First of all i think now that after rereading my post i believe it was ok to lock it, sometimes my english is not as good as i would like it to be. However my post was not intended to be a technical support question for PMDG to answer, i know these are not allowed, i dont need an answer from PMDG, my mind is made up about this.But i do think that a disscussion of these new sales methodes is appropiate. It is unacceptable in my mind to ask for 55$ and then you are not allowed to reinstall a product more than a few times, when we all know it certainly contains bugs that even the betatesters know about, but not the costumers at this point. It is very frustrating to have a problem with a program, and know that if you try to solve a problem yourselves by reinstalling it, all you get is a message from the program that it is not availabe to you anymore.OHN

I agree. Once more a perfect example how paying customers have to suffer for the actions of software pirates.

OHN...have you discussed with PMDG? Only THEY can help you with your issues.My advise is to speak to them directly, in their forum or privately. I'm sure that together, you can fix your problem or they will make some kind of reparation. Remember too, if you paid by CC, you have recourse for them to participate in mediation. (you can legitimately dispute a purchase)Good luck. I'm really enjoying the 747 by PMDG, I bet you will too.Cheers,bt

I haven't seen an add on creator who won't help out if you are having install problems. The limit is there to keep piracy down but if you are having true problems then just about all developers will allow exceptions for technical issues. Usually it's just a matter of contacting them and telling them what the problem is and they'll reset the install counter.

Your English is just fine. I agree also with the point you make. The Flight1 wrapper has kept my many purchases of add-ons instantly available even after multiple re-installs and new PC's.I remember the early days when PMDG ventured into building add-ons for MSFS. I begged them to re-consider the installation routine. They did listen and really considered other methods. Still, this method does not work for most.I'm glad I haven't taken the bait this time around. I have a great deal of respect for PMDG. Their products are second to none. However, I don't feel qualified to fly such a large bird. I really have no business even pretending to know how to fly a 747. I have done both the PMDG and Level-D 7xx series but don't fly them much lately. I'm too busy with the excellent Aeroworx B200 and Dreamfleet A36 and other GA aircraft. I am a real world pilot with a single-engine-land rating. I am working on an instruments rating and will tackle multi-engines maybe next year. Flying the B200 is more than enough challenge for me at the moment. Still, I can understand why so many would just like to see what it's like to master the complex sequences of the 747, but I don't think that many folks are really capable. I may be wrong.Good luck with your endeavours.Regards,Ken

Still, I can understand why so many>would just like to see what it's like to master the complex>sequences of the 747, but I don't think that many folks are>really capable. I may be wrong.>>Good luck with your endeavours.>>Regards,>>KenYou don't give yourself enough credit. If you have real world experience in flying then I don't see how you could not be able to fly a simulated 747. All there is to it is getting a feeling for the turns and speeds, and getting used to the automation.Then all is left in actual flying during a route is the take-off and the final phase of landing. I see many people boast that they handfly the DP's and STARS but my guess is that in reality no one does this. The FMC can fly the aircraft much more cost-effective and smooth than any human.After all that's why modern procedures are often designed with FMC fixes in them.Of course when it comes to abnormal procedures that is where the flying skills are needed. But the normal challenge in operating a modern commercial jet is managing the automation. Programming FMC, setting values on the MCP, monitoring the autopilot.That's a different type of flying. But it's not harder than flying a single piston engine GA aircraft without any autopilot. I would say in fact it's easier.

I think PMDG should either move to the flight1 wrapper or go back to the simple exe file.

Absolutely, that is the way to do it. I dont know maybe its just me, but when i buy an addon and its not working as i like it, i just cant rest until everything with it is okay, and that meens reinstalling and uninstalling and tweaking untill at least im satisfied that its not just me or my setup causing the problems, only after that i go to the developers, but this is been taking away from me now.I have to be carefull and think about how many times i reinstalled this software now, and it is up to the developers to give me another chance to reinstall if and when they see fit, hmm i dont like that, and i hope it will be bad for their bussiness. Quite frankly i think it is a bad thing that we now have to beg for a new download or ask for a manual validate for something we paid a lot of money for. OHN

I get your point Farlis. Then again there's the price. Quite a lot for an add-on don't you think? Still, I would love to play a little bit with the 747. Just to admire the wonderful work I know PMDG has put into it. Maybe I will give in and buy it anyway.Regards,Ken

>I get your point Farlis. Then again there's the price. Quite>a lot for an add-on don't you think? Still, I would love to>play a little bit with the 747. Just to admire the wonderful>work I know PMDG has put into it. Maybe I will give in and buy>it anyway.>>Regards,>>Ken if the few things i mentioned such as redownload and revalidation of the product was handled in some more smooth way, i would not have any prob recomending this product, because it is good, the vc is beyond everything i have ever seen before.But as it is now i cant recomment it, its a very sad thing for honest costumers we are seeing right now, and believe me it will only get worse if we dont say stop now.OHN

>Quite>a lot for an add-on don't you think?Ken,Yes and no. Yes in absolute terms (though there are some addons priced even higher). No because if you figure all the man-hours put into it you will probably get something like 3 times what Flight1 put into their Meridian (which I know you are very fond of). I recently purchased a case of wine - $55 won't even pay for 2 bottles. Price is always highly relative and greatly depends if you see the 'value' or not. But if you dislike flying big aircraft with well over 500,000 lbs of MTOW then I can perfectly understand it. Obviously you as a real pilot would be able to handle this 744 much better than some 'kids' who ask how to install Garmin in the Boeing panel. ;)Michael J.

>Obviously you as a real>pilot would be able to handle this 744 much better than some>'kids' who ask how to install Garmin in the Boeing panel. ;)>>Michael J.>Thanks Michael. I always enjoy your humor around here. Garmin in the 747? Too funny. Well, I've spent tons on just about every add-on aircraft that hits the web...so why not. After hearing so many good reports like your's about this plane I think I will take the plunge. I just hate reading all that material and going through all those procedures and flying the tutorials only to end up with this thing on the shelf. I don't like spending much time on long flights. I really like to fly to nearby airports in my area that average about 1-3 hours tops. No need for a 747 for short hops.On another note Michael I'm sure you'll appreciate this. Last weekend since the weather outside was so beautiful I decided to fire up FS9 for a quick flight to Corpus Christi, Tx. As I sat there in my B200 going through the procedures and lighting the fires I noticed rain hitting the windshield. I was so happy with AV5 before but now I was beginning to think about a refund. I thought, "this is not as real as it gets". After contemplating posting a note of my displeasure to Damian and crew I swung my chair around only to see it WAS raining outside. I was floored. Now that's "as real as it gets".Take care,Ken

>just hate reading all that material and going through all>those procedures and flying the tutorials only to end up with>this thing on the shelf. Here you are right. The manual is 384 pages but the Meridian's cumulative page count was similar. Don't touch this bird unless you are a 'systems' guy. Just the simulation of the fuel system is mindboggling and took them 10 weeks of programming to complete it.>No need for a 747 for>short hops.Actually there are examples how 747 is used on short hops in the US (we know that in Japan they fly really short hops).>I was floored. Now that's "as real as it>gets".Damian and Jim should hear this story :-)Michael J.

Hi Guys,Not to dump on this thread, but I just read this! We can give you weather at your local airports, but there is nothing that says we can give you weather at your house!Hope this helps,JimActiveSky Sales and Supporthttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_dev_team.jpg http://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_proud_supporter.jpg

I hear what you're saying and to a certain extent I agree with you. I did a complete reinstall after a crash and couldn't find my backup for the life of me. Some downloads were much easier even than the wrapper--just go to the site and get it. The PMDG 737 I had to send an email asking for a link and, at the time, was quite peeved about it. However, I got an almost immediate response with a link and the whole process was quite painless. I can see how needing a link for the download and not getting an immediate response would be aggravating, especially when you're dying to check out the new aircraft, but their support system was obviously overwhelmed at the moment. Does this help you? No, and it dosn't mean that they shouldn't move to an automated system of some kind so that if you need the link at 3am you can get it, but I guess I'm just saying that the situation was kind of a "one of" from what I can see. It's clear that PMDG supports their customers, and if this problem was rampant they would address it immediately. Clearly, it dosn't happen often, and once in a while it happens when they can't respond right away. Yes, I would prefer they automate giving out new links, but I can live with the current system and if it glitched I would put it in context and not get my back up. Some companies you have to pay to get a new link and some you just can't. VMAX sells the RFP 747 and I've emailed them a number of times over the last few months asking how I get a new link and haven't even had a response. It's like they don't exist anymore, although I'm sure they're still selling it (not to knock the excellent support you get from the RFP website itself). billg