I know that's a pretty vague question, but I honestly don't know a thing about them. I do know my default plane is the QW757 for its superior thrust:weight ratio and awesome climb power. I use the NGX as well as RA Turbine Duke, and rarely now the Super MD-80 Pro for its ease on performance demands.

 

What are the other attractions that have folks here looking for a good Airbus.? I see there is a new release and am intrigued but haven't a clue! How are their flight characteristics? Other features worth mentioning that make them distinct from Boeingware.

 

Many thanks in advance,

 

Noel

Fully Automated. Good for those execs that sit in the board room. Bad for pilots. I still ask the question to myself -- "What is the aircraft doing??" when I'm flying the bus. Perhaps I still haven't figured out how to fully use it, but it keeps on going A.Floor on me.

I also enjoy the full automation, FADEC and fly-by-wire. It basically does everything for you. I also like hand flying the approach with the joystick and fly-by-wire, rather than using the yoke. With the Airbus joystick, you move the stick where you want the aircraft to go, then bring it back to center and the fly-by-wire holds it perfectly.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also like flying the Airbus 300, Boeing 727 and DC9 using INS, VOR and DME.

So the Airbus gives me an appreciation for fully computerized control of the beautiful AirbusX Extended.

The original Airbus A300 was built on the premise of meeting the passenger and freight demand around Europe where the 727 just was not big or efficient enough. Next came the A300-600 and they introduced a few innovations from the Concorde, namely a trim tank on the tail. (Boeing tried this on the B747-400 but it is not a trim tank, simply an additional tank).

Later Airbus came out with the idea of using fly-by-wire for their new domestic offering, as well as the larger family of A330 and A340.

They also offered CCQ, cross crew qualification, where you just do a differences course and you can fly any of the family, from the A318 all the way to the A340.

Boeing made a statement that nobody would buy an airliner because it had FBW.... Years later they had to eat their words when they introduced FBW in the 777, many years after it had been in use by the Airbus family.

The mentality is totally different, you hear people say "why is it doing that" simply because they are thinking along the lines of expectation of anothEr aircraft, but forgot this aircraft thinks and behaves differently.

You don't fly the aircraft, you simply command pitch and roll and the many computers on board will fly the aircraft so it attains what you have commanded. Suggest a very good recent book called "QF32" by Captain Richard de Crespigny, on the incident where an engine exploded in a Qantas A380. Capt de Crespigny is ex-747 before he moved to the A330 and then A380 and offers a very good description of differences as well as operation of the aircraft.

 

Great, thank you all for this excellent overview. I will f/u w/ some looking into FBW as well as the QF32 book--sounds like I might learn something ;o)

 

One add'l, do you actually use a joystick? Does the Airbus series have both a joystick and yoke?

 

Happy New Year All,

 

Noel

One positive attribute is that Airbusses are pressurized meaning they can fly at high altitudes and the passengers can be warm and cozy, while avoiding the turbulent weather below. :Party: Happy New Year

Suggest a very good recent book called "QF32" by Captain Richard de Crespigny, on the incident where an engine exploded in a Qantas A380. Capt de Crespigny is ex-747 before he moved to the A330 and then A380 and offers a very good description of differences as well as operation of the aircraft.

 

Good documentary on QF32 here -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGiITFlaafI

Great, thank you all for this excellent overview. I will f/u w/ some looking into FBW as well as the QF32 book--sounds like I might learn something ;o)

 

One add'l, do you actually use a joystick? Does the Airbus series have both a joystick and yoke?

 

Happy New Year All,

 

Noel

 

I use a yoke, it doesn't really matter, I could never quite understand why simmers get so hang up on it, yet have no issues flying a 747 with a joystick!

 

Airbus feels since you are not actually flying the aeroplane you don't actually need a command yoke to transfer force to the control surfaces, all you need is an interface to advise the system what you want the aircraft to do, and Airbus chose a side stick, same as the F-16, fly by wire interface. As I said before, different mentality.

 

That is a good documentary on QF32 but it is a little heavy towards the drama side, the book is actually full of detail on the Airbus functionality, particularly during this emergency.

 

I still think the 747 is the true Queen of the skies. Flies beautifully, great range, amazing power, can carry multiple buses. Just as automated but turn off the autopilot and you can still use stick and rudder skills

Definately use a sidestick to fly it with!

Just as automated but turn off the autopilot and you can still use stick and rudder skills

You can certainly fly stick and rudder in an Airbus...

Set the Master AP to a button on your joystick. And you can ONLY disconnect with it.

Does the Airbus series have both a joystick and yoke?

Older Airbus aircraft use yokes (e.g., A300), while the modern ones you usually see (A320, A330, A340, A380) have side sticks.

 

I use a yoke, it doesn't really matter, I could never quite understand why simmers get so hang up on it, yet have no issues flying a 747 with a joystick!

I think the Airbus fly-by-wire system and side stick go really well together. When people fly Boeing aircraft using joysticks, they tend to make rapid overcorrections, whereas the fly-by-wire system on an Airbus might dampen similar inputs.

 

turn off the autopilot and you can still use stick and rudder skills

The yaw dampers largely remove the necessity of manually operating the rudder.

Boeing: pilot actually flys the plane...

 

Scarebus: Pilot monitors the computer and generally takes a nap :-)

Fully Automated. Good for those execs that sit in the board room. Bad for pilots. I still ask the question to myself -- "What is the aircraft doing??" when I'm flying the bus. Perhaps I still haven't figured out how to fully use it, but it keeps on going A.Floor on me.

 

If you're using the Aerosoft Airbus X Extended, try using a set V2 value of 169 in the MCDU's PERF page to avoid A.LOCK scenarios shortly after take-off.

 

This is of course not realistic, but neither are the V speeds that the addon calculates! ...... So try the above.