The Antonov AN2 by Sibwings.  Fantastic VC, interior & exterior, and sound  Rudimentary ADF only (I think there is a GPS cheat available but who wants it) flight model a bit squirrelly but fine.  Great tribute to an old Soviet workhorse

 

 

Great tribute to an old Soviet workhorse

 

Another one of my regulars, that big snarling beast.  There are a couple of very minor glitches (e.g. obviously looped sound when you've got the windows open) but on the other hand, it's dripping in atmosphere, nothing else flies like it (ever tried parachuting it down in a full stall with full flaps at 35 mph?) and of course another FDE by Alexander Metzger.  I turn to it whenever I'm in the mood for something loud, slow, rusty and stinking of oil.  Which is, you know, a lot of the time...

+1 for the CH Taifun, great plane, the vc/interior is beautiful, its like sitting in a vintage Mercedes.  The German instrumentation isn't too hard to figure out and has some unique systems...manual prop control and landing gear like the early Spitfires. 

 

Don't discount the warbirds either, just because they pack some firepower doesn't take away their ability to make you a really good pilot, as they demand a high level of pilot proficiency.  Comparing a Cherokee to a P-51 is like going from a gentle training horse to a racing thoroughbred.  

 

Screaming along the deck in a Mustang, Tomahawk, Spitfire, Dora with a roaring V-12 up front is a very enjoyable experience

 

Cheers

TJ

If you're just starting learning dead reckoning, start with easy stuff and work your way up.  

 

Thanks for this advice Larry, I really want to get into this kind of flying, I will have to improve my mental maths skills I think.

 

My ideal goal would be to replicate the England to Australia flight of Amy Johnson, a local hero here in Bridlington Yorkshire, because she lived here for a while and was born in the next town. Do you factor in any failures? Would you recommend them? In a 1 hour flight you could set engine failures or instrument failures to activate between 0 and 12 hours, you know just enough to make you really paranoid!!

Paul, glad that my info was useful.

 

I don't use the built-in failure system myself.  There may be some addons that will allow you to set "random failure some time in the next 100 hours" but I haven't checked into it.  There are failure modes built into some aircraft, like the A2A J3 Cub.  If nothing else, the possibility of an engine failure will affect the way you fly, forcing you to look for emergency landing spots and flying high enough to be able to glide to one if necessary. 

 

Hook

I love my SibWings An-2. It's a simple, and slow plane but it's a really unique experience in FSX. Nothing like the deep rumble of it's engine and the tranquility of landmark navigation through valleys and over rivers. A good way to get away from the heavies and all the fancy electronics once in awhile.

Might want to check out the upcoming MacRobertson air race over at SOH coming this October.