SOH Team Project - Grumman Tracker, Trader, Tracer

[Milton Shupe]

OK, I finally shoved real life into a corner so I could get some Sim time.

Milton, regarding the latest S2F-3 --
1. I changed [exits] to =2 and presto, the weapons bay opens
2. After some experimenting, changed [folding_wings] \ fold_rate to = 0.06, 0.07. That seems to be a good compromise between the real rate and smoothness. Folks should adjust the fold rate to their taste.

Excellent work H52! Thank you

QUESTION -- can provision be made for the searchlight to operate?
That would require a gauge programmer and a really intense effect. I cannot do that but if someone steps up, I will gladly work with them to incorporate the capability. I think there is a helicopter with a search light, I have asked; no one responded. So, I dropped it.

Regarding the latest E-1B --
1. As in the Stoof, I changed [folding_wings] \ fold_rate to = 0.06, 0.07. Thank you; will use your numbers.

2. Don't forget to add the CSD air scoops Already added, just not distributed.

3. Are there animations in addition to crew door, wing fold and tail hook? Yes, 4 flaps, 2 gear, 7 gear doors, 6 brake lines, 2 wheels, 1 folding antenna, 4 spoilers, rudder, rudder trim, elevator, elevator trim, 6 prop spinners, 12 prop blades, cockpit ECU throttle, pitch, and mixture controls, 4 rudder pedals, 2 yoke stems, 2 yoke wheels, flap lever, gear lever, . :-)

4. There is a protrusion on the lower starboard fuselage which looks like a stowed trailing wire antenna (TWA). If it is, and if you have animation tags available, would you consider animating it? That would be a "first" in FS!!! I would consider it but would need more info as to how it worked, how long it should be, etc.
In the event a TWA is provided, you may wish to couple the data-link antenna to the TWA such that they are both deployed/stowed simultaneously. Just a thought; don't want to cause you grief!
It is no problem but I do not know what a TWA is. :-/

Finally, the Nit-Picking Department
The fuel-dump pipes are offset inboard from the nacelle centerlines. Is moving them a quick fix?
It is a very quick fix. Never hesitate to ask, and I really appreciate all the input and feedback you have provided. Thank you very much.
- H52
Attachment 49702

See interspersed comments in quote.

[Milton Shupe]

Milton Crazy idea here, if we cut the fuselage in half, what we can do then is get higher res and all me and Nick have to do is to cut our masters in half at the same point.... then it's a simple case of a rapid trace (2 or 3 days) and we're back in business....

Great! I appreciate that you jumped in here to volunteer (as I was not going to ask)

I will expand the fuselage map to double the pixels per inch.

[Matt Wynn]

righto, shouldn't take too long to do, as i say just a matter of tracing and re-decalling but even that won't be too hard....

[p3aewguy]

Great! I appreciate that you jumped in here to volunteer (as I was not going to ask)

I will expand the fuselage map to double the pixels per inch.

Milton,

As long as re-mapping is going on, would you map the cowlings differently from the E-1. I noticed that on the E-1 the left and right cowls are mapped differently. The left cowl has the texture split at the 6 o'clock position while the right has the texture split at 12 o'clock. This makes lining up any repaint with markings on the cowl and the nacelle difficult. If they were both mapped the same but using the left and right textures, then one could mirror the texture then rename it for the other cowl. Personally, I think the cowl-l would be the preffered mapping for both sides.

There are only a few repaints for the E-1 having stripes on the cowl and nacelle, but there are more for the S2F that do have stripes or markings on the cowls. This mapping would carry over to the S2F-1 and the S-2T.

Thanks for considering this and I welcome commentary from my fellow repainters.

Dave

[gaucho_59]

righto, shouldn't take too long to do, as i say just a matter of tracing and re-decalling but even that won't be too hard....

I have been working on a profile - preparatory to doing some skinning whenever the paint-kit becomes available - I know you like profile work... how's this one (still a WIP)

Attachment 49706

[Matt Wynn]

looks great, i'll have to upload some of my Profiles at some point.... Maybe just a touch more shadow on the nosecone/radome to give it a more rounded look but looking great!

[Milton Shupe]

Milton,

As long as re-mapping is going on, would you map the cowlings differently from the E-1. I noticed that on the E-1 the left and right cowls are mapped differently. The left cowl has the texture split at the 6 o'clock position while the right has the texture split at 12 o'clock. This makes lining up any repaint with markings on the cowl and the nacelle difficult. If they were both mapped the same but using the left and right textures, then one could mirror the texture then rename it for the other cowl. Personally, I think the cowl-l would be the preffered mapping for both sides.

There are only a few repaints for the E-1 having stripes on the cowl and nacelle, but there are more for the S2F that do have stripes or markings on the cowls. This mapping would carry over to the S2F-1 and the S-2T.

Thanks for considering this and I welcome commentary from my fellow repainters.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Great points you have raised. I assure you that the screwed mapping on the cowlings are not intentional. Gmax gives me a fit on cylindrical maps and it sometimes takes an hour or so to get it to work. I recall doing the E-1B taking more than an hour for the left nacelle. The maps are rarely centered at 12 or 6 as it just will not work. It throws some polys outside the mapping area. So I have to fiddle with angles until I get a good read.

Anyhow, I will attempt a redo on the cowlings, or clone and mirror the left to the right side. Or, do you have a preference?

My apologies for overlooking that..

[tankerguy72]

Where are the progress pics on the -T? Im itchin for them haha

I talked with one of the pilots of the S-2T and he was gonna check if he is able to give out some stuff and he was gonna get back to me. Ill keep you guys posted on that.

[p3aewguy]

Hi Dave,

Great points you have raised. I assure you that the screwed mapping on the cowlings are not intentional. Gmax gives me a fit on cylindrical maps and it sometimes takes an hour or so to get it to work. I recall doing the E-1B taking more than an hour for the left nacelle. The maps are rarely centered at 12 or 6 as it just will not work. It throws some polys outside the mapping area. So I have to fiddle with angles until I get a good read.

Anyhow, I will attempt a redo on the cowlings, or clone and mirror the left to the right side. Or, do you have a preference?

My apologies for overlooking that..

Milton,

I'm not sure if anything can be done. There is considerable compressing of the texture bitmap in the fore and aft axis when applied to the model. I hadn't realised that before making my earlier posting. I went back and made some test textures and put them on the model. The results are attached. On the bitmaps the lettering is evenly spaced and proportioned.

I guess we should leave well enough alone. Thanks for looking at it anyway. I can figure alignment of stripes. Some shapes may be impossible due to the compression.


Dave

[Milton Shupe]

Where are the progress pics on the -T? Im itchin for them haha

I talked with one of the pilots of the S-2T and he was gonna check if he is able to give out some stuff and he was gonna get back to me. Ill keep you guys posted on that.

Well, I have been fighting with gmax for the last 2-3 hours. It's acting up and crashing the system. :-/

I did finish modeling the tank except for cutting in the doors and adding the little things, and I widened the nose as we discussed.

Still got some things to do before I remap the fuse and nacelles. The exhausts need to be changed, the props need to be remapped, the antennas need to be added, etc.

[Milton Shupe]

Milton,

I'm not sure if anything can be done. There is considerable compressing of the texture bitmap in the fore and aft axis when applied to the model. I hadn't realised that before making my earlier posting. I went back and made some test textures and put them on the model. The results are attached. On the bitmaps the lettering is evenly spaced and proportioned.

I guess we should leave well enough alone. Thanks for looking at it anyway. I can figure alignment of stripes. Some shapes may be impossible due to the compression.


Dave

No Dave, that needs to be corrected. I will take care of it. Thanks

[hawkeye52]

I have been working on a profile - preparatory to doing some skinning whenever the paint-kit becomes available - I know you like profile work... how's this one (still a WIP)

Attachment 49706

Very nice Gaucho! Noticed the fuselage stencil says "S-2A", but the livery is for 1961. Prior to September 1962, the old Navy designation system was in force, so your stencil should read "S2F-1". In real life, the stencilling on aircraft was updated as they rotated into MX for repainting, so liveries dating into 1963 likely had the old designations. But you would never see the new designations on anything prior to 1962. Just a nit-pick!
- H52

[mgr]

Hiya,

Request, for flight testing, does anyone have a copy of the "NAVER 01-85SAA-1A" performance supplement of the E-1B and/or S-2A?

Does anyone know the differents performance wise between the E-1B and S-2F-1?

Thx,

Marcel

[mgr]

Hiya Matt,

Milton Crazy idea here, if we cut the fuselage in half, what we can do then is get higher res and all me and Nick have to do is to cut our masters in half at the same point.... then it's a simple case of a rapid trace (2 or 3 days) and we're back in business....

That would be great, this gives you 2 times resolution in FS9 and will make most decals readable and sharp. Note if you spit up the fuselage bitmap you end up with 4 new ones :-) Don't know if you get in trouble with the mapping of the top and bottom and other parts, which are on the "cutting edges".

Marcel

[AndyG43]

My apologies Gentlemen as I was not clear.

When I map for higher res, I do not mean the size of the map, I mean how much aircraft to put in the texture width to get more pixels per inch of map/texture.

We are looking at doubling the pixels per inch to improve resolution.

No apologies needed Milton, my fault for being so dim!

So you mean (for example) rather than having a single texture to map a component, the fuselage for instance, you would hvae 2 or 3 or 4 ......

Works for me, as I know the guys prepping the kit will make it intuitive enough for the rest of us to use. Just in total awe at the skill of you guys and what you are producing.