Carenado

Embraer E50P Phenom 100 HD Series for FSX and P3D

By Thomas Jones - In Partnership with Flightsimglobal.com

i7-2600K turboboost to 4.6ghz | Nvidia ASUS GTX580 1.5gb | 16gb 1600mhz RAM | 2x 1TB HDD | Windows 7 64 bit

Background Information:

The Embraer Phenom 100 (or E50P or even EMB-500) is a private jet aircraft under the category, Very Light Jet (VLJ). The Phenom 100's first flight was in July 2007 and has been very successful. At the time of writing, almost 300 units have been built. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW617 turbofan engines controlled by a FADEC system. In 2009, a Phenom 100 was valued at around $3.6 million United States dollars. Today, you can own your own simulated version for FSX or Prepar3d for $39.95. The Phenom 100 is Carenado's first jet aircraft, with the next to be the Hawker 850 XP. Features included in the plane as stated on Carenado's site are as follows:

Carenado G1000 Prodigy glass cockpit system. Original Phenom status screens Weather radar embedded in the G1000 Multiple CAS messages Special input keyboard incorporated

Original Phenom systems

Multiple aural warnings sounds

Full FSX and P3D v2.0 compatible.

Landing and Taxi halo effect lights.

Original Phenom EADI

Panel dim light option

3D knobs technology for operating 3D knobs

Full FSX and P3D v2.0 compatible.

HD quality textures (2048 x 2048).

Cold and Dark start option

Original HQ digital 3D stereo sounds.

Complete back cabin

Customizable panel for controlling windows transparency, instrument reflections and static elements such as wheel chocks and sights props.

Real behavior compared to the real airplane. Real weight and balance. Tested by real pilots.

Realistic night lights effects on panel and cockpit.

Installation: The download for the Phenom 100 is a 254mb .zip file. Installation, as with most products these days, was a very simple and easy to use automatic .exe file that installs the aircraft after certain information is entered at the requested times. Nice and easy.

Exterior Model: Probably the thing that Carenado does best with their aircraft is the external model and texturing. The Embraer Phenom 100 is no different. The outside model of the aircraft is fantastically detailed. Every bump, rivet, and seam is crisp and clear. All markings and external antennae are present and where they should be. The control surfaces and other moving parts, such as the gear and flaps, are smooth and have accurate motion. When on the ground and parked with the

engines off, multiple objects can be placed with a popup menu option. Some of the items include engine covers, chocks, cones, covers, and a hand tug. Looking inside the engine intake, Carenado did well for their first time modeling the spinning N1 fan texture. One may say it is... Phenomenal. Anyone? Or was that pun just plane awful? Come on, someone has to give me props for that. The Interior: The Phenom 100's interior is just as detailed as the outside. Most of the panel is taken up by three huge screens that belong to the Garmin G1000. Other parts of the cockpit have different control panels for the engines, pressurization, hydraulics, fuel, air flow, autopilot, and a few others. More on the individual systems later. Interior lighting of the Phenom is equally impressive. The texturing is immensely detailed and every shadow is taken into account. Every button, dial, and switch is backlit and gives off a strong feeling of immersion. The main displays of the G1000 aren't too bright in comparison to the backlighting and remain at a comfortable brightness level. Moving back to the cabin, the detail remains the same. The seats have a nice texture job that makes the leather look like it really has seams in it. The only parts that move in the cabin are the window shades, which can only be put fully up or fully down. Flight simulator video creators might be able to have some fun with camera positions in the cabin with wing views and acting as “passengers”. Flight Dynamics

When getting in the air, the Phenom is somewhat slow to accelerate. I assume this is due to the smaller than normal engines on it. Once airborne, the Phenom will accelerate with greater ease and be up to speed in no time. It is stable in a climb and performance matched the documentation that came with it. Roll rate, when between 150 and 250 knots, was incredibly high and I should not have be so surprised to see that. This is a small, sleek private jet; not some large jet airliner. The aircraft will happily climb up to its service ceiling of 41,000 feet and cruise their as long as there is still fuel in the tanks. Coming down for landing needs to be thought out ahead of time. The Phenom is made for speed, and doesn't like to slow down. If your decent angle is too steep, the aircraft will continue to accelerate even with the throttles fully retarded. When on approach, careful trimming is the only thing to worry about. Other than that, the aircraft floats above the runway when flaring and gently eases itself down.

Systems The systems in the Phenom are probably the only complaint I have with the plane. In most of Carenado's planes, they are known for being relatively simple propeller powered aircraft with light systems modeling. Carenado later introduced the G1000 cockpit into some of their planes, which was met with both praise and hatred simultaneously. The Phenom has the G1000 glass cockpit equipped and most of the real plane's systems lie within the computers. With the Carenado Phenom, some systems appear to be lacking. Carenado has been a company that is mostly about producing fantastic looking aircraft (which the Phenom does quite well), so if you are upset I am complaining about the systems from a non-systems focused company, then please move on to the next section. Navigation and flight planning with the Phenom is somewhat clunky from someone who has never used a G1000 before. The Carenado Phenom, unfortunately, uses the default FSX GPS and flight

planning system. It is possible to enter waypoints into the GPS, but it would be the exact same way as the default GPS. I have also noticed that in the displays for various aircraft systems, not all of the information shown depicts what is actually happening in the aircraft itself. For example, I was on the electric page and shut off both the left battery and generator. The display on the G1000 still showed max power coming out of both. If you are a serious “hardcore” type simmer that wants nothing but absolute systems representation, you may want to look elsewhere. Documentation A total of five PDF files have been included in with the Phenom along with a sixth for copyright information. Each one explains something different about the plane, such as the G1000 and its features, emergency procedures, normal procedures, performance, and recommended settings.

Performance Like many of Carenado's planes, the frame rate for the Phenom is Phenomenal (I know, I used it again). Some users have reported on various flight sim forums that they have very few frames with the G1000 cockpit on the Phenom. Carenado announced that they are working on a fix for this so all users can have a smooth flying experience. My experience with performance was a positive one, as I received very high frame rates and was able to enjoy the detailed texturing coupled with great fluidity with the frame rate. Overall The Carenado Phenom 100 is a fun little aircraft to fly. It looks and great and performs well. My only other complaint is the price for the plane. It costs $39.95 USD. In my opinion, that price should be representative of not only a good looking plane, but one with better

systems than what are included. It's nice to see Carenado breaking out of the prop market and getting us simmers the private jets we've been lacking for so long, but please Carenado, next time put a bit more effort into the systems if you are going to charge that much. If you are a “hardcore” simmer, then you may want to hold off. If you are looking for a fun, fast little plane to zip around in, the Phenom 100 is for you. Great modeling and texturing Carenado.

The motion of the gear, flaps, and control surfaces are very fluid.