This is all good and well Mr Book, but...

Quick question: I see a lot of nice looking aircraft out there. How do we know that they fly "as they should"? Or as close as a simulator can get. I mean, how do I know that my nice new shiny <insert simcraft here> behaves like its real life counterpart and not just as a generic sim - aircraft would?

Extension of question: Do you know of any good, realistic (again, I know there are limits) craft out there? Any links to good ones? Again, simulated aircraft that approach the "feeling" you get from the original.

Many thanks

I don't know what type of aircraft your looking for, commercial, Ga. Do you want airliners, props, I could go on.
Name the type you like and we'll find some links for you.
Meanwhile I'll give you two opposites to see what you like, both are the top if their respective fields.

http://www.projectopensky.com/index.php

http://www.pmstone.com/aircraftidx.html


As for the dynamics of the different aircraft, it all depends on the designer, some are quite realistic and others are "plain Jane". The best-Payware, you get what you pay for.

I use a fairly simple method. I ask real pilots who are familiar with both the real world aircraft in question and its counterpart(s) available for the sim.

There's a flight sim news group I frequent where a few real pilots also participate (alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim). One of these pilots is Dudley Henriques, who has extensive real world experience with over 70 different aircraft...both GA and military. He's retired from flying and instructing now (primarily as a fighter pilot and aerobatic performer/instructor), and now enjoys "flying" with fs2004. He does offer his expertise to some sim plane developers as well. Dudley is very generous with his expertise, and is happy to help us simulated pilots with all sorts of issues...including letting us know if a certain sim plane has a fairly accurate flight model. His endorsement of the RealAir Super Decathlon was one reason I purchased that plane. For those who like fast military type planes, he also recommends the MIG 21 from Captain Sim.

Another now retired yet very experienced pilot I depend on is Peter McLeland. Peter's endorsement of the DreamFleet Piper Archer II helped me decide upon that particular acquisition. There are a few other pilots here and there who have commented on the relative realism of various simulated planes, and I'm always very interested in what they have to say.

So...since I don't yet fly real planes myself, I feel the best I can do to find planes for the sim that are "as real as it gets" (within obvious limits, of course), is to ask people who have flown the real planes I'm interested in before I decide to add them to my sim.