kevin meyers wrote:Being an avid FS9, FSX, X-Plane 9 and X-plane 10 user, here's my take on it.
It all depends what you want to fly, and what you are looking to get out of it. Personally, I like realism. I fly FSX when I fly jets because I don't like how the jets feel/look/handle in X-Plane. Granted, I know there is the CRJ2 for about $70 for X-plane that I hear is great but I love my PMDG 737 NGX for FSX. However, FS9/FSX lacks in flight characteristics which matter more to me for my general aviation small IFR/VFR flying thus when I want to take a small Cessna, Piper or Beechcraft up, I load up X-Plane 10. As Keith mentioned, X-Plane's default terrain is incredible- as well as its clouds. In addition, the default C172 for X-Plane has a great visual model- both inside and out. Additionally, one thing I've noticed about X-Plane from the start is how smoothly the gauges move. If you're climbing at a steady rate, the altimeter moves very smoothly whereas if you look closely at the altimeter in FS9/X, you'll notice how it doesn't move smoothly like a normal gauge would.
To sum it up, if you're looking for the airline pilot experience in a jet, use FSX. But if you're looking for a great alternative to going out and spending $200 on a real C172 flight, or even if you want to fly something as large as a KingAir, get X-Plane 10 because the flight characteristics and terrain detail is really incredible.
Thank you. This is my first post on this forum and you've answered one of the very first questions that I had about the practical differentials between X and Plane.