Level D 767 How is it??

[j9viper]

your in the ballpark for sure......I flre king airs and learjets.....the older lears you cant firewall them either.....but they are less complex when it comes to the start. The king air was pretty easy. MOST turbine engines, if they survive the start are gonna run just fine.

on trips under 200 miles the king air and lear will arrive about the same time.....anything over that the lear will run circles around a king air. the king air's engine's aren't that touchy though. The PT6 is very reliable and easy to operate. I flew a B100 which is a king air 200 body with shorter wings and Garrett engines on it. The TPE331's were different to operate. unlike the P&W PT6, they were direct drive(the prop was connected directly to the shaft) so they were a lot more responsive and you could run them hotter for less fuel.

I havent found too mant planes that fly right.....I know that the limits of fs9 have a lot to do with it. every plane in my library has been heavily edited to make them fly right.

[angels355]

Thanks Viper, I sure appreciate the feedback. That's what I wish I could do, modify the AIR file so that if I find a problem I can make that plane "straighten up and fly right". I haven't reached that point yet. Do you use the Microsoft SDK to do that? I got one freeware 737 BBJ that was very pretty, however the AIR file was worse than innaccurate, it had the roll rate of a 737 but the inertia of an A380 (by the way did you know that the RW A380 has only been designed to be 1.5 times the minimum wing strength, while the 777 was designed to 1.54 times the minimum wing strength? --Note to self: do not barrel roll the A380!). I was going to swap AIR files (for my own personal use only) however just by chance I came across the author's updated AIR file which corrected the problem. There was one (freeware) B-1B Lancer by, I think I3D possibly, that had the worst possible AIR file, if I recall they even admitted that they didn't know anything about flight models. That thing would take off then stall and spin around in the air. For my own personal use what I did was take the aircraft.cfg and AIR files from a FS 98 and also from a FS 2000 B-1B and replaced the old files, making two planes that now flew well and looked good too. The FS 2000 original plane was faster, but it was surprising how similarly the 98 and 2000 planes flew. I fly so many planes and for long hours so that I figure I'm getting practice at flying something or other. Like that Fly! 35A that I liked so much, little did I know that I believe I was actually flying something more like a 757. After hearing your feedback, and then I read about the real world nasty stall characteristics of the Lear 35 where if you stall it it is possible for it to just flip on its' back, that was when I knew that flight model was not accurate for a Lear 35, perhaps for a 757, but not for a Lear 35. One engineer is coming out with a RW upgrade for the Lear 35/36 to among other things tame that nasty stall down.


The RW King Air is better than the Lear in many ways, much easier and pleasant to fly, much cheaper on fuel, half of the maintenance cost, only one pilot is required to fly it, and if you're a new pilot wanting to amass lots of hours in either a turboprop or jet (which is what matters to airlines, they only accept 750 to 1000 hours in piston aircaft, 750 to 1000 hours minimum has to be in either turboprops or jets), the King Air's low fuel consumption and slow cruise velocity can actually benefit you in building more hours. Instead of burning a ton of fuel to cross the country in the Lear in 4 hours, you can burn half the fuel in the King Air and it'll take 6 to 8 hours. In many ways it is a better plane, as long as you don't ruin the engines by improper procedure, my previous figure of $100,000 damage was actually in 1998 dollars and is for only one engine (the engines themselves cost $250,000 each in 1998 dollars). But ironically while the King Air is cheaper in every other way, the cheapest one I've seen is $1.2 million, whereas I have seen several Lear 35's for as low as $400,000. A jet mechanic said that was an incredibly low price, there must be something wrong with it, but it seems like it could be more likely to get a Lear than a King Air. I wonder if those Beech Starship aircraft in the bone yard might be really cheap. One guy bought one plus all the parts he could find. I would be less interested though in nostalgia and more interested in cheap.


The engineer I mentioned above actually likes the Lear 25 (straight pipe jet w/ zero bypass ratio), at the time it was in production it was much cheaper on fuel than the competition such as those four engine biz jets. And unlike many modern high bypass ratio fanjet Lears, specifically the Lear 35/36, the Lear 25 will rocket straight up to 41,000 feet in a very short amount of time and with ease. Modern Lears w/ high bypass ratio fanjet engines lose power starting at 30,000 feet. Lear 35 pilots sound beleaguered when trying to attain cruise altitude, on a good day they say they can barely reach 39,000 and it takes a very long time, on a hot day they just try for whatever they can get. At around 30 to 33,000 feet their rate of climb is very slow. That same engineer I've mentioned wants to correct this by cleaning up the aerodynamics (including the bad stall characteristics) with his aerodynamic mods so the plane can more easily reach 41,000 feet and cruise there, saving fuel, and performing like a Lear should.


Get this JBAI V2.1 Learjet 60 freeware plane (see attached screenshot), it is very pretty, and modify the AIR file, it needs more power. It's a nice looking plane, but I was barely able to get it to 42,000 feet, I think it should rocket to around 51,000 feet. It's supposed to be the "Corvette of business jets".


Best wishes

[Ragtopjohnny]

Unfortunatly, the price for the Queen of the Skys as PMDG calls it is way too much - Plus I miss the old 767 PIC title, and this is a way to get back into it again. Thanks for the suggestion though!

[Ragtopjohnny]

Well, that's just about what I'm asking. i'm considering getting into Airliner Flights, and would like to consider buying this bird. Before I do though, I need some real honest opinions. With the $39.95 price, how is it? Is it worth the money, or will it sit in the hangar only to be disappointed. I'd like input speciffically from Go-Flight users as well, any problems with their modules? Thanks! Looking to buy on Sunday...

[angels355]

Hello again,

Sorry to get side tracked. I think you will like the Level D 767, I don't own it myself so I can not personally recommend it from personal experience, however I've heard nothing but good things about it. Down below I have quotations from two buddies that responded to one of my blogs, where they mentioned their experiences with the Level D 767 on their own out of enthusiasm without my asking them about it. I think their comments are honest and were just spontaneous. They loved it. I think you have a few days before you make up your mind. So I'd like you to try something out first. Try out this freeware first: Meljet's 777-200LR, that plane is one of the most enjoyable planes I've come across to fly, fly it and you'll see why. Next visit Project Opensky's website or look for the many repaints they have on flightsim.com, there are also many awesome repaints of Meljet's 777-200LR that are works of art. POSKY's website is I think, www.projectopensky.com . They have many awesome planes and repaints there, including the 767 series, and most interestingly they have a couple of models of the 767 also, like the -300 and -400. The POSKY planes concentrate on their flight models and appearance of the aircraft itself the aircraft model, and they just issue the stock default panel from flight simulator. You might be able to find a better panel online with an FMC, and detailed cockpit, but I'm not sure. A working FMC is a very valuable thing to have and learn. Fly these freeware aircraft I've mentioned first, then tell me what you think of them, then make your decision. On the other hand I think you can learn a lot from a highly detailed cockpit such as what the Level D has.

I hope you're happy either way.

I'll try to attach photos of these aircraft. In Boeing livery is the 767-400 version 2004.9.9 by POSKY, if these other two photos attach ok, the next one is the Meljet 777-200LR featuring the "Holoholokai" Hawaiian Airlines repaint which is my favorite repaint and one of my favorite aircraft, the next one is the 747-400 version 2002.5.6C POSKY in Virgin Airlines livery, I think I've flown more hours in POSKY 747's than any other plane, I think they are my favorite by far. If I can get a 4th one attached, this last one in Cathay Pacific livery is the 747-467 POSKY version 2002.5.4C. All of these flights take place at Kansai International Osaka Japan, RJBB.

********

Here are those quotations from Level D fans:

Blueskya320


...And BTW the plane I fly in FS9 is the Level D 767, only had it a week but have completed 12 flights, it is AMAZING!!


....more from bluesky:

Just completed a flight from LAX-HNL, shortly I'll be off to SSY. Love that plane! If you think it looks great, you should see how she flies! All the systems and flight dynamics are spot on, according to real 767 pilots. Highly recommend it!

*****

Aviator999
I fly everything but yes I keep going back to the Level D. It really is the most enjoyable addon Ive ever bought and I have them all.

[Ragtopjohnny]

Well everyone, I went out and bought it, and it is truly incredible. I'm printing out the manual and going to be studying it and practicing the FMC - so far I am very impressed - I appreciate everyone's input on it greatly. Thanks again for helping me make the right choice in getting this bird to get back into flying the heavies. Look forward to fooling around with the FMC tonight to get to learn it. Thanks again! Also appreciate all your input too Angels! Thanks again!

[angels355]

I knew you would like it. Practice flying that plane, and flight simulator as if you were studying the violin, practice practice practice. It will greatly reward you.


How do you get to Carnegie Hall??? 747 of course!


Attached photo courtesy of Boeing.

[CanUk]

You've made a very good consumer decision! :D


Adam

[Ragtopjohnny]

Adam, Angels, thanks - I'm still printing out the manual, but at least I'll have some reading materials when I go on my lunch breaks and so on. Won't be able to practice the FMC set up, but at least I'll be able to shortly. Appreciate everyone's in put, and nice Boeing Pic too by the way Angels.....