Warbirdsim P-51D "Twilight Tear, Then and Now" Released (Payware)

***Bomber_12th*** · April 27th, 2012, 10:33

For those interested, the second in the series of Warbirdsim's "Then and Now" products has been released!

The focus this time is set on P-51D-20-NA 44-63864, that saw combat action in the later months of WWII, and still flies today. 44-63864 was built early enough in the war, that upon arrival to England it was assigned to the 78th FG 83rd FS at Duxford. From there, the aircraft became the personal mount of Lt. Hubert "Bill" Davis. Lt. Hubert named the aircraft after the "1944 Race Horse of the Year", a filly named Twilight Tear. The aircraft was credited with shooting down three enemey aircraft - 1 Me-109 on March 2nd, 1945, and 2 Me-109's on March 19th, 1945 (67-years ago today!). Following the end of WWII, the aircraft, which remained in Europe, was sold to Sweden, where it became RSwAF Fv26158 F16 coded Red D, and later Green K. Following service in the Swedish AF, the aircraft was obtained by the Israeli AF. The aircraft was then later sold to William Lear Jr. who flew it from Tel Aviv to Athens, and then to Geneva, with the aircraft registered then as N251L in 1960. In the summer of 1963, the aircraft was to be ferried accross the Atlantic to the U.S., by pilot Roger Gaston Arnoult, but Arnoult, having never flown a P-51 before, crashed on landing at Reykjavik, Iceland. The aircraft was almost sold for scrap, but the remains were rescued by Petur Jonsson and Michael Valdimarsson in 1986. The remains were then purchased by Ron Fagen, of Granite Falls, MN, who sent the project to Tri State Aviation for a rebuild to completely stock and airworthy condition. The aircraft flew again for the first time since 1963, in April of 2011. Final detailing was conducted through a joint-effort by Fagen's Warhawks Inc. restoration company, and the then newly founded Aircorps Aviation restoration company. The aircraft was then showcased at the 2011 EAA Oshkosh Airventure air show, where it won the WWII Grand Champion award for the authenticity and complexity of the restoration.

Having been provided some amazing access to this aircraft, as well as some exclusive photographs, producing this project was a must.

For more (very detailed) information and a selection of screenshots, please see the product page here: http://www.warbirdsim.com/Store.do?s...=34&category=1

**RKinkor** · April 27th, 2012, 10:59

This is amusing, usually I do not buy this quick after release but norton file insight is giving me a low maturity/download warning and deleting the download. LOL trying again to dl think i have it turned off now.

***Bomber_12th*** · April 27th, 2012, 11:10

As with all of Warbirdsim's P-51D products, the goal with "Twilight Tear, Then and Now" is to provide the most accurate and authentic reproductions of the aircraft. In this case, that includes correctly reproducing the aircraft as Hubert Davis would have seen his mount in late March of 1945, while also reproducing the aircraft as the current-day owner/pilot would find it, this very day. There are many differences as a result of this, but also too, there are many similarities between them, due to the ever increasing desire for absolute authentic restorations, where no expense is spared to re-make the aircraft just as it was when originally manufactured.

The wartime example, reproduced as the original could be seen in late March 1945, has an N-9 reflector gun sight installed, as well as a generally-early interior cockpit layout/configuration, just as it would have been before the rocket control system and tail warning radar sets were installed on later variants. The N-9 gun sight fitted within the Warbirdsim wartime 'Tear, is highly detailed, modeled from as many photos and illustrations as could be found. The authentically-drawn reticle is collimated. The restored 'Tear depicts the aircraft as it was, late in the war and post V-E day, when the aircraft was modified in the field with the removal of the N-9 sight and the installation of the K-14 gyro computing gun sight, as well as the installation of the AN/APS-13 tail warning radar set. The K-14 gun sight fitted within the Warbirdsim restored 'Tear has the option to display the authentically-drawn fixed reticle, which is collimated, or the animated and authentically-drawn gyro-controlled reticle, which due to the unique animations is not collimated. While the N-9 sight remains fixed, you can remove the K-14 within the restored 'Tear. Also, by clicking on the seat within the VC of the restored 'Tear, you can also change the pilot from modern flight gear, to period flight gear. Each version of the aircraft has a fully detailed left gun bay, that is detailed, uniquely, for these aircraft, including proper ammunition type (armor piercing and incendiary), as well as the last three digits of the serial number are stenciled on each gun, so that when they were taken out and cleaned, they knew which aircraft they belonged to, just as the serial number is also stenciled on each of the most-removed panels, so that they didn't get mixed up with any other aircraft.

***Bomber_12th*** · April 27th, 2012, 11:15

Originally Posted by RKinkor

This is amusing, usually I do not buy this quick after release but norton file insight is giving me a low maturity/download warning and deleting the download. LOL trying again to dl think i have it turned off now.

That's a bit troubling! While there shouldn't be any reason for concern, I'll pass that on to those who manage the sales and website. If anyone has any questions or concerns at all, feel free to contact Warbirdsim Support, or contact me directly via PM or e-mail, and we'll be more than happy to assist with anything and everything - even if you just want to shoot the breeze, or whish to know more about the products.

**RKinkor** · April 27th, 2012, 11:19

Originally Posted by Bomber_12th

That's a bit troubling! While there shouldn't be any reason for concern, I'll pass that on to those who manage the sales and website. If anyone has any questions or concerns at all, feel free to contact Warbirdsim Support, or contact me directly via PM or e-mail, and we'll be more than happy to assist with anything and everything - even if you just want to shoot the breeze, or whish to know more about the products.

I don't think anything is wrong either other than Norton Nannyware.

***Bomber_12th*** · April 27th, 2012, 11:23

Here are a few recent screenshots of the restored variant of "Twilight Tear", as it exists today. These screenshots illustrate the modern-dressed pilot in the cockpit (which can be changed at the click of the mouse), as well as the K-14 gun sight and tail warning radar set fitted on the restored 'Tear. Also, the canopy fitted is that of the "Dallas" type, which has a very slicked-back appearance to it. All of the bare metal is polished to a mirror-finish, while the wings, trim tabs, and fabric rudder are painted in dull-silver dope, just as originally from the factory. All of the markings were applied with flat/matte paints, and all of the internals of the aircraft are finished in a variety of chromate zinc (yellow) and interior green primers. The 75-gal drop tanks, authentically detailed, also have completely accurate/authentic pressure and feed lines, all precisely modeled to match the original illustrations and drawings for these plumbing lines on the early D-model Mustangs.

***Bomber_12th*** · April 27th, 2012, 11:34

The wartime example, in contrast, has a very mute finish to the natural metal, almost flat. This look was recommened to me while the aircraft was being beta-tested, to match the look the original period photos seemed to illustrate. The aircraft has oil and coolant over-flow stains, exhaust stains, and general weathered-stains, with just about each individual streak copied from period and modern photos, so each leak is accurate. During this time is aicraft's life, it did not yet have the tail warning radar set fitted, and it still had the N-9 reflector sight installed, from the factory. The aerial wire and beacon receiver (mounted to the right floor board) were almost always removed once the aircraft got to England, but this is a detail I wanted to keep (especially as by not having it, I'd likey get more people thinking that it was a detail I missed - especially when they see it included elsewhere).

***Bomber_12th*** · April 27th, 2012, 12:03

The restored "Twilight Tear" has two modern avionics control heads, com and transponder, mounted within a tray that can be easily removed. When opening the gun bay on the restored 'Tear, the avionics tray is removed, allowing you to see and display the cockpit in its most authentic to WWII-era state. The only fixed-modern aspects of the cockpit, are the phone and mic jacks, and modern avionics circuit breakers.

***Bomber_12th*** · April 27th, 2012, 12:35

In contrast to the above images, this is the cockpit of the wartime 'Tear, as it was in March 1945, remaining un-modified from the factory. From looking between the images, you can see what changes occured when the N-9 sight was removed and the K-14 was installed, as well as the removal of the old G-Band and detonator switch panel, and the installation of the AN/APS-13 switch panel. Also illustrated, is how the warning bell, that worked with the tail warning radar, was installed onto the earlier-designed radio fuse panel (with the removal of the phone/mic chord clips), and the addition of the indicator light on the top of the instrument panel.

***Bomber_12th*** · April 27th, 2012, 18:31

I'm sorry for posting more shots, but I rather liked these.

***Bomber_12th*** · April 27th, 2012, 18:39

Just an additional note...

* The all-white painted chin scoop is like that, because that is authentically the way it is and was, not because of any limitations with the model. ; ) Also, one of the things I didn't fully expand on previously, is that the aircraft during WWII had a "California type" canopy, having been manufactured at the Inglewood, CA plant. The aircraft today, however, sports a very apparent "Dallas type" canopy. You can quite easily spot these two different canopy shapes through the two different versions of the aircraft included. While the "California canopies" had a never-ending curve to them, the typical "Dallas canopies" had an almost straight-line to the middle-aft section.

(Personally, if I owned a Mustang, I'd put a Dallas canopy on it too.)

***Odie*** · April 28th, 2012, 05:51

Hey John, are these stand-alone products or do I need any of the other WBS P-51D packs ? I've got the 1st one of the restored S'tangs. I like the look of the "then and now" series...

***Bomber_12th*** · April 28th, 2012, 06:23

Hi Odie,

The "Then and Now" products are completely stand-alone. They also come with a combination of all of the key features of the various products, combined, including:

- Detailed gun bay
- Modern and vintage pilot models (interchangeable on the restored models)
- Modern and vintage interior and exterior models
- Working gun sights (and the K-14 can be removed/added at will)
- Two-stage two-speed supercharger (Acceleration)
- Engine damage in excess of 61" MP (Acceleration)

***Bomber_12th*** · April 28th, 2012, 06:31

There was a small problem found that has resulted in preventing the WWII-era "Twilight Tear" model from displaying properly in FSX. The installer files can't be updated until Monday/Tuesday, but in the mean-time, it is a simple fix.

Please take the Panel.cfg attached, and paste it into the P-51D_Twilight_Tear Panel folder, located at:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\SimObjects\Airplanes\P-51D_Twilight_Tear\Panel

Otherwise, everything else is reporting just fine. This is the first time I've ever actually have had to release a service update, and it feels horrible! I intend to prevent this from ever happening again.