X-Plane 11 | Carenado vs LES SAAB 340 

Carenados Saab 340 is for the "Gaming" faction . The LES Saab 340 is for Simulation faction. Carendo made a lot of nice aircrafts for years, but their target is the casual "sim" gamer. That is ok and works very well for them. I love my LES Saab 340. One of the best aircrafts on xPlane 11

One thing to note is that the LES Saab is a 340A and the Carenado is a 340B.

Couldn’t hear the start sounds on the LES because you kept talking about how real the sounds were. Just a friendly FYI.

I wish they or anyone else could produce both ATR 42 and 72 with this level of detail for XP11 :)

Very, very nice, Osamah! You just get better and better. Your time and effort is greatly and widely appreciated. All the best, and thank you once again.

Ok, so I was watching this vid and well, I flew the plane, and I actually trained with the LES Saab for the real aircraft back in XP10 days, the plane is really good, but we have a problem now with the aircraft specially with how the fadec works, is not able to maintain proper RPMs, the dimensions of the gear is not right and the alerting system does not work, plus other animations are incorrect. Now the carenado plane is actually working like a charm on those things, and I actually edited the plane using certain numbers from the LES and actually it’s the LES... but with the default FMC... the carenado plane is not bad! Like some people is painting it, it’s really well done and actually it works perfect where the LES is failing due to the lack of updates. Just a former Saab 340 pilot opinion.

The LES is absolutely amazing. A fellow gamer recommended it to me today, I instantly got it and flew it around BIIS, the perfect airport for such aircraft. I fell in love with it instantly although I don't yet fully understand all systems.

Thanks for a great video, as usual! I bought the LES a couple of weeks ago, and I LOVE IT!! It's so fun to fly!

An extremely informative Head to Head comparison. I have been flying the LES SAAB 340 for a very long time and like yourself, I love that bird. The detail is absolutely wonderful. Thank you for your excellent work and presentation.

I really want to buy the LES but I just cant take how grungy and moldy the cockpit looks...they need to take a magic eraser to it!

Very many thanks for the time you have taken in bringing us this comparison. Once again an excellent video. Regards.

Great video, helped me a lot on my final decision to buy the LES Saab! Thanks Osamah! As always your videos are amazing!

Thank you for this comparison. Generally I agree with you about the accuracy of the sim, sounds etc. I also prefer the standard Garmin, because the one you can use on the Carenado Saab costs and extra $50 and won’t work on my Mac anyway… I have had the LES for some time and would not have even thought of adding the Carenado, but for one thing. Since X-Plane has upgraded to 11.32, I cannot use my joystick buttons, “throttle up a bit” and “down a bit” any more. I don’t have a throttle slider, you see. I posted this on the LES help page, but nobody has found a solution which works. It is not the fault of some plugin or whatever, as an old backup of XP 11.26 still works ok. So, as a result, my LES Saab is now irreversibly grounded! So sad… I enjoy watching your videos. Thanks for all the effort and being able to help us to understand the sim better.

Thanks so much for this video comparison! I was debating getting the SAAB 340 from Carenado since I have many of their other aircraft. Thanks fir introducing me to LES. What a difference. Not only have I subscribed to your site (in hopes of seeing more comparisons like this) but will look at buying the LES version as well as seeing what other aircraft LES offers (assuming the same quality as the SAAB). This is a great help to those of us who love flight simulation but are picky about what add-ons we want. Thanks again!

Great comparison Osamah.... Nice video mate. Shame I missed the premiere :(

The two developers apparently modelled different versions of the Saab 340. The LES is version A and Carendo version B. There are photos of the cockpit identical to the Carendo version.

Thank you so much for this great video, helping me to decide which Saab to buy (guess which one 😊). Your videos are allways very helpful and motivating for flying the simulator! Please do not stop producing videos.

This should be interesting. I love the LES Saab. One of my faves.

There is room for both, personally I bought the Carenado. Can’t tell you why but Carenado feels and looks a little bit more up to date, for me. Great video as always and both great models.

The LES Saab is an absolute masterwork. so much that when I get back into another plane I now think something has broken because they do not look right any more

Awesome comparison Q8 for sure. I was waiting for something like this to see which one I was going to get. I feel the pricing is right for the two as well. Solid aircraft with modeled systems in the 40 range and 50-60 with more in depth systems is spot on depending on why type of pilot you are.

I have been flying both. Fun to note the differences, LES is a gold standard, but Carenado is no slouch, they really stepped up on this one. One of the main differences is the flight management approach, the Garmin 530 in the LES works great, seamlessly integrated. The Carenado has the stock Laminar FMC, which is kind of fun, it changes up the flight planning and management function, however, my main frustration with the Carenado / FMC approach is the MFD85 Weather/MAP screen, it is not very impressive, and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to effectively use it to step through a flight plan pre takeoff. Adjusting the limited zoom level, options on the screen displays very small difficult to read, what look like possible way points, but not anything that I can step through or visualize. Once in flight, the screen becomes more useful, the flight path does display, but it is basic, which may be true to reality, but, I can't believe pilots in the real deal have no way to visually step through a flight plan. Look forward to your comparison.

I’m glad you decided to showcase this at my home airport of Shoreham

I've always wondered which one was better... Nice vid !

hello my friend Q8Pilot, hope you're having a good weekend....quite like the Saab 340..i agree the modeling & rendering have been very well done..

I really like les Saab in VR so realistic feeling

Thanks for the great video! I just purchased the LES Saab 340 and it’s just not working right on X-Plane 11 3.34. For some reason, the virtual checklist doesn’t react when I click on the “view “ button so that kinda makes it hard to get accustomed to the system. The other thing I noticed is when I tried to start the Saab “with engines running” the props were indeed spinning upon returning to the sim BUT the cockpit was still cold and dark! Any ideas on what’s going on?

I also agree that LES SAAB is better than Carenado SAAB. However, I will have the choice to integrate a GTN750 and they should also correct the compatibility problem with XEnviro and correct the lack of sound in the replay mode

I definitely was not surprised by this. Carenado mostly links to default sim functions so behavior is going to be based (mostly) on that limiting factor. Also, there are some dev teams, like the LES team that focus on their airplanes and keep improving them. LES is one of those teams. Carenado moves on to other planes and it's difficult to get them to go back and fix issues left behind. I'll always support teams that keep improving their aircraft.

Absolutely spot on - Well done!

Thank you so much for this great video, helping me for the decision which Saab I should purchase (guess which one😊). Your videos are very very helpful for and motivating flying with the simulator.

Thanks for this.I will look into the LES model instead!

Has the LES one system failures simulated?

I have both AC and I found LES to be more realistic with the system and functionality. There are three things that bother's me on the LES that I found more pleasing on the Carenado: Engine sound in the Cabin and exterior. Engine power Flight handling I still prefer LES, but I do enjoy Carenado's as well.

Hello, I have the problem that does not show me the menu of the autopilot, which is on the left of the screen! And in the central screen it does not show me the route either, does the same thing happen to someone?

Coincidentally, there was a recent discussion about the merits of these two models at the CBFS forum. I'll link the video once it's done. :O)

Yeah well, saying that both passenger cabins are good is not really fair. With all the interactive options and high quality textures the Carenado one is probably the best passenger cabin out there. Not that it's THAT important, but it is :)

Hey Q8 my saabs low oil press warnings dont turn off when i start the engine

Next time could you show night lighting? That would be super helpful. Great vid nonetheless!

Hello! First, I am a big fan and REALLY appreciate your TOP quality work involving X-Plane. This was a fair and fantastic comparison. What setting are you using for your shadows? 11_30xV_Impressive.lua set them too low for me. At the present I am using set("sim/private/controls/fbo/shadow_cam_size", 6144.0) --jagged shadows. I can go to 8192 however ATM I am being more conservative for performance. Looking forward to your reply!

Hey Q8! Amazing video as always, you have the same pc specs as me, you play at half refresh rate and 4k res right ?

Hello , @Q8Pilot i have a question. I am talking about the 757 ff v2 for Xp11. Is the aircraft realistic like the real 757? I mean the engine power physics of the aircraft and the visuals . What are the problems / bugs on her? I saw a conversation on reddit, that the 757v2 is very unrealistic from real 757. I am asking you because I know you have the 757-200 ff.. So is she realistic or not? Please reply. :) Radim.

Very nice review, thanks! One side question regarding the intro: could you share which scenery overlays, mesh, etc. are you using, besides the default configuration? It looks extremely realistic :)

greetings from greece. thanks for the videos man they are awesome. a video on fmc holds and breaking from them would be much appreciated. :)

Nice video buddy

Thank you for all your hard work producing these videos - and welcome back! Based on your review here I purchased the LES version. I already owned and loved the Carenado 340, but the LES obviously has more features. At first I H A T E D it !!! I did something and the views wouldn't stop panning to the left. Never did figure out what it was, but it has been resolved and now... I love the LES plane so very much. Their feature of being able to click 'view' on all their checklist items really accelerated the learning, yet the plane is still challenging enough that hand-flying and landings are keeping my interests up. For myself, as a GA sim pilot I do like the GTN750. It works fine with the LES Saab 340, I put mine on a popped out window on a 2nd monitor and enjoy using it. Amongst my earliest challenges with the LES Saab 340 were learning the AP switch had to be held in the on position for 2 full seconds to activate it. Then discovering the GNS530 had to turned on before my windowed GTN750 would work was another. Still much to learn, including why others seem to hate the Carenado products. I have about a dozen of them and like them quite well. Others must know things that I don't . Thanks again for this excellent, detailed comparison.

Honestly, this video is really well made. What I truly value and admire from this is the amount of prior research you have done before making the video. You made sure that you have cross referenced the aircraft with the real one.

I work on Saab 340 IRL, even if I am not a pilot (yet 😜) I can confirm that for the texture and for the cockpit configuration, LES is best

Thanks, another great video. I might have to go out and get the LES.

I spent the day yesterday flying both of these in VR, and whilst I must agree with you on nearly all of your points, the Carenado version looks and feels more realistic in VR than the LES version. It can't really be seen in 2D, but the texturing, modelling and scale of the flight deck in VR looks more like a real plane, whereas the LES version looks a little more like you're inside a 3D model. Just my humble opinion. However, the downside was that the frame rate was slightly lower in the Carenado. I'll be continuing to fly both though, just because I can.

I have neither....yet but your video has helped when it comes to choosing....the pocket will not support both!

How do you put grasses on the airfield apron?

Thanks for the video. I've got the LES model as well. I do think I prefer Carenado's autopilot switches though, even if they are a bit less realistic. I imagine that in the real aircraft you'd put your right hand on those switches, left hand on the yoke and look out the window whilst you were holding the switches in place. A2A did something with the fuel gauges in their T6. In the rw these are on the floor and difficult to see in the virtual cockpit, so they gave the option to extend the fuel gauges up to about knee height. I wish LES had an option to move the autopilot switches to a blank space on the glareshield via a checkbox in the options. It would help with usability I think. Great video anyway, thanks.

What do you use for your RAAS callouts? thanks

Interesting video. The carenado wins the eye candy and the les wins the system by a tiny margin, minuscule in my opinion. So the carenado for me, even at the same price point, but considering the carenado is cheaper, it's a no brainer

I much prefer Carenado cockpit. LES one lacks pbr,fov is kinda borked and everything looks weird. I also dont think that Carenado differs much from LES in terms of simulation, it is just different. For example LES doesnt have test switches while Carenado doesnt properly simulates engine conditioning. It is just different , not worse. I also like Carenado sound more(which has FMOD and LES still has its own sound engine, which doesnt work in replay).

Looks like you're on the ground at my home airport, EGKA? ;) Good video, thanks for the comparison

Nice video, an irritating feature of the Less Saab is trying to engage nosewheel steering, especially just after landing as the speed bleeds off and you lose rudder effect but still going fast enough to need steering......and you'you're trying to engage it.

Uhhh.....isn't the LES Saab an "A" variant while the Carenado offering is a "B"?

Great comparison video, Osamah. I would definitely go for the LES 'cause it's a more accurate model. Isn't that what simulation is all about ;)

I noticed that the LES took more runway to take off than the Carenado version. I would of liked you to have commented on which of these was most accurate to the real aircraft. Comparisons of fuel flow, cruise speed and rate of climb would also have been useful

Rex an operator in Australia has a FMS on the radio panel which can be viewed on just plane's

Hi mate, could you do a video about the Garmin device please.

I've just had a look at carenado version for FSX/P3D, and the FMC is different, more true to the real one (As far as I could see) and is also smaller... I think here Carenado made a compromise in layount due to the fact that the default FMS in xplane is way bigger, and they have not ported their FMC to xPlane, which is a shame... having the default laminar does not help with immersion at all... Same thing applies to the Carenado Fokker 50. :(

can you install the reality xp 530 onto the LES Saab?

Would have loved to have seen a lighting comparison, but great video nonetheless!

Well done thanks

Osama ...great idea to do this topic ..I fly both and must say it is one of my favourite aircraft type...would you do as you proposed a tutorial om the G750 ...thnx in advance

thanks to Carenado. At least I can fly this aircraft, as a sunday's pilot.

thx for the video soo much :)

Has the saab a340 a auto throttel?:)

Nice review and comparison. LES Saab 340 wins over Carenado ones. Looking forward to the LES 340v2

Don’t understand how, already, people have put a dislike (thumb down) for a video they have not seen yet !

Good grief, don't try to judge sounds based on videos. Microphones don't pick up loud sounds very well, and I guarantee whatever video you heard of the real thing is quite distorted.

Thank you!

this will be fun

Hi Q8Pilot. Great vid, and very informative. On the CTOT configuration discrepency you mention at 4:40, I found this RU-vid video at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SmpfqTB-GsI.html. At 1:09 of their video, it shows the CTOT module on the top right of the central console. I wonder if the reason Carenado/Thranda put it in the bottom left corner was because Xplane's default FMC is so large. In the video, the FMC is much smaller. All of the other modules look accurately placed to me.

Is it me or does Carenado looking much better than LES ? One thing one can't escape when doing comparison is that people do have eyes and use them.

I've waited for this comparison, nice video. It didn't come as a surprise that LES won 😊

Great video, i agree a 100%.. i bought the Carenado as (have the Les) it has gtn750 integration. But i still rather fly the standard Garmin with the Les version. The flight dynamics are so much better. Carenado is too sensitive and way too powerfull, it climbs like a rocket with a full load. Not realistic at all, also the landings with the Carenado almost feel like prepar3d, not bouncing of the suspension like the les replicates really well. All in all i regret buying the Carenado, if only your video would have existed already.. it would have saved me the money 😅 Keep up your great videos!

19:05 how to toggle the very annoying voices?

Well done LES!

Carenado is just for fun! Beaultiful to see, but for the simulation...

I was hoping you would do this

I know you love the LES SAAB 340 but your bias shows pretty clearly throughout this video. Please try to be more objective in the future.

All Carenado planes feel the same. I also don't like cups in the cockpit.

I predict Carendao wining the eye candy and LES winning the flight model and systems. I also predict a great video! :)

couldn't decide and bought both

ha ha, stop calling them fuel levers and being in beta ;) They are condition levers and T/M is torque motor lockout which disables the decu circuits. You'll need that QRH out now.. I feel like I need to do a Saab tutorial video to correct those procedures.

When throttling up for takeoff in the Carenado version, the sound intensity drops instead of rises. I have this problem with the Carenado King Air as well. That ruins the experience for me.

i have both but the LES is very out dated !

I personally think all Carenado planes are junk and a waste of money. I own the LES version. I've googled some videos and pics and I think they did a good job of the colouring, I wonder if this is another case of the blue or gold dress? haha

Will not be buying Carenados airplanes anymore. Bought two already and they do not work, having a hard time getting my money back. Well, the first one I purchased did not work and I received a store credit, so I use the credit to buy the TBM 850 and this one too doesn't work. I am done with Carenado.....

Carenado looks better

Les Saab no doubt!

LES is a study level bird, carenado SAAB and all other carenado products are adult toys, I am a real pilot, I just flight study level models, all other stuff is for play station :) cheers!!

I have thousands of hours in the left seat of a B model, and IMO, Carenado beats the pants off of LES! LES panels are blurry as hell!

Hm. I had a bit of difficulty finding where to buy the LES version (most of my planes come from x-plane.org and the LES is not there) and then I found their version does not have support for Reality XP's GTN 750. The LES has a lot of things going for it, zillions of liveries and whatnot, but I'm pretty happy with the 20+ Carenado planes I have. I'll try their Saab and maybe later I'll be back telling you "You were RIGHT!'