JohnInMontreal

Hi John , i´m really interested on that FTD that you have, i would like to contact with you, please let me know if its posible, because i can´t see your email, thanks Send a PM Gabriel. It's a company simulator that sits on the floor in a big room, that is used for initial cockpit checks training on the type course, and also to train mechanics, that those of us that fly infrequently have access to for practice (employees only). No motion or visuals as I said, but it's the same flight model and software as the moving one.

Looks great guys! I have access to the CRJ200 Flight Training Device at the Bombardier Training Centre and if I can get a beta copy I can install it on a laptop and run through a basic validation process to compare the x-plane 200 with the FTD. The FTD is a fixed version of the full motion sim with the same flight deck, software and system setup, just no motion or visuals. Let me know.

Most of the 850s are going to eastern Europe, especially Russians. They are popular there because the backlog on GLX is several years, the interior is almost identical and they are half the price. The down side is half the range and 10000 ft lower ceiling but is is not an issue 98% of the time. The 850 is a product that just sort of happened as the 200 production line was being shut down and someone decided it could make a go as a bizjet, so the line was kept going in a corner of the plant, and almost to everyone's surprise it's become a big hit. The fact that it is built to withstand 10 times the cycles it will see in corporate use is a big selling point. The current production rate is only about 1 every 5 weeks right now. The 850 designation only applies to new production since the regional line shut down. Any corporate conversions from airline CRJ production are called Challenger 800s. The 850 is heavier than a 200 due to the interior and all the insulation and the PATS long range fuel system (two tanks at the back of the cabin). With long range fuel (about 1800 kg) filled to the gills there's not much useful load left for pax, so you have trade between load and range. The flight deck is 200 except for features related to the STCs, mainly the controls for the aux fuel, a different cargo smoke det system, and control switches for the exec power system (elec outlets). Some also have an STC autothrottle system that will work the thrust right from takeoff roll to touchdown if you want. First flights and initial ferries are a blast because there is no interior, paint or insulation so they are extremely light (and noisy) and accelerate and climb like stink!

System wise the 700/900s are more automated, with things like bleed transfer and starting ignition done automatically, and FADEC. In flight they are mostly a more sluggish version of a 200, with a lot more intertia in pitch apparent and a slower roll rate. Pitch attitude on approach is higher because of the slats. Biggest one is the gear is very stiff because it is not a trailing link design and there's not a lot of internal piston volume. Much harder to get greaser landings. The real 200, especially at light weights, flies like a fighter. The 900 flies a bit like a heavy.

How do I purchase X-plane from Canada? The web site order page only accepts US shipping addresses!

Hi guys I watched the dark cockpit video. Stunning. Two trivial comments from what I can see so far: 1. When you turn on the battery master, you don't get the pilot's PFD/MFD, only the two EICAS displays and chimes as a stack of cautions/warnings are posted. The DC essential bus which powers the left PFD/MFD can only be powered by the battery while airborne, or on the ground if the ADG handle is pulled (you pull the handle even after the ADG auto deploys to make sure the left displays won't blank out when you land). The airplane is still totally quiet (no avionics cooling). After the APU is running and you turn the generator on, everything comes alive at once with a big whoosh and a low roar as the cooling fans and start up and all the displays start. It's a really cool moment. 2. This is really anal, but if you're going for 99.9% realism... when you operate the bleed switch lights for 10th and 14th, the isolation, LCV etc., the lights and status messages don't come on immediately, because the light is actual commanded position of the valve itself. So there should be a lag from the time the switch is pushed to when the light comes on when the valve has finished moving, about a second. I really hope this sim fixes two major flight model deficiencies with the RJ in FSX/Wilco: 1. The roll due to yaw characteristics in FSX is hopeless. In FSX a swept wing a/c behaves like a straight wing with a very mild roll if yawing. The RJ rolls quite nicely with very small amount of yaw and if you do nothing when an engine quits it will be on its back in seconds. The first time doing engine cuts in the sim were a real eye opener, coming from a small piston twin before it. This also makes it difficult to do crosswind landings realistically, which you do using small aircraft sideslip technique in the RJ and it takes a fair amount of aileron to get the sideslip going. If you capture the roll/yaw couple behavior accurately it would be fantastic. 2. The Wilco RJ has way too much pitch change with trust changes. There is barely perceptable pitch down with added thrust in approach config and a slightly stronger pitch up when you go to idle, but nothing like it is in Wilco. Also the pitch attitude on final is a couple degrees too high at Vref with Wilco. That's it for now. Cheers John

Hi Cameron I just stumbled on to this project and am pretty excited about being able to have a full function sim for this airplane for home use. I currently fly "CRJ200s" for Bombardier production flight ops on a part time basis, doing production flight test and ferry back and forth from completion centers (the "s are because the CRJ200 is out of production but is still being built as a business aircraft called the Challenger 850) and am typed on the 200, 700 and 900. Being part time I only fly every few weeks or so as in-fill, so right now, as goofy as it sounds, I use Wilco as a way to practice the regular routines like checklists, flows and profiles, and it works ok in spite of its deficiencies (better than nothing anyway and real sim visits are few and far between). This looks like a whole new level for sure! My full time job is hydromech tech support on the CRJ200 for the last 8 years and I know the airplane pretty intimately. If my background is of any use I'd be happy to help. Can't wait to give it a try! Regards John