Looking at getting prapar3d. What version are people using? Should I save and get the professional? Is that the "legal" one to have?

The safest answer is likely to be: "Follow your feelings, Luke! Use the force."

 

The most popular answer probably is the $59 dollar version.

 

The "Kudos to you!" answer I would say is the $199 version.

 

Choose wisely, grasshopper.  :Ying Yang:

Don't be a penny pincher, get the $2300 version. 

Think of development project like a local air strip and ask a friend who is interested in flight Sim if they would like to partner with you making an scenery for that Air strip. If they are interested it would be a great project and you would be learning a skill that could make you a Flight Sim Star some day. Of course it comes with the benefit that you and your partner could split the cost and share a developer license. You get 2 copies of P3D (one each) and it costs you $5 each per month. That's $60 a year each and $120 for 2 years (the major release dev cycle) and you are complying with the EULA :-)

What other people are using is no criteria for what you decide to use. Read the EULA, decide which you qualify for an purchase it.

 

Further discussion of this topic is unnecessary.

 

Shutting it down.