Precision Manuals Development Group
TypeSoftware Developer
IndustryFlight Simulator Software
Founded1997
HeadquartersLas Vegas, NV
Key people
Robert S. Randazzo (founder)
Number of employees
8
Websitehttps://pmdg.com/

Precision Manuals Development Group (often abbreviated as PMDG) is a commercial add-on aircraft developer for the Microsoft Flight Simulator,[1] Lockheed Martin Prepar3D,[2] and X-Plane[3] series. The company was founded by Robert S. Randazzo, who stated that his ultimate goal was to develop the software to the point where it could be used. The company is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada but has several employees in countries such as Belgium, South Africa, and Canada.[4] It has eight employees as of 2018, with a collection of beta testers which include multiple aviation professionals.

Company background

Precision Manuals Development Group was founded by Robert S. Randazzo, Senior Developer, in January 1998. Originally conceived as a small technical publishing company, PMDG's first product, the 747-400PS1 User's Guide was released in February 1998. This 300 page book was developed specifically to provide users of 747-400PS1 by Aerowinx with a detailed, educational guide to assist non-airline pilots in mastering the complexities of the Aerowinx's 747-400 CBT software. Written to be used by pilots and non-pilots alike, the 747-400PS1 User's Guide was a popular handbook in the PS1 community until it was removed from availability in early 2000.

Looking toward the burgeoning add-on software market for Microsoft Flight Simulator, PMDG launched the FS98 Series Aircraft Operating Manual product line for use with Microsoft Flight Simulator '98.

Building on the same detailed, reality-driven style used in the 747-400PS1 User's Guide, the FS98 Series AOM product line was a departure from the previous PMDG product in that it also included a plug-in flight model that, when used in conjunction with MSFS98 provided the airliner enthusiasts with a highly realistic flight model. The success of the FS98 Series Aircraft Operating Manual product line was based largely on simulator enthusiasts desire for greater fidelity and detail in the desktop flight simulation.

In August 1999, PMDG became the first software developer to formally announce support for FLY! by Terminal Reality.  A relatively unknown company at the time, Terminal Reality was endeavouring to produce a flight simulator experience that more closely mirrored the complexities of modern aviation than previously available retail market simulators.  To this end they succeeded at the general aviation level, but PMDG sought to revolutionize the modeling of airliner simulations by using FLY! as a base for future product development.

Described as "the most ambitious airliner modelling project yet undertaken for the desktop PC," PMDG released the FLY! Airliner Series 757-200ER on December 18, 1999, and the product was an instant hit with simulator enthusiasts.  Designed to provide a complete airliner experience, the FLY! Airliner Series 757-200ER modelled approximately 90% of the systems, switches and functions in the cockpit of the 757-200, all in accurately modelled 3D space.  With hundreds of switches and dozens of complicated systems and procedures to learn, the FLY! Airliner Series 757-200ER included a 160 page operating manual, written in the now classic style of the 747-400 PS1 User's Guide.

The FLY! Airliner Series 767-200/300 was the second product in the FLY! Airliner Series product line, and became the last product in which PMDG used the default autopilot and flight systems display logic included in the stock version of FLY!

Recognizing that a higher level of fidelity could be realized with the appropriate skills, PMDG expanded the development staff to include an additional complement of highly skilled developers.[5]

On October 25, 2014, it was announced on PMDG's AVSIM forum, that the Boeing 777-200LR base package will be available on the Prepar3D platform.[6]

With employees and contractors working around the world, PMDG is headquartered in Northern Nevada, approximately 15 nm north of Reno-Tahoe International Airport. On April 6, 2012, PMDG announced that they would move back to Virginia, where the company was founded.

Aircraft

PMDG has created nine aircraft for Flight Simulator 2004 and ten aircraft for Flight Simulator X, two of which are extensions of the 747-400X. The PMDG Boeing 737 NGX is for Flight Simulator X and Prepar3d only and is currently available in 737-800/900 winglet/non-winglet models. The 737-600/700 winglet/non-winglet models are a continuation of the base package and are available as an expansion. The 777-200LR and accompanying 777-300ER expansion were the first PMDG products for Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D V2 which was released on February 7, 2015, as well as Flight Simulator X (the NGX was patched to P3D V2 compatibility after the 777).

On January 6, 2016, PMDG released the Douglas DC-6 simulation, marking the first aircraft by the company for the X-Plane series of flight simulators.[7]

With the arrival of P3D v4, the 747, 777 and 737 aircraft are being freely upgraded from P3D v3 (32 bit) to P3D v4 (64 bit). On February 24, 2019, it was announced that no new products would be developed for 32-bit platforms (not precluding updates to existing products).[8] Thus, the B747-8 was the last release for 32-bit platforms, notably marking the end of 13 years of FSX support. On August 11, 2019, the PMDG NGXu was released. It is a version of the upcoming NG3 product for the Prepar3D platform and offers the BCF, BDSF, BBJ1, and BBJ2 variants as expansions to the base product. The NG3 itself will only be available on the new Microsoft Flight Simulator due in 2020, with expansion packs covering the entire NG, BBJ, and MAX product lines. PMDG announced the previous day that all development for the X-Plane platform as well as all 32-bit platforms would be cancelled.[9] On October 20, 2020, PMDG announced the development of the 777X family of airliners was in an early stage.[10] In mid-June 2021, all products for X-Plane and FSX were retired ahead of the release of their first product for the new Microsoft Flight Simulator. On August 24, 2023, the PMDG 737-800 was released for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

On October 21, 2023, PMDG broke the long-awaited silence upon the release of the much-awaited EFB for the Boeing 737. In a forum post, Robert S. Randazzo stated that the free update would be released on October 30, 2023, and would feature revolutionary features such as Data Entry via an attached keyboard, conversion between Metric/Imperial units, Independent tablets for the captain and first officer, and even a day/night setting. Creating such an intelligent tablet was not easy, as stated by Robert S. Randazzo, the initial development timeframe of 2 months was a vast underestimation, due to limitations with the simulator and the interface between C++ with WASM, which would allow for the tablet software to interface with the aircraft.[11]

Aircraft Flight Simulator 2004 Flight Simulator X Prepar3D v2/v3 Prepar3D v3/v4 Prepar3D v4/v5 X-Plane 10 Microsoft Flight Simulator Notes
Boeing 737-600/700 NG 2003 Retired
Boeing 737-800/900 NG Expansion 2003 Retired
Beechcraft 1900D 2004 Retired
Beechcraft 1900C 2004 Retired
Boeing 747-400 Queen of the Skies (QOTS) 2005 Retired
Boeing 747-400F QOTS Expansion 2006 Retired
Boeing 747-400v2 Queen of the Skies (QOTS) October 30, 2007 Retired
Boeing 747-8i/F QOTS Expansion July 29, 2010 Retired, Visual model only
Boeing 747LCF QOTS Expansion September 26, 2010 Retired, Visual model only
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 October 14, 2008 October 14, 2008 Retired
Jetstream 4100 September 9, 2009 In Development Retired
Boeing 737-800/900 NGX August 4, 2011 March 6, 2015
Boeing 737-600/700 NGX Expansion October 29, 2011 March 6, 2015
Boeing 777-200LR/F September 5, 2013 February 7, 2015 February 26, 2021 In Development[12]
Boeing 777-300ER Expansion July 18, 2014 February 7, 2015 February 26, 2021
Boeing 777-200ER Expansion February 26, 2021
Boeing 777X Early development stage, no platforms announced[13]
Douglas DC-6 July 20, 2017 July 20, 2017 June 1, 2016 June 18, 2021[14] X-Plane, FSX retired
Boeing 747-400V3 QoTS II January 31, 2017 January 31, 2017 May 8, 2020 In Development Includes 400, 400D, 400M, 400ER, 400F, 400ERF
Boeing 747-8i/F Expansion September 22, 2018 September 22, 2018 May 8, 2020
Boeing 737-800/900 NGXu November 8, 2019
Boeing 737-600/700 NGXu Expansion February 5, 2020
Boeing 737 NGXu Cargo Expansion August 16, 2020 737-700 BDSF, 737-800 BDSF and BCF
Boeing 737 NGXu BBJ Expansion October 23, 2020 737-700 BBJ and 737-800 BBJ
Boeing 737 NG3 May 9, 2022[15]

References

  1. ↑ "PMDG 737NGX (review)". PC Pilot. No. 76. November–December 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  2. ↑ "PMDG 777-200LR/F". PMDG. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ "PMDG DC-6 for X-Plane announcement". Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  4. ↑ Ostrower, Jon (August 30, 2013). "Almost as Cool as the New Boeing 777: The New Flight Simulator". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Precision Manuals Development Group". October 21, 2001. Archived from the original on October 21, 2001. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  6. ↑ "First Glance at PMDG 777-200 for Prepar3D".
  7. ↑ "Explore the 3D cockpit of PMDG's Douglas DC-6". X-Plane. April 21, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  8. ↑ Martin, Calum (February 23, 2019). "PMDG Cease Development for FSX/P3Dv3". FSElite. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  9. ↑ John, Alex (November 7, 2019). "PMDG Announces End to X-Plane Development | Threshold". www.thresholdx.net. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  10. ↑ "[20NOV20] Various Project News Updates, 777-200ER Beta and P3D Hotfix notes". PMDG Simulations. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  11. ↑ randazzo, Robert (October 21, 2023). "[21OCT23] Introducing the Universal Flight Tablet for PMDG's Microsoft Flight Simulator Airliner Fleet".
  12. ↑ "PMDG 777 for MSFS Preview - FSElite". fselite.net. December 27, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  13. ↑ Randazzo, Robert. "[20NOV20] Various Project News Updates, 777-200ER Beta and P3D Hotfix notes".
  14. ↑ "PMDG DC-6 for MSFS Release Date Announced – FSElite". fselite.net. FSElite. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  15. ↑ "PMDG releasing the 737 for msfs on may 9th". FsElite.net. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
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