I think you have to give Carenado credit where it is due.

 

The textures inside and out are their typical drop dead gorgeous. Looking at every angle this aircraft spews high quality textures applied to a well defined model. In no place could I find textures alignment or bleed-through problems.

 

I know some dislike the FDE, but doing the walk the charts with the airplane using a real world S550 Airplane Flight Manual I have to say the airplane performs very well. I caution to say a 1% FDE where I can compare numbers. Some things I have to use my experience in other airframes to make and informed opinion. SWAG wise I have to concede that this airplane seems to have the high altitude performance of a 1984 Cessna Citation. Straight climbs to FL400 were never what these airplanes where known for. Slow, shallow and steady are their hallmark.

 

Systems are a hit and miss affair. The constant mislabeling of the pressurization controller has become standard poor QC with Carenado. Avionics generally provide the correct information if in a simpler format. Some switches are just dummies. The biggest concerns are the autopilot, which was mostly fixed with SP2 (using code similar to what Bert's produced) and the FMS which is simplified. The Extension pack is another story and not what is being asked about here.  Some things are done well such as the TAWS system (still simplified but done well) while others are completely wrong such as TCAS. Considering that real world pilot training software for a single system (such as the avionics) often costs hundreds of dollars looking at a $45 package operating within an 8 year old 32 bit desktop based flight simulator, you have to expect that somethings will be simplified.

 

Many times I have been subject to what is known as the 80% solution. That is as an organization or business we don't have time to make something 100% correct for the consumer. We all want to get to 100%, but often money and time are just not available and we have to make the decisions of what is acceptable.  Looking at the S550 I'd have to say this a a fairly good job of giving up 80% look and feel of a 1984 S550 with some modernization. Sure we can banter back and forth on the 20% miss that Carenado made with this product, but overall I think you would be ashame to miss out on this product. Again I am not talking about the extension pack since it is a separate purchase.

 

This also being said I have not run into the stuttering or low frame rates that others have experienced. I have a modern CPU and GPU and that seems enough to keep Carenado's S550 humming along. YMMV.

 

 

Many times I have been subject to what is known as the 80% solution. That is as an organization or business we don't have time to make something 100% correct for the consumer. We all want to get to 100%, but often money and time are just not available and we have to make the decisions of what is acceptable.

 

The problem with the '80% solution', as you put it, is that there are developers out there that do actually push through to that 100%, or darn close.

 

However, I do stand by my opinion that with the fixes applied, and with a GTN 750 installed in place of the FMS, this is a fun, casual jet to fly.  That said, this is the first time in quite a long while that I've bought a new Carenado release, and I only made the decision to do so because I'd seen that the community had made the aircraft workable.

I'd say that if you get rid of the FMC, and put a GTN750 in the S550, it is quite a nice plane..

 

Move the autopilot to the main panel, and you have everything within sight.   B)

 

Having said that, RealAir is in a league all their own... Powering up the TDuke V2 with GTN 750 puts a smile on my face every time.  

I can't express how much I echo your words. Every single Realair plane is OUTSTANDING! Even their old FS 2004 were excellent.

 

I can only put the PMDG 737, the F1 Citation Mustang, and my beloved Lotus L-39 in that level of excellence. These aircraft are just drop dead gorgeous!

 

As for updating the S550 with the GTN 750, moving the autopilot, and adding the latest mods, I will need your help (as I always do) if I buy this plane.

 

THANK YOU SIR for your contributions to this hobby.

 

 

And right there is the reason I stopped buying FS mags, PC Pilot in my case.

 

Maybe you should start again:  just received the latest PC Pilot which has a very critical review of this aircraft ("A beautiful model with deep systems inaccuracies"), written by Chris Frishmuth who has several thousand hours in Citations.

 

Bryn

Carenado S550,got an award from a flight sim magazine review, albeit it looks like an ad instead

What a  ludicrous award. The judges apparently are satisfied with a cost of $50 dollars for a not better than default airplane. In my opinion it is the poorest value in FSX and will not get taken again. 

 

Bob

One of the on-line sites published its review. http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?15741-Review-Carenado-S550-Citation-II-HD-Series

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?15741-Review-Carenado-S550-Citation-II-HD-Series/view/1

 

Carenado's Cessna S550 Citation II is another masterful aircraft, finely rendered inside and out, with attractive liveries, realistic performance and sounds, detailed operational guidance, and useful special features.

 

The reviewer is also convinced he has 120 megabytes of "memory" in his PC, says it all really.

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?15741-Review-Carenado-S550-Citation-II-HD-Series/view/1

 

Carenado's Cessna S550 Citation II is another masterful aircraft, finely rendered inside and out, with attractive liveries, realistic performance and sounds, detailed operational guidance, and useful special features.

 

The reviewer is also convinced he has 120 megabytes of "memory" in his PC, says it all really.

 

I stopped reading at this gem:

 

 

Descending: Nothing about descending in this aircraft is difficult. It simply requires reducing power to maintain desired airspeed and vertical speed.

 

That's not a review, that's physics  :mad:

 

Well that's 5 minutes of my life I'll never get back.  I really can't stand press release reviews that are basically banal observations and marketing material.

 

 I really should stop reading FS reviews...  

 

I want a modern bizjet pretty badly, but I just can't bring myself to buy this.

 

 

I want a modern bizjet pretty badly, but I just can't bring myself to buy this.

 

A wise conclusion to reach .... :wink:

 

Disappointment can generally be had for free, no need to pay $50 for it.

I want a modern bizjet pretty badly, but I just can't bring myself to buy this.

 

The S550 is a 1970s bizjet... so this would not be the one to aim for, no matter what.  ^_^

 

The S550 is a 1970s bizjet... so this would not be the one to aim for, no matter what.  ^_^

 

I meant modern in add on terms, not age of the real thing 

And right there is the reason I stopped buying FS mags, PC Pilot in my case.

Surprisingly, PC Pilot's review of S550 was actually balanced. They got a type rated S550 pilot to review it, unfortunately for Carenado!

 

space requirements... do not allow me to fully express the totality of my disappointment with the inaccuracies that infest this add-on... a lot of advertised "real"... but in my first 5 minutes... I made a list of 26 items that weren't even close...[some] easily identifiable by even a hobbyist... inverters and AC switches having no function whatsoever... turn off a single generator and both... fail light illuminate

He did say some positive stuff about it too, it wasn't all negative.