The Piper Cherokee family of single engine GA planes has satisfied pilots' needs for years. At top of the range is the PA28R Turbo Arrow III/IV, with retractable gear are more horsepower than lesser models. Reviewer Shawn Weigelt tries out the X-Plane 11 version from Just Flight and finds the plane to be an absolute joy and one of the best "study level" add-ons available.

Newer sims like X-Plane 11 are demanding on computer hardware, and more on GPU capability than some previous flight simulators. In this tutorial, Dominic Smith goes over the various settings available in X-Plane 11. He discusses what they do and how you can use them to get acceptable performance even on a lower end computer.

Seattle Airports X is the most complete, up-to-date, affordable and performance-friendly scenery package of five airports in the Seattle metropolitan area, Washington state, USA. This product is compatible with FSX, P3D and FSW. Reviewer Augusto Ferreira liked the five included airports enough that he considers the scenery a must-have for anyone flying the Pacific Northwest. (Also see our review of the X-Plane version)

As we do each year around this time, we look back at some of our favorite reviews and repost them as "gift guides" to give you ideas for your favorite flightsimmer, or for yourself! The Transall C-160 from Flight1 and JSS Simulations comes with fully working systems including pressurization, highly detailed static elements including wheel chocks and pitot covers, 3D pilots and even a simulated discharge procedure. Reviewer Bill Stack puts the plane through its paces.

Reviewer Rohan Nair takes a look at the VMAX 777 Worldliner Professional Extended Pack, the only Boeing 777 currently available for X-Plane 11. The developers have created a number of high quality jetliners for X-Plane with this one originally being released some six years ago. The latest update does still show its age a bit but still offers a lot of features and is a decent simulator of the big jet.

In this review Michael Hayward takes a look at the second release from Orbx in their CityScene range of products, CityScene Barcelona for FSX and Prepar3D. Created by Allen Kriesman, the scenery is incredibly detailed and brings the city to life with accurate and detailed buildings (thousands of them), vegetation, roads, important landmarks and so on.

The 690B Commander for X-Plane 11 from Carenado is a speedy turboprop aircraft that makes for a comfortable ride for a business executive. Reviewer Sean McLeod found the plane to be a splendid addition to his hangar. He enjoyed the luxurious interior and the flight characteristics of the plane.

The rudder may be somewhat overlooked as an aircraft control but having proper rudder pedals can actually make your flight simulator time much more real. Airline pilot Tony Vallillo puts the Thrustmaster Pendular Rudder System to the test -- the first time he's had simulator rudders -- and finds they add much more to the experience than expected. Though probably too pricey for some, they are well worth it for the serious sim pilot.

VSKYLABS has created a very nice version of a little training helicopter created by a former Eurocopter engineer. The Guimbal Cabri G2 will make a nice addition to your X-Plane hangar, reports reviewer Paul Mort. The copter looks and feels right and is a great model for novice rotary flyers.

One advantage of FSX being around for so long is that even the less well-known aircraft get modeled. One example is the Handley-Page Hampden for FSX from Virtavia, a British bomber that was important in the early years of WWII. Though now an older model, reviewer Peter Watkins still found a lot to like--enough so that he even has created several repaints of his own.