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OzWhitey

A test pilot report on the Carenado C337H Skymaster in Prepar3d v4.

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A test pilot report on the Carenado C337H Skymaster.

Location of test flights: Eglin AFB

Aircraft: Ex-Rhodesian Air Force C337H

Technical data relating to flight test: performed using the Prepar3d v4 flight management system. The Oculus DK2 visualisation device was used for all phases of this flight.  

Report is as follows:

A number of technical and operational problems came to light during the flight tests of this aircraft.

A number of anticipated problems did not materialise, or were of minor significance. Notably, all gauges in the test aircraft worked flawlessly. This included the fuel flow, manifold pressure, RPM, electronic EGT gauge and clock, in addition to the primary flight instruments.

Other problems were, however, noted that appear to be more significant with regards to safe and effective flight:

1. The aircraft had a variation of the 'glass cockpit', with the main panel being fully transparent. Other cockpit structural components appeared to be functioning within normal limits.

2. More significantly, the aircraft's flight performance differed significantly from the expected parameters. Further information is as follows:

Test flight A:

The aircraft powered up as expected, and began its takeoff roll with full nose-wheel steering performance as per design criteria. However, at 50 knots the aircraft rolled to the left, leading to a strike of the left wing on the runway. The test pilot escaped with minor injuries, but the aircraft was non-repairable.

Test flight B:

The aircraft was launched at an altitude of 10,000 feet. The test pilot immediately noted a slow but steady roll to the left. The roll was not able to be counteracted with full aileron movement. As shown in accompanying image in appendix 1, the aircraft became fully inverted while over a populated area. The test pilot managed to restore some limited control with pitch and rudder movements, but no aileron authority was obtained during the full duration of the flight. The aircraft struck the ground in a mild nose-down orientation, leading to its complete destruction. The pilot sustained serious but survivable injuries.

Recommendation:

Although the aircraft performance was in some respects better than expected, the uncontrollable roll and resulting near-certain aircraft destruction leads us to recommend that this aircraft not be used for civilian or military flights at this time.

Further testing of other aircraft types by this manufacturer may provide useful information to the aviation community.

Test pilot: Robert J Whitehead.

With thanks to: Girard, P.F. and Everett, W. L. - X-13 Vertijet test pilots - for their help with this report.

 

Appendix 1: Flight test B

http://Test pilot report 1 2017-6-6_22-15-32-86

 

 

  • Upvote 3

Oz

 xdQCeNi.jpg   puHyX98.jpg

Sim Rig: MSI RTX3090 Suprim, an old, partly-melted Intel 9900K @ 5GHz+, Honeycomb Alpha, Thrustmaster TPR Rudder, Warthog HOTAS, Reverb G2, Prosim 737 cockpit. 

Currently flying: MSFS: PMDG 737-700, Fenix A320, Leonardo MD-82, MIlviz C310, Flysimware C414AW, DC Concorde, Carenado C337. Prepar3d v5: PMDG 737/747/777.

"There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

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You obviously didn't tell the plane it was no longer in Australia. It was just trying to right itself for Australian airspace.


-J

13700KF | RTX 4090 @ 4K | 32GB DDR5 | 2 x 1TB SSDs | 1TB M.2 NVMe

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Lol, nice.


Alvega

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Twenty6, your opinion is duly noted and is current being discussed by the Flight Performance Team.

Here is Appendix 2, showing the atypical appearance of the aircraft's forward panel.

Further study of this image by the Technical Analysis Team suggests that - although not specifically noted by the test pilot during the flight - the aircraft appears to be missing a roof. We thus reiterate our previous opinion that this craft is not currently suitable for normal flight operations, until such time as the noted defects - panel anomalies, absent overhead structure and the inevitable, uncontrollable roll to inverted flight status - can be corrected.

Test%20pilot%20appendix%202_zpsmgdmrr3z.

  • Upvote 3

Oz

 xdQCeNi.jpg   puHyX98.jpg

Sim Rig: MSI RTX3090 Suprim, an old, partly-melted Intel 9900K @ 5GHz+, Honeycomb Alpha, Thrustmaster TPR Rudder, Warthog HOTAS, Reverb G2, Prosim 737 cockpit. 

Currently flying: MSFS: PMDG 737-700, Fenix A320, Leonardo MD-82, MIlviz C310, Flysimware C414AW, DC Concorde, Carenado C337. Prepar3d v5: PMDG 737/747/777.

"There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

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49 minutes ago, OzWhitey said:

The aircraft had a variation of the 'glass cockpit', with the main panel being fully transparent.

LOL !!!!!

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OzWhitey,

Based on your idea in another post, I redirected my EMT to v4 and installed some Carenado aircraft:

C152

C172

C208 (the first one, not the EX)

Piper Cherokee

Piper Archer

Piper Saratoga (old one)

Piper Malibu Mirage

 

The 152 and 172 looked and flew well, no discrepancies noted.

The C208 had the aforementioned "glass cockpit".  No flight test conducted as of yet.

The Cherokee and Archer were OK visually and flew as expected, but some of the instruments were missing.

The Mirage also had "glass cockpit". No flight test conducted.

I also tried the JF Arrow (non turbo). It looks OK, but for some reason I lost aileron control. Elevator and rudder were functional, however

 

NOTE: Try redirecting the EMT at your own risk. I had a scare when I disabled redirection and got an error message that it couldn't write a certain file. After a minute I realized that, with v4 being on the C drive, it might be write protected. It was, so after changing that everything worked OK. Your mileage may vary, however.

 

 

  • Upvote 1

Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force, Retired

Former T-33A Crew Chief

Former B-1B Crew Chief / Flightline Maintenance Expediter

Former Learjet Corp. Quality Inspector

Formerly Young (😩)

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That's some great test pilot work there, sarge. :happy:

I've also been testing the default FSX Cessna 172. Here she is, in P3D v4, over Glacier National Park.

gnp%202017-6-7_1-37-20-433_zpswaxagdys.j

Y'all will note that:

  • We've got the full panel AND a roof this time
  • The aircraft is shiny side up

Definite improvements compared to the C337H.

No specific problems noted during the test flight, and you'll see that the frames per second in VC mode is over 200 - this is the best result I've seen from any aircraft in this sim. The G1000 variant also works fine, but frames are only around 130.

The panel looks pretty old-school in VC mode, but in VR mode this aircraft is actually pretty good:

  • Instruments are readable.
  • Eye position is nearly correct, unlike a lot of other planes Ive flown in v4
  • Cabin size is appropriate.

So, this is a good plane for VR if you dont mind the lack of power of a C172, and if you're struggling to get smooth flight with more complex crafts.

Installation: Just copy the single folder, C172: 

(your HDD):\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes\C172

And place this into the Simobjects\Airplanes folder in P3D v4. 30 seconds to install once you've got it in FSX, and I don't 

ALSO

I've been testing the Carenado C152. Same story, just install the aircraft into FSX and copy the single folder across, no EMT needed.

General report:

  • Frames are not as strong here, around 130 in similar circumstances.
  • Flight test: no problems identified.

VR report: very easy to read the instruments - one of the more practical aircraft. Eyepoint well set. However, the tiny, tiny yokes are perhaps the most ridiculous thing I've seen so far in a VR cockpit!

Here she is over Spokane, I landed her at Orbx Felts Field and she handled very well.

c152%202017-6-7_2-6-31-656_zpsg2wk0nlg.j

If anyone else has experience with test piloting the Carenado aircraft, let us know!

 

 

 

 

 

  • Upvote 1

Oz

 xdQCeNi.jpg   puHyX98.jpg

Sim Rig: MSI RTX3090 Suprim, an old, partly-melted Intel 9900K @ 5GHz+, Honeycomb Alpha, Thrustmaster TPR Rudder, Warthog HOTAS, Reverb G2, Prosim 737 cockpit. 

Currently flying: MSFS: PMDG 737-700, Fenix A320, Leonardo MD-82, MIlviz C310, Flysimware C414AW, DC Concorde, Carenado C337. Prepar3d v5: PMDG 737/747/777.

"There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

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If it's a newer Carenado, most probably not - but I don't own the PC-12, so if anyone does own it and has tested it, please let us know.

Two more Carenados that I have now successfully test flown:

  • The Cessna 172N, confirming Russ's report above that it works fine in P3D v4. Good frames, good VR plane, more fun to fly than the woefully underpowered C152. Suffers from the "tiny yoke" syndrome in the VR cockpit, that I reported above.
  • The Cessna 172N float. Now this one is fun, I've been flying around Glacier NP in Montana some more, there's some great lakes to land on way up in the mountains.

Cessna%20172N%20float_zpsyelcokpt.jpg

Yes, I landed it OK, over the crest as slow as possible and then a late turn to the right on final without stalling. :happy:

Took off again sucessfully as well, you should have seen the smile on my face as we lifted off.

2017-6-7_2-53-59-203_zpswlv03hek.jpg

If you get over the lip of the lake, the ground just drops away at least a thousand feet in a sheer cliff - awesome! 

These planes just perform so well in VR, if you haven't tried it have a look at the second-hand Oculus DK2's on Ebay, they're getting seriously cheap.

Prepar3d v4 plus VR is letting me re-discover these old Carenados that I thought had been garaged for good. 

  • Upvote 1

Oz

 xdQCeNi.jpg   puHyX98.jpg

Sim Rig: MSI RTX3090 Suprim, an old, partly-melted Intel 9900K @ 5GHz+, Honeycomb Alpha, Thrustmaster TPR Rudder, Warthog HOTAS, Reverb G2, Prosim 737 cockpit. 

Currently flying: MSFS: PMDG 737-700, Fenix A320, Leonardo MD-82, MIlviz C310, Flysimware C414AW, DC Concorde, Carenado C337. Prepar3d v5: PMDG 737/747/777.

"There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

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I put all of the default FSX aircraft in and they all seem to work fine. For some reason, I really like the CRJ, especially for VATSIM. I have always preferred the simple stuff over the study sims. As such, I'm going to try my Virtualcol stuff next. Stand by for Flight Report.

 

Again, folks, if you want to try this stuff yourself, it is AT YOUR OWN RISK! I don't know about OzWhitey, but I don't really have a problem with installing stuff to the traditional locations, as opposed to an addon folder. I usually do a complete re-install of P3D every 6 months or so anyway, so it's not a big deal to me. YMMV, of course.

Ye have been warned!


Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force, Retired

Former T-33A Crew Chief

Former B-1B Crew Chief / Flightline Maintenance Expediter

Former Learjet Corp. Quality Inspector

Formerly Young (😩)

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Hi Russ, for testing purposes I'm just putting the aircraft files in the traditional locations.

The C152, C172 and C172 Float all worked fine with a simple folder transfer.

Test report: Carenado Cessna C182Q

I just tried this method with the C182Q. Plane flies well, sounds are good, but the none of the instruments work. I then tried copying the C182 gauges across, managed to get the attitude indicator working. Despite a second attempt, I haven't had any luck getting any of the other instruments alive - so I'd consider this plane to be non-compatible, unless anyone has any other clever ideas. 

<Edit>

Test report: Carenado Piper Archer PA28 (previous tested by Russ via EMT)

One more success! Requires manual transfer of the aircraft folder AND the appropriate files from the gauges folder. I installed in a dummy FSX folder, so I could see exactly what was being added. Transferring the gauges: FSGPS295 and the four files with PA28 in the name - brings the virtual cockpit to life in P3D v4. 

Verdict: mostly functional, as far as I could see from a brief, 4am test flight. Russ noted that some instruments were missing when installed via EMT, I note the same - missing turn coordinator and VSI. But the key instruments work (and the GPS), this plane is flyable in P3D v4.

Note: that's a pretty agricultural virtual cockpit, they're some of the flatest, least-3D gauges I have seen! But it's still a fun plane to fly, something a little different from the Cessnas.

<Edit>

Test report: Carenado Mooney M20J

Plane works, flies well.

Transfer: main aircraft folder and gauges

Note: multiple instruments missing. Only airspeed indicator, attitude indicator and GPS are functional. I can fly with this - but it would be nice to have an altimeter.

VR note: VERY odd cockpit - you're sitting on the floor of the plane, with your legs out horizontal to the pedals. I think this is a very old Carenado!


Oz

 xdQCeNi.jpg   puHyX98.jpg

Sim Rig: MSI RTX3090 Suprim, an old, partly-melted Intel 9900K @ 5GHz+, Honeycomb Alpha, Thrustmaster TPR Rudder, Warthog HOTAS, Reverb G2, Prosim 737 cockpit. 

Currently flying: MSFS: PMDG 737-700, Fenix A320, Leonardo MD-82, MIlviz C310, Flysimware C414AW, DC Concorde, Carenado C337. Prepar3d v5: PMDG 737/747/777.

"There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."

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Only thing I can say about Carenado, their flight controls on the King Air 350i are ######. As well the realism and behavior of that plane especially when it comes to weather. Ground handling is also awful.

Also the plane is badly coded, their VC costs tremendous amounts of rendering power which cuts your FPS almost in half. This was the case in P3D v3.4 which is fully supported. In v4 the King Air is not working and it wont work anytime soon I guess. A large amount of planes never got even updated for v3 from Cera...

I would never suggest to buy a Carenado plane, they are crap, every freeware plane out there is far better especially when it comes to flight dynamics!

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I'm assuming by reading this thread that we don't understand why the C337 et al from Carenado are showing the "glass cockpit"?

It is because they require .dll files to be loaded in the dll.xml file. These .dll files are currently just 32 bit. These files include gauges and other functionality. These planes will not work properly in V4 until the .dll files are compiled as 64 bit.

EDIT: Any aircraft addon that uses only XML gauges should work properly in V4 with a simple copy from FSX or V3.

Regards the EMT, you are playing with fire.

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24 minutes ago, Henry Street said:

Regards the EMT, you are playing with fire.

Hence the disclaimer...

2 hours ago, b1bmsgt said:

Again, folks, if you want to try this stuff yourself, it is AT YOUR OWN RISK! I don't know about OzWhitey, but I don't really have a problem with installing stuff to the traditional locations, as opposed to an addon folder. I usually do a complete re-install of P3D every 6 months or so anyway, so it's not a big deal to me. YMMV, of course.

Ye have been warned!

We're just having fun messing around with a new toy, right Rob??

 

PS I have used the EMT since it first came out and I have had ZERO problems with it. Just sayin"...

  • Upvote 1

Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force, Retired

Former T-33A Crew Chief

Former B-1B Crew Chief / Flightline Maintenance Expediter

Former Learjet Corp. Quality Inspector

Formerly Young (😩)

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Mostly all Carenado and Alabeo aircraft uses DLL gauge for some parts of VC, some controls and so... so they CAN'T work in v4 as that gauges are 32bit.

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