Black Square, via its marketing partner Just Flight, has just launched the product pages for the Caravan Professional series, confirming that release is just around the corner. It was a little over a year ago when we got a look at the first previews of the Black Square Caravan Professional. Since then, it’s clear the developer known for creating unapologetically realistic aircraft for Microsoft Flight Simulator has been hard at work on the highly anticipated turboprop (in addition to releasing the Baron and Bonanza Professional, and updating its product line for MSFS 2024).
Building on the success of the Baron and Bonanza Professional series releases, the Caravan Professional represents a huge leap forward from Black Square’s original Steam Gauge Overhaul Caravan. The Caravan Professional’s product pages make it clear that this isn’t just a cockpit upgrade; it is a faithful recreation of the workhorse turboprop featuring a completely new exterior model, high-quality interior materials, greatly improved turbine engine modeling, and a custom sound package recorded by Boris Audio Works. In other words, it’s Black Square doing what Black Square does best: obsessing over every detail for ultimate realism.
Caravan Professional Airframes
The Caravan Professional will be available in two separate packages that include four different airframes. These can be purchased separately or as a bundle. The first package includes the Grand Caravan passenger version, with and without the optional cargo pod. The second package includes the Grand Caravan Amphibian (on amphibious floats) and the Super Cargomaster, the latter of which is sure to be a favorite for those flying nightly cargo runs in MSFS.
Features and Options
Under the cowl, all versions of the Caravan Professional will fully simulate the 675 shaft-horsepower PT6A-114A engine, known for its unparalleled reliability and utility. Engine simulation benefits from the same level of depth found in the Black Square TBM 850 and Turbine Duke. This includes:
- Custom Turbine Simulation: Advanced dynamics for ITT, torque, and fuel flow, along with hot start logic and residual heat.
- Propeller & Beta Range: Fully physics-driven propeller feathering and a refined beta range simulation.
- Turbine engine failures, including FOD ingestion, compressor stall and surging, fuel control failure, fuel filter clogs, propeller governors, and fire detection system.
Black Square’s EFB-style tablet interface will allow users to manage payloads, view real-time visualizations for electrical, environmental, and engine systems, and control 100+ persistent wear, MTBF, and scheduled failures for nearly every component in the aircraft.
The Caravan Professional will offer 12 hot-swappable radio configurations, doubling the options of its predecessor. Pilots can choose between vintage stacks like the KLN-90B or modern GPS navigators like the GTN/GTNxi 750 and 650.
Release Date and Pricing
The Caravan Professional will be available for both MSFS 2020 and MSFS 2024, and while an exact release date hasn’t been provided, the appearance of the product pages usually means that the release isn’t far away. As with previous Black Square Professional series upgrades, owners of the original Analog Caravan will receive a discount code to upgrade to the Professional version.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for the Caravan Professional’s release, and in the meantime, you can dig into the details on the official product pages.
