Anyway, having had a think about this, and a quick post here (POLL: Help pick the next aircraft in Airport CEO! - #47 by PigScroll), I decided to talk about the present and the future of stands in Airport CEO. So here are my propositions.
And as of almost a year later, the updated idea can be found…
Original Post
Resizing the Small Stand
So, as @Henry747 said:
“Maybe we need a slightly bigger, less expensive stand for the little fellas… Even the 208 struggles to fit in the small stand now… ”
And this is a good point. At this size, anything of a size slightly bigger than the DHC6 will not fit. Therefore, the implementation of aircraft such as the Saab 340 will be medium, as opposed to small. And that is crazy, as the Saab 340 holds 37 passengers, max.
So, as @Henry747 proposed, a resize would allow aircraft such as the S340 to park on a small stand, not a medium stand. This would look more natural…
PROS:
- 30 to 50 seat aircraft would fit in better
- Larger GA jets could be implemented
CONS:
- Current small and GA aircraft would be dwarfed
- The stand would have to remodelled…again
A New Stand Size...
What would you call a stand between small and medium? “Smedium” maybe???
single word requests - What would you call size that fits between small and medium? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
But yes, implementing a “sub-medium” stand would allow 30 - 65 seat aircraft to park comfortably. Examples of these would be:
- ATR42
- Saab 340
- Saab 2000
- Q200
- Q300
This would save them too big on a small stand, and too small on a medium stand…
And there could be some overlaps as well:
SMALL: <35 seats
SUB-MEDIUM: 30 - 65 seats
MEDIUM: 60 - 200 seats
This would allow a Dornier 328 to be on a small or “smedium” stand.
PROS:
- 30 to 65 seat aircraft would have their own, better, more suited parking
- Some aircraft could park on 2 different types of stand
CONS:
- Would require a lot of work from the devs
- There are hardly any good names for this new stand!
...or maybe two or three!
So, if we have one new stand type, what’s stopping more? So let’s assess various new ideas:
- SMALL / <35 seats / (already implemented, could be renamed to “very small” if “smedium” is implemented)
- SUB-MEDIUM / 30 - 65 seats / (idea, without airbridge)
- MEDIUM WITH AIRBRIDGE / 80 - 200 seats / (already implemented)
- MEDIUM WITHOUT AIRBRIDGE / 60 - 200 seats / (has been discussed, will be implemented as a remote stand)
- LARGER THAN MEDIUM / 150 - 300 seats / (with airbridge, maybe for the 757/767?)
PROS:
- Lots of stand types
- Lots of player choice as to which stands they build
- More stands to fit in different places
- Lots of aircraft/stand type overlap
CONS:
- A lot of work for the devs
- Will create a lot of bugs
Aircraft Examples on These Stands
- SMALL: Small GA, Cessnas, DHC6s, Small Props and Turboprops (<35 seats)
- SUB-MEDIUM: Large GA, Saabs, Q1/2/300s, Dornier 328, CRJ1/200s, ATR 42s, Medium Props and Turboprops (30 - 65 seats)
- MEDIUM WITH AIRBRIDGE: CRJ7/9/1000s, BAe146s, A320 Family, 737 Family, Fokker 70/100s, 757-200s (80 - 225 seats)
- MEDIUM WITHOUT AIRBRIDGE: ATR42/72s, CRJs, BAe146s, A320 Family, 737 Family (60 - 200 seats)
- LARGER THAN MEDIUM: A320 Family, 737 Family, 757 Family, 767 Family
So, if you read through all of that, let me know what you think! And I don’t blame you if you didn’t…
And feel free to post anything to do with stands on this new thread…(non-bug related, of course)
So, going off the FAA regulations:
FAA Regulations
Category A - <15m wingspan - e.g. Cessna 182, Baron 58
Category B - <24m wingspan - e.g. DHC-6, Saab 340
Category C - <36m wingspan - e.g. B737, A320
Category D - <52m wingspan - e.g. B767
Category E - <65m wingspan - e.g. B777/A330
Category F - <80m wingspan - e.g. B747/A380
There are 6 different classes of aircraft, so perhaps we could have 6 types of stand…Note that all of the costs and features are just suggestions…
Stand Class A (Small)
SIZE: 4x4 Tiles (+2x4 Service Road)
COST: $15 000 (Grass), $45 000 (Asphalt/Concrete)
USES: General Aviation, Class A aircraft
COMES WITH: Service Road, Road Crossing, Taxi-in-taxi-out Style
UPGRADES:
- Grass > Asphalt/Concrete - $35 000
Stand Class B (Sub-Medium)
SIZE: 6x6 Tiles (+2x6 Service Road)
COST: $20 000 (Grass), $60 000 (Asphalt/Concrete)
USES: General Aviation, Class A and B aircraft
COMES WITH: Service Road, Road Crossing, Taxi-in-push-out Style
UPGRADES:
- Grass > Asphalt/Concrete - $45 000
Stand Class C (Medium)
SIZE: 8x10 Tiles (+2x10 Service Road)
COST: $100 000
USES: Class B and C aircraft
COMES WITH: Service Road, Road Crossing, Taxi-in-push-out Style
UPGRADES:
- None > Normal Jetbridge - $10 000
(Current Medium Stand)
Stand Class D (Sub-Large)
SIZE: 10x12 Tiles (+2x12 Service Road)
COST: $160 000
USES: Class C and D aircraft
COMES WITH: Service Road, Road Crossing, Taxi-in-push-out Style
UPGRADES:
- None > 1 Normal Jetbridge - $10 000
- 1 Normal Jetbridge > 2 Normal Jetbridges - $10 000
(Largest Stand Needed At The Moment)
Stand Class E (Large)
SIZE: 12x14 Tiles (+2x14 Service Road)
COST: $220 000
USES: Class C, D and E aircraft
COMES WITH: Service Road, Road Crossing, Taxi-in-push-out Style, 1 Jetbridge
UPGRADES:
- 1 Normal Jetbridge > 2 Normal Jetbridges - $10 000
Stand Class F (Very Large)
SIZE: 13x15 Tiles (+2x15 Service Road)
COST: $250 000
USES: Class D, E and F aircraft
COMES WITH: Service Road, Road Crossing, Taxi-in-push-out Style, 1 Jetbridge
UPGRADES:
- 1 Normal Jetbridge > 2 Normal Jetbridges - $10 000