Home / Difference Training / Boeing 737 NG to 737 MAX / Module 1

The MAX Family and Your Type Rating

Module 1 of 8Boeing 737 NG to 737 MAX7 min readUpdated Sep 2026

The 737 MAX is the fourth generation of the 737, after the original 737-100/-200, the Classic and the NG. For a pilot the headline is simple: the MAX keeps the B-737 type rating, and you add it to your NG qualification through differences training. What sets it apart from earlier variant changes is the mandatory special training that came out of the 2019 to 2020 grounding.

A white Boeing 737 with a red nose and a portrait on its tail climbing away against a deep blue sky, landing gear up.
A Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 737-800 in flight at Munich. EASA's return to service report records that Norwegian received the first 737-8 delivered in Europe, on 29 June 2017.Photo: Julian Herzog ( Website ) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
In this module
  1. The MAX models
  2. One type rating: B-737
  3. Differences levels A to E
  4. What the FAA requires from NG to MAX
  5. Appendix 7 and the EASA additions
  6. The grounding and the return to service
  7. Key differences

The MAX models

The FAA Flight Standardization Board (FSB) report lists the 737-7, -8, -8200 and -9 as the 737 MAX series in its Rev 21 draft; Rev 17 (November 2020) had only the -8 and -9. EASA's type certificate data sheet (TCDS) IM.A.120, Issue 29 (December 2025), covers the -8, -9 and -8200.

White airliner with blue lettering and a blue and yellow tail flying against a clear blue sky, landing gear down.
A Boeing 737-8 (737 MAX 8) on approach. The larger LEAP-1B nacelles and the Advanced Technology winglets are the quickest ways to tell a MAX from an NG.Photo: MarcelX42 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Model FSB FAA type certificate EASA validation
737-8 Base MAX model; NG differences course evaluated in 2016 8 Mar 2017 27 Mar 2017
737-9 Longer, with mid exit doors; evaluated in 2017 15 Feb 2018 17 Oct 2018
737-8200 Functionally equivalent to the 737-8, with mid exit doors 31 Mar 2021 6 Apr 2021
737-7 Evaluated in May 2021; Rev 21 draft Not in these sources Not in TCDS Issue 29
BBJ MAX 8 A 737-8 with HUD Not given separately Not listed separately
737-10 Not covered Not in these sources In validation in 2021; not in TCDS Issue 29

Inside the family every FSB item from the 737-8 to the -7, -9 and -8200 is Level A. Module 2 gives dimensions and weights by model; module 6 lists the other variant items.

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All modules

  1. The MAX Family and Your Type RatingThe 737 MAX models, why they share the B-737 type rating with the NG, the FAA differences levels A to E and what they require from NG to MAX, where the Appendix 7 special training fits, and the facts of the 2019 to 2020 grounding.MODULE 1 · 7 MIN READ
  2. Airframe, Dimensions and WeightsWhat changes on the outside of the MAX and on paper: engines, winglets, nose gear, tailskid and tail lights, dimensions, exits and seating by model, certified weights, and the altitude, speed and other limits in the type certificate.MODULE 2 · 7 MIN READ
  3. EnginesThe CFM LEAP-1B that replaces the NG's CFM56-7B: engine models in the type certificate, why the installation matters, the EEC, indication, alert and thrust reverser changes the FSB lists, thrust setting, starting and limitations.MODULE 3 · 6 MIN READ
  4. Flight Deck and DisplaysThe MAX Display System's four large screens against the NG's six display units, display formats and switching, the engine display control panel, EFIS panel, PFD and standby instruments, the two-position landing gear lever, and the FMC and CDU changes.MODULE 4 · 6 MIN READ
  5. Flight Controls, MCAS and Stabiliser TrimThe fly-by-wire spoilers and their new functions, how MCAS works after the 2020 return-to-service update, and the changes to speed trim, stabiliser trim, STAB OUT OF TRIM and AOA DISAGREE, with the FSB level for each.MODULE 5 · 7 MIN READ
  6. Systems by ATA ChapterThe remaining design differences in the FSB table from the 737-800 to the 737-8, grouped by ATA chapter with their training and checking levels, then the flight deck and procedure differences between the 737-8 and the 737-7, 737-9 and 737-8200.MODULE 6 · 6 MIN READ
  7. Procedures and Special TrainingWhat changes in normal and non-normal procedures on the 737 MAX, the special ground and simulator training of FSB Appendix 7, and the additional requirements EASA set for the return to service.MODULE 7 · 7 MIN READ
  8. Quick ReferenceOne side-by-side table of the main differences between the 737-800 and the 737-8 with their FSB training and checking levels, then a revision list of the facts and figures to know.MODULE 8 · 5 MIN READ

Sources

  1. FAA Flight Standardization Board Report, Boeing 737, Revision 17 (November 2020)
  2. FAA Flight Standardization Board Report, Boeing 737, Revision 21 (draft)
  3. Summary of the FAA's Review of the Boeing 737 MAX (November 2020)
  4. EASA Boeing 737 MAX Return to Service Report (January 2021)
  5. EASA Type Certificate Data Sheet IM.A.120, Boeing 737 (Issue 29, December 2025)

Difference Training on v1prep is for study, interview and exam preparation. It does not replace your operator's approved differences training, your AFM, FCOM and QRH, or the regulators' documents, which always govern.