I cannot believe people are still defending the stupid notion that ships must have different jump ranges for balance... The whole idea that FSD's need to be different size is absolutely ridiculous too. Even this page indicates that:
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Frame_Shift_Drive
The FSD should be class A, B, C, or D only. The drive weight and dimensions should not change at all. However, the fuel requirement, as stated on the page is what dictates jump distance. Aka, this is where SC has a better design.
What should dictate the jump distance is the amount of fuel you can supply to the FSD, taken directly from the Wiki page: Hyperspace jumps rely on
quantum mechanics, as the destination of any given jump must be known before the jump is made, and the amount of energy needed to complete the jump is discrete.
So in reality. The actual FSD should only come in 1 size and the fuel delivery mechanism should be in different sizes, based on the ships size and hull mass weight requirements. Aka, a 250T ship should require 5T of fuel for a jump, while a Cutter at over 1000T should require 20T per same jump.
What would set the ships apart would be the size of the fuel tanks. Thus, the 1000T Cutter should be almost all fuel, aka.... how ships in KSP, and space engineers are (while try to be more realistic).
On this same concept, why in the heck did FD design the Fuel scoop... Who the heck buys a Car, Plane, boat or motorcycle that needs an additional purchase to resupply it? We figured this out pretty much the same time as we invented the gas engine!!!! Every ship should have a way to refuel it built in... fuel scooping is akin to going to the local gas station.... sun (fuel pump) fuel scoop (hose from said pump to car receptacle) fuel tank (same thing). So why on earth did you make a fuel scoop ED????