Hi

 

So i've just bought the 737NGX and i want to learn the cockpit completely. In other aircrafts i have, when hoovering the mouse over a button, flaps, throttle etc it will say the name of the button and if its on or off. Same with the throttle, it shows how many % im on. Isnt this available in the PMDG products or is it something i have to turn on somewhere?

 

it shows how many % im on. Isnt this available in the PMDG products or is it something i have to turn on somewhere?

There is no PMDG option for what you described. Make certain that Cockpit Tool Tips is checked in FSX Settings>Customize>Aircraft. Some items, not many, will show up using tool tips.

I personally thought this was intentional of PMDG, since it was often looked at as a "study aircraft".  Leaving out the tool tips (or rather a quite a few), enables the pilot to learn where everything is and how it functions.  For instance, not having a tooltip to see what percentage of throttle is on, forces the pilot to refer to the EICAS display.

 

i thought it annoying at first, but later realized that without the tooltips, it just made me commit more to memory and force me to use the gauges.  In hindsight, I think if PMDG did activate every single button, switch, dial with tooltips, it would be too easy and you wouldn't learn.

 

-Jim 

Sometimes tool tips leads you wrong habits.

Taking the NGX as an example, it took me months to get rid of the habit of setting up the takeoff trim to the second decimal digit just because I could get the reading by hovering the cursor over the trim wheel! 

I'm pretty sure there are no tooltips in the real aircraft or level D simulators.

 

Dave

The tool tips you see in the PMDG products are enabled in the simulation (FSX/P3D) but what appears was put there by PMDG, same as any Windows application/module it's part of the UI.

Thanks for your replies! It makes sense that PMDG chosed to not include this to make it feel more realistic. On another hand, it is actually quite fun to figure it out all by yourself!

The learning curve is severe, but in 6 months or so it'll be worth it. I just came to the PMDG NGX from the default aircraft last week... amazing what I've learned in just one week.

 

On the lighter side, figuring things out on your own... last night went through and got off the ground from a cold start, but before I tookoff I saw an indicator light on and for the life of me couldn't figure out what it was. By this time it was 20 mins past my bed time, so I said screw it and took off. Mid climb I start getting a beeping... wondering if its related to the indicator. The beeping  got annoying and I couldnt ignore it anymore, so I looked it up in one of the manuals what it was... but the result didn't make sense - it said it was a sensor indicating one of the doors wasn't secure...? After switching to an outside view, here I am taking off with the main exit door wide open.

 

Closed the door, and problem solved. Wonder if this happend in the real world Ida realized it after the flight attendants started flying out of the cabin

 

Nick Dobda

I'd like to see tooltips when selected to be as such in FSX; especially in one of the most complex aircraft available.  Using dx10 mode has no problems with tooltips in any of my other aircraft.