Its out and it's great!!!

He has struck again! That man is a master.

Gents, this thing is ABSOLUTELY the Cats A$$. Fantastic bird. The movement of the pilots etc in the cockpits in flight is amazing. Looks very real. Also the ability to fly from the instructors position in the VC is very cool. (have to slew the VC position, but the instruments all work from back there.)I was slightly disappointed not to get a navy version with the helmeted instructor in the back...and only two liveries...bare metal civilian and a yellow Navy version. Seems like I saw screen caps somewhere of a lot more liveries? Or maybe Im confusing another pending T-34 with this one.All I can say is this is a KEEPER. Hornit...get your credit card dude.Eric

Hi,I've been looking forward to this one being released. I think Carenado makes very very nice aircraft. Nothing special included in them like with the RFP 747-200 that came with a load manager and lite version of Flight Deck Companion. Or like all the extras you get with the PMDG 737 series. In my book Carendo is pretty close, but not quite, to being on par with Eaglesoft's planes. But still, Carenado makes very nicely done stuff at prices that I wouldn't consider to be a bargain, but still ok. Anyway, it sounds yummy Eric! :9 I too will whip out my credit card and add it to my hanger. :)Cheers,Jim

Jim, this airplane isnt even in the same comparison as any of those very complex airplanes. This is a basic trainer without even VOR navigation capability. Its a great day trainer and darn fun to fly. If you're looking for very complex air operations and systems management...this isnt it. However if you want to have to get out the sectional chart to navigate by ADF navigation and stick and rudder flying, then this is a great one because its also pretty fast...145 knots easy. My kind of flying. Eric

Hi Eric,I understand you completely. I didn't know this plane doesn't even have VOR Nav though, whoa! I was just babbling with my opinion of Carenado's work compared to some other companies, on an overall basis. And sometimes I babble too much! :-lol I know the companies I mentioned make a totally different category of planes altogether. I was doing something like comparing Abacuspub to Perfect Flight. I was thinking perhaps Carenado could do something a little more. Like release a nice paint kit along with something like Flight1's Text-O-Matic, or perhaps something like FSD's Load Manager. Not a big deal at all to me though, because I really like my Carenado Cessna Centurion 210 M and Beech Bonanza V35 a lot, even without any 'extras'. Futhermore, you could say I'm a collector(in a manner of speaking, I now have a ton of payware aircraft) who enjoys flying all the different varieties of aircraft, including helicopters. If somone is looking for a very nicely done GA Aircraft I would have no qualms about recommending a Carenado plane. I just don't know that I would say they are up there with 'What is the best twin engine plane for FS2004', regardless of the fact the Carenado hasn't made any Twin GA, if you catch my drift. ;)Anyway, the T-34 Mentor looks very nice from the screenshots on their website and sounds very cool from your description. I'm sure it'll be worth it to me!Cheerio Eric, and thanks for your input!Jim

No worries mate... :-)I just had a helluva good time flying between two very familiar airports for me and shooting TNG's in this plane. 5-6 of em and back to the home base. (I live in Atlanta and the metro area has a couple of major civilian airports in KFTY Charlie Brown Airport, and KPDK Peachtree-Dekalb.) They are about 10 miles from each other as the crow flies ( :-) ) and navigating by eyeball reckoning was easy. Am going to have to get a little more involved in navigating by chart and ADF only...EJ

I fly an R/C one...................Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/77764.jpg

What are the Flight Dynamics like on this aircraft?Does it spin, slip realistically etc?I have their lovely V35 Bonanza and C210 - may go for this aircraft if the handling is FS "realistic"RegardsAdam

I'd like to know this as well...external models are great...how does it fly? Any comparison to RealAir? After buying the SF.260 I don't think I can buy another addon - it is really that perfect.

That IS a really nice RC job you've got there. I'm jealous. - Matt D.

Greetings, Eric.You're probably confusing it with the recently released Mentor from Alphasim. The Alphasim Mentor does have more liveries, but I was holding out for the Carenado version because their models tend to incorporate much greater detail. (Although the Alphasim Mentor does look pretty good compared to other Alphasim offerings.) Still, I'm glad I waited. - Matt D.

I think it flies pretty good. Very stable. Easily trimmed. Stalls at the right speeds. Better watch a deep stall turning final. Good sounds. I fly almost exclusively in VC mode, which is great. Take off and landing speeds right at the numbers. The plane will do acrobatics, but you better have enough airspeed. If you fly inverted, you can hear the engine change pitch as if "you better not be doing this too long"... :-) I dont have a feel range accuracy yet because I havent done an XC yet. I also have no idea on spins. Thats not my thing. I'd love to get a "proper test pilot" report from somebody who is more technically minded.EJ

Bought her last night and :-eek .She is GREAT. A few observations (from me at Flightsim.com):Visual Quality = WOW. The bare metal textures still leave me in awe... The dynamic shine is done to a perfect level, not blinding, but certainly not faint, representing a perfect balance.Sounds = GREAT! This aircraft sounds different. But different in a good way. No reworked Default C172 sounds here (she certainly doesn't sound like it anyways!)FM = Feels very good (I'm not a T-34 pilot but the aircraft is a dream to fly!). In addition, I cannot attest to the spin capabilities of this model since I don't do spins in FS...I am always trying to not do spins :-lol.Panel = Very nice and quite detailed.VC= GREAT. Clickable and very detailed. Also, the rear cockpit also has working gauges so it can be flown from there as well. I fly from the VC almost exclusively so this is a BIG plus for me. This VC meets AND exceeds my VC expectations...and does so with ease.Extras = WOW. For reference, check out the pilot animations, the best I have seen on ANY FS aircraft, period. Glass reflections (FINALLY). As an owner of one of the newer video cards out there (well it was new 4 hours after I bought it) the reflective glass that many of us had come to know and love in FS2002 has been drastically reduced in FS9 (not so for GF4/2 owners). Fortunately, and I don't know how, Carenado has managed to produce the PERFECT amount of glass reflection on this aircraft's canopy.I don't want to "bash" Alphasim's T-34 Series offering because I am grateful for all addon aircraft (the Lord knows I can't create them! :-lol) and all the time the creators put into making these aircraft but in terms of quality the Carenado is in a WHOLE OTHER DIMENSION. Not to mention the Carenado T-34 is only $3 more. Although, the Carenado version does not incluse the A, or C (Turboprop model), the Carenado Mentor, IMHO, is still the better choice. Don't get me wrong, I like the Alphasim T-34 a lot but after flying this one I almost feel like the Alphasim version is a drastically watered down version of this one. No offense meant to Alphasim!I can honestly say that this is probably the best GA (is it considered GA?) aircraft that I own...and I think I own just about all of them.VERY NICE WORK. The bare metal textures are simply jaw dropping. The pilot animations, which I mentioned above, are THE BEST I have seen in FS EVER.In closing, this aircraft is just plain fun to fly. No VOR navigation...ADF is the way this bird does things. A dream to handle and joy to land.Any fan of GA or single or whatever you call it :-lol would seriously be doing themselves an injustice by not purchasing this add-on.

Shane,Does it have raindrops on the virtual cockpit windows? The few addon aircraft that have it have made me hooked :)I don't know why but I love how this plane looks and am probably going to buy it regardless, but I was just curious.