Need advice about my planes

[Stephen Hudson]

Thanks TeresaLisboa,I will give it some thought.

 

[andy8758]

I must admit that two years ago I benefitted from a GI bug that put 3 x S3 Giants and 1 x S3 Falcon in my warehouse. That really helped me to 3 star the Giant and Falcon standard destinations! It also helped me realise my answer to your problems.

It is well worth upgrading your city and airport infrastructure to get some falcons in the air - these help get excellent pax figures for your alliance. If you can afford to run them, in conjunction with Jumbos and Giants, then so much the better. To avoid costly factory upgrades (that will shrink your wallet in real money) allocate money to get 100 excavation maps for the Jumbo/Giant/Falcon destinations - space missions will help to keep enough coins flowing to do this. Then when you run out of flight catering/blankets/fruit lollipops send your aircraft on the excavation map flights - no additional flight items required.

I agree that flying Thunderbirds reduces income and pax of your fleet - but I am using S2 and S3 Thunderbirds to improve that - costly in gold and silver tokens (or fuel and flight items in the case of running alliance maps for S3 aircraft) but I wanted to make them as viable as possible.

I still encourage other players to fly whatever makes them happy - I play the game for fun, and following someone elses strategy might ruin your fun. So take everyones advice, and then do your own thing @KhrysLo

 

[Navigata07]

Yes I know ravens need flight catering so I've built all 6 and am contemplating upgrading them....we'll see how it goes. Obviously it gets slower and harder each upgrade...but so far hawks have taken the longest I believe because they had the most destinations!

Yeah you're going to be in quite a bind when you get to falcons and condors with that strategy. Falcons are tricky because they are the least efficient planes in terms of fuel, plus the lollipops in sweets factories are expensive when it comes to upgrading production. Condors have long flight times which makes them a bit more fuel efficient (although 60 fuel a plane is a hefty price to pay), but the pharmaceutical lab costs a lot of greenies to upgrade production. Furniture factories for thunderbirds are in the same boat. Unless you have a CBM to generate greenies, youre going to have to shell out some serious cash to keep an entire condor fleet in the air. Your current strategy definitely works for the lower planes though.

 

[Navigata07]

Since we're talking fleet and aircraft, am I the only one that thinks the thunderbird got the short end of the stick in terms of having a purpose in the game? With every other plane, you can either carry lots of pax, have decent fuel efficiency, or have short flight times. The thunderbird falls short in all 3. It only carries 150 pax (ravens carry 160), cost 40 fuel to fly (ravens can range from 30 to 40), and the flight times are mediocre (5 hours isnt long enough considering the fuel cost). Besides getting the nuclear power plant, the farmers house, and a couple other decent buildings, they dont really have a strong purpose

 

[Navigata07]

I must admit that two years ago I benefitted from a GI bug that put 3 x S3 Giants and 1 x S3 Falcon in my warehouse. That really helped me to 3 star the Giant and Falcon standard destinations! It also helped me realise my answer to your problems.

It is well worth upgrading your city and airport infrastructure to get some falcons in the air - these help get excellent pax figures for your alliance. If you can afford to run them, in conjunction with Jumbos and Giants, then so much the better. To avoid costly factory upgrades (that will shrink your wallet in real money) allocate money to get 100 excavation maps for the Jumbo/Giant/Falcon destinations - space missions will help to keep enough coins flowing to do this. Then when you run out of flight catering/blankets/fruit lollipops send your aircraft on the excavation map flights - no additional flight items required.

I agree that flying Thunderbirds reduces income and pax of your fleet - but I am using S2 and S3 Thunderbirds to improve that - costly in gold and silver tokens (or fuel and flight items in the case of running alliance maps for S3 aircraft) but I wanted to make them as viable as possible.

I still encourage other players to fly whatever makes them happy - I play the game for fun, and following someone elses strategy might ruin your fun. So take everyones advice, and then do your own thing @KhrysLo

I completely agree about thunderbirds

 

[Spork]

Since we're talking fleet and aircraft, am I the only one that thinks the thunderbird got the short end of the stick in terms of having a purpose in the game? With every other plane, you can either carry lots of pax, have decent fuel efficiency, or have short flight times. The thunderbird falls short in all 3. It only carries 150 pax (ravens carry 160), cost 40 fuel to fly (ravens can range from 30 to 40), and the flight times are mediocre (5 hours isnt long enough considering the fuel cost). Besides getting the nuclear power plant, the farmers house, and a couple other decent buildings, they dont really have a strong purpose

I will be in a bind almost no matter what as a non paying player. Not having flown any of those higher planes I don't know but I'm guessing the game will slow down to a crawl when not spending money or if it's even possible to fly/repair some of those without greenies. And a an earn rate of 3 + the occasional extra drop (mitigated by the occasional accidental click) it will be a big slow down I image. (Not thinking of it as I'm just starting ravens at the moment.

 

[Navigata07]

I will be in a bind almost no matter what as a non paying player. Not having flown any of those higher planes I don't know but I'm guessing the game will slow down to a crawl when not spending money or if it's even possible to fly/repair some of those without greenies. And a an earn rate of 3 + the occasional extra drop (mitigated by the occasional accidental click) it will be a big slow down I image. (Not thinking of it as I'm just starting ravens at the moment.

You can fly without greenies easily enough, as you have plenty of repair items. The issue is when you want to permanently upgrade the item production from the sweets and furniture factories and the pharmaceutical lab. To permanently produce an extra bed (thunderbird) costs 80 greenies and to produce sleeping pills (condor) costs a whopping 120 greenies! You can collect items from your neighbors, but you would be focused on only vr and sleeping pills to keep the entire fleet in the air. It can be done, but it's quite the juggling act.

 

[crescent moon (RIP)]

You can fly without greenies easily enough, as you have plenty of repair items. The issue is when you want to permanently upgrade the item production from the sweets and furniture factories and the pharmaceutical lab. To permanently produce an extra bed (thunderbird) costs 80 greenies and to produce sleeping pills (condor) costs a whopping 120 greenies! You can collect items from your neighbors, but you would be focused on only vr and sleeping pills to keep the entire fleet in the air. It can be done, but it's quite the juggling act.

It really is a juggling act! I fly 10 condors twice a day, so really depend on my neighbors for those 20 VRs. I have not upgraded my Pharm Lab, so only get 12 pills per day. (I refuse to pay 120 greenies each to upgrade!!!) Luckily, I finish my alliance flights in 2 days, so I have the rest of the week to get my VRs and pills for the following week. Unless, of course, I'm flying S3 maps for condors. (ugh) That usually means no alliance flights for condors for t least 2 weeks. (switch to adventure maps) I can keep up, and luckily I have a couple of support games that can help out with VRs and pills, but really have to stay on top of it.

 

[Navigata07]

It really is a juggling act! I fly 10 condors twice a day, so really depend on my neighbors for those 20 VRs. I have not upgraded my Pharm Lab, so only get 12 pills per day. (I refuse to pay 120 greenies each to upgrade!!!) Luckily, I finish my alliance flights in 2 days, so I have the rest of the week to get my VRs and pills for the following week. Unless, of course, I'm flying S3 maps for condors. (ugh) That usually means no alliance flights for condors for t least 2 weeks. (switch to adventure maps) I can keep up, and luckily I have a couple of support games that can help out with VRs and pills, but really have to stay on top of it.

...and this is why I shy away from the single plane fleet approach. Besides, I would get bored if all my planes flew to the same destination. I love the varied fleet...its a juggling act in itself mind you, but it works great for rationing fuel and items, and it keeps things interesting. It also makes it easier to set up a self reliant fleet that doesnt require gifts to stay airborne

 

[crescent moon (RIP)]

...and this is why I shy away from the single plane fleet approach. Besides, I would get bored if all my planes flew to the same destination. I love the varied fleet...its a juggling act in itself mind you, but it works great for rationing fuel and items, and it keeps things interesting. It also makes it easier to set up a self reliant fleet that doesnt require gifts to stay airborne

Generally speaking, I agree with you. But I also have 4 of every other plane (except Swift & Owl - all maps and special alliance destinations on those have been 3-starred). There are times I may put 3-4 of my condors into the reserve hangar and fly other planes, especially if I'm working on maps. I just like having the 10 condors to complete my alliance mission for the week, so I can go on to other flights and/or events. (All regular destinations are 3-starred at this point, and most adventure maps up to most falcon destinations are now 3-starred, so main concentration is on S3 maps and the occasional QL maps. (also all 3-starred). I do still have a huge variety of flights to complete.

 

[Navigata07]

Generally speaking, I agree with you. But I also have 4 of every other plane (except Swift & Owl - all maps and special alliance destinations on those have been 3-starred). There are times I may put 3-4 of my condors into the reserve hangar and fly other planes, especially if I'm working on maps. I just like having the 10 condors to complete my alliance mission for the week, so I can go on to other flights and/or events. (All regular destinations are 3-starred at this point, and most adventure maps up to most falcon destinations are now 3-starred, so main concentration is on S3 maps and the occasional QL maps. (also all 3-starred). I do still have a huge variety of flights to complete.

Ah ok so you just change it out for specific tasks...makes sense...and a smart idea. I hope to get to the point of doing the same thing, but I won't be doing so unless alliance tasks are created based on active fleet vs entire fleet. I can't part with my S3s for the sake of organizing alliance tasks...I couldnt drive myself to be so wasteful

 

[Navigata07]

At some point you have to keep several types of planes. you‘ll want to keep flying jumbos for space destinations and qls for example. And then you get s3 jumbos and you’ll have to think if you really really want to sell those hard earned birds...
falcons and condors go well together also.
and as forTBs... well, in my case I recently got a couple but I intend to use them very seldom. Just a flight here and there. Those stars will be the last ones in my to do list

How often do you fly your maps if it's a part of your daily routine?

 

[LX Air - Teresa]

How often do you fly your maps if it's a part of your daily routine?

I do adventure maps when I want to push my numbers, so I can previously ask fuel only and no items
Excavation maps whenever I'm low on flight items (several times a week)
Alliance maps when I've got the fuel and the flight items (maybe every other week, or every third, depends mainly on fuel)
Space maps only when I'm chasing QLs or if I want to take the most out of active bonuses, after an adventure or map run (with owls, little fuel needed)

 

[Navigata07]

I do adventure maps when I want to push my numbers, so I can previously ask fuel only and no items
Excavation maps whenever I'm low on flight items (several times a week)
Alliance maps when I've got the fuel and the flight items (maybe every other week, or every third, depends mainly on fuel)
Space maps only when I'm chasing QLs or if I want to take the most out of active bonuses, after an adventure or map run (with owls, little fuel needed)

So even with the excavation maps....Im assuming that you wont fly them like you would your typical map run (which would require a lot of fuel beforehand for instant returns)? Maybe activate a map and then send out the flights...using fuel catalysts and/or weathervanes along the way? I'm trying to see if there is a way to weasel in flights without items....especially with jumbos. I'm not a fan of them because their flights require 2 items, and they aren't really self sustaining without relying on gifted items (unlike giants and above). However, the space and excavation maps for jumbos do not require items, so they might be of some use in that department.

 

[Barkmi4 (Mike)]

So even with the excavation maps....Im assuming that you wont fly them like you would your typical map run (which would require a lot of fuel beforehand for instant returns)? Maybe activate a map and then send out the flights...using fuel catalysts and/or weathervanes along the way? I'm trying to see if there is a way to weasel in flights without items....especially with jumbos. I'm not a fan of them because their flights require 2 items, and they aren't really self sustaining without relying on gifted items (unlike giants and above). However, the space and excavation maps for jumbos do not require items, so they might be of some use in that department.

Remember ‘excavation’ maps are single use. ‘Adventure‘ are time bound. Might be worth re-reading @TeresaLisboa ’s post with that in mind.

 

[LX Air - Teresa]

So even with the excavation maps....Im assuming that you wont fly them like you would your typical map run (which would require a lot of fuel beforehand for instant returns)? Maybe activate a map and then send out the flights...using fuel catalysts and/or weathervanes along the way? I'm trying to see if there is a way to weasel in flights without items....especially with jumbos. I'm not a fan of them because their flights require 2 items, and they aren't really self sustaining without relying on gifted items (unlike giants and above). However, the space and excavation maps for jumbos do not require items, so they might be of some use in that department.

I fly excavations normally. If I have active bonuses, good, if I don't, it's ok also. I do it "in between" the other flights. If a chest drops, it drops. I'm not chasing chests. They eventually will
Space maps for jumbos is a bit different. Those flights are loooooong. Even with my rangers and S3. A WV helps a lot in that case. Some weeks ago I had a jet pack active, together with a WV, and it's much more effective that way, especially if you have a SG and a SC active also

 

[LX Air - Teresa]

Remember ‘excavation’ maps are single use. ‘Adventure‘ are time bound. Might be worth re-reading @TeresaLisboa ’s post with that in mind.

exactly. That's why I fly excavations as I do regular flights. I always have plenty of those maps in my warehouse.

 

[Navigata07]

I fly excavations normally. If I have active bonuses, good, if I don't, it's ok also. I do it "in between" the other flights. If a chest drops, it drops. I'm not chasing chests. They eventually will
Space maps for jumbos is a bit different. Those flights are loooooong. Even with my rangers and S3. A WV helps a lot in that case. Some weeks ago I had a jet pack active, together with a WV, and it's much more effective that way, especially if you have a SG and a SC active also

Oh I get it....youre doing excavation flights...not map flights (got them confused). Oh ok that makes a lot of sense, and even though I dont care for any more adventure buildings, it might be a good way to get a map collection going in case I ever want to do them again.
I agree that space maps are way too long, but they might be useful if you use them at the rate at which you acquire them. The jetpack indeed is useful, but the major issue I have with it is that the expected flight time will be shorter than what is advertised, since the game doesnt know to re-calculate with automatic catalysts involved. I would have to bookkeep the time myself, which is a bit of a pain.
Some useful advice here that has me thinking...thanks a lot.

 

[Navigata07]

Remember ‘excavation’ maps are single use. ‘Adventure‘ are time bound. Might be worth re-reading @TeresaLisboa ’s post with that in mind.

Yeah I realized after the fact....good catch. I always mix them up.

 

[LX Air - Teresa]

Oh I get it....youre doing excavation flights...not map flights (got them confused). Oh ok that makes a lot of sense, and even though I dont care for any more adventure buildings, it might be a good way to get a map collection going in case I ever want to do them again.
I agree that space maps are way too long, but they might be useful if you use them at the rate at which you acquire them. The jetpack indeed is useful, but the major issue I have with it is that the expected flight time will be shorter than what is advertised, since the game doesnt know to re-calculate with automatic catalysts involved. I would have to bookkeep the time myself, which is a bit of a pain.
Some useful advice here that has me thinking...thanks a lot.

in fact i'm doing both, excavations (on a regular basis. all planes) and adventure (for high pax, no items, with fuel speed-up, mainly condors)