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  1. News! - X-Plane11 Update : CT210M Centurion II by Carenado Carenado has upgraded the excellent CT210M Centurion ll to X-Plane11. This aircraft has been one of my favorites over the years and I loved its turbo speed and modern style instrument panel from day one... My original 2013 update review is here: Carenado CT210M Centurion II HD Series - Ver 2.0 Carenado's policy is that if you move to a new version of X-Plane which is from X-Plane10 to X-Plane11 the aircraft is then noted as a new product, so the new full cost for this version is now applicable. Many users bulk at this policy as they note "we have already bought this aircraft and this is just an update". Fair comment, but it isn't. Part of purchase is the time for the updates included and those finish with the end of the X-Plane10 run. So part of the purchase price is not only an upgrade to the X-Plane11 features and performance, but also for the service of updates throughout the X-Plane11 run. Hard on the hip pocket, then maybe. But remember this is a business as well and you are covered by a sort of warranty for the next three to four years of the product's life. And remember over those three to four years someone has to pay wages and simply survive in business and free updates for eight years will mean the developer simply going out of business though no income. This maybe not the X-Plane freebie economy but it is a business one, and if you like the product and the company then you have to support that. The main point is that in the future ALL developers will do the same policy, so your point is to make sure you buy the aircraft at the right time to get the maximum return out of your investment. I really loved that lovely instrument panel on the CT210M... Special Features Only for X-Plane 11 State-of-the-art configurable FPS-friendly logic system. Largely VR compatible Full PBR (Superb material shines and reflections). Features Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11. Flight physics optimized for XP11 standards. Ground handling adapted for XP11 ground physics. Physically Based Rendering materials and textures throughout. PBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries. X-Plane GNS530 (FPS friendly) Support for RealityXP's GTN750* (integrated into 3D cockpit, when available). Goodway Compatible. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by several pilots for maximun accuracy. *RealityXP GTN 750 is sold separately Included in the package 5 HD liveries 1 HD blank texture Autopilot KFC225 Manual PDF. Recommended Settings XPLANE 11 PDF. Normal and Emergency Procedures Performance tables PDF. Quick reference table PDF. Recommended System Requirements Windows XP - Vista - 7 -10 or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher) or Linux X-Plane 11 CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at 3.5 ghz or faster. Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more. Video Card: a DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with at least 4 GB VRAM (GeForce GTX 1070 or better or similar from AMD) 420MB available hard disk space INTERNET CONNECTION is required for installing this product. The CT210M Centurion ll is certainly one of my all time favorites, and well worth the upgrade to the X-Plane11 version. ______________________________________ The CT210M Centurion ll XP11 is now available from Carenado and now Available at the X-Plane.OrgStore : CT210M Centurion ll XPlane11 Price is US$29.95 Images and text are courtesy of Carenado ________________________________________ News by Stephen Dutton Updated : 3rd April 2018 Copyright©2018: X-Plane Reviews
  2. News! - X-Plane11 Update : CT210M Centurion II by Carenado Carenado has upgraded the excellent CT210M Centurion ll to X-Plane11. This aircraft has been one of my favorites over the years and I loved its turbo speed and modern style instrument panel from day one... My original 2013 update review is here: Carenado CT210M Centurion II HD Series - Ver 2.0 Carenado's policy is that if you move to a new version of X-Plane which is from X-Plane10 to X-Plane11 the aircraft is then noted as a new product, so the new full cost for this version is now applicable. Many users bulk at this policy as they note "we have already bought this aircraft and this is just an update". Fair comment, but it isn't. Part of purchase is the time for the updates included and those finish with the end of the X-Plane10 run. So part of the purchase price is not only an upgrade to the X-Plane11 features and performance, but also for the service of updates throughout the X-Plane11 run. Hard on the hip pocket, then maybe. But remember this is a business as well and you are covered by a sort of warranty for the next three to four years of the product's life. And remember over those three to four years someone has to pay wages and simply survive in business and free updates for eight years will mean the developer simply going out of business though no income. This maybe not the X-Plane freebie economy but it is a business one, and if you like the product and the company then you have to support that. The main point is that in the future ALL developers will do the same policy, so your point is to make sure you buy the aircraft at the right time to get the maximum return out of your investment. I really loved that lovely instrument panel on the CT210M... Special Features Only for X-Plane 11 State-of-the-art configurable FPS-friendly logic system. Largely VR compatible Full PBR (Superb material shines and reflections). Features Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11. Flight physics optimized for XP11 standards. Ground handling adapted for XP11 ground physics. Physically Based Rendering materials and textures throughout. PBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries. X-Plane GNS530 (FPS friendly) Support for RealityXP's GTN750* (integrated into 3D cockpit, when available). Goodway Compatible. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by several pilots for maximun accuracy. *RealityXP GTN 750 is sold separately Included in the package 5 HD liveries 1 HD blank texture Autopilot KFC225 Manual PDF. Recommended Settings XPLANE 11 PDF. Normal and Emergency Procedures Performance tables PDF. Quick reference table PDF. Recommended System Requirements Windows XP - Vista - 7 -10 or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher) or Linux X-Plane 11 CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at 3.5 ghz or faster. Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more. Video Card: a DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with at least 4 GB VRAM (GeForce GTX 1070 or better or similar from AMD) 420MB available hard disk space INTERNET CONNECTION is required for installing this product. The CT210M Centurion ll is certainly one of my all time favorites, and well worth the upgrade to the X-Plane11 version. ______________________________________ The CT210M Centurion ll XP11 is now available from Carenado and coming soon at the X-Plane.OrgStore : CT210M Centurion ll XP11 Price is US$29.95 Images and text are courtesy of Carenado ________________________________________ News by Stephen Dutton 21st March 2018 Copyright©2018: X-Plane Reviews
  3. Aircraft Review : Pilatus PC12 HD Series XP11 by Carenado I don't think flightsim users really understood what a ground breaking aircraft the Pilatus PC-12 from Carenado was when it was released for X-Plane back in April 2015. I did and reinforced that the aircraft was a big step forward in the detailing and the quality of the textures and the first aspect of finally getting chrome and it's shiny reflections correct and into the simulator. Now all these aspects are common place, but this was the aircraft that finally put the HD quality into X-Plane. That full release review is here: Aircraft Review : Pilatus PC12 HD Series by Carenado So this is the X-Plane11 version of the same Pilatus PC-12. Note this is a new version of the PC-12 not an update, so it is a full cost purchase, but the ongoing updates are valid for the full life of of X-Plane11. External Overall in features both the XP10 and XP11 versions are identical, what is completely different is the X-Plane11 specific areas that are now used in the new version. You are already coming off a high level of quality standards with the original PC-12, but the excellent X-Plane11 PBR (Physically Based Rendering) built into X-Plane11 just lifts the the game again to a whole new level of detail and quality. The textures have all been processed to specific PBR specifications that brings out huge detail, but also keeps these huge 4K sized textures in a working size that doesn't crush your framerate, in other words you get the best of both worlds in a very high quality reflective aircraft, but without the sheer over burden of weight on your graphic processors. So the original "wow" factor is again for more "heightened" to the point of total realism. X-Plane11 reflection ability is very important as well, and here the refraction detailing is excellent, you almost want to run your hands along the skin of the aircraft, and even that may be possible soon with VR? My points are that in pure realism, it is in the small detailing that really brings out the most in any aspect of creating an almost perfect replication of a real world based object. And this aircraft has that in spades, both in the original modeling and perfection is about as good as anything you are going to get, and note the pure curves and angles on the upswept wing-tip with not a single straight line in sight, this is harder to do than what you expect, but this also what you pay for.... .... highlighting the landing light enclosures under the excellent wings, and the flaps, and their extended running track arrangements, if you had taken them off the parts shelve to look at them, you wouldn't see much difference to the same parts on this aircraft. The trailing single landing gear is also highly-realistic, beautifully created and the chrome now stands out even more with XP11 reflections doing an even better job than the original supports. Wear and tear is well replicated here as well. The front landing gear assembly is also highly detailed, and fully animated for movement. Although the featured aircraft tow puller does not perfectly align with the gear. Menus Two of the pop-up menus are from the original version and standard Carenado, but there is now an extra pop-up A to cover the Autopilot EFIS panel (Electronic Flight Information System). Both original tabs on your left lower screen have the C - Camera and O - Options tabs. Options covers Windscreen and Instrument reflections, Static Elements (handpull tractor, cones and tags), Opening/closing buttons for both the forward passenger door and large rear baggage door (there are excellent animations and great sounds with both actions), and you also can change your livery on this tab menu as well. "Scroll Highlights" has been deleted as there are new manipulators which are included with X-Plane11 that now does the same scroll movements without a separate function and the newer tool is far easier to use. Menu C is programmed built in views. With mostly cockpit focused positions, only one external (TailCam) and one cabin view in Passenger L. You can adjust the "Field of View" and the aircraft's sound "volume" as well. Sound has been upgraded to native FMOD. You had good 180º sound before, but Carenado is now using mostly the native X-Plane tools to do the same job, hence the above deleted scroll feature and now the sounds and the G1000 installation in other aircraft. Internal The PC-12 beckons... the quality of the interior is already evident from the external view. The cabin is still one of Carenado's best, beautifully formed leather seating is made even more exquisite by the PBR lighting effects. I wondered about a more commercial nine-seating arrangement in the earlier review instead of this executive six-seater arrangement here, it would make the aircraft more usable on island services. Left and there is the cockpit.... ... the PC-12 still has one of the most well created cockpits in X-Plane for this genre. And that is up against some serious competition, but it a very nice place to fly from. Deep quality instrument reflections was a major feature on the original PC-12 and they still don't disappoint, but add in the X-Plane11 PBR lighting and shadows and it looks absolutely stunning. Both Yokes can be hidden, but they are better visible as they both have very active features. There is still the featured "Stick Shaker", and so put the aircraft into a stall and the violent stick shaker will quickly pull you back to your senses, it is very well done and I am surprised that the PC-12 is still the only aircraft to use this function? The rain effects also still work, but only at very low speeds. Main electrical and lighting overhead panel (OHP) is still obstructed by the pull down shades, so you have to move them to access certain parts of the switchgear. Nice pedestal has Stabiliser Trim which is electric and the position display is on the upper right of the pedestal, but no yaw adjustment. Nice cabin tempº gauge glows nicely in the day or night. The armrests hide the throttle which hides the condition/feather lever (in one) of which you use a lot, so I had to set out an X-Plane view to get access to it. There are more rocker lighting switches for panel, cockpit and cabin lighting on the rear of the pedestal, but the above smaller extra lighting adjusters here still don't work which is disappointing. The flap selection lever is of 0º - 15º - 30º and 40º of flap, and the flap indicator is positioned in the very top left of the pilots panel. The armrests are animated and fold out of the way behind the chairs which is well done, not for access to the pedestal, but also for easy entry into the (tight) seats. Another great feature on the PC-12 was the rudder adjustment, twist the handle to match your height and feel more relaxed in flight. The adjustment handles now have chrome fittings as does the rear mount of the yokes and seatbelt clasps, all small touches but it lifts the quality of the cockpit. Turning on the two batteries brings power to the aircraft on the OHP. There is an external power switch (arrowed) but still no external power cart (damn). For its small size the OHP is a little complicated as many of the switches have a double function as in the first right switch turns the item on and you then select the choice by the second switch for two selections. It is very easy to use once you understand the functionality. All selections of power use are noted well on the amp gauges with one set for certain items and the other set for selections. Both avionic switches are position on here as well. Once the power is activated then the PC-12 comes alive. Instrument panel for genre of aircraft is excellent, mostly all electronic including excellent engine readouts and a full KFC 327 EADI (Electronic Attitude Director Indicator) and EADI (Electronic Horizontal Horizon Indicator) are part of the EFIS avionics suite. With the power now on the rear cabin is spectacular as well, with excellent (switchable) adjustable lighting (see lighting below). Again the PBR just adds in that extra realism in daytime if the aircraft is in certain lighting positions... ... opening and folding animated tables and drop down individual shades are excellent, and sometimes you just want someone else to do the flying... "I'm just fine back here thanks" Instrument panel The instrument panel looks quite basic, but it is very far from that, there are loads of functions if you are willing to look for them and use them. The panel layout is however quite straight forward but is dominated by the EFIS or Electronic Flight Information System, we will get more into the system in flight. The EFIS takes in two of the six standard flight instruments in the Artificial Horizon and the Heading Indicator. The others are the Airspeed, Altitude, Vertical Speed and RMI or automatic direction finder. There is a backup CDI (Course deviation indicator) but that is also built into the EFIS and two other backup instruments in another Artificial Horizon and Altitude dials. Co-Pilot's side is the same EFIS standard six layout without the backup dials. Center panel top under the extensive deep glareshield is the excellent Benedix/King KFC 327 Digital/Electronic Flight Control System (EFIS) and the autopilot panel pops out. Next to the autopilot is the GARMiN GMA 340 Radio Comms Panel. Your ADF unit is the standard KR 87T50 Bendex/King ADF receiver. Below in another pop out is the engine/fuel display (digital) with large digital readouts for YRQ, ITT and NG and below the RPM, Fuel QTY (analog and digital). GEN 1 and GEN 2 readouts are duplicated from the overhead panel, and you also have the engine oil pressure and temp gauges in digital form. You have a save button and panel alert lighting test button that includes the extensive CAWS (Central Advisory and Warning System) that shows you your alerts and caution items for attention. As standard now are two large GARMIN GNS530 GPS units which are fully 11.10 functional and both pop out for ease of use, but now you can also use the RealityXP's GTN750* (integrated into 3D cockpit, when available) but this is an optional purchase from RealityXP (see below for details). There are two GARMiN 327 Transponders, with one center panel and one right down behind the co-pilots yoke and these units have to be activated separately from the power avionic switches. Climate controls are on the co-pilots left lower panel and the Oxygen lever is easy to miss on the pedestal. Center lower panel is the fairly useless AvDyne display with the EFIS control panel above it, which we will look at in flight. EGCC (Manchester) to EIDW (Dublin) The powerful single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop engine (the PT6A-67B, 1200 shp), and the PC12 is certified for single-pilot IFR operations, although a second pilot is usually the normal.... is easily started with fuel pumps and ignition on and a press of the starter (Condition Lever to Idle). It takes awhile for the engine to whine (that wonderful familiar PT6 start), and the turbine speed up to ignition, then the aircraft comes to life. Sounds (now in FMOD) are authentic PC-12 sounds and are excellent, there is no side pilot window to open, but leave the main door open and then close it to get the full external effect. All sounds are 180º dynamic as well. One thing to note is with the GNS530 GPS. There is two of them with their uses mostly for the Comm/VOR in Com1/VOR 1 (upper) and Com2/VOR2 (lower). But there is something else you need to be aware of? Both GPS GNS530 can both load flightplan's and both can run at the same time? It is depending on which GPS is active under the GPS/VLOC setting? If both GPS 's are set with flightplans then they will both show on the displays. This can be good if you want two route choices, but bad if the routes conflict. Here I have only set up the upper GNS530 for the MAN- DUB route, and made sure it was the only active (GPS) GNS. The other GNS was cleared of any flightplan so the aircraft is not confused at which flightplan it is to use. The lower GNS I then use for information or data and the COM/VOR frequencies more than any routing. One of the areas I am uncomfortable with is common with some Carenado's. Taxi speed is high with no more lower speed position down to adjust to unless you use the brakes. The PC-12 was one of the worse in high revs at a low idle position, the XP11 version is slightly better and and least you are in the lower range, but if you don't regulate the speed with the brakes the aircraft can still build up quite a head of speed. X-Plane11 came with new specially designed engine dynamics and they have been used here along with newer ground physics as well, although the noted ground physics are still currently of a lot of debate within the X-Plane community. Setting your rotate speed is easy in the PC-12... once you are out of the white airspeed zone (130knts), you can pull back on the yoke and depart the runway, the PC-12 has a lot of power for a quick climb at just under 2000fpm (1920fpm), but you use about 1700fpm for a clean pull upwards. Aircraft handling is surprisingly very good, In my first review I really enjoyed the aircraft, and the same feel came straight back immediately, if a little better with the X-Plane11 dynamics. It is a relaxing sort of turn/bank and just watching and feeling the aircraft until you set the course you want. You don't wrestle it or fight it, but just go with the flow of the flying. This aircraft hums along and you quickly fall into a nice thrust feeling of power as you revel in the excellent aural background. EFIS My departure from EGCC was via runway 05L, but I am going West to Ireland, so to connect up with the flightplane I flew first on the heading mode in a departure circuit... ... this is trickier than it looks because the heading knob is down on the EFIS Select panel, and that situated right down on the middle centre console, so most heading changes to keep both the EHSI and the knob in view means your point of view is skewed oddly across the cockpit, a popup panel would be great for these navigation operations, and it is quite awkward when your are say in the landing phase of aligning up with the runway via the heading knob. In a real aircraft this operation is fine with a free right hand, but not in a constrained moving view that you have on a simulation monitor. That said the EFIS Select panel has a lot of features, with Course, DH (Decision Height) and ADF (1-2) / VOR (1-2) pointers built into the EFIS display. You can also switch from the HSI to ARC mode view as well. As noted the Autopilot panel does however popup by the Menu "A" tab, but that is actually easily reached from your pilot's position, however you can move and scale the panel if you need to move it near the EHSI Select panel, if the two panels were reversed in function it would suit you better than this arrangement. You can adjust your pitch to ascend or descend by using the DN or UP buttons on the AP panel or use the more direct "Altitude Preselector" panel to ARM and ENG the set Altitude and Vertical Speed. Overall it is a really good modern glass flight system Lighting There is no adjustable lighting on the PC-12, but rocker switchgear at the rear of the pedestal, some switches are 3-Way switchable (the adjustment knobs are there but are not activated?) So all lighting is very on/off in operation. The "ADVISORY" switch is for the illumination of panel lit elements. And so Instrument lighting is straight on or off, and the main panel lighting is noted as "FLOOD" to cover the whole cockpit in colour. On X-Plane10 this flood lighting was terrible and very oversaturated, and I didn't like it at all, and with no adjustment available... I really didn't like it. Here with PBR it is more calmer, but still oversaturated, but at least it is far more easier on the eye, so I can now live with it. With all the lighting on at night it is very dramatic (lower image). Two overhead spots light the work area very nicely, but it is both lights on at the same time and not in individual spots. Cabin lighting is more flexible. Spots only over the seats (Reading), and two overhead settings in 50% and 100%. External lighting is excellent. There are five sets of lights for landing with two landing lights in the wingtips and three taxi lights on each of the landing gear struts. The taxi lights of course only work when the gear is down, but they are highly effective and all on together and they are highly dramatic. Effective wing/Ice light is also very handy on the ground for embarkation and disembarkation. Excellent strobes (new flash style), Navigation and beacon lighting is perfect. External cabin feel is very good and realistic as well. EIDW - Dublin Ireland is now on my port side, and it is time to descend. The flight over the Irish Sea is really a very short hop, but this aircraft in performance can cover some serious ground in altitude (30, 000ft) and distance (3,389 km (1,830 nm, Ferry mode) Performance : Cruise speed: 500 km/h (312.5 mph/270 KTAS) : Stall speed: 120 km/h (74.8 mph/ 65 KCAS) : Service ceiling: 9,150 m (30,000 ft) : Rate of climb: 512 m/min at sea level (1,680 ft/min) : Power/mass: 3.7 kg/shp (8.2 lb/shp) : Range 0 passengers: 3,389 km (1,830 nm) - Range 9 passengers: 2,804 km (1,753 mi) (1,513 nm) Aircraft's window reflections are very good and highly realistic from the cockpit or from the passenger cabin windows. Originally in the earlier PC-12 versions I found myself very careful around the approach phase. The wing is very efficient, but still required modifications in final testing in a redesign of the wings with increase of wingspan and addition of winglets to ensure performance guarantees. I found the PC-12 stalled very, very quickly at full flap. Stall speed is 120km/h or 65 KCAS, but I never ever got that low, and if it lost lift it was very hard to recover. Using power was the only way to keep the aircraft aloft, so you had to find that approach speed and hold it and not dare to reduce it further. So I compensated usually with faster approach speeds. X-Plane11 changes all of that theory. One of Austin Meyer's main focus areas in XP11 was around Turbo (Turbine)- Prop engines like the PT6 and the like everything in X-Plane11 the thrust capabilities are now far more highly refined and more flexible. This bodes well for aircraft like the PC-12 and it shows in the flying, or more importantly in the approach phase. So now you do get far more control at those slow speeds, yes the stall point is still there, but you have far more feel and input from the throttle than before in controlling the aircraft at those low approach speeds, and in this PC-12 it makes a serious difference right down to the centreline touchdown. I still stay around the 110knts to 100knts zone on approach, but have quietly lowered the final speed around to 95knts, but old habits still die hard as I was before in the approach phase very wary in the aircraft, but now I revel in it and enjoy the feeling of what the minute throttle adjustments make to my approach path. Yes you have to be aware of flap and gear drag, but the throttle feel easily compensates for that now as it didn't before. So the overall flight performance of the PC-12 is far more enhanced in this XP11 version, it makes it a very nice aircraft to fly now in a more professional way.... and the passengers get a better flight and not so bumpy a landing as well. Liveries There are one blank (White) livery and six completed liveries of mostly Swiss, German and American in origin. All are high 4K quality and highly refined for the best efficiency and ease of loading. The noted seventh "SUBSTANCE" livery is just the white livery repeated. Summary I was surprised this Carenado PC-12 was not received as well as it was on release, users just didn't take to it as much as it deserved. The main thought's are directed in that they had mostly already invested heavily in the STMA ( Shade Tree Micro Aviation) with their Pilatus PC12/47G version of the same aircraft, it is cheaper but older in design. Both are very good, but I prefer this Carenado version and far more now with it's XP11 enhanced features. In only few areas do I still have some concerns or quibbles. The ground taxi speed is better, but still hard work as being still a touch too fast, so you bounce under braking than more taxi over to the runway. The EFIS Select panel is awkward to use and would be good as a pop-out unit and even though the cockpit lighting is excellent, more light adjustment via working knobs would give you a better lighting tone to work in and for separate spot lights for each of the pilot's. Overall this Pilatus PC-12 from Carenado is excellent and certainly far more better in it's X-Plane11 form. It is also one of the best and lovely powerful single turbine aircraft to fly in X-Plane and the aircraft comes with a mountain full of features including that excellent all glass EFIS avionics system and great electronic engine readouts, brilliant sound, the first class cabin is one of Carenado's best as is the high detailing of the cockpit. External quality is also extremely high with now PBR but that is what you pay for and that is certainly delivered here in this PC-12. Worth the investment? certainly in this X-Plane11 form, and you will be certainly very happy with the aircraft and at 12,000ft and humming along to that distant destination you will be more than content with the PC-12, it is excellent and this aircraft is one of the hidden gems from Carenado. ______________________________________________ The Pilatus PC12 by Carenado is now available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : PC12 HD Series XP11 and is priced at only US$34.95 This PC12 in the XP11 release is not an update but a new upgrade version is priced at full value, but you do get free updates throughout the full X-Plane11 run. Features: Special Features: Version 1.0 of the new XP11 specific model Only for X-Plane 11 Full PBR (Superb material shines and reflections). Features: Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11 Flight physics optimized for XP11 standards Ground handling adapted for XP11 ground physics Physically Based Rendering materials and textures throughout PBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries X-Plane GNS530 (FPS friendly) Support for RealityXP's GTN750* (integrated into 3D cockpit, when available). * Optional purchase from RealityXP Goodway Compatible Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by several pilots for maximum accuracy Included in the package: 6 HD liveries - 1 HD Blank livery PC12 Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS) PDF PC12 Emergency Checklist PDF - Normal Checklist PDF PC12 Performance Tables - PC12 Reference PDF Recommended Settings PDF Requirements: X-Plane 11 (not compatible with X-Plane 10) Windows 7, MAC, or Linux 4GB+ VRAM Version 1.0 (last updated Feb 1st 2018) Installation : Download is 609.17mb that is unzipped to 667.60mb to your X-Plane - "General Aviation" Folder. (I use my regional aviation folder). The intergration of the Reality XP GTN 750 Compatibility is also available. Documents: Carenado don't supply manuals, mostly system info, Procedures (Checklists) and performance tables, and all are provided here. Copyrights.pdf Credits.pdf PC12 Electronic Flight Information System.pdf PC12 Emergency Procedures.pdf PC12 Normal Procedures.pdf PC12 Performance tables.pdf PC12 References.pdf Reality XP GTN 750 Compatibility.pdf Recommended settings XP11 .pdf _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 12th February 2018 Copyright©2018: X-PlaneReviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 8Gb - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.11 Addons: Saitek x56 Rhino Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 : XPRealistic Pro v1.0.9 effects US$19.95 : WorldTraffic 3.0 Plugin - US$29.95 Scenery or Aircraft - EGCC - Manchester Airport by Aerosoft/Icaruos (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$22.00 - EIDW - Airport Dublin V2 by Aerosoft (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$24.95 (X-PlaneReviews Dublin update review is available here here: Scenery Update : EIDW Dubin v2 by Aerosoft)
  4. Aircraft Release XP11 : PC-12 by Carenado Carenado have released the X-Plane11 version of their Pilatus PC-12. The aircraft is a single-engine turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft that is manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. I reviewed the first release of the PC-12 here: Aircraft Review : Pilatus PC12 HD Series by Carenado And at the time the aircraft broke in a new era of quality design and the introduction of chrome to X-Plane, and that was without the current PBR effects that came with X-Plane11. So here is the X-Plane11 version with the featured PBR effects built in.. Special Features Version 1.0 Only for X-Plane 11 Full PBR (Superb material shines and reflections). Great cockpit is still part of the deal. Other Features Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11. Flight physics optimized for XP11 standards. Ground handling adapted for XP11 ground physics. Physically Based Rendering materials and textures throughout. PBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries. X-Plane GNS530 (FPS friendly) Support for RealityXP's GTN750* (integrated into 3D cockpit, when available). Goodway Compatible. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by several pilots for maximum accuracy. Carenado is known for great cabin's, but the one in the PC-12 is above and beyond the best of the best. Included in the package 6 HD liveries 1 HD Blank livery PC12 Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS) PDF PC12 Emergency Checklist PDF PC12 Normal Checklist PDF PC12 Performance Tables PC12 Reference PDF Recommended Settings PDF Recommended System Requirements Windows XP - Vista - 7 -10 or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher) or Linux X-Plane 11 CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at 3.5 ghz or faster. Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more. Video Card: a DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with at least 4 GB VRAM (GeForce GTX 1070 or better or similar from AMD) 680MB available hard disk space X-Plane11 is required for the X-Plane11 effects The Pilatus PC-12 for X-Plane11 is now available from Carenado and is coming to the X-Plane.OrgStore soon... Price is $34.95 ______________________________________________________________________ Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 24th January 2018 Copyright©2018 X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)
  5. Aircraft Review : Dornier Do 228 100 HD Series by Carenado There is one aircraft that easily holds the record of the most hours flown by myself in X-Plane and that is the Carenado Beechcraft 1900D, and it is not hard to see why... The B1900D is a very versatile machine in that it is hub and spoke master, a short range regional buster, Island hopping guru and simply a great aircraft in the capacity of flying 19 passengers virtually anywhere within a 500nm range... and so yes both me and the B1900D have had a very long and intimate relationship. So when Carenado announced the Do 228 for FS/P3D my interest picked up as the aircraft has very similar performance and the aircraft is the same size as the B1900D. Obviously we had to wait for the X-Plane version and now here it is, and very nice aircraft it is as well. First of all let us clear one thing up. I noted the Do 228 has the same performance as the B1900D and it does comply with that. It has the same 19 passengers + 2 crew loading, the Beechcraft is however slightly faster at 280kts to 223kts, but the real difference is in the range. The Beechcraft can run at 500nm as to the noted 213nm for the Do 228, but you can run the same range per weight in the Do 228 at 1500kg for the same 500nm range as the B1900D or load up 14 passengers at a 1325kg payload weight to achieve a longer 700nm range, so the same routes are achievable as the B1900D if you get the weights right, and a long ferry range is set at 1,276 nmi (2,363 km) with a 547 kg payload. So that point is worth noting if you want to use the aircraft for certain longer routes. In the late 1970s, Dornier GmbH developed a new kind of wing, called the TNT (Tragflügel neuer Technologie – Aerofoil new technology), subsidized by the German Government. Dornier then tested it on a modified Do 28D-2 Skyservant and with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-110 turboprop engines. Finally, Dornier changed the engine and tested the new aircraft, which was named Do 128 with two Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-5 engines. The company developed a new fuselage for the TNT and TPE 331–5 in two variants (15- and 19-passenger) and named both project-aircraft E-1 (later Do 228-100) and E-2 (later Do 228-200). At the ILA Berlin Air Show in 1980, Dornier presented the new aircraft to the public. Both of the prototypes were flown on 28 March 1981 and 9 May 1981 for the first time. After German certification was granted on 18 December 1981, the first Do 228-100 entered service in the fleet of Norving in July 1982. The first operator of the larger Do 228-200 entered service with Jet Charters in late 1982. Certification from both British and American aviation authorities followed on 17 April and 11 May 1984 respectively and by 1983, the production rate of the Do 228 had risen to three aircraft per month; at this point, Dornier had targeted that 300 Do 228s would be produced by the end of the 1980s. In November 1983, a major license-production and phased technology-transfer agreement was signed between Dornier and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was signed; a separate production line was established and produced its first aircraft in 1985. RUAG, who had acquired the type certificate for the Do 228 in 2003 from a cash strapped Dornier, and then announced their intention to launch a modernized version of the aircraft, designated as the Do 228 Next Generation, or Do 228 NG. On 18 August 2010, the Do 228NG received its airworthiness certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The majority of manufacturing activity for the type is located in Germany; however, most airframe subassemblies, such as the wings, tail and fuselage, are produced by HAL in India. The main changes from the previous Dornier 228-212 model were a new five-blade propeller made of composite material, more powerful engines and an advanced glass cockpit featuring electronic instrument displays and other avionics improvements, to date Dornier/RUAG have produced 245 aircraft and 125 Do 228s has been produced by HAL in India. (wikipedia) Carenado Dornier 228 100 As a pretty aircraft in looks go then the Do 228 is well a bit... unusual, or with a dodo bird sorta look about it. But I will admit it looks quite nice in the flesh. Certainly the great Carenado design helps here enormously and the sheer detailing gives the aircraft a serious presence and it looks quite brilliant in the right lighting conditions. The severe angled wingtips add in to an odd wing shape as is the long bulbous toucan nose, but there is something quite complete about the aircraft and it is a actually a noted STOL utility machine and not a sporty speedy design in the first place anyway. The exterior looks clean and quite modern, but the cockpit gives away the aircraft's real age with the help of Carenado's worn out and torn feel. It is exceptionally well done with the sheer craftmanship at making the aircraft look highly used and very realistic. The design is the old clockwork dials and gauges style, so the moving over from the B1900D cockpit style is quite easy. Note the really worn out and used yokes... lovely with active trim buttons, and they can be hidden away from view. The cabin is very similar in a boxy sort of way to the B1900D as well... ... it is highly detailed with beautiful seating and panel work, as for perfection... it is pretty close. Instrument Panel The blue worn scratchy instrument panel facia does not help out here in making the panel look more complex than what it actually is... ... if the panel had say a cream or white background like on the Caravan you would see a more modern style and a more clearer simpler design, but it does give you a real feel for the 70's and 80's period that has been worn and run down by the the intervening years, and oh yes... I totally love it. The Standard Six instruments that are centred in line of sights of both the flying pilot and co-pilot with the Airspeed Indicator, Artificial Horizon and the Attitude Indicator on the top row and the VOR/ADF pointer, Heading Dial and Vertical Speed Indicators set out directly below, the bank/turn coordinator is built into the artificial horizon and also a pointer version to the far left (far right on the co side). The are two clocks each side top, with a rate fast/slow gauge on the left and an outside temperature dial on the right. Chunky gear lever is bottom panel. The pilot get a few extra instruments in a radio altitude meter and the autopilot display. there is a KDI 572 Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) below the rad alt dial (arrowed below). There is a very nice annunciator panel that you can test and this will also test the autopilot display text as well (far left arrow). Co-Pilot has the altitude setting panel and the air conditioning/bleed panel that actually works with great fan noise that goes up in volume the more you set the fan speed higher. Centre panel is the main engine gauges that is almost exactly the same layout as the B1900D with the standard twin sets of gauges set down the centre left of the main panel and they cover the twin engines.. Torque (%), ITT (*Cx100) - (Interstage Turbine Temperature), Fuel Flow lbs/hr, Turbine % RPM, and Oil temps. Two fire handles are top of the engine gauges for each engine. Usually centre panel right is the avionics stack, but here in the Do 228 this layout is different. Top are the twin main fuel gauges (x100lbs) and a resettable used fuel counter in lbs. Then are the switchable tank switches for each aircraft side tank group which contains a total usable fuel capacity of 2,078 pounds. The fuel setup is an Inboard Tank - Outboard Tank and Feeder Tank for a total combined usable fuel load of 4,155 lbs. Below the fuel tank setting switches is a Universal MFD-640 display that shows the default X-Plane map display. Centre Console The centre console is quite complex with most of the avionics, autopilot and radio units that are laid out on here. Top left is the aileron, rudder and stabiliser positions with the flap settings to the right. Then some very nice looking BF Goodrich prop de-icer gauges in amps, they work when you switch on the electric de-icers on the OHP. Right console is your avionics stack, with the GNS530 built in top, then a KMA 24 radio selector. Then two radio sets in the Bendix/King KX 165 COMM 2/VOR-NAV2 set (COMM1 and VOR-NAV1 is set on the GNS530) and the Bendix/King KR 87 ADF radio tuner below. The transponder is a Bendix/King KT 76A, basic but it works. Lower right console is interesting because there is also the default X-Plane FMS panel installed. In reality it allows you to use both GPS systems for setting up your flightplan... one with the GNS530 unit for a simple flight plan (which I did here), or use the more complex FMS unit to add in SID/STAR and Runway allocation points to your flightplan. You can also invert the flightplan (on the GNS530) as well and both units will accept the rerouting changes. Autopilot is bottom right panel with the pop-up scalable version available from the left lower menu tab (A). The autopilot has two feature settings in "Bank Limit" and "Soft Ride". Bank Limit is obvious but is only used during cruise flight, Soft Ride is used during turbulence to prevent the autopilot from over-correcting. The only odd item is the FD Off button in that when on it is blank and shows "Off" only when switched off, so you tend to push it as you think it is already switched off and not on? The aircraft's hydraulic system is powered by an electric motor. System pressure is indicated on the pressure gauge located on the hydraulic panel at the aft end of the center console. The hydraulic system affects these systems in Landing Gear extension and retraction - Wheel brakes and Nosewheel Steering (NWS). The switches are covered by red "Do not Touch" flaps and so you "Don't touch" them unless if you want to fly everywhere with the gear down, as they deactivate the gear mechanism and nosewheel steering. Throttle and Engine Speed (mixture) levers are excellent with nice chrome handles for the stubby throttle levers. The Do 228 has a "Start Lock" system where as the propellers are flat when starting up the turbines... So to engage the start locks, the power levers are then briefly pulled back into reverse while the engine is between 60% and 30% RPM, then to disengage the start locks, the power levers are briefly pulled into reverse while the engine is above 60% RPM. However start locks must be disengaged before attempting to taxi or takeoff. The Avionics power switch is quite hard to find... It is labeled "Radio Master" and not "Avionics" and it is situated behind the throttle levers (I lost a lot of time looking around with that one), another switch here is for the optional to install the Reality XP's GTN 750 unit, but this is an addon extra and costs you another $49.95, and that replaces the GNS530. Overhead Panel Like everything else in this Do 228 cockpit the excellent Overhead Panel (OHP) is worn and very realistic. The Dornier has two engine-driven starter-generators of 28 V and 200 amps each that is controlled by the two GEN switches for two nickel cadmium batteries at 24V, 25 amp-hour and both are normally connected to Bus 1, this then supplies power when either BATT is on and MASTER switch is ON. AC current is two static inverters to provide 26/115 VAC 400 Hz current busses as the 115V Bus - 26V Bus. And the systems are very realistic in operation and tree settings. Ground power is switchable on Batt 1 and Batt 2 in the lower position, but there is no external GPU provided which would have been a nice feature. The main electrical panel is on the right. Internal light switches are top left and the External switches are top right, lighting for the pilot and co-pilot (Instr) are both ends with the main panel lighting right. De-Ice is left centre and fuel pumps are left centre lower. Bottom left panel is the ignition and starter panel, which is a little tricky until you work it out... The window blinds in their stored position does cover parts of the ignition and starter panel, they are odd things too and not very effective but they are well done. Top of the OHP are the fuses and the (active) rudder trim handle. Internal fittings are excellent and note the great chrome touches and even a cup holder. There is so much detail in simulation today and it can be overwhelming. The armrests do slip up (animated) and that is required to access the centre console in certain areas. External Details The external detailing is just as high quality as the internal fittings. Carenado have always been the leaders in the sheer detailing and perfect design work that others till struggle to match (that gap is however getting more closer) but this Do 228 proves certainly how high the standard is today. Panel and rivet work is just sensational, perfect panels and the joints that are holding the whole aircraft together. Even a year ago chrome was not an exceptional X-Plane feature, but boy that is not the case today... the spinner chrome work here is simply awe-inspiring as is the engine and wing construction. Glass is also now highly evolved and very realistic and note the excellent spotters window. Undercarriage detailing is exceptional as well. All struts are highly animated with force effects to recreate perfect gear movements when either on the ground or extended in the flowing air. The aircraft's ground stance widens and changes to the aircraft's weight as well. Note the excellent main rear gear struts and highly realistic textures of wear and tear with the perfect tyre rubber and great hubs, there are nice lighting housings as well with both the taxi and landing lights perfectly recreated. The aircraft's flap animation is well worth highlighting. There are four flap positions in: Up - 1 -2 - DN. The movement between Up and 1 is very slight but crucial, then the larger movements to 2, the 3 and finally the full DN (Down) position. Detailing of the flap rod - track system is excellent. Menu The menu system is standard Carenado with three tabs, lower left screen in (A) Autopilot, (C) Cameras (Views & Sound) and (0) Options. (0) Options has switchable (on/off) Glass and Instrument reflections. And four animated door options for nose Baggage Door, Pilot Door, Passenger Door left (1) and Passenger Door right (2) and another Baggage Door in the tail. You can change the livery here also. Static elements have gone a little basic with Carenado. And here you only get the options of chocks and cones, but now when you do deploy the static elements the pilots disappear! No more leaving them sitting there in the cockpit in the dark all night... now they go home to their families. If you want the crew visible with the static elements then you can have that as well, via the "Pax" logo on the (C) - Views menu. Flying the Dornier Do 228 Engine start is making sure all the right switches are correctly placed... ... you have to "Enrich" or prime the engine after switching on the fuel pumps, then set the IGN switch to start, this is not the actual starter switch, that is the one under the protective cover. "Start" is set to ground or air depending on the engine start. and your Engine Speed (mixture) levers are set to minimum and the "Start Lock" is set. If you got the procedure right then the engines should whine and start. Once running with a little more engine speed then turn the IGN off and reset the start switch cover to protect... Sounds are excellent, if brilliant. All sounds are of course FMOD and 360º directional, start up, taxi and in flight and you really feel the aircraft through its aural background, and there is no boring droning sounds here either to drive your nerves up the wall... no you can spend a lot of time in the Do 228 and enjoy every last minute of it. Like most Carenado's the Do 228 is sensitive to taxiing speed. Here you need the Engine Speed levers (red arrow below) to be as low as you can get them, or you will find the aircraft running away from you. And then there is a trick... two throttle levers even slightly up is too much power, but one lever (green arrow below) is fine and the aircraft will still track straight quite easily Getting out of tight gates is always a pain with light props, as you can't turn out without hitting something and the pushback truck overwhelms the aircraft. I found the Do 228 was great with using the reverse pitch to do the job... If this is a real world action I am not sure of (I did check) but I used it anyway. The Do 228 has the beta gate behind the throttles, but the beta system does not work that well in X-Plane and is confusing in different aircraft. But I did find the X-Plane setting "Toggle thrust reversers" did switch the pitch from forward to reverse, so I use that. You do need to use both throttles in this case, but it works fine, you use the same setting for pitch reverse on landing and it works fine there as well... There is setting for "beta" prop in the X-Plane settings but I found it didn't actually work and you have to keep switching it over every time you change the aircraft, toggle thrust reversers does the same job anyway with both prop and jets. The forward windows are huge and the view is almost helicopter like. the wipers only cover the lower half, so you have to look out low if the weather is heavy. Taxiing is a joy, nice speed (on one throttle feel) and great tracking. Runway lineup on EGJJ (Jersey) RWY26 and don't forget to put the Engine Speed levers to "high" or full power and flaps only to the "Flap 1" setting. The Do 228 is a STOL utility aircraft, so if you flap setting is too high it will lift up quite quickly and suddenly. The yokes don't really infringe that much on the instruments, so you can leave them visible, they do cover a little of the lower Vertical Speed instrument, but not the upper positive pitch area which you are only now using. I am relatively light at 4177kg, so the Do 228 leaps off the line and powers it's way down the runway, rotation is around 138kts or the yellow marker (green arrow) on the airspeed indicator... .... rate of climb is 1,570 ft/min, so just under that at 1400 ft/min is fine. Gear retraction and animation is excellent, and well worth observing. The Do 228 handles really nicely (when trimmed, but you don't need much of that), this is a really lovely aircraft that responds to your every whim, you really feel the Do 228 as that unique wing has very special qualities. With the Autopilot (AP) activated you can use the VS to hold your pitch, this is different in the case that in most times with using the VS (vertical Speed) in that you press the VS then you set your climb angle. In the Do 228 it is a different system in that the VS only holds the pitch, to adjust the pitch manually you have to switch the VS button OFF and then use the "pitch" wheel to descend or climb. Another note is that to lock in the flightplan you have to press three buttons in the "HDG", "NAV" and NAV/HSI to connect. The NAV/HSI does the same operation as the GPS/VLOC on the GNS530. A couple of quirks... the window reflections are very strong, too much so. You can hide them of course, but I love great window reflections. An odd one as well is the reflections in the cabin windows are the cockpit view? very strange. The drop down front window blinds are not really effective and as noted cover some of the switchgear on the OHP, but they are however realistic. Yes you can fly around up here all day, nice sounds and with a great X-Plane view... A lot of flyer users struggled to get the Do 228 down to a slow speed of the blue marked 100kts. You won't unless you tune back the Engine Speed levers to "LOW". There is still plenty of power to keep the Dornier happy, and unless you need a lot of power or are in a go-around situation the low mode setting is fine. In fact that 100kt zone is a nice place to be, but only full flap at the last minute because it has that bit more heavier drag... In low light and restricted visibility the heavy window reflections became quite strong, yes I could still turn them off, but why should I have to do that. Basically if you follow the yellow 138kts, Blue 110kts and Red stall 70kt markers and you can't can't go wrong and then work and get your approach speed down to a comfortable 85knts. Flare should be a smidge over or even on the Red 70knt marker. Control in the final moments is very good with lots of feedback and feel. Hitting the reverse pitch is like walking into a wall, it is very effective and I easily found I could use the first exit off EGHI's RWY 20. It is a STOL remember, and you don't have to give out full throttle power either to slow the aircraft from an already slow landing speed... reverse prop sounds are excellent. Reducing the engine speed earlier allows you to easy transition back to your taxi speed, but remember only to use one throttle lever, any side can be used and also helps while doing the turning at the tight end of runway in turnaround situations. Last but not least is the way you shutdown the aircraft's Honeywell TPE-331-10 turboprop, 776 shp (579 kW) engines. If you pull the engine speed levers to the full reverse the engines will still rotate... You will need to go back up to that actual starter switch, that is the one under the protective cover and switch it over to "STOP", and only then will the Honeywell's finally slow down a stop. Do 228 Lighting Lighting is excellent and very versatile. There is both taxi and landing lights, but you can only use one or the other as they are both on the same switch... ... there is very good tail lighting and a wing (Inspection/Ice) light, but again both are on the same switch so it is again one or the other. Cockpit lighting is very, very good. There is both separate instrument lighting for both pilots, under glareshield strip lighting and overhead dome lighting and all are adjustable and you are able to find the right lighting conditions that you require. OHP is separately controlled as is the strip lighting. The cabin is actually even better! There is three cabin settings in: Off - Dim - Full Seatbelt & No Smoking signs are separate as well and even the Fire exit signs can be switched on or off. External has good navigation, beacon and the new double strobe flash. However the window reflections are quite bad at night and need to be turned off. Liveries There are eight liveries with the default white called "Substance". All liveries are 4K and very high quality textures, and they do take a fair bit of power and framerate to run if you have your Texture Resolution set high, your best option is to down the texture resolution a notch to pull it under the 4gb graphic limit. Other liveries include: 57-06 (German), Aerocardal (Chile), Air Caraibes (French Guadeloupe), G-EMEK and Aurigny (UK), MM-69231 (Mexico) and Kustwacht (Netherlands). Summary You marvel at the changes, now more than ever as the quality goes higher, aircraft go more complex and you have even more extreme detailing, last years brilliance is this years middle shelf life and on it goes. But how good is this Dornier Do 228-100. In every area it exceeds, and you get so much now for your flying dollar. The only blight on the copybook are the reflections, just too strong and become even intrusive in certain lighting conditions and have to be turned off, the cabin window reflections are the wrong ones as well. But that is a smidgen of the smallest of the smallest of things compared to what you have here. The Do 228 does have some quirks that you need to adjust too, but again that is part of the familiarization of flying different aircraft. And to note the aircraft is VR compatible as well and ready for your Virtual Reality headset. The quality is just outstanding as is the detailing with outstanding full PBR (Superb material shines and reflections) that are working overtime here, features are excellent and it flies extremely well once you are accustomed to its design and observe its weight restrictions. Two types of FMS systems are also available and its your choice on which one you use. Lighting internally is excellent as are the FMOD sounds... it is just a great aircraft. Is it then better than the B1900D its main competitor? Overall the Do 228 is a more modern construction from Carenado than the far older B1900D, so it has a more deeper feel and very expansive and a higher quality feel. But the B1900D is still extremely good when you take it in its latest XP11 form, so both aircraft are really line ball the same in many ways. Certainly for me I will be putting more hours in the Do 228 as it is so good and nice to fly, so overall the choice for those short regional/hub&spoke routes are now simply down to a coin toss? B1900D or the Do 228, either way you are a certain winner which ever aircraft you choose. The Do 228 is however highly addictive to fly in X-Plane11... the best yet from Carenado, and maybe yes... it is overall excellent. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the Dornier Do 228 100 HD Series by Carenado is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : DO228 100 HD Series Price is US$37.95 Features Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11. Flight physics optimized for XP11 standards. Ground handling adapted for XP11 ground physics. Physically Based Rendering materials and textures throughout. PBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries. X-Plane GNS530 (FPS friendly) Support for RealityXP's GTN750 (integrated into 3D cockpit, when available). VR compatible click spots. Goodway Compatible. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by several pilots for maximum accuracy. Requirements: X-Plane 11 Windows, Mac or Linux 2GB VRAM Minimum. 4GB+ VRAM Recommended Note the 4GB VRAM is highly recommended, to use the 2GB minimum your texture settings will have to be set quite low. Installation Download of the Arrow Dornier 228 is 668mb and it is installed in your General Aviation Folder as a 898.00mb folder. As noted liveries are 4K and very high quality textures, and they do take a fair bit of power and framerate to run if you have your Texture Resolution set high, a notch below is recommended. The Reality XP's GTN 750 unit can be installed, but this is an addon extra and costs you another $49.95, and that replaces the GNS530 on the centre console. Documents Documentation is very good, but no real POH (Pilots Operation Handbook). Quickstart manual is good to find all the great features, but it is no flying guide. X-Plane FMS Manual.pdf Copyrights.pdf Credits.pdf DO228 Emergency Procedures.pdf DO228 Normal Procedures.pdf DO228 Performance Tables.pdf Do228 Quickstart Reference Guide.pdf DO228 Reference.pdf Recommended settings XP11 .pdf _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 17th November 2017 Copyright©2017: X-PlaneReviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.05 Addons: Saitek x56 Rhino Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro v1.07 US$69.90 : XPRealistic Pro v1.0.9 effects US$19.95 : WorldTraffic 3.0 Plugin - US$29.95 Scenery or Aircraft - EGJJ - Jersey by tdg (X-Plane.org) - Free - EGHI - Southampton Airport by Pilot+Plus (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$19.95
  6. News! - First Images : Dornier Do 228 for X-Plane by Carenado Carenado have released the first images of their next release for X-Plane... Dornier Do 228 twin-turboprop STOL utility aircraft. The aircraft is very similar in size and uses routes like the already very versatile Beech 1900D, so users that love that aircraft will are also going to love this German built design. There are no details as yet on features, but the FS/P3D version has the GNS350 GPS system installed and so I would expect the same for X-Plane. Price... I would expect in the mid to very high US$36-$39 range as per usual with Carenado aircraft of this size. Release? soon in early November... but that didn't come from from me or Carenado. ______________________________________________________________________ Images are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 25th October 2017 Copyright©2017 X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  7. News! - Aircraft Upgraded to XP11 : C90 King Air HD Series by Carenado As Carenado updates their KingAirs it is the C90 now released in X-Plane11 compliance. With the already released B200, 1900D the C90 this is the last of the X-Plane Kingairs to be updated, so now you will have the full trio to use. Overall the update is the same as the others with the full X-Plane11 features including... Special Features Only for X-Plane 11 Full PBR (Superb material shines and reflections). Features Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11. Flight physics designed for XP11 standards. Engine Cowlings open, revealing detailed 3D engine model. Ground handling adapted for XP11 ground physics. Physically Based Rendering materials and textures. PBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries. X-Plane GNS430 (FPS friendly) Ice and rain effects VR compatible click spots. Goodway Compatible. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by several pilots for maximum accuracy. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization. In many ways the C90 is the truest to the original KingAir, so if you want to fly the basic design of the aircraft called the Model 87, then this is the one to punt for. Carenado are now using high-end professional software to create the very best textures for PBR (Physical Based Rendering) that is the cornerstone of X-Plane11 features. Included in the package 6 HD liveries. 1 HD Blank livery. C90 EFIS PDF. C90 Emergency Checklist PDF. C90 Normal Checklist PDF. C90 Performance Tables PDF. C90 Quick Reference PDF C90 Terrain Awareness Annunciator Control Unit PDF. Recommended Settings XPlane 11 PDF. Recommended System Requirements Windows XP - Vista - 7 -10 or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher) or Linux X-Plane 11 CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at 3.5 ghz or faster. Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more. Video Card: a DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with at least 4 GB VRAM (GeForce GTX 1070 or better or similar from AMD) 452MB available hard disk space Note: This upgraded aircraft is new to X-Plane11 and is not an update of the original C90 King-Air for X-Plane. So a full purchase cost is required to acquire this version. The XP11 version is however valid for any updates thoughout the X-Plane11version run. ______________________________________________________________________ The C90 King Air HD Series by Carenado is NOW available! here : C90 KING AIR HD SERIES Price is US$34.95 Notes: For WINDOWS users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed (click here) Images & Text are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 4th September 2017 Copyright©2017 X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  8. Aircraft Review : C208B Grand Caravan HD Series XP11 by Carenado The single Turbo-Prop Cessna 208B Grand Caravan was one of the earliest X-Plane aircraft releases back then in mid-year 2012, that is five years ago now to date. The first Carenado releases were really average to good, basically test pieces for X-Plane. Both the Mooney and the PA 32 Satatoga felt old before their release, but then in May we got some release images of the Caravan and then in June 2012 the aircraft was released in X-Plane. Finally X-Plane users got the glimpse and a taste of why in Flight Sim Land of all the reverence and praise that was lavished on Carenado. It was back then and to a point still now a great aircraft, but we also saw Carenado for what they really were and more importantly they were also taking X-Plane as a simulation platform seriously. That gamble paid off massively for Carenado as they now dominate most General Aviation releases in X-Plane, although I will admit a few other developers like vFlyteAir and Aerobask are now pushing them harder in quality in what was once only a Carenado domain. There is no doubt that the C208B Caravan has been a huge seller if not their best seller year in and year out for Carenado, and it is not hard to see why. It is an amazing aircraft but versatile as well. The aircraft is basically a workhorse, a short hop regional gap filler for two pilots and eleven passengers, or a single pilot and twelve passengers, and it's speciality is island hopping. Carenado also then broadened the C208B's already great attraction by an add-on and an extra in the form of a cargo version called the "Super CargoMaster", so now not only could you move your passengers point to point, but also cargo was now also the go. The great suddenly became the brilliant. I am not going to hide the fact that in the last five years I have done a huge amount of flying of both the passenger and cargo versions in this brilliant aircraft, the hours spent in the C208B's left seat are simply to large to count, but it must be a lot. So of the many aircraft I have spent flying in X-Plane then the Caravan must be at the top of my list and it is in my all time list as it came in at number 3. But I will admit with the transition to X-Plane11 the old bird was starting to feel a little worn around the edges, and that is despite a few nice upgrades (v2/v3) in the X-Plane10 run. So here is the X-Plane11 upgrade. And now this C208B aircraft is now X-Plane11 compatible. You will have repurchase the aircraft in full as well, but the cost covers all updates throughout the X-Plane11 run or about four to five years and Carenado have noted that there will be some great new features coming to the Caravan but not until the other listed aircraft have been upgraded as well, and don't forget that there is still the G1000 Executive version still waiting in the wings. C208B Grand Caravan HD Series XP11 This is both a light overall review and an upgrade review in one, because the original X-PlaneReviews Caravan review is now quite old from 2013 and so I think it requires an update and refresh on the aircraft. The first most significant detail is that the original add-on "Super CargoMaster" package is now part of the overall package. In other words you don't have to purchase a separate package and merge it with the main Carenado C208B Grand Caravan purchase to get both versions, and you can also change to both versions from within the one aircraft and not have two separate aircraft to switch between or reload. The standard three Carenado left lower screen tab menus are still here with C for the Views, Field of View and Sound adjustment which the same as usual for Carenado. D covers "Doors" in the Pilots and Co-Pilots door(s) (with a great swing down ladder) and a double (upper and swing lower) main Cargo door and on the passenger version a passenger door on the right rear side of the aircraft. The Caravan comes with a detachable lower cargo pod with opening doors, but the selection of opening the pod doors is a separate selection on the cargo, however the pod doors can then only be opened with the right side passenger door on the passenger version which is slightly odd. You can also switch to each the passenger or the cargo version here on this menu tab as well, via the lower left tickbox. (if you change the livery to either a passenger or a cargo version the type will also change automatically). Livery selection can also be done from this menu in selecting left or right to go through the options, personally I use the XP11 menu as it was quicker. O covers the "Options" on the lower third tab. First selection is the optional cargo pod and the then the static elements of Chocks, Tow Tractor, Pivot Cover, Engine and Prop covers. Lower selection allows you to have tinted or clear windows. This options menu also allows you on the passenger version to select the rear seating arrangements with either single seating for eight or single/double seating for eleven. I usually use the eleven seater. The option menu on the cargo version is the same except that there is no seating but cargo options. “Load Configuration 1” is with the parcels loaded and that adds “1607” Pounds to the aircraft’s weight. “Load Configuration 2” is with the parcels removed and no penalty of weight. The cargo area is very well presented with the webbing hanging with the space empty and everything tied down tightly with the load on board and when not used the hand aircraft puller is strapped to the rear bulkhead, there is a nice touch to the cockpit rear with a net over the the entrance to keep the cargo in place. External Detail I usually fly with the pod off, my flying in the Caravan is mostly passenger sightseeing or point to point airport connection services. The Caravan style is between a pure utility aircraft, but still has a miniature airliner feel as well with all those side windows (seven). For the job it is about perfect and in the real world it is extremely popular and would be a very hard aircraft to replace and most operators usually don't but with another Caravan. Since its first flight on December 9, 1982 and into service in 1983 there has now over 2,500 Caravans built and flying at a cost of US$1.95 million each (2017 costing). External detailing is phenomenal. Every rivet is counted for, all latches, hinges and handles are perfect, (ice) lighting surrounds, lovely flap tracks, vents, animated static wicks and antennas. Glass is superb with great reflections and a very slight convex look. In reality the earlier detailing on the Caravan is not much different here, but it has been totally enhanced with X-Plane11 features and of course with PBR or Physical Based Rendering (material shines and reflections) and the textures are all 4K and have been reprocessed for the best quality to FPS (framerate) optimization. So the most noticeable factor from the earlier Caravans to this version is the sheer gloss on the aircraft and the highlighting of the aircraft's construction. This is mostly highly noticeable with the wing construction and detailing, it is beautiful work, almost perfection. But in certain lighting conditions you get a frazzled feel, it can be a little over shiny for the eye, a slightly more wear and tear feel would be more authentic, but don't get me wrong this is the best of the best in detailing. The spinner is now chrome, real chome. Carenado always did do great chrome fittings but the extra shinyness now adds to the effect (X-Plane11 metalness effects). This shinyness is highlighted by the lovely curves of the lower fuselage and the air cooling vents. The Caravan has a powerful Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114A engine connected to that lovely crafted Hartzell 3-Blade Metal, Constant Speed - full feathering propeller... great stuff. Note that huge if slightly ugly right sided exhaust, but it does give off a great whine sound. The aircraft undercarriage support is also superb, there is a lot of animated flexibility and dynamic loading/unloading of the gear that adds amazing authenticity to the simulation. Minor detailing on the internal construction of all the wheels and braking systems are pinch perfect. Open the doors and the extreme detailing is even more evident. Looking into the cockpit you are immediately reminded on why the Caravan was such a big deal back when Carenado first released the Caravan. It was a modern cockpit (mid-80's compared to the other far older Mooney and the PA 32 Satatoga cockpits). Internal Detail That light on dark panel was and still is amazing as is the whole of the Caravan's cockpit. The panel is now even more dynamic with the X-Plane11 dynamic lighting effects, more realism and even more of a great place to be. All instrument and glass is reflective, instruments are all of the highest quality Checking around the panel there hasn't been much changed or added except that those tree style manipulators have been replaced by the standard half-moon style manipulators, this is for another reason as well as for just easier manipulation as they are required for the coming VR interaction. Those lovely hide away yokes do also have a working elevator trim, which is very usable. And above your head is still the standard tank switches and oxygen switch and dial readout. Your workplace seating still looks very comfortable and the quality is mindblowing, again the dynamic lighting brings something new to this already very familiar cockpit. Instrument Panel In reality this is not a really over complicated instrument panel and I think that is the overall sweetness on flying and using the Caravan. The row of engine status dials on the top row are (left to right) Torque, RPM Prop, ITT (Interstage Turbine Temperature), Gas Generator RPM, Oil Pressure PSI & Oil ºc Temperatures, Fuel Flow and both L&R fuel tank gauges dominates the panel, the lovely set of excellent annunciators that can be set for day and night visual brightness or test mode. Full Standard Six instruments for the flying pilot and the co-pilot with the Airspeed Indicator, Artificial Horizon and the Attitude Indicator on the top row and the ADF dial, Heading Dial/HSI and Vertical Speed Indicators set out directly below. Pilot has added Turn/Slip indicator below and Radar altitude (x100) meter. Left of SS is a VOR OBS pointer and Bendix King VOR data panel below. Far left is Prop Anti-Ice dial, Clock, and Engine Suction dial and approach marker lights. A nice working feature is the Voltage dial that has four switchable selections with Gen (Generator), Alt (Alternator), BATT (Battery) and Volt lower left is the external lighting switches and lower panel is six switches that covers the aircraft's Anti-Ice protection. There are also four rotary knobs for the instrument lighting which is in-direct and not back lighting, also here is the bottom brake pull and the Inertial Separator T handle that blocks debris coming into the main engine inlet. Air-conditioning and cabin heat switches and knobs are lower panel as well. There is a stand alone electrical and fuse raised box structure to the pilot's left... ... switches cover top - External Bus (GPU), Main Battery, Generator and fuel boost. Lower panel - Standby Power, Ignition, Engine Starter, Avionics Standby, Avionics Bus Tie and Avionics 1&2 OFF/ON. By today's standards the avionic package here is quite basic for a working aircraft. Top is a Bendix King KMA 24 radio set, with below a default X-Plane GNS 430 (COMM 1 and NAV1) settings. Mid-panel is a Bendix King KX 165 COMM 2 and NAV 2 (VOR) radio and a Bendix King RDR 2000 weather radar with the X-Plane radar overlaid below. Right stack has top a Garmin GTX 320 transponder then below a Bendix King KR87 ADF radio with finally the Bendix King KFC 150 autopilot. The autopilot has a indication panel and altitude adjustment, vertical speed adjust panel on the pilot's side top right. Throttle Pedestal Mid lower panel is a nice throttle pedestal. Left to right there is a power lever to be used only in emergencies, then a single main "Throttle" lever with a "beta" reverse gate. The "Prop" lever is for MAX and MIN RPM and gated lower is the feather adjustment. Then there is the "Condition" lever again gated with High and Low idle and the lower gate is the shutoff. Far right is the "Flap" setting in Up - 10º (150knts) - 20º Full (125 knts). Left pedestal is the elevator trim wheel and front panel is the aileron trim knob and rudder trim wheel. There is the main fuel shutoff pull knob as well. Flying the C208B Grand Caravan I have done this YMLT (Launceston) to YMHB (Hobart) route about twenty times so I know it backwards, with a few heading notes I don't even have to put into the GNS430 a flightplan. It is my usual passenger transfer with a little bit of sightseeing thrown in to the deal. I tank up per tank of 765lbs or 1531lbs total with a full weight of 7840lbs, a fair bit of fuel, but then I wanted to return to YMLT directly without refueling at Hobart. A glance around and all the seven passengers are in and the baggage is loaded. I have asked (nicely) for Carenado to put their excellent animated pilot and co-pilot as passengers for years, but still we have to pretend that there people in the rear. Starting up of the Caravan is still one of the great aircraft engine starts in X-Plane. You don't get FMOD sounds here (yet), but Carenado's 3D 180º controlled sounds are just as good if not better for all the different sound ranges and bass depth. Put the ignition switch on and set the starter... you get nothing for a short while and then that familiar faint whine grows from somewhere deep in the front of the aircraft, still the whine grows louder until finally the propeller starts to turn in to action. The start sequence is full automation, hit the switch and just wait. Even after years of flying the Caravan I still question if the External (GPU) actually works? I have pressed the switch (arrowed) but there seems to be no action and the battery has a habit of quickly discharging, so my guess is no. Once the engine temps are good I pull the condition lever back to idle and a RPM of around 650RPM. The original Caravan was a little bit faster in the idle, but it looks the new X-Plane11 performance settings have settled it down a little, for taxiing you don't have to fight it as much as you did in the past with far too much power. In fact the 208B feels quite perfect now. Power up and the whine builds, but so does also the deeper turbo grind, so familiar but still neckline hair raising fantastic, this is the Caravan we totally love. As noted the 208B is far easier to taxi without fighting the too powerful thrust now in the condition low idle setting, a big nice change... but don't forget to put the condition lever into the "High Idle" position before takeoff... or you won't, well takeoff. The asymmetric thrust will still pull you really hard to the left with all that very powerful 675shp Pratt & Whitney pushing you forward. So you have to be aware right from the point you let the brakes go to give only a little thrust until you can lock the nose-wheel in straight and then give it full power after a certain speed and usually around 45knts. It works but still with a little deft right rudder. The C208B will however still try to wander and you are working hard with the yoke and the rudder to keep it sweet on the centreline I’m also very heavy here ( 7840lbs) so that slightly helps, but the speed climbs quickly to a rotate at around 95knts. Climbing out and into a turn to the due southwest (210º) I settle in at a 1000fpm (feet Per Minute) climb as 1,234 ft/min (6.27 m/s) is the maximum. But even with this weight the Caravan takes the tight turn and climb all in it's stride. As I am so familiar with the Caravan I know its limits, I know how far to push the aircraft before it will fail me, and the 208B has a fair bit of slack in that area, it is a very sturdy aircraft, sweet to fly and manoeuvre but you need a firm straight hand on the yoke and rudder. One thing I do notice more on this XP11 version is the green window tint is quite strong in the glass reflections, it is highly noticeable if not slightly distracting. There is the short straight route to YMHB, or the scenic route which is going straight southeast out from Launceston and hitting the coast around the spectacular Freycinet National Park and the famous Wineglass Beach, clients don't mind the extra cost or time as the Tasmanian east coast views are worth the detour. But first you have to climb high to clear the Ben Lomond National Park, and so I set the altitude to 7500 AMSL. My passengers were also not getting a lot of views for their cash either as the cloud cover was pretty extensive... The Caravan has a Cruise speed of around 197 mph (171 kn; 317 km/h) and a Range of 1,240 mi (1,078 nmi; 1,996 km) with max fuel and reserves. Your ceiling is an amazing 25,000ft as you have oxygen on board, but I have never really flown over 15,000ft. The Bendix King KFC 150 autopilot is a treat to use, quite simple but effective. Vertical speed can be a simple up or down, or you can set the separate digital display in the rate of climb and then ARM the altitude you want to hold. I found that you can't have the manual trim set (via your joystick or in my case x56 throttle twist knobs) as it interferes with the aircraft's trim systems, so I had to disconnect the x56 controls. As I neared the east coast I could descend down through the thick cloud to see if the views would be better and more effective. But I would still have to be careful as there is still a fair bit if land elevation around the Wineglass Bay area, in other words it is hilly. Note the blue ignition on warning light? I have lived with this one for years, in the fact that if you start the Caravan with the engine running then the ignition light stays off, but start the 208B from cold it stays on even if the ignition switch is now off, it is more annoying than you think. Coming out of the lower 4000ft cloud base I got a real "whoa" moment. It wasn't dangerous in a sense of the word, but it still needed a hard turn south so it wouldn't become an issue, my altitude was set at 3500ft for the sightseeing. My passengers only got a quick glimpse of Wineglass Bay, the weather is nothing I can control, and thankfully the further south I flew the brighter the weather became. You get a great view out of the Caravan's cabin windows, that is why these aircraft are great in the sightseeing role, but in some lighting conditions the the glass reflections can be very strong. In the new strong light you can see the excellent X-Plane11 PBR lighting effects and how beautiful they are on the Caravan, it certainly is glossy and the light is fantastic (I popped the pod back on for the full dynamic effect) but I will admit to debating (with myself) if the Caravan is too glossy in this form, sometimes it feels like there is to much gloss and other times it is just right, so I am in neither camp. I have spent countless hours over the years looking over this view out of the Caravan, I still totally love it and you still admire how great an aircraft it is. The Caravan is one of Carenado's greatest successful aircraft even after all these years, that actually comes with no great surprise, and now in X-Plane11 form it certainly goes up a notch again. Time is getting on and the light is starting to fade. I usually go further south and around the peninsula and give the patrons a view of the Port Arthur Convict site as part of the deal, but today I am taking a short cut over Blackman Bay and directly to Dunalley Bay which leads into Frederick Henry Bay. The views are still spectacular, and once over the passage I see YMBH's lights far to the west of Frederick Henry Bay . I drop the altitude another 1500ft to 2000ft and start the approach phase as the light faded more... The Caravan's amazing instrument panel in-direct lighting (the main Standard Six dials are also backlit) is still spectacular, it is adjustable as well. Overhead lighting is provided by a single roof mounted light that gives the cockpit area and the panel a more workable light, the adjustments knobs though even with the new manipulators can still be hard work, you have to grab and pull hard to make the knobs turn, there is also plenty of spaces for extra lighting switches on the lighting panel. But the lighting overall is disappointing. Carenado pioneered great lighting effects that allows spot lighting to be adjustable, fade in and out and manoeuvrable in aircraft cabins. But here it is just plain dark back there, and the external Ice/Wing light doesn't work either? Externally you have taxi and landing lights on both outer front wing edges, and the standard beacon and great strobe effects. It may or may not be correct per the performance of the C208B but I always put the condition lever to the "low Idle" position before landing, yes you lose a slight bit of performance... but rather that than the huge fight to control the speed after landing with the thrust level too high to stop you cleanly and without wavering all over the runway and then losing direction in trying to bring "that damn lever back" to control the aircraft, I find I still have enough power and more control with it set even in the "low idle" position. I am learning that the performance of aircraft in X-Plane11 is quite different than before in X-Plane10. Certainly in the final landing phase. In the Caravan that sense is heightened. The area in question is throttle management, the ratio of speed to power. The stall point of the Caravan is 70knts, but let the airspeed drop below 100knts here on approach and you suddenly lose height, this is becoming a common theme if you have been reading other reviews since X-Plane11's release. The control is there and luckily the flap limits are quite high on the Caravan with 150knts for 10º and full (20º) at 125kts, so you drop 10º then adjust your speed then later the full 20º to 75knts on final approach. But by controlling the throttle (which you do a lot) can gain you either more height with more power or with less throttle to lose height, pure aircraft control. Certainly this effect was there before in older X-Plane versions, but the effect in X-Plane11 is certainly more finer and more noticeable now in the feel factor. I find it quite exciting and I feel I am having more control over the aircraft in flight, a fine tuning area but a very important one and the Caravan really brings that effect out more than other aircraft I have flown lately in the past. In other words you are flying far more by you throttle inputs as much as your hand and feet input. Get it right and you will boast about your landing for days, but it does take a fair bit of practise to be perfect. One highly noticeable change in the XP11 version is the "beta" or reverse thrust position that gives you full reverse thrust after landing. It still works as usual by the gauge (arrowed) on the Prop dial, but you don't get that "roar" of sound you used to have? It is now more of a whimper? (I checked both high and low idle positions). Passengers note the trip as "exciting" and "amazing" but I have flown the route in better conditions, but there is overall a more intimate feel with this X-Plane11 version than I can remember in the past with the older X-Plane versions of the Caravan, and that is a really great thing. Liveries The sets of liveries for both the Passenger and Cargo versions are the same as in the past, and any older liveries that you have collected don't work either. Included is for the Passenger version the: standard blank, Camo (camouflage), Exec 1, Exec 2 and that excellent GoTropical. There are three Super CargoMaster liveries with the: Civil, FedEx and DHL. You get the Civil Cargo livery with the package and the two other liveries in the FedEx and DHL can be downloaded here.: Carenado FreeLiveries Summary This Cessna 208B Grand Caravan and optional Super CargoMaster has been one of the most successful Carenado aircraft in X-Plane to date, and it is really not hard to see why. I have loved the Caravan and more than most aircraft in X-Plane over the last four years because it is so versatile and just really a great aircraft to fly. The release of the Caravan in X-Plane11 bring certainly all the great features of the new platform including PBR (Physical Based Rendering) and the performance enhancements that are really noticeable in the pilots seat. The added feature of both the passenger and super cargomaster versions together in one package also adds hugely into the appeal. A lot of work has gone into the quality of the detailing for X-Plane11 and quality is what Careando are known for. But in another point of view, if you know the Caravan really well you won't really notice anything new or different in new features, from the pilot's seat you have the same position as you always have had but just only now in X-Plane11 with its excellent features, that is a positive but also a slight negative. The lighting feels old, because internally it is compared to most later Carenado releases and the no Ice/wing light is highly noticeable, no new liveries over four years is not going to be fun either and since now the older custom ones now don't work either. (I lost fifteen liveries, gulp) Carenado have noted though that FMOD audio, full VR support, SASL 3.0 upgrade, re-vamped pop-up windows and more are coming along in the update path, so my advice is to enjoy now and that more changes and features will come along as part of the overall package. This is as noted a new purchase of the aircraft in full as well, but the cost does cover all updates throughout the X-Plane11 run or for about four to five years and any new features that Carenado have promised to add in to the overall package and I think that is overall a very good deal. So here is one of the greats, and the Grand Caravan now comes in X-Plane11 clothes and performance. If you have read this full review, then you would know how important this aircraft is to my X-Plane flying, now in X-Plane11 the flying can now go on (and on) and I know I will absolutely love every moment of it, as a validation of a great aircraft this Grand Caravan is then one of the very best and you simply can't go any higher than that... _____________________________________________________________________________________ The C208B Grand Caravan HD Series XP11 by Carenado is NOW available! at the X-Plane.OrgStore 208 Grand Caravan HD Series Price is US$34.95 Notes: For WINDOWS users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed (click here) Features: Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11. Flight physics designed for XP11 standards. Ground handling adapted for XP11 ground physics. Physically Based Rendering materials and textures. PBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries. X-Plane GNS430 (FPS friendly) Ice and rain effects VR compatible click spots. Goodway Compatible. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by several pilots for maximum accuracy. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization. Requirements: Windows XP - Vista - 7 -10 or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher) or Linux X-Plane 11 CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at 3.5 ghz or faster. Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more. Video Card: a DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with at least 4 GB VRAM (GeForce GTX 1070 or better or similar from AMD) 570MB available hard disk space Installation and documents: Download for the C208B Grand Caravan HD Series is 498.40mg and the unzipped 589.20mb file is deposited in the "General Aviation" X-Plane folder with this aircraft version X-Plane11 only. Documents C208B GC Normal and Emergency Procedures PDF C208B SC Normal and Emergency Procedures PDF C208B GC Reference document PDF C208B SC Reference document PDF KFC150 Autopilot PDF Recommended Settings XP11 PDF _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 16th August 2017 Copyright©2017: X-PlaneReviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.02 Addons: Saitek x56 Rhino Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 : XPRealistic Pro v1.0.9 effects US$19.95 Scenery or Aircraft - YMLT - Launceston, Australia 1.2.0 by CDG (X-Plane.Org) - Free - YMHB - Hobart International Airport & YCBG Cambridge Aerodrome 1.0 by tdg (X-Plane.Org) - Free - AustraliaPro 2.03 Beta by Chris K (X-Plane.Org) - Free (recommended for any Australian flying!)
  9. News! - Aircraft Upgraded to XP11 : 208 Grand Caravan HD Series by Carenado You would actually be surprised on how old Carenado's 208B Grand Caravan actually is in X-Plane. The original release is now five years old, with a big v2 update a year later in 2013. As I fly this aircraft quite a lot I did find it feeling quite old lately as it is, but I didn't realise that overall it was over five years old. So the upgrade to X-Plane11 will be certainly really welcome for this grand machine, the C208 is one of the best and I would guess one of the biggest sellers for Carenado in X-Plane. Like all older upgrades to X-Plane11 from Carenado you have to repurchase the aircraft, this is not an update, but a completely new version. With that there is an interesting change to the package in that the Super CargoMaster add-on is now included in the full package and not as an add on purchase, so buy one and you get both versions. I know this excellent aircraft more than most machines in X-Plane, it is a brilliant simulation of one of the world's most versatile aircraft. The C208B is the most workable local short route aircraft you can fly and there are a lot of great features and options to get the best out of this aircraft. The Super CargoMaster version also comes with an extra download of DHL and FedEx liveries as well. Features Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11. Flight physics designed for XP11 standards. Ground handling adapted for XP11 ground physics. Physically Based Rendering materials and textures. PBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries. X-Plane GNS430 (FPS friendly) Ice and rain effects VR compatible click spots. Goodway Compatible. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by several pilots for maximum accuracy. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization. I haven't flown the new XP11 Caravan yet but those specifications look excellent. Note the different engine performance, better flight physics both in the air and on the ground and the X-Plane11 feature Physically Based Rendering (PBR) has been incorporated in the new version as well. Included in the package 5 HD Liveries 1 HD Blank Llivery 2 models: Grand Caravan (GC) and Super Cargomaster (SC) C208B GC Normal and Emergency Procedures PDF C208B SC Normal and Emergency Procedures PDF C208B GC Reference document PDF C208B SC Reference document PDF KFC150 Autopilot PDF Recommended Settings XP11 PDF Recommended System Requirements Windows XP - Vista - 7 -10 or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher) or Linux X-Plane 11 CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at 3.5 ghz or faster. Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more. Video Card: a DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with at least 4 GB VRAM (GeForce GTX 1070 or better or similar from AMD) 570MB available hard disk space The X-Plane11 Grand Caravan 200B and Super CargoMaster package is now available from Carenado ______________________________________________________________________ The 208 Grand Caravan XP11 HD Series by Carenado is NOW available! here : 208 Grand Caravan HD Series Price is US$34.95 Notes: For WINDOWS users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed (click here) Images & Text are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 10th August 2017 Copyright©2017 X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  10. News! - Aircraft Upgraded to XP11 : B200 King Air HD Series by Carenado Carenado has upgraded their wonderful B200 King-Air HD to X-Plane11. This aircraft is one of the big hitters in X-Plane in the large twin category, a lovely aircraft that is a real treat to fly. So how good... well it is my second all round favorite via my Top 10 list and so you can't get a higher mark than that. This is the upgraded XP11 version which includes: Features Full PBR (Superb material shines and reflections). Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11. Flight physics designed for XP11 standards. Ground handling adapted for XP11 ground physics. Physically Based Rendering materials and textures. PBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries. 2 X-Plane GNS430 (FPS friendly) Ice and rain effects VR compatible click spots. Goodway Compatible. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic Weight and Balance. Tested by several pilots for maximum accuracy. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization. Carenado are now using high-end professional software to create the very best textures for PBR (Physical Based Rendering) that is the cornerstone of X-Plane11 features. Cockpit and Cabin is first rate, best in class... one thing Carenado do best is excellent detailing and quality textures. Included in the package: 6 HD liveries 1 HD Blank livery. B200 EFIS PDF. B200 Emergency Checklist PDF. B200 Normal Checklist PDF. B200 Performance Tables PDF. B200 Terrain Awareness Annunciator Control Unit PDF. Recommended Settings PDF. Recommended System Requirements Windows XP - Vista - 7 or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher) or Linux X-Plane 11 CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K at 3.5 ghz or faster. Memory: 16-24 GB RAM or more. Video Card: a DirectX 12-capable video card from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel with at least 4 GB VRAM (GeForce GTX 1070 or better or similar from AMD) 400MB available hard disk space (incl. free downloadable extra liveries) Note: This upgraded aircraft is new to X-Plane11 and is not an update of the original B200 King-Air for X-Plane. So a full purchase cost is required to acquire this version. The XP11 version is however valid for any updates thoughout the X-Plane11version run. ______________________________________________________________________ The B200 King Air HD Series by Carenado is NOW available! here : B200 KING AIR HD SERIES Price is US$34.95 Notes: For WINDOWS users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed (click here) Images & Text are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 23rd July 2017 Copyright©2017 X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  11. Aircraft Upgrade : Beechcraft 1900D HD XP11 by Carenado In my monthly "Behind The Screen" post back in August 2016 I noted my overall "best of" ten aircraft. Listed at number six was the Carenado B1900D regional 19 passenger airliner. It is not hard to not really like the B1900D, it has everything to want you to keep jumping back into that left-hand seat and to do another flight. It is best of course in the regional point to point routes, nothing too long and something that can easily fill in a few hours of you leisure time. But more than that the 1900D is simply a great simulation, very intimate, involving and with the just sheer great feedback from a great twin turboprop airliner. So here is the X-Plane11 version of the B1900D from Carenado, an upgrade to the new simulator is always going to be a good thing, but with an aircraft like the B1900D its got to be a great thing. Overall there isn't anything really new on the XP11 version except to configure the aircraft to the X-Plane11 specifications. There is more change in here than what you would think that is required but everything here is mostly under the hood in more than what can be visually. The only noticeable visual areas are the textures. Even in the Scottish gloom of EGPH (Edinbourgh) the 1900D looks far more glossy and the panel work is far more pronounced and with better normal mapping. (normal mapping is the raising of pixels to simulate say panel lines or rivets) The Carenado B1900D was never a lightweight, or frameweight aircraft. And the new textures are going to have a slightly more heavier effect again and another side-effect of the texture changes is that it effects the xEnviro weather plugin quite severely to the point I couldn't fly the B1900D with the plugin activated, were as the earlier B1900D has no framerate issues. (The effect on xEnviro could be the current v1.06 in having not being updated as to this review's date). Carenado has also invested in for these PBR (Physical Based Rendering) materials authored with some industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industries. And the resulting effects are very good. The B1900D does look outstanding in the right lighting conditions and the effects work well even with an older livery like my FlyBe colours. The performance and flight physics have also been adjusted to the new X-Plane11 thrust parameters as has the newer ground fiction physics that will also need to be adjusted to. The Beechcraft is still quite tricky on the takeoff, so you will need a fair bit of skill to keep the 1900D central to the line, but this is still a great simulation, I mean you wouldn't want the aircraft to fly on rails now would you... The X-Plane lighting effects have been adjusted so they look authentic, no blobs here. This is one aircraft to love in the manual aspect, the aircraft is lovely under your rudder and yoke control. Instrument Panel is still one of the very best in X-Plane. Sheer authenticity abounds. It is a complicated cockpit, but still based on the famous King-Air series of Beechcraft aircraft. The Physically Based Rendering materials and textures have gone overboard in here, all areas are better and the reflections perfect. The PBR lighting effects lift the cockpit's realism as well. There is still great features, like the lovely yoke with it's built in trim buttons that actually work. Pedestal is a piece of art... nice to look at and to use. Carenado have gone back to the standard X-Plane manipulator system and away from it's own featured tree style scroll manipulator. There are two reasons for this. One is that now the default manipulators have a scroll wheel function now built in, but the second reason is more interesting in that it sets up VR compatible click spots for the use of Virtual Reality that is coming to X-Plane11 in the future (October 2017 is noted, but I wouldn't hold that as completely kosher, it may change yet). Aircraft comes with a great (resizable) autopilot that is part of the Electronic Flight Instrument System by Rockwell Collins, which includes the Electronic Attitude Director Indicator (EADI) & Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator (EHSI) and the altitude selector. The default Garmin GNS530 is updated to the X-Plane11 version which includes the built in navigation data. Cabin fit-out is excellent, very high quality as design and detailing is top notch. For the back seat flyers the views are excellent. Rain and Ice effects have been updated, and with the better X-Plane11 environment engine it is very effective and realistic. Liveries The original liveries have not changed from and still have their very fancy names... AzureWisp, BlackGold, OrangeWisp, BlueShark and SwissAir the white/blank is default. There are six extra airline operator liveries that you can download from the Carenado site once you have purchased the aircraft, and these include - ERA, Air Canada, Air NewZealand new and old, Next Jet and United Express and loads more on the X-Plane.Org including my lovely Flybe. For a full comprehensive overview review of the Carenado Beechcraft 1900D then go here: Aircraft Review : Beechcraft 1900D HD Series by Carenado Summary To fly my sixth favorite aircraft in my hangar and it is now natively in X-Plane11 is always going to be a great thing. The Beechcraft 1900D is one of the very best regional aircraft in X-Plane11... strike two. One of the best and needs the required skills to fly really well... strike three, and I can go on like this all day. Mostly there is nothing really new to the original package than the upgrading of the performance, systems, physics and the complete overhaul of the textures and materials to take advantage of the Physical Based Rendering effects. It may not on the surface feel or look a lot, but it makes a big difference in the flesh, what was great is now even greater. The vB1900D is still heavy on your framerate, nothing has changed there and I feel it is a little more heavier again, not by a significant amount, but noticeable. Otherwise there is little to fault it, textures, sounds and that excellent Carenado quality is all in here. As the B1900D is released longer than six months ago. Then this new X-Plane11 package is a new initial release, or you will need to repurchase the aircraft in full to own it, but the deal comes then for the full run of X-Plane11. No upgrade deals either as it is either at full cost or wait for the sales. Could I not have this Beechcraft 1900D in my online flying career, I doubt it, it is just too big a part of my everyday flying experiences and just to big a hole not to fill. This is one of the very best regional turboprop aircraft in X-Plane, based on the great King-Air Series this version is the top of the line in size and performance... It is just one of the very best and now available in X-Plane11 as well. __________________________________________________________________ The Beechcraft 1900D HD XP11 by Carenado is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : B1900D HD Series XP11 Price is currently US$34.95 Version 1.0 (June 30th 2017) Initial X-Plane 11 release Also available and developer site : Carenado.com Features: HD quality textures 3D gauges Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft 3D stereo effects, such as outside sounds entering open windows. Customizable panel for controlling window transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and turbine inlet/exhaust covers. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by real pilots. Realistic 3D night lights effects on panel and cockpit. Individual passenger 3D reading lights and numerous HDR lighting effects. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization. Ice and Rain effects Included in the package: 5 HD liveries - 1 HD Blank Livery B1900D Emergency Checklist PDF - B1900D Normal Procedures PDF B1900D Performance Tables PDF - B1900D Reference PDF B1900D EFIS X-Plane PDF - B1900D EVVI X-Plane PDF Recommended Settings PDF Requirements X-Plane 11 (not compatible with X-Plane 10) Windows 7+, MAC OS 10.7 (or higher) or Linux - 64bit Operating System 16GB RAM/ 4GB VRAM Version 1.0 (last updated June 30th 2017) Download size is 425.60mb, that is deposited into your X-Plane General Aviation Folder at 732.00mb (I created a separate folder called "Regional for these aircraft." _____________________________________________________________________________________ Upgrade Review by Stephen Dutton 5th July 2017 Copyright©2017: X-PlaneReviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions) Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11.02 Addons: Saitek x56 Rhino Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: XPRealistic Pro v1.0.9 effects US$19.95 Scenery or Aircraft - EGPH - Edinburgh Airport UK 1.0.1 by tdg (X-Plane.Org) - Free - EGHI - Southampton Airport by Pilot+Plus (X-Plane.OrgStore) - US$19.95
  12. News! - Aircraft Upgraded to XP11 : PA-34 Seneca V HD Series by Carenado Earlier this year Carenado released their excellent PA-34 Seneca V HD Series aircraft. They did note at the time that as soon as X-Plane11 was in a final release they would then update the aircraft to X-Plane11 specifications. This has now been done with the v1.2 release and now available for download from the X-Plane.OrgStore or Carenado. As this aircraft was released under the six month purchase point then this upgrade is free to all current owners of the aircraft. I am a big fan of this aircraft, lovely to fly and it has great avionics in the Garmin G500 navigation system. The v1.2 upgrade includes: The package includes two aircraft files: one updated file for X-Plane 10.5x, and one completely re-authored file for X-plane 11, which is calibrated to X-plane 11’s new flight dynamics engine, PBR materials, and other XP11-native features. -Added full support for X-Plane11 (new .acf file for XP11) -Implemented PBR (Physically based rendering), both interior and exterior -Replaced “SuperManipulator” (proprietary scroll wheel) with X-plane -native scroll wheel control. -Re-did entire flight dynamics for XP 11 version of the aircraft -Calibrated fuel consumption -Calibrated ground handling -Calibrated interior HDR lights. -Tweaked flaps and elevators -Nav To/From indicator fixed A full X-PlaneReviews review of the release version of the PA-34 Seneca V is available here : Aircraft Review : PA-34 Seneca V HD Series by Carenado ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the PA-34 Seneca V HD Series by Carenado is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : PA-34 Seneca V HD Series Price is US$32.95 Update notes are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com Requirements : Windows 7+ (64 bit) or MAC OS 10.8 (or higher) or Linux - 64bit Operating System X-Plane 10 fully updated (any edition) - 64bit mode 3 GHz processor - 8GB RAM - 1Gb+ VRAM - 2Gb VRAM Recommended Windows users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed. CARENADO G1000 database must be installed ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 17th June 2017 Copyright©X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  13. News! - Aircraft Released! : PA22 Tri-Pacer By Carenado The Tri-Pacer is a family of four-seater, strut braced, high-wing light aircraft that was built by Piper Aircraft in the post-World War II period. And the PA22 with the 125 hp (93 kW) Lycoming O-290-D engine and tri-cycle landing gear arrangement is that aircraft released here by Carenado. In a way this Tri-Pacer is an odd aircraft for Carenado to release? These niche types of aircraft are usually released under the Alabeo brand and not under the house Carenado name, but it would denote a slightly higher feature set and better quality HD textures (The differences lately between Carenado and Alabeo have also been closing release by release, so it is not as big as a quality difference as say even a few years ago), however the aircraft is noted as licensed by Alabeo. The Pacer features a steel tube fuselage and an aluminum frame wing, covered with fabric, and much designed like Piper's most famous aircraft, the Cub and Super Cub. This is an aircraft prized for its ruggedness, spacious cabin, and, for its time, impressive speed and many Pacers still continue to fly today after the last Pacer (a colt) was completed on 26 March 1964. No doubt there will be the usual Carenado quality and detailing, and features include: Custom sounds Full Xplane 10.5 and X-Plane 11 compatible GoodWay Compatible Superb material shines and reflections (full PBR in XP11). Volumetric side view prop effect. High quality 3D model and textures. Blank texture for creating your own designs Accurately reproduced flight characteristics 64-bit FPS-optimized model. Included in the package: 4 hd liveries 1 Blank texture Normal Procedures PDF Emergency Procedures PDF Performance Tables PDF Recommended Settings PDF Technical Requirements Windows XP -7-8 (or higher) or MAC OS 10.8 (or higher) or Linux Fully XP11 Compatible or X-Plane 10.5x i5 (or equivalent) 2.5 GHz - 8GB RAM - 2GB Video card 295MB available hard disk space The PA22 Tri-Pacer HD SERIES is available right now from Carenado... ______________________________________________________________________ The PA22 Tri-Pacer By Carenado is NOW available! here : PA22 Tri-Pacer HD Series Price is US$24.95 Notes: For WINDOWS users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed (click here) Images & Text are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 9th June 2017 Copyright©2017 X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  14. Aircraft X-Plane11 Update : AeroCommander Shrike 500s by Carenado It was not hard to fall in love with Carenado's AeroCommander Shrike 500s. It was from the start one of the more of the recent times simply one of the easiest aircraft to slip into, lovely layout and had a great feel behind the controls. So it was an instant favorite. Here is the X-Plane11 upgrade noted as v1.2, and it is free as the aircraft was released under the six month line banner between update and upgrade. As the aircraft was only released late into 2016 there is not a lot of changes, mostly contained to re-calibration of gauges including the OAT gauge, fuel consumption (to match XP11), ground handling. I would note that the new XP11 engine thrust modelling has had a few adjustments as it feels spot on, but the adjustments are not noted in the upgrade notes. Of course any new aircraft needs changes in X-Plane11 for the PBR (Physically based rendering) feature and that has been done here for the exterior and interior areas. Your 500s now looks like you have spent a very hard afternoon with the wax polish, and the results look amazing. Shiny and it now shows off the fuselage to its best condition since the aircraft came out of the factory. The excellent detailing looks better as well, Carenado are masters at making aircraft look realistic, and the Shrike looks every bit of the part of that. The instrument panel was always a little flat in that grey primer feel, but PBR and new the texture work does lift it a little. The lighting has had a few tweaks and the “SuperManipulator” (proprietary scroll wheel) has been replaced with a X-plane-native scroll wheel control. In some ways it is a lot better than the SuperManipulator, it was very good but very twiddly to use sometimes, the default scroll wheels are far easier to use. Ground objects are still a little scarce, just a few cones, engine inlet covers and tags, but all the doors work with an opening baggage compartment (no bags). The AeroCommander Shrike 500s was pretty complete on release, but this upgrade does bring it right up to X-Plane11 compatibility. The 500s was brilliant before and it is totally brilliant now, well worth the upgrade or purchase. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the AeroCommander Shrike 500s by Carenado is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : AeroCommander 500S SHRIKE HD Series Price is US$32.95 There is now two version of this aircraft for both X-Plane10 and X-Plane11 (the review is for the X-Plane11 version) If you have already purchased the Carenado AeroCommander 500s then go to your X-PlaneStrore account and upgrade to v1.2 (free). More detailed X-PlaneReview of the AeroCommander Shrike 500s release can be found here: Quick Flight Review : AeroCommander Shrike 500s by Carenado Features Include: Part of the HD Series - High-Definition Aircraft: Amazingly realistic interior - almost indistinguishable from photographs Makes full use of HDR lighting for realistic interior and exterior illumination Old, weathered, gritty textures that reflect the age and usage of this plane. Around 100 wave files for detailed and immersive 3D audio Cockpit switches' sounds are placed in 3D space, which affects loudness and pan. Outside engine sounds spill in through open doors and windows. Custom programmed Shadin digital fuel flow management instrument Custom programmed electronic CHT/EGT instrument Custom programmed classic Bendix/King Autopilot The above instruments come with 2D pop-up windows Custom programmed flight dynamics, to match POH values with more precision Immersive visual cockpit effects, such as dynamic reflections on instrument glass High resolution 4k textures throughout, with optimized 3D mesh and FPS-friendly logic Copilot figure appears/disappears, depending on set payload weight. Features: Original 500S Aero Commander autopilot installed New and improved multi-function scroll support Volumetric side view prop effect. Default X-Plane GNS530. HD quality textures (4096 x 4096) 350 pixels / meter textures Custom audio plugins with extra effects for added realism 3D gauges Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft Customizable panel for controlling window transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and turbine inlet/exhaust covers. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by real pilots. Realistic 3D night lights effects on panel and cockpit. Individual passenger 3D reading lights and numerous HDR lighting effects. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization ______________________________________________________________________ Requirements : X-Plane 11 or X-Plane 10.50+ Windows 7+ or MAC OS 10.8 (or higher) or Linux - 64bit Operating System 3 GHz processor - 8GB RAM - 2Gb+ VRAM Windows users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed. Current version: 1.2 (last updated May 15th 2017) ______________________________________________________________________ Installation : Download is 501.70 mb which is unzipped to your X-Plane Fighter folder at 544.00mb. Key authorisation is required. Documentation : includes 500S Emergency Checklist PDF - 500S Normal Checklist PDF 500S Performance Tables - 500S Reference PDF 500S Autopilot Operation PDF - Recommended Settings PD ______________________________________________________________________ Quick Flight Review by Stephen Dutton 18th May 2017 Copyright©2017: X-Plane Reviews (Disclaimer. All images and text in this review are the work and property of X-PlaneReviews, no sharing or copy of the content is allowed without consent from the author as per copyright conditions)
  15. News! - Aircraft Released! : E50P Phenom 100 HD Series By Carenado It's out, It's out.... Their first Jet for X-Plane is released by Carenado. Only two weeks ago I noted the Phenom 100 was coming soon, but not this early, but more towards Easter when X-Plane11 became RC or a release final. But here it is... X-Plane users have waited a long time for this aircraft, and in X-Plane11 it will have been worth the wait. The usual Carenado quality will be on show here, but it is also the most expensive Carenado ever released for X-Plane at US$37.95... The aircraft both X-Plane10 and also X-Plane11 compatible (X-Plane11b17 or higher is required for use). Full G1000 Prodigy glass cockpit system is included, with the original Phenom systems and status screens with multiple CAS messages are also installed in the aircraft (Carenado G1000 data is required) and a new feature of Advanced Aural System Simulation (or great sound) is also included. Features Carenado G1000 (PFD and MFD) Terrain Awareness map mode Different declutter levels Advance menus and cursor with scroll wheel, click/hold or /drag Aux- Trip Planning Window Checklist mode Crisp, vector-based water data Pop-up windows can be resized and moved around the screen Pristine scroll wheel support FPS-friendly terrain map Original autopilot installed Dynamic Reflections via plugin in XP10 Makes use of PBR materials for v11 Advanced interior dynamic lighting 2D pop-up windows for instruments and options HD quality textures (4096 x 4096) 3D gauges Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft Realistic behavior compared to the real jet. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by real pilots. External (above) and Internal (below) detailing is exceptional, this is a Jet to you would want to spend a lot of time in. Included in the package 6 HD liveries. 1 HD Blank livery. E50P Carenado Prodigy G1000 PDF. E50P Emergency Procedures PDF. E50P Normal Procedures PDF. E50P Performance Tables Recommended Settings PDF Technical Requirements Windows Vista - 7 (64 bits) or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher) or Linux X-Plane10.50 - X-Plane 11 64 bits requiered 2.5 GHz processor - 16GB RAM - 1GB VRAM 490MB available hard disk space For WINDOWS users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed. The E50P PHENOM 100 HD SERIES is available right now from Carenado... ______________________________________________________________________ The E50P Phenom 100 HD Series By Carenado is NOW available! here : E50P PHENOM 100 HD SERIES Price is US$37.95 Notes: For WINDOWS users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed (click here) CARENADO G1000 DATABASE (MUST BE INSTALLED). Images & Text are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 25th March 2017 Copyright©2017 X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  16. News! Early Preview : Phenom 100 by Carenado Early facebook images of Carenado's next plane project is Carenado's first X-Plane jet with the Phenom 100! Jet aircraft from Carenado have been in the works for quite awhile and also available in FSX/PrePar3d for quite a few years now and there is actually two version in the Phenom -100 and -300 Series. But no doubt the coming release will make the wait worth it, for the Phenom comes with a full G1000 avionics suite as well, and is a HD Series (High Definition) Aircraft. As the FSX version is also noted as US$39.95, it could be also the most expensive Carenado released in X-Plane yet as well. It might be a good idea to start saving now, no actual release date or detailed aircraft features are yet available, but my guess is a release around Easter. Images are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 13th March 2017 Copyright©2017 X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  17. Aircraft Review : PA-34 Seneca V HD Series by Carenado In one form or the other the Twin-Engined PA-34 Seneca has been in production since 1971 and that is now 46 years of continuous sales and development. The Seneca was developed as a twin-engined version of the Piper Cherokee Six which was a very popular aircraft of the late sixties. The prototype for the Seneca was a Cherokee Six that had wing-mounted engines installed and still retained its original nose engine. The prototype was flown as a tri-motor aircraft in the initial stages of the test-flying program, but the nose motor was discarded for production. Still in production there are over 5000 of these twin-engine PA-34 Pipers now built. This is the latest release by Carenado of the Seneca Twin. It is not the only Seneca by Carenado as there is already an original Seneca ll version the 200T which is the mid-seventies version of the aircraft. This V or Five version is the current version of the PA-34 and it comes with the G500 glass cockpit system and not the olde world clockwork cockpit of the Seneca ll. We will look at both aircraft soon. To get a feel of the new Seneca V I took a short passenger delivery trip from the Gold Coast to Ballina/Byron, Australia to deliver a few cashed up visitors to the area, and yes I am running this review in X-Plane11. Don't worry as I have run the same flight in X-Plane10 so nothing is amiss and there isn't and this aircraft is noted as compatible with X-Plane11 and is pretty what to expect when X-Plane11 goes final. A small note is that this is in XP11b9 and I am currently finding it very stable after a lot of testing and flights, not totally perfect yet, but the basics are very good. Detailing is exceptional, and the X-Plane11 PBR gives the the Seneca V aircraft a really nice added gloss. But realism in detail has never been higher, note the louvre grills on the engine housings and the door hinges and lock, the riveting is well... riveting in the pure detail of it all. Externally the Seneca V isn't that much different than the Seneca ll 200T which had the Lycoming O-360 E series 210 hp (157 kW) at 2800 rpm, as this V version has the Continental IO-360RB which is almost the same name but a different engine which produces 220 hp (164 kW) at 2600 rpm and that is the significant difference as the engine housings are very different on the Seneca ll as shown below. You do feel the evolution of time though between the 70's Seneca ll and the current Seneca V, small things but the V does feel far more modern as the windshield is now one piece and not the two separate panes with a central bar, and the nose is not quite as pointed. It is only around 144kms to Ballina Airport from Coolangatta and so you get there very quickly if by the scenic coastal route. Takeoff and cruise around 170knts is quite comfortable in the V, but landing is a bit more tricky and in comparing the Seneca ll it is very much the same deal. I found my joystick a bit notchy, so small inputs are the go. But the real focus is on the throttle for landing. Stall speed is noted as 61knts (113 km/h, 70 mph), but you have to be aware that it comes in with a crash or a very sudden loss of lift. So 90knts - 80knts is the lowest fail safe zone on approach with full flap, less than that and you are falling quickly and using 100knts until full flap is a good idea as well. And so you have to hunt the throttle to keep the aircraft airborne and find that right speed to let the aircraft down at a slowish rate, get it wrong in the flare and you will bang down on the runway with a crash, it took a few landings to perfect the approach and flare (using the pitch slightly (up and stall) is a good trick for controlling the last of the descent). Menus Standard Carenado menus apply here, with the usual three tabs on the lower left in C, O and A. C is Carenado or really "Views" with "Field of View" and two sound adjustments. O is for "Options" including opening Co-Pilot door, Passenger door, Luggage door and front baggage compartment door. I like the detail in the front compartment, really well done as if there is a little space to put your bags. Static elements are in the 'hardly worth the effort" zone with two cones and a few pitot covers and flags, You see the differences here on the older Seneca ll with a lot more on show including the excellent baggage. Other selections here include the scroll visualization choice, window and instrument reflections and the choice of changing the liveries without going to the main X-Plane menu. Our passengers delivered and it is time to return to Coolangatta. If you are still sitting on the fence on if X-Plane11 will deliver, then enlarge the images below and look at the detail, as a new era of realism has now been born. Cockpit and Cabin Carenado's new Garmin G500 navigation system dominates the panel, and a very nice installation it is as well and I personally like it better than the bigger display G1000. Backup instruments are to the left and lower with a OBS direction pointer and twin sets of engine dials are excellent, with a high switchable information panel above. Equipment upper panel includes a Garmin 347 audio panel, a S-Tec Autopilot, Two GNS 430 GPS units. Lower panel are an old Bendix-King KR87 ADF and a Garmin GTX 327 Transponder/Time unit. There is a very nice if basic pedestal unit and rudder pedals with under panel alcoves are highly detailed. Roof mounted Lighting and Electrical switchgear is well done but very fussy to use on the lights with three way switches. Nice blue lighting looks cool but ineffective. Looking hard at the pedestal you notice there are no trim wheels attached? They are both mounted deep between the front seats, beautifully done, but awkward to use... A pop-up screen would help here. Cabin is leather luxury, quality detailing is "want to touch" real, you are amazed that this sort of detailing could get better, and it does... look at the really small detail like seatbelt webbing, clasps and the leather seating folds and it is beyond good. Fold out table is in Veneer. Rear luggage bay is empty but very well presented, and the window blinds work. To see the differences and period changes let us look at the Seneca ll. The Seneca ll panel is padded and filled with dials and switchgear 70's style compared to the clean modern look of the V. The cabin in here feels daggy and used, and you can almost smell that old aircraft worn tired aroma and want to remove those tired crappy curtains. G500 I am not a big fan of the push button Menu style modern instruments. I find I am more head down looking through pages of menus than setting the instrument to the action of what I require. That said I like the G500 as it does the setting adjustment better than the G1000 units. The unit has two screens with the Artificial Horizon and Heading rose with Speed and Altitude tapes and bank guide on the left screen, and the Navigation display on the right screen. The G500 also pops out for ease of use. Most of these Gamin units use the left hand knob to change settings, but on the G500 it is easier to use because the main items in HDG (heading), CRS (course), ALT (Altitude), V/S (Vertical Speed) and BARO (barometer) are buttons down the left hand side of the display. And so making the adjustment easy as selecting the item you want and then adjusting it with the lower knob. Sometimes you wonder if that new ideas are really better than the old ones as this system works very well compared to fiddling with the G1000 menus. There is the ADF 1/ADF2 and VOR1/VOR2 pointers that is selectable from the menu. They are both extremely thin and I am not sure if effective in this need to look down and gather information quickly mode, but they are at least available. Navigation display is very good, but the zoom is not very close for local airport flying, zoom out and you get those unused blank tiles showing and it is still slow and jerky when turning quickly. The DCLTR (declutter) is good and you can also bring up a compass rose on the moving aircraft on the map to help with directional headings. A note in that to use the Carenado G500 or the G1000 units you have to download a separate data folder that is deposited in your main X-Plane root folder, it is a hefty download at 870mb that expands to 3.63gb when unzipped and installed. Autopilot The Seneca V uses the S-Tec (now Genesys) Fifty Five X Autopilot. The system is well intergrated into the aircraft's systems, with a centre panel main unit and above the G500 is a situation display and the unit pops-out from the "A" menu tab. It works well. Only note is that you have deselect ALT to move higher or lower and then reselect ALT when you have reached the required altitude. One slight annoyance is that the AP switch is right over on the Co-Pilots side? I can use a joystick buton to turn off or on, but a stretch if you don't have that setup and actually finding the switch? A nice feature is a six position selectable information panel that gives you details on: TEMP, FUEL, INST (engine read out), ELEC, TIME/DATE and %PWR (Engine power outputs). the panel will pop-out for ease of use. Arrival at YBCG Passing over Terranora and a sighting of the coast means we are back on the Coast or the Goldie as is is sometimes called. Like on the Seneca ll those huge engines spoil the view and make looking down quite hard, there is only a small area between the panel and the window frame that you can use. I fall into the circuit over the water that gives you a hard left to hard left and along the beach to YBCG's RWY 14. You aim at the Currumbin Highrises on the beach but the bigger boys in the Jets use the Burleigh Heads Highrises further north for the same job and at only a 1000ft to get the approach right. Tugun Hill and Tugun below makes this approach exciting, you come in low and fast over the forever complaining residents, flaps are three stage and don't give you that nasty lift feel if you get down around 100knts. Tugun Hill makes you give a slight steep slope angle into YBCG, but as noted earlier I found I took a lot of runway before settling the Seneca V easily and far and right down past the usual touchdown zone, but you need to be as slight as you can to get that flare and wheel touch right and perfect. Ground View Back on the GA line and you can admire the aircraft's (and Carenado's) wonderful design work. Bad panel and glass gaps are now non-existent, we are simply now getting brilliant design, and X-Plane11's lighting effects brings us closer to perfect reality. Power off and the excellent reflections on the displays are highlighted. Lighting Internal lighting is very good with lots of great spot lighting in the rear. The rear spot switches are hard to find as they are low and facing the passenger on a panel, and not on the roof in the usual position. There is a very strong spotlight over the Co-Pilot's door, that helps in boarding... Panel lighting looks good and is adjustable, but the blue roof switch lights are not very effective. It doesn't help in that the switchgear is three way awkward, with "off" in the middle hard to find? And the landing lighting (outboard) can be made to flash. External lighting is good but not brilliant. Taxi light is quite weak, and so are the outboard landing lights. Liveries One blank (white) and four American with two Brazilian liveries are provided, but well done but not much choice and nothing really special here. Seneca ll A few notes on the original Carenado Seneca ll that is also available. For its age in X-Plane (it was the very first Twin I reviewed) the old girl scrubs up very well in X-Plane11, it is a nice companion to the more modern V and has that clockwork panel and a great side electrical/starter panel. The only visual note is the forward gear doors don't close. But before you send off a nasty telegram to Carenado it is not actually a Carenado issue but a Laminar Research X-Plane11 bug issue and all early Carenado's are affected as is my beloved A33F. So a fix should come soon as X-Plane11 heads towards final. Summary Nice, Nice, nice. There is a lot to like here if you love Twins as the Seneca is one of the all time great and successful Twin-Engined aircraft of the world. You are probably bored by now at the accolades thrown at Carenado, but give credit due here as the detailing is just so good and so well done and it shows how far we have moved on since the earlier Seneca ll in that level of sheer design. It is with those HD quality textures (4096 x 4096) in size with 422 pixels / meter texture deep and that is detail, that is a lot of detail. It is a thoroughly more modern aircraft to fly as well with the well intergrated G500 unit, and from the user angle wise I think is better than the more menu focused G1000. The ADF/VOR pointers are a bit on the very thin side, and they have gotten all the earlier gremlins now worked out, so it is a now nice bit of kit. Great Autopilot and Information panel features this aircraft is a sub 1000nm distance hauler. It is slightly tricky to land, and has great sounds (a little too quiet in the cockpit though) but overall it one of the best Twins out there. The Seneca V also flies well in X-Plane11, as I saw no issues and thoroughly enjoyed myself flying in our new realm, so it is certainly XP11 ready. The Seneca V is a General Aviation Classic, and you can now own one (if a brilliant simulated version) of this aircraft, quality and thorough design is also part of the deal, so it is a very nice addition to your X-Plane hangar. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the PA-34 Seneca V HD Series by Carenado is NOW available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : PA-34 Seneca V HD Series Price is US$32.95 Note: If you purchased the first release 1.0 version then redownload from Carenado to v1.1, as a few details have now been upgraded. The original Seneca ll Is also available here at the X-Plane.OrgStore: Piper PA-34 Seneca II Price is US$27.95 Seneca V Special Features Carenado G500 compatible with X-Plane GNS430 (included) Optimized for XP10.5x - X-Plane 64 bit required All-new sound architecture Volumetric side view prop effect Features Carenado G500 GPS Terrain Awareness map mode Different declutter levels Advance menus and cursor with scroll wheel, click/hold or /drag Crisp, vector-based water data Pop-up windows can be resized and moved around the screen Pristine scroll wheel support FPS-friendly terrain map Original Seneca V autopilot installed HD quality textures (4096 x 4096) 422 pixels / meter textures 3D gauges Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft 3D stereo effects, such as outside sounds entering open windows. Customizable panel for controlling window transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and turbine inlet/exhaust covers. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by real pilots. Realistic 3D night lights effects on panel and cockpit. ______________________________________________________________________ Requirements : Windows 7+ (64 bit) or MAC OS 10.8 (or higher) or Linux - 64bit Operating System X-Plane 10 fully updated (any edition) - 64bit mode 3 GHz processor - 8GB RAM - 1Gb+ VRAM - 2Gb VRAM Recommended Windows users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed. CARENADO G1000 database must be installed Current Version: 1.1 (last updated Feb 5th 2017) ______________________________________________________________________ Installation : Download is 392mb which is unzipped to your X-Plane folder at 478.00mb. Documentation : includes Carenado G500 PDF PA34 Emergency Checklist PDF Normal Procedures PDF Performance Tables PDF PA34 Quick Reference PDF Recommended Settings PDF Aircraft checklists are provided, but no overall aircraft manual. ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 8th February 2017 Copyright©X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews 2017 Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 11beta9 / Checked install in X-Plane10.51 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini : Headshake by SimCoders Plugins: Environment Engine by xEnviro US$69.90 : WorldTraffic US$29.95 Sceneries: - YBCG : Gold Coast International v1.0 by tdg (X-Plane.Org) - Free - YBNA - Ballina - VOZ Australian Scenery by Barry (Bazza) Roberts (X-Plane.Org) - Free
  18. News! - Aircraft Released! : PA34 Seneca V HD Series by Carenado Very quickly into 2017 Carenado have released their first offering of the year in the PA34 Seneca V with built in G500 instrument pack. Of course the first question is "Does it fly in X-Plane11" the answer is yes it does, but remember to date X-Plane11 is still a beta (b5) so if a few things don't gel then when X-Plane11 goes stable then things should settle down, but basically it is still stable enough to purchase for use in X-Plane11. Features Carenado G500 Terrain Awareness map mode Different declutter levels Advance menus and cursor with scroll wheel, click/hold or /drag Crisp, vector-based water data Pop-up windows can be resized and moved around the screen Pristine scroll wheel support FPS-friendly terrain map Original Seneca V autopilot installed HD quality textures (4096 x 4096) 422 pixels / meter textures 3D gauges Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft 3D stereo effects, such as outside sounds entering open windows. Customizable panel for controlling window transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and turbine inlet/exhaust covers. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by real pilots. Realistic 3D night lights effects on panel and cockpit. Highlight of course is the Garmin G500 gps system, but if you want it, the default GNS430 is available as well. To use the G500 you are required to download the Carenado data pack "G1000 Database) and install in the X-Plane root folder to allow the system to work. Included in the package 6 HD liveries. 1 HD Blank livery Carenado G500 PDF PA34 Emergency Checklist PDF PA34 Normal Procedures PDF PA34 Performance Tables PDF PA34 Quick Reference PDF Recommended Settings PDF Interior quality is up to the usual Carenado high standard... in other words, simply brilliant. Technical Requirements Windows Vista - 7 (64 bits) or MAC OS 10.10 (or higher) or Linux X-Plane10.50 (or higher) 64 bits requiered 2.5 GHz processor - 16GB RAM - 1GB VRAM 480MB available hard disk space Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed. The PA34 Seneca V is available right now from Carenado... ______________________________________________________________________ The PA34 Seneca V HD Series by Carenado is NOW available! here : PA34 Seneca V HD series Price is US$32.95 Images & Text are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 7th January 2017 Copyright©X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  19. News! - Carenado 2016 Sales Now On! - 50% off! The 2016 Carenado sale is now on until the 18th December or for just 10 Days. 50% off all listed aircraft is a brilliant deal, including the excellent B200 King Air HD for US$17.48!, The PC 12 HD for US$17.48!, B1900 HD for US$17.48 and even the 208B Caravan for a crazy US$14.98.... yes just US$14.98! And my top ten favorite aircraft in X-Plane in the Bonanza F33A is only US$13.48! crazy, crazy, stuff ... Go Now! Go to the -> X-Plane.OrgStore for all these great deals Stephen Dutton 9th December 2016 Copyright©X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  20. Aircraft Plugin Review : Reality Expansion Pack (REP) for Carenado B58 Baron SimCoders have released their latest REP or Reality Expansion Pack for Carenado's B58 Baron general aviation aircraft. This expansion pack covers many areas including the aircraft's flight dynamics, more onboard systems and failures, extra tools including maintenance hangar, a kneeboard, the weight & balance and an extensive walkaround, sounds are also more highly advanced. Carenado B58 Baron Before we cover the REP package, let us familiar ourselves with the original Carenado B58 Baron. The aircraft was released now in Nov, 2012 and that is four years ago to date. That is not to say the aircraft is old or out of date, in fact it is the opposite in the fact with the many updates and revisions the current v3.0 release is a pretty solid aircraft now with very few if any bugs or quirks. Admittedly it is a fairly basic aircraft, and has few real special effects. But that is to the good as the aircraft is brilliant and simple to fly, and a great starter for anyone who wants to learn to fly a good solid twin-engined aircraft, as for being a very good twin training aircraft I can't think of any better aircraft to use. The B58 Baron still looks and feels great as well, the lines are clean and unfussy, and it is quite fast at 205 knots (380 km/h, 236 mph) at sea level, with a Cruise speed of around 190-180 knots. Cockpit and panel is fairly basic, but again great for a first time user or if you just want a no fuss fly to somewhere. Most instruments are oriented for the pilot and the right seat is really just for casual flying. Switchgear is set out all together behind the pilot's yoke, not a lot of adjustment here like with the panel lighting (on/off) but still very comprehensive in detail. centre pedestal has all you need but nothing more in the standard throttle, propeller (feather) and rich/lean mixture levers and trim wheels. Equipment stack is dominated by two Garmin GNS 430's GPS. Both pop out for ease of use. Standard issue Garmin 347 audio panel is top with the KFC225 Bendix King autopilot below (then the two Garmin's) with a Garmin GTX 327 transponder centre and finally lower a KR87 TSO ADF unit. Cabin Cabin seating is arranged in a four seat club layout with a folding out table (very nice). Cabin detailing and (spot) lighting is excellent, and as this is an early Carenado, you still get the baggage items behind the seats and in the forward baggage compartment. Only two pop-out menus with the standard Carenado "Cameras" panel and the lower "options" panel, both are basic and there is no "autopilot" pop out that you usually get with current Carenado's. Liveries There is one blank (white) livery and four graphic liveries with the aircraft SimCoders Reality Expansion Pack (REP) for Carenado B58 Baron So the Carenado B58 Baron makes a very good basic platform to add on a REP package. These Reality Expansion Packs are created to extend many areas of the aircraft's flight dynamics and systems and to improve on the already very good layouts from Carenado. Installing the REP Installing the REP package is really quite easy, as in the download package you get just one folder named "REP" and that folder is installed in the aircraft's plugin folder (just drop the whole folder in) and that is it, very easy and done quickly. I do recommend to have two complete versions of the Carenado B58 Baron, the standard one and one I labeled "Carenado B58 Baron REP" because you never know if you just want the basic version to just simply fly, as we shall see. When you start up the REP version of the B58 Baron you are asked for a key (provided) and the authorisation page is on the X-Plane "plugins" menu under "SimCoders.Com - REP" The drop down menu also gives you a "settings" panel to: Enable the plane damages Show Failure messages Enable Mouse gestures Save and restore aircraft staus between (flying) sessions Enable hypoxia effect use imperial or metric units With the REP package installed you also get a five tab menu on the left side of your screen. These tabs cover: Kneeboard - Walkaround - Tow - Maintenance Hangar - Weight & Balance Kneeboard First upper tab is the kneeboard or checklist feature. pop-up Kneeboard is very good and covers Normal Operations, Emergency Procedures and References (v Speeds). The kneeboard is very handy and comprehensive, but annoying as well because it constantly pops up for no reason if you press items on the panel or touch other things releated or not to the feature. Walkaround Second tab is the walkaround feature. Walkaround features are now very common in X-Plane, but this was one of the first and it is still very good. You press to check and go around the aircraft in a clockwise motion... ... It is more involing than most as many items are animated like your Ailerons, flaps, elevator and rudder. You press the centre button to check (animate) with sound all the flying surfaces, it is comprehensive and very good. You can hide/add external elements like tie-downs, chocks and engine covers... ... but the walkaround goes a lot further than that as you can also check tire wear, Oil Quantity, fuel Quantity and even the water contamination within your fuel tanks, it is as note a very comprehensive check of the aircraft. Tow You can manoeuvre the aircraft around with the third tab tow feature You need to turn off the brakes, then use your joystick with up-down for forward/reverse and left-right for left turn/right turn. Maintenance Hangar The fourth tab is the Maintenance Hangar feature that allows you to check wear and tear on the aircraft and if required then perform Maintenance to fix or rectify the issues. First two tabs relate to the two engines and their general wear and tear. As I have not done too much flying yet, the settings are still mostly as new, but you need to keep a eye on the items on this panel as you use the aircraft or suffer the consequences. There are two options on the "Engine Tools" tab. One is the "Winterization Kit" that puts two cowl fairings in the engine inlets, but watch your temperatures to not over heat the engine if you move to higher temperatures. Second is another winter tool in that you can pre-heat the engines with a (noisy) heater provided outside the aircraft. Last two items on the maintenance hangar panel is the Maintenance for both "Electrical/Electronics" and "Landing Gear/Brakes". Also note that many items on this maintenance panel are also noted on the walkaround feature and vice-versa, and all items in the maintenance panel to be changed/fixed can also only be done with the engines switched off and you have to be on the ground. Weight & Balance Another item that was rare but now common on X-Plane aircraft is the "Weight & Balance" panel. The SimCoder's version is very good with a "Centre of Gravity" graph to show you your balance and weight on the aircraft. All weights including pilots and passengers can be inputted along with their baggage. Fuel can be added or emptied, and you get C.G. predictions with estimated flying time. A total summary of all weights is shown bottom left. You can then apply all weights and fuel input to the aircraft. (note just check you do have actual fuel on board before you fly, as most times the aircraft is shown empty and not half-full as usual by X-Plane standards. Flying the SimCoder's B58 Baron Although the Carenado version is of very high quality, you do have say another complete step of features by using this expansion package. SimCoder's have made sure you get the best possible real life experience that you can get with the REP package, but one feature that I can't simply surmount every time I use the REP is just starting the engines? Yes I understand that old aviation piston engines are cranky things, just like old cars can be. But the time and effort required here to start the engines can be a bit daunting... worse here as you have two cranky engines to start and not just one? There was the point that just simply cranking over the engine with no go can go past the point of just leaving the REP package and just going back to standard Carenado aircraft to just go and fly. I have the REP package on the excellent Carenado Bonanza F33A and although I loved the added realism of the REP package, the starting feature continued to beat me and maybe I should have persisted more than returning to the standard Carenado version. Worse here than the single-engined Bonanza is my add-on Saitek throttle works both the right and left engines at the same time. SimCoders do provide hints, but they don't seem to work well for me, the starting window is sometimes just toooo tight in making it believable and accessing the rest of the package. In the most cases when they do start it is in just sheer luck or persistence, and with no constant patterns to follow, you just start churning again when you come back to restart the engines? If they flood your sunk... No doubt this is all very authentic, and I don't say that SimCoders have not done a brilliant job in recreating a perfect feel for this environment, but a slight helper or reset would make all the difference to this sequence of the simulation. If they do actually start I do love the adjustments to warm up the engines, no doubt this is highly realistic, and you can't fly until the engines are actually ready to go and all the needles are showing all the correct numbers and temperatures. You have to find the right RPM or otherwise the engines will growl at you (or at the worst conk out!), too fast and you are running too fast and too slow is the death zone. But you find the right setting by leaning the engines and adjusting the throttles, certainly a split throttle system is a real bonus with this REP here. We could never criticise Carenado's packaged sounds, but SimCoder's have certainly added a lot to the variety and depth of the sounds, certainly in the range in the engines. You now go from engine clicks and stutters, to and excellent start sounds, to the many varied sounds in the lower lean and idle throttle zones. To a point these sounds are important for you to guess the condition of the engines and the correct lever adjustments make the correct feedback including the horror "stutters" and misfiring fouled plugs... It is all very well done for realism if not for the stress it can also cause to your already fragile heart. Fine details like propeller sync can also effect the torque of the engines and you have to use it realistically here and switching on is under 25% RPM, if not you get a warning. As you adjust the engine RPM (locked together here under the single throttle control) there is a noticeable difference between each engine in performance. Certainly these differences will expand more as wear and tear with more hours of flying take their effect, and any maintenance performed is noticeable on the sounds and gauges as well. Excellent extra sounds continue in the air. Wind sounds and landing gear activation and wind noises all add into the effects of realism, but the cruise engine drone is an acquired taste, and you lose a little of the those lovely 3d surround sounds that come with the Carenado version. SimCoder's advise to use their excellent "Headshake" plugin and I would certainly second that, in fact I always use headshake as it is a very good effect plugin on all aircraft... take it away and you certainly see and feel the difference, so it is a must have in X-Plane. Systems in oil and electrical are highlighted as well and you can have oil pump failures and realistic vapour lock. SimCoder's have tuned the Baron for more realistic stall speeds & behavior, correct climb speeds and more realistic cruise speeds, the aircraft does feel significantly different. I flew the standard Baron down from KLAL to KRSW Florida and with the REP version doing the return trip, and yes the aircraft is a marked contrast from the original in all aspects of the flight model, certainly you notice the engine behavior is very different machine from the more highlighted sounds and gauges. Summary The start point with the standard Carenado version (which you have to already have to use this REP package) is certainly an excellent base line, as it is a great simple twin-engined aircraft that is sweet and easy to fly. So the extensive intergration of the Reality Expansion Pack (REP) does feel and add in a huge difference and experience to that base model design. And extensive it certainly is... the package covers a huge amount of detail, but mostly it concentrates on the feel, running and realism of running those two IO-550 engines. You work hard in this cockpit just working the levers to get the right outcome of keeping those two cranky engines flyable and in a good workable condition, and that certainly expands out the experience of using and flying your own B58 Baron aircraft and in the end that is the ultimate goal of these packages in realistically replicating the ownership of a certain type of aircraft. Negatives... for one mastering the start and operation of the engines is one of the biggest challenges you face, most owners of these REP packages will have easily done so, so don't fret it can't be done, but do expect to find that an early learning curve. The constantly popping-up kneeboard is seriously annoying, as it come on the screen at important points in your flying, like taking off or landing, and yes it is a distraction you don't need unless called for, and the drone sounds are for a particular ear. But I did really like the ultimate realism of running the aircraft and maintaining those engines, this is of course no load in X-Plane and fly aircraft, as the walkaround has to be completed and the engines when started need time to warm up and settle down (just like the real thing). Maintenance needs to be completed and this is an aircraft that would require a log book and running details noted down, but then that is what the REP is all about, ultimate realism of running your own General Aviation aircraft... and in that scenario you get the full works here. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the SimCoders Reality Expansion Pack (REP) for Carenado B58 Baron is available from the X-Plane.Org Store here : Reality Expansion Pack for Carenado B58 Baron Price is US$19.99 Required for the use of this plugin! B58 Baron by Carenado: Carenado B58 Baron Price is US$29.95 REP Plugin Features Include: Ultra Realistic Flight & Ground Dynamics Realistic stall speeds & behavior Realistic climb speeds Realistic cruise speeds Realistic Weight & Balance Realistic taxi behavior Complex Damages System Triggered by the pilot actions Based on real world data Target every system in the aircraft Meant to teach you how to correctly manage an airplane Realistic IO-550-c Engine Simulation Realistic propeller animations as never seen before on X-Plane Realistic differencies between the engines Different throttle/propeller/mixture setting required for each engine Different CHTs and oil temperatures Realistic engines synchronization Custom propeller governor Correct fuel consuption Cowl Flaps Drag Oil System: Realistic oil viscosity Interchangeable oil type Oil pump failures Realistic oil filter Injection Fuel System: Realistic fuel pump behavior Realistic fuel filter Interchangeable spark plugs: default or fine-wire Spark plugs fouling Realistic Lean of Peak and Rich of Peak operations Starter Realistic startup procedure Realistic engine temperatures Vapor Lock Simulation Fuel Flooding simulation The engine parts are damaged if not managed correctly Engine Preheater and Winterization Kit The engine may be warmed up upn start with the provided electrical heater Once activated, the electrical heater runs even when you close the simulator A winterization kit let the airplane to operate at very cold temperatures Realistic Landing Gear The landing gear is damaged by hard landings and overspeed operations The brakes and tires are damaged if not managed correctly Electrical & Avionics System Realistic Battery The avionics are damaged if on when the engine starts/shuts down Learn with the in-flight tips A non invasive tip with a suggestion about the conduct of the flight is shown when you are not flying the airplane properly A non invasive tip with a suggestion on how to recover the problem is shown when you damage the airplane Simulation of Hypoxia Tunnel Vision Hard Breathing Stunning sounds Realistic engine clicks and stutters Realistic engine humming sounds when the engines are not synchronized Real starter sound Fuselage wind sound Landing gear wind Independent touch down sounds Real avionics sound Realistic open window wind sound Interactive Walkaround Cockpit checks Aileron, rudder, elevator and flaps check Tire check and choks removal Tie-down removal Pitot tube check Engine cowl check Fuel quantity check Oil quantity and quality check Interactive towing Push, pull and steer using the joystick Towbar simulation Weight & Balance Tool Load the airplane and check the C.G. and weight limits at takeoff and landing The airplane behavior changes when the C.G. moves Popup Kneeboard Complete normal operations checklist Complete emergency operations checklist Complete reference tables (speed, fuel consumption etc.) May be shown/hidden with mouse gestures Simulation state saving Every single switch and lever position is restored when you reload the aircraft The battery may discharge if you leave it on and then close X-Plane When X-Plane is launched, the engine and oil temperature are restored basing on the time passed Maintenance Hangar Engine maintenance tab Electrical systems maintenance tab Oxygen system tab Landing gear, brakes & tires tab ______________________________________________________________________ Requirements : X-Plane 10.50+ (any edition) The B58 Baron by Carenado is required for this add-on. It will not work on other aircraft Current version: 2.61 (last updated Nov 22, 2016) ______________________________________________________________________ Installation : Download is 5.80 mb which is unzipped and inserted to the Carenado B58 Baron "Plugins" folder. Key authorisation is required. Documentation : includes Manual.pdf README_INSTALLATION.txt REP-b58-checklists-references.pdf ______________________________________________________________________ Plugin Review by Stephen Dutton 30th November 2016 Copyright©2016: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 10 Global v10.50 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Headshake by SimCoders (free)
  21. Quick Flight Review : AeroCommander Shrike 500s by Carenado I am doing a quick flight in the new AeroCommander by Carenado to sample the aircraft and get a feel for it. This is the second AeroCommader in a month with another version by Nimbus that was released in September, like Hollywood movies aircraft in X-Plane do come in twos. This is not a direct comparison, because in reality that is not fair to either developer. The Carenado version is more expensive and comes from the very highly regarded studios that has one of the best track records in X-Plane for extremely high quality and the sheer functionality of their aircraft. A new aircraft developer would be put in the David and Goliath position in comparison. But I will make a few notes in the summary. In reality this AeroCommander from Carenado has been a long time coming to X-Plane as the FS version has been available for quite a few years, but here it now is, and it was certainly worth the wait. The quality of the modeling is excellent, but this "Shrike" version which was basically just a company name change more than a distinctive version, and was related all the Piston-engined versions that were manufactured after 1967. This Shrike however is one dirtied down worn out stunner. The throaty engine sounds hit you as soon as you put up the throttles, and the aircraft was so stable that only a few hundred feet above the runway I could already do a nice curved turn and head north. There is plenty of power and the rate of climb is 1,340 ft/min, but you feel you can easily do more than that, but I will be kind to the old bird. Powered by two Lycoming IO-540-E1B5 air-cooled flat six piston engines developing 290 hp (216 kW) each, the aircraft looks heavy and you expect it to be heavy, but actually it is quite nice and even really easy to fly. First view of the cabin is... its buggered!, old, dirty, worn, tired and even rusty! Thank god we don't have smell-o-rama in X-Plane because this is one aircraft that would stink! But you love it all because it is all so real. There is an animated foldout table that seems to have come off better than its surroundings, this is a great cabin. Panel is quite basic, but the instruments are so beautifully detailed and nicely lit. Engine dials put the two engines on one gauge. But there just really the standard six instruments, a clock and adf pointer on the pilot's side, missing is a VOR 2 pointer which still has the lower readout of speed and distance, but no pointer is hard for distance or state traveling and lining up airports and runways. The Co-Pilot has to with only three dials in airspeed, artificial horizon and altitude. Note the worn tired control column (removable) as both are beautifully done, and the carpets are so threadbare. I like the way the yoke covered control links are done across the floor, small thing but realistic. Centre pedestal is extremely well rendered and built. The sets of twin throttles, propeller pitch/feather and mixture levers are a treat to use and more so to look at. Lower are two Alt Air levers that are well crafted. There is a Garmin GNS530 GPS unit, that pops-out, Bendix-King KR87 ADF unit and two Collins Comm and VOR/NAV 2 radios. The overhead panel is really two units, with one the lower switch strip panel for lighting and start switches, and the upper panel is for the excellent chunky rudder and elevator wheels (Pitch is on the pedestal). The splash panel lighting is very good, but can be over bright and you need to find the right adjustment. Two spot lights are switchable. There is a very basic Century lll Autopilot system. The panel pops out for ease of use, which is handy because the panel is in two parts with one the selection dial that is positioned far right panel and the main switches are upper left panel. Ease of use is the game here... roll switch and knob to turn, heading, altitude (hold) and pitch with adjuster wheel. Very easy and very effective. The Century lll is noted as an original installation in all AeroCommanders. Lighting Internal lighting is excellent. As noted you have to balance the front overhead panel lights to get the best feel, but you also have two spots for each of the pilot and co-pilot, and four spots over each seat in the cabin... feeling inside at night is of comfort and warmth. The cabin looks brilliant from the external view as well... Beacon, Nav and strobe lights are good. There is no taxi light, but only two drop down landing lights, but they are very good to use as the taxi light. Flap drag is brutal! So you have to know your correct speed zone to let out on the step down, but in the final flap setting the speed can then be a touch over 60knts and the aircraft transforms itself into a stable slow platform to land the Shrike pretty right on the money of wherever you want too. The Commander is so good in this condition as your approach speed is so low and controllable... love it. Gear animation and the view from the cabin is brilliant. No reverse pitch thrust, but who cares as the speed is just a little faster than running.... Menus There is the standard three Carenado menu tabs on the left lower part of your screen. A ) is the Century lll Autopilot B ) Carenado Views, including Field of View and Sound volume C ) Options, including Window Reflections, Instrument Reflections, great static elements including tags, bollards and engine inlet covers, Small baggage door, Pilots door and passenger door. Close up the detailing is really excellent on the Commander, but it is a bit of a squeeze for the passengers to get into the cabin under the wing. Note the excellent undercarriage construction, up close it is mind-bending good, the stowage animation is very good as well and you get a front seat view from any of the seats in the cabin on the replay as seen above. Liveries Liveries include one blank white, three American registered, one Canadian and two Australian in a nice private and customs versions. Summary Pretty hard to fault this excellent AeroCommander, if X-Plane users had to wait a little longer then the wait was certainly worth it. It covers almost every area with ease from the sheer quality including shiny fuselage and spinners, to the grubby interior and wear and tear. Sounds are perfect as well and in 3d, and it has a nice throaty roar that isn't as whiny as a lot of Carenado's can be. features are good and plentiful and so is the lighting, and as a handling aircraft it is easy but with great feel at the same time. Autopilot is simple to use and effective. Only a few negatives in no VOR 2 pointer, which I feel is important on these types of aircraft, and the manipulators are doubled-up and can be tricky to use and messy if you need to change something quickly. This is only one quick flight and a few impressions, but it passes the "I really love it" statement with ease, so can you compare this Carenado version with the Nimbus one? Well for one they are very different and prices are different as well, the Nimbus gives you great value at US$27.95, but the Carenado is cheap at US$32.95, were I would have expected it to be in the US$35.00 range easily for what you get here, so this AeroCommander is a great deal as well. If you love these commuter aircraft then the AeroCommander Shrike 500S needs to be in your hanger, it is a really lovely aircraft, a new favorite aircraft of mine... yes indeed it goes straight to the top of the list. ______________________________________________________________________ Yes! the AeroCommander Shrike 500s by Carenado is NOW available from the new X-Plane.Org Store here : AeroCommander 500S SHRIKE HD Series Price is US$32.95 Features Include: Original 500S Aero Commander autopilot installed New and improved multi-function scroll support Volumetric side view prop effect. Default X-Plane GNS530. HD quality textures (4096 x 4096) 350 pixels / meter textures Custom audio plugins with extra effects for added realism 3D gauges Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft Customizable panel for controlling window transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and turbine inlet/exhaust covers. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by real pilots. Realistic 3D night lights effects on panel and cockpit. Individual passenger 3D reading lights and numerous HDR lighting effects. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization ______________________________________________________________________ Requirements : X-Plane10.0 + (any edition) - 64bit mode Windows 7+ (64 bit) or MAC OS 10.8 (or higher) or Linux - 64bit Operating System 3 GHz processor - 8GB RAM - 1Gb+ VRAM - 2Gb VRAM Recommended Windows users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed. Current version: 1.0 (last updated Oct 24th 2016) ______________________________________________________________________ Installation : Download is 501.70 mb which is unzipped to your X-Plane Fighter folder at 544.00mb. Key authorisation is required. Documentation : includes 500S Emergency Checklist PDF - 500S Normal Checklist PDF 500S Performance Tables - 500S Reference PDF 500S Autopilot Operation PDF - Recommended Settings PD ______________________________________________________________________ Quick Flight Review by Stephen Dutton 25th October 2016 Copyright©2016: X-Plane Reviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 10 Global v10.50 Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Plugins: Headshake by SimCoders (free)
  22. News! - Aircraft Released! : Aero Commander 500S Shrike HD Series by Carenado I the space of a month we now have another Aero Commander with Nimbus's version and now this "Shrike" version is by Carenado. So what is the "Shrike" version. Basically it is just a company name change more than a distinctive version, and was all the Piston-engined versions that were manufactured after 1967. Features Original 500S Aero Commander autopilot installed Default X-Plane GNS530 installed HD quality textures (4096 x 4096) 350 pixels / meter textures Custom audio plugins with extra effects for added realism 3D gauges Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft Customizable panel for controlling window transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and turbine inlet/exhaust covers. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by real pilots. Realistic 3D night lights effects on panel and cockpit. Individual passenger 3D reading lights and numerous HDR lighting effects. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization. This is a Carenado, which the name alone signifies quality and that high design craftmanship that we have come to expect, you are not going to be disappointed here with this Commander either. Included in the package is: 6 HD liveries 1 HD Blank livery 500S Emergency Checklist PDF 500S Normal Checklist PDF 500S Performance Tables 500S Reference PDF 500S Autopilot Operation PDF Recommended Settings PDF Lush interior helps with the visual experience, but overall this a working utility and transport aircraft. Technical Requirements Windows Vista - 7 - 10 or MAC OS 10.8 (or higher) or Linux Only for X-Plane10.40 64 bits or higher 2.5 GHz processor - 8GB RAM - 1GB VRAM 490MB available hard disk space For WINDOWS users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed. ______________________________________________________________________ The Aero Commander 500S Shrike HD Series by Carenado is NOW available! here : Aero Commander 500S Shrike HD Series Price is US$32.95 Images & Text are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 20th October 2016 Copyright©X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
  23. Aircraft Review - PA31 Navajo HD Series from Carenado I am flying directly west from Brisbane, Queensland towards the great dividing ranges that protects the coastal areas from the red dirt interior of Australia. My transport is the latest from Carenado in the PA-31 Navajo. A small Twin-Engined cargo or 5 to 7 passenger feeder aircraft from the late sixties. The dividing range is not very high, more a line on a beach than the tall high mountains like the Rockies or the Alps. So six thousand feet is more than high enough to clear them easily. But you feel comforted up here, cocooned in your own world, it is a smoothed out world that is created by the billowing clouds around you. The PA-31 purrs along with those two 310 hp (231 kW) Lycoming TIO-540-A turbocharged engines in their "tiger shark" cowlings which are pulling you effortlessly through the air at just under 200knts. The Navajo's cockpit is a nice place to be, no glass or G1000 thingamajig's here, just dials and gauges like in the olden days. I have a reason to be going west out here, well two actually. One is a group of investors on board that want to... well invest money. The other is my destination, in an interesting airport called Wellcamp Airport. Wellcamp Airport has an interesting history, it is 145km west of Brisbane and is just situated 15km outside of Toowoomba on the Darling Downs. The airport is brand new, venture more than a service by a wealthy family in the Wagners that made a fortune in construction products, quarries and concreting. Toowoomba already has an airport, but mostly in a regional domestic capacity and the Wagner's wanted a bigger one, Toowoomba Council said "no" and so they built their own, a huge one right in the middle of nowhere really and called it Brisbane West!... cheeky buggers. Point is no one today build's their own airports on this scale, is it a brave statement on the future or a folly of rich people doing things because other people see more sense in the idea than they do. The great thing of going around government bureaucracy and 100 million dollars is that things can get done very quickly in the way that construction was started in April 2013, and everything was completed by October 2014 with the first regular Qantas service being on the 17th November 2014 in connecting with Sydney Airport. And here is Wellcamp on my starboard wing thanks to fhvanhal and his excellent "YBWW Brisbane West Wellcamp" scenery (link is at the bottom of the review). YBWW Wellcamp is hard to find and line up to the 12/30 single runway in this open landscape, so you have to do a little homework before you leave. But the runway once found is huge... a mammoth 2870 m long by 45 m wide, and easily capable of handling aircraft to Boeing 747 size. The airport is rated at Code E, and has already been visited by a Cathay Pacific B748F freighter. To save an eon of time taxiing I floated a little down the runway before settling down and taxiing to the modern terminal area to unload my greedy investors. I have wait a while before taking them back to Brisbane, so let us have a look at the Navajo. Like a bewitched teenager it was lust at first sight with the Navajo. A beautiful aircraft created out of the smaller PA-31 Twin Comanche and an early relative of the PA-31-350 Chieftain, PA-31T1 Cheyenne and the PA-31P-350 Mojave. The aircraft first flew on the 30th September 1964 and deliveries started in March 1967, production by Piper ran till 1984 and altogether 3942 Navajo's were built... and many if most are still flying. You would think that design and high quality construction had peaked a few years ago on Carenado aircraft, but they just keep on pushing the boundaries higher with every release. Highlights are many, but those propeller spinners are excellent, engine internals peak out of the tiger shark cowlings above and below the wing through the air vents. Tie-downs, antennas and all sorts of fuselage detailing is very good. Engine vents and wing light assembly is sublime as is the small metal airflow lip on the wing/engine join. All screws and riveting is par-excellence and note the one and only wiper for the pilot. Undercarriage assemblies are almost perfection, and they all come with great realistic animation when moving. Note the great glass work in the landing taxi lights (wing light is excellent as well) and all the glass work and reflections on the fuselage. You can almost touch the realism of the paintwork.... it is all so good... great. Menus Carenado provide you with three tabbed menus on the left lower screen. A ) is for the pop-up Autopilot panel. B ) Is the standard Carenado views, Field of View and Volume panel. And C ) is the Options panel. Options gives you Window and Instrument reflections, passenger, luggage and nose door animations. Static elements finally you can change the livery on the bottom of the panel. All are certainly great options. but we don't have the old Carenado features of luggage in the front compartment and in the large rear cargo area, and you really miss them here as the areas feel very empty. Static elements are odd as well. You can have your wheel chocks but only with the aircraft hand puller on the nose? What if you just want to chock the aircraft until you fly again. No engine inlet or tags either but you do get wing cones. We will look at pop-up autopilot when we are flying again. Cabin Quality cabin is luxury defined. Four seats in a club layout with spot overhead lighting. The rear cargo entrance area does feel a little large and empty with the cargo door open as well, so overall you feel you are missing a few seats or one on the right rear... Lovely wooden paneling behind the pilots gives the aircraft an expensive feel, overall the internal fit-out is excellent with excellent leather and deep wool pile carpets. Cockpit Power off and the panel looks dark but highly detailed, instrument reflections are superb. Overhead is a molded roof with set in switchgear and three dials. Power on and the whole feel and character of the cockpit changes. Two high panel set red down-lights cast a colourful glow over the instruments. On the roof the two fuel gauges are angled lit as is the amp gauge internally. Highlights are the two over-head blue lighting units with one in the cockpit and one over the entrance door. The bulbs are internally beautifully recreated and when switched on they both cast a blue glow over each area. Panel and Instruments The instrument layout on the Navajo is a little haphazard and can be confusing if you swap over piloting positions. Yes both stations have the standard six layout instruments. but even these are not set out in the same order in both areas. Airspeed Indicator and the Attitude Indicator are both in the same position top left and right with the Turn Coordinator and Vertical Speed Indicators set directly below. But the Artificial Horizon and Heading Dials are different instruments with the pilot's set centre of the panel and the co-pilot's set more correctly in the standard six layout. The co-pilots Artificial Horizon is adjustable but the pilot's is not. The pilot's Heading Dial has a built in Course Deviation Bar (CDI) and can be set to the course angle and heading change knob. but the co-pilot's only has a rotary heading adjustment. And that is the commonality between the panels. On the pilot's side there are also instruments for radar height, localizer indicator and ADF pointer. There is a very nice EDM 760 digital readout and an analogue clock. On the co-pilot's panel besides the standard six you get only one instrument in the VOR/ADF pointers. Very nice but in the wrong place for me as I use the VOR/ADF pointers a lot for airport or runway alignment, and being right over the other side of the aircraft's panel for me makes it useless... unless I fly in the right hand seat. The rest of the right side panel are gauges for pressures in gyro, fuel, oil and cylinder head/oil temperatures. Oxygen supply is set out below. Centre panel has at the top a very nice set of annunciators and below are four dials that covers both engines, Manifold Pressure, RPM, EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) and engine fuel flow. Equipment stack is very good. Standard issue Garmin 347 audio panel is top left with the X-Plane Garmin GN350 GPS system below. Then there are a set of three Bendix/King units in one KR87 TSO ADF unit that is hard to adjust, and two KR 64 VOR/DME speed and range sets. Right stack includes a Bendix/King KX 165 TSO Comm/Nav (VOR2) tuner and a Garmin GTX 320 transponder. The weather radar is a Bendix/King and comes with a manual that notes you can adjust the range and radar angle, but I couldn't do any adjustments accept to turn it on, test and adjust the brightness. Lower panel switchgear is minimal except for the landing gear lever and position display as most switchgear items are on the roof. The wiper switch is great with a three way action in park (which is actually intermittent) slow and fast. Side panels are excellent with nice fuse panels, there is (Goodrich) Prop-Ice amp gauge that works when you turn on the de-icing... a nice touch. Centre pedestal is excellent. All twin-engine levers are well done as are the three trim wheels and knob, all have great position marks that are easily noted. Built in Autopilot is mostly use with the pop-up, but the pedestal panel is not too hard to use either if you want to. The "Cowl Flap" switches are low down (one each under the engines), but the position indicators are great to use The roof rocker switchgear is great. Upper panel has, ground fan, seat and no smoking switches. left panel has lighting switches and right panel has pitot/windshield heating and anti-ice switches with the main Amp gauge central. Lower left are four magneto switches and engine left/right starter switch. Lower right are two left/right fuel pump switches and the Hobbs meter. Center lower are the two fuel tank gauges and four rotary knobs for the panel and overhead lighting. A note is that at night the switch gear is mostly not illuminated and can be hard to use, the in built X-Plane torch feature is the only way to use them... Flying the Navajo My investors are back and so it is time to load them up and head back to Brissy... Sorry Brisbane. Putting the mixture levers right forward and hitting the start switch does not fire up the engine? You have to give each engine a little bit of throttle (each engine separately) before it will catch and fire and only when they have a bit of heat in them can you back them down to idle and the volumetric side view prop effect3 feature is visible as well. Open the small window and the engine noise powers into the cabin. Carenado sounds are really first rate and Carenado have done a completely new sound architecture on the PA-31, it as 360º movement will give you a dynamic range and totally realistic sound, internally and externally, and they are noted as HQ digital stereo sounds that are recorded directly from the real Navajo... they sound about right. The Navajo idle taxiing speed is great to perfect as well, a little extra throttle to get you moving and then back to idle will give you the right speed. It is bye, bye Wellcamp and fhvanhal has certainly done a great job. There is a few far too many animated vehicles though, and enough police cars to fill out the Blues Brothers movie, but otherwise it is excellent scenery. The sound change from idle to full power is very, very good, but save (your best takeoff) and do a replay of your takeoff roll and watch the excellent undercarriage animation flexibility, it does show on how far X-Plane in sheer detail has really come... watch the wheel struts as they absorb the bumps on the runway and as the aircraft gains its lift with the airflow, just amazing. Those Lycoming TIO-540-A 310 hp (231 kW) engines are really powerful and you need to bring them in gradually and smoothly, building more and more speed with the slow forward throttle movement, rotation is around 110knts and the climb rate is officially 1,445 ft/min, you can easily keep it around 1,200 ft/min as you climb away and hold speed. Turn coordination is great, you bank with ease and with total control... this is a nice aircraft to fly manually. Which way do I go to Brissy? "Oh the pointers are over there right on the other side of the panel!" Two notes though. The Navajo can be a bit of a handful even in a bit of a crosswind and more so on the runway on taking off or landing, so you have to have your wit's about you if you are above a blowing 5knts. Another was I had a few flicks of the aircraft flickering quickly, I am running for the first time here 10.50 in the RC2 setting, so It could be that, but I don't get these flicks with other aircraft in the same settings and the weather is set at calm? Range for this Navajo is 1,011nmi (1,875 km (1,165 mi)) and the ceiling is a mighty 26,300 ft (8,015 m). Top speed is 227 knts (420 km/h (260 mph)) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m) and the Cruise speed is around 207 knts (383 km/h (238 mph)) with an econ cruise is best at 20,000 ft (6,100 m). Here I was just under the standard 200knt zone at 7,000ft and it felt quite right. Note those lovely spinners!, look great in flight. In the air you get a great look at those under engine vents, note the detailed internals. The drop down blinds have built in light reflection that looks authentic with the roof lighting... nice touch. The sight of Moreton Bay and lots of water means I am over Brissy. So a heading north over Mt Cootha (those television station antenna's are seen from all over the city) is required as I am using the smaller regional cross runway of 16/32 at YBBN. You have to release the ALT (Altitude) hold before you can descend, I tried to hit the DN button for ages (idiot) before I caught on. A final turn over Redcliffe set me up for the approach to RWY16. I found the flaps were best to control the final descent speed into the final approach, as this aircraft can go in too fast unless you do. You can easily fly over the boundary line at 100kts, but your speed aim is more 85kts for a more controlled landing, stall speed is 63kts so you don't have too much room for error. That landing speed is crucial as you don't have any reverse thrust, so slowing down requires a bit of space before touching the brakes. And like noted the PA-31 can be twitchy with a bit of wind from any direction. As my investors piled into a waiting limo for the ride back to the city, I gave myself a little bit of a smile... as I was certainly the one who got the best deal of the day... The Navajo! Lighting Lighting is controlled by those four knobs on the roof panel and the two blue (one cockpit and one left over the door in the cabin) overhead units. Highly adjustable (for a GA) you can easily find the nice environment for night flying. Overhead Switchgear however is as noted hard to find in the dark... I found a sweet spot for landing in using the overhead blue lighting and a little glow from the instruments to be perfect. Cabin has four individual seat spot lights... very nice. But you need them all out and just the over door blue light on for landing or for taking off in the dark. Externally you have a landing and taxi light on the front wheel strut, and a wing light on the starboard side. The navigation lights and both strobe and position lights (both selectable) and the position lights work very well in the approach and on the ground. The high tail beacon just stays on all the time, and the white spinners do glow a little in the dark? The lighting spread on approach or on the ground is very good... Liveries One blank and six liveries are provided... One mustard with yellow, red and black stripes, then five white base liveries with Blue Stripes, Blue/Gold, Red and Stripes, Blue/Gold Stripes and Green Stripes. All are 4k HD high-quality (4096 x 4096) 350 pixel / meter texture liveries... Summary I can easily be bias here with the Carenado PA-31 Navajo, as it easily went straight on to my active flight-line along side of my beloved Bonanza F33A, Caravan C208B, Beech B1900D and CT206H Stationair, and that is against an already stiff competition in the twin-engined category with the C404 Titan coming to mind... and it is cheaper as well, only mostly by US$2.50 but still cheaper. So I quickly loved the aircraft, and it is totally great from the start... but it is not completely absolutely perfect. The most glaring omission is there are no rain or fog effects? These are staple Carenado features now, and the PA-31 would be great with that single wiper thrashing through a storm filled night searching for a runway. The other things are purely cosmetic, the empty spaces could be filled with another Carenado staple in luggage and it does feel a bit too empty at the rear. No tiger shark" cowling covers or tags? And is the weather radar correct and is the manual wrong, or vice-versa and I will just have to fly that right seat to find my way home with the placement of the VOR and ADF pointers (there is a ADF on the left side panel but not together to line up a runway). The Navajo is tricky to fly in winds, but the power and lovely flying feel is excellent, in quality it is above and beyond in detail and it is another if slight step towards to total nirvana. Sounds are very good as well. So the Carenado PA-31 Navajo ticks every box, in almost every area that you would want... even the value for money one. It is that good, even great and certainly a far, far better investment than an airport west of Toowoomba in the middle of nowhere. _____________________________________________________________________________________ The PA31 Navajo HD Series from Carenado is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : PA-31 Navajo HD Series Your Price: $32.95 Special Features All-new sound architecture Volumetric side view prop effect3 X-Plane G530 installed Features Original Navajo autopilot installed Default X-Plane GNS530 installed HD quality textures (4096 x 4096) 350 pixels / meter textures Custom audio plugins with extra effects for added realism 3D gauges Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft Customizable panel for controlling window transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and turbine inlet/exhaust covers. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by real pilots. Realistic 3D night lights effects on panel and cockpit. Individual passenger 3D reading lights and numerous HDR lighting effects. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization. Requirements: Windows 7+ (64 bit) or MAC OS 10.8 (or higher) or Linux - 64bit Operating System X-Plane10.40 + (any edition) - 64bit mode 3 GHz processor - 8GB RAM - 1Gb+ VRAM - 2Gb VRAM Recommended Windows users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed. Current version: 1.1 (last updated June 24th 2016) _____________________________________________________________________________________ Installation and documents: Download for the PA31 Navajo HD Series is 394mb and the unzipped file is deposited in the "General Aviation" X-Plane folder at 440.60mb. Key authorisation and a restart is required. There is Normal and Emergency procedures (checklists), excellent sets of performance tables and weather radar manual. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Review by Stephen Dutton 26th August 2016 Copyright©2016: X-PlaneReviews Review System Specifications: Computer System: Windows - Intel Core i7 6700K CPU 4.00GHz / 64bit - 16 Gb single 1067 Mhz DDR4 2133 - GeForce GTX 980/SSE2 - Samsung Evo 512gb SSD Software: - Windows 10 - X-Plane 10 Global ver 10.45 and also used in X-Plane v10.50RC Addons: Saitek x52 Pro system Joystick and Throttle : Sound - Bose Soundlink Mini Scenery or Aircraft - YBWW - Brisbane West Wellcamp 1.1 By fhvanhal (X-Plane.Org) - Free - YBBN - Brisbane Airport 1.0 by tgd - (X-Plane.Org) - Free
  24. News! - Aircraft Update : G1000 system update by Carenado/Alabeo Now you may have to make your coffee before you load up a Carenado/Alabeo aircraft. New complex systems are always going to have issues and none more than FMC/GPS systems. Carenado's very ambitious G1000 was a case in point. Early versions were a "go and make a cup off coffee" while it loaded and the system was not very efficient, certainly in the MAP view and programming the routes was a bit heavy going. Things looked up with the TBM850 as that G1000 version was a real step forward, but not completely perfect... Now Carenado has released a full update of a completely revised G1000 system with version 3.3, and the aircraft affected are: CARENADO CT182T Skylane G1000 X-Plane CT206H Stationair G1000 Extension Pack X-Plane SR22 GTSx X-Plane TBM850 X-Plane ALABEO DA42 Twin Star X-Plane Changes are really significant as noted by Carenado below, I haven't had a chance to run an aircraft yet, but will do so over the next few days. Changelog is: -Almost instantaneous database load time (compared to 40-50 seconds before) -Database is now handled in a separate binary plugin, separating it from other logic in the plane. -Back-end is now more similar to how the default GNS430/530 handle the database. -Compatible with Navigraph updates to the GNS430 Custom Data waypoint and navaid files. -Numerous optimizations to minimize FPS hit during certain conditions -Improved file compatibility with file plans generated in 3rd party apps -Smoother/snappier navigation and data entry -Increased stability and improved initialization logic (especially from cold and dark) -Better handling of ambiguous locations for waypoints with duplicate names, both when entering a flight plan and when loading an .fms flight plan from file. -Higher resolution moving map -Numerous minor fixes (wind indicator, GS, engine indicators, visual glitches in applicable planes) -Improved "Core" vs. "Custom" G1000 architecture, keeping all core functions of the G1000 more similar and unified across multiple aircraft. Carenado - Alabeo Support is on the X-Plane.Org: Carenado - Alabeo Support ______________________________________________________________________ All G1000 suite aircraft are available from the X-Plane.OrgStore here: Carenado : X-Plane.OrgStore If you have already purchased any of the above Carenado/Alabeo G1000 suite aircraft then go to your X-Plane.OrgStore account, log in, and download ver 3.3, check under the "Requirements" tab if the aircraft is the updated version and it should be noted like this "Current version: 3.3 (last updated July 26th, 2016)"... If Purchased from the Carenado Store then to update then go to: Carenado.com The Carenado G1000 Database must be installed in the main root X-Plane folder to use the G1000 suite. ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton 3rd August 2016 Copyright©X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews 2016
  25. News! - Aircraft Release! - PA31 Navajo HD Series from Carenado Sneeze and there is another aircraft released from Carenado or Alabeo... Great stuff and keep them coming. This is the excellent twin-engined PA31 Navajo. The Navajo is a scaled-up Piper Twin Comanche to seat two crew and five to seven passengers, with a range of 1,011 nmi (1,875 km). Features Include: Original Navajo autopilot installed Default X-Plane GNS530 installed HD quality textures (4096 x 4096) 350 pixels / meter textures Custom audio plugins with extra effects for added realism 3D gauges Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft Customizable panel for controlling window transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and turbine inlet/exhaust covers. Realistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by real pilots. Realistic 3D night lights effects on panel and cockpit. Individual passenger 3D reading lights and numerous HDR lighting effects. Dynamic loading/unloading of 3D parts and plugin logic for FPS optimization. Note the Navajo is a standard instrument package aircraft with the GNS530 and not a G1000 fitted panel. Included in the package is: 6 HD liveries 1 HD Blank livery PA31 Performance Tables PA31 Reference PDF Weather Radar PDF Recommended Settings PDF Technical Requirements Windows Vista - 7 -10 or MAC OS 10.8 (or higher) or Linux Only for X-Plane10.40 64 bits or higher 2.5 GHz processor - 8GB RAM - 1GB VRAM 440MB available hard disk space For WINDOWS users: Please ensure that you have all the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables downloaded and installed. INTERNET CONNECTION is required for installing this product. ______________________________________________________________________ The PA31 Navajo HD Series by Carenado is NOW available! from the X-Plane.Org Store here : PA31 Navajo HD Series Price is US$32.95 The PA31 Navajo HD Series from Carenado is also available from Carenado: Images & Text are courtesy of Carenado© Developer site : Carenado.com ______________________________________________________________________ Stephen Dutton Update: 27th June 2016 Copyright©X-Plane Reviews: X-PlaneReviews
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