Innsbruck is one of the most beautiful and spectacular places on earth with an airport that can support a variety of airline equipment up to a small widebody such as the Boeing 767-300ER. I have traveled to LOWI for my entire “sim life” but sadly haven’t been able to see it in person yet.

To demonstrate this magnificent place, I chose horrendously gusty winds by manually editing the weather in both X-Plane 12 (XP12) and MSFS2020. I wanted to test terrain-induced dangers with modeled shear, downsloping, thermals, and maybe some rotor effects. 

The results were good and depicted simulated wind over steep peaks equally well. Both sims have enhanced their ability to handle wind flow over terrain and objects, such as buildings. Each will delight and tantalize you into taking risks you would not in real life. However, if you find yourself in a real-world situation that demands all your wind-battling skills, I am confident some, if not most of which you experience in either sim, will translate to useful skills. 

• READ MORE: Ultimate Realism ‘X-posed’ in 747-200 Classic

I started this exercise using the closest thing to a large bizjet I could find, which in MSFS 2020 is the Aerosoft CRJ 550 series with corporate livery. I enjoy this model and use it often, as I have seen these converted to private use in the real world.

I began and ended all my flights at LOWI to test terrain, feel out the winds aloft, as well as terrain-based wind flows and shear. 

The CRJ is interesting to fly with a lot of trimming required as it’s a long-bodied jet with a large swing either side of the CG. I have not flown one in real life, but I find flying pitch with stab trim almost entirely while hand flying. I mean, all jets I have flown are like that, but this is fairly sensitive to pitch, power, and flap configuration—all requiring lots of trimming. Taking off in violent winds was a task. The small aileron “tabs” were not doing a great job in crosswind ability.

Using live weather in my first view patterns was wild enough. On the downwind to the westerly runway at LOWI, I experienced a lot of up and down drafts, shear, varying winds, and sloppy controls. Even some unstable virga bursts were in the valley, corresponding to the actual METAR at the time. 

Snow cover is supposed to be realistically placed, and if it was, the coverage seemed quite believable. Snow still was deep in most elevated regions and spotty in the valley floor by the airport. Also visible was green grass and flowering trees. 

For the final approach, I calculated V_REF of about 128 was fought with much shear, with airspeed variances of up to 20 to 30 knots, providing a wild ride. In the CRJ you can not hear any engines from the cockpit, making for an odd audio sensation. You must look at your power settings only. This makes it easy to get behind the “power curve,” and often I found myself overcorrecting or undercorrecting on speed control. 

I imagine this is how a real CRJ pilot must feel. To me, engine sounds are extremely useful and one of the senses you can not operate without. I imagine MD80-style pilots are used to the same sensation.

I love comparing sims, so I loaded up manual weather in XP12 to mimic the same windy conditions, as live weather in the sim works well. 

I wanted unlimited visibility and no rain. Live weather in XP12 has a defect where it rains all the time, regardless of actual METAR. With a lighter corporate jet, that is powerful. As is often the case with swept-wing jets, sometimes extra drag is required beyond gear and flaps. In this case, I ran the speedbrakes often on final, as gusting winds often increase speed and put you high on the glideslope. 

It definitely was a jarring trip and was often violent with bank angles going beyond 40 degrees. Landing was wild, leading to the aircraft’s big wings striking the ground at times in the crosswinds approaching 35 knots. Its powerful reversers worked great, and slowing down was not an issue. The same monster engines worked great on climbout also, blasting through the shear layers.

Lastly, I tried the heaviest aircraft I could use at LOWI that I had in my library: the 737-700 BBJ models from PMDG and LevelUP for XP12.

Using 130,000 pounds as my test weight, I kept the same weather parameters going, with equally set manual weather in both sims, featuring the same winds. Hand flying the circuit, I blasted through the shear with ease, but the big wings made it even more noticeable in rolling motions and aileron slop.

I have noticed when flying big jets in my sims, the longer wings and winglets of newer airliners tend to “right the jet” quickly as it creates a stable platform in roll. However, it often results in necessary “tugging” or more force to start or end a bank. Older jets without winglets or shorter wingspans are much faster in roll and lack some stability in bank.

• READ MORE: A Better Virtual Flight Deck

I only have my real-world corporate jet experience to draw upon, but I do believe this is true. I have flown “wingleted” Challenger 300s and non-wingleted Falcon 2000s, Hawkers, and Beechjets. Of those, I found the Challenger 300 has a more stable roll and is more sluggish as well in that axis. When I flew Beechjets, with short stubby wings and no winglets, I realized it would simply roll off into oblivion if pushed more than 30 degrees over. There was no inherent stability. 

Some circuits were done taking off downwind. I could actually feel the requirement to push forward on the yoke, keep the stab down, and “dive away from the wind.” That technique works here as well. By neutralizing the yoke, I lost the ability to steer and attack whatever crosswind component was evident. Pushing too far down made steering overly sensitive, but pulling toward takeoff made steering impossible. It was a battle and balance that is realistically conveyed in both sims. 

Initiating the PMDG 737-700 BBJ was equally satisfying in XP12, with more fantastic weather modeling. The “violence” was real, and two landing attempts were met with sudden go-arounds as crosswinds, sudden sink rates, and warnings were severe. 

After a 50-degree sudden roll over at 500 feet, I was done and practiced wild go-arounds. This was in XP12. In both sims, if your sound settings are accurate, you can really hear the gusts on the windscreen on final as power is relatively low. This is something that is present in the real jet I fly.

Once again, I must tout the amazing XP-Realistic Pro, available at www.x-plane.org, for XP12, or the FS-Realistic Pro for MSFS2020. Both enhance and add necessary sound and visual effects for each sim.

Unexpected rolling motion hit me in XP12—and I loved it. Downwind washing wind flow is the reason I suspect, but I can imagine how nauseating this would be in real life. As a captain of jets for many years, I am OK while up front, but as soon as you make me a passenger, all bets are off for my stomach.

Even in the default XP12 scenery you do get the feeling of new worldly locations, with the local-style architecture and buildings changing. The European look is quite evident in Austria, creating an immersive experience, although not quite as dramatic as in MSFS2020.

Doing multiple takeoffs and landings to and from such a beautiful place is fun and satisfying to watch on the replay mode of XP12. I hope Asobo Studio will include replay into future versions of MSFS2020. You can learn a lot from sims, and being able to watch every aspect of it over and over during challenging situations is a great tool. 

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Embraer delivered 75 aircraft during the fourth quarter of 2023, including 49 executive jets, 25 commercial jets, and one C-390 military jet. For the full year, the company’s deliveries totaled 181 aircraft, an increase of 13 percent from 160 in 2022.

• READ MORE: Embraer Deliveries Up 30 Percent in Third Quarter

The Executive Aviation unit ended the year with a total of 74 light jets delivered, marking a 12 percent increase over 2022 and the highest volume in seven years. Deliveries of medium jets rose 14 percent to 41 aircraft. The backlog grew by $400 million to $4.3 billion.

Embraer’s Defense & Security unit won a deal to supply its C-390 Millennium military transport jets to South Korea, making that country the first C-390 customer in Asia. Last year Austria and the Czech Republic also selected the C-390 in 2023, as did the Netherlands in 2022.

• READ MORE: South Korea to Buy Embraer C-390 for Military Transport

The Commercial Aviation unit reported a 12 percent increase in deliveries of E-Jet aircraft to 64. Within the E-Jet family, deliveries of the E2 models more than doubled to 39 aircraft in 2023. The backlog rose to 298 aircraft, or a total of $8.8 billion. Highlights for the year included the Canadian carrier Porter Airlines placing an order for 25 E195-E2 passenger jets, adding to previous existing firm orders for 50 aircraft.

Embraer’s Services & Support business backlog grew to $3.1 billion in 2023, its highest-ever level. The company said growth momentum benefited from its earlier announcement of a deal that has doubled its maintenance service capacity for executive jets in the U.S. The expansion includes the addition of three executive aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities at Dallas Love Field, Texas (KDAL); Cleveland, Ohio (KCLE); and Sanford, Florida (KSFB).

The post Embraer Says Deliveries, Backlog Rose in 2023 but Supply Chain Woes Slowed Results Overall appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

While the company’s design philosophy driving towards higher levels of safety isn’t unique, its approach is. Crashworthiness is key—particularly in the containment of fuel in order to mitigate fire conflagration following an accident that breaches tank-carrying parts of the airframe. Isolation of the tank between spars and thoughtful placement of fuel lines have thus far resulted in an excellent post-accident safety record with a low fire risk. Perhaps introducing fuel to a gliding airframe that had none of it before made early engineers particularly conscious of its objective hazards.

Also, the aircraft across the model range tend to be excellent gliders—not a surprise, given the company’s heritage. While the DA20s and DA40s use washout to capture low-speed performance, the light twins use winglets. Comparatively speaking, the DA50 RG’s are rather short and sweet—and VGs ahead of the aileron on the leading edge of the outboard wing section keep airflow attached over the control surface throughout the stall. Roll response during the stall condition proved this out.

READ MORE: We Fly: Diamond DA50 RG, the High Performance Retract that Shines

All-composite construction lends a lightness of being, and this too began with the H36/ HK36/DA20s and finds a high level of expression in the DA50 RG with its complex curves and bubblicious cabin. We took a tour through the factory, and it all begins in the Diamond Aircraft Industries Composite facility. Most of the DA50 RG is formed from wet lay-up prepreg carbon fiber material with a small percentage from dry vacuum process for parts that need to be transparent. The production lines in Wiener Neustadt put DA50 RGs combined in the same line with DA42s and DA62, withthe DA40 traveling alongside in a separate line. More production takes place in London, Ontario, at DAI Canada, of the DA42, DA62, and DA40.

WATCH: We Fly the Diamond DA50 RG

At present, all DA20s are built in China—the model has held Chinese type certification since 2004—under license from DAI’s parent company, Wafeng Aviation Industry Co., Ltd. to Wuhu Diamond, Ltd.. Co-founder Christian Dries sold DAI (including DAI Austria, DAI Canada, and Austro Engines GmbH) in late 2017 upon his impending retirement, with no relatives ready to take the helm. But he maintains his connection with the company—as he came in for lunch at the attached Katana Kafe during our late April visit, a regular sight.

The post The Diamond Aircraft Story Continues to Evolve appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

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“Vienna is the ideal location for CAE’s new business aviation training center in central Europe,” said Nick Leontidis, CAE’s group president, civil aviation. “This new center will be a game-changer for business aviation training in the region, offering programs on the region’s most sought-after aircraft platforms in an immersive learning environment. CAE Vienna is another example of the significant investments we are making to bring business aviation training closer to where our customers operate their aircraft.”

In addition to the Global 7500 and Global 6000 full flight simulators, four other FFSs will be installed, their types yet to be determined. The 8,000-square-foot center will have the ability to flex up to accommodate nine FFSs total in the space.

The center is planned to open in the second half of 2024.

Other expansion plans were completed in 2022, with CAE Singapore launched in November with a Gulfstream G650 FFS. And in April, CAE opened its first center on the West Coast of the U.S.  in Las Vegas. Others set to open in 2023 include Lake Nona, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia.

The training and simulation company joins others in the industry in sharing its plan to reach net-zero emissions and sustainable aviation goals. Read CAE’s FY22 Annual Activity and Corporate Social Responsibility Report here.

The post CAE Expands Training Center Network to Austria appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Germany-based Evia Aero has signed a letter of intent to purchase 25 all-electric Alice aircraft to serve as its primary aircraft for travel within Germany, Belgium, Austria, and the Netherlands, Eviation announced.

The Eviation Alice is a clean-sheet design made possible by magniX’s electric propulsion system.

• READ MORE: Eviation’s ‘Alice’ Electric Demonstrator Flies for the First Time

“The creation of an all-electric European commuter fleet of Alice aircraft will advance an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable future of flight,” Gregory Davis, president and CEO of Eviation, said.  “Evia Aero further showcases the commitment of German-based companies to revolutionize air travel. Together we can enable a future where electric air travel is the standard for the next generation.”

According to Eviation, the nine-passenger all-electric Alice produces zero carbon emissions and costs a fraction to operate per flight hour as compared to turboprops or light jets.

Alice made its first flight on September 27, 2022, at Moses Lake, Grant County International Airport (KMWH). FLYING was there to witness the event. As the aircraft lifted off into the peach-colored morning sky there were cheers and applause from those present. It was a momentous event—Alice had been several years in the making, and is the first-of-its-kind of aircraft.

• READ MORE: Eviation Makes Aviation History at Moses Lake

Eviation officials were quick to note that the aircraft is a proof-of-concept design, and the data culled from the first test flight is being used to refine the product. Alice is designed to serve as either a commuter or cargo aircraft with flights ranging up to 250 nm.

Eviation is based in Arlington, Washington, north of Seattle. The Evia Aero deal marks its first steps into the European market.

“As an early adopter of all-electric air travel and sustainable technologies, Evia Aero shares Eviation’s dedication to social responsibility,” Loïc Questiaux, sales director at Eviation, said in a statement. “Eviation’s Alice promises to transform commuting by air, across Europe. Not only green and clean, but elegantly designed, and providing a smoother, quieter in-flight experience, the Alice will offer Evia Aero passengers a new way to fly.”

In Europe, Evia Aero is a new entrant into the regional aircraft market. The company is focused on developing an electric aviation ecosystem which includes electricity generation as well as flight operations. According to a statement from Evia Aero, the company will generate electricity regionally through photovoltaic power plants, “supporting the energy framework intended to make the widespread deployment of electric aircraft a reality. The business model is designed to significantly improve the carbon footprint of airport infrastructure, and re-energize less frequented routes, by enabling air travel that is scalable, sustainable and economically viable.”

“Together with Eviation, a pioneer of electric flight, we will introduce a fleet of zero-emission aircraft that will transform the way we experience regional travel in Europe,” Florian Kruse, founder and CEO of Evia Aero, said in a statement. “We are deeply committed to holistically transforming the aviation industry by implementing a complete cycle of local energy generation, storage, and flight operations.”

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