So I just bought the newly released Carenado Citation II for X-Plane 11 a few minutes ago. This does appear to be a port of their Citation they released for FSX/P3D a year or so ago. I gave them a pretty hard time about the plane in my magazine review. We’ll see how the XP11 version shapes up.
The first thing I did upon getting in the cold and dark cockpit was move the battery switch to EMER to see if the COM1/NAV2 and FLOOD lights came on (as they are supposed to). Nothing happens. Not a great start. If I can just recycle my notes from the P3D versions, I’m going to be angry.
Seems pretty much par for the course with Carenado/Alebao. They look great, fly well, but don’t expect too much in the way of systems depth or a decent manual (which I guess isn’t necessary if you don’t have much systems depth).
I used to be a hardcore kind of simmer, but these days I am generally happy if it looks and flies right. That is just a personal viewpoint though.
Moving on to the preflight rotary TEST functions. They took some liberties by using some voice callouts that didn’t exist in my Citation II…but then again, I didn’t have an EFIS equipped one either. So we can perhaps assume there were some upgrades.
ANNU - works. All the lights light up.
ANTI SKID - works
OVERSPEED - works
W/S TEMP - illuminates, but is only supposed to do so when you move the temperature switch to LO/HI
FIRE WARN - works
LDG GEAR - works
BATT TEMP - works in that it illuminates the light, but the batt temp gauge is also supposed to move to the yellow, and then start flashing as it moves further into the 160 degree red zone
STICK SHAKER - works in that it rattles, but the AOA gauge is supposed to peg into the red too
So not accurate, but the “gist” is there. I’m guessing this is going to turn out very much like the P3D version, that the $40 price point is going to give you the “Citation Experience” but isn’t going to be an onion you could peel to perhaps give you all the insights of Citation systems. That will probably be fair enough for me. But we’ll continue…
Couple quick pics. I see that it has the GTN 750 integration according to the web site…so I’ll see about that later. And a friendly guy on the X-Plane.ORG forums is going to gin me up a MedCenter Air livery…! Sweet!!
Very nice looking 3D modeling in the cockpit…Carenado does know how to make a pretty airplane on the inside and outside. Will give VR impressions later. Does seem a bit needy on the GPU for FPS…
Start-up looks OK-ish. It has been about 20 years since I was last in a Citation II, but I’d be surprised if the low-idle was nearly 72% N2. The V/Ultra is 46% in low idle, 52% in high idle. Any more than 52% when starting the second engine risks shearing the starter drive shaft. My memory is too fuzzy on the II numbers, but I’d think they are similar.
Also, it looks like Carenado requires you to have the ignition switches in the ON position for start, which is probably incorrect. If it is like the V/Ultra, the ignitors fire automatically during engine start and when engine anti-ice is selected on. You usually only turn them on prior to takeoff and landing, heavy turbulence, or heavy rain. In all other cases, they stay in NORM. Not a big deal though…
Engine start sounds and idle power sounds are very good.
Generator checks. Again, very long time since I flew the II and there could be some significant differences in the electrical system. So this may be accurate. In the V/Ultra, if you turn a generator off, then move the voltage selector switch to that generator, you should not read 0 - you are actually just isolating the generator from the electrical system by opening the field relay when you move the gen switch to OFF, you aren’t actually turning it off. It is still out there whirring away putting out 28.5 volts. The reason you’d want to isolate it is in case of an undervoltage or overvoltage situation. So you turn it off, move the voltage selector to that gen, and read the voltage on the meter. If it is working properly, the volt meter should still read 28.5 volts. Then you can bring it back online. Carenado makes the voltage go to 0, which is probably wrong, but I can’t say it definitively.
As well, at least in the V/Ultra, a single generator failure will not give you a Master Warning (the big red light), only a dual generator failure will do that. The II may be different. Carenado gives you a Master Warning for a single generator failure.
Nice that the DC Amps show a picking up of the load when you do turn off one generator as the other picks up the load.
Nice that they modeled the AC TEST switch correctly. Selecting #1 and #2 does not select that inverter, but rather FAILS it so you should see AC FAIL and INV1 FAIL when you move the switch to #1 along with a Master Warning. Nice job.
Looks like the Citation auto-detected my GTN when I put the avionics power on. As yet, I haven’t found out how to make the screen clickable…I have to use the 2D window to manipulate it. Hopefully that can be sorted out. It looks great in there. As far as add-ons go, the Reality XP GTNs are probably some of the best pieces of kit out there.
Thanks you a million times over Carenado for giving us the ability to have a 2D pop-up window of the flight director and autopilot panels. All praise Carenado! (Unfortunately though, the knob manipulating is the awful, slow, scrollwheel type that is horrid…)
Thrust reversers work - the EMER STOW button does force them into the STOW position, but activation of the TRs, speedbrakes, or landing gear (flaps are electric in the II…otherwise also the flaps in the V/Ultra) should cause a pressurization of the open center hydraulic system, giving you a HYD PRESS light on the panel. The EMER STOW switch should ultimately result in forcing the hydraulic pressure to go to the stow side of the TR valves, and that continuous pressure should keep the ARM light on and the HYD PRESS light illuminated for the duration the switch is kept in STOW (presumably until you land if you really did have one unlock or deploy in flight). Again, not a big deal, but if this were a $70 airplane, I’d expect it to be right…but it’s close enough. My screenshot shows the STOW switch for the left side in EMER and the ARM light on…but it actually extinguishes after a brief second…it should stay on. ARM is simply a pressure switch that says “hey…there is pressure in this line” UNLOCK is a limit switch that says “hey, the TRs have started to move” and the DEPLOY light is another limit switch that says “hey…the TRs have reached their full extension” (at which point if you are in flight, you are already upside down and you are now aware that a TR has deployed…)
Speedbrake test - again, there should be a HYD PRESS light that illuminates on the systems panel to indicate you are demanding HYD pressure HYD pressure is available/the hydraulic bypass valve is closed. Speedbrakes are held in position by hydraulic lock, trapped fluid in the line. So you’ll get a HYD PRESS light on while they extend, then it goes out while the SPEED BRAKE light stays illuminated. You might see the HYD PRESS light flicker once every so often if the pressure in the line starts to bleed out and it needs to be bumped up by the system.
As well, there should be a 90% throttle switch (it is a physical switch in the throttle quadrant) that is set to automatically retract the speedbrakes upon application of 90% or more power N1. The reason for this is that if you are demanding that much power, you sure as poop don’t need drag. This might not happen in the II, but I’d bet it does. Carenado does not model this…but I can’t say definitively that it is wrong.
Bleed air system - does not appear to model PRESS SOURCE GND - a setting most of us don’t use anyway, but it can be used to maximize cooling and heating on the ground. Pulling from distant parts of my brain, but the LH and RH engine packs each provide 12 cubic feet per minute of air movement when operating normally. In GND, you should get a BLEED AIR GND caution on the panel to warn you that you are in GND selection, pulling 18 pounds of air through the ACM (air cycle machine). If you advance the throttle above something like 60%, you put too much air through the ACM for it to handle, and it bypasses, triggering the ACM O’PRESS light and I’m pretty sure you have to remove DC power to reset that valve. That’s why most of us don’t use it…it is just too easy to forget it is on, and it generally isn’t worth the very incrementally better cooling and heating that GND offers.
Anyway - neither the GND light or the ACM O’PRESS lights seem to be modeled in the Carenado Citation. Again, really not a big deal, but if someone where diving in and making a true replica of the system, those things would be included. I’ll check the EMER PRESS system once airborne…
Another little error with the FUEL BOOST pump. It is a three position switch that they modeled correctly, but the sound they use for to implicate that it is running plays when it shouldn’t when the switch is in the NORM position.
Switch positions are:
ON
OFF
NORM
In on, the light comes on and you hear the sound, you are directly powering the pump.
In OFF, the pump only comes on during START and CROSSFEED.
In NORM, (the setting it is in 100% of the time), the pump comes on during START, CROSSFEED, and LOW FUEL PRESSURE.
When you place the pump in NORM in the Carenado Citation, you can hear the pump running when you shouldn’t. In actuality, you can NEVER hear the pump running…but whatever.
Thankfully, because it has been years since I flew the Citation II, I have forgotten most of this stuff. Probably the same for the Challenger by now too. If Carenado ever does a Global though, I’ll be ready!
Fuel crossfeed is modeled incorrectly. When switching the crossfeed valve, the IN TRANSIT light should illuminate for a few seconds while the crossfeed valves move. Once they reach the open or closed position, the green light goes out. As well, the tank from which you are sending fuel should have that side’s fuel boost pump come on, which does not happen in the Carenado Citation. In the Carenado Citation, the IN TRANSIT light stays illuminated constantly…I don’t know if the developers thought the light meant fuel was “IN TRANSIT” from one tank to the other, but that isn’t what it means, it means motion of the valve.
I’m waiting a few minutes to see if the fuel is actually transferring or not. The fuel split should only take a couple of minutes or so to be realized since the fuel is being sent at about 900 pounds per hour to the other tank while simultaneously feeding the other engine…so the split becomes evident within less than 2 minutes in the real airplane.
So I’m not seeing any fuel transfer at all. So I don’t think that is happening.
Engine anti-ice does not exhibit normal behavior either. When you select the engine anti-ice on, the yellow lights come on on the caution panel as you would expect. Those lights are supposed to extinguish when a few parameters are met…again these might be slightly different for the II, but I’ll bet they are the same:
Leading edge heat reaches a certain temperature. The II might have electric inboard leading edges though, so that sensor may not be hooked up to the ENG ANTI-ICE light logic. There is also a wing root temperature sensor that must have a condition met.
Stator vane valve opens, ignitions should automatically come on.
At low power settings the yellow lights will remain on, indicating you do not have proper ANTI ice power settings and you might be accumulating ice. Advancing the N2 to around 76% or above should keep the anti-ice lights extinguished. The Carenado Citation seems to think the lights are just an indicator of whether you have the system on or off…that is not how they work. The lights indicate that the system is ON and the temperature of the surface it is monitoring is not being adequately heated…so it is an abnormal indication.
As well, ITT does not rise when the anti-ice is selected on, and the N1 should drop a few %. I can’t tell if the ignitions come on automatically (they should) and I’m not sure if the II had green ignitor lights above the ignition switches or not (the V and Ultra do).
I flew a straight II with electric inboard leading edges and boots for the rest of the wing. It looks like the Carenado has the weeping wing. I couldn’t tell you if it is modeled correctly or not because I don’t know what the proper indications are. There is a two position switch for SURFACE ALL and ENG. If you select SURFACE ALL, the SURFACE DEICE light illuminates on the caution panel and I assume it starts the process of excreting fluid. I don’t know if there is a glycol gauge or something…oh wait…yes, I see it GAL ANTI ICE FLUID gauge. Not sure if it moves yet or not. Or if there is visible icing on the model that will get removed…I’ll have to get into IMC and icing to find out…
