Alabeo C404 Titan: Anybody take a chance on it yet?

[Les Parson 99]

Be glad the GTN 750 works. The advertised RXP 430 doesn't work at all in VC and any hope for resolution appears hopeless. 

 

I own the GTN 750 and well aware of the benefits over the dated and unsupported RXP units. Nevertheless, some of us prefer the G430 for a variety of reasons. 

 

On balance, the lack of support for advertised items (e.g. RXP) makes the aircraft - a bust. 

 

This is my first and last Alabeo purchase. I gave up on Carenado a long, long, time ago. 

 

Les Parson

[Bert Pieke 7,585]

I have uninstalled my copy as well.. too many good airplanes to fly to struggle

with this particular imperfect rendition..

[shivers9 1,174]

I have uninstalled my copy as well.. too many good airplanes to fly to struggle

with this particular imperfect rendition..

Bert...that says a lot about the Alaebo products! I don't remember you ever giving up on a release like this. I don't think that Carenado/Alaebo is ever going to produce a decent product until our community just stops supporting them. I think that AVSIM alone has like 200,000 registered members. If we all just stop doing business with them for a while then they will either figure it all out or get out of the way so that real developers can fill the void. They run their business like the soap salesman on american TV. No forums means they don't care about inputs from customers. I ask that all FSX and Prepar3D users exericise the power of the purse on these guys. It is way over due. Buying their stuff is like owning a real life Airplane and getting you parts from Dollar Store.

[stans 703]

I was excited to see a C404 for FSX, but my experience with Caranado has also been a mixed bag.  I'm glad I hesitated on buying the Alabeo C404.  If I really need to fly a twin Cessna, I still have the excellent MilViz C310 and the Flysimware C402.  I agree with Shivers9, if we stop buying products from developers who have a habit of releasing poor or buggy products, they will either close or improve their quality.

[vgbaron 3,614]

It depends on what you expect. PMDG quality from Alabeo or Carenado? I think not.

 

I think the C404 is a fun plane to fly. No, the model is not perfect but I didn't expect it to be. It looks fantastic and once you are aware of it's issues, you can fly and enjoy.

 

I suspect some people want to input their flight plan, press CTL E to start and after that let George do it - sometimes including the landing. So, the plane is not perfect but it is certainly NOT the garbage that some posters are making out.

 

I will continue to try Alabeo products and Carenado - knowing that there may be some issues - as long as they are minor to me.

 

Vic

[shivers9 1,174]

It is great if you are OK with that product. I don't use the CTL E very much and have never made an auto landing. I can not compare these guys with PMDG because I have no interest in the big birds. To me the airliners are just a big can of uncomfortable seats and poor service! LOL Yes, I am an "Old Guy" and miss the good ole days. None of this however, changes the fact that Carenado/Alaebo are still pushing trash that don't work wrapped in pretty textures. FSX/P3D are "Flight Simulators" and not "Texture Demonstrators". Supporting this low level of quality is only encourages them.

[violingineer 2]

It didnt surprise me to hear that the 404 was not that great, but that WAS because the first thing I noticed was that Carenado/Alabeo was still using the same Avidyne EX500 gauge developed from the C90 etc. This gauge is a frame rate hog, especially on terrain mode. Same for the DA42 and the Carenado derived G1000 with terrain. Why the distinction between Alabeo and Carenado anymore---Alabeo used to be the low cost/frame rate friendly version, but no more. Side note, if you want a good DA42, Iris Aviator series is awesome.

 

Now everyone has little bugs on this 404, and that combined with total lack of interest in FPS by the developer, is really turning me off to Alabeo. All the while noticing that the Saratoga TC has excellent frame rates---mainly because they stuck to less glass. However some aircraft they do pay more attention to the textures and efficiency than others!! See the PA46T with all of its glass, and yet it still has decent frames. The inconsistency with this developer drives me nuts.

 

IMO, Ant's and Baytower are the only two GA developers that got it right. I don't have the top of the line PC, but I did buy all my hardware for the sole purpose of FSX, and some planes I get consistent 60 fps (my monitors rate) with the mouse pointer out, and thats which planes I find I fly the most.

 

Also, thanks Bert for chiming in (you don't know me) but your opinion means a lot, when you said you liked the Baytower on a thread, I immediately went and bought it. Your opinion on the C404 checked the box for me on not bothering about this plane. Your knowledge and posts over the years have really been helpful. (I've lurked and lurked, and I've been playing FS since Apple II days, so I've been around.)

 

Finally, why don't more developers go back to regular gauges that can be replaced??? Just like real life, and part of the beauty of FSX was the customization. I don't like certain gauges or transponders/avionics, let me build the cockpit to my likes. Developers should make provisions for this, in whatever way they can maximize looks, function, and efficiency. 

 

Alabeo, once was distinct for its efficient and beautiful and cheaper products, but now it is just Carenado's same old low efficiency (see their TBM and latest crap bizjets on frame rate). Whats the point? Does anyone care about frames anymore??

 

 

[Jim Robinson 122]

Of all the shortcomings real or imagined I'd have to say performance is one thing they hit the mark on with the Titan, I get great frame rates and it's smooth as glass. The Avidyne thing is completely useless no doubt, I guess I sorta forgot it was even there, lol. Still secretly enjoying the Titan here, 22 hrs on the tach & counting but I promise I've hated every minute of it. :smile:

[flapsdown 45]

 

 

Still secretly enjoying the Titan here

 

Ha! As am I. For all it's shortcomings, overall, its a very back to basics type of plane that is easy to enjoy - and I also get perfectly fine FPS performance out of it - isn't funny how this varies so much from setup to setup...

[Jim Robinson 122]

I've spent my last few C404 hours hand flying patterns at my hometown airport, there's an obstruction (mountain) which means you have to turn base to final about 3/4 mile before touchdown. It's a bit challenging with the Titan because it's heavy and fast, so you really have to get the timing right. Great fun, but I'm still working on that perfect turn where you roll out exactly on rwy centerline with red over white showing on the VASI. I've seen a Gulfstream G2 make that turn and grease the landing in the RW so it should be something I can pull off in the Titan, lol.

 

Still can't see where there's anything wrong with the autopilot but it doesn't work like the autopilots in the default planes. ALT is the equivalent of Ctrl+Z which is "capture current altitude", HDG is the equivalent of Ctrl+H which is "capture current heading". Those are both different commands than ALT & HDG on the default autopilots. The alerter is just that, an alerter and nothing else so you can't set an altitude and expect it to level off there automatically, you have to capture the altitude with the ALT button when you get there. I've never flown anything with an AP in the real world so I can't say if that's realistic or not for this type of aircraft but i suspect it is. I do remember learning about autopilots that capture altitude like this in A&P school but that was 30 yrs ago. :smile:

 

I added a window, though mainly for the DME, but I put the default Bendix/King autopilot on it as well which then works the same in the 404 as it does in the Skyhawk:

 

My window if anyone's interested, I just did away with the knob info window (Shift+7) and replaced it with this new window. If you remove the two slashes before type=special the window will stay open when you switch views.

 

[Window Titles]
Window06=Default Avionics

-

-

-

-

[Window06]
BACKGROUND_COLOR=0,0,0
size_mm=348,194
position=0
visible=0
ident=10050

//type=special
windowsize_ratio=1.00
window_pos=0.0088,0.0157
window_size=0.1813,0.1796

gauge00=Bendix_King_Radio!Bendix-King Radio DME,          0,0,348,90
gauge01=Bendix_King_Radio!Bendix-King Radio AP,           0,90,348,104

 

I also have a batch file that makes a "lite" version of N9258Z reducing the exterior textures to 50%, if anyone's interested PM me and I'll get you the batch file, tools, and some instructions. To be honest I didn't see much difference in FSX with the reduced textures but it helped smooth things up a little in P3D I think.

 

Has anyone found an OAT?

[theteeboy 0]

Hmmm. Actually finding this a nice product. Hand flies well, even engine out. Lands nicely too, just a bit sticky at rotation. The AP is okay if you use the pop up - its real location is horrendous if you only use slew in the VC. I have shoehorned the RXP430 in the panel overwriting the Carabeo original - the positioning needs tweaking to get the display to fit and the buttons work, the knobs dont tie up (otherwise they cant be used) but the click points are close enough to be usable. Finding out it uses quite a lot of xml for stuff was a bonus. I have tweaked the annunciator file to get a few things working right like the alt and hyd warnings. My biggest bugbear is actually the 'EGT' gauge which bears no relation to the tooltip value - the gauge scale of 0-500 doesnt correspond to values of 1250!

And I wish they would tie those demist windows in to an FSX exit value so Accufeel could handle the wind/prop noise. Would sound so much better.

[shivers9 1,174]

I've spent my last few C404 hours hand flying patterns at my hometown airport, there's an obstruction (mountain) which means you have to turn base to final about 3/4 mile before touchdown. It's a bit challenging with the Titan because it's heavy and fast, so you really have to get the timing right. Great fun, but I'm still working on that perfect turn where you roll out exactly on rwy centerline with red over white showing on the VASI. I've seen a Gulfstream G2 make that turn and grease the landing in the RW so it should be something I can pull off in the Titan, lol.

 

Still can't see where there's anything wrong with the autopilot but it doesn't work like the autopilots in the default planes. ALT is the equivalent of Ctrl+Z which is "capture current altitude", HDG is the equivalent of Ctrl+H which is "capture current heading". Those are both different commands than ALT & HDG on the default autopilots. The alerter is just that, an alerter and nothing else so you can't set an altitude and expect it to level off there automatically, you have to capture the altitude with the ALT button when you get there. I've never flown anything with an AP in the real world so I can't say if that's realistic or not for this type of aircraft but i suspect it is. I do remember learning about autopilots that capture altitude like this in A&P school but that was 30 yrs ago. :smile:

 

I added a window, though mainly for the DME, but I put the default Bendix/King autopilot on it as well which then works the same in the 404 as it does in the Skyhawk:

 

My window if anyone's interested, I just did away with the knob info window (Shift+7) and replaced it with this new window. If you remove the two slashes before type=special the window will stay open when you switch views.

 

[Window Titles]

Window06=Default Avionics

-

-

-

-

[Window06]

BACKGROUND_COLOR=0,0,0

size_mm=348,194

position=0

visible=0

ident=10050

//type=special

windowsize_ratio=1.00

window_pos=0.0088,0.0157

window_size=0.1813,0.1796

 

gauge00=Bendix_King_Radio!Bendix-King Radio DME,          0,0,348,90

gauge01=Bendix_King_Radio!Bendix-King Radio AP,           0,90,348,104

 

I also have a batch file that makes a "lite" version of N9258Z reducing the exterior textures to 50%, if anyone's interested PM me and I'll get you the batch file, tools, and some instructions. To be honest I didn't see much difference in FSX with the reduced textures but it helped smooth things up a little in P3D I think.

 

Has anyone found an OAT?

Thanks for sharing this Mod with us. I do also find this to be a very nice hand flying acft. I was so disappointed that these guys did not take another week or two on the project. It could have been a very popular release for them. I just hate it when guys get so close but don't reach a bit higher. I never know if it is like of experience or just the rush to get more money that seems to always lead Alaebo and Carenado to this point.

 

Any way I have been doing some crash and gos and was thinking of trying to do similar mods on it tomorrow and then I saw your post. Thanks again.

[Jim Robinson 122]

The AP is okay if you use the pop up - its real location is horrendous.

 

I agree wholeheartedly and I've been using the 2D pop-up all along just to clarify. I did try the pedestal mounted pitch control switches and IIRC I could make it pitch up but not down so something's screwy there for sure.

 

 

Thanks for sharing this Mod with us.

 

You're welcome Sam. :smile:

[johnbla 31]

 

 

It didnt surprise me to hear that the 404 was not that great, but that WAS because the first thing I noticed was that Carenado/Alabeo was still using the same Avidyne EX500 gauge developed from the C90 etc. This gauge is a frame rate hog, especially on terrain mode.

 

Hi guys, 

I like this gauge for it's TAWS capabilities. If it is a frame rate hog, can anyone recommend a different gauge that I could replace it with?

 

Thanks

John

[HawkDsl 50]

This is a start up for 402, but should be the same for the 404.