I have been looking at reviews and posts, trying to determine what payware aircraft to purchase next for FS2004. I thought that I would try to summarize in a post what I am considering for each type of plane. Any feedback is welcome, especially if anyone has purchased these planes, or think that I have left something out. This is only my opinion. I won't buy most of these, but it is fun to look. Some of the titles are not yet released.Single Engine - ClassicGolden Eagles Stinson Reliant Single Engine - SimpleDreamFleet Cessna Cardinal 177Real Air Simulation Super DecathlonReal Air Simulation SF.260Single Engine - Complex Flight One Piper MeridianMulti-EngineFlight One 421C Golden EagleFSD Cheyenne 400 LSDreamfleet Cessna 310Phoenix Software Simulations DeHavilland Dash 8Business JetEagleSoft Cessna Citation XAirliner - MechanicalDreamFleet Boeing 727Captain Sim Boeing 727Airline - Glass CockpitPhoenix Simulation Software Airbus 320PMDG Boeing 737Military - PropMAAM B-25 MitchellMilitary - JetCaptain Sim F-104 Starfighter- PapaTango

Get the PMDG NG now that SU2 is released! (can't say I'm not biased though!) It's a great aircraft though, you won't be disapointed...Ryan

If you do go for the PMDG NG wait until next week. SU2 might be 'released' but there is a whole load of people who can't download it. Fifteen hours and still waiting..I know..patience etc.Rich.

>>Single Engine - Simple>DreamFleet Cessna Cardinal 177>...>Real Air Simulation SF.260>>Multi-Engine>Flight One 421C Golden Eagle>FSD Cheyenne 400 LS>Dreamfleet Cessna 310>The above are the only ones I can comment on. I recommend them all.The Cardinal and 421C are awaiting updates; but work fine in FS9 (with some mods).The SF.260 is in a class all its own.The 310 makes me feel like I'm in the left seat of a real aircraft.The 421C makes me feel like I'm flying in a cadillac.The Cheyenne has me scared to death from takeoff to touchdown, it's like a rocket ship.The Cardinal is just good, clean, site-seeing fun.But that's just me...

I'd recommend adding this excellent aircraft to your payware list: FSD Pilatus Porter

PMDG is by far the bset and great support.

Well.. the only payware add-on aircraft I (so far) have is PSS A320 Pro . I bought it last July ( a cd-version with VHS) for

Well.. the only payware add-on aircraft I (so far) have is PSS A320 Pro . I bought it last July ( a cd-version with VHS) for

I copied this from a past thread that I responded to on another board. It's a small review of the payware aircraft I own.--Begin Quote--I own the following payware aircraft, listed in the order I purchased them:Flight1 Cessna 421 Golden EagleDreamFleet Piper ArcherDreamFleet Cessna 177 CardinalFSD Cheyenne 400LSFlight1 Cessna 152DreamFleet Cessna 310Carenado Cessna 210MHere's a little personal review of each:When I dicided to buy my first aircraft, it was between the F1 C421 and the FSD Cheyenne. I love turboprops, but I ended up going with the 421 because at the time the Cheyenne wasn't Gmax and I read more good things about the 421. I absolutely love the 421, for a piston twin, it's a lot of plane to handle, but once you get the hang of it, it's a beautiful plane to fly. I wish they'd hurry up with the FS2004 patch so I can get back in it.I kept hearing so much about the Archer, that I dicided to get it too. I'd have to say it's my favorite out of the list.I bought the DF Cardinal when it came out because the real Cessna Cardinal is one of my favorite aircraft. It's a great FS aircraft, but I keep going back to the Archer more often.When FSD updated the Cheyenne to Gmax I dicided to get it, because like I said I'm a turboprop nut. I'm somewhat dissapointed in it though. I know the FS turboprop model is mostly to blame, but FSD did dicide to model a turboprop knowing this. They've done a good job working around the flaws. I've only flown it a few times. Maybe if I fly it some more it will grow on me, but I can't stop flying the Archer.I bought the F1 Cessna 152, because like lots of pilots, I did my private training in one. I was going to recreate some of my flights from my training days in it, but I've yet to do that. I have a POH from a 1985 C152, and it does perform close enough to the performance charts in the POH. I have a few issues with it though. There's just something with the way it feels that keeps me from flying it more, and I still can't stop flying the Archer.I wasn't going to get the DF C310 at first because I had the F1 C421, but I broke down and bought it. I see alot of people saying good things about it, but frankly I'm not impressed. Mostly it's the way it handles that turns me off. It feels like it's always sliding on ice. It's not just when taxiing on the ground, it does it when flying too. When I do test flights I have no wind, and when I turn final, I can't keep it lined up with the runway because it seems like it slides back and forth (like it's on ice). They also chose to model it with an aftermarket turbocharger, but the included performace charts and checklists are for the non turbocharged plane. I have no idea what the correct MP and RPM settings are for climb and cruise, so I use similar settings to the C421. I really wish they'd have left out the turbocharger. It's my least favorite of the list.Then Carenado came out with the Cessna 210M. I saw people raving about how wonderful this aircraft is, and posting awesome screen shots of this thing in the screen shot forums. I was a little sceptical of Carenado after trying their freeware products, I wasn't impressed with them. They did excelent external models, but the flight modeling left alot to be desired. I finally gave in and bought it though. I'm actually starting to fly this plane more than the Archer. It has a beautiful panel, although there are some little quirks about it, and it flies good too.--End Quote--I think you should consider the DF Archer and the Carenado Cessna 210M.

Here are a few thoughts on GA payware aircraft:Carenado C210.Carenado Dakota.Carenado Piper Archer.All three are worth owning have been updated for FS9. Carenado's aircraft have been ignored by reviewers and underrated, but they released some good models for FS2002 that gave great value for money. In addition to the above, there were two Bonanzas (V35 and F33) that have not been updated for FS9. Too bad about that, but the good news is that Carenado is planning an entirely new F33 for FS9 that should be released in a few weeks.Dreamfleet Piper Archer.Dreamfleet/Flight1 C152.The Archer is an FS classic. The panel was hugely innovative for its time and probably influenced a lot of other makers. Everyone should own it. The C152 is a very fun little airplane. I actually learned to fly in Cessna 150s and 152, and I find this model very convincing and lifelike. There is one bug involving the behavior of the turn coordinator that the developers sadly refused to acknowledge, but it has not detracted too much from the fun. One of the best "back to basics" experiences you can have in FS is to take the little C152 and hand fly on a short flight (1-1.5 hours) ending in an instrument approach. This will also do more for your real-world instrument skills than a year spent flying the heavies, if you care about that kind of thing.Dreamfleet/Flight1 C310.Lots of people love this model and have had great experiences with it. Others have had terrible experiences. I am in the latter category. On my system anyway, it has the worst handling characteristics of any payware model I have ever flown in FS, period. Fortunately I bought the C310 and C152 at the same time, so I feel that I have gotten enough enjoyment out of the C152 to compensate for the disappointment of the other.FSD Pilatus Porter.Flies very nicely. I recommend it. Taildraggers are not my cup of tea in FS. Too claustrophobic. The absence of peripheral vision makes the limited view over the nose even harder to deal with. However, this one is about as good as they get.RealAir SF.260.Rob Young is the best designer of flight models out there. The SF.260 was probably the best all-round package for FS2002. It is now updated for FS9. The only reason I don't fly it more is that I am too used to flying from the left seat. As a military trainer you fly the 260 from the right seat.

Hi Moghdad,You can fly the SF260 (in VC mode) from any position you wish. Simply open the aircraft cfg file and alter the viewpoint to whichever place you like.Kind Regards,Rob Young

Interesting thoughts, I guess it matters whether you fly GA or the heavies. I don't usually fly the big iron (although polls say that most of us do, can't understand why!? LOL), so I don't own any of them, sorry. My fav is the Cessna 421, with a mod I found at the simflyers network, it is perfect in FS9, and a dream to fly. Next up is anything by eaglesoft, they are committed, dedicated and simmers just like us and their products and customer support are superb!! The Citation X will be my next perchase, hands down! Next is the Porter, amazing detail and a joy to fly, a bit heavy on the frames, so beware, but a great aircraft! The Cheyenne is great, fast and agile, but it is a little to "retro" for me, I find I spend more time in the 421. The Seneca, love the plane, great for slower hops and I like the VC a lot. I had the Archer when it came out in FS2002 and loved it them, but I find that the little visual design errors detract from the experience for me now.I really don't like the look of the Cessna 310 which is why I haven't gotten it, but I know several that love this plane! Same for the RAS ships, I have a ton of respect for the group, just not interested in these particular aircraft.The new Dakota and Cessna 210 are on my Xmas list, so we'll see if I get them! LOLRegards, MichaelKDFWhttp://mysite.verizon.net/res052cd/mybannercva1.jpgCalVirAir International VAwww.calvirair.comCougar Mountain Helicopters & Aviationwww.cgrmtnhelos.com

I just recently purchased the Flight One Piper Meridian, and have been generally having a great time with it, but I feel there are some important caveats that certain reviewers left out. While purchasing it couldn't be more easier, it took some time for me to become comfortable in operating the aircraft. For starters, they have almost completely remapped mouse and keyboard functionality. Mouse control has become more convenient, but many default key commands don't work in the Meridian so I had to assign new ones using the INI file. Then there's the GNS530, which while extremely detailed (The default GPS is lean and lame compared to this chunk of meat) has several annoying pecularities. Right off the bat it had installation issue, suggest you visit their forums for support. Then there is a setting in the INI that adjusts the resize quality, but unfortunately this only appears to apply to the VC. The 2D panel display of the GNS is always very pixellated but still readable, though not as well as the default GPS. You can't import flightplans into it either, so you'll need to understand how to enter such data manually without full keyboard support (Just like the real thing I guess.) There are several more I could mention but suffice to say you'll be spending some time learning what this unit can and cannot do in the FS environment.Simply loading the aircraft can be somewhat frustrating as well since the complexity of it's avionics requires certain procedures to be followed, otherwise it will CTD. These are detailed in their forums. Once you're loaded, you'll discover that many settings are not saved, particularly with the autopilot and pressurization systems. So if you say saved your flight during cruise and reloaded you'll have to pause the sim and re-enter all your cruise settings.Having said all that, once you do get used to it you will understand why it has still garnered numerous glowing reviews. In terms of functionality, the avionics really surpasses anything I've ever seen before even in Fly! 2 (All that's really needed is a true weather radar.) While I'm not a real pilot I was still amazed by the control precision afforded by the flight model. You can really feel her respond subtly to every little input from the stick. She's comfortably predictable during approach but not to the point where it feels "on-the-rails". The complexity of using the aircraft is redeemed on these aspects alone.My next purchase will also definitely be the Citation X, as I believe all FS2K4 users are desperately in need of a Falcon 50 replacement :)