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Aircraft Review : Embraer E-195LR by SSG


Stephen

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SSGE-195LR_Evo_Header.jpg

 

Aircraft Review : Embraer E-195LR by Supercritical Simulations Group

 

This is the all new Embraer E-195LR. Your first "hand in the air" moment is that, is this the updated version. Well no it isn't, and in fact the aircraft is all new and it is even a completely different aircraft than before because the first SSG "Stretch" version of the E-Jet family was actually the "E-190" and not this slightly longer E-195LR.

 

This E-195LR is however more closely related to SSG's updated E170 that is currently in v1.08 (update review here). Besides the new variant of the E-Jet this aircraft has a completely new and revised FMC, again at first look it does look so very similar to the E-170's FMC, but it is different in use and programming, in a twist this new improved E-195LR FMC here will also be inserted in to the next E-170 update that has been released at the same time as this E-195LR.

 

As this release is coming after X-Plane11-10 final (now v11-11) then the benefits of the X-Plane version upgrade are in the aircraft as well, they are now smaller things compared to the earlier XP11 changes like the excellent PBR (Physically Based Rendering) that really give the aircraft a great and modern feel and look, a note is that both SSG EJets are now only available for X-PLane11.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_Head 1.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_Head 3.jpg

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As a personal preference I like the longer "stretch" versions of commercial aircraft. A321's, B757-300's and the grandaddy of them all the Super DC-8 Series 63...  long and thin and that there is "a lot out at the back" feel is here in the E-195LR.

 

Quality in modeling is very good in this EJet with a great external design and the aircraft is highly detailed. Even under close scrutiny you get a high pass on the finer details in nice wear and tear (I like the burnt engine gas outlet areas). Rivets and paneling are also very good, but expected on aircraft of this caliber and price.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_Head 4.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_Head 5.jpg

 

The cockpit and panel is fully featured now. The detailing is very good with the excellent altitude position panel as part of the MAP display (It can also be switched off). The PBR lighting brings out the best of the cockpit as well and shows off all that fine crafted work, overall you can't fault the design.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_Cockpit 1.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_Cockpit 2.jpg

SSGE-195LR_Evo_Cockpit 3.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_Cockpit 4.jpg

 

But all this detail does come with a compromise? Any setting less than the full "Max" texture setting will make the PFD and MAP displays and panel text slightly more blurry and does not reflect the different high quality on the external areas as the same in here on the panel displays. And that max setting also comes with a nasty penalty and in my case the graphic texture load was 7065gb, yes nearly the full 8gb of my graphic card space? So using this max setting is really not really a normal setting of usable use, even for the power users.

I found an easy 10 frame drop between the external view and the panel view on the aircraft, and the actual PFD displays look like an older feel in X-Plane design. Set the textures a notch below and the aircraft is fine, but when I still found myself in the 30-20 framerate range and then in parts it struggled in the lower framerate operations of 20-18 while using a detailed airport as an the 28 frame run externally (which is fine) is lowered to 18 frames internally (which is not)?

 

I'm not saying the SSG E-195LR has a framerate issue because it doesn't, but there are compromises at higher settings x quality internally.

 

SSGE-170LR_Evo_11_Cockpit 5.jpgSSGE-170LR_Evo_11_Cockpit 6.jpg

SSGE-195LR_Evo_Cockpit 5.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_Cockpit 6.jpg

 

Overhead panel is a crossover from the E-170 version as is the Autopilot panel, as both are very good and well developed. Old style half-moon manipulators are available and also mouse scroll, but both are hard to locate (certainly the mouse scroll) if you are not directly centered on the knob, and quick knob adjustments are slow to find if you come from the captains seat angled viewpoint. The rusted (worn) central glareshield looks odd and slightly out of place in such a modern aircraft cockpit style.

 

Central column "Adjustments Display" is the same as the E-170. This is basically your aircraft menu system.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Menu.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Menu 2.jpg

 

It does put all of the items and features  at your fingertips, but you always have to centre and zoom in close on the display to use it, so it is a constant movement from your pilots flying position to closing in on the menu screen to use it, it also makes the pushback feature hard to use effectively.

 

But for a small display it is quite powerful for setting up the aircraft. You can set "Payload" (passengers and cargo) by percentage in lbs and kgs. Fuel can be manually loaded or set from the FMC, and you can reduce your fuel load as well.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Menu 3.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Menu 4.jpg

 

External features allows you to open all the doors (pass and cargo) and both cockpit side windows and there is an external GPU. I have always liked the really great set of boarding stairs provided in the package and the included matching airline livery.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Menu 5.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Menu 6.jpg

 

Cabin

The cabin on the newer E-195LR is far different from the E-170. The colour in cream is different and so are the seats in blue and not the dark/light greys of the E170 (below)

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Cabin 1.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Cabin 2.jpg

 

E170

 

SSGE-170LR_Evo_11_Cabin 1.jpgSSGE-170LR_Evo_11_Cabin 2.jpg

 

Personally the E170's cabin looks far more sleeker, modern and cleaner, but more to ones own choice. Detail is however still as good.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Cabin 3.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Cabin 4.jpg

 

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Flying the SSG E-195

One area of discernment for me has been the FMC's that are created by Javier Cortes (FJCC) in SSG aircraft. Let us say in the past that the FMC and myself never really got on together or I would say they always felt slightly buggy, and mostly in the areas of TOC (Top of Climb) and TOD (Top of Descent) positioning. SID and STAR execution wasn't that great either...  so I approached this version with a bit of trepidation. I will admit that most FMC's are always fiddly and time consuming anyway and mostly around the execution of STAR layouts and airway insertion.

 

So it was to my big surprise that this latest version is really very good, and relatively bug free. Some areas can be hard to find in this very different layout from the Boeing way of doing FMS insertion, like the airways insertion page is hidden behind a "Next" button. But overall the inputting of the route "KATL to KDCA" was error and bug free and creating and activating the route was relatively easy. All the details in creating routes are in the QSG Manual provided.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 3.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 4.jpg

 

The FMC panel does pop-out for ease of use (F8 key Win/ Linux - FN F8 keys Mac) and keyboard input is also available. RTE is Route setup, and NAV is Departure and Arrival SID/STAR inputs. You can get confused because the DEP and ARR input selections are also on the PERF (Performance) page as well?

 

Departure was from ATL RWY26R then to STAR "NUGGT9" which was activated correctly and so was the crossover to waypoint and airway insertion.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 5.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 6.jpg

 

Airway insertion is found by pressing "RTE" then "Next"...

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 7.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 8.jpg

 

...   all airways inserted correctly and activated, I didn't use standard "Waypoint" Insertion here in this flightplan but it works fine. Arrival was via "IRONS5" STAR via "RIC" (Richmond) to DCA RWY01.

 

"Route Discontinuity" or the Route - SID join was at "KATRN" which was easily joined up to complete the full route KATL (Atlanta) to KDCA (Washington National), Yes I know it is now called Ronald Reagan but "National" is still national.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 9.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 10.jpg

 

The aircraft's PERF (Performance) data is mostly all done for you, all you need to fill in is the smaller details like transition height, steps and wind.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 11.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_FMC 12.jpg

 

I found a few inputs were not accepted, but overall it was a smooth operation. Steps only allowed 1000ft increments.

 

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Performance covers: Takeoff, Climb, Cruise and Descent procedures and all data is noted in the PROG (Progress) pages (three pages) and nice touch is the Flight ID on the top of the progress pages.

 

So route building was excellent and easy to use, with thankfully now no swearing or throwing things. Yes I was very impressed.

 

Departure ATL

I found that with EJets that pre-takeoff adjustment of not only the usual...   Speed, Altitude but also the NAV (FMC Route) can be selected ready and importantly so can the V/S (Vertical Speed) at 1800fpm. Selecting both of these does make the transition from takeoff manual handling to AP (Autopilot) flying smoother and clean.

 

There is a built in pushback truck that is still a semi-truck on a stick movement, but it is now far better than the average original version. I don't usually use this pushback as it is hard to control from the central window panel operation, so I use the built in X-Plane native pushback instead.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 1.jpg  SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 2.jpg

 

Climb-out is very good and powerful with a great feeling in the cockpit, it is a nice aircraft to fly both manually and from an automated perspective.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 3.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 4.jpg

 

There has been a lot of development in these Ejets from SSG and you feel all that work is now final paying off, to me a good simulation is a smooth one in operating the aircraft and your interaction with it.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 5 LG.jpg

 

Sounds are not yet FMOD, which is disappointing and to a point a feature now expected on aircraft like this. They are not bad in the range that they are, and the aircraft uses the "Dreamengine" sound plugin, but the sounds do feel older or slightly dated now than some of the newer released FMOD sound. An odd audio is that you get one type of sound only on the right hand speaker in flight or under high-power. But overall the sounds are good, but not exceptional.

 

Flight instruments are good, but as noted are slightly, slightly blurry and bloated at this lower texture setting. But they are very comprehensive in detail. All PFD instruments are done correctly and I really like the correctly switchable VOR1/ADF and VOR2 pointers with comprehensive adjoining information. A small note in that the X-Plane local map direct radio frequencies don't switch to the FMC radio frequencies, so you have to manually insert the VOR1 (ILS) and VOR2 (DME) frequencies into the radio page.

 

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The MAP/NAV display is also very comprehensive with information with excellent route data, wind, external temperatures, DME, TCAS and weather.

The excellent lower "Altitude Indicator" is also excellent and V/S Vertical Speed in range is also very good. (the curved line that shows you your range position on the map for the set altitude and vertical speed target)

 

Also available are: Nav-Aid, Airports, WPTs, PROGRESS (details on the route), Vertical Profile (Lower MFD, Very Nice!), TCAS and Weather and Terrain is on the lower selections. 

Systems are all covered and include: Status (doors), FltCtrl (Flight Controls), Hydr (hydraulics), Fuel, Elec (Electrical), and Anti-Ice.

 

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Flying the IRONS5 STAR, I found no breaks in the flightplan or odd vectors. This was a nice clean approach by the flightplan.

 

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It is important that the approach settings in ILS frequency (VOR1) and the system is switched from the NAV to APP in that the VOR1 is set on the PFD, a few times it didn't set and the ILS didn't connect. It is not a system issue, but an awareness one.

 

Short finals and I am under complete manual control, approach speed at full flaps is around 125knts. I like the throttle response in that you can control the thrust minutely...

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 12.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 13.jpg

 

...  it allows for great control and the low approach speed can allow you the time to correctly select your landing point with accuracy.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 15.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 14.jpg

 

The aircraft flares nicely and you know that was a good landing. Great feedback from the aircraft can do this and I liked the E-195LR in this area a lot.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 16.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 17.jpg

 

Reverse thrust action was great and I like the way the airbrakes work independently.

 

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Aircraft clean up and taxi is very good, but you have to anticipate tiller turning as it is a slightly slow turning front gear set up, but highly realistic. Overall very impressed.

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Flying 21 Final.jpg

 

Lighting

Lighting is excellent overall, the cockpit and instruments has a lot of adjustment and the under glareshield strip lighting is very nice...

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Lighting 1.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Lighting 2.jpg

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The right feel in the cockpit at night is important to me and the E-195LR scores highly in this area, the adjustment of surround lighting  down to what I call "Approach Lighting" was excellent in clear instruments, but not a lot of reflective glare. Overhead (Storm/Dome) lighting is good in two settings low and high (below).

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Lighting 3.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Lighting 4.jpg

 

Cabin lighting is very good, and totally separately adjustable from the cockpit lighting which I really like, adjustment is on the central pillar "Adjustments Display".

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Lighting 11.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Lighting 12.jpg

 

External lighting is also very good with a lot of options. Nav, Strobe and red Beacon are standards, but you have three landing lights (two wing and one front strut), taxi nose and side, logo and INSP (Side lights).

 

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Side, Taxi and landing lights are slightly blobby, but this is a Laminar issue and not a developer one, but a slight bit of fine-tuning would make them perfect. Tail brand lighting is excellent.

 

Liveries

There is in all sixteen liveries and all are excellent across a wide range of operators. Five liveries in Aegean, Air Domomiti, Alitalia, Lot and Lufthansa are duel liveries in both NEW (Clean) and USED (Dirty) so overall there are nine operators and two factory (house) liveries with one the "Factory Bird"..

 

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_Factory Bird.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_House.jpg

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_Agean.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_Alitalia.jpg

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_Azul.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_China Southern.jpg

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_Flybe Kids and Teens.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_JetBlue.jpg

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_LOT SP-LDF.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_LOT Star.jpg

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_Lufthansa.jpgSSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_US Airways.jpg

SSGE-195LR_Evo_11_Livery_Dolomiti.jpg

 

I would have liked a standard Flybe as well as the "Flybe Kids and Teens" logo, and US Air is well gone...

 

Summary

This E-195LR has come a long, long way since Supercritical Simulations Group started their E-Jet series. This aircraft is all new in the E-195 size, but a lot of the detail is based on the E-170 version already available. Both aircraft are now built to a high standard, but both aircraft also still hold remnants of the past as well in mostly the textures on the PFD, MAP/NAV and central displays, the heavier weight in framerate is also noticeable from these textures as well with a 10 frame drop from the external view to the internal position. You can of course up your texture quality to (Absolute) max and fix the slight blurryness, but that comes with a huge penalty on your graphic card, so you have to use the lower texture setting to fly the aircraft comfortably.

 

This apart then in every other area the E-195LR really shines and the refinement to Javier Cortes FMC is now very good as well. It is a slightly different FMC to program, but now also very flexible and easy to use with Airways also available. The FMC does give you a lot of helping hands in setting out your aircraft preferences, and the heavy user will want more control, but for the rest of us it sets up the aircraft there and then and your ready to fly. Cockpit and instrument detail with comprehensive data is excellent, and that is why the prefs are more automated than with manual inputs to get the best out of the data and on to the displays.

 

I prefer the E-170's sleek grey cabin to the E-195LR's. It is good but the cream tends to date it a little as does the blue seats....  The idea I think is to make the aircraft overall feel more older and tired as with the rusted glareshield. The manipulators can be tricky to use from an angled perspective, you do get used to it, but there are now better manipulator ideas to use for ease of use than these.

 

Features are good, all the doors (and cargo) open and the "Adjustments Display" is quite powerful for loading up the aircraft, but it doesn't fully replace a decent menu system.

 

The EJet flies very well manually or automated if you plan and use the Autopilot in settings to transition from manual to AP flight, this is a quirk with EJet's and get it wrong and the transition can be a little clunky, not the aircraft, it is just in the way you fly them.

 

The aircraft EJet series from Supercritical Simulations Group is now both the short E-170 variant and now this longer, faster with slightly more range E-195LR. Both compliment each other and note that both aircraft have been updated (20th Dec) to the current specifications and both are now only X-Plane11 compatible as well. In a deal if you already own the E-170 you can purchase the E195LR with a US$20 discount or buy both aircraft together as part of a double package.

 

So if you love your regional spoke and hub airlines then this is now one of the best medium class aircraft to fly. You get more refinement and a lot of features, in its class it is now the best, and myself the longer variant of the EJet 195LR is the better of the two, but why not have both and enjoy them perfectly together...

 

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X-Plane Store logo sm.jpg

 

The Embraer E-Jet 195LR Evolution by Supercritical Simulation Group is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here :

 

Embraer E-Jet195LR Evolution

 

Your Price: $49.95

 

Note: if you are already an original owner of SSG's E-170LR Evolution you can get to upgrade to the "E-195LR Evolution" version with a US$20 discount! to the price of US$29.95, so Please email [email protected] to get your discount code and include you original purchase order number.
 

Embraer E-Jet170LR Evolution

 

Your Price: $49.95
 
Twin package of both advanced E-Jets by SSG is also available:

E-170 Evolution

E-195 Evolution


Embraer E-Jets Evolution Series

 

Your Price: $64.95
Features:
Advanced FMS and Navigation system
  •     Custom-built FMS (done by FJCC)  designed for the SSG Evolution Series
  •     SIDs, STARs, transitions, approaches, flare and rollout modes.
  •     FMS is compatible with Navigraph navigation databases.
  •     Manufacturer's performance data embedded as tables in the fully functional FMS.
  •     Option to use either a 2D pop-up (resizable) MCDU or one within the 3D cockpit.
  •     Radio communication audio consoles optimized for on-line virtual ATC operations.
  •     FMS performance information based on real aircraft data, including V-speeds.
  •     FMS includes capability for autotuning navaid frequencies.
  •     Vertical Situation Display (VSD) on the MFD, Unique in XP.
  •     Terrain display mode on the MFD, which is a part of the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) on the real aircraft.
High-Res 3D modeling complete with detailed animations and textures\
  •     Realistic displays (PFD, MFD with system synoptics, and EICAS)
  •     External lights and strobes operating realistically, with dynamic lighting in the scenery.
  •     Display management similar to that in the real aircraft.
  •     Autobrakes with anti-skid system that works in all conditions and includes a realistic rejected takeoff mode.
  •     Realistic wing flex and other animations.
  •     Window rain effects and animated wipers.
  •     Option menu incorporated into the 3D cockpit.
  •     Ground vehicles include a tow truck, GPU and airstairs.
  •     Over 10 detailed liveries come with the package.
Custom systems and Flight Model
  •     Aircraft will meet most of the real aircraft's performance data for consumption, AOA, speeds, flight dynamics, etc. in close consultation with real world E-Jet pilots.
  •     Realistic 3D cockpit with high resolution.
  •     Many systems are implemented with realistic logic, such as electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, engine fire extinguishing, fuel, wing and engine anti-ice (including automatic mode), communications, and TCAS.
  •     Comprehensive autopilot functioning in modes similar to those of the real aircraft
  •     First Officer's MFD display is independent from the Captain's.
  •     EICAS messages based on the real aircraft's with lists and scrolling
DreamEngine Sound System
  •     3D sounds with DreamEngine plugin.
Comes with a comprehensive documentation
  • Airplane Operations Manual (AOM)
  • Quick Start Guide (QSG)
  • Quick Reference Randbook (QRH) to permit easy reference to data for FMS entries and other necessary data

 

Requirements:

X-Plane 11 +
Windows, Mac or Linux - 64bit Operating System
2Gb VRAM Minimum. 4Gb+ VRAM Recommended 

Current version: XP11 (last updated Dec 20th 2017)

 

Installation
Download of the SSG E-Jet 195LR is 546.30mb and it is installed in your X-Plane Airliner Folder as a 707.80mb folder.
 
Aircraft comes with a automated X-Updater for direct updates for the life of the X-Plane11 release.
 
Documents
There are three comprehensive documents provided:
 
  • SSG E-Jet Evolution AOM.pdf (Aircraft Operators Manual)
  • SSG EJet Evolution QSG.pdf (Quick Start Guide)
  • SSG EJet QRH.pdf (Quick Reference Handbook)

 

All are comprehensive with weights, checklists and vRef's

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Review by Stephen Dutton
22nd December 2017
Copyright©2017: X-PlaneReviews
 
(Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)
 

Review System Specifications:

Computer System: Windows  - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD 

Software:   - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.11

Addons: Saitek x56 Pro system Joystick and Throttle

Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 : XPRealistic Pro v1.0.9  effects US$19.95 : WorldTraffic 3.0 Plugin - US$29.95

Scenery:

- KATL - Atlanta International by Nimbus Simulation (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$23.95 (Note that KATL by Nimus has just been upgraded!  Check it out)

- KDCA - Washington XP by Drzewiecki Designs (X-Plane.OrgStore) US$30.00 (Washington XP Review is here)

 

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Thanks for the great review.  After I read this and saw the pictures I was sold and so I purchased it.  I am having trouble with the FMS.  I don't have any SIDs or STARs like the ones you have.  I even entered KATL to KDCA but still nothing.  Have you heard of this problem before and if so how did they fix it.  So far all the other aspects are great.  Thanks

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