I posted this on PMDG's forum but can also post it here. It comes from 744 captain Alan Carter (Asiana, formerly with VA):Once we reach cruise altitude the engine noise is very much subdued, the airflow over the 'hump' is noisiest, though we can still hold a normal conversation and do not use headsets in the cruise. The B744 is a very quiet aircraft for the pilots. Due to the aerodynamic shape of the 'hump' the B747-200 is noisier than the B744.Michael J.

Great post Tatu... :-beerchug Here's another great post posted over on the PMDG forum, "I do not have the PMDG 747, not because its expensive or more than FS9 itself which many people on other forums have said but because I don't have a decent system to run it and because I'll get distracted from Uni !but I will say this....The question of sound has been hotly debated and while I have not listened to this product I can say that many of you are right and wrong. On takeoff, you will hear the groan of the engines at max thrust, then the runway noises that go with hurtling 800K+ of 747 down a runway at 200mph, the wind noise will gradually increase. As the aircraft climbs and reaches CLB stage, you will hear the engines immediately spooling down to climb thrust. Afterwards, they will gradually reduce in noise as the speed increases...(naturally) After all, who else has head-on window seats to an object flying 600mph? During cruise, you will NOT hear the engines at all. Firstly due to the wind noise and secondly, partly due to the altitude. Michal is right on this point. Gradually you will hear the engines at lower altitudes on final approach and when the reversers kick in. Now I do not know if PMDG have modelled this as I do not have the product.I would like to add making soundsets for FS is increasingly difficult but there are sound geniuses in the FS community (Emil Serafino/Mike Maarse and others). One thing that many people forget is its very hard to make the engines "disappear" once in cruise. You will either have to programe quiet engine noises in the cockpit so the wind can overshadow them or you will have to make the engines louder and the wind exceedingly even more so, which will make it quite unbearable on flights as you will be constantly fooling with your sound settings in FS and your speakers. I noticed with Wilco's 767 before LDS, the sounds were connected to the OAT and would gradually disappear as the aircraft reached cruise altitude, truly remarkable stuff, perhaps modelled in the forthcoming PMDG patch?BilalEDIT: Just watched the video and realised its ITVV"s 744 DVD of Cathay P', basically the video exactly highlights the above ramble. Don't those RB211's make a nice growl?"

My first bird :-) was Lvld767, after having flown default Boeing for a few years (aahh the bells the bells!). Obviously i was amazed, as a newbie, at the difference between default planes and the quality add-on heavies. Until now i have not the priviledge to own a PMDG aeroplane, but i can say that the LD767 sounds are awesome! The sound on approach when the landing gear is released is just too good. For me that's cool because when you land everything else is configured, no sideways movements or physics etc. just a standard landing and the sound of the wind and the engines. Great job Flight1! :-) CheersDan

Unless you've actually sat inside the cockpit, you cannot say what is right or wrong.

I think Michael J. got you Alex...:-roll

>Um, Alex? I can read the PMDG manual too as I have just>learned how to read and understand english. As such I've>ALREADY used the sliders and the sounds STILL didn't sound>right. AND NOW, having spent >16 hours on two 747-400s I can>tell you without a doubt the sound is wrong. Probably not>intentionally but wrong none the less.>>And as far as:>>"Also, you would hear different noises than the cockpit,>because the cabin is more sound proofed than the cockpit">>Come on man, I know there ain't no easter bunny, no santa, and>no passenger airplanes where the ENGINES are louder in the>cockpit than in the cabin (ESPECIALLY the 747-400 where the>engines are FAR behind and below the cockpit!) Sorry.>>Mike T.>>Well said Mike..................and you are not trying to listen to what ATC has to say over the top of the environmental sounds either. Maybe FS10 will organize it so that ATC can be heard through headphones only? as in reality, maybe eh?Dave T. .........On the lovely warm Devon Riviera and active 'FlightSim User's Group' member at http://www.flightsimgrpuk.free-online.co.uk/

Alex? No one has seen a BLACK HOLE but if you are educated enough to understand BASIC PHYSICS then you can safely make educated assumptions that they DO exist. ONE of those basic assumptions is that AS YOU MOVE AWAY FROM A SOUND SOURCE IT GETS SOFTER as you move TO the sound source it gets louder.Now, with those SIMPLE assumptions in mind, it is easy for anyone to see (except you) that if the engines can bearly be heard from JUST BEHIND the cockpit in an open cabin then moving further forward into the flight deck and closing the door makes it IMPOSSIBLE that it would get louder! IT CAN'T HAPPEN Alex!Oh, never mind. You win, the world is flat.Regards,Mike "Don't go to far or you'll fall off the edge" T.

You are completely wrong, the sound does not get louder or softer, it changes its tone to be a higher or lower pitched tone, the higher pitch being heard less because our ears are not tuned to such higher pitched noises as we are the vibrations of the lower pitch.Anyway, thanks for that clueless physics lesson. I am pretty sure companies install material in the cabin to drown out the certain frequencies that are not installed in the cockpit itself, thus I am under the impression that you hear different frequencies while in one or the other...But thanks for giving it your best shot, I am glad to see another person who doesn't know what they're talking about explain to the developers and pilots who tested it how unrealistic the sounds are.

"I am pretty sure companies install material in the cabin to drown out the certain frequencies that are not installed in the cockpit itself, thus I am under the impression that you hear different frequencies while in one or the other..."WOW... :-spacecraft :-zhelp him please...

I think you need the help, especially when you have spent most of your days complaining about no wing views and "horrible" sounds. I think you should find another hobby, it's quite obvious nothing can please you

And you've spent just as much time with rebuttals against me and everyone else on these issues...

They aren't issues, they are complaints. And I haven't spent as much time as you have, when I am browsing to get info or something and come across your nonsense, I will respond to it so hopefully these ridiculous demands will not be heard by PMDG and I can have a smooth running VC with smooth gauges and issues fixed that need to be fixed instead of crying about not being able to see the wings.Oh by the way, please point out what part of my physics lesson is incorrect, I would appreciate it.

Alex I'll leave you with this and I'm done with this whole thing seriously this time (I wrote this on the PMDG forum as well and the quote from a real 744 captain is right above this post)... "You know what someone needs to say something if people are willing to accept something like this as an alternative (better yet pay extra to look inside an external model when every other title on the market doesn't require this). None of you can say anything about Ariane if you

Here is a couple of things to consider about the soundsets. Each of us hear sounds different from everyone else. Our age, condition of our ear, where we were sitting can make a big difference. I know from hearing tests done for my medical I have lost some hearing in the midrange. This would make me "hear" something different from you.I use a basic sound card with basic speakers. If you have a HiFi setup you will hear things I will not. With the Skylane RG I never heard the looping sound others mention in the engine. However, when sitting in the right seat I hear all the airframe squeaks, rattles and bangs that when you are flying in the left and busy you will not hear. This can color your perception of a sound. At best, a soundset will be a compromise. Look how loud the gyros are in the Dreamfleet planes because people did not think they were loud enough. Yet in an Archer, I had to listen really close to hear it at all.

Alex?What you are *cluelessly* referring to is the Doppler effect however, since once you reach your point within the aircraft the position of the source of the sound and the observer remains static therefore, the pitch and noise level also remain static for any given position within the aircraft. Secondly, are you really of the opinion that walking through the cabin at 2 or 3 mph causes a palpable change in the doppler effect that you can perceive? Unless you are a bat, I think you should quit now. (With that said, if you ARE a bat, then I truly apologize for my ignorance)."I am pretty sure companies install material in the cabin to drown out the certain frequencies that are not installed in the cockpit itself, thus I am under the impression that you hear different frequencies while in one or the other..." WOW!!!! Perfect example of the hole in the Ozone layer beginning to take its toll on humans.I'm done now. Your signature is very reflective of whom you seem to be. Your education (or lack thereof) really does intefere with your learning. Time to move on.Mike T.