AWACactus

It should really be put this way. There are CEO Basic and CEO Enhanced aircraft. All NEO are enhanced aircraft and come with sharklets. The Basic original A320 family had CRT's for the displays. That would be the most notable difference the eye catches when you enter the flight deck. Over the course of its life many things have changed with the Basic aircraft. Most notable the FMGC software, flight control software standards (ELAC standards), flight warning computer standards and MCDU functionality options (some optional per operator preference). All these changes eventually led to the development of the enchanced version being developed. When the Enhanced CEO were developed the A320 family went from CRT's to LED displays (larger) as well as some system changes. For instance the landing gear system and its hydraulics were modified with the enhanced version. If you look at the American Airlines fleet there are enhanced CFM sharklet A319's and IAE sharklet A321's. However when they merged with US Airways, they received enhanced IAE and CFM 321's with wing fences. So a fleet can have quite a mix. Now American Airlines is taking the old Basic 319 aircraft and converting them to look enhanced in the flight deck. So a bit of Frankenstein there..ha. ha. NEO's do have some differences other than the engines. In real life they don't have the same feel for landing as the non NEO family. All aircraft pre NEO have a flight control logic of auto trim down (around 100 RA) to create an artificial feel of pressure to give the pilot a sense of resistance when flaring for touchdown. The NEO doesn't do that and it feels a bit different. NEO's also have different landing light options and may also have less flight computers than the 2 ELAC's, 2 FAC's and 3 SEC standard you typically see. Clear as mud right? I have been on the Airbus for over 20 years and have about 15000+ hours on them and honestly I have a tough time keeping things straight 🙂. Maybe it's all the chem trails I have flown through 🙂 . Much love to the sim community, I may fly for a living but I don't suffer from big fish small pond mentality. I just love to share my experience and put perspective on things. Seeing the enthusiasm of this community and how so many folks immerse themselves into these subjects and understand is awesome and is what keeps the developers going. Also this community always helps me with how to find files, change settings and understand how to get the most out of my computer and simulators. So much thanks to the computer guys that keep me flying on these web boards! If you love Airbus .. google Airbus Safety magazine. I believe they are free and don't require any login's. They are a great resource if you like systems and the Airbus philosophy of engineering. They are easy to read and have great graphics. You can easily add this to your experience. It typically covers A220 all the way up to the A380.