I have thoroughly enjoyed this discussion. Haven't posted until now, but read, with interest, most all the posts. I was MSFS for years and finally buried FSX earlier this year. For me the only "perfect" flying experience is the real one, but for now I'm practicing with X-Plane version 10.25. There are features I miss with FSX and particularly some of the payware (Orbx, for example), but overall, I've thoroughly enjoyed X-P for it's smooth ride and absence of CTDs and OOMs. Toyed with the idea of sinking some cash into Prepar3D, but then began reading some forums and see the issues encountered that sound much like those experienced with FSX. Anyway...we seem to each have our opinions and favorites, and although none seem to totally fulfill our desire for "simulated flight reality", we give it our best with what the developers offer. [hey...sure beats those little stick planes with 3 archaic instruments and the flat green terrain of yester-year :smile:]
Funny...Still, one can see the possibilities with X-Plane and it's many features, i.e., plane maker plus the dozens of other 3rd party tools available at x-plane.org and other places.