Best medium price P3D aircraft?

[Sir Blackbird 1]

Hi guys, I have been using XP11 as my main flight sim platform for many months now, and have had many happy flights on the ToLiss 319 and FJS727. I have also recently started doing a lot of vatsim flights. I recently decided to try a go at P3D because of the way the sim looks and Orbx scenery. I am pretty sure there are quite a bit more study-level airliners for Prepared to. I however don't know what my first airliner is going to be, which is why I came to this forum to ask about it. I generally fly short haul and I'd say I am more of an Airbus person but I am certainly not above flying a Boing (haha). I have taken a look at the FSLabs 320 but the price is just insane, since I live in Australia it is over $200! So yeah, I just wanted to get your opinion on  a reasonably priced immersive tube liner for P3D. I would very much need a good functioning FMC because of my Vatsim addiction. PMDG 737 looks nice, or maybe the Aerosoft 320/321? Also, I would need a plane decent on frames.

Thanks in Advance!

Edited July 1, 2020 by Sir Blackbird

[TimF 3]

iFly 737. Installed it recently on my system (i7 7700K 4.2Ghz not overclocked, GTX1070, 32GB DDR4 Ram, 3 monitors with NVidia Surround, P3D 4.5HF3) and have not experienced a hit on FPS or smoothness. Pretty immersive and not bad price.

Edited July 1, 2020 by TimF

[jon b 2,041]

The qualitywings 787 just about fits into the medium price bracket and probably offers the best complexity/quality  per dollar ratio available on the P3D platform. If you want to go turboprop then the majestic Q400 is the way to go.

[Chock 17,769]

There is absolutely no question which airliner is the best value product for P3D, nothing else comes close to it in terms of the low price for the amount of features you get with it. It is of course, the Majestic Dash 8 Q400. Available in three versions - a slightly feature simplified Pilot version (this costs £39), a Pro version which is a detailed simulation of the real thing (this costs £59), and a Training version which features ground engineer test modes for the FMC and other such useful stuff for training personnel on fixing the real aeroplane (this costs £99). 

I would say go for the Pro version. For less than sixty quid, you are getting something which is good enough to teach you how to fly the real thing. This is the software that a ramp agent used to teach himself how to fly the real aeroplane when he was suffering a mental breakdown a couple of years ago, where he stole an Alaska Airlines Dash 8 Q400 from Seattle Tacoma, took off in it, flew stunts in it for an hour or so, and then deliberately crashed it. Sadly, he was killed in the incident, and whilst this is not something Majestic is likely to put about too much, it is nevertheless testament to the accuracy of their simulation of the real thing that an unqualified person was able to start up, taxi, take off and fly around, do stunts including doing a barrel roll, in the real aeroplane as a result of having used this flight sim add-on.

It works in all versions of FSX and all version of P3D, although a patch for the latest V5 version of P3D is still coming out shortly (probably a week or two), in order to sort out one or two minor glitches, not that these minor glitches prevent you from using the thing in V5 anyway.

If on the other hand you prefer a jet, the Aerosoft Airbuses or the Quality Wings Boeing 787 are probably the next best bet for a reasonably accurate simulation which doesn't cost an arm and a leg. If  money is no object, then the FSL A320 is the best choice by far. It's expensive, but you do get what you pay for.

So yourself a favour though and get the Majestic Dash 8 Q400. You will not be disappointed.

[ckyliu 1,749]

I'd say the Majestic Q400 like Chock, although I find pilot edition is more than enough for my needs. FlyTheMaddog always gets a good rep too although I've never used it.

[Sir Blackbird 1]

Well it seems like the Q400 is popular, but I would like a good FMC for vatsim so does it have directs, holds, airways etc? So nobody recommending the PMDG?

[Greggy_D 935]

Tfdi 717 also

[log_0_Inf 14]

47 minutes ago, Sir Blackbird said:

Well it seems like the Q400 is popular, but I would like a good FMC for vatsim so does it have directs, holds, airways etc? So nobody recommending the PMDG?

Directs - check

Holds- check

Airways - check

Go get it 😉

All kidding aside, as other have mentioned elsewhere the FMS is extremely capable in terms of lateral navigation (also RNP approaches for instance), but limited (as its real world counterpart) in terms of vertical navigation.

Cheers

Edit: I have flown it extensively on VATSIM and it is challenging but not because of any FMS limitations but because you often operate into larger hubs with VREF of 115 kts while everyone else is doing 140 kts. It's great fun!

Edited July 1, 2020 by log_0_Inf

[Bob Scott 7,710]

44 minutes ago, Sir Blackbird said:

Well it seems like the Q400 is popular, but I would like a good FMC for vatsim so does it have directs, holds, airways etc? So nobody recommending the PMDG?

I wouldn't put PMDG in the medium price bracket.

The Leonardo Maddog, iFly 737/747, and the Majestic Dash-8 are probably best-in-class for that price bracket.

[Sir Blackbird 1]

I just looked at the Maddog and it looks quite nice! I think I will decide for the q400 though. HiFly 737 doesn’t look the best in my opinion and there are little up to date videos of it on yt.

[Sir Blackbird 1]

Still, I think I am stuck between the PMDG and q400. I know the 737 is more expensive but not by much.

[micstatic 4,296]

I would make sure you look the maddog over one more time.  It's fantastic.  Very efficient on performance/frames.  plenty to keep you interested for a long time.  a FREE coming EFB update in the next few weeks.  If you have navigraph you can have all your charts.  

PS: All the previous recommendations are good also.  

Edited July 2, 2020 by micstatic

[F737MAX 5,501]

I highly rate the Q400.

It might not be as pretty as the PMDG 737NGXu nor the Leonardo Maddog with PBR textures, yet it is a very detailed option, that requires more of your involvement in the flying of it, and has the lightest performance impact on your sim.
 

[Bob Scott 7,710]

Of course it depends on the kind of flying you want to do.  A 737 can fly over a wider/longer range, where the Q400 is much more limited.  If you want to interact with the airport infrastructure (jetways, stairs, baggage loaders etc) the 737 can do that at tons of airports, where the Q400 is pretty much unsupported by the available GSE options and operates ramp-only.

They're both good, but the 737 is, IMHO, a more versatile choice.

 

[Mgard78 141]

3 hours ago, Sir Blackbird said:

Well it seems like the Q400 is popular, but I would like a good FMC for vatsim so does it have directs, holds, airways etc? So nobody recommending the PMDG?

Nobody is recommending PMDG because you asked for mid price, and that is something PMDG is not. They are the most expensive planes of all...