There’s a great thread in this forum (thanks @Baracus250!) with simmers’ current favorite top five aircraft. I’m curious about the less popular planes in peoples’ hangars; the ones you don’t fly every day, but when you do take them up they still make you smile.
My “middle five” are:
de Havilland DH89 Dragon Rapide (freeware, Sim-Outhouse). This is an unusual twin engine biplane from the 1930’s. It features a single pilot position and a greenhouse canopy similar to the Junkers JU52 with excellent visibilty. Sadly, she doesn’t play nice in multiplayer with more than one person flying it (at least for me).
Caudron Rafale C430 (payware, Blue Mesh). I love flying this with the canopy open (with damage off). Perfect for low and slow exploration of the French countryside.
Grumman F3F-2 (payware, Aeroplane Heaven). I have a soft spot for Grummans, and this little pre-war biplane is a lot of fun to toss around, despite a less-than-stellar sound package.
Caproni-Vizzola C22J (payware, Mario Noriega Designs). Jets aren’t my forte but this little guy is too much fun to ignore. Unique avionics, and the sports car seating position gives you a real feeling of speed during those low fast runway passes. Highest user-rated airplane in my list. Bargain priced too.
Bell 47 Helicopter (payware, FlyInside). Largely sidelined by the H145, the Bell is great for when you need to get your MASH groove on, or work on your core stick and rudder heli skills.
Thanks! I think there are some hidden gems out there that are overshadowed sometimes by the more popular planes of the day. Heck, two on my list don’t appear on yours at all!
Here are 5 aircraft that I keep going back to which I didn’t include in my current Top 5:
1. Discus 2c Glider [Got Friends]
Totally love chilling and gliding around. You need to think about things a different way so it’s a fresh experience after powered flight. Not had much time in the new Premium version yet (with the powered FES variant, ironically) but it seems great and with addition of Kinetic Assistant opens up lots to explore that you can’t (don’t need to) do in GA craft. Really fair price too for the clear effort that’s gone into over a year + of development and improvements.
2. BN 2 Islander [Black Box Sim]
I don’t own the Trislander yet (I am sure to pick it up when I get the urge for something new), but the Islander is a great sounding and lively plane with great STOL ability and feeling of weight. I know a lot of planes fall into that category too but I enjoy flying this heavier classic plane - especially around the Outer Hebrides and Caribbean Islands area, doing small hops between short runways.
3. EA-7 Edgley Optica [Got Friends]
Great view for sightseeing (almost like a helicopter cabin with glass below) but handles a bit boring and it’s a bit slow. I guess that’s realistic for it as it’s a stable surveillance aircraft, hehe… but I wish it was a bit more lively and faster. Good for when you just want to check out some new world update POI’s.
4. Gee Bee R3 Special [Got Friends]
Fast, snappy and fun aerobatic ability. Has some nice liveries but I find the view for landing a bit too restricted (like Spitfire, huge nose in front). This plane isn’t about landing though, so it’s fine and actually adds to the challenge at the end of a fun flying session.
5. JW1 (Jet Pack Guy) [Touching Cloud]
Another unique experience in the sim. Absolutely bonkers. I’ve had a lot of fun flying stupidly low over buildings and valleys risking my life and my head. Haven’t really reliably figured out landing without the parachute. It’s a bit rough around the edges in terms of polish and obviously has no “system depth” to speak of but for a unique experience, it has to be tried. Once you get up speed (which doesn’t take long) and start pelting it at low altitude it’s a thrill that no other ‘craft’ offers. And it’s free so what are you waiting for?
I enjoy flying the Orkney & Shetland isles in the Islander. Those windy North Sea landings really keep you on your toes. Do get the Trislander at some point, it’s a treat!
I quite like A1R’s Ryan ST-A Special – it’s just super photogenic in a 1930s way, and it’s fairly easy to fly (except for a slightly funky fuel system IMO). Speed is nothing amazing, but you’ll feel very cool doing your VFR touring in this baby.
The list below is for aircraft that I used to fly quite a lot - mostly in 2020 - that make me think, “I should fly this one more often” every time I take one of them up for a spin:
In terms of Asobo Planes, the unsung hero is the Pipistrel Virus. Fantastic little CSU Ultralight with great visibility, a decently high cruise and almost STOL landings with the air brake deployed.
I once did a review on this one and zoomed all over it… it’s hard to find a single flaw in the model or texture work. It’s immaculate. Good news is that A1R confirmed in an email reply that they are indeed working on another release.
Black Box Simulations Cessna L-19 Bird Dog - This one is just too much fun to fly, great sounds, great night lighting, hard to beat the immersion here despite it having decidedly middle of the pack attributes with the modeling and texture work.
Flight Replicas Piper L-4 Grasshopper - Piper’s Bird Dog, in a way. Both were designated L for Liaison, though the Bird Dog had an O (Observation) designation as well. This is a dead simple, bare-bones hand flying experience that makes me smile every time.
Mario Noriega Designs Caproni-Vizzola C-22J Ventura - On so many people’s lists which is great to see. You really can’t beat the bang for your buck you get with the Ventura. Anywhere it’s lacking (textures, mainly) it’s more than made up for in others.
IndiaFoxtEcho Rutan Long-EZ - IFE’s debut and it never really gets much attention. There’s not much to it, and the panel is kind of an eyesore because of how unusual this plane is, but it is a ton of fun to fly. It’s sporty and fast enough to goof around in but makes a good touring aircraft as well if you don’t mind the unconventional design.
BlueMesh Caudron C.430 Rafale - Raw, fast and unusual. The view out of the office in this one is pretty cluttered because you’re sitting so far back in the almost comically long bird cage style canopy. But man, it’s a blast to fly.
Honorable mention to Carenado’s Mooney which is probably still my favorite Carenado addon for MSFS, A1R’s Ryan ST-A and the Microsoft/Oliver Moser Dornier Do J Wal.
The Stearman Biplane from DC Designs will always be one of my favorite planes in the sim. Nothing fancy, but flies like a dream and is just plain fun.
I’ll second the votes for the A1R ST-A Special – it’s an unsung gem – and the Cap-Viz C22J, for the reasons already stated.
The Big Radials P-40 has been overtaken by subsequent releases of similar aircraft (like the Corsair, and the Spitfires, and the P-38), and the textures aren’t state-of-the-art, but it’s still a heckuva fun ride.
Finally, a couple of GA aircraft: the BlackBox Bulldog is a nice little aircraft that’s enjoyable to take on short hops from here to there. The original Just Flight Arrow doesn’t get much love anymore (all I see are people flying the Turbo and the Warrior), but it’s still a quality plane. And I have a soft spot for Lionheart’s Socata Trinidad. It has its detractors, and may or may not be true to the real life article, but I like flying it, and I dig the very 80s dashboard.
I’d just like to note that all of these are quality products, and are only middle of the pack when it comes to usage…
Another great idea for a thread. Glad to see the A1R Ryan ST-A Special get some mentions. It was one of my first aftermarket purchases and is a beautiful open cockpit aircraft. The fuel system is indeed quicky. Can anyone guide me as to which binding I can set to change the fuel selector? It just doesn’t move for me when I try moving it with a mouse of late. It did move initially.
The Just Flight Hawk T.1 is another in my list. I flew it from the rear seat for the first time yesterday. This is up there with the DCS jets as far as level of detail goes but has the benefit of being able to fly anywhere. I find VR is so much better in MSFS than in DCS currently. When I want to fly a jet this is my first choice.
The Twin Otter is a special joy now that some of the early issues are sorted. I waiting until those were fixed before getting it.
The Boeing 247D just needs its few issues sorted and I hear there is an update coming at some stage.
The Just Flight Piper PA28 Turbo Arrow was my first JF purchase and it still impresses. I actually had some flying lessons in a Piper many years ago but couldn’t afford to complete them and while they were not in a Turbo Arrow JF certainly got the character of the Piper series I think.
