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==Company background==
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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 inwith mastering the complexities of the Aerowinx's 747-400 CBT softwareaircraft. Written to be used by pilots and non-pilots alike, theThe 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!|FLY!]]''''' by Terminal Reality. A relatively unknown company at the time, Terminal Reality was endeavouringendeavoring 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,"{{By whom|date=July 2024}} 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!
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