Suggestion for a good entry-level B737?

[vc10man 732]

1 minute ago, DaveCT2003 said:

I know, right?  I loved that aircraft!

 

Me too. Simple, not too complicated, easy get-up-and-go.

[vc10man 732]

2 minutes ago, pmb said:

the A2A shop has

My A2A purchases do not expire till 2029.

[DaveCT2003 1,820]

Michael,

Yes, you can purchase the NGX from Aerosoft.  You can't go wrong with the NGX.

By the way... I just checked and the 737 Pilot in Command was updated, including new graphics and updated for P3DV3 (I'm guessing V4 is around the corner).  I think I'll pick that bird up just to fly the smaller 737s!

 

[jabloomf1230 2,445]

2 minutes ago, pmb said:

Thank you all for the well-thought suggestions which I'll certainly keep.

It's not unexpected the PMDG seems to be favored most, and probably I'll go that route. It has the additional advantages there seem to be millions  of users out, so there's a high probability you'll get help .. just in case.

Kind regards, Michael

I'm not sure whether your hesitantly is related to either the high cost or the challenging learning curve. There is nothing close to the realism of the NGX  but the TFDi B717 is a slightly  less expensive study level aircraft and you won't be disappointed. The cost will only be lower temporarily, since this type of flying will likely whet your appetite and you will then go and buy the NGX.

[pmb 5,137]

40 minutes ago, vc10man said:

My A2A purchases do not expire till 2029.

They do not expire but the number of downloads is limited in their shop to, I think 5. If you are beyond that you have to kindly ask them to reset the counter. Believe me, I went through it myself.

Kind regards, Michael

[vc10man 732]

Just now, pmb said:

They do not expire but the number of downloads is limited in their shop to, I think 5. If you are beyond that you have to kindly ask them to reset the counter. Believe me, I went through it myself.

Kind regards, Michael

Thanks for that clarification, Michael. Do not doubt you in the least, but last night I downloaded all my previous P3D purchases to the latest v4 versions and saw no flag as to how many downloads I had remaining.

[joelpacheco 9]

Number of downloads was a concern of mine at some point, because I had to wait through a weekend once to reset the counter from a vendor. At the time I decided to set a separate drive in my computer where I save all the add-on I download. It has also come in handy when there are issues with a new version and I can easily go back to the stable version of the add-on And wait for the fixes.

[nealmac 260]

Michael, if you work through the 2 tutorials with the PMDG 737, you'll soon be up and running in no time at all. You can take notes as you go, and soon you'll be able to do any flight under normal conditions blindfolded. You can then read up on all the extra features in your spare time.

 

BTW, the same is true for the iFly 737. It's quite a bit cheaper. It's simulation level isn't as deep as the PMDG version, but it's actually quite surprising how many feature are on it, that one wouldn't expect from an aircraft at that price.

[CB_Pilot 54]

Michael

I don't own a single PMDG aircraft because my PC simply couldn't cope with them - I don't know what it would be like to fly them. However, I have greatly enjoyed the iFly 737 for some time and, having also added FS2Crew I find the whole simulation very enjoyable and very satisfying.

So, as others have said, it seems there are two 737's polling well but I suggest you should consider FS2Crew too and that'll speed up your learning curve whilst also enhancing your immersion levels.

I fly almost exclusively GA, as you do, and have found the above combination to be just right for me with respect to the B737.

Decisions, decisions!

Regards

Rupert

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

3 hours ago, pmb said:

They do not expire but the number of downloads is limited in their shop to, I think 5. If you are beyond that you have to kindly ask them to reset the counter. Believe me, I went through it myself.

Kind regards, Michael

You can buy direct from the PMDG shop and have unlimited downloads. They used to be limited but not anymore. I'd buy from them directly.

[pmb 5,137]

47 minutes ago, CB_Pilot said:

So, as others have said, it seems there are two 737's polling well

That's what I observed, too.

Anyway, thanks a lot to all responding for the host of information and experience. I might write back after making a decision.

Kind regards, Michael

[YukonPete 586]

PMDG for P3D. IXEG for XP.

[YukonPete 586]

32 minutes ago, cmpbellsjc said:

You can buy direct from the PMDG shop and have unlimited downloads. They used to be limited but not anymore. I'd buy from them directly.

Its always best to support developers directly. 

[Guest]

Just to throw a spanner in the works. I also have enjoyed greatly flying the Milviz 737-200c. Its not yet available for V4 but I am looking forward to it with great anticipation. I'll add the NGX is likely the must have FS addon of all time

Although, I do feel that PMDG have now set their price point to high. I bought the NGX plus expansion originally for FSX. I then re purchased the NGX base and 777 base for P3D. I would like to get the expansions and the new 747 and DC-6 but CAD $170 and CAD $88 respectively, I won't be picking either of them up. And since PMDG never have sales I won't ever being buying them and I ant poor by any means. My gut feeling is that the highest profit sweet spot for those no tangible items is at a lower retail price. but what would I know.

[Chock 17,769]

If you don't want to spend a lot and want something easy to fly which is nevertheless realistically modeled, and is P3D V4 compatible and comparable to an early 737, here's another possibility - the Just Flight BAC 1-11.

https://www.justflight.com/product/one-eleven-300-400-500

Being a simulation of a 1960s-era aircraft, the 1-11 has a basic 'six pack' set of instruments rather than an electronic primary flight display, thus it was designed to be flown from VOR to VOR much like a GA aeroplane and so there is no real learning curve to getting it airborne if you know how to fly a Cessna, especially since its approach speeds can be as low as 130 knots. It has a very basic autopilot which will allow it to steer to nav aids and hold headings much like that of GA aeroplanes, but it can do ILS approaches too, so you can do IFR flights in it in zero visibility if you desire. The engines will crank up with Control+E if you want them to, but it can do 'proper' start ups as well, with all the attendant switchology on the overhead panel, so you can learn it slowly if you like and go all 'realistic' if you wish later, yet its simplicity means you can be flying it two minutes after it is installed if you really want to, so it fits your limited time constraint requirement.

It has an excellent manual (actually one of the best around in terms of showing you what to do, but it doesn't take hours to read it). As noted, it is P3D V4 ready and it is only 24.99, which is really a bit of a bargain. For that you get four variants of the aeroplane (the 300, 400 and 500, plus the Romanian-built later version of it which airlines such as Ryannair used, and which incorporates hush kits on the engines to stop it being deafeningly loud), all of the variants have slightly different engines and some differences in avionics, so there's a bit of variety in there to keep things interesting. There are some still flying as private jets and test beds for avionics, but it is no longer used as a commercial airliner owing to its emissions and noise levels:

As far as flying the thing goes, the 1-11 is much faster than a 737 in acceleration (it is easy to overspeed it if you are not careful, which is why it gained the nickname of the Pocket Rocket), but in most other respects it is comparable to a (1960s/1970s) Boeing 737-200, i.e. simple in terms of avionics and easy to operate since like the 737-100 and 200, it was intended to be operated by a crew of two. Like the 737, it'll get off and down onto a reasonably short runway, but unlike modern aircraft and like the contemporary 737-100/200, it is noisy and smokey (all part of the fun in a sim) since it has turbojets as opposed to the more modern high bypass turbofans.