Three flights

[Chairman]

I've just done the same flight three times in three different planes for comparison. It's a very simple flight, Auckland to Sydney via N774 with a moderately complicated approach into Sydney just for a laugh. For what it's worth, here's my observations.

Level D 767 - smoothish. Built the flight plan in FSBuild, spent 10 mins getting the plane from cold 'n' dark onto the runway including loading up the FMC, pushed the throttles forward, kick in the autothrottle system, lift off, a few hundred feet up turn the plane over to the computers then sit back to watch. Arrival was a bit interesting, the LD767 (fs9) has issues with VNAV descents - it hits the first altitude restriction ok but after that it needs careful monitoring and some slapping of the autopilot to get it onto the glideslope, from where it made an exemplary autolanding.

PMDG 747 - smooth, eventually ... Started off the same as the LD763 except that it took 15 mins to get onto the runway, same takeoff pattern, set "pause at top of descent" because experience tells me I'll have fallen asleep by then ... Yikes, suddenly it's porpoising all over the sky ! Tried again, same result. Google. Web. Google more. Turn off activesky and try again. That's more like it - by the numbers up up and away, and perfectly followed the teardrop descent into Sydney. In fact from the time I turned the autopilot on I didn't touch anything until turning off the runway in Sydney. And yes I fell asleep.

Dreamfleet 727 - well, what can I say ... No FMC, no GPS, instead a couple of days to install and learn how to use the CIVA INS. Want to know how much throttle to use for takeoff ? Look it up in the manual - and then set a bug on the EPR meter, and then adjust the throttles by hand to get it. Want to know best climb rate ? Look it up ... then set the power by hand - the hand that you're not flying with, the autopilot in this has altitude/pitch and heading hold and that's about it. Want to know the best cruise level ? Look it up ... Getting bored watching the numbers on the INS tick down ? Don't forget those regular checks that we're still at the right speed, that the fuel calculations aren't too far from reality, that we haven't burned off enough fuel to need to step climb ... Want to know when to start the descent ? Here's a calculator ... so I'm currently approaching MAYOP on the way to the beach, somewhere between there and SHARK I have to start descending (better check the power settings for that ... and the flap speeds ... and the current gross weight ...) Asleep ? Bwahahaha - way too busy for that ! And assuming I don't munge the descent too badly I get to hand fly the teardrop descending approach onto the glideslope. Oh goody ...

Guess which one has been the most enjoyable ? And which plane I really really really recommend, even if it does have a learning curve from hell ?

Gotta go, TOD is upon me ...

Gary

[Daniel]

Um, could it be the Dreamfleet 727 - you probably had the most action in it.
Interesting report. Thanks for posting

[Charl]

Good post, enjoy your nice steam-gauge aeroplane...
[color=#000000]All or nothing, Wright Flyer [/color]for me:
DME - How big is Orville, relative to that tree he's under?
ILS - Does Orville's head stick out above the horizon?
Touchdown speed - engine off and pray, Bang!
Walked away from another one...

[Chairman]

Ive posted some screenshots here

Gary

[Naki]

Thanks for the interesting post (and the screenshots in your other post) Not that I am a tube flyer myself (not yet anyway) - it does give some insight on what are probably the best airliners available for FS9.

[Chairman]

Thanks Naki.

For my money it comes down to a tossup between the 767 and the 727.

The 767 is lovely to hand fly and a computer that will get it from A to B with no intervention apart from having to change vertical speed modes on the descent, but that's no hardship, and it has a copilot who will look after the gear and fight you over flap settings ... The only thing is, it's a bit, well, boring.

The 747 is like the 767 only bigger, and with more reliable VNAV, but no copilot so I have to work my own gear and put my own flaps out when it tells me to.

The 727 is FUN! It's hard work, there's no denying it, and as a first airliner it would be quite a shock to the system. But it's very very rewarding. At the conclusion of the sydney hop my desk was littered with the fsbuild navlog (which was covered in notes), the 727 performance tables, the INS manual, pens, pencils, 2 calculators, and two approach plates - and I had to look at almost all of it at once on the approach AND hand fly a plane with no autothrottle around a dms arc approach ! I can't believe how hard it was, but I also can't get over how much fun it was, and I'm looking forward to the practise that will be needed to nail the landings.

Gary