STK

I’m one of the users on the Sim Outhouse P3D forum that encountered issues and seemed to have assisted in solving the mystery as to the weapons functionality. The developers developed this aircraft with a fully featured pro+ or dev license and didn’t realize that Academic and non-Plus Pro licenses prohibit weapon visibility and functionality in P3D. This is the only aspect that I believe is “broken” right now. Note that the Extended also includes rain effects and a rare bird strike effect that I believe still work. All other features and systems work with non Plus licenses. In the short term, it sounds like GKS will be releasing an update with configurable static weapons (for appearances purposes) within the coming days. They will continue to see if they can somehow make working weapons for non Plus licenses in the future. For what it’s worth, the model is still extremely detailed from both a systems and a visuals perspective, and the developer is very responsive to support inquiries via email, their forum, and other forums, so even with the lack of weapons functionality at present, I’d argue that the aircraft is still worth it. Sean K.

The Cera models do work fine in v5 and their AS365 is excellent.

Hi - I just asked about this on the Sim Outhouse P3D forum to see if their users can verify the AS365 issues in V5, as I don’t have that version of the sim yet pending a system upgrade. I used the helo routinely without issue in 4.5. A user there claimed to have no yaw or other controllability issues with the AS365 in P3Dv5. They did say the lights may need some work to add a dynamic spot point, and an aircraft cfg edit will enable proper function of the autopilot, but they overall emphasized no major issues. The user also encountered no other issues with the other Cera models except they didn’t test the Bell 222 yet. For the sake of troubleshooting - Is the AS365 new to you in general, and can you verify that all appropriate systems are on? Namely, the hydraulics and the SAS systems (and that the AP is off). Thanks, Sean K.

All, For P3Dv4 users, I have again asked Alabeo if they can recompile the 32-bit DLL for the Cutlass and other addons (such as the Waco biplane). The reason for asking again is seeing that the Carenado side did it for the equally old Commander 114, which is a default airplane in P3Dv4.5. In the Gauges folder of the simulator, there is a "RadioC114x64.dll" which means that they recompiled it, and it's apparent in the sim that these extremely similar gauges work for the Commander just fine. I tried replacing the broken Cutlass gauges with the Commanders, but there is some lighting and gauge fit errors due to the different modeling, so I asked Alabeo again for a justification as to why they can't do this when Carenado can. (Nearly the same gauges, for an addon of the same/similar age).

Alexander Metzger created the FDE for both the Sibwings model and the Aerosoft one, for the record. Agreed upon the lack of update info for the Aerosoft one, but luckily the new Sibwings/AT Sims iteration will appear which will likely be objectively superior.

Alabeo has definitively stated via a support email to be that they will not be fixing the Cutlass: Support (Alabeo) Dec 7, 18:38 -03 Greetings, The technology that C172RG Cutlass has (10 years ago) is not compatible with new technologies that P3Dv4 uses, that is the reason why we can not update it. Regards, Alabeo.

Just reinstalled the Robinson R66 in P3Dv4.3 and noticed that the VOR gauge is non-functional. Can anyone else confirm? I can change the compass card on the gauge using the OBS knob, I can tune a VOR frequency on the radio, and I can receive the appropriate Morse signal through the radio, but I have no response from the VOR needles. I have tried multiple VORs across multiple locations. I have also ensured that I'm not in some hidden inadvertent "GPS" mode with the avionics (despite lacking a GPS), and I have confirmed VOR functionality with other aircraft in the same region. No response to an ILS beam either. I sent a report highlighting this to Carenado today, but also hope to confirm my observations with the general user base too.

Just a heads up that Neo Leung, who is associated with China Leaf, has been covering a lot of liveries lately and has uploaded them to the P3D repaints section of the library. These include Northwest Airlink in both old (red) and newer (silver), American Eagle, various Japanese and Thai liveries, and Delta Connection. This is in addition to Murchison's NZ and Asian liveries, as well as EDRM's European liveries on his own website.

I did some additional snooping following a reinstall. It looks like the LITE version of the aircraft has only a two position switch (alongside all problems with the pitot heat) as I outlined with my previous screenshot. The normal/full version of the aircraft has the three position switch and so far it does seem to work correctly. How frustrating. I guess it's the full version for me!

Sorry for the delayed response. Just tried my version again of Version 1.1 of the Cheyenne III and my switches only have two positions: OFF or PITOT/STALL. I have tried left clicking, right clicking, middle mouse button clicking, scrolling, etc. When the switch is in the position of PITOT/STALL, my tubes still ice up in icing conditions when using software such as Activesky in real-world conditions, as well as with pre-built P3Dv4 themes. Additionally, Carenado has acknowledged the issue to me in email and said that they will look at patching it in a future update (if that ever happens). I have included a screenshot of my switches in the link below as an illustrative example. When in PITOT/STALL mode, the test lights on the left side wall of the cockpit light up when pressed indicating that there should be power for heating purposes, but again, still have problems with ice. https://i.imgur.com/NHxWNG6.png Thanks.

I've turned on both left and right switches. Additionally, at least on my model, each switch (left/right) only has two positions: OFF, or Pitot/Stall. Again, I've utilized all deicing / heat switches in the aircraft, and just confirmed again moments ago that the pitot probes still ice over, resulting in airspeed indication loss.

Using 1.1 in P3Dv4. Flew through visible moisture north of Seattle in temps conducive to icing today, and despite the pitot heat indicating ON, the pitot tubes still froze up, which in FSX and P3D mean that the airspeed needle rapidly drops to zero and stays there until warmer temps are introduced. I submitted a support ticket, but encourage others to verify as well. I believe this problem is also present with the F406 Caravan.

Thought you were looking for dedicated switches that say "inverter" since I thought that it was apparent that AVN1 performs an equivalent function (consequentially, you would be looking for system redundancies like in most/all King Airs), but I do not see evidence of redundant/backup inverters (more than 1 inverter), nor any additional primary switches with that label beyond what is performed by AVN1. I should have clarified my initial inquiry into your original post further. Enjoy the F406.

I do not see any documentation nor any evidence in the cockpit that the Reims F406 has inverter switches. Do you have any documentation or evidence that there should be one, and that the absence is an error? Sean

For user awareness of what issues exist with this model. PLEASE also report any bugs to Carenado via email as well. Don't assume that someone else already did (and even if they did, it doesn't hurt to add another voice of concern). My list so far... The standby attitude indicator show an approximately 4 degree nose down situation when the plane is in level flight or on the ground. This issue was previously experienced by their Navajo and Alabeo's 404. Unfortunately, the standby indicator is not adjustable, so we'll have to see if Carenado fixes it. The vertical speed indicator (VSI) seems to show a slight, approximately 30-50 foot decent when on level ground. It's not very noticeable due to the incrementation of the reference lines on the gauge (in hundreds) but one can see that the needle rests slightly below zero on a flat surface. These two issues have been reported to Carenado. Recieved a generic "form letter" response as follows: --- Greetings, Thank you for your valuable feedback. We'll consider it to include as a modification on the future version we will release for the aircraft. ---- -Sean

The configuration following GTN750 integration is the replacement of the top GNS530, while the lower one remains.

I use a Saitek throttle unit as indicated in my review, and when I cut the mixture/condition lever to engine one, my autofeather system responded immediately and correctly to fully feather the engine. I was actually surprised that it worked. Keep in mind that the autofeather system does not turn on below a certain power setting.

Would anyone be willing to contact me so I too can obtain this GPS modification? It would be greatly appreciated, as I only recently purchased this model. Thanks, Sean

Mr. Pieke, I do not own any RXP products, so I would be using what I imagine to be the default GPS implementation. I will message you with my email address in anticipation of purchasing this product. Thank you for the input! Sean

All, I am considering finally getting around to adding the C337 to my collection, and I see that an abundance of fixes and modifications have been issued privately by multiple individuals over the past couple years in this forum. Is there a complete list of what fixes need to be obtained and/or a primary link to said fixes? A quick skim reveals that someone is offering a GPS color correction fix, another addresses the fuel pumps, and more address things such as night lighting, as well as an issue with labeling on a navigation radio. So...if I was to purchase this aircraft, is there a reliable way of getting all of the necessary fixes and user improvements to this model, considering we're a couple years after release? Thanks, Sean

Posted this on another forum. Here's my initial look from the first day: The Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II is an unpressurized, 14-seat (two crew, 12 passenger) twin-turboprop oriented toward small commuter airlines and government services. It was in production between 1983 and 2013 by Reims Aviation in France, in cooperation with Cessna. It's basically a modified Cessna 404 Titan (which you can get from Carenado's sister-company, Alabeo). The F406 is Carenado's latest release, coming out on 22 October 2015 for US$37.95. It is currently available directly though Carenado's shop, and will likely be available through 3rd-party vendors such as Simmarket in the coming days/weeks. It's an extremely versatile aircraft, and in my opinion, Carenado always has and continues to do well with aircraft in this class. My Specs: Hardware Intel i5-2500k overclocked to 4.8Ghz. Nvidia GTX970 4GB. 16GB DDR3 RAM. 2x Samsung 840 SSDs (250GB). 27" Dell U2713HM monitor. Software Windows 7 FSX: Acceleration. Hardware Flight Controls used Saitek Pro Flight Yoke/Throttle Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals The installation: The F406 uses a single installer compatible with FSX, as well as P3D (including P3Dv3). Installation requires an internet connection to verify the user's email address and issued serial number for the product. Installation is fairly quick, and seems to use approximately 1 Gigabyte (1GB) of harddrive space. Following installation, one can access related documentation (see below) in the Carenado folder, located in the main FSX folder where you have the simulator installed. Additionally, three other installers are included in the aircraft's folder "Carenado F406_Caravan_II" located in your FSX/Simobjects structure. These installers cater to those with the Flight1 GTN750 and/or RealityXP GNS530 addons, with the third installer allowing the user to revert to the included Carenado (default) GPS units. As a GTN750 user, I was excited to have the option of full integration with this addon. The documentation: Looking in the "Carenado" folder under the appropriate aircraft via the main FSX folder, the user finds eight (8) PDF files and two notepad files with installation and operating details for the aircraft. The following is included: P3D user notification document stating that RealityXP integration is not available for P3D users. Carenado GNS530 Users Guide Copyrights Emergency Procudures Normal Procedures Performance Tables Airspeed References RealityXP advisory stating that only the Com1/Nav1 unit in FSX is replaceable (can't switch out the second default GPS with RXP) Recommend sim settings for Carenado products Weather Radar manual The exterior: Those who know Carenado products will not be surprised to hear that the visual aspect of this addon is stunning, as usual. The exterior model looks to be highly accurate and is convicning when comparing it to images and videos of the real deal. Of note are the following exterior animations, catered to with a pop-up menu: Static elements (chocks, remove before flight tags, pushback cart, etc). Multiple opening doors, including the baggage compartments spanning the aircraft. Removable baggage pod on the belly that impacts flight performance. All other exterior animations are to be expected, and it's also worth noting that as with Carenado's other more recent prop/turboprop releases, the spinning prop discs shimmer in the sun in a striking way, when you have the camera angled correctly. This seems to be a visual effect unique to Carenado at this time. All exterior lights on the aircraft are "modeled in" rather than being called in the aicraft.cfg file. This has in the past caused contention between those who do not think the lights are bright enough, and those who enjoy the extra visual advantages of modelled lighting. The taxi and landing lights of this F406 are what's known in the community as "Lotus-style" lights, after the revolutionary L-39C product which enabled true illumination of the ground and surrounding objects from the lights. Additionally, you'll see reflections of the flashing strobe lights at night. The beacon lights are also striking as I have not seen a style quite like this yet in Carenado's products (though I don't have many of their latest). The red beacon illumination is both modelled into the bulb, and is provided as a larger visual effect. The coloration of the visual effect to my eyes looks more like a pinkish-purplish-red, but it's unique and it works. The navigation lights are modelled in stritly to the bulbs, and I can see some users complaining due to their lack of illumination intensity. It may be worth trying to add in additional nav lighting via the aircraft.cfg if possible. The aircraft comes with six liveries: Blank white for repainting* Green/Yellow/Grey US registration (my favorite...based off of a real Era Alaska aircraft!) White with multicolor pinstripes US registration White with black and red pinstripes French registration Modern White/Black/Red French registration (based off of a South African example) Hellenic (Greek) Coast Guard *At this time I'll point out that unfortunately, Carenado's texture templating continues to be dissapointing. The textures are broken up into innumerable segments on each dds file, making repainting truly difficult. If you have noticed the lack of repaints for many of Carenado's and Alabeo's more recent products, this is why. A few other visual features: Trailing-link landing gear Three-blade propellers Two crew members in the cockpit (I asked about a single pilot option prior to release but they said no) Typical FSX features such as self-shadowing, bump mapping, etc. The interior and avionics: The interior of this aircraft is fully modelled (cockpit and cabin) with slight weathering on a grey panel, white walls, and brown upholstry. As expected, the texturing is top notch and is very immersive - typical of Carenado's latest releases since they started advertising "HD textures" for the cockpits. I took a look at the default Carenado GNS option initially before instlaling the GTN750, and the avionics and capabilies of this aircraft truly seem impressive. Remember, the F406 is unpressurized, meaning that you'll likely be flying in the weather, rather than over it. As such, you'll get the following by default: 2x Aspen EFD1000 Primary Flight Displays (PFDs)...like in their A36 Bonanza. 2x Garmin GNS530 GPS systems with Com1/Nav1 and Com2/Nav2 capabilties. Digital Transponder Bendix-King ADF 2x Bendix-King DME systems Bendix-King Weather Radar (like in their Caravan, C340, PC-12, and other products) All gauges and instruments in the cockpit are fully modelled in 3D. With the GTN750 option, the unit replaces the first GNS530 in the VC, and is fully modelled with 3d knobs and crisp display resolution. All other avionics remain the same. What may be new to most users unless they have the A36 Bonanza for FSX is the Aspen EFD1000 PFD unit. This is a "glass" attitide indicator and HSI on one screen, and provides it's own moving map, as well as a plethorea of other information such as true airspeed, groundspeed, winds, vertical speed, and more. It's a sharp little unit that, combined with the other avionics, makes it very difficult to get lost! Remember, the Aspen comes as standard - no other purchases are needed. The aircraft also features an autopilot, with controls on the pedestal under the throttle/prop/condition lever unit. Of note is that it appears to be a two-axis unit, in that while there is a yaw-damper button, it does not seem to do anything. There is also a "soft ride" and half rate option that I have not tried yet. All other standard functions seem to work fine. The user can also control altitude and heading using the Aspen, or a secondary altitude alert window. Of note are two bugs with the avionics that I have already pointed out to Carenado. I am currently unsure of whether or not these will be addressed: The standby attidue indicator show an approximately 4 degree nose down situation when the plane is in level flight or on the ground. This issue was previously experienced by their Navajo and Alabeo's 404. Unfortunately, the standby indicator is not adjustable, so we'll have to see if Carenado fixes it. The vertical speed indicator (VSI) seems to show a slight, approximately 30-50 foot decent when on level ground. It's not very noticable due to the incrementation of the reference lines on the gauge (in hundreds) but one can see that the needle rests slightly below zero on a flat surface. Other features: Moving sunshades Moving armrests Dimmable night lighting Glass reflections on the avionics and windows Glass scratches on the windows that illuminate when flying at certain angles to the sun...a feature seemingly unique to Carenado/Alabeo. Cowl flaps...yes this turboprop has on/off position cowl flaps for each engine, controllable from the lower pedestal in the VC. Unique to me, and I will have to read up on proper usage of them in the near future. For now, I'm operating them as I would with a piston aircraft. Sound: The F406 is powered by two PT-6 engines, and the soundset is convincing. You get plenty of bass while powering up and down in the cockpit, as well as accurate sound pitch changes based on the angle of the props, rather than on engine torque output itself. In short, it sounds like a PT-6 powered twin turboprop! You also have gauge click sounds included in the VC by default as well. Flying the F406: Having never flown a real one, this is obviously subjective. It seems to fly by the included numbers in the manuals, and I find it to be a nice, stable platform for handflying. It has a satisfying heaviness on the controls that comes with an aircraft of this size (remember, it seats 14), while also not being sluggish from a performance perspective. Remember, stay below 12500 without supplemental oxygen, or 14000 while flying with passengers, as this is unpressurized. (Note: There is a pilot's oxygen knob modelled, though it's a dummy switch since hypoxia is not simulated). It's quite fun to fly this twin turboprop at these lower altitudes, in the weather. With proper trim set, you can get in and out of relatively small airfields, though I would hesitate to fly this into and out of the smallest rural fields due to it's size and existing take-off and landing requirements. At recommended cruise torque settings with the props pulled back to 1700rpm, I was getting around 200 knots indicated between 5000 and 10000 feet, which was pleasantly surprising, as I expected it to be a bit slower. I recommend reviewing the manuals as well as the placards in the cockpit (located both on the main panel as well as the pilot's sunshade) for operating limitations and power recommendations. Thus far, my flights have only been with full fuel and two crew up front. I'll have to explore what it feels like with multiple passengers and baggage. Note that you will have to go into the weight and balance in FSX to reflect even a realistic default load, as the standard configuration is full fuel and one 190-pound pilot, even though two crew members (who appear to each by physically healthier than 190 pounds) are modelled. In a quick engine out test, the autofeather system worked rapidly and effectively to fully feather engine #1 when I cut fuel to it. The aircraft remained manageable and I was successfully able to bring it back for a smooth, safe landing. Also worth noting is the aircraft has a full decing kit, which as a placard indicates on the sunshade, authorizes operators to fly this aircraft in icing conditions. More to come and the yes/no decision: I'll write more in the coming days as I'm running out of time, and I do want to explore the flight envelope a bit more. If you can overlook the two minor gauge issues I outline above, I recommend buying this model. If you only wish to aquire it for repainting though, I would advise against it due to the lack of a suitable paint template. Overall, I'll certainly use this aircraft quite often, as it fits the type of flying I like to do! Thanks for reading! -Sean

The following was released a few weeks ago. Excellent quality, freeware, and updated to reflect the current appearance of the airport for the 2014 Winter Olympics: http://avsimrus.com/f/fsx-sceneries-83/urss-sochi-fsx-reload-52565.html

Tu-144D "Charger" version 3.5 for FSX. With the nose up.... It requires quite a bit of technical competence to fly, and is right up there with the Project Tupolev Tu-154B-2 for FSX (unassociated) in terms of complexity. Thanks for looking! -Sean

Beech 1900D end-users, Is anyone else having problems with the altitude pre-select window (main panel, to the left of the transponder) locking up and not "scrolling" when enabling an altitude mode (hold or alt select) when the autopilot is on? It functions appropriately if the autopilot is off, or when the autopilot is not in any vertical speed mode, but refuses to budge when any altitude-based mode is engaged. Not sure how else to describe it... Additionally, I've encountered other bugs outlined below: 1. Intermittent failure of the top half of the digital VSI. This has only happened once so far after cycling through multiple 2D pop-up windows, but the top half the the VSI seemed to intermittendtly go blank, thus cutting off the info on the gauge. 2. Parking brake action (knob) is reversed. 3. No vertical speed mode available on autopilot. 4. No 1/2 bank angle mode on autopilot. Can anyone verify the veracity of the above. I am obviously still new to the aircraft, but I suspect the issues I've outlined are legitimate. Thank you, Sean K.

Audiohavoc is correct with the joystick stuff. It is mandatory.Regarding the other questions...I'll address those in my forum in the coming hours (read: when I have time later today or tomorrow at the latest).Thanks,-Sean K.