fsx-se Payware Aircraft Recommendations?

[Nellinator 0]

So, after roughly eight years of FSX, I got my first paid addon aircraft (PMDG's NGX) a bit over a year ago.  Since then, I've acquired two more, PMDG's 777 and newly released QotSII.  For a while, though, I've been wanting to expand, mostly for diversity.  I'm more of a Boeing person (so, 757 and 767), but I'd like to get a few Airbus if possible, preferably the A320 series and A330.  A regional jet or two would be nice, too.

So, what are some of your favorite and most recommended aircraft, and why that over its competition?  Also, will they work in SE? (I unfortunately had to change over when I moved last summer)

[Christopher Low 5,332]

Since you seem to be interested in study level simulations, I have heard vague rumours that FSL offer a rather good Airbus A320 :wink:

[scianoir 610]

If however you wanted to try going down the retro route, you won't do better than the A2A Constellation (or their Boeing 377).

 

Bill

[HighBypass 2,339]

Welcome to AVSIM!!

 

Size is not always important... At the other end of the scale I can recommend a little GA ultralight aircraft:

 

Lionheart Creations' Aerospool WT-9 Dynamic. A lovely little 2 seater imho, used in the real world for a glider tug too.

[Chock 17,769]

I have all of these going in the Steam version of FSX:

 

Might wanna give FlySimWare a look. They are quietly knocking out some excellent aircraft which offer a lot of fidelity to the real thing, notably their LearJet 35A and their Cessna C441 Conquest II, which are not only relatively inexpensive, but also very accurate in terms of simulation of systems and offer something a little different for you to fly:

 

http://flysimware.com/website/

 

If you want an older Airbus that is more 'Boeingesque', the SimCheck A300B4 is very good systems-wise and can be flown using either a CIVA INS or an FMC.

 

http://www.simchecksoftware.com/

 

Of course if you want an A320, then the FSL one is excellent although it is undeniably quite pricey, but you certainly do get what you pay for.

 

If you fancy something a bit unusual which is fun to fly, I can seriously recommend the Flight Replicas Canadair North Star/Argonaut, which was a Merlin-engined pressurised high-density derivative of the Douglas DC-4 (which a few bits of the technology from the DC-6 in there too). As you can imagine, with four Merlin engines instead of the Pratt & Whitney R-2000, it sounds very cool (but also very loud):

 

http://www.flight-replicas.com/Aircraft-FSX.htm

 

Again if you like the idea of trying some older aeroplanes for FS, the Captain Sim Boeing 707 and 727 are both great fun:

 

https://www.captainsim.com/

 

If you can tolerate simulations which are not quite up to PMDG/A2A/FSL standards, some of the older types from JustFlight can be fun to fly and most are not too expensive, i.e. things like the DC-8, Comet, DC-3 etc.

 

https://www.justflight.com/

 

And if you fancy going over to the dark side and trying a regional turboprop, no list of recommendations would be complete without pointing out the Majestic Q400 Dash 8, which is available in 'pro' version and 'pilot' version, so you can choose the level of nerdiness you want to go for, although to be fair, it's fairly inexpensive in 'pro' form anyway:

 

http://majesticsoftware.com/mjc8q400/

[WotanUK 289]

I'll second the Dash-8 from Majestic, price is right, it's light on frames and VAS, it's just great, perhaps the best piece of payware out there.  You can also get the Airline2Sim training for it, which is both informative and entertaining.

 

The FSL A320, is, I am sure, a masterwork, but it's very pricey i think it's the most expensive add-on currently available and heavy on my system, 300mb more VAS than the PMDG 747 and frame rates about 5FPS lower.

[Dan8 5]

You mentioned a regional jet.  You might like a prop version, such as the Carenado King Air 350i.

 

The following is not the best video, try to look beyond some of the things the sim pilot did: 

 

Here is another video with more navigation information.  Please overlook his mistakes, I do not believe he is a real pilot: 

[Nellinator 0]

I will admit, I'm a big fan of turboprops, so I'll definitely give the Q400 a look.  I'm also a fan of older, "classic" aircraft, so I'll probably end up giving everything mentioned so far a look.

I've heard there are two different 767s that are popular.  Anyone have any insight into those?

[Chock 17,769]

The Boeing 767 which most avid flight simmers hold up as being the most realistic (at least in terms of systems) is the Level D version, however, it's been around a looong time (originally released in 2009 and updated last in about 2011 if memory serves), so it is, as you'd expect, showing signs of its age in comparison to more recent high end releases. That said, it is a very good and indeed accurate simulation of a Boeing 767. Historically, PMDG said in the past that they wouldn't do a 767 because of the Level D 767, however, stick around Avsim long enough (and in particular the PMDG forum) and you will observe that there are regularly 'please do a 767' threads on there, to the point where many people end up posting a 'not this one again' type of reply lol. However, it's been so long since PMDG made that promise to not step on Level D's toes that I wouldn't put it past them to change their tune and make one.

 

The other well known FS Boeing 767, is the Captain Sim version. Captain Sim products vary in how much fidelity they offer, for example, the Captain Sim C-130 Hercules is truly excellent, whereas the Captain Sim B52 is (by their own admission), more of a looker than an accurate simulation of the real thing. Most other Captain sim aircraft fall somewhere between those two points, so don't expect their 767 or 777 to be rivalling the Level D 767 or the PMDG 777 in terms of systems simulation accuracy. They're not bad, but the Level D 767 is still the one to have for accuracy. Having said that, what is and always has been a strong point with Captain Sim products, is their virtual cockpit modeling, which is almost always of a particularly impressive standard, although that does mean they can be a bit tough on frame rates. What most people will tell you where buying Captain Sim stuff goes, is: 'wait until the Christmas Sale', which Captain Sim always have every year, where everything is 9.99 Dollars. In my opinion, exceptions to waiting around and instead paying full price, would be the aforementioned C-130, which is truly excellent, and possibly their Boeing 727 and Boeing 707 (and maybe their 737, although there are plenty of rivals to that one), both the 727 and 707 are really very good indeed in most respects, although the nuances of their low bypass turbojet engines could possibly be slightly more accurately done; if you are nerdy enough to know how the real things are operated in terms of what instruments you monitor in order to set thrust levels properly, but don't let that put you off them (it is after all, only a simulator), they are in most respects excellent.

 

There are some other FS 767s out there. AFS Design, CLS, but they're generally regarded as the 'also rans' with most flight simmers, however, they do have the odd merit, although you should be aware that they are, generally speaking, somewhat 'lite' simulations of the real thing in terms of how realistic they are, but having said that, if you want something that looks the part and gets good frame rates for not much money, these are the ones you'd be wanting.

[scianoir 610]

some of the older types from JustFlight can be fun to fly and most are not too expensive, i.e. things like the DC-8, Comet, DC-3 etc.

 

If you want a DC-3, the excellent freeware C-47 v3 from Manfred Jahn is the best DC-3 available for FSX and it has now replaced my payware JustFlight DC-3 which has been moved into my FSX storage yard!

 

Bill

[Nellinator 0]

I've heard good things about the Manfred Jahn DC-3.  I've a bit of a soft spot for the old bird, so I'll take a look.

Also, the Majestic Q400 is amazing, as is (I only admit reluctantly) the FSL A320.  I've been busy with college lately, but I'll be diving into some others before too terribly long, I hope.  Thanks again for all the recommendations.

[Nellinator 0]

To follow up.  Anyone know of good business jets?

[Greggy_D 935]

To follow up.  Anyone know of good business jets?

See this thread:

 

http://www.avsim.com/topic/504573-bizjet/

[Nellinator 0]

See this thread:

 

http://www.avsim.com/topic/504573-bizjet/

Thank you!