FS9 Aircraft Purchase Recommendation Request

[michal 44]

>the garmin trainer remains the ONLY piece of software>I have ever used that REQUIRES the user to disable HT, So ask Garmin to fix their 16-bit trainer. But before they fix it I rather have a piece of avionics that works 100% like a real thing then some micky-mouse rendition of this unit (ala default FS9's gps) that was brought into 'modern times'. Such are unfortunate tradeoffs in life ! And, by the way, I am running AMD system so no problem here. Michael J.

[Guest danowat]

Of course there are trade-offs, but you stated that the problems were down to the user, this simply is not the case. "You clearly are doing something wrong here. Your configuraton may be off, your Hyper-Threading ,priority, etc. This product is very sensitive to mis-configuration."The user was not doing anything wrong, his system was not "mis-configured" its just unfortunate to get a realistic piece of software his and my systems have to be "mis-configured" in order to use itDan.

[Guest derrfly]

PMDG may be in a class of its own; but for a price, a very high price.PS, this does not apply to the Beech 1900D, an excellent value.Please, no attacks just stating a fact.

[Guest Sunny9850]

Agree ...go with the FSD Cheyenne if you actually like to fly the aircraft ;-) It's a really sweat airplane.I would also agree that the biggest deciding factor has to be what you normally do in the sim. Look at your logbook...you're keeping one right ?? As you browse through the different flights it's easy to see what kind of airplane suits your simming best.Personally since I am still working my way through the ratings, I am sticking mostly with those planes I have either actually flown or see a real chance of getting to fly sometime soon. ;-)For those forrays into phantasy world that also make up simming, I stick stricktly with free-ware....and save the $s for a couple of gallons of AVGas. For the $60 some bucks I can fly my PA28-181 for quite a few hours on gas alone....let's not get into all the other costs here :-)Sunny

[Guest zip]

If you're into glass cockpits and fly by computer, which is quite a challenge to do properly, PMDG makes a great product. That was my very first add-on. The documentation is available at the PMDG web site (www.precisionmanuals.com) and I recommend you obtain it before you make a decision. The 800/900 add-on adds new FMC features, and this plane is a joy to fly, offline or online. I would recommend it over the PSS Airbus pro product, that I also own (add-ons get to be a fact of life, which is very bad for the budget).If you're more into bush flying and want to be a propeller head, the Piper Meridian is a good plane because it includes the RealityXP gauges which are among the best out there. The PMDG 1900D is also a great A/C but you only get the model and a basic panel assembled from the stock KingAir FS9 gauges. You would need to purchase RealityXP gauges separately to really enjoy it (I have both the Garmin 530 and Jetline 4). The 1900D does require some level of file editing to integrate the RealityXP gauges, and the garmin 530 does use the trainer software by Garmin Inc, that is only a 16 bit application, which may give you some trouble on some machines, but mine runs very smoothly. These props do not have FMCs but you get close to that with the Reality XP stuff. Of importance to me, the Reality XP gauges force you to MANUALLY program in a flight plan, which is nice, but at the same time, can be a pain if you need to load a complex flight plan (or in my case, synchronize with other add-ons and to file the FP online with VATSIM).If you're into long haul jets and steam gauges, the king of the hill in my book is the Ready for Pushback 747-200 Version 2, aka Whale. This is the most detailed and complex modeling I know of panels in FS9. It includes most systems in excruciating detail, and this is one that takes 5 days of work just to make a complete flight. The RFP visuals are not the greatest out there (compared to the Posky for example), but the panels, airplane and system models are what makes this product really shine. It is the most immersive add-on I own, and the one that required the most studying - but it is quite gratifying. I do not recommend this product as the first add-on though.The best thing I can recommend for you is to download the manuals from the web sites, and make a decision based on what you read.Links:PMDG: www.precisionmanuals.com RFP 2.0: www.panelshop.comGauges: www.realityxp.comPiper Meridian 2004: www.flight1.comCheers,

[Guest JeanLuc_]

www.reality-xp.com is better!Hope this helps!

[Guest JeanLuc_]

Dan,you may consider reading the Avsim FAQ about Hyper Threading and FS9 performance gain when it is...well...somewhat disabled (regardless of the Meridian).http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho...sg_id=230&page=Hope this helps!PS: I can also assure you that there is a performance gain in many other apps, such as when I encode a DV->MP2, I get a 18% peformance increase with HT off...

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

If you are looking for a real airliner, I would first get the PMDG 600/700.It will take you weeks to work your way through that and then you can decide if you want to upgrade to the 800/900 series. If you want a "personal" airliner, get the Flight1 Meridian or the C441.