The fellows over at Carenado have been supplying some excellent examples of the Cessna 152/Piper Tomahawk and have been offering these (3 different versions of the Cessna 152 and one model of the Tomahawk) aircraft as freeware downloads; but now they have stepped up into the commercial market with their latest releases. First they made available two Piper Warrior (Cherokee) models, the PA-28-151 and the PA-28-152 (Warrior & Warrior II), then a couple of weeks later they offered the Piper Saratoga II TC.
I was one of the very first persons to jump at the chance to purchase and then download these aircraft, but I was in for a couple of surprises (negative surprises)—first of all, these aircraft are priced at $15 US each and secondly, none of them have any documentation whatsoever, not even a briefly written readme file is anywhere to be found, which I thought to be somewhat odd!
Well, that was the end of anything negative, because once I installed these aircraft (installation was a snap with the self-extracting/auto-install program, as everything just simply went to where it was suppose to go; that was of course after I had opened the downloaded zip files) I simply fell in love with these aircraft. I have a lot of real time in the small Pipers (the very first aircraft I ever landed by myself was a Piper Cherokee 140 and that was back in nineteen sixty something), so I took to these aircraft like a duck to water and I am very pleased with all three of them, particularly the Warrior II in red trim! (I just like the color scheme, that's all).
Exterior textures/aircraft design
The most striking thing about these aircraft just may well be the exterior textures, as these aircraft are so real looking as to almost defy one to find any visual flaws, anywhere. The textures (it was Mauricio Illanes at Carenado that painted these aircraft on a design model from Marcelo Cānovas; both of these gentlemen are with the Carenado Team 2001) have that "weathered" look that is not overdone, but most certainly gives a look that is typical of most small aircraft you find at your local airport. Even zooming in very close (from spot view) does not reveal any flaws in Mauricio's work! Also you can notice a very realistic sun glare visible on the windshield and on the side windows of these aircraft (most specifically with the two Warriors). Night spot views also show a lighted panel and the soft textured (yet bright) flash of the synchronized strobes. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being a color digital photograph of a real aircraft) I would score the exterior textures/design shape at about 9.8 to 9.9 for these FS aircraft or about as good as it gets!
The Panels
After viewing the extraordinary externals of these aircraft, it would be easy to be a little disappointed, once you sat down in the pilot's seat and took a look at the panel, but not with the Carenado Pipers. As good looking as these aircraft are from the spot view, the panel and cockpit views are even better, if that's possible! Though I did note some quality difference (in appearance) between the two Warriors and the Saratoga II when it came to the panel and the cockpit views. The appearance of the panel and the cockpit views with the two Warriors are simply the best that I can think of for a small single engine GA FS aircraft (though the FSD/DreamFleet 172 Skyhawk is a close second here), whether that FS aircraft be payware or freeware! Like DreamFleet, the boys at Carenado use a high resolution digital photorealistic bmp for both of these Warrior panels and also with the cockpit views, yet the impact on frame rates was negligible, as compared to the default Cessna 182S panel! I personally found the panel and the cockpit views (appearance wise) with the Saratoga II TC to be only about average or maybe less and most certainly not up to the quality of appearance as with the two Warriors.
As far as instrumentation, the two Warriors are very basic, but they're both very realistic as to a real Piper Warrior and they both contain about the average avionics that one would most likely have installed in their own (real-world) Piper. And no, just like most of their real-world counterparts, neither of these Warriors have an autopilot either! I found that these two Warriors will trim out so well that an autopilot really isn't necessary! The Saratoga's panel makes use of many default gauges and it also uses the default Cessna (182S) radio-stack, including the default autopilot as well.
Flight Dynamics
Flying these aircraft is a real joy and I know that it's typical for most reviewers to make this claim or that claim about how one aircraft (FS) feels and such—but with the Carenado Warriors they do exhibit many of the flight characteristics of their real-world counterparts, including some of their oddities as well. I personally have flown just about every single-engined model of fixed gear, low-wing aircraft that Piper has ever built and I am pretty aware of some of their quirks, like how on take-off you only need trim back a notch or two, and when you hit about 65 kts or so, they simply fly off the ground. Or how you don't really flare on landing (ground cushion from the low-wing), because if you do, the aircraft will have a tendency to float, maybe even rise slightly until you finally stall and then you'll drive the landing gear (mains) to the limit of their compression when you make contact with the runway surface. Guess what (?), these Carenado Warriors fly the same way!
Before you take off, just bump the trim back a notch or two, power up, then simply fly off the runway once you hit about 65 to 70 kts, it's as simple as that. I even tried some stall practice with the Warrior II and it was kind of strange to have this FS aircraft react exactly the same as it's real-world version. Just as you reach your stall speed, nose high, the aircraft gently drops the nose, picks up speed, and if you are still holding the yoke back, the aircraft will immediately enter a stall again. The aircraft will sort of studder-step its way to a lower altitude without going into a spin or usually without ever dropping a wing either. Push the yoke ahead, then add power, and the low-wing Piper (Warrior/Cherokee model) will simply fly away—no surprises here, as the Carenado Pipers exhibited the same characteristics! After a few minutes of practicing this, I had to remind myself that I was only flying a FS aircraft in a PC based sim and not the real thing, very cool!
As for the Saratoga II TC, here I come from a position of having never flown a real-world Saratoga, so I can't compare it to any real-world experience I've had, other than what I've experienced in a 200 hp Arrow or a 300 hp Cherokee Six, but overall I would give it an unqualified thumbs up. Just wish its panel and cockpit views were up to the standards of the Carenado Cessna's and Carenado Piper Warrior's! I do like flying the Saratoga though, it's fast and it does contain a step-up in avionics (though they're all default).
Carenado Team 2001 (design team)
Aircraft design model: Marcelo Cānovas Summary
Priced at $15 (US) each is a bit expensive and then their total lack of documentation of any kind (plus their lack of custom sounds, though the default sounds in this case are quite adequate in my opinion), prevented me from giving any of the Carenado Pipers a "5" star rating; but if flying small single-engine Pipers is something that you enjoy and you want to have the very best FS versions of the small Pipers available, then I highly recommend the Carenado Piper Warriors. I'm less enthusiastic about the Carenado Saratoga II and even though I found it to be quite good, it's lack of docs combined with its less than high quality panel/cockpit-views, all for $15 US... well, I don't think so!
To order any of these planes see the Carenado webpage.
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