PMDG EFB

[Dillon]

1 hour ago, sdirand said:

Sometimes I wonder if people just left the PMDG 737 in the hangar because there is no EFB.

I did...😐

I'll bring it out the hanger when the EFB is completed.  No airliner flying today have pilots in the cockpit without one.

[Dillon]

1 hour ago, ErichB said:

Also not sure why people think the EFB is essential.  The PMDG's have always been flown without one and it will really not make a significant difference to anything.  It will add some value to the experience of course.

Maybe some of us no longer want to use the FMC for all things the EFB should be doing in a modern simulator.😶  Adding to that read my comment above about real world operations these days.  If your going to create an ultra realistic add-on you can't omit obvious features modern airliners have in the cockpit.  They could have omitted the EFB in the DC6 which would have been perfectly fine (but somehow ironically they figured out how to put an EFB in that bird) but to take this long for the 737, talk about cart before the horse.  Older airliners didn't have pilots bringing EFB's in the cockpit, older sims didn't have the technology to fully realize them (FS9/FSX), heck I remember flying VOR to VOR in 7472's (Ready for Pushback)/7372's but that's not how it's done today.  To each his own but if your going to do modern aviation do it right whether some people use it in the sim or not.  That's what I loved about Fenix's offering out the gate.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Dillon

[Dominique_K]

55 minutes ago, ErichB said:

Also not sure why people think the EFB is essential.  The PMDG's have always been flown without one and it will really not make a significant difference to anything.  It will add some value to the experience of course.

I believe that different people put different things in the word EFB. It is a bag after all 😉. From  simple options to set up the aircraft to chart display and Vspeed calculator.

The DC-6 has a nice tablet, don't know whether, strictly speaking, it is an EFB  or not : ramp manager, fuel/load manager, virtual flight engineer, maintenance manager, engine stress visualizer. I can't say that I don't like it, I do. No charts, which is no big deal for me as I don't use Navigraph, no calculator though. 

I suppose that PMDG works on something more sophisticated for their jetliners. 

[ErichB]

1 minute ago, Dominique_K said:

suppose that PMDG works on something more sophisticated for their jetliners

I guess it will be top notch.  After so much time, I'd hope so anyway.  

[Shack95]

1 hour ago, ErichB said:

Also not sure why people think the EFB is essential.

I wouldn’t say it‘s essential either, but for VR users it still makes quite a difference. It makes the experience more immersive and much less cumbersome.

[Ricardo41]

What's there to discuss? 

Any day now!

[threexgreen]

 

2 hours ago, Dillon said:

I did...😐

I'll bring it out the hanger when the EFB is completed.  No airliner flying today have pilots in the cockpit without one.

Not trying to nitpick but that's not quite true. There still are airlines that don't provide EFBs, just as there are still airlines that don't uplink stuff via ACARS and the pilots punch in everything manually.

[Dillon]

28 minutes ago, Nixoq said:

 

Not trying to nitpick but that's not quite true. There still are airlines that don't provide EFBs, just as there are still airlines that don't uplink stuff via ACARS and the pilots punch in everything manually.

Most if not all pilots have a Foreflight account (GA/Commercial) and most bring their own IPAD to the cockpit for easy lookup of charts, weather, etc.  As a pilot myself there's no argument anyone can come up with as this is how business is done these days in the cockpit (even in light sport aircraft).🧐 

Whether airlines provide it or not pilots keep these tools on hand from VFR training all the way to their commercial career. You might be able to make an exception for Fighter Pilots.😏

Like what was said above, what is everyone's definition of an EFB in the confines of an expectation for an FS add-on?  For me in FS it can be two things, what the airlines provide or what pilots bring to the flight deck themselves (including FS aircraft options like door controls and loadout).  Fenix is the gold standard for what it should be.  PMDG is in the toilet having everything shoved in the FMC.  It feel like modern day compared to using a TRS-80.  In FS a tablet always needs to be an option whether Bush, GA, or Commercial.  Real world pilots today have these devices for all sorts of flying even if it's no more that using their phones (which some add-on's have simulated).  No one if flying without some kind of hand held device.  So EFB in FS encompasses all these aspects to me.  No modern FS airliner should be released without one unless the recreation is of older airliners no longer flying like the 707,7472, or 7372.  Even still flying 737-400's has brackets in the cockpit for an EFB/tablet/etc.  The only reason EFB's aren't needed in cockpits like the Longitude and 737Max's is because the Garmin suites cover what the tablets could access and implement.  The cockpit tablet trend started because the the switch from old navigation (VOR/NDB) to the accepted GPS and Foreflight usage.  The old cockpits didn't have the new technology (737NG's for example). Digital charts on an IPAD was a huge convenience that wasn't there before.  Newer aircraft have been designed through displays to use the latest that a tablet can provide and/or access (charts, etc).  So anything in the confines of FS needs to have what's used in the real world.  Without it, it's just not a complete experience.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Dillon

[JRBarrett]

4 minutes ago, Dillon said:

Most if not all pilots have a Foreflight account (GA/Commercial) and most bring their own IPAD to the cockpit for easy lookup of charts, weather, etc.  As a pilot myself there's no argument anyone can come up with as this is how business is done these days in the cockpit (even in light sport aircraft).🧐 

Whether airlines provide it or not pilots keep these tools on hand.

I use Foreflight (on an iPad Pro) every time  I fly in MSFS. I link to the sim’s aircraft position with XMapsy, and use it to display Navigraph charts, and my Simbrief flightplan. For me, a “simulated” EFB in the aircraft is completely unimportant, since I have the real thing in my hand. 

 

[Dillon]

4 minutes ago, JRBarrett said:

I use Foreflight (on an iPad Pro) every time  I fly in MSFS. I link to the sim’s aircraft position with XMapsy, and use it to display Navigraph charts, and my Simbrief flightplan. For me, a “simulated” EFB in the aircraft is completely unimportant, since I have the real thing in my hand. 

You've actually made my point.  I personally would rather have it in the sim and not hanging off the side of my desk but that's just me.  Since we have the technology to do so why not?  This is not FS9/FSX anymore...😏

I'd equate this to preferring VR over multiple monitors spread across my desk or VC's instead of 2D panels.

[carlanthony24]

33 minutes ago, JRBarrett said:

I use Foreflight (on an iPad Pro) every time  I fly in MSFS. I link to the sim’s aircraft position with XMapsy, and use it to display Navigraph charts, and my Simbrief flightplan. For me, a “simulated” EFB in the aircraft is completely unimportant, since I have the real thing in my hand. 

 

Not everyone owns an iPad or second monitor. That can be a reason why they would want in the aircraft. Even then if someone does have two monitors why do you want to keep switching when you could just pan around in the cockpit. Other reasons also.

[JRBarrett]

4 minutes ago, carlanthony24 said:

Not everyone owns an iPad or second monitor. That can be a reason why they would want in the aircraft. Even then if someone does have two monitors why do you want to keep switching when you could just pan around in the cockpit. Other reasons also.

As I said, for ME charts on an in-sim EFB would be superfluous, but I certainly recognize that is not the case for many users.

[Christopher Low]

1 hour ago, Dillon said:

 ......No modern FS airliner should be released without one.......

So PMDG should have waited to release the MSFS version of the 737 until the EFB had been completed? That would have done wonders for their bank account.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Christopher Low

[Dillon]

50 minutes ago, Christopher Low said:

So PMDG should have waited to release the MSFS version of the 737 until the EFB had been completed? That would have done wonders for their bank account.

No, but it shouldn't have taken this long to produce one if they already put one out for the DC6.😐

Do the DC6 version first and updated later when the more modern one comes along.  The DC6 tablet would have been ten times better than shoving plane options in sub-menus within the FMC like an FS9 add-on.🥴 

Edited June 8, 2023 by Dillon

[Zangoose]

5 minutes ago, Dillon said:

No, but it shouldn't have taken this long to produce one if they already put one out for the DC6.😐

Do the DC6 version first and updated later when the more modern one comes along.  The DC6 tablet would have been ten times better than shoving plane options in sub-menus within the FMC like an FS9 add-on.🥴 

The DC6 tablet is fairly basic  though and doesn't communicate to external providers like Simbrief for example. Thats the reason they could do that quicky. 

Edited June 8, 2023 by Zangoose