I’m looking for a good GA aircraft that is faster than a Cessna 172, that has great visuals out the window, easy to fly i.e. Start the engine easily without going through loads of steps, take off, fly around, and land without having to mess around with engine tweaks etc. I’d also like a retractable landing gear, and auto pilot. Does such a beast exist? Any recommendations?
I’m not a pilot, so I have generally been flying around in the Cessna 152, 172 (G1000), and the A5.
I’ve been looking at the Carenado M20R Ovation but I’m not sure about all the engine tweaks etc. I’m not a pilot. I just want something different to the Cessna 172, and don’t mind growing into it, but don’t want to waste $45 Australian dollars on an aircraft to find I don’t know how to get it off the ground or start and requires lots of tweaks to keep it in the air or land, etc. Can the M20R be flown without tweaking engines and all that jazz, and is it worth getting for a beginner?
BTW. I have an Alpha Yoke, and Bravo Throttle quadrant, as well as Logitech radio panels, and multi panel, so setting up Auto pilot should hopefully be the same as with a Cessna on a G1000, (or am I off the mark)?
I’d say, because of your quadrant and the Mooney’s easy to read steam gauges, you may enjoy the Mooney more. You get a speed brake and landing gear (perfect for using more levers on the Bravo)… and you can instantly see from your gauges where the prop lever and mixture need to be for optimal performance (these can be harder to spot quickly with some planes’ instrumentation) so it can teach you the ropes of more complex pistons and help you learn your way to turboprops.
The Carenado Mooney is not bad, but it was their first aircraft for MSFS and it’s not quite on the ssme level as the C337H. Still good value for money
If you want something really really good and fast, I would recommend either the C414 Chancellor (Twin Engine) or the JustFlight Turbo Arrow (Single Engine).
The C414 is still in early access and receives updates every few days. You currently save 10.- USD if you buy it
Both are beautifully made and have a very realistic feel and good system depth.
Oh, and if you have AP set on your Bravo to work on the G1000, those settings tend to carry over to other AP systems unless they are ancient. So I use the same knobs on the Mooney or Arrow for AP as I do for G1000 planes without re-configuring the Bravo for every new plane.
Is the learning curve big with the mooney though. I think it will be a lot of fun too but don’t want to get something that a newb can’t figure out in like 5 minutes to at least do some sight seeing with.
I wish you could get demos of these things before you buy. I only have youtube videos of people that already know what they are doing to go by.
The Mooney is just slightly more complex than what you have been flying. Learning where things are in the cockpit and remembering to extend and retract the gear and brake are the major new steps, but nothing you can’t wrap your head around, and no plane in my hangar is easier to lean or to set prop RPM because the gauges have clear markings for you to hit for peak performance (which most planes lack).
The Mooney is pretty straight forward. Apart from the gear lever and propeller control it’s not significantly more complicated than a C172. The C414 and JustFlight Arrows have a steeper learning curve.
I’d normally recommend the Cessna Skymaster/Piper Arrow (which are both brilliant) but from what you’ve mentioned in your post, I’d say go for the DA-40 NGX (with the free mod on flightsim.to)
The automated systems on these next-gen GA aircraft make them a breeze to fly.
Have you looked at the included Beechcraft Bonanza G36? No cost involved and a similar degree of complexity as the paid Mooney. It is fast, stable, a joy to fly and well modeled, especially if you use the community mod. But even without the mod it is a fine GA aircraft.
If you do not want to deal with engine starting complexities you can use Ctr-E to start or start with the aircraft running on the runway. Uses the exact same G1000NXi that the in-game C172 uses. The added complexities are basically the retractable undercarriage and a constant speed prop. But you would be hard pressed to find a high performance single without those.
Cessna JT-A which mods the Skyhawk 172 G1000 in the sim. Battery ON, Fuel Pump ON. Master Switch On. Wait for Glow Plug light to extinguish on the PFD. Hold down the the Start Button until the Turbo-Diesel engine turns over. Fuel Pump OFF. You are up and running.
The TD is fast, and holds performance from Sea Level to 18000 feet. One single power lever, no mixture games, just like a jet. Higher performance on the climb and cruise compared to a normally aspirated Skyhawk.
You want a better view and the same simplicity? Try the modded Diamond DA-40 NG.
These two planes plus the G1000 NXi are a pilot’s plane. Both mods from MrTommyMxr on Flightsim.to.
I flew the JT-A from Kansas to Norway last year, Live Weather no sim rate acceleration. That’s how good it is.
I just tried this. Not bad. Interestingly though, the sound of the engines seemed to do weird things. It would suddenly become loud like I was right next to a Jet and the door was open, then it would go quiet like I was in a closed cockpit. Seemed very weird. Apart from that, it was actually pretty good, and adjusting the prop wasn’t an issue.
I tried the DA-40. It’s okay but for some reason it just doesn’t resonate with me. Maybe it’s because I haven’t put a lot of time into it. I’ll play around more.
Thanks everyone. I’m going to experiment a little more with the free aircraft in the sim, and then look further into the Mooney if these aren’t as good as I hoped.
Bonanza is the logical next step up from the C172 - gives you a little more work to do but benefits far surpass the extra work involved. It’s all you asked for in your OP.
Yes. Fixed gear. But a speed brake. So again, a good plane for getting more out of the Bravo. Always fun to add a new lever to a simple piston with that quadrant.
