The dynamics are suprisingly good - most lightweight MSFS aircraft feel like polystyrene RC aircraft on rails, and this doesn’t, albeit it’s not a terribly sophisticated FM. I have absolutely no idea if it flies anything like the real one but it’s a hoot to throw around, it hardly has any instruments & hardly has an airframe to get in the way of the view! I’m fairly sure both the jet and the prob are just a little overpowered but hey, it’s made of nothing so maybe not ( ahem ).
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That’s a good point. I don’t know what to make of it. I mean, I like it, but gravitating more to the MilViz Porter for this kind of flying now (not a twin but you know what I mean). The main thing I miss from the Islander is that awesome engine sound. The only other planes that get me excited with engine note alone are the 310, 414 (less so) and FI Spitfire. Just confuses me how they can go from the 2.0 flap pitch changes to total opposite with 2.1. It also feels more slow (or too stable) in banking now. I don’t know which is “correct” but I still do like it 
Personal Comments
- Carenado Staggerwing
- Carenado Bonanza V35
- BRSim Erco
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The pitch change with flaps thing is much nearer reality now, and the real thing is really heavy in roll ( pilots joke you can put half a turn of yoke on & absolutely nothing happens 
), but it’s ridiculously nose heavy and the engine response is horrible - there’s plenty of aircraft iwth that family that have actually responsive engines, and it should pitch up with thrust. Can’t do soft field stuff in it anymore ( well, without going outside CG limits ), and that’s a killer.
If you still have v1 around you can just copy the old flight model in if you want. Don’t ask me about sounds, I quite like the new ones.
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Yes me too! I meant the only thing I miss when flying the Porter is those sounds!
C22J, one of the very few 3rd party aircraft I bought so far
Vertigo from GotGravel, its pure fun too
…tbc
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Ohman I love that thing for just zipping around. 
If you turn the torque way down to like 8% you can comfortably fly around 100 knots for sightseeing – then slam the power on and zip up to 25,000 feet like a rocket and cover a lot more ground at speed.
I wouldn’t mind grabbing this but big shame it’s still only available on Sim Market.
Coming back around to this since it’s been a while, but lately it’s:
- Speedster S7 by Project Stratosphere/Adi S. A peppy aerobatic Kitfox variant with plenty of visual appeal and a great flight model. In a growing sea of Kitfox variants, it’s hard to stand out but I think this one has a lot going for it.
- Piper PA-11 by Flight Replicas. Not visually high fidelity and carrying a stock soundset, AND marketplace only, but it really is a true joy to fly. No flaps, no bells and whistles, just you and the wind at highway speeds.
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Fouga CM.170 Magister
AzurPoly has continued to support and improve this aircraft since I bought it. Kudos to them for their efforts.
I love flying this plane. It’s quick to get going from Cold & Dark and is fast enough and maneuverable enough to be really fun in all sorts of flying situations. Since it’s a trainer, it’s massively forgiving and you can just toss it around and it seems to love it. It’s old school jet-age feels suit my vintage analog cravings., too.
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I must have missed this topic back in the day! Here are my current middle of the pack aircraft that make me smile. I consider them middle of the pack, because they don’t fulfill the high standards in terms of modelling, texturing or sound that I’ve come to expect from MSFS aircraft, but they still are very much enjoyable to fly:
In alphabetical order:
1. A1R Design Bureau Ryan ST-A Special
It’s an absolute beauty and flies really well. The modeling and texturing are great! The downside is the soundset. It’s too quiet and lacks any bass. Still, every time I take her for a spin she makes me smile. There is something really special about this bird.
2. Aeroplane Heaven Globe Swift
Doesn’t look as good as it could on the inside and there are is an issue with the slip indicator (the ball is animated inverted, rendering the instrument completely useless), but it’s a real joy to fly. A good plane for a little sightseeing that has something special about it.
3. Black Box Simulation BN2 Islander
Even with v2 this bird still looks a bit too FSX on the inside. There is just something about the textures and the materials that doesn’t quite click. It looks too painted and not photoreal enough. But what it lacks in visuals it more than makes up in character, sound and STOL characteristics. Another aircraft that is just fun to fly!
4. DC Designs PT-17 Stearman
Same problem as with the Islander: visually the cockpit simply isn’t up to snuff for an MSFS aircraft, but hey: it’s a Stearman and flies wonderfully! Sounds great too!
5. Iris Simulations Jabiru J160 / J170
Another candidate that feels FSXish visually and the doors only open in the virtual cockpit, but not on the external model, which is a first … But it’s fun to fly. Great for all these weekend flights down under!
6. Nemeth Aerolite 103
It has quite a few issues on a technical level but it’s great to go reeeeally low and slow. Even better than a helicopter to be honest, because your view all around is much better and is as unobstructed as it gets. Love it!
7. Wing 42 Bleriot XI
I haven’t flown her much, but if you want to experience the very early days of manned flight, you probably can’t do better than this. I still have to do the flight from London to Paris with nothing but an old map.
Make sure you fly the DC-6 in developer mode with the NanoVG XML Gauge option turned on in the developer menu. That gives me an instant FPS boost of 15-20 fps. For me currently the only acceptable way to fly the DC-6 in MSFS. In fact the performance is really good with NanoVG (40+ fps). But outside of developer mode the performance is indeed completely unusable on my system (i7 8700k , RTX 3060 Ti).
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Great topic! In no particular order:
-
Carenado Cessna 170
I really enjoy this one. Very simple but lovely to look at, flies great, very stable. I used it for tailwheel practice and general cruising, and sometimes bush flying with the bush tires. -
Carenado Beech 18
It’s got some bugs with the autopilot. Systems and engines aren’t the most deeply simulated. But it’s a Beech 18! Come on! Flies well, takes off and lands well, looks great. -
Fox2/Freedom Fox
This package is really well done. Terrific for low/slow flying and back country landings. I don’t love the stall behavior, which I understand may be a sim limitation. Makes it hard to do a full stall landing without dropping a wing in the flare. But otherwise it handles very nicely, sounds great, looks great. Very fun.
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Oh, yeah, that’s a good one too. Love this classic!
That’s the one I was trying to remember, thanks - I’ve only had real fps troubles recently. There’s no excuse why it’s necessary after all this time though. My list of “will buy from them again” is getting quite short - this is a useful thread to try and expand things again!
Wow, didn’t know the Pipistrel had an air brake! Shows how long it’s been since I flew most of the included light sport craft. The Shock Ultra is another great one, although a little temperamental.
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Ok here’s my middle 5, in no particular order. Planes I have a lot of great memories of, but just haven’t used as much recently:
AzurPoly BD5J - As microjets go, I love the Caproni-Vizzola as much as anyone, but I’ve known and loved the BD5J for a lot longer so I thought it deserved some recognition.
NextGen EMB-110 Bandeirante - My first twin prop with a steam gauge cockpit. These days I mostly fly the Cessna 414 instead, but before that came out, I had a lot of great adventures with this one.
SWS Zenith CH701 STOL - One of my first purchases along with the JustFlight Piper Arrow, very easy to land anywhere although the cruising speed is limited.
Asobo JMB VL-3 - My favorite out of Asobo’s default lineup of light sport aircraft because of the retractable gear and relatively high cruising speed and aerobatic ability (especially with the Rotax 915 or Vertigo mods), plus it’s also easy to fly at slower speeds to enjoy the scenery.
Asobo/Working Title Cessna Citation CJ4 - For the longest time it was the only truly great business jet we had, and it’s still one of the best performing ones, and still the only one so far with airliner-style avionics as opposed to Garmin. Made it very easy to get used to the CRJ. I only wish the cockpit buttons and knobs weren’t quite so small and fiddly (the CRJ is a vast improvement in that department) and the door would open.
I’d agree with that. Another good choice for early-days flying is the Nieuport 17 from Big Radials. They do take some liberties with historical accuracy (the Nieuports were MUCH more difficult to fly in real life, because they lacked a throttle – you adjusted speed by turning on/off cylinders), but overall it’s a good experience. You need to watch yourself, or that baby will fall out of the sky on you.
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I can’t wait to see what this Hot Air Balloon by HPG is like on Friday! I think it’s going to have to go on this “not quite Top 5” list of mine.
I bought the HPG 145 and Action Pack a couple of weeks ago (so, I have an account ready for the balloon!) and that is really good fun to have those missions and a bit more gameplay focus. Just doing a couple of random generated rescue missions is a nice change. I see they just put out an update today with some more mission types added so I’ll be having a go at that over the weekend.
The Tiger Moth is also a nice one that now sits in my mid pack hangar I guess.
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I was debating about that one, it’s pretty good quality just lacking some final polish, honestly - sounds are a bit meh ( and actually a bit aggravating to someone with sensitive ears ), graphical side just needs some tweaks so it doesn’t look so ridiculously new, and the FM is lacking some detail like p-factor/torque effects & possibly something in the stall area. Some of these are things lacking in aircraft you wouldn’t call “mid-pack” either. Can’t give it a 100% recommendationt but I’d definitely say buy it, it’s great & generally on the numbers.