Remember the Pipistrel has a negative flap position like a glider, use it when over 100 kts.
Flap lever is between the seats and the air brake is up behind your head and needs to be unlatched to engage.
Remember the Pipistrel has a negative flap position like a glider, use it when over 100 kts.
Flap lever is between the seats and the air brake is up behind your head and needs to be unlatched to engage.
Another great plane is the Golden Age Simulations Kinner Sportswing. I really like this one.
Unfortunately when it was originally brought out as payware it needed a few more touch-ups in the cockpit area, especially things like the cockpit floor textures which were not up to scratch. The FM, Sound and exterior modelling were top class. Sadly the complaints were so over the top the developer took it off the market and made it freeware and said they were no longer doing any work for MSFS.
It is available here but will only download with Edge not Chrome:
My planes I always go back to are
Monster NX Cub. I think this is by Got Gravel, but I’m not sure if it requires the NX Cub from Asobo.
BN2 Islander by BlackBox. I absolutely love this airplane, it’s just too slow for most of the flying I do.
M20R Mooney Ovation by . This was my first add-on aircraft in MSFS, and it’s still one of my favorites…I just rarely fly it anymore.
Piper Warrior by Just Flight. I’ve only flown this one a couple times, but every time I do I’m reminded of how good it is! I find myself enjoying it more than the three Arrows.
G58 Baron by Asobo. Idk, I just like it. I’m still upset I can’t open the door tho.
I was going to point out that, while the OPs list is of five aircraft, we haven’t been limited to a specific number…but then I couldn’t think of any more to list. I own them all, so I plan to take advantage of this loophole at some point if I feel the need.
I enjoy these lists. I like the feeling of someone caring about my opinion. Thanks for this topic.
Ah… similar to the Van’s RV-14 twins. The top of travel is -3 degrees flaps for those.
The Flight Design CTSL also has a negative flap position, though I couldn’t actually measure any speed increase when using it at cruise when I tried. That was some SU’s ago though, who knows now.
What a great topic.
Happy to see the Ryan ST-1 Special mentioned. It just looks so incredibly good. Like a prewar Porsche or a vintage formula racer. All metal and wooden panel. Sightseeing and cruising in style. Really love it. Would be wonderful to see a floats version some day.
MB-339. Great Italian jet trainer. So much fun to go canyon running at high speed. Including a Aerobatics version with red, green and white smoke - it is Italian.
S.55 legend float plane. Yes, the catamaran floatplane of Porco Rosso fame. Fun to fly and nothing else looks just like it. Fly the open top with two giant engines over your head.
Hawker Hunter early Cold War jet. Freeware project of payware quality. Enjoy the sleek lines of one of the most beautiful fighters ever built. Subsonic, but with incredible acceleration. Plenty of versions and liveries in the package and even more on Flightsim.to. So rich history. Last knight I went patrolling on the Malaysian-Indonesian border like 20th Sq in 1965.
Dornier Wal. Such a special and iconic flying boat. Two huge engines overhead. Going to the North Pole like Amundsen? Explore Papua’s jungle? Take an early airline service from Hamburg to London?Just map the keybins for increase magneto to start from cold and dark.
So many great planes in this sim!
C-22J Ventura - Probably the best bang for the buck of any addon I’ve gotten. It’s shockingly cheap, great avionics, and flying it is a hoot
Junkers JU-52 - Might be my favorite cockpit in the game. Despite how MSFS is with taildraggers this thing is really, really easy to take off and land in. Whether its crazy stability makes it more or less realistic I couldn’t tell you though
Carenado C170B - Just a nice low and slow experience. The sound is probably a love or hate kind of situation but the flying, old cockpit and simplicity makes it a fun one to regularly take out
Also just to reinforce mine and other opinions here about the C-22J, I strongly suggest anyone who sees it in the market and dismisses it to at least watch a video or two on youtube of it.
When I was first browsing the market I’d see it all the time and just think oh that’s a weird little plane I’ve never heard of by a developer I’ve never heard of, and at only $10 it’s gotta be like some of the other real budget stuff in the game (even though the reviews are good)
Then I watched a couple videos on it (probably Into the Blue and Avangel) and thought it’s only $10 and that looks fun enough so I bought it. But even videos don’t do it justice. Flying it is magical.
As said it’s a GA jet. It’s got nav radios, no autopilot, but it flies great and can go fast and far. So if any of you are like I was and just pass over it when browsing planes, really give it a closer look
I wish they’d open up that second cockpit so I could bring a friend!
I, too, love flying that plane.
If I ever get back to livery painting again, there’s a few I’d like to add.
Man, I sooo wish people had cut the guy some slack for his first offering at the time. His Stearman is awesome and would have been a great addition to my hangar.
Another one I remain quite fond of is the Subsonex JSX-2 micro-jet by YSim.
Similar performance to the other microjets – nothing super impressive in speed or systems, but you can have a lot of fun flying a small, light plane with the clean, clear thrust of a turbojet.
The avionics are a basic VFR EFIS, switchable between a partial simulation of a custom system (I forget the brand) or a Garmin G3X.
criticism is one thing - accusations of theft or fraud are entirely different. It’s a difference that a few who posted in that GAS introductory thread, and to this day on this forum, fail miserably to understand.
I was looking forward to flying many of the GAS team’s catalog in MSFS, the Fleet biplanes, Stinson Reliant, Pitcairn Autogyro and biplane, and so many more - their Navy Works N3N is close to release now also.
Thanks to everyone for their contributions to this thread. I was hoping that there’d be a few hidden gems and you guys did not disappoint.
It’s good to see all the mentions of the Caproni-Vizzola C22J jet. Clearly a winner in many hangars.
I hadn’t flown the Kinner B2 in a while, and it was a treat to take it out for a spin again. It’s a shame that GAS was subject to such vitriol here, and moreso for the loss of the obscure planes that won’t be made now.
Another one I just re-discovered after it was out of the hangar for a while is the French-VFR Menestrel HN433/434. It’s a fun little homebuilt with a VW engine in it. If you ever owned a vintage VW, this is worth having just for the engine sounds. It is available from the frenchvfr.free.fr website.
There is some indication they may eventually be reconsidering that. Let us hope so.
Their catalogue is awesome. If they could get a 3rd party to help with modeling and (especially) textures, I think they would do very well in MSFS.
Trying to resurrect this thread a bit!
Continuing my numbered list (even though the Islander mentioned by me before has made it to my current top 5)…
6. Ryan ST-A Special [A1R Bureau]
Brimming with character and a very lively flight model. Brings a smile to my face when flying it. Top quality, but with so many other choices it stays RIGHT AT THE TOP END of my mid-pack.
7. Globe Swift GC-1A [Aeroplane Heaven]
Whilst lovely to fly and look at, it just doesn’t stand out enough to rise above a mid-pack position. Very well made though and I’ve flown it much more than some of my other purchases.
8. Stream TL Ultralight [LightSim]
This has become my favourite plane for sightseeing at some kind of speed. The visibility because of the tandem seating and bubble canopy gives a great view out and it’s sleek and modern. Hasn’t the system depth of the similar Sting S4, but for what I use it for, it’s a bit more fitting and flies very nicely.
9. Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat [Flying Iron]
Will never replace the Spitfire in my heart for this kind of plane, but it is mightily well done and a proper visceral experience to fly. Top quality addon. I’ll buy anything from this dev without question.
10. Sopwith Triplane [FSadni]
Absolutely lovely freeware. Flies convincingly (but what do I know!). All I can say is it’s unique and a lot of fun to take out.
11. Top Rudder Aero Lite 103 Solo [Asobo]
Underrated IMO. Really useful for checking out POI’s casually and at (very) low speed. Still you need to “fly it”. It can bite, but only if you’re being silly. Unique view out… unlike anything else in the sim?
12. F-22A (Premium) [Top Mach Studios]
Amazing ability with the thrust vectoring but kind of boring to fly - it’s so precise and unflappable that it feels numb. Realistic stability I suppose but not what brings me back for more. I just like pushing the envelope to see what it can do and if I can get away with it!
13. Guimbal Cabri G2 [HCG]
Another great freeware. I suppose we will have an influx of choppers soon and I’m kind of waiting for that but this one is quite nice to fly. I think I prefer the Bell 47 though just for the old school feel and the wild engine sound!
14. Hydro Ultralight amphibious boat [BlueMesh]
One I sometimes fire up when I fancy being a bit silly. Certainly at the lower end of my mid-pack. It’s definitely not below that as it’s pretty decent but super simple. Just the fact you are flying in a DINGHY, and can land anywhere makes it a bit special in the plethora of options we have.
15. Freedom Fox [Parallel 42]
Always so close to being in my top 5 but I always find something else to put instead. I love the agility of it, the visibility and it kind of feels like an extension to your body like a little go kart. Looks great and flies great. The ability to land almost anywhere is the most special thing about it and it’s one I always go back to for that purpose.
AH Chipmunk - the FM is off ( seems to have very little induced drag, so you can do aerobatics for years! ) and some bits don’t work like Chipmunk bits - it is at least nearer than their Spitfire seems to be - but as someone who wanted to join the RAF ( even if I’d never have got near a Chipmunk, I’m not that old! ) it puts a smile on my face - for a bit, until it gets annoying!
BigRadial’s Goose - has just enough annoyances to keep it out of my top 5 but I love the thing anyway.
GotFriend’s Discus 2c - a glider is never going to get in my top 5, but I like it.
ATSim Cri-Cri - this thing is just hilarious.
Asobo/WT/modded Cessna bizjets - good fun, just that’s about it.
The Islander would usually be in a top 5 for me but the current FM does not let me fly it like Islanders I’ve seen or ones I’ve been in and it frustrates me… so not really sure if it should go on this list either. The same is true of the DC-6, actually, although that’s just because it looks rather old these days & the FPS hit is outrageous.
Asobo DA-40
Hmm totally forgot about this one. Worth a punt? What is it like in terms of dynamics? Stunt plane? Why hilarious?