Aerosoft Store Near Me

[Gaynelle Brigges]

Thegenesis of the project began with Canadair, a Canadian aerospace company that got its start as Canadian Vickers. The company then acted as a subsidiary for many years before being nationalized, then privatized, and then sold to rival Canadian firm, Bombardier. Canadair explored re-configuring their popular Challenger business jet into an airliner using the existing frame to pack in a two-by-two arrangement for short haul flights.

The project picked up speed as Canadair was privatized and sold to conglomerate Bombardier in 1986. The Canadair Regional Jet, in recognition of the origin of the project, first flew in 1991 and entered service in 1992 with Lufthansa City Line before being picked up by numerous other operators.

The aircraft series saw numerous versions developed with larger second generation versions offering seating for 50 on shorter versions while even longer variants offering a maximum of 104. Over 1,800 CRJs having been delivered though in 2024 the type has slowly begun to fade away as production ended in 2020. CRJ owner Bombardier sold the aircraft and service contracts to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as part of an overall divestment from commercial aerospace projects and it seems unlikely that production will restart.

Aerosoft would go on to update the project four times with the last update arriving in the summer of 2022. No further updates have been forthcoming since then and that is unfortunate because the aircraft has a few issues that need to be dealt with.

Hope is not entirely lost, however, as the primary driving force behind the CRJ project, Hans Hartmann, is reportedly working on the aircraft again. Late in 2023 he mentioned that work would be done on the project with an improved cabin and various fixes planned. There is no ETA on that and so for now this review will talk about the current state.

There are three packages for sale on the Aerosoft store for the CRJ. Getting the right package for you will come down to interest and price. For some, the included liveries or the popularity of the specific version will be reason enough to purchase the right package.

The base package includes the CRJ 550 and CRJ 700. Effectively these are the same aircraft with a different seating configuration and slightly different takeoff and weight categorizations so as to meet US airliner scope clause requirements. The 550 comes with two liveries while the 700 has seven liveries available. All based on real world operators and aircraft.

The cockpit is, again, a step or two behind the competition but its still very good with strong lighting effects, crisp textures, and good overall artistry. The cabin of the airplane is less impressive and has been modeled at only a basic level. Admittedly, I rarely spend any time back there anyways but it is nice to go back there from time to time.

Aerosoft also did a decent job with the sounds too. They tout MSFS Wwise audio support and it generally is enjoyable though never as dramatic as what you get with the competition. Still there are good high-quality sampling and authentic sounds from all over the jet and there together with good start-up and shut down sounds. Button and toggle switch clicks and thunks are satisfying too, though many are repeated. There is a generic set of announcements for takeoff and landing that offer a bit of immersion too though they are not customized by operator.

It stands in contrast to sometimes framerate heavy iniBuilds A300-600 which was the last airliner I reviewed. Even at big airports with fancy scenery, the CRJ seems the roll along nicely and all of the buttons and switches move smoothly without the kind of stutter that we do sometimes see with the others. Definitely a high point for the CRJ!

CRJ has support for SIDS, STARS, it technically has a VNAV (though it is limited) and it does TCAS too complete with aural and visual warnings about nearby flying aircraft. There is a limited ability to import (awkwardly) flight plan files from SimBrief into the FMC but its not as well integrated as with other aircraft and it feels more like a hack than an official feature. It also does not have NaviGraph support.

My approach to airliners is more about flying them from destination to destination and spending as little amount of time on the ground doing system setups and following exact procedures. Does the CRJ manage to do that? Reasonably well actually!

These are huge pros and make the jet a good option for newer virtual pilots or those who just want to get going. If you like plugging in all of that yourself, nothing is stopping you from doing it that way too and having the option is a great thing.

Having problems updating aerosoft crj for msfs 2020 airac. It does not detect my crj automatic like my previous p3d addons.

Also tried manuel install with no luck. Still on the old airac that came with the addon. Crj bought at aerosoft store.

Any step by step guide what to do ?

regards Morten

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