serviceceiling

Based on the flightdeck and the blue carpet, I think it was an older Delta 777.

Three PMDG members post in a row? DC-3 confirmed!

Well, I'm glad all things are well! Looking forward to the day the 747 enters beta.

Just get a van, write "free DC3 sparkplugs" on it and there you go... :ph34r:

737 - still very oldschool and you can land that thing anywhere. The 777 is a hub to hub carrier.

True, but as of now there just is no twin on the market that has the same seating capacity as the double-decker A380. Just look at Emirates replacing all their 777 services to major Hubs with A380's. Range and ETOPS - spicific restrictions aren't really a factor these days...even 4-engine aircraft have to be ETOPS certified for all sorts of reasons.

If I recall correctly United has already ordered around ten 777-300ER's - an aircraft that can carry as many passengers as a 747-400, with two less engines and the same range/cruising speed. Airplanes with 4 engines haven'd died off yet, but they are only profitable on certain, high-frequency routes and cover a rather small niche in commercial air travel. Just look at British Airways with the A380 and rather old 747-400 fleet or Lufthansa that operates a quite large A380 and mixed 747-400/747-8 fleet (with the 747-400's and A340-600's to be replaced by the 777-9 from around 2020). And who knows if Airbus decides to stretch and re-engine their A380 - the damand is still there and turbofan engines are getting more efficient every year.

Will the GPS be the stock FSX/X-Plane/P3D/[iNSERT RANDOM FUTURE SIM] one or will it be updatable and RNAV capable? Would be quite interesting to have something more advanced as an option. Not that I'd use it... :ph34r: And yes, I can only Imagine flying the LOC/DME into INN with the 6! I hope Austria West HD comes out soon...

What a great read! I seriously need this thing in FSX - the 777 and upcoming 747 are/will be nice but after all they are flown like any other modern airliner. Just imagine flying and navigating the DC-6 through the swiss alps (with the GPS turned off of course. :wink:

737 all the way.

I still remember the first time I saw the 777 overhead after having flown the 737 and TU-134 for a long time - like "Uhm, is this it?"

And by the way, this is what came first to my mind when I read the title.

Outstanding attention to detail! Can't wait to see the first livery previews and compare them with my planespotting pictures from the airport. :wink:

While sure, most of the major operators such as BA, LH, QF, AF and so on will get rid of the -400 during the next 5-10 years, it will still be seen as a workhorse of a freighter all around the world. And let's be honest, the 747-8i isn't really selling well, I'd be surprised if Boeing continues producton of the 747-8i in the next 5 years. The 747-8 might look all sleek and shiny but it's the -400 that became this icon in civil aviation, that everybody recognizes. It's big, loud, mechanical and doesn't have any fbw. But to each their own. :wink:

I agree, I'd love to see another, bigger update for the NGx after the complete 747-package rolls out. Especially the scimitar winglets, the new CFM56-7BE engines (which have a different, shorter exhaust) and maybe new, more modern equipment options for the cockpit. To be honest, I think the 737NGx is PMDG's best product so far and I find flying it way more often than the 777 ... maybe because a 737 has a little bit more 'soul' than an all digital 777.