False advertising?

[CaptBillyBob 51]

"Tested by real Hawker pilots" ....... Remind me not to get into a flight deck with any of them.. What a disappiontment this is.. Manual flight is fine, but the automation is horrid.. Am I missing something or shouldn't the autopilot capture the preset altitude? FLCH shouldn't be all over the place? Waste of money..

[keithb77 308]

'Tested' doesn't mean they passed it, just that they tried it....

Cheers

Keith

[CaptBillyBob 51]

Without giving feedback? What's the point? 

[Jimm 437]

Without giving feedback? What's the point? 

You got sucked in, hook, line and sinker.  There are a majority here who feel otherwise about Carenado products of late.  Sorry to hear you took the bait.  I liken Carenado products to a Snickers Bar:  great packaging, very tempting but after opening the wrapper, you see how ugly it is inside.  Carenado makes outstanding looking aircraft, great for getting into the air for screenshots but as far as accuracy goes, they have dropped off considerably lately.  I got sucked in a few months ago and bought three of their aircraft.  Initially, they all worked fine and then after a time, something happened, perhaps from me really wanting to "learn" the aircraft and then everything went downhill and I uninstalled them.  they got my money and in return, I got frustration.  I learned quick enough though and turned my sights to A2A.  Needless to say, I didn't look back.  A2A makes GA aircraft they way they are meant to me.  I think someone at AVSIM once said that they are the PMDG of GA aircraft, which would be a fair statement.

 

I don't know if you will have any luck sorting out the issues you are having but if and when the frustration gets too high, you may be better off cutting your losses and looking elsewhere, such as A2A or RealAir.

 

Granted, the above statements are merely personal opinion based on personal experiences, so don't hold it against me.  We all live and learn.

 

-Jim

[Demious 23]

Carenado has a couple of aircraft which are very good, I love their Skymaster, for example. But all 3 King Airs have quite some flaws, like wrong switches, functions missing, stuff like that. I managed to get over it by telling myself I'm not flying a Beechcraft King Air, but a Carenado King Air, which is different from the Beechcraft. I still fly the 1900, but I dont look at it as a simulation of the Beechcraft anymore. I like the aircraft's looks, I like how it flies, so I'll fly it as it is and have to let go of what I expect from the actual aircraft.

 

If you're looking for a business jet, I'd recommend the Lionheart Lear. For twin engine GA, there are the RealAir Duke and Turbine Duke. Like Jim said, A2A is great for single engine GA and war era aircraft and if you like something a little bigger, you could have a look at the Majestic Dash8. If you want something from Carenado, because you like their graphics, you could go for the Skymaster, it's one of their best.

[jcpg 1]

Hi guys, I agree with most of you about the advertising issue, without singling out any developer, as it would be unfair, in my understanding.  There should be an "advisory committee"  formed by licensed pilots, if possible, or at least with a vast knowledge of simulation aircraft to test the planes.  The developer should perhaps solicit the committee to test if they so wished with no obligation whatsoever. The committee then rates the item, from 1 to 5, let's say, stars. 2 or 3 test should be more than sufficient. And that would give the user an overall idea of the product he/she was about to purchase. And of course, it should be stated that it would only be a recommendation or some kind of guidance to the purchaser. Is this a bit far fetched? I don't think so. There's a lot of men out there for the job here at Avsim with 100%  integrity and unbiased. Happy landings.

 

Cheers.

john goncalves

[Jimm 437]

Hi guys, I agree with most of you about the advertising issue, without singling out any developer, as it would be unfair, in my understanding.  There should be an "advisory committee"  formed by licensed pilots, if possible, or at least with a vast knowledge of simulation aircraft to test the planes.  The developer should perhaps solicit the committee to test if they so wished with no obligation whatsoever. The committee then rates the item, from 1 to 5, let's say, stars. 2 or 3 test should be more than sufficient. And that would give the user an overall idea of the product he/she was about to purchase. And of course, it should be stated that it would only be a recommendation or some kind of guidance to the purchaser. Is this a bit far fetched? I don't think so. There's a lot of men out there for the job here at Avsim with 100%  integrity and unbiased. Happy landings.

 

Cheers.

john goncalves

I totally forgot to mention before that user reviews are gold.  I personally like to get reviews and/or opinions from users to get a feel for what I am about to purchase.  I swear, I was drunk the night I bought 3 aircraft from Carenado.  I named them Vicky, Candy and Sue as I don't remember anything that happened that night. lol

 

I'd agree with John though that it would be nice to have some sort of a committee or consortium of verified pilots that could be help test and rate products for the flight simulator community, but then it could be argued later on about their purpose if enough irate customers claim something didn't function correctly or look a certain way, thus opening up a serious can of worms.

 

I guess caveat emptor would be a better statement.

 

-Jim

[Wobbie 938]

Guys, a reality check please.... We are gamers, hobbyists, armchair pilots, & these add-ons are, by their pricing & target market, an add-on for a game that simulates a simulator. Peer reviews, by our peers in this amazing hobby of ours will be ideal.

 

Why not even set up a forum here where owners of said add-ons can post reviews.

A committee of real pilots? Really now, have they the time, or interest to do this kind of thing? We need a committee of GA pilots, Turbine pilots, single,twin & multi, chopper, jets, etc...

 

I'm happier to hear & read comments from our own..

[N405GJ 36]

Guys, a reality check please.... We are gamers, hobbyists, armchair pilots, & these add-ons are, by their pricing & target market, an add-on for a game that simulates a simulator. Peer reviews, by our peers in this amazing hobby of ours will be ideal.

 

Why not even set up a forum here where owners of said add-ons can post reviews.

A committee of real pilots? Really now, have they the time, or interest to do this kind of thing? We need a committee of GA pilots, Turbine pilots, single,twin & multi, chopper, jets, etc...

 

I'm happier to hear & read comments from our own..

Such as this one perhaps?

 

http://www.avsim.com/forum/235-readers-product-reviews/

[Wobbie 938]

Yes!  I see the last review was 18 December 2011!

But, thats th perfect place. A review by actual users!

[Twenty6 692]

Upon closer inspection I see this:

 

Reader's Product Reviews

Forum Closed:

 

That could explain why the last post was in 2011.

[CaptBillyBob 51]

It looks like the Phenom 300 had the same issues with the autopilot, but they fixed it from what I read on their facebook page.. Going to demand a refund or see if I can exchange for another plane.. Lesson learned..

[jcpg 1]

Well then, should the forum be closed for some reason, and the 'committee/consortium' stopped from giving their views we could just post a request from anyone here, Avsim, as to the quality of some item, which could then be of a blunt nature and really not the best the developer wanted to read about...

    The bottom line is honesty. From the developer and what is written about their products. No one likes to buy an item that does not correspond with cover claims and/or  hidden defects as we read so many times. You cannot always judge by the price, unfortunately. There are many products with inflated prices and no one posted a review at the time of purchase. Or a review from someone undermining, a good product, due to a lack of knowledge.

[Frank Zych 1]

When you buy a product online and it does not meet the expectations of what was advertized then go back to the vendor and tell them you want a refund. If they refuse then go to your credit card company and complain. It has worked for me. I bought an aircraft that did not function as advertized, called the vendor and they refused to refund my money. I then called my credit card company which happens to be American Express and explained the situation. Within 6 weeks I received a credit on my account

[antonvs 76]

I once saw Carenado state somewhere that they don't try to do in-depth systems and that their planes are targeted at beginner to intermediate sim flyers and that their specialty is in creating lovely looking aircraft, which they do. I have bought many (actually 30 and au$736 worth) over many years and now only fly the 210M on occasions because it flies well and I like its power and excellent sound set.

 

The last Carenado plane I purchased was the 850xp and I have decided that will be the last. It has always been a love/hate relationship. I love the planes they do and live in hope that they will perform to a reasonable level system wise. But when it comes to the newer, more complex aircraft, they never did.

 

I still get tempted but then there are so many other developers that do deliver. One clue to the reason I think Carenado fails in the quality department is the frequency which they now tend to churn planes out. Here I mean the reason why the likes of A2A, Realair and Milviz produce all round good products is that they put the time and effort in. Conversely I suspect that Carenado do a lot of "Cut and Paste" just to push products out. All this would not be so much of an issue if they priced more reasonably. But we pay premium prices.

 

Having said this I do find I like a few (7) of their sister company, Alabeo's products. Namely the R-66 heli and both the Classic Waco YMF5 and the D-17 staggerwing are very enjoyable to fly. My observation here is that if you stay away from aircraft that rely on "systems" you may be satisfied.

 

If you are coming up through the ranks and want system Experiance without pain the Just Flight "F-lite" planes are the way to go.