PMDG 747 Worth buying in 2021?

[BlueSwurl 32]

14 minutes ago, Iadbound said:

BlueSwurl -- I just bought it.  This rare PMDG sale made it irresistible.  So far it looks great.

Couldn't resist as well lol, i was still putting it off then i just thought "It's a 747 for gods sake, just do it!" Downloading it right now.

7 minutes ago, killthespam said:

I strongly recommend the 744 and 748 especially that finally PMDG will do a revision on the LNAV/VNAV. You can fly the 747 at almost any airport around the world and land on runways as short as 7,000FT, on the -8 as short as 8,000FT at your leisure. There are short flights in certain areas as short as 1 HR or so.

I listed a few airlines PAX or CARGO that go almost anywhere you can think about.

 

China Airlines

Western Global

United Parcel Service

Cathay Pacific

Martinair

Kalitta Air

Polar Air Cargo

Aerotranscargo

CAL Cargo Airlines

Air Atlanta Icelandic

ASL Airlines Belgium

Singapore Airlines

Asiana 

Atlas Air

National Cargo

ASL Airlines Belgium

FedEx

Saudia

Martinair

Lufthansa -8

Nippon Cargo

AirBridgeCargo

Cargolux Airlines International

Thanks for the list! At least now i know where i can start with this beauty.

[out 769]

6 hours ago, BlueSwurl said:

the cargo routes are rarely European

Not really, Christopher. There are still quite a lot of 747 cargo flights around Europe (I'd say maybe more than in America).
Check the AirBridgeCargo (they have 747-400F, 747-8F and even 777F), they fly a lot between cities like Moscow, London, Munich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels, Liege, Paris, MIlan, Vienna, and many others.
Also check Cargolux, Cargolux Italia and flights. Plus some a bit less known 747 freighters of JetOneX, ASL, Magma, Challenge, AirACT, CAL Cargo, SkyGates or Silk Way West.
Besides, there are also some second-leg European flights with freighter divisions of Qatar, Saudia, Korean Air, Asiana, Singapore Airlines, NCA, or Cathay Pacific.
As for Americans, UPS and Altas Air also fly some inter-European routes.
Want some 747 pax flights in Europe too, including nice summer destinations? Get the Rossiya livery (with the Tiger or without).

EDIT: I see Vlad was a bit faster. 😊

Edited August 9, 2021 by Rafal

[BlueSwurl 32]

20 minutes ago, Rafal said:

Not really, Christopher. There are still quite a lot of 747 cargo flights around Europe (I'd say maybe more than in America).
Check the AirBridgeCargo (they have 747-400F, 747-8F and even 777F), they fly a lot between cities like Moscow, London, Munich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Brussels, Liege, Paris, MIlan, Vienna, and many others.
Also check Cargolux, Cargolux Italia and flights. Plus some a bit less known 747 freighters of JetOneX, ASL, Magma, Challenge, AirACT, CAL Cargo, SkyGates or Silk Way West.
Besides, there are also some second-leg European flights with freighter divisions of Qatar, Saudia, Korean Air, Asiana, Singapore Airlines, NCA, or Cathay Pacific.
As for Americans, UPS and Altas Air also fly some inter-European routes.
Want some 747 pax flights in Europe too, including nice summer destinations? Get the Rossiya livery (with the Tiger or without).

EDIT: I see Vlad was a bit faster. 😊

I've heard about AirBridge actually, so i should probably have looked at their routes before this post, but now i know atleast 🙂

Also, got a picture of the beaut right here!

[Luis Hernandez 566]

7 hours ago, BlueSwurl said:

Maybe i should invest in the NGXu instead, which i honestly think I'd fly more often. I don't fly long haul enough to justify buying the 747, but there's something about just owning a 747 that appeals to me. Right now, i would say 95% of my flights are short-haul, while the other 5% is the odd long haul i do overnight because i'm bored and its an easy way to force myself to wake up early the next day.

If you have the money, why not both? I did so...

Actually, what made me decide for the 747 was an Avianca repaint I saw the other day. Now I can´t find it (facepalm)...

[Benjamin J 751]

I'll just chime in with what others have said. To this day, the 747 is actually my favorite plane of all time in the sim. It's simply a fantastic experience. More so than with either the 737 or 777, I feel like I'm 'there'.

But, as you said, there is not as much flying to do with the 747, even at pre-pandemic levels, as the 737 or 777. What's key in your post is that you're looking for European flying. To that, there is actually some flying you could do. Cargolux has some short routes between it's base at ELLX and other airports, such as Glasgow Prestwick. AirBridgeCargo flies between UUEE and EHAM, or EGLL I believe. So, they exist, but it's true there's not many. So, if we're talking about 'most real flights for your buck', among the PMDG planes the 737 is definitely it. And I have it and indeed I fly it a lot more than the 747. But, I will always find the 747 more enjoyable, and I fly it every so often, every time a different route somewhere in the world.

[BlueSwurl 32]

Just to ask one more question for anyone still here - is the -8 expansion worth the whole 70 USD? (or rather, 52 USD with the sale right now). From what i understand, its basically only used by Lufthansa and Cargolux, at least they are the 'major' operators that i know.

[LRBS 943]

46 minutes ago, BlueSwurl said:

Just to ask one more question for anyone still here - is the -8 expansion worth the whole 70 USD? (or rather, 52 USD with the sale right now). From what i understand, its basically only used by Lufthansa and Cargolux, at least they are the 'major' operators that i know.

Absolutely!

 

Just a few notes, even there is a common type rating there are quite a few differences system-wise, performance, etc too many to be listed here. On the PMDG 400, you have only the legacy FMC software while the -8 has the NG (new generation) version of the FMC. In real life probably 90% of the 400 operators did the upgrade. Maybe PMDG will have an option for the 400 to select the NG FMC.

Also, the -8 being a newer technology has different flight characteristics that are modeled very well.

With the new LNAV/VNAV and autopilot update, you will be able to enjoy the new NG navigation options.

Now, depends on your knowledge, and willingness to learn, and if money is no concern I strongly recommend both products.

As a side note, I'm not affiliated with PMDG and I used to operate both airplanes for many years and unfortunately, even I fly something similar I still miss the 747s, it's like the first love.

Oh, it's not only  Lufthansa and Cargolux.

Edited August 10, 2021 by killthespam

[C2615 319]

People are flying DC8's in sim sky. what's wrong to have 744 flying everywhere you want with factory livery anyway?😂

[BlueSwurl 32]

Right, well i'm flying right now from UUWW-EDDF in the 744, wonderful departure out, only now i have a fuel imbalance issue 🙄 so i guess i have some more to learn before i try anything serious with this thing.

[BlueSwurl 32]

14 minutes ago, BlueSwurl said:

Right, well i'm flying right now from UUWW-EDDF in the 744, wonderful departure out, only now i have a fuel imbalance issue 🙄 so i guess i have some more to learn before i try anything serious with this thing.

Alright i figured it out, i'm already beginning to love this thing. And i haven't even landed it yet!

[Patco Lch 1,463]

2 hours ago, BlueSwurl said:

Just to ask one more question for anyone still here - is the -8 expansion worth the whole 70 USD? (or rather, 52 USD with the sale right now). From what i understand, its basically only used by Lufthansa and Cargolux, at least they are the 'major' operators that i know.

Atlas has ten 747-8s and UPS has around thirty they operate around the globe. No law says you can only fly to pay ware airports. Free yourself from that personal restriction and the world is your oyster.🙂

[BlueSwurl 32]

1 minute ago, PATCO LCH said:

Atlas has ten 747-8s and UPS has around thirty they operate around the globe. No law says you can only fly to pay ware airports. Free yourself from that personal restriction and the world is your oyster.🙂

True, i guess i've been subject to the secret rule of P3D that demands you only fly to payware scenery. Because it looks so nice! (And the airports are up to date and have GSX support usually!)

[Benjamin J 751]

2 hours ago, BlueSwurl said:

Just to ask one more question for anyone still here - is the -8 expansion worth the whole 70 USD? (or rather, 52 USD with the sale right now). From what i understand, its basically only used by Lufthansa and Cargolux, at least they are the 'major' operators that i know.

There's a smattering of -8 operators out there! UPS has several, Korean Air Cargo and Cathay Pacific Cargo operate them a lot, let alone Nippon Cargo Airways and SilkWay. However they tend to do longer routes and they don't necessarily visit Europe, so they might be out of your wheelhouse...

For me, the -8 has absolutely been worth it. Love that plane. Though I prefer the -400s.

[LRBS 943]

3 hours ago, BlueSwurl said:

Right, well i'm flying right now from UUWW-EDDF in the 744, wonderful departure out, only now i have a fuel imbalance issue 🙄 so i guess i have some more to learn before i try anything serious with this thing.

Maybe you want to keep an eye on that fuel imbalance. I sought it was fixed.

Anyhow from what I see, you shouldn't have that message. Basically, after reaching fuel tank to engine you will get the message if is more than 2,720 KG difference between the inboard and outboard main tanks plus reserve tanks.

Interesting.

Happy flying!

Edited August 10, 2021 by killthespam

[jon b 2,041]

If you want to get some handling practice and sectors under your belt I used to operate the following routes in the real 747-400 which were really good fun.

Grenada to Tobago to Barbados and on to Gatwick

 Barbados to St Lucia return.

Barbados to Antigua return.

Yes the PMDG 747 is very well done, there’s a lot to learn though as almost everything is simulated realistically.Though having said that if nothing is going wrong it’s fairly straight forward to operate on a normal sector.