Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Jumped into this plane as soon as it became available...or an hour after rather. After a couple standard aircraft.cfg modifications for AirHauler (which Carenado's are very forgiving of) I leased a couple of these for my Hana, Maui based Hawaiian company "Ma'Haul'o Air"...run by a scrappy young fellow named Lee Shore. First round trip shake down haul from Hana (PHHN) to Lahaina (JHM), then over to Moloka'i to pick up a paying return trip went without a hitch. A couple clients seem impressed with the new airplane...while the loader guy looks for the best way to load 3 medium sized cargo's into it incorrectly. Checking my left and right before entering the runway...it's kind of casual over here, simply listening to the radio isn't going to cut it. Up and away...with authority despite a fairly heavy load. Verifying that the Nav1 tracks the OGG VOR...it does indeed. As it was my first landing, I didn't take any shots during the arrival or departure to/from JHM/Lahaina Popping over some ridges coming into Molokai: On down wind at Molokai. Leaving Molokai heading back to Hana Approaching Hana, gear coming down. Parked and unloading at Hana. And I noticed that this paint matched the livery on my C-185 parked here....nice coinky dink. Cheers from Maui...I am loading another couple cargos heading now for Port Allen airport...PAK on Kauai...aprox 220 miles this time. Captain Coffee's mini review results: Exterior Looks: 10/10 beans Interior appearance (-1 bean for an overly bright cockpit light bulb...that is gonna be glary at night...hope it turns red): 9/10 beans Nav/electrical/lighting systems tested thus far (no bugs found): 10/10 bean. Flight Characteristics (As expected for a well powered stably configured twin aircraft...ie...sweet.) 10/10 beans. Sound (Very nice throaty sound set, that varies well with pitch, throttle...and is markedly different between interior and exterior sounds...very satisfying). 10/10 beans without knowing what an actual Shrike Commander sounds like. 9/10 beans Fun Factor (It took 4 landings before I could pull better than an OK landing. It isn't a piece of cake to fly, and offers a bit of challenge but is otherwise a predictable flying aircraft). 10/10 beans. Captain Coffee awards this Shrike Bird a "9 out of 10 Coffee Beans" rating. A Gold Cuppa Award. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
needles 1,013 Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Great shots Matt. A few more of the cockpit would be nice though. I'll be getting this as soon as I get clearance from SWMBO in the tower. Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Godden 943 Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 3 hours ago, Captain Coffee said: Captain Coffee's mini review results: Exterior Looks: 10/10 beans Interior appearance (-1 bean for an overly bright cockpit light bulb...that is gonna be glary at night...hope it turns red): 9/10 beans Nav/electrical/lighting systems tested thus far (no bugs found): 10/10 bean. Flight Characteristics (As expected for a well powered stably configured twin aircraft...ie...sweet.) 10/10 beans. Sound (Very nice throaty sound set, that varies well with pitch, throttle...and is markedly different between interior and exterior sounds...very satisfying). 10/10 beans without knowing what an actual Shrike Commander sounds like. 9/10 beans Fun Factor (It took 4 landings before I could pull better than an OK landing. It isn't a piece of cake to fly, and offers a bit of challenge but is otherwise a predictable flying aircraft). 10/10 beans. Captain Coffee awards this Shrike Bird a "9 out of 10 Coffee Beans" rating. A Gold Cuppa Award. Matt, Great screenshots and as you clearly point out the Aero Commander is a winner and there are a few others already lining up for delivery of their aircraft. I will put some extra words around your scores and get a review out on it this weekend. Cheers Andrew 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted May 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 4 hours ago, needles said: Great shots Matt. A few more of the cockpit would be nice though. I'll be getting this as soon as I get clearance from SWMBO in the tower. We strive to accommodate Popping our head in for a look from the ramp: And craning the neck looking back to the well appointed cabin: Some better "in action" views of the VC: A word about the vent windows. The pilot's vent window is Extremely difficult to get at the knob once it is open. It is completely behind the glass and you must lower your view point to access it. TrackIr extreme seat slouch works...but not during take off very well...d'oh. The Door Knob was close enough to the Vent Window knob that I accidentally opened my door while trying to close the vent...hahaha. Close the vent before hitting the gas. You've been warned. Not surprisingly, it's a Carenado, (they kind of have the artwork end of things down....) the interior holds up well at close range...fyi, I only have textures set to max 2400ish/whatever that is. The detail probably gets sharper if your machine can handle the 4800's Here's that glary bulb I mentioned...It's the former astronomer in me that despises glaring lights even during the day. Without light. As you can see it is a very basic and well laid out switch panel. Super easy to figure out the start up proceedure without having to look at a manual (I didn't bother to look if one was included): The rear is quite comfy looking. My only gripe is selling a plane with such crappy carpets, makes me wonder what kind of ratty material is under those new looking seat covers...really Carenado! WTF? Cheers Needles! Coff. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Looks stunning this one, and your shots really do it justice! What's the short field performance like?? From what I've gathered it's based on a model with Piston Engines, so no thrust reversers I assume..... Could one get it into or out of one of the smaller grass/gravel strips around Friday Harbour? Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted May 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Mikael. I doubt that I've mastered landing this yet...but so far i'd have to say it's no Islander when it comes to short field landing. It's stall is double the Islander's (but still respectably slow for a medium twin at 70kts with full flaps) and it's brakes don't seem as grabby. Nevertheless, I have delivered a heavy cargo to a 1800ft dirt strip so far. We made it, but I had to tap right brakes and careen into the grass at the end of the strip to keep from running off the end. Taking off from a short strip is much easier than landing it IMO. And you are correct, no reversers on the motors. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,498 Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Some great shots shots and feedback Coff I agree with you about the cockpit and here's your answer to the cabin light colour at night! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Thanks for the feedback Matt... it didn't make it any less tempting.. @mutley Stop trying to pass off photos for screenshots boss 2 Link to post Share on other sites
wain 879 Posted May 13, 2016 Report Share Posted May 13, 2016 Great one Matt..nice shots...tis a fantastic looking aircraft...ghis temptation will be hard to resist... Link to post Share on other sites
Corsaire31 419 Posted May 13, 2016 Report Share Posted May 13, 2016 Nice shots in a nice part of the world ! The plane looks good too, but I have enough twins in the fleet for now and I will keep trusting my Islanders for trucking around short dirt tracks. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted May 13, 2016 Report Share Posted May 13, 2016 Darn it Matt, you've tempted me to the point where I couldn't resist buying this "little" gem... Installing in a sec... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted May 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 Stu...I don't think you will be disappointed. It's a sweet ride. 17 hours ago, Corsaire31 said: Nice shots in a nice part of the world ! The plane looks good too, but I have enough twins in the fleet for now and I will keep trusting my Islanders for trucking around short dirt tracks. Islander is Definitely the bird of choice for short and dirty work. This one is "rugged", and fast...but there is no way I'd try to land it at "Hilltop"...which is a ho hummer event for an Islander. The Islander also has a larger payload, by about a 1,000 lbs...so, it's a money maker. I salute the Islander...amazing machine, but hate flying it for long distances...god the noise it makes . Also in my case, there is a sound issue (that will probably resolve once I rebuild and reinstall my system on the new SSD...still delaying doing that because the sim is working so well right now...god I can digress) that causes an increasingly loud whine that cuts out temporarily when I hit "ANY" switch, lights, vents, gps, anything,...weird...have no idea what's causing it...can't be arsed to track it down because even without the WhineBug, Islander still drives my ears wonky. This one sounds lovely, and makes a great Boss Hauler...ie...I stuff 2-4 "Trainee" cargos into it and make some rep, visit my bases, tour the area...play around. Trainee Cargo, Definition: Cargos generated by whatever tiny planes I keep in my fleets to "test" new pilots (Corby Starlet is a nice new one, BD-5G/J, Piper Cubs, etc, etc)...the planes generate tiny 200-350 lb cargos that I can load up several at one base, dash about picking up several more at other locations, and make a sweet multi-rep, multi leg area tours out of. (Ok...i lied...i'll probably try landing the 500 commander at Hilltop now that I thought of it.) Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 Love the roar of those engines, and as you day they are much easier on the ears than those on an Islander.. Really messed up my first landing though.. Managed to run of the end of a 3.000 foot runway... Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted May 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 Heh...my first landing was ugly too. But my last was a greaser at Hilltop that got stopped (thanks in large part to the steep slope) in time to turn for the sheds without running up the hill further...like I had to do on the previous 4 attempts. Coming over the logs just as the stall horn chirps was the trick. Getting out required backing up the slope as far as possible, set park brake, run up motors, release brakes, firewall throttles, hold it on the strip till halfway down, then put down full flaps... rotate about 200 feet before the logs, bounce bottom of plane off of the tall tree... Proceed with your own navigation from there...hahaha. Ie... Crash detection OFF is required. hehe. Link to post Share on other sites
Corsaire31 419 Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 I must agree with the engine noise of the Islander, usually adjust the engine sound level around 20 % when I fly them ! Never had this whine problem you mention though. As I explained ealier I had many flights in these as a passenger end of the seventies between France and the Channel Islands. I was happy these were short flights, at the time I could not adjust the sound level... Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Godden 943 Posted May 15, 2016 Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 On 5/12/2016 at 13:10, Captain Coffee said: A word about the vent windows. The pilot's vent window is Extremely difficult to get at the knob once it is open. It is completely behind the glass and you must lower your view point to access it. TrackIr extreme seat slouch works...but not during take off very well...d'oh. The Door Knob was close enough to the Vent Window knob that I accidentally opened my door while trying to close the vent...hahaha. Close the vent before hitting the gas. You've been warned. Matt, Look a little wider and you will find that the hinge of the pilot's cockpit window is also a click spot which opens and closes the said window. Carenado had obviously recognised the problem of the close proximity of the door and window click spots when the window is open and have provided the hinge as an alternative click spot. Problem solved. Cheers Andrew 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted May 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2016 Thanks Andrew. Link to post Share on other sites
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