SOH P-61 project

[warchild]

Ok.. I gotta ask..GT182?? is that the Nine 0 nines or the Belle next to that goat???

[GT182]

No it's not 9O9, it is Memphis Belle. And I must tell you the truth Pam, it's the movie Memphis Belle, not the real one. Actually the real Belle is being restored but will never fly again. She will be permanently on static display, but hopefully inside of a museum. And I think Bob Morgan would like that.

[warchild]

I agree. I think he would too .. And that lady earned her rest the hard way..

[N2056]

This week I shifted to doing some external mapping. The focus is on the left fuselage boom, which should be easily cloned to the right boom which will have it's own texture sheet. This is still very much W.I.P. I'm trying to get something together so our painters can get to work.

Attachment 21160 Attachment 21161

[stansdds]

That is really looking nice.

[jimjones]

That is really looking nice.

Agreed.

[jankees]

I'm sharpening my brushes....

[James]

WOW. Looks great everybody. Is it going to be freeware, donationware, or what?

[peter12213]

Its really good watching and following you pro's at work sharing your problems and solutions it's really interesting! This also is really starting to look nice and I'm looking forward to flying her!

[warchild]

Thanks Peter, and everyone.. There are a few issues with getting fsx to read out exact horsepower that Fliger is working on with me at the moment, but her general behavior in the air reminds me of something like a big cat or an eagle. She's effortless, and yet, she'll do anything you ask her too with such ease and grace. Roberts work speaks for itself. The Pics dont really do it justice.. he hasnt shown you the inside yet. Your gonna love it.. He's got the chromium oxide paint matched almost perfectly. Thats something i havent seen in any other model.. Pretty soon David will be able to come on board and work with Robert. I'm not sure how they'll figure out who's doing what, but I would trust both with my life, and the plane is certainly one of those that has enough work for everyone to keep busy.
Once Robert has the base textures done, I'll turn Jankees and Butch Loose on them. I'm hoping Butch is still interested. He's the worlds very best on shadowing and detail.. I wish we could get Gizmo to do the normals. With those three people, this plane would be incredible. As is even with only Jankees and Butch its going to be very very awesome..

In answer to the query above about freeware or payware. The plane will be donationware to support SOH. But, dont let any preconceptions cloud your thinking. Every single one of the core team is obsessed with the P-61. Its not just a plane. We each are taking extra steps above and beyond anything we've ever done to ensure that this model is the most accurate and complete plane anyone has seen. Hell, we even have buffeting in the flight model, and we havent done any systems programming yet. The effort though very much parralels the story of the seven blind men and the elephant. There just isnt enough data to form a complete picture, so each person is working on a specialized area. Roberts got the gauges and systems along with David, Fligers an expert on the R-2800 series of radials, Jankees has been doing research and colletion of as much information on the paints as possible, and I've been focusing on control surfaces and flight characteristics, interfacing with Fliger where those characteristics meet up with the powerplant, and generally making sure that all the pieces of the elephant come together to form an accurate picture.. :;chuckles:: That accuracy is a B**tch. It's the force driving every single one of us. Sometimes we have different means of obtaining it, and sometimes, there are disagreements, but its all because we each very much care about this plane, and we each have our own very unique ways of achieving that accuracy that sometimes collide with another members ideas about how to achieve it. But as long as we keep in mind it's the plane that counts, and we've been pretty good about that so far, we'll give you a product unlike anything youve experienced before. And i say that with all confidence. I'll put my professional reputation behind those words. Its the only thing i have, and not something i would risk for anything.
I'm "hoping" for a release date somewhere around February or March, but i'm not guaranteeing anything there. i wont push my team beyond their abilities. They each and every one of them know exactly what they're doing, and know how long they'll need.
I HAVE had this insane idea however. I've been thinking about converting one of our B models to a C and using it to chase all these P-38's in the upcoming race, so we can have pictures this year.. I need to work that out with the organizers though..
Stay tuned into this thread .. theres lots more coming up..
Pam

[warchild]

Its really good watching and following you pro's at work sharing your problems and solutions it's really interesting! This also is really starting to look nice and I'm looking forward to flying her!

Hey Peter?? Wanna be a Test pilot?? Your a straight up kinda guy, and i need that. Fliger and I are both looking at numbers, comparing datum, matching performance values with known data, and we may be seeing things though our own pre-conceptions and ideals. I'd really like it if you would test this thing and give us your objective opinion on it.. We need someone who can shred it till it cant be shred any more..
Whatta ya say??
Pam

[fliger747]

I am sure that the racer bunch would like a C model.

Here is the chart for the R2800-10W as used in the F6F, esentially the same series of engine as in the P-61.

Shows HP vrs MP/RPM and altitude.

T

[peter12213]

Hey Peter?? Wanna be a Test pilot?? Your a straight up kinda guy, and i need that. Fliger and I are both looking at numbers, comparing datum, matching performance values with known data, and we may be seeing things though our own pre-conceptions and ideals. I'd really like it if you would test this thing and give us your objective opinion on it.. We need someone who can shred it till it cant be shred any more..
Whatta ya say??
Pam

I'd love to Pam, it would be a pleasure!

[warchild]

welll, it would have to be C conversion. There's enough differences between the panel for the B and C models that it may as well be a whole new plane.. On the exterior, the only real difference is in the cooling vents below the cowling, but internally they are quite a bit different..

Fortunately, the C and F-15 had the same speed range..

[warchild]

I'd love to Pam, it would be a pleasure!

Thanks Pete.. Just sent a PM ..