Fairey Barracuda

[baldy]

Hi

At Rami's prompting I have made the aircraft multi-lod - this new mdl should do the trick

(Rami could you put this new mdl in the upload zip please?)

baldy

[Rami]

Baldy,

Thank you so very much, and I will update the package tonight. Please do not misunderstand my prompting as being a "rivet-counter" or otherwise ungrateful...it's just that this is one of those aircraft that I've been hoping to have for years, and it would have been a bit of a downer to not be able to use her in her full capacity. I always felt the Tirpitz missions were lacking without her...

...so again, my deepest thanks for accommodating me.

[Rami]

Baldy,

I also noticed some issues with the airfile...it looks like you may have used the Avenger and Hellcat? as a base, but the information in the airfile was somewhat problematic. I re-wrote the text, and added the correct Merlin engine specifications, as far as the number of cylinders, engine displacement, compression ratio, and aircraft weight. This, together with adjusting the propeller scalar, brought the performance of the aircraft to within reasonable limits.

[Seagull V]

Baldy & UncleTgt,

The Fleet Air Arm is looking great again - many, many thank-yous !!!!!!!

Regards SGV

Wishlist - up to date Fairey Fulmar, Fairey Seafox, Supermarine Stranraer, Westland Wyvern TFMk-1 & SMk-4

[Jagdflieger]

Thanks for the effort on the multi-res Baldy.

[baldy]

thanks for sorting the air file - hope the multi-lod is adequate - and anyway I always need a kick in the butt to do things

baldy

ps Seagull I'm not promising anything - I thought someone did a Fulmar recently

[baldy]

Hi Rami

you might want to tweak that air file a bit - she can't get off a flight deck with a 1600ib bomb even with war emergency power with this new one

baldy

[Rami]

Ian,

Here is the Fairey Fulmar: http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...atid=50&id=191

Baldy,

That shouldn't be too hard...I'll try the thrust scalar at .75, rather than .65 and see if it works better.

[Rami]

Bearcat,

Read my PM about changing the prop blades, because I know what you're going to say...

[bearcat241]

Hey Rami,

You based your reworked air file on a two-bladed prop configuration vs the historical four-bladed specification of the actual Barracuda. We've touched on this before in some of your other FM's, but the two-bladed setup is an Airwrench default on everything it generates. When working with a model with more than two blades, you have to manually adjust this spec along with everything else before arriving at a "true" flight model. An oversight here can make a huge difference in authentic flight performance. Might want to look into that before tweaking the thrust scale.

To each his own as they say, but in fact, i wouldn't bother with decreasing thrust one bit on a 9400 pound, carrier-borne beastie that needs everything it can muster to get airborne when fully loaded off a flight deck. The best play for keeping the top speed in check is to increase parasite drag incrementally until she stops breaking your "speed limit".

[Rami]

Bearcat,

Someone has to cobble together a collection of air files for two, three, four, and five-bladed screws, and that way they can be used as a base for air files with proper specs. Most aircraft in this sim, when you look in the air file with Air Wrench, are at least one blade short.

[bearcat241]

Someone has to cobble together a collection of air files for two, three, four, and five-bladed screws, and that way they can be used as a base for air files with proper specs....

Sounds like an interesting idea, having different prop config platforms collected and at our disposal, but with all the labor that goes into tweaking and testing other FM specs over the full performance spectrum, it would be a small benefit IMHO. Every time i import a ready-made FM into a similar or dissimilar model, i know there will be a ton of adjustments that need to be considered. But when i look at the engine for the correct match-up, the first place i go is the air screw specs for power, before any horsepower or carburetion or critical altitude specs. Sometimes just plugging in the correct number here can bring a model within its proper performance envelope or somewhat closer.

Moreover, as in reality, the sim's flight modeling performance output also takes the prop material into consideration - is it wood or aluminum? Wooden blades are notorious for limiting power output and ceiling specs. Modeling an 1800 horsepower thoroughbred with a two bladed wooden prop is a missed mark indeed. You just end up fudging other airframe variables to get 1800 hp performance or manipulating thrust and power scales in the cfg. Another fuzzy area is properly modeling WEP. Do you design it into the overall HP output or in addition to it? I've seen both methods used over the years. And is the variable used for additional WEP output historically accurate? I've seen lots of discrepancies in this one too, as much as the prop thingy - always short. Once you plug in the proper engine and prop specs, the actual model performance can THEN be fine tuned by airframe/airfoil tweaks. This is where drag and lift variables come to your aid to make the performance more authentic.

[Seagull V]

Rami

Thanks for the link to the Fulmar - missed that one completly (but judging from the time-frame it was when I was very occupied with real world hassles)

Baldy

Thanks for getting the Fulmar to me indirectly via Rami, and many thanks to BSK for such a nice aircraft model.
It was only a wishlist if you were looking for things to do, I very much appreciate your work !!!!!!!

Regards SGV

[UncleTgt]

Don't forget Pepe did a rework of Pakayan's Barracuda & revised the airfile - might be useful to look at that airfile as a start point?

[baldy]

For all those who like sub chasing I shall be uploading the Mk III version of the Barracuda today ( multi-lod)



and later on UncleTgt will no doubt upload a selection of skins for both a/c

cheers

baldy