Carenado C337H Skymaster. Our own screenshots.

Sheer excitement! That is most likely the best term I can use to describe the latest FS9 release from the leading FS prop aircraft manufactuer Carenado. They dubbed this release as the "Most detailed FS2004 aircraft ever modeled." But is it? Let's dive down deep into the depths of this animal and find out! Bandwidth Warning! I've got's lots of screenshots and rambling in here to suck down your precious bandwidth. Let's do it!

A whole different animal.

Now some people uninsrested in our passion could make a play and say all airplanes look the same. At the very least, some could say a lot of airplanes look similar. In some cases, this is actually true. For example, I have heard people say the C208B and the Kodiak look the same. But regardless of such ingorant uninterested eyes, one the thing is for sure without a doubt: Even these people realise the C377H is in a class of it's own and indeed, there is nothing else quite like it. Well... there is the Fokker D.XXIII and the Adam A500 but quite honestly, neither quite captures the beauty and essence of the Skymaster line of aircraft. This baby is a whole different animal.

Now I have drawn what i believe to be a reasonable conclusion that if you are a regular visitor to ADX then there is a reasonable assumption that you have the basic knowledge of this aircraft. So unlike with other reviews of this aircraft, I am not going to insult your intelligence and school you on the absence of differential thrust, Vmc, centerline thrust, or why you should never takeoff on one engine. I am sure all or at least most of you know all this and besides, it's a simulation anyway. What I want to talk about is how this baby looks, feels, and performs in the simulation... how well Carenado has captured the beauty, presence, and elegance in FS9.

So lets go with the exterior looks first.

Now as we all know, all FS9 and X-Plane renditions of Carenado aircraft are ported over from their native FSX variants using a special procedure. What really impresses is it really isn't all that evident. There are some small things that remind you of it if you know where to look but mostly this all is due to FS9's limitations. Nevertheless, the C337H in FS9 is represented in the Carenado quality you and I fully expect.

For some reason the Australian Westpac livery is my favorite. Honestly I am not sure why. I guess a workhorse livery on this bird looks better to me than a private livery. I suppose that's because this aircraft looks strong. It seems to say "what ever you need, I can do it" it looks like it's ready to save lives or something. Living here in Southern California, we are used to working aircraft such as the DC-10's and turboprops that fight our fires every year. I love an executive aircraft but I also love a hard working aircraft too. The wing position also makes it more fun to enjoy the view and scenery... or look for someone to rescue. All the angles are perfectly represented true to form.

Another thing I really want to point out here is the interior. This may be an old aircraft but she looks every bit of new. Just look how well detailed the seats are. With that wide door open, she is very inviting for a comfortable flight.

Now as with all Carenado products, you have all the options you need right at your fingertips. Hmm... Does that say instrument reflections? Hmm...let's climb aboard and get a look inside.

What I really love here is in the areas you are mostly likely not to bother looking. There was no loss of detail anywhere in this model. Even under the seats. This is skill and passion. I give very high respect and praise for developers who believe in and implement passion in their work. 

Now finally getting a look at the business end of things you get a very clear look at the 3D VC. My screenshots simply fail to accurately show the level of quality and detail that exists here. If I didn't know any better I would assume Carenado developed the panel from scratch for FS9. Everything is in it's place and incredibly sharp. But that is not the best part of the panel... Now earlier I mentioned something about an option for instrument reflections.

Now I am trying my best to somehow show the reflections on the gauges but for some reason I just can't quite seem to capture it. As you move your head (TrackIR) you can see the reflections. I guess you simply have to buy it and see for yourself. The effect looks great and it proves that not only has Carrenado returned to FS9 but they are also developing new effects as well. I am very impressed. Not as good as FSX but surely better than any other VC gauges I have seen on a prop aircraft to date.

Going for the details again you really can see these guys had direct access to a C377 all the details are clearly present around your feet. You may never look down there but rest assured the details are there!

As we look around even more and play with stuff, I can assure you this: there are all kinds of animated stuff in here. I am not going to show them all off. You are going to have to explore your toy a bit when you get one.

I just love the above shot because you can really see all the shinny details. This is a beautiful aircraft.

As we continue to turn our head we can can clearly see the reflective glass textures that is by far the very best I have seen in FS9. Simply a wonderful job and really adds to the realism to the virtual cockpit environment. Well done here. There are options to turn off all the reflections with the gauges and windows but why would you want too?

As we keep panning we see the complete cabin. See those little switches by the overhead lights. All are animated and activate the lights.

Okay. Enough of all this. Let's get this girl off the ground! After I land I will compare the superior Carenado C377H to FSD's 337D and T377H.

As this is a test flight, we will take off from Shorham Field and cross the Channel to France where we will circle around the Houte Normandie area for a couple hours and return to England.

Another thing I really liked here is how realistic this aircraft really is. Once the engine is started you can see the aircraft vibrating and wings shaking from the chugging engines. Now I can't show this effect with a screenshot but trust me.

Another effect I can't show is the awesome sound that emanates from this baby. The sounds from this bird are unlike any aircraft you have ever heard. You clearly know when a C337 is near by. It's unmistakable. Carenado perfectly captured the sound and just trust me when I say: you will not be disappointed.

After engine start, preflight checks, and a very smooth taxi and take off, finally we are off the ground.

Here we see the exterior animations. Extended flaps, cowl flaps, and retracting gear.

Here we see the fore and aft cowl flaps closed. I also like the activation lights on the panel that extinguish when the cowl flaps are closed. Nice touch!

Each plane has it's own interior. Very nice panel trim!

This one is my favorite shot. Carenado has a way of making them look so real! I also love the exterior window reflections.

A very good looking and fun aircraft to fly!

Carenado's flight dynamics are the most realistic of any aircraft in FS. I love just how the aircraft's simulated struts extend and retract when I touch down. This aircraft is very animated! A++

The approach and landing was very smooth. No complaints. Now that we are safely back in Shoreham, lets compare models shall we? Now some of you are probably saying to yourselves: "Ah gotts mah FSD so ah aint needin no new Carenado. Mah FSD is good enough man." Well you'd be wrong. In the below shots you can clearly see that wheras the FSD model was great for it's time, it doesn't come close to the Carenado model by a long shot. But by all means, don't take my word for it, see for yourself:

The FSD model clearly show it's age. Although, I would have liked to see a tie-down setup on the Carenado model like we see on the FSD model.

Here are the other paints that come with the model as well:

 Blue

 White

Rhodesian AF

Now on to the night lighting. I honestly must say the night lighting on this bird is pristine to say the least. Now we all know FSX's night lighting effects are far superior to FS9. However, for all it's worth, the FS9 lighting on the C337H is very superior to all other prop aircraft in FS9.

Dark cabin.

 With a flick of the little switch you see there we get cabin light.

 Lower panel lighting.

 Full panel lighting.

 Takeoff/Landing mode without cabin lighting.

Here is a full feature list:

3D gauges.
Original HQ digital stereo sounds recorded directly from the real aircraft.
Carenado GNS530 installed.
Customizable panel for controlling windows transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and sights props.
Pop up C337 Skymaster manual with normal, emergency checklist and performance tables.
Realistic night lights effect on gauges and virtual cockpit.
Interactive virtual cockpit.
Full moving parts: Ailerons, elevators, rudders, flaps, rolling wheels and trim tab
Animated sections such as: propeller, doors, windows, sunvisors.
Lights: Navigation lights, landing and taxi lights.
3D modeled pilots, cockpit area and passenger cabin area.
Separate switches for instruments lights and cabin light.
Toggle yoke.
Real behavior compared to the real airplane.
Real weight and balance.

Included in the package:
5 HD paint schemes.
1 HD Blank texture.
2 models (one pilot and two pilots).
Normal and Emergency Procedures - Performance tables PDF.
Quick reference table PDF.
Operations Tips PDF.
Carenado GNS530 Users Guide PDF.

All and all I am very impressed with this aircraft. There are fewer eye candy animations in compaeson to other Carenado aircraft such as exterior objects and the passenger seat does not move. Wheras these things are heaps of fun to look at, the real passion here is in the looks and handling. Carenado is not being lazy in backporting these aircraft to FS9. They are adding new features and really putting a serious effort to bring the joy of VFR flying back to FS9. Yes VFR is so much more beautiful in FSX but FSX is just so damn buggy sometimes with the random stutters and CTD's etc. Sometimes it's just better to have piece of mind and that is what this aircraft delivers to FS9 besides it's hot looks. Enjoying a nice flight at 80FPS, full clouds and AI, no stuttering... This is what FS9ners are enjoying, the piect of mind that they are getting the very most of FS9 with no compromise.


C337 Skymaster FS2004 Service Pack (1) 20120914

This service pack improves some textures which had white areas at the edge and on the overlaping areas.

You don´t need to download the service pack if you downloaded the aircraft after September 14th, 2012 1300 GMT

You have to log into your account at our site to get it.



This is a must have for all VFR enthusists Go and get yours!

Thanks for reading!

D'Andre

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