PMDG 747-400X for FSX - Review By Scott Hickey
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Overview & Background
There is a good line I like out of one of the videos on the Boeing website, that says “I don’t think there is a person today that would fail to recognise the Boeing 747”, and that that is very true, it is and will remain for a long time to come a defining presence of the aviation world. However I don’t think there is a flight simmer today that would fail to recognise the PMDG Boeing 747-400.
This has probably been one of the most wanted add-ons' for FSX since it’s release over a year ago, and there have been some that have got a little impatient with the team at PMDG as to why is was taking so long to “convert” the product from FS2004. Well it was absolutely worth the wait! They didn’t just convert it, they revolutionised it!
Visual model
From a first glance it looks similar to something like the Posky 747, but when you zoom in and take a good look at PMDG's model you see it is a whole lot more. There is a very accurate feel to it, like driving a European car, it just looks and feels like it is stuck together well. The flaps roll nicely out of the wing and things like the spoilers and control surfaces move smoothly rather than looking like they are on a ratchet. When you zoom into the wheel wells and engines you can see the detail right down to the rivets in the aircraft and the inner workings of the landing gear. This is one of these aircraft that make you actually want to do a walk around before each simulated flight. I think one of the coolest features of this 747 model over any other is the doors. They ALL open! Every passenger door, the cargo doors and the upper deck doors, I for one didn’t even know the upper deck doors could open unless it was an emergency, I have been proven wrong! Even the cockpit door and toilet door open in the VC.
On the Freighter it is the same story, apart from the advanced exterior animations that are a bit better with things like air stairs being able to be called to the aircraft and a tail brace/support being positioned under the tail. You can even call freight load vehicles to all of the cargo doors. And let’s not forget the iconic opening nose, which is also modeled in great detail, you can see the cargo inside as well as all the other cargo hold details. All of these door functions are controlled by an easy to use interface that is accessible by pressing the alt key when the sim is loaded up and clicking on Addons/PMDG/Keyboard Assignments
Overall it is a very simple conclusion, this is the BEST 747 model out there.
Panel and VC
For some this is what they would buy the PMDG 747-400X for, the most realistic 747-400 panel available. I have spent a lot a time looking around this panel, I hardly ever read a manual and just learn by using it and finding out things, in this case I knew it quite well from the FS2004 version though. One key difference with this panel is that in conventional panels to turn a knob or dial out you would move your cursor until you get a plus or minus sign, which can be kind of tricky finding the right spot. I think PMDG have solved this problem, in the 747’s case a left click is “numbers down” and a right click is “numbers up”. After that I am not sure what else to say, it is by far the best 747 panel and I think one of the pest panels and VC's out there. Similar to the LevelD 767-300 the PMDG 747-400X features a full push back sequence from when the captain contacts the tug driver to when the tug is disconnected, this is all done through a small window at the bottom of the radio stand. As well as key combinations to open up the pop up panel windows there is also click spots for all of them located in a window of there own above the panel.
Now onto the Virtual Cockpit, and I have used this phrase countless times now and I will use it again, the best out there. When compared to some of the other current payware aircraft available, The PMDG 747-400X VC beats them all hands down. Everything is modeled in 3D, and needless to say that everything that is clickable in the 2D is also in the VC as well, and the view from the virtual cockpit really feels like you are on top of a giant.
The FMC (Flight management computer) is very advanced and if you are not familiar with the Boeing style of these it can take a bit of reading and a fair amount of time to work it out. However if you have had experience with other Boeing sims it won’t take you as long because 90% of the systems are the same across all Boeing aircraft
Like most advanced products these days they PMDG have modeled a “cold and dark” set up which requires you to go through the entire process of starting the aircraft up from turning the battery on and aligning the IRS. Although this may take a lot more time to do, it is a rewarding feeling at the end of the flight to know you have worked it from the word go.
Finally PMDG have even gone to the detail of having a different panel for the 747 Freighter (as per real life) the only difference I noted was that the analogue backup gauges in the centre of the panel have been replaced with a digital display, as is the case on the real aircraft.
Flight Model, Flying the 747
I have a few hours flight time in real aircraft, of course nothing this big, but it does help to gauge “Does it feel like it’s flying or just bouncing through the air”. There are not to many aircraft for Flightsim today that have bad flight dynamics, naturally there are some that are better than others but they are becoming hard to differentiate between the higher end ones. The PMDG 747-400X definitely has a lot going for it though especially on rotation with a heavy load, it requires all the runway that a real one would. The only qualm I had was that I found on taxi that a lot of power (close on 25%) was required to taxi, and that was on a small load (15-20% fuel and a few passengers and cargo), however this may be real as I have never flown a 747 before. When she is fully loaded or even reasonably light I have found her a hand full in the air (as you would expect from 300,000lb’s of flying metal). I have found my self putting the autopilot on soon after departure and leaving it on sometimes even for a full autoland. Overall though she fly's like the monster of an aircraft she is.
Summary
This really is the FSX version of the aircraft that we have come to know and love. It is one of the greatest Flightsim aircraft available, and the fact that it was tested by 747 pilots will be one of the reasons that there is nothing that I can say that didn’t look, feel or work correctly. Everything works like a Swiss watch on both the freighter and standard passenger versions. Helped by the fact that the FS9 version could be considered as a BETA so all the bugs were worked out by the time the FSX version came along. This is a true heavy metal lover’s aircraft and you get the real benefit from flying long haul in it, it is not one of those aircraft that you just jump in and go, every flight requires time and effort just like flying the real thing. But the combination of everything from the Visual Model to the panel and down to being able to talk with the pushback tug driver make this the 'Queen of the simming Skies'.
Like LevelD's 767 already reviewed on this website, the PMDG 747-400X is one of those landmark products developed that truly start to realize the potential of the sim they were developed for. At the time we said we did not believe the LevelD 767 could be beaten, we were wrong. Built from the ground up as a true FSX simulator of this extraordinary aircraft, the PMDG 747-400X 'Queen of the skies' is a must have addition for those who enjoy heavy metal flying, and the level of detail and systems accuracy this package provides. The only thing users will need to consider is the price tag, at around NZ$75 this may be a little steep for an add-on, having said that the download does come with the 400F included, so at around $35 an aircraft that's not bad going for the quality. We give this package our top X rating, the 'Golden X'.
CREDIT FROM http://www.flightsim.co.nz/ARTICLES_REVIEWS/PMDG747400X.htm
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