RAF Kirkbride WIP

[Nick C]

There's a whole host of airfields situated around the north west of Cumbria in the border regions. Following in Ian's footsteps, I've started working on about four airfields, from HMS Nuttach, down to RAF Cark.

Here's a few pictures of RAF Kirkbride which I've almost finished. The dispersals need a few tweaks and I'm hoping I can persuade Ian to make a little AI.

Kirkbride was an aircraft storage maintenance unit and in late 1945 had over 1000 aircraft in storage!

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_01.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_02.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_03.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_04.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_05.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_06.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_07.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_08.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_09.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_10.jpg

Scenery assembled with Ted Andrews RAF buildings, ADE and SBuilderX and will be compatible with default and Horizon VFR scenery (if you don't mind caravan sites, which accompany almost every former RAF field in this area!).

[Mathias]

Very cool stuff!:medals:
You should consider making a few Luftwaffe bases. :d

[Nick C]

You should consider making a few Luftwaffe bases. :d

The problem I'd have is with the lack of scenery libraries containing buildings etc. and the lack of knowledge. Are there no German FS enthusiasts willing to give it a go?

[Nick C]

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Here's a picture of the basic footprint I've created for RAF Silloth, which is four miles west of RAF Kirkbride. The exclude isn't final and as you can see, this airfield is rather a sprawling mess!
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http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/silloth_02.jpg

[MCDesigns]

Very nice work Nick, looking good!! :ernae:

[Cerberus]

Dang, that is nice. Leaves me wishing I could get out and walk around it a bit.

[spotlope]

I just KNEW you wouldn't be able to stay out of scenery design forever. :icon_lol: Looking excellent, Nick! Sorry I missed your Skype earlier, or I would have said so then, too. The thought of laying out all those dispersals makes my head :mixedsmi:.

[Seaking055]

Ohhhhhhh this is looking good, thanks for producing.

[Tako_Kichi]

That looks very good. :applause:

My only criticism would be that fluorescent orange traffic cones were NOT a feature of 1940's RAF bases! ;)

[BananaBob]

Very impressive Nick, had no idea you were working on this, great work bro!! :ernae::medals::medals:

[Roger]

Excellent:ernae:

[2Low]

WOW! (Had to) Thanks so much for doing these, I want my 1940's UK so bad. I grab all IanP does and I am looking forward to anything you put out.

All my A2A planes will have period correct places to land. No more Twilight Zone like episodes where the poor WWII pilot comes out of the clouds a little dizzy wondering where the heck he is and what happened to the airfield (which turned into a 2nd millenium airport with modern airliners).

[jdhaenens]

That's looking great Nick! I agree about the Luftwaffe bases, except for me, it's more from lack of info. I enjoy the German archetecture. Many Luftwaffe hangers were modern before there was a modern movement.

Thread hijacking complete...sorry.

Jim

[blazefox2]

i must say that is extremely impressive it will be a must have for all warbird lover:medals::ernae::medals:

[expat]

Very nice work. Would be great if Nick or Ian could also do in this excellent style RAF West Malling and Biggin Hill for FSX . .

[IanP]

West Malling, you can do no better than Bill's version in the Real Air Spitfire pack, so I wouldn't even venture to try... As for Biggin, unfortunately for a variety of reasons it is very difficult to "backdate" airfields with AI that are part of the sim base package, which is why I stay away from them. With Biggin, there's also the problem of "the bump", which changes with every mesh you use. Nick may have a go, but it's not on my list right now, sorry. :(

Getting back on topic, I still reckon that you need a road atlas to get from parking to the runway at Silloth - that place is insane. I was talking to Nick on Skype when we started nosing around up there on Google Earth, looking for old RAF fields and I had to zoom out quite a long way to get all of Silloth on the screen!

Going back off topic again, I'd love to do some German fields. Unfortunately, the only person I know who has done one is Lionheart. I'm sorely tempted to get the FS9 Valkyrie set just for the scenery and force FSX to play with it... They do say history is written by the victor and unfortunately regarding Luftwaffe airfields this holds out to be true. You can get as much info as you like on even the least significant allied base, but WW2 Luftwaffe bases? Gold dust. :(

[Mathias]

Quite a bit of stuff here on Luftwaffe bases, though mostly inside Germany, not much about bases in the occupied countries.
http://www.fliegerhorste.de/fliegerhorste.htm

[BananaBob]

Hey Nick where you at?, we're only a couple hours difference mate, don't tell me you're sleeping still? LOL!

:running:

[IanP]

He'll still be at work... I just finish insanely early (and start insanely early to make up for it!) ;)

Thanks Mathias - unfortunately my two years of school German aren't up to translating 99% of that and all it has convinced me of is that I can't do it with the models available to me. I'll leave the hangar and terminal construction to Mr. Dhaenens for the moment... or quite possibly forever... :d

[Matt Wynn]

Fantastic work there Nick, and one of the screenshots really grabbed my eye, the departing Wellie, that alone makes me want to dig out my 'warbirds' folder and get flying, fantastic work and keep it up :applause::icon29:

[Nick C]

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Thanks Chaps, but remember, I just placed all the ready made objects on the ground, all the hard work is done by the likes of Ted Andrews who made the buildings and 'Scruffy Duck' for ADE.

Now awaiting Ian to return and give it the once over, there's bound to be some critical component I've missed out. Then it'll be time to play with AI...I do hope the RAF have patience as I expect a few aircraft may go missing!
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http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_11.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_12.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_13.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_14.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_15.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_16.jpg

[RyanJames170]

nick two questions for you 1 whos Wellington bomber?? and where will we beable to get this beautiful scenery?

[Nick C]

I'll make sure there are links available when complete, certainly at some point it will be available here, but I think I'll have to set up an account.

The Wellington was made by Dan Dunn for First Class Simulations:

www.firstclass-simulations.com

Best of luck with their shop, it's running like treacle here!

[IanP]

And yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't need to remind me that I need to finish the Wimpey review. :engel016:

[Francois]

:icon_lol::icon_lol::icon_lol:

[Henry]

And yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't need to remind me that I need to finish the Wimpey review. :engel016:
ya mean you still have Wimpey bars over there?:icon_lol:
actually it is a good model
H

[Nick C]

.
AI is showing at last, next step is to break it down and add a little variety, then watch the the sim stutter to a halt :173go1:
I may find some replacement cloud textures too!

Why did nobody tell me this was fun before?

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_17.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/ncc_kirkbride_18.jpg

[Nick C]

.
Well following a HD crash, after which I thought I'd lost the scenery files, to the re-discovery of them last weekend, I can now present what I think it an almost finished airfield.

The AI is not included and most likely won't ever be, as there will be a fair old mix of payware products required to use it and I've yet to get my head fully around the software used to compile it. However, it may be included at a later stage. Additional parking needs to be added too.

Please be aware the Ted Andrews building libraries are required to use this scenery, instructions are in the zip file. If you have Ian Pearson's airfields installed, the chances are you'll already have the required files.

So if you'd like to 'test' Kirkbride for me, the files and installation instructions can be found here: http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/zips/Kirkbride_EGKD_v1.zip

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/kirkbride_ncc_01.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/kirkbride_ncc_02.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/kirkbride_ncc_03.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/kirkbride_ncc_04.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/kirkbride_ncc_05.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/kirkbride_ncc_06.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/kirkbride_ncc_07.jpg

http://www.screenshotartist.co.uk/images/ncc_scenery/kirkbride_ncc_08.jpg
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[Nick C]

Oh and constructive feedback welcome. :engel016:

[foreigndevil]

Really nice work!:applause:

[Mr.Mugel]

Very nice atmosphere there! I guess I´ll have a go at it right now, if my FS wants to play with me.... (Got a problem with spoilers, but maybe I can find a bird without them....)

[UKMIL]

nick, if you have a list of the AI aircraft you need, I can complete a dedicate AI pack for this, with true AI aircraft, custom built for this airfield

[IanP]

nick, if you have a list of the AI aircraft you need, I can complete a dedicate AI pack for this, with true AI aircraft, custom built for this airfield

You have FSX native WW2 AI models and haven't been telling anyone? :jump:

[Francois]

HEH! We all could use some ! :jump:

[UKMIL]

You have FSX native WW2 AI models and haven't been telling anyone? :jump:

Nope, what I said was, i can BUILD some, no problem:applause:

[IanP]

How loudly do I have to scream YES PLEASE!?!?! :wavey:

Kirkbride had everything. Literally. As a storage depot (and likewise with heavy maintenance depots such as RAF Cosford), anything that could fit in and out of the runway and in and out of the hangars was sent there. Sometimes it flew out again, sometimes it didn't, but if the RAF flew it, it could have been seen there. Which potentially explains some of Nick's AI choices in his screenshots. :d

Personally, I'd really appreciate anything you can do. If I or someone else haven't done an appropriate base for it, someone'll make one, believe me. ;)

[UKMIL]

i feel a batch of FSX Ai warbirds coming on

[Nick C]

That would be fantastic if possible.

[Nick C]

Ian's right about Kirkbride, there are reports that at one point over 1000 aircraft were being held there and there's another satellite field a little further inland that also supported it.

[UKMIL]

ok some generic FSX AI is to be made, I already have a Spitfire almost made anyway

[Nick C]

:applause::applause::applause:

[IanP]

Just to put it in context, I've currently uploaded bases that were used by...

Spitfires, Hurricanes, Harts, Hinds, Gladiators, Defiants, Lysanders, Wellingtons, Tomahawks, Fortresses, Liberators, Mustangs, Beaufighters, Mosquitos, Dakotas, Austers, Gladiators, Tiger Moths, Proctors, Halifaxes, Manchesters (yes, they really did use a few!), Whitleys, Battles, Thunderbolts, Hudsons, Harvards, Lightnings...

...and I've done about 2% of the airfields still visible these days, let alone those that aren't. ;)

[Roger]

Nice one Nick:ernae:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/rogera/kirkbride-2.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/rogera/kirkbride-1.jpg

[Nick C]

Thanks Roger. I've just worked out how to get my saved background images back into ADE, I'll do that later tonight, if I have time, and try to make it slightly more 'road' friendly where possible.

What textures and landclass are you using?

[Roger]

Thanks Roger. I've just worked out how to get my saved background images back into ADE, I'll do that later tonight, if I have time, and try to make it slightly more 'road' friendly where possible.

What textures and landclass are you using?

Textures are mainly default and I use UTX. I get the roads thing everywhere so don't worry about it...I may even turn off major roads in UTX as the landscape looks better without them.

[huub vink]

Looking good Nick! Your efforts are definitely appreciated!


That's looking great Nick! I agree about the Luftwaffe bases, except for me, it's more from lack of info. I enjoy the German archetecture. Many Luftwaffe hangers were modern before there was a modern movement.

Thread hijacking complete...sorry.

Jim

Jim, many of the buidings you did for Gütersloh can be found on other airfields as well. But for the time being Gütersloh is definitely the home base of my 'bad-boys' fleet ;)

Huub