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Review: Carenado C172SP Skyhawk X-Plane 11Reviewed by Shawn Weigelt /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_5.jpgIntroduction"Just what X-Plane needs, another Cessna 172," I sarcasticallythought as I read Carenado's December 4th Facebook announcement thatthey were working on a Cessna 172. What can I say...I like variety inthe flight simulation industry and learning that Carenado was onlyadding to the seemingly saturated Cessna 172 market was a bit of aturnoff to me. Currently, X-Plane 11 sim pilots are blessed with anabundance of excellent 172's to include the well received "studylevel" offering from developer Airfoillabs. The default, Laminar172SP is a visually excellent rendition of the ubiquitous Skyhawk witha decent flight model to boot. For sim pilots desiring an extraamount of realism, there is an available Reality Expansion Pack by theSimcoders development team as an enhancement for the Laminarmodel. The cynical side of me obviously questioned the logic of Carenadoadding yet another 172 to the already crowded stable. My initialimpressions of the visual fidelity of the model were positive, butthat should come as no surprise considering that Carenado, for years,has led the flight simulation industry in the production of visuallystunning aircraft. Still, with an airplane as well known as theCessna 172, and with so many X-Plane users familiar with the flightcharacteristics of the real thing, I was doubtful the flight model ofthe Carenado 172SP would live up to expectations. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_37.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_10.jpgSocial media comments following the development of the model variedgreatly, with some individuals sharing my sentiments in theirlamentations of yet another 172. Others were supportive of Carenado'sdecision to release a 172, while yet others only made requests fortheir own personal favorite airplane to be developed next. Tryingdesperately not to allow the opinions (and complaints) of others swaymy own impressions, I followed the development of the aircraftclosely, with interest and an open mind. There was no doubt it lookedamazing (can a 172 look amazing?), and I tried my very best to beoptimistic about the flight model. The implementation of Laminar'snative G1000 avionics suite, rather than Carenado's own version, wasparticularly intriguing to me and made me all the more excited to getmy hands on it. Having extensively tested the newly released Carenado C172SP, Ifeel prepared to give the X-Plane 11 community and our FlightSim.Comreadership my opinions and advice surrounding this arguablycontroversial file. Is this newcomer simply "eye candy" that isdoomed for failure amid a crowded 172 marketplace, or is this the nextgreat Cessna Skyhawk ready to supplant all the others within your ownvirtual hangar? Let's find out! /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_9.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_12.jpgExterior ModelAs is typical of my airplane reviews, let's start with the exteriorof the aircraft. Once the file was installed within X-Plane 11.30, Ibegan my 360-degree "walk around" of the Carenado Cessna 172SP. Tosay that I was "wowed" with the visual fidelity of the airplane wouldbe a gross understatement. Everything looked spot on accurate whencompared with photos of its real world counterpart. Carenado includedstatic objects around the airplane when it is loaded into the simunder "cold and dark" conditions. These objects include cones nearthe wingtips, remove before flight flags, engine cowl plugs, and abeautifully modeled tug affixed to the nose wheel. These areinstantly removed with a simple mouse toggle found within the superhandy tabbed "O" (options) menu that Carenado and Alabeo fans havecome to appreciate. The bump mapping and PBR texture work on the exterior of the 172SPare some of the best I've ever seen from a Carenado model (or anyflight simulation model, for that matter). Every ridge and rivet seemto visually "pop" lending a tremendous amount of immersion to thefile. This looks just like a real airplane made of steel andaluminum, an illusion that not every development team is able to dovery well. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_13.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_38.jpgIncluded with the Carenado C172SP are five high quality liveries -all of which possess American N-number registrations. As an Americanmyself, I don't really mind this. However, customers in other localesmay find themselves feeling left out. All of the liveries have beenskillfully applied and look very authentic. Some of them may notexactly match the model year window that this C172SP appears to beportrayed as, (and as the GFC 700 autopilot equipped instrument panelsuggests) but that's not a huge deal to me and, I assume, most simpilots. My personal favorite livery is N33QM, an accuraterepresentation of a 2008 model year aircraft with maroon and goldstriping. Interior ModelMoving into the interior of Carenado's C172SP elicited another"wow" from me as I surveyed the masterfully recreated cockpit aninstrument panel. No other general aviation development team in theindustry can consistently make the interior of aircraft look thisgood, and this realistic. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_16.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_17.jpgI will not insult the intelligence of our readers by listing theamount of detail and texture quality of every nook and cranny of themodel. I have read these types of reviews too many times and havebeen guilty of writing a few of these myself over the years. You cansee the screen shots and see for yourselves that the modeling andtexturing here is almost perfectly executed. You don't need me tobore you by tediously explaining how good it looks. The bottom lineis that the interior model holds up extremely well to scrutiny and thelight amounts of wear leads plausibility that this is representationof a fairly new aircraft and not a tired old relic of the 70's or80's. Areas that would be glossy on the real aircraft (like the yokes)look glossy on the model. Areas that would be more matte in texture(like the leather seats or plastic molding) look convincingly matte inthe model. It has been my experience that few developers are able toachieve this level of realism. The contrary is far too often the casewith all interior textures having that fake "clay-like" appearance asthough everything in the airplane were constructed of the samematerial. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_18.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_19.jpgAll of the writing within the aircraft, whether on placards orprinted on the instrument panel, are razor sharp and legible, evenwhen zoomed away from them. Night lighting is superb, as always, andthe reflective glow of the G1000 screens is even visible on thebacksides of the yokes. One of my favorite touches of detail within the cockpit is seen onthe reflections of the Rosen sunvisors, which convincingly move as youangle them. The amount of quality modeling and texturing work that has goneinto this aircraft further convinces me of Carenado's position nearthe "top of the heap" in the flight simulation industry with regardsto visual fidelity. The interior of their Cessna 172SP is simplypicture perfect. User InterfaceI have already briefly mentioned the tabbed menus featured withinevery current Carenado and Alabeo aircraft, but I thought it would behelpful to explain how they operate within the context of thisparticular aircraft. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_40.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_20.jpgThe "C" or "Camera/Volume" tabbed menu expands when clicked on andenables rapid selection of interior and exterior camera angles as wellas aircraft specific volume control. I found the G1000 PFD and G1000MFD camera angles to be particularly helpful when it comes toutilizing the complex avionics of the G1000 system. The "O" or "Options" tabbed menu expands when clicked on andenables the rapid on/off toggling of frame-rate-saving window andinstrument reflections that customers with lower speed systems willappreciate. The ability to quickly open and close doors, add andremove wheel fairings, and change liveries "on the fly" areparticularly helpful features found on Carenado aircraft, the C172SPnotwithstanding. AudioIt is no secret that Carenado produces visually stunning aircraft,but their reputation for audio fidelity is almost as good. I was notsurprised in the least at how much I enjoyed listening to all thesound files packed within their latest release, the Cessna 172SP. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_21.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_22.jpgSwitches produce an authentic sounding metallic "click." Thewhine of the battery "spooling up," is particularly cool sounding andsmile inducing. Having sat in the right seat of plenty of 172's inyears spent flying with my dad, I can attest that the sound of thesimulated Lycoming IO-360 roaring to life sounds extremely realisticwith this file. The volumetric sounds are extremely convincing hereand lend a great deal of immersion to the file. I love that turningone's virtual head or opening or closing the windows and doors changethe nature of the engine sound, just as it would in the real airplane. If I had to fault the audio fidelity in any way on the CarenadoCessna 172SP, it would be that the timing of the engine/prop soundsdon't quite match up with what I am manipulating in the cockpit duringthe start up and shut down phases. Also, opening the windows producesno sound, something I also noticed in my review of Carenado's Cessna340. These issues may be fixed with a later patch of the file or theymight not. Regardless, this is more a personal gripe of mine andcertainly not a deal breaker or a reason to not purchase theaircraft. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_23.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_25.jpgFlight ModelI feel as though I must preface this section of my review byqualifying that I am not a real world pilot and, as such, my opinionsof the flight model of this file should be viewed in that context. AsI have mentioned in the past, I grew up flying in Cessna 172's with myfather, a private pilot, but the most "flying" I do these days is donefrom the comfort of my home office. I will give my opinions of theaccuracy of the flight model and the systems within the scope of my"right seat" experience in the real thing, my experience flying inX-Plane, and the excellent included performance tables for Carenado'sCessna 172SP. The first thing that stuck out to me with regards to the flightmodel was that keeping the airplane tracking straight down thecenterline during the takeoff roll was much easier than expected.Whether this is a change implemented with the latest update to X-Planefrom Laminar, or something specific to the Carenado aircraft I cannotsay. What I will mention is that the usually required liberalapplication of right rudder with throttle to the firewall was simplynot needed. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_26.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_27.jpgUnder default weight and balance settings, the aircraft obedientlyleft the ground at my home field KTIW (Tacoma Narrows) shortly afterrotating at 55 knots. Climbing out at around 75-80 knots yielded arate of climb around 800-1000 fpm. Again, I'm not sure that this is"spot on" accurate, but it felt right. The flight mechanics feltgreat and the aircraft felt fairly stable while flying the pattern andlater on when I conducted further testing, despite my old and sloppyLogitech ATTACK 3 joystick. For my first landing I flew short final with two stages of flaps (Iwas lightly loaded) at about 70 knots without having to drag it inwith power. I chopped power after crossing the threshold and after alittle float I greased it on with a slight nose up attitude. Truth betold, I probably should have held it off the ground for a full stalllanding but I wasn't used to my visual reference points in the cockpityet and didn't want to balloon and butcher my first landing. I have since conducted dozens more take offs and landings and havegotten quite good at flying Carenado's Cessna 172SP well. Like I'vementioned, it feels good, but I will leave it to the experts and realworld 172 drivers to determine just how accurate takeoff, climb out,and landing performance is. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_28.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_29.jpgI can, without a doubt, report that cruise performance of this fileis extremely accurate. I don't know about others, but I spend themost of my X-Plane time flying cross-countries from point A to pointB. Cruise performance is extremely important to me and it is always ahuge disappointment when developers fail to get the numbers close tobook value. I conducted several cruise test runs in the Carenado Cessna 172SPunder no wind, standard day conditions. I am very pleased to reportthat I was consistently seeing speeds only +/-1-2 knots off book valueat every altitude I tested. For example, the provided real worldperformance tables cite a cruise speed of 119 KTAS at 6000 feet with73% power set. This is with the engine running at 2600 RPM flowing9.9 gallons per hour. I was seeing an astonishingly accurate 120 KTASunder these power settings and the fact that I was a little lighterthan gross weight at the time probably accounted for the extra knot ofairspeed. As I have mentioned, all my other test runs producedsimilarly accurate results. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_8.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_30.jpgRemoving the wheel fairings in flight (via the "Options" menu) evenslowed the aircraft down by about 3 knots! I absolutely love thatkind of accuracy in my payware airplanes! I did some steep turns and stalls with the Carenado Cessna 172SPjust to "play around" more than anything. The only thing thatbothered me a little (from a non pilot standpoint) was that the stallhorn seemed to come on later than it probably should. This is alsoapparent when flaring to land, as it never seems to come on as it doesin the real aircraft. The Laminar Research replica of the Garmin G1000 avionics suite hasbeen implemented into this aircraft. Unless I am mistaken, this isthe first of Carenado's X-Plane 11 files to do this and not use theirown proprietary variant. From my understanding, Carenado may havebeen having bugs and frame rate problems with their native avionicspackage and decided to make use of Laminar's instead. Whatever thecase may be, performance of the G1000 was great in my experience,though, as a fan of old fashioned steam gauges, I was admittedly alittle out of my comfort zone. I find it somewhat ironic that anavionics suite designed to enhance a pilot's situational awarenessrequires that one spend so much time looking down at the screens.Still, I have spent enough time with Laminar's G1000 equipped in theX-Plane 11 default Cessna 172 to be fairly familiar with its use inthe Carenado aircraft. In fact, I found it an absolute pleasure touse unless, of course, I was clicking directly on the PFD or MFD toenlarge it. For some reason my mouse cues changed and when thescreens were enlarged and I found operating the dials and buttons tobe somewhat clunky and difficult. I had a much easier time utilizingthe G1000 by selecting the PFD or MFD camera views within the"Cameras/Volume" menu. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_32.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_33.jpgWhether or not the systems in the G1000 are accurately reproducedis something that I cannot attest to. My impression is that the G1000found in Carenado's 172SP is a good, plausible facsimile, but islikely missing some key systems found in the real world avionicspackage. Still, for more casual sim pilots like myself, it certainlyis "good enough." I was a little concerned that the combination of high definitionvisuals and glass avionics would bog down my pretty standard fareiMac. I don't exactly have a dedicated, purpose built gaming machine.I was pleasantly surprised, however, to get frame rates in the mid20's with fairly high rendering settings and cumulus overcast set.With this aircraft, it seems as though I can have my cake and eat it,too! /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_34.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_36.jpgConclusionThe Carenado Cessna 172SP is an amazing file. There...I just cameout and said it. As I mentioned in the introduction, I was a littleconcerned that it might have just been "eye candy," but I did not findthat to be the case whatsoever. I found the flight model to beextremely accurate (based on my limited experience and expertise), atleast within the cruise phase of flight. Audio and visual fidelityare, in typical Carenado fashion, outstanding. Would I call this a"study" level simulation of a Cessna 172SP? No, I would not. Simpilots craving that sort of detail from a Skyhawk should consider theAirfoillabs model or the Reality Expansion Pack for the default 172instead. Carenado's Cessna 172SP is best suited for the semi-serious/casualsim pilots of the world. You want to have the looks and the audiofidelity, but still have the kind of flight model accuracy that lendsplausibility to your flight sim experience. This file is accessibleto the casual sim pilot who doesn't want to read a 100-page manual orwatch tutorial videos on YouTube every time they want to fly around.Let's face it, if you're spending all this time and energy trying tolearn how to fly your "study level" aircraft you might as well be downat your local airport learning on the real deal. /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_6.jpg /images/reviews/c172sp/t/Carenado_C172SP_G1000_14.jpgThroughout this testing and review process I learned that yes,X-Plane 11 really does need another Cessna 172...the Carenado Cessna172SP. It is a major upgrade over the default Skyhawk, and one of thebest general aviation aircraft I've ever flown in my years of flyingin X-Plane. Currently priced at $32.95 USD over at Carenado's website, it is hard to go wrong! Shawn Weigelt Purchase Carenado - C172SP Skyhawk

/images/notams/notams19/care0108.jpgFeaturesFully VR compatibleFull PBR (Superb material shines and reflections)Updated X-Plane default G1000Specially designed engine dynamics for XP11Flight physics optimized for XP11 standardsGround handling adapted for XP11 ground physicsPhysically Based Rendering materials and textures throughoutPBR materials authored with industry-standard software used by the film and gaming industriesGoodway compatibleRealistic behavior compared to the real airplane. Realistic weight and balance. Tested by several pilots for maximum accuracy.Only for X-Plane 11. Purchase Carenado C172 SP Skyhawk G1000 For X-Plane 11 Released

/images/notams/notams18/care1205/c172-1.jpgIn a brief Facebook announcement, Carenado has revealed thatan old favorite is coming soon to X-Plane. They have announced the C172 SPSkyhawk as a new project and showed a number of pictures that indicatethat development is well along. /images/notams/notams18/care1205/c172-2.jpg /images/notams/notams18/care1205/c172-3.jpg /images/notams/notams18/care1205/c172-4.jpgSource Shop Carenado Products