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Best Looking Commercial Jets

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Just wondering which commercial jet add on you guys think is the best looking?

 

It's been years since I flew the CLS 747-200/300.  I installed it last night and did a flight.  I was blown away by the VC and exterior model for an FS9 add on.  The VC lighting is super.  So retro and nostalgic.  I think this is the best looking plane I have so far.  The PMDG MD-11 is also superb.

 

What's your pick?

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The Quality Wings Avro/BAE series is very well done. Exterior is very well modeled and the VC is superb.  The iFly 747-400 is also a very sharp looking bird, inside and out. 


Regards,

Joe Esposito

 

 

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Just wondering which commercial jet add on you guys think is the best looking?

 

  I installed it last night and did a flight. 

I recently did the same. Very good addon. Forgot that I'd bought all the livery expansions from JF too. In case you happen to fall in love with it, don't get any ideas about buying the new HD version. The texture upgrade is ok, but for some reason they've completely destroyed the flight dynamics, making it fly like a massive Extra 300 almost. Their response when I brought it up was "We're sorry you don't like it". Not even sure if the liveries for the old model work with the "HD" one. 

 

As for the best looking commercial jet add-on, I'll have to go with the NGX. I feel like I never shut up about it. It's remarkable in every regard. 

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I always thought that the Convair 880/990 aircraft were some of the best-looking aircraft built.

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The Quality Wings Avro/BAE series is very well done. Exterior is very well modeled and the VC is superb.  The iFly 747-400 is also a very sharp looking bird, inside and out. 

 

I'm waiting until my next PC upgrade to get the new iFly 744.  The rec. specs on that plane almost gave me a heart attack.  I agree, it's one beautiful add on.

 

 

I recently did the same. Very good addon. Forgot that I'd bought all the livery expansions from JF too. In case you happen to fall in love with it, don't get any ideas about buying the new HD version. The texture upgrade is ok, but for some reason they've completely destroyed the flight dynamics, making it fly like a massive Extra 300 almost. Their response when I brought it up was "We're sorry you don't like it". Not even sure if the liveries for the old model work with the "HD" one. 

 

As for the best looking commercial jet add-on, I'll have to go with the NGX. I feel like I never shut up about it. It's remarkable in every regard. 

 

Thanks for the heads up.  I was planning to get the HD version because it was only $15 for owners of previous version.

I also got one of the livery pack.  Really enjoying this add on.

 

 

I always thought that the Convair 880/990 aircraft were some of the best-looking aircraft built.

 

Any particular one you think is best?  Not sure how many developers made the Convair for FS9.  Will have to look into that.

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Historic Jetliners Group (HJG) has some freeware Convair 880/990 models available. Their external models and liveries are nice, but they don't do vc's for the most part. Sadly that's a deal-breaker for me these days. I know that many of folks that fly heavies alot prefer a 2d panel, if you're one of them then these are just what you're looking for.

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I'm partial to the Queen...she'll always have a soft spot for me!  :smile:


Devin Pollock
CYOW

BetaTeamB.png

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As a passenger I love the 747, it's fast, comfortable and feels solid (unless it's Qantas).

But I'm tickled by how fashions change.

When it was introduced, this converted freighter was bassooned as the JUMBO JET.

The elephantine connotation somehow was suppose to convince the flying public that Size does Matter!

 

Somewhere along the line the Marketing Men decided Huge was not Sexy any more, so they went and borrowed a Title!

Duchess? Nope, some whippersnapper had taken it   

Countess? Mmm no, connotations of money at the till perhaps.

Queen was in use in the cruise liner business, but that had the right kind of flavour to it - QUEEN OF THE SKIES then!

New coat of paint...  

 

This is On Topic isn't it?? :lol:

RFP 747 was pretty good - freeware too.

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For me, the best looking, both in FS9 and the real world, is the Boeing 727. The Dream Fleet (Flight1) 727 is still amazingly convincing, even though it's an older FS9 product. And what I always loved about it in the real world is that it looks pugnacious; tough yet still with an elegant shape. To me it always just looked right, not because it was pretty -- just because it was, well, right. And its' pilots loved it. I remember one 727 captain saying that it handled like a fighter. I believed him - it looks like it's ready to do a nice aileron roll and come out smiling! Hmm - I've never tried that.. Time to fire up FS9 and see!!! :P

Cheers

Ian

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I answered my own question and yes, the 727 can be rolled. But I don't recommend it! LOL It was supposed to be a nice easy aileron roll but turned out to be a big, sloppy barrel roll. At the top it was running out of steam and I doubted I was going to complete it. I finally bottomed out at 500 feet!

There's an old aviation saying - "there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are very few old, bold pilots." Well, I'm definitely old but that's about as bold as I will ever be! :rolleyes:

Cheers

Ian

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Flight simulator aircraft characteristics as not necessarily real-world aircraft characteristics ..... your results may vary ..... by 500 feet!

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Thanks for sharing your picks/experiences, guys. 

 

I see quite a few for the Queen.  I think it's her unique look and curves that makes her the most appealing Jumbo to so many people.  Nostalgic factor is a big one for me.

 

lol at Ian.  You are bold.  The only other man I know to have pulled that off on a commercial T-tail was Danzel Washington in "Flight" lol.

 

pfflyers, thanks for the heads up.  Unfortunately, like you, I'm not a fan of 2d panels.  I'm really itching to to fly a Fokker 70/100.  The only one out there is from Flight1 with no VC.  If I ever fly 2d, the Fokker would probably be my first.

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In my opinion the Comet,  the very first jet airliner, takes the title of the Best Looker.

 

She succeeded because, at the same time, she was sleek, purposeful, integrated and a vision of the future.

 

The French, always appreciating beauty, copied her.  

 

The crass, arrogant Americans introduced the ugly 707 - all pods and engines. It was cheaper to design and manufacture.

 

To add insult to injury the b..tards then put the hard word on their supposed friend and ally to close down the competition.   :mad:

 

It is instructive that the UK and France, together, gave us the Concord ... again a first ... sleek,  purposeful, integrated and a vision of the future.

 

This time copied by the Soviets.  :unsure:

 

The Americans gave us the butt ugly 747 ... and sought to camouflage that by coining the phrase "Queen of the Skies."

 

Commercially, of course, the Americans won.  I guess it just goes to show the majority are conformists and have no taste.  :huh:

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Appliance, you hit the nail.

However, we in the GDR learned that the Tu-104 was the first jet airliner that was really ready for service :P

Regarding the Tu-144: If it had been really a copy of the Concorde, it would have been successfully...


   Harald Geyer
   Gründer der Messerschmitt Freunde Dresden v. V.

lYI9iQV.jpg

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Harald - you got a laugh out of me with that last comment! :lol:

 

Appliance - I certainly agree the Comet was a beautiful airplane (aeroplane?) - in some ways like its contemporary - the Hawker Hunter. Graceful flowing lines - like a thoroughbred horse... I would put the VC10 into that category too. But I think you're a bit harsh on Boeing. The 707 had its genesis in the KC135 which, I believe, was in service before the Comet or at least around the same time. The 707 was a logical development of a design that had already proven itself as highly successful.

 

The Comet exemplifies the British approach toward aircraft design at that time - emphasizing style and aerodynamic efficiency while relegating practical engineering and operating efficiency to a lower level. Anyone who ever did maintenance on a typical British aircraft of that time would probably agree with me on that. US designers had a different history, emphasizing both performance and operability rather than aesthetics. An earlier example would be the beautiful British four engine propliner, the DH Albatross vs the DC-4. The reality is that where there is a clash between beauty and economic operability, the latter has to win in an industry that is profit driven... There would be no argument over which commercial jet was the best looking, if there was no viable airline industry. There would just be a few very lovely looking prototypes in an aviation museum...

Cheers mate ^_^

Ian

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