First Class Simulations Lancaster wing views

[SSI01]

I've got this aircraft in my FS9 setup. I have to be honest in saying it's been the cause of a good deal of frustration since it's been installed. Prop disks going first speckled green, then translucent, and then locking up the sim; "ghost" textures that allow one to see through the aircraft at night; other texture issues as well. One by one they've been dealt with using various after-market texture modification programs, and it now seems to be working pretty well. It has only one irritating feature: there are no wings or engines showing in views out the cockpit. Quite obvious at night when the nav lights are brightly glowing by themselves out there in the darkness.

The reason I'm posting this is because I've read two product reviews on this aircraft on other sites that quite clearly show the wings and engines from the cockpit view. I'm suspecting this may be happening because the reviewers are using FSX, which may show them whereas FS9 doesn't. Is this the problem?

[mgchrist5]

I'm suspecting this may be happening because the reviewers are using FSX, which may show them whereas FS9 doesn't. Is this the problem?

Yes, I believe the wing views from the VC are FSX-only. I deleted the FCS Lancaster shortly after purchase, as it kept causing CTDs in FS2004 after about a minute or so of usage. I'd be curious to hear how you cured any CTD/locking up issues, if you don't mind! It's ashame, as the FCS Lanc is a nice model with some unique liveries (love the Egyptian and RCAF colors). Just wish it would work reliably in FS9!...

[Navtech]

as it kept causing CTDs in FS2004 after about a minute or so of usage. I'd be curious to hear how you cured any CTD/locking up issues, if you don't mind!

I use this plane from release date .. and never had a CTD or other problems
FS2004 running on WinXP SP3

[pfflyers]

I read a thread about this somewhere (somewhen) else and it is indeed (the wingviews) due to the difference between FS9 and FSX models. The FS9 vc model does not include the wings, so the only 'fix' would be a new model. Maybe an update will be available someday.

[mgchrist5]

I use this plane from release date .. and never had a CTD or other problems
FS2004 running on WinXP SP3

I do recall reading various forum postings regarding FS2004 users having lock-ups/CTDs with the Lanc...but there were also others, such as yourself, who experienced no issues. Strange...as I have the same setup as yours.

[SSI01]

[I'd be curious to hear how you cured any CTD/locking up issues, if you don't mind!]

I can't see the wings/engines in either 2D or 3D views. Disappointing.

One of my problems involved the see-through scheme for the RCAF MR10. That was caused by the alpha channel, for which I substituted an all-white alpha vice the stock one with the various shades of grey that came with that version of the bird. If you use ImageTool and look at the camouflaged aircraft I think you'll find they use a solid white alpha. I just substituted that for the original alpha in the RCAF version and it now works fine.

The props were cured by changing them from what they were on the disk to DXT3. I have only one mip level on my props and while they're not perfect they're a darned sight better than they were, they actually now show spinning blades and don't turn pretty colors depending on what the lighting conditions are.

In the old days I might have gotten 20 minutes out of the aircraft before a view change caused a lockup. I was helping Milton and the others transfer some of the FS9 files and during the process I saw a JF P-38 texture that looked really good. The JF P-38 was crashing the sim because of its props as well. The new textures had different prop bmps than the one I had in the sim. After adding the new prop textures the bird showed up and worked beautifully. Check Black Friday Ads 2020 and Rural King Ad. That made me think about this Lancaster, and I changed the prop's properties. After that I still had the ghost texture, but it flew on and on, so I knew the props were the hangup. Maybe if you change your props per my suggestion yours will work as well!

I now don't have any issues (fingers crossed) with the aircraft except the boost gauges not working in the 2D panel, plus the magneto switches not working as they should. I want to switch them on one at a time, for each engine, and start them individually. What's happened so far is the left-hand mags come on for engines one and two, but not the right - then, both mag switches come on for three and four. Plus, they're mislabeled in ToolTips. I've downloaded and installed the update from FCS for this hex but so far I haven't noted any difference. Maybe another try at flying the things after double-checking the install will take care of this issue as well. I got some screen shots showing the (non) wings I will send to FCS along with a request to update their model for the FS9 version.

[Navtech]

Lanc prop
I use a modified prop.bmp

Pic


A movie for show props (650 kbs)
http://www.mediafire.com/?4c1bb0285pebxc4

The prop BMP
http://www.mediafire.com/?j2p3ye6h74z4atw

In the aircraft.cfg for each texture ...
prop_anim_ratio=1.025

[mgchrist5]

Maybe if you change your props per my suggestion yours will work as well!

Many thanks, SSI01. I think I'll try reinstaling the Lanc this weekend, along with your tips. We'll see if that does the trick for me.

Navtech,
Thanks for the prop.bmp and cfg changes. I'll give those a try as well.

[SSI01]

Lanc prop
I use a modified prop.bmp

Pic


A movie for show props (650 kbs)
http://www.mediafire.com/?4c1bb0285pebxc4

The prop BMP
http://www.mediafire.com/?j2p3ye6h74z4atw

In the aircraft.cfg for each texture ...
prop_anim_ratio=1.025

Your prop bitmaps are superior to mine. Thanks!!
I've got a screenie with my props in it. I'll post a comparison showing how much better yours are. This is great!

[mgchrist5]

The prop.bmps and prop anim ratio revisions did the trick! No more CTDs for me. Thanks again. It's nice to finally be able to use this plane.

[SSI01]

Glad to see it all worked out!!

I'm still going to post my screenies re: the difference in the props after I handle a little problem w/CTDs in the JF P-38.

[SSI01]

As promised here's a screenshot of the RCAF MR10 with the new props. I hope you can see them well enough - this was such a beautiful early-morning shot over the Canadian Maritimes I couldn't resist it - it's what makes being in FS9 worth it. The second shot is of an RAF MR3, School of Maritime Reconnaissance, St Mawgan, Wales with the old props. It's not against a dark-enough background to really tell well, but you can see the prop disk was more translucent and the prop blades within the disk were almost oval-shaped. The new props are the way to go. The third shot is of a Lanc I found on the web, for comparison purposes.




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