i've been wondering this for awhile now and thought i'd finally ask. am i the only one that flies mostly the default aircraft? i hardly ever see anything about them here, mostly add on ac. i'm sure there are better ac than the default BUT for myself i don't really see anything wrong with them. no flaming please. anyway, just sort of feeling all alone here with my little default fleet. ANYONE else out there?!!! LOL. william

I think it's just a question of preference. I have downloasded and tried dozens of aircraft - but I finish up flying only a handfull some defailt and some addon.Most people will have their favorites - depending on the type of flying they like- so some will fly only airliners - others only "bush" types etc.Myself - I prefer mostly naval types and usually fly the C-1A or E2C though for other activities I use the default Cessnas and a Kaman Huskie helicopter I do feel that for the "frame rate challenged" among us the default aircraft often yield better results. Some of the very complex (and beautiful) addon aircraft can make some systems struggle. Dave

I agree with Dave, it's merely a matter of preference and balancing visual appeal with smooth performance. Trial and error really. Generally I find POSKY (Project Opensky, iFDG, and FFG (Freeware Flight Group)airliners easy on frame rates, a joy to fly, and they look good in screenshots. For me, with my system, I find that my choice of panels has as much if not more to do with smooth performance and acceptable frame rates as the specific aircraft.http://www.2decker.com/media/solent1-2.JPGAlex ChristoffN562ZBaltimore, MD

The default planes are so bad in every departement, that, if you consider flying in a more or less realistic fashion there's no way other than 3rd party aircraft. pay- or freeware. I don't include the new "COF"-planes which seem to be much better than the older stock planes. Flying the default b747-400 is like flying a cessna 172. It's about the same complexity system wise...cheers,Claudio

hi. you are not alone:-wave . i like the default ac. when i first started i thought the little cessnas were toys but they aren't and the frame rate is as high as you want with them, or any of the default ac. they are modelled beautifully, with fully working vcs etc etc and i guess they operate nearly as they would in reality so all in all i think they're great- vega,dc-3,tri-motor,737 etc.as regards bought ac, i did buy the b-25 from maam, but that doesn't have a clickable vc so generally i stick to default and freeware!!

I fly the Pdmg 737 , the Pss a340 and i like their realism.I like also the fantastic Posky aircraft (especially the 747).But from time to time I fly also the default 737, 747 (I do not like the default 777 because of its bad shape) and also the general aircraft where I like especially the Beech Kingair (because of its maniability and speed).When I fly the default aircraft , I must always admit to myself that, after all, they are a good compromise. They give good framerates, the virtual cockpit are ok (they have the essentials),the flight dynamics also and the outside of the aircraft are not bad (except the impossible 777) and I like the nice GPS very much. Guy

thanks alot for the feedback guys. i think all in all the default ac are pretty good considering how spread out the whole sim is with different ac, airports, cities, the whole world for that matter too compared to one single aircraft. i think they fly pretty good also or good enough anyway. i like the cessna182, the kingair and the lear the best. do panels come with posky, ifdg or whatever it is? thanks, william

Hi William.POSky and IFDG airliners make use of the default panels, but obviously its possible to download specific and more complex panels from places like the Avsim library.Are we to assume from your question that you have no other addon aircraft installed? i.e. you have use only the default aircraft and thats all you have installed? If thats really all you use, I must URGE you to download and try out some of the utterly FANTASTIC freeware aircraft that are available.Comparing FS2004 with just its default airliners (747/777/737 I mean, as I accept that the cessnas/vintage a/c are pretty good), to FS2004 populated with POSky (747's/757's/Airbus's) and IFDG (MD-11/Airbus's) aircraft is like comparing a ZX Spectrum game to the very latest gaming software...a world apart!Regards,Al.

i have a few freeware ac that are pretty good. they're great on framerates, at least the few i have are. i'd like to get some others but am learning about freeware aircraft and the installation of them. am starting to get the hang of it as far as installing the different components to their proper places. i like the ones with self installers. i'm looking for panels now in the library. my big thing is smoothness and framerates. i don't want to give up any smoothness, that's why i shy away from payware and fly the defaults. thanks for the info al. william

After I bought the ATR72-500, I will never fly any plane that's modelled less detail. Some of the free addons have great details, but most don't. Also, clickable VC is must; it just add more realism for me. I think my next purchases will be ActiveSky, a plane from EagleSoftware, and a plane from PMDG. FPS is not a concern as I have a top end system.

i've always liked the ATR and dash8. will have to settle for freeware because i don't have a highend setup. enjoy! william

MSFS2004 is awesome and Im sacrificing months of my life to the thing but its not all good when it comes to the default planes IMO. The GA planes are fine, but the airliners: http://www.computerpannen.com/cwm/cwm/cwm/puke.gifIm new to FS2004 and I took one look at the default jet planes and that was it! I went online and indulged in a freeware add-on orgy. Meljet, iFDG, Posky I grabbed them all. Then I went and bought the PMDG 737.I hate the default planes because of their silly vacuum cleaner sounds (trying to pass as jet engine noises) & their awful exterior modelling. The exhausts of the turbofan engines are all blocked up! The engne pods look like octagonal lego pieces bunged together and the fuselage of the 777 looks like a steel pipe with old wallpaper stuck on it.With all the high-quality freeware & payware add-on planes out there it was a no-brainer!I'll let the picture speak for itself! You should get these too :)http://www.projectopensky.com/thumbnails/285.jpg

yea, the default heavies may be a bit dated and i'm trying to get into getting different freeware ac. what panels are you using in the add ons? the ones i have mostly have default kingair or 737 panels and i want a panel that matches the aircraft. generally speaking how do you install panels? like will any 737-400 panel fit any 737-400 aircraft? i see a bunch of COOL panels in the library but have trouble installing them. might need to email the guys who make them and or join some of those forums. i take some of that back, i haven't tried any panels in awhile except the dash8 panel i downloaded the other night which had no instructions. in the past when i tried i had no idea what i was doing and was more or less stumbling in the dark and gave up in frustration. now i'm trying again. william