The Vans B717-200 The Last Legacy

The Boeing 717 was developed as a third-generation variant of the DC-9. Before the merge of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing in 1997, the 717 was marketed as the MD-95. The official designation is 717-200, the designation 717-100 had already been used for the military C-135/KC-135 family. Production of the 717 ceased in April 2006, after 156 units were produced. The 717 was the last commercial airplane produced at Boeing's Long Beach facility in the Southern California, the same building that the DC-9 and MD-80 were built in. The final two 717s were delivered to AirTran and Midwest Airlines on May 23, 2006.

The Vans Aircraft Company Boeing 717-200 is a detailed model with panel, virtual cockpit, sounds and various liveries. The exterior looks nice, the liveries are of average quality. Quite a few systems are simulated, but not all of them. The EFIS screens look like the real ones at first sight, but some compromises are made. The map display is just a modified Garmin GPS unit and no TCAS or weather radar is simulated. There is also a FMC, but its functionality is limited and not realistic. The virtual cockpit is a bit simple, all buttons and knobs that are clickable on the 2d panel are clickable in the vc as well. No passenger cabin has been modeled, but just a 2d texture of a cabin, placed at the cabin entry door.

Flying this 717 is not that difficult, the flight dynamics seem to be accurate. A 124 pages PDF manual explains how to operate the aircraft. The aircraft is equipped with build in scenery like a fuel truck, baggage carts, ground power, ect. All those objects can be activated with a sub-panel which can also be used to open doors.








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