nice compliment and the information regarding one of my most favorite aircraft is awesome. Do understand this is going to be left up to personal needs, wants, and taste... If you have the money and really want to know how the 737 operates and have some materials to read then pull the trigger on the purchase. Take Care, hope you all have a wonderful weekend and 4th of July....!

I think a lot depends on what you like, and are prepared to spend money on as far as whether you think they will be good value and useful. If you are the sort of person who has bought stuff from Essco Aircraft Manuals (which is where I sometimes get stuff from when doing reviews for Avsim), you will probably recognise the value in what you are getting, in knowing that up to date SOP manuals for current modern aircraft do not grow on trees, even if the paper they are printed on does. I paid nearly fifty quid for a Boeing 707-300 one not so long ago which I used for the Avsim review of the CS 707, and that's for an airliner which barely flies any more, so for aircraft which are still working, you can see why they'd fetch a premium price.The fact that PMDG's product is essentially a reprint of the real thing would therefore be a plus point to that kind of buyer, since SOPs are not handed out like sweets at a party; in fact, where real airliner manuals are concerned, most of the time pilots and engineers have to sign for the copy they get, and only get rid of them at the end of their career (if at all). Having actually produced some SOPs for a few airliners in real life, and that includes arranging the print and stuff like that, I know how much is involved in doing that, both cost-wise and from a legal standpoint (which is why I always made sure I blagged a copy in the binder, so if we ever get a decent FS Airbus, I'm good to go LOL). Thus to me, it is nothing short of miraculous that PMDG have actually managed to get it done for a PC-based simulation of an aeroplane, and I think that's a lot of where the cost is going to come from. It also points up the fact that if Boeing thought it was okay to go ahead with greenlighting such a thing, then the forthcoming PMDG 737 NG is clearly going to be something that sets a precedent as far as realism in FSX is concerned, and if that is true, then those manuals will show their worth in that respect as well.There are certainly cheaper options around for getting a set of SOPs for an NG if you just want a digital copy, in fact you can find downloadable PDFs of them on the 'net for free if you look around, but it is much easier to have them in a binder with all the nice tabbed cards for sections and stuff, which does make them a lot quicker to navigate. As others have noted, there are also a few privately produced manuals and guides to flying the NG which present that same info in other ways, which could be had for less, but short of actually having a genuine set of Boeing SOPs that you took from the cockpit of a real aeroplane, or bought from Essco (if they had one), then the if you want a set of NG SOP manuals, the PMDG product will be what you seek, and the price reflects the state of affairs in regard to how hard such a thing is to come by, so ultimately, it will be the buyer who decides whether they think it is worth buying them, but regardless of that, we are indeed fortunate to have the opportunity to do so.Al

Thanks for all the answers,I've got a better idea of what to expect from both products.As David says, a downloadable version of the manuals in advance would be nice, I'd rather wait for the realease of NGX and try to defend myself with the digital manuals. depending how familiar I get with the simulation I'd buy the printed ones later.