FS2004: 20 years of flying history

[fs10inator]

A little late* to the party, but better late than never.
20 years on, and we're still flying for more!


Here's to 20 years of flying (and making) history on every step we take!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQN3NZg8Th4



*FS2004 turned 20 on July 29.

[Navtech]

Hello,

Where is Blériot ? amilestone in aviation history !!

[Mick]

What a long, strange trip it's been!

[Shessi]

What a long, strange trip it's been!

Mick, you must cut down on your 'special medication' then....


Thx for the HU fs10, that's quite a time, and still interesting, fun and free!

Cheers

Shessi

[huub vink]

Well here it is Navtech!



Microsoft Flight simulator 2004 is more American British focused. Personally I think Otto van Lilienthal contributed at least as much to aviation as the Wright brothers did. People like Farman, Bleriot, Nieuport, Voisin etc. definity took over the lead in early aviation development. And you could really wonder how civil aviation would have developed without the Fokker F.VII tri-motor.

Americans have done a great job with propaganda. When you ask most people who the first pilot was who crossed the Atlantic ocean, nine out of ten will answer you Charles Lindbergh. When you say it was actually Albert C. Read already eight years before Charles Lindbergh did, people will not believe you. Or they will say: "Lindbergh was the first to do this non-stop". And hardly anyone will believe you when you say this were actually John Alcock and Arthur Brown. Some will answer:"Yes, but he did it solo." Well actually several had already done that trick before as well. But he was the first to do it non-stop and solo and definitely had the best PR. Just like the Wright kite wasn't the first aircraft, but only the first motorised one which managed to stay in the air a bit longer.


Although most doubted, actually very true......

But FS2004 was a commercial product and I guess the US market is the biggest. And we Europeans can hardly blame the Americans that we believe their version from history instead of that of our own..... I think we should just be more proud on our own history.

Cheers,
Huub

[fs10inator]

@Navtech I never had the Bleriot in mind because for the historic first-half of the video, I was only going with default FS9 planes. But you did raise a fair point!

While historical importance to aviation was one important criterion for FS2004 aircraft selection, another was accessibility; the ACES team wanted easy access to an aircraft so that they could more accurately recreate it.

Whether or not they looked at the Bleriot is beyond me, but its importance cannot be underestimated; FSX was the first entry in the series in which Bleriot and his crossing were mentioned ("Flying Blind Across the Channel").

[Navtech]

Hello,

Thank you both of you for your documented answers.

[Hurricane91]

A little late* to the party, but better late than never.
20 years on, and we're still flying for more!


Here's to 20 years of flying (and making) history on every step we take!

*FS2004 turned 20 on July 29.

A nice tribute to FS 2004. Thank you.

[huub vink]

Navtech,

Ask an American what the most beautiful fighter from the second world war is and he will most likely answer a P51 or when he like something more sturdy he will say a P47. Ask a Brit the same question and he will most likely answer "Spitfire". Strange as we all know the Italians made the most beautiful aircraft during WWII. Perhaps not the most efficient, but definitely the best looking

Thanks FS10 for your beautiful video. When FS9 was released I thought it really looked stunning. It still is a great sim and some of the default aircraft still look amazing after all this time. But I really think fs9 kept its strength because of all the amazing addons made for this sim over the 20 years it exists.

Cheers,
Huub

[fs10inator]

Big thanks to all of you who enjoyed it! It has certainly been a ride, and I appreciate all of your feedback!

Now for some extra notes:

• The 2nd music track (Lyric Pieces, Op. 68, No. 5: At the cradle) came from a video file in the FS2004 marketing asset CD.
• Except for the chronological order of default historic aircraft, there was no planning; all shots were made on the fly*.
• I originally titled the video "A Venti of Flight", similar to the 10th anni. vid I made called "A Decade of Flight".
• For smooth camera movements, I use FS Recorder 2.18a. Alpha builds have smooth position, panning, and zoom; all of which are adjustable.

BTW, speaking of looks, even though it's already in the description, I thought I'd share with you my environment add-ons and settings that I use to drastically improve the visuals (note: I don't use shaders like ENB or SweetFX).

*no pun intended.

[anels9]

What Italian aircraft is that @huub?

[leuen]

Some days ago and before I discovered this thread, I started to recreate Louis Blériot's flight as AI traffic.


Blériot ready to take off from the place called "Les Baraques" at Sangatte near Calais on early morning of July 25, 1909.




Leaving the French coast




Approaching Dover




and landing at Dover Castle, achiving his historical flight.



Thanks for reminding this subject. Unfortunately early aviation is rather unpopular in flight sim communities.

Bernard

[Navtech]

Hi,

Great !

[zswobbie1]

Such a pity. I did have a separate install of Golden Wings, only with vintage aircraft & vehicles. It went when my laptop went missing. Maybe I'll do an install on my new laptop. It's really a fun slow way of flying & scenery exploring.