I flew on several of Delta's MD-11's, I remember them fondly.  I have the MD-11 and think it set the bar, made my 747X look like a FS98 product.  While I love still blowing off the dust of my MD-11, I look forward to what next level PMDG can take us in a plane they have not done.  I have been itchin' for the 777 since PMDG went from Fly! to FS, it has been a long wait.  PMDG is a business first and foremost, they are going to do what makes the best business sense.  I am not 100% sure on this but most of their customers are real world pilots that use this to hone their skills or to become type rated.  Not a lot of demand for MD-11 pilots these days.  I can list a lot of planes I would love for PMDG to do, they won't because again it satisfies a few but doesn't make them money.  If they don't make money, sadly they won't exist.  It would be great if Airbust didn't charge a fortune for data Boeing gives away; this is one of the main reasons PMDG has not done an A320 in my opinion.  PMDG does not want to guess at performance and feel.  I look forward to the 777 and I hope one day 787/767/757s.  But for me it does not make sense for them to update the MD-11.

Its unfortunate that business sales dictate updates - or not. I still fly the MD11 and perhaps an edge over the NGX even though the NGX is far more detailed and modern in looks and features. But the MD11 has tremendous character and uniqueness    The DC6 you would be hard pressed to find on the fields today as well, but its a classic so apparently will sell well.  The MD11 would not be considered a classic, but if you dont have it, you really dont know what your missing. Just because it wasnt popular with the airlines and wasnt seen all that much doesnt make the PMDG MD11 any less of a sim. It will be a classic in my mind and I dont think I would put it away even when the 777 comes along. As pointed out previously the low rumble of startup is awesome for the subs and the experience. 

McDonnell-Douglas shot themselves in the foot when they had it as the DC-10 due to a flawed design which is probably why by the time Boeing took it over and marketed it as an MD-11, the bottom had by then fallen out, hence the poor sales, but here in the PMDG format, is an aircraft just like you, Dave(HighTowers), I favour more.

Not enough market interest for a new MD-11, probably true... but WHY on earth would they make a DC-6???

 

McDonnell-Douglas shot themselves in the foot when they had it as the DC-10 due to a flawed design which is probably why by the time Boeing took it over and marketed it as an MD-11, the bottom had by then fallen out, hence the poor sales, but here in the PMDG format, is an aircraft just like you, Dave(HighTowers), I favour more.

Er, the DC-10 is an entirely different aircraft to the MD11. aka with 3 man crew, no glass cockpit, shorter fuselage, different engines... same wing. McDonnell Douglas (Aka "MD") actually marketed the aircraft as the MD11 from conception. The DC "Douglas Company" DC-10 was developed in the 1960's, had some issues related to the design (Cargo doors that came off aircraft ripping bits of plane off with them, Not enough air vents in the floor, causing the occasional ejection of passengers with the cargo door.) and maintenence (The engine was harder to take off it's mount than the mount was to take off the wing... therefore to save time some airlines would take engines off the wing from the mount to do engine work. However as there was no good procedure to put the mount + engine together back on the wing... at least 1 engine came off an aircraft on takeoff.)

 

MD11 was a larger, heavier aircraft with new engines, however it carried the same wing as the DC10 (because it's cheaper to stick a longer fuselage and different engines on the same wing than design the aircraft from scratch! - just add an extra notch of flap to reduce the Vref speeds!). The horizontal stabilizer was smaller than the DC10's (to reduce drag) but means that it's less stable in the lateral axis. "Relaxed Stability". Some suggestions that it doesn't have enough pitch authority in some flight conditions as a result of this may have some merit. The fact that LSAS - the Stability Augmentation System was developed may suggest that the 'unstable pitch' of the aircraft may have been a certification issue and 'computers that help it fly' was the solution. This isn't a stable aircraft with FBW added to make it more efficient like the A320, it's an unstable aircraft with LSAS added to make it more flyable.

 

Boeing certainly didn't "change" the name of the MD11 after acquiring McDonnell Douglas... it already was the MD11 since the first one rolled off the production line. Indeed I do believe Boeing never made a whole MD11, only finishing the ones already on the production line and providing tech support and parts for those already in service.

 

Not enough market interest for a new MD-11, probably true... but WHY on earth would they make a DC-6???

 

For fun?

 

(their fun).

 

Apparently something to do with keeping members that have finished work on other projects (such as 3d modelling external models of 777's) doing something while other members (doing things like programming LNAV/VNAV/FMC/CDU's) catch up (with the 777), so you don't just tell the guys that do visual models to go away for 6 months.

 

Those guys can make a project (DC6) that doesn't need the kind of work the other part of the team is doing (ie no FMC VNAV in a DC6)

 

Some programming takes longer than other parts, and people that for instance, make and edit sounds, may not have the kind of skills required to code Avionics for instance.

I don't have all the facts as the process of updating an aircraft but I think what everyone is asking for is not a total remake of the MD-11 but a visual remake. The systems of the MD-11 are perfect. The exterior model and VC on the other hand is all that needs to be upgraded. As for the time and effort needed to do so, I am not fully await of what this would be but I am sure it would cost time and resources. For this reason, doesn't it sound reasonable to offer such an upgrade at a fair cost? PMDG had already done something similar with the release of the 747-8. These were exterior models that used the underlying systems of the 747-400. I am only assuming that the same can be done with a  newer MD-11 exterior model and cockpit.

 

I am not sure why the MD-11 had low sales. I honestly don't believe it is due to the fact that it is not an aircraft that people see at airports often. The NGX was widely anticipated for a long time and the overall level of detail in both systems and VC were very new to simmers. Also, the publicity for the NGX was far greater than the MD-11 (IMO). If the NGX was at the same standard (visual) as the MD-11 currently, might it have sold so well? perhaps...or maybe not? I guess we may never know. But the MD-11 seems to be a favorite for alot of simmers. For me personally I would fly the MD-11 over the NGX anyday. Others may have a different view and yes there is also a significant number of individuals who do not post their views on forums. With that said, how do we know that those who do not post on forum won't be interested if the MD-11 looked better?

Thanks for that update, Trent. The nub of my argument was, that it was a problematical aircraft whoever manufactured it which did not sell, plain and simple.

Sorry to hear PMDG has decided not to pursue further improvements to the MD-11.  I really enjoy flying the FSX version of the MD-11F.  I have had absolutely no problems with the airplane since installing it several years ago.  It has always been an aircraft I enjoy flying; it's truly a joy to fly, via autopilot or manual controls.  Once you learn this airplane, just like with the others, it's one you'll always enjoy going back to - after flying the NGX, or 747, etc.  I do look forward to the upcoming improvements to the 747; this is another really nice PMDG plane to fly.  At the same time, I am saddened by the fact that the veneralve MD-11 will not get the facelift it really deserves.

PMDG had stated that they have no intentions of re-opening the MD-11 project for any updates. They have stated that sales of the MD-11 do not warrant any further updates. Why is it that people do not understand what PMDG has said?  They said NO UPDATES!

Why keep beating a dead horse? I think you will be waiting a long time for any updates. Don't hold your breath.

Lol yeah I was a ramper too for a little while.  I remember refueling the Sheriff's 407, it just had the usual side cap.  The only way you knew it was full is when you were wearing some fuel.  My favorite plane to fuel was the Avanti...single point to make things easy.   Least favorite was that damn Cessna Caravan...the fuel caps are waaaaay up there and I am not particularly tall so at top of the ladder the wing was still about shoulder level.  Fortunately I never had to refuel it in icy conditions, that would have been a candidate for the darwin awards probably lol.

 

Kind of like topping off the aft fuel tank in a Beechjet... the first 200 gallons go in nice and fast - the last 125 have to be added ever so slowwwww, with many pauses to let it settle, or you'll have Jet-A burping out of the filler neck, running out of the overflow drain and making a nice puddle on the ramp!

Not enough market interest for a new MD-11, probably true... but WHY on earth would they make a DC-6???

I agree, DC6   :unsure:

As has been said before, the DC-6 is a light model, intended to keep guys ( and girls?) on the team busy, who would otherwise be sitting on their hands between big projects. The MD-11 was, by all accounts, one of these big projects.

I really hope the DC-6 turns out to be a big seller.  That might encourage PMDG to take on other vintage planes in the future such as a DC-3 or Convair 240.

 

Cheers

TJ

Well I could go "why on earth do they make a 777". I would be perfectly happy if it never surfaced, I like 747 much better.

 

I like the idea of DC-6 though and would miss that.

As has been said before, the DC-6 is a light model, intended to keep guys ( and girls?) on the team busy, who would otherwise be sitting on their hands between big projects. The MD-11 was, by all accounts, one of these big projects.

 

 

As has been said before, the DC-6 is a light model, intended to keep guys ( and girls?) on the team busy, who would otherwise be sitting on their hands between big projects. The MD-11 was, by all accounts, one of these big projects.

I'm looking really forward to the DC6, but I wouldn't  had a problem with an update for the MD 11 to keep the guys busy