Airship Macon

[jdhaenens]

This week, the US Naval Airship Factory will release the airship USS Macon.

The folks to thank are:

Piotr Lowicki who did the original model for some CG uses and Dan Dunn who adapted Piotr's model to FSX. Jeff Schaefer did the initial request...somehow Bill Mackay got involved. John Stinstrom made most of the 1930's Sunnyvale NAS with some support fron Bob Hinkly. Wayne Tudor did the flight model (we actually found a Macon operations manual). Earl Watkins did the USS Patoka and her mooring locations. Paul Clawson figured out how to make it work with AI Carriers. I did the dirt work at NAS Sunnyvale, Hangar One, the VC, and a bit of texture work on the model. A special thanks to Bill Leaming who, as usual, answered all my animation questions.

A huge thanks to Lynn and Bill Lyons who started it all.

The release will come in a few pieces. First, the Macon will be released, followed by NAS Sunnyvale, the USS Patoka locations, and the High Mast at North Island.

Here are some pictures:

[stiz]

oooo intresting! whats the view out of the pod like? :)

[jdhaenens]

A few more:

[stiz]

me wants! :jump: :jump: :jump:

[jdhaenens]

Some more

[dswo]

Sure is a lot of talent in this group!

[txnetcop]

Wow Jim the MACON lives again! Thanks to the entire team for an incredible build!!!
Ted

[James]

me wants! :jump: :jump: :jump:


ooooh! Understatement! lol

[Cag40Navy]

Thank you Jim! I am glad to see that shes been finished!

[OleBoy]

An inspiration lives on to continue from a great modeler of our community. This is going to be a fantastic re-creation. Very exciting!

[X_eidos2]

Here's a link to some renders of the original CG model by Piotr Lowicki.

http://popgriffon.cgsociety.org/gallery/598880/

I've been studying and collecting images of the USS Macon and USS Akron since I built my first computer model on a CAD system back in 1987. I would have to say this is the most accurate and complete model of the airship and it's surroundings that I have ever seen.

Being able to recreate history and see something magnificent that no longer exists is one of the greatest things a flight simulator can do. The size of the team also illustrates that a project of this size is complex and rather sophisticated.

My compliments and congratulations to the entire team for a job well done.

John MacKay

[PutPut]

OK, Where is the Hook?

This is truly a thing of beauty! :salute: :salute:

Paul

20504

[YoYo]

Good idea! Looking very nice (or not too white?).

I know product of Bill Lyons for FS9, I spent many hours with his Zeppelin. This addon (as LZ 127 and scenery and mission) was SIMPLY fantastic:

http://yoyosims.pl/FS2004_Zeppelin.html :salute:

If someone cant wait just play this game with USS Macon :D : http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/content/flying-aircraft-carrier-3772/


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2724/4133218265_51a67dc426_z.jpg

Best wishes

[Wings of Gold]

Hi Guys: Please note - you MUST read the "Read Me First" file prior to your first flight. Dirigibles did NOT fly like conventional airplanes, so if you don't read the file first, you will NOT be able to fly! There is no running down the runway like a heaver-than-air airplane.

Bill

[Lionheart]

Jim, that is just brilliant! Incredible screenshots.

I wish we still had one left flying. It would be pretty awesome to see.

[Sundog]

Excellent! My favorite airship is finally in FSX. Thanks to everyone who made this possible.

[mal998]

This will be a "must have" for me. It's great to see such a tremendously talented group of people get together in order to create a wonderful and historical project such as we have here.

Many thanks and congrats to each and every member of your team! (Hi Bill, Hi Dan)

[SADT]

Hi Jim,

Great work, just one question - How does FS model a dirigible? I thought the were only fixed wing and rotorcraft models?

[jdhaenens]

As Wings of Gold said,



Hi Guys: Please note - you MUST read the "Read Me First" file prior to your first flight. Dirigibles did NOT fly like conventional airplanes, so if you don't read the file first, you will NOT be able to fly! There is no running down the runway like a heaver-than-air airplane.



There is no built-in support for LTA craft in FSX, but with an open mind one can fool the system into acting like one.

[Lionheart]

I thought I remembered seeing a blimp template in the FSX beta.

[jdhaenens]

Cool, but like rocket power, it didn't translate into the RTM.

[X_eidos2]

Where will we be able to download the files once they are released?

[jdhaenens]

It will be uploaded to Avsim dot com and Flightsim dot com as far as I know.

[tpet]

a little practice before release.. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/content/flying-aircraft-carrier-3772/.

[YoYo]

Hi Guys: Please note - you MUST read the "Read Me First" file prior to your first flight. Dirigibles did NOT fly like conventional airplanes, so if you don't read the file first, you will NOT be able to fly! There is no running down the runway like a heaver-than-air airplane.

Bill


Bill, whether it is you !!!! Are You come back ??? Im very happy with this !!! :wavey:
All the best!

[Z-AZ1USN]

I went looking (Avsim/Flightsim) for the Macon et all and all I see is the FS9 version.
Again, wheres the beef? Is it not posted yet?

[jdhaenens]

A few files just showed up on Avsim dot com.

[Cag40Navy]

YEEHAW! I cant wait to use PutPut's Sparrow in multiplayer on this thing! Going to be fun to connect to the great Macon! Thank you Jim and gang! WooHooo!

[Sundog]

I really enjoy flying this. I've just had one problem, the radio's don't show for me with "Shift-3."
I see the panel flash on the screen for a half-second and then nothing.

BTW, another good book relating to the Akron and Macon is The Flying Hookers, which has a lot of detail on the hanger section. Just an FYI.

[jdhaenens]

We'll take a look at that, Sundog.

I just uploaded the Macon AI's. There are two versions, one for mission/scheduled AI and one for AI Carriers that Paul Clawson helped us out with. These AI's have about half of the polys and half of the draw calls as the full version. They were uploaded to both Avsim and Flightsim.

So what we have uploaded now :

USS Macon
North Island High Mast
NAS Sunnyvale
Macon AI's

Yet to Come:

USS Patoka locations.

[Lateral-G]

Just took a flight from Moffat Field to NAS Alameda. Too cool!

Thanks for this awesome add-on!

-G-

[Lateral-G]

Can you actually snag the trapeze on the AI Macon with Putt-Putt's Sparrowhawk?

And how do you get the trapeze to lower on the AI Macon?

[jdhaenens]

I'll check it out. The trapeeze should be already lowered on the AI version. Please send a screenshot. (and a route for me to test it out?) None of the folks on the beta did AI. I tested the AI model by putting it in as the exterior model for the flyable Macon.

You can't actually link up with the Macon in normal gameplay. I would bet that someone who does missions could come up with a method.

Try the AI Carriers version. I could actually get close enough so it would count with that.

[wantok]

Excellent pice of work, Jim et al. Trying to get her off the ground now.:wavey:

[wiltzei]

Interesting. I once saw a documentary about her crash. It even involved an eye-witness, "Flying Aircraft Carrier" on Discovery Channel.

[Daube]

You can't actually link up with the Macon in normal gameplay. I would bet that someone who does missions could come up with a method.

What happens if you set the trapeze as a arrestor cable, and put a "tail hook" on top of the plane with an exagerated cable force ? doesn't the plane stay "attached" to the cable ? I'm referring to Acceleration native features here.
If I remember correctly, on a carrier, until you raise the hook, you can't move on the deck, can you ?

[jdhaenens]

Tried it ... doesn't work.

[PutPut]

I have experimented with hooking up the Sparrowhawk and a test airship for about 2 years. The tests were with a AI airship in AICarriers and a model of the F9C with the hook assigned to the top hook. I used FSX Acceleration attachpoints to define the trapeze. All attempts were NOT successful. If you look at the fine print with both the rcbco-30 gauges and the FSX Acceleration wires you find the aircraft wheels must be on the deck for a successful trap. That doesn't look feasible for an airship.
As Jim has suggested perhaps it can be done in the confines of a mission. I am not the guy to pursue that as I have never created a mission nor even looked at the mission builder.

Best, Paul

[delta_lima]

I know this only a

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hKotJaLktmE/RZP7q6zM_pI/AAAAAAAAAA8/_ZSd1U6ncaY/s400/brain_fart.gif

:) But what about this: if FSX requires you to "touch down" to trap, then would it be possible model a short hangar (think a box with fore and aft walls open) that would hang under the airship, right underneath where the actual hangar would sit in the airship. It of course, would have no textures, but would have a hard "deck" (also untextured) - so in effect, you'd actually be landing on your wheels in this short wee hangar.

You'd have to add a "virtual" tailhook to the Sparrowhawk, but that would be not be visible in the sim. I know that trapping with your wheels rather than your overwing hook is not the same, but you have somewhat of the sensation of "trapping" aboard the airship.

Like I said, just what came to mind ...

dl

[PutPut]

I tried that about a year ago as one of the experiments. Indeed, you can trap. However, the plane doesn't stay there and although the deck was not visible, the planes shadow certainly showed. Didn't look right at all.

Best, Paul

[Sundog]

Why can't you define an area of the trapeze wire, say from the wire and a couple of feet forward a "runway/deck" then assign a "wheel" to the crux of the sparrow hawk hook so it lands on it? Also, could you bend the edge of the "invisible" deck up, so the plane/hook doesn't roll backwards off it and put another small wheel on the hook arm, like a bumper, to keep the plane from rolling forward on the hook. I can draw a picture of it when I get back from running errands to explain what I'm talking about.

Or just make a flight deck that looks like a rain gutter in cross section running across the trapeze wire and have the hook wheel land in it? If this works, you could make it so when the trapeze retracts, the gutter always stays up, keeping the plane attached, then make the trapeze move with the retract gear command (maybe spoiler command would be better?) and use shift-E to close the hanger doors. Of course, I don't know that you could make a deck change position like that, but it would be cool if it was possible for the trapeze action.

[Wings of Gold]

The problem is that the hook ONLY stops the airplane. It does not support it. Even on the top of the aircraft - all it does is halt the forward motion. You must have a runway to support the airplane. That involves putting an invisible runway forward of the lower fin and aft of the Control cab. BUT, you can not run into the runway without crashing - so you need to fly beyond the fin, then up between the fin and the invisible runway, then between the invisible runway and the lower part of Macon's hull (without flying up into Macon) - and THEN you could trap on the trapeze (stop). Leaving the trapeze involves flying forward until you are clear of the invisible runway, but before you run into the control cab, and then dropping down between the end of the invisible runway and the control cab. Wayne and I tried to fly this pattern in multiplayer early in the development, without success (and I'm a hell of a good real-world "stick"). I'm not saying that this can't be done - but we couldn't figure out how to do it. In real life, there was (of course) no invisible runway needed, so a Sparrowhawk pilot could fly up to the trapeze from pretty much below.

Bill

[X_eidos2]

I have an idea - but no time to test it - but I'll offer it up as a suggestion.

Instead of making a modification to the plane or the airship - make a third object, an AI invisible landing strip. In the AIcarriers cfg file position the landing strip so that it is about 80' below the airship. I know you can make FSX materials that don't cast shadows - maybe you can make a shadow free SparrowHawk.

Remember how folks used to make hangers with animated doors that would be triggered when you dialed in a certain radio frequency. Maybe you could do something similar to the ai landing deck.
You land on the deck, dial in the frequency and the deck is animated to move up and it carries up the plane so that it's level with the trapeze. Then you "taxi" over to the trapeze. To launch the plane you'd just change the radio frequency and the invisible landing deck would drop down and you could fly away.

Not realistic - but it might look good.

[huub vink]

Great work guys, absolutely beautiful Jim!

Huub

[Daube]

Thanks for the information about the tests with the airborne wire. Too bad it doesn't work...
And I suppose FSX SDK won't let you 'attach' a plane to a very sort tow rope either ?

[Z-AZ1USN]

How do you turn OFF that blasted morse code sound. Beep beep beep is very annoying.

I looked in the Control radios section and press just about every radio related key possible
yet that blasted code is still there. :icon_eek:

[SADT]

I have an idea - but no time to test it - but I'll offer it up as a suggestion.

Instead of making a modification to the plane or the airship - make a third object, an AI invisible landing strip. In the AIcarriers cfg file position the landing strip so that it is about 80' below the airship. I know you can make FSX materials that don't cast shadows - maybe you can make a shadow free SparrowHawk.

Remember how folks used to make hangers with animated doors that would be triggered when you dialed in a certain radio frequency. Maybe you could do something similar to the ai landing deck.
You land on the deck, dial in the frequency and the deck is animated to move up and it carries up the plane so that it's level with the trapeze. Then you "taxi" over to the trapeze. To launch the plane you'd just change the radio frequency and the invisible landing deck would drop down and you could fly away.

Not realistic - but it might look good.

X_eidos2 idea sounds quite feasable :salute: (This is from someone who has never designed or modified FS A/C, just my opinion)

[paiken]

How do you turn OFF that blasted morse code sound. Beep beep beep is very annoying.

I looked in the Control radios section and press just about every radio related key possible
yet that blasted code is still there. :icon_eek:

Press Shift+3
Radio panel comes up
Change frequency on Nav radio 1 or Nav radio 2
Beep beep beep goes away

[Zommoz]

While I LOVE the job that's already been done, I am with the group that thinks "trapping" on the Macon would be the ultimate in simming but I have zero experience with modeling or scenery design or any of the pertinent skills, so take the following with that in mind. Along with the trap wire on top idea, could the invisible "runway" that's required be instead, three small patches of runway (each with a rear lip to prevent slippage ala Sundog's idea) so that the wire would stop you, but you would have to set your wheels down precisely on their respective "runway patch"? If this were possible, wouldn't it help with the space issues? ...and maybe help a little with the shadow issue?

Another train of thought... I know the "mothership" concept must be possible in FSX because there's that payware I wish I could afford, the Bell X1, They figured out how to launch the X1 from an AI B29... I'm pretty sure they didn't figure out the landing bit, but is there any connection? Just thinking out loud...

Again, I love what has been done already and am deeply appreciative. Many thanks to all involved!

[Z-AZ1USN]

Press Shift+3
Radio panel comes up
Change frequency on Nav radio 1 or Nav radio 2
Beep beep beep goes away

OK, I hit the Shift+3 key no radio stack panel pops.
Other things do, Gps, Buoyancy gauge and a menu of Shift +
keys options.
I use Win 7 64 bit with FSX/Accel.

[jdhaenens]

you can open the radios from the view/ instrument panel drop down, then change frequencies.

[PutPut]

X_eidos2 idea sounds quite feasable :salute: (This is from someone who has never designed or modified FS A/C, just my opinion)

Problem is radio frequency actuated doors or other objects don't work in FSX. That "improvement" frustated many scenery designers.

Best, Paul

[stiz]

theres just 1 little thing i'm not to keen on, the colour of the windows, i'd rather have them less coloured and a tad more see through. But other than that i love it, cant beat it for vfr! :applause:

[jdhaenens]

Stiz,

Just lighten up the alpha on Glasscolor.dds and don't forget to save it as a DXT-5.

[fsafranek]

Does it rain in the hangar? :salute:
:ernae:

[Lionheart]

Does it rain in the hangar? :salute:
:ernae:


Hey...! Rarely known fact, super Zep hangers (monstrous ones) had clouds that build up in the top area's. Not like fluffy clouds, but large bodies of mist.

[Roger]

Looks great Jim and team:ernae: I'll have to download this tonight after work!

[Z-AZ1USN]

you can open the radios from the view/ instrument panel drop down, then change frequencies.

Therein lies the problem....when I do that, the outline of a box will appear/disappear in the blink of and eye.
So my issue is making the radio stack panel pop so that I can
change frequencies otherwise I have to go to different airport, that seems to help.

[jdhaenens]

You could go into main preferences and reduce the cockpit noise slider.

Jim

[stiz]

Stiz,

Just lighten up the alpha on Glasscolor.dds and don't forget to save it as a DXT-5.

yup noticed that after i posted, now tweaked and loveing the view out the window :jump:

[Lateral-G]

never mind....problem solved.

move along, nothing to see here :bump:



-G-

[Wings of Gold]

Earl Watkin's USS Patoka (AV-6), the support ship for the USN dirigibles, is now released on Avsim, and should be up on Flightsim.com tomorrow. Has five locations for mooring the USS Macon.

Bill