TFDi 717 or Leonardo Maddog?

[JPFLIGHT 4]

Hi All,

Long time simmer and lurker, first time poster here!

I upgraded to P3D V4 a couple of months ago and have been updating my scenery and hanger with each paycheck and have now got to a point where i'm looking for my next aircraft that i haven't got and i'm looking for something not Airbus or Boeing. I am a study level flyer (finally got proper fsuipc recently to get down to the knitty gritty of multi-engine control!) and fly both Aerosoft A3XX professional and PMDG 737 and 747.

I have seen the MD-82 and the 717 and was wondering which one to go for? I mostly fly in Europe so both would now be quite niche but i quite like that idea eg DAT flying MD-82 or the Volotea 717 plus using house liveries for private flights.

My rig is a 6700k and 1070 so i would expect performance not to be an issue - the PMDG 747 flies like a beauty with Tomatoshade and rain effects.

Thanks for any guidance

James

[Michael Moe 495]

Very good question , i have both and they serve me well when i can find the time for them.

If i absolutely should have one i would pick up the Maddog . More retro 🙂

Michael Moe

 

[michaelth 76]

Go get both. It is very interesting how the cockpit has developed from traditional style to all glas. Also interesting how complicated APU handling and engine start is in the MD-82 and how it has been simplified in the B-717. The MD-82 is a wonderful piece of aviation history and definitely has more workload. The B-717 - especially its FMC - reminds me of the Fokker 70/100 by former developer Digital Aviation, which was one of my favorite planes in FSX.

Michael

 

[Shomron 251]

I have both. Get the Maddog.

The 717 is a beauty but unfortunately the CTDs weren’t resolved yet for some.

[out 769]

Maddog - in my view one of the best FS airliners ever.

[fwerff 70]

I don't have the 717 but I did cave in last month when SP1 (beta) was released by Leonardo for the Maddog X. Didn't have much chance to dive deep into it yet, but for what I've seen until now, I am deeply impressed by it. Attention to detail is stunning on the Maddog and imho surpaces PMDG.

So in short; I'd recommend the Maddog 😎

[Egbert Drenth 250]

I don't have the 717 but do have the MD80. 
It is easily on par with any PMDG aircraft, so one of the best in my hangar.
Besides that, MD80 cockpit is in between steam-gauges and full glass cockpit which I like the best.

[krazyk 157]

Ideally, get both. They're great products in their own classes. 

If you had to choose one, the TFDi 717 still suffers from some CTDs which might be resolved with the next P3D update but it isn't as polished as the MD so I would go with the MD80. It is up there with FSL and Majestic, way above PMDG.

[Patco Lch 1,465]

No wrong answer. They're both wonderful addition to the DC9 series fans hanger.. The Maddog has a steeper learning curve but does have an FS2 Crew FO available if you prefer to fly with an assistant.

[DrumsArt 270]

I have both...and also the DC9 Coolsky (but that's another story ;-))

In terms of systems, they are more deeply modelled in the Maddog. We are at the level of Majestic, Pmdg and so....
Be advised that the Maddog will be installed on disk 😄 (4GB). The installer does not give you the choice of location. Many users protested (including me). So far Leonardo has remained deaf to complaints!

The B717's systems are less sophisticated than the Maddog's, but it is a very pleasant aircraft to use and fly. The textures and lighting are superb and really a success.
If you have MCE, a complete set of flows is almost finished and will be available very soon.
I have never had a CTD with the TFDI but it's true, some have had this problem.

If you can take both. Otherwise, watch the many videos on Youtube to help you make a choice.

Richard

[regis9 4,013]

I have both.  If getting both is not an option, it comes down to what era of aircraft you would prefer.

They are both excellent addons, FYI I have no CTD issues with the 717.

[Wise87 1,281]

I own both and prefer the Maddog due to the fact it is a plane that challenges you and you have to know how to operate it in all phases of flight. As far as the 717 goes, I have owned it since release and have built two different systems with different hardware and I am still getting CTD since P3Dv3.4 - P3Dv4.3 when cycling views from outside to inside. I can run the Maddog all day long without system restarts and it flies all day long.

[signmanbob 592]

3 hours ago, Shomron said:

I have both. Get the Maddog.

The 717 is a beauty but unfortunately the CTDs weren’t resolved yet for some.

I never have CDTs with the 717.  It's a very stable aircraft.

If some people are having problems it is probably something in their computer setup, like antivirus or bad memory.

I could never pick from either the Maddog or the 717.  I have them both and couldn't do without either.

[edpatino 1,964]

4 minutes ago, Wise87 said:

I am still getting CTD since P3Dv3.4 - P3Dv4.3 when cycling views from outside to inside

I don't have the B717, but from some friends I heard the same about those CTDs. They've been crazy trying to solve it.

I have the Maddog, and I can only confirm what others are saying here, it's really a wonderfull simulation of the MD82.

Cheers, Ed

 

[thibodba57 462]

1 hour ago, DrumsArt said:

The installer does not give you the choice of location. Many users protested (including me). So far Leonardo has remained deaf to complaints!

The installer directs to your Documents folder.  This was brought up in Beta testing and LM suggests to developers to install there not the Sim Objects folder.  The work around for this and I would recommend this to anyone.  Is to move your documents folder to another hard drive.  This ensures backups of all your work also.  Plus now your are splitting the load to three hard drives 🙂

On a side note, A2A installs into this directory as well with no other option if I recall.