Nope. I expect whatever was changed affected whatever custom systems work PMDG did to set/release the parking brake, and that change is not going to be un-done.
PMDG will have to update the line when SU12 is released or about to release, so the change won’t adversely affect the majority of people not using the SU12 beta.
They most likely used them but didn’t pull past first detent. First detent only opens the reverser vanes but doesn’t spool up the engines. In most airlines first detent is always the minimum required by the SOPs. First detent does provide some braking action but not much, but it will raise the speedbrake lever even if the pilots forgot to arm it.
The reason we may not use reversers sometimes is that:
On dry runways the reversers do not decrease the landing distance required.
On dry runways the reversers only reduce the brake cooling required. So if we have a long enough DRY runway and the autobrake setting required to vacate where we want to results in a brake cooling schedule that is shorter than our planned turnaround we usually won’t use reversers. When brakes are hot, when we’re on stand with chocks on we would release the brakes to allow them to cool down before the next take off. When the runway is not dry it’s a whole different story. On non-dry runways the reversers do decrease the braking distance required.
The reversers in the 737 have 3 detents:
1st detent: Reversers open but engines will stay at idle thrust.
2nd detent: Reversers open and engines spool up to about 75% N1. This is what EFB calculations with reversers are made with.
3rd detent: The engines spool up a bit more than with 2nd detent. This is excess reverser thrust beyond what any calculation accounts for. It’s “just a little extra” and not needed if calculations are correct. It’s just there in case you need it.
In many airlines including mine we will always use at least 1st detent. It’s a muscle memory thing and also there to make sure the speedbrakes do deploy, which is very important to get full weight on the wheels as soon as possible.
Are there a configuration in msfs or PMDG to approximate to that? it would be nice we could recreate that reverse detents in sim.
Nope, not that I’m aware of by default.
I don’t know if it is me or not, but I noticed that there is a problem with uploading a flight plan and installing it into the PMDG Boeing 737 series. Once it has been activated, it ignores the flight path and flies in that direction without flying the course. I have used NAV and activated the FMC and autopilot for it to follow the route, but it doesn’t. Also it is a very broken plane due to the parking brake not working and therefore doesn’t even move once you land at your destination, taxiing this plane doesn’t do what it should once you have been airborne. PMDG has a lot to answer for, due to the prices they ask for their aircraft. Bredok Boeing 737 does fair better. Perhaps PMDG should take a leaf out of ‘their’ book! 
They did. You’re on the beta version of the sim and therefore you must expect that not everything works as it should in the release version.
For your route following issue check that there are no assistants active in MSFS.
absolutely.
As mentioned above, you’re on the beta of the sim so that concludes that particular conversation.
The PMDG aircraft behaves EXACTLY as per the real aircraft when it comes to programming and following a route. That’s also user error I’m afraid.
If you’re using the SU12 beta then that’s why, they already mentioned this in their forums. I did read on their forums that they’re potentially looking at having beta builds available but for right now their plane doesn’t work with the SU12 beta.
I use the A320 thrustmaster.
You know when you talk about “detents…” I’m picturing detents as in the ‘flip up reverse, climb, flex and TOGA detents’ on the A32nx…
What are these detents that you are talking about? I’ve never really looked at my reverse thrust on the 737 but only a couple of times when I was seeing if my settings worked i.e holding the button on the throttle and moving the throttle back up, it seems to be this fluid movement with the reverse thrusts like there is when i use the thrusts normally which also corresponds with when seeing the engine displays move up and down when activating, increasing, decreasing and deactivating them on touchdown, roll and roll out on the runway
Are there actually subtle detends that I didnt see or notice?
These aren’t clickity notches you feel like on the airbus. They’re just changes in how the lever feels.
When they’re stowed and you pull a bit you can feel when the reversers are engaged and you get a REV indication on your upper DU. The engines won’t spool up. Then the rest of the travel has a different feel than when you pulled it out of the stowed position. When you reach second detent the travel resistance increases and to pull further to third detent you need to pull with a bit more force. The pull from stowed to interlock to 1st detent is also about feel but mainly about “timing”. It’s like a rhythm thing. You pull and for a fraction of a second the levers won’t move until the reversers on the engines get in position. When they are you can pull to 1st detent and beyond. The travel from 1st to 2nd is the longest. It requires the least pulling force and it’s continuous, meaning you can stop in an intermediate position and the engines will stop spooling up right there. We don’t do that though. We always use either 1st detent or all the way to 2nd detent depending on what we calculated with the EFB. The travel from 2nd to 3rd (Maximum reverse thrust) is very short, a bit harder to pull and N1 increases from 75%N1 to about 86%N1.
Thanks Ephedrin87. I have the full version of the sim and I never thought that it might have anything to do with the assistants being active.
I don’t understand the logic ‘Beta’. I would have thought that I purchased the sim many years ago when it first came out. 
If you click on the windows start icon in your taskbar and then simply type “pmdg” you’ll find the introduction manual. I really recommend you read it, at least go through the first pages where it explains the capabilities and limitations with MSFS.
Now I am confused as well. The problem with the parking brake not releasing has been acknowledged immediately as a consequence of the rework Asobo did on the brakes. PMDG has coded a custom parking brake logic and it doesn’t work with the changes that come with the SU12 beta version. There are no such problems in SU11. So you must be on the Sim Update 12 Beta program to face the problems with the 737 you mentioned. Would you please check your sim version? You find it on the main menu if you click on your name in the top right.
That or they don’t understand how to release/set the parking brake in the 737.
right, that’s another possibility. Another reason to have a look at the intro manual.
1.30.12.0 is my version. I will look into the manual for PMDG again. Many thanks.
If you didn’t sign up for the SIM Update 12 Beta then you’re using the normal version.
Regarding parking brake releasing, you need to press the foot brakes and release the parking brake at the same time. This correctly modelled after the real life behaviour of the 737.
Regarding the flight not following the FMC correctly I think it’s just a setup issue on the FMC because many of us are using it successfully. The manual and intro flight are good places to start, they’re included with the plane. 737NG Driver has a full series of tutorials on YouTube as well.
In case anyone’s wondering:
Here’s how the real NAVDATA is updated. The real airplane holds 2 versions of the NAVDATA. They usually load is so that we always have the current one and the next one loaded for us to select when in due date. The process takes about 20 minutes and for us pilots it usually means that, once we arrive from our last flight at night, an engineer will receive the airplane with a laptop and some other equipment. They’ll connect the thing and do the thing. As a pilot I have no idea what they do with the airplane once we hand it to them, apart from the usual ramp checks and the routine maintenance that we find in the techlog regularly.
Here are some photos taken after my last flight yesterday in case anyone’s curious:
Thanks very much for the insight on the data upload Snail, I find this fascinating. I especially like you sharing the technical names for the various components. I never would have guessed that thing was actually called a “Thing”. I’ve learned something new! Seriously though, keep stuff like this coming. If you have any pics of what the inside of the equipment bay looks like, I’m especially curious (maybe one day PMDG will update the graphics for this).
Question - just saw a video by 737NG Driver about cargo / pax loads. It seemed to indicate that the forward cargo bay is pretty much filled first and then the aft one is utilized. I always figured they would have both been filled to similar levels due to CG concerns. Am I missing anything?
That changes from company to company I guess. The 737 has 2 cargo doors. In my company we have each hold divided into two. So the FWD cargo door gives you access to holds 1 and 2 and the AFT cargo door gives you access to holds 3 and 4 (bulk). Each hold is partitioned with a net.
In my company we’ll fill up HOLD 2 first and then HOLD 1 if required and HOLD 3. In HOLD 3 they usually put things like electric wheelchairs or company cargo equipment (Spare wheels and what not), Things that are loaded and unloaded separately and maybe have specific loading compatibilities (Dangerous goods). This way of loading works out very nicely in the -800. In the MAX that sometimes results in a CG that is too FWD and out of limits so instead of loading 1 and 2 first in the MAX they tend to send some bags to HOLD 3 so that we don’t need to move passengers before takeoff.
The main benefit of loading as much as possible in HOLD2 and 1 (FWD) is basically a shorter turnaround time. If the loaders only need to open one cargo door and use just one loading rig then they need less time to load the airplane. Some companies value that.
As soon as we’re given the final loading figures we’ll put them in the OPT (Onboard Performance Tool. Boeing’s performance app for the EFB). If the resulting CG is within limits the airplane will fly :). If if isn’t then things and or passengers will be moved around until it is.
