KBT update to L-188?

[gray eagle]

P3D V4.5

[ColoKent]

P3D V4.5

Tease! Looks nice....I've been flying the FSX variant in P3D v5.1...

Kent

[expat]

Well this one continues to be a real head banger. Happened to be having an Eastern Airlines 1960's fleet fest, saw this thread, so decided to "rediscover" the KBT Electra.

BendyFlyer - you hit the nail on the head. She is a case of "so close, yet so far." Great looking external model and VC (one of them at least) and nice flight handeling. The gauge/switch operability is a mess. Lights and AP are almost fixable but the show stopper for me is that in P3D4.5 HF3 I cannot get the engines to manually start using the Electra VC and panel - I can get #1 to light but the rotary switch is disabled and the four starter switches ahead of the throttles do not move. Not even Ctrl + E works.

This is not the case interestingly when I borrow the P-3C VC and panel and merge these with the Electra exterior models (just really need to change the eyepoint to adjust for the fuselage length difference). With the P-3C panel, the four small starter switches will move and you can start each engine normally. BUT the P-3 panel does not look correct or nearly as good as the Electra VC - the pop up overhead and main panels have eye-crossingly low res textures with unreadable switch labels. Also tried the Michael Pook panel and mods and no difference or improvement with these either. But as you rightly point out, you cannot easily swap in generic gauges in the ususal way to fix these various anamolies as they must be somehow tied into the models.

Scorch - by the way very nice work on your recent tanker models and textures and thanks for generously sharing them! As above, I could only start engine #1. Ctrl + E also does not work. Curious to know how you get all the engines going in P3Dv4? Be very exciting to find a breakthrough here . .

[BendyFlyer]

Expat - a few of us are working on this one for P3DV5. I think we have the starter problem solved now but the overall gauge placement and switch placement is tricky. Even gone back to the L188 manuals to sort out what is what, either way still limited functionality or kit but overall progressing not to badly. Very frustrating process but I have to say the Paul Strongen panel update (which was for a Mike Stone electra not KBT) works best and is most faithful to the Electra with a few caveats as well. I think I have gone through every update and fix I could find on the net and then rebuilt the whole shebang about 5 times so far in the past week! Anyway the Christmas season is upon us so this will go into the new year work box. A very talented gentleman from Europe is working on the model conversion and VC models with me at the moment as part of this effort, his work is brilliant at the moment. However this is all unofficial without KBT's sanction either, so where we go then I am not sure! It would be great to blend in Schorch's work with PBR textures for P3DV5. One thing is for certain she will get out of the hangar and into the modern sim world.

[expat]

That's such good news - thanks for the update and the hard work!

[expat]

Early LGA - DCA EAL shuttle run.

[Scorch00]

Scorch - by the way very nice work on your recent tanker models and textures and thanks for generously sharing them! As above, I could only start engine #1. Ctrl + E also does not work. Curious to know how you get all the engines going in P3Dv4? Be very exciting to find a breakthrough here . .

It was my pleasure, I'm glad I was able to bring those versions of the Electra to the sims.

It's been a bit since I've flown her. I'll have to look at BendyFlyer's suggestion as well. But The way around it from What I remember is actually the way I have my HOTAS configured. I have Fuel Cut switches for each engine (1-4). Strangely, by just flipping the fuel back on to each engine once I've cut them, Cntrl + E starts them right back up. I think this bypasses the bug with the mixture setting for some of the older FSX based aircraft. I'm also not 100% sure, but the tanker versions also don't use KBT's panel/interior model. That may also contribute to the fact of why I've got mine to work. The version I have/used has the panel from Paul Strogen's panel/VC he did for Mike Stone's L-188, that was adapted and model merged to FSX native in the KBT Electras with the 4K texture upgraded versions. I'm not even sure where I got this version from, but I believe it was on AVSIM.

I also added my own xml effect controller gauge that moved the engine smoke to the lights section from the smokesystem section to make a true engine auto-smoke effect for them that worked in P3D. Freed up the smokesystem section to add people's own retardant/water effect or for use in FireFighterX. That was really all the tweaking I did to the panel on my tanker version.

[BendyFlyer]

Just a few panel pics in P3DV5. The KBT Electra scrubs up pretty well. There are some mods here but this is the KBT panel now has WX Radar (Freeware/Shareware Courtesy of Bjoern works on met reports press and temp) and some minor panel changes that are underway.



Two different night textures that have been done by different folk. The first is from the TAA HD textures the other is from a Cathay Pacific texture.





Now the landing lights and taxy light work but the old FSX bug of the lights going off at daylight still exists and the landing lights throw a green hue in the VC (But I have the same issue with two AH aicraft as well so it is an effects file issue in P3DV5).

[gray eagle]

I also added my own xml effect controller gauge that moved the engine smoke to the lights section from the smokesystem section to make a true engine auto-smoke effect for them that worked in P3D. Freed up the smokesystem section to add people's own retardant/water effect or for use in FireFighterX. That was really all the tweaking I did to the panel on my tanker version.

At first, I had no smoke effect till I remembered in the P3C there was a working smoke effect in the Aircraft.cfg (Smoke system) section which I copied and pasted to the L-188 smoke section of the
Aircraft.cfg. Previously, there was a
[SMOKESYSTEM]
smoke.0= 0.271, -30.017, -1.052, fx_smoke_rx >>>> This effect didn't work in P3D 4.5
smoke.1=-1.232, -15.416, -3.801, fx_smoke_rx
smoke.2=-1.232, 15.506, -3.801, fx_smoke_rx
smoke.3= 0.271, 30.002, -1.052, fx_smoke_rx

[SMOKESYSTEM]
smoke.0= -8.052, -31.017, 2.271, fx_smoke_f6//cs130_smoke >>> This one works.
smoke.1= -10.801, -15.416, 1.232, fx_smoke_f6//cs130_smoke
smoke.2= -10.801, 15.506, 1.232, fx_smoke_f6//cs130_smoke
smoke.3= -8.052, 31.002, 2.271, fx_smoke_f6//cs130_smoke

I am curious in your way of doing this in the lights section.

[Scorch00]

At first, I had no smoke effect till I remembered in the P3C there was a working smoke effect in the Aircraft.cfg (Smoke system) section which I copied and pasted to the L-188 smoke section of the
Aircraft.cfg. Previously, there was a
[SMOKESYSTEM]
smoke.0= 0.271, -30.017, -1.052, fx_smoke_rx >>>> This effect didn't work in P3D 4.5
smoke.1=-1.232, -15.416, -3.801, fx_smoke_rx
smoke.2=-1.232, 15.506, -3.801, fx_smoke_rx
smoke.3= 0.271, 30.002, -1.052, fx_smoke_rx

[SMOKESYSTEM]
smoke.0= -8.052, -31.017, 2.271, fx_smoke_f6//cs130_smoke >>> This one works.
smoke.1= -10.801, -15.416, 1.232, fx_smoke_f6//cs130_smoke
smoke.2= -10.801, 15.506, 1.232, fx_smoke_f6//cs130_smoke
smoke.3= -8.052, 31.002, 2.271, fx_smoke_f6//cs130_smoke

I am curious in your way of doing this in the lights section.

I essentially attached the effect like you would an afterburner to a fighter, using the logo lights and a modified an afterburner xml file to control the effect based on engine power settings. Power below 80% I believe and the engines don't smoke. Above that, she rolls coal out the exhaust. I have the xml file and the change around on my hard drive. Some people have wanted to do add this to other prop aircraft to free up the smokesystem section for aircraft that have smokey exhaust, so if people want it I can probably upload it somewhere. It's easily adaptable to other platforms. I made it originally for the Electra, but have since put it on the stock C-130s, KBT P-3s, and other aircraft. The mod works with any smoke effect, it just like I said. Picks up and moves it from the smokesystem to the lights section. You'd just have remove the aircraft's stock smokesystem controller gauge from the panel if it has one.

light.4= 9, 0.271, -30.017, -1.052,fx_c130_smoke
light.5= 9, -1.232, -15.416, -3.801, fx_c130_smoke
light.6= 9, -1.232, 15.506, -3.801,fx_c130_smoke
light.7= 9, 0.271, 30.002, -1.052, fx_c130_smoke

[gray eagle]

I essentially attached the effect like you would an afterburner to a fighter, using the logo lights and a modified an afterburner xml file to control the effect based on engine power settings. Power below 80% I believe and the engines don't smoke. Above that, she rolls coal out the exhaust. I have the xml file and the change around on my hard drive. Some people have wanted to do add this to other prop aircraft to free up the smokesystem section for aircraft that have smokey exhaust, so if people want it I can probably upload it somewhere. It's easily adaptable to other platforms. The mod works with any smoke effect, it just like I said. Picks up and moves it from the smokesystem to the lights section. You'd just have remove the aircraft's stock smokesystem controller gauge from the panel if it has one.

light.4= 9, 0.271, -30.017, -1.052,fx_c130_smoke
light.5= 9, -1.232, -15.416, -3.801, fx_c130_smoke
light.6= 9, -1.232, 15.506, -3.801,fx_c130_smoke
light.7= 9, 0.271, 30.002, -1.052, fx_c130_smoke

I'd be interested in giving it a try - looks like your light entries use the same smoke effect as I do in my smoke system.