The Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee both modeled by a2a are actually widely used as trainers in the real world. Frustration or mistakes are actually part of learning a somewhat complex skill. Nice thing about the sim is you can’t get killed in the process so self learning is fine. They also have a Piper Cub reminding me of an instructor telling me if you learn in a tail dragger you can handle anything. 
It would be interesting to hear what the OP decides. After all it’s all about the fun.

The P40 is definitely no trainer but it is fun and free free free. I have read about those kids in WWII being thrown in those fire breathers with a surprising low time in type. Imagine being nineteen and climbing in one of those beast with clearance to go shoot up anything moving.

4 minutes ago, Patco Lch said:

The Cessna 172 and Piper Cherokee both modeled by a2a are actually widely used as trainers in the real world. Frustration or mistakes are actually part of learning a somewhat complex skill. Nice thing about the sim is you can’t get killed in the process so self learning is fine. They also have a Piper Cub reminding me of an instructor telling me if you learn in a tail dragger you can handle anything. 
It would be interesting to hear what the OP decides. After all it’s all about the fun.

The P40 is definitely no trainer but it is fun and free free free. I have read about those kids in WWII being thrown in those fire breathers with a surprising low time in type. Imagine being nineteen and climbing in one of those beast with clearance to go shoot up anything moving.

Yes, it amazes me that they basically graduated straight from trainers to the actual machine and for the most part it had to be them on their own. I just couldn't imagine getting out of any trainer into a Spitfire, Corsair or what have you. Apparently the Germans had their own host of problems with new graduates being thrown into a very deep end with the very narrow landing gear track of the BF109.

As an aside, I bought the Blu-ray set of Black Sheep Squadron (loved the series back in the mid 70s) for a Christmas present to myself. In the first episode Boyington tells his newbie pilots (some of whom we are lead to believe have only flown trainers so presumably even a Ryan) that the Corsair just does everything the same as the trainer except that it has guns! Yeh, right!!

A2A Cherokee.

Walk-around.

Sporty looking but easy to handle.

Basic simple autopilot ( heading/altitude - basic nav tracking too).

Simple prop (just throttle/mixture).

Can use basic dual nav radio setup or advanced GPS (gns or gtn available if you want).

Can Land almost anywhere so lots of fun!

I'd avoid the Piper Cub as it's so light it's very frustrating to land in any kind of winds. More like trying fly glider/balloon!

On 1/10/2026 at 5:03 AM, shermank said:

As I began reading JonPO1 post, that got me thinking about Carenado, as I read further I saw that he was thinking the same thing. I have the Cessna 185 which is  a very managable and user friendly beginner's plane. It’s a plane to fly for fun, nothing like a study aircraft 

sherm 

Actually I'd steer more to an Ant's Aeroplane rather then Carenado, given applying mods and fixes to my own Carenado aircraft has shown me how much they reuse code and variables and manage to introduce many bugs and problems that are never fixed (hence mods and fixes).

Where as Ant's Aeroplanes had taken on feedback and resolved issues resulting in planes that are very mature coding wise.

Anyway, the aircraft look good, fly well and quite easily, do require a minimum level of maintenance and have in-sim flight manuals and configuration options, yeah the range of aircraft is small but those he does have are pretty good and cost $10.95 to 18.25 USD or a little more from Just Flight or Simmarket, you can even download a demo versions if you'd like and yeah I'm giving him a plug because not only are the planes pretty great, I'm amazed he can do them for the price and he resolved some very specific problems I managed to identify and provide feedback on back when I first bought them.

I particularly like the Sierra LSA, the Tiger Moth Pro, the Winjeel (a unique Australian trainer) and the Trojan T28 (a warplane).

Here's a few pics of the Sierra LSA, these are taken @ Milford Sound NZ and Quinton Lodge NZ.

 

Configuration options page, the GPS says RXP and default 500 series as I've customised the panel.cfgs specifically for the RXP GTN 750.

 

Maintenance options, the engine will tend to die unexpectedly if not maintained, not quite at the A2A level of maintenance needs but certainly more than a Carenado.

 

Canopy rain effects.

Cheers

 

 

On 1/5/2026 at 9:38 PM, Rogen said:

And the Vertx Diamond DA62 is very nice and even has wing flex.

I would also recommend the Vertx DA62. Whilst the installer looks for P3Dv4 it's easy to install into v5 with a small Registry adjustment. The author sadly lost his wife and resulted in him withdrawing from the flight sim community. But this is a superb aircraft both in flight model and instrumentation.

Trickiest bit is taxiing but practice and you'll improve. 😁

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/573310-vertx-da-62-in-p3d-v5/

 

Hi Ray, I think you have me confused with the OP. I lost my wife six months ago to pancreatic cancer.

my life is slowly adjusting to its new phase with support from therapy, family and friends. And, though I am adjusting, she will always be at the center of my heart and soul

 

sherm

 

1 hour ago, shermank said:

Hi Ray, I think you have me confused with the OP. I lost my wife six months ago to pancreatic cancer.

my life is slowly adjusting to its new phase with support from therapy, family and friends. And, though I am adjusting, she will always be at the center of my heart and soul

 

sherm

 

Hi Sherm. I was referring to the author of the DA62. 😉

I’m sorry you lost your wife to such a horrible disease. 😔

2 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Hi Sherm. I was referring to the author of the DA62. 😉

I’m sorry you lost your wife to such a horrible disease. 😔

Thanks Ray 

i appreciate your thoughts and sympathy 

 

sherm

3 hours ago, shermank said:

Hi Ray, I think you have me confused with the OP. I lost my wife six months ago to pancreatic cancer.

my life is slowly adjusting to its new phase with support from therapy, family and friends. And, though I am adjusting, she will always be at the center of my heart and soul

 

sherm

 

Sorry for your loss. God bless and best wishes 

19 minutes ago, Patco Lch said:

Sorry for your loss. God bless and best wishes 

Thank you 

On 1/11/2026 at 2:50 AM, Rogen said:

Here's a few pics of the Sierra LSA, these are taken @ Milford Sound NZ and Quinton Lodge NZ.

Thanks for the screenshots an references. I just visited these places now after almost forgetting these sceneries.

Edited January 12Jan 12 by blaunarwal

Sorry for your loss Sherm.  I can't imagine loosing my wife of 31 yrs.  I think it would be just as painful as loosing my son at two and a half yrs old back in 1992.  You do slowly recover, but it takes a long time.

Anyway, I would also recommend the A2A C172, great aircraft.

Thank you td,

yes the loss has been unbearable, but I have built a relationship with another Woman through a mutual friend who introduced us. My family, friends and therapist all tell me that I need to do what I want to regain a sense of happiness and overcome the loneliness. I am fortunate that they all understand..

 

thanks for your kind thoughts …and I am sorry that my first post kind of took over this thread…

 

sherm