PMDG's thoughts on making an Airbus?

[Skubidus 1]

Hello,

 

I think the topic already pretty much says it all.

 

I really like flying the PMDG 737NGX and the 777 but I also really like to fly an A320. I currently use the Aerosoft Airbus X Extended to satisfy my needs.

 

Aerosoft did a decent job with it but once you experienced the quality and depth of a PMDG product you really don't want to miss that in an airplane addon anymore.

 

So I would like to ask, what PMDG's standpoint on the whole Airbus topic is and if you consider making any Airbus some time?

 

I know this question came up a few times before, but I didn't really get an answer to my question or the threads were really old.

 

So I'd really appreciate if someone from PMDG could state real quick if this could be a thing in the future or it's just not going to happen.

 

Thanks!

 

 

- Dennis -

[mcbellette 145]

Dennis, there are numerous threads on this topic within the PMDG forums. If you do a search, I'm sure you could find your own answer. But in a nutshell, due to their close links with Boeing, working on an Airbus is almost certainly out of the question for the foreseeable future. If the link between PMDG and Boeing weakens or breaks in the future for whatever reason, then an Airbus may be more likely. But now, it's highly unlikely to almost certain that PMDG will start doing Airbus products.

[nzeddy 13]

Flight Sim Labs.

[jcomm 5,938]

OTOH, we will probably, one day, get a 787 :-)

 

I believe the 787 is a great option in the market for the A350. Actually the A350 looks more like an answer to the 787 from Europe :-)

[bert.laverman 9]

I guess even stronger arguments would be that, given the quality of the latest A318/319 and 320/321 releases (I hope you checked those out, the "Airbus X Extended" release is already "old") from Aerosoft, there's not much of a market left for a high-fidelity addon of an Airbus 320 family. Developing something with more depth would only attract a small number of customers, not enough to cover the costs of developing it. The few people that do complain about a lack of depth in the Aerosoft product range, (check the discussions on the upcoming A330 on the Aerosoft forums) tend to complain about the absence of modeled failures that most (if not all) of the real-life Airbus pilots never encounter in their daily work.

 

So, you're left with going head-to-head against a good quality (Aerosoft also has real-life pilots helping them, and they concur!) settled product with a low price, or else fight for a (very small) niche market that requires an immense investment to satisfy the customers. And I'm talking about the type of user that will crawl through the systems with multimeter and magnifying glass, and call the sim "totally unrealistic" if a single system's response is off by a second.

 

Nope, PMDG has done that investment for Boeing aircraft, and that's what they're good at. And they still have enough growth opportunities there.

 

Cheers,

Bert

[Nyxx 6,993]

Flight Sim Labs.

Yes but when?

 

It is beyond a joke...4-5 years now?

 

Am sure it will be PMDG like or even a step up, but......just when will it see the light of the day and when its does it will be FSX first  :mad:    :Shame On You:

[Sandy_Bridge 11]

Seems that Aerosoft and PMDG are setting up monopolies for high-quality add-ons, with Aerosoft taking Airbus and PMDG taking Boeing

 

It also looks like that both companies have approaches to developing aircraft differently, and more appropriate for a certain manufacturer (e.g PMDG models systems in-depth, adds the same customisations that airlines can get, while Aerosoft makes it simple for the pilot, just like Airbus does).

[pinlifter 502]

I heard they're making an Airbus right after they finish the 797 B)

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Seems that Aerosoft and PMDG are setting up monopolies for high-quality add-ons, with Aerosoft taking Airbus and PMDG taking Boeing

 

How so? There are other companies that make addon Boeing and Airbus addons. It's and open market and anyone is free to make these aircraft, it's probably that not many attempt due to knowing how difficult it will be to out do what PMDG has already accomplished. In the Airbus market Flightsimlabs is doing a complex Airbus that will probably be better than the Aerosoft option and more of a study sim aircraft.

 

Sean Campbell

[kevinh 409]

Dennis, there are numerous threads on this topic within the PMDG forums. If you do a search, I'm sure you could find your own answer. But in a nutshell, due to their close links with Boeing, working on an Airbus is almost certainly out of the question for the foreseeable future. If the link between PMDG and Boeing weakens or breaks in the future for whatever reason, then an Airbus may be more likely. But now, it's highly unlikely to almost certain that PMDG will start doing Airbus products.

Actually there would be nothing to stop PMDG having an agreement with Airbus while also having an agreement with Boeing. Nor would PMDG making an agreement with Airbus disrupt their agreement with Boeing. Non disclosure agreements ensure that.

 

It is more likely that PMDG don't have an interest in making an Airbus. Especially as FSL are making one.

[warbirds 555]

Aerosoft Airbus is enough systems for me and if PMDG ever did bring one out I would not be able to afford it. Imagine an Airbus for 150 bucks! I have the best bus there is and got if on sale for under 50 for the bundle. 

[bob34 124]

I think the A320 market is a little crowded, and even if PMDG came out with one fully optimized using their latest techniques, I don't know if it would be enough for people to drop what they have and switch.

If you look at what operators are flying today, the FS market is still missing a current or detailed 757/767/787, A330, A340, A350, MD88/90/717.

Sure there are a few out there, but they are either aging or over simplified. 

 

More A320's and 737's aren't really necessary..... in my opinion.  

[77west 139]

The FSLabs A320 should hopefully be out by the end of next year, and they have said they want to work on an A330 next. Out of all the Airbii, from a sales perspective, only the A380 and or possibly the A350 would be worth developing, and would require a brand new platform for systems etc. Possible? Yes. Likely? Not in the next 5 years at least. Just my thoughts.

[teopereira 25]

I think there is a great market for high fidelity simulations, like FS Labs  (hopefully) and PMDG... There are a bunch of enthusiast that would pay heavy for them and they can also be certified and used for training... I, as an enthusiast, don't want to simply fly from A to B, I want learn how the aircraft works, behaves, how to deal with failures etc. It's more an educative perceptive than "just fun"... But it's not easy to make high fidelity sims, NGX took 4 or 5 years, FS Labs will take at least as much...

[rondon9898 84]

There are so many major airliners that don't have detailed simulations - I would love a decent E175/95 sim, for example, and I am sometimes prone to wondering slightly when I see very good sim producers making the Joe Bloggs Bloggliner BG-50 Mark II when virtually all of the modern airliners are not well represented in modern simming terms. But, you have to realise that lots of producers in this game are enthusiasts and they are ultimately going to make stuff they want to make, not stuff that will necessarily be a blockbuster.

This hobby just requires a lot of patience, I'm afraid, and you take what you can get. If I were a millionaire, though, I would commission PMDG to produce a customary PMDG-detail sim of the E-Jets.