by simonmd » Wed May 10, 2006 6:16 pm
They don't use real airline names because they would want royalties or something for appearing in the sim. There are plenty of repaints available for the default aircraft available in real world colours.
The comment about some Freeware planes being 'crap' is out of order. They are FREE for goodness sake!
I have literaly hundreds of freeware downloads of all types and have NEVER found one that didn't work. Yes, some were harder to install than others but when you consider the amount of time that goes into a decent freeware AC, you can't complain. There are many that could easily be payware and there are some that are no better than the default but all it's cost you is a bit of time to download and try it out. For me, half the fun of FS9 is the joy of finding something special or getting something working properly. Without such a variety of freeware AC on Simviation, AVSIM, etc. I'm sure many FS9 copies would be gathering dust by now.
Back to the original question, again, i'll say that all is required is one of each type of AC (GA, commercial jets/prop, helicopter, etc.) purely so new users can 'find their feet' and for multiplayer compatibility issues. Any specific AC we wish will be created by the third party freeware and payware designers.