Yeah - you can swap out between cargo and pax in the P3D version of Air Hauler…you have to be at your base (that makes sense) to reconfigure it.
There were all kinds of features that I never explored in AH2 for P3D. Like you mentioned, setting up factories, the stock market, doing freelance missions…etc…
Which company makes the best beer? LOL…
AH2XP Aircraft Evaluation #04 - Carenado Cessna 185F w/ Bush Expansion
MTOW = 3,350 lbs.
EMPTY = 1,748 lbs.
230 lbs. pilot
180 lbs. fuel (2 hours)
1192 lbs. cargo
The Cessna 185F was the second aircraft I upgraded to in my P3D Air Hauler campaign. I started with the diminutive, but relatively cheap Aviat Husky, and earned enough to purchase the Cessna 185F over time. The 185 stayed in my hangar nearly until the end - but I had to sell her to make the rent payments. A true bush workhorse, the Carenado version has a MTOW of 3,350 lbs. giving a useful load of around 1,600 lbs. By the time you add some fuel (I calculated 15 gph) and a pilot, you can haul just shy of 1,200 lbs. of cargo - a very substantial amount of sun cream.
Currently, it looks like the Carenado 185 is only being marketed for X-Plane 10, although I am flying it in X-Plane 11.50 beta with no problems that I can see. So buyer beware!
EDIT - So I see that Carenado released a version 3.2 of this that did make it more compatible with XP11 - so let me check out any changes and I’ll report back!
With a basic IFR panel that should warm any old pilot’s heart - the 185 is a throwback to a simpler time. One digital NAV/COM and an old crystal mechanical radio give it a nice old school appeal. The ADF brings back memories…not all of them good. No HSI in this bird, just an old fashioned DG that must be recalibrated on occasion. Similarly, no GPS - although maybe I can try my hand at adding the KLN-90B to this panel as well.
The 185 has a satisfying engine sound…a low blat-blat-blat that implies it is ready to go. Once you get some power in it, it smooths out a nice purr. This model has a 3-bladed propeller.
Ground handling is…well…a bit of a handful. I rolled in about half the rudder trim to the right and that seems to help a bit. It being an XP10 model, I wonder if there isn’t some friction variables that might could stand to be tweaked. The plane does want to swap ends on you if you are very proactive with the rudder and brakes. At maximum gross, you may want to mess with the airplane CG when loading to see if you can get a bit more stability out of it. The POH recommends flaps 20 for maximum performance takeoffs…
Up the hill we labor, but the 185 seems to want to fly earlier than most of the other planes we’ve looked at. By the crest of the hill we were getting light on the struts and as we started downhill she popped off the ground. Definitely a squirrelly beast at heavy weights and low airspeeds…
Liftoff point was measured at about 1,250’…
Coming back around, full flaps gives a good look over the nose and the plane is very responsive to power inputs. X-Plane actually does power response much, much better than FSX or P3D.
Landing distance just a smidge under MTOW (enough to do a quick teardrop back to the field) was just about 1,000’, but that was with some pretty good bounces that adversely affected rollout. I’ll bet we could get that down to 700’ with a bit better technique.
Some mistakes were made during other testing…
In VR - the plane looks gorgeous. One of my favorites…
No idea on the Air Hauler 2 price yet since we don’t have the figures or beta yet…but if I look back at my P3D purchase price it came in at around 256K!
Definitely a contender - but maybe as a first upgrade aircraft. I probably won’t be able to afford her right from the beginning.
FYI…
I’ll find a way to pay for it
Side note…are you flying from Heron’s Nest in VR, in the above tests? I ask cuzz it works in 2D but when I plug in the headset and start in VR, the airport doesn’t show up. Not in database at all. Strange as I’d not expect any relationship there. Dunno. Running Vulkan for both 2D & VR. Just curious.
EDIT: Spent 45 minutes flying around looking for it, from KIWI. In nasty (real world wx) conditions. Can’t believe I didn’t auger in. Was fun anyway. Gotta get a rain-on-windshield mod. Take care.
Try launching in 2D and then switch to VR. You can even map a joystick button to toggle VR. I wish DCS would implement that because I would much rather brief on a large 2D screen.
So in terms of location and scenery…is it a fair to say we’re starting in the US Pacific Northwest region?
It would be nice to make that broad call (even if we will iron out the home field later) so we can start looking at scenery options.
I took a look at the ORBX scenery packs…obviously quite nice but not cheap! As noted by others, they cover the adjoining states of Washington and Oregon as well as Northern California, so you do get lovely high definition coverage of a decent stretch of land.
British Columbia and Yukon / Alaska are up from there, unsure what scenery packs are available for those.
If we started in Washington or Oregon from one of the airports @BeachAV8R has scoped, then one could get going looking all pretty with a single ORBX scenery pack and potentially do quite a lot before having to cross state lines (and face further hits to the wallet).
Obviously there are lower cost alternatives - just need to figure those out.
Edit:
Here is the ORBX Washington state - the downside of Fairchild AFB is that it’s pretty close to the border of the state and the scenery. Presumably half the gigs will be going inland to Idaho / Montana from there:
In saying that, the landscape East of Spokane looks pretty cool with all sorts of national forests and mountains…so if there are sceneries that give it the detail it deserves, it would also be fun flying.
No go. It [the scenery] would show up doing that but it would run at only 1/2 the performance; still showed Vulkan ‘engaged’ though. Somewhere I recall a bit about Vulkan & VR and the sequence. Don’t recall the details. Gonna call it: Beta. But…
On a related note? (scenery selection-wise)… Went to Bella Coola, BC (CYBD) and tried to head in the general direction of another scenery (iBlueYonder). Even though it would also not load under these conditions I thought it’d be fun.
Was windy - 4G19 knots (felt like more); light rain/snow, BKN, clouds ‘licking’ the peaks.
With my butt-kicker kickin me in the turbulence; the clouds skimming the tops of the peaks - what a cool VR experience! Think I was only doin 40 knots at touchdown into that wind (the Bush mod for the -172).
I’m ready Coach, put me in! They ain’t made enough Rubber DogS*!t in Hong Kong to stop me! 
Yes - I’m flying with the Reverb and I think my sliders were set to one notch down from the right. I do like @PaulRix recommends - I start in 2D, then switch to VR. Very odd that it would disappear for some reason in VR when it is present in 2D. I’m running Vulkan as well.
I think that gives the most “bang for the buck” so to speak. You don’t even necessarily need the ORBX payware - you could use Forkboy orthos with pretty good success I would think.
If I were voting - I’d definitely vote for Washington State over Oregon - just so much nice flying up there, interesting airfields, and awful weather. Plus, I like extending the region up into Canada and the Inside Passage area.
VR is insanely fun - particularly so in these less complex airplanes where you can just have a throttle and stick and go at it. I’m guessing that is the big attraction to Condor 2 as @PaulRix and @smokinhole have noted…just enjoying the experience without having to get too far into the weeds of aircraft management (that can be fun too though…)
For those seeking the Forkboy Orthos - the Washington/Idaho/Oregon regions would probably work out well for where we eventually plan to fly.
AH2XP Aircraft Evaluation #05 - Stinson L5 (Laminar Research)
MTOW = 2,250 lbs.
EMPTY = 1,600 lbs.
230 lbs. pilot
120 lbs. fuel (2 hours)
300 lbs. cargo
This is a great little aircraft for some bush hauling. Obviously, it would pay to go on a diet to increase your load carrying capacity. If I dropped 50 pounds, I would be able to eek out 350 lbs. of cargo instead of my lard constrained 300 lbs.
As usual, checking out the plane meant getting too close to the edge of that rabbit hole - and down I went.
First - make sure you are using the X-Plane 11 version of the L5 Stinson since it has a nicely upgraded cockpit, sounds, and flight dynamics. It should be the default L5 Stinson in the Laminar Research folder, but if you are like me and tend to tote modified versions of planes around, you could have an old version.
I gave the L5 a whirl with no modifications and was surprised at how quickly it got off the ground at maximum takeoff weight. So doing some research on the .ORG, I found an update to the L5 that author “MGouge” seems to have spent a good bit of time caring for. I believe he is a real world L5 pilot and has tweaked the L5 flight model and .ACF file to more accurately portray what the real airplane does.
Make sure to read his attached notes on flying tips and aircraft loading guidance. Adjusting the CG and noting the fuel and load recommendations result in very good handling. It is probably one of my favorite tail-dragger ground models I’ve tried so far…it feels controllable, but still requires some attention.
A beautiful, classic airplane. I’m using IainJStewart’s cool dirty bush paint scheme…
The L5 POH (that is a fun read!) recommends the second notch of flaps for takeoffs…
A beautiful 3D cockpit…but there could be some issues with regards to Air Hauler in that it does not have a GPS, but does have a tablet map in VR, and no traditional green needle navaids either.
However…there is a spot down there at the bottom of the stack for some modifications! (Picture taken in VR)
So, diving in to Plane Maker…
There we go! Not the most elegant install…but whatever…
Also, there is no autopilot…so if I were to use this plane I might consider throwing one in as well.
Even with the modified performance .ACF file, the L5 at maximum gross does a very nice job of getting off the runway (an upsloping one at that!) in very short order, about 750’…
Coming back around, the aircraft is very responsive to throttle inputs and with full flaps, a stout landing, and heavy braking we only used up about 600’ of runway…!
The plane is pure joy in VR, and my guess is that for Air Hauler it will perhaps be fairly cheap to buy right off the bat. Definitely high on my list and maybe I’ll mod it with a cargo pod on the belly…
Howe much does plane-maker allow you to mess with stuff? I really like the Cessna 172 Bush kit and the Garmin Angle of Attack instrument that it has. Can that just be moved over? That seems … unlikely?
I think it can…but instruments can be tricky. I can take a look and see.
Well, that wasn’t hard. I borrowed the cargo pod from the STMA Husky (I wouldn’t be able to share it unfortunately) and slapped it on the bottom of the Stinson. I still have to throw some mud on it though…
Well, I can get the object moved over…but I don’t know if I’ll be able to get it working or not…let me do some exploring…
I may have gone a little stupid in the X-Plane store. Bought the Carenado Cessna CT201M Centurion II and the SimCoders REP for it, the Thranda Kodiak Quest G1000 and the … the Simcoders REP for it.
Well. At least I have my upgrade path laid out before me 
I’m proud of you! 
… Nicely done.
