FS9 Payware Aircraft

[jonss1948 20]

Ok, here's the plan. Today I'm buying the Aeroworx B200 Kingair. Thanks, Bob for pointing me at it. Good price too. Thence onward to next payday (pensioner) for the ATR. It will be a month down the track when I get the Maddog and then the B727. This combination should give me an excellent choice of aircraft (plus my existing PMDG and LvlD767) for many different FS scenarios. I thank all respondents for their guidance and I have bookmarked all of the webpages so I can keep my eye on them for future developments. I do hope the A320 will come to market as good as the pre-release marketing claims. I'll be straight into it after a few reviews have surfaced. Thank you, everyone.Jon

[Orlaam 306]

Those are all wonderful aircraft. The Maddog is my current favorite jet, and you'll enjoy it a lot. In fact I only have a few top quality aircraft installed and they keep me satisfied for now. These are my installed aircraft, nothing else except environment software/utilities:PMDG 737NG & 747 (Pax and Cargo)Level-D 767-300Leonardo MD-80Flight 1 ATR 72-500Digital Aviation Piper CheyenneDreamFleet Archer IIIAeroworx B200 King AirFlight 1 Piper MeridianCarenado Cessna U208G StationairRealAir Scout packageHave fun learning how to land the Aeroworx King Air :-lol Very realistic I'm sure, but the ground effect is 100% non-forgiving in that plane. It's the only plane I have that I can't land very well out of the gate. It took me a couple weeks to master.

[jcmissionary 6]

"2. The AirlinerXP A320 is nothing but PR hype at this point. First advertised as coming in Q1 of 2007, now advertised as coming in Q2 of 2007 (end of Q2 is 11 days away as I write this), soon to be advertised as coming in Q3 of..."There was actually a post made at the AXP forum nearly a month ago stating that they would not make the Q2 timeframe. Time to rename it "AirlinerXP A320 Forever". :-hahJ.C. Howell

[jonss1948 20]

Well, I could'nt resist. I had a look at all of the aircraft it is my intention to purchase and was lamenting (a bit) that I could not extend my finances at this time to make my first aircraft the ATR 72-500. Then I came to a pleasant realisation that, instead of purchasing in the dreaded Euros, the price was in $US. BONUS! We Australians are getting A$0.84 cents/$US, so hang it all! My system is now sporting a shiny new ATR 72-500 in the FS9 stable. The Kingair, which I am just as enthusiastic about, will be next. Woo Hoo! Crank-up the printer. I'm on a new learning curve. I have not even tried to start this sucker yet. I don't want to break anything.Jon

[Orlaam 306]

I printed the ATR manual at work - Don't tell anyone. Probably 400 pages. One of the largest to date. The ATR is so nice to hand fly though. You can turn without pitching all over, kinda like the newer Maddog. The King Air is a nice one in turns as well. Those three are probably the best to hand fly out of my collection.Overall the ATR is easy to operate. The AP command panel is a little different than most, so keep that in mind. It has some features that you really won't find on any other plane, but once you learn them, it's easy. The ATR once ready to takeoff requires very little intervention.

[elprim 10]

ChrisYou've just inspired me to give atr another try. I didn't find it easy to operate, at least not on my single 17'' monitor without TrackIR. It has lot of panels and buttons, and I remember it was a nightmare looking at the complex cockpit through a 17'' window, having to press some hotpoint whenever I need to change the view/perspective.You don't mention your monitor setup in your signature. Do you have something which makes you ATR experience so good? i.e. multiple large monitors?So I will arm myself with more patience and try again. Also > @ Jon: I would like to hear your opinion about flying this bird as soon as you get some experience.(Sorry, didn't want to steal the thread, hope you don't mind)Elprim

[virtualstuff 758]

>2. The AirlinerXP A320 is nothing but PR hype at this point. >First advertised as coming in Q1 of 2007, now advertised as>coming in Q2 of 2007 (end of Q2 is 11 days away as I write>this), soon to be advertised as coming in Q3 of...>>Regards>>Bob Scott>ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-V>Santiago de ChileFunny guy Bob but you do not know everything :-lolAndr

[jonss1948 20]

Chris,Yup, the manual is a doozy. 481 pages to be precise. I'll only be printing what I consider the most important pages BUT I will be reading all of it (a number of times, I suspect). It appears to be somewhat of a 'walkthrough' but it's going to take some time for me to understand the aircrafts intricacies. I owned the PMDG 747-400 for a week before I understood the FMC operation, although, that was because it was my first payware aircraft. Since then I've acquired the PMDG 737 800/900 and the LvlD 767. All great to fly but prop driven aircraft are a completely new experience. I point out too, that since buying these payware aircraft, they have taught me so much more about modern civil aviation. I have considerable respect for the people that fly these aircraft in the real world. Anyway, I'll keep you posted as to how I'm progressing.Jon

[jonss1948 20]

Elprim,I'll be pleased to keep you posted on my progress but just as a matter of interest, I do all my flying with a single 19 inch monitor and not a very good one, at that (Mitsubishi Diamond View). My computer, which was a bit of a 'Beast' three years ago when I first built it, would'nt be consider much more than low end these days.SPECS:Asus P4P 800E-Deluxe MB2x512 mb sticks GEIL PC5000 RamNvidia Geforce fx5900xt OC'd to the max.2.8ghz Northwood core P4 OC'd to 3.35 ghz (totally stable for 3 years)2x WD 80gig PATA HDD's2x Maxtor 80gig SATA HDD's1x SoundBlaster Live Value soundcard.1x Antec Truepower 500 watt PSU1x Polo 735 Heatsink and fan.The weakest performer is the GPU but it's adequate. I don't know what type of system you have but in all probability it would be better than my old clunker and my FS experience is great! Multiple large monitors would be wonderful and I would like to have them but I don't consider them a necessity for my level of capability. With the ATR (and this is just an assumption as I'm new to it, too) scouring the Manual is mandatory, otherwise you may just as well fly one of the default aircraft or one of the better recognised freeware offerings viz: Meljet, IFDG, Posky. The ATR 72-500 I believe, will be a challenge, both in the learning and mastering of the aircraft. That's how I get my 'kicks'.Jon

[Gavin 99]

I really enjoy this Yak 40: http://www.suprunovdesign.ru/ which is as sophisticated as any 1960's aircraft could be; ie no FMC. I enjoy all the navigating and flying :-)

[Orlaam 306]

Elprim, The ATR is very easy, however, the start is what can be a little much. Personally, I don't care about the starts, so I just load them running. I'd rather learn all the other fun stuff and fly the plane than sit on the tarmac pushing buttons or flipping switches. My monitor is a 19" LCD (Samsung SyncMaster 931B). After you start the plane and program the FMC, there's nothing to really do except fly and have fun!The only thing you have to do when you've left the pavement is manage the AP, Anti-Ice, lights, speed, and the same things you do in all aircraft. You don't have failures, so that's no concern. I think the ATR has very little overhead, in fact even for descent and landing, all you do is program the FMC with your landing runway and adjust the legs, then lights, gear and flaps. The only real difference is setting the thrust for T/O, Climb, and Cruise and remembering to descend manually since the ATR has no VNAV control. The ATR is just like a lot of turboprops. They look intimidating, but most of the stuff on the ATR is automated and the gauges are just there for reference.

[Orlaam 306]

Several PDF's covering various topics of ATR systems and procedures. Very good site with a lot of manuals for other aircraft too.Here's the ATR link: http://www.smartcockpit.com/plane/atr/ATR72/

[Guest Flaps]

Hey Jon, if you like a challenge, your going to love the ATR. Very cool aircraft. I'll never forget doing the first tutorial, flipping on the BATT switch and hearing all the systems fire up. And starting in HOTEL mode is sweet.I use a Saitek X45 and have all the important windows assinged to buttons on the throttle and stick for easy access. Works like a dream and keeps me from having to click all over the place to bring up windows. She's a real joy to fly.Hope you enjoy!!Now I gotta go check out that 727 :)Jim

[graemeb 14]

Heh! Heh! Bob,I'm with you on that one. I've just re-installed FS9 plus the gigabytes of add-ons on my new PC and it is superb!! I installed FSX out of curiosity but it was only a marginal improvement in performance, plus most of the add-ons won't run in it anyway....I think PMDG might rue their decision when they see the sales figures for the MD-11.

[Guest jgreth123]

>I'll be all about giving them credit...but only if and when>credit is due. When FeelThere was bringing their A320 to>market, they rushed out a web site for AirlinerXP, complete>with claims of an imminent release in Q1. Then we saw banners>stating it was "now in beta," later to see those go away when>other members of the team mentioned that it was actually in a>pre-beta phase. Then it was coming in Q2. Those sorts of>gutter marketing tactics assume the lot of us to be a pretty>stupid bunch. What I saw is some pretty serious folks>allowing a marketing buffoon amongst them to soil their proven>track records.>>I've already dismissed the PMDG MD-11, not as hyped (never>ever heard Randazzo allude to a release date) but simply>because it will only run on FSX. Well, OK, maybe I'll look at>it later when I can upgrade to a 6 GHz Core 10 Extreme that>can run FSX and a complex add-on at better than single-digit>frame rates...>>Regards>>Bob Scott>ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-V>Santiago de ChileBob, Never have they stated it entered beta. Never did they say it was going to be a Q1 2007 release (members in the forum speculated but they never confirmed). They did say it was slated for end of Q2 but due to a 6 week ( yes, 6 whole weeks ) illness for Jean-Luc and a few VERY serious personal issues on Vauchez's side, they had to announce that they wouldn't make the Q2 time frame. I can assure you, they are far from hype and you seem to be dismissing some serious issues fairly effortlessly. To your defense, you possibly did not know about the issues they encountered. I hope that is the case. Rumors and speculation give all companies bad names. Don't believe a word unless the developers themselves say it.