Isn't This Beautiful

[tgycgijoes]

Today's addition to this thread is the Fox Moth. It's here in our Warbirds Library and here is the link to download it:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...id=34&id=28473

[huub vink]

Luckily for De Havilland the Moth family is quite large

Cheers,
Huub

[tgycgijoes]

Today's feature is the Monocoupe 90A. A beautiful model has been done by Golden Age Simulations and is currently selling for $24.95 both there and online etailers. There is also a freeware version and a panel update for it at Simviation:

GAS:https://goldenagesimulations.com/pro...oupe-model-90/

Simviation: Model: https://simviation.com/1/download?fi...p&fileId=52445
Update: https://simviation.com/1/download?fi...p&fileId=52449

Photo from Golden Age Simulations:

[tgycgijoes]

Today August 19 and tomorrow August 20 entry is the Gee Bee Super Sportster. It is available online from etailers as a payware addon and I only found it free as a port-over at Flyaway simulation here:

https://flyawaysimulation.com/downlo...z-supersports/



There is a mention of an Alabeo payware in Avsim's addon repaints for IT and at Flyaway he says the FS2004 version repaints won't work with this one. Simshack has the Alabeo and says FSX/P3D though I don't know if the "P3D" is just 1-2-3. It's 47MB of package. The payware Virtavia is FSX/FS2004 which to me means port-over not native FSX but it is 148MB with a ton of repaints it says and special effects.

[tgycgijoes]

I haven't been procrastinating just because I was doing updates to Argentia but there has been nothing new on the calendar. Today, though there IS something new. Developed by a group that included Walter H. Beech, Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman, this beauty was developed. Sadly, the Great Depression did them in and the company was acquired in 1930 by Curiss-Wright. There are two available to us:

First, Golden Age Simulations has a package of three models for $29.95 immediate download: https://goldenagesimulations.com/product/travel-air/



Flyaway Simulation (I didn't get any other links to freeware) has a modified version of Bill and Lynn Lyon's Magic One Travel Air 4000 converted with permission and shared by the Cielo Company here: https://flyawaysimulation.com/downlo...ne-travel-air/
It is only one model:



I found some repaints for the original FS2004 Travel Air 4000 created by Bill and Lynn Lyons in our Warbirds Library, repaints ONLY back in 2006. A little search and I found the original "TAMO.zip" at Simviation at this link:
http://javascript:openWindow('downlo...20600);void(0)
In the Flyaway simulation conversion, the readme says that Cielo is using all FSX gauges so I am guessing that the Lyons' used a lot if not all FS98 gauges as is often the case which worked in FS2004 but NOT in FSX or later sims so if you want to try the original go for it and post success (or not) here please.

[tgycgijoes]

First I found this...http://sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/sh...-quot?p=692976 from 2012 from Bomber 12

The Pietenpol Air Camper. The first link is by Robert Kerr of a modernized version and found at Avsim described as FSX Original: https://library.avsim.net/sendfile.p...tp&DLID=110872


The second link is from Simviation of a package from Lynn and Bill Lyons which is FS2004 and I trust will work in FSX. It also includes a Stinson SR-9C
https://simviation.com/1/download?fi...p&fileId=20260



F

[tgycgijoes]

Built by the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors, the FM-2 Wildcat essentially is an improved version of the famous Grumman F4F-4. Recognized by its taller fin than the F4F, the FM-2 was also modified to include an improved power plant, increased ammunition capacity by reducing its armament from six .50-inch machine guns to four, and improved directional stability with a modified fin.

I found a freeware version native FSX including the Escort Carrier USS Savo Island. The aircraft is marked for VC-27. Also below is a link to the update by Jerry Beckwith also from AVSim. Enjoy!

https://library.avsim.net/sendfile.p...tp&DLID=144429

https://library.avsim.net/sendfile.p...tp&DLID=145460

[tgycgijoes]

There have been a lot of repeated aircraft just different pictures on my calendar but here is a new one: It's the Avro 504 and there are a few different choices to download free and payware. First, always the best is free LOL!: At AVSIM is the 504N the last version produced from 1922 to 1931 with two versions at this link: https://library.avsim.net/sendfile.p...tp&DLID=114133

Now again free: Steven Barstow's FS2004 Avro 504K at Flightsim.com (and others) https://www.flightsim.com/files/file...ro-504k-d7600/ There are a lot of nice repaints for this at AVSIM as well as our Warbirds Library.

Next is the Aircraft Factory Avro 504K. This link is the least expensive at Simshack: https://www.simshack.net/products/ai...-504-k-fsx-870

Here is a link to the official Avro 504 webpage: https://avro504.org/original-504s/

[tgycgijoes]

The stubby little pre-war fighter by Grumman. I searched our library and also the forum and did not find any posts so I am going on the assumption that this hasn't been done yet. I bought Aeroplane Heaven's version when it came out from a vendor and ended up with the FS2002/FS2004 version from them but after I contacted AH they updated the vendor and I got the FSX version. Now, through their generosity you can download it for free over at ORBX Central. You can also get pre-wwii aircraft carriers to fly on and off in our library here and if you install Carrier Convoy Planner (CCP) you will be able to position yourself on deck to start. I think that this would really be a lot of fun to get a couple more simmers to join you on JoinFS in multiplayer which I have done in the past with other USN aircraft. Anyway if you would like it (it is for both FSX and P3D) head on over to ORBX Central.

There was a post here in 2015 asking for the earlier AH version they made available as freeware for anyone interested in reading it. Cazzie did textures and a layered paintkit available here in the SOH Warbirds library. http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...-Grumman-F3F-2

All the beautiful photos got me in the mood again so I installed it again and will go and find a carrier to do quals on. In the Swordfish post previously you can install the Swordfish and then have a pre-IFLOS "Paddles" to install for your carrier quals on the carrier. I did that before and it was really "cool". There is no audio like VLSO because their LSO did not "talk the pilot down" but used visual signals. It would have been really fantastic if it was TacPacked with the machine guns and bombs for those inclined. If I missed that let me know and post the mod here please. Somewhere I have a complete set of repaints for all 18 aircraft of a squadron with all correct marking I found on the web. This is the section leader (full cowl) from VF6 (the blue color) assigned to USS Enterprise CV6 in 1939.

The photo below is from that post and credit goes to mgv3d:

[tgycgijoes]

Well, this morning there is a new page on the calendar, (not that there's a new page every day unless I forget to change it LOL) with the Grumman G44A Widgeon. I did a good search including the Warbirds Library but the only FSX are from Flysimware, payware. There a some repaints here and on line. AND, I found a freeware from Joe Binka for FS2004 at Flightsim. I downloaded and installed it in FSX to check it out for here. It DOES work in FSX but...and it's kinda a big BUT! There is NO VC only a 2D panel and it's not authentic but an alias to the Beechcraft Baron 58. It does pull up FSX's version but I was disappointed so I removed it from my FSX. Now to the GOOD NEWS! I searched again because I thought that I had seen a VC mod and lo and behold, I found an FSX/P3D version in Perfect Flight by our own A.F. Scrub right here:
https://www.fs2000.org/2018/01/27/fs...umman-widgeon/

It works perfectly in P3D V4.5 and has a beautiful authentic VC as well as quite a number of repaints, the file is a wopping 16.5 MB if you are looking for a new amphibian, give this one a try.

Have a great day!

[expat]

Hard to beat a Grumman. Unless maybe a Lockheed!

[expat]

I tried converting the Joe Binka G-44A radial version with MCX and merged it with the goose VC. Came out ok with some nits. Glass is opaque and spinners need chrome. I can probably fix those but the animation of the props needs a fix I can't do with MCX. Prop animation in Scrubby's conversion doesn't look its best either. Anyone able to have a go?

[tgycgijoes]

Well, here is a new one for the thread...from our Warbirds Library is the T-50 which is pretty much the same as the UC-78. Here is our link to the library:
http://Add-Ons LibraryFS Add-Ons Lib...P3D native.zip

The original use of Cessna's T-50s had been in a light transport role, and in 1942 the USAAF decided that these aircraft would be valuable for liaison/communication purposes and as light personnel transports. Production of this variant totalled 1,287, the aircraft being named Bobcat and given the designation C-78, later changed to UC-78. In addition, a small number of commercial T-50s were impressed for service with the USAAF under the designation UC-78A. (From Aviastar.com)

PC Aviator still has the Milviz version for sale for $39.95. Blackbird Simulations is not selling it any longer for P3DV4 or FSX or SE. I do not believe at this time even though Blackbird Simulations has created a version for MSFS and made some of their FSX/P3D aircraft available for free download at ORBX this is not available there at least not yet.

Download it from our library if you want to fly it.

[PeteHam]

I always enjoy this post with the huge variety of aircraft.

The Milviz/Blackbird T-50 is available free to download from their site under Freebies

Pete.

[tgycgijoes]

I always enjoy this post with the huge variety of aircraft.

The Milviz/Blackbird T-50 is available free to download from their site under Freebies

Pete.

I'll look again, I like this aircraft too. I didn't see it, I thought it said UNAVAILABLE but may not have looked under freebies. If it is still availableI will post the link. Thank you for the HU

[tgycgijoes]

https://milviz.sharepoint.com/:u:/s/...0tnaQ?e=NhjbL4

[tgycgijoes]

I have had many comments here about discovering such unique aircraft and I always love to broaden my aviation education. That is one of these discoveries. I understand from research that the Max Holste M.H. 1521 Broussard was originally an FS2002 aircraft. Then it was updated to use in FS2004 and finally our beloved "Scrubby" updated it to FSX. Here is the link in Flightsim.com https://www.flightsim.com/files/file/186060-fs2004fsx-broussard-the-max-holste-1521 to the free version of this unusual plane. From reading here back in 2017 it was being created for P3D V4 and when AT Simulations announced that they were developing a payware version the free project was abandoned. IF you would like to try their version for 3 days for free you can mosie on down to their website here and read about and download your trial: https://atsimulations.com/broussard_trial

Here is a shot of the real one:

[tgycgijoes]

Today's beautiful airplane is the second phase USAAF trainer the Valiant. I didn't think I would find one other than Paul Clawson's old one but Flyaway Simulation has a download of an update of it here: https://flyawaysimulation.com/downlo...-vultee-bt-13/

Back a few years ago I tackled updating it as well for FS9 but never updated it for FSX not having the knowledge I do now. I may do it in the near future as a native and even, P3D V4x, we'll see if the mood strikes me There was also a USMC vet who was working on it but never completed it for FS9. A shame because he was doing a really nice job having access to a real one. It was a lot better than mine. I corresponded with him for awhile but he had moved on from flight simming into restoring some classic car I forget what it was. I wasn't able to get an answer of the differences even online between the variants.

[tgycgijoes]

Back in 2011 here in the Outhouse Paul Clawson aka "Put Put" released an FSX Acceleration Native version that is still available. Here is the link to his post back then:
https://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforu...sed-(freeware) He said that he posted it at Simviation and Flightsim. I searched Simviation and came up with it right away at this link:https://simviation.com/1/download?fi...p&fileId=38469

[tgycgijoes]

Well until today, the Avro Tutor and guess what it has a native FSX conversion which will also work in P3D V4.5: We're coming to the end of 2023 so if I don't get a new calendar from Santa, this thread may be retired. I know you all have enjoyed it as much as I have sharing and learning of so many aircraft that I never knew existed for real much less in FSX.

Here is the link to the old thread from 2019:
https://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforu...ive-AVRO-Tutor

[huub vink]

Thanks for this entertaining thread. When you don't get a new calendar, this site might give you some great ideas.....

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com you can do a search on the date and it will provide you an overview what happened around this day in aviation over the years....

Cheers,
Huub

As I couldn't find anything suitable for this date in aviation, a picture from the heavy cruiser Exeter, as it was 84 years ago the Battle of the river Plate took place.....

The model by Bavarian is available here in the library

[tgycgijoes]

I haven't posted anything to this thread because on December 31st the calendar ran out and my new calendar though interesting is all text of "What Happened In History On This Date" style. I was checking out Flightaware for KPLN which is now finished for FSX and P3D and I came across this photo at Oakland County Intl Airport in Pontiac Michigan. I didn't know that there were any of these B-24 models left flying. A few years ago I had the opportunity to get inside the Collings Foundation B-24 Witchcraft when it visited Chicago Executive airport.

[stansdds]

I haven't posted anything to this thread because on December 31st the calendar ran out and my new calendar though interesting is all text of "What Happened In History On This Date" style. I was checking out Flightaware for KPLN which is now finished for FSX and P3D and I came across this photo at Oakland County Intl Airport in Pontiac Michigan. I didn't know that there were any of these B-24 models left flying. A few years ago I had the opportunity to get inside the Collings Foundation B-24 Witchcraft when it visited Chicago Executive airport.

That one belongs to the Commemorative Air Force and is actually an LB-30.

[Bomber_12th]

The CAF's Liberator, as pictured above, is an extremely early version. It was the 18th B-24A and only the 25th Liberator built in all (of over 18,000) - it is actually one of the oldest American military aircraft built during WWII that is still flying, having been completed on May 7, 1941.

The aircraft's production originally began as a B-24A, USAAC serial no. 40-2366, but France purchased the contract/order before it was completed. When France surrendered, the order was given to the British, with the export designation LB-30A, and the aircraft was assigned the RAF serial AM927 (the US serial no. was later used on a B-24D). When accepted by the British Air Commission, it was a full combat-ready aircraft with bomb bays and the early gun positions in the nose, waist, tail, a tunnel position under the belly, and through a circular hatch in the top of the fuselage (this was all still prior to gun turrets entering the scene). In RAF service, the aircraft would have been known as a Liberator I. This being before the United State's entry into WWII when it was still a neutral country, it was one of a number of US-manufactured warplanes which were given export designations through their contracts with France and Britain. The main differences between a B-24A and an LB-30 was the gun caliber, bomb shackles, bomb sight and the British radios. When originally built, the aircraft had the early, very short, "pug" nose, and all of the other details that set the early versions apart - including different engines (with no turbos) and different cowls, compared to later production B-24's.

Contrary to stories that have been made-up about it, the aircraft was not sent to England and instead was kept in the US. It was sent to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be used by the Eagle Nest Flight Training Center (overseen by Transcontinental & Western Airlines (later TWA)). This company was contracted by the USAAC Ferry Command which, together with the RAF Ferry Command, worked to train USAAC and RAF Liberator crews. The B-24A/LB-30A remained painted in full RAF camouflage and roundels while stationed at Albuquerque. As soon as the B-24A/LB-30A arrived it was put to immediate use but would soon sustain serious damage in a landing accident on July 24, 1941. Still being so early in the war everyone was desperate for aircraft, so AM927 was sent to Consolidated to be repaired rather than scrapped. Consolidated proposed the idea to the British Air Commission, for which they agreed, that the aircraft not only be repaired but be converted into an experimental transport version of the Liberator.

Becoming the test/proof of concept version of what would eventually become the production C-87's, the transport modifications included the removal of the bomb bay doors, the removal of all bomb structure, the removal of all of the interior bulkheads behind the pilot compartment, the running of new stringers and new skins through these areas of the fuselage, the re-routing of the cables for the tail control surfaces, the addition of seven windows on each side of the fuselage, the addition of a cargo door on the port-side fuselage, the covering-over/re-skinning of the gun positions through the fuselage and tail, an added compartment for a washroom and toilet at the rear of the aircraft (and some other interior comforts), the addition of a solid nose, and more. The aircraft would not fly again until July 12, 1942.

Once completed, the highly-modified B-24 immediately began being employed by Consolidated to transport parts from its San Diego plant to its other factories, and it would continue to be put to work by Consolidated throughout the war, fulfilling different transport and test-ship roles.

In early 1945, the aircraft's original early "pug" nose was replaced with a longer nose from a Consolidated RY-3 (the Navy transport version of the PB4Y Privateer), which was almost identical to the nose fitted to production C-87's. With parts for the early Liberators being in short supply, Consolidated also later replaced the engine QEC's with those from PBY Catalinas. Those modifications are still in-place today (though some years back, the CAF added a B-24D nose glazing to the RY-3 nose - none of which is accurate to how it originally looked as a B-24A/LB-30A).

After WWII, the aircraft was sold to Continental Can Corp., which flew it from 1948 to 1959 as an executive transport. Continental Can installed sleeping berths, reclining chairs and some other executive furnishings within the aircraft. A Mexican-based petroleum company was the next to own the aircraft and they used it to haul cargo and as an executive transport. In the late '60s it was acquired by the Confederate Air Force.

With the exception of the addition of the B-24D nose glazing and WWII military paint schemes, little else was ever done, for decades, to return the aircraft to a bomber configuration like it had been when originally manufactured by Consolidated. That was until the winter of 2006/07, when the late Gary Austin spearheaded the effort to return the aircraft to its original production B-24A/LB-30A bomber configuration. Unfortunately, due to the extensive amount of post-production modifications, some of the work that was desired to be done, such as adding back in the bomb bays & doors, port-side waist gun position and upper gun position, were deemed to to be too time-consuming/costly to perform.

For many years, the Colling's Foundation would often state that they had the world's only flying B-24, with their B-24J. This was largely due to the fact that they, along with most others, simply did not know the true history of the CAF's Liberator (many falsely believing that the designation "LB-30" was a cargo/passenger designation). With the Collings Foundation having now retired their B-24 'Witchcraft' (to soon be placed on indefinite static display, once their new museum building is completed), the CAF's Liberator is the only remaining example flying.

[tgycgijoes]

The vast knowledge base of our members always has information to share with us all like this. Especially those ol' timers with first hand information on whatever the topic may be. Sadly most of the WWII history and even Korean War History is dying out literally. When Ed Akridge and I were researching the 461st Bomb Group, we were only able except in one case to get background on the aircrafts from the second generation like me whose family members were the WWII veterans. I wish now that I was interested in the USAAF in 1968 when I was dating a young lady who went to school with my sister whose father was a B-17 pilot. That is all I know of him not asking any questions like what Bomb Group or where he was stationed in England etc etc etc. Man am I getting old! LOL! Thanks for all that information on the LB-30.