I like the video in my prior post best for it's set-by-step explanation, but then this video, which I'd seen earlier, is a better match on the specific gauges and avionics for the Carenado PA46T. I find that watching the two videos is very helpful.

 

I have to agree with the OP. I find this plane very frustrating due to the lack of documentation and cockpit layout diagram. I think adequate documentation is critical and must be a part of any quality payware add-on. The user should not have to go outside Carenado to hunt for necessary documentation. This is my first Carenado purchase and I'm already put off on buying anything else from them. It's a shame because it's obvious a lot of effort went into modeling the PA46T.

Try this as well - there's an excellent document freely available on the Real Air Turbine Duke that might make the starting procedure on the JetProp easier to figure out. Go to their downloads page - http://www.realairsi...?page=downloads - and search for Turbine Duke and Help files. The starting procedure write-up (for what's basically the same engine) is excellent.

 

I *wish* Carenado would document their aircraft like RealAir does.

 

This is my first Carenado purchase and I'm already put off on buying anything else from them. It's a shame because it's obvious a lot of effort went into modeling the PA46T.

 

Somebody warned me off the Carenado PA46 yesterday for just that reason...poor documentation. I still want to get it at some point but I opted for the Duke for now and now have my hands happily full. :)

 

BTW, if it helps, here's a Malibu POH I found....

 

http://www.google.co...Unun4Iw&cad=rja

 

Search for "4.5b Before Starting Engine Checklist (4.11)"

Somebody warned me off the Carenado PA46 yesterday for just that reason...poor documentation. I still want to get it at some point but I opted for the Duke for now and now have my hands happily full. :)

 

Gregg, that was me, and just to be clear I did also mention that the JetProp flies really well and is a very good product - I've put a lot of hours on mine and it's actually on my short list of favorite planes. But due to the documentation issue, I wouldn't recommend it (or the C90) if you haven't flown similar IRL or the sim. As Carenado has progressed to more complex aircraft like the JetProp and the C90, their documentation has simply not kept pace. Assuming a wide audience knows something about flying a 172 and its systems is one thing, but assuming the same of a turbo-prop is a whole 'nother.

 

You need to learn to fly this sort of plane from other sources and then transfer that back to the JetProp, as there's little help in what Carenado provides. As noted in the quote from above, the Duke, with RealAir's superb documentation, is a great choice. When coupled with your Duke experience and some of the advice here in this forum, however, I would absolutely recommend the Malibu - in spite of Carenado's docs.

 

Scott

Scott,

 

So what do you recommend for a PA46, etc? I mean, when I was flying the small singles that I flew the one thing I relied upon was standard procedures that I heard word of mouth more than anything. Sometimes they're specific to the aircraft, as in manifold pressure at different places in a pattern for a C-182 or RPMs for a C172. Some are generic in terms of mini math equations for descent rates or 'squaring' your throttle and props. In terms of a PA-46 (or any of Carenado's aircraft), as a kind of minimum, you need that as guidance to get started. That's what RealAir seems to do and PMDG does in its tutorials and POHs. If someone was going to get the Malibu, how do they get there and get started?

 

(Truly, this is a conversation that Carenado should be having...amiright?)

 

EDIT: BTW, I did get the RealAir Lancair and very quickly realized that it was the absolutely **WRONG** airplane to do IMC in for me...not where my goals are heading. But the quality was absolutely stunning. So, I took a look at reviews on the Duke and picked it up on the sale. Wonderful plane!

 

Gregg

I don't know how I missed them all these years, but I've never heard of RealAir until this thread.

 

I just picked up the RealAir Duke Turbine/B60 combo (currently on sale). I am very pleased with the quality so far. Excellent documentation. This is what I expect from a commercial product.

 

Gregg, you are right... this is a discussion Carenado should be having. My guess is they aren't interested.

I don't know how I missed them all these years, but I've never heard of RealAir until this thread.

 

Heh...don't feel bad. I just found out about them two weeks ago. The Lancair is utterly amazing. It's a kit plane (so it's safety record absolutely ***STINKS***!!) but it is modeled just stunning. I thought, well, if they can do that with that airplane...maybe the Duke. I just did a couple of patterns with it. Still have to nail some things down but it's very nice.

 

Ya know? IMHO, I think we need a little area where we post our "tips" on flying different airplanes. That's how I learned to fly Cessnas and Pipers in the real world. POHs don't tell you that kind of stuff. Tips on VFR patterns, IFR approaches, things to watch out for (learned real fast not to pull back power early or flare late on the Duke), trim settings, things not to forget, stuff like that. That's how my instructors used to talk to me about aircraft I was starting out in and lots of reminders. Maybe it already exists, dunno, but something on aircraft tips...something like real world pilots get when they hop in an airplane.

 

Also, I wonder if there's a way for another sim pilot to "sit in the right seat" and help someone trying to learn a plane.

So what do you recommend for a PA46, etc?

 

Start with the PT6 basics from the Turbine Duke, and then have a look at this thread: http://forum.avsim.net/topic/359694-max-rpm-and-other-things/ , especially starting with Kurt's comments. Kurt also did terrific tutorials on flying the C90 and the Citation Mustang if you ever find yourself headed in those directions.

 

I sure understand where you're coming from, BTW. IRL I flew the usual GA mix of Pipers, Cessnas and Beechcraft, and was well familiar with the lore beyond the POH for most common GA singles and twins, so flying sim versions of these was relatively easy. For turbo-props, though, I've had no frame of reference, and it's been tougher to get up to speed while "keeping it real". These forums and links provided from them have helped.

 

BTW, I did get the RealAir Lancair and very quickly realized that it was the absolutely **WRONG** airplane to do IMC in for me...not where my goals are heading.

 

I'm curious as to why? I haven't had a chance to fly too many hours in the Lancair yet, but so far I've found it a good instrument platform once you wrap your mind around how slippery it is. I know some have alluded to the speedbrakes as "cheating", but I think they're a great tool, helping to tame the plane considerably. Of course this is not a plane you'd want to get anywhere near ice. :-)

 

Scott

I'm curious as to why? I haven't had a chance to fly too many hours in the Lancair yet, but so far I've found it a good instrument platform once you wrap your mind around how slippery it is. I know some have alluded to the speedbrakes as "cheating", but I think they're a great tool, helping to tame the plane considerably. Of course this is not a plane you'd want to get anywhere near ice. :-)

 

It does have a nice instrument package and the instrument layout is perfect. But, welllll, when I choose GA aircraft I look for fundamentals about the aircraft itself and ask myself if I would do it in real life. In this case, it's not the simulation (which is very, very good) but the actual aircraft itself. For my own personality, in real life, I wouldn't own one and if I did fly it, I would only fly this one in VFR or very brief IMC with large latitude for it's characteristics.

 

I hope it explains it.

For my own personality, in real life, I wouldn't own one and if I did fly it, I would only fly this one in VFR or very brief IMC with large latitude for it's characteristics.

 

Got it. For my part, I fell in love with the Legacy's predecessor years ago at Oshkosh. Had I ever built, this was pretty much the plane I would've built, so it's a treat to get to fly a very good simulation of it, and the avionics just cry out for some IFR flying. Would I fly it in IMC for real? I dunno - probably with experience and confidence in the build. Like you, I try to keep a strong element of "would I in real life?" in my sim flying (with just a bit of fantasy thrown in, else I'd never fly the Malibu or the Turbine Duke), but I guess the answer is enough yes in this case that I enjoy doing it.

 

Scott