Tring to figure out which to buy, looking for a light twin to practice ifr. Interested in the duke package to get piston and turbine, but also really liking the vc and missions pack idea of the milviz.

 

Any recommendations? They feel like very similar aircraft...

 

Interested in vc graphic quality and flight model accuracy/feel. I have not bought from either Dev in the past.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on this!

 

Alex Malek

Both! :good:

The Dukes really aren't light twins - they're entry level cabin class, pressurized and all if that factors in for you.

 

Love both of the Dukes and all of their systems are well sorted out as they've both been out for a while. The pair of 'em is hard to beat for value and the RXP integration is exceptional if that matters to you, but the turbine is a bit more up-to-date with improved appearance and detail. The turbine Duke is pretty universally acknowleded as one of the top GA planes on the market on all levels; flight model, completeness, refinement, etc. - an assessment I agree with. The Duke's roomy well laid out panel and RealAir's VC implementation of it make it an excellent IFR trainer - an absolute joy to fly IFR in fact.

 

If you're more interested in pistons, the B55 is a more updated take on the piston twin and it looks like it's going to be an excellent plane. I've run into a few teething pains with mine, but Milviz is aware of some of the issues and is working on solutions. Given their track record, I'm sure they'll get things sorted out and most users are already very satisfied. I have an emotional attachment to the Baby Baron, but the plane is what it is, and the layout is definitely funky. The classic Bonanza panel (in my opinion one of the best GA panels ever!) gets a bit chaotic when translated to the twin environment. Lots of stuff hidden behind stuff, next to stuff that you can't see. Don't get me wrong - I love it - but it's not what I would characterize as the best environment if what you're looking for is a good instrument training platform, especially in a sim. If, on the other hand, you really want to fly a B55 as I do, it's awesome.

 

I would also give a shout out to the Carenado 337 as a great light twin IFR platform if the whole centerline thing doesn't matter to you. Great flight model, wonderful VC, good mix of old and new instruments, with all critical gauges and instruments visible and accessible. It's a plane I never thought I'd like, but it's become my go-to GA plane. A really great IFR sim platform.

 

Scott

The MilViz 310R is light twin with very good flight model as well.

Both!

 

 

+1000

The Duke is more of a serious long ranger than the B55, it being pressurised and also available turbocharged, so more easily able to climb over crappy weather if need be. Thus it probably would be a better choice if you wanted to stay with it and use it a lot after you'd done with practicing. That is not to say that the B55 cannot fly long IFR flights, or indeed climb up high if one takes oxygen, because it certainly can and does.

 

The Baron has the benefit of being one of the classic GA twins of all time which has been in production for an impressive fifty years, and there's a good reason why that is so - because it is an excellent design both inside and out, not that the Duke is not, but the fact that the Duke was in production for less than 20 years is a pointer to which you might ultimately prefer, although doutless affordability had some bearing on that shorter-lived production run.

 

But in the Duke's favour at present, is that if you are buying now, then the B55 has some minor (and I do stress minor, i.e. not making it unusable) issues which are yet to be addressed in a patch, whereas the Duke, having been around a while, is good to go, and is the standard by which many judge other offerings. To be fair though, I fully expect the B55 to mature into a favourite for FSXers when it gets a service pack.

 

In short, the Baron is a classic, the Duke is a richer man's classic, but FS makes them both affordable, so really you can't go wrong with either of them, or as others have suggested, both.

 

Al

Excellent points Chock!

 

Since the B55 was made from photos of my plane for the last 7 years I am obviously biased. I do think the advice to get both is correct however as they are both very different aircraft. Also to be mentioned-Real Air gives you a mint beautiful brand new aircraft. The B55 like most of the aircraft I have been involved with is not pristine. Not to say it is a junker-we maintained her and took pride in polishing the metalic spinners etc. but when you have an almost 40 year old plane there are signs of wear and tear. Some simmers like the pristine approach-some like the worn look.

 

As a side note-the Duke's have a reputation of being in the shop more often than being flown. A few years ago when I was at an airport a Duke owner walked up to our plane trying to get us to buy his-as sexy as they are we said no way..

 

As far as ifr-my partnership required any flight over 50 nm be flown ifr, so I flew it almost exclusively ifr and found it a great ifr airplane. The boots, while not known ice certified were very nice to have-only had to use them 4 times in 7 years but I was glad they were there.

Thanks to both Avsim staff members above for a fair minded and balanced comparison. I like the look of the Baron too, and will no doubt purchase it when the issues reported have been sorted out, which I hope won't be too long. I've always liked the Baron as a solid, reliable, characterful aircraft and it's true Geofa, the real one is much more reliable than the Duke ever was, if not quite as pretty!

 

Rob - RealAir

Any recommendations? They feel like very similar aircraft...

 

 

It's like having to choose between pmdg and any other aircraft.You'd prob want pmdg and in this case Realair hands down.(Unless you really want the baron no matter what)

It's like having to choose between pmdg and any other aircraft.You'd prob want pmdg and in this case Realair hands down.(Unless you really want the baron no matter what)

I wouldn't agree with that. Milviz B55 is so far first addon aircraft I have had that actually feels like its really flying. It is not unrealistically stable like loads of addons are, but feels really dynamic, wind, turbulence and all that affects it like they are supposed to affect, and generally it feels more like what I can imagine flying real aircraft to be than any other general aviation addon I have ever had. Also its soundset is fantastic and graphically very good too. Stalls & Spins happen better than in any other aircraft I have flown in FSX.

 

This said I don't have this Realair addon myself, but knowing their reputation it surely is also top quality. But I just cant imagine how any addon could be much better than Milviz one when I feel it is already near perfect.

I chose not to get the Piston Duke, since the Baron is my piston twin choice and I've practically put away all the default FSX planes for good.

 

The Baron and the Turbine Duke are totally different. The Duke with a high altitude pressurised cabin, short fields (due to takeoff power), and great IFR.

 

Don't bother with the B60 Piston Duke, since it's sort of in between the Baron and the Turbine..Also the Turbine has failures, and you have to fly properly or the engines will wear out and die. The piston duke doesn't have that.

 

So I'd say go for the Miviz Baron (or C310R if you want longer range), PLUS the Turbine Duke. Fly the Baron when you want to fly by hand or do some low altitude VFR (or IFR). Fly the Turbine if you want a long distance flight at 24,000 feet cruising altitude and want to practice some serious IFR.

 

If you want to get 3 planes, get the RealAir Lancair for low and fast sight seeing over land, Milviz B55 Baron for twin piston, and Turbine Duke for IFR etc. Then you have the best plane available in FSX in every GA class :yahoo: Except slow and low.. but that's another topic/plane.

Then you have the best plane available in FSX in every GA class :yahoo: Except slow and low.. but that's another topic/plane.

 

I think the upcoming Realair 172 will address that :Party:

True if you can wait ;) I like the Katana 4x

 

Don't bother with the B60 Piston Duke, since it's sort of in between the Baron and the Turbine..Also the Turbine has failures, and you have to fly properly or the engines will wear out and die. The piston duke doesn't have that.

 

 

On the other hand, if you're getting the turbine anyway, the B60 is only 10€ on top of the price of the turbine, and it IS a different plane, as you say, in between the two...

 

I was personally torn between the Turbine+B60 and the B55, in the end I decided that since I wanted the turbine anyway, and the B55 anyway, the B60 is essentially just a bonus plane for a few extra quid.

 

Besides, you can't have too many Beechcraft ;)

Real Air