I have the ES 'Cirri' SR20 and sr22, and also the new Columbia.The differences are perforamnce.The Cirri usually cruise at 155-175, TAS depending on the model, and really likes cruising at 8,000-12,000 feet.The Columbia will get you a cruise of 215 TAS, and will cruise at 25,000 easily.Problem for you here is deciding what you want to do. The Cirrus 22 and Columbia are really built to cover long distances quickly above the weather, especially the Columbia.If you want to 'sight see', and weave around from hop to hop, then I would probably still go with one of the Cessna's. Again, the 206 would probably work great. It might be slower than the aircraft above, but I'm not sure your intent is getting from A to B quickly or at 18-25,000 ft.My favorite VFR machine is the RealAir Scout. It cruises at a blistering 80-95 knots :D and climbs at a rate of about 500 fpm and less. But it is a blast, and I have covered allot of ground around Alaska with it, you just have to plan your route accordingly....that said, ES also makes the wonderfull Liberty. A low and slow flyer, but has all the modern avionics, including a Garmin 530 gns unit. Also great for 'sight seeing'.

I would consider the actual flying-feeling aspect as well. For that reason I would never use FSNavigator for anything but a map. Showing the aircraft there takes away the challenge and exitement of navigating IMHO. Right now I can't think of any more realistic plane than the SibWings Saab 91, but the tools for navigating are close to nothing there (and we have to wait for a patch before the VOR works properly).So, I would recommend the Carenado 206 too, gives you a good flying feeling, and can be equipped with RealityXP GPS ...Eagle

I did a nice tour of Italy in the Real Air SF260. Reasonably fast, fun to fly and great visibility.BlairCYOW

>I did a nice tour of Italy in the Real Air SF260. Reasonably>fast, fun to fly and great visibility.>Blair>CYOWDitto for the Real Air SF260-- if you're going to do VFR, nothing beats they're fluid VC.

Hi everybody!Just a quick question (I'm at school atm, hehe!).Someone here mentioned floats, or whatever they are called!Are there any more GA's than the 206 and A36 with floats?Another question:When I sit in my 206 - I can press ctrl+5 (or 6). When I do that, a GPS pops up. I wondered if it's suppposed to be like that, since the 206 doesn't have any GPS at all in real life?And a few people here reccomended me to 'tweak' my 206 with new GPS instruments.I wonder - how do I do that? And will the tweaked instruments be visible in VC?Best of Regards,Christer Fredholm

Aerosoft's Supercub has a float variant and RealAir's brilliant Scout package comes with an amphib (in fact I should have recommended that in the first place). Or you could always look at Mikko Maliniemi's Maule - freeware and still excellent. As for the GPS popping up, remember that there are handheld units out there which you can take on board with you!

In real life a plane can have a large variety of instruments depending on what the owner pays to retrofeit in it. You can rip eveyrthing out of a 206 panel and put in a set of Garmin1000 if you want to.I know the RealityXP G430 fits into the 206 nicely, including the VC. All you need to do is to purchase that unit if you don't already own it and download a panel mod file for the 206 from their website. However, that excellent GPS is not cheap. If you want an older and cheaper GPS I recommend the fs2x KLN90.

One thing you may want to think about is..to get a GA plane that barely manages to climb to those mountain level.Whats the fun of flying an aircraft in the sim that would quickly climb out and fly high over the mountains?You may want to pick the ones that is not super charged. They are more fun to plan you route and aviod those mountains. To plan a flight that goes around the peaks, flying at the level of the montains or through the valleys...... like real people do.Something to consider.:)Manny

I agree Manny, which is why I would not be scared to 'climb in' my RealAir Scout.If you have sectionals (and good scenery enhancements like UT/Genesis mesh), you can have a bunch of fun heading into the mountains weaving around the valleys 'between the peaks' seeing how good you are at getting to your destination.As I stated above, I've flown around Alaska and B.C. this way at 3-5,000 ft. Simply climbing above the 'tops' sometimes takes all the fun out of it. ...The last time I did a journey around Europe, (including Norway/Sweden/Finland), I actually used a variety of aircraft, the Cessna 206 and 210, Cirrus 20/22, Piper Cherokee and Dakota, DC-3, the freeware Maule, and I may be forgetting some others. I wouldn't necessarily feel like you have to select one particular aircraft....it is a 'sim' BTW ;) I just used aircraft that would achieve my goal best on any particular leg of the trip.Complete charts and scenery were more important to me most the time.

Greetings!I do have the RealityXP 430XP actually!However, I'm not sure what file I need from their download site:http://www.reality-xp.com/community/files.htmThere are atleast 3 different Carenado C206 files there!If there are different apperances between the files - I'd like to have the version with as much electronics as possible!You can't go wrong with as much electronics in the aircraft as possible, eh? ;)Still, I reeeeally want a addon which will blend into the VC aswell.You see, I bought the TRACK IR4 PRO today - and I'm in love with my VC now! :DPlease help me with the GPS issue?

Just download the files and see if there is one for a single RXP 430 unit by reading the 'readme'/install instructions. I think most are for dual installations, as I have mine.Additionally, you might be able to use a dual instal .cfg, and change it for the use of a single if you can understand how the mod was created.Always back-up your origional panel.cfg first!Here is my 206 panel completely outfitted with RXP gauges...http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/155891.jpg

bkeske,Nice picture!Is it only the console in the middle you have switched with RealityXP?For all I know, my instruments came with the A36 Bonanza!That is, the 430XP thingie - and a weather radar aswell (RealityXP).I'm not sure if there are any other 'instruments' from RealityXP included with any of my other aircrafts I have installed aswell!Ah well,Christer Fredholm

No, most of the panel is RXP gauges (except 'engine gauges').Your problem is the RXP gauges supplied with the Bonanza cannot be used in any other aircraft.So, you would have to purchase the RXP 430(s) seperately for use in the 206.

Jeesus Christ!Could you give me a complete list of every RXP addon and it's name for me, please?I'd like a cockpit just like yours! ;)Best of Regards,Christer Fredholm

It won't be cheap ;)1)The RXP Garmin 430 pakage + the Pro add-on package (so you can use two) ($30+$25)2) The Sandel 3308 ($25)3) The Flight Line 'T' package ($20)4) The Flight Line 'N' package ($20)So that panel the way I have it laid out would be $120.00But, you can use them in a buch of other aircraft as well.