I don’t know about you but I have always had a fascination with three engine jets. Most affectionately known as a “Three Holer,” they seem to stick out more at an airport
that’s populated with an endless sea of twin-engine monotony. From the massive Lockheed L-1011 to the sleek and smokey Boeing 727 the Three Holer’s were part of what I personally consider the best age of commercial aviation. Sadly, these pioneering designs are being sent to the desert to be scraped and forgotten. But fortunately, we are still blessed with a Tri-jet that has found a new purpose in this efficiently minded aviation world as an excellent cargo platform. I’m talking about the mighty MD-11.

TFDi has developed an amazing MD-11 model for MSFS 2020 (not 2024). This aircraft is offered in both passenger and freighter configurations. For example, if you buy
the passenger version you can add on the freighter for a small fee and vice a versa. I found myself spending most, if not all of my MD-11 flying being done with the freighter since it seems like the passenger version is akin to doing a flight from yesteryear.

After downloading a few liveries from the TFDi website it was time to do a bit of a walk around this bird. The aircraft model looks really good and the extra dirt on the freight dogs are a welcome sight. I also noticed a bit of a frame rate hit with my rig setup but nothing too significant. Moving to the flight deck you’ll notice a different setup from the usual Airbus and Boeing layouts that are more common. There are six MFDs split between pilot and copilot as well as two separately functioning flight computers which is a nice touch. To the left and right is an electronic flight bag tablet where you can load your Simbrief flight plans as well as other flight calculations and ground operations. Just be sure to change the settings from imperial to metric or your simbrief fuel and weights will not load in the aircraft. That got me more than once since each livery you load the plane with is defaulted to imperial settings. Visually the flight deck looks good but I’m not sure if it’s up to the PMDG level of detail. But personally, I think it’s just fine.

This bird is more of a challenge to learn than what I’ve been accustomed to in the Flightsim world. The MD-11 feels noticeably heavy on the ground when taxiing as well as
making turns as it should since this is a heavy aircraft. But it seems like it can’t take turns unless you’re moving no more than four knots. Five if you’re lucky. Maybe this is correct but it just doesn’t seem right to me. However, once you get lined up and push the throttles, the MD-11 rockets down the runway and has no problem getting up to altitude in a hurry. The interior sounds of the engine have a nice little growl to them but I do wish the exterior engine noise was less muted. Flight dynamics and performance feel great and the expected heaviness in the controls seem to be on point.

Navigation and autopilot take a bit of studying and practice to master. I’ll admit I had more than a few frustrating moments learning how TOGA, LNAV and VNAV were to be engaged. However, practice made me somewhat perfect and it’s been smooth sailing since. I did read that the autopilot was very similar to the MD-80 which makes sense. So, if you’re familiar with the Mad Dog then you shouldn’t have the problems I had. Descent,approach, and auto land works very well once I figured out what the heck I was doing. I can’t fault any issues because of my impatience to jump right in and start flying.

That’s the reason why I tend to gravitate towards aircraft like MD-11. The challenge of learning and mastering something that is outside the norm of the current aviation world can be so gratifying. I was so excited when I was given the opportunity to review this aircraft that I literally counted the days until it’s release. Once I had my first few attempts at flying this bird my excitement quickly turned to frustration. But take a step back, read the manuals and take it one step at a time. Now, the TFDi MD-11 is my go-to aircraft. Maybe, it’ll be yours too.