I own it, but I can't compare it because it's the only payware jet I've owned.
Do I enjoy flying it? Well, I fly it a lot.
But it is kind of a mixture of terror and satisfaction.

N99WB

On 3/7/2018 at 5:26 PM, kenthom said:

Wow, I guess I am one of the lucky ones.  My system handles the TFDi 717 perfectly.  I get excellent performance and stability.  And it is a joy to hand fly on landings.  I would like to see a couple things added in the future but for now I spend more time in the 717 than any other plane.  

@kenthom I see we have same specs aside from the GPU. Are you using P3D v4?

The FPS can get high on my system but the issue for me are the FPS fluctuations (stutters) - they can drop from 50 down to single digit although I have my frames locked on 30.

Looks like at least the upgrade to v4.2 eliminated the CTDs I was having...

Enjoyed reading this thread as I am debating the 717 vs md80 now that tfdi has updated to V1.1 and am hearing good things about it. Like the OP, I too am more into realistic operations and not flying historical. Never had the maddog by Leonardo but I had the flight1 super80. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the maddog since fsx, and hear the P3d version is phenomenal, but am considering the 717 because in the real world it should be flying longer in theory. So question is , what’s the verdict on 717 vs maddog now that the 717 is a stable build at 1.1, is the maddog still the better choice? Or would it be closer to make a call now on which one is better?  

I have both and you cannot go wrong what ever one you buy.

If you want old school then the MadDog is the one, if you want more modern but different from a Boeing or an airbus then the 717 is perfect.

Go with what ever one you think you would enjoy the most you cannot go wrong really.

The 717 is like a cross between a Boeing and an airbus it’s an M.D.

The MadDog is just that.....strange and nothing like the above so it’s unique in its own way, good and bad, but fun. But odd to in a good way.

Imo it’s wrong to say one is better than the other as there just so different. More to do with taste.

The MadDog feels like an old aircraft at the end of its days and the 717 feels like it’s OK but still ageing but still got life in it.

Flying my beautiful FSL A319 is like an iPhone X to the “bricks” above lol but still great fun to learn and enjoyable to fly  old school.

Edited August 5, 20187 yr by Nyxx

Cool thank you for the input.

7 hours ago, Nyxx said:

I have both and you cannot go wrong what ever one you buy.

If you want old school then the MadDog is the one, if you want more modern but different from a Boeing or an airbus then the 717 is perfect.

Go with what ever one you think you would enjoy the most you cannot go wrong really.

The 717 is like a cross between a Boeing and an airbus it’s an M.D.

The MadDog is just that.....strange and nothing like the above so it’s unique in its own way, good and bad, but fun. But odd to in a good way.

Imo it’s wrong to say one is better than the other as there just so different. More to do with taste.

The MadDog feels like an old aircraft at the end of its days and the 717 feels like it’s OK but still ageing but still got life in it.

Flying my beautiful FSL A319 is like an iPhone X to the “bricks” above lol but still great fun to learn and enjoyable to fly  old school.

I totally agree with this!

I guess it makes sense, as the OP, to chime in and say what I ended up choosing. I got the Maddog first, but had difficulty following the tutorials since they are in video format. There are so many tests to do and buttons to push that after one try I essentially let it rest and started flying the PMDG 737NGX again, to get up to speed and remember how to fly jetliners (hadn't been simming for well over two or three years!). Having done that, TFDi had a sale on their 717 during the FSExpo, and so I jumped on the 717. Since then I have flown one introductory flight, KMSP-KMCI. While there were some surprises as to the operation (definitely had to google some things!), overall I was pleasantly surprised by the aircraft. It handles very nicely, the A/P was intuitive to operate (if you're familar with Airbus), and the A/P behaved exceedingly well. A very enjoyable flight! And, the 'quick start guide' TFDi included with v1.1 was a total godsend. Perfect for jumping in and getting familiar quickly.

The Maddog has been sitting pretty still in my hangar meanwhile. I did a quick flight to get myself reacquainted with the plane and check out the performance around KATL. Essentially I followed the video tutorial, took her for a takeoff, flew over Atlanta, and landed back at KATL. The plane is as good as I remember from FS2004/FSX. Absolute joy to fly. I've always found the Maddog to be a very immersive addon, and she still is exactly that! The one thing that has always held me back from flying it often are the extensive procedures simulated for a C&D scenario - at least that's what I thought. Finally I figured out that if I skip all the system tests (or, say, half of them) I can be pushing back in ten minutes. You have to memorize some of the switch positions, as these sometimes are really not obvious (I'm looking at you, anti-skid...). With that down, I'm likely to take her out for many more flights in the near future, and am looking forward to doing some short hops out of KATL!

In summary, you cannot go wrong. It depends on what type of aircraft you want to fly. The Maddog is much more manual; the 717 is much more automated. Thus I think the 717 is much easier to get to grips with, but if you enjoy flipping switches you'll probably enjoy the Maddog more.

Benjamin you will have to google this because I’ve not flown the MadDog for 2-3 months. So forgot the exact steps.

What you need to do is start in cold and dark then set it up to a point you like,eg like on ground power then save it to your MadDog cold and dark state, back up the original ofc.

Now when you start it will be just to your liking. With all the switches as you set before the save.

Enjoy!

Keep in mind there is an FS2 Crew available for the Maddog to help with some  chores.

Thanks for coming back and commenting Ben. I was a bit disappointed when I got to the end of the thread and didn’t see a final post on what you ultimately decided on! 

The only thing that I dont like about the 717 is the ground friction model seems terrible. It slows down to a stop pretty quickly. Doesnt seem realistic at all. 

Yea I’ve seen the same complaint in other posts as well.