Yes,
can confirm as I’m first time pmdg customer (fly sims from 1987) that i’m very satisfied with this bird. Some cosmetic issues it still has but can be managed (load/save option) cca fully as first and one aircraft what i have in sim.
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Yes the main difference between an Airbus and a Boeing is: An Airbus is programmed. A Boeing is being flown.
An Airbus also has rather complicated engine controls with various thrust settings and configurations, a Boeing thrust lever is easygoing fun like a car pedal: Foward = Speed 
An Airbus never shuts up with endless alarms when not being fully pre-programmed with pre-set flight course and waypoints and autopilot always on, a Boeing only needs flap set to 5 and thrust lever forward and off we go (and the simple autopilot can be switched on to get a little help with autothrust or HDG hold…)
Ah the good old Boeing 737, almost like a bigger Cessna 172!
But there is one thing that is still strange: From my early Flight Sim days (FS2004, FSX…) I think I remember the 737 always had a flap setting of 15 for take-off in the checklists.
The new Boeing 737 has only a Flaps 5° setting on the runway. Or is this a false memory and it has always been Flaps5? Hmmm…
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You couldn’t say it better. If I was a real pilot I would definitely fly Boeings…
That’s not a correct perception of the difference between a Boeing and an Airbus. Both airplanes are flown pretty much identically in normal operation. You program both on the ground and you manage automation during 99% of the flight. In flight, you steer the airplane through the CDU and with some temporary MCP/FCU selections.
The 737 cannot be considered a true “Boeing” anymore. The 737 is an airplane designed in the 60s that became so successful that it was impossible to get rid of. If you want to have a true representation of the current design philosophy of Boeing airplanes, then you have to start looking from the 767/757 and up. A 757 (1982) is closer to a 787 (2009) in its systems philosophy than a 737 (1967) to a 757 (1982). And you still fly them almost identically to an airbus in normal operation.
The 737NG/MAX also has complex thrust settings, derates, ATRT, N1 limit settings, different idles and thrust modes and we use them every day. It also has envelope protections (STS, SMYDS, RSEP, Maneuver load alleviation, AFDS mode reversions, Landing Attitude modifier on the max…). It’s not a cessna.
To get completely direct control in a 737 you need to press two buttons and you do that every flight for a minute or two. On an airbus you’d need to press 3 or 4 buttons and you could spend a whole career without ever doing it.
For take off in a B737 you can use F1, F5, F10, F15 and F25. I have used F15 for take off when departing from Kherson (Ukraine) because the runway is so unbearably bumpy that you really want to repel it as soon as possible. Apart from that, it’s very rare to use flaps settings other than 5. The 737 is not a beast but it’s also not an underpowered airplane. When PMDG re-install the OPT you’ll be able to calculate take off figures for all available take off flap settings.
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There is no HOLD mode on the 737’s A/T. The closest to it would be the THR HLD on takeoff but that’s a different story.
What you are referring to is the ARM (white) annunciation following after RETARD (green) mode in LVL CHG or VNAV SPD. But in that case the A/T is not “holding” the thrust levers but it kind of “turns off” and reverts back to an armed state (like when you first ARM the A/T on ground before takeoff - or whenever you do it in your airline).
Please be careful to use the proper terminology because it might confuse other - not so experienced - fellow pilots (as it did apparently)! 
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Was going to say, as you’ve said, it’s not a fair summarisation of the two. They’re both very similar in my opinion, having used both in the sim (I’m certainly no expert of course). The 737 is maybe slightly more hands on, and there’s ever so slightly less automation. I believe that’s a fair summary. Correct me if I’m wrong though. Haha.
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My bad. I still have some old 757 stuff in my head and the 757 does not have “arm”, it’s always THR HLD. I agree with you about using the correct names of things. I meant white ARM, when the servos decouple and you can manipulate the thrust levers manually while keeping minimum speed protection.
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That´s why the 757 and 767 are my all-time favorites. (Of course I still love the 737 too!)
But with all these Boeing variants (737-200, 737-300, 737-400, 737-600, 737-700, 737-800-737 NG, NG+, MAX, and whatnot) I have lost track some day…
But the 757 and 767, and also the 777, always stayed the same 
true to the core.
Yeah that’s pretty much it. Every new airplane comes with more switches with an “auto” position. In the 737 if you climb to a level higher than the one you prepared for, you have to change the FLT ALT on the overhead panel manually. If you run out of fuel in the center tank, you have to turn the pumps off yourself. You have to tune your ILS frequency because the tunable NAV radios don’t talk to the FMS a lot. After take off you need to switch the autobrake off, as it’s not solenoid loaded. Basically it’s how you interact with the systems where the difference is (pressurization, hydraulics, etc).
But when it comes to flying the airplane from A to B, at a defined altitude and speed and to conduct continuous descents, they’re all just “airplanes”. The rule of three still applies and the laws of physics are the same. You’re the one flying the airplane and managing your energy state through the different levels of automation. OP DES/CLB, LVL CHG, VNAV PTH, VNAV SPD, SELECTED, MANAGED, potato potato.
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just started flying the 737:
1)don’t seem to be getting the tyre smoke FX on landing - do I have to enable a particular setting to get this or should I always see it on landing?
2)does the gear switch on the bravo throttle (far left one) work with the 737 now - am reading I need to assign gear to flap toggle to get it working properly?
I loved flying the 757. Such a nicer workplace than a 737. Right now I’m applying to a new company to fly the 777. Hopefully…
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There was definitely tire smoke on landing for me last night. I did have the aircraft on autoland. Maybe it’s the auto brake that has to be enabled? Don’t know. I didn’t have to set anything to enable the effect.
Good luck with that. I like the triple 7, it’s a behemoth. And those GE90’s are so bloody powerful, even on a widebody like the 777.
The Trent1000 are even more impressive.
They’re primarily on the Dreamliner, IIRC.
For reasons unbeknownst to us no one ever will create a study-level 737 MAX, Airbus A350 or 787 Dreamliner. Maybe what is simulated on these big screens is just too complex for any common flight simulator…
But at least PMDG made the best 737 out there ever created - with seats showing off real 3D fur! No development team ever has programmed such awesome and immersive seats, everyone else is just using some blurry 512x512 “fps-friendly” texture (LOL @ year 2022 with every graphics card having 12 - 24GB VRAM!) imitating some kind of flat sheep fur without even using a bumpmap for that.
didnt try it with autoland (yet) - will also try and enable auto brakes…
out of interest is there any good tutorial or guide on how to set up the autoland correctly?
Of course only the great Flight Sim 20 has real 3D fur. Other simulators still only get the old flat texture like it was the year 2009 all over again 
But there is one positive aspect of that other PMDG 737 version that is in use for Prepared: there are no mis-placed steel rivets on the pilot´s side footrest. But I have posted that visual bug that only appears in the Flight Sim 20 PMDG737 yesterday in the PMDG forum in hope of getting it fixed
-Both NAV radios tuned to the ILS.
-Both course selectors with final approach track dialed.
-Minimums set to RADIO.
-When you arm approach, connect both autopilots (CMD A and B).
-On GS and LOC capture, set RWY heading and missed approach altitude.
-At 500ft RA make sure you have white FLARE mode armed.
That’s about it. Conduct the approach like you normally would and disconnect autopilot on main gear touchdown. On autolands, the additive is always 5kts over VREF. So you’ll select VREF40+5 or VREF30+5 depending on what landing config you’ve chosen.
Keep in mind that a go around with both autopilots on will be an automatic go around (just press toga and the autopilot will do the thing and accelerate as you retract flaps). On a single channel approach (one autopilot) the go around is manual. When you press TOGA, the autopilot will disconnect and you’ll fly the missed approach manually following the flight director. The speed bug will still automatically go up as you retract flaps until you reach your missed approach altitude (automatic bug up all the way to ALT ACQ). Engage automatics and after take off checklist.
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