737,747,777 which is the easiest to fly?

[dgeddesjr 4]

3 hours ago, Paul_Smith said:

If you struggle to take off, navigate or land a Cessna, then you will find all three equally difficult to fly. If you are handy at programming then (taken to an extreme) the 747 is the hardest to fly long haul because you have to manually turn off the fuel pumps when the centre tanks empty and you have to press more buttons to start the engines, though you can start all three with the engines started. Otherwise, all three are identical. Configure, program, engage thrust, engage AP, change to cruise mode, change to descent mode, configure for landing, engage auto-land, clean up, exit.

Gets a bit boring after a while. Personally, I think I would rather go get another beer.   

At least now I know I'm not the only one that has a few on those long haul flights.  

[Patco Lch 1,479]

8 hours ago, Chock said:

The less 'star wars' a cockpit is, the easier it will be to figure out.

Not always. Get yourself one of the Mad Dog study sim offerings and take hold of that bad boy single pilot. Now that rascal is a hand full. 

[RichieFly 737]

2 hours ago, PATCO LCH said:

Not always. Get yourself one of the Mad Dog study sim offerings and take hold of that bad boy single pilot. Now that rascal is a hand full. 

Could you recommend one? 

I've looked at some MD craft and they do look interesting.

[Patco Lch 1,479]

3 hours ago, RichieFly said:

Could you recommend one? 

I've looked at some MD craft and they do look interesting.

The Leonardo Fly The Maddog is very detailed systems though the graphics are dated. I do recommend this one found at Leonardo's web site but be ready to do some studying if you're not familiar with the MD80 lay out. Quite different from the ergonomic Boeings.

[CaribbeanCLANK 134]

I am not a pilot and probably will never pilot any of these birds in real life. I own the PMDG 777(and 300 expansion) and 747 for FSX:SE and I think the 777 is easier to fly. It didn't take too long for me to get familiar with the 747 but that is because the two aircraft have similar cockpits (kinda...). The 747 is a lot more complex in my opinion and that makes it more fun to fly...for me anyways. 

I would like to try the 737 someday even if I think it's an ugly aircraft....but there must be a reason so many folks enjoy it. 

[RichieFly 737]

Yes, Mr Clank

The 737 is, in my opinion, the most fun to fly. As others have said, it's more nimble and was the first designed for a 2 pilot operation (so, more switches and things to do.) I still don't fully understand the hydraulic system. 

[kevinh 409]

22 hours ago, Chock said:

That is actually a very deliberate deliberate design choice made by EADS; they know that most new pilots coming through are from the video game generation, so it makes sense to go that way in terms of operation and haptics, in that young men and women used to computers are comfotable with the idea of 'point and click', so point and go that way makes sense in terms of flying. This is in much the same way as how the FMC's CDU was deliberately designed to look a lot like a pocket calculator, so it would be familiar to people when it first started showing up, since pocket calculators had also started to show up and that similar look helped to convey the importance of what the CDU does.

Naturally that is anathema to us old farts who are 'stick and rudder' types, but it is nevertheless the way things are going. Of course as we've seen, when things go wrong and the fancy systems pack up, the need to be able to go all stick and rudder arises, which is why, fortunately, airlines are now finally realising those skills should be maintained in addition to being able to press the buttons.

The Airbus design philosophy predates the video game generation so that certainly wasn't the aim. In fact the deliberate choice was to design an aircraft which would automatically recover from extreme attitudes and flight envelope exceedances.

Sure it is flown by a sidestick but any similarity between that and a typical game console thumb stick or even a PC joystick is entirely coincidental.

An Airbus can be flown manually "stick and rudder" too. The renewed emphasis on this kind of flying in training is of course very welcome. 

[swiesma 625]

I have the 777, 747 and 737.

 

The 777 is the most automated as it was stated and in my eyes the easiest to learn, also in case of emergency due to the electronic checklists.

 

But I like flying the 737 the most in P3D.

[HighBypass 2,339]

If I may hijack the thread a little, I presume all three Boeings can just be flown straight off the active runway with no need to program the fmc or configure the aircraft? OK this may take away some of the purpose in owning a PMDG product in the first place, but just thought I'd ask. (I'm more & more tempted to buy the T7, have to discuss it with the missus)

[downscc 1,327]

13 minutes ago, HighBypass said:

If I may hijack the thread a little, I presume all three Boeings can just be flown straight off the active runway with no need to program the fmc or configure the aircraft? OK this may take away some of the purpose in owning a PMDG product in the first place, but just thought I'd ask. (I'm more & more tempted to buy the T7, have to discuss it with the missus)

Mark, if you start up the simulator and load the aircraft it assumes a default state:  Engines are running, tanks are full, payload is loaded, and she is almost ready to fly but there is still a short preflight that should be accomplished.  At least set up the basic preflight in the FMS to assure you have a thrust reference for takeoff and if you want to use autoflight there will need to be data in the FMS for the flight director and autopilot to follow.  It is entirely reasonable to accomplish a preflight and have all the automation ready to go in just a few minutes (once you learn how) and just go out and fly around perhaps in a local pattern and do multiple landings.  However, if you are going to spend this kind of money I think you should be prepared to learn more about the aircraft and systems to get the maximum utility for the dollars you spend.

[HighBypass 2,339]

Dan, thanks for the comprehensive reply. Indeed I would set out to learn about the aircraft and its systems, but it's good to know that she can just be taken into a local pattern. I envisage, after learning about the systems, carrying out "what if" flights including taking off without the automation for some touch and goes in the pattern etc., using the numbers given to me for thrust reference for example but controlling the throttle(s) manually. Stuff like that.

Thanks again. 

[mtrainer 136]

An interesting topic; although the 747 is a great "hand fly" plane- because I can do great manual landings in it (it actually flies very predictably manually) the 737 is the most enjoyable because it has the best balance of manual involvement vs. automation.  Just as another reason the old Level-D Sim 767 was a blast for so many years- a nice balance.  Master the 737 and the others will follow naturally.

Mark Trainer

[Patco Lch 1,479]

13 hours ago, mtrainer said:

Just as another reason the old Level-D Sim 767 was a blast for so many years- a nice balance.  Master the 737 and the others will follow naturally.

yep!!

[Patriot3810 182]

i own all 3 and the 777 is the easiest to me when it comes to flying with the automatic checklist. if you want anymore automation than that, you need to buy airbus, those planes you just sit and do nothing.

[pracines 823]

To be totally clear all 3 planes can essentially takeover control with full automation at 400 feet, and all 3 can auto-land.

So the correct answer is all three are extremely automated.

Maybe the question should be easiest to program? Well the 744 and the 777 both have the FMC auto wind data requests which the 737 currently does not have. But aside from that, all three, once learned, are just as easy to set up from cold and dark to pushback. I use FS2Crew for the 737 and 777. The 744, well I had the Aerowinx 744 when it first came out long ago, so I learned the procedures very well. Looking forward to the fs2Crew for the 744.

I very much enjoy all three planes equally for their respective routes.