Here is my review of the Waco YMF5 by Carenado. I have been waiting weeks for this and was shocked to see it in the marketplace today. Glad it is finally here!
Here is my initial review of the aircraft.
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What a review. I am wondering why you did not notice the wrong load and balance sheet. it is not possible to get the CG inbetween the limits. Whatever load and fuel you choose the CG is always outside of limits.It even allows you to load two passengers beside the pilot. How do you do that with only two seats? No wonder the take off is hard to perform with breaking out sideways.
For a self declared professional pilot this is only worth half a star. Just repeating the commercials is just not enough in a review.
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The cockpit does not look like two person can take place on that seat. Have a look yourself. May be that was the case in 1936 with the original. But no the current model in the sim.
EDIT: Just realised the passenger seats are in the front. You are right, might accomodate two small persons.
Some more bugs after first inspection
- EGT and CHT temp gauge not operational
- Oil temp gauge not operational
- Sound in the cockpit when manipulating Prop Lever (There is no prop lever in the aircraft)
- Attitude indicator calibration moves indicator in the wrong direction
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To begin with, no matter what factors (fuel, pilot weight , passenger weight, sand bag, etc) I adjusted, I was not able to get the CG in range. It was always 8-10% ahead of the forward chord.
Secondly, trying to fly it in that condition, as one might reasonably expect, didn’t work very well.
Thirdly, the ground handling is atrocious. Way too sensitive, no matter how far back you dial the rudder sensitivity settings.
Have flown tail-draggers both in real life and in the sim many times and this model is nowhere near authentic.
Hope that Carenado is paying attention and issues a prompt fix, or I’ll be seeking a refund (which is something I’ve never done before.
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EGT does move but it takes a lot of movement on the mixture to make it move (almost full lean), but it does move. Almost every piston airplane on FS2020 is the same way. I do not think that is a Carenado problem, but programming in the simulator.
You wrote," Sound in the cockpit when manipulating the Prop Lever." There is not a prop lever in the cockpit. There is a throttle, mixture, and ALT AIR control lever. What were you moving to have the sound change when manipulating the prop lever?
The oil temp gauge does move but not like it should or how we think it might. It moves 2-3 needle widths but that is it so far from what I have seen.
I did not address the weight and balance issues because this is a flight simulator and there are bigger bugs to worry about besides something that can be fixed by an outside developer (i.e. no working VNAV, limited FMCs/FMSs, no missed approach procedures, no GP on RNAV approaches in some aircraft, etc). In FS2020, weight and balance being inside or outside the envelope is not a concern I have. It is a video game trying to be a simulator. Almost every airplane is overly sensitive in FS2020 despite where the CG is.
Someone gave me this tip. If you add 75 lbs to the aft baggage it dampens the yawing around 40-50 mph during takeoff. I tried it and it did help. The problem is still there but it wasn’t as bad.
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The way I parsed that was moving the physical prop lever, that doesn’t exist on the aircraft, generated a sound effect in the sim. Like those squeaks you hear when pressing the rudder pedals.
I was not sure. I wasn’t sure if he was using a peripheral device or not. All that aside, it is still a gorgeous airplane and I don’t want to see anyone get upset because I didn’t discuss weight and balance or not since I do fly for a living. I do NOT care about CG or even consider it in FS2020. THIS IS NOT REAL LIFE. I’ve never seen anyone get hurt with a fore or aft CG in FS2020. Happy flying everyone!