FSX AddOn Guide: Aircraft

Hello,

 in this post I would like to give you an introduction to FSX Aicraft AddOns.

 There are many Aircraft AddOns out there, many good ones and many bad ones. There is lots of Freeware, but I will not speak about that, because Freeware can be funny and also good, but it's just not that Quality that Payware has. 
But don't stop reading if you are new and thought you could fly with Freeware or even with the FSX Default planes. At the beginning of my FSX flying, I also thought I will stick to the default planes. I definitely didn't want to speed any money on FSX.

 A few days later I bought my first AddOn, AccuFeel, but I will speak about that in another post. If you don't take it very serious with flight simulation you will probably have enough with Freeware. But I really want to have a good experience, so I definitely go with Payware. And if you also want to enjoy Flight Simming on a high niveau, you can't get around paying some euros/dollars/pounds/whatever.

 But ok, let's see what there is on the market:

Airliners

I personally don't fly a lot with Airliners, but I still like them. Here I want to show you a few outstanding Products:

PMDG 737 NGX

If you like the 737, then there is NO WAY around this Aircraft. Many people believe it's the best Aircraft EVER made for flight simulation. And thats true. Everything is simulated. Of course working FMC, every Knob doing the exact same thing as in the real aircraft. This is high level simming.

Aerosoft Airbus X Extended

For those of you who like Airbus, there is a quite cheap Airbus A321/A320 by Aerosoft. They also have the A319 and A318. If you like Airbus and don't want to spend a lot of money, this is definitely the thing for you. It's graphics are beautiful, and the most important things are working. Of course a FMC too. But there is just one thing: Many dummy knobs. Many functions you don't need that often are just dummy knobs. The Engine Fire Buttons on the Overhead can only be tested if they are working, but you can't press them in case of fire.
But as I said: If you like flying Airbus without Emergencies, give it a go.

Flight Sim Labs A320

Now, the best ever modelled Airbus. There has never been a good Airbus. Aerosoft made the first step. Now we had a flyable one. With FlightSimLabs (FSL) we got the ULTIMATE Airbus. But as I said above: A fully simulated Airbus has it's price. 99$ at the moment of writing this article (January 2017). But it is amazing. Really everything is modelled. You can work off Emergencies with real Checklists. 
99$ may sound a lot but someone I know once said:
You have the choice: Many not so good Aircraft or one outstanding Aircraft you love.
 And thats true. You can buy a few aircraft you like with 100$, or you don't buy that, give up that scenery you always wanted, and voi la, you got an aircraft you will have lots of fun with and many hours flying. 
Let it go through your head, it's definitely something to check out.

Majestic Bombardier Dash-8 Q400

The Dash-8 modelled by Majestic is another great Aircraft. Many say it has the Quality of PMDG and thats true. Indeed one of the top 5 Airliners ever made for FSX. The Sound is great too.

PMDG 777

Also a great Aircraft by PMDG. I can't say much about it, but it's also modelled very good.

Medium Aircraft

Now, lets go on with medium Aircraft. Turboprops, Twin-Props and so on.

RealAir Duke B60

There are two Versions: The piston powered and the turboprop. A very nice plane, even with a rain effect on the windscreen.

Aerosoft de Havilland DHC6 Twin Otter

If you like Bush flying, the Twin Otter is perfect for you. It's the plane you will fly with when going to Lukla, the little Airstrip in the Himalaya. It's a light, twin turboprop with an enormeous power. It is used to fly into the smallest Airstrips in the world, while still carrying lots of Payload and Passengers.

Carenado

The aircraft from Carenado is really great. They are usually fully modeled. Cockpit, Cabin, Outside, and so on. It's hard, if not impossible to find a place where they didn't model great. I can really recommend Carenado planes.
However, there are also some cons: The Systems usually aren't modelled very deeply. Most planes come with a GNS530 GPS, made by Carenado, but it is very simiar to the default GPS. You can't create multiple Waypoints and you have to plan the route in the FSX Map. If you want a good GPS you can gear up with a RealityXP GTN750 or similar.
In many Aircraft, the sound is also quite bad. Looks like they make savings on the sound designers. For example in their Phenom 300, the engine sounds like a hairdryer.

Carenado makes really nice, modern General Aviation Aircraft. Many of them have got a Garmin G1000. There you can insert your own Waypoints, thats pretty cool.
Then they also have Aircraft with a G600, a smaller version of the G1000. Those are really awesome Systems. The G1000 is equipped with a TCAS, Weather Radar and a TAWS. The G600 with a TAS, Weather Radar and TAWS.

In many of their Aircraft is also the Avydine MFD, a GPS Unit with TAWS, TAS and also Weather Radar.

Most of their products are recommend. It makes lots of fun to fly with their plans. But have an eye at the minimum requirements. The G1000 usually requires a CPU with a minimum of 3 GHz.
Below you see some Products I really can recommend:


  • PA-31 Navajo
  • PA-31-350 Chieftain
  • PA-46 Malibu Mirage
  • PA-46 Meridian (Newly Released)
  • PA-46 Malibu Jetprop
  • Phenom 300
  • Phenom 100
  • many more...

Small Aircraft

There are many high quality Small Aircraft out there.

A2A

When you ask for small aircraft, you will undoubtedly hear from A2A. Their modelling is incredible. They model every single parameter in the flight simulator. Oil pressure, Oil temperature and a hundred things more. It's like an exact copy of the real aircraft. You have to watch to don't flood the engine when starting or leaning the mixture on ground to prevent fouled plugs. It's amzing! The plane reacts on everthing you do. Even if you don't fly the plane it will get older. There is a garage page. You can make an engine compression test, change oil type, look how the engine is working and so on. You can also make a real walkaround and check proper tire inflation, wear of critical pieces, and much more.
  • Piper PA-28 Cherokee 180
  • Cessna 172 Trainer
  • Cessna 182 Skylane
  • Piper Comanche

BOOKMARK! To be continued.

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