Best Carenado/Alabeo aircraft

Title

Favorite, fairly recent, most bug-free, IMHO: F406 Caravan II w/GTN 750

 

Biggest downfall is the ground handling, especially in P3D, very difficult to land and brake heavily without swapping ends. I've mitigated it somewhat by altering yaw_stability and rudder_effectiveness in the aircraft.cfg. Setting up control axes via FSUIPC has also helped immensely. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad were it not for my 10 year old Logitech joystick that was worn out 8 years ago. :)

 

Pilatus PC12 is also very good especially with the "overhaul mods" available in the Avsim Carenado > PC12 forum. Faster, flies higher, but no native GTN integration so you have to put it on a pop-up (which isn't so bad since I usually pop the GTN up in the 2D window whenever I do anything with it anyway).

 

I also like the CJ2 and C90 GTX but you have to plan your flights specifically to make the avionics work (like inserting a waypoint approx where TOD should be to make VNAV work correctly, inserting a waypoint twice to fake a DTO, etc.). I like to cut developers some slack but they've slapped these buggy avionics essentially unchanged into several new releases since the debut knowing full well they don't work right. I'm not buying anymore until they cough up "Carenavigraph v2" that fixes at least some of the bugs. Beautiful models though, all of them.

Carenado have a lot of very interesting planes. I only fly Carenado's GA.

I got the 172N, 182Q, 182RG 185F( love the tundra), 206G(over 600hrs on Amphibian), F33A, B58, C340, PA-34, C337 and, for fastest flights, Citation CJ2 and Phenom 100. I'm thinking to get their SR-22 soon.

They all have their own personality, some are easier than others to fly.

There's a lot of repaints available here for them(lot of simmers like them).

And on Carenado's site, lot of patches(update) for some.

On the negative side, a friend acquired the DO-228(too big bird for me) a couple of weeks ago and, even on a good rig like mine, he had overload and OOM alert before even start the engines..! Maybe it need to be patch already !!

 

i7-4790K(16g) on Z97X(G5)/GTX970OC on Asus VK278Q/Win7 Ult(64)l on SamsungPro SSD240/FSX Gold+Accel on SamsungPro SSD120/Saitek yoke/rudder/radio-nav/multi/switch panels/Logitech G13/Track IR 5/GMap on SamsungPad

Favorite, fairly recent, most bug-free, IMHO: F406 Caravan II w/GTN 750

 

Biggest downfall is the ground handling, especially in P3D, very difficult to land and brake heavily without swapping ends. I've mitigated it somewhat by altering yaw_stability and rudder_effectiveness in the aircraft.cfg. Setting up control axes via FSUIPC has also helped immensely. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad were it not for my 10 year old Logitech joystick that was worn out 8 years ago. :)

 

Pilatus PC12 is also very good especially with the "overhaul mods" available in the Avsim Carenado > PC12 forum. Faster, flies higher, but no native GTN integration so you have to put it on a pop-up (which isn't so bad since I usually pop the GTN up in the 2D window whenever I do anything with it anyway).

 

I also like the CJ2 and C90 GTX but you have to plan your flights specifically to make the avionics work (like inserting a waypoint approx where TOD should be to make VNAV work correctly, inserting a waypoint twice to fake a DTO, etc.). I like to cut developers some slack but they've slapped these buggy avionics essentially unchanged into several new releases since the debut knowing full well they don't work right. I'm not buying anymore until they cough up "Carenavigraph v2" that fixes at least some of the bugs. Beautiful models though, all of them.

 

Pretty as a picture, all Carenado and Alabeo aircraft.

 

And the deficient flight dynamics and systems mean they should stay that way.

 

They really should just make external models for competent developers.Their production line `throw it out the door half-finished`approach would suit that to a `T`.

 

And they've never fixed the typo in every release: `Tested by real pilots` should read: "Tested by real pillocks."

Carenado Bonanza A36 just downloaded 4 days ago and can't seem to get the Com & NAV frequencies and EFD1000 to change numbers

 

COM & NAV

I can get the ???.125 last 3 to change but have tried everything to get the first 3 to change and nothing works!

 

EFD1000

Toggle to Heading but cannot get the bug to change left or right!

 

Is this just a bad plane or what?

Pretty as a picture, all Carenado and Alabeo aircraft.

 

And the deficient flight dynamics and systems mean they should stay that way.

 

They really should just make external models for competent developers.Their production line `throw it out the door half-finished`approach would suit that to a `T`.

 

And they've never fixed the typo in every release: `Tested by real pilots` should read: "Tested by real pillocks."

 

 

True.

 

Very few, and I mean VERY few, Carenado aircraft actually make the grade. Most, and I mean MOST, are major disappointments.

Carenado Bonanza A36 just downloaded 4 days ago and can't seem to get the Com & NAV frequencies and EFD1000 to change numbers

 

COM & NAV

I can get the ???.125 last 3 to change but have tried everything to get the first 3 to change and nothing works!

 

EFD1000

Toggle to Heading but cannot get the bug to change left or right!

 

Is this just a bad plane or what?

 

No it's not a bad plane. Mine works fine.

 

GNS 430: COM/NAV numbers: place the mouse over the top of the large knob and this will change the whole numbers.

EFD1000: manual is in the Carenado folder (in FSX root).

Basically click the middle of the right knob labelled Mode Sync. HDG display will change to magenta. Values can be changed with mouse if placed at top of the knob (there is a + and - indication). Click the knob again and it changes to ALT where you use the same method to change the autopilot altitude.

The left knob works in the same way to change the VOR course (a valid VOR freq needs to be entered in the GNS 430). Click again and you can change the ALTitude reference for the autopilot when airborne.

 

Hope this helps.

Thanks much...found and read the manual all works now just much different than other planes I fly

Does anyone know how to replace the crappy default GPS on the older models (like Piper Arrow) with the newer custom made 530 seen in later models like Aztec, Saratoga etc...?

I have never had a problem with Carenado/Alabeo products. I have the Carenado Cessna 185 bush and the Alabeo Cessna 172RG. The Cessna 185 is a bit outdated, but it is still nice. Cessna 172RG is just what you would expect from a $20 plane. If you like GA, thee are two must haves.

 

Ryan

 

PS: Get the Alabeo Cessna 177. It's a little bit faster.

As you ryapad, never had problems with Carenado planes. Ther'e all that I expect from

SIMULATOR models. And right again about the 185F; it's outdated and nice and, overall

it look exactly as the one I learned to fly 41years ago (except for dynamics & physics).

The same for the 206G, he look as the real one. Old generation, no gadgets, GPS, etc.

Those planes came on the market years before the invention of GPS...

When I see simmers critics (systems, GPS, etc) about old fashion models for SIMULATOR

coming from simmers living in countries 10 times smaller than mine, I'm glad they only are

"simmers".

They would get lost as their expectations for a SIMULATOR !

Does anyone know how to replace the crappy default GPS on the older models (like Piper Arrow) with the newer custom made 530 seen in later models like Aztec, Saratoga etc...?

 

Is this a VC mounted GPS or a 2D pop-up window that you'd like to change?

 

2D window should be easy, just copy the GPS window from the Saratoga's panel.cfg and paste it over the GPS window in the Arrow's panel.cfg, change the [Window00] number if necessary so it matches whatever was in the Arrow's panel.cfg originally.

 

VC mounted GPS would be a little more difficult and may not work at all if the 3D knobs don't match between one GPS and the other.