I pre-ordered MSFS 2024 Premium Deluxe (gotta have that PC24!) and about 24 hours later the CL415 showed up in my 2020 content manager.

Overall I find the plane to be really cool, and really well modeled/textured, with surprisingly good sounds (including beta/reverse), and multiple night lighting options.  The water scoop function works (along with increased weight!) and the water drop works as well.  In fact, you can't drop if you haven't scooped so I found that to be a cool realistic feature.  There is no manual that I could find (semi annoying), so I had to ask some friends, and look at some videos to see how to get this operation working.

Perhaps I should have pre flighted on the ramp but I'm here at Brainerd, MN's runway 34.  KBRD has a permanent fire tanker base - but there are other northern and central MN temporary bases during the firefighting season.  Anyway if you are on the ramp, don't forget to move the Surface Lock forward before taking off 😉

Here's some cockpit views (I tried to get the sunlight because the cockpit is overall dark and the windows are heavily tinted).

Once annoyance here... I could not get NAV1 stdby to active.  So there's no way to tune a VOR or LOC (no GPS present in the panel that I can see)

Plenty of knobs and switches on the overhead

A semi digital cockpit for the modern CL-415

The operations area is really detailed

Along with this floor and those well modeled phillips screws lol

There is only one livery but it's extremely detailed and photorealistic

Showing texture detail on struts/tire

Ready for departure

Uses the dynamic tail number system (also places your reg under the wing, and in the cockpit)

 

Rolling onto our water scoop line in one of Brainerd's numerous lakes

I had to muddle through this but basically here's the order of operations to scoop and disperse...

I've lowered the probes here (the red pointed things behind the hull)

 

And we're down and scooping (feel like 50-70 knots was a good speed)

 

And we've put out someone's car fire lol

Climbout and RTB

All dimmable multiple lighting sections in the cockpit - really nice!

 

Nice shots!

Thanks Ed!  As an addendum to this post I found that NAV1 swap DOES work - must have been a reload of the sim that fixed it.  So I was able to track a VOR or ILS.

Edited September 22, 20241 yr by ryanbatc

Many thanks for the preview!

I have to wait for Steam, so this has answered a few questions.

Can see this and the Air Tractor getting some use as I've spent quite a bit of time in forest fire prone areas.

Will be fun to see if the CL could use the local reservoirs (some are a bit short).

Thanks.  I agree and am excited for the operations awaiting us in 2024.  Apologies for the smaller screenshots.  Seems like the forum shrinks them now.

Very nice, Ryan. "Early bird gets the...CL-415...🙂..."

The interiors seem pretty well-done, and glad you did successfully test the water-dispersal system ...and also landing on one of the myriad lakes around your neighborhood ...🙂...

This amphibian (freeware version of it) was one of my favorites in the past SIMs ...And this is the livery I recall best...

Thanks for sharing...!