Having been lately flying (plenty) all the ultramodern (ultra-haul) jetliners (such as the 777, 787, 330, 340, 350, 777-X etc.)...🙂..., I thought today that it's time for a different experience, considering these holidays...🙂..., warranting a bit more challenge than the mundane (and fully automated) lateral and vertical (FBW) managed modes of the Boeing and Airbus jets...Oh well...no harm dreaming a bit from the easy chair of a virtual aviator...🙂...

So, this (native MSFS2024) Just Flight F28 Professional caught my attention today in the Marketplace. First of all, my hats are off to the developers such as Just Flight, PMDG, and iniBuilds etc., for making their products work intrinsically within the confines of the MSFS (software) architecture, thereby giving the users (including, of course, the Xbox kids...like I am one...🙂...) a choice to acquire such a/c from the Marketplace. This has the dual advantage of not only expanding user base of their products, but also contributing to the bottom-line of their sales revenue, a good thing for the sustenance and vitality of the overall SIM, I would say. 

All Fokker Jetliners, especially F28/F70/F100, the trailing end legacies of the Dutch aviation pioneer Anthony Fokker, the (so-called) Flying Dutchman, who shaped Aviation on both sides of the Atlantic, have been always some of my most favorites in this hobby. I distinctly recall flying the Project Fokker F28 (freeware) aircraft in FSX. In fact, I was surprised to see today a file in the local Avsim Library (uploaded just a couple of years ago, in 2023), for FSX PFJ Fokker F28MK4000, as below (the F28MK4000 is same as the JF F28-4000, I'm flying here today):

"File Description:
This is a texture set for the Project Fokker F28-4000 FSX by Rob Barendregt of PH-ZCH (c/n 11220) in Air Zimbabwe colours. The order was not taken up and was eventually delivered to TAME. Textures only, original model required."

Yes, that model was my first exposure to this the F28 twinjet, a pioneering regional jet of its times, crucial for making jet travel accessible to smaller airports with its short takeoff/landing (STOL) capability, robust design, and many innovative features. Now, here is a nice (and well-received) rendition of it from Just Flight for MSFS (the single purchase gives access to both 2020 and 2024 versions).

For my post here, I have selected the (classic) USAir livery, and flying this jetliner, from Pittsburgh (KPIT) in Pennsylvania, about 350 miles down south to Charlotte (KCLT) in North Carolina. I am tracking across the Allegheny range of mountains, a range that's quite familiar to me from (RW) visits to it in all the 4 states (Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia) that it spans. Allegheny is an integral part (and subset) of the larger Appalachian Mountain Range of eastern North America. 

For my flight route, I've defined just two (en route) custom (LAT/LONG) waypoints for the highest 2 points between Pittsburgh and Charlotte (both summits under 5,000 ft elevations), as below:

1. Mount Davis (the highest point in Pennsylvania)
2. Spruce Mountain aka Spruce Knob (the highest point of the Allegheny Mountains)

I've entered these 2 waypoints into the SimBrief Flight Plan (see shot #3 below), and then effortlessly, imported them into the UNS-1 FMS (see close-up shot) of this a/c. This F28 is a delight to fly, with its legacy and quaint looking (yet quite modern) cockpit avionics suite, that, for me, surely needed some getting used to (there is an extremely well-written 262 page manual available on-line for holiday reading...🙂...) ...e.g., the "BEAM" button (see the MCP/Glareshield in shot #4) enables "GPS Navigation" and also "Localizer Capture", and the "GLIDE" button enables "ILS Glidepath", when appropriately coupled with the Mode Selector Knob. The GPS Navigation (precisely to the two aforesaid mountains of my interest) and Localizer/Glideslope guidance, performed flawlessly for my first flight with this a/c today.

There is no (automated) vertical (VNAV) control in this a/c, but there are options on both the EFB and the UNS-1 FMS, for advisory VNAV guidance, if so desired.

Hope, you enjoy this collection of images of the F28-4000 twinjet in the colors of USAir. USAir (airline) has its spirit and genetic roots, ingrained in the Allegheny mountains (the USAir DC-3s and DC-9s, along with these F28s, were once roaming the corridors and valleys of the same mountains). So, I thought, it would be an appropriate livery to explore these mountains today (Allegheny Airlines, the former incarnation of USAir, rebranded into USAir in 1979, then later becoming US Airways, and eventually merging and dissolving into (today's) American Airlines).

Thanks for viewing...!

Edited December 26, 2025Dec 26 by P_7878

The route, the plane, the livery...I like it all! 🙂

Great shots. They brought back a lot of memories. I never thought I'd work an airplane that would make me miss the BAC-111 but the F28 was it.

Great shots. Brings back so many memories to my days as a flight Line Mechanic for USAir in Baltimore and Charlotte, often working the F-28's and their big brother, the F-100. Really looking forward to the day that JustFlight releases that one as well 🙂

4 hours ago, John F said:

The route, the plane, the livery...I like it all! 🙂

Thanks much, John. Yes, as you said, the route, the plane, and the livery…all happen to be nice here…🙂…I liked them too.

 

4 hours ago, mwilk said:

Great shots. They brought back a lot of memories. I never thought I'd work an airplane that would make me miss the BAC-111 but the F28 was it.

Appreciated the note. It’s always good to see the Allegheny logo on your avatar…🙂…Actually I looked for the Allegheny Airlines livery for this flight to match my trip across the Alleghenies, but didn’t find one today.

Yes, I learned today that USAir operated a historic fleet of 30 BAC 1-11s.

 

1 hour ago, GACSavannah said:

Great shots. Brings back so many memories to my days as a flight Line Mechanic for USAir in Baltimore and Charlotte, often working the F-28's and their big brother, the F-100. Really looking forward to the day that JustFlight releases that one as well 🙂

Thanks for chiming in. I recall, once I’d left a space between US and Air, and you’d gently pointed it out…🙂…

It must have been quite an experience to have worked on those F28s. Yes, I am also looking forward to the F100. The Digital Aviation (Flight1) F70/F100 were once my favorites…🙂…

Cheers…!

Edited December 27, 2025Dec 27 by P_7878

Needs a Piedmont livery

1 minute ago, jymp said:

Needs a Piedmont livery

Yes, another classic one, indeed.

Actually, I recall seeing the Piedmont livery in JF’s base livery pack for this F28…away from my PC now, will re-confirm…

1 hour ago, jymp said:

Needs a Piedmont livery

Yes, these were actually Piedmont aircraft and came across as part of the merger. I think the F-28’s originally belonged to Empire Airlines who Piedmont merged with before the US Airways merger.

2 hours ago, P_7878 said:

Thanks much, John. Yes, as you said, the route, the plane, and the livery…all happen to be nice here…🙂…I liked them too.

 

Appreciated the note. It’s always good to see the Allegheny logo on your avatar…🙂…Actually I looked for the Allegheny Airlines livery for this flight to match my trip across the Alleghenies, but didn’t find one today.

Yes, I learned today that USAir operated a historic fleet of 30 BAC 1-11s.

 

Thanks for chiming in. I recall, once I’d left a space between US and Air, and you’d gently pointed it out…🙂…

It must have been quite an experience to have worked on those F28s. Yes, I am also looking forward to the F100. The Digital Aviation (Flight1) F70/F100 were once my favorites…🙂…

Cheers…!

I started working for Allegheny Airlines in May of 1979 in Cleveland,Ohio. I retired in 2016 in Dallas-Fort Worth right after the merger with American was completed.

1 hour ago, mwilk said:

I started working for Allegheny Airlines in May of 1979 in Cleveland,Ohio. I retired in 2016 in Dallas-Fort Worth right after the merger with American was completed.

Allegheny Airlines rebranded to USAir in Oct. 1979, so, you went through that transition moment of history...🙂...

Fine set of shots, thanks for sharing !

This is a nice Add from Justflight..

cheers 😉

26 minutes ago, pmplayer said:

Fine set of shots, thanks for sharing !

This is a nice Add from Justflight..

cheers 😉

Thanks, pmplayer.

Yes, this is a nice one from Just Flight.

4 hours ago, mwilk said:

Yes, these were actually Piedmont aircraft and came across as part of the merger. I think the F-28’s originally belonged to Empire Airlines who Piedmont merged with before the US Airways merger.

I find (one) F28-4000 (Reg. N505) in Piedmont colors, in the JF base livery pack.

Indeed, this F28 flew for both Piedmont and Empire Airlines, before Piedmont merged with USAir.

On 12/27/2025 at 12:49 AM, P_7878 said:

Allegheny Airlines rebranded to USAir in Oct. 1979, so, you went through that transition moment of history...🙂...

We used to joke that USAir really stood for Unfortunately Still Allegheny In Reality 🙂

12 hours ago, GACSavannah said:

We used to joke that USAir really stood for Unfortunately Still Allegheny In Reality 🙂

...🙂...

We must admit however that USAir had grand aspirations, to shake off its original regional identity, to become a major national and international carrier through aggressive expansion and mergers ...🙂...

Indeed, quite a fascinating piece of American aviation history...