At this point in the sim, I think we are lucky to have more than five choices for truly outstanding aircraft. I also think that a host of new arrivals are about to raise the bar even further. Nonetheless, here is what my top five looks like today.
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Flysimware Cessna 414 Chancellor
Flies great, looks great, sounds great, nice mix of digital and analog systems. Very high fidelity model of a very capable aircraft.
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PMDG DC-6
Vintage four engine pressurized prop-liner, high-fidelity systems depth, good looks, good sounds, what more could you ask for?
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Just Flight Arrows (III, Turbo III and IV). High fidelity implementations all, with a great flight model and that heavy Arrow feel. While the modelling and details are all there, Iād much rather fly a Beechcraft.
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FBW Airbus A320 NEO. Has been a mainstay of the sim since nearly day one and is finally really starting to arrive. Holding, VNAV, and cabin ambiance are giving it a polished feel. A much better airliner than the Aerosoft CRJ which IMO hasnāt lived up to its promise due to lingering bugs that were never addressed.
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Milviz Pilatius Porter. Another high-fidelity implementation of a quirky, interesting airplane. I have plans to spend a bunch of time flying bush routes in New Guinea as well as (once it is available) taking a Porter on skis to Mt. Cook. Anyway, it flies great and beta mode is a blast.
Honorable mention:
DC Designs PT-17 Stearman. A nicely done implementation of a simple, yet classic aircraft. A great value to begin with, the developer upgraded it to include a model with wheel fairings and smoke effects. For anyone needing to get their bi-plane on and do some serious IFR flying (I Follow Roads), this is the ticket. It is also a great aerobatics trainer.
Future Predicted Top 5:
- PMDG 737NG
- Flysimware Cessna 414 Chancellor
- Milviz Cessna 310
- PMDG DC-6
- Wing 42 Model 247
3 Likes
At this moment in time:
1. Aerosoft Twin Otter
2. Aerosoft CRJ-700
3. 787-HD / FBW-A320 / 747-HeavyDiv (all equal)
4. Carenado Mooney M20
5. Asobo CTLS / Pipistrel Virus for sightseeing in the World Update Cities
I bought the Twin Otter a little more than a week ago. It has forced me to fly in areas that I have never considered especially after watching youtube videos of real flight operations.
- Float operations in Vancouver.
- Solomon Islands after watching AirClips: Charming Pilot Patricia
- Costa Rica after watching JustPlanes: Piloting the Twin Otter across Costa Rica ( the approach and landing at MRGF rwy 31 starting at 23:45 in the video.
I expect the PMDG 737 to take over the number 1 spot upon its release
3 Likes
I donāt fly jets so my list will be skewed
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JF Arrow/Turbo Arrow
There was the already good Carenado Mooney but I find the Arrow better overall.
Very good GA aircraft to do VFR and start IFR.
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Milviz Porter
I think it was one of the first times a good turbo prop came to the game? Superb plane for mountain flying. It is slow and drinks a lot of fuel. It is meant for short distances, rough runways. I use it for reaching places i could not do with most other aircraft. It will be even more beautiful with steam gauges and the floats.
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SWS Kodiak
The Kodiak is tough competition for the Porter. It can also fly anywhere and is faster.
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Aerosoft Twin Otter
Despite the issues with the sounds etc. I have enjoyed it a lot. I use it in the Caribbeans and in South East Asia.
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Flysimware C414 Chancellor
Released only 3 days ago and still in beta but I am already hooked. This is a serious product. Lots of effort put in the details (sounds, buttons, interactions).
I put my faith in the developers that they will fix raised bugs and continue the enhance the product.
MSFS was lacking a plane in its category so I am glad the C414 is out.
Special mention to the DC6 from PMDG. I think it is more detailed than the planes above but it is harder to master. I will need to spend more time reading the manuals to not have to rely on the flight engineer so muchā¦
1 Like
Here is a snapshot of the TOP 20 Results so far (I couldnāt resist!). This includes up to FruitierDuke10.
I ended up using points as well as mentions because there were too many with same number of mentions, so it IS important to put them into your actual order of fondness if you can for anyone else adding theirs please 
For people that had no specfied order, I just assigned 2 points to each plane. Also please donāt put more than 1 plane in 1 slot - use 2 slots or pick your favourite 
(For the entries that did that so far I also just assigned 2 points per plane.)
EDIT: Just realised that I should have given 3 points per plane for those cases = 15pts for 5 planes, same as doing 5+4+3+2+1 so I will update it that way!)
48 aircraft have been mentioned so far. If you want the full PDF, link is here: Dropbox - MSFS Aircraft Ranking.pdf - Simplify your life
9 Likes
My Top 5 at the moment.
JF Warrior
Cessna 152 (JPLogistics)
Cessna Longitude
Cessna 140 (Aeroplane Heaven)
Kodiak 100
1 Like
TDM930
P51D
Cessna 152
Cessna 172
This was a great idea. Nice job with it!
1 Like
Thanks a lot! Iāll keep updating the table as long as people are still adding replies.
Could be quite interesting to see how it changes over time!
2 Likes
- Aerosoft CRJ (900)
- SSW Lockheed TF104G (and IFT F-35B for modern fun)
- HPG Airbus H145
- PMDG DC-6 (no AFE)
- TBM 930 (w/improvement mod)
*of course you need the WT mods.
Waiting for the PMDG 737 which will likely be my favorite by a good margin.
2 Likes
Which one if you can only have one? 
This is such a tough and very subjective list! Worse, it changes weekly, sometimes daily. Ugh.
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Milviz Corsair - gorgeous, fast, powerful, nicely-simulated, challenging to fly and very, very rewarding when you get it right.
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FlyingIron P-38L - equally-gorgeous, almost as complexly-simulated as a the Corsair (maybe equally now with the latest patch), fast, great views, but docile as a kitten to fly, climb and land. The best warbird in the sim for long-distance flying, as the developers include a simulated tablet with basic altitude/heading hold functions.
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DC Designs F-14 - I have a need ā¦ a need ā¦ for speed! 'Nuff said. Flies like a bat out of hell, maneuverable, capable of Mach 2.4+ at FL500 and easy to land with active lift control by the flight control system.
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Big Radials JRF-6 Grumman Goose - nicely simulated, INCREDIBLE sounds, nice modeling, and oodles of old school 1930-something charm and character. Iāve only owned her for a week but already climbing the charts. I havenāt flown anything else since I got her.
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Aerosoft Twin Otter - versatile with wheels, skis and floats; passenger and cargo configurations; nicely complex in simulation and enough to do during flight to feel challenged, involved and interested in all phases. Iāve only owned her for a month or so but sheās a keeper.
NOTE: I reserve the right to change this list with no notice on any whim.
The Concorde is coming out in a couple days, followed immediately by the Boeing 247D, and then PMDGās 737-700 soon-ishā¢. Meanwhile, FlyingIron has the F6F Hellcat coming, along with several others, and who knows what else will make an appearance over the course of the year. 
2 Likes
In no particular order:
JustFlight Piper Turbo Arrow
PMDG DC-6
Aerosoft CRJ
Big Radials Grumman Goose
Milviz Corsair
Too hard. Honourable mentions: anything else by Milviz, anything else by JustFlight, anything by Blackbox, but especially the Islander, this is TOO hard - so many great ones.
5 Likes
//42 Freedom Fox
SWS Kodiak 100
JustFlight Turbo Arrow III/IV
GotFriends Edgley Optica
FlyingIron P-38L
To be fair, they are all my #1 choices, depending on the type of flying for which Iām in the mood.
2 Likes
These choices are way harder than they should be.
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All Just Flight Piper I really canāt say enough good things about these birds, I own them all and I think Iāve gotten the most use out of the Warrior for some fun VFR flights, and the Arrow III would be next. I have not gotten much use out of the Turbo Arrows however I would like to start flying with them soon, However overall favorite for the Pipers would probably be the Warrior.
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Carenado Mooney M20R I donāt see it get much love anymore, and the system depth isnāt huge, but I still have fun with this aircraft. Fast as GA planes in its size go, and a decent range. Absolutely great looking model, and most all of Carenados aircraft are perfectly modeled.
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Blackbox Simulations BN-2 Islander Super fun aircraft to fly, while the texture quality isnāt the highest, I fly just about exclusively in VR so that doesnāt bother me much. Living in Rhode Island, this aircraft has a regular shuttle to Block Island and so this aircraft has fit perfectly with Gaya Simulations KBID scenery. Additionally you can find a New England Airlines livery on flightsim.to.
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Parallel 42 Freedom Fox Easily the best bush aircraft Iāve flown in the sim. I have not gotten much work out of it recently however itās still one of my favorites. Great for VR, I jumped a bit when the door was ripped off.
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PMDG Douglas DC-6 I had a really hard time choosing number 5. So many great options, and specifically regards to the DC-6 I have gotten no where near more than a toddlers understanding of system depth. I canāt wait to learn more about this aircraft and all of its detail. For the price I think this aircraft has the most for your dollar in it.
It would be a bad thing not to mention some other aircraft, honstly there are right now 118 payware aircraft for the sim that you can currently buy, and putting them into just the top five is difficult. However, I need to sayā¦
Carenado Cessna 337- Absolutely stunning and unique. Love flying it.
Aerosoft DHC-6 Twin Otter- Great plane, and would definitely be on the top 5 if I got to fly it more.
Aerosoft Bombardier CRJ-550/700- Wowza, I really love this plane, but again I have barely flown it. Normally with X-Plane I just jump straight into commercial aviation because the ground isnāt anything to gawk at, however FS2020 has really made me fall in love with GA simming.
Carenado Cessna 170- Great plane all around, I love flying it
Carenado Piper PA-44 Fun plane, enjoyable twin.
2 Likes
The good news is that itās crazy hard to cull the list down to 5 planes right now. Thatās especially true for simmers like myself that enjoy every type of flying.
FBW Airbus
FlyingIron Spitfire
SWS Kodiak
Freedom Fox
Just Flight Arrows
There are so many other planes that I love to fly that could easily make this list, like the Milviz Porter & Corsair, PMDG DC-6, Aerosoft CRJ & Twin Otter, FlyingIron P38, JF Hawk, etc. Weāre probably at a point where we can start talking Top 10.
1 Like