OT
JF aircraft are only mid spectrum expensive & I love the older regional jets. They get you in and out of smaller airports on short hops, and are a lot of fun to learn to fly. It does take a bit of getting used to with the manual throttle and engine temp control system, but my main reason for not using now (sounds silly) is it takes way longer to start up 4 engines than 2 so for short hop flights I get fed up repeatedly waiting for 4 engines to spool up. The JF F28 is faster to start up (2 engines) and so is the Maddog MD82, both of which are excellent products. The BAE146 was historically flown in many places beyond Europe including US/Canada/NZ though.
On Topic
On a side not re ROI, I prefer aircraft that actually have systems working from get go. Nothing annoys me more than some of the cheaper end stuff that can look great, but you find despite a great looking 3d model the system depth is low or not implemented or broken and requiring a patch. I mean some of the worst ROI’s happen because of this. Like 1 or 2 flights and done.
Other factors these days is time. I spend most of my time doing flights in aircraft I know / like, and with there now being so many aircraft out there and so little time any more I find I’m more selective with what I buy, solely because of ROI reasons. If I buy now it’s because of boredom with current aircraft after repeated use and I know I’ll sink loads of time into a new one. If I know I won’t sink time into it but am just curious I don’t buy. (perhaps a try before buy would change this pov)
Best ROI: A2A Comanche, Carenado Twin Beech (+mod), gotfriends Double ender. Worth mention: AT Simulations’ An2 is the new entry in my logbook and it’s very promising.
Worst: Sadly, ATR.
*Note: The two planes with most hours in my log: Caravan (+mod) and FBW. Then, those I mentioned. The best things in life are not always the most expensive.
Best ROI for me was the HPG H145 early access. The first version was okay, and from then on each new build brought improvements. The update process was streamlined and there were hardly any regressions. It was great to learn new features step by step as they were implemented. Great Discord community and quick response to feedback from the dev made the whole journey wonderfully rewarding!
ATR 72-600. I fly this a lot on VATSIM since it’s complicated yet slow enough to do regional hops and stay within ATC coverage. I love the Fenix A320 but usually the ATC coverage is not big enough for a full flight.
Worst return:
Probably the PMDG DC-6. Not because it’s not amazing but because it’s so complex that I rarely have time to fly it and it’s a very expensive aircraft. Because I fly it so rarely and it’s so different from other airliners I have to go through the tutorial videos on Youtube on how to plan my descent every time I fly it. I like flying it the old fashioned way withouth RNAV capabilities but it also makes it difficult to fly on VATSIM. Not to mention the special descent profile which makes a lot of the arrivals impossible to comply with.
Same. Although I’ve found lots of nice 1hr flights with the A320, particularly in Spain & Portugal which keeps you busy through every stage of flight.
If you’ve got an hour or less why not give the Wilga a go?
Agree. If the ROI is a serious question how can the answer not be “the default aircraft” which are all free (well included in the price of the sim anyway) and since several updates are now of a far better standard, particularly the Cessnas, CJ4, TBM etc
Those 1hr flights are what take me 2 hours! I always fly with the full GSX experience, loading and unloading including with passengers at realistic speeds. I try to maintain on schedule operations based on the timings from simbrief, and usually it’s pretty close - adds to the fun.
I suppose it’s because you can attach a value to how much you enjoy an aircraft as well as to its price. The Leonardo Maddog is the most expensive airliner add-on, yet if that is the aircraft someone loves to fly, then the ‘ROI’ is practically infinity.
I didn’t share my worst, primarily since I try to focus on the positive side of my sim experiences.
If I have a “worst” it’s the PMDG 737-700 and the Just Flight BAe 146, but as others have said it’s got absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the product.
Both are such incredible simulations and done so well, but my problem is they just aren’t really what I want to fly. I certainly enjoy getting them all fired up from C&D. Airliners are so popular (if going by the commentary on this forum and PMDG’s), but I’m not all that into them. I’ll fly them rarely, but don’t feel overly inspired to fly them regularly.
However, I fly the DC-6 quite a bit for cargo, or vintage airline routes from back in its heyday, or I’ll even just take off without a flight plan and just start randomly VOR hopping until I end up landing where ever when I’m ready (or have) to quit. Perhaps it is the lower altitude and my affection for anything vintage that draws me in with the Six.
Oddly, I have flown the ATR a whole lot, too. I’d done a road trip to Canada and got hooked on flying Canadian North’s ATR routes and enjoyed that a ton.
On a technicality, the FBW A320 wins for me since it was a whopping $0 with tons of usage
As far as paid aircraft go… definitely the 146, 737-700, F28, AN225 (in that order). Some of the posts above really are making me look at the MD-80…
Middle of the road is the FSS E170/175 and the CRJ.
Technically the worst for me is a tie between the Concorde and the Kodiak. Great aircraft but not really what I usually fly, so very very low ROI there.
Honestly, the Kitfox (Parallel 42) will be in my heart forever. It was my first bush plane and remains my favorite. There are a ton of different variants and I enjoy them all. I think it’s a wonderful starter bush plane. It is forgiving, enjoyable and dynamic to fly. I fly it 80% of the time and I recommend it to anyone wanting a bush plane. Sorry for the essay by the way
(Honorable mention, the F-35 is a bit pricey in some people’s eyes, but I think it’s awesome to fly and has wonderful detail.)
Also, I don’t know why everyone is throwing shade on the Reno planes, I think the p-51 is fun to fly, just requires control.
The worst plane is probably that I’ve flown is probably the zenith. Not terrible because I bought it on sale but it just feels janky and has very weird ground sounds.
MSFS Premium Deluxe - with the AAU updates, the default planes (those that have received updated avionics from Working Title) have been well worth the price: I fly the C172, DA62, Longitude, 787-10, 747-8i, but over the winter plan on giving most of the default planes an honest try.
I just purchased my first 3rd-party plane, the PMDG 737-800, and have yet to fly it. It looks really good, except, on Xbox, the navdata is literally locked in at v2204 with no way to update it. That may change, but I’m pretty disappointed to find that out after purchase.
To anyone at MS or Xbox listening, I have money to spend, but won’t be spending it unless products clearly work, and work well, with MSFS. Even the PMDG had a surprise “gotcha”. The whole refund policy and “buying credits not products” smells funny especially when the lengthy terms refers to buying software not credits. So, you’re missing easy revenue with current state of things.
The Just Flight BAE146 is easily the best ROI for me. I love it - it’s retro enough to give me loads to do in flight, stable (the most stable plane I’ve used) and well integrated with Navigation Charts, FMC Simbrief integration and great ambience (co pilot, cabin crew).
The worst ROI for me is probably the Kodiak - it’s a great plane but never seems to be the one that I pick up to fly. I always end up going for the Just Flight PA28 or C414 if I want a prop plane…
