I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and are preparing to ring out the old 2023 and ring in the new 2024. Here in Colorful Colorado, we had a semi-white Christmas with about a 1/2 inch of snow on Christmas Eve and an even whiter boxing day. We woke up this morning to about 2 inches of fresh snow and it’s beautiful outside. But that’s not what this blog post is about.
A couple of weeks ago, Robert Randazzo teased us all with an update on a few of the PMDG projects and mentioned that he was looking forward to welcoming everyone into the hangar with a glass of eggnog. In that update he revealed the first screenshot of a Boeing 777 landing gear. Many in our community immediately add 2+2 and got 5 and anticipated that this was some sort of clue that we would see a new release from PMDG on or before Christmas. I blogged about this back on the 9th of December. I will admit that while I thought it might be possible, I still held out on taking my credit card out of my wallet.
Yesterday, on Christmas Day RSR once again posted an update on the progress of the PMDG Boeing 777 and provided several never before seen screenshots which I’ve posted below.
Of course there was no mention of any upcoming 737 MAX in this PMDG update. I still believe we won’t see anything until it’s actually been released as RSR has stated this many times. But the bottom line with the PMDG 777, which I’m looking forward to having as much as anyone else, is that this aircraft has only been in testing for one week and the likelihood of it being available for purchase in the next few weeks or even in the next few months is most likely just not going to happen.
My best guess at this point in time is that we’ll see the PMDG Boeing 777 sometime in the first quarter of 2024. A date to keep in mind is the annual VATSIM CTP or Cross the Pond event. The westbound event typically takes place toward the end of March or first part of April. PMDG would make a lot of simmers happy if they were able to release the 777 before this event.
In closing, If you’re of a certain age you might remember the TV commercials featuring Orson Welles on behalf of Paul Masson Wine. The similarities with PMDG are the same.
I hope the remaining days of 2023 are good to you and all the best in the new year!
Until next time….
Happy Flying!!!
Jerry