whats the next step?

[sonic]

What would be the next logical aircraft to go with after you got pretty good at the cessna 172.  :-/

[beefhole]

I suppose you could step it up to a twin, like the beechcraft Baron 58.

[Reap]

Yes the baron was my second aircraft, but don't discard the 172. Its the best there is for flying VFR circuits.

I gave it up and flew only Jets but eventually went back to it and now fly it regularly to keep my flying skills up.

Try the RealAir Cessna 172 its available as a free download and has a more realistic feel than the stock 172. You can even get it to do flat spins.

Flying the 172 with photorealistic scenery and Terrain mesh is a real treat.

[beaky]

Depends on your goal. A twin would make sense, but there's also aerobatics! The default Extra is a little tricky, so I DL'd a free Cessna 150 Aerobat recently to start really working on aerobatics. It flies much like a 172, and is good for beginner-level maneuvers, like loops and barrel rolls. Pretty sure I found it here...

[MattNW]

It really depends on where you are trying to go. If you are heading towards the airliners then you would probably go to a twin and from there to a twin turboprop and then increase the size of that until you get to such things as the Dash 8 or the ATR etc.

If you would like to stay in the smaller airplanes then like rottydaddy mentioned you could try some aerobatic aircraft. Another good first step into aerobatic aircraft is the Super Decathlon.

Military pilots usually go from the basic trainers to faster single engine airplanes and from there into trainer jets.

Another good step is to learn different types of small single engined airplanes. There are differences between flying the high winged airplanes like the Cessna and the low winged ones like the Mooney or a Piper.

[Jared]

How about checking out the Mooney Bravo?  ;D

[Bazza]

As the result of years of experience, I would suggest you give up while you're ahead - LOL.

[Saratoga]

Well, from the C-172, the next most obvious thing is a complex single engine airplane, the C-182RG would be great, but freakin' M$ took it out. So the Mooney is a great choice, fast and you can learn more advanced techniques involving landing gear, flaps, and spoilers.

After the Mooney, step into the Beechcraft Baron 58. About the same speeds as the Mooney, just with two engines, can't go as high, and no spoilers. If you want to learn Aerobatics, after the Mooney take the Extra up for a few flights to get the hang of it. But continuing the airliner stages:

Master the Baron, fail an engine once or twice to see what it's like to fly without one engine in a twin. Then take the step up to the Beechcraft Super King Air 350. By now you should be flying on IFR plans from A-B and communicating with ATC constantly. The King Air will both introduce you to turbine engines and high altitude operations since you can regularly dash up into the 20's with it.

Now you have more options. Either airline fly on turboprops such as the Embraer 120 or the Dash 8, or continue my chart:

Take command of the Lear Jet 45. It's not a whole lot harder to fly than the King Air, but has lots of performance to spare. It will take a while to master jet operations. High altitude, high speed flights. Get that down, you are on your way.

The next logical step is the 737-400. A big, slower, lumbering Lear Jet pretty much. From the 737, the 747 and 777 are pretty easy to transition to. They both cruise faster and need more runway, but if you can fly the 737 you can pull off flying most airliners.

Hope it helps!

[TacitBlue]

Reap,

[Nav]

sonic, lots of good advice on the options above.

The only things I'd add are:-

1. You may find the Baron a disappointment - its flying characteristics are very unstable, in particular you simply can't trim it into a stable climb or a stable descent - especially nasty when landing VFR.  The Kingair flies much better - but it makes a simply horrible noise!  If you want a nicer twin, try downloading Mike Stone's Aerostar 700:-

http://www.pmstone.com/aclist.php

And putting Mitch's panel in it:-

http://mitchspanelshop.fsgateway.com/

IMO, the default Mooney is an underrated aeroplane, well worth trying - otherwise, the 182 has more power than the 172 and is more fun to fly.

2.  To develop your general flying/navigation skills, I would strongly recommend trying some of the 'ready-made' scenarios; in particular, 'Aerial Chauffeur' (switching to the 182 or the Mooney).  The flights are IFR and are set up so that both the weather and the navigation become increasingly challenging, trip by trip.  If you can get through the last two (respectively, a VFR approach in IFR weather, and a long flight in weather that has the birds walking ending in an ILS approach in zero visibility) you'll be ready for anything else FS can throw at you!    

[sonic]

Does anyone know of one that has a vc I'm kinda hooked on virtual cockpit right now.

[Daveuk1990]

man i'm stupid i went from cesna to boeing lol in a bout 3 days

wooops

Daveuk

[beefhole]

Oops, looks like Saratoga caught us.  I completely forgot about moving on to a complex single, I guess that would be the next logical step.

[Clipper]

Want to fly a dreamy little twin? Stol performance, powerful, responsive, and very easy to fly..This is a little know gem that I've had for a while, it's called the Angel 44. If you want to try it, get it here...http://www.pmstone.com/aclist.php

[Foxtrot Sport]

Basically, I went to a Mooney Bravo, the 2002 one that is, I personally don't care for the 2004 one, it's very awkward to fly.  I went to a Beechcraft Twin Bonanza, but after some searching.  I used the Baron 58 for a while, and the King air 350, both Default aircraft, trusting Microsoft to make your aircraft is somewhat more comforting than trusting some other person  

-HF