AntonAy

Congrats to winners!

History and Background
The ERJ-140 is a 44-seat regional jet developed by Embraer (Brazil ) in the late 1990's. It is the third to have been released in its family, preceded by the very similar ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 with only minor differences  in size.  The ERJ-140 seats 44  passengers in normal configuration. 
The ERJ-140 was made and marketed for airlines with restrictions on the number of 50+ seat jets pilots could fly. American airlines ( American eagle airlines at the time ) was the first customer to make use of this jet but many others soon followed.
 
ERJ-140 model from Dan Klaue
 
Where to get it:   X-Plane.org Store : Embraer ERJ 140 Regional Jet
Download size: 100mb
Price: $24.95
X-Plane requirement: X-plane 9 or 10. 32 or 64 bit
 
Included in the package:
Aircraft model for X-Plane 10 and X-Plane 9 X-Plane ERJ-140 manual Pushback Manual 4 liveries: Blank, Embraer ERJ-140, American Airlines and Air France   First Impression
Dan Klaue is a designer who also works for Carenado and helps them on their x-plane models. It is no surprise that the ERJ-140 modeling is top-level. The first time you launch it you will see an aircraft with flawless 3d modeling. Although the ERJ was first released over 2 years ago, it is definitely up to par with the newer X-Plane models.
Note that the current version is 2.2. Version 2.2 introduced support for 64bit.
 
 
 
The exterior of the ERJ-140 looks great. The wings and landing gear are very detailed. The engine fan blades are well animated.
 
 

 
The cockpit is a true work of art. The instruments are very easy to read and locate.
 

 
Pushback truck
 
The ERJ-140 comes with a plugin-activated Pushback truck. To enable this you will first need to configure your joystick with the appropriate buttons. The manual explains exactly how to do this.
 
The pushback truck is designed specifically for the ERJ-140. It is the correct model and size for this type of aircraft.
It's an enjoyable option as it is very easy to operate once you have your joystick configured.
 
 
Great design of the truck, Now you can easily get off of the gate
 
 
 

 
Cockpit and Panel
 
The panels are my favorite part about the ERJ. They are, in my opinion, the best looking panels of any aircraft out there. They are very clear, easy to read, and easy to use.
 
The panels are as crisp as anything you'll find in X-Plane:
 
 
 

 
The panel features dynamic reflection. It may be a little difficult to see from these screenshots but in game you can clearly see the reflections of the pilots and the yoke as you move around.
 
 
Buttons on the overhead panel are easy to find and use

 
The cockpit comes with animated pilot and co-pilot. They can be seen from inside and outside of the cockpit.
 
Animated co-pilot. Her head moves with the aircraft.

 
Pilot. Note the dynamic reflections on the shades.

 
 
Flying the ERJ-140
 
Getting started with the ERJ-140 is easy and straightforward. The aircraft does not include complex systems like planes such as the 777 by Roman and the A320 by JAR.
You just get in the cockpit and fly it.
The FMS is the default X-Plane FMS.
 
Performances:
Cruising speed: Mach .078
Range: 1700nm
Thrust: 2 x 7500lbs
Landing Speed: 135 Kias
 
 
 
The aircraft has a very responsive feel. You will take off at 150knots. Then, you can gently climb to 35000feet. The engines are powerful enough to climb up to 5000fpm if you so please.
 

 
Landing the ERJ-140 is fairly simple as you can easily slow down the plane to the landing speed (which is not the case on all airliners).
 

 
You may notice additional effects such as wingflex, contrails  and rain effects:


 
Conclusion
 
The ERJ-140 is a pleasure to fly.
The quality of its design is extremely impressive. It has sharp textures and crisp panels. The panels are ridiculously easy to read.
The ERJ-140 is only $25, which is a steal. It is definitely one the best buys for X-Plane.
 
Many people do not want to immerse themselves in manuals for hours before they fly. If you are that kind of person, the ERJ-140  is the aircraft for you. You can jump in and fly. You can schedule a 30mn to 1hour commute flight without any effort. During that flight you can enjoy all features of the ERJ-140
 
On top of that, Dan Klaue is currently including his Verticopter in the package.  The Verticopter is a custom design of an hybrid aircraft. A plane that can fly in horizontal or vertical mode.
 
Computer specs:
Windows 7 64bit
i7-3770 3.4GHz
8GB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB
X-Plane 10.22 64bit
 
 
17th October 2013
 

 
 

Competition! : Winners!
 
X-Plane Reviews have listed the winners below in no order, as per usual we had four that we just could not divide on and so we have given out a special commendation prize for the huge effort put into the entry...   and so a huge congratulations to them for their entries. And a huge thanks to all who spent their time to note their views on X-Plane. If you are wondering if the competition was an exercise in feedback on the site, it was not planned that way but on how you use X-Plane and how it relates to you as a simulator and this is the aspect that X-Plane Reviews based its final decisions on..
 
The comments are interesting in hindsight because it does mean X-Plane Reviews are on the right insights on what you want to know and read in reviews, and the pros and cons of the releaes. We could easily post photocopy (or Xerox) style reviews on every new release in X-Plane (just the facts) but that would be boring. In all scenery or aircraft there certain known items that would be boring to repeat ad nauseam in every review which would go for pages and pages. So our point is that the aim is to focus on the features and the things that make the aircraft different and attractive and the things that are not, and in doing the review process if we find something that should be explained to get yourself up to speed quickly (In other words, we have spent the time, spending days to get our heads around the issue or screaming at the computer in frustration) to fly and enjoy the best aspects of the release in X-Plane. Again to highlight the notes on frame-rate, if I don't mention it then it is fine, as my Mac is semi-powerful my point of difference is that if it works well for me then 95% of computers will have the same results.
 
And secondary aspect is to see how the release relates to being in the simulator itself. I want to put the release to work so to speak. If it is in service or has a job to do and how well it relates to that scenarios and then shows us its strengths and weaknesses, There is nothing more valuable that running a "heavy" from one side of the world to another as it not only shows how it works in that environment, but also how the X-Plane simulator as a whole has progressed in relation to the release. In fact you are evaluating two aspects at the same time with one the release and then secondary the simulator as it progresses. Both results I will always pass on to the users.
 
A final aspect is just to explore our X-Plane world, go to places you would never go and note the reasons we go there and the history of why it is significant, I was top every year in school for geography...  my guess is I am still exploring.
 
So the selection of the winners are based on this aspect of you getting the very best out of the simulator. Investing in add-ons is money to be just that in investing in the simulator, and we all purchase for many different reasons. If I do occasionally (okay a lot) get over excited it is because of the simple fact that "I love this so much, then you should to", a bit biased? No not really because if it is that good then you will love it as well, and share the love.
Not every time does it have to be totally perfect at release, if you are paying monies then should it be?  The simple fact is that simulation does not work that way. All and even the very best will be updated over the next 12 months of their release, our position is that we need need to gaze a little and see the investment in six or twelve months time and where it will be and not where it is now, many would be confused when we have effused a lot over something that quite obviously has flaws. But we are looking at the things that are quality of the basic elements and not the usual in your face issues that are usually fixed in an update or two, The Boeing 748i from SSG is a good example of a poor release version to the excellent aircraft it is today. Above all else I am very proud of our track record in that area.
 
But the last thing to say on reviews is that the one thing that has become most important of the three years I have posted reviews is that the first impression is not always the right one. Quite a few have become firm favorites only after flying them after a period of time. Many a review has been late (even by weeks) because I have to scrap the original assessment of the aircraft (and scenery as well) and reassess it a different way, and unexpectedly many have wound their way into my heart in a way that was totally unexpected and many are not the ones that I expected to be part of my hangar collection or would have personally invested in them.
 
So to the winners....
 

tsmercer  - FlightFactor/Vmax Boeing 777
My favorite aircraft review was for the B200 King Air. I had been eagerly awaiting the B200 having once flown a full motion B350 sim before. I was hoping that the file would be an accurate modeling of its flight dynamics and the details in the review gave a great impression of how it flies. I love how the details of the review are presented in the context of a multi-leg flight. It gets all the details in there, but gives I nice narrative to keep it interesting. The thing that I loved most about the B200 review in particular was the not only the history of the development of the B200, but the history of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. It was a neat bit of history that gave the aircraft a mission other than the executive hamburger run. It was also great how that mission lead into the context of the review flights.
 
Thanks to the descriptions of the review, I purchased the aircraft. The review accurately captured the nuances of the aircraft and it's my favorite turboprop in X-Plane. The aircraft hits a great sweet spot in my hangar. I love that I can get in and out of nearly any airport with it, but still be fast enough that I don't get bored with long stretches of en route flight. It doesn't require nearly as much setup time as the CRJ that I also fly regularly, but still offers enough performance and complexity to be a handful and keep me engaged. On top of all that it's an absolutely gorgeous model with great cockpit ambiance.
Congratulations on one year of great reviews!
 
PJS37 - FlightFactor/Vmax Boeing 757
My favorite review is the Final Frontier Scenery review.  The reason this is my favorite is because the reviewer understood my plight it felt like when he started off with Juneau (Juneau being where my wife is from an somewhere I am familiar with and enjoy flying around).  Every sim I have tried the default Juneau is usually way off.  Heck half the time I couldn't even find mesh scenerey that didn't incorrectly render the Juneau area.  So when I saw X-Plane had an nice Juneau scenery upgrade I began my migration to X-Plane 10 (Ever so slowly)  I hadn't bought the scenery however because I was worried that there would be issues with it or it would look too dated in X-Plane 10.  Then I found xplanereviews.com and boy was I glad I did.  You guys have single handily reviewed everything I had the slightest interest in an helped me make clear and informed decisions.  The final frontier review was just what I needed to jump head first into X-Plane finally after many many month of waffling and retreating back into the safe comfortable arms of the familiar.  So I reformatted my PC a week ago have only X-Plane installed as my civilian sim and started buying up add-ons.  The Final Frontier review is an excellent example of the work you guys do so well.  It is objective; it shows the clear issues (Such as the texture blurriness of the add-on) but also compares it across the spectrum to add-ons available elsewhere and explains to me as a consumer why this is the one I should spend my money on.
 
Darrick - SSG/Vmax Boeing 748i
Happy 1st Anniversary X-Plane Reviews!!! I might be a new member here but i've reading your reviews since last year. I really like all your reviews, so it was very hard just to pick one. But in the end i decided to go for your Aircraft review of FlightFactor Boeing 757RR-200, Cause It really is just mindblowing your review is 100% accurate describing this add-on. The Details in the 757 is just gorgeous, I enjoy looking at every detail of this 757. I also like how it handles it is a very nice and fun aircraft to fly. I also like how its nit really complicated and very user friendly. I really think all the measurements in this add-on is perfect. As soon as the FlightFactor B757RR-200 I was really excited as it was one of my 4 Favourite Aircraft. Since it was a new release I need to get reviews first before bought it, I could not find a very Detailed review till i found your review. As soon as I red the review over and over again I decided to go on and buy the add-on. Your review is different. Its more reader Friendly, It made me easier to understand for I'm still a learner to Xplane. Your reviews are very 'light' but has very deep and detailed information users should know. I like how you Divide the parts by sharing your first Impressions and share people who and what is FlightFactor. Pictures!!! Your Pictures are top notch shows the detail of the aircraft form beginning to the end. Your exterior and interior Pictures of the Aircraft is quite a lot so it gives the user lots of pictures to see before they buy the add-on. I also enjoy reading cause you tell us how the plane works so we sure know when we own the add-on. When I first tested my FlightFactor B757RR-200 I did not regret it at all thanks to your review I was sure to buy this add-on. I really like your Conclusion it gives the readers mind a confident and ready feeling when buying the add-on. X-Plane is a great game with your reviews its even better. Thank you for all your Reviews! Two Thumbs Up! Wish you all the best for xplanereviews.com and Happy Birthday!!! Hope I can be one of the 3. Thanks.    Yes you are!
 
special commendation prize
 
MadMckMax - Daniel Klaue Embraer ERJ 140
Choice of Review
Although I'm very new to this website (I was introduced via forums.x-plane.org).
I've had a quick look at the content and I've chosen the since it is the review that I can most relate to.
I've bought other products from this developer, and was considering this aircraft as a result.
  Motivation for Choice
Speaking as a 13 year old wannabe pilot, one of the most exciting things about this article is how it
links the simulation to the real world with historical references. The down to earth nature of the review raises its credibility
and motivates me towards considering purchasing the 732.

The fact that Stephen Dutton has conducted a full documented flight also adds value.
His balance between opinion and fact is just right. eg."The chunky (and quite worn)
Pilot and Co-Pilot yokes do take up a lot of the panel view, removed you can now see the instrumentation clearer."

Good terminology, paints the picture, combined with vital information, exactly like you'd want it!
 
Note
Due to the quality of add ons and reviews here, I will be visiting this site often as long as I still fly on X-Plane
(likely a long time, as I am starting gliding training this year!). Also, the community here is just superb, so far I feel very at home here and
I admire how much effort the managers of the site put into communicating with the brilliant community they've created.
 
Summary
· Stephens review of the 732 offers an excellent balance of information, and personal opinion
· Immersive and thorough review
· Helpful when comparing products
· Adding confidence to the consumer
· Supplying advice/feedback to the seller/developer
· Overall positive contribution to the X-Plane Community.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

Max
 
His prize is the ERJ-140 by Daniel Klaue!
 
everyone else is a runner up...  well done.
 

A small note in some out worldly spelling mistakes that creep in, The system we use has a final click that switches the review to HTML before posting, In the process I have found it does strange odd things to the text (plus block text whole paragraphs), I fix most but some still creep on through...  odd business.
 
Stephen Dutton
 
Copyright©2014: X-Plane Reviews
 
15th August 2014
 

Congratulations and I'll echo others comments - you know how to describe the nuances of each piece of work, call out the unique and special features and generally encourage us to part with our £££s and invest in the payware economy! You've also saved me a few quid by telling it how it is when developers can do better...
 
For me, the best review has been the I would never have played around with the auto-hover so much if you hadn't called this out in your review:

 
Like all your reviews, this has the "scene setting" info to get me interested, the install details, critique of the modelling detail, a walk through of how it flies and excellent screenshots of the included liveries - all your screenshots are fabulous and really add to the articles!
 
Well done on the first year and thanks for all the effort and time you're giving to all of us!

Choice of Review
Although I'm very new to this website (I was introduced via forums.x-plane.org).
I've had a quick look at the content and I've chosen the since it is the review that I can most relate to.
I've bought other products from this developer, and was considering this aircraft as a result.
 

Motivation for Choice
Speaking as a 13 year old wannabe pilot, one of the most exciting things about this article is how it
links the simulation to the real world with historical references. The down to earth nature of the review raises its credibility
and motivates me towards considering purchasing the 732.

The fact that Stephen Dutton has conducted a full documented flight also adds value.
His balance between opinion and fact is just right. eg."The chunky (and quite worn)
Pilot and Co-Pilot yokes do take up a lot of the panel view, removed you can now see the instrumentation clearer."

Good terminology, paints the picture, combined with vital information, exactly like you'd want it!
 
Note
Due to the quality of add ons and reviews here, I will be visiting this site often as long as I still fly on X-Plane
(likely a long time, as I am starting gliding training this year!). Also, the community here is just superb, so far I feel very at home here and
I admire how much effort the managers of the site put into communicating with the brilliant community they've created.
 
Summary
· Stephens review of the 732 offers an excellent balance of information, and personal opinion
· Immersive and thorough review
· Helpful when comparing products
· Adding confidence to the consumer
· Supplying advice/feedback to the seller/developer
· Overall positive contribution to the X-Plane Community.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

Max

John Spahn from Maxx-XP has announced the SkyMaxx Pro of which is a new cloud engine for X-Plane10. 
 

 
The SkyMaxx pro is not an add-on that just over-rides the default X-Plane10 weather, but it is integrated into the actual weather component that you use everyday now including METAR settings.  Also you will be able to use the system's own custom settings.
 

 
The system allows for clouds to move and rise with the noted wind speed and temperatures and the dreaded grey blackout is also banished. Crepuscular Rays will also shine out behind from behind clouds and move with your point of view. All clouds are full 3d in effect - and is noted to be frame-rate friendly and the performance is configurable!
 
Maxx-XP has released a promo-video of the system in its beta form...
 

 
As the new SkyMaxx-Pro is interconnected within the main X-Plane programming it requires changes that will be part of the beta 10.30 cycle release and so the actual release of the SkyMaxx Pro will be sometime within the beta 10.30 program period.
 
More Information can be found at the new SkyMAXX site : skymaxx-extreme
 
Development thread is here : SkyMAXX Pro
 
Stephen Dutton
 
14th August 2013

Thank you for the accurate review (and for helping us tune the AP)
I am currently working to fix the biggest issue of v0.9 (the collective disengage) - with help from the beta testers I found the issie and I am testing the best fix.
There will be soon a v0.9.1
 
Version 1.0 will probably be some time in september
 
Regards
Alberto (x-trident)

My Favorite Review (probably because I'm just a C206 freak) is the 
 
CT206H Turbo Stationair review.
Located Here: 
Awesome Detail, great layout and the amount of detail in the pictures. Very good! I really enjoyed reading the play-by-play of the flight. It was very well put together. 
I really appreciate it when you bring up every slightest detail in the product you are reviewing. I would have never known* that the GPS530 was in a different folder! 
Giving us the history of the aircraft, as well as specs,and many, many pictures just put icing on the cake.
 
 When it comes to detail, you got it for your reviews! In the CT206H Review, you went all the way to awesome when you noted this:

That was a cool fact that I would have never known.
Carena
 
*Now I do not own the C206 since I have v9. But I am a C206 fan, and I wanted to look at it more for information purposes. I do, however own other Carenado Aircraft. 
 
I was impressed that you took careful note of the navigational details of the flight. Examples are:
 
"....and track North East until I was 17nm past to a final 180º track back to RWY 24 at 1200ft."
"Using the DIR (Direct) mode on the GNS530 put me on a direct course with the fix, and then when close to NEGEL I did another DIR direct back to EICK and RWY 35...."
 
Of course, the actual play-by-play was not vital information for us who do not fly that same route, but explaining the reasons why you did what you did, I found to be good information for owners of the aircraft to know to help them better know the GPS and IFR equipment of the airplane.
 
I found it quite adventurous reading the play-by-play of the review's flight. I do think that this review fits the bill for the best. It's a great review for a great plane.
 
Over all, I believe that this is my favorite review. I applaud you for the detail, adventure (of the flight) and the layout of the review.
 
Tha onli thang i fownd rong was that u speld "sumery*" rong.   
 
 
Thanks for the great reviews my friend!
 
Toby Rice
 
P.S.  I have seen some good posts on this thread. I hope mine (as from my heart as it is) is "up to snuff" for one of those addons you are offering. If I win, I will donate the aircraft to a pilot of an airline of
AeroFlight Alliance, through a contest.

Aircraft Review : Blackshape Prime v1.3 by dmax3d
 
The BlackShape Prime is a revolutionary ultralight aircraft developed by the italian BlackShape company of Monopoli, Italy, and features a full carbon-fibre frame which makes for an extremely strong and low weight aircraft. The Prime is an evolutionary design that began life as an all-wood ultra-light aircraft designed by Guiseppe Vidor of Italy. Then airplane became the Millennium Master, produced by Millennium Aircraft of Italy in 2007, and was first shown in its current form at an Aero show held in Friedrichshafen in 2009.
 

 
The aircraft is made from pre-preg carbon fibre. And its 7.94 m (26.0 ft) span wing has an area of 9.96 m2 (107.2 sq ft) and double slotted flaps. The standard engine available is the 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912ULS four-stroke powerplant, driving a two bladed constant speed propeller, which gives it a maximum level speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) and a cruise speed of 275 km/h (171 mph). The Prime is classed as an "Ultralight". In the United States it is classed as an "Light Sport Aircraft", But you have to have a special license (rated) in the U.S. because the aircraft has a three leg retractable undercarriage.
 
dmax3d
dmax is well known to anyone who has purchased X-Plane because his Cirrus Jet, Stinson L5 Sentinel, Cessna 172 SP and Columbia 400 are part of the X-Plane10 default series that comes with the simulator. He is also well known for several aircraft including the Tecnam P92 and P2002 aircraftand great version of the Typhoon Eurofighter (free here).
 

 
As modelling goes the Prime is excellent. It is hard to reproduce carbon-fibre or plastic looking aircraft because it can come off a little false (or just plasticky), The Prime does not look like that, it very well modelled. However the textures are not great in their resolution, so they can even when you are set at a high texture resolution come still across when close as a little jaggy and buzzy. A shame as the 3D work underneath is excellent.
 

 
This is highlighted by the woven carbon-fibre matting on the cockpit tub which is excellent and of a high quality even if the weave is a little large. The same could be said for the entire interior which is very well executed in detail and design, highlights are the excellent control stick and well created seats for two. The rear seat is empty unless you increase the weight to over 265 lb. from the X-Plane "Aircraft/Weight and Fuel menu" and then a female passenger appears. Another highlight is the excellent bubble canopy. It looks very realistic and has a feel of quality about it. You open and close it with the 3d handle or the “canopy_toggle” function.
 

 
The aircraft does have a very nice shape about it. and is quietly different from the normal style of ultra-light machine. From the rear the Prime reminds me of a BAE Hawk that the Red Arrows display team fly, the Prime is no jet of course but the tail shape and rear elevators do have the same ring to them leading on to the bubble canopy. The wings are also a lovely efficient shape that are beautifully modeled here. The edge wing lighting is well done in quality as well.
 

 
The three stage flaps are 0° (neutral) - 10° (take off) 20° and full flap 30°. There is an extra  -10° (negative "aps or up) stage as well that is used when at speed in flight to keep the nose level...  This flap function is not on the real aircraft.
 

 
Add together an extremely light airframe and a powerful engine for its class and the aircraft is going to perform well. there is a electronic propeller control. Which is a small toggle switch on the controller that can be used to manually adjust the propeller pitch instead of a mixture lever, which I set at 6000rpm.   And with the quick on the power you will find that the takeoff rolls are extremely short at around 180 m to 200m to the point of takeoff and landing rolls are about the same distance.
 
The Prime will climb easily at around 1500fpm with the gear down then accelerate to around 2000fpm with the gear retracted. I found the best band still at 1500fpm to still give you plenty of power in reserve. Cruising speed is around 200 Km/h (110kts) with top speed around 305 kmh (183 kts) but you will never go there. You feel tight and enclosed in the aircraft and with the passenger on board behind you it feels like you are sitting in a glider arrangement.
 

 
The large display is very well designed by dmax. You have to be careful in that it is easy to concentrate more on the screen than on the horizon (It is so large), so you are soon fiddling around and flicking the aircraft around as it is so nimble, you will then find it is quite touchy in your hands, slowing down and finding the smoothness is something you will need to concentrate on to fly the aircraft well. Besides the main display there are the two beautiful Altimeter and Speed dials.
 
Like most modern displays the buttons are located below the screen. The main one is the "pages" selector that has the selections of the - main flight display - engine conditions - Map.
 

 
The MAP displays will show the usual - Approach - VOR - MAP- NAV and flightplan pages. with zoom located on the right hand side. Like all menu driven displays it will take a little time to navigate effectively around them all. But this system is more simplistic than most. All radio settings (Comm 1/VOR1/Transponder) are via the display.
 
Liveries

 
Liveries by and large are quite sparse?...  The white one can be a basis for a livery, but there is a paintkit supplied. The Blue livery is the default and there is the "Millennium" livery that looks half completed?
 
Features
Their are two features that are interesting. First the escape parachute!
 

 
If your engine conks out on the Prime then you will not die a thousand deaths...   As you have an escape parachute!   Pull off the safety tag off and then pull out the red handle and you will be pulled violently upwards by a large parachute.  It is then a very serenely slow ride and float down until you hit the ground with a backbreaking thud!  After a short stay in hospital you can then resume your flying career.
 
Secondly are the wet, cold and frost features.
 

 
Rain and ice effects on glass are becoming the normal in X-Plane. The effects here are one of the best I have seen yet. The rain drops are very clever in fitting around that lovely bubble canopy, go colder and you get mist and fog in there as well.
 

 
When airborne the drops are moved on by the wind but the effects are still there, so it becomes very realistic. Note the excellent glow of the panel display screen on your forward view, again very realistic.
 
Version 1.3
The changes in this new version are minimal but essential.
New EFIS with multifunction buttons Autopilot fully integrated Fixed some issues with the mechanical altimeter Fixed magnetos switches: now work as expected Carb heat knob now is working  
Every one wondered why the carb heat didn't work when it is a standard feature in X-Plane, now that is now fixed. The autopilot is now more refined, but I still found it hard in the aspects of V/S vertical speed changes. get it wrong and the aircraft will zoom up to the next set altitude while you hang on, going down is very hard, and makes it hard work in the approach mode when wanting to lose altitude for a landing position.
 

 
The aircraft is extremely light, So in the POH (supplied) you need an approach speed of 150Km/h (80 kts) before dropping the gear down and a maximum speed of 120 Km/h before you drop the flaps a notch. You will get a lot of drag, not only from the gear in the airstream, but the flaps kick in a fair amount as well. Adding in power a lot helps, but then you have the situation of a very light airframe pulling against a lot of drag. Add in some spice with some light winds (or worse bad crosswinds) and then you have a handful on the stick. Your approach speed is about 100 Km/h (54 kts) so you don't come come up on to the runway at a slow speed, but you slowly sort of gradually sort of get there...  eventually.
 
Once over the threshold it will nicely sit down and do a short roll to a stop, but are you sweating there a little?
 

 
The lightweight is what makes the Prime fun. You have to fly this aircraft in the lower speeds with skill, but it also has the power when clean to go quite fast.
 
Lighting
 

 
You have two knobs to set the lighting. One for lighting the panel (Instruments) and one for lighting the cockpit. Between the two adjustments you can find the best conditions that suits you. Outside there is only one landing light and the standard Nav/strobe lights.
 
_______________________________________________________
 
Summary
An interesting aircraft that is a very light-weight design, but still extremely fast (for its class). Makes the Prime a great aircraft for buzzing around and enjoying a machine that is not only very modern in design but can at points be a challenge to master under very low speeds. Its is a fun machine is the best way to sum it up. Textures are average and the liveries feel like an afterthought, but the design and details were it counts are excellent and overall the aircraft is very good. At just under US$16 it is very good value as well.
 
Installation : Blackshape Prime 1.3 is a download of 44mb and is expanded into your X-Plane Aircraft folder at 55.1mb. Some downloads have the issue of the EFIS and partial panel that only fills the entire 1920x1080 screen with no outside view in 2d? If you get this you can re-download or fix it yourself by opening the acf in PlaneMaker and go to: standard menu -> viewpoint window -> view tab and then check the "show cockpit obj in: 2-d forward panel views".
 
Docs : 1 POH (70 Pages) and 1 QuickOperationHandbook (13 Pages)
 
The Blackshape Prime v1.3 is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store.
 
Blackshape Prime v1.3
 
Price is currently US$15.95
 
Technical Requirements:
Windows Vista or Windows 7 (32 or 64 bits) or MAC OS 10.6(or higher) or Linux
X-Plane 10.20 (or higher) - 32 and 64 bit compatible
Cuurent version: 1.3 (last updated June 15th 2014)
 
Developer Site: dmax3D
 
_______________________________________________________
 
Review By Stephen Dutton
21st June 2014
Copyright©2014: X-Plane Reviews
 
Review System Specifications:
Computer System:     
- 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”
- 6 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3
- ATI Radeon HD 4850 512mb
Software:     
- Mac OS Mavericks 10.9.2
- X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.22 (final)
Addons
- Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle
 

 

This is X-Plane Reviews!
 
As X-Plane from Laminar Research expands and grows,  Aircraft Simulation in all its different forms is now becoming a huge interest to many people in every part of the world...
 
...  only of this July 2013 the X-Plane.Org then went past the record number of users registered of 250.000 users, that is a quarter of a million X-Plane users!... or Pilots.

So It was only worthy and timely to have a site dedicated to reviewing and supplying you with the latest news of the ever expanding X-Plane universe.
 
And so here is X-Plane Reviews, we will give you all the latest news and reviews with an insight into what is happening and what is worthy of your simulator interest. No doubt the last year has seen many exciting releases and changes outside and within the simulator, these announcements and releases will become even more prominent as the simulator moves ever forward and from this moment you will have another home to bookmark to access the right information of these great product releases and in-depth XPlane analysis.
Items that will be covered by X-Plane Review will range from:

News
Add-on...   Announcements - Development - Releases - Reviews and Updates
Developer... Interviews
Scenery...  Free and Payware - Development - Reviews - Updates
Laminar Research... Developments - Betas - Updates
Comments and Columns from myself and many other commentators and X-Plane users.

In fact anything that is connected to the X-Plane Simulator.
 
Many will know myself from my news and reviews over on the X-Sim Reviews site (as Flightime56) and here you can join me with your own views and comments on the way you use and expand your simulator world.
 
If you have anything newsworthy then contact me at : [email protected]
 
If you are new to the X-Plane Simulator then you are in for a treat. Many new users to simulation are surprised on how deep the platform is, like a game it has many, many levels of involvement...  but don't call simulation a game.
The aim is of course to replicate and fly just like you do in the real aviation world and X-Plane recreates a whole virtual world for you to do so. The world you fly in is in real time and with real distances that covers the whole area of the earth. So first off, X-Plane can be very time consuming if you want to go long distances. But that does not mean you can not just hop in an aircraft and do a quick flight around your own backyard.
Besides the huge variety of aircraft available from both purchase (payware) stores (like the .OrgStore), there are also hundreds of machines available for free(ware) downloads at many other sites to add to your hangar. But X-Plane does not stop there, you can download sceneries, plugins, new aircraft liveries and a huge variety of items that can fill out your own unique collection that makes up your own virtual aviation world. (a sort of minecraft for aviation), and it is addictive!... 
 
In fact X-Plane should have a sticker on the box that says (This product is extremely addictive!)....
 
And X-Plane wants for you to be involved. You can create your own aircraft, sceneries and other items to add to the collection folders of other users, They will use your work in their virtual world and enjoy your contribution to the X-Plane experience.
 
So, thanks for joining us here at X-Plane Reviews to expand your X-Plane experience.
 
Stephen Dutton
 

Freeware Releases Roundup September 2013 : Skyhawk A4 - Falcon7X - Airbus A380
 

 
In late August and September 2013 we had a really huge choice of quality “freeware” aircraft released. You could say be spoilt for choice in the range and high quality workmanship that became available on the .Org.

Of the releases I have picked three of the best to have a fly around and comment on in the Skyhawk A4, Falcon 7X and Riviere’s Airbus A380.

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk 1.7

This version was designed by Ben Harber, aka Mid7night and was for sale on the X-Plane .OrgShop site. But now the aircraft has been decommissioned by Nicolas Taureau and put up for freeware on the .Org downloads.
 

 
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The delta winged, single-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. It was originally designated the A4D under the U.S. Navy’s pre-1962 designation system.

The Skyhawk is a light-weight aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds (11,100 kg) and has a top speed of more than 600 miles per hour (970 km/h). The aircraft’s five hard-points support a variety of missiles, bombs and other munitions and was capable of delivering nuclear weapons using a low altitude bombing system and a “loft” delivery technique. The A-4 was originally powered by the Wright J65 turbojet engine; from the A-4E onwards, the Pratt & Whitney J52 was used.

The Navy issued a contract for the type on 12 June 1952, and the first prototype first flew from Edwards Air Force Base, California on 22 June 1954. Deliveries to Navy and Marine Corps squadrons (to VA-72 and VMA-224 respectively) commenced in late 1956.

The Skyhawk remained in production until 1979, with 2,960 aircraft built, including 555 two-seat trainers. The last production A-4, an A-4M of Marine squadron (VMA-223) had the flags of all nations that operated the A-4 painted on its fuselage sides.

A-4 Skyhawks played key roles in the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War, and the Falklands War (Argentina).    

There are four versions of the A-4 available in the 107.60mb download package.
 

 
Blue Angels - flight demonstration squadron. It was formed in 1946. And the A - 4F Skyhawk was the demonstrator aircraft between December 1974 – November 1986.

The aircraft design is very good and well done but it is now showing its design age in the modeling and liveries department. The cockpit (on all versions) is 3d and very well created with an opening canopy and dropping tail hook.

On the Blue Angels aircraft you can pick your own number on the tail by changing the liveries.
 

 
A-4F Jester - The aircraft of “TOP GUN” fame. Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) training brought on with the establishment of the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) in 1969, the availability of A-4 Skyhawks in both the Instrument RAGs and Composite Squadrons at the master jet bases presented a ready resource of the nimble Skyhawks that had become the TOPGUN preferred surrogate for the MiG-17.
 
Here the air-brakes are activated with split wing and fuselage opening air-brakes.
 

 
Lady Jessie - Recreation of historical aircraft. This is the Naval version of the Skyhawk, with the humpback blister  and wing fuel tanks. The tanks were designed for a wheels up landing, and most Skyhawks carried them.

Note - the excellent forward leading edge spoiler, and the air-brake/flap arrangement that drops down under the wing.
 

 
BAE - Recreation of experimental model. You can feel how agile this aircraft was to fly, you are just a finger and thumb on the stick and it will just maneuver by just your light touch and feel. No wonder pilots could feel part as one with the aircraft and the reason for its longevity and success.
If you like killing things you can arm the cannons and fire away, but your supplies don’t last very long.

Overall a great aircraft and one savor and now available for a free download:  Douglas A-4 Skyhawk 1.7
 

 
Dassault Falcon7X

The Falcon7X by after, Won the "Best Aircraft of September" on the .Org monthly Poll. This is a great version of the Personal Jet that is almost payware quality. It is not a completely new file but an updated version for X-Plane10 from v9.510.
 

 
The Dassault Falcon 7X is a large-cabin, long range business jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It is the first fully fly-by-wire business jet. It is also equipped with the same avionics suite, the Honeywell Primus EPIC “Enhanced Avionics System” (EASy), that was used on the Falcon 900EX and later on the Falcon 2000EX.

The Falcon 7X is notable for its extensive use of computer-aided design, the manufacturer claiming it to be the “first aircraft to be designed entirely on a virtual platform” using Dassault Systemes’ CATIA and PLM products.
It is also unusual in having an S-duct central engine, and is one of only two trijets currently in production, the other being the Dassault Falcon 900. It was also the first production Falcon jet to offer winglets.
First Flight was on the 5 May 2005, The first 7X, MSN05, entered service on June 15, 2007.

Maximum speed: 953 km/h (515 knots, 593 mph), Cruise speed: 900 km/h (486 knots, 559 mph), Range: 11,000 km (5,940 nm)8 passengers, Service ceiling: 14935 m (51,000 ft)

At first glance the Falcon 7X feels like a very good payware project. It was updated from the v9 aircraft and quite considerably so for X-Plane10. Outwardly the design work is excellent and the modeling is first-rate. The cockpit (3d) is excellent and very functional, the centre console is as good as anything else and well detailed.
 

 
Most of the upgrade work has centred on the displays and systems, and the central display is fully functional.
 

 
Quite comprehensive in their detail are the center screens, the lower upper tabbed screen shows you your Nav, Trim, Engine, Electrical, Bleed, ECS and Failure options. The lower screens main layout is your FMS settings and Navigation Inputs. And then Fuel status and consumption. The next two tabs are the same as the upper screen in Engine and Trim and finally there are three MAP/GPS positions in MAP, FR (France) and USA (Local).  The systems are quite deep in operation and the aircraft is excellent just for these systems alone.
 

 
The Cabin is well fitted out as well with club seating and tables (a, la, Challenger 300) and the front door opens back on Terra Firma.

It flies very well as well. Nice to the controls, fast with an enormous range of which you can cross any ocean or continent and in all counts it is an excellent aircraft.

But the Falcon7X doesn’t reach payware quality yet, as it just falls short...  But however this is a project still in progress and still bound for payware and to reach that goal then some issues will have to be reviewed. Like the main cockpit panels are a mixture of sharp and fuzzy labeling that annoys after awhile. You would put up with this in XP8 or XP9 for payware, but you want to feel it needs to be better than it is, even now with such a lot of considerable detailing and screen functionality already completed. The outer aircraft design are parts beautifully done (like the leading edge and rear flaps systems), but let down by the poor tires that make the aircraft wobble as it taxi’s around the taxiways and the lighting shows through the panel work. The Falcon7X displays the differences of quality that is needed to become payware, the gap is “oh so small” but it is still a gap to be crossed and as a lot of the work already completed by “after” does show the quality is in there to bridge that gap - It just needs that final polish and realism touches to be a really worthy contender.

You can download the : Falcon 7X V9.510 for X-Plane V10.22 Here.
 

 
Airbus A380

If you have been around X-Plane for a few or so years the name Christian Riviere will be well known to you. In fact Christian’s work is significant and varied throughout many versions of the X-Plane simulator. So when he releases any aircraft it will certainly catch your attention as his skills are very well regarded.
The surprise is that it is the Airbus A380, Yes Christian Riviere has done airliners before but they tended to be iconic aircraft and old propeller dogs from the 1950’s. But lately he has gone all modern Airbussy in the A350XWB and now the big daddy in the A380.
 

 
The outside modeling on the A380 is superb, with a high 3d quality that is very well crafted and detailed. From this aspect it is payware quality and very well done. Detailing in the engines (Wide chord fans are excellent) and well created and detailed landing gear. Flap arrangement is also very well done and so are the leading edge spoilers. and comes with a great selection of liveries : Emirates, Air France, British airways, China southern, Korean air, Lufthansa, Malaysia airlines, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Thai.

The doors open and inside there is a first class section with chairs and fittings. And then we will get to the cockpit.
 
I will admit I have had many hours on A380’s in X-Plane. The best at the start was the EOLE-CREATION & VALERIAN BAYLE version which was not half bad and quite well done. But you soon realised it was not configured correctly in the fact it would not fly over 33,000ft and a stopover for fuel was required (LON-SIN) in Chennai to fly the last leg to Changi did not look good on the copybook.

Peter’s (Aircraft) A380-800 is the deal to have, but it is costly (cheaper now than when I purchased it), but you soon understood why you have to pay for quality. If you follow Peter’s (extensive) guidelines, you soon become quite proficient because the basics are correct. And that is an important point to note, because if you hit the correct targets (height/weight/speeds) and the aircraft does what it is supposed to do, then you fly and learn much better. In other words “good data in” will produce “good data out” by your flying skills. If the aircraft tuning is not correct then you have “bad data in” and so “bad data out” in the fact the aircraft won’t do what it should do in the real world. Here Peter’s A380 excels because if you look at the real world data, the aircraft will hit those numbers perfectly (The low and approach speeds are simply outstanding) and flying these big A380’s is more an art form than a sum of total procedures, so if the numbers are right then you can fly them closer to the mark.

The art in motion part is that this aircraft is very heavy, and flying long distances means getting the weight and climb performance right, 33,000ft is the go to number before losing weight to go higher.

Running the Riviere A380 version the same procedures as Peter’s A380 version out of London (to Frankfurt) and at first it feels the same, but then it does not. No doubt that flying Peter’s Aircraft demands very precise points in the changes in speeds (you can set it to auto/FBW, but that is missing the fun) and V/S, so you are very busy in there compared to the Riviere version. For a start Riviere’s version is really only the default X-Plane cockpit setup, no FBW (Fly-By-Wire) or Airbus Logic Law. and the cockpit layout is very different from the real aircraft.
 
 

Riviere's A380 Cockpit version
 

Peter's Aircraft A380 Cockpit version
 
If fact Riviere's cockpit feels really odd, the shape and the front windows is more Concorde with the visor down than an Airbus, The panel is crammed together and not very wide either? The basic controls are all there, but most of the detail is missing and the overhead panel is a standard Riviere item of a photo background with a few switches on it.

Jumping over to Peter’s version and it feels like home again. All the switch gear is correctly placed and works. The wide windows feels far more realistic, but the much needed wipers are still missing (they are on the 2d cockpit, but are very poor). The only really frustrating annoyance is the (mostly the Autopilot) manipulators are impossible to find, I have missed many an approach in just trying to adjust my speed?...  drives me simply nuts.

But there is a difference in style. The Riviere version is not bad in many aspects, from climb to the FL330 ceiling but it is in the subtle differences you notice the more tighter programming that makes the difference if you are doing a serious simulation profile. Leaving London (EGGL) I ran both versions at MTW over the same route. At VOR “CLN” moving into the serious point of the climb (I call it the “lift”) the Riviere version is struggling to keep it’s speed and the V/S (Vertical/Speed) is down to 1200fpm.
 

 
Peter’s version however is at the correct speed (285knts) and lifting at V/S 1600fpm with ease and with plenty of power in reserve (N1 is at 61%). Past 25,000ft I usually pull the A380 into a climb of 500fpm and reducing it down again to 300fpm as the climb goes past FL300. With a full load you have to adjust for wind strength with the V/S and watch for the limits before the nose starts to stall.

Landing at EDDF (Frankfurt) I found Riviere’s A380 hard to perform at slow speeds and worse it wouldn’t turn past the 5º turn angle to align for runway (top). (odd because it would turn correctly at other points). and I missed the approach by a (country) mile and then had to do a complete (slow) 180º turn to realign with the runway. The speed dropped away badly as well and the A380 came close to a stall.
 

 

 
Flying into EDDF (from the opposite direction) Peter’s version (lower) was rock solid on 185knts, and the degree turn was directly in line to the correct approach alignment. And the aircraft was so much more precise on how it performed.
 


 
The question is “Is it fair to compare a Freeware aircraft with an expensive Payware Aircraft”? Well really “no” is the answer. But the point is this is simulation and the aim is recreate the aircraft’s systems and its flying abilities. There is no doubt that Christian Riviere has done a really great piece of work with his A380, but the constraints of just using the default X-Plane tools to build the aircraft shows in the performance, and you really miss those FBW systems. And that is the interesting part because Airbus Aircraft are built around these complex logic systems and that at the end of the day is what you pay for when buying a payware version of an aircraft.
 
You can download Rivere's A380 : Airbus A380-800 for XP9.70 Here. (43.31MB download)
 
You can buy Peter's Aircraft A380 : Airbus A380 X-Plane .OrgShop. Here - Price is US$59.95
 
Stephen Dutton
 
4th October 2013

The Dash is on sale now and again and certainly worth the purchase, I flew it only on the weekend and it is so good. No we have not reviewed it and yes we will do so. When we started last year a big part of the plan was to go into the back catalogue and relove the best and bring them out to show why and how good they still are. In that list is the Dash Q400, C-17 and the CRJ200, and X-Plane Reviews will certainly cover them in the next few months. The biggest surprise was that how little time we had to do this between current releases. We covered a few but we will try to move more very soon. SD

Happy Birthday, like MadMckMax I would like to congratulate on a great site that I only just discovered, please keep up the good work. 

Passion, just a lot of passion!

Aircraft Review : Boeing 732 TwinJet by FlyJSim
 
Route: KDFW (Dallas Fort Worth) to MMUN (Cancun)
 
The Boeing 732 TwinJet is the third major release from FlyJSim after the Bombardier Dash-8 and the Boeing 727 Series. Without doubt the Boeing 727 Series was the aircraft of the year for X-Plane in 2013 (It was released just before Christmas 2012) and this Baby Boeing is in a very similar if not a perfect compliment to the bigger Tri-Jet.
 


 
The 8000th Boeing 737 has just been delivered and that makes it the most built Jetliner in history, But this Boeing 737-200 known as the B732 is very different and from another totally different era than the common -800NG series that dominates our skies today.  First thing to note is which Boeing 737 is which. The launch aircraft that was rolled out on January 17, 1967 was the -100 version of which only 30 737-100s were ordered and delivered. Then there was the -200 version rolled only months after the -100 version June 29, 1967, and entered service in 1968 of which was an extended fuselage version of the -100.
 
This aircraft and this aircraft released here by FlyJSim was successful at 991 sales (C-Cargo 104), but not straightaway as in fact In 1970, Boeing received only 37 orders and facing financial difficulties. Then after the cancellation of the Boeing Supersonic Transport and the scaling back of 747 production, enough funds were freed up to continue the project. Next was the Boeing 737 Classic -300/-400/-500 Series built between 1984 to 2000, 1,988 aircraft were delivered. The next version was the  Boeing 737 Next Generation −600/-700/-800/-900 Series, commonly abbreviated as Boeing 737NG. which brings us up to the present day. 4,887 737NG aircraft have been delivered by the end of April 2014, with more than 6,700 ordered. In the future is the coming 737MAX and that aircraft is scheduled for first delivery in 2017.



 
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range twinjet narrow-body airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engined airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 it has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers. The 737 is Boeing's only narrow-body airliner now in production. The -200 seats 136 (maximum) and 97 (2-class, typical) and is powered by the Pratt & Whitney JT8D 14,500–17,400 lbf (64–77 kN) low-bypass (0.96 to 1) turbofan engine that is also in the Boeing 727.
 
Performance : Maximum speed Mach 0.82 (544 mph, 876 km/h) - Cruising speed  Mach 0.74 (485 mph, 780 km/h) - Maximum range, fully loaded 1,900–2,300 nmi (3,500–4,300 km; 2,200–2,600 mi) - Service Ceiling 35,000 ft (10,700 m) Weights: 69,800 lb (31,700 kg) empty : 128,100 lb (58,100 kg) Takeoff.
 
FlyJSim Boeing 732 TwinJet
This review has to be considered in if the user has flown the FlyJSim Boeing 727 series or not. If you have then the conversion to the B732 is quite straight forward and although the cockpits are arranged quite differently (The B727 has a third flight crew member in a Flight Engineer) the systems are organised and used is a similar way but for two engines on the B732 and not the three on the B727. If you are new to the FlyJSim Boeing aircraft then there is a bit of a learning curve to understand the various systems and procedures. The aircraft handle very differently as well, in mostly their age and the era that they flew in...  There are no mod-cons on offer here.
 
However like with our Aircraft Profile : Boeing 727 Series by FlyJSim (Part Two) "Flying the Boeing 727" we found a certain and if not more fulfilling and simplistic way to fly these aircraft and the B732 here is no exception.
 


 
Looking into the cockpit of a cold (unpowered) B732 aircraft and the difference of the era compared to today's glass cockpit driven aircraft is quite a shock. How could you believe that these aircraft could and did transport millions of passengers with such naked little instrumentation, mostly from the navigation perspective. They did and they did the work very well and even today there are some aircraft still flying around up there still doing so.
 


 
There are some great detailed cockpits in X-Plane today, but in both the B727 and here in the B732 the design is simply brilliant. Big clunky switchgear and almost to the touch flick switches, you are in cockpit heaven. The cockpit panel is all dials and gauges (sometimes known as clockwork cockpits) and the detail is simply overwhelming. You really do get the feel of the sixties style cockpit in perfect perspective.
 


 
The chunky (and quite worn) Pilot and Co-Pilot yokes do take up a lot of the panel view, removed you can now see the instrumentation clearer. The standard six aircraft instruments are as they should be are front and centre. Very clear and easily readable. The Standard Six are - Artificial Horizon (sometimes known as the attitude indicator) with built in turn indicator, Heading with built in OBI, Compass, Vertical- Descent Speed, Altimeter and Speed (in knots and Mach speed). Then there are the back up instruments of Artificial Horizon, Altitude (spare), Radio Altitude, Clock (large) and the DME 2 - NAV 2 (distance) is also situated lower down. The compass allows for the VOR and NDB to be switched on two separate pointer needles, VOR 2 on the pilot's side and VOR1 on the Co-Pilot's side.
 
The Co-Pilots set of instruments are very similar except they have the (outside) air-temperature, hydraulic Sys, Oil and Brake temperatures and the DME 1 - NAV 1 (distance) indicator.
 
The landing gear lever is also on the right side of the panel. 
 

 
Centre stage of the panel are the main engine instrument sets of two engine dials covering "Engine Pressure Ratio" (EPR), N1, EXH (Exhaust) Temp, N2 (Percent RPM) and Fuel flow to each engine. Left of the main engine dials are the three fuel tank gauges, and to the right the twin Engine Oil - Pressure, Temp and tank quantity. Finally the Auto-brake selection switch is here as well. If you know the B727 panel you would feel right at home here as the differences are quite small, just twin dials instead of the three on the larger jet.
 

 
The biggest difference of a few years of development between the Boeing 727 and the Boeing 737 is the "Sperry SP-77 (option version)" auto-pilot (A/P). In the B727 it was a very simplistic system set behind the pedestal. But here it is more of a modern version set out on the glareshield. Not quite the standard layout version we know today, as that A/P version was fitted to the later B737-200ADV.
 
It is split between the F/D (Flight Director) on the left and the A/P (Auto Pilot) on the right. Still simplistic in nature, it was and is very powerful in operation as we will see in flight.
 

 
Besides the change of position of the A/P to the glareshield. The removal of the Flight Engineer's station on the B727 also moved the aircraft's systems and operations to the now more familiar place on the overhead panel (OHP). looking over the panel quickly it hasn't really changed much since either on the subsequent B737's versions, and yet it would be very familiar to you as well as it was laid out on the B727 engineers station. Only now a few items have been made automated.
 
They are however still grouped together in their various areas of systems (mostly in long tall sections) in hydraulics, boost fuel pump switches, electrical, APU, air-conditioning, de-ice, bleed and all the various lighting switches. The engine start is now the familiar GND-OFF-LOW IGN -FLT switches.
 

 
The pedestal is almost identical to the B727 version except it is now for two engines and not three. In craftsman like work the pedestal can not really be bettered. It is sublime in detail and so real in operation you can't really believe it is only a computer generated image. in the cockpits 3d world it is realistic in every form. Besides the beautifully crafted throttle levers there is the speed-brakes (with auto), park brake, engine fuel flow idle/cutoff's levers, stab trim (electric) and flap indicators for the outbound and Inbound flaps (0º, 2º, 5º, 15º, 20º, 25º, 30º and 40º settings).


 
The radio is set out behind the pedestal below the three red fire handles (two for engines and one for the APU) and is very easy in operation. Just set you frequencies and flick a switch to make one or the other active...  how easy can that be. Comm's and (early digital!) transponder are set out here as well. Above the pedestal is an early weather radar that just shows the standard X-Plane weather images. Detailing on the rudder pedal's is to be admired. Like everything else here in the B732 cockpit they are extremely well crafted and designed. Missing from the radio panel however are the ADF knobs...  they are both (one each side) situated high up besides the throttle part of the pedestal, and have a three way setting that is excellent and very easy to tune.
 
Powering up the Boeing 732 TwinJet
Nothing is more exciting than bringing a machine to life. Certainly with a flying machine, and the B732 is no exception. But first we have to set up the aircraft.
 


 
There are four menu options on the middle-lower left of your screen - V/Card - WnB (Weights and Balances) - OP (Options) and INS.
 
We will start with the "Weights and Balances" menu (manager).
Here you can set all the aircraft's weights and fuel and passenger/cargo loads. And as you do so the system will calculate for you the correct number relating to the aircraft's status and also show you your CofG (Centre of Gravity). The important number is your "Max landing" number shown in red. Here I have made the aircraft quite heavy at 117988lbs but I have a fair distance to go so I will certainly be under the landing weight. Cleverly if you open the Vref menu (or V/Card) the Vref's are calculated for you correctly and so are the landing vRef's, note that if you change the flap degree the vRef will change as well to compensate... a more clever idea again. Another note is that the landing speed is incorrect at this point because the aircraft's weight is wrong, this will change as you burn off the fuel or the weight.
 
The other Menu item is the "Options" card. Here you can set all your options in: Cold and Dark startup or Engines running (hot) and set the time to Zulu. Hide the yokes and set weights to Kg's and finally select if required the Ground Power and Air Cart (to start the engines).
Views and sound adjustments can also be adjusted.
 

 
Weights and fuel set we can now power up the aircraft. Battery on via the "battery switch", You know that this does give the aircraft power but not for very long. You do have the Ground Power and Air Cart in the options menu to use. I found that in many instances they don't work? or connect up to the aircraft, which is slightly annoying. You don't get a power cart or air cart either outside the aircraft which are now usually de rigueur with aircraft of this price category. Here at KDFW it does connect and you can connect up the power via the switch and turn the AC switch to GND/PWR.
 

 
Another option is the APU (Auxiliary Power Unit), start it up via the switch and wait, the unit takes it time to warm up...  and then switch it over to APU/GEN on the A/C bus. Now ready to start the engines we can switch on the fuel pumps and hydraulics and the outside anti-collision beacons. The panel is "if it is lit, it is not active" so as you do the start up the OHP should clear until all the lights go out. Here FlyJSim has done a brilliant amount of work to make the panel so authentic, in most cases we take it for granted by using it all the time. But this is great work in that how you interact with the panel now is so real.
APU to bleed and make sure the L & R Packs (air-con) are off and you are ready to turn on the engine switches to GND (start) if you are flying you then re-start via the FLT (start).


 
 
As the engines power up then add in the fuel via the levers on the pedestal, and the rest of the engine start up is automatic. The engine gauges in the centre panel will spiral and note the conditions of the engine to the idle position. then all you have to do now is clean up the OHP with turning on the aircraft electrics (buses), pitot heaters and when running at idle turn off the APU bleed and the (air-con) packs on.
 

 
As they say "A clean panel is a good panel" and you are good to go.
 
One other option is the INS menu...
 

 
You can purchase the Delco Carousel IV-A Inertial Navigation System. Nicknamed "CIVA", CIVA Navigation System for $US10.00 that is a basic navigation system that can give automatic navigation of up to 9 waypoints. (you can load X-Plane .fms plans) and it can be used in the FlyJSim B727 as well as other aircraft of that era. Well worth the addition cost.
 


 
The JT8D's are whining now outside, sounds are excellent and 3d in rotation of the aircraft and has the "Realistic Sound" engine provided by DreamEngine & Turbine Sound Studio sounds. These early engines are noisy and smoky, but you certainly miss today the futuristic missile look of those long engine pods, beautifully done here...  they just were not what the future turned out to be.  The original engine nacelles incorporated thrust reversers taken from the 727 outboard nacelles. Unfortunately they proved to be relatively ineffective and apparently tended to lift the aircraft up off the runway when deployed. This reduced the downforce on the main wheels thereby reducing the effectiveness of the wheel brakes. In 1968, an improvement to the thrust reversal system was introduced. A 48-inch tailpipe extension was added and new, target-style, thrust reversers were incorporated. The thrust reverser doors were set 35 degrees away from the vertical to allow the exhaust to be deflected inboard and over the wings and outboard and under the wings.[ The improvement became standard on all aircraft after March 1969, and a retrofit was provided for active aircraft. This accounts for the odd angle of the thrust reverser doors and the very long tail pipe, but the main reason was that in thrust reversal deployment the original B727 version would actually lift the aircraft off the runway on landing!
 
The undercarriage is excellent as well, great linkages, legs,  tyres and animation. the engines hide most of the work, but it is worth checking out.
 


 
The wings are very similar to the B727 in forward leading edge slats (inner and outer) and the seven position trailing edge flaps. wing and flap detailing is overwhelming and work to be admired, certainly in the powering out of those flap extensions. The landing light pops out under the wing(s) as well on the flap runners, the lower the flap position then the lower and change of angle of the landing light...  great detailing.
 
Flying The Boeing 732
 

 
On the options menu you have a pushback built in. No truck outside but the aircraft will pushback when the brakes are off and you press the pushback tab. It moves a little to quickly for me, and turning is via the rudders. Brake to stop and disconnect the pushback.
 


 
A final check of the takeoff vRef charts shows me my markers, note that vR (rotate) is vR (vRef) +15knts, the bugs will call out the vRef's as you pass them (you get the landing heights as well) which is very authentic.


 
A last check of the gauges at the hold and when cleared the B732 is on the KDFW runway 17R.



 
Power goes up but the JT8D's take a little while to build up the thrust, once there the push is long and quite powerful, the noise builds as well into that unmuffeted roar. Vr and you only need a light pull back of the stick to get airborne, once clear of the runway and you are heading slightly to the right and you can feel the great central balance of the aircraft in the yoke, the aircraft is just under MTW, but the B732 feels very good and turns and climbs without much drama. Boeing pilots note it was always the best handling version of the B737 series, and here you can quickly feel why.
 
In this era it was mostly VOR to VOR navigation, with a few NDB's thrown in for good measure. If you have the mentioned CIVA then you have a flightplan to fly to, If not then the navigation come down to you. It is best to be well prepared with the correct headings and VOR/NDB frequencies at hand. I found like with the B727 that the VOR's can be a little slow coming on line sometimes. NDB's seem to be slightly better for giving out the right direction. It helps here that the NDB knobs are in a great place just down to your right (pilot's side, left Co-Pilot) so I found I used them more in the B732.
 

 
You want to fly the B732 by hand all the way to your destination as the B732 is so easy on you. But the autopilot is very good as well, if not excellent. You do wonder if change does make system better. In this case the A/P is so simple but so powerful you wonder why they had to change it.


 
The Sperry SP-77 (option version) is a brilliant bit of kit. As you are already pitching in your correct angle, you will notice the pitch knob is following you, engage the autopilot via the big switches and the aircraft just holds the pitch! Select the altitude you want (8500ft transition) and click on the ALT HOLD on the top of the A/P panel. Make sure the IAS-OFF-ALT HOLD switch is in the off position (It should be already) and the aircraft will then climb and level out to the selected height. Want to hold any altitude then flick the switch to ALT HOLD. Note: that to change the pitch (climb or descend) you have to OFF the ALT HOLD first.
 

 
The pitch is analog so you have to be aware that it won't go back to dead centre when leveling off, It seems to wander around, in that you set it correctly on the straight and level, you could however be descending down (or up) a little. The pitch is also a little big in its click settings as well, A click up or down and you are going 400ft, a second click is nearer 2000ft in pitch, you really need more intermediate settings to get a finer pitch adjustment. but overall the pitch system is excellent in just turn the knob (ALT HOLD off) and up or down you go...
 

 
You have to click on a separate switch to activate the heading mode, and the Flight Director (FLT-DIR) switch as well, then the aircraft will turn to the heading bug. you can adjust the heading bug on the A/P panel and on the heading instrument as well for ease of use...  In fact it is good to note that most adjustments have two sets of manipulators, arrows and curves and both work fine to what you like to use best. The VOR needle will note your direction and the distance is shown in the lower display.
 

 
The aircraft will climb very easily but don't over stress the engines (they will burn out), keep everything well with in the green or with just a little yellow if required on the dials. As noted you don't need to stress the aircraft even while it is still quite heavy.
 


 
I am flying quite high at FL350 and only 500ft under the service ceiling, That will cost me a little in a fuel penalty, but still better than the stronger winds just below. At altitude the aircraft is nice and clean everywhere (OHP is nice and blank) and I only have to watch the navigation points. The route took me down the east coast of Mexico as far as Corpus Christi. The Boeing 737-200 could not operate over water as there was no ETOPS (Extended range Twin Operations) allowed in the 60's and 70's in fact only one B732 was made certifiable. most 2-engined jets were restricted by the 60-minute rule. So I kept a visual sight to the coast all the way down before heading out to cross the coast at Campeche.



 
Liveries
You get seven liveries with the aircraft and unlike the B727 there will be no livery packs for the B732. A paintkit is coming.
 

 
All liveries are excellent, but a few more American based liveries would have been nice...  The Westjet is the best on the aircraft, the KLM is good as well. Also I checked and there was no hull fatigue cracks on the Aloha... so you are safe there.
 
Night-lighting



 
The cockpit lighting in HDR is gorgeous and yet you only have two adjusters in behind the dials and a flood up high. But you can find that perfect lighting setting and just the dials for landing in the dark.
 

 
There are two fully adjustable spot lights overhead either side of the OHP. Turn on at night with the switches by the captain left side you can illuminate almost anything, the lighting detailing and reflection is amazingly good.
 

 
Beacon, navigation, tail (logo) and strobe lighting is very good, but the cabin windows are dark and not lit making the aircraft a black hole at night, FlyJSim says this will be fixed in the update.
 
Landing at Cancun



 
You have to watch your speed on the descent. Pulling back the throttles means losing the power, but the aircraft will still gather speed as it descends. so allow for a period of space to get the speed corrected just under 200knts before your final approach. Yes you can use the speed-brakes but most pilot's pride themselves on not doing so, however sometimes you have no choice if you stay at the cruising altitude to long. The speed can be controlled though but don't expect it to recover until the aircraft is absolutely level again, and then the speed falls off quickly.
 
You will again find the handling of the aircraft to your wishes while manoeuvring the aircraft though the turn to the heading of the airport and switch the A/P back on to use the near perfect VOR alignment to the runway for Cancun MMUN's runway 12R. Be careful though as RWY12L is noted and displayed, but it does not exist in reality? So don't select that one unless you want to land on the grass. Be careful of the speedbrake arm as it doesn't click into a position, only a green light on the panel shows you it is armed.  Autobrakes are set to MED.
 
Coming in close to the airport I recheck my land vRef card at 30º flap I can use 126knts, which is very slow...  As the flaps go down each notch you need to work the throttles to keep the aircraft from not going into the stall while still losing off the speed. I settled at 130knts going into the ILS system and the really slow approach allows you the one thing you never get in big jets...  time. 
 
One thing noticeable was that it was also in the daylight back at Dallas are the strong light reflections from the panel. Here on approach with the setting sun behind me some parts of the panel were blanked out, it is authentic no doubt, but it makes you work just that a little bit harder.
 


 
At 130knts your ride over the runway keys is very slow and the B732 giving you all the time in the world to position the aircraft down on the tarmac right where you want it. No autoland here either, so watch that float.
 
Those wonderful clamshell engine reverser doors bang into place and start the pushing out thrust to slow your speed, but they are not nowhere near as powerful as today's powerful reversers, so don't rely totally on them to slow you down.
 

 
Power off and you are in the pace taxi mode and clean up the aircraft ready for the exit to the taxiway. X-Plane's HDR lighting is great on the ground.
 


 
Strobes, strobe brightly and red and green nav lights illuminate the runway, you have four landing lights that can all be turn on with a flick of a small panel behind all the switches. there are also taxiway turning lights and a turning front wheel position taxi light. All lights illuminate the areas around the aircraft to making taxiing at night one of the best and easiest yet. (hard to do in X-Plane) only the RWY turn taxi-lighting is a little dim at the source, the actual lighting is however fine.


 
A taxi to the bay and the flight distance was 1114nm, Fuel was getting low as well with that high altitude at just over 5000lbs left. But a shutdown and connection to EXT Power and the aircraft was ready for the morning return to KDFW.
 
Summary
The Boeing 732 will be certainly compared to the FlyJSim Boeing 727 Series. If you liked the B727 then you will certainly want the B732 and you won't be disappointed. In quality and detail they are exactly the same. The B727 was a bit of a drama queen, but then that is what you really loved about the aircraft. The B732 is a more neutral flying aircraft and is really more composed in balance compared to its bigger sibling. The B732 feels smaller than the B727 and in that context you may feel your not getting as much aircraft even though you are paying less (there was three variants as well for the B727 with the full series). But that will be missing the point. there is really not much to slip between both aircraft, They would really depend on your mood in that if you want to wrestle an aircraft (B727) or if you would just want a good no-nonsense aircraft (B732) that is very nice to fly over a continental distance, and both have a time and a place and both aircraft hark back to an era in that when aircraft were in a period of a glorious adventure and breaking aviation records.
 
If you have flown the B727 then you will easily slip into the left or right seat of the B732 and feel right at home. If you are new to these FlyJSim 60's era aircraft, then yes there is a bit of a system's and operation's learning curve, but the results are well worth the effort.
All aircraft systems including: Air systems - Anti-Ice - Autopilot(SP77) - Com/Nav radios - Electrical - Fire protection - Hydraulics - Fuel - Weather radar - Warning systems and cockpit call outs are fully active.
There are a few more benefits with the B732, the Sperry Autopilot is a gem to use and not hidden away behind the throttles (B727) but right there where it should be on the glareshield. The lighting (except for no cabin lighting?) is excellent and the whole aircraft is so well put together in every area. You don't get a lot of extra features with FlyJSim aircraft, but you do get quality and great flying machines. And the Boeing is certainly a great if not a sensational aircraft to fly and great overall value.
 
_____________________________________________________________________________________
 

 
Yes! the Boeing 732 TwinJet from FlyJSim update is now available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here :
 
Boeing 732 TwinJet
 
- Price is US$47.00
  Installation and documents: Download is 294.40meg and the aircraft is deposited in the "Heavy Aircraft" X-Plane folder at 381.80 meg and requires a key-code for activation. Note: If you have purchased the xCIVA navigation package it goes in the B732 aircraft "plugin" folder and not in the X-Plane plugin folder...
 
There are three documents covering the aircraft:
 

 
-Designed by FlyJSim (Jack Skieczius and Joe Vermeulen)
Developer Site: FlyJSim
Dev Support : FlyJSim Support
 
Small note : in that the actual review was conducted in X-Plane version 10.25, I also flew the aircraft in the b10.30b1 to check for any differences (there was none and the frame-rate was excellent in both versions) a few of the images however were taken in b10.30b1 to check out the clouds... In frame-rate it is worth noting that if you switch off the "draw per pixel lighting" which highlights textures you will gain 30frames!. The aircraft will look slightly plainer outside, but 30frames is still 30frames... And yes I know that Southwest Airlines fly from Dallas Love Field and not KDFW, but there is sadly no KDAL scenery in X-Plane?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
 
Review By Stephen Dutton
30th May 2014
Copyright (2014) : X-PlaneReviews 2014
 
Technical Requirements:
Windows, MAC or Linux
X-Plane 10.20 or higher - 32 and 64 bit compatible. X-Plane 9 is not supported
Recommended: 1+ GB of VRAM, and 8+ GB of system memory
Current version: 1.0 ( v1.1405.1025 ) - Last updated May 28th 2014
 
Review System Specifications:
Computer System:     
- 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”
- 6 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3
- ATI Radeon HD 4850 512mb
Software:     
- Mac OS Mavericks 10.9.2
- X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.25 (final)
- Hi rez planet textures from ISDG
- Hi-Res Runway textures by Jack Skieczius
Addons
- Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle
Scenery
- KDFW - Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport by Brian Godwin (X-Plane.org)
- MMUN -  Cancun International Airport Mexico by 5171 (X-Plane.org)
 

 

Happy Birthday! : X-Plane Reviews is One Year Old...
Yes!     X-Plane Reviews is now One Year old today and counting. This time just only a year ago we were sitting here facing a completely empty site. Nothing except the challenge ahead. And we have exceeded even our own expectations, but without X-Plane's constant evolution and expansion then we could not have reported and reviewed so much in such a short time.
 
Without doubt the biggest surprise over the year was certainly the amount of releases and projects that have filled these posts. We expected busy times but also the many quiet times and they never seemed to come to pass, as releases are now almost year round and average about one every two weeks, with a very large project release about every three months.
Above that is simply the high quality of these releases, many are simply extraordinary in quality and features and there are very, very few that don't come up to mark. So every review was pushed higher and higher as the months went by in every area in features and quality that really any purchase today is not going to fail your expectations or live up to your investment into the simulator.
 
The amount of releases can also push your own boundaries in that there is so much to absorb and then learn as the ideas and features are sometimes quite complex, but still need to be dissected and then explained so everyone can understand and get the very best from the project. In most cases what you see on the site posts is only a quarter that we do behind the scenes to post the very best information to you.
 
I don't do all this by myself and I have a big thanks to Adrian, Wycliffe and Joe for their invaluable contribution and mostly giving their valuable time to post on this review site over the past year. More people to thank is Nicolas Taureau from the X-Plane.OrgStore that gives us the support and quick updates to bring you the latest reviews almost as they are released. To Dan Klaue who can explain things that are simply unexplainable (To me anyway) and to the amazing developers that have created the amazing world we fly in and let us bring their efforts and skills to our reviews.
 
So we start another year, and still there will be more and more great projects that will excite us and to be explored and reviewed. And X-Plane will continue to become one of the very best simulators ever released and we are living and enjoying the journey that will continue well into the future. Its been an amazing ride to date and it won't slow down anytime soon... and most of all is our thanks to you the users for joining us and giving us the great feedback that is required to run sites like these, this is your site more than anything and the best place to get the best reviews in X-Plane.
 
And to celebrate our first anniversary X-Plane Reviews is going to run a Competition!
 
Prizes are in no order of a:
 
FlightFactor/Vmax  Boeing 777 Worldliner Professional
FlightFactor/Vmax  Boeing Aircraft:757 Professional
SSG/Vmax  Boeing Aircraft:747-8i Advanced
 
Details and conditions will be posted on the Competition post, So get in and have a chance to win one of the most significant aircraft that has been released in X-Plane over the last two years...
 
Stephen Dutton
 
1st August 2014
 

Competition! : X-Plane Reviews first anniversary competition and win either a Boeing 748i, 777 or 757!
 
To celebrate X-Plane Reviews first year anniversary we are holding brilliant competition to win either a :
 
FlightFactor/Vmax  Boeing 777 Worldliner Professional
FlightFactor/Vmax  Boeing Aircraft:757 Professional
SSG/Vmax  Boeing Aircraft:747-8i Advanced
 
Great prizes and well worth a few minutes of your time to enter:
 
Well what we want to know is - "What is your favorite aircraft or add-on we have reviewed on X-Plane Reviews in the last twelve months and why?"
 
Just write in the "comments" below what your thoughts are....
 
Conditions:
 
Only one entry only, more than one will be deleted...  so make it count.
You must be a registered as a member with X-Plane Reviews to give a valid comment...   "Guest" comments will be deleted.
Keep the comment to around 350 words, monologues will be deleted. (unless very funny!)
 
The best three will of course win one of the prizes in no order, Judges decisions are final. 
The winners comments will be posted as a separate post on the X-Plane Reviews site.
 
Competition runs for 14 days till midnight 14th August 2014 (winners will be posted on the .Org)
 
Have fun and lets us know on how really great the X-Plane Simulator really is.
 
Stephen Dutton
 
X-Plane Reviews
 
Note! to sign up as a member then use the Account link :

 
1st August 2014
 
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