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P_7878

(Milviz) B737-200 - Lufthansa (Airline)...

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My association as a passenger with Lufthansa goes back decades. In the course of it, I have been afforded the opportunity to travel in most of their long-haul jetliners (B747-400/A330/A340/DC10/B747-8 etc.). As far back, as I can remember, Chicago/ORD was a major Hub for Lufthansa, and I clearly recall, on a few occasions, during bitter Chicago cold weather, seated inside the cabin, waiting for departure, while looking out through the window, at the de-icing crew, perched up on their cranes, busy "de-frosting" those huge planes (on one occasion, the plane had to be de-iced twice, I recall, at the Captain's request (as announced), because the safe-time-period, before lift-off, would expire due to longer (expected) taxi)!

As a frequent flyer with Lufthansa, one thing has always impressed me about the Airline is the excellent condition of all the planes in their fleet. Lufthansa has been the world's largest operator of the most modern B747 (747-8i). Lufthansa Group's (reputed) service branch, Lufthansa Technik, has a large facility building, in Frankfurt, that is hard to miss (If you've Frankfurt Airport scenery, you may look for it). I often recall that (massive) hangar/building, as the first to catch sight of, during touchdown and taxi while in Frankfurt. Here is another fact, I discovered today: As early as 1962, Lufthansa Technik was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to maintain and overhaul US-registered airlines and their engines. This was because of Lufthansa's (prior) close association with the B707 program development (Lufthansa was the launch customer for 707-400). Lufthansa was also the launch customer for the Boeing 737, subject plane of this post. More than 52 years ago, on Feb 10, 1968, the very first B737 (a B737-100) had entered service with Lufthansa. Between (1965-1968), till the introduction of the B737 into service, Lufthansa Technik had made influential contributions to the original B737 concept (B737 would be a "wing-mounted-engine" jet vs. the prevailing pack of "aft-mounted-engine" ones such as (DC-9/BAC-111/SE-210/F-28). [Side Note: Joe Sutter, often called the father of the B747, is credited with the idea, against the prevailing norm, for (B737) engine relocation to the wings].

For this post, I'm flying the Milviz B737-200, which I recall having flown, at most, maybe a couple of times during the past year. Moreover, this is the first time, I'm flying the Milviz B737-200 with the Sperry SP-77 Autopilot option, the other Autopilot that Milviz offers is the S177. Unlike their S177 cockpit, here in this S77 version, I knew beforehand, there would be no FMS/CDU (lack of which is also enjoyable, in its own way - of course, just to be clear, I'm speaking, here, purely as a "virtual" and "armchair" pilot...🙂...I surely don't wish to give any wrong impression about my pilotage credentials...🙂...). And, while I do enjoy the sparkling-clean modern (glass) cockpit simulations such as QW-787 and 737-NG, the over-used and old-fashioned (steam-gauge) cockpits, as in planes of this type, I always find quite fascinating, due to a personal bias. Below, I've shown several screenshots of this flight-deck, including a close-up of the S77 based Cockpit Glare Shield (during glidepath phase, with A/P annunciations and the (Blue) Outer Marker indication illuminated).

Milviz planes are always known to be simulated to exemplary depth and details, far exceeding the typical Simmer's expectations (I've many of their products, Military and Civil, and have never been disappointed...they are also great fun to fly...).

Here, the opening text of their customized (737-200) User Guide, immediately appealed, especially, to someone like me.

"...It is with deliberate intention that the user guide consists of as few pages as possible (actually 19 pages, plus a separate Sperry S77 insert), so you're not reading for hours and can get right to flying in minutes...." Of course, if you are a "puritan"...🙂...simmer..., MilViz has (thoughtfully) also provided the "full" Boeing 737-200 FCOM manual (860 pages...!!), as it was written and issued by Boeing, specifically for this aircraft when it was first released...! Plus, another 172 pages of Boeing Operating Manual relating to "Instruments, Panel, and APU"...! What more one can ask regarding documentation in a SIM...? Well, speaking for myself, so far, all I've done, is to merely take a (cursory) look at the nice schematics in these (supplementary) manuals...🙂...

However, for this flight, with due diligence, I've completed a Cold & Dark start-up, to refresh my skills with this plane. As a non-pilot, I find it fascinating to watch these steam (instrument) gauges, spool up, during engine-start. I've included one screenshot with only the Left Engine, in the initial start-up state ("N2 RPM" gauge at 22%).

The short flight, in this post, is from Berlin/Tegel (EDDT) to Flughafen Hamburg (EDDH) - for the Lufthansa 737-200, in the traditional (and well-known) yellow/gold logo. Hope you enjoy these images of this classic plane in this Cityjet livery, named after Osnabrück, a city in northwest Germany. Finally, even if we are occupied with one preferred SIM (or maybe two...🙂...as I, myself, hope to be in the future...), there is no reason, we cannot enjoy what others are displaying here, in this Screenshots Forum! After all, these "all", here, exhibit different aspects of our (vast) aviation hobby...seen through our own individual lenses...

Thanks for viewing and happy flying...!!

[Milviz(B737-200)/REX]

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Edited by P_7878
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What a detailed and good looking version of the baby Boeing! The cockpit shows years of hard use. :blink: :cool:. Sometimes I'm at odds with seeing a grimy decades-old cockpit rather than fresh out of the factory. What if someone wishes to fly a historic plane looking as it did when it came off the production line? I guess to a large degree it would depend upon what aircraft the developer had available to them when they were taking reference photos and so on...

Lovely screenshots. I have to say that I prefer the look of the original rather than the later 737s with the big namesake engines bolted on (namesake? .. HighBypass of course!) and the wannabee MD-11 sharklets..:tongue:

I presume that with it being a Milviz product, the steam gauges are all put to good use despite the quick set-up guide.🍻

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Mark Robinson

Part-time Ferroequinologist

Author of FLIGHT: A near-future short story (ebook available on amazon)

I made the baby cry - A2A Simulations L-049 Constellation

Sky Simulations MD-11 V2.2 Pilot. The best "lite" MD-11 money can buy (well, it's not freeware!)

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Enjoyed your write-up. Another in-depth discussion that turned up some fascinating facts.

John

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Mark:

First of all, agree, these old engines look quite pretty. Nonetheless, it's also true, that the world-of-aviation owes a debt of gratitude...not to "you", but certainly to your namesake "HighBypass"...no doubt about that....🙂...More seriously, yes, the engines you see on this B737-200, I read, are the "Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17" or similar (i.e. low-bypass turbofans). Later, in the 737 Classic Series (-300/-400/-500), the CFM56 high-bypass engines would become the norm, it looks like...

Regarding the quick-start guide, you're correct, for a basic A-to-B flight with this plane/SIM, that material and the S77/S177 Autopilot Notes are sufficient...the quick start guide is actually a highly abridged (and pictorial) version of the Boeing manuals...for the "rest-of-us"...🙂...but, quite adequate...for starters...

 

John:

Thank you for the comments...!! True, there are a few fascinating facts here...regarding the B737 origin...

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Thanks, Ed!

Wow...Time flies, though a bit slow for your type of simming....🙂....since, only the best will do....

Liked your customized panels for this Aviogenex 732...! Impressive...!!

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Superb write-up, and very nice pics to go with it, as always, P_7878. I have the Captain Sim 732 for P3D, but haven't flown it in ages, as I have moved first to XP11 and now to MSFS. So far I had no luck yet, to port it over, but I keep trying, until an MSFS version comes out 😃

Btw, Lufthansa has also a pretty large Technik center in Manila, right at the NAIA airport. I have been there a few times, very impressive. All of the Philippine Airlines and some LH airplanes are serviced there. And the Filipino staff is highly skilled and well trained.

Edited by bernd1151
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Any attempt to stretch fuel is guaranteed to increase headwinds

My specs: AMD Radeon RX6700XT, AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, 32GB RAM, 34" monitor, screen resolution: 2560x1080

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Appreciated the comments, Bernd, someone who should know Lufthansa, up close, at home...🙂....!

Yes, I recall and had read that Lufthansa Technik has been always highly regarded...with many Airlines, outsourcing, their MRO needs to it....And, sure, they must be also ensuring consistently high standards at their international locations....

I did a quick search just now, and one of the World (MRO) Rankings is coming up as follows:

  1. Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering
  2. ST Aerospace/Singapore
  3. Lufthansa Technik
  4. Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance
  5. AAR/Chicago
  6. ....

I was curious to note AAR Corp, headquartered in the Chicago Suburb of Wood Dale...just west of O'Hare...had never heard of it...till now....though I must surely have driven by that location many times, in the past...

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