At the rate that PMDG creates planes, you can get more than your money's worth before you're itching to by another plane.  For the amount of time I spend in the NGX and 777, I've recouped my investment and then some.  I'd pay double if PMDG would produce the 787, 767 or 757.  We need more boeing a/c that are currently flying imho.

2 hours ago, BillW said:

Try taking a BMW in for simple service and get a $1500 bill. You will soon lose your taste for the German cars. Never again for me.

Bill W

I can empathize but I already have one and agree that the repair costs are high. At the local BMW dealer in Plano, Tx they charge me around $150 for an oil change,  but I've found another local BMW repair shop that does it for $80. Recently I had to replace all the ignition coils and it was costly indeed.

The plus for me is that I put less than 500 miles per month on it, so repairs and oil changes don't come very often.

Even so, I'll still be take it over an American model. My next choice would be a good Asian car like a Lexus, Acura or Infinity.

2 hours ago, cmpbellsjc said:

Even so, I'll still be take it over an American model. My next choice would be a good Asian car like a Lexus, Acura or Infinity.

I have found that an Acura can be very expensive to run. Of course, I'm trying to run a 14-year-old MDX with almost 180,000 miles, so that might have something to do with it.

For me the look and feel of flying a vintage aircraft is lost in a flight simulator, same as driving games, big difference between driving a real vintage Corvette or driving a vintage Corvette in Need for Speed...etc. I'd rather drive a real vintage Corvette. Same goes for aircraft, the look and feel of the real thing cannot be replicated on a PC.

This is why I like the PMDG NGX and 777, because all you are really doing is simulating the aircraft's systems, which is totally sufficient thing to do on a desktop simulator. As for the look and feel of those aircraft it is more a novelty then anything. A DC-6 doesn't have the high tech systems and the vintage feel isn't really captured on a desktop sim, and it is tedious having to operate the engineers panel as well because you don't have anyone else there with you.

 

39 minutes ago, Captain Kevin said:

I have found that an Acura can be very expensive to run. Of course, I'm trying to run a 14-year-old MDX with almost 180,000 miles, so that might have something to do with it.

I think sometimes it just the luck of the draw. Back in the 90's I bought a Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet with low miles on it and had nothing but problems with it and it was super expensive to maintain. I sold in and used th proceeds to buy a Nissan 300z turbo and a Toyota pickup truck. Neither of which I ever had an issue. I put  160,000 miles on the Z and only replaced the clutch and other normal maintenance items.

Fast forward today, my BMW is expensive to fix but rarely goes in the shop due to the low miles I put on it. I have a Nissan Altima that I use for heavy mileage and it has 235,772 miles on it and has never had any issues. 

I guess, aside from the Porsche, I've been lucky.

I'd like to get a Range Rover Sport (the medium sized one, not the tiny one), but I've heard they are super expensive to maintain, so I've been holding off.

3 hours ago, cmpbellsjc said:

I can empathize but I already have one and agree that the repair costs are high. At the local BMW dealer in Plano, Tx they charge me around $150 for an oil change,  but I've found another local BMW repair shop that does it for $80. Recently I had to replace all the ignition coils and it was costly indeed.

The plus for me is that I put less than 500 miles per month on it, so repairs and oil changes don't come very often.

Even so, I'll still be take it over an American model. My next choice would be a good Asian car like a Lexus, Acura or Infinity.

I bought a Lexus and haven't regretted it. It never fails!

Bill W

2 hours ago, Matthew Kane said:

For me the look and feel of flying a vintage aircraft is lost in a flight simulator, same as driving games, big difference between driving a real vintage Corvette or driving a vintage Corvette in Need for Speed...etc. I'd rather drive a real vintage Corvette. Same goes for aircraft, the look and feel of the real thing cannot be replicated on a PC.

This is why I like the PMDG NGX and 777, because all you are really doing is simulating the aircraft's systems, which is totally sufficient thing to do on a desktop simulator. As for the look and feel of those aircraft it is more a novelty then anything. A DC-6 doesn't have the high tech systems and the vintage feel isn't really captured on a desktop sim, and it is tedious having to operate the engineers panel as well because you don't have anyone else there with you.

 

That's a good point, the real thing will always beat the digital, no matter what it is, however flying is such an expensive endeavor, building time in Cessnas and Pipers is expensive enough lol... and the cost to build twin time? forget it.  So unless you are very rich, most of us can only afford an hour or two in the local FBO Cessna or Piper.  Vintage GA, warbirds, airliners are so prohibitively expensive to operate, those planes become just dreams, that we go crazy when we hear one fly over.  When I was at ERAU, no one batted an eye at the unending drone of Lycomings passing over...but when a big V-12, radial, or large turboprop flew over...everyone ran out of their dorms and classrooms to look up.  

Those rare planes are the dream planes for most pilots, the ones that...just maybe if you meet the right person who knows a guy who owns a T-6 who will let you get a ride in it.  Because those kinds of planes are so rare, just like the rare Jaguars and Shelbys, the chances of actually being able to experience one for real are practically 0.  So the path to fly a real P-51 is very expensive and out of reach for most pilots.  The next best thing is flight sim.  Thanks to A2A and PMDG we can experience a P-51 and DC-6 as if we were wealthy aircraft collectors.  A fraction of the experience at a fraction of the cost right?

Speaking of wealthy collectors, I wish my Flightsim to be like a virtual airplane version of Jay Leno's garage.  Jay's garage a fantastic Youtube channel to watch if you have an interest in automotives, even if you are just a casual car enthusiast like me.  Jay has quite a large collection of old stuff and new stuff, he likes it all, as he is always having guests either show some rare vintage or some new technology.  You can tell just from that show that Jay is very passionate and about everything automotive, just like RR and Scott are about airplanes.  

That's why I really hope RR and Scott continue to guide their respective companies to do what they are passionate about.  It is much better to do what you are passionate about than to pander to what you think the masses want.  There is huge difference in quality between product that the developer really wanted to do and a product they felt they had to do.   Hopefully with that passion, we'll eventually get a diverse hanger full of awesome addons of every shape an size, like Jays garage lol.

Since my 'hobby' account doesn't quite match Jay's.....yet  Virtually will have to do for now.

 

Cheers

TJ

On 7/20/2017 at 3:31 PM, 1st fltsimguy said:

So I see PMDG has just released a DC-6, fantastic I say....I think I'll get this one.....WHAT...$70 US....nearly $100 Canadian?

I know they good. I know they are high end planes. They must know what they are doing, right?

But there is no way in Hades that I could or would ever afford to spend that much on one plane. How about a dumbed down version for say $40.

Sad...is this "fake news?"

Bryan

1

Try the old fashioned way of getting what you want - save up until you can afford it. It's not going away.

DJ

8 hours ago, ubersu said:

Try the old fashioned way of getting what you want - save up until you can afford it. It's not going away.

DJ

I think I mentioned that already. But its not going to happen for a while if at all, too many other planes to add at less expensive prices. At $40 US ($54CAN) I would suck in some air and buy. A better solution would be for my gov't to keep pushing our $ to higher levels then the exchange wouldn't be such a killer.

3 hours ago, 1st fltsimguy said:

I think I mentioned that already. But its not going to happen for a while if at all, too many other planes to add at less expensive prices. At $40 US ($54CAN) I would suck in some air and buy. A better solution would be for my gov't to keep pushing our $ to higher levels then the exchange wouldn't be such a killer.

I've got to ask - if you are really crushed by not being able to get this immediately, why are you wasting money on other less expensive aircraft?

DJ

2 hours ago, ubersu said:

I've got to ask - if you are really crushed by not being able to get this immediately, why are you wasting money on other less expensive aircraft?

DJ

Define "wasting"

LIke this one:

Looks beautiful, Carenado - 690B TURBO COMMANDER $40. Haven't got it yet but its on my list and a whole price point lower than PMDG. This is my point about other aircraft.

10 hours ago, 1st fltsimguy said:

Define "wasting"

LIke this one:

Looks beautiful, Carenado - 690B TURBO COMMANDER $40. Haven't got it yet but its on my list and a whole price point lower than PMDG. This is my point about other aircraft.

Define "crushed" then . . . it would seem that you are bearing up rather well. Comparing anything Carenado does to anything PMDG has ever done, at any price, is absurd. You can get rather nice, free, DC series aircraft that have about the same systems level as most Carenado aircraft and save your money.

DJ

Choosing several Carenado products over one PMDG new release, is a choice not a predicament.  

You clearly have options (Golf, other addon aircraft).  Some people in the deprived, tough suburb I teach in, choose between food or putting the heating on in winter.

PMDG aircraft seem expensive when laying out for them, but it's our human nature to then take for granted the literally YEARS of enjoyment we get out of each bird.   If I think of what I paid for the NGX in 2011 and how much pleasure I've had from it, and the 1000s of flights I've enjoyed, it has to be one of the best value purchases I've ever made in terms of enjoyment.

PS...You Canadians* won't get any sympathy from me on gas prices - I've been in the UK for 22 years and we are currently "enjoying" relatively "low" gas prices (gas prices fluctuate here a lot) .... at £1.25/litre.   That's $1.66 US / $2.10 CAD.    .... and I reiterate, these are relatively low prices.   Six months ago we were paying £1.39/litre ($2.41 CAD).

As with many things, you North Americans don't know you're born!   

*all tongue in cheek, I'm Canadian born and spent my first 31 years in Orillia and Toronto,

Gosh, now I feel guilty for only having to pay around $2.36/gallon for gasoline (petrol).

On 7/20/2017 at 2:31 PM, 1st fltsimguy said:

So I see PMDG has just released a DC-6, fantastic I say....I think I'll get this one.....WHAT...$70 US....nearly $100 Canadian?

I know they good. I know they are high end planes. They must know what they are doing, right?

But there is no way in Hades that I could or would ever afford to spend that much on one plane. How about a dumbed down version for say $40.

Sad...is this "fake news?"

Bryan

If the ad-on works well and it is accurate.. Yes I'd spend the 70 bucks to get it, may not buy it right away but I would.  I am not fooling around with free word not allowed that you constantly hafta tweak, and even then its still never anywhere near the quality of the payware items.