Swiftus' Airplane Guide

[swiftus27]

Okay all, this is going to be a serious work in progress and I want your feedback before I put too much effort into this.  There is a lot of missing information and I will fill it in as games go along.  

2nd Generation Jets (1978-1990)
Large Short To Medium Range Narrow Bodies:

Airbus A320-100
Passenger load:  156
Fuel Economy:  2660kg/hr
Range:   1480nm
Turn Time:  Min 40min /1% 70min
Notes:  The first non-widebody that Airbus made.  It is slightly more fuel efficient versus the 737-400 but lacks the 734's 2500nm+ range.  A good turn time and long-life (the A320 is still a servicable series today) mean that you can rely on it for your regional flights.  There are very few routes that this plane can fly efficiently as 'red-eyes'. 

Boeing 737 (300-400)
Passenger load: 126 to 162
Fuel Economy: 2400kg/hr to 2920kg/hr
Range: 1730nm to 2530nm
Turn Time:  Min 40min /1% 70min
Notes:   A backbone of many fleets.  This plane is extremely versatile and has a decent range.  The only downside is that it does not carry a large passenger load.  This is a great aircraft for smaller markets but is not thoroughly effective at the larger airports like LHR and Hong Kong where you should be using larger planes to fill up demand with the few available slots.

Boeing 757-200
Passenger load:  186/15
Fuel Economy:  3470 to 3830kg/hr
Range:  1830nm to 3890nm
Turn Time:  Min 70min/1% 115min
Notes:  A great replacement for an aging 727 fleet.  The 757 carries more passengers than the smaller 737 and has the range for trans-Atlantic flights.  The downside of this aircraft is its longer-than-normal turn time.

McDonnell Douglas MD 81-88
Passenger load:  120 to 150
Fuel Economy:  3260kg/hr to 3500kg/hr
Range:   1560nm to 2550nm
Turn Time:  Min 40min /1% 70min
Notes:  The MD 80 series is winding down during this current generation.  The era of the DC9 has now passed.  It is not as fuel efficient as the 737 and does not carry as many passengers as the 737-400/500.  Only use this plane as an alternative if the build time for the 737 is too long.    

[DenisG]

Very well written. I like it. Only one suggestion: Perhaps you could include some hints about the fleet commonality, if a plane belongs to a type-series.
Denis

[Sami]

I believe MD-80 series is a very viable plane .. You can fit 172 HD Y seats in MD-82/-83 and it still gives you quite a long range (if you are looking for a "charter" variant). And especially when people usually tend to discard it and go 737 instead.

[Maarten Otto]

MD 80 is a good plane to start with on high density short range routes.

[swiftus27]

of course it is a GOOD plane.  I never denied that one.  I am just saying that the plane is now past its design age and is no longer as efficient as its Boeing and Airbus counterparts.

[0zlw]

If you were really looking at working hard on this maybe it might need to be structured in a more complicated way. Maybe those comments could be made at certain time periods. Something like:

Notes:
2000 - (Insert here)
1995 - (Insert here)

This would make it usable throughout all game worlds.

[swiftus27]

Im trying to do it by generation right now but may evolve into what you are talking about.

Next on tap is first generation long range: 707 vs DC8 vs TU114 vs ...
After that is 1st gen Wide long range wide-bodies: 747 vs L1011 vs DC10 vs IL86 vs ...