Background Information
The Cessna 185, also known as the Skywagon, is a six-seat, single-engined, general aviation light aircraft manufactured by Cessna. It first flew as a prototype in July 1960, with the first production model being completed in March 1961. The Cessna 185 is a high-winged aircraft with non-retractable conventional landing gear and a tailwheel. Over 4,400 were built with production ceasing in 1985. When Cessna re-introduced some of its most popular models in the 1990s, the tail wheel equipped Cessna 180 and 185 were left to the history books and not resurrected.
What's in the package?
Download and Installation
What's in the package?
So what do you get for your money, please note that this review doesn't incorporate the BUSH version that Carenado have released that is the next review on my list.
In this ad on you get:
4 Models - 2 or 3 Blade prop, Floor windows, and with or without wheel fairings.
4 Paint Schemes - This also comes with 1 blank scheme.
4 Paint Schemes - This also comes with 1 blank scheme.
C185 History and the Owners Manual (access able through the Shift + 4 Key in FSX)
Download and Installation
Because this was another linked aircraft I get the pleasure of using the Carneado checkout system, this is a great system that literally allows the user to download any aircraft up to 3 times and gives the keys and links to download in the same page. The download of this product took me about a minute to complete and then the installer automatically opened up which is a nice feature. The installer requires the keys that are sent by email after purchase and in the Downloads section in your account, this and your email is required to activate the installation. As per usual with Carenado add-ons the installer runs quickly and you have your aircraft to play around with in seconds!
My First Impressions
For my first impressions this time I am going to under-go a quick flight up to Edinburgh from Coventry. The aircraft looks very well detailed in the aircraft selection menu as I load up the flight. When the flight loads up you are faced with a very 'old' looking plane with yellowed instruments and odd patches of mould around the cabin which makes sense for a 50 year old design.
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| Is that mould round the windows?!? |
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| Very Old Basic Cockpit! |
The above photos are that on my first impressions flight - The flight dynamics seem fine for a powerful engine and a light plane about 100knot climb with clean configuration at about 1500 ft/min. The exterior model is extremely well detailed as stated above you can choose between the 2 blade version and the 3 blade version. The photo show below is that of the 3 blade version with the Red/Chrome livery.
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| Fly-By mode. Very nice model to fly! |
External Model
Well after some more flying time and looking into the ins and out of this aircraft, I can defiantly say that they haven't missed any detail from this airplane at all. Everything is modeled after looking at real pictures and videos of C185 in flight then I can safely say that the sound package is also a like for like representation of the real thing. Starting off with some small animations, because this is the non-bush plane there are not really allot of major animation for example the gear on the floats - however the animations that are included for example the ailerons, elevators and flap are all modeled into great depths with no major bugs or glitches that cause effect to the user. As usual with Carenado the prop modeling is great which sometimes you don't get in the GA simulators and the props look un realistic, however this is not the case form start up to shut down, and between the throttle range and the feathering the prop nothing seems to not work as it stands.
Interior Model
After about 10 hours now of flying I am happy to say although the aircraft is very basic inside the cockpit, it has become one of my favourite aircraft to fly around the skies. Unfortunately this aircraft only comes with a Virtual Cockpit, but as you can see there is literally on the bare essentials that are needed in flying, although I am quite happy to say that by pressing Shift + 2 you can bring up the GPS panel to plan your route to use the autopilot. Now I say autopilot, I don't mean the sophisticated FMS that you would find in a modern airliner it is literally just a LNAV, HDG, BackCourse and Approach modes and that is it very similar to the C182 by Carneado, so all the altitude and climb rates are done by hand which makes flying more interesting. So more about the interior model, panning around the cockpit you get a great view of the floor if you have the floor window option chosen, otherwise you get a very realistic feel for the aircraft as the windows are mouldy and the aircraft looks old and used, which is a very nice feature that Carenado have Incorporated. The backseats are modeled in a cream leather, and suits the aircraft very nice. The radio stack is full usable from the virtual cockpit and you can use the cursor wheel to cycle through the frequencies. On takeoff the visibility of out the cockpit is poor due to the aircraft being a taildragger however after coming through about 60knots you can push the nose forward similar to the DC3 on takeoff, however on landing you get great visibility. Because there is nothing really to report on this aircraft due to the simplisity of it here are some of the best pictures around the VC.
Pictures coming soon!
Test Flight
Because the C185 is not used allot in the UK and mostly Alaska and Canada for bush purposes (partly the reason why Carneado released a New version of the C185 the BUSH version). I have opted to fly from Unakaleet in Alaska to Bethel in Alaska, to get a great feel for the aircraft operating out of small strips.
So loading the aircraft up at the Fuel Box in Alaska's Unakaleet ( that seem to be the only default gate). After a few seconds the aircraft is loaded up with the engine started up, so I shut it down and do some pre flight checks before I get in the aircraft and get ready to start up - this is made easy by the fact that Carenado have made a shortcut to the owners manual in game by pressing Shift + 4 so after performing some imaginary checks we are ready to go flying! Jump into the Virtual cockpit, I turn the lights on and crack the starter over until she fires into life with a mighty roar. I lower the flaps for takeoff 2 stages should do ( Note that the flaps are operated by a lever on this Cessna not a motor which is pretty much standard on the Cessna range of aircraft. Which makes this more interesting to fly!)
So taxiing out to the active runway at Unakaleet took seconds as literally you are nearly parked on the runway. The aircraft is all ready to go and take to the skies above Alaska. Opening the throttle on the runway with a mighty roar this C185 is powering down the runway with a reasonable acceleration due to the gravel runway. Up-On reaching around about 80knots a small amount of back pressure will take the aircraft into the skies and a further climb out at about 100knots will give you a nice climb vertical speed of about 1400-1500 ft/min which is amazing for a one engined aircraft. After passing through 1000ft I take it to more a climb thrust with the prop lever pulled back to about 2300 RPM and the manifold at full power, this just bring the vertical speed down to about 800ft per minute which is a more comfortable climb. After reaching my cruise altitude of about 6000ft I push the nose forward and trim for straight and level flight with about 23 in on the manifold and 23000RPM on the prop, this set me up for about 140 knots cruise which estimated the flight at around 1hour. So now time for the autopilot, setting it up is great for the new comer to the payware market as you just click the autopilot on button and choose the nav button so the autopilot can follow the track and the aircraft banks to the right for itself (be careful here as you don't have an ALT mode therefore if the autopilot makes a turn you will lose height).
After a cruise of about 50minutes I decide its ready to come down and start my approach into Bethel. The best thing about this aircraft is that it will still continue to follow the NAV track while you sort out your descent into your destination. I came down to 1000ft AGL (QNH) I disconnect the autopilot and join on base leg to pull the power back from 140 knots to 100 knots to put down 2 stages of flap, which resulted in the plane wanted to pitch up which happens on a rare occasion as most developers forger the fact that the flaps don't only just increase drag but also increase lift! However I come down for a visual approach into Bethel and coming over the threshold I lower the final stage of flap and have an airspeed of about 70 knots indicated to make a touchdown just after the numbers. One thing that you have to remember with this aircraft is that fact that because it has a tail wheel you landings may have to be more flat because you don't want to land tail wheel first - that would be like putting a 2 tonne aircraft on a pram wheel! However I taxi off with no damage to the visibly eye and park up and shutdown.
Overall this aircraft has become one of my favourite aircraft to fly on the simulator as I allows the user to challenge their flying skills going into small strips and allows the beginner user to experience what it like to fly a payware aircraft.
To conclude I rate this aircraft a 4/5
What I like about this aircraft - The amazing detail that has been put into this aircraft is phenomenal!
What could be better - Nothing this aircraft is great for everyone to use - maybe include the option to apply the gear fairing to the aircraft of your choice for example!
Well after some more flying time and looking into the ins and out of this aircraft, I can defiantly say that they haven't missed any detail from this airplane at all. Everything is modeled after looking at real pictures and videos of C185 in flight then I can safely say that the sound package is also a like for like representation of the real thing. Starting off with some small animations, because this is the non-bush plane there are not really allot of major animation for example the gear on the floats - however the animations that are included for example the ailerons, elevators and flap are all modeled into great depths with no major bugs or glitches that cause effect to the user. As usual with Carenado the prop modeling is great which sometimes you don't get in the GA simulators and the props look un realistic, however this is not the case form start up to shut down, and between the throttle range and the feathering the prop nothing seems to not work as it stands.
Interior Model
After about 10 hours now of flying I am happy to say although the aircraft is very basic inside the cockpit, it has become one of my favourite aircraft to fly around the skies. Unfortunately this aircraft only comes with a Virtual Cockpit, but as you can see there is literally on the bare essentials that are needed in flying, although I am quite happy to say that by pressing Shift + 2 you can bring up the GPS panel to plan your route to use the autopilot. Now I say autopilot, I don't mean the sophisticated FMS that you would find in a modern airliner it is literally just a LNAV, HDG, BackCourse and Approach modes and that is it very similar to the C182 by Carneado, so all the altitude and climb rates are done by hand which makes flying more interesting. So more about the interior model, panning around the cockpit you get a great view of the floor if you have the floor window option chosen, otherwise you get a very realistic feel for the aircraft as the windows are mouldy and the aircraft looks old and used, which is a very nice feature that Carenado have Incorporated. The backseats are modeled in a cream leather, and suits the aircraft very nice. The radio stack is full usable from the virtual cockpit and you can use the cursor wheel to cycle through the frequencies. On takeoff the visibility of out the cockpit is poor due to the aircraft being a taildragger however after coming through about 60knots you can push the nose forward similar to the DC3 on takeoff, however on landing you get great visibility. Because there is nothing really to report on this aircraft due to the simplisity of it here are some of the best pictures around the VC.
Pictures coming soon!
Test Flight
Because the C185 is not used allot in the UK and mostly Alaska and Canada for bush purposes (partly the reason why Carneado released a New version of the C185 the BUSH version). I have opted to fly from Unakaleet in Alaska to Bethel in Alaska, to get a great feel for the aircraft operating out of small strips.
So loading the aircraft up at the Fuel Box in Alaska's Unakaleet ( that seem to be the only default gate). After a few seconds the aircraft is loaded up with the engine started up, so I shut it down and do some pre flight checks before I get in the aircraft and get ready to start up - this is made easy by the fact that Carenado have made a shortcut to the owners manual in game by pressing Shift + 4 so after performing some imaginary checks we are ready to go flying! Jump into the Virtual cockpit, I turn the lights on and crack the starter over until she fires into life with a mighty roar. I lower the flaps for takeoff 2 stages should do ( Note that the flaps are operated by a lever on this Cessna not a motor which is pretty much standard on the Cessna range of aircraft. Which makes this more interesting to fly!)
So taxiing out to the active runway at Unakaleet took seconds as literally you are nearly parked on the runway. The aircraft is all ready to go and take to the skies above Alaska. Opening the throttle on the runway with a mighty roar this C185 is powering down the runway with a reasonable acceleration due to the gravel runway. Up-On reaching around about 80knots a small amount of back pressure will take the aircraft into the skies and a further climb out at about 100knots will give you a nice climb vertical speed of about 1400-1500 ft/min which is amazing for a one engined aircraft. After passing through 1000ft I take it to more a climb thrust with the prop lever pulled back to about 2300 RPM and the manifold at full power, this just bring the vertical speed down to about 800ft per minute which is a more comfortable climb. After reaching my cruise altitude of about 6000ft I push the nose forward and trim for straight and level flight with about 23 in on the manifold and 23000RPM on the prop, this set me up for about 140 knots cruise which estimated the flight at around 1hour. So now time for the autopilot, setting it up is great for the new comer to the payware market as you just click the autopilot on button and choose the nav button so the autopilot can follow the track and the aircraft banks to the right for itself (be careful here as you don't have an ALT mode therefore if the autopilot makes a turn you will lose height).
After a cruise of about 50minutes I decide its ready to come down and start my approach into Bethel. The best thing about this aircraft is that it will still continue to follow the NAV track while you sort out your descent into your destination. I came down to 1000ft AGL (QNH) I disconnect the autopilot and join on base leg to pull the power back from 140 knots to 100 knots to put down 2 stages of flap, which resulted in the plane wanted to pitch up which happens on a rare occasion as most developers forger the fact that the flaps don't only just increase drag but also increase lift! However I come down for a visual approach into Bethel and coming over the threshold I lower the final stage of flap and have an airspeed of about 70 knots indicated to make a touchdown just after the numbers. One thing that you have to remember with this aircraft is that fact that because it has a tail wheel you landings may have to be more flat because you don't want to land tail wheel first - that would be like putting a 2 tonne aircraft on a pram wheel! However I taxi off with no damage to the visibly eye and park up and shutdown.
Overall this aircraft has become one of my favourite aircraft to fly on the simulator as I allows the user to challenge their flying skills going into small strips and allows the beginner user to experience what it like to fly a payware aircraft.
To conclude I rate this aircraft a 4/5
What I like about this aircraft - The amazing detail that has been put into this aircraft is phenomenal!
What could be better - Nothing this aircraft is great for everyone to use - maybe include the option to apply the gear fairing to the aircraft of your choice for example!
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