Request: Clear, Step-by-Step Instructions for PMDG 737 & FSP Interaction

[FSIngo]

Well...

I've trolled and searched the forums high and low, but I cannot find any clear instructions on how to get the PMDG 737 to work
without hassles when using FSPassengers. I've found several posts from forum moderators and beta testers to the effect that they say it
all "works fine". But they don't mention exactly how they got the PMDG aircraft to work. It's all very unclear and confusing.

- A few posts say to "use the updated Payload Model for the PMDG 737" available in the 'More Downloads' section of the site. (But
does that cure it completely?)

- Another few select posts state that one should use the "DisablePayloadDialogWeightModif" in the .ini file; then simply load
everything as wished in the intrinsic PMDG Loader and not worry about what you do with FSP since it won't matter except for revenue
calculation.

- Yet another series of posts says to simply use the intrinsic PMDG Loader to load fuel, but nothing else. THEN use FSP to load pax
& cargo.

- Then another post elsewhere indicating that one can use FSPassengers to load EVERYTHING (fuel/pax/cargo), but then one
should access the PMDG menu (within FS9) to enter the fuel balance as given in FSPassengers since the latter is unable to balance it
all successfully.

Again, very confusing.

If someone who has flown the PMDG 737 alongside FSPassengers and used both effectively without any
problems/hangups/crashes/etc., please let the rest of us know exactly what formula we should effect in order to have a similar
experience? I realize that FSP and PMDG's 737 doesn't really work well together out-of-the-box; that's not a problem. But I would love to
know what the textbook workaround is to get FSP to at least play "nicely" with PMDG's aircraft.

I love the FSP product and have flown with it successfully using other aircraft; but, since the PMDG 737 series uses its own Loader, I'm at
a loss as to how to proceed.

Again, a *final* clearing up of the matter would be immensely appreciated; and, if it CAN be cleared up, sticky-ing such a
post would be great for others as well.

Regards,

Robert

[SWAFO]

You never stated what problem(s) exactly you're having with the PMDG 737. You should be able to load up the aircraft, select it as the
active aircraft with FSP, setup your fuel, weather, etc. (whatever you like to set pre-flight), then start an FSP flight and away you go! I don't
understand from your post why you're having trouble getting the PMDG 737 to work with FSP. It's basically just like any other complex add
on aircraft (in getting it to work with FSP).

FSP simply complements the PMDG 737, and their implementation together is VERY straightforward.

Basically, here's a short description of how I start up a flight with FSP/FS2Crew/PMDG 737 (if you don't have FS2Crew, it really doesn't
matter. There's not too much preflight involved with that.)

-Start FS9
-Select my FS9 flightplan for the current flight (already have it planned prior to the flight). When it asks if you'd like to have your aircraft
positioned at the gate, select "Yes".
-Set the weather to "CLEAR SKIES"
-Make sure the Cessna aircraft is your default startup aircraft (this is done to combat an issue with FS2Crew... if you don't have FS2Crew,
you can start with the PMDG aircraft).
-Load the flight
-Set the current weather
-Set the required fuel load using the FS9 fuel loading utility (in the "Aircraft" menu)
-Get FS2Crew setup (if you don't have it, ignore this step... I won't go into detail about FS2Crew since you didn't specify owning it.)
-Set the FS9 time to 1 minute ahead of the current time (this is done to offset the time FSP takes to setup).
-Start your FSP flight. Set all required variables from the FSP load screen (this includes PAX number, cargo amount, flight time/arrival
time, destination, flight ID, etc.).
-When you have everything setup, and your time on your watch (or whatever you use while flying) reads the time you set FS9 too, start
loading the aircraft (meaning your mini display/detailed display appears where ever you have it set, and shows the PAX as loading, or
already loaded... depending on what you chose in the FSP setup screen).
-After this, you're basically ready to fly. Make sure to complete pre-flight flows/briefings, etc. and you're good to go!

Also note that I didn't mention anything about opening/closing the doors. I use FS2Crew, and as such this is done automatically. If you
don't use FS2Crew, then you can open/close the doors via the appropriate method.

Hope this helps!

[FSIngo]

SWAFO wrote:
You never stated what problem(s) exactly you're having with the PMDG 737.

I thought that was very clear; the problem is really in the myriad posts here at this forum indicating that FSP (a) does/doesn't
allow you to use the PMDG Aircraft Loader, (b) upsets the Center-of-Gravity if you don't run it in such-and-such a way, ©
one should/might/could use the "DisablePayloadDialogWeightModif" in the .ini file and, finally, (d) one
should/shouldn't/might use an alternate payload model from the 'More Downloads' section. If you're still unclear on what I meant,
simply do a global search for "PMDG" using the Search option on these forums and try to find a logical and concise explanation of how
one can avoid problems with the PMDG 737 (and for that matter, the 744). Quite simple really.

Additionally, the problem is really that -- after putting in hours and hours into this excellent product and raising a company/pilot from
the ground up -- I can now afford to "buy" a 737-700 for use in my airline. But why would I want to spend $52 million hard-earned
dollars on an aircraft that I won't be able to use effectively? Here you can see the reason for concern.

SWAFO wrote:
I don't understand from your post why you're having trouble getting the PMDG 737 to work with FSP. It's basically just like any other
complex add on aircraft (in getting it to work with FSP).

Ahh, and that's exactly the issue. I haven't seen any posts here (stickied or not) nor pointers in the manual on how to get FSP working
with "any other complex add on aircraft." There are simply snippets and roundabout answers to various and sundry issues raised
by PMDG 737/744 users. And, after all, if there was such an obvious post, I surely wouldn't have wasted anyone's time.

SWAFO wrote:
Basically, here's a short description of how I start up a flight with FSP/FS2Crew/PMDG 737 (if you don't have FS2Crew, it really doesn't
matter. There's not too much preflight involved with that.) <<snipped>>

Excellent, thank you very much for that; it helped out a great deal. However, I notice that you didn't mention...

(a) Whether you should/shouldn't use the PMDG Aircraft Loader and whether this conflicts with FSP, and
(b) Whether one should/shouldn't use the alternate Payload Model available in the D/L section of this website.

If we could just clear those last two items up, I'd be set.

Thanks again for your time.

Regards,

Robert

[noodles]

Gee thats all robert asked for was a walkthrough basicaly, didnt even mention fs2crew etc.. No one here can do a STRAIGHT forward
walkthrough for the above addon aircraft, be it 737 or 744...

No one addresses the true issues that people ask when needing a step by step guide, everyone seems to think people want a do this do
that and it will work fine, well guess what, when people ask for support for something most I would of thought require ,

1) Do this first - 1a) you are doing this because .......

people just dont want oh you have to do it this way because otherwise it wont work, or the CG wont be right, people need to know more
about this setup because of its possible implications.. A) Be more descriptive when explaining to someone what is needed, B) dont drop
in useless extra addon information unless it has been specificaly asked for by the person requiring the support, because believe it or not
there are people out there that like things to the point, decisive, correct, with no fluffy coverings to hide the real underlying question. C)
Sticky the damn thing when you have done it or create an Aircraft Addon forum in the list specificaly for targeting that planes problems
with fsp. Be honest mostly your gonna have to do is open a PMDG,LDS, and maybe couple other decent addon discussion forums.

Its pretty messy here really, with Dan being a one man band and all, finding time for him im sure is not that easy for the most part, I would
of thought the general users that 9/10 are generally very much up on this stuff would produce some decent, concise, guides - WITH -
what fsp will give you at the end of correctly doing such instruction, and what its limitations are in relation to people who are TRYING to
use this product as accuratley as possible.

right /rant off

James..

Robert good to see someone else TRYING to ask the same questions, and unfortunatley getting the same replies.. :P

Good Luck.

[omarza]

I'm not trying to flame but are not happy about the way (tone) you guys answered Brad... i might misunderstand but heck he is just trying to help...
answering like that will get you guys no help from anyone very soon. Thus far i'm sure most of the FsP community thinks this is one of the most
helpful community in FS world.

A quick few tips... if you read thru the answers on the PMDG 737 listen to what Brad has to say... he is a real life 737 captain and uses the PMDG 737
in FsP... therefore he will know if there is problems and should give sound advice in questions. He said he hasnt experienced any problems and I can
also state that I havent experienced any problems... none whatsoever. Therefore Brad mentioned in his answer that you never stated what problem you
are having... how can he answer for a potential problem you think you might get without having to search thru every article you apparently searched
for the conflicting answres/advice.. i surely dont expect that from him. People might get problems yes as nothing in any software is always the
same... not even windows... and if anyone get a specific problem he/she normally gets an answer assisting them if we can help.

If you dont want to waste 52mil on the aircraft then please start a new (2nd) company with a very high cashflow and test the aircraft in that and then
just switch back to your original company after the test... pretty straightforward. If you then experience problems then you can ask questions
directly related to the problem and i'm sure you will get a good answer then. Thus far I havent experienced any out of the box problems with FsP and
PMDG 737... if there is I would like to know what they are... maybe they are system specific... dunno. Most PMDG issues are around their 747 and FsP
as far as I know... and most other issues individuals had were solved on this forums... and most times it were misunderstandings... for example read
this thread/link below and see what I mean... person thought there was a payload problem because they confused Gross Weight with Zero Fuel Weight.

http://www.fspassengers.com/forum/showth...p?tid=5271

Regarding the payload... you can use both FsP or PMDG's... the last one used will be the one that affects the aircraft as it will overwright the
previous configuration.

Noodles... people are trying to help to the best of their ability... if you watch you will see that sometimes there is misunderstanings in the way
questions is posted and therefore sometimes people dont give answers one desired. Also sometimes people dont have the knowledge to help any more than they tried to.. I respect that as they put in an effort to help. Brad's answer to me is as simple as it gets for a straightforward reply on how to get the PMDG to work in FsP... not interested in FS2Crew just strip those entries... not very hard to do. Reason why he mentioned FS2Crew is because alot of people use that addon with the PMDG 737 and why should he then retype everything for them again with those added entries as its so simple to strip them out.

Regarding the PMDG 747... I know there are apparently issues and I also do know people are still trying to find the right answers to those issues... so how can they give a straightforward reply on the PMDG 747 when they probably dont know themselfes whats exatcly wrong etc. Once those issues is solved i KNOW answers will be forthcoming thats a bit more straightforward there.

I just read your posts to see which answers you are referring to Noodles and couldnt see why you would be unhappy with the responses you received in your post... Link below...

http://www.fspassengers.com/forum/showth...hp?tid=847



Post Edited ( 09-13-05 13:31 )

[SWAFO]

Thanks for the kind words Omarza. I too think that my answer was pretty straightforward, and simple to understand. The original poster
(Robert) asked:

(a) Whether you should/shouldn't use the PMDG Aircraft Loader and whether this conflicts with FSP, and
(b) Whether one should/shouldn't use the alternate Payload Model available in the D/L section of this website

Ok, let me respond:

(a) Did I mention this in my step-by-step layman's termed tutorial? No... so don't use it. I mentioned to use the FSP LOADER... use that!
(b) Who created that alternate payload model that you've heard of? Me... so do you think I use it?


The C/G issues with the PMDG are MINOR, it's a problem with PMDG, not with FSP, FS9, or any other program. PMDG has their CG
values set incorrectly for alerts (occasionally you'll get a message saying the CG is out of range and the aircraft isn't flyable). This
message doesn't seem to affect ANYTHING at all, and the aircraft is certainly flyable after receiving this message.

Many of us have no issues with the PMDG 737. Any issues we may have are minor in nature, and don't detract from the overall
experience. Keep in mind that this is a simulator, and as a simulator it will be flawed! You can't expect everything to be perfect (however
it's as close as current technology will allow)!