I am a 350 hour rw commercial-instrument pilot that trained in Warriors, Archers, Arrows, 172's and 182's, among other aircraft. I want to find the best Warrior/Archer payware, to stay current with the panel layout. Have been flying 182's mostly lately, and want to stay current with Piper layout from an IFR flight standpoint.Thanks fo your help!CB

There's a few out there; my vote would be with Dreamfleet's Archer here:http://flight1.com/esd-products.asp?product=archer01

I second that. It's the only aircraft that I fly.David

May I suggest the Aussie Sim Piper Warrior. It comes with both Warrior II and III panel/model. I fly the Warrior II in real life and I have to say that the panel is almost spot on. The only drawback to the Aussie Sim Warrior IMO is the flight dynamics. I think they need a little tweaking but take a look for yourself.http://www.aussim.com.au/piper/default.htmDan

The DF Archer is indeed still very nice, although a little dated as it's a FS2002 model that was updated for FS2004. I think they're working on a bunch of new Pipers now though.The Aussim Warrior II/III (http://www.aussim.com.au/piper) is a much more recent release which means it looks a little better from the VC and external view. This package includes a Warrior II and Warrior III. However I still find the 2D panel of the DF Archer looks slightly better - especially the background bitmap of the DF model looks superior (the Aussim one has a very annoying camera flash reflection visible on the panel bakcground)Anyway you can find shots of the panel at the Aussim site, and shots of the DF Archer panel over at Dreamfleet for comparison.Those are the two "serious" Piper sims out there. Carenado has recently released a Cherokee 180F but it's more of a "fun" aircraft with a more classic "feel" and a panel that looks like it's half a century old (which it probably is, nearly).

I would definitely recommend the Dreamfleet Archer.The Aussim Warrior looks nice from the outside but I found the interior panel detailing poor and the flight dynamics were atrocious in my opinion.If you want a great looking realistic sim version of this great aircraft it has to be the Dreamfleet model.RegardsAdam

I have the Carenado Cherokee 180F, but also their Archer II. I like both, but the Archer is very well done IMHO. I do own the DF Archer, and think it flies very well. The Carenado visual model and vc however are better than the DF ones. Somebody above mentioned the DF Archer is a little old now though.Eric

Hey CB,With your experience, you are likely to be a better judge than we are as to which product has the most realistic flight model. Consider taking on the task yourself of testing several Pipers and reporting your findings. Possibly, one of the aviation sites would subsidize the cost of the products in payment for a review.Whatever you do decide to purchase, your opinions will be appreciated.Cheers,Robert

I should add that I also have the Carenado model and agree it looks better externally but I still think the DF model wins with regards to providing realistic Flight Dynamics. I flew a real Archer a few weeks ago from my local airfield (I normally fly a Robin DR400) and found it underpowered and ultimately rather boring to fly but a stable platform on approach so good for PPL training. The DF Archer replicated this very well.RegardsAdam