I've been wondering since it has been longer under developement and we only have seen screenshots of the -100.

is there any Info avail, when the-400/800 will be releasing? The only aircraft I am looking forward to tbh.

It's just weird to read so much about the -100 and nothing about the 400 or the 737 MAX. When it comes to the MAX I anyway tending to the ifly but just curious how they would compare.

I remember reading that the 100 and 400 being developed at the same time. But currently the 100 they are focusing on models and textures whereas the 400 is systems then they will swap. This is why only 100 pictures as there isn’t really anything to show for the 400 yet. 
 

The MAX they have said that until they finish their commercial development for this they won’t talk about it. 
 

Personally I have the iFly currently but will buy the PMDG one when it comes out also. 

Edited May 3, 20251 yr by scotgr

No official word on the 400 or 800 other than they will be making them. Seems a little odd if they decided to focus on the classics first, but there is certainly a demand for those. Apparently they are just about finished with their contractual obligations to Boeing (Boeing seems to be happy with their work) so they may likely start back up on the max, but I suspect we won’t see anything about that until the end of the year.
 

In terms of how it will compare to the ifly, I have no idea. In one sense, since ifly released theirs first, pmdg will have the upper hand in development in that they know more or less what customers are expecting and what they are competing with. I know at least for me right now, ifly is a terrific addon and pmdg would really have to step up their game to make me consider moving over and purchasing, at least in regards to the max 8. That being said there is at least one big annoying bug with the ifly vnav (that they have acknowledged) and their efb is a slog to navigate and lacks some features most would come to expect. This keeps me from wanting to fly it on the regular and rather just reach for the pmdg which is much more consistent and it just works for me. I’m sure ifly will hammer out those issues I have though.

Considering the info that was released and their usual workflow I expect a relase date not before Q4 2026.

1 hour ago, Kevin_28 said:

Apparently they are just about finished with their contractual obligations to Boeing (Boeing seems to be happy with their work) so they may likely start back up on the max, but I suspect we won’t see anything about that until the end of the year.
 

Just to clarify those loose sales tactics. There are no official contractual obligations between PMDG and Boeing. They are a third-party developer, and we must give credit to those known for creating detailed Boeing aircraft simulations for flight simulators. They are not an official Boeing partner but operate under Boeing's licensing agreements for trademark usage (e.g., aircraft names, logos). PMDG likely secures licenses to use Boeing's branding, but this does not imply a deeper contractual partnership (e.g., access to proprietary engineering data). Boeing generally tolerates high-quality simulations as they promote aviation enthusiasm, but does not actively endorse or directly support PMDG. PMDG's relationship as a developer with Boeing involves a trademark license that includes reverse engineering access to data, while AOBO has a limited partnership with Boeing, providing only basic manufacturer data. There's quite a difference. 

Edited May 3, 20251 yr by LRBS

3 minutes ago, LRBS said:

Just to clarify those loose sales tactics. There are no official contractual obligations between PMDG and Boeing. They are a third-party developer, and we must give credit to those known for creating detailed Boeing aircraft simulations for flight simulators. They are not an official Boeing partner but operate under Boeing's licensing agreements for trademark usage (e.g., aircraft names, logos). PMDG likely secures licenses to use Boeing's branding, but this does not imply a deeper contractual partnership (e.g., access to proprietary engineering data). Boeing generally tolerates high-quality simulations as they promote aviation enthusiasm, but does not actively endorse or directly support PMDG.

Randazzo distinctly stated they are recently doing work for Boeing, and in some unspecified way, that was holding up the consumer MAX.

This is in fairly stark contrast to the "licenses by" schtick many devs use.

Do we know they're not...?

12 minutes ago, UrgentSiesta said:

Randazzo distinctly stated they are recently doing work for Boeing

People are certainly welcome to believe that. Anything to sell a product. And I will stop right here.

Edited May 3, 20251 yr by LRBS

24 minutes ago, LRBS said:

Just to clarify those loose sales tactics. There are no official contractual obligations between PMDG and Boeing. They are a third-party developer, and we must give credit to those known for creating detailed Boeing aircraft simulations for flight simulators. They are not an official Boeing partner but operate under Boeing's licensing agreements for trademark usage (e.g., aircraft names, logos). PMDG likely secures licenses to use Boeing's branding, but this does not imply a deeper contractual partnership (e.g., access to proprietary engineering data). Boeing generally tolerates high-quality simulations as they promote aviation enthusiasm, but does not actively endorse or directly support PMDG. PMDG's relationship as a developer with Boeing involves a trademark license that includes reverse engineering access to data, while AOBO has a limited partnership with Boeing, providing only basic manufacturer data. There's quite a difference. 

Hi LRBS!

I think we're talking about different things here. As Urgent stated, they said they were working on a project for Boeing and for reasons of optics, they decided not to work on the max series during that time. However, you are free to think that they are lying and are just trying to use that as a sales tactic, but there's no evidence that I can see to the contrary, so it's basically purely speculation on your part. Personally, I certainly would not want to lie about something like that and specifically name Boeing and potentially open myself up to being C&D'd by lawyers, but of course you can argue that Boeing has bigger fish to fry than to go after something like that.

9 minutes ago, LRBS said:

People are certainly welcome to believe that. Anything to sell a product. And I will stop right here.

A long established and well-known high fidelity add-on developer saying X, and random internet forum champion refuting X with no clue or proof... hmm, tough one as to whome to believe! They could be doing any kind of work/partnership with Boeing, including providing some simulation/digital tools or who knows what. Sorry, not so hard to believe.
 

2 hours ago, 737_800 said:

I've been wondering since it has been longer under developement and we only have seen screenshots of the -100.

is there any Info avail, when the-400/800 will be releasing? The only aircraft I am looking forward to tbh.

It's just weird to read so much about the -100 and nothing about the 400 or the 737 MAX. When it comes to the MAX I anyway tending to the ifly but just curious how they would compare.

A recent update said this re: the 747 line: https://forum.pmdg.com/forum/main-forum/general-discussion-news-and-announcements/347897-01mar25-progress-update-on-777-200er-and-pmdg-s-products-in-msfs-2024 ... since this was posted I believe they then made the decision to develop all future aircraft for 2024 only:

We fully anticipate this being the most visually detailed PMDG product yet created, as it is being built ground-up with MSFS 2024 in mind. A number of folks have asked if it will be available in MSFS 2020 and at this juncture I do not know. Development has been taking place in 2020, but is about to move to 2024 because the development tools for 2024 are generations better and involved far less wasted time staring at load screens. (If you are a dev- you know the pain of which I speak!) The decision about whether to keep the development chain open in 2020 will be made on economic grounds later in the dev cycle.

A few folks always ask which 747 models are being built- so a quick recap on that topic: Currently we are building the 747-100 and 747-400 in active development. Once completed, the Classic effort will pivot to the 747-200B, and the 747SP. The "modern" 747 team will eventually wrap arms around both the 747-400 and -8 airframes. Longer term the 300 is expected to be included mostly because that will give us the whole suite of airframes for you to enjoy in your simming world.

As to whether the 747 classic or the 747-400 will release first? Hard to say. The 744 models are a bit behind the 747 classic, but the code development for the 744 is well ahead... so it is a race.
 

Edited May 3, 20251 yr by lwt1971

43 minutes ago, lwt1971 said:

A long established and well-known high fidelity add-on developer saying X, and random internet forum champion refuting X with no clue or proof... hmm, tough one as to whome to believe! They could be doing any kind of work/partnership with Boeing, including providing some simulation/digital tools or who knows what. Sorry, not so hard to believe.
 

For the past 22 years, I have had to be certified for my position on the 747 to give type ratings and check rides. We train and renew our qualifications at Boeing facilities in Everett, B Field, Miami, and Chicago. While I like certain PMDG products and find them quite good, I enquired a few times if I could meet any representative from PMDG and exchange ideas. Every time, I was told that they are not affiliated with or do any work with them. So, based on those findings, please allow me to express my opinion as the other guy did, at least mine is based on each 6-month visit to these facilities for real training. Have a good day!

Edited May 3, 20251 yr by LRBS

7 minutes ago, LRBS said:

For the past 22 years, I have had to be certified for my position on the 747 to give type ratings and check rides. We train and renew our qualifications at Boeing facilities in Everett, B Field, Miami, and Chicago. While I like certain PMDG products and find them quite good, I enquired a few times if I could meet any representative from PMDG and exchange ideas. Every time, I was told that they are not affiliated with or do any work with them. So, based on those findings, please allow me to express my opinion as the other guy did, at least mine is based on each 6-month visit to these facilities for real training. Have a good day!

Ok, so based on your inquiring around at the specific Boeing facilities you've been to (and the folks there that you specifically spoke to), those folks telling you that they are not affiliated or do any work with PMDG therefore leads to your opinion that PMDG is lying... got it 🙂
 

Edited May 3, 20251 yr by lwt1971

Well, I think this is the comment by RSR back in October that is being referred to, so easy to see how misunderstandings arise:

"You may see us make reference to our Enterprise Division in a few places during the coming months and years. This is a new aspect of PMDG's growth that has us working with a large, commercial aircraft manufacturer on an enterprise level project that is a high priority for them and for all of us at PMDG. It has caused us to de-prioritize the retail release of our 737MAX for the time being, as our contract requires that we maintain a clear firewall between our retail product options and the work we are doing on the enterprise-side. Since we are not an enormous corporation, this means that the same developers who are currently supporting the enterprise effort are in-part a portion of the development team responsible for our MAX iteration- and that makes it hard for us to document a clear firewall between the two products. For now we are prioritizing the enterprise side, as our success in the project has the potential to be a BIG X FACTOR in a project we would like to do after the 747 is completed. (Yes, there was a hint there...)"

He does not explicitly say Boeing, nor does he say that PMDG's Enterprise Division contract is related to a Max. They are simply doing work for a manufacturer that requires the time and effort of the people they would assign to do the Max and that means the Max for consumers will be delayed. Not surprisingly they are prioritizing the enterprise contract over consumer production.

2 hours ago, LRBS said:

People are certainly welcome to believe that. Anything to sell a product. And I will stop right here.

Having spent many years in the Marketing vertical, I understand your point.

BUT: do you have direct knowledge that PMDG are NOT working on a project for/with Boeing...?

IoW, Randazzo was outright lying when he recently said they were...?

53 minutes ago, Cognita said:

Well, I think this is the comment by RSR back in October that is being referred to, so easy to see how misunderstandings arise:

"You may see us make reference to our Enterprise Division in a few places during the coming months and years. This is a new aspect of PMDG's growth that has us working with a large, commercial aircraft manufacturer on an enterprise level project that is a high priority for them and for all of us at PMDG. It has caused us to de-prioritize the retail release of our 737MAX for the time being, as our contract requires that we maintain a clear firewall between our retail product options and the work we are doing on the enterprise-side. Since we are not an enormous corporation, this means that the same developers who are currently supporting the enterprise effort are in-part a portion of the development team responsible for our MAX iteration- and that makes it hard for us to document a clear firewall between the two products. For now we are prioritizing the enterprise side, as our success in the project has the potential to be a BIG X FACTOR in a project we would like to do after the 747 is completed. (Yes, there was a hint there...)"

He does not explicitly say Boeing, nor does he say that PMDG's Enterprise Division contract is related to a Max. They are simply doing work for a manufacturer that requires the time and effort of the people they would assign to do the Max and that means the Max for consumers will be delayed. Not surprisingly they are prioritizing the enterprise contract over consumer production.

I'm certainly open to ideas...

And while it's true he doesn't say Boeing, he certainly narrows down the field. E.g., it's not Flight Safety, since they're not a manufacturer.

And it's probably not GE/PW, because what would they need with a cockpit simulator...?

It's also not a gov/mil project like MilViz does, because the gov/mil don't manufacture anything...

And he explicitly says they need to "firewall" off the PMDG MAX team. But not the 777 or 747 teams...?

And the 737 NG, which has always been been their launch product for new sims, and is as Bread and Butter as it gets for add-ons, is also pushed off to the indefinite future...

And this Skunk Works enterprise project might be some sort of path to, presumably, the 777X...?

I mean, Im not pushing to draw conclusions because, as you've correctly illustrated, there's also a LOT that Randazzo DIDN'T say.

And in truth, I don't much care because this stuff is vaporware to me until it's available for sale.

I just dislike it when folks call someone a liar unless they know first hand or can reasonably demonstrate the lies.