Original manuals for PMDG 747-400 and FSX/SP1/SP2/Vista64

[Guest JacobKoziarz]

All quiet on the PMDG front for me on this one - so hopefully some FSX souls can help me out with this:Does the original info as per:http://smithplanet.com/fs2004/pmdg/apply to FSX/SP1/SP2 on Vista64 ?Does the FSX version (cold and dark lessons) contain any bugs in the lessons as mentioned in the link ? Is it safe just to use what came with FSX version ?Also, if there are some other manuals just for FSX - could you reply with some links ? I'd like to start with some time-efficient manuals first without having to read thru 100s of default manuals if it turns out that my FSX/SP1/SP2/Vista64 can't handle this plane, seems that there are a lot of people with all kinds of performance problems.Obstacle no.1:ELEC ENG CONTROL switches to NORMdoesn't workI can only open the covers - NORM will not come on...Any comments, links much appreciated...

[Guest SkullxBones]

I don't have any problems with cold and dark or the elec eng controls switches, but I am using XP and SP1.

[Guest JacobKoziarz]

That explains it - further research and painful experience clearly demonstrates that PMDG 747-400X is not ready for Vista, even the 64 bit version.After 1 hr of reading thru manual and going thru lesson one - the screen went blank.And I guess the online documentation is still for FS2004 only - no updates have been done for FSX ? Lessons flights have to go default FSX flights dir in, not as per manual instructions ?

[Guest JacobKoziarz]

OK - i'll just answer my own question for others that might wonder:Skip this step:Set all four ELEC ENG CONTROL switches to NORM.These will come on eventually as the start up progresses. Not sure why this manual has that instruction - maybe it works in FS9 version and not FSX.Other than that - follow the manual - it should work for you and it is way better than trying to do this from the PMDG published manual and tutorials - manual long and tutorials not illustrated enough - so you have to switch constantly between manual and tutorial - and searching thru 300+ pages is too much for my patience. But of course - it's a must for reference-like material. I just want to thank Jared for making this possible for me before I ran out of patience. I bet many others owe him this as well. Too bad PMDG doesn't take the same approach - not to mention outdated rt2 flight plans - that wasted my time as well.Another mention - if you want ATC - remember that you can fly this just like default FSX 747 with SPD, HDG, ALT autopilot features - takes a little while to figure it out. Just program FMC minus the RTE-related components (so you can set the approach flaps/speed based on your weight and manually tune LOC frequency in FMC for intercepting ILS).And - unfortunately it looks like you will need FSBuild as well to build rte plans for this (unless you chose the ATC option I described above) - since what PMDG provided is crap.Good luck to everyone - don't give up - this is so awesome (especially night cockpit lighting) - you have to succeed believe me - you will not go back to default FSX 747.

[Guest JacobKoziarz]

just make sure you get ILS frequency and rwy hdg from the map and enter in format: 109.90/341 for example and you're done !!!Fly 747-400X with FSX ATC and ability to move the plane on the map to cut the crusing time...

[Guest SkullxBones]

Instead of the default ATC, Radar Contact has options to let you fly your SID/STARs and is a much better ATC experience. It is for IFR only, no VFR, but then joy riding a PMDG747 is not why you spent the big bucks for this aircraft.http://www.jdtllc.com/

[Guest JacobKoziarz]

Thanks man - now that I'm done testing this on buddy's quad sys - if i decide to spend couple of gs on a new system - i'll definitely go with this as well...btw - pmdg would save a lot of newbies a lot of time/frustration if they advertised 3rd party tutorials a'la Jared "Smitty"'s or this:http://www.speedbirdonline.co.uk/747.htmlhttp://www.speedbirdonline.co.uk/downloads..._1.0_206648.zipthese I think should be at the very beginning (CAPS IN BOLD - hahaha) of their documentation list.and what's up with their outdated rt2 plans - that ate up my time nicely before we decided we have to purchase Build 2.3 as well...

[russellj 2]

PMDG 747-400X work fine with Vista 64 bit.RegardsRussell Jourdain (ANZ007/ZK-RHJ)

[Guest JacobKoziarz]

It is NVidia 8800GTS that has the problem then...

[russellj 2]

I'm running with an 8800GTX.RegardsRussell Jourdain (ANZ007/ZK-RHJ)

[Guest JacobKoziarz]

Forget the last suggestion - either get radar contact or forget flying without RTE FMC and with FSX ATC. Manual ILS freq approach does not always work - weird things happen - won't pick up or won't properly track ILS (needles don't show or fill) and even if it they fill and track - sometimes it won't even line up with runway. Forget about PMDG's rt2 flight plans too - they're crap. You will need FSBuild for rte plans. Or, you can do it all manually using waypoints from FSX map (some do not line up with pmdg database, so you have to always try a few). It's easier than you think for short flights - dep from airport/rwy you want, waypoint, another waypoint to nicely line you up with rwy you want to land on, arrival on that runway and that's it.