[=] Re-engining Aircraft

[iphillips]

I think it would be an interesting addition if you had the capability to give an aircraft a new engine type. Say you just got a great deal on an used aircraft but the engines it has don't give it enough range for the route you want to put it on. You should be able to re-engine it (for a cost of course) instead of having to buy a brand new aircraft.

As a coder in PHP and MySQL I don't think that this would be too hard to implement. You would just have to update the aircraft entry in the database and then charge the airline some.

Comments?

[iranair777]

so you mean changing engines on aircraft after they are brought? It is do able and will be a nice addition although some aircraft are hardwired to the exact engine type

[StephenM]

although some aircraft are hardwired to the exact engine type

That happens when there is only one engine variant available.

[iphillips]

so you mean changing engines on aircraft after they are brought? It is do able and will be a nice addition although some aircraft are hardwired to the exact engine type

In my experience, depending on the complexity of the database, it should be a very easy thing to do (compared to some items in AM). I would think that the most complex part would be to develop the design of the page.

What made me think of this was that I recently bought used A319s w/ CFM International CFM56-5A4 engines but I only get ~2000nm range instead of the ~4000nm range of the IAE V2524-A5 equipped A319


And also, if feasible (I don't know exactly how complex this would be), you could do an "engine age" stat and after a certain engine age, mx costs jump up. That's what happens in real life. The actual plane stays for 10+ years but the engines get replaced multiple times

[iranair777]

we can also do it for Winglets, extra fuel tanks etc

[StephenM]

And also, if feasible (I don't know exactly how complex this would be), you could do an "engine age" stat and after a certain engine age, mx costs jump up. That's what happens in real life. The actual plane stays for 10+ years but the engines get replaced multiple times

That'd be a bit more difficult, we don't segregate the aircraft from its engines. Just means changing the structure of the tables really.

[iphillips]

Out of curiosity, to get the aircraft age, do you have it by date in the database or do you just update the age every day

[StephenM]

Out of curiosity, to get the aircraft age, do you have it by date in the database or do you just update the age every day

We do it by game dates.

[iphillips]

So then to do the engine age, all it would take would be to add another field and do the same thing for the engines. The only complex part would be to get a default value since so many aircraft are already in operation in all worlds.

[daverox007]

i think that you should be able to change engines on aircraft after they are bought and add winglets and extra fuel tanks so that small aircraft can be used on short to medium length routes airlines in real world do it all the time

[iphillips]

i think that you should be able to change engines on aircraft after they are bought and add winglets and extra fuel tanks so that small aircraft can be used on short to medium length routes airlines in real world do it all the time

Winglets, yes. Extra fuel tanks, no. I know of no airlines who add fuel tanks after aircraft are bought. The only aircraft I know of that can come with different numbers of fuel tanks is the 777-200LR and those are just extra wing tanks

[MrOrange]

Re-engining, as a feature, is unlikely to be created any time soon. I like the suggestion, it sounds reasonable and realistic enough to me and it should be feasible to create. Design-wise, not too hard, as it can be thrown in one big page where you can re-outfit individual planes, maybe even entire fleets (think multiclass, winglets, engines). However, it might take some time for this to be created as we don't have enough development power.

On winglets: We have been gathering information on how much winglets affect the performance, range and fuel usage of aircraft, which leaves us with figuring out which aircraft in our database can have winglets added to them, and at what price they will come. So adding winglets would be a feature in the future (sounds weird, but you get the point) but, again, not anytime soon. Fuel tanks: probably not gonna happen, there's just too many factors for that to work correctly.

[oddward]

if it was refurbishable after a certain amount of time it might increse the planes value and the amount you can charge for tickets on that plane

[Reyes25]

this should be added, would be a great addition to the game

[Virgin Serbia]

this should be added, would be a great addition to the game

As was mentioned above, it is not possible to re-engine most airliners. Weight balance will be completely offset, effectively causing the aircraft to tumble out of the sky.

So far, the A380 is the first aircraft that allows for a different engine to be fitted, an operation that takes more than 1 month (Real-time). The 787 will be the first aircraft that can do both engine options without any modifications, with the change between GEnX or RR-Trent taking less than 24 hours. It can even fly on one of each if necessary.
It is simply not possible to exchange the CFM with a V2500 on the A320. I don't even think you can exchange it for a more powerful thrust rating either.

The DC-8 and 707 were/are offered with CFM-56s and JT-8Ds, but only after MANY years. And to be honest, i doubt any 707 or DC-8 will still be used in-game for more than 5 years due to maintenance costs. And because the re-engine programs began more than 5 years after the production of these two planes ended, thats effectively a no-go.

It should be noted, however, that the 777-200LR and 777-300ER come with two variants of the same engine - The GE-90-110 and GE-90-115. These are completely similar, the 110 merely being a software limitation on thrust output, and can hence be "exchanged" by disabling the software.