Mutley's Hangar!

For some time now PMDG have ruled the roost of 737 Simulation. However their models focused only on the Next Generation series. Full simulations of the earlier 737 series from the 100 through to the 500 just didn’t exist.

Feelthere decided to fill this gap. After all, the best selling airliner in existence was an aircraft in high demand in the virtual world. They still leave us with a gap, as they have created the 300 through to the 500 series, leaving the 100 and 200, with their early avionics and cigar shape engines waiting for a developer to take them on.

Shortly after feelthere finished the package, Just Flight put it in their casing, printed a manual, and published it. And this is the version that I am reviewing here.

Feelthere are not one of the big names in Flight simulator development, although most simmers have heard of them. Their add-ons, including an Embraer ERJ-145LR and a Cessna Caravan have not attracted massive amounts of attention. Nevertheless, there have been very few criticisms of these other packages and so when they offered to create the 737 everybody was right behind them.

After the swift install form the Just Flight disk I installed the service packs that had appeared since the add-ons initial release. The base installer gave me several model variants, including the option to have the VC and Cabin shown, only the VC shown, or only the 2D panel shown, and also an option offering wing views. Only one livery for each 737 was offered, the grey/silver Boeing house livery that Boeing marketed these aircraft in when they were launched.

Included on the disk were over 70 schemes of real world operators, or ex-737 users in an easy to install format. You simply choose the livery you want, and click install. All are very high quality, and include all the little details that make paint schemes come to life, such at the CFM logo on the engines.

There were some minor inaccuracies on some of the liveries, things that a bit of time spent on Airliners.net looking at photos would have solved. I would also like to have seen the old BMI scheme as opposed to the fictional new one. A paint kit is available for all 3 variants, and a few schemes have appeared on download sites, however most find a livery they would like to fly in already supplied.

The Boeing House livery is the only one included on install, but many others are available on the disk/download.

The model that the liveries get applied too certainly looks the part. Feelthere have done a good job of shaping this well known airliner. I wouldn’t say that it is perfect, and from some angles parts of the aircraft (especially the nose) can look somehow wrong. However the more I fly it, the more I like it and when the aircraft touches down, the spoilers pop up and the reverse thrusters fly open there is nothing negative to say.

Although feelthere have stated on their forum that the Air stairs are a rare option among 737 classic users I would have liked to have seen these modelled, as the majority of airports in Flight Simulator have no working air bridges.

Much as everyone loves a good exterior model, and it is the major selling point of nearly all commercial add-ons, the majority of the time you spend will be in the 737’s cockpit. And whether it is in the 2D version or the fully functional 3D version you will find that you can happily spend the entire flight there.

Both are recreated in high detail to perfectly capture the way that this 737 had new glass avionics alongside older styles of gauges. Most of the switches are fully functional, however quite a lot are not. I was surprised to find that the equipment cooling switches, drive disconnect switches and cockpit voice recorder, among other gauges, were not even modelled as dummy switches. This for me took away a lot of the realism and ‘feel’, as, although I may only use these once in a thousand flights, I know that if I should need to use them, I can’t.

I have normally forgotten about these things by the time my overhead scan is finished though, as I am immersed in the rest of the cockpit functionality. This includes the IRS system. The aircraft includes the option to start cold and dark, ready to start engines and engines running. If you choose the foremost of these you will have to wait a while whilst the aircraft works out where it is using the IRS system.

Nice texturing in the VC, the aircraft includes the option to start cold and dark

As you are waiting you can program the FMC. Feelthere have done a wonderful job on this unit and pretty much all of the features of the real 737 FMC (excluding ACARS) are present within the simulator. It is this unit alone that I feel brings together the simulation and makes up for all its lesser points in one foul swoop.

Another unit that is featured on the 737 is the weather radar. This is displayed on the ND, but only features the Auto mode; there is no option to tilt. Never the less this will point out all bad weather for you, and also turbulence, so you can avoid it. When flying in the Air Baltic 737-500 it cam in very handy avoiding a Snowstorm near Riga, Latvia.

Some parts of the aircraft’s panels are a little small and reading them can be hard. This may be because I am using a 1024x768 resolution, but I found reading the trim on the throttle quadrant very difficult, along with some of the information on the centre console and EFIS panel. The EADI and EHSI can however be zoomed for greater clarity, a feature I use every flight.

All the displays follow the conventions of the texturing surrounding them and are of very high quality. Both the gauges in the VC and the 2D are extremely smooth and you will have no problem following the flight director bars smoothly. The 3 setup programs for the 737, one for each variant, include options to increase the percentage of attention given to displaying the corresponding unit. This means that should you be struggling with frame rates it is easy to help increase them. In the manual it is clamed that the weather radar has a big impact on frame rates, however I noticed absolutely no change.

Frame rates with the 737 are not something to write home about. There was a decrease in their numbers, especially when flying into high detail airports. There is not much that can be done about the exterior model’s frame rates, however using the model without the virtual cabin, or even the model without the virtual cockpit did help immensely with frame rates. At no time did the aircraft’s frame rates drop below a level that was unusable, and I have made no fully automatic approaches because of poor frame rates.

In fact I find myself flying this aircraft by hand often, as the flight dynamics are good enough to let me do this. Feelthere have obviously spent a lot of time getting them just right, and one thing I noticed that I liked was that you will need to use more thrust to get a heavy 737 taxing than you will a light one. The 737 is not known for being powerful, and the flight dynamics certainly reflect this. I did notice that the LNAV autopilot mode could have some trouble following the planned course on departure; however in cruise it behaved perfectly.

There is only one night lighting mode in both the 2D and VC panel. It can be quite hard to see the various overhead and console switches in the dark. That said, the main panel and FMC are quite well lit, as is the VC. I would have preferred to have a few more options for night lighting, mainly a brighter dome light.

If you are a newcomer to complex aircraft this is not a good aircraft to start with, because of the complete lack of documentation. The CD version does come with extracts form the excellent manual by Mike Ray but not enough for a thorough learning experience. What you need to know about flying this aircraft successfully is missing. There is also no fuel planner or load editor for this aircraft, and so I had to do a lot of manual calculations before I could takeoff, loading passengers through the default FS ‘fuel and payload’ menu.

The sound of the 2 CFM56 engines is something that, like the FMC, really brings this package together. Right from cold and dark you will feel immersed by the sounds of the packs blowing air through the cockpit, the engines roaring into life the tyre squeaking as you touchdown. When you finally have it cold and dark after landing the silence is eerie.

The only noise that isn’t too nice is the ‘percussion instrument’ trim wheel, which sounds more like a dog with a cough. However, with a bit of searching on forums, you will find that this can be removed by simply renaming the sound file.

I really enjoy flying this aircraft; there is no doubt about it. Although I have to spend a little more time planning, what with the extra required calculations, the flight experience is extremely rewarding and I am a very proud owner of feelthere’s aircraft. If you have got your head around any Boeing FMC than there shouldn’t be much of a learning curve, especially if you are already a PMDG 737NG pilot, and so I would really recommend you try this one out for your short haul fleet.

Mulletman's 737 PIC Photo Gallery - Click on thumbnail for full size picture


Air Baltic of Latvia has a large number of 737-500’s and several schemes are included.	Southwest Airlines were the original low cost user of a wholly 737 fleet.	Jet2 have a wider range of aircraft, but their 737 is largest in number.	Nice texturing in the VC.

The majority of airlines featured are low cost. Smart Wings are based in Prague .	Only the Southwest Canyon Blue (Spirit) scheme is represented. It would be nice to see the original brown livery too.	Weather radar on the EHSI. Nothing to worry about on this approach.	Wing views are available, but you will need active camera or similar to go further back than this.

The Boeing House livery is the only one included on install, but many others are available on the disk/download.	Night Lighting can be a little dark. Note the fact you can’t see the amber caution button.	Only one Alaska scheme is available, and nice as it is, I would like to see the Alaska main scheme too.	Parked up at night. Strangely the logo lights are switched on and off by the landing lights, although there is a logo lights switch.

The Setup switch for the 737-300, not the number of options and the liveries install sheet (HTML).	Gauges in the VC are sharp, clear and smooth, although as you can see here, we are having a little trouble following the SID.	Very nice Virtual Cabin, although a frame rate hog if you don’t utilise it.	Pushing back form the stand and starting the engines. Very nice sounds for the start-up procedure.
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The KLM livery for the 737 is different on the -300 than the -400. The -300 uses the old livery.	Flaps, spoilers and thrust reversers deployed. All nicely modelled.	A BA 737-400 climbs out. Most of BA’s 737’s have been replaced by Airbus models, but they are still used mainly on domestic flights.	2D panel during climb out. Form Las Vegas.

Overhead. Looks good, but some of the switches don’t work. The majority do.	The whole aircraft can suffer form some dark patches, where a little increase in brightness wouldn’t go amiss.	Notice the dark areas in the VC – Particularly the overhead.	Delta is still a 737 user, although the majority of their fleet has been upgraded to NG models.

	Links: Just Flight: http://www.justflight.com Wilco Publishing - http://www.wilcopub.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=prod_737pic Feelthere - http://www.feelthere.com/2005/index.html