Meet Boeing 737 family
The first 737 flew in 1967. Boeing retained the six-abreast fuselage width familiar from its earlier jets while placing two engines under the wing. The aircraft subsequently developed through the Original, Classic, Next Generation and MAX generations.
That long development makes the variant suffix especially valuable. An early 737-200, a 737-800 and a 737 MAX do not share identical engines, displays or systems. Simulator products add another layer of variation, from bundled aircraft to specialist implementations with their own failures, options and documentation.
In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
737 Max 8
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Edition / package Standard
Boeing 737-800
Laminar Research
Edition / package Desktop
Visible switches do not all imply working systems
Laminar's 737 guide documents hydraulic source controls and the STAB OUT OF TRIM indication. It also limits the pictured flight-control panel's implemented functionality to the yaw damper. That explicit note is useful when comparing the bundled 737 with a more extensively developed add-on.
Laminar Research · Boeing 737-8000 POH ↗Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF pp.18,22,31
Boeing 737-800
Laminar Research
Edition / package Desktop
Visible switches do not all imply working systems
Laminar's 737 guide documents hydraulic source controls and the STAB OUT OF TRIM indication. It also limits the pictured flight-control panel's implemented functionality to the yaw damper. That explicit note is useful when comparing the bundled 737 with a more extensively developed add-on.
Laminar Research · Boeing 737-8000 POH ↗Archived simulator manual; installed package revision not observed · PDF pp.18,22,31
737 family
PMDG
Control-wheel steering and hardware options
PMDG documents autopilot reversion to control-wheel steering when the simulated controls are displaced. An aircraft option can instead ignore hardware input during autopilot operation. The introduction also gives electric-trim travel limits that depend on the 737 body variant. These are useful configuration details when comparing how a particular aircraft responds to a desktop control setup.
PMDG · PMDG 737 for MSFS - Introduction (PDF) ↗MSFS introduction November 2022 · PDF p.30; AP reversion and electric-trim limits
737-800X
Zibo
Use the maintainer's simulator-specific installation guidance
The Zibo maintainer distinguishes X-Plane 11 and 12 installation instructions and identifies official download and guide locations. That separation is useful for a frequently updated aircraft whose community references may discuss different simulator branches.
skymatix / Zibo support forum · Maintainer installation guide and official Zibo download locations ↗maintainer guide with historical thread date · maintainer first post; official download/guide links
Manuals & resources
Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developers Boeing 737-8000 POHLaminar Research X-Plane 12 Desktop ManualLaminar Research X-Plane aircraft and avionics manualsLaminar Research X-Plane 11 Desktop ManualLaminar Research PMDG 737 for MSFS - Introduction (PDF)PMDGAircraft background
Boeing 737Wikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1374061079 · retrieved 2026-09-12Resource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoft PMDG documentationPMDG Maintainer installation guide and official Zibo download locationsskymatix / Zibo support forumSomething missing or a source that needs attention?
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