Right from the start I’ll admit that I didn’t think I was going to like this one. My initial reaction was “ugh, another Cessna” and for the most part this is just another Cessna model that is about as standard generic looking as you can get. It is a tail dragger so that holds a certain appeal but what else can you get from this? Turns out, I might have been wrong about this one though it comes with a caveat that I wish the developers could have anticipated. Here’s my review of Carenado’s Cessna 185F.

A bit of history

We have to do a bit of Cessna history to understand the Cessna 185. To do that, we go back to the Cessna 170 which was a four seat Cessna model introduced in 1948 and produced for several years before being supplanted by the Cessna 172 – which went on to become one of the most produced airplanes in the world.

The Cessna 180 was introduced to complement the Cessna 170 offering a slightly bigger and heavier aircraft with room for up to six and that model went on to be produced from 1953 through to 1981. Cessna then took that model and went a step further introducing a strengthened fuselage, a bigger vertical fin and a couple of more powerful engine options to create the Cessna 185.

The 185’s popularity was found in more backcountry operations. While the six seat configuration is rare, the rear seats reportedly too small to be useful for most adults, the added room and optional cargo pod together with its more powerful engine make it useful for utility operations.

The version represented in Microsoft Flight Simulator is the Cessna 185F which was introduced in 1973, featured a new “Camber-Lift” wing, and retained the 300hp Continental IO-520-D engine from the 185E among other modifications. This was the last main production model.

Visuals and sounds

Carenado has a reputation for making some good looking aircraft and the Cessna 185F does not disappoint. Well detailed high resolution textures throughout combined with some really solid artistry create one of the better looking aircraft in the entire sim. Even some of the typical Carnado quirks, usually around the lights of the aircraft, are better represented than I’ve noticed on some previous aircraft.

The cockpit is really impressive too. The seat materials look just glossy enough around the centre to show off that fake (or maybe that’s meant to be real) leather look while the edges are appropriately worn. That kind of attention is nearly everywhere.

Visually, I have two complaints. First, the cockpit glass is overly blue. I’m not sure if that’s a nod to the real airplane and how the glass ages over time but it is a bit jarring going from outside to in and noticing the colour shift. Second, the GNS 530 doesn’t appear to have its brightness tuned properly because no matter what I do it appears to have a radioactive level of glow at night.

There’s a handful of liveries available for this. I wish there were more but its an adequate number.

I’ve had mixed opinions on Carenado aircraft sound work, however, this is one of their best. The Continental engine has a really solid sound too it that doesn’t get too “droney” and some of the annoyingly obvious sound loops from some prior products seem to have been avoided altogether here.

Flying the Cessna 185F

The good part about “just another Cessna” is that you can hop in a Cessna 185 and fly it like just about any other Cessna you may have checked out in a flight sim in the last couple of decades. The start-up procedure is simple and straight forward, the panel arrangement is a classic six-pack, and everything is where you would expect it to be.

The 185F starts to get fun once you start up the engine and start to taxi. I remember, not so fondly, some Carenado tail draggers from MSFS 2020 where the ground handling was not all that great. 2024 pushes the envelope forward a fair bit and so everything from the aircraft rocking back and forth on its tires once the engine is started to the feel of the ground roll is significantly improved. It doesn’t feel so glued to the ground or stuck in one direction anymore and that’s great. Some of that is the sim and some of that is the airplane but either way it makes me happy to see it and experience it.

Power the engine up with appropriate corrective rudder action and you can achieve a smooth and relatively quick departure in this aircraft. Having 300hp rather than the usual 160 hp from your average 172 means that you get up and flying very quickly. Runway departures are easy to accomplish but off field performance is good too allowing you to get out of some much more interesting airfields or impromptu off field excursions.

Because its a bit of a bushplane, I also did some slightly more aggressive manuevers with the aircraft. It seems to handle well and stalls appropriately depending on how extreme your power and rudder work are. All in all, I’m impressed and I have to say that it doesn’t “feel” like the overly stable Carenado aircraft used to in 2020. They were always enjoyable but modern flight modeling in 2024 really does make a difference in mostly subtle but entirely enjoyable ways.

Would have loved an autopilot and other systems discussion

One of the things I love to do is fly long distance bush flights across northern Canada, Alaska and elsewhere in the world. The Cessna 185F is perfectly well suited to those kinds of operations, however, one concession I would have loved to have seen was the addition of an autopilot to the mix. It makes those flights easier and more doable with flight simulation practicalities.

As it is, there’s a nice blank spot that could easily accommodate an autopilot panel should they have chosen to add it to the mix.

Like most aircraft in this series, its worth mentioning that its not a high fidelity rendition but rather something a little more middle of the road. All the basic systems work as they should, engine temperatures and the like appear to read normal values and go up and down under stress but there are no engine reliability settings here and you won’t find any failures. You also won’t find any deeper electrical simulation and you can’t pop any circuit breakers. That’s par for the course at this price point.

Options, modifications and amphibious operations

There aren’t a ton of frills on this aircraft and that’s not too surprising as most contracted aircraft for MSFS tend to emphasize a simpler more cost conscious experience.

That’s not to say that we don’t get a few options. Among them are the ability to have classic wheel fairings, removed fairings with bush wheels (which really make a difference in 2024), skis and there’s floats for an amphibian option.

I have to say that the aircraft feels made to be an amphibious aircraft. It just looks the part and the attachments for the floats and the overall stance of the aircraft just seems right in this configuration.

It has retractable water rudders and setting down, controlling, and taking off on water are all generally quite good. MSFS 2024’s water feel isn’t really much better than that in 2020 but this aircraft does seem to handle it reasonably well. On the whole I’m satisfied with this setup.

I do wish they had modeled the optional cargo pod. It’s does nothing for the looks of the 185 but it certainly would help it fit the part as a back country airplane even better than it already does.

Final thoughts

I was prepared to feel virtually nothing for this airplane given how many Cessna series aircraft we have. I am happy to report that this one actually has some charms to it and the combination of its rugged looks and performance together with the amphibious version help make it into one of the more fun airplanes you can take into back country operations.

The Cessna 185F has been released to MSFS 2024 players as part of their “make good” campaign offering up four free aircraft as an apology for the troubled state that the sim launched in. MSFS 2020 players can also buy the aircraft from the marketplace for $14.99 USD.

I think if you like back country operations and want a classic Cessna type to do it, the Cessna 185F is my new favourite in that niche category. Its fun, its got a bit of power, it looks the part and it has just enough features. If you got it for free, I recommend giving it a whirl and finding some great flying opportunities around the world where this slightly more rugged Cessna would be at home in. If you have it for free and you’ve been sleeping on this… go and try it. It’s a fun airplane!

Screenshots