Martin Marauder Gold for FS9 has been released

[Milton Shupe]

Found the entry hatch answer, but not a picture ...

[Limekiller]

[QUOTE=Milton Shupe;1070881]Trying to work on the nose section but have very little to go by re: details. If anyone has anything better, I would appreciate you sharing that. :-)


Posting in case these are helpful.
B-26 under restoration (pics are from this site- yes I know pics 2&3 are not the nose): http://mapsairmuseum.org/b-26-marauder-gets-her-nose/

[Milton Shupe]

[QUOTE=Limekiller;1071855]

Trying to work on the nose section but have very little to go by re: details. If anyone has anything better, I would appreciate you sharing that. :-)


Posting in case these are helpful.
B-26 under restoration (pics are from this site- yes I know pics 2&3 are not the nose)

Thanks LK; I do have those pics.

I found the "walk-a-round" at the following link quite helpful throughout the aircraft but that did not have nose section available.

For those painters interested in doing interior paint work, this link is helpful for moving about the aircraft. Keep in mind that the lighting makes the interior look bright but notice in the background areas where there is no lighting how dark the interior is. That's the way it should be of course; dark and subtle.

http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/med...ck%20View.html

[Willy]

Those walkarounds are great reference. I used the one for the NASM Boeing 307 Stratoliner to redo the JBK interior on his. Much more realistic looking now.

[Milton Shupe]

I went thru my walk-a-round pics and found some snippets that may help with the doors.

You can see what appears to be two sliding doors on each side and that there is a sliding stop in the center of the forward area.

It is difficult to see how these doors might be moved as heavy as they are. I seriously doubt they were closed by hand.

[Milton Shupe]

Great work, incredible to see how quickly you churn out these aircraft!

Any chance of a civilian version? Something you could throw in a gtn750 gps and fly around the modern skies on vatsim? I understand that is not everyone's cup of tea. I find civilian versions of military aircraft very enticing for some reason.

Thanks Peacemaker. A civilian version will not be done as the hours invested to do that far exceeds the time I am willing to invest. Revamping the exterior fuselage, interior walls and floor, and building a new cabin interior is not a trivial task. I will however be making the gmax source available for anyone who feels inspired to do that.

[mrogers]

Milton, the highlighted piece in the pilots manual about the entry through the nose well confirms my feeling that it was indeed a crew entry point. Looking at the photos I can see that the silver bit at the front is the track for the doors to slide on, with the stop in the middle as you described, and on looking a bit closer I can see a door slightly sticking out of a recess on the left and there appears to be a hole recessed into the side of it to put a hand into it to pull it out of the recess. Being made of aluminium I don't think they would be that hard to pull.

[Milton Shupe]

Milton, the highlighted piece in the pilots manual about the entry through the nose well confirms my feeling that it was indeed a crew entry point. Looking at the photos I can see that the silver bit at the front is the track for the doors to slide on, with the stop in the middle as you described, and on looking a bit closer I can see a door slightly sticking out of a recess on the left and there appears to be a hole recessed into the side of it to put a hand into it to pull it out of the recess. Being made of aluminium I don't think they would be that hard to pull.

Mark, the entry/exit was never in question in my mind as the manuals and videos make that clear. The doors were the question but finding a picture of them in action or closed was the issue.

[Andre19]

Not sure if you've seen the pictures in the following link. Probably more confusing as I don't see the sliding hatches.

http://www.b26.com/page/inside-martin-b26-marauder.htm

In the following video at about the 44:25 point the co-pilot opens the sliding hatches. You can't see the actual hatches, but it seems they are pretty easy to open.

http://zenoswarbirdvideos.com/B-26.html

[lemonadedrinker]

Hi,
this is cheating really, but here goes with a beautifully made plastic kit which seems to show what happens with the nose wheel and entry for the crew, behind the seats it looks like. Doh, Andy, couldn't be in front of the seats.


Andy.

[mrogers]

Not sure if you've seen the pictures in the following link. Probably more confusing as I don't see the sliding hatches.

http://www.b26.com/page/inside-martin-b26-marauder.htm

Ah! I see the door! It opens by dropping down into the wheel well! And there is what could be the top of a ladder fixed to the wheel well back wall, but there's not enough evidence to show that it actually is.
No wonder they could not be seen in the other pictures. I thought there might be sliding doors but that was wrong. The hole I thought was for a hand to slip in may be the recess for the door lock to click into, or maybe not. Great find Andre.

[nater]

That looks like FSX and Latin VFR's Key West, Florida scenery.

There's a FS2004 version at simMarket apparently.

Sorry I wasn't clear.....this is FS2004's LatinVFR Key West....Yes, just picked it up the other day on SimMarket, as the wife and I were in Key West 3 months ago.

[huub vink]

Dear Milton,

I assume you know this walkaround aswell: http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/bi...-26_walk_7.htm

There at page 7 there are two clear pictures from the hatch seen from the wheel well.

[gaucho_59]

Nater:

here's another texture to use re: comments (done some refining but still WIP)





G.

[Milton Shupe]

Dear Milton,

I assume you know this walkaround aswell: http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/bi...-26_walk_7.htm

There at page 7 there are two clear pictures from the hatch seen from the wheel well.

Thank you Hubb. Yes, I saw these pics earlier. I have been looking for another angle to show the ladder or foot holes but so far unsuccessfully.

[huub vink]

Below a picture taken inside the cockpit of the French B-26 G, with a small part of what seems to be the hatch.

Cheers,
Huub

[Milton Shupe]

Seems to me this hatch issue had different solutions for different models.

The pics I posted clearly show sliding door action with stops in the center. The sides clearly show separate components that look like door edges. It is clear there is no drop hatch on teh starboard side in those pics.

The recently posted pics above clearly show a different setup with the sides of the opening being smooth and a drop hatch setup.

I wonder if we can identify which of these aircraft are the B/C models, and which may be later G/F or earlier models as in the video.

EDIT: Okay, the pics I posted above were of the B-26G model in the National Museum so that may be different than the B/C models.

http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/full/z-028.html

[Willy]

As for entry ladders, I served on a few ships that were leftovers from WW2 and on those, some places that were kind of difficult to get into didn't have access ladders. It was expected that young & strong sailors could grab a high hand hold or two and pull themselves up. I'm wondering it might have been the same with the Marauder?

[huub vink]

This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSIsoj1QPAc shows a ladder which leads to the bomb bay (4:20) and somewhat later a guy (5:55) climbs in the nose wheel well without using a ladder.

When you look at this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F02nq94QuU , you see the crew climbing up the front nose wheel well (6:33) using a ladder. At 9:18 you see historic images from a crew accessing their B-26 the same way (using a ladder).

Cheers,
Huub

[jackryan172]

All the talk of nose gear hatches made me start to wonder. Does the nose gear rotate 90 degrees on retraction to lay flat, or did it keep it orientation with the tire sticking against the crew entrance?

Sean

[Milton Shupe]

This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSIsoj1QPAc shows a ladder which leads to the bomb bay (4:20) and somewhat later a guy (5:55) climbs in the nose wheel well without using a ladder.

When you look at this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F02nq94QuU , you see the crew climbing up the front nose wheel well (6:33) using a ladder. At 9:18 you see historic images from a crew accessing their B-26 the same way (using a ladder).

Cheers,
Huub

Good observations Huub; both videos depict early short wing models so we know they used a ladder or nothing at all, as we saw the corporal climbing up the Navy way. :-)

[Milton Shupe]

All the talk of nose gear hatches made me start to wonder. Does the nose gear rotate 90 degrees on retraction to lay flat, or did it keep it orientation with the tire sticking against the crew entrance?

Sean

It rotated ... as does my model. :-)

[srgalahad]

Most of the photos of Marauders on=ground don't show a ladder, but it makes me wonder if SOP was for the last crew out stowed it to prevent ground crew damage or to keep it out of the way for the bomb dollies.

Here are 4 pics (mostly early models) that show ladders of tubular section or square-section and full- or short length so it may well be that it's another of those changes by production lot/factory and/or field mods.
Note that the model in post #335 above shows a sturdy, full length ladder stowed against the top of the well. As for the hatch, there are almost certainly two types. Pics of Flak Bait show a slider with the release handle near the centerline, while several others show a hinged drop-down. Dealer's choice, Milton?

B-26C
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsh...7614321413274/

TB-26B
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsh...-5DEt3T-dfqfXc

B-26 NACA SHORT LADDER
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133697...-ft33ss-jMSmzX

Early B-26 New Guinea
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/...rauderBWlg.jpg

[mrogers]

Ah, so I wasnt wrong about the sliding doors. It does seems that there were sliding doors on the earlier models and a hinged door on the later models. It's just a matter of working out which models had which. The ladder in the nose wheel bay must have been either foldable or extendable.

[Milton Shupe]

Most of the photos of Marauders on=ground don't show a ladder, but it makes me wonder if SOP was for the last crew out stowed it to prevent ground crew damage or to keep it out of the way for the bomb dollies.

Here are 4 pics (mostly early models) that show ladders of tubular section or square-section and full- or short length so it may well be that it's another of those changes by production lot/factory and/or field mods.
Note that the model in post #335 above shows a sturdy, full length ladder stowed against the top of the well. As for the hatch, there are almost certainly two types. Pics of Flak Bait show a slider with the release handle near the centerline, while several others show a hinged drop-down. Dealer's choice, Milton?

B-26C
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsh...7614321413274/

TB-26B
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsh...-5DEt3T-dfqfXc

B-26 NACA SHORT LADDER
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133697...-ft33ss-jMSmzX

Early B-26 New Guinea
http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/...rauderBWlg.jpg

Thanks Rob; as usual, you come up with some great reference materials.

Thanks to everyone who has been researching this question. It has brought some clarity, and some questions.

Meanwhile today, I have not mapped a single poly. :-/ Yard work, window washing, and watering, then car to the shop for service. Temps here have been in the upper 60's 70's and 80's of late with the same to the 90's over the next 10 days so the grass continues to grow, and things are getting greener, and Momma will be wanting to dress up the patio. :-)

Fear not, Saturday and Sunday should be heavy-lifting days to wrap up the interior mapping.

Reminder for most here in the states, time changes this weekend.