I bought the iFly MAX some time ago, but I hadn't flown it for a while. However, I flew it yesterday after updating it the latest version, and I was pleasantly surprised with how good it was.

I'll certainly be flying it more often!

The only reason I haven't bought it yet is it's not a native 2024 model, just a "compatible" one. These days, I don't buy anything new that isn't 2024-native. This includes the Blackbird 757 for that same reason.

On 10/30/2026 at 4:16 PM, UrgentSiesta said:

I guess my question come down to whether it’s good enough to justify abandoning the PMDG…?

A. I couldn’t possibly care less that one is the NG and one is the MAX.

B. I’m not an avid airliner guy in the first place.

That was my question as well. I don't care about NG vs Max, I just want the best rendition of the work airplane. I haven't used the PMDG at this point in probably two years.

As far as what's next: 2024 native model first. Then Max 9. Then... things that I'm not supposed to talk about 😉.

Work is definitely ongoing, don't be fooled by the public silence. They just have a habit of not making any announcements until something is ready to announce.

3 minutes ago, Stearmandriver said:

That was my question as well. I don't care about NG vs Max, I just want the best rendition of the work airplane. I haven't used the PMDG at this point in probably two years.

As far as what's next: 2024 native model first. Then Max 9. Then... things that I'm not supposed to talk about 😉.

Work is definitely ongoing, don't be fooled by the public silence. They just have a habit of not making any announcements until something is ready to announce.

i find it harder each day to find a reason to go back to sitting in the pmdg 737 ng cockpit. looks very poor against the fenix and ifly, and the ifly isnt even msfs24 native.

12 minutes ago, Fromage_Flippant said:

i find it harder each day to find a reason to go back to sitting in the pmdg 737 ng cockpit. looks very poor against the fenix and ifly, and the ifly isnt even msfs24 native.

Both cockpits are top quality.

I have always been a huge fan of PMDG, but the Max 8 is my favorite airliner so I took a chance on the ifly a few months ago and it's been spectacular. Much like the PMDG it's extremely reliable and optimized very well. As far as textures they definitely surpass PMDG despite not even being 2024 native. As far as systems, the ifly is very deep, but I still give the edge to PMDG, albeit only slightly.

I still don't understand the mystery and secrecy that surrounds the PMDG Max which was supposed to have been a complete product and pending their completion of some commercial project.

14 hours ago, Pour_Meshuggah_On_Me said:

I have always been a huge fan of PMDG, but the Max 8 is my favorite airliner so I took a chance on the ifly a few months ago and it's been spectacular. Much like the PMDG it's extremely reliable and optimized very well. As far as textures they definitely surpass PMDG despite not even being 2024 native. As far as systems, the ifly is very deep, but I still give the edge to PMDG, albeit only slightly.

+1 , any "native" skeptics is missing something out.

Michael Moe

6 hours ago, Michael Moe said:

+1 , any "native" skeptics is missing something out.

Michael Moe

Not a skeptic - just a preference. I am sure it will eventually get a proper 2024 native model. That will be when I purchase it. I have some "compatible" products installed but that's because I already purchased the 2020 version and the compatibility was provided for free and there is no native version currently. They work fine. I just prefer not to buy any MORE of 2020 models. ;)

7 hours ago, Michael Moe said:

+1 , any "native" skeptics is missing something out.

Michael Moe

Not quite. 2020 and 2024 can both handle high res textures providing a quality finish. Where 2024 native comes into play is how optimized the textures and models are. For instance in 2024 you have a modular system where you can apply more higher res textures to more models, using the modular system you can then unload that model at certain distances and conditions. If you apply the same amount of high fidelity model and textures to the 2020 model, you'll have terrible performance.

2024 SDK also has the additional benifit of the CFD flight model and enhanced ground handling characerstics / friction model (providing the developer uses these tools).

So native skeptics acutally have merit in their decsision.

Edited Tuesday at 11:41 PM4 days by rick celik

25 minutes ago, rick celik said:

Not quite. 2020 and 2024 can both handle high res textures providing a quality finish. Where 2024 native comes into play is how optimized the textures and models are. For instance in 2024 you have a modular system where you can apply more higher res textures to more models, using the modular system you can then unload that model at certain distances and conditions. If you apply the same amount of high fidelity model and textures to the 2020 model, you'll have terrible performance.

2024 SDK also has the additional benifit of the CFD flight model and enhanced ground handling characerstics / friction model (providing the developer uses these tools).

So native skeptics acutally have merit in their decsision.

Everything you said makes perfect sense, but it's not as if the iFly has mediocre textures. Quite the opposite actually. PMDG now has a native 737, and while it looks really good, I still think the iFly has better textures despite not being native to 2024. Maybe others don't see it this way, but I'm just giving my personal opinion.

2 hours ago, Pour_Meshuggah_On_Me said:

Everything you said makes perfect sense, but it's not as if the iFly has mediocre textures. Quite the opposite actually. PMDG now has a native 737, and while it looks really good, I still think the iFly has better textures despite not being native to 2024. Maybe others don't see it this way, but I'm just giving my personal opinion.

Yes ofcourse, that all depends on the devs texture and model artists, the Ifly devs have definetley done a good job. Like I said both 2020 and 24 SDKs have the capacity for high resolution models and textures, its up to the artist to do a good job with it.

Personally, I've never been the biggest fan of PMDG cockpit textures, they look very cartoonish, however with the 777 I applied a wear and tear texture mod from flightsim.to which made it much better.

17 hours ago, rick celik said:

Not quite. 2020 and 2024 can both handle high res textures providing a quality finish. Where 2024 native comes into play is how optimized the textures and models are. For instance in 2024 you have a modular system where you can apply more higher res textures to more models, using the modular system you can then unload that model at certain distances and conditions. If you apply the same amount of high fidelity model and textures to the 2020 model, you'll have terrible performance.

2024 SDK also has the additional benifit of the CFD flight model and enhanced ground handling characerstics / friction model (providing the developer uses these tools).

So native skeptics acutally have merit in their decsision.

My comment is 100% related to the MAX8 from iFly. Go get it

Michael Moe

8 hours ago, Michael Moe said:

Go get it

Michael Moe

I think another hesitation is - if I purchased the 2020 version now, when the native 2024 comes out, will I have to pay an upgrade fee? Because I can certainly wait and just purchase it then.

Edited Thursday at 01:53 AM3 days by BostonJeremy77

9 hours ago, BostonJeremy77 said:

if I purchased the 2020 version now, when the native 2024 comes out, will I have to pay an upgrade fee?

iFly has said that native 2024 will be a free update. I think Max9 and beyond might be paid upgrades, but not certain.