737-800/900 upgrade worth the money??

[Gary R.]

I fly and really enjoy the PMDG 737 NG and I was wondering if the 800/900 upgrade offers enough improvements over the 600/700 to make it worth the $27.95USD ticket price.  Or, is it that similar to the 600/700 that its hard to tell the difference?  I mean, what can the 800/900 do that the 600/700 can't? Is it more immersive?  For that much for the upgrade I would hope a functional WX is included or a virtual first officer that would read the FS flight plan and input it into the FMC and do a responsive checklist with you.

[GA_Pilot]

$27.95 for an upgrade
One word: OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-/

[Nexus]

Hi!

I really think it's worth it, but that's just me.
The upgrade does include new panel bitmaps and night lightning, fully functional TCAS II logic (with TA/RA that makes sense!)

What I found most appealing was that the "EICAS" screen is finaly correct. See the MFD layout for the 600/700 (version 1) is not correct when flying in PFD/ND format, rather disturbing...

What else, ohThe FMC has been blessed with further more additions, unfortuneately I can't remember which the biggest changes were, but the 737 package aint complete without the upgrade.

This is a screenshot of the new and improved 2d panel
http://www.avsim.com/pages/0504/pmdg_73 ... _panel.jpg

[Silver1SWA]

I agree 100% with Nexus.  Also, the upgrade also allows you to select panel styles based on specific airline configurations.

[Gary R.]

Do the better bitmaps cost a frame or two more than the original release or is performance about the same or better?  Also, do they have modeled the necessity to set/align the IRS on first FMC start of the day?  That is necessary in real life and the PSS panels had that part modeled.  Of course, for all I know the IRS system on the real world NG 737's may be that advanced that they never need re-aligned.   I know it is necessary though on 777's, 744's, 757's, 767's and most airliners with an FMS.  They still depend on Geo co-ordinates for navigation, only the 777 so far has GPS incorporated into the nav data sources and I also believe the new Honeywell Primus Epic Planeview/Ezy uses GPS source in addition to inertial referencing according to "Flying".

[Nexus]

The 737NG has 2 independent GPS receivers (left, right)incorprated aswell, same goes for newer 767's etc.
GPS has pretty much taken over the role as primary position source.  :)

Actually, the IRS data is the last selected source of position updating for the FMC, where the primary is GPS, then DME followed by IRS pos.

Any Inertial Nav System (commercial) needs to be aligned, since it's based on gyros, so obviously same goes with the NG. And here is the only major complaint I have: There is still no IRS modelled. Granted real world pilots dont fiddle with it that much, but it is still a vital part of the avionics.

I noticed no hit in FPS, rather the opposite in fact...especially when flying in VC  :)

[jrpilot]

To be honest the price was abit high...but when you look at the panel espeacially at night it looks very nice..I am not saying you should spend $28 for panel lighting but if I were you I would do search for pictures or pop on over to the AVSIM forum on look at the PMDG forum and the screenshot forum

[Silver1SWA]

I personally think the money goes a long way.

[Gary R.]

But, you can definatly tell a difference though between flying the 600/700 and the 800/900?  I'm not much on visual improvement unless is very dramatic.  I thought the original release looked good but then I'm used to freeware panels and what I had for FS2000/2002 more.  So far the NG and Wings of Power are the only FS9 specific releases I have although my DC-9, 421, and Commander 115, and 742 RFP work fine in FS9.  Well Nexus, I wasn't aware that the new 767's and 737 NG's had GPS recievers.  I was onlygoing on what Saratoga mentioned once but he might not have flown and of the newer airliners as yet. I don't think GPS being primary is necessarily good.  Just get in an area where you are only getting 2 signals and you'll see. Maybe MS will model loss of GPS reception in the future as it does happen.  INS is reliable especially with the newer laser gyros.

[Nexus]

The 737 NG family is pretty much alike, from the short 600 to the 900.
There are some differences in the air condition (trim air switch in the 800/900), and minor details that I don't remember at the moment.
The shorter models requires more handling and rough work during the approach, whereas the slender 800/900's flies more smoothly and have a shallower deck angle (flying vref + 5) on finals, don't know why that is really. I also notice it's harder to slow down the longer 800/900 models, so air brakes comes in handy  :)

A good pilot will never realy on a single navigation system (that's why I always use NDB's in conjunction with VOR), so relying solely on GPS is not recommended.
However, as  it stands today GPS works extraordinary well, and has rendered all other form of air-navigating systems obsolete.
The INS can be integrated to the GPS (which is done in airliners) thus giving a continous INS updating.
The FMC will always turn to the INS as the last solution.

And with the advent of differential GPS, the ILS system may no longer be needed aswell, since you'd have a theoretical accuracy of 10 meters...tell me an INS system that can match that?
My answer is that you cant

[ChrisM]

I definatly recommend the upgrade.  It may be pretty pricey but it is worth it in my opinion.  The panels have been made to look more realistic and less cartoonish, you get two more varients of the NG, the FMC has been upgraded, the vc has been improved on and now has less impact on frames and the panel can now be configured to a airline specific layout.

If you really love the 737-600/700 then the upgrade is just as good.