FS2004 Air Canada 737-200

This freeware package introduces a classic Boeing 737-200 in Air Canada's livery for FS2004. It integrates a thorough AI-focused model by AI Aardvark along with texture work by Shane Strong, offering efficient performance while preserving authentic visuals. Enthusiasts looking to populate their virtual airports with a piece of Air Canada’s earlier jet fleet will appreciate the technical detail and faithful modeling included in this complete release hosted at Fly Away Simulation.

Signature Model Characteristics

The Boeing 737-200, introduced in the late 1960s, earned its reputation as a workhorse for regional and transcontinental routes. This downloadable mod recreates that appearance through multiple Levels of Detail (LOD), so the polygon count dynamically reduces at greater distances. As a result, users enjoy minimal performance overhead in busy traffic environments. These LOD variants also offer moving control surfaces, thrust reversers, and flaps that replicate the real jets operating history while taxing less powerful systems.

Installation Process

Place the AIA_737_200_ALASKA folder directly in the main aircraft directory for FS2004. After that, assign the aircraft in your AI flightplans. This arrangement ensures your traffic management software can schedule departures and arrivals as needed. If you are unsure how to link flightplans and AI assets, consult the documentation or your preferred traffic utility guidelines.

Reflective Option Explained

By default, this add-on uses a non-reflective visual file (model=no_refl), but you can experiment with the reflective variant by modifying aircraft.cfg to model=reflective. Although the supplied texture does not come with a reflective channel, this option is available for those who want to see how the alternate model interacts with other paints.

Optimized AI Focus

This 737-200 package was primarily designed as an AI aircraft. Accordingly, it features custom flight dynamics engineered to settle on the runway swiftly and vacate in a timely manner, maintaining steady airfield traffic flow. To adjust landing characteristics—if you prefer a more protracted flare—you can fine-tune values for cruise lift, parasite drag, or induced drag within the configuration file.

Additional Observations

Expanded animations include gear deployment, control surface movement, and spoiler activation, providing a balanced blend of realism and practicability. The Boeing 737-200 itself offered twin Pratt & Whitney engines, and Air Canada historically employed this model for domestic and cross-border operations decades ago. Although modern fleets have largely shifted to newer variants, this classic airframe retains its appeal among flight sim enthusiasts.

The creators, AI Aardvark (modeler) and Shane Strong (painter), have meticulously optimized this aircraft for smooth performance in dense airspace. Their work ensures that the visual fidelity remains convincing at gates and taxiways, while the multiple LODs help maintain fluid frame rates throughout your simulation session. This design philosophy means you can populate large airports with several 737-200s without incurring significant performance penalties.

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