C-47 from Manfred Jahn and team

[gray eagle]

Apparently, it creates billowing brown smoke from the engine(s) at any throttle setting above 60%.



Not sure what you are calling "D18." The folder name with the smoke effect is "18."



Yes, the awesome exhaust-flames effect is from the above entries in aircraft.cfg. If you removed them you should put them back (assuming you like the effect) because they have NOTHING to do with the door-control problem.

My bad on the D18 as I meant 18.

As far as the exhaust effects go, I did in fact put them back in my aircraft cfg file. They work fine, as well as the doors. So, I guess that's pretty much our show here.
BTW, I never figured out what the desired smoke effect was suppose to look like for the C47 as that was all bungled up. I wonder if David Robles got it to work?

[HoggyDog]

Among the detailed engine-start instructions is a directive to activate the starter, count 9 blades then switch mags to both. In order to do any of that, you have to be in the VC... but no matter where I set my eyepoint in the VC, I can't see either one of my engines. The only place I can see my engines is in an exterior view- but from there, I can't hold the starter switch OR switch the mags to both.

I've seen impressive videos of this model's engines being started- how is it possible to be in exterior view where you can see this happening, count the 9 blades, and yet still manipulate the controls necessary for a realistic start sequence?

[Alky]

how is it possible to be in exterior view where you can see this happening, count the 9 blades, and yet still manipulate the controls necessary for a realistic start sequence?

Good question. The F2 menu comes to mind, maybe you need to be outside & use that for starting each engine and zoom in on the props... just guessing here (?) I just use CTRL E and get on with it. LOL

[Maj Kong]

If you press the starter button, hold it, then go external the button will stay depressed and you can count the blades. Works for me
Neal H

[mjahn]

Among the detailed engine-start instructions is a directive to activate the starter, count 9 blades then switch mags to both. In order to do any of that, you have to be in the VC ...

No. The Shift 3 (p.2 Control panel) should work in any view.

... but no matter where I set my eyepoint in the VC, I can't see either one of my engines.

Just cycle through 'A' in the VC and you will get two engine views. Together with the Shift-3 window, if you need it for engine start.[/QUOTE]

The only place I can see my engines is in an exterior view- but from there, I can't hold the starter switch OR switch the mags to both.

Yes, you can. Two options, actually, Shift-3 or Shift-7.

I've seen impressive videos of this model's engines being started- how is it possible to be in exterior view where you can see this happening, count the 9 blades, and yet still manipulate the controls necessary for a realistic start sequence?

Easy, see above. Playback is also an option for videos.

And on a purely personal note, if I saw a C-47 "billowing smoke" I would grab a parachute.

[HoggyDog]

Thanks for the tips on panel-view-switching to accomplish a realistic engine start. My goal is to make a video from an exterior, ground-level viewpoint near the engines as they start, similar to one I saw online somewhere, without showing panel views popping in and out of the video. I'll have to experiment to find a way to accomplish that, I guess.

And on a purely personal note, if I saw a C-47 "billowing smoke" I would grab a parachute.

Totally agree, that's why I removed the effect. I think it must have been originally intended to be a smoky jet-exhaust effect such as you might see from a B-52 under takeoff power. When I first got it, I assumed that it was part of the C-47's engine-damage modelling OR exhaust flames effect, but when troubleshooting its interference with door operation keystrokes I realized that it was not part of those effects, so I'm not sure why it was included in a repaint for this C-47.
Radials typically emit visible smoke only at engine start (or when on fire ), and then it's whitish-gray smoke that stops within a few seconds of engine start, not continuous, billowing brownish smoke during normal takeoff & climb segments, both of which typically require more than the "60% throttle" trigger point of this effect.

Playback is also an option for videos

I apologize that I totally do not understand what you mean by this- how does playing back a video help me to create a video of engine starts from a ground level exterior viewpoint without having control panels or overhead panels popping in and out of the video?
And in case you didn't read it earlier in this thread, THANK YOU for this amazing aircraft. Whether or not I ever figure out how to make the video I want, this is the most awesome C-47 or DC-3 I have ever encountered in any sim.

[mjahn]

how does playing back a video help me to create a video of engine starts from a ground level exterior viewpoint without having control panels or overhead panels popping in and out of the video?

Not video playback but FSX > Options > Playback. In Playback mode you can pick any view you like, and turn off any support panels you don't want, including Shift-3.

Better still get the module FSRecorder and record your startup sequence in a file (which the FSX internal Playback does not do). Then play it back and record via video capture. Then edit the video and upload to YouTube. You might want to get in touch with Ted "Tufun" here at SOH because he has done many vids and has lots of additional tricks up his sleeve.

Cheers,
Manfred

[HoggyDog]

Better still get the module FSRecorder

Sadly, there is no version of FSRecorder that works with FSX:SE, just confirmed on their support forum, straight from Noisy (the author of FSRecorder) who basically said in February that he doesn't have time any more to work on this but might try "in the next few weeks" to see what it would take to make a SE-compatible version.

I tried it anyway, hoping it was just an installer problem, but no- FSX crashed on launch, then on the next try it said "There is a serious problem with module FSRecorder, continuing will [have some bad result, doom & gloom, etc.]. Launch FSX anyway? [Yes] [Cancel]." So I can confirm from my own experimentation that FSRecorder version 2.1 and 2.18 Alpha (the only ones for FSX as opposed to FS9) do not work in the Steam Edition . Uninstalled and deleted.

Thanks anyway for the tip- I'll play around with your native FSX recorder/playback suggestions and try to get it to do what I want it to do, and if FSRecorder is ever updated for FSX:SE I'll jump on it.

[mjahn]

Wow that's a pity. I would call this an essential utility for videos. Hope they get it sorted!

[oleg_tr]

DC-3 in USSR 1960-s.

[roger-wilco-66]

Sadly, there is no version of FSRecorder that works with FSX:SE, just confirmed on their support forum, straight from Noisy (the author of FSRecorder) who basically said in February that he doesn't have time any more to work on this but might try "in the next few weeks" to see what it would take to make a SE-compatible version.

I tried it anyway, hoping it was just an installer problem, but no- FSX crashed on launch, then on the next try it said "There is a serious problem with module FSRecorder, continuing will [have some bad result, doom & gloom, etc.]. Launch FSX anyway? [Yes] [Cancel]." So I can confirm from my own experimentation that FSRecorder version 2.1 and 2.18 Alpha (the only ones for FSX as opposed to FS9) do not work in the Steam Edition . Uninstalled and deleted.

Thanks anyway for the tip- I'll play around with your native FSX recorder/playback suggestions and try to get it to do what I want it to do, and if FSRecorder is ever updated for FSX:SE I'll jump on it.

A bit OT and IMHO deserves a seperate thread, but did you try FSRecorder the last version of the 1.x series - FS Recorder 1.331 (12.01.2009). This also works with P3D 2.5.
Just a thought.


Cheers,
Mark

[HoggyDog]

I was going through my camera definitions in my MJ C-47 V2's aircraft.cfg, slowing down pan rates to improve my videos and setting initial zooms, when I encountered this weirdness:

[Cameradefinition.3]
Title=Engine Controls
Guid = {C95EAB58-9E4A-9E2C-A34C-D8D9D948F078}
Origin = Virtual Cockpit
MomentumEffect = No    //Yes
SnapPbhAdjust = Swivel
SnapPbhReturn = False
PanPbhAdjust = Swivel
PanPbhReturn = False
Track = None
ShowAxis = FALSE
AllowZoom = TRUE
InitialZoom = 0.7    //0.5
SmoothZoomTime = 2.0
ZoomPanScalar = 0.8    //1.0
ShowWeather = Yes
XyzAdjust = TRUE
ShowLensFlare=FALSE
Category = Cockpit
PitchPanRate=30    //40
HeadingPanRate=30    //60
PanAcceleratorTime=0
InitialXyz=0.0, 0.0, -0.1
InitialPbh=35, 0, 35

[Cameradefinition.3]
Title=Spot
Guid = {BCA3FDD1-FB83-4BBA-8407-4922A7F0D00C}
Description = This is the description of the spot view.
Origin = Center
SnapPbhAdjust = Ordinal
SnapPbhReturn = False
PanPbhAdjust = Swivel
PanPbhReturn = False
Track = FlatChase
ShowAxis = No
AllowZoom = Yes
InitialZoom = 1.0    //0.4
SmoothZoomTime = 2.0
ShowWeather = Yes
XyzAdjust = FALSE
Transition = Yes
ShowLensFlare=TRUE
Category = Outside
ClipMode = Spot
PitchPanRate=30
HeadingPanRate=30    //75
PanAcceleratorTime=0

As you can see, there are TWO [Cameradefinition.3] entries, one for a VC view and one for an exterior Spot view. It seems to me that this can't possibly be right.

This outstanding model is of such astoundingly high quality that I want to believe that this duplication doesn't matter because one is inside and one is outside. However, I'm trying to hot-key a couple of the views that I use the most often, and the existence of two "Camera 3" entries makes it impossible to hotkey either one of them... Which one would FSX show me when I hit the Camera 3 hotkey?

Would someone please enlighten me as to what is going on here, and if it is indeed an error, let me know if it is OK to just renumber the views in sequence, changing the second Camera3 to Camera4, and continuing sequentially in my aircraft.cfg?

Thanks!

[HoggyDog]

A bit OT and IMHO deserves a seperate thread, but did you try FSRecorder the last version of the 1.x series - FS Recorder 1.331 (12.01.2009). This also works with P3D 2.5.
Just a thought.


Cheers,
Mark

Mark, you are spot-on! I installed 1.331, and other than a warning that "this version of FSRecorder is not supported in FSX" every time I launch the sim (wish I could find a way to kill that warning ), FSRecorder works perfectly. I know that I'm missing out on some of the features of the later versions, but at least I have the "core" FSRecorder functionality. So thanks so much for the tip!

Best regards,
Doug

[HoggyDog]

DC-3 in USSR 1960-s.

Very nice shot!

Unless I'm badly mistaken, Astro-Domes were unique to the military variants, all (or almost all) of which were cargo airplanes, i.e. C-47s. So the presence of the Astro-Dome in your shot suggests to me that this is probably a C-47, not a DC-3. However, without being able to see the loading door(s) on the aft port side of the aircraft, which is/are hidden from view in your photo, it's hard for me to be certain. Also, because I have not personally inspected each and every "Gooney Bird" ever made it's always possible that I'm mistaken and some single-door all-passenger DC-3s were made with astro-domes.

The above comments notwithstanding, 4,937 "Gooney Birds" were built under license in the Soviet Union as the Lisunov Li-2, and of course they could have been configured any way the Soviets wanted them configured. However, if this is one of those, it still isn't a DC-3: it's an Li-2.

Cheers-
Doug

[HoggyDog]

A few weeks ago I posted requests on various forums for an Ethiopian Air Lines paint for Manfred Jahn's amazing C-47 V2. It was of more than passing interest to me because I was there (in Ethiopia) as a teenager when this particular livery was in use- my Dad was an Ethiopian Air Lines C-47 Captain, and I got to fly with him several times.

I got a note from Gary Harper saying that he would make one. However, what he made is so highly-detailed and accurate that I'm just blown away!

The file is ethc47corrected.zip and it is available here.

Here's the proof of Gary's outstanding work:

Initial climb from Cairo International's Runway 5


Climbing out toward the VOR to pick up the 160 radial to Luxor


Turning on course, downtown Cairo in the background


Closeup of this STUNNING paint



Thank you, Gary! You rock!

[HoggyDog]

was just wondering if anyone would like to make a pack with the download able skins in a Mega Pack for the airplane? i would Volunteer to put it togeather and Make sure all the textures have the credits of who painted them attached so people could download one File with the repaints in them No editing needed just drop and drag ready to fly

I'm not sure what you meant by "How is the VC for the DC3 going, looking forward to flying with it" because this aircraft is definitely not a DC-3- it's two variants of a C-47a. Assuming, however, that your post is not in the wrong thread and your reference to "DC3" was just a generalization, I would volunteer to help with your proposed repaint packaging project by assuring that the various aircraft.cfg [fltsim.xx] entries for each skin are accurate, correct and appropriate to the particular paint. It's time for some aircraft.cfg reform!

Common errors and omissions that I see in almost EVERY aircraft.cfg snippet packaged with repaints:

• Confusion between title= and description=; title should be brief and hierarchical, i.e. start with actual aircraft type as opposed to the FS model name, then 1 or 2-word variation- just enough to differentiate between this variation/paint/livery and all others, but no more than that. For this airplane, a good title entry would be "C-47 Skytrain USAF 51-31908" or "C-47 Skytrain Ethiopian Air Lines" but not "Manfred Jahn C-47R V2 Ethiopian Air Lines ET-ATT circa 1958" etc. The description is where every detail of the airplane or FS package and/or repaint can be elaborated if desired, but not the title. Also, for airliners, the registration/tail number are not generally used except to populate the panel placard- so the title for an airliner should not be encumbered with the tail number. "C-47 Ethiopian Air Lines" is plenty- no need for "C-47 Ethiopian Air Lines ET-ATT" unless you have more than one EAL paint. On the other hand, there may be several USAF variants of this airplane, so title needs to be more than just "C-47 USAF."
• Incorrect atc_type= entries; this is generally the aircraft manufacturer. For this airplane, it is "Douglas." ATC will not speak this for airliners or air force- only for civilians with no entry in atc_airline=.
• Incorrect atc_model= entries; this is the specific aircraft model that the ATC system recognizes for this type of aircraft and is what ATC will call you as traffic to others. Should be "DC3" for this airplane, not "C-47" because ATC calls both DC-3s and C-47s the same thing when called as traffic: "DC-3."
• Misplaced atc_model= and atc_type= entries; this info is common to all variants and should be in [General] instead of duplicated in each and every repaint entry's [fltsim.xx] section
• Incorrect atc_id= entries. this should be the tail number or registration of the airplane, not a tactical call sign or flight number. Again, this is not used for airliners or military, only civilians with no entry in atc_airline=.
• Confusion between atc_type= and ui_type=; atc_type= is generally the manufacturer ("Douglas") but ui_type is the aircraft type category in the Select Aircraft dialog- this airplane would be "C-47" or "C-47 Skytrain". Admittedly, Microsoft used confusing terminology here, so it's very easy to lose your way between atc_type and ui_type.
• Omitted or incorrect atc_airline=; this is your airline or military branch call sign, not necessarily their name. For example, for British Airways paints, atc_airline= should say "Speed Bird," not "BAW" or "British Airways" and if you want your USAF airplane correctly called by ATC you must set atc_airline=AIR FORCE.
• Omitted or incorrect atc_flight_number=. For any airplane with a non-blank atc_airline= entry, this should be set to the airliner's flight number OR the military tail number or a portion of it. ATC will then refer to your airplane as "[atc_airline] [atc_flight_number]" using whatever values are in those two variables, provided of course that the atc_airline entry matches an entry in airlines.cfg and there is a matching voice file.
• Omitted or incorrect atc_parking_types=; for airliners it should be "GATE" or "GATE, RAMP"; for civilian cargo variants it should be "RAMP, CARGO" and for military cargo variants it should be "MIL_CARGO, CARGO, RAMP". The only acceptable values are RAMP, CARGO, GATE, DOCK, MIL_CARGO, MIL_COMBAT. All others are ignored.
• Missing or incorrect atc_parking_code= entries. This is used by ground control at major airports to send airliners to that airline's gates. When used, it must be set to the airline's ICAO code. Example for British Airways: atc_parking_code=BAW.
• Incorrect ui_manufacturer=; for this airplane it is "Douglas," not "Microsoft" or "Manfred Jahn"
• Incorrect ui_type=; for this airplane it is "C-47" or "C-47 Skytrain," not "DC-3" or "C-47R V2" or "Dakota."
• Incorrect ui_createdby=; another aircraft selection filter ("Publisher") describing who made the model for FS. For this airplane it should be "Manfred Jahn," not the name of the repainter.
• Incorrect ui_typerole=; these entries are used to filter the aircraft selection screen and must be broad and consistent. Valid for this airplane might be "Twin Engine Prop" or "Commercial Airliner" or "Military Cargo" etc. The more different ui_typerole= entries you create, the more confusing/redundant sub-categories you will get for Aircraft Selection.

Specific to this airplane, there are 2 models included- C47_1 and C47_2. The _1 model is the military variant and has the H-antennas mounted on the sides of the cockpit. The_2 model differs in that it doesn't have those antennas. Generally speaking, no civilian variant would still have the WWII-era military H-antennas; therefore, for military C-47s, model=C47_1 and for civilian C-47s (or C-47s doing a mediocre job of masquerading as American Airlines DC-3s**) model=C47_2.

I love this airplane, and I've been flying nothing else since I got it. The quality is equal to, and better than many, payware aircraft. It is a dream to fly, and with it's slow engine start and shutdown, Shockwave Lights, Tufun's amazing TW Radial sound package and exhaust flames effect it's "as real as it gets."
**I wonder if Manfred would consider making an actual DC-3 model with no astrodome and a single "airstair" passenger door for us diehard vintage airliner weenies...

Please let me know if I can help you with your paints-packaging project. I can't paint but I'm a fair hand with aircraft.cfg.

Best Regards
Doug

[ark1320]

I can't paint but I'm a fair hand with aircraft.cfg.
Best Regards
Doug

Doug,
Thanks -- that is great info whether one is a "painter" or not.
I do have what might be an aircraft.cfg question. If I do want to change the registration # on a panel placard, where do I make that entry, and is it typically in a different location for different classes of a/c (airliners, GA, etc)?
Thx,
Al

Edit: Partially answered my own question -- a reg# change made in the ATC window under the Aircraft Select/Details tab works, at least for the default C172 and King Air 350. It doesn't work for the Flight1 King Air B200 however, so maybe some payware a/c are different in this regard. Maybe the panel placard is not changeable.

[HoggyDog]

Doug,
Thanks -- that is great info whether one is a "painter" or not.
I do have what might be an aircraft.cfg question. If I do want to change the registration # on a panel placard, where do I make that entry, and is it typically in a different location for different classes of a/c (airliners, GA, etc)?
Thx,
Al

Edit: Partially answered my own question -- a reg# change made in the ATC window under the Aircraft Select/Details tab works, at least for the default C172 and King Air 350. It doesn't work for the Flight1 King Air B200 however, so maybe some payware a/c are different in this regard. Maybe the panel placard is not changeable.

OK. Trying to answer in the order you asked:

1. Firstly, whether or not you even CAN change a panel placard depends on whether or not whoever coded the panel made provision for that by placing it as a gauge in panel.cfg. Also, changing the registration number does NOT change the exterior depiction of that number on the side or tail of the aircraft if the designer's chosen number was hard-burned into the exterior texture. The only way to find out what CAN be done is to try it, as I will describe below. If it doesn't work, well, no harm, no foul. Trying it won't break anything.

2. Secondly, the registration number for many aircraft can be changed directly on the Aircraft Selection > Details window, without any need to edit aircraft.cfg. So always try there first.

3. To change the aircraft registration and have it appear wherever it can appear for that particular aircraft model - panel, exterior, both or neither - just edit aircraft.cfg, find the [fltsim.xx] section for the particular livery you want to change and change or add atc_id=N123PU (assuming that the new registration number is N123PU). Save the file and that's it. Now select that aircraft and see where, if at all, the number actually changed.

4. If you find that your new registration number DOES, in fact, appear on the exterior, you can set the color of it by entering atc_id_color= in RGB hexadecimal format where the first two characters are the level of red from 00 to ff, the second pair the level of green, the third pair the level of blue and the fourth pair isn't used. A hex value of 00 = 0, and a hex value of ff = 255. For example, for black letters you would add atc_id_color=0x00000000, which is the same RGB as 0,0,0. For red letters add atc_id_color=0xff000000, which is 255,0,0. For green letters, add atc_id_color=0x00ff0000, the same as 0,255,0 and for blue letters add atc_id_color=0x0000ff00, the same as 0,0,255. You can mix colors too: for purple letters add atc_id_color=0x6600cc00 (102,0,204) which gives a strong vibrant purple, or atc_id_color=0xcc00cc00 (204,0,204) which gives a pinkish purple, etc. You can use an online RGB Color Codes Chart to choose your color, then use a decimal to hex converter to convert your RGB format (255,255,255) color to hexadecimal.

5. Your last question is unclear- are you asking if the panel placard is in a different place for different classes of aircraft, or if the atc_id setting is in a different place? The answer to the placard being in different places is yes, of course, it's wherever the panel designer placed it, and it varies not only by aircraft class but from airplane to airplane, and from panel to panel even within the same aircraft. The answer to the setting being in different places is no. All aircraft have the same setting mechanisms- either the Aircraft Selection > Details window or by editing aircraft.cfg, or it's not changeable because it is hard-burned into the exterior textures.

NOTE: I have seen some authors show editable=1 or editable=0 in the [General] section of aircraft.cfg, in an effort to force the Registration-change window in the Aircraft Selection > Details panel to become active. However, according to Microsoft's "Aircraft Configuration Files" article, that is an unused (invalid) property, which, if true, means that it will have no effect on anything even if it is present.

I hope I have answered your questions. If you are truly interested in aircraft.cfg, bookmark the article I linked above and go play around with it! As long as you back up your original, I don't think you can permanently break anything by hacking aircraft.cfg.

Cheers-
Doug

[Alan_A]

@Cirrus N210MS - for questions about the vintage VC project, the best place to post is in the long "Attention All DC-3 Fans" thread, since that's the one Jan monitors. It's currently lurking on page 3. I'd link to it but my iPad doesn't want to cooperate.

IIRC, Jan hinted that there'll be a new installer when the VVC version comes out. I'd do, it'd be nice to have a way to port paints over to it, so your mega-pack is a nice idea. It'll have to be really mega, though, given how many great paints are out there. Even so, I'd look forward to it. Hope it comes together.

[Alan_A]

I'm not sure what you meant by "How is the VC for the DC3 going, looking forward to flying with it" because this aircraft is definitely not a DC-3- it's two variants of a C-47a. Assuming, however, that your post is not in the wrong thread and your reference to "DC3" was just a generalization...

Jan Visser, who's currently devoting massive amounts of time and energy to creating a "vintage VC" for the aircraft, titled his announcement thread "Attention all DC-3 fans." So he's the guy you'd have to correct.

Good luck with that.

[HoggyDog]

Jan Visser, who's currently devoting massive amounts of time and energy to creating a "vintage VC" for the aircraft, titled his announcement thread "Attention all DC-3 fans." So he's the guy you'd have to correct.

Good luck with that.

LOL! I'll pass, thanks for suggesting it though!

[ark1320]

5. Your last question is unclear- are you asking if the panel placard is in a different place for different classes of aircraft, or if the atc_id setting is in a different place?

I hope I have answered your questions.

Cheers-
Doug

Regarding point 5: I was asking if the atc_id setting might be in different places.
And yes, you have certainly answered my questions -- much appreciated, thanks!
Al

[gray eagle]

LOL! I'll pass, thanks for suggesting it though!

A little more to add to the DC3 VS c47.

http://www.pacificaviationmuseum.org...eeky-charlie-7


This is a good read about the evolution of the Douglas DC3/C47 and yes the C 53.

Compared to DC-3s and C-53s, C-47s had strengthened floors for carrying cargo and stronger landing gears. However, their most visible feature was their double-wide doors designed to facilitate cargo loading and unloading. It was even possible to push a ramp up to the door and drive a jeep inside. - See more at: http://www.pacificaviationmuseum.org....8aN81tsL.dpuf
Mentioned on this link:
Compared to DC-3s and C-53s, C-47s had strengthened floors for carrying cargo and stronger landing gears. However, their most visible feature was their double-wide doors designed to facilitate cargo loading and unloading. It was even possible to push a ramp up to the door and drive a jeep inside. -

After the War

After the war, the armed forces dumped most of their C-47s and other military versions of the DC-3 on the civilian market. Airlines quickly converted this flood of aircraft into civilian cargo and passenger airplanes. Although DC-3s lacked the range of the new four-engine civilian aircraft that were becoming popular for longer flights, their extremely low cost, high reliability, and ability to land everywhere made them a natural for almost everything else. DC-3s dominated the civilian aircraft market for many years, and the aircraft’s lifespan was lengthened by such extensions as turbofan engines. Quite a few DC-3s are still in use.


Compared to DC-3s and C-53s, C-47s had strengthened floors for carrying cargo and stronger landing gears. However, their most visible feature was their double-wide doors designed to facilitate cargo loading and unloading. It was even possible to push a ramp up to the door and drive a jeep inside. - See more at: http://www.pacificaviationmuseum.org....8aN81tsL.dpuf

[ark1320]

4. If you find that your new registration number DOES, in fact, appear on the exterior, you can set the color of it by entering atc_id_color= in RGB hexadecimal format where the first two characters are the level of red from 00 to ff, the second pair the level of green, the third pair the level of blue and the fourth pair isn't used. A hex value of 00 = 0, and a hex value of ff = 255. For example, for black letters you would add atc_id_color=0x00000000, which is the same RGB as 0,0,0. For red letters add atc_id_color=0xff000000, which is 255,0,0. For green letters, add atc_id_color=0x00ff0000, the same as 0,255,0 and for blue letters add atc_id_color=0x0000ff00, the same as 0,0,255. You can mix colors too: for purple letters add atc_id_color=0x6600cc00 (102,0,204) which gives a strong vibrant purple, or atc_id_color=0xcc00cc00 (204,0,204) which gives a pinkish purple, etc. You can use an online RGB Color Codes Chart to choose your color, then use a decimal to hex converter to convert your RGB format (255,255,255) color to hexadecimal.
Doug

Just FYI, the atc_id_color= command apparently does not work in FSX. While I was able to change the registration # on the exterior of the default C172, I could not change the color. Same situation for the Beech Baron 58. A Google search returned a number of posts all saying about the same thing -- can change the exterior number but not the color. The conclusion expressed was this feature is broken in FSX.
Al

[manfredc3]

HoggyDog,

That repaint is indeed a beauty.

Compliments to the painter.