I’ve been learning my Bonanza, and I enjoy flying it. But I want to get into a fairly simple pressurized plane that can cruise at 400 kts. FL300.
Hondajet?
Asobo Cessna CJ4?
Cosckspur Cessna C510 Mustang (leaning towards this one right now.)
Something else?
The Aermacchi LB339 is a little different to those above, easy to fly. And does aerobatics.
Cruises a little over 400 knots.
It’s one of my go to planes.
Interesting.
I see the original release is the ‘Lite’ version, which appeals to me. The ‘Pro’ version sounds like more of a study-level airplane, which I’m not quite ready for yet.
I also like the idea of a fast, single-engine jet.
Try the PC-12. Single turboprop engine but simple to control and learn before progressing to high performance jet engines.
CJ4 is great, especially now it’s got the WT tweaks as standard. Doesn’t have IAS hold so it can be a nice challenge juggling power and speed.
TBM 930, no comment.
The Aermacchi I’m flying is jump in and fly, bought it off the marketplace, fantastic for low level flying….I do the Mach Loop in it.
I’ll have a look when I get home, certainly not study level. analog cockpit.
Haven’t come across Lite and Pro versions. I’m curious now.
It may not be released yet. I just read that they were working on the ‘Pro.’
Ok. The one on the store ticks all my boxes, I just jump in and fly it without reading anything. Satisfies my need for speed just above the tree top line a treat.
There are some great choices for higher altitude / speed.
For third party, there are a lot of great options as well. My personal favourites at the moment are the Vision Jet and HondaJet from FlightFX. Other planes have been mentioned by others in this thread.
Thanks, I have a Vertigo that satisfies that need. 
I’m leaning more towards a business jet geared more towards my Alpha/Bravo, not a HOTAS. I fly in DCS with the latter setup. The new plane is one I’m going to ‘learn into,’ much like I’m doing with my Baron G58.
I know a lot of people love the CJ4. A YouTube comment said: “I highly recommend that General Aviation Simmers that are looking to transition to the airliners start with this jet.”
The TBM isn’t a 400 kt. @ FL300 plane.
The Longitude is a pretty complex beast, is it not?
if you think the TBM is slow I would suggest Asobos Darkstar.
DC Designs F-14, can go to 50,000, speeds in excess of Mach 1. Hard to land correctly, but fun. Not as advanced with the electronics as the D model (coming), nor nearly as advanced as say TBM-930, or the like. Lots of YT videos on how to fly it, where to fly it. Find an island someplace not busy with traffic and practice it until you feel confident. I do it all the time. Excellent documentation contained in the package. By it from DC Designs direct not the marketplace, unless you only have X-Box console. If that is all, you are really missing out on flight control devices which make sims close to the real thing. FWIW-X-Plane 12 has the D model built into the base planes, it’s close to MSFS one, but different, I personally think the flight model is closer to RL in XP.
Crunchmeister71 - Excellent post, and most reputable Plane folks, release some manuals with their planes, i.e., DC Designs has two of them, PMDG has 4 of them, cannot speak to others since that is the only two I have purchased in MSFS. But bought one in FSX, again, manual on systems, weights/flaps/TO Speed etc., so reputable ones have those. I read them first with plane on ramp, engines running, brakes set, to operate all the systems and make sure my controls work it the way it’s supposed to work. The manual in PMDG-737 is 117 pages long and you actually use the FMS to setup the systems like they are supposed to work in RL. TBM is a good plane to fly, but again, learn how it works on the ground, and a memory class years ago said to do things 10 times to get your brain around them.
I was fortunate in my Sim learning, as my neighbor was MD-11 Pilot Captain for DAL and he showed me how to fly and navigate etc. We did start out in Cessna, but went right into the FS-95/98 737 with his teaching. Flew up and down west coast USA hundreds of times into all the largest Airports then. Moved, now learning the east coast places I like. I also purchased the Virtavia C-17-GM-III and flew all around world in it, when fiasco in Afghan occurred, I setup flight from there back to Jackson, MS home base of my plane and that was experience. I kept all the FP’s I created and did it in 500 mile hops. For those interested DC Designs has said C-17-GM-III release quarter 3 in this year, cannot wait, that plane just loves to fly.
So I don’t keep replying to this thread, I will say, I found the G1000/3000 hard to learn when in MSFS the system was basic at best, so I concentrated on the AP-FMS things in the Boeing Planes, and trust me, that is complicated. And being old I need to practice it more often than I do, so I created a Cold and Dark CL for PMDG-737-700 to help me remember all the things I need to do so it’s ready to taxi. My big hate of this sim is, I do FP in simbrief, download to PMDG and Download to MSFS, one for the FMS in the plane, and one for the sim to see the FP I’m trying to fly, if I enable ATC, all that work gets thrown out the window and ATC tells me what to do, it’s off, until what I plan is what they let me do. NOT RL, but I am testing my FP ability, and do not need sim to change it for me and then mess up my thinking/planning process. XP (no atc) is more friendly in that regard, but still ATC messes me up. It’s off too.
The biggest thing people don’t expect when suddenly jumping into fast planes is the speed at which stuff happens, particularly on critical phases of flight like departures and approaches. You have to know your aircraft’s systems and be able to know how the systems operate without hesitation. You don’t have the luxury of time like you do in simple prop GA planes. There’s no time to think. You get a command by ATC, and you have to do it NOW because of the speed you travel at. IMHO, it’s better to transition to something intermediate before jumping into the top end fast planes.
Intermediate planes like the TBM or Vision Jet are a great stepping stone. You learn to use the more complicated G3000 and familiarize yourself with it, you get both a nice speed and altitude boost from a Bonanza, but it’s still pretty manageable.
TBM will cruise at FL310, but typically tops out at 300 kts with a nice tail wind. Not a bad transition plane to jets though. You get to fly high, but don’t have to deal with the super complex systems of the Proline 21 in the CJ4 (which is indeed a good step towards airliners) or the speed at which things happen in fast jets.
The Vision Jet transitions you to a jet and performs about the same as the TBM in terms of speed and altitudes.
The HondaJet is a step up in both speed and altitude from that and you can hit close to 400 kts at FL400+ in the right conditions. It has far more depth in its G3000 than the TBM, although far more automated systems that will alleviate the workload from the pilot.
And if you’ve been flying the Bonanza, you’re already very familiar with the G1000. The G3000 is definitely different and deeper, but Garmin systems have a lot of commonality, so the learning curve is definitely a lot less steep.
The CJ4 is a great plane as well. I love it in every way. But learning to use the FMS effectively is going to take some time if all you’re used to flying is the G1000. The plane itself isn’t complicated to fly manually, but it’s a compeltely different FMS from anything Garmin. It’s closer to what you’d find in an airliner. So it’s a great transition plane if you’re looking to fly the big boys.
In the end though, this is a sim. You can fly whatever you want. Try the various planes you have, or buy the C510 and try it out. See what works best for you.
Funny, but the unless the specs are misleading, it’s not in the same league as some of the jets myself or others have mentioned.
Cruise speed: 467 km/h (290 mph, 252 kn) long-range cruise
Service ceiling:** 9,449 m (31,001 ft)
I appreciate you taking the time to write this detailed explanation. I was thinking of the C510 Mustang because it has a G1000, which, as you said, I’m already reasonably familiar with. It seems like it has a fairly simple learning curve. And the performance is what I’m targeting.
Cruise speed: 630 km/h (390 mph , 340 kn)
Service ceiling: 41,000 ft (12,500 m)
I’m not discounting the TBM as the next step (C152 > Bonanza > Baron > TBM)
But I’m hoping I can hop into a business jet with a glass cockpit where the biggest thing I need to learn is how to plan and react. That’s why the HondaJet is on my list. I supect the CRJ and the Longitude are too advanced for me now.
I also don’t want to waste money buying a(nother) plane that I won’t fly - like the Antonov AN-225. I bought it to support the cause. I doubt I’ll ever try to really learn to fly it.
My high-fidelity military jet ‘jones’ is satisfied by DCS.
That’s actually a great path of progression IMHO. Quite realistic as well.
The G3000 in the TBM is quite nice once you learn it. Not terribly complicated to learn overall. The G3000 in the HJet uses different touch controllers, so it’s a bit of learning required to find stuff, but overall you’ll see things are pretty similar. Once you learn to use the G3000 in the HondaJet, it’s a small step up to the Longitude and G5000. There are more steps involved and the systems are deeper, but if you already know how to use the GTC570 touch controllers, the learning curve isn’t as steep.
The C510 is nice too from what I’ve seen. I don’t own it, but those that fly it seem to really like it. My current personal choices for jets are still the Vision Jet and HJet though. They check off all the boxes for me atm.
The CJ4 is nice too. Don’t get me wrong. I just tend to prefer the Garmin glass over Collins PL21. It looks better, gives me better situational awareness (at least with how my brain seems to work), and it just a far more familiar layout since I’m so used to the other Garmin systems.
In any case, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of those jets. It really just depends upon the missions types you like to fly.
If you want a business jet with a glass cockpit that you’ll not waste money on and really want to fly, get the vision jet. It’s fantastic. The only thing with it is that you might find FL300 too high because with the view it gives you you’ll want to be closer to the scenery.
I think if you feel confortable with turboprop and fly the Baron nice, you can go for a king air 350. If not TBM is an excellent option as next step as it will give you skills for fast reaction, proper approach with a heavier aircraft…
I wouldn’t go for a jet before mastering a complex turboprop or twin like king air 90 or king air 350 as the flying qualities are different.
But of course is your choice and we will be here to support you and help regardeless of hour decision. Happy flying!