10 Years on. Your personal favourites?

[arrowmaker]

With 2014 just around the corner, I started to think about the many aircraft which have come and gone, from my FS2004, hangar, over the years. The program was released over 10 years ago and in that time there have been many addon aircraft, both payware and freeware, which have given me either great pleasure or have proved to be truly disappointing. I was just wondering what aircraft, over the years, have given you your the greatest pleasure to learn and fly? Some of my personal favourites which have basically never left my hangar, barring a complete reinstall, include the following (in no particular order, and limiting myself to five):

1. RealAir Spitfire
2. Shockwave P-47 Thunderbolt
3. Flight 1 ATR 72-500
4. MAAM-Sim Douglas DC3
5. Long Island Classics Christen Eagle II

[Blackbird686]

Aw geezzz... I have a plethora of favs but I can't list them all, so here's a few that I fly on a regular basis....

Payware:
Alphasim F-105D Thud
Cap'n Sim C-130 Pro Pack
Flight Replica's Bf-109's (the whole lot of them). An honorable mention for the Avia S-199, albeit a toad to manage on the ground.
IRIS PC-9 and 9A, Yeah... I bought it when it first came out but me thinks it's no longer available
Wings of Power/A2A P-51D, P-47, FW-190A and D models, He-219 and the B-17.

Freeware:
Ted Wolfgang's revamp of Milton Shupe's wonderful Howard 500.
Milton Shupe's Avia series... (All of them)
Alpha Bleu Ceil Corsair F-4U7 (Man, have I turned this thing into a real beauty over the years).
Dave Hanvey and Paul Barry's Sea Fury FBII (Same as above).
Various freeware Alphasim and Virtavia goodies, specifically the Bristol Beaufighter and the CF-105 Arrow MkII.
And as of late, a nice little Mosquito PR.MKXVI that I added a freeware panel and sounds to. Done by Chris Lampard.

BB686

[nigel richards]

Good grief, Biggles!
Is that the time already?...How it flies!

Looks like there's some pretty hot taste on the list so far (nice going BB686 - with you most of the way there...oh okay; just once more for 2013 {} pinched!

Now (where was I?), Hmmm...ahh! the best...

They're yet to come lads!

Happy 2014 to all you good Gentlemen of the Air.

PS; For sheer fun, there's a Beech D 18SAM waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay up top on the list.

[Snaker]

Freeware: Kirk Olson's F-16; anything by Bill Lyons; Milton Shupe's Spartan Executive; and many others to numerous to mention.

Payware: Any of the A2A Products (Shockwave Productions at the time). Especially their P-51 and P-47. I also really liked the Captain Sim C-130.

Happy New Year everybody!!

[dhazelgrove]

1. Virtavia/Alphasim Lightning (of course)
2. Virtavia/Alphasim Phantom
3. RAZBAM Intruder/Prowler
4. Dave Garwood's Hunters
5. Rick Piper's Chipmunk

Dave

[HorusJ]

Yikes! Only five to choose from?

1. Captain Sim F-104
2. FiftyNorth 737
3. JustFlight Duchess
4. Doug Smith's Fairy Firefly
5. Manfred Jahn's Constellation/Starliner

[ian elliot]

1, Cloud9 F-4 Phantom
2, Bear Studios Mig17
3, Mig19 by Yan Tao
4, Gloster Meteor Alphasim freeware
5, F-84F Thunderstreak Alphasim freeware

Happy new year everyone, cheers ian

[Blackbird686]

just once more for 2013 {} pinched!

BUGGAH!!! He's gone and done it again... right out from under me nose. Well, all the best for a Great New Year you all... You too Nigel, you... you flag thief you!!!

BB686

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi,

1. Greg Pepper/Tom Gibson DC-6 and DC-7 variations and paints
2. John White, FSDzigns Connie and Manfred's beautiful iterations of this most graceful bird
3. LAGO's SM79 Sparviero
4. Glenn Duncan's Consolidated C-87
5. a) Rick Piper's HS 748
b) CalClassic's Convairs -Cv240,340,440 and 580 and the Virtual Birds Factory versions.

All beautiful creations and Thank you to all the developers who spend so much time turning the maths into this virtual World.

Ok stop now.

Andy

[Tom Clayton]

The only payware I have is the Kodiak, so I guess that's my favorite payware plane!

As for freeware, there's a bunch, but in no particular order...

Manfred's L1649 for radials
DCC's Lightnings for when I want a go-fast
AFG's YS-11 for vintage Dart power
Milton's newest Dash 7 for a modern(ish) t-prop
As for GA, I don't really have much other than the Real Air C172 mod. I guess I really need to see what else is out there...

[Desert Rat]

in no particular order:
A2A Spitfire mk.I (like all the spits, but prefer the 'purist' early marks.)
AH Mossies, all of them. Love a Woody, who doesn't?
AH Tigermoth or Milton's Pussmoth for low'n'slow.
IRIS Hawk for modern jet, fast but not silly fast, lol. Or the Sigma Harrier, same reasons.
Alpha Lynx or Dauphin for helo fun.
Turbo prop, LH Kodiak. fine STOL performance.

I have 'better' quality payware, but to me these have more 'fun' factor, to me much more important.

Jamie

[Willy]

Milton's Beech 18
Milton's Spartan Executive
Milton's Howard 500
JBK Boeing 307 Stratoliner
Manfred Jahn L749 Constellation
Uiver Team DC-2
Aeroplane Heaven Spitfire XIX
Aeroplane Heaven Seafire LF III
SOH Donationware SBD Dauntless
FSD Cessna 337H Skymaster
WoP Ta 152H

Scenery
California Classic Retro Scenery
Any aircraft carrier I can get.

[PRB]

Wow. ten years already!

1. P-38s by dcc (my first addon for FS9)
2. B-25 by MAAM (my second addon for FS9, first payware)
3. D-18 by Milton Industries
4. DC-3 by MAAM
5. DC-2 by UIVER
6. Ju-52 by Fischer & Fitt
7. A-26 by Milton Industries
8. DC-4 by Jens B. Kristensen
9. DHC-6 by Premiere Aircraft Design
10. SBD by FDG2

[AndyG43]

Too many to mention, and most of those I would mention you guys have already done; but .......

One model (well, series of models) is an essential, and is always an early reinstaller for any new FS9 setup; and that is, of course, Dave Garwood's unsurpassable Hawker Hunter.

[EMatheson]

3. LAGO's SM79 Sparviero
Andy

I find it interesting that you would mention the LAGOsim SM79. Have you tried MVGs SM79? It's a gorgeous model...

I find it a hard choice to choose just 5 favorites - and what about sceneries? modules? and so on? Oh! I could go on and on about scenery...

There are just so many planes to choose from.
In the top few planes, though, there is, at a minimum,
The Dreamfleet B-58 Baron (edges out the fine Carenado Baron, but I love them both)
Miltons suburb Beech 18 (and his fabulous semi-fictional Avia 57, his WiP Fleet 50 and Harpoon, that splendid Spartan, the bush C1A I love to fly, the Dash 7, the power of the Howard 500... (etc.))
Dave Eckerts Stearman is a classic...
The WoP Spitfire has been mentioned - I enjoy that one too.
And the AH Tiger Moth is a good one.
I love Carenados C206, C185, and C337... a few of the nicer ones from their fleet.
And who can forget Eaglesofts Twin Comanche?
Lionhearts Avelina and Dynamic are good for taking a quick spin around the patch. I use the Epic LT for longer-range flights - and I am finding an increasing fondness for the SOCATA Trinidad and Tobago.

I beta-tested the SectionF8 F-86 E/F Sabre package (That was definitely one of my most enjoyable FS-related experiences. I am still proud of having been included by such an illustrious and skilled team.) I also did beta-testing for the MAAM-SIM TBM/TBF Avenger package, but I get more time in the MAAM-SIM Dakotas...

And I get substantial mileage out of the default Piper Cub and the de Havilland Comet.

Bill Lyons creations are showing their age, but I must not forget to mention his Quad City Challenger, Grumman Goose, or Travel Air Package.


So, you see, I cannot choose just a few favorites.

[Motormouse]

Lets see :

Rick Pipers HS748\780
Section F8 Sabre
The F8 Crusader by those French guys.
Cloud9 F104
Dave Garwoods Hunters

Ttfn

Pete

[Naismith]

1 Maltby's BAC 1-11's
2 his Tridents
3 Level D B767
4 CS F-104
5 Carenado's C152

[andersel]

A few that spend a lot of time my skies are:
1. The AH_JF Tiger Moth
2. The MAAM-SIM DC-3/C-47/R4D
3. Milton's D-18
4. The MAAM-SIM B-25J
(And if I'm feeling especially turbine-headed)
5. The SectionF8 Sabers

But as Andy said, there are truly TOO many great planes out there to list.

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!

LA

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi,

[QUOTE=EMatheson;857029]I find it interesting that you would mention the LAGOsim SM79. Have you tried MVGs SM79? It's a gorgeous model...



Yes

I like that one too, and most of his other beauts as well !, but the LAGO does it for me because it has such smooth lines. I have been hoping for a civilian paint for it(!) so far, in vain.

Andy.

I am adding this picture of the S79, which is what I think the LAGOsim is,



A

[Mick]

In no particular order:

Milton's Twin Beech
Milton's Spartan Executive
Greg Pepper & Tom Gibson's Convair CV-240
Dave Garwood's DH.89 Dragon Rapide
Jens' Kristensen's DC-4 / C-54

Anything by Bill Lyons would fit right in there, but I couldn't possibly narrow them down to one - or even five.

[dhazelgrove]

Another set:

Bookmark Saab 35 Draken (still available).
Cloud9 Phantom.
SSW F-104 Starfighter for FS9 (yes, there is one).
Skysim Sea Vixen.
Coral F-15C/D/J/DJ.

Dave

[Duckie]

- Milton's Stoofs - both with and without a roof!
- AlphaSim/Virtavia F-4s (now freeware)
- Virtavia A-6
- Razbam A-4
- MAAM TBF/M
- Manfred Jahn C-47
- WarbirdSim P-51B/C

Several more but these are the ones flown most in 2013.

Happy New Year, Y'all!

[Rallymodeller]

There have been so many! Apart from Milton & co's always topnotch product:

Freeware:

1. All of Dave Maltby's airliners. I'll count them as one.
2. The Team 1049 Constellation set. Magnificent, and they keep improving.
3. The Project Tupolev Tu-154M. Better than most payware planes, plus the added challenge of working in an unfamiliar language.
4. AFG's Caravelles, complemented by Benoit Gaurant's lovely panels.
5. Anything Peter McKay has done a panel for. Mike Stone's F.27, Lucariny's Electra, Rick Piper's Viscounts, his and Gary Russell's CL-44...
6. MVG's Fiat G.12. Absolutely magnificent, and a joy to fly.
7. Project Fokker's F28-F70/100s.

Payware:

1. PMDG MD-11. Truly awe-inspiring.
2. PSS Concorde.
3. Captain Sim C-130.
4. Alphasim/Virtavia B-58 Hustler. Crossing the threshold at 200+ knots is always a thrill.
5. Level D 767.

Honourable mention for overall excellence goes to CalClassics and Historic Jetliners, for consistently excellent products and links.

[awj112]

No particular order;

• Kirk Olssen's F-16 family
• Most of Iris' late FS 2004 stuff (T-6 primarily - there was one for sale for FS 2004)
• Tim Conrad's OV-10 family
• Dino Cattaneo's Tomcat (now if someone can just point me to the most up-to-date version
• FS KBT Super Hornet
• Military AI works (not a plane but how can you fly this much military hardware without playmates?)

There are gobs more but This is what first comes to mind.

[Matt Wynn]

for me, in no particular order....
-Kirk Olssons F-16's
-Just Flight Vulcan
-ALL of Miltons fleet!
-Dave Garwood Hunters
-Sea Fury
-Tempest (Napier Sabred one)

and many, many, many others.....