Precision Manuals Development Group

Last updated

Precision Manuals Development Group
Company type Software Developer
Industry Flight Simulator Software
Founded1997
Headquarters Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Key people
Robert S. Randazzo (founder)
Number of employees
8
Website https://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 by airlines and manufacturers to supplement pilot training. 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.

Contents

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, to assist non-pilots with mastering the aircraft. 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 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 endeavoring 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.

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. 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 777-200LR and accompanying 777-300ER expansion were the first PMDG products for Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D as well as Flight Simulator X.

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]

On February 24, 2019, PMDG announced that they would develop no new products for 32-bit platforms (not precluding updates to existing products). [8] On November 8, 2019, the PMDG NGXu was released. It is an improved version of their previous Boeing 737 product for the Prepar3D platform and offers the BCF, BDSF, BBJ1, and BBJ2 variants as expansions. [9] PMDG had announced the previous day that all development for the X-Plane platform as well as all 32-bit platforms would be cancelled. [10] On October 20, 2020, PMDG announced the development of the 777X family of airliners was in an early stage. [11] 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 announced the release of the EFB update for their Boeing 737 product for Microsoft Flight Simulator. In a forum post, Robert S. Randazzo stated that the free update would be released on October 30, 2023, and would feature Navigraph/SimBrief integration and performance calculations. The update was notable for releasing much later than anticipated. PMDG had initially quoted a six month timeline, and Randazzo later stated they expected the development to last for "a couple of months". However, the update was ultimately released one year and three months after the initial version of the 737. Randazzo attributed this delay to issues with the simulator's interface between the tablet component and the custom aircraft logic. [12] [13]

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 DevelopmentRetired
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, 2015February 26, 2021
Boeing 777-300ER Expansion July 18, 2014 February 7, 2015February 26, 2021
Boeing 777-200ER ExpansionFebruary 26, 2021
Douglas DC-6 July 20, 2017 July 20, 2017June 1, 2016June 18, 2021 [14] X-Plane, FSX retired
Boeing 747-400V3 QoTS II January 31, 2017 January 31, 2017May 8, 2020Includes 400, 400D, 400M, 400ER, 400F, 400ERF
Boeing 747-8i/F Expansion September 22, 2018 September 22, 2018May 8, 2020
Boeing 737-800/900 NGXuNovember 8, 2019
Boeing 737-600/700 NGXu ExpansionFebruary 5, 2020
Boeing 737 NGXu Cargo ExpansionAugust 16, 2020737-700 BDSF, 737-800 BDSF and BCF
Boeing 737 NGXu BBJ ExpansionOctober 23, 2020737-700 BBJ and 737-800 BBJ
Boeing 737 NG3737-700 - May 9, 2022 [15] || 737-600 - July 29, 2022 [16] || 737-800 - August 25, 2022 [17] 737-900 - February 7, 2023 [18] 737-700 includes BBJ1 and BDSF,

737-800 includes BBJ2, BDSF and BCF, 737-900 includes BBJ3 and ER version

Boeing 777-300ERJune 25th, 2024 [19]
Boeing 777FDecember 6th,

2024 [20]

Includes
Boeing 777-200ERIn Development
Boeing 777-200LRIn Development
Boeing 777XEarly development stage, no platforms announced (likely MSFS2024) [21]
Boeing 747 FamilyIn Development [22] 747-100, 747SP, 747-200, 747-300, 747-300, 747-400, 747-8 (Including special versions such as VC-25 or RA-001) [23]

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References

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  12. Randazzo, Robert (April 19, 2022). "PMDG 737 Development Update: Let's talk about Early Adopter and Continued Maintenance phases".
  13. randazzo, Robert (October 21, 2023). "[21OCT23] Introducing the Universal Flight Tablet for PMDG's Microsoft Flight Simulator Airliner Fleet".
  14. "PMDG DC-6 for MSFS Release Date Announced – FSElite". fselite.net. FSElite. June 16, 2021. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  15. "PMDG releasing the 737 for msfs on may 9th". FsElite.net. May 7, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  16. "[29JUL22] PMDG 737-600 is released! (and some other news bits, too!)". PMDG Simulations. July 29, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  17. "[24AUG22] PMDG Announces Release of PMDG 737-800 for Microsoft Flight Simulator". PMDG Simulations. August 24, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  18. "[07FEB23] PMDG 737-900 for Microsoft Flight Simulator is released". PMDG Simulations. February 7, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  19. "[16JUN24] PMDG 777-300ER Has a Release Date on the Calendar!". PMDG Forums.
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