Returning Pilot need advice

[thibodba57 462]

Leonard Fly the Maddog fits your size range and full of eye candy and complexity.

[Chock 17,769]

Comparable aircraft to the BAe 146 include: Canadair/Bombardier CRJ, Boeing 717, Embraer's E170/E175/E190/E195, Fokker 28/70/100, BAC 1-11, Dornier 728/928, Airbus A318, Boeing B737-500/600, Sukhoi Superjet 100, Antonov AN-148, Comac ARJ21 Xiangfeng Flying Phoenix, ATR-72, Bombardier Dash 8 series.

Many (not all) of these types have been made for P3D V4 (some are currently being developed), but at present if you value eye candy over super-realistic systems, Carenado is probably going to be where you want to look. That'd be stuff like their SAAB S340, Shorts S360 and Fokker F50.

If you fancy a bit more realism, Aerosoft make a very nice Airbus A318/A319 (also the A320 and A321) and a similarly nice Bombardier CRJ700/900. The CRJ and the A318 would be very good choices as an alternatives to the BAe 146. It's worth noting that the Aerosoft A318 does offer something which many other jetliners don't in terms of what it can do which may be of interest to you; it is cleared for steep approaches, so it can fly in and out of London City airport and other places which require a non-standard 5.5 degree glideslope capability. The A318 is the largest jetliner certified to do that, a feat which it achieves by running modified flight control software which is engaged via a switch on the co-pilot's overhead that makes the spoilers partially deploy for its approach. In other words, it's a jet you can do some fun landings with into places where other jets don't go.

If you want cheap and cheerful with good external models, lots of variants  and liveries included, but not quite so visually pleasing cockpits (functional, but not that pretty) and with 'jump in and go' usability/Avionics, then Virtualcol is worth a look since they make the following: Bombardier CRJ 200/700/900/1000, ATR-42/72, Bombardier Dash 8 100/200/300/400, Dornier 328-110/300 (turboprop and jet versions), Embraer 170/175/190/195, Fokker F50, BAe Jetstream 31, SAAB 340/2000 and Shorts Skyvan SC7/Skyliner/SD330/S23 Sherpa/SD360. Check screenshots of the virtual cockpits on these products, because being fairly cheap and cheerful, they might not float your boat. On the plus side, all of these run at a very high FPS and are really inexpensive to buy, so they do have plenty of merit in spite of the somewhat spartan cockpit visuals and if you want a lot of value for money and something you can just jump into and have it load up a default P3D flight plan and then fly that automatically with a couple of button presses, they are hard to beat in this regard.

If you want something with a fair bit of functionality and reasonable looks at a fairly low price, some of the airliners offered by Just Flight might fit the bill, although be aware that many of these are 'classic' airliners dating from the 1960s and 1970s, so you won't often find them having an FMC, it'd be INS/VOR navigation in those things (a good example of this would be the Fokker F27 in comparison to the later development of it, the Fokker F50, you'll find the F50 has more modern avionics). Among these which might suit would be: Fokker F27 Friendship 100/200/300, BAC/Rombac One-Eleven 300/400/500 and HS.748/2A. Just Flight also sell a number of other stuff too in addition to making their own add-ons, so their site might be worth a bit of a browse around, since you'll find things like the Sky Simulations Douglas DC-9-10/21/30/41/51/10F/33F on there, which would be another possibility although again, most DC-9s don't have an FMC, you'd be wanting later MD developments of the DC-9 airframe for that kind of thing, and there are some out there as other people have suggested on this thread.

So, as noted, outside of that you could maybe look at some of the MD-80/83 or on of the many Boeing 737s there are kicking about. Probably the best bang for your buck where those are concerned would be the iFly Boeing 737 NG series, since it includes all of the 737 NG variants and is therefore very good value for money, most notably it includes the diminutive 737-600 variant, which compares with the BAe 146 in terms of covering short range regional jet routes but with the capability to fly further if necessary.

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2018 by Chock

[eslader 1,783]

2 hours ago, vc10man said:

Say that again.

Are you disagreeing with that idea? Once you learn where all the buttons are and how to program the FMC, the 747 is.. .Well.. Incredibly easy if you want it to be. The most hands-on work you do is during the taxi. As soon as you're 400AGL the autopilot takes over and you often don't need to touch the yoke or throttle again until after it's landed itself. You just mess with the autopilot controls and occasionally change fuel configuration (following prompts the plane nicely spoonfeeds you 😉 ) and let the plane get on with it. Obviously, you can turn the autopilot off at any time to make it more challenging, but you don't have to. The hardest part about the 747 is learning how to run the FMC.

The FSX default 747 was actually more difficult to fly than the PMDG one because the FSX default's systems were a joke and so you had to do a lot more hand flying.

 

[vc10man 732]

13 minutes ago, eslader said:

Are you disagreeing with that idea?

Am, in fact agreeing with what Van E was saying about the Majestic, not the PMDG 74 QOTS II

[MadBoxx 0]

On ‎9‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 11:37 AM, J van E said:

Imho the Q400 is the best addon plane EVER (it's the only plane I have installed and fly) but er... it's not exactly a plane for someone who is more into eye candy and doesn't want a big plane... When the OP said he doesn't want a 747 I think he wasn't really talking about the size but the ease of use. The Q400 isn't big indeed but it's probably more complicated to fly than a 747. The Q400 really keeps you seriously busy. If the OP wants something smaller and is interested in eye candy (more than in systems) he should either look at Carenado stuff or (if he DOES care about good simulation) one of the A2A GA planes (the Comanche, for instance).

BTW As good as the Q400 is, it has quite a few low res textures... Again, I love the plane but it's not exactly an eye candy pleaser. 😉

NO

the Q400  looks very nice I like it very much

just to be clear are we talking about this one 

http://majesticsoftware.com/mjc8q400/index.html

[simbol 5,819]

53 minutes ago, MadBoxx said:

NO

the Q400  looks very nice I like it very much

just to be clear are we talking about this one 

http://majesticsoftware.com/mjc8q400/index.html

Yes, that is the one.. 

S.