Hi

 

After spending quite a bit of  time with the default Boeing 737 I am looking for a slightly more advanced version. Somewhere between default and PMDG level would be great as I don't feel ready to take on one of those yet. Can anyone recommend one. ( if it works in both boxed and Steam editions what would be brilliant)

 

Darran

 

 

 

You might look at the iFly series. You get all variations plus the BBJ. Great product great value for the money.

 

http://www.flight1.com/products.asp?product=iflyfsx

 

Glen

No point going inbetween. There is only one choice. 

 

The PMDG can be as simple or as complex as you like depending on what you want to simulate. For instance, loading up the aircraft as per the tutorial you can be in the air in 10 mins or so.

Darren

 

Would highly recommend the PMDG. It is as simple or as complex as you like. For example you can have it start with all engines running and ready for flight.  Manually it flies really well, much better than default FS aircraft. The great thing with the PMDG 737NGX is that at the heart of the aircraft is an FMC which can be pre-programmed to fly to any 3D point in space - or you can switch the FMC off and it flies like a big Cessna 150.

 

Keeping it simple, you would be in the air in 10 mins.  If you learnt 2 new things each flight:-

 

after 10 flights you would have a basic knowledge that would allow you to operate the aircraft anywhere in the world

after 40 flights you would be competent

after 100 flights you would be proficient 

but you never stop learning and that is why I like PMDG so much.

 

Roy

The answer you were always going to get was the above ^ once you've sampled what it offers you, you'll always draw comparisons to other software in the same bracket. If you feel your hardware is capable, then take the leap you'll get hours of enjoyment from it. Learn a huge amount of stuff and never look back. It's your choice really but don't let the complexity of it put you off. The manuals are well written and will guide you step by step and take you as deep into the simulation as you wish to go.

You could also look at MilViz's excellent 737-200 as a learning tool. An aircraft that should help you as IMHO it is a stepping stone to the level of the PMDG. And it has been well-received here in this Forum.

While it hasnt been released yet, my guess is that the Qualitywings 737CL will be what you are looking for. You could check out their BAe 146 in the meantime.

I also think PMDG's is a good choice.. I'm no genius, and I can fly the thing ;-)

Nothing more improved than the NGX. The PMDG is easy to fly since everything operates as it is supposed to. It is very easy to hand fly and the auto flight system can do basic things and allows you to learn as you go getting into the more complicated flight plan programming. Throw in FS2Crew that gives you a second set of hands to do things and it is near perfect. I think people get very intimidated by it unnecesarily. It really is fantastic and worth every penny.

Like most other people that posted here, I also recommend the PMDG 737 NGX. I purchased that aircraft after only about 2-3 weeks of experience in FSX. At that point, I wasn't even comfortable flying the default FSX aircraft except the Cessna 172, but I still decided to take the leap to an advanced simulation of a very (to my experience) complex aircraft, and I didn't regret it one bit. In the beginning I just kept replaying the tutorial flights, and after a while when I got comfortable flying by myself I started using Simbrief to create my own flight plans, and before I knew it I was doing all the startup and preflight procedures and the flights by myself without any tutorials or guides, and boy it really is a good feeling! The 737 NGX is an awesome aircraft that (despite it's intimidating first impression) really is not that hard to master.

Short version: I highly recommend getting the PMDG 737, you won't regret it :-)

OP asked for something "between" default and PMDG, not an NGX endorsement. I second the iFly 737NG. Great value as mentioned above.

I would also have to recommend the iFly, out of the two NG's available I enjoy the iFly more.

I get better fps, the VAS usage is less and the VC is better (apart from the textures) the actual modeling of the VC just looks more real. And It has great Goflight support for my hardware.

The PMDG is also a great product but something draws me back to the iFly.

I get better performance in the PMDG, but hardly fly it because the VC just doesn't look like a 737. So I fly Ifly. I even use the default 737 VC, which merges perfectly with the Ifly737 and use the Ifly gauges. I get very good performance this way, but still enjoy a more complex 737.

 

 

So I fly Ifly. I even use the default 737 VC, which merges perfectly with the Ifly737 and use the Ifly gauges. I get very good performance this way, but still enjoy a more complex 737.

 

I prefer the iFly v1.02 rather than the latest updates 3.1 and 3.23, on my machine the performance is much better, also the VC gauge reflections do not look good under DX10, way too reflective to the point of being distracting.

v1.02 is the sweet spot here.

Another vote for the iFly, because you get all variants and features with a single investment while having 30 days to test the package. The Flight1 money back policy cannot be praised enough.

 

The tutorial docs coming with the plane should allow for a proper learning experience.

 

Not sure if there's something in between the default 737 and the detailed renditions like NGX and iFly. One possibility might be a freeware enhancement package like this, enhancing the VC and some gauges.