RLimaB

While I like the 747 in real life better than the 777, if you are trying to chose between the 747-400X and 777-200LR from PMDG, I would strongly recommend the 777 (I don't have the MD11 for basis of comparison). I flew the 747-400X for many hours when it first came out and was the standard that I set other sims to. It was awesome and amazing to me what could be done in FSX! I built a new systems when the 737NGX came out and then installed the 777 last year when it came out. I hadn’t gotten around to installing the 747 on the ‘new’ system since I really enjoyed the 737 and 777 sims. Two weeks ago, I got some time in British Airway’s full motion flight sims - both 747 and 777. Wanting to re-familiarize myself with the 747 cockpit, I installed the PMDG software on my new system. I had a rude awakening to how far PMDG has advanced the state of FSX. To me, the 747-400X was actually disappointing. Of course, compared to the built in 747-400, it’s light years better. But compared to the PMDG 777, the quality of graphics, extent of the systems being modeled, and I think even the sounds are all lacking on the 747-400X. And it seemed like with my system config, 747 had worse frame rates. I enthusiastically look forward to the refreshed 747-400 (or even 747-800) from PMDG - I’ve got my credit card ready! On a side note: if you folks aren’t aware, the British Airways Flight Training ‘flight sim experiences’ in London (EGLL) are absolutely incredible. It’s not “cheap", but they’ve got a full range of full motion sims from Boeing (737, 747, 757, 767, 777) open to the public. Your PC or laptop running FSX will probably have better graphics looking out the windscreen, but when it comes to feeling the plane and hand flying circuits or experiencing things like feeling the rudder pedals move when the 777 automatically puts rudder trim in due to engine failure at least to me made the price totally worth it. I am not affiliated with the company, just a fan and would full heartedly recommend any serious flight simmer to get some time in the box (full motion flight sim). Rusty Papsdorf