The username is a sheer coincidence I swear! I was using that way before the Comanche was a twinkle in the eye of its Piper parents!
My “250” is actually an homage to the Ferrari 250GT SWB 
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The June 2025 Chart Results
You folks sure keep me busy! Sorry for the slight delay in posting this, but a lot of new votes came in over the weekend to count, and I have been very busy with work (real work 
) until now.
Here are the months results though - looks like our prediction for the Starship was surpassed! There have been quite a few interesting changes in the orders (of the all time charts) this time around.
==== 2025’s TOP 25 ====
==== THIS MONTHS TOP 25 ====
==== COMPLETE CHARTS PDF PACK ====
Want to see more awesome aircraft?
You can download the entire Charts Pack as a PDF here. This file includes the main All-Time Chart and a page for every month listing all votes, so you can see aircraft that fall outside of the Top 25 above.
Download the PDF here:
====== FREEWARE CHARTS ======
Interested in FREE Aircraft? Click here!
Don’t forget you can also now vote and see a separate list of FREEWARE ONLY AIRCRAFT here:
Top FREEWARE Aircraft & Mods | MSFS - Google Sheets
…if you have not yet voted there, please go ahead and add your favourite in this topic!
Your Top FREEWARE AIRCRAFT / MODS [Charts]
====== MY SUMMARY ======
In the All-Time Chart the COWS DA42 jumps up a huge chunk (relatively speaking as it’s at the top end of the table) to take a well deserved second place now!
The CAS J3 Cub made a bit of a resurgence (not sure why it dropped even, it is amazing) and the JF Arrows actually dropped some which surprised me.
The Starship had equal votes (in the month) to the Fenix A320, but due to it being a newer release it takes second spot, and jumping right into 18th place overall which is a pretty good showing!
The Learjet and Fenix “expansion” (A319/321) made big jumps up too due to getting a few votes but lower down.
Suspiciously lacking is the Parallel 42 KitFox / Freedom Fox. I am sure I remembered it coming back strong when it was updated for 2024 compatibility, but looking through the history, it has only a single vote remaining and maximum of 1 in March and this month too. Am I remembering it wrong?! Probably! Or was that actually in 2024?
Only 2 new Aircraft mentioned this month:
| Developer | Aircraft |
|---|---|
| Black Square | Beechcraft Starship 2000 |
| FlightSim Studio | Boeing 727-200 Freighter |
As always, thanks to everyone involved! See you in the chat
FINAL NOTE: The next Chart Update will be done on 3rd August as that is the nearest Sunday to the end of the month.
12 Likes
I’ve had the Kitfox for some time now and tried to get into it several times. Every time I am turned off by its strong tendency to bounce on the landing. If your descent rate is more than 100 fpm it will bounce towards the moon. I find it oversensitive and excessive. It makes it overly difficult to get it into at tight space with an irregular runway. I’ve never flown in kitfox so it may be accurate, but 42 has modelled the Kitfox so different from similar planes like the Norden, Rans, C701 and Wilga - all of which I enjoy very much to put down on unadvisedly unsafe landing spaces.
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Any bets on if/when the A2A Aerostar 600 takes over the top spot?
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With the Aerostar and Centurion on top of all the WinWing compatible airliners, my July top 10 will look very different than March April, May or before. The number of very nice aircraft models I own across both 2020 and 2024 outnumber the monthly flying days/hours needed to maintain some level of proficiency in each of them, practically speaking. There are more and more worthy favorites that drop out of rotation for no reason other than not enough time to fly all of them monthly. A very nice problem to have, and one that is not yet solved for me by dropping 2020 for 24 full-time.
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I don’t think it will. It might not even get 2nd. We will see!
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I’m surprised the Comanche 250 has held the top spot for so long.
There must be a good reason for that.
I think the Aerostar will do great in this list as soon as it leaves the beta status. However, I still prefer the Starship.
I can understand that. The Starship is pretty awesome - well worth the wait.
While the two models may have launched around the same time, the Aerostar Starship comparison is a weird one this week. Two entirely different aircraft with different mission profiles (and IRL operating economics).
I like to do world tours. In that case I think both planes will do this perfectly (around the same range).
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The flight fx erj 145 will do well on this list probably because people will still be waiting for the Aerosoft CRJ and fly the embrear instead
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July list
1 A2A Piper Comanche 250
2 Flightsimware Cessna 414
3 JustFlight Avro RJ
4 JustFlight Fokker F28 Pro
5 Wing42 Boeing 247D
6 FlyingFries XF11
7 Grumann Albatross
8 Beechcraft D18 (denarq mod)
9 BlackSquare Duke Piston
10 Inibuilds A350
Removed Constellation since not fully 2024 operational, replaced by Grumann Albatross,
Replaced FlyingFries Gabriel by FlyingFries XF11, having much fun with this incredible plane very well sustained by Mr LordFrites.
Replaced Cows DA42 by BlackSquare B60 Piston Duke, can’t wait for BS King air on 2024 as well as the future BS Commander.
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nice to see someone who love the Beoing 247
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July list:
COWS DA42, perennial favourite.
COWS DA40 XLS - Finally caved and bought this because of the marketplace sale, and it has exceeded expectations. It feels like the same level of fidelity as the 42, only of a different plane. Particularly love the sounds, startup procedure, and the overall agility. It still feels weighty and substantial, but it turns on a dime and doing circuits and short flights is a dream. Special mention has to go to the COWS team for putting in recommended power, prop, and flaps settings for each part of the flight and circuit - it’s a real nice touch that I wish more developers would do. Finally, the ability to toggle over to nose wheel steering is something I appreciate immensely. I know it’s not as realistic, but if I had to taxi that castoring nose wheel I think I would be less inclined to jump into this plane. As it is, I can’t put it down. Even at full price I’d say this was a must buy, at 30% off it’s a complete no-brainer.
4 Likes
Last list was in march, time flies except me with me in MSFS
Anyway…
The old list:
- COWS DA40 XLS
- COWS DA42
- F7 simulations ASK21
- Fenix A320
- Hot air balloon
- DA-62 including mod
- Gotfriends discus 2C
- DA-40NGX including mod
- Powered paraglider
- FBW A380
New list:
Categorised this time by type of plane
GA:
I think Cows is THE way to go for GA planes. So its not a surprise they are well represented in my list. I havent flown the piper in real life so i haven’t bought it (yet) while i heard many great things about it. I might give them a try in the future.
- COWS DA40 XLS
- COWS DA42
- DA-40NGX including mod
- DA-62 including mod
Gliders:
What COWS is for the GA, Gotfiends is for the gliders. Guys if you read this: you are awesome. Great flightdynamics, great interaction with the community, great support… basically like the song in the lego movie: everything is awesome!
And dont let me start about the newly released AS33 ME… its just a work of art. like you are flying the real deal. sometimes you cross a little diamond that explains exactly why you are in flightsimming. for me this is new release is a little gem like that.
5. Gotfriends AS33-ME
6. Gotfriends discus 2C, another great release. If you are not sure you want to give the premium version a try. just start with the free one. It will get you hooked soon enough.
7. F7 simulations ASK21, Needs some TLC, but its my first rl solo bird so for now, its still in the list.
Airliners
8. Fenix A320, short haul bird. probably until the PMDG 737 is released. it works but for me its a bit heavy on the hardware. but it defeats all the default airliner in MSFS.
9. PMDG 777-300 Long hauler to go. my interest shifted lately towards the GA and gliders. but once in a while the 777 comes out of the closet and blast with confidence over the runway towards some sunny destination on 4x time acceleration
Others
10. Hot air balloon, still my ultimate zen- machine but… please give this a bit more love as well. whith all the potential of MSFS, this should be one of the “study level” aircraft provided by MSFS. after all, its just a big bag of hot air with a basket filled with some higly flamable gas.
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Finally getting time to fly and try out planes in 2024. Slowly creating a hanger of favorite planes again.
-
A2A Piper Comanche 250 - Still amazing, especially how easy it is to trim to a level flight.
-
Got Friends PZL-104 Wilga 35/80 - Really enjoying this recently. I think I need to spend more time learning its systems.
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Just Flight Piper Arrow 3 - Hadn’t flown the Just Flight Pipers in a while (2020 or 2024). Took them all for a spin after their 2024 updates and fell in love with them again.
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Just Flight Piper Warrior II - Always been fond of this one
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BlackBird Cessna 310R - Best twin engine I have, but haven’t flown it much. Eyeing the Black Square Duke and the A2A Aerostar though.
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WBSim/JPLogistics Cessna 152 - Always a great option for a low slow flight…and free.
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Aeroplane Heaven Cessna 140 - Finally got it to use the sound files of the C152 so I can enjoy this “little plane that could” again.
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Black Square Beechcraft Bonanza A36 - I finally took time to get this working in 2024.
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MS/Carenado Piper Dakota - I’ve really enjoyed this one so far. It fits nicely between the Warrior and the Arrow.
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Most of my favorite aircraft are not properly ported to '24 yet and as I have uninstalled MSFS2020 I will list them as TOP without flying them anymore
- Blackbird Cessna 310 - In my opinion still the best overall immersive package in the sim, despite the dated engine simulation model.
- JustFlight Bae 146 - Best retro airliner
- PMDG 737-800 - My favorite modern airliner
- BlackSquare King Air - not the most advanced one, but I love the feeling inside, and it has a lot of backup systems when something fails. Plus switches, loads of switches.
- A2A Aerostar - It’s the Comanche, just a little bit less polished and with a much broader range of application. The wear seems more natural. Lots of potential for improvement to reach the top.
- BlackSquare Turbo Duke - Top, but no state saving and proper maintenance options, so the failure system feels shallow.
- FlightFX P180 - Great avionics and overall very high quality.
- Got Friends Wilga - Best crazy outdoor fun for me.
- FlightFX Hondajet - The future is here plane. Zoom, zoom.
- A2A Comanche - It’s for sure great, but just a little bit too small and limited for me, also couldn’t really get into the long-time wear, seemed unnatural for me after a thousand miles or so.
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For July:
- Starship (Black Square): absolutely amazing work that was done on this aircraft. I’m having so much fun with it. At first learning the unusual avionics was looking daunting, but it’s really not so bad in the end.
- HU16 Albatross (Mike Johnson): still love my trip around the world with this one, following Amelia Earhart itinerary. Only downside is having to wait on Asobo for updates that have been finalized by Mike long ago.
- Beech 18 (Carenado): still so good with the Denarq mod. Work properly in SU3 now.
- Latécoère 631 (Bluemesh): Such a well made plane, so unusual compared to other offerings. I’m recreating the real Latécoère flights of the era with it and having a blast.
- Draco X (Got Friends)
- DHC-2 (Blackbird Simulations)
- Cessna 152 (WBSim)
- AeroElvira Optica (Got Friends)
- Pilatus PC-12 (SimWorks Studio)
- Piston Duke (Black Square)
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I find the CAS J3 super twitchy/sensitive in 2024… do you? What are your curves? I love it but can’t fly it straight and level! Any input is overdone.