Been working my way down the coast in small hops. Portland. Medford. Reno. Headed to the SFO and LAX areas looking for the last few MD-82 parts…
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When you fly a whole section and realize you didn’t turn Air Hauler tracking on prior to taxi…
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It’s called “training”.
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Had a busy day - felt like an actual regional airline pilot. The goal was to track down three more MD-82 parts…and mission accomplished!
How many legs did it take?
PDX - MFR
MFR - RNO
RNO - SMF
SMF - OAK (Purchaed MD-82 Undercarriage at OAK)
OAK - SFO
SFO - SJC
SJC - MRY (Purchased MD-82 Fuselage at MRY)
MRY - VNY
VNY - LAX (Never going to LAX again…it has Air Hauler boundary recognition issues with nearby heliports)
LAX - LGB
LGB - SAN (Purchased MD-82 Tail Section at SAN)
11 segments today…(it was a rainy day here)…
That’s it…! All MD-82 parts are on their way to Pullman…! ETA about 3 days then the build time.
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…and that really is it… Destiny is on the way back to Pullman, and so am I. Time to go have some fun in the Idaho back-country…no real reason to chase money now that the MD-82 is being constructed.
…and…the great Embraer 135 commodity scavenger hunt for MD-82 parts was very, very profitable…
Took advantage of my nice cash balance to settle up some debts. My initial loan after reaching 40 REP was instrumental in getting the Cessna 207, which really led to everything else. That 1,700 lb. load capacity was crucial in making some money while earning REP. This loan also financed the opening of Pullman and the MAX Factory. I highly recommend building an aircraft factory…it saves you tons of money while also incentivizing you to get out there and find parts. Granted, the parts are at big airports that aren’t as much fun to visit, but it does add a new dimension to the game.
I also bought the lease out for the Cessna 207 - I’m giving it to Destiny since she has been instrumental in getting us to where we are. Hard to believe she hasn’t had a single scratch on any of the planes she’s flown.
Big day once again at the MAX Factory in Pullman! The default MD-82 aircraft build is complete!!
The largest and most expensive aircraft the MAX Factory has completed to date…
The stock MD-82 is one of the nicest of the default planes - somewhat complex it has enough buttons and switches on the overhead to make you feel like you are flying something fairly complex, although if you really wanted to dive in to the Mad Dog you would probably want to pick up the Rotate MD-80. But this will do for now…
Cost breakdown on the parts, shipping, and assembly are as follows. Shipping costs are variable based on distance from your base/factory and the weight of the product. My parts quest ran from Comox, B.C. all the way down to the final part in San Diego, CA.
- Cockpit
$436,666 — $13,958 - Fuselage $2,183,328 — $125,376
- Tail Section $1,309,997 — $98,363
- Port Wing $1,659,329 — $53,037
- Starboard Wing $1,659,329 — $53,037
- Undercarriage $436,666 — $22,887
- Engine #1 $523,999 — $10,387
- Engine #2 $523,999 — $13,335
Total parts: $8,733,313
Total shipping: $390,380
Construction cost: $448,500
TOTAL COST: $9,572,193
Cost to purchase an MD-82 outright on the new market is $26,176,132…so we basically paid 1/3 of the cost of a new MD-82.
Range appears to be around 2,000 miles and a 100% fuel payload cargo capability of 32,348 lbs.
This MD-82 is based off the original X-Plane default MD-82 with some tweaks added. The first is a major overhaul of the MD-82 characteristics and dynamics by MGouge which made the following changes to the stock MD-82:
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The engine exhaust has been moved 5 ft. aft to the correct location for each engine.
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The default CG has been moved -12.0 inches forward, and 12.0 inches up , to more closely match the actual aircraft CG location, in the X-Plane default payload configuration. This greatly improves the aircrafts pitch stability, and reduces the effects of power changes on pitch.
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The wing fuel tanks have been moved slightly forward, and the center tank has been moved slightly aft, to more closely match the actual aircraft specifications.
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The geometry of the wing and horizontal stabilizer have been modified slightly , to more closely match the actual aircraft.
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The geometry of the engine pylons has been modified to more closely match the actual aircraft. This greatly reduces adverse lift and drag from the pylons.
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The engine thrust angle has been reduced from +3.0 degrees to -1.0 degree , to more closely match the actual aircraft. While the engine nacelles and pylons on this aircraft are pitched up 3.0 degrees to reduce drag, the engine nozzles and the engine thrust are not. This reduces the effects of power changes on the aircrafts pitch angle.
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The engines have been flat-rated to 1,600 ft., and 100% N1 has been increased to 8,200 RPM, to match the actual aircraft engine specifications.
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The pitch coefficient of the flaps has been modified to reduce the effects of the flaps on the aircrafts pitch.
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The maximum up elevator deflection has been decreased from 27 to 25 degrees to reduce the elevator sensitivity and prevent over controlling.
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The main landing gear has been modified slightly to improve the static ground pitch and to make the wheels maintain better contact with the runway.
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The horizontal stabilizer incidence angle has been changed from 0 to +1.0 degrees, and the horizontal stabilizer trim range has been changed to -4 to +12 degrees. This change allows the cockpit trim gauge to now correctly indicate the actual horizontal stabilizer incidence angle.
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The engine reverser deployment time has been reduced from 2 seconds to 1 second , to more closely match the actual aircraft.
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The autopilot type has been changed from Custom to Airliner.
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The default takeoff trim has been changed to 5 degrees UP, which is the correct setting for the default aircraft weight and CG, and also matches the green takeoff trim indicator. This indicator, and the recommended takeoff trim setting, changes with the aircraft CG and weight.
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The landing gear warning alarm has been modified to occur with a flap setting of 28 degrees or more, instead of 15 degrees, to match the actual aircraft specifications.
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The landing gear tire friction has been increased to improve taxi speed control, and to insure that the aircraft will slow down and come to a full stop under idle engine power.
Further expanding on those changes, The Kalyn bundled the above changes into a further mod, making the plane a “Super 80” - so his mod includes the MGouge mods + these enhancements:
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I further enhanced the flight model with fine(ish) tuned ground handling (slightly reduced the nose wheel steering angle to make it a bit less skiddish), as well as tuning the control response and autopilot for smoother more lifelike behavior. No more super snappy (for an airliner) responses!
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No more autopilot hunting for the heading!
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I improved the engine logic, including the bypass ratio (now the correct 1.7 instead of default 1.0 which is what the engines in the dc-9 used), compressor spool, and especially fuel burn (burns a lot more now) to more accurately replicate the real JT8D-217 engines. The fuel load values provided by Simbrief finally make sense! (I’m often given a 19,000lb fuel loadout for a 1hr flight, that’s 3+ hours of cruise in the default, now closer to 2 hrs in my mod).
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Another area of improvement was APU logic, now has a 3 second wait for “doors” as well as a slower more lifelike spool up. there’s also a cool down wait before spool down just like a real airliner.
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All in all it flies much more smoothly in all axes (default responds with more snap in the roll than any of the Warriors or Skyhawks I’ve flown IRL, this mod has a more sluggish response, as is expected of this type of plane), and much closer to what a real airliner flies like.
So the above two mods make the MD-82 feel a bit more realistic (apparently - I’ve never flown an MD-80…so take the improvements with a grain of salt).
My first shakedown flight of the MD-82 “Super” I wanted to do in VR from a cold & dark state. I actually had to pause the sim to consult some documentation because I couldn’t get the engines to spool up. I managed to get the APU started, but there were some bleed air knobs that had to be moved (not on the overhead panel) in order to duct the APU bleed air to the engines for the start. The MD-82 is just the right amount of complex to make you feel like you are flying something complicated, without it being overwhelming.
The plane looks gorgeous in VR and is VR ready since it is a Laminar aircraft. Some of the VR controls move a bit fast for me (the altitude preselect for instance), so it can be a bit hard to precisely nail what you are looking for with some of the rotary type controls.
It is a nice, old school cockpit that will allow for some old school flying. The default FMC does allow for some stuff, but I haven’t totally explored it yet. I don’t think it is very deep though.
For my first flight, I just took it out of Pullman, up to 10,000’ and experimented with the flight director / autopilot controls. It is fantastic fun to fly…it feels heavy and reacts like you would expect for something of this size.
My first flight ended up with a horrifying sim disaster that actually shook me as a real pilot. As I was on final, I paused the sim to play with my VR headset and was trying to fit my old Odyssey + prescription lenses into my Reverb so that I could ditch my glasses. They work, sort of, but I guess in the past few years my prescription has changed a bit and I didn’t find them to be as clear as my normal glasses.
Well, as all aviation professional know, interrupting a normal flow or getting an odd distraction can sometimes have important consequences. For me, in a “new” airplane type, distracted by my headset and by the various systems of the plane I was exploring, I was primed for a classic aviation failure.
As the audible radar altimeter called out 10’ I was surprised that a second or two later the mains hadn’t hit. I wonder why.
This is embarrassing and horrifying on so many levels. First…in VR, this felt real enough that I was like “oh shi*”. It actually made my heart race. Second, a gear check in real life is something that we do so many times that it almost feels ridiculous. It is on a printed/laminated quick reference checklist. I fly two pilot aircraft and when the gear is called for, both pilots tend to point at the gear lights until all three are confirmed green and both pilots affirm this audibly. At the selection of landing flaps, another check of the gear lights is audibly made. Crossing the airport boundary, I personally have a habit of saying something along the lines of “gear down, flaps down, sync off, autopilot/yaw damp off, cleared to land” while pointing to each component. It is a reliable system and I’ve never, in real life, suffered a gear up landing (knock on wood).
I don’t fly my PC simulators like I do in real life by any means. I shortcut checklists, don’t do full systems checks before takeoff, etc…but some basic stuff like checking the gear does make the crossover to PC flying…so for me to have missed this was just awful feeling. It was interesting to note the Laminar MD-82 does not have an audible warning of gear not extended. Most planes have a horn or audible warning if you select flaps beyond approach without the gear being extended, and some aircraft also have a gear horn when the throttle is retarded past a certain level if the gear is down, and finally some airplanes have a radar altimeter tie in to say “too low - gear”. None of these exist on the Laminar MD-82 (I suspect they are on the real aircraft). But the error was mine alone…and kind of sickening.
I’m going to need practice parking this big airplane. I was trying to park on the airline ramp at Pullman but misjudged where to put my nose for the turn and ended up being too far down the parking line.
The MD-82 is nice in that it does have a crude EICAS type overhead that does let you know if you have everything done prior to takeoff…well…sort of. It doesn’t have the trim / stabilizer warnings that the Rotate MD-80 has.
It should be fun freighter to make some big money between larger airports. I’m looking forward to taking the Type rating checkride in Air Hauler and putting it to work.
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He would be pleasantly surprised to learn that airliners can handle quite spritely. If anything, I would compare the handful I have flown (which doesn’t include any of the DC-9 variants) as much more responsive than most 4-seat GA types.
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So while I’m waiting for MSFS to download, I figured I should go ahead and knock out the MD-82 type rating checkride while I had a moment…
Love starting the default MD-82 from cold and dark with its medium level systems modeling - only takes a few minutes, but it does feel enough like a process to make it an accomplishment…
Getting ready to depart Pullman…
Concentrating on the airwork…all of that went very well…
Then, as has been the case lately…the Maddog embarrassed me as I screwed up the landing. I was lined up OK and everything was feeling great…but I’m still not used to that higher sight picture compared to the planes I’ve been flying. The 50 - 30-20-10 came and went and I still wasn’t comprehending that I needed to be well into my flare by then… Bang! Positive landing…
Failed my $19,231 checkride, AND caused $137,500 worth of damage to the MD-82…what a morning!
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Oof!
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Should have let Destiny take my checkride for me. She could have used my ID and put a mustache on.
My checkride in my brand new Cheyenne. After a while in C172, Kodiak, even a Beaver and a M7 (both short lease), I totally forgot about landing gear when landing. Luckily, this doesn’t seem to be one of the checkride items of AH2. Didn’t even have to repair anything. Sorry, not meant to add salt… I felt quite stupid too. Another difference from this plane - it’s so much faster! I configured it PAX. Turns out, I can carry out both courier and air taxi missions, carry over 3000lbs of commodities, and also do cargo jobs. This seems to be a loophole in the AH2 system.
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Lol! That’s great.
Since it was bugging me since I failed it…I went ahead and flew the type ride in the MD-82 again tonight…just to make myself feel better… 
I don’t fly the checkrides in VR since they have headings and altitudes to follow. I know you can set up text to voice in Air Hauler…but I prefer to read off the directions…
After a short ten minute hop…we are all done! This time I squeaked out an OK grade for landing - still not very good…
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Some of us are still flying X-Plane…all two of us! 
This is the heaviest load I’ve worked up to carrying in Air Hauler. And to think - I started out with a Husky that could only carry about 500 pounds…!
48,000 lbs. of toys and games over to Portland…
Glad I shaved off 50% of my fuel load…that runway at Pullman isn’t super long…
Love the way the MD-82 feels sort of like a sled initially…plowing its way through the air at a pretty high deck angle. Once you get some altitude you can ease the pitch, let it accelerate, and start getting the flaps up…
I love the overhead panel in the MD-82. Can’t seem to find any backlighting though…not sure if that is a thing or not…
Was on a phone call a bit too long and ended up way high coming into Portland. The MD-82 has a nice high speed flap schedule though…so flaps and some speedbrakes got us down and only necessitated a 270 degree turn to line-up on final to 28L…
Again…I love the aerodynamics of the MD-82…nice poised pitch angle and it is really a fun plane to fly…
Into the ramp and unloaded…
About $150K into the bank…and I finally got a “smooth” landing rating…I was getting worried with string of clankers…
“Hey…what’s that 747 doing over there…”
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Nice. I’m eager to back to my company. Vacation in the way 
seems like so 
kind of in a AH2 drive mode. Geez, 48K pounds. Do a short commodity run, you could make over $2M 
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In my defense - the cabin in the MD-80 was showing nearly 50C…taking that switch out of CABIN TEMP AUTO was an act of mercy…
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Ran my first commodity run in the MD-82 (actually ran it 1.5 times since I had that little CTD halfway to Salt Lake City…)…
50,569 lbs. of shoes from Portland to Salt Lake…netting about $1.8M after subtracting fuel and landing fees…! It’s all relative though…the parts I’m going after are very, very expensive…
Flying the RNAV departure out of PDX…
Even though it is a default Laminar plane (I think maybe originally designed by JRollon though?) - the MD-80/82 sure is pretty…
Still trying to get a handle on the fuel burn for the MD-82. Here we are up at FL330 burning about 1620 PPH and I guess the plane is typically run at about Mach .80…
Don’t move this CABIN TEMP AUTO switch…or at least, when I did (to correct that CABIN TEMP) I got a CTD and had to redo the whole flight…idle hands…idle hands…never touch a dusty button dammit!
Crossing traffic…a KLM 777 a thousand feet below me…
Love the Maddog! (And yes, I own the Rotate model…but there is an elegant, just right simplicity to the default model…)
Coming in over Great Salt Lake…
Joining up on the LOC…
In safely with another OK landing. I just can’t squeak a greaser out of this plane…they are always a bit firm…
Gonna give the US Postal Service a hand - I like the Post Office…I told my mail carrier as much today…
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