Yet another option... the Flight1 Cessna 152 w/ panel by Dreamfleet. V/C gauge refresh isn't quite as good as the Katana, but still very good. Pic of the v/c:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/83292.jpgFun little airplne to fly. Flight model is quite nice. And it's easy on the frames.Greg

Since you specially mentioned smooth VC gauge animations, my first recommendation would be the Katana. Not only are the gauges incredibly clear and easy to read from my preferd zoom setting of 0.75x, but they are also smoothly animated.It's fairly easy to fly. It's a bit "special" during some phases of flight (take off, descent and landing) because of the long, slim glider-style wings but it's easy to get used to. Also, you need to lead the turns with some rudder and keep quite a bit of rudder through the turn. It's a very fun airplane and the low stall speed makes it possible to land at bush-type airstrips (as long as you don't hit a tree with those loooong wings :) ).Dave - did you install the latest update? The initial version had some problems with the flight model, especially when landing.I watched a (real world) video of a Katana taking off and noticed that the all wheels did leave the ground more or less at the same time. With flaps in the T/O position and some up trim this aircraft will fly itself off the ground at the correct speed. Also, the nose will actually tend to drop when you apply flaps. This is also normal.The Flight1 C152 is also a great airplane, if, a little boring because it's so slow and stable.The Carenado C210 is OK. The VC gauges do stutter a little and also the visiblity out the left window and over the panel/nose is very poor. Also I found the take off ground roll distance quite a bit longer than the 1200 or so feet stated in the manual - even with 50% fuel. The poor visiblity and take off performance means it's not suitable for the mountain airstrips of Switzerland and Washington State, where I mostly fly from :) The Dreamfleet C177 is a bit dated now but still a favorite of mine.

>>It's also the reason I never actually bought "X-Plane" until>last year........... after "test" flying it for about six>years!I don't know how you did that!! :) The demos of X-plane that I have tried only last 6 minutes and this isn't enough time for me to figure out what keyboard keys control what. I hav enever been able to get an X-plane a/c todo more than lift off!! :(Barry

>>>>It's also the reason I never actually bought "X-Plane" until>>last year........... after "test" flying it for about six>>years!>>>I don't know how you did that!! :) The demos of X-plane that>I have tried only last 6 minutes and this isn't enough time>for me to figure out what keyboard keys control what. I hav>enever been able to get an X-plane a/c todo more than lift>off!! :(>Barry,You put it on "pause" (after the six minute warning), and set everything up. Then you get the whole six minutes! All your setup's stay in the program from one session of demo-ing to the next.

Even after the six minutes are up you can still fly on autopilot for as long as you want (unless they've changed that). When you're ready to land just position yourself a few minutes from TD, save, shut down and restart X-Plane, load your save, and fly the landing.David

"On takeoff all 3 wheels leave the ground at the same time..almost feels like some sort of helicopter lol."I just did a few T/O's and only saw this when using T/O flaps (as directed in the checklist). I had no problem, though perhaps the fact that I have pitch trim programmed to an analog knob on my flight controller might be a factor. Another factor in this will certainly be weight and balance. Also, did you try the 1.02 patch? It included some FDE refinements."Landning characteristsics arent much better either,"The Katana has a high aspect ratio high lift wing. It doesn't want to stop flying. This is compounded when full flaps are used. I've found that staying in the power thru the flare works well for me. Once I got the routine down it's quite easy to land."plus it has no autopilot, not even a simplistic single axis"Nope."...therefore it wasnt for me and i got rid of it."Sorry your expereince was not all you wished it to be. It's one of my favorites for just fun flying.Cheers,Greg

"Why not make a timed demo of the planes where they will be flyable and fully functioning for lets say up to 1 hour before the gauges disappear or the engines quit, etc...that must be a possibility these days and i dont see how that would hurt the developers at all, and in fact might help them a tad in in the piracy dept."That would indeed be nice, Dave. Abacus has a try-before-you-buy routine, but how many serious simmers would buy their stuff? :-) I've only asked once for a refund from a payware seller, Flight1. Sent 2 e-mails within their 30 day period requesting a refund but never heard anything from them. I guess once we buy we should just accept the fact that we own the add-on. Kinda reminds me of all the rebate offers computer sellers offer... looks good until you try to get your rebate :-) Greg