Virtualcol releases the Embraer 190/195 Series for MSFS
Virtualcol has surprised us today with the release of a new airliner model for Microsoft Flight Simulator, the Embraer 190/195 Series. This popular regional airliner, known for its high efficiency and comfort on shorter, low-demand routes, is a logical step for Virtualcol, after the release of the shorter 170/175 models back in June 2021.
Experienced simmers looking for a highly detailed airplane may have to look elsewhere, though. Previous Virtualcol releases have been aimed squarely at the “beginner” market in MSFS, with some loose features mashed together. For example, at launch, the 170/175 included the A320 FMS, the CJ4’s PFD, and Embraer’s EICAS… Sadly, Virtualcol doesn’t provide a detailed feature list at this point, regarding these new longer Embraers, so we’re not quite sure if things will be different this time.
What Virtualcol does give us is a long list of liveries, representing most, if not all, of the current operators around the world. They also say that “original sounds” are included in the package.
The Embraer 190/195 are effectively longer stretches of the 170/175 models, featuring larger wings and horizontal stabilizer, and a new engine. The E190 has been especially popular, with 568 orders as of December 2021. JetBlue is the biggest current operator, with 60 units.
The Virtualcol Embraer 190/195 is now available in the MSFS Marketplace, for both PC and Xbox, priced at $16.49. It’s likely to soon become available in third-party stores as well.
If pricing and developer history are any indication, then clearly we’re looking at a product that will not bring much joy to more demanding simmers. However, there are always the most casual flyers who just enjoy the model of a particular airplane, looking for a quick flight between A and B with no special thoughts about operational realism. Everyone else should probably just wait for the PMDG 737, Just Flight 146, or Fenix A320, currently the most promising airliners in the pipeline for MSFS.
For a promising alternative, learn more about Ouroboros’ efforts to bring the E-Jets family to MSFS. We hope to bring you more details about this project soon!
Anonymous
I bought it and I’m not a big fan of it. I fly the E-195 commercially myself and I am kind of dissapointed. The exterior is really good, it looks almost just like in real life, no complaints. But the physics and the cockpit are just not it. I know its a simulation but even considering that, it just feels really rough and weird to fly. The cockpit looks like it was copy-pasted from an E-175 on FSX, I’m sorry but I can’t describe it better. And considering the price I’ve have paid, I wouldn’t really recommend it. If you’re a casual avgeek and you really want to fly the E-series jets, then I think you can buy it. I bought it, since I wasn’t able to find any other alternatives for the Virtualcol version. I know 16 EUR isn’t a high price, I’m not critizising that. For a person that flies an E-195 it’s just not enjoyable.
PacmanPilot
I just bought the plane and although I’m not a pilot, I think it’s a decent and fun plane to fly. But I agree with the pilot as the interior is a little too clean and “plasticky.” I bought the addon through the MSFS marketplace, but my disappointment was there wasn’t a glTF file included of the exterior plane body. I create liveries using Blender so I’m actually at a loss on where the authors call up the file from. I posted VirtualCol an email to see if they can provide the glTF file.
Dcibarnaby
Took the time to write this down, if you are reading this to make the choice to buy it or not: dont. This plane looks, feels, flies and handles like it was taken from another game and made to work in MSFS2020. It has been updated but still its utter garbage. Auto pilot fails every approach. When you look at different review videos online they cut out the problems that occur every single time. Miss my Embrear from Xplane