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NEWS! - E175 & E195 v2.5 by X-Crafts are now FREE! Everyone's ears always pick up on the word "Free", certainly more when it is a quality Payware aircraft, and from a well recognised developer X-Crafts. Well X-Craft's have released their v2.5 well regarded E175 and E195 aircraft free to X-Plane, a great development, but it comes with some restrictions (of course). First the aircraft are for X-Plane 11 only, secondly they won't receive any future updates either... so that counts out X-Plane 12. The two aircraft come with dozens of liveries, YouTube videos, and resources, we are hoping that everyone will enjoy these E-Jets while waiting for the new X-Crafts E-Jets Family to be released soon. You can follow the development updates here. "Soon" is the word... X-Crafts are working on a completely new product line. These will be brand new add-ons, entirely redesigned and recreated from the ground up using cutting-edge software and techniques. So these older versions have now been passed on to the community. The new add-ons will feature new highly detailed and accurate models of the interior and exterior, authentic FMS, enhanced systems - at or above the ERJ Family level, all across the board. We are working with real E-JETS pilots to help us fly to a higher level of authenticity than we have reached before. The E-JETS Family will include all variants of the E-JETS: E170 | E175 | E190 | E195 | Lineage 1000 Notable is that announced by X-Crafts, is that all existing customers of the previous E175 v2.5 and E195 v2.5 will get a discount for the new products. There is a video here (In X-Plane 11, not X-Plane 12). Don't ask for a release date of the X-Plane 12 E-Jet versions as I don't know, but a guess would say before Easter. You can get the earlier E170 and E190 v2.5 here: E-Jets Combo by X-Crafts | E175 & E195 v2.5 2.5.0 Last X-PlaneReviews update is here: Aircraft Update : E-175/E-195 v2.4 by X-Crafts ___________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 13th February 2023 Copyright©2023: X-Plane Reviews (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) All Rights Reserved

Aircraft Update : E-175/E-195 v2.4 by X-Crafts It is an interesting journey in when reviewing developers progress and certainly with the twin versions of E-Jets from SSG and X-Crafts. Looking at this new X-Crafts v2.4 after the recent update to SSG's twins E-170/E-195 Evolutions in June, they have both (or all) have come a very significant way since their 2014 debut. In reality both are now nothing like their original predecessors, if certainly in the modeling, systems and quality, but the prices have changed also to match their higher quality status, as was the original X-Crafts E-195 was only US$20 dollars, and which was an absolute steal at the time. But remember there was no FMC or nowhere the quality or the features of the aircraft you have in flying the same aircraft today. But the journey also shows on how to do this simulation do,da game right, start with a basic idea with quality modeling and just keep on improving the aircraft, add in the best of the current features and keep the aircraft bang up to date (in this constantly if ever changing X-Plane environment) with updates. The users (or purchasers) will feel safe in knowing that their investment is going up and have the security that their E-Jet is current with the latest changes all done and dusted. It is a simple coda really, but you would be surprised how many developers are quite average at this, that also adds in to the fact that once you do fall behind in the changes it gets harder and harder to catch up again and the investors are going to be picky as well because your past track record is going to say "not very reliable", in other words you can't count on them... but then there is that word "Investment" because that is what a sale is. Most upgrades fall into three areas, a fix for (usually major) for new simulator changes or for new features. A lot are however in the third batch of a few new features and a general tidy up of bugs and small issues, this E-175/E-195 v2.4 update falls firmly in to this latter category. E-175/E-195 v2.4 update Externally the original X-Crafts modeling has not changed over the years, because it really didn't need to. It was brilliant from the very start and was why the aircraft in a modeling sense was well ahead of its time. Certainly the textures and details have been updated to the reflect the changes to the better X-Plane11 dynamics, but overall it is still the same... but E-Jet still looks as brilliant as ever. The notes here are related to the E-195, but the E-175 is almost identical. The major change with this update is the addition feature of a "Load Planner" or as other developers call them a "Weights & Balance" panels. As every developer does their own interpretation of the same idea and now here is the X-Crafts version. The menu is a pop-out of now four tabs on the left lower part of you screen. They cover: Menu, Pushback, WGT & BAL and Checklist. Menu: The main menu tab opens all the doors (both pass and cargo), connects a GPU (Ground Power Unit) and requests pushback. Ground Equipment static items include chocks (front nosegear), cones and tag covers Pushback: The tab won't work unless you have "requested" the pushback truck on the menu page. Then it it will be active. It is however a quality pushback setup with a nice tractor supplied and it is a set distance and pivot system that was good. Now everyone (like I do) use the BetterPushBack plugin, so this pushback system is a little bit of a non-starter now, but X-Crafts have tuned both their E-Jets for perfect use of the BetterPushBack plugin version as well. WGT & BAL: The third tab is the new feature of a "Weights & Balance" panel. The new Load Planner is a very good one, easy to use and the loading is very quick. The panel can be not only be moved around the screen, but also scaled to fit... excellent. There are some very clever ideas going on in here... scroll the passenger loading bar and the cargo adjusts to the corresponding passengers baggage weights as well! The loading is also from the front to the rear to balance the aircraft, and so the Centre of Gravity MAC number also adjusts as well... ... You have to set the fuel load via the top slider before adjusting the "cargo adjust" or the general cargo slider to balance out the C/G, simple! All your weights are then shown including Max Weight, ZFW (Zero Fuel Weight), Payload Weight, MAC% setting and the crew and passengers loaded on board. So the set up and the loading is super quick and efficient... impressive. Checklist: Final lower tab is a pop-up checklist in a binder, again really well set out and easy to use. Again you can move the binder around the screen and also scale it to fit to your panel views, just simply brilliant. TEKTON FMS The major difference between the SSG E-Jets and the X-Crafts aircraft are the FMS (Flight Management System) Systems. The SSG uses Javier Cortes FJCC model were as the X-Crafts uses Steve Wilson's Tekton model. The differences are built around the fact that the SSG uses custom plugins to run the systems, were as the Tekton version runs on top of the X-Plane native FMS system. The Tekton uses a different idea to set up the Departure (SID) - Route - Arrival (STAR) into three different settings and then combines them together when you activate the route. So you start by loading in your departure airport, RWY and SID details. Then you input your route and AIRWAYS are supported. Then your arrival Airport, RWY and STAR details... it is highly recommended to do any edits of any of the three segments BEFORE you activate them, as they can be really hard to change any details after loading... here I am removing CORAL waypoint to stop a backtrack to the next connecting waypoint. Then you INIT the plan and finally EXEC to combine and load the flightplan into the FMS on the PROGRESS page. The combined complete flightplan is then shown on the FLIGHTPLAN page. There has been a huge amount of improvements to the system over the years, and once you find your way around it and understand how it works it is very good, but like I said it is hard to edit, once the three segements are set up in there. The system can be inputted by both your mouse or pad, or by direct keyboard input for speed. You can import and save routes, but I always prefer to do the full route directly from APT start to APT finish with this particular system. Changes to the Tekton FMS in v2.4 include: Added airspeed values to all legs, along with pre-calculation of climb and descent values Revised use of PERF 2 so that airspeed and cruise altitude parameters can be entered more easily prior to entering procedures and the planned route Revised warning messages to be yellow in color, signifying caution, instead of a critical warning in red Fuel calculations fixed for flight plans that do not include route waypoints Added current AIRAC information to the STATUS panel Enhanced font textures used for highlighting row data when scrolling Various bugs fixed including the somewhat infamous airways loading crash Note in the fact the AIRAC Data is now updated to the current cycle 1808, and is supplied by Aerosoft. Other notes I found the panel and the the displays far, far more easier to read in this version... ... earlier displays based on the X-Plane native (PlaneMaker) layouts were of a quite poor resolution, mostly unreadable, but more so looked out of place in a quality instrument panel layout. But these are very good, not perfect as some numbering in the MFD are still quite small in the text size, and it is quite hard to read the minute sizes on critical points like on my approach to Rocky YBRK. but overall a major improvement. Another oddity is that the MFD and MAP/NAV displays for the First Officer are set the wrong way around on startup, and you have to switch them back every time before departure via the switches right panel? The cockpit itself is very good, nice detailing and better reflections (this version seems to be better overall in these texture details, but they are not noted in the notes detail) the Side menu graphics are noted for better resolution and the audio panel has been revised so that COM, NAV and ADF radios can be turned on and off with an LED in the button to indicate current status, but besides the fixing of the various minor graphics glitches it is the same as the previous version. FMOD Sound The sounds were updated to FMOD in v2.2 and they were a mixed bag, some good, but a few not so much. Here in v2.4 they have been updated to more FMOD selections, but still mostly as announcements including: Boarding: Triggered by turning ON the fasten seatbelt sign when on the ground. Gate Departure: Triggered by CLOSING the main cabin door. Safety Briefing: Triggered by moving BACKWARDS faster than 3 knots during pushback Accent: Triggered by CLIMBING past 11,000 feet. Descent: Triggered by DESCENDING past 10,000 feet Landing: Triggered by LOWERING the landing gear Arrival: Triggered by CLOSING the reverse-thrust Overall the sounds were certainly far better than I remember earlier, but the cockpit levels are quite low (The SSG is also very similar) but even in flight the volume is lower that I would like compared to the external sounds, and although good they are quite loud. So the problem is you can't actually hear the new announcements as the volume is set too low? (so you should be able to hear the announcements if not the engines). Maybe we need some sort of sound adjustment panel? Liveries are unchanged, but are still updated to XP11 standard... There are fifteen liveries including: White/blank, Lufthansa Regional (default), Air Canada, Air Dolomiti, American Airways, Augsburg Airway, Austrian, Austrian (Star Alliance), Azul, Flybe and Virgin Australia. And the four great variations on the JetBlue livery in - Stripes, Mosaic, Blueberries and Barcode. Summary Another few new features and a few touch-ups and some bug fixing pretty well sums up this v2.4 update for the E-Jet twins from X-Crafts. The new Weights & Balance menu panel is of course being the major highlight here and it is one of the best in ease of use and speed in getting the load done and sorting the out and getting the aircraft ready to fly. So full marks on that feature. The FMS has had its usual adjustments and bug fixing, but overall it works pretty well now, sounds in new announcements are new, but the (very) low cockpit volume makes them hard to hear, but they are very good. This v2.4 update keeps the E-Jets up to date and flying along quite nicely, but overall these E-Jets just feels a bit more complete, more finished and the flying displays certainly look and feel better than they did before... note this aircraft is now X-Plane11 only. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Embraer E175/E195 v2.4 by X-Crafts is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E-175 v2.4 Price is US$39.95 Embraer E-195 v2.4 Price is US$39.95 Twin Embraer E-175 and E-195 v2.4 Set is also available for US$59.95 Embraer E-175 and E-195 Package X-Crafts E-175 v2.2 review is here: Aircraft Review : Embraer E-175 v2.2 by X-Crafts FEATURES: NEW: Load Manager NEW: Fully integrated 3D sound system! Accurate dimensions based on drawings and documentation provided by Embraer © Windows, Mac and Linux compatible Custom TEKTON FMS© by Steve Wilson Custom pushback plugin with animated tug On-screen checklist plugin Plugin menu for door control, ground objects or GPU Tested by a real Embraer E175 pilot Suitable for beginners - Just load and fly within seconds! Great for advanced users -Enjoy the complexity of the Custom FMS! Requirements: X-Plane 11 (not compatible with xp10) Windows, MAC or Linux - 64 bit Operating System required 8Gb RAM - 2Gb VRAM Minimum. 3Gb+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 2.4 (last updated July 31st 2018) X-Crafts Support Forum : Support forum for the E-195 ______________________________________________________________________ Update log - Version 2.4 (July 31st 2018) New Load Planner adds the ability to simulate a random passenger load and baggage/cargo calculation along with CG management. Very useful to have realistic data available to add in the FMS PERF 1 page Fixed various minor graphics glitches Audio panel revised so that COM, NAV and ADF radios can be turned on and off with an LED in the button to indicate current status Side menu graphics improved, checklists now in higher resolution and resizable. Revised side tabs' visibility trigger so that the activity selections are now presented only when the mouse cursor has moved to within 50px of the left side of the monitor Updated both the aircraft and FMS manuals to conform to the current state of the add-on Tekton FMS Improvements: Added airspeed values to all legs, along with pre-calculation of climb and descent values Revised use of PERF 2 so that airspeed and cruise altitude parameters can be entered more easily prior to entering procedures and the planned route Revised warning messages to be yellow in color, signifying caution, instead of a critical warning in red Fuel calculations fixed for flight plans that do not include route waypoints Added current AIRAC information to the STATUS panel Enhanced font textures used for highlighting row data when scrolling Various bugs fixed including the somewhat infamous airways loading crash Revised and improved the accuracy of the FMOD sound experience, including new announcement clips during certain portions of flight: Boarding: Triggered by turning ON the fasten seatbelt sign when on the ground. Gate Departure: Triggered by CLOSING the main cabin door. Safety Briefing: Triggered by moving BACKWARDS faster than 3 knots during pushback Accent: Triggered by CLIMBING past 11,000 feet. Descent: Triggered by DESCENDING past 10,000 feet Landing: Triggered by LOWERING the landing gear Arrival: Triggered by CLOSING the reverse-thrust (Requires the NO SMOKING sign to be ON) ______________________________________________________________________ Release notes by Stephen Dutton  2nd August 2018 Copyright©2018: X-Plane Reviews (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) 

News! - X-Crafts show new E-Jets Family renders There is always debate around of what developers should develop, some developers create different and varied aircraft, but a few stay on the same designs and focus just on that design.... a good thing or a bad thing? Like I said it is debatable. X-Crafts have focused a lot on the Embraer series of E-Jets, and we are going back as far as August 2014 (announced as early as May 2013) with X-Crafts release of their first E-Jet in the ERJ 195LR. Since then there have a lot of numerous updates to this basically dated design and we are currently up to version v2.4. In the last few years X-Crafts have focused on their Embraer ERJ Family of the 135/140/145/145XR and Legacy 650. With this release came a huge step of quality and aircraft design from X-Crafts, in that step making the older E-Jet versions now looking dated, even if they were very good on release... but X-Plane waits for no designer, it demands more and more, and so in that context X-Crafts are now redeveloping their original E-Jet's to meet the same standards or in this case do another step forward in quality and design detail. Features noted include new highly detailed and accurate models of the interior and exterior, authentic FMS, enhanced systems, but the biggest feature is the inclusion of a "authentic FMS", this aspect has been a compromise on X-Crafts aircraft with the hybrid Tekton FMS, clever as it is, it not a fully formed authentic FMS system... this aspect alone is worth the update. So X-Crafts have released some WIP (Work in Progress) images of the renders of the coming new X-Craft E-Jet series with all E170 / E175 / E190 / E195 / Lineage 1000 variants included. An estimated release date of the new E-Jet Family or pricing (expect the same as the ERJ Family) hasn’t been noted at yet by the X-Crafts. However, the developer has confirmed that existing users of the E175 and E195 will be subject to a discount upon release. But I would expect a release around mid-year 2021. Images are courtesy of X-Crafts ____________________________ The current v2.4 versions are currently on sale and available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E175 and E195 v2 package by X-Crafts Price is US$37.95 (normally US$79.90) Requirements X-Plane 11 only Windows, MAC or Linux - 8Gb RAM - 2Gb VRAM Minimum. 4Gb+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 2.4 (last updated July 31st 2018) ____________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 19th January 2021 Copyright©2021: X-Plane Reviews (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)

Aircraft Overview : Embraer ERJ Family by X-Crafts X-Crafts announced their ERJ 195 LR in May 2013, and released the aircraft August 2014. In the review it was in a design and quality sense brilliant in those Pre-PBR less effect X-Plane10 days, and I recognised the huge talent straight away. But single form developers can be brilliant at one area, in this case the modeling and design, but weak in other areas and that showed with this entry work back then. Early updates came thick and fast, but it was not until Steve Wilson came aboard and redesigned the FMS and systems did the ERJ 195 LR really then become an all round nice aircraft. Difficult as well was that SSG (Supercritical Simulations Group) had their own versions of the E-Jet 170 and 190 LR. It created a development race between the two camps, that really none won except the punters with ever growing features and details, both aircraft now from X-Crafts or SSG are certainly worthy investments. As both E-Jet designs reached their high level then we expected both camps again to go head to head with their next projects. But they didn't... SSG went to the CRJ 700, but X-Crafts kept faithful to Embraer with their ERJ aircraft. Rumors stated a variant, as the most wanted was the E140, many others stated the smaller E135, and more the larger E145... the announcement covered them all with the stated E135, E140 and the E145, wow a full family of ERJ's excellent! and that is what you get here the ERJ family... but wait! there is is more. What you do actually get in the series package is the Embraer ERJ Family of ALL ERJ's in the E135, E140, E145 and the E145XR and.... also the ERJ private jet version of the Legacy 650! That is altogether five aircraft... let us look at the five variants. ERJ135 3/37 Seats, 26.33 m (86 ft 5 in) length, Engines - Roll Royce AE 3007A - 7,580–9,440 lbf (33.7–42.0 kN) - Range ER: 1,300 nmi (2,400 km) ERJ140 3/44 Seats, 28.45 m (93 ft 4 in) length, Engines - Roll Royce AE 3007-A - 7,580–9,440 lbf (33.7–42.0 kN) - Range ER: 1,300 nmi (2,400 km) - The ERJ135 is a shortened version of the ERJ140 ERJ145 3/50 Seats, 29.87 m (98 ft 0 in) length, Engines - Roll Royce AE 3007A1 - 7,580–9,440 lbf (33.7–42.0 kN) - Range LR: 1,650 nmi (3,060 km) ERJ145XR 3/50 Seats, 29.87 m (98 ft 0 in) length, Engines - Roll Royce AE 3007A1E - 8917 lbf (39.67 kN) - Range XR: 2,000 nmi (3,700 km) Legacy 650 2/13-14 Seats, 26.33 m / 86 ft 5 in length, Engines - Roll Royce AE 3007A2 - 9,020 lbf (40.1 kN) - Range 3,900 nmi / 7,223 km - Aircraft is based on the ERJ135 another version, the Legacy Shuttle can seat 19 to 37 in airline-style seats but without the range. For the details I am going to show the ERJ145 as it is in the middle of the family... Modeling is exceptional with perfect detailing.... note any glass with perfect rainbow or dirty reflections... Roll Royce AE 3007 pods and cowling is also perfect and the chrome is very good as well... Fan blades are also well proportioned and realistic. Engine outlet looks actually realistic, lovely tail structure has the lovely APU outlet is in great detail and modeling... ... windows are perfectly formed, and again you would amazed of how many and even the best developers do poor window surronds, but the creme-de creme is the excellent cabin window wear and tear detail. Undercarriage detail is excellent, all the assembly, struts, pipping and supports are perfect, you have to love the dirty/oily bad weather feel to all the gear... .... the highlight here is the flap screwjack, lower the flaps and the screwjack is animated and turns out to the extension... .... all screwjacks work with three on each wing, and yes they are all animated, wing and lighting assemblies are perfect. Finer detail is excellent... all text is readable and the tiny points of screws, latches and panels are all well defined... note again those lovely windows, yes I love them. _____________________________________ Menu The ERJ Family uses the standard X-Crafts menu tabs lower right of your screen, there are four tabs: Menu, FAQ, FMS and Checklist. MENU : is the standard pop-out panel that covers the ground menu... included are opening doors Passenger and rear Baggage, GPU (Ground Power Unit), "Remove Before Flight" Tags, Pitot covers, Cones, front wheel chocks and some lovely engine inlet covers. Both doors are exceptional, with built in stairs for the main left hand door and the excellent right hand service door.... I think a ground service stair would be a great addition here. FAQ, FMS and Checklist: FAQ puts up a shortcut help sheet, but it is quite basic here, I expect this to be expanded. FMS is the pop-up for the FMS panel, and checklist is the very nice spiral bound checklist binder. Cabin Geeeeze it's really tight in here.... Cabin detail is very good, but the game has lifted by a fair margin in the back this year, so what was exceptional last year is now just very good... The cabin certainly passes the grade, but there isn't the functionality in here that is now moving into this area, like the rear toilet... it feels a little dull lighting wise as well. Seat shape feels a little basic, but the important windows and surrounds are excellent. The cabin is the same really throughout each of the different variant lengths, but with just more or less seats. The Legacy however has the executive lounge layout... forward club seating and a side sofa is real rock and roll, Kardashian territory... .... teak wood grain and leather abounds, and yes it is all very executive and rich, lighting panel doesn't yet work, but it is coming say's X-Crafts, non of the blinds work either so the functionality is still to improved here, but finally X-Plane does have a global executive jet... a big cheer for that one! Cockpit The level of detail required now at this level can be overwhelming, and somehow developers have to meet that expectation. Certainly this ERJ Series does that... ... X-Crafts have lifted their quality a few bars higher and it shows, and certainly in the area of display resolution. Centre console is very well done, lovely detail with those pearl throttle levers and gust lock... OverHead Panel (OHP) is also well sorted and easy to use, oddly the aircraft can use the button illumination both ways, like pressing the Avionics 1/2 to on, actually turns them off... packs are on, but shouldn't it be a blank panel for everything on... slightly confusing? There are some easter eggs set out around the aircraft, read the OHP and you get the X-Crafts credits? and on the cockpit door you channel Flying High and Star Wars? Another feature is the pilots side windows open.... but not very wide? the ERJ cockpit windows are like this. Five display instrument panel is very good.... Honeywell Primus Elite Avionics suite is really well done. PFD (Primary Flight Display), MAP/NAV Display and central MFD (Multifunctioal Display) are well detailed, and the three left side PFD, NAV, MFD displays pop-out, but in a 3D suspension aspect than a 2D move the panel around the screen situation. PFD has the usual top primary instrument functions and lower the rose navigation screen with V/S vertical speed indicator. The NAV display is split for the MAP top and the a menu driven information display below, the altitude VSD (Vertical Speed Display) is a selection... .... The menu driven switching is very easy and covers T/O (General), ECS, FUEL, HYD, ELEC selections (Fuel and Electrical are shown). Map selections are also selectable. Dr Glucks Terrain plugin is also available and it is intergrated into the MAP display very well, but make sure it is the latest version. MFD shows Engine Performance, Pressures, ECS, trim, Landing Gear and System Indicators/alerts. Below are two radio panels that are switchable with the magenta highlights showing the COM1/NAV1/ADF1 and green showing the COM2/NAV2/ADF2 frequencies. FMS - Flight Management Systems You have a choice here? You can use the default X-Plane Laminar Research FMS or the Steve Wilson Tekton FMS system... again updated. The Tekton still does the same flightplan layout with the three separate elements, and those are: SID (Standard Instrument Departure) - Route - STAR (Standard Terminal Arrival Route) You can save a route but only the center "Route" portion to a standard .fms file. When you reload it you have then rebuild the departure SID and approach STAR waypoints from scratch, so you don't reload the entire route and just fly. It is tricky at first if you are not used to the system, but the more you use the FMC the easier it gets to use. I found the Tekton programming far easier than on X-Crafts E-Jet, and now with AIRWAYS... the bigger bonus is that you can use the default FMS to check the route via the PLAN and the STEP button, you couldn't do that before... that is a huge step forward for me. In the air overview An important note; the ERJ series has a very different climb function... in most cases you select the aircraft's speed and then the V/S vertical speed you want to attain, but in the ERJ Series the function it is used together here as one. You select your altitude, your V/S and usually around 2300fpm as the 2560 fpm is the noted climb rate and officially it is 200 knts to about 3,500 feet then FLC 250/270/.56M the whole way up to your flightlevel, all this of course depends on your weight, but this is a typical route weight... but the overspeed alarm goes off above the 250 knt speed point. You control the climb rate with the throttles and the speed... it takes a little getting used too, but easy once you understand how it works.... ERJ145 ERJ135 Liveries Liveries cover all variants E135/140/145/145XR. There is blank, Alitalia Express, American Airlines Eagle modern, American Eagle Traditional, X-Jet and United Express. But this aircraft will get the painters working with gutso... already there is a nice BMI ready to released... Legacy 650 The Legacy 650 looks amazing in the air, and lighter to fly because your load factor is very small... only one livery here with the "Dream Chaser", but the other liveries work on the tail and winglets... so you can sort of use the private jet as a company aircraft, some look quite good. Wrapup This is not a review but an overview of the ERJ Family package from X-Crafts and what is included. So there are no comments or details in this aircraft release to be noted here. The aircraft is being sold as both a full package "Embraer ERJ Family" at US89.95 (all five aircraft are included), or separately at US$49.95 each. All packs and the full package is now available from the X-Plane.OrgStore.... _______________________________ The Embraer ERJ Family by X-Crafts is NOW available at the X-Plane.Org Store: Embraer ERJ Family - Package Includes ERJ 135/ERJ 140/ERJ 145/ERJ 145XR/Legacy 650 Priced at US$89.95 Embraer ERJ 135 - Includes: ERJ 135 Priced at US$49.95 Embraer ERJ 140 - Includes: ERJ 140 Priced at US$49.95 Embraer ERJ 145/ERJ 145XR - Includes: ERJ 145/ERJ 145XR Priced at US$49.95 Embraer ERJ Legacy 650 - Includes: Legacy 650 Priced at US$49.95 Features : UPDATER - You can easily check for new updates right inside of X-Plane and you will automatically get the latest version. It literally takes 3 clicks of a button! On-screen CHECKLIST plugin On-screen HELP SHEET with FAQ and useful info which will get you going real quick and will solve 90% of issues that users usually ask on the forums. On-Screen Control menu for door control, ground objects, GPU and engine covers. Pre-configured systems like on the real plane Realistic Avionics Startup Realistic flight dynamics based on real pilot input and feedback FMS There are two FMS units installed on the pedestal: Custom TEKTON FMS© by Steve Wilson (More details below) and the X-Plane FMS by Philipp J. Münzel Please note that these are not replicas of the FMS units usually installed on the jets. 3D MODELING AND TEXTURING I'm a VFX artist in real life, so I'm used to creating photo-real assets. Although I am limited by the XP rendering capabilities and your hardware, I tried to make it look and perform as good as I could EXTERIOR 4K High resolution textures (more important is the resolution of the actual fuselage which is 75000pixels per on meter squared) Highly detailed landing gears, Flaps, lights, gauges, antennas... everything Realistic wingflex animation Pilots in external view All doors are animated and controllable from the plugin menu. Main and service doors can also be opened by clicking on the levers. INTERIOR: You'll find that there is an amazing level of detail, for example dust particles on the screens visible when light shines on them, finger prints on buttons, and if you zoom in really close to the screens you will even see individual pixels on the actual screens. I tried to make sure that the cockpit looks realistically worn out and used as it would based on how much these jets are used! High resolution PFD, MFD, EICAS displays All text around the cockpit is crisp and clear with any rendering options Intuitive cockpit manipulation - I have always taken great care to make the cockpit as easy to use as possible. This means all clickable areas in the cockpit are very big so that you can easily click on any button, knob or lever in the cockpit Each switch, lever, knob, and handle is animated All cockpit lights are controllable exactly as on the real jets, even the screens shine light on their surroundings Includes baggage bay door light POP UP INSTRUMENTS 3D (not movable, ideal for VR) pop-up panels of the FMS, Radio panel and Thrust Rating Panel. The FMS also has a 2D pop up window mode that stays on the screen and you can move it around, so you can simply choose which one you want to be using based on your preference. Pop Up screens of the PFD MFD and EICAS OTHER FEATURES Realistic Exterior Lighting: NAV, Strobe, Beacon, Left/Nose/Right landing lights, Nose taxi lights, Inspection lights, Logo lights, Courtesy lights, Baggage door light. They all cast light on the surroundings. Audible Alert System Awesome 3D sounds, many of which have been recorded on the real jets! FULLY VR COMPATIBLE These jets have been made, fine-tuned and tested for a flawless VR experience! LIVERIES There are 5 liveries included compatible with the ERJs (White, American Airlines, American Airlines Old, United Express, ExpressJet,and 3 for the Legacy. There are dozens of other liveries available on the forums. TEKTON FMS© Features Custom MCDU Interface Initialization page on system startup Easy to navigate paging system SID, ROUTE and STAR waypoint lists are treated as separate editable items Color keyed data presentation Scratchpad data entry Interactive feedback messages MCDU PopUps Both 2D and 3D popups are available for easy access. Direct Keyboard Entry (DKE) Departure and Arrival Procedures SID and STAR procedures from X-Plane stock or third party custom data Zipped “Custom Data” folder provided Altitude and airspeed constraints for procedures Automatic procedure altitude calculation Flexible STAR element selection and re-selection and editing Default visual departure and approach waypoints Ability to easily edit SIDs, Routes, STARS and the loaded FLT PLAN AIRWAYS Selection Progress Monitoring Performance Flight Planning: PERF 1 page providing preflight and takeoff data PERF 2 page allowing route fuel planning PERF 3 page for approach data Additional Features: Thrust Rating Select page (TRS) accessed from PERF 1 FMS reset function Simplified manual waypoint altitude entry Company route load and save functions FLT PLAN page now automatically advances with destination waypoint 8.33mhz tunable radios Comprehensive Status Page The stock X-Plane MCDU is also provided as an alternative for users that prefer it. FMOD An amazing 3D sound package comes with the jets. Everything from different knob sounds, door sounds to realistic engine sounds. Many of the sounds have been recorder on the real jets which makes the experience extra immersive! Requirements X-Plane 11.30+ only Windows, MAC or Linux - 4GB VRAM Minimum. 8GB+ VRAM Recommended Current release version: 1.0 (last updated May 24th 2019) ______________________________________________________________________  Aircraft Overview by Stephen Dutton  24th May 2019 Copyright©2019 : X-Plane Reviews   (Disclaimer. All images and text in this preview 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) 

Aircraft Review : Embraer ERJ Family by X-Crafts There is almost a year in that our friend Stephen posted a quick overview of the ERJ Family. Today I will make a complete review of this fabulous aircraft developed by X-Crafts, which had an update a few days ago. The Embraer Regional Jets were the first jet engine commercial aircraft produced by Embraer. Continental Express took delivery of the first EMB 145 (later renamed ERJ 145) on December, 27 1996. With more than 2200 units delivered, the ERJ family is considered to be one of the most successful regional aviation aircraft ever. Today, its main operators are Envoy Air and ExpressJet Airlines, with respectively 108 and 96 aircraft. An interesting fact is that even being a Brazilian aircraft, no commercial ERJ is operated by a Brazilian airline. Powered by two AE3007 turbofan engines, producing from 7,201 to 8,985 lbs thrust each, the 135 variant can carry 37 passengers, up to 50 in the 145. The 145XR variant has the biggest range of all five aircraft (2,000), it also has an MTOW of 24,100kg and can fly at M 0.80, faster than M 0.78 from the other three commercial aircraft. The business version named Legacy 650 can fly up to impressive 3,900nm, at M 0.80 and a maximum operational altitude of 41,000ft. I will base my review in the ERJ 145, which is the most popular variant. 3D Modeling and Textures Probably, one of the main qualities of the X-Crafts ERJ. Unparalleled visuals, that's what X-Crafts says about their products, and I can't deny that, the textures and 3D modeling are exceptional. Exterior The ERJ 145 from x-crafts has one of the best exterior modeling of all aircraft available for X-Plane 11. The fuselage, wings and engines are full of details, the 4K textures are incredible, especially in the fuselage, and impressive reflections. The landing gear is very detailed, as well as the antennas and lights around the aircraft. Pitot tubes, door handles and windshield wipers have a really good 3D modeling, giving the aircraft even more details. Interior With such a good exterior, the interior 3D modeling and textures couldn't be bad, and that is true, the interior is very impressive. The overhead is simple but very well done, one of the best 3D modeled overhead panels in all X-Plane. In the cockpit almost every button and knob works, both windows can be opened, the screens have awesome reflections and the textures are incredible. X-Crafts has done such a good job with the textures that they may be the best in all X-Plane, being a great difference when compared to most aircraft. Even with those high-quality 3D modeling and textures, this add-on won't take many FPS from your system. There is a 3D cabin in the unusual 2-1 configuration. The fact that you can turn the ceiling lights on and off in the control panel located next to the main door is very cool. Flying the ERJ Even though it is a smaller plane, the way it flies isn't very different from a 737 or E195. In this short flight from Chicago ORD to Louisville SDF I will tell you my experience while flying the aircraft. The startup process is very simple and x-crafts implemented a complete and detailed checklist to help you. The first thing you should do is turn both batteries to auto position, connect the GPU and press both avionics master buttons. This will start the electricals and automatically align the IRS. After this you can switch the emergency lights to armed. After turning on the electricals, the next step is programming the FMS. X-Crafts uses the Tekton FMS created by Steve Wilson, which at first glance appears to be very confusable and tricky. Even though the FMS needs some improvements, it manages to create a useful route and performance calculations. Take note that I will show you the way I program it and there are many other ways to do it. The first thing you should do is insert your callsign, which today is Envoy Air 4076, your initial and final altitude, 31,000ft in this short flight, and press initialize FMS. After that you can head to PERF 1 page by pressing MCDU INDEX and PERF. There you will set the number of passengers, payload weight and fuel. Now you need to insert your departure and arrival. Go back to MCDU INDEX and press DEPARTURE. On that page you will select your departing runway, SID and transition. Then press ARRIVAL and insert your runway, STAR, approach and its transition. The next thing you need to do is head up to the route page. There you will need to add any waypoint required in your route, it is very easy, just insert the required waypoint and its altitude. After all that your route should be ready. Note that if you will use airways the process is a little different. Now that your route ready, go to your PERF 2 page. You will need to set your cruise speed, make sure that both altitudes are right, and last but not least, insert the average wind. After that, press the EXEC button, this way you will validate all the information you've inserted and activate the route. To check your progress simply click in the progress and flight plan button. At this point the FMS is ready, so the next step is to turn on the fuel pumps, start the APU, turn on the A/C packs and APU bleed, and lastly the windshield ice protection. Now that the APU is running, the GPU can be disconnected. It is very important to set your altitude and heading in the autopilot panel, hit the NAV and FMS buttons, and set the altimeters. Everything is ready, so you can call the pushback truck and start your engines. Packs off, beacon on, hydraulics auto and engine selectors start position. Wait until the engines finished the startup process to turn on the bleeds and packs. Don't forget to turn off the APU and its bleed. Set your flaps and thrust rating to T/O position, and you are now ready to taxi. Chicago O'Hare is a very big airport, so taxing to runway 10L should take a while, this means more time to admire this aircraft. After entering the runway, set your power to about 50%, wait a few seconds and then increase your throttle to T/O power. Note that this plane doesn't have any kind of autothrottle, just a power limitation, so you will need to check the power during all flight. V1, VR, V2 and here we go. Due to the fact it's a smaller and lighter plane it should take off at slower speeds and climb faster than other aircraft. Right after taking off you should bring the gear up, select climb thrust rating and turn YD on. If you want, the AP can also be turned on. As we start to gain speed, the impressive O'Hare starts to get smaller. Right now we just need to check the power and wait until the aircraft reaches cruise altitude. Again, we can use this time to admire this beautiful aircraft. We've reached cruise flight level, now we just need to set our thrust rating to cruise and wait for the TOD, in few minutes we will start our descent to Louisville. The weather in Louisville isn't very good, drizzling, a little strong winds and very low clouds. This won't be the easiest landing, but the ERJ will handle this. A few feet from the ground we reduce the power to idle and just wait for the wheels to touch it. The shell-type reversers aren't very common these days, giving the aircraft a nice distinction from others. And now I want to welcome you to Louisville International Airport, most known as UPS hub. Other Features X-Crafts made a very complete add-on, this means it includes things like checklists and interactive menus. Checklist The aircraft comes with an exntensive and complete checklist. All procedures are listed there, from the first to last step. FAQ This is a very useful tool, especially for people that are still learning how the plane works. Even though this is very very, X-Crafts is one of the few designers that included this feature with the add-on. Ground Ops This is a very nice feature implemented by X-Crafts. It comes with beautiful engine covers, pitot tubes and antenna protectors, cones, GPU and chocks. Pop-outs Personally, I don't use pop-outs during flights, but if you want to, X-Crafts implemented an FMS pop-out, which can be accessed by clicking in the modeled one in the cockpit, or the fast menu in the bottom left corner of the screen. The cockpit screens can also be popped-out, revealing a unique 3D pop-out. Lights The interior night lighting is very beautiful. The characteristic Embraer All-White lights give the plane a modern feeling. One nice thing is that you can dim or brighten the cabin lights in the control panel next to the main door, just like the real aircraft. Sounds One of the things you most notice while flying an aircraft is the sounds, and the ERJ sounds are one of the best in X-Plane. The first thing you normally do before entering a plane is opening the door, and this simple animation very good sounds, recreating the hydraulics very well. After reaching the cockpit and turning the batteries on, you will hear the avionics, electricals and alarms working. The APU startup sounds are very nice and accurate, giving you a lot of immersion. After the APU reaching 100% you can turn on its bleed and turn of the packs, this way you will hear the nice A/C sounds. If you connect the GPU, you will hear it starting up and running, which is very nice when you have your window opened. Another nice thing is that types of knobs, switches or buttons have a different sound. A good example is the landing lights switches, which have a different sound from the navigation lights switches. Probably the most important sound of an aircraft is the engine sounds. They are very accurate and recreate the real sounds very well, especially in the cabin, where they get louder and clearer. We can easily say that the are extremely good, especially when compared to other planes. Take in mind that a single plane costs only US$50, so the sounds are exceptional for this price. Variants The aircraft comes with 5 variants. The one I've been showing you is the 145, the most popular one. It has a longer range version, the XR, and a shorter version named 140. There is an even shorter variant named 135, which can carry 37, instead of 44 from the 140 or 50 from the 145. There is a fifth variant named Legacy 650, which derives from the ERJ135. The Legacy 650 is Embraer biggest business jet, excluding the Lineage 1000(derived from the E190). This is one of the most beautiful business jets in the world, which can carry up to 14 passengers and fly 3,900nm. X-Crafts modeled a completely different interior for this aircraft, giving you the maximum immersion you could get from one of the best business jets for X-Plane. Liveries The included liveries are the same from the release. Blank, Alitalia, American Eagle, American Eagle Stripes, ExpressJet and United Express. Update The ERJ family by X-Crafts had a major update (v1.3.0) at the end of April, and a small update (v1.3.10) containing some fixes a few days ago. I will list in sections the most important things from the major update. Note that the changelog will be attached at the end of the review. PFD • Airspeed and altitude indicators further debugged and enhanced to more closely represent the real aircraft. Digital displays have been corrected and the overspeed zone modified to adapt to be correctly sensitive to altitude and Mach number. • Glideslope indicator presence now reactive to source selection as well as NAV radio frequency selection. MFD / EICAS / Stanby Instruments • Further updated, revised and debugged displays to be closer to actual aircraft. • All indications on the MFD should now switch between KG/LBS units where needed. Units now correctly persist from session to session. Other General Enhancements and Bug Fixes • The No Smoking and Fasten Seatbelts manipulators reversed. • Added code to match the throttle position to the reverse thrust condition when using joystick buttons or keys to toggle max reverse thrust. • Increased the size of the manipulators that are in the centers of the autopilot control knobs – HDG synch, MACH/KIAS toggle (SPD), ALT sync for easier control in VR. APU • Enhanced the APU indicator on EICAS to match video of actual aircraft display elements. • Completely reconfigured the APU startup/shut-down manipulators, and added custom systems code to reflect the way in which the APU controls are supposed to be used in the real aircraft. • APU fuel use now reflected in the MFD fuel totalizer, drawing from the right tank. Graphics X-Crafts converted all texture to .dds files, preparing the aircraft to X-Plane 11.50. ERJ Settings • Added FMOD cockpit engine volume control. • Added a temporary checkbox to disable the overspeed warning. • Added a check box to hide the Easter Eggs that appear in the cockpit. FMS The FMS had many fixes and improvements, making it a more complete and better system. The version 1.3.10 brought improvements to prevent crashes in many situations, as well as solving the inability to load the Linux version of the aircraft. Summary The ERJ family by X-Crafts is an incredible add-on for X-Plane. Very nice textures, 3D modeling, sounds... For sure one of the best aircraft available in the X-Plane.Org Store. The Tekton FMS may be the only downside, even though it manages to make the aircraft work perfectly, it could be more realistic which would recreate a fabulous simulation of the Embraer Regional Jets. The updates brought some improvements, as well as many fixes. The textures conversion to .dds is very important, preparing the aircraft to X-Plane 11.50. The FMOD cockpit engine volume control is a nice addition to the plugin. X-Crafts did such a great job with the ERJ family, and even though it needs a few improvements, you will be very satisfied with the aircraft. ______________________________________________________________________ The Embraer ERJ Family v1.3.10 by X-Crafts is avalable at the X-Plane.Org Store Embraer ERJ Family by X-Crafts - Includes all five variants Price is US$89.85 Embraer E135 by X-Crafts - Includes the ERJ135 Price is US$49.95 Embraer E140 by X-Crafts - Includes the ERJ140 Price is US$49.95 Embraer E145 & E145XR by X-Crafts - Includes both ERJ145 and ERJ145XR Price is US$49.95 Embraer Legacy 650 by X-Crafts - Includes the Legacy 650 Price is US$49.95 Features: UPDATER - You can easily check for new updates right inside of X-Plane and you will automatically get the latest version. It literally takes 3 clicks of a button! On-screen CHECKLIST plugin On-screen HELP SHEET with FAQ and useful info which will get you going real quick and will solve 90% of issues that users usually ask on the forums. On-Screen Control menu for door control, ground objects, GPU and engine covers. Pre-configured systems like on the real plane Realistic Avionics Startup Realistic flight dynamics based on real pilot input and feedback FMS There are two FMS units installed on the pedestal: Custom TEKTON FMS© by Steve Wilson (More details below) and the X-Plane FMS by Philipp J. Münzel Please note that these are not replicas of the FMS units usually installed on the jets. 3D MODELING AND TEXTURING I'm a VFX artist in real life, so I'm used to creating photo-real assets. Although I am limited by the XP rendering capabilities and your hardware, I tried to make it look and perform as good as I could EXTERIOR 4K High resolution textures (more important is the resolution of the actual fuselage which is 75000pixels per on meter squared) Highly detailed landing gears, Flaps, lights, gauges, antennas... everything Realistic wingflex animation Pilots in external view All doors are animated and controllable from the plugin menu. Main and service doors can also be opened by clicking on the levers. INTERIOR: You'll find that there is an amazing level of detail, for example dust particles on the screens visible when light shines on them, finger prints on buttons, and if you zoom in really close to the screens you will even see individual pixels on the actual screens. I tried to make sure that the cockpit looks realistically worn out and used as it would based on how much these jets are used! High resolution PFD, MFD, EICAS displays All text around the cockpit is crisp and clear with any rendering options Intuitive cockpit manipulation - I have always taken great care to make the cockpit as easy to use as possible. This means all clickable areas in the cockpit are very big so that you can easily click on any button, knob or lever in the cockpit Each switch, lever, knob, and handle is animated All cockpit lights are controllable exactly as on the real jets, even the screens shine light on their surroundings Includes baggage bay door light POP UP INSTRUMENTS 3D (not movable, ideal for VR) pop-up panels of the FMS, Radio panel and Thrust Rating Panel. The FMS also has a 2D pop up window mode that stays on the screen and you can move it around, so you can simply choose which one you want to be using based on your preference. Pop Up screens of the PFD MFD and EICAS OTHER FEATURES Realistic Exterior Lighting: NAV, Strobe, Beacon, Left/Nose/Right landing lights, Nose taxi lights, Inspection lights, Logo lights, Courtesy lights, Baggage door light. They all cast light on the surroundings. Audible Alert System Awesome 3D sounds, many of which have been recorded on the real jets! FULLY VR COMPATIBLE These jets have been made, fine-tuned and tested for a flawless VR experience! LIVERIES There are 5 liveries included compatible with the ERJs (White, American Airlines, American Airlines Old, United Express, ExpressJet,and 3 for the Legacy. There are dozens of other liveries available on the forums. TEKTON FMS© Features Custom MCDU Interface Initialization page on system startup Easy to navigate paging system SID, ROUTE and STAR waypoint lists are treated as separate editable items Color keyed data presentation Scratchpad data entry Interactive feedback messages MCDU PopUps Both 2D and 3D popups are available for easy access. Direct Keyboard Entry (DKE) Departure and Arrival Procedures SID and STAR procedures from X-Plane stock or third party custom data Zipped “Custom Data” folder provided Altitude and airspeed constraints for procedures Automatic procedure altitude calculation Flexible STAR element selection and re-selection and editing Default visual departure and approach waypoints Ability to easily edit SIDs, Routes, STARS and the loaded FLT PLAN AIRWAYS Selection Progress Monitoring Performance Flight Planning: PERF 1 page providing preflight and takeoff data PERF 2 page allowing route fuel planning PERF 3 page for approach data Additional Features: Thrust Rating Select page (TRS) accessed from PERF 1 FMS reset function Simplified manual waypoint altitude entry Company route load and save functions FLT PLAN page now automatically advances with destination waypoint 8.33mhz tunable radios Comprehensive Status Page The stock X-Plane MCDU is also provided as an alternative for users that prefer it. FMOD An amazing 3D sound package comes with the jets. Everything from different knob sounds, door sounds to realistic engine sounds. Many of the sounds have been recorder on the real jets which makes the experience extra immersive! Requirements X-Plane 11 Windows, MAC or Linux - 4GB VRAM Minimum. 8GB+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 1.3.10 (May 12th 2020) Update Log v1.3.10 Version Notes.txt ______________________________________________________________________ Aircraft Review by Bernardo Pierdoná Casa 15th May 2020 Copyright©2020: X-PlaneReviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: Intel Core I5-9600K 4,30GHz / 2x8 Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3200MHz - Gigabyte RTX 2070 - Z390 Aorus Master - Kingston A1000M.2 SSD 240GB Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.41 Addons: Logitech Pro Flight Yoke/Pedals/Throttle Quadrant - Logitech Extreme 3d Pro Joystick - Sound: Samsung Home Theater System J5500WK Plugins: Environment Engine v1.13 by xEnviro US$69,90 Traffic: Traffic Global by JustFlight US$52.99 Scenery and Aircraft - KSDF by Zero Dollar (X-Plane.Org) - Free (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)

Aircraft Update : ERJ Series v1.1 by X-Crafts X-PlaneReviews is following the development of one of the most interesting and now very popular aircraft with the ERJ Series from X-Crafts. This series can be purchased as the full package of all five variants of the Embraer ERJ Family in the E135, E140, E145 and the E145XR and.... also the ERJ private jet version of the Legacy 650. It is a comprehensive package, but you can also if you wish purchase just purchase the E135, both E145 & E145XR, E149 or the Legacy 650 separately. X-PlaneReviews covered the release with an overview article here: Aircraft Overview : Embraer ERJ Family by X-Crafts Although very good on release, there was areas of the ERJ Series that X-PlaneReviews thought was not totally up to the full complete standard of a full review, I have still no doubt in recommending the series at that point, but there was in our minds areas that still needed attention (all to common today). One month ahead and here comes the first update in v1.1 and it is a very comprehensive update at that, and mostly covers a lot of the areas that needed attention, so if you look at this version as the release version you will not be then to far off the mark. ERJ Series v1.1 The biggest area that was under developed was the internal lighting. And that thankfully this has had a lot of attention in this update. Working in the cockpit was a quite dark affair and the cabin felt dull as well. Now even from the external view the ERJ looks far more well lit... and the entrance is far more inviting. The cabin is certainly a more nicer place to be, and not so murky or even dull anymore.... The entrance door FA control panel now also works, with the left button switching the cabin lighting on/off and the right button doing a rise or fade of the cabin lighting, The lighting is excellent at night but still struggles more in the daytime to a sort of green tinge, it still however needs more adjustment, but the whole panel is still not completed yet either as also the side wall lighting is not yet adjustable or working separately, so put it down to a WIP at this point, but it is now far better lighting overall. The only other button that now works on the FA lighting panel is the door button, you still use the red lever to lower the door manually, but press the button now to close it... it is a great feature. The Legacy private jet variant was the darkest inside with the dark brown outfitting... it has now been highly improved, but as above you wish for just a bit more illumination in the daytime. In the cockpit originally you needed the flashlight to start up the aircraft as it was so dull in here. All lighting off and it is still quite dark, all on and it is now a workable area, again you feel in the daytime like you would still need more... ... two new lighting elements have changed the environment in here, one is the now working overhead "Dome" light, and the other one is the now better adjustable MAP lights over each pilot (each before were all fixed in together, but toned down) Put them all together now and the cockpit lighting at night is now very good. The contrast of lighting the between the daylight and nightime is still not really balanced, but it is a major step forward on all the lighting in the aircraft, the external taxi and landing lighting however still needs refinement, but X-Crafts have noted that is on the list. Those lovely Roll Royce AE 3007A1 engines have had attention as well... .... both engines now spool the correct way, and start up and shutdown of the engines is now more realistic (slower on both counts). Throttles are now less responsive and there has been a modified fuel consumption to closer match real life performance, I haven't done a full SimBrief route yet, but I will verify that aspect. Sounds Sounds were of the biggest negative noise at the official release, nobody liked the sounds... I didn't think the engine sounds were that bad, as I have heard a lot worse, but anyway most of all the sounds have been redone. Startup sequence is now far more realistic and the process takes a fair while to full idle. First the full set of sounds are now encoded in 5.1 surround, with the RR AE's now being based on new recordings, with increased bass in the interior (cabin) of the engines and I can approve of that including the better APU sounds, and the modified reverse engine sounds are now excellent, with the lower bass helping out of that effect (not as good as the CRJ-200, but not bad in retrospect), switches now click, packs are noisy, the avionic fans can also now be heard buzzing away. There is now a triple-chime to the gear horn and checks for gear horn, gear bangs more on retraction (cabin) and nose gear (cockpit) and some warnings have been reduced while others have been increased and that annoying trigger point for speed warning has been changed from 250/320 to 252/322. Another addition that was urged for was the "Landing Call" outs, that has been done with the 500ft, 100ft, 50ft, 10ft. calls now correct (can be a bit loud), and most of the cacophony of alerts or callouts have all had attention. So the sounds have had a pretty comprehensive upgrade all round both on the ground and in flight, and yes I like them a lot. FMS If you click between the two FMS units then they will now switch to the other position for ease of use... otherwise the FMS has had not much attention. Flight The odd peculiarities of flying the ERJ are still there, and did you worked out the Vertical Speed to the Speed palaver.... right, and it took me a few goes to master that operation but then it became just normal as the ERJ is all about automation and ease of flying, in that the ERJ is still a very physical aircraft to fly. There was no doubt the release version of the ERJ was not totally right performance and handling wise, I had a few routes with the aircraft and in fact really enjoyed it, but if you are looking for some perfection in simulation then it would have needed some more fine tuning. As noted there already has been the modified fuel consumption, but one of the first things you notice is the engine response to throttle inputs are a lot slower, so you have to judge those speeds more in your throttle movements. Less tire friction means now the aircraft need less thrust to start moving, so ERJ also felt more wiggly on the takeoff run and the flight model is adjusted to fly at M0.78 with CRZ TRS mode engaged. The flight model has also been adjusted to fly with nose up attitude (1-2 degrees up) on approach (around 120-115 knots), and it feels more natural... .... but unless you are well practiced in flying the ERJ then speed adjustment on approach is more of an art than a procedure, but that sums up the aircraft as well. Gear down wind sounds are greatly improved, you feel the wind pressure from the cockpit. A lot of attention has been put on to spoilers. The outer spoilers now deploy less than the inner ones and the speedbrake textures have been redone. The spoiler will now auto deploy on landing and wheels must be spinning at a groundspeed of at or over 50 KIAS, spoliers will also auto retract when throttle advanced past 50%. Speedbrake automation however will be disabled if the user has the speedbrakes assigned to a joystick axis. Like on takeoff, with the landing rollout you have watch that extra less friction gear lightness, it will catch you out... Other details cover a lot of modeling fixes (gaps), issues on the belly normal maps and some minor tweaks to the cockpit textures to make them blend in better. ICAO signs for E145 XR and Legacy and the better and shorter Aircraft Descriptions (for JAR Design Ground Handling Plugin compatibility). And finally there has been a magnitude of small fixes and adjustments which are all listed in the v1.1 changelog (attached below) Skunkcrafts Updater is required to update to v1.1... and there is also a need to reupdate Dr Glucks Terrain Radar plugin to v1.17 Summary You can look at this comprehensive update for X-Crafts excellent ERJ Series in one of two ways. A great updated that covers a lot of ground and fixes a lot of areas, including a big update to the internal lighting and sounds to 5.1 surround sound. Or you could say that this is what the release version should have been in the first place? But that is X-Plane today, in release and fix later, more than have the aircraft almost gold standard before releasing, either way it is a great update. The update log is quite comprehensive, so it makes this ERJ now quite a capable simulation, and no doubt is that this aircraft series is hugely popular with the X-Plane community and you can see easily why. If you want to nitpick then there is still a few areas that need another update or so, and the developers note that, but in this current state this ERJ is now already very comprehensive and well done. A final note in that you have to adjust to a point to the aircraft and not expect it to come to you, so time on the ERJ (and you have plenty of choice with the full series will pay off the more you fly it and practice it's slightly quirky behaviour, but that is all too the good. _______________________________ The Embraer ERJ Family v1.1 by X-Crafts is NOW available at the X-Plane.Org Store: Embraer ERJ Family - Package Includes ERJ 135/ERJ 140/ERJ 145/ERJ 145XR/Legacy 650 Priced at US$89.95 Embraer ERJ 135 - Includes: ERJ 135 Priced at US$49.95 Embraer ERJ 140 - Includes: ERJ 140 Priced at US$49.95 Embraer ERJ 145/ERJ 145XR - Includes: ERJ 145/ERJ 145XR Priced at US$49.95 Embraer ERJ Legacy 650 - Includes: Legacy 650 Priced at US$49.95 Features : UPDATER - You can easily check for new updates right inside of X-Plane and you will automatically get the latest version. It literally takes 3 clicks of a button! On-screen CHECKLIST plugin On-screen HELP SHEET with FAQ and useful info which will get you going real quick and will solve 90% of issues that users usually ask on the forums. On-Screen Control menu for door control, ground objects, GPU and engine covers. Pre-configured systems like on the real plane Realistic Avionics Startup Realistic flight dynamics based on real pilot input and feedback FMS There are two FMS units installed on the pedestal: Custom TEKTON FMS© by Steve Wilson (More details below) and the X-Plane FMS by Philipp J. Münzel Please note that these are not replicas of the FMS units usually installed on the jets. 3D MODELING AND TEXTURING I'm a VFX artist in real life, so I'm used to creating photo-real assets. Although I am limited by the XP rendering capabilities and your hardware, I tried to make it look and perform as good as I could EXTERIOR 4K High resolution textures (more important is the resolution of the actual fuselage which is 75000pixels per on meter squared) Highly detailed landing gears, Flaps, lights, gauges, antennas... everything Realistic wingflex animation Pilots in external view All doors are animated and controllable from the plugin menu. Main and service doors can also be opened by clicking on the levers. INTERIOR: You'll find that there is an amazing level of detail, for example dust particles on the screens visible when light shines on them, finger prints on buttons, and if you zoom in really close to the screens you will even see individual pixels on the actual screens. I tried to make sure that the cockpit looks realistically worn out and used as it would based on how much these jets are used! High resolution PFD, MFD, EICAS displays All text around the cockpit is crisp and clear with any rendering options Intuitive cockpit manipulation - I have always taken great care to make the cockpit as easy to use as possible. This means all clickable areas in the cockpit are very big so that you can easily click on any button, knob or lever in the cockpit Each switch, lever, knob, and handle is animated All cockpit lights are controllable exactly as on the real jets, even the screens shine light on their surroundings Includes baggage bay door light POP UP INSTRUMENTS 3D (not movable, ideal for VR) pop-up panels of the FMS, Radio panel and Thrust Rating Panel. The FMS also has a 2D pop up window mode that stays on the screen and you can move it around, so you can simply choose which one you want to be using based on your preference. Pop Up screens of the PFD MFD and EICAS OTHER FEATURES Realistic Exterior Lighting: NAV, Strobe, Beacon, Left/Nose/Right landing lights, Nose taxi lights, Inspection lights, Logo lights, Courtesy lights, Baggage door light. They all cast light on the surroundings. Audible Alert System Awesome 3D sounds, many of which have been recorded on the real jets! FULLY VR COMPATIBLE These jets have been made, fine-tuned and tested for a flawless VR experience! LIVERIES There are 5 liveries included compatible with the ERJs (White, American Airlines, American Airlines Old, United Express, ExpressJet,and 3 for the Legacy. There are dozens of other liveries available on the forums. TEKTON FMS© Features Custom MCDU Interface Initialization page on system startup Easy to navigate paging system SID, ROUTE and STAR waypoint lists are treated as separate editable items Color keyed data presentation Scratchpad data entry Interactive feedback messages MCDU PopUps Both 2D and 3D popups are available for easy access. Direct Keyboard Entry (DKE) Departure and Arrival Procedures SID and STAR procedures from X-Plane stock or third party custom data Zipped “Custom Data” folder provided Altitude and airspeed constraints for procedures Automatic procedure altitude calculation Flexible STAR element selection and re-selection and editing Default visual departure and approach waypoints Ability to easily edit SIDs, Routes, STARS and the loaded FLT PLAN AIRWAYS Selection Progress Monitoring Performance Flight Planning: PERF 1 page providing preflight and takeoff data PERF 2 page allowing route fuel planning PERF 3 page for approach data Additional Features: Thrust Rating Select page (TRS) accessed from PERF 1 FMS reset function Simplified manual waypoint altitude entry Company route load and save functions FLT PLAN page now automatically advances with destination waypoint 8.33mhz tunable radios Comprehensive Status Page The stock X-Plane MCDU is also provided as an alternative for users that prefer it. FMOD An amazing 3D sound package now withy 5.1 surround sound comes with the jets. Everything from different knob sounds, door sounds to realistic engine sounds. Many of the sounds have been recorder on the real jets which makes the experience extra immersive! Requirements X-Plane 11.30+ only Windows, MAC or Linux - 4GB VRAM Minimum. 8GB+ VRAM Recommended Current release and review version: 1.1 (last updated July 5th 2019) Update Log v1.1 Update log ERJ v1.1.txt ______________________________________________________________________  Aircraft Update by Stephen Dutton  6th July 2019 Copyright©2019 : X-Plane Reviews   (Disclaimer. All images and text in this preview 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) 

Aircraft Update : X-Crafts Embraer E175/E195 v2.2 Here is another if small upgrade to X-Crafts Embraer E175/E195 regional airliner to version 2.2, and so this is just a one percentage point change not a complete version change. The last update to X-Crafts Embraer E175/E195 v2.1 was only at the start of June earlier this year and in that version was the X-Plane11 compatibility change over and it was quite a comprehensive update as well. Embraer E175/E195 v2.2 One area that developers are focusing on lately in upgrades is in sounds from the older X-Plane generic sound base to the newer FMOD sound engine built into X-Plane11, and this update is mostly focused on that aural aspect and hence the .1 to .2 change. FMOD is a big game changer in X-Plane11 in creating great 360º directional sound and sounds for different areas and points around the aircraft (like different cockpit and cabin sounds). It is absolutely very good and a huge step forward for X-Plane sound, but not to the extent of custom packaged sounds like from Blue Sky Star which are very comprehensive in the amount of different and varied sounds they produce. But for developers that don't have access to such high and those very varied versions of sound then FMOD is an excellent tool to deliver directional sound and deliver a more authentic experience in this important aspect and without the use of a dedicated plugin. And very good is this FMOD package, not perfect as you don't get that low GE CF3410E turbofan whine and in a few areas the sounds are slightly misplaced as in if you go close to the instrument panel the sounds change and go higher (I think it goes over to the external sounds) and this can be slightly annoying if you are moving constantly towards and away from the panel as in setting up the FMS. But the directional zones and the differences between areas like the cockpit and cabin is very good, and so overall the FMOD package here is simply a huge difference from the standard ones installed in the earlier versions. To note both the E-175 and the E-195 are totally the same here with no differences with this update and so here we will only show the E-195 version. Overall the sounds are real as they based on real ERJ sounds recorded from a real Embraer ERJ by a ground support expert in Todd Fleck. There are no changes to the modeling, which was always very good from X-Crafts, with a very high quality aircraft that looks excellent in any light or season. It is also a very long way now from the original E-195 version released way back in 2014 and although externally the aircraft is very similar, in reality the differences are huge in every aspect from that initial original design to the huge amount of features now included. FMS Tekton With every release there is always a new feature or change from Steve Wilson for his Tekton FMS, and here in v2.2 he doesn't disappoint. In reality again it is just a few small changes but a welcome ones. There is a new page accessed through the PERF (Performance) pages as there are now three pages and the new one is for the TRS or Thrust Rating Selection. Key select five right (RSK5) will now bring up the engine rating page... ... depending on circumstances such as load, runway length and weather, an E-Jet pilot will likely select a de-rated thrust value from the TRS page. This will created a de-rated thrust value which is intended to provide fuel economy and reduced wear on the engines. I have selected the TOGA (Go-Around) not to go to its full 100% thrust but to limit it to 97.38% thrust so it doesn't push the full throttle to it's maximum. These thrust rating settings are especially useful when using FLCH to control altitude changes, to get the correct power to do the correct action. FMS detailing is now very extensive with a lot of information displayed about your current performance and position... ... and all the information is updated in flight for your convenience. But in setting up the Tekton FMS you have to though and a bit procedural. The SID-Route-STAR arrangement is still in there and you do get quite proficient in setting it up. But you have to also be very aware to cross your T's and dot your i's because if you miss anything when generating the flightplan (on the Progress page) then you are stuck with it, as too try to fix it will only mess it up or not get another flightplan activation... in this case I missed the TOC (Top of Climb) and TOD (Top of Descent) altitude settings and I was stuck with it? SID and STAR set up is great for Departure (SID) but still slightly messy for STAR's (Arrivals). My Manchester EGCC arrival via MIRSI to runway 23L sent me actually to REXAM via WAL (Wallasey) which is great for a southwest approach to either RWY's 05L/05R but I was re-routed 180º back to the MIRSI VOR for a northeast RWY 23L approach, point was I was already at MIRSI? (below left) so I had to do a complete loop around back to my original position before heading correctly around to RWY23L . In the end I just changed my approach to RWY 05L as I was at WAL anyway (below right). You can edit these STAR's of course but you will need your own notes (which I do have for EGCC 05L/23R) via MIRSI, but don't rely on them until you have checked them and they are correct. I always found it was best to edit before, to make sure I get the approach procedure I wanted. There is a few adjustments to the 3d model (which as noted was very good anyway) and a bit more work on the flight model tuning is about it for this update 2.2. A routine flight from ENGM (Oslo) to EGCC (Manchester) confirmed that this E-195 is a nice aircraft, a great starter regional aircraft as it has enough deep immersion for the serious simmer, but it is also still simple enough for the uninitiated flyer out there. It is very light on your computer as well as I got great framerate numbers, but for the full effect I would recommend X-Plane11 for its features and it is also required for the new sound feature as a preference. The E-195 does certainly sound a lot better with FMOD and is a huge improvement over the older version. In the air I was quite contented and really enjoyed the flight. Summary Here is a nice little update to an already nice aircraft. Not a big one by any means but great sounds are important to the overall experience and this FMOD feature now provides that aspect. The sounds are real and recorded from the real aircraft by an engineer but they are not the total in depth sounds that come from a specialist developer. A few new mods also comes to the FMS by the way of the new selectable thrust rating values in the TRS, again a nice addition and finally there has been a few nips and tucks to keep the aircraft very current. Recommended more for X-Plane11 than X-Plane10 because to a point the aircraft requires this version to run these new additions, but overall the E-Jets in both E-175 and E-195 versions are both great aircraft for X-Plane... and this update just makes them even more current and more relevant than ever before. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Embraer E175/E195 v2.2 by X-Crafts is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E-175 v2.2 Price is US$39.95 Embraer E-195 v2.2 Price is US$39.95 Twin Embraer E-175 and E-195 v2.2 Set is also available for US$59.95 Embraer E-175 and E-195 Package If you have either the Embraer E-175 or E-195 in its earlier form before version 2.0, there is is an upgrade deal from X-Craft's for only US$5.00, Please email sales@x-plane.org to get your discount code and include your original order number. If you own any later 2.0 or 2.1 version, then this upgrade to v2.2 is free and just go to the X-Plane.OrgStore and log into your account for the free upgrade. X-Crafts E-175 v2 review is here: Aircraft Review : Embraer E-175 v2.0 by X-Crafts The E-175 v2 review does have a comprehensive look at the TEKTON FMS© and it is not that much different to this aircraft's E-195 version. FEATURES NEW: Fully integrated 3D sound system! Accurate dimensions based on drawings and documentation provided by Embraer © Windows, Mac and Linux compatible Custom TEKTON FMS© by Steve Wilson An awesome Reflections plugin that makes the airplane look amazing in both X-Plane 10 and X-Plane 11 (disabled by default, please read the instructions for installation) Custom improved pushback plugin with animated tug. A white silhouette will show the final position after the pushback! On-screen checklist plugin NEW Plugin menu for door control, ground objects or GPU Suitable for beginners - Just load and fly within seconds! Great for advanced users - Enjoy the complexity of the Custom FMS! Mouse scroll wheel support This add-on comes with the NavDataPro dataset by Aerosoft Requirements: X-Plane 11 or X-Plane 10.50 + Package is X-Plane 11 only Windows, MAC or Linux - 64 bit Operating System required 8Gb RAM - 2Gb VRAM Minimum. 3Gb+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 2.2 (last updated October 5th 2017) X-Crafts Support Forum : Support forum for the E-195 ______________________________________________________________________ Version notes: Version 2.2 (October 5th 2017) Completely new 3D Sound System introduced using FMOD - based on real ERJ sounds recorded from a real Embraer ERJ, inside and out, on a flight line by our professional ground support expert, Todd Fleck. Added New Tekton FMS functionality: Thrust Rating Selection (TRS). This will give pilots the ability to hold a fixed N1 percentage provided that the thrust levers have been sufficiently advanced. This is especially useful when using FLCH to control altitude changes. De-rating thrust is a normal part of airline operations to provide fuel economy and reduce wear on engines. (More information on the proper use of TRS will be provided in our support forum). Replaces LBS/KG units selection on PERF 1. Moved LBS/KG units selection to PERF 3. Updated SASL to version 2.5.0. This will preclude any further need to install Microsoft Visual C Redistributables in order to use the menu system to control X-Crafts provided ground support equipment, pushback capability and in-flight checklist functions. Adjusted the keyframing of the N1 indicators to correctly display N1 values - matching the dataref value accurately. Several minor fixes to the 3D model ______________________________________________________________________ Release notes by Stephen Dutton 11th October 2017 Copyright©2017: X-Plane Reviews (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)

Aircraft Update : X-Crafts Embrarer E175/E195 v2.1 Late in December 2016 X-Crafts released the v2.0 of their Embraer E-175 aircraft. The move was to v2.0 which was an overhaul of the original version. This aircraft was followed by the E-195 late January 2017 which had the same upgrade to the v2.0 specifications. The timing for a total complete version update was a little strange, because in X-Plane itself we were in the throes of a complete change over to X-Plane11. Wouldn't the changeover period have had more impact to do both at the same time? So to a point the upgrade was a little compromised. There was a few niggles as well and for me it took the gloss off and the aircraft deserved far more. So here comes the v2.1 update and in reality the v2.0 update that should have been released when X-Plane11 went global. In this update both the E-175 and the E-195 have had the same modifications at the same time, so this is not a stuttered upgrade with one aircraft and then the other aircraft being upgraded. Also if you have purchased the (combo E175/E195) package then both aircraft included have had the updates upgraded to v2.1. For these update notes I am focusing on the E-195. X-Plane11 Most developers put out quicky fixes for X-Plane11. But here with both X-Crafts aircraft they are now fully X-Plane11 compatible. Not only do they conform to PBR (Physically-Based Rendering) rules but the biggest difference between X-Plane10 and X-Plane11is in the throttle or thrust parameters that has also been addressed. The thrust differences are quite pronounced if they are not addressed (mostly they cause throttle hunting) but both these E-Jets here are excellent, the fuel flow and Idle ratios has also been optimised to suit the new parameters. With PBR of course the aircraft get that shiny look, but the difference with X-Crafts aircraft is that the shine not as pronounced as with other aircraft that have been through the PBR process, mainly because the aircraft was very good and well done in this area in the first place, as it was always a very nice aircraft in the look and feel in the external view. The contrast between light and dark however is now very much more evident in X-Plane11 with the normal maps that are now more optimized for that platform. You can still have the shiny, shiny look as well in X-Plane10 via Ddenn's reflection plugin and the details on how to install those reflections are provided with the aircraft. PBR does however make it feel more darker inside as well and the panel is far, far more darker than the light grey of the original versions as the below images attest. (v2.1 upper and v2.0 lower). But if you look at the light in the far right corner the light grey is still there but the shadows are far darker and far more dramatic. I wasn't an out, out fan of the very light grey look, but the dark cockpit also requires a bit of getting used to, however it does feel far more realistic and it does depend on your current lighting conditions. Instruments There has been a lot of attention given to the instrument panel. I never really took to the look of original version above, as it looked flat and bland (above lower images). The Primary Flight Display (PFD) has had a overhaul to take away that flatness, but most of all it brings the colour into the display. It is a huge improvement over the original and the VOR needles are now in magenta as per the real display. The Navigation Display (ND) has had a change as well, but more inadvertently than by design. In v2.1 the move in X-Plane11 to GNS data (sourced from Aerosoft) from the X-Plane10 nav.data source means the dreaded red line is gone to be replaced by the GNS version of sectional route points means it is now more modern and more realistic on the eye, turn curves (adjusted to speed) are also now visible as per GNS displays. This data change also allows for the default FMS to be also available as a pop-up option. The original Tekton FMS is also still built in with full SID/STAR capablity. But they don't cross, which means that a route activated in the default FMS does not run the Tekton and vice-versa, so if you program the default FMS then you have to use the pop-up to view your route. But one advantage the default FMS has over the Tekton is that you have the "step" command that allows you to check and then change (edit) the full route. The assembly of the SID-Route-STAR arrangement on the Tekton does not allow to do this. You can still edit all of the route in the Tekton, but if you can't see it then you don't know how you are going to pop out on the other end of the route? Certainly the Tekton is a far better FMS than the default FMS but the editing of routes is an important area and in this review flight I found myself popping up directly facing KATL (Atlanta) and not in the correct approach path via the STAR (SIMBA6) via MRCER? (one way around this is to program it correctly and check it in the default FMS and then transfer the correct waypoints to the Tekton, but this is slightly messy). Other Tekton changes are the DIRECT is fixed when the MCDU is on FLT PLAN page, EXEC is fixed on MCDU INDEX, PROGRESS 1 and FLT PLAN pages, The active FLT PLAN waypoint editing is fixed and you can now do a STAR reload enroute. The engine fans have had some attention for fast spinning in flight (in other words they look better). Vortex plates on the engines have been retextured and bits and bobs to clear aircraft flicker noise has been done to clear away any unwanted noise on the aircraft. The pilot's heads now move in all directions with the movement of your joystick, but neck stretching is only advisable while stationary! Pushback The "Pushback" feature has had a bit of attention. Personally I am not a big fan of controlled pushback's I still do prefer joystick and throttle controlled systems. But in saying that the version here now works very well. For the E195 the white finish parking graphic is correct to the aircraft, it now disappears once the settings are set (nice visually). It was a little jerky before but now it is much smoother with a more balanced speed. The tug doesn't just hard stop anymore either but slows down close to the termination point for realism. The tractor is nice and modern visually and the connect and disengage animations are now very good. On the gate arrival all the door coordinates have been updated for "Autogate" docking to work correctly, a small thing but important now as the "autogate" plugin is now so wildly available, same for use with the Ground Services plugin. Cabin Lighting The nice new cabin is now well appointed with some very nice detailing, note the nice Embraer logo screens that changes to a map when flying. If you remember that the cabin lighting was connected to the cockpit lighting (it still is) and and it gave you either an all bright or all dark cabin with the knob adjustment. But the lighting has been given some attention and now you can now actually find that compromise between a darkened cabin (below left) and a darkened cockpit that is now usable for landings as well (below right). Cockpit lighting is a lot nicer now and flying at night it is a far better place to be. Summary I always thought the v2 upgrade was a little to premature, a lot of changes were added to the X-Crafts aircraft but it felt slightly incomplete. So was this version the one of which that release should have been? I personally think so as a lot of the edges, smaller fine tuning and the inclusion of the X-Plane11 features changes the aircraft significantly. This earlier v2 release was a paid update and one of the reasons I didn't totally warm to X-Crafts new version is that I felt that it was that the panel didn't feel special enough and neither did the details to warrant extra in what has always been one of my favorite aircraft. Timing as they say in comedy is everything, but even a few months or weeks can make a big difference. That is certainly the case here. The X-Plane11 version is certainly gives the aircraft a huge lift, but it has been the fine tuning and attention to the panel to take away a lot of the flatness and give it a more 3d feel that has worked wonders here, simple things in the end, but they all have a big impact on the final aircraft. The dreaded red line is gone (in X-Plane11 only) is another good step forward, but if anything this aircraft does represent is the move to X-Plane11 as your current platform. X-Plane10 as good as it is, is now starting to recede into the distance as X-Plane9 did with X-Plane10 a few years ago. So certainly this update for both the E175 and the bigger E195 is a more complete and genuinely really good E-Jet now. The gap is closing and the aircraft are getting better in X-Plane all the time. This is a very worthwhile update if you haven't taken the move up to V2 or require an E-Jet for your flying. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Embraer E175/E195 v2.0 by X-Crafts is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E-175 v2.1 Price is US$39.95 Embraer E-195 v2.1 Price is US$39.95 Twin Embraer E-175 and E-195 v2.1 Set is also available for US$59.95 Embraer E-175 and E-195 Package If you have already purchased either the Embraer E-175 or E-195 from X-Craft's at the X-Plane.OrgStore then go to your account and upgrade to v2.0 for only US$5.00, Please email sales@x-plane.org to get your discount code and include your original order number. X-Crafts E-175 v2 review is here: Aircraft Review : Embraer E-175 v2.0 by X-Crafts The E-175 v2 review does have a comprehensive look at the TEKTON FMS© and it is not that much different to this aircraft's E-195 version. Features of both models: Accurate dimensions based on drawings and documentation provided by Embraer © Windows, Mac and Linux compatible Custom TEKTON FMS© by Steve Wilson Custom improved pushback plugin with animated tug. A white silhouette will show the final position after the pushback! On-screen checklist plugin Plugin menu for door control, ground objects or GPU Suitable for beginners - Just load and fly within seconds! Great for advanced users -Enjoy the complexity of the Custom FMS! Mouse scroll wheel support (E195) This add-on comes with the NavDataPro dataset by Aerosoft CUSTOM FMS Both the custom and stock FMS are available on the pedestal or as popup panels More details about the TEKTON FMS© below Requirements: X-Plane 11 or X-Plane 10.50 + Package is X-Plane 11 only Windows, MAC or Linux - 8Gb RAM - 2Gb VRAM Minimum. 3Gb+ VRAM Recommended Current version: 2.10 (last updated June 2nd 2017) X-Crafts Support Forum : Support forum for the E-195 ______________________________________________________________________ Change log: Embraer E195 v2.1 CHANGELOG: • Thrust optimized to more accurately match reality • Vortex plates on engines retextured (you won't see any lines from the liveries on them anymore) • Also fixed the problem where the ATHR wouldn't push the throttles far enough to maintain speed at high altitudes • Slight changes and fixes to the cockpit model • Pilots now have animated heads (based on yoke position) • VOR needle color changed to magenta • Noise above cockpit window fixed • The artifitial horizon now looks more like the one on the real aircraft and is fixed • The inability to disable AT after landing fixed • Wing registration was blinking red with beacon • NAV map only shows airports with paved runways X-PLANE 11 SPECIFIC CHANGES: • Generaly the whole plane has been updated to run smoothly on XP11 • Fuel flow optimized for XP11 • Idle ratios optimized for XP11 • Added the new FMS, you can now use either the Tekton or the new FMS available in XP11 • More metadata of the plane was filled out • Added locations for the service vehicles • The windows get darker by day • Some parts that had flickering noise on them in XP11 fixed • All normal maps were optimized for the new PBR graphics engine • Autothrottle was going nuts in v2.0 in XP11. This is now fixed • The "Next waypoint" section added back to the MFD NAV map • Pop-up FMS knob was missing the middle select button • "Hide reflections" function didn't hide also the side window reflections ______________________________________________________________________ Release notes by Stephen Dutton 5th June 2017 Copyright©2017: X-Plane Reviews (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)

Aircraft Released : Embraer E-195 v2.0 by X-Crafts X-Crafts have released a follow up to their Embraer E-175 in version 2.0 with the longer E-195 version. In many ways the longer or stretched version of the EJet family is a nicer looking aircraft and in profile looks more balanced than the shorter fuselage variants. This new version is a complete upgrade from the original release of now a few years ago, and includes many of the changes on the recent X-Crafts v2 E-175 aircraft and a with few more features as well. Reflections Plugin The aircraft uses DDen's excellent reflections plugin to give the aircraft a nice polished shine, it certainly helps in giving the X-Plane10 version the same shiny appearance as it does in X-Plane11, but when this aircraft will be flown in X-Plane11 then this reflection is built in to system anyway. X-Crafts modeling was always really good, and this new version is no exception... This E-Jet looks very nice in any light. Cockpit and panel is the same and as familiar as the updated E-175 v2, but there has been a few touches and cleanups around the systems and there are nice touchup details. TEKTON FMS© has had a lot of work added into the system and more refinement. The main features include: SID, ROUTE and STAR waypoint lists are treated as separate editable items Color keyed data presentation Scratchpad data entry Interactive feedback Direct Keyboard Entry (DKE) The DKE (Direct Key Enter) system allows you to quickly input data into the FMS from your keyboard... and it works. Just click the top of the screen to get the O symbol and you are in DKE mode, click the screen again to go back to mouse input. New TEKTON features for v2 include: SIDS and STARS from X-Plane stock or third party custom data New: Altitude constraints for procedures New: Refined procedures leg routing New: More flexible STAR element selection New: Default visual departure and approach New : Edit and reload STAR while enroute while in autopilot Ability to easily edit SIDs, Routes, STARS and the loaded FLT PLAN New AIRWAYS options New Progress Monitoring on two new pages New Performance Flight Planning: New PERF 1 page providing preflight and takeoff data New PERF 2 page allowing route fuel planning New PERF 3 page for approach data New Audible Alert System Menus There are three menu tabs (M - P - C) lower left screen that pop-out (sorry but they don't show on screenshots?) The menus have been overhauled for v2 in the doors and static objects and pushback truck and all are far better than the older version. Checklist is the same style binder system, but visually good to have and comprehensive. As the pushback is automatic there is now the system to show the aircraft's position when the pushback is complete. I would personally usually use a joystick control, but it works quite well. Cabin For v2 the cabin has had a big overhaul and the results are excellent. The cabin seats before were not to scale (too big) and not very fashionable. But the new fit-out is excellent and worthy of the aircraft. So the cabin is far nicer place to be while you enjoy your replays. The v2 E-175 had the older chairs and I hope X-Craft's update these better seats to that aircraft as well as this E-195. Cabin looks nice at night as well, but it is locked in together with the Cockpit flood lighting? so you can't have a bright cabin and a darkened cockpit? Either both are bright or both are dark. Cockpit lighting is nice but not a lot of direct spot lighting. Externally at night the aircraft looks really nice, always did. Liveries All eleven of the original liveries are still here with one white blank and they are all excellent. More are available for download from the X-Crafts site. Notes There are two items to note in first that this release for the moment is for X-Plane10 only. It doesn't fly very well in X-Plane11. X-Crafts note that as soon as X-Plane11 goes final then the aircraft will be upgraded to that version. Second item is that the aircraft is paid upgrade to v2 standard like it was with the E-175 upgrade a few months ago. So If you own a previous version of the X-Crafts E195 (ERJ 195 LR) you can get this new version for US$20.00. The discount coupon is on your original E-195 invoice in your account at the X-Plane.OrgStore. There is also a twin set aircraft package available for both v2 aircraft of the E-175 and this E-195 for US59.95. The aircraft is available now from the X-Plane.OrgStore... details below. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Embraer E195 v2.0 by X-Crafts is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E-195 Price is US$39.95 If you have already purchased the Embraer E-195 from X-Craft's at the X-Plane.OrgStore then go to your account and upgrade to v2.0 for only US$20.00, discount coupon is on your original E-195 invoice in your account. Twin Embraer E-175 and E-195 Set also available for US$59.95 Embraer E-175 and E-195 Package X-Crafts E-175 v2 review is here: Aircraft Review : Embraer E-175 v2.0 by X-Crafts The E-175 v2 review does have a comprehensive look at the TEKTON FMS© and it is not that much different to this aircraft's E-195 version. Features: Accurate dimensions based on drawings and documentation provided by Embraer © Windows, Mac and Linux compatible Compatible with X.Plane 10 and X-Plane 11* Custom TEKTON FMS© by Steve Wilson Reflections plugin that makes the airplane look amazing in both X-Plane 10 and X-Plane 11 (disabled by default, please read the instructions for installation) Custom improved pushback plugin with animated tug. A white silhouette will show the final position after the pushback! On-screen checklist plugin NEW Plugin menu for door control, ground objects or GPU Suitable for beginners - Just load and fly within seconds! Great for advanced users -Enjoy the complexity of the Custom FMS! Mouse scroll wheel support This add-on comes with the NavDataPro dataset by Aerosoft * An update will be provided when X-Plane 11 is officially released Requirements: X-Plane 10.50 fully updated (any edition) - running in 64bit mode X-Plane 11 beta 8: An update of this aircraft will be released once X-Plane 11 is released and stable. Windows, MAC or Linux - 64 bit Operating System required 4Gb RAM - 1Gb VRAM Minimum. 2Gb VRAM Recommended Current version: 2.0 (last updated January 27 2016) X-Crafts Support Forum : Support forum for the E-195 ______________________________________________________________________ Release notes by Stephen Dutton 28th September 2017 Copyright©2017: X-Plane Reviews

Aircraft Review : Embraer E-175 v2.0 by X-Crafts The Brazilian Embraer family of regional aircraft has been successful in one of the most successful niche markets in aviation in the last few decades. While the big boys and girls at Boeing and Airbus slugged it out for the single-aisle 150-180 seater market. Embraer and Canada's Bombardier’s CRJ Series quietly created a whole new category in the 60 -100 seater regional markets and those markets are now one of the most contested markets for future sales with Bombardier’s entry into service (EIS) C-Series and Embraer with their updated E2 Series. In X-Plane there is a similar reflection of Embraer E-175 and E190/5's from both Supercritical Simulation Group (SSG) and X-Crafts versions of the same series. SSG only last month released their latest version of their E-175 called the "Evolution" and here is the v2.0 release of X-Crafts E-175. With both coming at almost the same time it does look like a coincidence or even as a "tit for tat" release, but that is far from the truth as they just fell in around each other or were in the same places in the development cycle, as the early X-Crafts beta v2.0 versions were available well before the SSG version was released. This is also not going to be a direct comparison review between the two versions either, that will be done at another time, and I admit it would be a great comparison that is worth recording. But here the focus is just on the v2.0 release of the X-Crafts aircraft. The original release (v1.0) of the X-Crafts E-175 was just before Christmas 2015. And even at this early stage this E-Jet was significantly the best of all the E-Jet family series for X-Plane and building upon the high standard for the time of the first E-Jet from X-Crafts with their E-195LR. X-Crafts E-175 v2.0 Externally v2.0 is almost exactly the same as the last version. Which is a good thing and not a bad one as the biggest feature of X-Crafts E-Jets was the quality of its external airframe which came with a very nice shine to the fuselage, and the aircraft always looked very good in great lighting conditions. Only changes externally are the engine fans now rotate the same way and there is now more added screws around the wings and fuselage (it is of course very worrying that you flew with not enough screws to hold it all together in the earlier versions). The front nose gear was not animated before (did you notice?) it is now and the aircraft looks better for that. With the aircraft powered down the cockpit looks great, again at first glance it does not look that different to the earlier version. But to note in this power off view the panel reflections are very good and authentic. Power on and the panels look good, but again not much different on the face of it all. The changes for v2.0 are small and subtle in fixing up the correct switchgear and knobs and small items that you thought were working before but actually were not. The only really big visual change is the overhead panel which has been completely redone... v1.1 Panel v2.0 Panel Spot the differences? Most of the knobs have been redesigned to reflect the correct switchgear now on a real E-175. The lighting panels are completely different with the switches of different types, and the use is slightly different as well. There is also added left and right landing light switches and there has been a removed avionics switch as it does not exist in the real aircraft. The Avionics now come on automatically with the battery 1 selection., the hydraulic knobs now also longer turn in unison, and each starts the hydraulics pump separately. If you remember on the earlier versions many of the switches were tied in together, were as you turned one switch the other activated the same way. I really didn't like this effect and most of those items have now been separated and work independently. Tekton FMS System The main feature on v2.0 is the updated Tekton FMS. The built in Flight Mangement Computer (FMC) was released on the original version and had a slight update on v1.1, but here in the v2.0 version it has had a big overhaul. It still does the same flightplan layout with the three separate elements, and those are: SID (Standard Instrument Departure) - Route - STAR (Standard Terminal Arrival Route) You can save a route but only the center "Route" portion to a standard .fms file. When you reload it you have then rebuild the departure SID and approach STAR waypoints from scratch, so you don't reload the entire route and just fly. My flight today is from LFMN - Nice to LIRF - Rome (Fiumicino) and we will programme the FMS to fly that route. The RADIO page is now the default start up page as it is on the real FMS system (it was the MCDU INDEX page before) and to go to the MCDU INDEX you just press the L6 key. v1.1 MCDU INDEX v2.0 MCDU INDEX There are some changes on the MCDU INDEX page from the earlier versions. Left keys are still the same, but the right key list is different with the (RK6) RADIO key gone (now selection is directly on the keyboard menu) and that is replaced by the PERF (Performance) page. Top of the list (RK1) "FLT PLAN" is also gone and that entry has been replaced by the new "PROGRESS" page. The rest of the input keys to insert the DEPARTURE and ARRIVAL entries, and the corresponding SID and STARS are still the same as is the ROUTE input and LOAD and SAVE (as noted the load and save only loads or saves the route center segment to .fms). Direct keyboard input On of the new Tekton FMS features is the excellent direct keyboard input into the MCDU FMS. Selecting (LK2) DEPARTURE brings up the "Departure" page to input your departure airport, runway, SID and Transition. To use the direct input you just press the title on the top of the page which in this case is DEPARTURE. You are now in the active keyboard input mode as designated by the green circle O in the top left of the display. Anything you now type into the scratchpad will now be live from your keyboard, to go out of the direct input mode just press the DEPARTURE title again... simple and brilliant! Just note that when in the active mode the usual X-Plane input is cancelled and that means any screenshots or other areas don't work, until you click out to normal again. But you very quickly and easily use the system and navigating in and out of the active modes, it is so very easy to use and you are very quickly using it as per normal in programming the system. You now input all the rest of the DEPARTURE items with airport runway, SID and Transition details as you did on the earlier v1.0 version. You use the knob to select and go up and down the selections, PREV or NEXT is used to go to the next page, then press the centre of the knob to activate that selection and you get a "SID STORED" note on the display. You do your STAR ARRIVAL the same way with the airport LIRF- Roma Fiumicino, then the Runway, STAR and Transition details, when done you again press the centre of the knob to activate that selection and you get a "STAR ELEMENT STORED" note on the display. The DEP (SID) and ARR (STAR) elements are now done, so now we will fill in the center ROUTE section. This is done by pressing on the MENU INDEX page the L4 key. Select either an - Airport, VOR, NDB or FIX waypoint and add in the name of the navigation aid, you can add in the altitude here also. SAVE to insert the waypoint into the route list. The new v2.0 version also allows you to now add in AIRWAYS. These sections are inserted by noting the last ROUTE waypoint entered or the last waypoint of your SID to enter an airway. Then choose an airway direction and finally choose the exit waypoint. Then you can add in more standard waypoints or enter a different airway as you build up your route list. When the route is completed you can see the full list by going to ROUTE EDIT, and there you can edit the list or change the route selections. I only have three waypoints as the flight is quite short from LFMN to LIFR. You can check the sections and the amount of waypoints inserted on the STATUS page. You have to take a little diversion from your flightplan execution to do your PERF - Performance settings BEFORE you load in (or initialize) the flightplan... ... GoTo PERF on the MCDU INDEX page. There are three pages to set up for the aircraft flight performance. First page is "Takeoff" With aircraft settings on the left and flap settings on the right, you can switch between either LBS or KG via RK5. Second page covers your "Cruise" settings and third page covers the "Approach" settings. You can adjust the App settings with the Iceing situation on or off in that the bleed will affect the engine performance. The slightly messy area is now finding the way of loading the flightplan into the FMS. You go to the PROGRESS page and then... ... Goto to FLT PLAN (moved from the main INDEX menu) and then first INT (initialize) the data or in plain Engilsh assemble the flightplan together, then press EXEC to Execute or load into the FMS the full flightplan. The Flightplan is now always listed on the FLT PLAN page and is shown on the Navigation display. You can always edit each of the three segments and then reinitialize the flightplan and Execute the new version. So overall the flow in lots of ways of creating the flightplan is the same, but now differently set out to insert the flightplan into the system and it is far better than the original way of setting up the FMS, as it is more smoother and has a far better building flow. The only negatives are that you can't see the waypoints as you build up the flightplan or edit it, until you reinitialize the three changed segments. Then you have to reedit it again and reinitialize it until you have the flightplan you want, which can be slow work if you have to adjust the SID and STARs that don't quite fit the route you want or dovetail correctly into your central route waypoints, it also makes it harder to see on the display which SID or STAR is best for the DEP or ARR segements, so any "well I'll try this one" doesn't work here as you will have to be very clear which SID and STAR from the chart you require is correct before selecting it. The completed route red navigation line shown in the navigation display is the standard X-Plane version, which looks very out of date now and it would have been better if it had reflected the huge amount of changes of this now far better FMS unit with a more modern navigation route layout. Other notes with the new v2.0 Tekton FMS are: Added all altitude constraint types. Added several new leg types to provide more accurate depiction of fix to fix legs. Removed transition requirement leading to final approaches, making all possible approaches to an airport available for selection. Added default visual departure and approach waypoints automatically when an airport is selected (overwritten when appropriate procedure elements are selected). Added ability to edit your STAR while enroute and re-execute without needing to use a complex autopilot procedure to maintain course. FMS flightplan and fuel loaded, we just wait while the aircraft is being finalised on the ground. You can get a very good SET for this E-175 to use the JARDesign Ground Handling Deluxe Plugin. The earlier set had the stairs going through the aircraft, but it is all fixed and very good now... Menus are still the same and located on your left lower point of the screen, move your mouse to make them appear. The three menus cover (M) Doors, Ground Objects, GPU and Pushback. Then (P) covers the pushback settings in distance and turn direction. (C) cover the Checklist and very good and handy it is. (note in flight only the Checklist menu is available). v2.0 has had a revision of the sounds, and items like the GPU and APU now create better sounds. Also if you open the doors or windows then the external sounds are now louder in the cockpit, they do feel far better and more realistic. New callouts are also now available if you have correctly set up the PREFs on the FMS with V speed callouts as you reach the set speeds. "V1," "ROTATE", "V2" and "TAKEOFF OKAY." are all now working correctly, and alerts "NO TAKEOFF SPOILER," "NO TAKEOFF FLAPS," "NO TAKEOFF TRIM" and/or "NO TAKEOFF BRAKES" will inform you if you don't do the correct settings. One thing that has become an annoyance is that every time you do a mouse click on anything you get a click in sound, click here, click there and after a time it gets annoying... A full total review of the exterior and all the panel and instrument details of X-Crafts E-175 is available here: Aircraft Review : Embraer E-175 by X-Crafts Flying the v2.0 E-175 by X-Crafts Pushback completed, I taxied towards my departure runway, but a change of runway from RWY 04L to 04R required the RWY setting in the FMS to be changed, it was simple to do by going to the Departure airport, changing the runway, then initializing the new flightplan and then EXEC the flightplan. The process was clean and worked perfectly. There are a few small tricks on taking off this X-Crafts E-Jet. You need to set the V/S (Vertical Speed) (2000fpm) and arm it, also the NAV/FMS needs to be also armed. Once you rotate and have a "positive climb" then retracted the flaps straight away and hit the A/P (autopilot) button, get the process right and the takeoff is clean or perfect, but leave the flaps out and your V/S will suffer or the aircraft will fight against the climb. Rotation is around 162knts +10 depending on your weight. Once the flightplan is activated the new v2.0 PROGRESS page comes alive... I have a big love of PROGRESS pages (yes I am a bit weird that way) but to have one now in the E-175 is a big step forward for me with this aircraft, and this is a very good and detailed version. The X-Crafts E-Jet always looks sensational in the air. During the climb phase the distance values have been adjusted for realism between 10K and 30K (270KIAS) to be slightly slower, and you feel that slight falloff during the climb. Lower than 10,000ft there are not any power restrictions. X-Plane puts on a great view of the coast of Corsica as I approach my cruise altitude (285) and the island is already a full view to the left. I like the ease of setting up the RADIO page ready for the LIRF RWY 34R Approach, the new direct keyboard input is a big step forward in adding in the frequencies. Note the cruise speed of M.80, the v2.0 has had the speeds revised and to the correct speed of M.82 based on the weight of the aircraft. A note in that the KIAS and Mach transition speed is quite high in the E-175 is FL300, not my usual FL250... nice to know. Like the (above) PROGRESS page the STATUS page (below) is also updated in real time. The navigation section in the Primary Flight Display is a compass rose (with built in course/CDI). It should also have the NDB and VOR pointers that should appear when the VOR2 signal is picked up, which I have done here with (OST) Rome. They are however on the outer part of the MAP display, but the two buttons to activate these pointers are given another job instead to select the VOR1 and VOR 2 direct heading selection? And you miss those VOR/NDB pointers to align up a runway manually out of your direct eyeline. As the Corsica east coast slips by it will be soon time to start our descent into LIRF as the Italian west coast comes into view. I used the airbrakes briefly a few times to keep the speed in check on the descent, and it worked very well. Final hard left turn to final and approach shows off the excellent underside of the E-175, detail is very good and there has been a few touchups in v2.0, but most small. The aircraft is great on finals with good throttle control and handling, you can easily control the aircraft at it's slow speed, and toch down is around 132knts. Excellent spoiler and engine reverse animation and action is swift in slowing down the aircraft. LIRF's remote assigned stand is 202, and with the spooling down of the General Electric CF34-8E engines, the services come around the aircraft, job done. Liveries There are no new liveries with v2.0 but included in the package is: Air Canada, Alitalia, American Eagle, Delta, Delta Connection (Compass), Emrbaer House colors, Flybe, UE Tulip, United Express (SkyWest), US Airways (Black), US Airways (White), Plain White and White dirty. And there is a wide free selection from 3rd parties on the .Org like these below and all are excellent and 4K HD quality. Summary As noted in this review the biggest feature in v2.0 is that Tekton FMS. It is not just the excellent new features in the FMS like the PROGRESS page but the new reorganizing of the whole unit is also very good, but it does flow and work far better as well. It is not totally perfect from my angle because you can't build the routes as you can see them and save in the sections when done as you go along, but almost everything else is laid out there. And keep an eye on this style of FMS as it will start popup in other aircraft in X-Plane as well. In other areas like the new overhead panel and many other areas the E-175 has had a fair bit of attention, but X-Crafts has thankfully left the original external design alone and the aircraft is all the better for that. A few quirks do however do drop this E-Jet just under that excellent position, like the red line Nav display, the missing heading rose pointers and the pitch numbers look wrong on the Primary Flight Display. All sounds are well improved and in cruise mode the aircraft is a nice place to be, it flies really well as well, but watch those little tricks on takeoff to transition cleanly to your climb position. X-Crafts is also noting this v2.0 is a paid upgrade (US$5) to this version but that is still excellent value for a really nice aircraft with a lot of great features and certainly closes the gap between these two excellent E-Jets available in X-Plane, overall none of them come out as the better of each other, but the line is now getting very close... and the winner will be in the upgrades and future versions, but for now the X-Crafts version is slightly the cheaper of the two... so the choice is yours. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Embraer E175 v2.0 by X-Crafts is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E-175 v2.0 Price is US$39.95 If you have already purchased the Embraer E-175 from X-Craft's at the X-Plane.OrgStore then go to your account and upgrade to v2.0 for only US$5.00, Please email sales@x-plane.org to get your discount code and include you original order number. Features Accurate dimensions based on drawings and documentation provided by Embraer © Windows, Mac and Linux compatible Custom FMS Custom pushback plugin with animated tug On-screen checklist plugin - Plugin menu for door control, ground objects or GPU Tested by a real Embraer E175 pilot CUSTOM FMS both the custom and stock FMS are available on the pedestal or as popup panels More details about the FMS below INTERIOR: Amazing 3D modeling of cockpit and cabin High resolution textures High resolution Embraer style PFD, MFD, EICAS displays Pop-up screens, pop-up radios panel MFD with 8 synoptic pages and a new improved Navigation displa High resolution textures on panels - Text is crisp and clear to real Intuitive cockpit manipulation - I have always taken great care to make the cockpit as easy to use as possible. This means all clickable areas in the cockpit are very big so that you can easily click on any button, knob or lever in the cockpit Each switch, lever, knob, and handle is animated Detailed cockpit lighting - All cockpit lights are controllable Cargo area modeled HUD equipped EXTERIOR 4K High resolution textures (fuselage 10000px/meter squared) Highly detailed landing gears Flap and speedbrakes mechanisms modeled Realistic Wingflex animation 2 versions of winglets available 9 Liveries included so far and more are on the way! Accurate dimensions based on drawings and documentation provided by Embraer © Windows, Mac and Linux compatible Custom TEKTON FMS© by Steve Wilson Custom pushback plugin with animated tug On-screen checklist plugin Plugin menu for door control, ground objects or GPU Tested by a real Embraer E175 pilot Suitable for beginners - Just load and fly within seconds! Great for advanced users -Enjoy the complexity of the Custom FMS! TEKTON FMS© Features: Direct Keyboard Entry (DKE) Custom MCDU Interface: SID, ROUTE and STAR waypoint lists are treated as separate editable items Color keyed data presentation Scratchpad data entry Interactive feedback Both the custom and stock FMS are available on the pedestal or as popup panels Procedures Enhanced for V2.0: SIDS and STARS from X-Plane stock or third party custom data New: Altitude constraints for procedures New: Refined procedures leg routing New: More flexible STAR element selection New: Default visual departure and approach New : Edit and reload STAR while enroute while in autopilot Ability to easily edit SIDs, Routes, STARS and the loaded FLT PLAN New AIRWAYS options New Progress Monitoring on two new pages New Performance Flight Planning: New PERF 1 page providing preflight and takeoff data New PERF 2 page allowing route fuel planning New PERF 3 page for approach data INTERIOR: Amazing 3D modeling of cockpit and cabin High resolution textures High resolution Embraer style PFD, MFD, EICAS displays Pop-up screens, pop-up radios and FMS panels MFD with 8 synoptic pages High resolution textures on panels - Text is crisp and clear with any rendering options Intuitive cockpit manipulation - I have always taken great care to make the cockpit as easy to use as possible. This means all clickable areas in the cockpit are very big so that you can easily click on any button, knob or lever in the cockpit Each switch, lever, knob, and handle is animated Detailed cockpit lighting - All cockpit lights are controllable Cargo area modeled HUD equipped EXTERIOR 4K High resolution textures (fuselage 10000px/meter squared) Highly detailed landing gears, Flap and speedbrake mechanisms Realistic Wingflex animation 2 versions of winglets available Pilots in external view All doors are animated and controllable from the plugin menu OTHER FEATURES Compatible with UFMC, X-FMC Compatible with JAR's Ground Handling Deluxe New exterior night lighting. You can now operate any of the following lights: NAV, Strobe, Beacon, Left/Nose/Right landing lights, Side/Nose taxi lights, Inspection lights, Logo lights. All lights including Nav and Strobe lights cast light on the surroundings. Audible Alert System Custom sounds https://youtu.be/Txgp0xCRNMs Video is only available via YouTube ______________________________________________________________________ Installation : Download is 720.30 mb which is unzipped to your X-Plane in your regional Jet folder (if you have one or "Heavy Aircraft") at 822.40mb with the extra liveries loaded. Documentation : Demo Flight & Instructions, v2.0 Feature List, FMS Tekton Manual, 2.0 Manual (including a full set of speed charts) - (52 pages) Requirements : X-Plane 10.50+ (any edition) - running in 64bit mode Windows, MAC or Linux - 64 bit Operating System required 4Gb RAM - 1Gb VRAM Minimum. 2Gb VRAM Recommended Current version: 2.0 (last updated September 22 2016) ______________________________________________________________________ X-Crafts Developer Support : ERJ - 175 by X-Crafts - X-Plane.Org ______________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 23rd September 2016 Copyright©2016: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 10 Global v10.50 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: WorldTraffic 2.2 X-Plane.OrgStore US$29.95 : JARDesign Ground Handling Deluxe US$14.95 : Headshake by SimCoders (free) Scenery or Aircraft - LFMN Nice Côte d'Azur Airport by JustSim (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$19.95 - LIRF - Roma Fiumicino Leonardo Da Vinci v4.0 by DtRs90 (Wehrlipub - Seaman2020) - (X-Plane.Org) - Free

Aircraft Review - Embraer E175 by X-Crafts In regional aviation for airlines the biggest revolution has been the replacement of 70-110 seat turboprops with economic new generation jet aircraft. Of these two aircraft companies have dominated in Bombardier Aerospace with their CRJ Series and coming C Series, but the real success story in this regional jet category is the Brazilian Embraer company with their E-Jet family of aircraft. These fast efficient modern aircraft have revolutionised the hub and spoke system of aviation networks in that you can today step out of that modern long haul cabin and straight into a regional aircraft cabin of the same standard, space and quality and have the same speed factor than sitting in a droning turboprop for hours.(yes economics have again swung the pendulum back in favor of the ATR's and Q400's, but only over short distances). The first delivered aircraft was an E-170 in 2004 to the Polish Airline LOT and the larger stretched version with two extra rows of seats (88 to 80) was the 21,810 kg (48,080 lb) E-175, that first entered service a year later with Air Canada in 2005. X-Crafts Embraer Aircraft X-Crafts came into X-Plane in August 2014 with their first release aircraft E-175 LR: Aircraft Review : Embraer ERJ 195 LR by X-Crafts I was immediately impressed with the quality of X-Craft's design and excellent 3D modelling and an excellent looking aircraft it is. As this being a very first release it did note and require a small refining period, but by the time of an update to v1.2 in early Nov 2014, you were looking at a pretty nice looking aircraft at a great purchase price. This Embraer release is the follow up aircraft in the smaller E-175. And outwardly it looks extremely similar to the bigger earlier E-195 LR, but it is not as this aircraft has been 95% remodeled from the ground up, and it is in the details that shows how far the difference is between the two aircraft, and the E-195 LR is still very good in the first place. The equation that is important to remember here is the amount of detail and quality you get for your money. Yes certainly a FlightFactor aircraft gives you an amazing amount of systems and general spectacular features, but it comes at nearly three time the cost of the X-Crafts aircraft and you are not skimming here as the aircraft is very high in quality and has a lot of very good features for a very nice price, it is a very nice aircraft to fly as well as we will find out... In X-Plane terms, the E-175 is an excellent, quality aircraft and amazing value compared to aircraft even only a few years ago. Exterior Sitting on the ramp the aircraft simply oozes quality, it is a nice sized and looking aircraft as well. but if you get in closer then the detailing starts to really jump out at you. On an aircraft this size I don't think I have seen better detailing, it is extremely well done and detailed. Ribs, latches, handles and pitot probes are all expertly done. Door animation (latches as well) are excellent for all four fuselage doors and the two lower cargo hatches. The beautiful (If you into great engineering) GE CF34-8E uprated 200 turbofans are astounding in quality and execution, and the central wing attachment strengthened areas are very well and realistically done. Undercarriage construction, links, hydraulic pressure hoses, wheel supports and hubs are expertly created, it is all as good as it could get. The detailing is carried on around the tail and rear elevators, the metal heat shroud for the rear mounted APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) is exceptional as is the detailing for elevator maintenance access panels. Menu's There are three "Menu" tabs in M, P and C on the left lower point of your screen. M-Menu (main) The top "M" menu popup covers opening and closing the four fuselage (Two front and two rear service) doors and the two lower Cargo hatches. Three other items cover the "Ground Objects" which include chocks, cones and pitot covers. GPU (Ground Power Unit) and pushback truck. If the box is ticked off you get an "Alert" of the pushback truck is disabled, click the box and the pushback truck appears, we will cover the use of the "P" pushback truck later when we use it. C-Checklist There is a spiral bound checklist book (current fad at the moment). There are eight tabs on the checklist manual covering "Before Start - Startup - After Start - Takeoff - Descent - Landing - Parking and Secouring" All procedures are very clear and precise, and so this is a handy guide to operating the aircraft. Interior and Cockpit On entering the E-175 the cabin is very well done and two class, only small point is the chairs feel a bit too big a scale and the distance between the chair height and the luggage bins is quite narrow, but you can't fault the detail, nice touch is the rows of seatbelt and no smoking signs above each row when activated. Both the forward and aft galleys are excellent and really well modeled and detailed, separate highly detailed food carts are the highlight here. Like the outside in the cockpit at first glance it looks exactly like the earlier X-Crafts E-195 LR, but the subtle differences are there, it is better and more detailed, the five display panels are more cleaner, brighter, sharper (although that can bring out a little more anti-alias at lower resolutions because the lines are finer) It is certainly the new improved version of the last one, but overall the panels look and feel more complete and that feeling is carried through over the whole aircraft. The Pedestal was beautifully done on the E-195, and that design has been carried through here as well, and even the rear FMS displays information when programmed, small but welcome details. The five main display panels are switchable via the Reversionary Panel which swaps the displays between four different modes. PFD and the MAP/NAVIGATION displays are your main two screens for both Pilot and Second Officer, central screen covers the engine and aircraft parameters. There is only a backup Artificial Horizon and clock timer on the central panel with the Autobrake and Gear selection. The aircraft and systems is powered by the Honeywell "Primus Epic®Integrated Avionics System" that covers every aspect of the avionics and flight management of the aircraft. As a nice touch the Honeywell logo pops up on the displays on startup. Main engine items include N1, ITT (Turbine Inlet Temperature), N2 and FF (Fuel Flow Per Hour). Fuel QTTY (Quantity), Oil Pressure (PSI) and Temperature. Slate and Flap position indicator, LG (landing Gear) position and Autobrake settings, APU percentage (running) and Temperature. Aircraft data and alert/information displays, lower bottom is the aircraft "TRIMS" settings. PFD (Primary Flight Display) The main PFD is the standard glass cockpit primary display in having an Artificial Horizon with built in rate of turn and bank indicator. either side of the Artificial Horizon is the speed and altitude tapes with the vertical speed (V/S) on the right. The Horizontal ILS CDI (course deviation indicator) is ever present and the vertical indicator appears when the approach mode is armed. Across the top is the Flight Mode Annunciation (FMA). And this sub­display indicates the autopilot modes that are active and armed. Lower in the PFD is the navigation section that covers a compass rose (built in course/CDI) with VOR and DME overlays, navigation source mode indication, heading, VOR and COM radios frequencies, and NAV/FMS data. Map - Navigation Display There are two main displays for Navigation and Plan modes (route). Popup menus give you access to Map Range (shown on display) and Nav-Aid/Fix indicators. Weather includes Light Storm and Alfa Atn. Top right menus give you access to seven pages of aircraft parameters covering - (Current) Status - Flight Controls (Ctrl) - Hydraulics - Fuel - Electrical - ECS (environment) - Anti-Ice. All displays can be adjusted for brightness via the far left knob lighting panel, which unlike the same on the E-195 in that all the knobs now work independently of each other. Overhead Panel The overhead panel (OHD) is surprisingly straight forward, in most actions are just automatic. All systems really take care of themselves with access needed only really to set fuel tank operation and aircraft lighting controls, even the GPU or APU access is controlled by the active unit. Autopilot panel is nicely laid out and easy to use. Nice features are three way altitude adjustments to set large different altitude settings, making things quick and easy, a few more things we will come to on the AP when we fly the aircraft, but one item that needs pointing out is the VOR1 - VOR2 and FMS (Flightplan) selection. "FMS" is the button on the top, but the "VOR1" (ILS Landing) and "VOR2" selection is noted under "BRG"? MCDU - Multi Control Display Unit One of the features of X-Crafts E-175 is a MCDU/FMS unit. To be clear it is only loosely based on the Honeywell avionics system, it looks like the system and you access it the same way as well, but under the skin it is a very highly developed X-Plane default FMS, and that is best kept in mind when using it. It works in the context of creating a flightplan with three elements, those are the: SID (Standard Instrument Departure) - Route - STAR (Standard Terminal Arrival Route) It may look like a standard MCDU flightplan formatting layout, but it is not. For one the three elements are totally separate until they are activated together as a complete flight plan, It is clever as well because you can change each element separately without affecting the other two. The central "Route" section is a standard X-Plane .fms flightplan and it is saved and loaded as such a file, but with each time you load in your saved .fms flightplan you will then have to create the SID and STAR elements from new. Start page is the "MCDU INDEX" This is main central place menu you go to to do all the various elements of creating, changing, saving, loading flightplans, two other bottom keys allow you to access the AUTOPILOT and RADIO pages. We start at the "STATUS" page by accessing the L1 (Left - key 1). This page shows you the current "Status" of the aircraft, It includes the general condition of the aircraft at this point in "position" Autopilot (on/off, AP Source, Next waypoint, Flightplan, Speed, AutoThust setting and NAV Radio settings. To create a route then we start with the DEPARTURE point or airport, press the L2 key to create a start to your flightplan and create a SID. Type in the lower scratchpad your DEP Airport, in this case "KRSW" SouthWest Florida Intl and input L5 Key. Select your departure runway by the R3 Key. All navigation on the MCDU is done via two sections of the lower input knobs, outer (larger) knob allows you to move up or down the list, smaller inner knob is used to select or activate your choice. Select a SID by pressing R4 Key and again go down the list via the outer knob. If you reach the bottom of the list, the list will not scroll, so you have to go to the next list page by pressing the NEXT button or to go back to the previous page then press PREV, again press the centre inner knob to select your SID. With the SID Stored it is time to load or create a route... You have two options in "ADD ROUTE WPTS" or LOAD (.fms flightplan)" We will look a the LOAD First. The .fms flightplans are stored in the X-Plane "Output/FMS plans" folder, and you use the standard navigation of outer knob for moving up or down the list and inner knob for selection. The PREV and NEXT buttons navigate the pages of flightplans, and in fact is a far quicker system to find your flightplan quicker than using an endless scroll like most selection processes. If you have loaded your route then you can go to the next step of ARRIVAL, if you need to create a route then you press ADD ROUTE WPTS Creating Waypoints is easy. Select your chosen NavAid via the AIRP (Airport), VOR, NDB, FIX or Lat-Lon keys (FIX is default), then insert your NavAid/Waypoint ICAO code on the scratchpad and input via the L3 Key, you also have option to add in the altitude via the L5 Key, if correct then press SAVE R5 Key. On VOR/NDB you may be given a choice of waypoints to chose from, select the one you require. In all scratchpad inputs you have a reverse arrow <- on the bottom row of the MCDU to go back one space or DEL to clear the waypoint. When you SAVE the next segment (WPT#) then appears, repeat till you have all your route segments completed, then use MCDU INDEX to go to main menu page. Now the final element is the ARRIVAL STAR. Press on the MCDU INDEX page ARRIVAL R2 Key. Input your ARRIVAL airport... KATL L5 Key, then SELECT RUNWAY R3 Key to select your arrival runway and activate via the inner knob. You have a choice of FINAL approaches in ILS, RNAV or VOR/D and select the one you require. Last approach choice is the STAR you require, select from the list and again activate via the inner knob. Now you have created all three elements in the SID - ROUTE - STAR and to Execute the full flightplan you press EXEC to load the plan into the system. Press R1 Key (FLT PLAN) to see your Flightplan. You can review your route on the MAP/NAV (PLAN) display and as you scroll down the list it will go through the various waypoints on the plan. If you want to you can input a route name and SAVE it to your "Output/FMS plans" folder. You can use any .fms X-Plane flightplan, but remember it can be only the centre section of the SID - ROUTE - STAR layout. Editing any element in SID - WAYPOINTS (route) - STAR is selected by the assigned key on the MCDU INDEX page, and you again go back to the MCDU INDEX page and press EXEC to reload the flightplan. Last two selections on the MCDU are the RADIOS R6 Key pages and AUTOPILOT L6K. RADIOS is a full Radio Frequency page for Radio management. All frequencies are covered and there is a duplicate manual version on the middle pedestal, but inputting is so much easier here with the key pad. Very nice to use it is as well... COM 1 and 2, VOR/NAV 1and 2 and your XPDR Transponder identity code and visual reference on page one and ADF/NDB frequencies on page two. The AUTOPILOT is just a general information page (no progress page) as yet. Overall this is a hybrid MCDU, a very good one though and it works very well and it has been extremely well put together by Steve Wilson. And no doubt it forms the basis of a more featured system that was not possible because of current time constraints. But certainly the enhancement of a better map display and rather than the usual X-Plane red route marker would be the first enhancement I would execute. But the basics are in place and very clever it is in operation. Flying the Embraer E-175 You can start the engine from either the GPU or the built in APU. The start sequence is mostly automatic and by just turning on the ignition switches and then the start switch for each engine. From the E-195 LR I didn't like the way both switches moved together, in one start sequence they still do, but like a lot of changes from the E-195 they are now independent operations. Sounds are first rate, really authentic and the startup sequence is very good. If you select the "Pushback" option from the "M" menu then you can activate the pushback truck via the "P" menu. You need to design the pushback you want in, straight back, pivot right or left or to park the tractor, then you set your distance and press "Accept" to activate the plan, you then do a acknowledgement to "confirm" or "Abort", then click off the brakes and off the tractor goes... It works very well, but we are used to throttle controlled, joystick manoeuvring trucks today, so I found it a bit restricting. Power up and off the brakes and the aircraft nice to taxi... To get the best clean takeoff and flight transition it is best to set up a lot of the AP (AutoPilot) ready before takeoff, but don't activate the AP. FMS is selected and so is LOC for flightplan lock in, Setting and arming the V/S (Vertical Speed) which is set here at 2300fpm, both Flight Directors (FD) on and the speed set at 220knts and transition speed altitude set at 15,000ft. Don't activate the ATHR (AutoThrust) if you don't want to find yourself taxiing fast through the airport carparks (yes at full throttle it is scary). Flaps set to 2. You can switch off the window tinting and excellent reflections, by pressing the left side window frame. The activated flightplan will show the aircraft's position, this maybe before the actual airport. but that is normal. Sometime like here if you have changed you runway direction and as KRSW does not have an available SID to the first waypoint of RODDE You sometimes have to do a -> DIRECT TO to the RODDE waypoint. To active this you press the -> Arrow that is used for DIRECT TO functions... The MCDU will note the DIRECT is EXECUTED. Using the DIRECT function is easy as well. Just use the outer knob to scroll down your flightplan list to select the waypoint/Fix you want to go DIRECT TO and press the arrow to activate. Brakes off and power up to the yellow band and your rolling... power build very easily and I rotate at 165knts and have a positive climb. The aim is to get the aircraft clean as soon as possible (Flaps housed and wheels up) before selecting the AP (Autopilot) button. If you have any flap lowered even at low speeds it affects the transition to V/S, and you will find yourself in a negative pitch and totally ruining your takeoff/climb phase, even the transition from manual flying to automatic can be problematic if your speed and flap position is wrong. Get it right and hit the already armed AP button and you just cruise upwards in a perfect linear climb and LOC straight into your flightplan. Just reset your speed for the right ATHR match and your aircraft will power its way in this case my 15,000ft speed transition altitude. The E175 is a seriously nice aircraft to fly. The length proportions compared to the longer E-175 LR make the machine more balanced, in manual control it is a really nice aircraft, take out the weight of passengers and a heavy fuel load and it has almost personal jet performance... curve away from the airport while slightly climbing and you could turn yourself into a fighter pilot with a passenger jet... so balanced and great handling. But today it is all business, passengers in the back and cargo hold full of weight, but the performance is still very good, you can easily climb (way) above the 2000fpm marker all the way to 30,000ft, but I am more gentler than that on my machines but still 1800fpm was no issue above the MACH change of 25,000ft. Cruise I personally love the way this aircraft looks in the air... picture perfect. The light captures it really well and it look great at any point day or night. It is very easy to slip back and enjoy the view from FL320, you are just purring along and monitoring the aircraft. On the right and left of the panel are three buttons to show two popup screens of the MCDU and the Radio panel, but they are static and can't be moved around or resized. Approach Like most regional flights KRSW (South West Florida) to KATL Atlanta is 1h 20m which is a usual sort of flight of this nature. Leading edge and flap extension is excellent with great animation and design, even small sections of the flap extensions open and close to clean up the system. Approach speed is around 136knts at full flap before ILS capture, but you have to watch you first two flap extensions as the wing is very efficient and the drag noticeable and will heavily adjust your pitch. Final approach is around 125knts, and you have push the aircraft down a little to make a secure contact with the runway (RWY27R) and then make sure the nosewheel is hard in contact as well, as the aircraft can be a little light on the nose. Thrust reversers are very effective, but make sure you pull back on the throttle and close the engine doors without lowering your speed too far, as the engines take a fair while to spool right back down for taxiing thrust. I found that a ATHR off approach is the best so for better speed control and the chance of the ATHR spooling the engines back up again... Clean up the aircraft and you can head to the gate. Lighting Cockpit lighting is good, but there is only really three adjustment positions and no click area spot lighting. But there is no denying it is a nice place to be at night, the cockpit feels and looks very good and very modern in design, it has been very well conceived and beautifully created. The rear cabin lighting is very good, but attached to the cockpit overhead lighting, so when you dim the cockpit overhead lighting for landing it goes dark in the back? Highlight is the excellent row seatbelt and no smoking signs overhead. Outside lighting is good if you can see past the X-Plane blobby lights (which I hate by the way) Aircraft looks very nice at night, but the logo tail lighting is connected to the Ice/wing lights, which I really don't like at all. They are for different uses. Landing lights are two set inner wings and one on the nosewheel, a second light on the nosewheel is used for taxiing. First impressions of the landing light reflections was "oh they are not that great, are they", but then they became very effective, so yes they are very good... but there are no runway turnoff lights, which is not to big a deal here as the lighting spread is quite wide. Strobes and smaller lighting is very good with HDR on. Liveries Liveries, include a blank and seven airline colours in Alitalia (default) Delta, American Eagle, both White and dark blue US Airways, Flybe and Air Canada. Quality is outstanding and all liveries are 4K HD (fuselage 10000px/meter squared) quality. Summary I am going to admit I really like this aircraft, as from the start of X-Crafts entry into X-Plane the modelling quality has always been exceptional, and the E-175 here is a very high standard... It just always looks so good in the light and flying hard through the sky. Yes there are quirks, and a few items that need a little refining over time (any aircraft is always needing a refining process), but the step even from the E-175 LR is noticeably higher, and as noted it looks the same outwardly but look and feel closer to the aircraft and you will see the quality and smaller detailing coming through. Don't likes, not much but a few quirks like double lighting switches, more control of the pushback truck, oversized cabin seats and the default X-Plane map interface. It is a really nice aircraft to fly, but you have to be and work at flying it really good... It can be a little difficult at lower flap speeds on takeoff more than landing, but time and a feel for the aircraft will eliminate those areas as you get really confident with it, then it all becomes automatic and the E-175 will become part of the fabric of your everyday flying. The new MCDU based on the Honeywell avionics system is to be noted as very new, and a new approach to setting up the aircraft. Again get used to it and it is easy to program and use, but in a few areas and mostly in a visual sense the X-Plane base is evident and there is certainly a bit more room for a bit more future development and refining here... as I said it is very new here on this release but it will certainly become more powerful, deeper in systems and obviously will become very good going forward. But if you like your flying regional, and like a gem of a great small 100 seater aircraft and one that is nice to fly, then it is really hard to go past the Embraer E-175 from X-Crafts... all round it is gem of a good machine. Yes! the Embraer E175 by X-Crafts is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E-175 Price is US$34.95 Features Accurate dimensions based on drawings and documentation provided by Embraer © Windows, Mac and Linux compatible Custom FMS Custom pushback plugin with animated tug On-screen checklist plugin - Plugin menu for door control, ground objects or GPU Tested by a real Embraer E175 pilot CUSTOM FMS both the custom and stock FMS are available on the pedestal or as popup panels More details about the FMS below INTERIOR: Amazing 3D modeling of cockpit and cabin High resolution textures High resolution Embraer style PFD, MFD, EICAS displays Pop-up screens, pop-up radios panel MFD with 8 synoptic pages and a new improved Navigation displa High resolution textures on panels - Text is crisp and clear to real Intuitive cockpit manipulation - I have always taken great care to make the cockpit as easy to use as possible. This means all clickable areas in the cockpit are very big so that you can easily click on any button, knob or lever in the cockpit Each switch, lever, knob, and handle is animated Detailed cockpit lighting - All cockpit lights are controllable Cargo area modeled HUD equipped EXTERIOR 4K High resolution textures (fuselage 10000px/meter squared) Highly detailed landing gears Flap and speedbrakes mechanisms modeled Realistic Wingflex animation 2 versions of winglets available 9 Liveries included so far and more are on the way! OTHER FEATURES compatible with UFMC, X-FMC compatible with JAR's Ground Handling Deluxe Night lighting, Nav and Strobe lights cast light on the surroundings Obviously a set of custom sounds 10 Liveries available ______________________________________________________________________ Installation : Download file size is 254.70mb to your X-Plane - GA Aircraft Folder. Installed file size is 576.90mb Notes: Documents : Both an extensive Manual and MCDU operating guide. There is also a good video on how to use the MCDU by Steve Wilson: X-Crafts MCDU - Steve Wilson (mp4 download) Requirements : Windows, MAC or Linux. X-Plane 10.40+ (any edition) 4Gb RAM - 1Gb VRAM Current version: 1.0 (last updated December 2nd 2015) (Note aircraft is very good on framerate, playback is current with similar sized aircraft and features) ______________________________________________________________________ X-Crafts Developer Support : ERJ - 175 by X-Crafts - X-Plane.Org ______________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 2nd December 2015 Copyright©2015: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: - 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i5 iMac 27”- 9 Gb 1067 Mhz DDR3 - ATI Radeon HD 6970M 2048 mb- Seagate 512gb SSD Software: - Mac OS Yosemite 10.10.4 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.42 (final) Addons - Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini : WorldTraffic v2 Scenery or Aircraft - KRSW - South West Florida Intl by Aerosoft (KRSW - SouthWest Florida Intl - X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$24.95 - KATL - Atlanta International by Butnaru (KATL - Atlanta International- X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$23.95

Aircraft Update Review - Embraer E175 v1.1 by X-Crafts No matter how many t's are crossed and every i is dotted it is impossible to cover every single aspect of a first release of a quality aircraft. So the speed of an update and the spread of the coverage to clear those unforeseen bugs and fix those missed items and even add in a few extra new features is really the point an aircraft really starts to shine and you can see how good it really is. This is the first update for X-Craft's excellent Embraer E-175 which was released in early December 2015. This v1.1 release certainly does cover a lot of ground and there are a few changes to the actual way you operate the systems of the aircraft, all in the name of refinement. X-Craft's E-175 is certainly a big step forward from this progressive developer. Modeling and design wise it is overwhelmingly a lovely aircraft, you simply can't fault that aspect of the machine. Internally the E-175's cockpit it is a great place to fly an airplane. But there was something just slightly missing when you flew it. The word that comes to mind is clunky, not a big clunky but a quality refinement missing clunky, small almost non-existent items jerked or activated with a bit too much sharpness and no matter how great everything else worked and looked you felt it was just slightly missing the mark. It is what I call the missing 5%, that ever small gap that brings the aircraft to the high standard we all expect for our payments. But that 5% is also the most hardest if impossible margin to close, and I will make it clear that no aircraft will every be 100% perfect but you can get close, very close. And you really feel that in this v1.1 E-175 update that a lot of that gap has been well and truly closed. Certainly it is a far more smoother and competent aircraft, not that I stress again the base release aircraft was bad or awful in the first place because it wasn't. but this version has a greater refinement now as part of the package. There are a few changes as well and a couple of new features of where we will start. The release aircraft did come with this "Enhanced Winglet" design but the operation to change them was messy. Now they are just a menu choice selection away as there is a new menu selection to switch them over in the plugins list. Menu selections on the left lower of your screen are still very good, The GPU can now also be disabled on the OverHead Panel (OHP) as well. Startup your "Pushback" and now when you "Accept" the menu's disappear except for the "C" Checklist tab. Weird at first but you get used to it. On the other end when you park the aircraft and set the "Brake" and the aircraft is below 100ft AGL the menu's reappear. I found that originally they didn't come back correctly and when I needed the external GPU to power the aircraft when I shut the engines down, that is now fixed. On engine startup you really notice a big change... the sounds. The sounds have had a significant overhaul and they are seriously better, deeper and with far more variation, besides a third party addon package they are now very good to excellent. The sounds have been refined in volume as well in the flaps were too loud, and the startup sounds were (really) average. You really notice or know the undercarriage is in the (going) down position in flight because the wind sounds have been refined and heightened, and so a significant upgrade there. The main landing and taxi lighting has been refined to meet the X-Plane 10.50 conditions, still just slightly too large but far better than the large globules of light before. Wingtip lighting has also been adjusted and tightened to make them more realistic. A small note on that the engine fans are now running in the right direction... did you notice that? The FMS has had some attention as well. There was an issue of a warning that a flight plan .fms file exists when selecting a file-name to use when saving the current route that warning has now been overrided. The coding has been corrected in that now it does not properly detect and reject waypoint misplacement if the waypoint is an NDB, and a VOR with the same NAVID that is found before the plugin finds the correct NDB waypoint. The display of the FLT PLAN page when no waypoints have been loaded is now correct. You now also have the ability to read tail.txt files, placed in livery folders. This change allows the RADIO 1 page to display the actual tail number for the aircraft depicted in the livery. The maximum number of characters that can currently be displayed is eight (8). The Default is "ERJ-175". Your choice if you like the new enhanced winglets is to your personal preference. But I think it is all very Batmanish and they make the aircraft very wide in manoeuvring around tight airport ramps. If you read the release review you would know the E-175 requires a set procedure to takeoff and climb correctly and needed a little practice to get the right rhythm to get it perfect. No doubt this update makes that procedure far smoother, better and you can't now use the ATHR (Auto Throttle) until you are airborne. This stops you from setting the ATHR on the ground and letting it power up the engines and sending you cascading through the scenery. A welcome addition. There has been a lot of adjustments to the Primary Flight Display (PFD). The artificial horizon was wrong in value and that has been corrected (it was terrible in the pitch) and the Vertical Speed (V/S) indicators are now correct. And that annoying vertical black line has also been banished. The CRS (Course) indicator now works. On the MAP display there is now a VOR pointer (I still would like one on the lower rose on the PFD) and NDB arrow. The clicking areas have been enlarged (way too small before) and the range + & - was the wrong way round, and replaced by a finger manipulator. You can now actually change the range by using the range indicator on the main MAP display which is very handy and easier than fumbling around menus. A few items around you in the cockpit have been touched up... The windshield is less shiny now in the center for better visibility. (and the glass stays in the window frames when you open them), and there is a new chrono clock. But the biggest changes are the ones in the movement and actions. The aircraft feels so much more refined in the actions and controls, and I found the flying process far more easier and certainly better. It is the small stuff, the tweaks you can't see or touch that can give you the better feedback that the aircraft is just that... better. Liveries More new liveries have been added to the package, including a sensational Embraer house paintjob. Others include Lufthansa Regional, Two Star Alliance in LOT and U.S. Airways Express and a Tulip United. The Alitalia Livery has had some attention with more detail as well. This aircraft looks great in any livery and there are now 22 to choose from from donators of their excellent work. Highlights are... British Airways CityFlyer, HOP! (Air France) and two variations of the KLM "Cityhopper". There is now an excellent paintkit available. This is an aircraft that you never tire of looking at. In this regional design it looks great at any angle, just a nice looking aircraft. This was the same route as with the review from KRSW (Florida Southwest) to KATL (Atlanta) and you just power there is a regional. It is an aircraft to enjoy and just do your job of flying point to point and doing the flying as efficiently as possible, get in groove with the E-175 and you really enjoy the aircraft. But it does demand you fly it well, and give it a lot of professional attention. 5000ft on the money and a turn to finals for RWY 27R. The ILS vertical diamond has been corrected and looks correct now, which I found annoying before. Gear down and the better sounds tell you enough that you don't have to look at the indicators to know they are down in the slipstream. Over the fence and a nice smooth landing on 27R gives you good feeling... As noted once you brake up you get your menu's back and and can shut down the aircraft... There is a GHDHanding set for the E-175 at the JARDesign site to add in more ground handling animations. Summary E-175 1.1 update No doubt a lot of tuning and ground was covered with this update. Not that the E-175 from X-Craft's was in need of attention on its release. But there is a lot of nice changes and just an overwhelming feeling that the aircraft is now much more complete and more refined for the changes. I ran many runs between KRSW to KATL (five actually) and loved the aircraft more and more each run, and compared to the release version it is certainly more smoother and more professional in the way it is controlled and activated... so all in all a really great update. _________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Embraer E175 v1.1 by X-Crafts is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : Embraer E-175 Price is US$34.95 If you have already purchased the Embraer E-175 from X-Craft's at the X-Plane.OrgStore then go to your account and upgrade to v1.1 for free. The update is online for download now. Full release X-PlaneReviews E-175 review is here: Aircraft Review - Embraer E175 by X-Crafts Features Accurate dimensions based on drawings and documentation provided by Embraer © Windows, Mac and Linux compatible Custom FMS Custom pushback plugin with animated tug On-screen checklist plugin - Plugin menu for door control, ground objects or GPU Tested by a real Embraer E175 pilot CUSTOM FMS both the custom and stock FMS are available on the pedestal or as popup panels More details about the FMS below INTERIOR: Amazing 3D modeling of cockpit and cabin High resolution textures High resolution Embraer style PFD, MFD, EICAS displays Pop-up screens, pop-up radios panel MFD with 8 synoptic pages and a new improved Navigation displa High resolution textures on panels - Text is crisp and clear to real Intuitive cockpit manipulation - I have always taken great care to make the cockpit as easy to use as possible. This means all clickable areas in the cockpit are very big so that you can easily click on any button, knob or lever in the cockpit Each switch, lever, knob, and handle is animated Detailed cockpit lighting - All cockpit lights are controllable Cargo area modeled HUD equipped EXTERIOR 4K High resolution textures (fuselage 10000px/meter squared) Highly detailed landing gears Flap and speedbrakes mechanisms modeled Realistic Wingflex animation 2 versions of winglets available 9 Liveries included so far and more are on the way! OTHER FEATURES compatible with UFMC, X-FMC compatible with JAR's Ground Handling Deluxe Night lighting, Nav and Strobe lights cast light on the surroundings Obviously a set of custom sounds 10 Liveries available ______________________________________________________________________ Requirements : Windows, MAC or Linux. X-Plane 10.40+ (any edition) 4Gb RAM - 1Gb VRAM Current version: 1.1 (last updated February 6th 2016) (Note aircraft is very good on framerate, playback is current with similar sized aircraft and features) ______________________________________________________________________ X-Crafts Developer Support : ERJ - 175 by X-Crafts - X-Plane.Org ______________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 6th February 2016 Copyright©2016: X-Plane Reviews E-175 Full 1.1 changlog is: - Ground equipment and pushback options are now restored after landing - The winglets can now be changed through a plugin menu - There are now 12 liveries included in the package and 21 additional liveries available at the x-plane.org forum (http://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?showtopic=91249) - More details and dirt added to all liveries included in the package - Engine start sounds fixed - Cockpit windows are fixed (the glass of the windows wasn't moving) - New avionics sounds - New chrono clock - Reverse now works separately with hardware throttle - Clicking spots on the MFD are all bigger now - very easy to click on all the buttons - Vertical ILS diamonds fixed - CRS indicator in PFD is now working - GPU can now be turned on and off on the overhead panel - ATHR can only be engaged after takeoff - Cursor changed when changing the range in MAP Options menu. (TIP: You can also change the range directly from the range indicator in the map!) - windshield was shiny in the middle - VOR bearing pointer added to the NAV map - Alitalia livery has many added details - Flap sounds inside are too loud - Updated xfmc and xchecklist config files - Fans were rotating in the wrong direction - The lights on the new winglets also illuminate the surroundings now - Big misplaced nav lights on winglets corrected - Artifitial horizon was showing wrong values - N E S W highlighted on the FMS - The little black line on the EFIS horizon is gone FMS changelog: - Corrected ability to override warning that a flight plan .fms file exists when selecting a filename to use when saving the current route. - Corrected coding that does not properly detect and reject waypoint misplacement if the waypoint is an NDB, and a VOR with the same NAVID is found before the plugin finds the correct NDB waypoint. - Corrected display of the FLT PLAN page when no waypoints have been loaded. - Added ability to read tail.txt files, placed in livery folders, allowing the RADIO 1 page to display the actual tail number for the aircraft depicted in the livery. The maximum number of characters that can currently be displayed is eight (8). (Default is ERJ-175).

On Approach - Embraer E175 by X-Crafts Coming soon is the latest aircraft from X-Crafts, the Embraer ERJ175. This is a follow up release to X-Crafts other EJet the 195 LR that was released in August 2014. Here we have a quick look at the aircraft that is still in a beta stage of development, and ask how long that will be is going to get the answer of "No idea" for reason's that are noted later, but X-Crafts have noted an early December release. Outwardly the aircraft looks a duplication of the current EJet 195LR, but that would be the easy way out. X-Crafts have however 95% remodeled the aircraft from the ground up, it is the same, but now far more certainly better. The one thing I really loved was the quality of the original E195, it was a really well created aircraft, but was let down by being a first release from X-Crafts and the issues of maturity were needed to bring the aircraft up into a more respectable condition that was done over the year in a series of updates. This E175 however comes with more experience and a completely more level higher standard and complete aircraft. This is a lovely sweet flying machine. Quality and detail just oozes out of the E175, superb detailing, it is an aircraft I just want to look at for realism. Although the E195's cockpit was beautifully created and again that detail is replicated again in the cockpit of the E175. But it is in the more complete functionality and fine tuning that makes the big difference, knobs have better tuning (altitude is three way) switches for lighting and start up are now all individual settings. Almost all areas from the displays, switchgear to the menus have all been fine tuned and improved. The main feature of the release is a built in complete Honeywell FMC by Steve Wilson. Note these images are still in beta only and anything can change, but this is an excellent FMC system, it looks excellent. The addition of the FMC has delayed the original release of the E175 as that was going out originally on a release around late Sept/Early Oct, still being in beta it may even delay the early Dec release point, but the wait will be well worth it, it will be sensational. Cabin detail is very good, if not excellent, small details like the food trolleys are beautifully crafted, sitting in the back is a nice place to be. Sounds are very good, and great in the cruise. External detail in undercarriage and wing, flap engine design is exemplary devotion to detailing. On the ground the E175 looks brilliant, has a real presence, lovely aircraft. Static elements, built in GPU and pushback, there will be set of JARDesign's "Groundhandling" vehicles available as well (plugin available here Ground Handling Deluxe) note, the "Groundhandling" plugin is not part of the E175 package. Checklist, is now in a cockpit wire manual form. Liveries, include a blank and seven airline colours in Alitalia (default) Delta, American Eagle, both White and dark blue US Airways, Flybe and Air Canada. Quality is outstanding and hard to pick the best... I love Delta... The AAEagle is good, Alitalia!.... to hard? The one thing that does stick in my mind more than anything else, is that this Embraer E175 from X-Crafts is such a nice aircraft to fly. Its design is as a regional aircraft and you can really enjoy multiple sectors and stops within a single day and really come to love the aircraft. At cruise it is excellent. I love it. It is coming soon, Embraer ERJ175. Developers: Marko Mamula _____________________________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 12th November 2015 Copyright©2015: X-PlaneReviews