Carenado Cessna 337H Skymaster review by Ray Marshall

[raymar 969]

Soya has posted a great 4:31 minute video showcasing the Carenado Cessna 337H Skymaster in various liveries cruising the Grand Canyon. See it here.

2 musical versions to suit the entire world. I like the original score, music starts at 8 seconds, so don't overboost your speakers.Ray

[TedG 1]

A beautiful video and a lovely review of an outstanding aircraft!The only non-positive comments I would make regarding the C337 are:-Due to the awkward positioning of the lower AP controls why not use a similar pop-up "mini-controller" scheme as is present in the Saratoga?-Carenado really needs to start including a sim-oriented POH/system tutorial/whatever as opposed to scanned RW manuals for documentation.Aside from that this model is utterly superb. As it happens I have actually flown in a specialized version of the C337 (once in the right seat terrified of accidently touching the controls and in the rear operating some "stuff") and the immersive quality of the visuals and audio brought back great memories of shivering in a sleeping bag in the back trying to stay warm .This model has quickly taken its spot in my FSX hangar alongside the Aerosoft Twin Otter as my favorites. Now Carenado just need to port it over to XP so I can enjoy it there too!Again...terrific review and keep banging Carenado to improve the documentation a bit!CheersTed**edit**I spotted a couple of folks flying the C337 via the Air Hauler portal yesterday in the PNW area. Inexpensive aircraft within AH and very useful 750 lbs capacity. Apparently NOT recommended for grass/dirt/gravel strips due to rear engine being described as a "FOD magnet" but who cares-its a sim!

[Carlo12 2]

The 337 is indeed a fun to fly and the only Carenado in my hangar with realy fine Flight Dynamics, but there are some issues i wonder why the reviewer has not mentioned (after 30 hours flight):Icing conditionsfuel infection systems but carb icing effects, what happens here?When flying in icing conditions with the 337, I have to switch on fsx carb heat with a key-command.fuel valves:fuel flow with valves settings to cut off!Aux PumpsTotaly messed up, Front HI feeds the front, Front LO feeds the reat engine, Rear switchtes only dummys.ADFno Stdby Frequence, ugly "fake-3d switches"Battery Master SwitchAll lights and Avionics Switch working with master Switch OffCockpit LightStrange looking in my opinion feels just like a Bitmap, no real dynamic ligthningNo VC rain, icing and "real" landing lightsI am realy not a big fan off Awards, Stars and other fancy decorations but LotusSim L39, Orbx Lancair and RealAir Turbine Duke has raised the bar, Carenado is still not in that league, with the exception of the cost.

[rsgunner 2]

Now if only Carenado would actually do an O-2A that would be the icing on the cake.When I was assigned to my agency's Pensacola district in the late 60s I was at Eglin and Hurlburt almost weekly.I would see O-2As doing pattern work at OLFs. Fell in love with the bird.How about it Carenado? O-2A, Please!!Russ

[raymar 969]

A beautiful video and a lovely review of an outstanding aircraft!The only non-positive comments I would make regarding the C337 are:-Due to the awkward positioning of the lower AP controls why not use a similar pop-up "mini-controller" scheme as is present in the Saratoga?-Carenado really needs to start including a sim-oriented POH/system tutorial/whatever as opposed to scanned RW manuals for documentation.Aside from that this model is utterly superb. As it happens I have actually flown in a specialized version of the C337 (once in the right seat terrified of accidently touching the controls and in the rear operating some "stuff") and the immersive quality of the visuals and audio brought back great memories of shivering in a sleeping bag in the back trying to stay warm .This model has quickly taken its spot in my FSX hangar alongside the Aerosoft Twin Otter as my favorites. Now Carenado just need to port it over to XP so I can enjoy it there too!Again...terrific review and keep banging Carenado to improve the documentation a bit!CheersTed**edit**I spotted a couple of folks flying the C337 via the Air Hauler portal yesterday in the PNW area. Inexpensive aircraft within AH and very useful 750 lbs capacity. Apparently NOT recommended for grass/dirt/gravel strips due to rear engine being described as a "FOD magnet" but who cares-its a sim!

I have a link for replacement McCauley props for flight sim applications. Go ahead and ding a few.Ray

Now if only Carenado would actually do an O-2A that would be the icing on the cake.When I was assigned to my agency's Pensacola district in the late 60s I was at Eglin and Hurlburt almost weekly.I would see O-2As doing pattern work at OLFs. Fell in love with the bird.How about it Carenado? O-2A, Please!!Russ

I'm sure there are many, many flight simers with the same hopes for an O-2A version. I also hope Carenado is listening, listening to all these comments.Ray

[raymar 969]

The 337 is indeed a fun to fly and the only Carenado in my hangar with realy fine Flight Dynamics, but there are some issues i wonder why the reviewer has not mentioned (after 30 hours flight):Icing conditionsfuel infection systems but carb icing effects, what happens here?When flying in icing conditions with the 337, I have to switch on fsx carb heat with a key-command.fuel valves:fuel flow with valves settings to cut off!Aux PumpsTotaly messed up, Front HI feeds the front, Front LO feeds the reat engine, Rear switchtes only dummys.ADFno Stdby Frequence, ugly "fake-3d switches"Battery Master SwitchAll lights and Avionics Switch working with master Switch OffCockpit LightStrange looking in my opinion feels just like a Bitmap, no real dynamic ligthningNo VC rain, icing and "real" landing lightsI am realy not a big fan off Awards, Stars and other fancy decorations but LotusSim L39, Orbx Lancair and RealAir Turbine Duke has raised the bar, Carenado is still not in that league, with the exception of the cost.

Many of those were addressed in the review. The others should be posted at the Carenado unofficial support site for all to join in and support. You have to tell the Developer what you expect - that is what I do. I agree, the bar is constantly being raised and our expectations are getting higher and higher and we will be choosing the addons with most for the money as the choices increase and the money gets tighter. Thanks for your comments.Ray

[Spook 96]

:/no interior views?

[raymar 969]

GOOD NEWS guys and girls,I just read an email from Carenado and they state the O-2A is now on their list of potential releases. It is not a sure thing, but it is better to be on the list than not.Ray

:/no interior views?

Look again. Several interior shots. I can post a few for you. What are you interested in seeing in more detail?Ray

[Spook 96]

well, if you dont mind :)VC please.

[Carlo12 2]

Many of those were addressed in the review. The others should be posted at the Carenado unofficial support site for all to join in and support. You have to tell the Developer what you expect - that is what I do.I agree, the bar is constantly being raised and our expectations are getting higher and higher and we will be choosing the addons with most for the money as the choices increase and the money gets tighter. Thanks for your comments.Ray

Ray,my intention was to give you a feedback what I would expect from a review, the good sites of a product and the bad sites. Your conlusion is just a praise of a $34 Plane as a sim pilots deam - no mention on faulty fuel pump switches or fuel valves, simlpe ADF or the lack of documentations (refering on fsd Documentations must by arkward for Carenado).I hope my bad english does not sound to rude.Carlo

[raymar 969]

well, if you dont mind :)VC please.

For you.http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C08WIDTD20 interior VC shots - fsx defaultRay

[Spook 96]

Thanks ray.DL now.

[raymar 969]

Ray,my intention was to give you a feedback what I would expect from a review, the good sites of a product and the bad sites. Your conlusion is just a praise of a $34 Plane as a sim pilots deam - no mention on faulty fuel pump switches or fuel valves, simlpe ADF or the lack of documentations (refering on fsd Documentations must by arkward for Carenado).I hope my bad english does not sound to rude.Carlo

Thanks for the feedback. A volunteer's review can never be everything for everyone so I don't expect mine to totally satisfy every reader. However, I do think there were some text you must have missed in your reading of the review. This is word for word from the published review:"This one does not come with an Instructions Manual, Owner’s Manual or a Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) as many other high end add-ons do.Because it moves, is big and complicated, and gets hammered from time to time, the landing gear is prone to failure. There is a large section in the documentation on how to deal with this issue and it is worth spending some time getting familiar with manual operation. FSX has some limitations on what can be modeled in this area, but it is all for naught as Carenado chose not to model any of the manual gear operation. Drat, double drat. You will find a lot more performance data in this review than comes with the download from Carenado. This is result of many hours of research and cross checking a lot of conflicting data.FSX add-ons are never perfect. Sooner or later someone will find some wart or blister. Most of what I have read at in the forums are simple mistakes junior pilots are making but there is a short list that Carenado is compiling for the next service Pack. Everything I found is very minor and I could live with them without a fix.I think Carenado must put out each release with a misspelled word on the panel or window just to see if we are paying attention. I noticed the Landing Light is labeled LOG rather than LDG and the tooltips are mixed up on the Aux Fuel Pump switches, and some external antenna shadows are dotted lines but let me ask you, What do you expect for $35.00? This one is so good that I might just decide to live with it just as it is. I did find the aircraft.cfg aircraft description is out in left field someplace, not that it affects anything, and I think I might be the first one to notice it in two months. The next patch will update the aircraft.cfg file and correct it but now that you know about it, you can backup your original and correct it yourself if it bothers you."I did not test or fly with each and every feature available or not available. I didn't ask for more than I expected, but I was clearly disappointed that the manual gear operation was not modeled. It is not uncommon for switches and valves not to work properly but, those can be correctly easily with patches and SPs. Carenado does update their models with patches when it is brought to their attention. That is why I gave you the method of doing just that.Asking for FS9 features in FSX usually does not get much attention from the developers.Ray

[Carlo12 2]

... I noticed the Landing Light is labeled LOG rather than LDG and the tooltips are mixed up on the Aux Fuel Pump switches ...... What do you expect for $35.00? ...... Asking for FS9 features in FSX usually does not get much attention from the developers.Ray

Ray,let me please explain what i ment.re. Aux Fuel Pump Switches:Not the tooltips (which are disbaled in my config) are the problem, the switches are not working correct.re. What do you expect for $35.00?I know that there is no errorfree Software, but have a look at the competitors.The past years Caranado Planes where nice Eyecandy, simple Avionics and strange Flightdynamics but a low price an worth the money, compared to other GA Planes. With introducing 3D Instruments, the price is now in the league of RealAir and Orbx, whithout the finesse, superb Documentation and these sort of technique that raises the bar like - and here I come to the mysterious "Asking for FS9 features in FSX usually does not get much attention from the developers" Benchmark LotusSim Albatros L39, which has all these features that never should work in fsx: VC rain, icing and real landing lights - in fsx.So this is what I expect for $ 35.00. Am I spoiled?Carlo

[raymar 969]

Ray,let me please explain what i ment.re. Aux Fuel Pump Switches:Not the tooltips (which are disbaled in my config) are the problem, the switches are not working correct.re. What do you expect for $35.00?I know that there is no errorfree Software, but have a look at the competitors.The past years Caranado Planes where nice Eyecandy, simple Avionics and strange Flightdynamics but a low price an worth the money, compared to other GA Planes. With introducing 3D Instruments, the price is now in the league of RealAir and Orbx, whithout the finesse, superb Documentation and these sort of technique that raises the bar like - and here I come to the mysterious "Asking for FS9 features in FSX usually does not get much attention from the developers" Benchmark LotusSim Albatros L39, which has all these features that never should work in fsx: VC rain, icing and real landing lights - in fsx.So this is what I expect for $ 35.00. Am I spoiled?Carlo

It sounds to me like to you want to take the best that each developer offers and to overlook their faults and then ask the other developers to meet or beat that level of service in each package. Yes, I think you are going to be disappointed for a long time.I do know that if you don't like the soup, you need to talk to the cook. They are the only ones that can make it better or different. The review is just that, a review. It is not the end all of everything and it is not totally comprehensive. You are welcome to have your money back that you paid for this review.I assume you do own the Carenado C337H. If so, you can email Carenado directly and ask that they fix or build what you are looking for, or you can go to the support site and start a post of items that others can add to for Carenado's consideration for the next update or patch. Other than that, I don't think the Cessna Skymaster pilots are interested in what the L-39 or Turbine Duke can or can't do. I think you can add special lights to almost any FSX addon.I do know that even if the Aux fuel pumps and master switch are not working to your satisfaction, it does not stop the plane from starting up, taking off, climbing, cruising, doing approaches and landing. It very possibly is not simulated correctly, but it is hard to get it all in one package at one time. This one is pretty good as it is. That is this reviewers opinion.This forum is for comments about the reviews and we have covered this one. When it gets to the specific addon and what it will or won't do, it really should be someplace else and not in the review section.Ray