It does though! There is a full page in every manual by Lionheart that talks about how everything is because of JC and how you must repent etc. It’s a real head scratcher - I don’t want to read that in my aircraft manuals. I don’t care if you believe all that, I don’t want any Bible thumping with my aircraft. That’s one thing I think of when I think of Lionheart aircraft - thankfully, I don’t have to look at that manual often, but it’s not a very good thing to do with your commercial product.
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Carenado C 182 ■■■■, flew it about 4 times, and it is on blocks in the hangar
Carenado Mooney Nice Aircraft, flew it alot.
JF Arrow 3. That is all I fly now.
Brilliant thread.
I suppose its quite subjective to what you like flying but the honest and succinct reviews here are excellent.
I have bought 3.
In order from best to worst (None of them are bad however)
Aerosoft CRJ: I have about 35hrs on this now and I am still blown away with it every time I fly it. Internal and external modelling is exceptional.
You have to learn the aircraft and systems in depth and I love that about an aircraft, I’m still learning each and every flight. As an airliner, its very hands on too.
Worth every penny and more.
Carenado Mooney: Brilliantly in depth and I love the internal and external features. Fast and beautiful. Haven’t been doing too much GA flying lately because of the CRJ but the Mooney is excellent.
Worth the money.
MB-339: To be fair, haven’t flown it a lot. Looks excellent and flies lovely, however, as I have started flying on Vatsim, military and GA flying has taken a back seat for a little while so I have probably neglected this aircraft a bit. had some great fun in the Mach Loop with this as has pretty much everyone else but I am just into the CRJ too much at the minute to properly utilize this.
Definitely worth the money though.
I must say though, the Just Flight PA28 is 100% next on my purchase list. the reviews are nothing but incredible and I feel that will draw me back into GA on nicely.
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I’ve bought a few, but the one that’s most impressed me, so far, is Blackbox Simulation’s Cessna L-19 ‘Bird Dog’.
I’m not a pilot type; I don’t really have much of a clue (or really an interest) in the technicalities of flying, so I won’t offer any opinion on the aircraft’s technical prowess. What I do know is that to my untrained eye the ‘Bird Dog’ looks absolutely superb, outside and in, and as someone who just wants to get the plane in the air and go off to see the views and take pretty pictures, it makes my life as uncomplicated as possible (I mean, literally: push the throttle all the way up, let the plane roll down the runway and it actually takes itself off) and a pleasure to fly (and bear in mind I use only an Xbox1 controller).
To me, money well spent for what I consider a very polished product. Also, it comes in three variants: Normal, Bush, and Amphibian (floats).
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@BostonJeremy77 Wow, man, thank you so much for this! I don’t imagine you buy all the aircraft just so you can report on them to us, but you are really providing a great service here! I know it’s just one person’s opinion, but if I find that I like the same planes as you then I can trust your opinion and save myself time and money, while also not missing out on a good one. Can’t express enough how much I appreciate this. I wish your ever-updating list could be hard-linked somewhere at the top of the forums. Here’s hoping that you continue to have the good fortune to have the time and money to do this. 
As for your latest list, I know for a fact that I agree with you on the Just Flight Arrow (I just can’t stop flying it). I kind of want you to give the Carenado Waco YMF-5 a higher score but the fact is that I don’t fly it all the time, so it can’t be a 10/10. Maybe an 8.5.
The one I really want to see “fixed”, so I can really feel like it is a must have, is the AT Piaggio/Focke-Wulf P149. People seem to love this plane despite some pretty serious flaws. I would like to wait until I can love it without the serious flaws. Does the developer give any indication that the bugs are going to be fixed, do you think?
Speaking of fixes, do you think your list, if you keep doing it (please!), will update to reflect new scores if future versions are appreciably better (or worse)?
Thanks again.
No worries. Glad you found it useful. Yeah, I pretty much pick up everything that comes out to try it out myself and provide whatever feedback I can on it. It’s strictly my opinion and everyone’s mileage can vary.
The P149 is a curious one. It’s a beautifully done aircraft and it’s really fun to fly. That is, if you can deal with some annoyances. Your transponder will probably not auto-tune, so you gotta do it manually. Not a huge deal. The radios don’t support certain frequencies - mostly due to the fact that they are old and back then you didn’t have to have support for them. The most glaring bug is that after flying that aircraft, whatever aircraft you fly next, will have COMM volume turned all the way down. If it happens to be an aircraft with an adjustable COM volume, easy enough. Turn it back up. However, if it ISN’T, your ATC will be silent.
There are also things like rain inside the cockpit, etc… The developer usually ignores all e-mails sent to him and rarely posts on social media, unless it’s to promote a new product he is putting out. Basically, the support is nonexistent. This was one of the first (I’d say within the first 10 or so) aircraft to be released and it has only received 2 updates - one about a week since release and one MONTHS later which still hasn’t addressed a bunch of issues. I’d only recommend this one if you are willing to accept that there is a serious possibility those bugs will not be fixed. Which is a shame. It has so much character.
I will probably periodically update/revise this list… as things change.
Take care.
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By all accounts the dev for the P149 does respond to Facebook messages etc, just does not respond to email.
Which is a bit odd.
Email is definitely no longer a thing for the younger generation (my 20-something daughter does not check her email at all, you need to tell her on what’s app or facebook messenger or whatever if you send her an email that is important) but for the older generation and business in general email is still a thing.
That said - the old days of P3D where sales were slow enough and the client base small enough that you could almost have a one on one relationship with a developer are clearly disappearing.
When aircraft like the Just Flight Arrow and the CRJ apparently sold 1000s of copies in the first few weeks we are not going to get a personal response every time one of us contacts them anymore. The best we can hope for long term is the popular developers get enough sales to justify employing a full time support and PR person.
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Flyinside Bell 47-G2 is very good. Sounds are good, starting sounds are amazing, Visibility in VR is superb and it is not demand much from computer what comes VR. Flight model is very good. They have modeled example vortex ring state, engine failure (whatch manifold pressure) and retreating blade stall.You can choose easier flight model if you want and they have added auto governor which you can set on.
Flyinside Manager must be running when you fly this, it is little annoying. There is no gps and it is slow aircraft, cruise speed about 80mph. Very good for local sightseeing. Interior could be better, it do not look used. You can’t open doors but you can remove them.
Developers seems to be responsive.
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I’m new to most of these 3rd party developers because I really didn’t use any flight sims between the original MSFS and MSFS 2020. I’m learning some things. Not sure if I have this quite right, but it seems to me:
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Carenado makes beautiful planes that aren’t very complex. They do fix some bugs but they certainly don’t release bug fixes very quickly nor very often. This could be because they are only in the Marketplace(?)
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Aerosoft will not be coming out with planes very often and they will not be cheap, but they will be HIGH fidelity. I have resisted the CRJ because I just really don’t want to fly airliners. I will definitely have to jump on any GA or warbird that Aerosoft might release.
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Just Flight is really on top of making bug fixes quickly and often (based on my experience with the Arrow). They really seem to care about the user experience, being one of the first (and maybe only) 3rd party planes to include all of 1) Interactive checklist, 2) 2D cockpit mouse pointer in VR, 3) Optional co-pilot that can be turned on and off in the plane. Also, not sure if it’s representative of all their planes, but the Arrow just FEELS like I imagine a realistic model should feel.
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Milviz seems to at least want to be really authentic, within the constraints of MSFS. If the first update for the Corsair is still not out, then they don’t seem to be very quick with bug fixes, but at least their heart seems to be in the right place.
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Not sure what to think about IndiaFoxTecho yet. I like flying the MB339. I can’t even tell you if there are any bugs, so I can’t say if there should have been any updates yet. I guess I’m just waiting for them to really wow me.
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Based on what I’m learning, AT Simulations just frustrates me. Why come out with such a great plane, like the P149, which is just waiting to sell thousands of copies if the substantial word-of-mouth could be universally good, and then not listen and fix it and gain a loyal following that will pay off for years?
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Users love to rag on Asobo about this, that, and everything. I’m not sure which planes (if any) they ACTUALLY produce, but I’m maybe one of the few who think the default planes (the base version) are an incredible deal. Their planes seem to be modeled well visually if not flight model wise.
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DC Designs Seemed to be really dedicated to slowly(?) improving the F-15 from what was a rocky introduction (expensive for what you got in the initial release) but I’m not sure if they have continued on that path? I still haven’t gotten the F-15 and I’m not sure why it’s still a work-in-progress.
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If the Spitfire is any indication, any Flying Iron Simulations warbird will be an automatic buy for me.
I don’t have opinions on the others yet, except for the ones that Jeremy rightfully says to avoid. I need to try some of the other good developers.
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I’m like you, new to flight-simming because of MSFS 2020. Primarily, I stick to GA and Warbirds too and agree with a lot of your assessments. I’m particularly eager for a couple developers that have long histories in flight sims; Aeroplane Heaven and A2A Simulations. A2A has their flight module Accu-sim, that just looks amazing in videos I’ve seen. But, I’m also looking forward to MilViz’s Corsair update, love that plane.
- Carenado Seminole - great plane that I look forward to learning basic auto-pilot with and can use all my Bravo levers with
- Carenado Waco - Best bang for the buck VFR flying
- MB-339 - I wasn’t going to get into jets, but this just looked like too much fun to pass-up and it is fun.
- Flying Irons Spitfire! - Everyone should try it. Tricky to take-off and land, graceful in the air. A little to easy to manage once airborne. Can’t wait to see how they flesh it out.
- MilViz Corsair - This is my current fav
- Asobo Top Rudder 103 - Another one everyone should get to enjoy cities up-close, just a no-brainer for the cost
That said, I’m looking forward to Particle Effects that Asobo has on the Top Wishes for 2021. Really make starting up Warbirds real.
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No worries, I hope you’ll be able to fly again soon.
Excellent post, as usual. Thank you ! 
Out of curiosity, is the Carenado Waco worth a purchase over the Pitts S2 included with the sim? What’s different about it? I really love how it looks but am not sure about the mileage I’ll get out of it.
C182T - nice for landing on small strips on high altitudes, in temperate climates.
Mooney - a good cross-country cruiser.
Seminole - really pleasant to fly, good for slow sightseeing.
Waco - good for sightseeing without GPS and pleasant for ears. Used to have more character when first released.
Arrow - Good for radio navigation and shorter trips.
Seneca - Good for high altitudes and bad weather.
Jabiru - Good small plane for flying across Australia.
MB-339 - Nice jet for canyon flying.
G.91 - Better than 339 for longer distances, customisable.
Cri-Cri - Fun for low level shenanigans.
Piaggio - Nice for radio navigation and aerobatics.
Kinner - pleasant for short late evening cozy cruises.
JF Arrow - Nice flight model, but prone to CTD.
CRJ - Good mix of automated and manual flying in an airliner.
Bandeirante - Good for longer legs, when you don’t want a jet, or when weather is bad. Terrible default engine sounds.
Zenith - probably my favorite bush plane.
Top Rudder - Good for taking a close look, when you’re not in a hurry.
Spitfire - Historical warbird, flight model used to be better at launch.
Airbus H135 - Fun for free.
These were my honest opinions of my addons, experiences may vary.
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The Pitts is more twitchy and far more aerobatic.
The YMF-5 has ground roll and take off issues (better after the patch but still not great) but once your airborne it is outrageous fun, especially in VR or with trackIR. Sounds are better than the Pitts. It is up there with the P149 and Kinner Sportwing in terms of fun to fly (note that none of these planes meet the approval of the more “serious” posters on this forum 
) .
Quick video -
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Yes, this, what EdamllamaB says. The Pitts is great fun, much simpler, lighter and aerobatic. The Waco has a much beefier engine sound and more features. We may even get to turn that smoke switch on in a future patch. I prefer the Waco personally and really enjoy it over the lighter Pitts. Or you can wait for another more study-level bi-plane.
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H135 AND VERTIGO RACER. Go check them out.
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Absolutely.
FREE aircraft that are MUST HAVES:
- Grumman Goose seaplane by Big Radials - no radios or autopilot yet (coming in the update), but it’s amazing to fly and a REAL seaplane
- Airbus H315 Heli - it’s really well-done and fun!
THINGS I USED TO HAVE AND RECOMMEND IF YOU ARE INTO MODIFICATION OF DEFAULT AIRCRAFT (but deleted since I really have too much aircraft already and these are just different takes)
- GotGravel Savage Grravel - inspired by Mike Patey’s Scrappy. Mean STOL machine
- GotGravel Vertigo - inspired by Mike Patey’s Turbulence
- BushLeagueLegends XCub Floats - a seaplane version
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: 
- GotGravel Savage Gravel - a performance version of Savage Cub
- BushLeagueLegends XCub Alpine - a ski version of XCub.
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i’ve only bought 1 airplane for the game, and it was the Carenado Mooney, which i love.
but it hasn’t seen much flight time since i got the free Vertigo and the free H135.
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