I don’t know if they are on sale, and it’s not really in Europe (any more), but the only really recommendable Payware airfields I have are the ones by Burning Blue Designs.
Some of the more “grass strip” type are nice enough for Wilma but even the shortest is very long for her abilities. To be fair there are a ton more really good freeware bush strip “packs” that are way more fun in the Willy. Do you want some links?
Glad you’re enjoying it and for the other nice write ups. I’ll have to consider the Tecnam (I have the 2006).
Assume you’re referring to the - umm - flying shed?
I’d really appreciate a few links, thanks. I’m not into a lot of STOL flying these days, but I’ll always welcome grass strips with nice scenery. Then again, with the Wilga and CH 701 I might start flying into the Idaho backcountry a little more frequently. It’s nice getting back to basics with just stick and rudder/VFR flying.
I like the Tecnam a lot, but it’s not quite ready for prime time. You can definitely wait a bit to see how it shakes out.
Yes, the Shed. By no means the worst aircraft I’ve flown in the sim, but by far the most negative experience.
For this month, I’ve tried to remove my emotional choices and focus on aircraft that are truly “the best of the best.”
In alphabetical order:
A2A Commanche 250 - I don’t feel the need to bore anyone with futher explaination. This aircraft is simply the best of the best.
Ant’s Airplanes Tiger Moth - I haven’t flown her much recently, but I know she’s by far the best biplane currently available in the sim.
Blackbird Simulations DHC-2 Beaver (w/ GotFriends Expansion Pack) - I still long for the “full fat” that Blackbird teased before Microsoft took over this aircraft for the 40th aniversary edition. I’d love to see a realism mod for this bird. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge… someone… Black Square? WB Sim? please…)
Blackbird Simulations C310
Blackbird Simulations PC-6 Turbo Porter - A recent purchase for me, but loving it for PNG and Antartic fun.
FlyingIron BF 109-G6 - The pinnacle of WWII warbirds in the simulator. It is the “bad guy’s” plane for me, but I love it nonetheless. Can’t wait for FlyingIron’s FW 190 and (more importantly) B-17.
Got Friends PZL-104 Wilga 35/80 - Simply… Love.
Got Friends F4F-4 Wildcat - Another great WWII warbird. Much easier to fly than most others and more interesting with carrier operation options. Can’t wait for Miltech to bring WWII carriers into their Supercarrier Pro product line.
PMDG 737-800 - Honestly… I don’t fly tubeliners. They are too much like work and I’d much rather by flying a bush plane! So why did I include it? Because I respect this aircraft in its pure “top 10-ness”. I respect that it is expectionally good, even though I have no idea how to create a proper flight plan and such. Someday. Yes. Someday, I’ll learn how to fly tubeliners and I’ll happily do it in the PMDG 737-800.
SWS Kodiak 100 - This aircraft has been missing from my list for a few months but after thrashing her about in PNG recently, I recall why she is top 10 worthy.
Plenty of non-Luftwaffe G-6 operators. Here are a few well known ones:
Slovak Insurgent Air Force operated 3 G-6s during the Slovak National Uprising.
Royal Hellenic Air Force operated a number of captured G-6 109s which had been left during the German withdrawal in October 1944
Czechoslovak Air Force operated captured aircraft and continued building Messerschmitt Bf 109Gs after the war under the Avia S-99 name, but soon ran out of the 109’s Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine
Indeed. There are repaints available at flightsim.to for captured RAF, USAAF and Soviet 109s and an Israeli S-199. There’s also a fictitious modern Luftwaffe paint. Those are the only way I’ll fly it.
Glad to hear you like the Wilga =) In regards to european airfields, one of my favorites is Forwood Farm, which is included in the Wilga package.
Like @Baracus250 mentioned Burning Blue Designs airfields are also top notch. For airplanes like the Wilga I especially like Little Gransden, Headcorn and Andrewsfield:
Another great place are the Scilly Islands. There is also a heliport included which is long enough for planes like the Wilga or An-2:
Two small german payware airfields I can also recommend are Tannheim and Bad Wörishofen by Clear Prop Studios:
Have not posted here since August … It’s been an awesome month for helicopters with both the HPG H160 and Taog’s Hangar Lama being released. Both are total opposites, and both are amazing!
So my current list:
Taog’s Hangar SA315B Lama
HPG H160
FlyInside 47G
HPG H145
FlyInside 206
Taog’s Hangar SA316B Alouette III
These are really the only aircraft I care about at the moment. But I will leave some honorable mentions to get to 10 items:
Most hours this month on the Transall, which is now even better, the new Shorts, the Islander with (almost) all switches finally mapped to the Xtouch, the Comanche on a tour of England and northern Europe, and the DHL-liveried BAe146-300QT between a bunch of airports with DHL cargo facilities that I bought in the Black Friday sales. Roll on the Ini A300-600F! Still considering the HPG H160, but don’t have 80 bucks right now after the scenery splurge.
Still no V2 block B release for the Fenix? It doesn’t matter, it’s still awesome as it is, and software development always takes longer than it feels like it should.
New addition the Hype H145 with action pack. I only ever wanted to be a rotary pilot and while the addition of helis to MSFS has been fantastic, and I think the Cabri flies well for a first attempt, there are some definite shortcomings with the ground effect simulation and abrupt transitions and I’m hoping Asobo improve the flight model further rather than just leaving it done. I actually fly the Mini 500 more than some of the planes on my top 10 list, but it has some shortcomings that keep it off here.
Another problem with helis is my Thrustmaster HOTAS One is really inadequate, making them unreasonably hard to control. Not least because the throttle has a huge null zone right in the middle where you need to play the collective to hover! A flat screen TV without head tracking adds another notch. So all up I wasn’t seriously looking for another heli, I was prepared to wait until I can upgrade controls and get VR.
But then we had the Black Friday marketplace sale, which for me was underwhelming. Most of my large wishlist was not on sale at all, and a lot of it had only minor discounts. The result was I spent less than half of my allocated budget on planned purchases. I spent a bit more on unplanned buys with strong discounts that made them attractive, but I had plenty left so went looking outside of the marketplace.
In my travels I came across Markus Sinervä a real life H145 HEMS pilot in Finland with a YouTube channel and a bunch of detailed videos in MSFS. He was extremely complimentary about the HPG and how realistic it is and who am I to argue with a type rated pilot? Added to that I started to realise the sheer depth and completeness to the systems simulation on this and I was sold.
Since then I can’t put the H145 down. It’s awesome to look at, to operate, and also to fly. It had never interested me before because what’s the fun in a heli that flies itself? It turns out there’s heaps of fun, just like with the Fenix. Note that Markus said in the sim he flies 90% on autopilot and in real life the number is even higher. Managing the autopilot modes during operations is a good challenge in itself.
I was having so much fun I went back and got the action pack, also on sale, and now it’s just next level.
I think for the foreseeable future I’m doing two things in MSFS. If I have at least 2 hours then I’m flying passengers in the Fenix, otherwise I’m doing HEMS operations in the H145. Probably a list of my top 2 aircraft would be sufficient.
Comanche (just for the ground handling… and the sounds… and everything else)
Wilga (coz the Comanche just can’t land in all the places I want to land)
Must have a helicopter. 206 or Lama? Hmmm
Need an aerobatic plane! Piaggio.
…nope, 2 is literally impossible!
I have not once flown the H145 on auto lol. Funny how one can have such different experiences in the same thing! I dabbled with the AP in the H160 but it’s still more fun to me to DIY
There is no reason in real life to avoid autopilot - it is a bit like driving on the freeway for hours without using cruise control, why would you.
For me in the sim however, aside from flying in multiplayer streams, why bother. Just pause while you do your washing or make coffee or whatever and then skew to the next point you want to hand fly. I suppose things like Neofly are the other exception if you want to sort of cheat a bit and fly on autopilot while you duck into town or whatever and then come back and land.
Each to their own though, if people like AP go for it.
