Upcoming Lockheed Vega 5 for FSX and P3D

[Vitus]

Hey guys,

I'm back. And I was busy! For the past year I'm working on a Lockheed Vega 5 for FSX and Prepar3D which will be released as Payware.




You'll find some more information on my new website, please check it out and tell me what you think!

[Bomber_12th]

Excellent! It is great to see you back, Vitus!

[Vitus]

Thank you John, believe me it's good to be back!

[Bomber_12th]

I've always been a sucker for the Lockheed Vega 5. Such a nicely designed aircraft - I only wish we had some flying today. There was a metal-bodied version with an incorrect cowl/engine that flew in recent years, but I don't believe it has been flying any longer - at least Kermit Weeks is having his all wood example rebuilt at this time to eventually fly again.

[Vitus]

I couldn't agree more with you, it's such a beautifully shaped aircraft. And then there is the history of the aircraft! The things Wiley Post achieved in this aircraft are amazing. Try to climb up to 51,000 feet with a plywood plane!

I used lots of pictures from the construction of the Shell Vega for my modeling process. They did an amazing job recreating this beauty!

Hmm lets see... This is an early version (color still far off, many details missing):




Well, my Vega only has ONE option for the door, I'm afraid.

[Bomber_12th]

Really looking sweet, Vitus! The systems/intricate details you describe coded into the aircraft sound fantastic as well. I'm really looking forward to the Alpha release!

My favorite scheme I've ever seen on a Vega 5 was one that was painted green with a red cowl scallop leading into a red stripe down the side (I'll have to try and hunt that photo down). The US Army Air Corps used some of these as well, painted with green fuselages, chrome yellow wings, with red/white striped rudders.

(BTW, I still have dreams sometimes about your Bleriot and Lockheed 10. )

[Switchblade408]

WOW! This looks most excellent! Can't wait to add this plane to the collection!

[Vitus]

I'm not quite sure if I've seen the livery you are talking about, so I'd appreciate any picture. I like the Braniff paintjob as well:

[YoYo]

Beauty!

[Bomber_12th]

Here is the photo I was thinking of - unfortunately not much to go by, and I'll have to see if I can try to find more on it. The photo was taken at Lockheed's plant in Burbank, and part of a YP-38 can be seen in the background (which might mean it was kept as an in-house example). I like how they had the crank case painted to match the airplane.



Another classic color shot:



Roscoe Turner with a very slick looking example - I've seen that interesting spinner on a few in period photos.

[Bomber_12th]

"Goodrich Silvertowns"

[Bomber_12th]

"Standard Oil"

[wombat666]

Can I pre-order now?
Love the Vega, one of the all time Golden Age classics.

[IFlySWA]

Beautiful!! One of my all time favorite classic aircraft. Keep up the great work!

Brian

[YoYo]

Btw. Could be little less? Model looks amazing but 50 bugs? : ( The price is very high for classic bird according me, 29, 35 will be ok but 50, hmmm....

The full release of the Lockheed Vega is scheduled for the end of 2017 and will cost around US$ 50. We are planning an Earl-Alpha release at a highly discounted price within the coming month.

P3Dv4 ready too? Good day.

[AussieMan]

Great aircraft to produce but you lost me when I saw the $US50 price tag. It will cost me more that the $US50 as the $AU is lower and would cost me in the vicinity of $60 - $65. $30 - $35 and you would have had a customer.

[Vitus]

Good morning Gentleman!

John, thanks for the photos. I saved them to take under consideration. You missed one glorious paintjob though:



At the moment there are still a few things I will change on the model (e.g. the cockpit window frame), so additional liveries still have to wait a bit.

Yoyo, yes. The Vega will run on P3Dv4.

Thank you all for your feedback on the price tag. I totally understand your concerns and appreciate your honesty. I'd love to tell you about my thinking a bit later, but before that I would love to get some unbiased answer to the following:

If you think the price is to high for what will be offered, in your mind what would justify the price tag? I.e. what features needed to be included to justify it?

I'd love to hear your suggestions!

Cheers,
Vitus

[thunder100]

And Those

[thunder100]

Forget the Orion-->klicking Mistake

[YoYo]

Good morning Gentleman!
If you think the price is to high for what will be offered, in your mind what would justify the price tag? I.e. what features needed to be included to justify it?

... or You can think about more content. Good example it was "The Bugatti FS2004 Adventure pack" .I remembered the very old product of Lionheart, You can chack it here (idea like old product of Bill Lyons also) :

http://www.lionheartcreations.com/Bugatti.html

so if package will have for example:

- additional scenery/ies from the old era
- driveable cars, vehicles (especially for Avatar mode in P3D!!!)
- missions with dedicated manuals, maps, VFR objects 3D for old style of flying (fictional or historical)
ect.

why not : ) ?

Examples:

[jeansy]

Wow it does look nice snd is somewhat temping

Care to include this livery in the release candidate ?

http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a42.htm

[henrystreet]

Vitus,

I'm enjoying the dev blog and Instagram dev posts.

Henry

[paulopp]

I'm glad someone makes a decent Vega, after all. I will keep an eye on this interesting plane, looks promising!

I don't know if the price tag is too high. If the package contains realistic engine, system and flight performance modelling, and proper documentation, I'd pay fifty bucks for it. I don't care so much for eye candy and gimmicks. Perhaps different models and (engine) versions should me modelled, among which the long range versions interest me much (Earhart, Post). There could be some missions included, e.g. real flight scenarios like Earhart's Mexico flight in 1935. And I don't know if it's historically accurate, but I'd certainly appreciate a Sperry gyropilot. Finally, an engine damage module (cht overheat, plug fouling, carb icing etc.) I would consider payware standard.

Keep on the good work anyhow.

Best regards,
Christian

[Moses03]

For the interested readers, here is a nice book covering the subject.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...l=1#post681690

[Vitus]

Thanks for all your input guys, every comment here helps me figuring out what the priorities for the Vega project should be. It's now my turn to share the plan I formulated over the past few weeks and months and where I stand with the project.

As mentioned before I am planning on releasing an EARLY ALPHA soon; because I think an aircraft like the Vega could really benefit from input from the fs community early in the development. It is such a diverse airplane with lacking documentation on it, so it is easy to overlook important details. I'd love to mobilize the community to come up with the best Vega one could hope to fly in the Sim.

If you decide to join the early alpha team, you will get the WIP Vega with access to progressive updates and - of course - full access to the final product when she is finished. As it is an early alpha, you must be aware that I can't promise ANYTHING works as expected, there will be bugs and there will be things that are simply not implemented yet!

But many features can already be tested, such as:
- barometric system (custom coded instrumentation, based on raw environmental data)
- vacuum system (custom coded, very detailed simulation under the hood)
- electrical system (custom coded, because Microsoft/ACES didn't know how electricity works when they coded FSX)
- unique animation code for all interactive elements in the cockpit (I'm VERY curious about your feedback!)
- Functional ramp- and payload manager
- First glimpse at the maintenance tool (limited functionality)
- Persistent cockpit

And here is a list of things that will NOT be included in the early alpha but will come in FUTURE updates:
- accurate flight model (She does fly. Just not very well at present.)
- sound engine and custom sounds
- lubrication/fuel/ignition/engine simulation
- wear/tear/failure simulation (few features implemented at present)
- manuals

All the items on the list are milestones in my project-management. Depending on the demand I do consider building both the "Winnie Mae", Wiley Post's around the world aircraft with the prototype of the Sperry autopilot and Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega 5 that she soloed across the Atlantic ocean.

Both of those aircraft require 3d modeling and heavy adjustments of the code as well, so I can't promise to deliver on those just yet.

There is something else you might find interesting. I will provide checklists for the Lockheed Vega. It is a bit anachronistic, since checklists weren't used until the B-17 was flown. But checklists make flying an aircraft like the Vega much easier. And here's the thing:

I will get the checklists printed! I did some prototyping and think a A6 format is feasible. The pages will be professionally printed on thick (min. 300gr) paper and coated. The pages will have metal eyelets and will be held together by a ring. You can order them with together with the Vega if you're inclined to do so and they will arrive a few days later by mail. I posted the first prototypes on my Instagram if you're interested:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXJdAo0D...n-by=simwing42

I believe that concludes my plans for the moment and I hope you get an idea what the Vega is about. I'd love for many people to take part in the development by signing up early and bombard my forum with requests, bug reports and suggestions!

Cheers,
Vitus