Project Dornier Do-17z2

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Smilo,
No problem, I can hold off for as long as required!
I´m not rushing the upload as there are too many undecided factors yet, even for an upload without the final panel.

I´d prefer standard time too any day! It plays hell on the body-clock for over a week, especially for children. There´s no point anyway, as what you save on electricity in the evening you spend in the morning.

OK, then I´ll back check and upload if there is a general consensus!
I´m off to an afternoon class!
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

[smilo]

i have a promising idea or two
for modifying the old bomber panel.
we shall see how it goes.
don't wait too long for me, though.
i don't want to hold up the show.

another word about daylight savings.
as i've said before, i'm an old druid.
i like solstices, equinox,
and when i look straight up at noon,
the sun should be at the zenith.
i understand the commercial reasoning
for daylight savings, but, i don't like it,
especially, in the northern latitudes.

enough grousing about things
i have no control over.
i've got work to do.

[Ivan]

Hey Guys,

Check your email.

- Ivan.

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Ivan,
Thanks for the tip. I got the AirUpdate program and dumped the P51d and Do17z2 .air files after completing the missing records.
The AI .air file has only 100 records, and the P51d has 115.
A useful little programme! Now both .air files have 115 records, but something is still strange:
As I didn´t put in the water radiator temperature record, it should now have 114 records, so there´s one too many, but I´ll find it!
Very interesting...
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp.

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Ivan,
I just checked my e-mail. Good heavens, it´s fantastic. The gauges are incredibly exact, and perfectly in style with the Bf109!
Wonderful work indeed - you will have to give your technician a raise...
Aleatorylamp

[Ivan]

Hello Aleatorylamp,

Now you are starting to understand why I don't like starting with the AI Flight Models.
I don't really know exactly how many things work in the AIR file either, but I HAVE figured out a bunch of things that do not work.


Let me know if you find anything weird with the gauge set.
I did very minimal testing on those.

- Ivan.

[smilo]

sorry to say, i haven't check email
for most of the day...been busy
trying to construct a do17 bomb aimer bmp.

as with most projects, it's tedious.
especially so, when dealing with a mouse
that likes to seize at most inopportune times.
fortunately, all i have to do is unplug
and then, replug the damn thing.
no big deal, except, when one has to do it consistently.
be that as it may, progress is being made,
but, i need a break.

so, as soon as i'm done here,
i'll go check email and check out the new toys.

[Ivan]

Hello Guys,

Check your email again.....
This batch was considerably harder than the last batch.
I had a lot more changes to make for this set to work properly.

That should be enough for you two to get a pretty good start.

- Ivan.

[smilo]

boy, i'll say...they look great.
many thanks, indeed.


i've spent the last few hours
dinking around with bomb aimer bitmaps.
although far from complete,
this is what i have so far.

this is actually, three layered bitmaps.
the wall sections are two upper b-17
with the bottom being an upper, flipped.
i made the center glazing from scratch today.

the side windows need modification
and i would have preferred the horizontal piece
to have aligned with the site,
but, for now, it isn't in the cards.
if it's moved up,
it wouldn't align with the walls.

now, it's to bed for a few hours.

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Ivan,
Hello Smilo,

Wow! It feels like Christmas - I just saw the arrival of the Manifold pressure gauges and have to unwrap the present.
The Bomb Aimer panel looks very professional, very fitting and gives a sensation of reality there, for the view from the forward canopy. Great work. When you´re finished have a cat kill your mouse for being obnoxious - or maybe not - give it a prize for managing notwhithstanding!!

For the moment, I tried the RPM gauges in my own "default Do17" panel, and the gauges really do the job, don´t they?
I can´t wait to try it out with the new Manifold Pressure ones!

Have to chauffer the girls to school now.

Update: OK, I´ve put in the new ATA Gauges, re-adjusting my provisional panel. I´ve included an engine quadrant on the right like on the photos. Wow! The new gauges add a lot to the panel, even though the panel isn´t quite authentic. Very pleasing, I must say. The screenshot is updated too.

The panel perhaps has a "modernized, old look", like the styled clothes the Knights of Camelot wore in the film "First Knight", with Sean Connery, Julia Ormond and Richard Gere.

Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Ivan,
I have just done the first SCASMing step for the Virtual Cockpit for the Schnellbomber, correcting the pilot´s view point,
and this of course went very well.

But now,complications arise:
It´s not only the floor, but several different elements that the engine and props are interacting with, like bombers and gunners...I have isolated the different elements - floor, rear floor, canopy - to see their labels in the SCASM listing, and I must now put them into a section labeled Cockpit, just after the SCASM view point correction in the listing.

I´m just thinking that I´ll have to put the Bomber into the Cockpit section too, so I´ll have to isolate him as well, and then let´s see if I can get the order right! Maybe also the front gun, as the barrel can be seen infront of the front-central strut instead of behind it.

If I run into trouble I´ll come running for help!

Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

[Ivan]

Hello Smilo, Aleatorylamp,

Smilo, your Bombardier Panel looks great!
You probably have more time invested in that panel than I do in the "Stock" Gauges.
I always hate doing Bitmaps. I can never seem to get them just the way I want.
Using the stock BMPs is what made these multi-gauges easy in comparison to my prior gauges.
Pity I can't just use them for my own projects.

Aleatorylamp, Welcome to the joys of SCASMing.
Keep in mind though that the Virtual Cockpit does not have to include the entire model;
It just needs to have what is seen from the Pilot's Point of View.
Regarding duplicating Pieces, we did this with some of your earlier Great War Bombers.

- Ivan.

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Ivan,
I should have said Bombardier, the crew member, and not bomber, the entire plane!

As bombardier, forward gun, rear gunner head, main and rear cabin floor parts exist,
these 5 elements could be called in a certain order after the view-point correction.

That is my plan... which doesn´t necessarily mean it will work...
I´ll start off by just calling the main floor, and see if I can block off the engines.Then I´ll also
call the Bombardier, and see if he can stop acting like a ghost. ...and so on, perhaps.
Maybe I´ll have to call the canopy frame too.

It should work, shouldn´t it? We shall see...
Update: It´s working! I SCASMed cabin floor, Bombardier and rear gunner´s head into the Vcockpit, and all display correctly. Engines and props are blocked off. Now for a few canopyframe struts in the front and perhaps the forward gun.

Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

[smilo]

wow...impressive.
this place is like a bee hive of activity.
....with three bees.
where's hubba when we need him?

Ivan, i try not to think about time spent.
if i did, i would probably find something else to do.

i've spent half the day finishing up the bomb aimer panel.
of course, it could be better, but, it's close enough for me.
heck, i even added the floor windows and some rivets.
the next phase will be adding gauges,
both, to the bomb and the main panels.

for now, i'm done for the day.
time to kick back and watch some tv.

oh yeah, as i said yeserday,
i couldn't stand the center horizontal piece,
so, i moved it and everything around it.
i think it was worth the effort.

[Ivan]

Hello Aleatorylamp,

Glad the SCASM process is going well.
Again, keep in mind that what you see internally need have no relationship with what is visible from outside.


Hello Smilo,

The Bomb Aimer panel looks pretty good, but I do have to ask you:
Why did you remove the Starboard side Cheek Windows?
I know the Port side windows were not there, but the Starboard side ones were there.

On a more frustrating note:
I just found a pretty good image of a Dual Manifold Pressure Gauge and will likely have to completely re-do my Dual MP bitmaps.
A couple steps forward followed by a whole bunch of steps back.....

Gotta love this hobby.

- Ivan.

[smilo]

the windows on yesterday's draft
were hold overs from the b-17 panel.

from what i can see in drawings,
there were windows aft of the nose glazing.
the center one appears to be the floor.
there was a short one next to it on the port side,
then, a longer one followed by a short one
opposite on the starboard side.
granted, the lower fuselage angles upward
where these windows are located,
but, i don't believe they are terribly wide.
i added small windows on each side
of the lower panel...they are small,
but, they're there.

also, i believe the rough lay out in post #221
is a much better representation,
than the finished product.
it is narrower and taller,
where as the final is more round.
basically, i made do with what i had
and ended up with what we now have.

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Folks,
Yes, the beehive is bustling with activity!
Just one more step needed for SCASM to take out the bleed of the forward glazing through the top exterior infront of the cabin canopy.
Smilo, great, the slits in the struts to help the virtual bomb aimer. I´d been thinking about that too! Then, I hope the numbers for the aiming scale will not be too much of a problem.

More later.
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

[smilo]

the aiming scale may be a problem,
we shall see.
do you want to use the same one
as was used on the baltimore?

i'm not sure how much will get done today.
it's house cleaning thursday
and later, i have to run errands in town.
it doesn't sound like much, but,
there are some other things to do as well,
that i have been neglecting lately.

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Smilo,
It all depends on whether you want to use the aiming system that the B-17 bomb aimer´s panel was designed for.
It used the map view (vertically down) with two zoom clicks I seem to remember, to get 15% Zoom.

Adapting your fantastic front Canopy view in a similar way that I adapted for the Baltimore Canopy view (derived from the B17), and using the vertical map view, it worked well, and seemed quite an effectiv way of aiming.

One got a selection of 2 or three speeds, and 2 or three altitudes, and the marks indicated exactly where or when you had to release the bombs so that they hit on the target you wanted.

This is just a suggestion: Please don´t think I am imposing anything!
It is just an explanation to see if the B17 system can be transported over to this aeroplane, because I don´t know of any other effective system.

The B17 aimer´s panel is 800x600 pixels, and yours is 800x450, so your bomb aimer´s bitmap could perhaps be extended downwards to 600 pixels without distorting the existing glazing and spars, and without changing anything on the existing graphic.

The extension at the bottom could incorporate a panel for some basic instruments - speed, altitude, throttle, automatic pilot, whatever you need for a bomb run, and you could pilot the plane from there too.

Also, the bottom and side windows Ivan was talking about could be fitted in, I repeat, without altering anything of what you have already done. Then, the scale from the B17 panel, as a layer, could be copied directly over to fit along the vertical centreline of the panel.

As there are slits in your narrow canopy spars, your bombardier can see what he´s doing, so with the scale conveniently placed on the sides of the slitted spar in exactly the same positions, it should work!

I could try and place the scale, if you like!

I hope you don´t get angry thinking I am interfering or anything - it is just a suggestion!

Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

[smilo]

gosh, i hope i'm not so thin skinned
that i can't take constructive criticism.

the images posted were not the bitmaps.
they are screen shots...if that makes a difference.
as i mentioned above somewhere,
this is actually a conglomeration of three bitmaps,
the upper walls, the lower walls and the glazing.
the upper and lower are both, 800x600,
with the respective top or bottom half all black/transparent.
this is something i developed years ago to accommodate
render_3dwindow=1 or 0 in the panel.cfg
for now, i'll leave the explanation at that,
but, would be happy to explain
the whys and wherefores if there is interest.

now, about the glazing bitmap,
it is only 557x440....why?
simple, i was too damned lazy to enlarge it.
i let cfs do it for me.
all i had to do was add or remove
black edges to center the thing.
finally, it is layered over
the upper and lower "walls"

adding the release points shouldn't be a problem.
i'm sure i have an old b-17 bomb panel
with the information on it.
cutting and pasting it to the do17 walls
should be an easy task...

i'll see what i can do,
but, not right away.
i still have more chores to get done today,
a town run and band practice tonight.
needless to say, thursdays are nuts around here.

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Smilo,
OK, sorry! Not to worry - I realize it´s a screenshot, and I also knew how meticulously you are working on the panel.
I should have known that you had got it quite sussed out, that with the bomb aiming.
For a moment I had the impression that you wee running into difficulties, but I see it is not the case.
I needn´t have explained everything - probably all I said was obvious anyway! Captain Obvious, ha ha!

No hurry anyway- take your time.
I have to finish with the SCASM process yet too.

Band practice? Sounds fun. Do you play an instrument?
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

[smilo]

let's not get carried away
with the meticulous stuff.
that's Ivan's department.
i'm just an old copy and paste guy.

i'm glad to see you didn't delete.
it's a good reminder.

i'm off to find that b-17 bomb panel.
i know it's laying around here somewhere.

ps, on the way home from town,
the thought crossed my mind,
the bomb drop information
is in feet and mph, right?
what do you suppose kilometers
will do to effect drop zone accuracy?

pps, no, i'm not a musician.
but, i've always wanted to be.
i could never get past the really sucks stage.
i was so bad, i couldn't stand myself.

so, instead, i became a roadie
and audio engineer/sound man.
back when i was young, i did it for 15 years.
now, after being out of it for 30 years,
a local band asked if i would help them out.
sure, why not? i've got lots of time.
i'm retired, so, here we are,
back into rock and roll.

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Smilo,
Sounds great, and sounds like fun too, to look after the sounds of a band on the road,
and I bet it´s not only great for the band!

Good grief, Kph and Km... I hadn´t thought that far - This stuff always catches me out. Brain strain.
I remember fine-tuning a plane with the Beckwith Gauge thinking it was in Kt like the speed in red
at the top of the screen, so you can imagine the confusion until Ivan told me the gauge gave mph...

With metric Airspeed indicator and Altimeter, the bomb-aimer scale should of course be metric too.
Shall it be the same lines on the scale with speed numbers x 1.61 and altitudes x 0.3048 ?
- or maybe rounding off and moving lines up or down by one pixel, for an "an elegant approximation"

I´ll multiply it tomorrow and see what numbers fit better. Now it´s too late!

P.S. I forgot to say, I managed to eliminate the glass canopy bleeding through the nose cover in front
of the windshield. Then I was thinking of texturing a dashboard in there, but it wouldn´t be realistic there anyway.
Pity I don´t know enough about SCASMing to get the Virtual Cockpit looking like the real thing, like looking under the
dashboard to see through the nose glazing... Maybe it wouldn´t be all that difficult, but the Bombardier´s body would
have to have legs.

Good night!
Aleatorylamp

[No Dice]

Here is to you smilo:
from back in our day and the opening for my CFS2 Vietnam


Opening Video Clip
by Take
Click image to demo
Please read the very simple install instructions
Download ****

http://thefreeflightsite.com/Vietnam_Projects.htm

PS; smilo, you forgot to mention that you are a movie star.
I for one, would have voted you in for an academy award.

[aleatorylamp]

Hello NoDice,
Impressive, demo video!
I don´t have CFS2 though...
Good luck with the downloads - A huge project indeed!
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp