The lack of sales for the PMDG MD-11 is probably for one of four reasons, or possibly all four of them.First, it was heavily pirated by some well known sites, which I won't do the service of mentioning here, especially in its FS9 incarnation.Second, it is neither a Boeing nor an Airbus, and these are what most people want when you talk about big jets in flight sims.Third, the real MD-11 was not popular with the passenger airlines. Part of that lack of popularity was down to timing, where tri-jets were on their way out with the advent of ETOPs, and part of it was down to it being tricky to fly, and some of it is down to the fact that the MD-11's tail mounted engine means that sound from it carries a long way because of its height above the ground. All of those factors meant that the airlines got rid of them ASAP and palmed them off on freight carriers, who bought them because they were cheap, which somewhat offsets the lack of economy in operating them. The lack of popularity is therefore reflected in the simming world by the kind of people who buy PMDG products, i.e. those who very often like to simulate passenger flights to big passenger airports rather than freight hubs.Fourth it is a long-range aircraft. This, by definition reduces the amount of potential buyers, since not everyone wants to make very long flights, and accounts for the popularity of various 737 variants from all developers. It is true that the PMDG 747 is also a long range aircraft, but that has the advantage of being an iconic aircraft which many want to try out, also a Boeing, and also it is possible to pretend it is a 400D variant, not to mention the fact that it was PMDG's flagship product and a tour-de-force of innovative in-depth simulation.Al

I heard that the resell prices were not bad at all. The airlines that sold them made a very good deal. Almost every MD11 is still in service right now. Even DC/MD 10 are still in service. The plane is very powerful and therefore perfect for the Cargo airlines. The dry lease rate is far cheaper than a 747/400 F and even a 767/300 F. I don't think that much MD11 will vanish in the near future.

Read something about the fuel economy of the MD-11s not up to expectations of the airlines when they came out too. and a bunch of service problems and glitches. But yes, when I drive by Imperial road south of KLAX you can always see all those FedEx MD-11s bustling about. I tried to drive in the entry road between the hangar areas to get a better view and some workers waved me off lol.They are beautiful birds, and love their side fuselage lights. Makes them look like starships.. "the last tri-jet".

Actually, Dassault's Falcon 900 and Falcon 7X are still production trijets: (all photos are of the fly-by-wire Falcon 7X)

The MD-11 is the last commercial tri-holer. The only reason why you would buy a Falcon 7/900 is if you had the cash to spend. Still I'd rather perfer the MD-11 to those two. More appealing to me (or at least me).

and there we are.. back to topic.. because i would prefer the L1011 or DC10 :)

IMO here are a few reasons why the real life MD-11 failed commercially:1) The project was delayed and the initial aircraft never met performance guarantees made by MDC, mostly due to over-optimistic estimates of engine performance which never materialised during flight testing. Mods were created afterwards but it was too late.2) MDC's financial health was deteriorating rapidly, they were desperate and everyone knows it. Lockheed left their customers high and dry when they left the civil aviation business and nobody wanted a repeat of what happened.3) Because of a combination of 1 and 2, MDC lost a huge customer with Singapore Airlines opting for the A340. SQ was (and still is) a big bellwether airline and the lost sale is crippling blow to the MD-11 programme.4) The Gulf War and its effects on the airline industry. Very few people (Especially in the US) were buying new aircraft.5) Boeing's big push to 180-minute ETOPS. I think both Airbus and MDC were caught off-guard although it didn't matter much for Airbus because the A340 is just a variant of the A330, whereas the MDC management was betting the company on the success of the MD-11. Boeing rebuilt the old Henderson field at the Midway islands just for the purpose of ETOPS.

Grrrrr, you got me!! Heart palpitations aren't a good thing....really thought they had added it to their special project/classic plans when I read your headline. Well done mate!

Actually - where's Robert's regularly scheduled April Fools "announcement"? I've enjoyed those through the years - or mostly I've enjoyed people's reactions to them hehe.

He was on a 747 all day yesterday coming home from Europe...

He was on a 747 all day yesterday coming home from Europe...

Hope he was taking pictures for the V2 :(

He was on a 747 all day yesterday coming home from Europe...

How fitting. Jumpseat or Club World?

Hope he was taking pictures for the V2

 

PMDG are making a V2?!! Well, that's certainly a change of direction