All,
Maybe not many owning both but I really only want to purchase one at the moment. Obviously my real-world replication options are much better with the 777 but which is currently the more refined, professional product?
The MD-11 has come in cheaper than expected (I dare say those who bought the early access version under the premise that they’d be getting a discount are a bit miffed) but this won’t be swaying my decision.
I might be alone in this thought-train but small exterior details such as accurate wing flex and engine wobble really make an aircraft stand out. The PMDG looks excellent in this regard, and also has the correct main wheel contact points that have so far been unachievable in the sim. Furthermore, it appears to have some sort of advanced GSE options more similar to GSX than anything they’ve done previously.
For someone who just wants a large, high-fidelity airliner (pax or freight), which is the better option? I’m aware both will have bugs but I think both are going to be pretty faithful to their real-world counterparts, aesthetically, systems and physics-wise.
Thanks.
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The 777 is more refined and overall very solid. I agree with those that say the sounds could be better though.
The MD11 is great, I find myself flying it more than the 777 but it has a few bugs, i’m sure those will be corrected, but I’m honestly impressed with it.
If you want polished, the 777 is the way to go right now.
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Thank you. I suspected it would go in PMDG’s favour, given their reputation.
Does the MD-11 have wing and engine wobble? It’s something I reasonably expect from every widebody produced for the sim henceforth.
As I said, it’s coming down to small details like this as I’m confident both aircraft’s systems and physics will be up to standard, very soon if not already.
I’ve got the 777 and am on the fence about the MD-11. Reading the forums and watching videos, the consensus seems to be that the MD-11 is pretty good but with some caveats. I’ve heard someone call it ‘a very good beta’, in its current state. It seems to need a little longer in the oven.
So me personally, I’m gonna give it a few more months and reevaluate.
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The md11s wings bounce and wobble, not sure about the engines. On the 777 the engines wobble.
I got both pax and cargo but I really wanted the cargo version mainly. Both are well done
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Both aircraft are great, with 777 being better in external model.
But only when you zoom in on MD-11 you will notice details could be better.
Also 777 is pretty finished product, while MD-11 will get updates and be better.
But if you ask me, take which you like more.
Maybe this short differences will help in decision.
777
Easier to learn FMC (basic flight), very similar to 737 (if you already have it), it have working weather radar, systems on 777 are more in depth, but only if you really want to go deep, like ACARS, ATC data link etc. Also it have digital checklists. And EFB have more options.
MD-11
Climb or V/S is crazy, when lightly loaded it climbs like military jet trainer aicraft.
It have interesting FMC (something between Boeing and Airbus) and the way flaps works (dial thing), also interesting how AP is working (not specific AP but modes). Approach speed, it little bit higher than 777’s, so sometimes approach can be chalangeing.
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I’m quite surprised so many have bought both so shortly after their respective releases. I much prefer short-haul/regional flights so I only really want to add one payware widebody. The 77W will give me way more real-world options but I do love the M11 as an aircraft (particularly the freighter variant). I also quite fancy the quirkiness of the final approach procedure, which I’m well aware has unfortunately cost a few pilots (and pax) their lives.
Care to elaborate more on the approach procedure costing pilots and pax lives? I haven’t heard anything of the sort.
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Simple if you want to do long haul, medium haul to domestic haul get the 777 and/or if you want to do cargo flights go with the MD-11. Easy choice but IMO the 777 is the better product overall at this current stage.
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I purchased MD-11 in September, it was a long time to wait. 
If you want a pretty much solid working and more finished/polished plane (what one could expect for these priceclasses), its no question: PMDG 777.
While the MD11 is a great plane, the cockpit looks nice, and imho is the more interesting aircraft, it still has many many bugs. Some are of smaller nature, but there are still a few biggies which can have an influence on the outcome of your flight and kill the fun.
PMDG has proved again, that they release pretty finished and solid products and are fast with initial updates after release. TFDI seems to take a bit longer for that, but atleast its acknowledged and work is still ongoing.
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its a known issue and reported already. The plane doesnt capture ILS all the time, or confuses the ILS when there are multiple runways close to each other, doesnt fly the slope and there are LNAV issues that generate abrupt turns in the wrong or even opposite directions. You can check the discord for more details or the bug-log github.
Also, the flightmodel is pretty much horrible as soon as you turn AP off, but some sensitivity changes on the yoke and some workarounds can fix that.
I can only say, on my first and so far only flight, everything went well, besides the way too twitchy manual flight. But even i experienced a few bugs and reportet them on just one flight…
(left wing Strobe light not turning off in cold&dark, weird behavior on the electric systems with battery discharging even when on APU and GPU, main cargo doors not opening after landing)
You can track the bugs/issues here (300+ currently) but some are not yet confirmed:
EDIT: I realise now its not quite clear what the actual discussion was about, so i assumed its the bit buggy stuff on the TFDI MD11, but as it was about pilots/pax lifes, it could be that i misenterpreted that and was referencing the real world.
There the most popular crash was probably SWISSAIR flight 111 from 1998 which cost about 230 lifes… 
but that was a fire in the cockpit electronics and not because the approach handling.
If you are interested in the smaller details then this may be another thing which may sway you towards the 777
thats a good description of the current state of the MD11, yes. Most important things are working fine, but its definitely not a finished and well polished product YET.
I hoped it was more polished, as they had 4.5 years of development (which is normal for this kind of project tho), alphas, betas, collectors release and only now the release product. Was a bit shocked to realise that so many obvious things were overlooked in all these “pre-sale” phases tbh. But not a bad product for sure!
In my opinion both airplanes are great and at the end of the day it down to you on what you would prefer. However I will put some of the facts below based on my experience.
777-300
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PMDG have done a great job with all of the systems/flight model/simulation - these are in depth
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As usual PMDG have included various IRL customer options which can be configured via FMC to better match the livery you are flying or you can customise it to your liking (This is a very neat feature that I like about pmdg)
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Easier to learn and manage if you have flown any Boeing aircraft previously
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77W is the most popular variant IRL due to it’s range and payload capabilities
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Flying options include a short hop of 50 mins to 15 hour long haul. But of course that’s if you prefer to simulate real world operations, There is nothing stopping you to fly short to medium haul flights if you don’t fancy doing long haul.
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Another built in feature is electronic checklist (similar to 787 if you have that). Both normal and non normal - this really improves that immersion level for me.
MD 11 on the other hand
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MD11 is different category of beast - whereas a lot of systems on 777 are automated, MD11 requires more hands on approach from crew. One thing I noticed about MD11 is you really got to pay attention when flying. Although various systems have been simulated by TFDI - I think there is still some room of improvement.
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It is three engine airplane compared to 777 (twin engine) meaning it will burn more fuel however that does not mean it hasn’t got the range. It has an impressive 7000 NM range allowing you to fly vast distances.
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The handling of MD11 is also different, due to it’s length and small rudder it is particularly tricky to operate in crosswind conditions. The speeds on the approach are also higher compared to 777 which makes it even challenging when landing. IRL this airplane was notorious with bounce landings in fact as I understand crews were specifically trained on how to handle bounce landings.
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Two versions available on TFDI (Cargo and Passenger ), I currently own the cargo variant. Although there are no passenger variants flying anymore - MD11 is still popular variant with freight operators such as Fedex, UPS.. etc.
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There are few bugs or glitches with MD11 but as I understand TFDI are currently working on them.
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