Addon Aircraft selection

[1123213 26]

Hello All!

First of all, sorry if I have posted this in the wrong place, i'm new but I felt compelled to ask the mighty Avsim community!

So I have P3Dv4, and have been flying the beautiful FSLabs a320 around. However, having used it for over 30+ flights nonstop, I kinda felt the need to switch to another aircraft. So, I have the TFDi 717, but being a European simmer it makes routes kinda difficult. I was wondering what aircraft you would all recommend next?

Besides all of this, the main factor is ideally not to rebuy for FS2020 (PMDG-style)

 

If you have any info on aircraft developers and FS2020, or any good aircraft that follow suit, please do let me know, I really don't mind if it's short or long haul, just also ideally below $100. Thanks!

[breakinghbts 50]

Id assume the NGXu is out, as the deal to get the value paid for the MSFS version has ended. 

That said. I'd go with the QW787. Its not "study level". But its a great daily driver. Ive taken it across oceans, and just to the city next door. Its a good value considering you get the -8, -9, and -10. 

Thats my two cents. But with any of the high end aircraft im sure you'll be happy.

 

-Tony@PVD

Edited March 4, 2020 by breakinghbts
Spelling

[micstatic 4,319]

I would recommend the QW787 also.  I have all of the PMDG and like them a lot.  But these days I fly the majority in the FSLabs series, then split the difference with the QW787/Maddog X and a little on the pmdg 747. the majestic dash is a great pickup also

Edited March 4, 2020 by micstatic

[Chock 17,769]

Another vote for the QW 787 from me too. It's not 'study level' in the sense that it has every circuit-breaker and possible failure mode modeled, but it does have a very good and fairly in depth simulation of the avionics of the real 787. This makes it an entertaining ride in your sim because there are loads of things to play with for monitoring stuff whilst you are en route. It runs very well in P3D being not too demanding on frames, and should you want to do a longer route than in Europe alone, it has the legs to go over long stretches of ocean. There are a lot of them flying in Europe too (TUI is a big user and their aircraft have fun names too, such as Pixie Dust etc). 

Another good choice would be the Majestic Bombardier Dash 8 Q400. This is the add-on airliner which out-PMDGs even PMDG, in that it is a more in depth simulation of the aircraft than anything PMDG has ever done, since (in its 'pro' version), it includes things such as all the circuit breakers being fully functional and all the engineer test modes on the FMC working as per the real thing, no PMDG or FSL add on has that level of detail. Being a regional prop, it's comparatively easy to master its systems and it is great for reasonably short hops around Europe. There are quite a few users of the type in Europe too, so it fits your preference. It's an absolute steal at the price they sell it too; they could charge double what they do and it'd still be worth it, so definitely get the full on version if you go for this one.

[regis9 4,014]

I’d suggest the Q400 or the NGXu.  Those two plus the FSLabs A320 are my three most frequently used aircraft.

[vadriver 247]

13 hours ago, Canine Crew said:

having used it for over 30+ flights nonstop,

this will be a quick upgrade ... but still as a P2 !!

[qqwertz 781]

If you are not focused on modern commercial aviation with jets or large turboprops, you also could try small turboprops, GA, or historic airplanes:

- A2A Cessna 172  (very faithful reproduction of the real procedures)

- A2A Constellation (iconic airplane with piston engines, a unique challenge)

- Milviz Beech KingAir 350i (only about 2 months old, probably the best small turboprop you can get)

- Aerosoft DC-8 (a great rendition of a 1960s jet. A lot more challenging than modern jets. You have to keep an eye on the engines, the tanks, and the INS is a very different experience compared to modern FMS)

Peter

[rmeier 473]

As already mentioned a couple times...the Majestic Q400 (Pilot Edition) is a great value...and a fun aircraft to fly for shorter routes.

[1123213 26]

Hi All, 

Thanks so much for all your replies, Avsim really is the best place to come! As for the aircraft, I think the biggest contender is the QW787, as i have many large European sceneries, and there are some great US freeware airports. With FlyBe gone :-(, the Q400, is less of an option for me. Just a quick question though, what was QualityWings' policy on upgrading to P3Dv4? Does anyone here think that they will have a "PMDG-rebuy" policy with FS2020? (I'd rather not spend this much on an aircraft just for 6 months) Thanks again for all your help!

Edited March 6, 2020 by Canine Crew

[Bob R 2]

I don't believe QW has an upgrade policy for MSFS and I wouldn't bank on one being in place at any point. That said, it will almost certainly be more than 6 months before you can fully dig into the new MSFS with addons. Realistically, you're probably looking at more than a year from now before you see a decent amount of 3rd party addons available. These things take time to develop, especially for a whole new platform that hasn't even been released yet and a new SDK.

As far as the recommendations you received, I own both the Q400 and the QW 787 and enjoy them. You can't go wrong with either one, with both providing lots of value for the asking price. If you're looking for a Boeing but don't want to spend on PMDG prices (or even QW prices), there's always the iFly 737. I've never used it, but have heard good things, so maybe take a look at that. They also have a 747.

[Chock 17,769]

With regard to the 'will QW have some kind of discount for people who have their P3D or FSX 787, or any of their other aeroplanes?' question, it's hard to say. There's no real reason they should feel compelled to offer a discount for anything which they've had to do some hard graft on making, other than as a good will gesture. But having said that, QW did do that with their FSX 787 for those who then bought the P3D version, although only for a limited period, which I believe is what PMDG did too with their 747, albeit for a very brief time.

One thing I do know however, is that in terms of good will and not being seen to be ripping people off, QW is probably among the best of the developers for having made gestures of this nature, as evidenced by their BAe 146, which they upgraded for P3D but said they'd put it out at a reduced price because it was a souped-up FSX development rather than a from scratch affair, not that you'd know it because it is pretty good.

But quite apart from the fact that the QW 787 is a good add-on aeroplane which is great fun and well worth having, that 146 gesture, and the 787 one too, really made QW go up in my estimation. That kind of good will goes a long way with me, to the extent that even if they didn't discount their 787 and shoehorned it into FS 2020 (or whatever it ends up being called), I would probably buy it at full price just as a show of support for a developer who did make that nice gesture when they really did not have to. And that would mean I'd bought versions of their 787 three times, which gives you an idea of just what a fun aeroplane it is to have in your flight sim.

Making decisions based on what will be in the new MS sim can be nothing but guesswork and in my opinion, it's counterproductive to the fun you can have right now to be holding off on any purchases based on that decision, because there is no guarantee that the MS sim will be out any time soon, especially with the COVID-19 virus adding to a lot of uncertainty over all kinds of business activities and timetables.