I’m one that made that switch and I never fly in pancake mode. But I’ll warn you about VR. To paraphrase Joni Mitchell “Go to it, stay with it if you can - but be prepared to bleed.”
For one, there are no shortages of rabbit holes to go down tweaking your settings to you liking - or even determining what your liking is as all things are a compromise of some sort. And the hardware required (GPU, CPU, HMD) isn’t cheap. But, yes, it is definitely a game changer.
Since I posted my list on September 18, a lot has changed, including the fantastic 40th anniversary update. So the time has come to list my favorites of all time (not what I’m flying this week, I hope you all keep up with the spirit of this post and don’t update more than Chancellor xD just kidding)
old list:
New list:
It’s still for me the aircraft that I enjoy the most, the one that makes me feel like I’m flying a real one (with differences, of course), that makes me go back to the parking lot and try to turn it off correctly, put its protectors on it so that it does not get damaged. In short, it’s wonderful and everything that is said about this wonderful plane is little. Many complain about how hard it lands, but if that’s the case in reality, why should it be any different in the simulator?
This new addition after the 40th anniversary update has been my workhorse ever since. I fly it all the time, I enjoy it in its variant with wheels, amphibious and with the bush mod. Simply a perfect aircraft for touring Alaska, PNG, the Alps, or anywhere in the world. Although I think that where it shines the most is in mountainous and difficult places. Any time and any place is good for a Beaver and some good landscapes.
I used it quite a bit when it came out and put it off for a while but I’m back to this beautiful aircraft. what can’t you do with a Twotter? Any runway works and any situation becomes fun.
This little aircraft has been perfect for practicing the basics of flights. I’ve been simulating for many years but it never hurts to do basic exercises and relearn from scratch. A small airport, some basic exercises and this wonder and you spend a few weeks of pure fun and learning.
When it comes to airliner I choose this one. I like the CRJ too but when I want to change from low and slow flights, I do a few Ryanair routes before going back to my little ones.
Honorable Mentions:
-Cessna 414 Chancellor
You all speak wonders of this device and it’s not for less. Finally, because of this post, I bought it and tried it. I like it, I like it a lot and I fly it sometimes but despite the fact that it is more noble to fly by hand and it’s a pleasure to land it, I can’t unseat my top 5. However, it is totally recommended and another wonderful product. I can corroborate your words and understand why it’s the first on the list.
I know it is not deep or study level. But it’s so pretty and nice… You can do a lot with it with what it already is.
IMPORTANT POST ABOUT THE FUTURE
So after much thought and throwing ideas around, I think I’ve settled on this for the format going forwards - from Jan 2023.
You don’t need to think about the order — it’s impossible to accurately rank all 10 choices in order of how you like them so 1pt per choice simplifies things for everyone. It also stops the charts from being too spread out, easier to have new planes come up and also with a 10 point spread it would inflate the top choices too much to be realistic, especially with a monthly reset.
Also the case with music record sales is it doesn’t matter that your favourite is any particular song, you only buy it once so it counts for one vote. The important thing is the number of individuals that vote for it and I think it makes sense to do the same here.
Also this presents a chance to separate out planes we should have separated out. But not sure if I should. Namely:
You are welcome to comment on the plan but I’m not really up for a big debate about it. Everyone will have a different idea and there is no right or wrong answer. I’ve reasoned some logic for every decision there so I suggest we see how it goes and if after a couple of months it’s really not working well for whatever reason, I can change and redo it then.
Regarding the “number of Points per plane”; this has been the biggest thing for me to decide on. Other options I was toying with below but I just want to keep it simple:
So, how does it sound?
Sounds great to me!
Also splitting up the types and versions amphibian/not / glass vs steam cockpit/ PMDG 73-6,7,8 etc gliders with(out) FES etc. etc. etc. is a smart move.
In my case, I dont have any problem to put a top 10 like that together.
Also new above older plane is a good choice.
Keep up the great work in this informative and usefull topic!
Looking forward to all the lists to come and explanation why the planes made the list per person.
Well I’m not sure about being that granular. It’s not going to work. I mainly meant some way to decide if the changes make the plane different enough in the way it flies to justify a separate entry. Handling mods or distinctly different power/engine variants.
I mean, if someone says Discus glider, they ain’t ever gonna say FES version only for example. 95% won’t anyway. I doubt anyone will say they specifically fly a float version of a plane either. It gets messy.
The 737 PMDG was a special case as a lot of contributors were interested to see which one make the most “sales” so I did that in a different way (which I will continue). I’ll have to go through the full PDF and highlight some that COULD sensibly be separated. There really may not be that many and again it all relies on people actually writing which one without me constantly chasing (which from past experience has a 50/50 chance of hearing back from said user!)
EDIT: and if someone DOES say float version, it doesn’t mean someone that didn’t say that doesn’t ALSO fly the float version. So it’s unfair to split votes for that aircraft IMO.
I would keep the Pipers separate this time if possible but it might not be. So many buy the package.
In a perfect world, planes sold separately should be able to get separate votes.
But something like the RV-14 and RV-14 A which are always sold together, should be counted together.
Those Pipers are just packaged differently than other planes. But I also feel they got an unnatural boost in this year’s polls because they were always counted together even though they have vastly different engines and flight envelopes.
Agreed that listing 10 and in no particular order will be easier, and especially with that in mind I won’t mind voting more regularly. It will be sad to lose the points on the all-time charts though, and I still think the JustFlight PA28’s are similar enough they should be counted together, as are the regular vs. Aerobat vs. JPLogistics C152’s.
While it’s still 5…
Hmmmm.
Hard to know for sure, but I suspect you like bush flying. 
I like that option. Your personal “Best of The Best” favorite.
Thanks for the info, yeah that’s the problem, the HMD is not that cost prohibitive by itself but it’s just the tip of the iceberg, your whole system needs to be upgraded…not just upgraded but replaced.
Do you mind sharing what GPU, CPU and HMD combination you decided to go with? I was looking at the HP Reverb V2 but seems like it needs a RTX 4090 to give you decent frame rates and not make you sick.
I love it being changed to top 10, but the monthly reset and linear points will prevent me from participating.
My list doesn’t change monthly, and if my vote is going to be lost in 30 days anyways, I simply won’t bother. This does change things to be biased towards only the most active forum users.
As for the points, I’d currently have to remove one aircraft from my list because I refuse to give it equal points as the others. I’d rather give it no points at all than to have it ranked equal to my favorite, even though it’s one of the best in the sim. (This is a list of favorites, not a list of best)
Either way, this is your endeavor, and I’ll still quietly snoop around in here from time to time.
Cheers
Do you mean the Toprudder 103? Aerolite isn’t Asobo I believe.
Mea culpa! 
I’ve never flown anything bigger than Twotter, actually, and my first takeoff was in 2007, under Ron Machado guidance, of course.
Sure, thanks, I’ve corrected my post. Model by Asobo, irl plane by Top Rudder.
My 2 cents. Unfortunate, the “sick” part is mostly dependent on your body. I’ve never felt anything close to sick, but some of my friends literally can’t stand VR. Maybe it comes with some getting used to.
As for the specs, I have i5-9600/3070Ti/32RAM, and my Rift S runs at stable 40 fps, which is hardware bound, I suspect. Settings mostly from high to ultra, some less, but only those that make no significant difference.
Rift S has lesser resolution, but bear in mind I’m upscaling it to 1.75. On the other hand, I use foveated rendering from OpenXR, and fly mostly in wilderness.
Hi mate. Thanks for the comments. If I may try and counter / persuade you though:
Sorry to hear that 
It won’t be lost. It still counts on the all-time chart. It’s basically the same as the current Top 10 anyway. That only counts new posts so it’s down to who posts in that WEEK. I think the monthly will make that more accurate and it still all counts to the main ranks in the same way.
And I appreciate your list doesn’t change often. Neither does mine. I’ve only updated once in 9 months!
But I’ve made it so you only have to come back and say “same again” once before the end of the month if you do want votes to count again. I’ll find your previous post like now and do the admin so it’s minimal effort for you. Also who knows but with 10 in the list, more likely 1 or 2 might change in that period.
Fair enough and I got a feeling I know what plane you’re taking about. Rhyming with Bin Rotter. But again I draw the analogy to singles charts. Just coz it’s your favourite doesn’t mean it gets an unnatural boost. The important thing is how many people in total mentioned it to see where it settles.
Totally agree on that. “Best” is highly subjective. As is favourites I suppose but yes, it’s about your favourites - always has been.
Whatever you’re comfortable with but I hope you will at least post a new 10 in the months that you want to say what your new favourites are.
The Sunday Runway Show is Live and In The Air!
If you want to see some MORE GREAT planes that fall outside of the Top 25 above, you can grab the full PDF download here:
==== THIS WEEKS TOP 10 ====
====== MY SUMMARY ======
Well, that Beaver is really chewing through the field. Reached position 30 already even though the average score isn’t as high as we’ve seen before but it had a lot of mentions. It’s great but I’m sure the sheer numbers are also partly and largely due to it being free, which is kind of a shame to see if you see my point.
The 310R and Kodiak continue their flip-flopping of positions in the fight for slot 2 again
King Air Analog jumps 4 positions leaving her sister behind in the Caravan. Interestingly the whole top 25 is the same aircraft as last week, but just new order.
Noticed that I have been forgetting to add [Free] on the cells for free Aircraft so I’ve been through and checked those. Let me know if you spot any mistakes or omissions please!
Four new entries this week, bringing the total to 170 Aircraft ever mentioned:
I’ve mainly been hovering and gliding this week. Oh and troubleshooting, of course.
Mostly been practicing in the Cabri G2. Still tuning my brain to work on impulse but slowly getting more comfortable with it. Hardest thing is the tiny adjustments needed to all 3 controls at the same time in the last few feet before landing. I can get 2 right but often lose the precision on the 3rd! It’s super satisfying when it all comes together but rather like patting our head whilst rubbing your tummy and trying to play the trumpet at the same time. Great fun exploring cities and landmarks at its natural speed though, whilst learning to control it and keep it smooth when transitioning to hover. I’ve read a lot on the forums of complaints that the flight model is not good enough, it’s not realistic, DCS is way better for helicopters… etc etc — well I don’t know but it feels pretty convincing to me considering we are not flying with proper helicopter controllers and have no real feeling of movement and inertia to help situational awareness. I’ve tried some of the rotorcraft that require Airland FS and they are similar so I’m not sure why there is this feeling towards the Asobo effort. Sure it can be better (as can everything) and I’m looking forward to improvements to choppers in general - if that means by 3rd parties as is the case with the better quality planes, bring it on!! I’ve definitely got the chopper-bug!
Tried the C172 Reims Rocket suggested a few posts up. It’s very well made with some nice unexpected touches (the nicely animated notebook to configure the aircraft) and it’s definitely noticeably faster than the stock plane but not crazily so. Well worth a slot in your hangar for free!
Also the Cabri prompted me to dig out my old TrackIR5 and set it up. Took a punt on my system being able to handle it. Works wonderfully and really needed for choppers. Helps so much when trying to land in a specific and small spot (like tiny helipads on the oil rig platforms) but I won’t be able to fly anything without some kind of head tracking now! It changes things so much in a good way. Really would like the Tobii so I don’t have to wear anything, so we shall see what Santa brings if I’m a good boy for the next few weeks!
I have gotten back to flying more smaller propeller aircraft in MSFS. I also set up headtracking which makes this kind of flying enjoyable again., especially in open and semi open cockpits.
new Top 5
This is a tough one. Ranking 10 aircraft is too much effort and with this one point per plane sounds reasonable. But 10 aircraft with only one point also is challenging. Because I personally will make a clear difference between my favourite and my 10th favourite one (if I have 10 at all). With this its not fair to my favourite plan if the number ten gets a point as well leading to the situation that I simply will post only my top 3 or 5.
