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FlightSim magazine
TM
PLATINUM SERIES
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Editor’s Letter In this new and exciting issue number 1 of our new “Platinum” series, we have for you some detailed, in-depth looks at Carenado’s Cessna 185 and Alabeo’s C195, along with some other great add-ons. This issue focuses on “Classic Props” as the title would suggest, meaning that everything in this issue is 100% prop-driven (no jet’s here) and is what we would consider to be a classic aircraft, classic being defined by us as a truly remarkable and recognizable aircraft. Our new Platinum series will be available for purchase at most major flight simulation shops, for download as a PDF, and will be released every month which our regular bi-monthly publication is not. Happy Reading! Nicholas R. Editor, FlightSim Magazine
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PLATINUM SERIES All contents copyright FlightSim Magazine/respective owners 2014. All rights reserved.
Cessna 185
5
Cessna 195
C-130
18
An-2
24 12
Cessna 185 Carenado
My overall first-impressions of this aircraft were pretty good, the add-on features highly realistic flight models and a top-notch virtual cockpit. The overall sound of the aircaft was good and it was a real fun little thing to fly.
Cessna 185. The Skywagon The Cessna 185 Skywagon prototype first flew in July of 1960. The first production 185 was completed in March of 1961. The Cessna 185’s were basically a Cessna 180, only featuring a strengthened fuselage, some other differences include a 300 hp engine (C 185) as opposed to a 230 hp engine (C 180). A total of over 4,400 Cessna 185 Skywagon’s were built between 1961 and 1985 when production of the model ceased.
Exterior.
This add-on has one of those exterior’s that you really just can’t take your eyes off of. Featuring a highly detailed exterior model, the add-on from Carenado also features some great textures “right out of the box” so to speak. Simply put, once you get off the ground it’s really easy to take some really great screen-shots of this beauty.
One of my favorite features of the Another great feature for Carenado’s exterior of Carenado’s 185 Skywagon Skywagon is the included blank is the different models. texture, which to my knowledge is included with all of their add-ons. Included with the standard pack is The blank texture is much easier 4 seperate models; with and without for the ‘average man’ to figure out, fairings, side windows on both sides making it much more practical for and two or three blade props, these anyone to design thier own custom coming together to add a new depth paint for the add-on without some of realism to the add-on, especially of the more technical skills required for our friends who enjoy flying to do more complex aircraft, like say from the spot view, although I per- the PMDG NGX. sonally preffer to fly from the vc.
Technical Requirements Windows XP - Vista - 7 (32 or 64 bits) Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX with SP1 and SP2 (or Acceleration Pack) installed. Pentium V/2GHz or similar – 1GB RAM – 128MB graphics card 330MB hard disk space available.
The add-on has realatively low technical requirements, making it a great add-on for any simmer, as even in today’s world not everyone has an amazing PC with 8 cores or whatever it is these days. Pricing on the Carenado Skywagon is great value, as it retails for just $26.95 USD and comes complete with 4 paint schemes, 4 models and the blank texture that I mentioned.
Interior.
Interior wise, the Carenado Skywagon is great featuring working windows, doors, and air vents along with numerous other switches in the cockpit, and as with any real or virtual Cessna, once you’ve flown one you’ve pretty much flown them all making it really easy to transition from a newer model like the 206H, or even the Caravan to this little beauty in the sky. During our review of the interior model of this add-on we also had access to a real Cessna 185 cockpit and I can personally vouch for this add-on’s vc’s authenticity.
Cessna 195 Alabeo
Carenado’s 185’s “sister in the sky”, this amazing C195 Businessliner from Alabeo is pretty much the definition of a classic prop driven aircraft. The C195 being a truly iconic aircraft in the real-world, and Alabeo’s model being a truly iconic add-on for flight simulators. I really can’t wait to share my opinion with you!
Exterior.
The exterior of the aircraft is amazing, as you’d come to expect from a toplevel publisher such as Alabeo, or Carenado. The model on this add-on is great, featuring “superb material shines and reflections” a great blank texture for creating your own amazing paints, gauge reflections, models with and without fairings, “volumetric side view prop effect” and amazing 3D model and to top it all off, it has some stunning HD textures.
Interior.
Just as the exterior , the modelling work on the interior of the Businessliner is amazing, featuring working opening doors, many (most) working switches, accurate gauges, amazing sounds and more. Adding to the realism of the vc, you also get with the Alabeo model gauge reflections, window scratches and prop shines, making flying the Alabeo Businessliner a near unforgettable experience.
Technical Requirements Windows Vista/7/8 (32 or 64 bits) Microsoft Flight Simulator FSX with SP1 and SP2 (or Acceleration Pack) installed or Lockheed Martin - Prepar3D Flight Simulator. Pentium V/2GHz or similar – 2GB RAM – 512MB graphics card. 390 MB available hard disk space.
Compared to the Carenado 185 we just looked at, Alabeo’s Businessliner has realatively high technical requirements, however most machines should still be able to keep-up. As far as pricing goes, Alabeo’s C195 is an amazing bargain, for just $22.96 USD, you get the blank texture so you may create your own paints, you also get an amazing quality 3D model, and HD textures, along with an amazing virtual cockpit and great flying dynamics.
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Captain Sim
C-130 X-perience
A real treat to fly, the C-130 X-perience add-on from Captain Sim is an absolute must-have for anyone interested in this beast of an aircraft. During my “x-perience� with the add-on I flew over 70 hours in her and really got to know this beautiful add-on from Captain Sim.
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules first entered service in the 1950’s, with the U.S., still in operation today the C-130 has participated in many humanitarian, civilian and of course military operations.
The C-130 has the longest continuous military production run of any aircraft in history, and is one of the only military aircraft to remain in service with it’s original customer (U.S.) for over 50 years. The C-130 (H) is valued at $30.1 million, with a crew capacity of 5, and a payload capacity of 92 passengers, or 64 airborne troops, or 2-3 Humvees, or 2 M113 armored personnel carriers, or 6 pallet’s or a payload of 74 litter patients with 5 medical crew. The C-130 (H) cruises at 292 kts, with a range of 2,050 nmi and a service ceiling of 33,00 ft.
A Captain Sim C-130 on floats.
Exterior.
One the outside the Captain Sim model is beautiful looking, featuring numerous different models, including one with 3-blade props, one with 6 blade props, one on floats with JATO one with a refueling probe and many more! The add-on also comes complete with 25 great looking liveries. The add-on also features many great custom 3D animations, such as working doors, including emergency exits, radome, radar dish, AWACS radome, wheel chocks and many more!
The Captain Sim C-130 also comes complete with an available repaint kit, many free downloadable liveries, 6 preset exterior views and an exterior model animations control panel which really comes in handy with the 100+ animations the add-on has. As far as technical requirments go the Captain Sim model is fairly economical, however some smaller machines may not be capable of running it. As far as price, the Captain Sim C-130 X-perience is a steal! You can pick up this amazing add-on for just $52.52 USD for the comlete all-in-one pack, or $26.25 USD for the base pack (C-130 E) and $13.12 USD for each expansion to that.
Technical Requirements
PC with 1.5 GHz equivalent or higher processor 256 MB of system RAM 64 MB DirectX 9 compatible video card 500 Mb of free space on the MS FS hard drive Microsoft速 Windows速 XP SP2 or Vista Microsoft速 Flight Simulator X SP2 or Flight Simulator X Acceleration. Internet access (for installation/ re-installation)
A cabin variant on the Captain Sim C-130.
Interior.
The interior of the Captain Sim C-130 is pretty good, featuring numerous animations, such as working wipers. The add-on also features 2 seperate flight deck versions, the analog and the EICAS versions. The Captain Sim model also features a detailed virtual cabin, which I feel really adds to the depth of the add-on.
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An-2 SibWings
The An-2 is pretty much the definition of a classic prop-driven aircraft, with it’s highly recognizable wings and radial engine, there’s no mistaking the An-2. SibWings has perfectly captured the beauty of the aircraft with this add-on!
The Antonov An-2 is used as a light utility transport, agricultural work, as a parachute drop aircraft and many other tasks. Over 18,000 An-2’s have been built, between 1947 and 2002. The An-2 was also used by combat services in the Korean War, and in the 1960’s an An-2 was shot down by an F-4 Phantom II while attempting to engage South Vietnames naval units. The An-2 carries a crew of 1-2, and has a capacity of up to 12 passengers. The An-2 cruises at 100 kn with a service ceiling of 14,750 ft.
Exterior.
The exterior work that SibWings has done with this addon is amazing, and is truly top quality. The add-on features 6 paints, and an amazing, meticulously designed exterior model, accurate flight dynamics, and authentic sounds. The An-2 from SibWings is absolutely amazing to look at, and it’s very easy to see that they were truly passionate about this project. The technical requirements are “medium” if I may put it that way, most machines should be able to run it, however to get peak performance you’ll still need a pretty good PC. The price is extremely reasonabe, at just $21.00 USD, you get this amazing model with amazing sounds and a great virtual cockpit, I would surely recommend that you take a look into getting this add-on for your flight sim fleet, no matter what you usually fly!
Technical Requirements Windows Vista/7/8 Microsoft Flight Simulator X SP2/Acceleration 2GHz CPU / 2GB RAM / 512 MB Graphics Available hard drive space: 350 MB Desired: Joystick, TrackIR Windows compatibility mode should be off for FSX
Interior.
As with every great add-on the vc that comes with the SibWings An-2 is amazing, equally as good if not better than the exterior model. This vc also features seperately animated needles shadows making for a much more realistic look and feel, the cockpit also features gauge glass reflections and finger prints, according to the angle of light reflecting in from the sun, adding a new depth to the add-on.
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