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What is it about older jets that capture the fascination and interest of many? Perhaps it's the rugged flight characteristics of the jet, or perhaps it's the classy sleek look. Whatever it is the Learjet 24, 25, and 28 really adds that classy jet feel to your simulator. So with that I introduce the Xtreme Prototypes 20 series Business Jet!
The downloadable file for the 20 series is 133 MB in size. This aircraft comes with the standard manual in French and English. Under the start menu you will also find a Checklist and Reference info PDF which in essence is good because it gives you an idea of the aircraft's performance and specs along with the procedures before you fly it. As for the manual I must give a round of applause for the developer as it illustrates the aircraft in a very simple form giving info in great detail with pictures. The manual goes the extra mile by including performance charts and detailed normal/abnormal procedures and checklist for all phases of flight and much, much more. The aircraft could go with some more animation in the cabin such as window shades perhaps?
Instalation was very simple with an .exe file that requires you to put in your registration code. Installation went on without a hitch. After installing the aircraft you can find all of the documents under the start menu. The folder is titled "Xtreme Prototypes 20 Series for Flight Simulator X".
Let us start where all flights do: the exterior. The exterior of the aircraft is very detailed especially the default textures which around the flight deck windows and fuselage gives you the extreme appearance of rivets. The aircraft comes with six different paints (two for each model). The textures are very clear and detailed, for instance you can clearly see the pilots rank on the shoulder boards. One thing uncommon to many of the payware aircraft is the pilots are not animated in anyway shape or form. This aircraft although basic compared to the modern day Lear 45 captures all aspects of the exterior in great detail, including the gear which has hydraulic lines for the brakes which can be seen in great detail. Small features such as seeing the window shades resting on the bottom of the passenger window panes. The engines have rotating blades and compressor blades which can be seen in the back of the engine. The aircraft features special camera positions both inside and on the exterior all of which give a very interesting perspective to the aircraft. Xtreme Prototypes also included aircraft self shadowing which is a new neat feature in FSX that allows aircraft that are programmed for it to display shadows on themselves. There is not much to the aircraft but I applauded Xtreme prototypes for the immaculate level of detail especially in the exterior texturing.
One important thing to note about this aircraft is the fact that the early Learjets did not have reverse thrusters so short landings must be made the old fashion way with brakes, spoilers, flap operations, and skill.
The cabin of the early Learjets where simple at best with the only perk being air conditioning. The cabin features absolutely no animation other than the door (in which the handle does not move) however the cabin is very detailed with each individual seat cushion detailed. Cabin lighting however is something that is lacking. Although I am sure that early delivery models did not feature this I am sure that at some point soon after the first delivery cabin lighting was standard. The only cabin lighting you get is that from the cockpit floods when on. The cabin on all models are very similar with the exception of the number of seats and position of the seat nearest the door. I must applaud the fact that Xtreme Prototypes has included a visible window pane of every window. They all fit correctly and have a smooth look. As you know with many add-ons passenger windows are often overlooked or formed incorrectly with large holes in them. With that I would like to ask Xtreme Prototypes to update their cabin or perhaps add some basic animation. But given the fact that VC's are often limited to the cockpit I must say that I like the fact that this aircraft includes a cabin.
By far the most detailed part of the aircraft is the flight deck. Many of us may notice that there has been a real issue concerning cockpit lighting in FSX. Well I am very happy to say that this aircraft features two cockpit lights. One being the cockpit flood or dome light the other being the instrument lights. At night the flight deck really comes alive with individual gauge backlighting. This gives a true feel of being in the flight deck. There are over 200 systems/gauges simulated in this aircraft. One very nice thing I noticed is all the gauges move with great fluidity. They are smooth such as the engine RPM gauges and fuel flow. This next feature may be considered a limitation or a benefit. Some of the knobs and switches can only be moved by scrolling the mouse wheel over the knob or switch. This allows for a very realistic feel when setting your course or powering the aircraft up.
I do like this unique feature because it allows you to control the certain aspects of the flight such as the course and heading to the exact degree wanted rather than skipping over it by holding the mouse down. For those of us who prefer the side stick due to its increased visibility in the flight deck may find joy in this unique feature. By clicking on opposite yokes you make the yoke on the other side disappear. This increases visibility which is a needed tool when setting your heading or course without having to move your eye point.
Something that needs improving is the GPS located on the captain's side. This is the default GPS screen with added buttons and knobs which does make it look a bit more authentic. I would like to see the Garmin display when starting up rather than an immediate GPS screen. Again some of the knobs are only moveable with the mouse scroll wheel. The autopilot does not feature an auto throttle so this will require some hand flying when setting up the cruise.
You can however fly an ILS which proves very useful in cases of diminished visibility. You may notice that the yoke has a push to talk microphone button and a trim tab button for both the elevators and ailerons however these are non functional. You will notice in the older aircraft that the radios are far more basic and are located on the main panel. You have a basic Comm 1 and 2, Nav 1 and 2. Unlike modern day aircraft the Learjets are known for their simplicity of operation. This is why they have a very basic cockpit layout. With the main panel containing all of the necessary and extra flight gauges and the middle column containing the throttle and some basic trim tab indications. In my opinion this is a great rendition if not the best of an old analog cockpit. Between the lighting and the smooth flow of the gauges I must say that Xtreme Prototypes did a fantastic job on this.
Note that there is no 2D panel included with either the download nor CD version of this aircraft however you can take a survey on the Xtreme Prototypes web site with one of the questions being "should we include 2D panels in our products? Here is the link; it is under the customer service tab.
I'll start off by saying I've never flown a jet. The closest I came was flying a Piaggio Avanti full motion simulator at "Flight Safety". My flight instructor however has flown all types of small jets and another one of my friends is currently a captain at United Airlines and flies nothing but the 777. They've told me how a jet compares to prop aircraft such as the heavy feeling. They also say that when you bring the throttle back on all jet aircraft the plane drops. So with that let me tell you about the flight characteristics of the Lear 24, 25, and 28. Xtreme Prototypes did a great job on the dynamics of the aircraft. For one this aircraft although small matches all the characteristics mentioned to me by my friends. You do get a somewhat heavy feel for this aircraft. I say somewhat because this aircraft only weighs roughly 7649 lbs. With CJ-610 single spool turbojet engines each rated at 2,950 lbs of thrust at sea level this aircraft performs remarkably well. Learjets are known for their performance which I must say is impressive however at about 370 knots indicated at 25,000 feet the aircraft pitches up uncontrollable; the only option is to slow down as trimming down does nothing other than overstress the aircraft (at the speed you are overspeeding the aircraft but during normal flight you will not experience this at normal operatonal speeds).
You can roll the aircraft and do flips but anything else will lead to a breach in the critical angle of attack and cause a stall as stalling a jet requires a bit more altitude than light aircraft. The aircraft is very stable however. The airplane becomes quite hard to land as again this is a jet and has much different charecterstics than piston aircraft. With such a simple engine the spool up time is pretty fast (for one of the first jet engine designs) with approximately eight seconds from absolute idle to max thrust. Short field landings will require some skill as this jet does not feature reverse thrusters. The Learjet 24, 25, and 28 all feature flaps, brakes, and airbrakes. You will notice that this aircraft does stop relatively fast (using normal landing procedures) using only brakes and airbrakes.
The purpose of a jet is to fly faster and to fly over the weather. This remarkable aircraft has a service ceiling (that being the maximum altitude in which under standard conditions an aircraft could not climb above a certain rate such as 100 feet per minute) of 51,000 feet making this able to climb over any weather.
As for the effects section I could not really find too many affects other than the engine fire and smoke, and the wonderful instrument lighting.
Other than the exterior model and the cabin layout there are no differences. All three models have the same flight deck, they all handle the same, and they all are capable of achieving the same altitude and speed. The three models came one after another basically increasing passenger load as the market shifted away from transitional jets (i.e. making an easy aircraft for those transferring from piston to jet powered aircraft) more towards a market for executive as the concern was time and weather.
For those of us who wonder how the basic jet feels I would recommend this aircraft. In my opinion this is a basic aircraft and what I mean by that is the original Learjets like all new things don't have all the bells and whistles that the modern day executive jets have. But other than that reason for such a small jet I really do think that Xtreme Prototypes has done a great job in their level of detail on the exterior and interior, and the flight dynamics of the aircraft. I do have a few issues with some minor bugs such as a little tiny opening in the cabin but other than that this truly is a good aircraft. And this is another dimension of aircraft to add to your hangar...the classic Learjet.
Windows Vista 32 bit
3.00 GB RAM
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5200+ 2.60 GHz
Geforce GTS 250 Graphics card
Microsoft Flight Simulator X SP1, SP2, Acceleration
I am currently 18 years old. I am a C/AM in the Civil Air Patrol. I am nearing the end of my PPL training and going all the way through ATP. I will be applying to Embry-Riddle University/Air Force Academy and if accepted will continue with my aeronautics and engineering degree. I also hope to visit the moon. I do plan to apply for the astronaut candidacy program after I graduate and start my aerospace career.
William Werrlein
Concorde614@yahoo.com
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