Old thread is old, but ... After just starting to fly the MD-11 more than I used to, I have got to say ...

 

It is a sweet plane, and OP is right, I can only imagine 777's being profitable for airlines that already have them in passenger versions and are planning to operate them for eternity then convert them to freighters once eternity is finished..!

 

The cargo capacity is nearly the same, though the 777F range is better, there are only a few routes in the world that can routinely fill up the aircraft with cargo and still need huge range. Almost every other route is better off having a layover somewhere central to distribute the cargo.

 

Really wish the MD-11 had weather radar modeled but even without it, it sure is an interesting airplane to fly. It is obviously not as polished as the 777 in terms of the flight model and the FMS but it is still very, very good. I am glad I bought this add on, and I am ashamed that I never flew it as much as I am now - you guys are missing out if you only fly 777's!

 

James Burke

I find myself flying the MD-11 quite a lot more than the T7. And if i had a 767, i would fly it more than the T7 both PAX and Cargo.

 

The T7 is a masterpiece, but quickly becomes boring with so much modernism.

 

 

not as polished as the 777 in terms of the flight model and the FMS

The FMS in the PMDG MD-11 is considerably more accurate in terms of remaining fuel at destination on long heavy flights than the FMC in T7 in the same situation.

A very interesting thread and a revival of it.

 

Having just successfully managed to re-install it in FSX-SE, it has been the 'go-to' airplane for me for all my flights recently.

There is no comparing the MD11F and 777F where real world cargo operations is concerned. They are two vastly different aircraft, each with advantages within the niche they were originally intended to fill. The MD11F is the ideal integrator machine; great operating economics as has been pointed out.

 

The MD11F's C4 contours allow for easy side by side loading of the AMJ igloo containers, and the main deck contour of the machine means the AMJ will give good space utilization without much waste. Moreover, AMJs are interchangable with the 75Fs a lot of integrators are moving to for short haul and domestic operations. It's a huge advantage and one of the reasons the MD11F is so popular with FedEx and UPS. It's a great machine, given its intended purpose.

 

The 777F on the other hand is intended to fill the gap between the 74F and the MD11F, giving all cargo and combination operators like LH and EK and others the ability to load the heavy, dense cargo requiring Q6 and Q7 (118") contours normally associated with the 747F, and offers a larger side door (120Hx142W" versus MD11F 102Hx140W) and heavier "zones" on the main deck.

 

The MD11F is taxed to its limit when loading 4MT per position, except over the wingbox, whereas the 777F can take a 6MT MDP with little or no complaint, except for the forward most and rear most positions. I worked with the MD11F for years at Lufthansa Cargo; it is a great machine if you're flying the right type of cargo, i.e. consumer goods from Asia to Europe, but it is not ideally suited for transporting heavy industrial cargo. Each to its own niche.

 

And you CANNOT beat the observers seat behind the Capt. and that huge panoramic window on the MD11. I really like flying on the MD11, and while PMDG's MD may be headed to the Victorville of flightsims, the real machine has years to go before the last one sees the boneyard!

 

JT

Just flying a Global Africa Cargo repaint right now.

 

Seems that Zimbabwe's neglected freight air industry had gone South like the rest of that country's economy, but then an air freight airline using two Avient's MD-11Fs and one probably from Garuda, was established, and is now offering cargo services from Belgium to Harare. And they are planning to acquire another MD-11F. So, there is life in the old freight-dog yet!

I was kind of hoping for a thread about the economics of the PMDG 777 vs. MD11 and why they have not made the later for P3D.  oh well.

Keeping track of all of the iterations of the former Avient is akin to watching an episode of Foyle's War. Avient to receivership, to AV Cargo to AV Cargo Airlines. Somewhere in there we cannot overlook Global Associated Aviation, and in 2013-2014, a "new" airline, Global Africa Cargo, was formed in Zimbabwe on lease transfer of two of the MD11s from AV Cargo Airlines. An aviation soap opera, to say the least.

 

Meanwhile, the MD11 has soldiered on, albeit in 09, Avient wrote one off in China - crashed on takeoff. Those Avient MD-11s have been "pimped" around quite a bit.