DC Designs Northrop P-61C Black Widow RELEASED

[warchild]

Just a huge thanks to everyone involved in the project! Beautiful plane, and wow, it flies well. Really feels like a real plane as you're reaching takeoff speeds, more so than some payware that just leaps into the sky.

My default flight had the lights on so my guns were stuck firing, but once I figured out they were slaved to a light all went well.

Fantastic to hear and glad your enjoying it ..

[DC1973]

Thanks for the continuing feedback everyone! Sorry for the short reply earlier, I was only on my Kindle and typing on it is a real pain.

Sadly, it does appear that I have lost the source file for the VC. While it's a huge relief that the model was basically finished and I didn't have to start over, obviously it's a bit of a blow as I can't now just nip in and change things very easily.

Regarding the textures, while many parts of the VC are mapped individually, many others are not and simply draw from existing textures from other parts of the airplane. The gunner's sights pillar, for instance, references the aluminium block on the engine texture sheet. This was a time-saving exercise for me in the process of building the VC.

Fingers crossed Pam and co can get to the bottom of the strange bouncing behaviour of the airplane seen by Mr Zippy. A paint kit will soon be released here that covers both the P-61C and the Reporter, so folks can start tinkering in some more detail when it comes to repaints both internal and external.

Cheers

[MrZippy]

Glad the flight part of it was good .. we';ll get you fixed on the rest of it too.. Check your PM's and let me know ..
As for steering, the simple answer is no. I'm old you see and my hands are weak and my joystick is a force sensing one, so using differential braking, was breaking my hand. Youll find i added a 45degree deflection on the nosewheel so we could use nosewheel steering if we choose.

Regarding bouncing.
I just did a flight out of a pre-alpha airbase thats as exotic as you can get. It's part of an as yet unreleased scenery package by a very dear friend, whom i hope gets a chance to release it some day. Of course I had an issue. It put my plane in the middle of a gravel pit that i had to drive out of, but once I was up on the main ground, tyhere were no problems. That of course is using the FDE i sent you. If everything works on your end, I'll post it here as a fix and an update as some minor but possibly important things were reworked..
I also hope everyone enjoys this little snapshot, of Claire Chenaults Kunming China.

Great shots, Pam. Test results of the FDE and .cfg sent by PM. Even at slow, bouncy taxi speed there is no steering at all and it tends to go extremely left.
Like I said, the P-51B did great in pretty much all phases. Wonder what the effect of placing the original P-51C FDE and engine parameters from the aircraft.cfg into the B would do? More poop to party with??

[mcanx]

Dean this plane is outstanding. It is so good that I retired my old Ito P-61 to the bone yard. SeaHawk I changed the color of my radar bezel to silver like yours. Do you think when your done tweaking your panel you could make up a panel zip so the rest of us could try your panel cfg? I sure like the one your picture shows. I also tweaked my lights and included your taxi and recognition lights. If anyone is interested here is a copy of mine.
[lights]

//Types: 1=beacon, 2=strobe, 3=navigation-recognition, 4=cockpit, 5=landing, 6=taxi

//Navigation Lights
light.0 = 3, -14.83, 33.039, 3.420, fx_navgre
light.1 = 3, -14.83, -33.039, 3.420, fx_navred
light.2 = 3, -43.30, -9.75, 8.00, fx_navwhi
light.3 = 3, -43.40, 9.55, 8.00, fx_navwhi
light.4 = 3, -18.863, 0, -3.103, fx_beacon
//Cockpit Lights
light.5 = 4, -5.109, 0, 1.345, fx_vclight_deepred
light.6 = 4, -10.92, 0, 3.78, fx_vclight_deepred
//Landing Lights
light.7 = 5, -16.72, -23.20, 1.8, fx_landing.fx
light.8 = 5, -16.72, 23.20, 1.8, fx_landing.fx
//Taxi Light
light.9 = 6, -2.00, -0.10, -2.85, fx_landing.fx,
//Recognition Lights
light.10 = 3, -33.500, 9.50, -0.78, fx_navred // bottom red fuselage recognition
light.11 = 3, -34.500, 9.50, -0.70, fx_navwhi // bottom amber fuselage recognition
light.12 = 3, -35.500, 9.50, -0.70, fx_navgre // bottom green fuselage recognition
//Guns----------------------------------------------use strobe switch
light.13= 2, -14.122, 0.500, 4.437, fx_Wing_Guns
light.14= 2, -14.122, -0.500, 4.437, fx_Wing_Guns
light.15= 2, -14.000, 1.200, -2.397, fx_Wing_Guns
light.16= 2, -14.000, -1.200, -2.397, fx_Wing_Guns

Thanks again Dean. Robert

[simtech]

First, a great job Dean to you and your team. This is an excellent airplane and you and your team did not spare many details. Thank you. In addition to the niggles already mentioned, I experienced something unmentioned up to this point. I'm running FSX-A, plane loaded fine and after engine start attempted to taxi to runup area. At 45"MP, and prop RPM @2400, airplane didn't move. Further examination revealed that even though the prop levers are animated correctly, (Ctrl-F3 for increasing Prop RPM) the RPM gauge is not. It appears to work in reverse whereas Ctrl-F2 increases the Prop RPM indication. To taxi and T/O, the RPM gauge is actually reading minimal. Other indicators seem to reflect expected values. Oddly, while flying, CTRL-F3 will, in fact, increase prop rpm. Not sure what I'm missing here. The performance is excellent, fun and, thankfully, challenging. Just one other observation and question, in this d/l, the Black Widow texture, the cowl flaps, prop spinner and top of the nose is a light OD color. Is this what is to be expected? Not sure. Just asking, perhaps my rig is choking on some colors. I didn't know if these areas were chrome, black or some other color. Again, thank you and your team for a job very well done. This must have been quite a formidable airplane in its time. I'm really enjoying it. Thank you....Terry

[DC1973]

First, a great job Dean to you and your team. This is an excellent airplane and you and your team did not spare many details. Thank you. In addition to the niggles already mentioned, I experienced something unmentioned up to this point. I'm running FSX-A, plane loaded fine and after engine start attempted to taxi to runup area. At 45"MP, and prop RPM @2400, airplane didn't move. Further examination revealed that even though the prop levers are animated correctly, (Ctrl-F3 for increasing Prop RPM) the RPM gauge is not. It appears to work in reverse whereas Ctrl-F2 increases the Prop RPM indication. To taxi and T/O, the RPM gauge is actually reading minimal. Other indicators seem to reflect expected values. Oddly, while flying, CTRL-F3 will, in fact, increase prop rpm. Not sure what I'm missing here. The performance is excellent, fun and, thankfully, challenging. Just one other observation and question, in this d/l, the Black Widow texture, the cowl flaps, prop spinner and top of the nose is a light OD color. Is this what is to be expected? Not sure. Just asking, perhaps my rig is choking on some colors. I didn't know if these areas were chrome, black or some other color. Again, thank you and your team for a job very well done. This must have been quite a formidable airplane in its time. I'm really enjoying it. Thank you....Terry

Thanks Terry, glad you're enjoying the airplane!

The power settings are I think controlled by the FDE and as such that's Pam's expertise. Re' the colours, the black bird is Moonlight Serenade and the cowls, nose, spinners and wing tips should be a sort of light green ( I sampled the colour from photos of the real airplane ). Is that what you're seeing?

[simtech]

Dean, yes, those colors are exactly what I'm seeing. I just wanted to verify that my feeble machine isn't choking. The airplane flies great and other than the prop indication not able to read max on T/O but does indicate higher in the air, no problem. I like your subtle flight crew animations. Thank you.

[warchild]

ok.. Power settings.
Never use em.. I use a throttle so i'm not at all certain of the mechanics of F-1 through F-4 and how they work.
There IS however a mystery that I believe you may have just confirmed..
I have buttons set up to increase and decrease the rpm you see, soo, i push one button and the rpm rises, i push another and the rpm falls.
BUT
youll find that on this plane if you keep the rpms at 2700 even at full throttle, youll never get past 300 mph in level flight. However, if you get the plane to 300 mph then set the rpm's to 2400 - 2450 and reduce the manifold pressure to 45 - 50 In/Hg the plane will accelerate to 360 mph without wep.

what i believe is happening is a glitch in FSX/P3D wherein the angle of the propeller is so great that its no longer able to bite enough air to go any faster, but when you reduce rps, your reducing the angle of the blade just enough that its actually able to do its job more efficiently.. I'll look into this.. bear with me though as I'm already working on MrZippy's issue which is a real head scratcher so far.. I promise i'll get these isdsues eliminated though..
Pam

[MrZippy]

I'll look into this.. bear with me though as I'm already working on MrZippy's issue which is a real head scratcher so far.. I promise i'll get these isdsues eliminated though..
Pam

Pam for President!! I'm sure it couldn't get any worse. It is now fixed, pretty much close to 100%. Just some slightly nervous props before engine start. Nose wheel steering is now effective! WooHoo!

Now a great Plane, Dean!

[warchild]

Dean, yes, those colors are exactly what I'm seeing. I just wanted to verify that my feeble machine isn't choking. The airplane flies great and other than the prop indication not able to read max on T/O but does indicate higher in the air, no problem. I like your subtle flight crew animations. Thank you.

Some of what your seeing is engine spool up. when you reach take off speed, the engine hasnt fully spooled up. you can tell this by the sound. When fully spooled up those engines sound like some gigantic buzz saw cutting through a log. You have to understand. This plane doesnt actually fly. It grabs the sky by the throat and pulls it down to it's own level.. All joking aside though, yeah, you have a 34000 pound plane and 9000 pounds of thrust to get it into the air. It's working its butt off.. Adding WEP will help a lot, but you have only 20 minutes of coolant so use it wisely..

[warchild]

First, a great job Dean to you and your team. This is an excellent airplane and you and your team did not spare many details. Thank you. In addition to the niggles already mentioned, I experienced something unmentioned up to this point. I'm running FSX-A, plane loaded fine and after engine start attempted to taxi to runup area. At 45"MP, and prop RPM @2400, airplane didn't move. Further examination revealed that even though the prop levers are animated correctly, (Ctrl-F3 for increasing Prop RPM) the RPM gauge is not. It appears to work in reverse whereas Ctrl-F2 increases the Prop RPM indication. To taxi and T/O, the RPM gauge is actually reading minimal. Other indicators seem to reflect expected values. Oddly, while flying, CTRL-F3 will, in fact, increase prop rpm. Not sure what I'm missing here. The performance is excellent, fun and, thankfully, challenging. Just one other observation and question, in this d/l, the Black Widow texture, the cowl flaps, prop spinner and top of the nose is a light OD color. Is this what is to be expected? Not sure. Just asking, perhaps my rig is choking on some colors. I didn't know if these areas were chrome, black or some other color. Again, thank you and your team for a job very well done. This must have been quite a formidable airplane in its time. I'm really enjoying it. Thank you....Terry

Ok. Lets go take a look at this one now..

Ok, so here's where we start.. Grab your favorite beverage, kick your shoes off and get comfy.

First, I'm running fsx:SE and whatever the latest update to that is, on a ryzen 5 and a gtx 1070.

Hardware aside, control F-whatever, doesnt work on SE. F2 decelerates and F3 accelerates.

the thrust levers in my VC work as expected, as do the F keys, and the throttles as well..

My "suspicion" is that its acceleration thats messing you up. The entire plane was developed in P3D and then recompiled for FSX, WHICH could be part of the problem as we now have three sets of code we're dealing with ( P3D, FSX, and acceleration ).

obviously things are already complicated so i'm going to start with the most drastic option..
Do you hate Steam ( lot of people do and I highly dislike them )??
FSX:SE is on sale and bundled with Active Sky right now for 25 dollars. Is this an option you would consider??
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3...ky_Next_AddOn/
let me know..

[DennyA]

I forgot to comment on the sound. It's awesome! That noise at high speed with a subwoofer... Dang. How was that created?

[warchild]

I forgot to comment on the sound. It's awesome! That noise at high speed with a subwoofer... Dang. How was that created?

I'm envious. I dont have a subwoofer ::lol::
GMan provided us with the sounds which are from his tigercat, but i've no idea how they were made. I've heard that sound in real planes before, so i fell in love with these sounds as soon as i heard them and the rest is history..

[simtech]

Pam, thank you for your interest in trying to resolve this. As for SE. I have it in my Steam acct., but have never installed it. My ole tried and true FSX-A has always been reliable. I won't abandon her now. This issue relative to all things about this wonderful airplane is so minor I'm not "going to sweat the small stuff." I like your description on how this beast flies. It claws its way into the air. Much like how a helicopter beats the air into submission to get airborne. Thank you for a great effort and I'm looking forward exploring all of the flight envelope of this animal. You're a true gem and thank you for this and the other FDEs you've provided to many outstanding projects.

[warchild]

Pam, thank you for your interest in trying to resolve this. As for SE. I have it in my Steam acct., but have never installed it. My ole tried and true FSX-A has always been reliable. I won't abandon her now. This issue relative to all things about this wonderful airplane is so minor I'm not "going to sweat the small stuff." I like your description on how this beast flies. It claws its way into the air. Much like how a helicopter beats the air into submission to get airborne. Thank you for a great effort and I'm looking forward exploring all of the flight envelope of this animal. You're a true gem and thank you for this and the other FDEs you've provided to many outstanding projects.

I'm always glad to be there. Your all very special too me and I'd move heaven and earth if i could, for any of you.. Let me know if i can help with anything..

Pam

[Seahawk72s]

"OK, then that leads me to think, unless Dean says otherwise, that the texture for the panel is an internal part of the MDL file. That’s unfortunate."


By placing a background gauge at 00 I was able to add 1 bezel, fire instructions & white lines.

[falcon409]

Correct, I forgot about that little trick. Thanks for the reminder

[Seahawk72s]

Correct, I forgot about that little trick. Thanks for the reminder

See if this works for you

//--------------------------------------------------------
[Vcockpit01]
Background_color=0,0,0 
size_mm=1024,1024
visible=1
pixel_size=1024,1024
texture=$VCNew

gauge00=P61!background,  1,1,1022,593

[falcon409]

Just a super quick reply but I was asked to remove the bezel part of the VC so that folks could change the layout of the instrument panel. Will reply in more detail later.

Understood, however a normal panel background is usually still supplied on a texture sheet to allow additions such as placards, switches, bezels (in texture form, which is what I had planned to do) and so on. Probably should have explained that when you asked the original question. 3D bezels are what I believe you were asking about. . .I add bezels on the panel texture and then drop the gauges into the bezels. . .Milton's Beech 18 and Howard 500 are examples of panels I've done that way. No problem, I'll just find a way to do what I need to.

As I mentioned in my initial post. . .beautiful airplane and enjoyable to fly. Thanks for all the hard work.

[falcon409]

See if this works for you

//--------------------------------------------------------
[Vcockpit01]
Background_color=0,0,0 
size_mm=1024,1024
visible=1
pixel_size=1024,1024
texture=$VCNew
gauge00=P61!background,  1,1,1022,593

Thanks for taking the time to do that, however I think I'll leave it as is. I'm used to working with a visible panel texture that I can pull into my graphics program and enhance as I go. That isn't available so I'll forgo the plans I had and just enjoy flying the airplane. Thanks again.

[Seahawk72s]

Thanks for taking the time to do that, however I think I'll leave it as is. I'm used to working with a visible panel texture that I can pull into my graphics program and enhance as I go. That isn't available so I'll forgo the plans I had and just enjoy flying the airplane. Thanks again.

MMmmmm, I've had that background into my paint program more then a dozen times tonight so ....?

In any case best of luck, will look forward to seeing what you come up with.

[Sundog]

Hi Dean,

Is there a way to remove the drop tanks on this and the F-15 Reporter?

Regards,

Ken

[DC1973]

Hi Dean,

Is there a way to remove the drop tanks on this and the F-15 Reporter?

Regards,

Ken

Hi Ken,

The tanks are fixed in position I'm afraid. However, it would be possible using Model Converter X and a custom XML gauge to make them invisible when fuel tanks are, for instance, 50% full or less. I'm happy for anyone to make such modifications should they wish to, and might do it myself at some point when I get some spare time.

[warchild]

If you are experiencing the aircraft pulling hard to either the left of the right on takeoff, turn the engines off and do a manual restart.
1. Battery on
2. avionics in the off position ( on )
3. fuel pump boosters on
4. apply gas and click the left starter switch. If it doesnt start, apply more gas.
5. repeat #4 for the right starter.
6. Increase the throttle to 1000 rpm
7. keep an eye on oil and CHT temps.
8. wait till the temps are in the green ( about 3 minutes )
9. smoothly and slowly apply more throttle till you reach take off speed and power.

These engines are cantankerous and finnicky. They like to be babied.. Do not simply slam the throttles to the wall and expect things to go well.. A slow steady hand and an observant eye will take you a long way to enjoying your experience more..

[scotth6]

Absolutely awesome plane Dean, and everyone involved. The modelling, texturing, flight dynamics, sounds, are all superb. I am having a bit of trouble keeping it straight during takeoff and landing, but I'm pretty sure that's pilot error .

Thanks very much for an awesome aircraft.

Cheers,