Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:19 amAs many of you know, when it comes to flightsimming, I normally prefer something small and fast - like a fighter jet. I love the way they handle, the way you can get them out of an unusual attitude and situation with ease, and the looks of them 
However, as lovely as they are, fighter jets aren't exactly the best way to enjoy the scenery as they tend to move too fast to enjoy said scenery. You need something a bit slower, but you need to get there faster than a helicopter can do the task as well. This is where a good turboprop plane comes in handy. It can get you where you want to go reasonably fast, yet still get into the tight spots that fighter jets and even a good bizjet or jetliner couldn't dream of landing at.
I've had the pleasure of coming across one of the finest examples of these in FS 2004 - the AFG Beechcraft King Air 300. I know many of us have had a hand at the game's default King Air 350, and if you're like me you weren't necessarily impressed. The AFG King Air is in a totally different class than the default King Air however. Everything I've found about the aircraft is top-notch - from the flight model to the visual model to the cockpit/interior. It even has a custom soundset, and a top notch one at that - even the most untrained ear can tell the difference between this one and the default King Air sound files. This plane screams "Payware quality" in a freeware package. You read right: It's freeware, which means there is no excuse not to give it a try.
The AFG King Air 300 uses many of the default King Air 350 gauges (which were about the only good part of the default King Air), albeit arranged a bit differently than default, though still recognizable as a King Air cockpit. Both the 2D panel and Virtual Cockpit are very readable and have good side/rear/diagonal views with appropriate window panes ect. AFG has even gone into the detail of adding a working cabin pressurization system in the VC. The plane is also easy to fly from the VC, yet is surprisingly frame rate-friendly despite it's detail. The same goes for the external visual model: frame rate-friendly but of outstanding quality.
It can be found on Avsim and Simviation, along with a number of repaints.
Enjoy
However, as lovely as they are, fighter jets aren't exactly the best way to enjoy the scenery as they tend to move too fast to enjoy said scenery. You need something a bit slower, but you need to get there faster than a helicopter can do the task as well. This is where a good turboprop plane comes in handy. It can get you where you want to go reasonably fast, yet still get into the tight spots that fighter jets and even a good bizjet or jetliner couldn't dream of landing at.
I've had the pleasure of coming across one of the finest examples of these in FS 2004 - the AFG Beechcraft King Air 300. I know many of us have had a hand at the game's default King Air 350, and if you're like me you weren't necessarily impressed. The AFG King Air is in a totally different class than the default King Air however. Everything I've found about the aircraft is top-notch - from the flight model to the visual model to the cockpit/interior. It even has a custom soundset, and a top notch one at that - even the most untrained ear can tell the difference between this one and the default King Air sound files. This plane screams "Payware quality" in a freeware package. You read right: It's freeware, which means there is no excuse not to give it a try.
The AFG King Air 300 uses many of the default King Air 350 gauges (which were about the only good part of the default King Air), albeit arranged a bit differently than default, though still recognizable as a King Air cockpit. Both the 2D panel and Virtual Cockpit are very readable and have good side/rear/diagonal views with appropriate window panes ect. AFG has even gone into the detail of adding a working cabin pressurization system in the VC. The plane is also easy to fly from the VC, yet is surprisingly frame rate-friendly despite it's detail. The same goes for the external visual model: frame rate-friendly but of outstanding quality.
It can be found on Avsim and Simviation, along with a number of repaints.
Enjoy