Hi all, with some Carenado aircraft 50% off right now I’m contemplating picking some up for X-Plane 11, particularly the B1900 and C208.

As a reformed P3D’er, my experience with Carenado has been....ok.  They look nice, but systems and flight dynamics are sometimes a bit questionable etc.  From what I’m reading Carenado seems to be better regarded in the X-Plane community than P3D.  

So for anyone who has flown their products in both, is it a better experience in Xplane?  Are there any Carenado aircraft that are particular gems in Xplane?

Thanks

Is the Cessna 550 Xplane 50% off? Which vendor? BTW, the Carenado for Xplane  are quite a bit better than FS imo.

Edited December 6, 20187 yr by Adrian123

3 minutes ago, regis9 said:

Hi all, with some Carenado aircraft 50% off right now I’m contemplating picking some up for X-Plane 11, particularly the B1900 and C208.

As a reformed P3D’er, my experience with Carenado has been....ok.  They look nice, but systems and flight dynamics are sometimes a bit questionable etc.  From what I’m reading Carenado seems to be better regarded in the X-Plane community than P3D.  

So for anyone who has flown their products in both, is it a better experience in Xplane?  Are there any Carenado aircraft that are particular gems in Xplane?

Thanks

Carenado planes in XPlane aren't really 100% 'Carenado' planes- the model and textures are ported over but then the systems, sounds, and flight dynamics of the plane is essentially built from the ground up by a small company called Thranda. They are actually a pretty good developer and also port Just Flight's products and make planes independently, most notably the Quest Kodiak which is regarded very well. 

Thranda's work on everything besides the textures and model makes Carenado's planes in XPlane far better than their P3D counterparts. For example, I bought the Beechcraft 1900D when it first came out for FSX and used it in both FSX and P3D. I could keep the throttle at 100% from takeoff to touchdown with no negative effects. As soon as I moved to XPlane I bought the XP10 version of the 1900D. I was surprised when I followed the exact same procedures as in FSX/P3D and ended up with an engine fire 5 minutes after takeoff. Turns out that the Thranda version of the planes requires you to pay attention to the engines. 

That said, the B1900D has some inaccuracies and isn't among the best of the best Carenado ports. Their more recent ports, such as the Citation, AeroCommander, and Dornier 228 are far better but unfortunately aren't on sale. 

I don't own the C208, but $18 for the B1900D is a steal and I recommend that you get it. For the regular price, it's a little expensive for what you get, but for the sale price it's a no brainer. Don't expect something like the Majestic Q400 or LES Saab 340, expect a relatively good aircraft that you can fly from point A to point B with reasonable accuracy and minimal bugs. Also, I've painted/ported over a boatload of liveries for the plane that you can find by searching my username on x-plane.org, with a few more WIP. 

The only thing you need to watch out for is the version of the sim the plane is made for. ONLY get the version with only 'XP11' in the title. Everything else was made for XP10 and at best includes a minor compatibility patch for an older version of XP11. Given the massive changes made to XP11 during its run you can expect flight model abnormalities or even gauges that don't work as intended. There is no discount/upgrade path for owners of the older versions to move to the new XP11 native version- you need to pay the full price. 

Thanks very much for the fast and full responses, that’s really exciting to read as it sounds like my gripes about the aircraft in P3D have been largely dealt with.  Definitely going to pick up one if not both tonight.

Edited December 6, 20187 yr by regis9

On the 'Just Flight' email only 7 are XP11 and the other 25 are XP10.  Your B1900 is on the XP11 list as is the Shrike 500 which I have.  Interestingly enough, I have the T210 which is still XP10 and it flies equally as well as the Shrike.  They are definitely better after being ported.

I bought the B1900 tonight and went for a short hop, definitely quite a difference from p3d!  Great flight, going to buy the C208 tomorrow.

44 minutes ago, olderndirt said:

On the 'Just Flight' email only 7 are XP11 and the other 25 are XP10.  Your B1900 is on the XP11 list as is the Shrike 500 which I have.  Interestingly enough, I have the T210 which is still XP10 and it flies equally as well as the Shrike.  They are definitely better after being ported.

The Shrike and T210 are piston engine planes. Those are the ones least affected by the changes in XP10-->XP11, where Austin did a major update of turboprop modeling. So you might get by with a Carenado XP10 model in XP11 if it has pistons. It's the turboprops where you really want the full Carenado XP11 version.

I own a few Carenado aircraft. The 208 Caravan is a good plane. Keep an eye on the trim. Advance it  in the down position during takeoff, Because the plane becomes tailheavy , and the nose rises up. I tried to fix that problem,by moving the center of gravity or cg forward . It doesn't work. Do not move the trim all the way down. Use your judgement. I own the Beech 1900, and 200 King Air.

Pretty good planes. Avgaskoolaid Says, The engines will catch fire . Keep a close eye on your gauges!!!. The pc 12 is a nice machine except ground handling. My plane veers to the right  on the grass when i twist the prop (reverse) I wish Carenado would provide a patch to fix that. Since the plane has no yaw damper, it goes all over the taxiway making it hard to control. So what i did was pull the mixture far back enough, and moved the throttle to beta. Better stability!. The Dornier 228. I love the plane except the panel. Too old .The plane handles  good.I asked Carenado if they are designing a ng panel, and they said no. The biggest chuckle i get is the passenger sound they installed. Put on headphones , and you hear people screaming like being on a waterslide. I didn't know my flying was that bad!!!LOL. Pull the mixture back per instructions while taxiing, and you will be fine.I wish they would make more planes for xp11. Bigger ones!!. Since new aircraft are to be put online soon such as, Tecnam P-2012,  Dornier 328 series,  Mitsubishi MRJ70/90, and the Cessna 408 Courier which is in development. Happy Flying!!!!!

7 hours ago, Paul Deluca said:

I own a few Carenado aircraft. The 208 Caravan is a good plane. Keep an eye on the trim. Advance it  in the down position during takeoff, Because the plane becomes tailheavy , and the nose rises up. I tried to fix that problem,by moving the center of gravity or cg forward . It doesn't work. Do not move the trim all the way down. Use your judgement.

Interesting... I haven't had that problem with the Carenado C208, but it might be because I've only flown it in the FSEconomy game, where I'm usually fully loaded with pax/cargo and 75% full tanks. Always flying heavy. Have you tried bumping up the weight and fuel load? 

 

Quote

 

The pc 12 is a nice machine except ground handling. My plane veers to the right  on the grass when i twist the prop (reverse) I wish Carenado would provide a patch to fix that. Since the plane has no yaw damper, it goes all over the taxiway making it hard to control. So what i did was pull the mixture far back enough, and moved the throttle to beta. Better stability!. 

 

I have that same problem with prop reverse on the PC-12. Very annoying. I've been burning out the brakes to avoid using it, but I'll try your method with beta range.

We're due for a PC-12 update after 11.30 goes final to fix several things, like that ticking noise in the cockpit. Maybe they'll finally fix the ground handling for prop reverse in the next update.

Regis9  responded  to Avgaskoolaid's post  , spot on!! i made a mistake in my last post. You are so correct. Beechcraft 1900, Altitude alert tone: I questioned Carenado about it being on the autopilot disconnect.They told me it provides a better alarm for the  flightsimmer. The 208 Caravan, Use your judgment applying  trim on landing to. I have had the nose go up twisting the prop. As long as i keep the trim down, the plane's thrust reverses fine.Carenado has some good aircraft. I hope these bugs are taken care of soon. Happy Flying!!!!

Hi Paraffin : I fly the 208 loaded with both fuel, and cargo mode. I do virtual DHL runs with it.

FSeconomy C208======MONEY MAKER. 🙂

11 minutes ago, Adrian123 said:

FSeconomy C208======MONEY MAKER. 🙂

Yeah, but the PC-12 is faster. A LOT faster. 😀

I had to make a decision which one to "buy" in FSE between the two. The C208 is obviously better for pax/cargo (no wonder it's the most popular plane in FSE!). I just decided I liked spending less time in cruise while still getting into tiny airstrips easily. And also not having to pretend the oxygen masks are dropping when flying over mountains...

20 minutes ago, Paraffin said:

Yeah, but the PC-12 is faster. A LOT faster. 😀

 

Xertainly is, and it is my GA long hauler  but still not the money maker the C208 is. 2million in a C208. 😉

Edited December 7, 20187 yr by Adrian123

Strange, the fixes for ground handling.  The Soul DHC2 is a case in point.  The best fix I've heard, so far, for staying straight on takeoff is to start the roll with the prop fully retarded.  Very gradually, feed the prop in to full and you're still straight.