I have just completed my first ever take off, circuit, and (rough) landing in the Beechjet. This was at Crissy Army Airfield, so you can probably understand why it was tricky (the final approach to runway 6 brought me very low over the roof tops of a posh looking estate). Anyway, I just wanted to say that I approached this little flight with some trepidation. As you probably know by now, I don't exactly follow the instruction book to the letter when it comes to flying, so I wasn't sure how well the Beechjet would "handle". In other words.........could this little executive jet be made to respond quick enough for my liking ? :-lolWell, I was pleasantly surprised. What a lovely little aircraft this is to fly. Obviously it requires more skill and concentration to fly compared to the Baron, but overall it appears to be an extremely stable and nimble plane.As for the Mooney, well.............let's just say that it was an interesting plane to fly. I still prefer the Baron as far as prop planes are concerned, so this one will also be taking to the air again soon (I didn't have the heart to leave it in the hangar for too long Tom). :-)Best Wishes,Chris Low,ENGLAND.

Chris,The BeechJet is a good one to learn AP flying. I use my Baron a lot... but I use them all... they all are fun! :)

The Beechjet is IMO the most rewarding plane to fly of all the standard FU3 planes. All those buttons,knobs and digits must have kept you quite busy at start and landing, huh?I always use a checklist anytime i choose to fly any of the jets (have missed switching critical instruments ON/OFF one time too many...) When you feel confident in the Beechjet try the Learjet or if you are brave enough the 747 as a step up. One warning though, once you have learned to use the AP and other helpful gadgets in the jets you will find the props boring... ;-) // Daniel

Daniel,What buttons, knobs and digits ? :-lolI just set the flaps, took off, turned a few times, and then landed. It's simple when you know how. :-lolChris Low,ENGLAND.

You may certainly "handfly" any aircraft, even a jet, but you want to know the correct speeds. To elaborate, you need to know whether it requires flaps for take offs and landings, when to rotate as well as the correct approach speed. Generally, jets are not doing well at speeds below 150 "clean" and will land at 110 - 140 kias with a couple of notches of flaps. A good target speed is 240 - 250 kias for cruise. With 100% fuel they may not land safely at all. I tend to plan flights with three-quarter tank loads to be able to land shortly after take off.best regards,Hans Petter

Hans,All of my aircraft start their flights with only 50 per cent fuel. Let's face it, I don't exactly have to fly very far without any outer terrain scenery installed !As for knowing the correct speeds, I do this entirely by trial and error. Once I become familiar with the Beechjet, I should be able to "handfly" it. This is how I prefer to fly my aircraft, and is also why I don't like flying anything big. Fortunately, the Beechjet appears to be responsive enough for my requirements.By the way, the FU3 Beechjet responds to throttle input far better than the FS2002 Baron. In other words, I can control the landing approach more easily in the Beechjet (without automatic pilot) than I can with the "bunny hopping" Baron in FS2002. Of course, all of my landings are done using the tried and tested "throttle input only" method ;) ,but this is still rather surprising.Chris Low,ENGLAND.PS. You may well think that "bunny hopping" is a direct consequence of my approach procedure, but you would be missing the point. This is kept to a minimum in FU3 because of the quick response times, but it seems to take forever for the Baron in FS2002 to even notice that a throttle input has been performed.

Ah, the Beechjet!I stuffed with everything, then I discovered the B400! I then flew it for 12 months (apart from Ansgar's 747 when it appeared). As you say Chris, it does hand-fly so smoothly, you can just switch to the F1 view, ignore the instruments and look at the scenery. Having lots of power available helps. If you try that sort of thing with the DC3, by the time you realise you're dropping it's too late - the engines take a good 30 seconds to spin back up to speed! For these moments I switch 'gear damage' off!The B400's smoothness extends to the AP as well. I have flown many a flight (and landed OK) with the yolk on the floor beside the desk! All I need to do is adjust the throttle and trims here and there.By comparison, trying to land the Mooney is like trying to stuff a mouse into a milk bottle - it just doesn't want to do it!Jon Point*************************([email protected])*************************

The Mooney simply requires plenty of time to lose altitude. In other words, you need to start your approach further out. Like I said, it's all trial and error. There is no need to worry about messing up a landing in FU3, simply because it is a flight SIMULATOR. It might hurt your ego, but that is ALL that it will hurt !Chris Low,ENGLAND.

While it's certainly possible to find something that works through trial and error it helps a lot to know the aircraft's design specifications. The Mooney may for instance be brought down faster by using speed brakes. When planning way ahead one could even land the Beechjet "clean" (no flaps) provided the runway is long enough. I understand that this is a sim and we're basically having fun. I just have more fun when I try to keep each aircraft within its "design envelope".best regards,Hans Petter

That's fine by me Hans. I can understand why plenty of virtual pilots want to do things "by the book", but I prefer to "feel" the aircraft. I'm not particularly interested in using the autopilot with the Beechjet, nor am I all that bothered in using the trim wheel ;) It seems to me that these planes are more responsive when they are close to the edge of their flight envelopes, and that's what I like best. I like to feel the response of a plane, rather than predict it.Chris Low,ENGLAND.