This started out as a place to showplace the beautiful new GAS PT-13/PT-17 Stearman I was privileged to be a part of testing before its release. Then like most of my projects it snowballed into a real project. I did a Google search for U.S. Eastcoast primary training airfields and this just captured my imagination. First, there isn't a single remnant of it anymore. It was not even a defunct default in FSX so the 4 letter ICAO code is fictional but it was necessary to be able to recreate it in ADEx. I have been working on it since my very first screenshots of it in the GAS thread but it was far from complete then with a lot of glitches I had to discover how to fix. It is an ALL GRASS field, aprons, taxiways and runways which i thought was unique not being a simple little farm strip. Also, it has unique buildings since I created the entire base not just the airfield. It was also originally an Aeronautical School contracted by the AAF to train pilots both American AND French. How is that!!! Finally it was owned by the famous aerobatic pilot Beverly "Bevo" Howard. Any aviation historians guess yet? Yep, Hawthorn Field.
I was able to get a wealth of information once I started looking online. I also did a lot in Sketchup. With the exception of the hangers and tower which are close representations of the real ones from the photos, all the barracks, headquarters and school buildings were built in Sketchup but with low poly so it is not a frame rate hog at all. I have been able to get between 20-30 fps even with ai aircraft.
When I did NAS Alameda a couple years ago I experimented with sound effects with a lot of success and though I had to learn how to do it all over again with the Effects SDK in FSX, starting at 0600 and ending at 2200 throughout the day, all of the Army bugle calls at the appropriate times are sounded loud and clear. Adds ambiance I think.
Here are 3 photos I took. Its pouring rain in Orangeburg SC so no flying today, all the students are inside in the "schoolhouse". You can see the GAS Stearman in Parking 4 all covered up. (Really cool Paul) If you look closely you can see some of the ai aircraft parked in the background. I will be sharing this field in the Warbird Library as well as the totally accurate repaint for the PT-13 from GAS. Look closely at the tail registration. Its not a mistake but accurately repainted from a real photo in the Hawthorne Aeronautical School PDF that is included in the download. The flag is also animated and follows the wind as does the tetrahedron.
Bookmarks