Giuseppe Nelva
We learn that today a possible release candidate build of the aircraft will go into testing. While there might be a couple of further tweaks the developer may want to implement, the planned release window is between August 23 and August 31.
At the moment, PMDG isn’t “anticipating any technical obstructions to a release.”
Once released, the package will include four variants, the 737-800 passenger airliner, the BBJ2 (the business jet version), and the BCF and BDSF. These are slightly different conversions from passenger to freighter, done respectively by Boeing itself and by IAI.
Each version will have both blended and split scimitar winglets, a customized 737-800 sound-set, dedicated flight models, and plenty of options as we have already seen on the excellent 737-700 and the 737-600 that have already been released.
The anticipation behind the -800 is quite understandable, as it’s the most widespread variant of the aircraft among real-world airlines.
Below you can see a couple of screenshots showing the BCF and BDSF airframes and a video featuring the BBJ2, on top of some new features.
As you have seen in the video, the whole Boeing 737 range by PMDG is getting new features in the form of working Rosen track-mounted sun visors, and the optional L3/R3 and L2/R2 sunshades. The developer managed to obtain ultra-high resolution scans of the real thing, which will display realistic wear and tear. They will come in the next update cycle.
On top of the sun visors, we’re also getting swiveling Grimes and map lights, which will make the lighting environment more dynamic.
Speaking of additional features, the EFB flight tablet is planned for beta testing in the second half of September and should be released on all models shortly after PMDG doesn’t anticipate the beta process to be long as the tablet was designed to be easily expandable and scalable.
Incidentally, PMDG advises moving to the Sim Update 10 beta of Microsoft Flight Simulator, as they have found it to be more stable in general and with the developer’s own aircraft in particular. It also fixes a couple of issues like the flickering of some screens and the performance loss during long flights.
That being said, they caution that DLSS causes issues with some screens. Asobo is already aware and working on a fix with Nvidia, so you may want to avoid the feature until said fix is implemented.
