Spartan Executive - FSX Native

[Milton Shupe]

Well, I prefer to do it myself. :-) A "Shupe" version if you will.

Started last night and I am down to the tweaking of materials and maps, then add the pilot.

Doing some minor upgrades/improvements along the way. Of course the wine has been upgraded. :-)

I will not get this done before I leave for the Ozarks so it will have be 8-10 days to see beta.

Paints by Urs Burkhardt and Damian Radice.

[bpfowler]

Well, I prefer to do it myself. :-) A "Shupe" version if you will.

Started last night and I am down to the tweaking of materials and maps, then add the pilot.

Doing some minor upgrades/improvements along the way. Of course the wine has been upgraded. :-)

I will not get this done before I leave for the Ozarks so it will have be 8-10 days to see beta.

Paints by Urs Burkhardt and Damian Radice.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

Thanks Milton, what a pleasure this will be. :jump:

[IFlySWA]

Woo hoo!! Thank you Uncle Miltie. :biggrin-new: I've always loved your Spartan Executive. :adoration:

Brian

[blanston12]

Great news! I am so happy to see you refreshing your creations.

One question. I found one version where someone had updated your Spartan so the Yoke could be hidden. Will the version you are producing have that feature?

[Milton Shupe]

Great news! I am so happy to see you refreshing your creations.

One question. I found one version where someone had updated your Spartan so the Yoke could be hidden. Will the version you are producing have that feature?

Thanks for the comments.

My version also had that feature in FS9. It will be carried over and a few other mods as well.

Mike Allen Richards did a Spartan FSX conversion some years ago but I wanted to do one that I can support or modify/upgrade.

[Willy]

Now we're talking! The Spartan is an all time favorite. I'm gonna have to dust off the paint kit for it and do some more paints for it.

[DaveKDEN]

Beautiful!

[Willy]

This is where I was at when I left off last fall on the Spartan paints. I can't put a finger on why, but I've never been satisfied with it enough to release it. Something with the look of the painted areas just doesn't sit right in my mind, wasn't sure what so it's been on the back burner.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=50014&stc=1

[Milton Shupe]

Eric Joiner, Leon Louis, Damian Radice, and Captain Keith did a lot of great paints for this one.

You might want to check them out.

[Bjoern]

Might want to add a new material for the wine. At the moment, it looks more like tomato juice. :biggrin-new:

[Milton Shupe]

Might want to add a new material for the wine. At the moment, it looks more like tomato juice. :biggrin-new:

LOL Tomato juice is good. Think Bloody Marys.

Basics are in place but much tweaking to be done ... when I return.

[manfredc3]

Now that looks like a fun plane to fly in and out of those small private airstrips

[Willy]

Eric Joiner, Leon Louis, Damian Radice, and Captain Keith did a lot of great paints for this one.

You might want to check them out.

John Terrell (Bomber12) did some too.

[PhantomTweak]

Oh how I love the Spartan!
Looking forward most eagerly to seeing it!
I have so many paints for it, it can be a tough choice which to fly when.

It was a real joy in FS9 to fly into "bush" type airstrips. I've done mail runs in Washington State, and Alaska. Washington is a blast, with tons of private, rancher/farmer strips almost in spitting distance of one another. No time to even gt the gear up :D
And the Spartan eats it up as much as I do. What a fun plane, and the VC is amazing.
When will I find time for this one now??

Have fun all, and a HUGE vote of thanks to Mr. Shupe, once again. his ability to do this sort of thing is nothing short of amazing.
Pat☺

[mthrift]

Willy,

Looks great! I'd be proud to fly that repaint. Love the silver and red with the Spartan logo as the border.


Michael

[Milton Shupe]

John Terrell (Bomber12) did some too.

Yes he did and I have at least one of them.

I do wish painters would put their names in the description parameter of the [fltsim.nn] entry and include a readme in the texture folder. I often lose track of who did what.
I try to remember to do that for them for my own purposes but am sometimes negligent.

[simtech]

Mr. Shupe,
Love flying your FS9 version and looking forward to the native FSX one. The only classic GA aircraft as lovely as the Spartan would be the Staggerwing Beech.
Thank you for your efforts in reviving this wonderful classic.

[Milton Shupe]

Mr. Shupe,
Love flying your FS9 version and looking forward to the native FSX one. The only classic GA aircraft as lovely as the Spartan would be the Staggerwing Beech.
Thank you for your efforts in reviving this wonderful classic.

Thank you. I do believe personally that the Staggerwing is by far the more beautiful aircraft.

[Sundog]

Have a good trip. The Spartan will be a welcome update when you return. :encouragement:

[Willy]

Willy,

Looks great! I'd be proud to fly that repaint. Love the silver and red with the Spartan logo as the border.


Michael

Thanks for kind words. But, I've got an idea on where to go with it once Milton gets his update out. I think I can use the speculars like I did on some of the Alabeo Gee Bee paints and come up with something special.

[Jafo]

This is where I was at when I left off last fall on the Spartan paints. I can't put a finger on why, but I've never been satisfied with it enough to release it. Something with the look of the painted areas just doesn't sit right in my mind, wasn't sure what so it's been on the back burner.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=50014&stc=1

Looks like the red needs some spec....;)

[Willy]

Looks like the red needs some spec....;)

It does. I got to looking closer in the sim and figured it out. I was trying out an idea on how to do better metal flake and it didn't quite work out.

Trying to figure where I stashed the pdn files I was working on for it. While I'm in the wait mode, I'm mucking about with a new wood panel for it. Still a work in progress, but the wood itself is pretty much there. The rest of the wood work in the vc is looking at getting redone as well. The panel was too dark for my tastes to begin with.

[txnetcop]

Milton this is exciting stuff! Thank you:applause::applause::applause:
Ted

[Milton Shupe]

Just about ready for a beta test here. Just need to add the pilot and make the yoke hide-able.

In that process, I am converting all my old FS9 custom XML to FSX native XML format and that is slowing progress.
But, a necessary investment before more aircraft can be converted.

[Willy]

I was just wondering about this one about a half hour ago. Thanks Milton!

[Milton Shupe]

It does. I got to looking closer in the sim and figured it out. I was trying out an idea on how to do better metal flake and it didn't quite work out.

Trying to figure where I stashed the pdn files I was working on for it. While I'm in the wait mode, I'm mucking about with a new wood panel for it. Still a work in progress, but the wood itself is pretty much there. The rest of the wood work in the vc is looking at getting redone as well. The panel was too dark for my tastes to begin with.

The FSX native version will have specular highlites to bring your red nose to life.

The dark original panel was actually a copy from a RW version.

The wood panel will look great once you get some shading going under the glare shield and around the edges, maybe under some of the protruding items on the panel.

[semo]

I hope you had a great vacation, Milton. But it sure is nice to have you back.

[Milton Shupe]

I hope you had a great vacation, Milton. But it sure is nice to have you back.

Aw, thanks Semo. Being there with 3 siblings was great fun; they are a lively bunch. Driving 2 days each way, the pits. Still trying to recover.

Working on getting the pilot and yoke visibility working correctly now so we can get this Spartan out of the hangar. Anything this simple should work the first time; not!

[txnetcop]

Milton this is going to be EPIC! I still fly this baby today several times a month!
Ted

[Milton Shupe]

Milton this is going to be EPIC! I still fly this baby today several times a month!
Ted

@Ted, well-l-l-l epic may be a bit strong :-)


@everyone:

I just finished up everything I know to do at this point so will start assembling the beta package, upload it, and send out some copies for a swamp test.

If any of you have time to do a thorough testing of the package, PM me and I will forward a link.

Thanks

[Milton Shupe]

Beta sent out ... now we wait ...

[blanston12]

I tested the spartian in P3D V3.4, here are the things i noticed.


1) bit of a pet peve of mine, in P3D the primary descriptor in the aircraft selector is the title= line from the aircraft.cfg. I know in FSX its never shown to the pilot so it does not have to be readable. So to find the aircraft I had to look for 'Executive VC'.


I think it would be nice if you changed the lines that read


title = Executive VC


to:


title = Spartan 7W Executive VC


2) In the VC if you hover over the throttle lever it shows as a tool tip, 'Engine 4 Trottle Control'. The prop lever shows 'Propeller 1 Control' which is what you would expect.


3) In the VC if you click the 'Display/Hide Fuel Panel' button and it does not do anything. The GPS and Radio buttons do hide/show the way you expect.


4) Flys pretty nice, don't know how she should perform so I will just describe what happened when I tried to do some aerobatics. She barrol rolled easily, twice I tried to do a loop and it went ok until I got the nose pointed at the ground and then I could not get her to come up past about 80 degrees down, before the flight ended.


5) VNE seams a little low. Twice while doing high speed passes over the airport I got aircraft overstressed. I would probably increase max_indicated_speed to 240, just to give it a buffer before the flight ends prematurely. Its currently at 225. Wikipedia, the source of all knowledge states max speed is 223kn.

Overall I like it alot, and the only thing that will push her out of the hanger, is your next version.

[txnetcop]

Well I found pretty much the same thing as Blanston 12. The fuel gauge is readable in the virtual cockpit and by pushing F7 key it comes up. She flies and looks just beautiful! The one thing I thought the original Spartan did was the back table came up and I could not get it to do that. However I can't remember ever flying an aircraft from the back seat LOL! I did go through the start up procedures as well. Beautifully done Milton! The flightsim community would be hard pressed for great freeware aircraft if you were to leave this hobby. Thank you for your labor of love! We are very fortunate to have the developers(freeware and payware) we have in Sim-Outhouse!

Milton I have the same socket 775 system as you do, as you know, except I did buy a used QX9775 CPU on EBay real cheap O/C'd to 4.5ghz. The frame rates stayed in the high 60s with the Nvidia GTX 285 and Orbx scenery and real weather...now back to desktop flying.
Ted

[Milton Shupe]

Adjustments made based on reports; will await further test results.

[Roger]

Hi Milton,
No issues to report in Dx10 (with Fixer). All animations seem ok but one issue is the panel light and cabin light do not function with the panel switches. This maybe missing fx files.
Otherwise exceptional and I especially like the cockpit glass!

[Milton Shupe]

Hi Milton,
No issues to report in Dx10 (with Fixer). All animations seem ok but one issue is the panel light and cabin light do not function with the panel switches. This maybe missing fx files.
Otherwise exceptional and I especially like the cockpit glass!

Thank you Roger.

RE: Cabin light-there is a cabin light switch next to the panel light switch. For some reason (as I have experienced in many of my projects) cabin lights seem to be funky with a delayed presence. That is what I experience here. Turn on the switch and it may take 5-10 seconds for the lights to appear. There are in the electrical section, have an appropriate light setup in the lights section, and uses a smaller fx_cabinlites fx I created to not overwhelm everything at night. The light works here most of the time with and without a delay.

RE: DX10: could you expound on the issues that the fixer corrects. DXT3, or 8-bit textures?

[Milton Shupe]

All the issues reported so far have been addressed. Thanks for your help in getting this package ready.

[Roger]

Hi Milton,
the Dx10 fixer has a tool to correct 8 bit textures but so far I haven't found any texture that need correcting.

[Milton Shupe]

Hi Milton,
the Dx10 fixer has a tool to correct 8 bit textures but so far I haven't found any texture that need correcting.

Ah, great; I do try to avoid 8-bit textures since I found out about the DX10 restriction.

[Milton Shupe]

In case you are wondering (and haven't read the docs), there is a yoke hiding mechanism.

Click on the base plate around the base of the yoke stem at the floor.

Unfortunately, I left out the texture for that base plate so it is hard to see but the tool tip will show if you point to it.

The pilot "goes to lunch" when the Battery switch is set to Off position.

[PhantomTweak]

Yes, I noticed the lacking texture for the yoke base plate, but it's not a big problem. The tool tip shows nicely, and clicking on it makes the yoke vanish, as expected. Just curious, is there a way to move the yoke to the other side? It looks like it should be able to, looking at the design of the yoke assembly, but I couldn't get it to move. Not critical, just a curiosity.
The gear and flaps both work as expected, either up or down. It lands beautifully, although I tended to bounce a bit. Just me. I'm so used to landing on carriers...
It flew wonderfully, speeds and climb rates exactly as written up in the documentation. Very stable, although agile. Couple of barrel rolls on take off. VERY fun :D Even the AP worked as advertised, holding altitude, and heading as expected. I didn't try any heavy NAV exercizes with it yet, though.

Still needs more tests, but so far, it's an absolutely wonderful aircraft overall.
Pat☺

[falcon409]

I did discover something that I'm curious about. Why were the gauge sections of the VC panel moved to a second texture? I was anxious to place the hi-res VC I had done about 3 years ago. . .only to discover when I loaded the airplane that I had bits and pieces of the new version but not the gauge sections. I attempted to take those sections from my new panel and resize them, but they are sized differently and it's becoming a guess as to what it might be. Add to that the fact that the new VC is textured and it makes it more difficult to get the textures to look correct since the sizing is in question.

[Milton Shupe]

I did discover something that I'm curious about. Why were the gauge sections of the VC panel moved to a second texture? I was anxious to place the hi-res VC I had done about 3 years ago. . .only to discover when I loaded the airplane that I had bits and pieces of the new version but not the gauge sections. I attempted to take those sections from my new panel and resize them, but they are sized differently and it's becoming a guess as to what it might be. Add to that the fact that the new VC is textured and it makes it more difficult to get the textures to look correct since the sizing is in question.

The VC panel gauge section was upgraded to hi-res several years ago; that's why the gauges were broken out separately.
Why are you trying to guess? See the VC02.bmp

Are you saying the old VC was not textured?
You are not being very clear Ed. :-)

Sorry, I cannot accommodate everyone's changes and updates.

[Henry]

perfect for my private aircraft:applause: a great price too:173go1:H

[falcon409]

The VC panel gauge section was upgraded to hi-res several years ago; that's why the gauges were broken out separately.
Why are you trying to guess? See the VC02.bmp

Are you saying the old VC was not textured?
You are not being very clear Ed. :-)

Sorry, I cannot accommodate everyone's changes and updates.
Old age and poor choice of words combined to make that understandable only to myself. I've got it worked out. . . . .:dizzy:

[Milton Shupe]

perfect for my private aircraft:applause: a great price too:173go1:H
Henry,

I pay the price so you do not have to, and I do it gladly. :-)

[Milton Shupe]

Old age and poor choice of words combined to make that understandable only to myself. I've got it worked out. . . . .:dizzy:

LOL I thought only I did that. :-)

[Milton Shupe]

Yes, I noticed the lacking texture for the yoke base plate, but it's not a big problem. The tool tip shows nicely, and clicking on it makes the yoke vanish, as expected. Just curious, is there a way to move the yoke to the other side? It looks like it should be able to, looking at the design of the yoke assembly, but I couldn't get it to move. Not critical, just a curiosity.
The gear and flaps both work as expected, either up or down. It lands beautifully, although I tended to bounce a bit. Just me. I'm so used to landing on carriers...
It flew wonderfully, speeds and climb rates exactly as written up in the documentation. Very stable, although agile. Couple of barrel rolls on take off. VERY fun :D Even the AP worked as advertised, holding altitude, and heading as expected. I didn't try any heavy NAV exercizes with it yet, though.

Still needs more tests, but so far, it's an absolutely wonderful aircraft overall.
Pat☺

Hi Pat,

In the RW, the yoke could be switched. I did not upgrade the original model to do that as I did not want two pilots in the cockpit.

Landing is best accomplished as a 3-pointer low and slow. Check your landing speeds against the flaps stall speed and give yourself a little margin for wind changes.

The Localizer captures fine and she will follow it down perfectly.

As WND mentioned, flaps drag is too high and that has been adjusted.

If you have any radio setting concerns, see the panel docs in the aircraft folder.

[Willy]

Just finished my current paint project and it's about time to see what I can do with specs and bump maps on a Spartan. This should be fun!

[Milton Shupe]

Just finished my current paint project and it's about time to see what I can do with specs and bump maps on a Spartan. This should be fun!

Great Willy; look forward to that.

Of all the FSX native conversions I have done, and each has neutralized spec and bump maps included, no one to my knowledge has actually used the features.

The FSX material properties have many options and adjustments available to control outcomes.

Since I have not yet seen bump maps applied, I am uncertain if the default settings on bumps are okay.
So, we may have to adjust something as we move forward.

[falcon409]

An optional VC:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g84/ejwells409/Spartan_VC.jpg

[Willy]

An optional VC:

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g84/ejwells409/Spartan_VC.jpg

Wow! All that needs is some purty wood!

[Willy]

Great Willy; look forward to that.

Of all the FSX native conversions I have done, and each has neutralized spec and bump maps included, no one to my knowledge has actually used the features.

The FSX material properties have many options and adjustments available to control outcomes.

Since I have not yet seen bump maps applied, I am uncertain if the default settings on bumps are okay.
So, we may have to adjust something as we move forward.

I installed the bump map plugin for Paint.net this morning. Thought I'd try my hand at some custom bump maps as my home made paint kit for the Spartan is a bit more detailed on the rivets than the original one was. Best way to learn is to jump in and get busy.

[av8erjm]

OK enough, I'm salivating

[kremin]

An optional VC:


I like it very much ........ will you be sharing it?:encouragement:

[PhantomTweak]

Just so you know, Mr. Shupe, sir, I didn't have any trouble at all working the radios. I understood them fine, especially with the documentation provided. The way the click-spots are set makes it a very easy, intuitive set up. Also, the textures are very clear and easy for my poor old eye to see. Yeah, just one. A horse took away the other. Long story. Not too big, not too small, as far as the numbers went. Juuuust right, to quote Goldielocks. :biggrin-new:

I didn't see the flaps as having too much drag, myself. I found I needed to increase the MP to about 26"-28" or so with full flaps and gear down, during descent, to maintain a decent, controllable speed, but I thought that that was normal. If not, no problem. I don't know this plane all that intimately, and I don't recall the exact numbers from the older version, so exactly how much drag the flaps should have as opposed to how much they DO have is unknown to me. I can search the net to find out, but I guess you all have beat me to it :D

As for the landing, I will take your advice. I'm used to flying the bird all the way down onto the deck. No flaring allowed in the Navy :p I'll have to adjust my habit patterns, is all. No big deal. The super slow landing speed is one of the great things about this bird, I just need to learn to use it. Thanks for the advice!

More to come asap.
Pat☺

[Milton Shupe]

Just so you know, Mr. Shupe, sir, I didn't have any trouble at all working the radios. I understood them fine, especially with the documentation provided. The way the click-spots are set makes it a very easy, intuitive set up. Also, the textures are very clear and easy for my poor old eye to see. Yeah, just one. A horse took away the other. Long story. Not too big, not too small, as far as the numbers went. Juuuust right, to quote Goldielocks. :biggrin-new:

I didn't see the flaps as having too much drag, myself. I found I needed to increase the MP to about 26"-28" or so with full flaps and gear down, during descent, to maintain a decent, controllable speed, but I thought that that was normal. If not, no problem. I don't know this plane all that intimately, and I don't recall the exact numbers from the older version, so exactly how much drag the flaps should have as opposed to how much they DO have is unknown to me. I can search the net to find out, but I guess you all have beat me to it :D

As for the landing, I will take your advice. I'm used to flying the bird all the way down onto the deck. No flaring allowed in the Navy :p I'll have to adjust my habit patterns, is all. No big deal. The super slow landing speed is one of the great things about this bird, I just need to learn to use it. Thanks for the advice!

More to come asap.
Pat☺

Pat,

I have made improvements to the suspension that minimizes bounce and you can do a main gear landing with minimal or no bounce if you are smooth and slow about it.

Regarding flaps drag, this was a pretty slick aircraft and the flap drag should slow you about 5-6 knots with each notch with power on. You will want to keep power on as they are deployed all the way down; that's normal.

[Milton Shupe]

OK enough, I'm salivating

LOL Good one :-)

[Milton Shupe]

I installed the bump map plugin for Paint.net this morning. Thought I'd try my hand at some custom bump maps as my home made paint kit for the Spartan is a bit more detailed on the rivets than the original one was. Best way to learn is to jump in and get busy.

Just do it :-)

[Milton Shupe]

An optional VC:



That looks very nice Ed; well done. :-)

I have all the beta reports back and adjustments made, except for one. I hope to release the Spartan by Saturday.

[Daveroo]

That looks very nice Ed; well done. :-)

I have all the beta reports back and adjustments made, except for one. I hope to release the Spartan by Saturday.
yay,,ive always loved the spartan!! bring her on..

[txnetcop]

She is a dream to fly as usual Milton, and I'm looking forward to Willy's paints...:applause::applause::applause:
Ted

[Milton Shupe]

Here ya go ...

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=105887

[blanston12]

Here ya go ...

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=105887

Thanks Milton! Really looking forward to this!

[bpfowler]

What a treat! Will be flying this ship over Italy tonight :- )

thanks Milton for bringing the best to Fsx :jump:

[Willy]

Thanks Milton! Downloaded it and will install in a bit.

And while playing around with the beta, I made my first bump map... Kind of crude at the moment, but it's a beginning.

[PhantomTweak]

Woo-HOO!
Thank you very much Mr. Shupe!
The Beta has been a real joy to buzz around in. I just wish I had more time to do so.
I've got the release now, thoough, and will practice landings, especially short-field stuff. The STOL of this plane is just wonderful, and it will be a blast hopping around Washington and Oregon's tiny farm and local strips. I can't wait! May even see about some "mail rounds" in Alaska.
Time for FUN!!
Thank you so much for this, and all the other amazing planes you've worked so hard on over the years. So far, I haven't found a one I didn't thoroughly enjoy.
Pat☺

[simtech]

Mr. Shupe, thank you for a grand, classic airplane. But, I am having a small issue. I'm probably inept, but I am having difficulty taxiing on narrow taxiways. I haven't found a tailwheel lock, I can't see the wheel castoring, nor can I find a rudder trim. I don't even know if the Spartan had one. I tried setting a little right rudder in another a/c and loading the Spartan, but alas, I still wind up in the weeds when the mains come off the ground. Any suggestions in improving my technique. I have flown your port-over for many years and it's one of my few go-to models. Your new model has a few subtle (?) performance differences, but it is all good. Thank you again for this beautiful gift and I am still holding my breath for that Beech 17. God bless you, sir.:applause:

[Milton Shupe]

Mr. Shupe, thank you for a grand, classic airplane. But, I am having a small issue. I'm probably inept, but I am having difficulty taxiing on narrow taxiways. I haven't found a tailwheel lock, I can't see the wheel castoring, nor can I find a rudder trim. I don't even know if the Spartan had one. I tried setting a little right rudder in another a/c and loading the Spartan, but alas, I still wind up in the weeds when the mains come off the ground. Any suggestions in improving my technique. I have flown your port-over for many years and it's one of my few go-to models. Your new model has a few subtle (?) performance differences, but it is all good. Thank you again for this beautiful gift and I am still holding my breath for that Beech 17. God bless you, sir.:applause:

simtech,

As I recall from the original project, there was no tail wheel lock and no rudder trim; that's why they are not modeled.

You must ease through the takeoff run starting on right side of RW (or left side pointing slightly right), give full right rudder and maybe a little right brake

However, I would suggest modifying the aircraft.cfg scalars since I seemed to overlook that:

p_factor_on_yaw = .5
torque_on_roll = .5

My apologies.

EDIT: Just tested those entries and .5 is plenty sufficient to hold her steady on a TO run.

With regard to performance, the only thing I changed from my last release was flaps drag.

EDIT2: The other option is to convert the tail wheel to steerable. See the contact point section of the aircraft.cfg for instructions.

[simtech]

:ernaehrung004: Mr. Shupe, I tried your suggestion and it does, in fact, minimize the p-factor to the point I felt it mitigated it too much. So I compromised and used the value of ".75" on both variables rather than the "1.0" that caused me to run out of pavement before airborne.. This allows for a noticeable pull to the left while still maintaining a semblance of directional control by a judicious use of brake tapping and full rudder deflection. I was able to maintain the mains on the 60 foot hardtop if I started on the left angled towards the right. It works. I will also experiment with differential braking factor so that perhaps around a "2.+" might improve the control on slow taxi. Thank you for your expedient reply and for such a wonderful model.


Updated post: I tried several values for diff. braking factor from 2.0 to 2.5 and find that 2.25 gives a good representation of tail wheel castoring and directional control at slow speed. YMMV.

[Milton Shupe]

:ernaehrung004: Mr. Shupe, I tried your suggestion and it does, in fact, minimize the p-factor to the point I felt it mitigated it too much. So I compromised and used the value of ".75" on both variables rather than the "1.0" that caused me to run out of pavement before airborne.. This allows for a noticeable pull to the left while still maintaining a semblance of directional control by a judicious use of brake tapping and full rudder deflection. I was able to maintain the mains on the 60 foot hardtop if I started on the left angled towards the right. It works. I will also experiment with differential braking factor so that perhaps around a "2.+" might improve the control on slow taxi. Thank you for your expedient reply and for such a wonderful model.


Updated post: I tried several values for diff. braking factor from 2.0 to 2.5 and find that 2.25 gives a good representation of tail wheel castoring and directional control at slow speed. YMMV.

There are also two other factors we tend to forget. Everyone runs different FSX sensitivity settings (I have mine on Hard). I also use CH Yoke and Pedals and there are sensitivity settings there as well. So, I guess these things have to be adjusted for personal preferences and sensitivity settings.

[simtech]

Very true. Since I just have Logitech X3-D, the only sensitivity is the rudder. I found that manipulating the Differential_braking factor allows me to have more directional control on the ground. I've had to use this on heavier aircraft as well to facilitate reasonable ground control. If I turned up the sensitivity of braking, I find it seems like I have power assisted brakes. Never run across that in R/L. Great airplane, now where is that wine that was on the table in the back.

[Milton Shupe]

Very true. Since I just have Logitech X3-D, the only sensitivity is the rudder. I found that manipulating the Differential_braking factor allows me to have more directional control on the ground. I've had to use this on heavier aircraft as well to facilitate reasonable ground control. If I turned up the sensitivity of braking, I find it seems like I have power assisted brakes. Never run across that in R/L. Great airplane, now where is that wine that was on the table in the back.

The table, Laptop, and wine are only available in-flight. (they come out when the gear go up.)

[Milton Shupe]

I cannot find the reference to the lack of need for a tail wheel lock but I did find this article (front part is clipped-not sure where that went) from an owner/caretaker that talks about flying the Spartan. It's a good read.

EDIT: Found the front part but think I am missing a little in the middle. I think I copied only the bottom part for the specs from a pilot's perspective.
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First Part:
When rumbling along at 8,500 feet, it's sometimes difficult to describe how I feel as I look across the Spartan's wide cockpit at Sandy, my wife. The same thought inevitably crosses our minds at the same time: we feel as though we're living a dream. Looking past tier at that wonderfully shaped wing, I picture how we must look from the outside. We're in a high-speed, silver sculpture from another time when styling meant curves and grace and-most of all-class. On the one hand, it feels as if a tremendous privilege has been granted us; on the other hand, that privilege comes with huge responsibilities, and that thought never leaves us. Owning and flying a 1939 Spartan Executive isn't to be taken lightly. The machine is one of America's ultimate artifacts, and we view ourselves as its caretakers, which is an awesome responsibility.

The Spartan is one of those airplanes that has haunted me almost from the very beginning of my long love affair with flying. I have to admit, however, that it wasn't until Sandy started urging me to "live" my fantasy that I actually considered buying one. The Executive is my fourth "real" airplane (I don't count my first airplane, a Cessna 175 one of that total). I can't say when I became aware of my love of round motors and art-deco styling, but apparently it has always been there because even as a student pilot, I found myself wildly attracted to a derelict Cessna 195 on the held. Shortly after the C-175 "experience," which taught me a lot about the nuts and bolts (figuratively and literally) of airplane ownership, I launched into what became a familiar drill of looking for the best 195 available. That's when I bought what I consider to be my first real airplane. Then came a Luscombe 8E, a Republic Seabee and then our beautiful Lockheed 12A.

When Sandy talked me into buying the Executive, we looked for the "right" airplane in the same way as we had when looking for the other airplanes. We first tried to locate all the Executives in existence: six flying and six that might be restorable. Considering that only 34 had ever been built in the first place, and some of those went overseas when new, that's a pretty fair survival rate for what was then a 55-year-old airplane. When looking for airplanes, my tastes, skills and common sense dictate that I find the best airframe in the best possible condition because I don't want to do complete restorations. The Cessna 175 also taught me the value of an airplane with great log books that indicate a high level of continual maintenance. This is especially true of the bigger airplanes. It takes a major, bolt-by-bolt restoration to even begin to offset a half century of indifferent maintenance and repairs. A good, clean, well-cared-for airframe, on the other hand, is a pleasure to work on and doesn't require the special skills needed for a total restoration.

The first step was going out and physically laying our hands on as many Spartans as we could find, whether for sale or not. Through this process, we began to understand the airplane and what we were actually looking for. In short order, our airframe checklist became quite specific. Over a year and a half, one by one, we eliminated various airplanes either because they weren't available and couldn't be pried loose, or because their airframe and/or log books weren't clean.

Those who knew what we were looking for would continually say, "You need to find Malcolm Jacobs' old airplane." Jacobs was a well-known aircraft salesman/broker in St. Louis who, among other things, is reputed to have sold something like 300 Staggerwings, which obviously means he handled the same airplanes three or four times. He had owned the same Spartan Executive for 34 years, and it was rumored to have been nearly perfect to begin with, but Jacobs had spent 17 years restoring it and then flew it only a very few hours. We kept hearing the tales but didn't have a solid lead on the airplane's whereabouts. Then we got a call from two of our "Spartan acquaintances" in Texas and New Mexico who told us the Jacobs airplane was in the Lone Star Museum of Flight in Galveston, Texas.

We wasted no time in calling the museum. What we didn't know, however, was that during a meeting on the night before, the museum's board of directors had voted to sell the Spartan because it no longer fit their goals as a predominantly military museum.

We immediately sent them a deposit check, contingent on the airplane's fitting our criteria, and we prepared to fly to Texas. But there was still one detail: we had to hop on a jet to Chicago (it was January and not a very pleasant trip) to look at one other Spartan. We couldn't commit to buying the Galveston airplane until we had eliminated the Chicago Executive. Buying airplanes isn't as easy as just writing a check.

When we arrived at the museum, we found the airplane was everything we had been told, and it fit our goals exactly. Besides having spent 34 years in the loving hands of Malcolm Jacobs, the airplane bad always been cared for. Its first owner was Claude Drilling of Oklahoma, but it was soon pressed into WW 11 military service-RAF, to be exact. What the RAF used the airplane for is unknown, but it never left the States and was based at one of its training command bases. Most important, the airplane was never damaged at the hands of a low-time student.

Right after the war, the airplane became part of Texas Co.'s (now Texaco) fleet of five Executives and was based at its Chicago facility. I have all the maintenance records; they rival those of any major airline. Texas Co. spared no expense in keeping the airplane ready to go.

When we flew it home, we found it to be in excellent condition, but later, we eliminated many of Jacobs' 1970s modifications to make it more representative of the breed, or simply to make ourselves happy. The orange carpet and orange fuselage trim were among the latter. We redid the entire interior in leather with a wool headliner and had the fuselage stripes repainted in green, which is a Texaco color and one of Sandy's favorites. The three-blade prop-a very popular mod in the 1970s-was replaced with an original Hamilton-- Standard, and the landing gear was removed and replated. In total, the airplane was up on jacks for a year while we attended to dozens of necessary little details to make it "ours."

One detail we worked and worked to perfect was the control yoke: Jacobs installed a Beech Bonanza yoke, and no matter how hard we tried or how much tubing we bent and welded, we couldn't quite duplicate the Spartan yoke. Then one night, another Spartan owner called, "Your airplane needs an original yoke and I'm sending you one."

That was the best we could have hoped for, and we could hardly believe it!

Airborne, the airplane is a lot of fun because it flies even better than it looks, and we love the way it looks! Because it is so Streamlined and tightly cowled, there aren't a lot of things to check during preflight, especially since it literally lives in our living room (we live in a hangar/apartment). If we leave it outside at an airshow or while going cross-country, however, I carefully check the fabric control surfaces for damage and peek down into the cowl to make sure we don't have something uninvited-rags, for example-in there. While I do the walkaround, I check that the mags are off, then pull the prop forward 18 blades to verify that there isn't any oil in the bottom cylinders that might cause a hydraulic lock.

Starting the P&W R-985 is super easy because of one of Malcolm Jacobs' modifications. Rather than having a wobble/priming pump situation, as with most R-985s, there is an electric priming pump that has a line to every cylinder, instead of to just two or three. A few seconds of prime, and I hit the starter with the mags already on "both," instead of switching them on after it has turned a few blades in the way it is usually done. The prop barely turns half a revolution before the engine starts. It starts unlike any other round engine I've known.

When the engine is running, I have to wait for the temperatures to come up, but with the Executive, that doesn't take long. It is so tightly cowled that the temps come up in less than half the time of most similar engines.

While taxiing, it's important to remember how little you can see straight ahead and to the right; I S-turn the airplane periodically. Even though the brakes are the primary steering mechanism, if I have any power on at all, the rudder still has enough authority to gently turn the airplane without help from the brakes.

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Second part:

As soon as we're off the ground, the gear comes up, and the prop and power come back to 30 inches of manifold pressure and 2,000rpm, which cuts the noise level in half. At 36/2 inches and 2,350rpm (full power), the prop tips are just short of supersonic and make a tremendous noise.

We usually climb at 130mph, which is the recommended rateof-climb speed; it keeps the engine cool and still gives us a solid 800 to 1,000 feet per minute and it will hold that well past 5,000 feet. It has a lot more climb available, but why use it, if it isn't needed. Our airplane just had its 60th birthday, so we try to be considerate.

In level flight, it's absolutely delightful. Because of its size, people expect it to be more like a transport aircraft than anything else. But it absolutely is not. The ailerons are not only light, but they are also powerful enough to make the airplane respond immediately. The same is true of the elevators and rudder; and they all flow together so well that it is hard to believe that the airplane was designed in 1934/35 because it handles at least as well as a modern Bonanza.

The airplane's comfort level is unmatched even in modern airplanes. This is especially true of the interior sound level; it is so quiet that it is almost spooky. The airplane was born during a time when names like Duesenberg and Packard meant something other than "big antique car." They were the ultimate in transportation comfort, and the Spartan Executive offered the same feel but in the third dimension. Here was an airplane that was designed with one class of trade in mind and only one. Its owner wouldn't be driving a Ford to the airport; he'd drive his Duesenberg, or something similar, and he'd expect the same luxury in his airplane.

The airplane is wider than most modern twin-engine airplanes but not quite as deep. The seats actually sit quite flat on the floor, sports-car style, and your feet are out in front of you. It is much more comfortable than it sounds, and it's probable that executives and sportsman pilots of the era made full use of the airplane's nearly five-hour nonstop range. Sandy and 1, however, prefer flights of about half as long. Besides, visiting other airports and just being somewhere else is part of the fun of traveling.

The old brochures tout that the airplane is capable of the 212mph cruise, but that's only at the expense of a lot of gasoline. At the lower settings we usually fly (caretakers, remember?), 190mph is more realistic, but that's still pretty fast for that much cabin space.

One area in which the Executive might not meet modern certification standards is in its stall. If you persist in holding the nose up while speed bleeds off, it will abruptly stop flying and its nose will drop; and if you don't release the backpressure, a wing will drop. The stall itself isn't particularly dangerous, but the abrupt manner in which it breaks without the slightest warning buffet is generally an eye-opener to modern pilots.

Big old taildraggers often have questionable reputations associated with their landings, but the Executive is as gentlemanly on landing as it is everywhere else. The gear speed is 160mph, so with a little planning to get rid of altitude, it isn't difficult at all to arrive at the airport slowly enough to get the gear out, at which point the airplane is quite stable. The flaps are in three sections with a big "belly board" running across the middle. Since the elevators get a little soft when flying slowly, I opted not to use the center-section flaps in case they blanket the elevator. Besides, since the main flaps go down 45 degrees, no more flap is needed.

Downwind at 120mph with partial flap, 100 on base with the rest of the flaps down and 90 on final, the airplane flies as if it is in a groove. Whatever power is needed to keep it on glide slope is used, but the prop isn't increased to full until on short final when it's obvious I have the runway made and won't need any more power increases. By doing this, prop noise is kept to a minimum.

I keep just a hint of power on as the airplane is pulled into flare where I set it up for a wheel landing. I rarely three-point the bigger airplanes because the possibilities of dropping them in is too high. Wheel landings just don't seem to beat them up as badly. Also, in wheel landings, the runway is in sight all the way to touchdown and during much of the rollout, and that makes everything so much simpler.

When the airplane is in ground effect, the little bit of power being carried holds it up for a few seconds while I feel for the runway with the main gear. My goal is to try to hold it off, and then it surprises me by softly touching down. At that point, a little forward yoke nails it on, and the rest of the rollout is spent keeping it straight, which is really quite easy, even in a crosswind. To burn off some of the speed, I get on the brakes when it is down and stable, because the slower it is, the easier it is to control. The yoke moves slowly forward as the speed bleeds off, holding the tail up until the very last second, when I gently ease it down. The brakes, by the way, are Goodyear disc brakes-an improvement on the original, grabby multiple-disc brakes, but they don't have enough power to pick up the tail and put the airplane on its nose.

In front of the hangar, when the engine is shut down, there is something magical about climbing through that big door onto the wing. There is something about the size, the smell, the overall ambiance of the machine that reeks of luxurious times we're not likely to see again. Like the big old wooden yachts and the oversize, over-powered sports cars of the era, the Spartan Executive speaks to the age of opulence. While we may never see that age again, isn't it nice that it left enough of its artifacts for Some Of US to visit it again, at least for a little while?

Copyright Air Age Publishing Feb 2000
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

[simtech]

:pop4: Decisions, decisions. As a pilot no drink, to drink no fly. Hmm. Think I'll skip the imbibition and go fly this wonderful airplane. Although that table animation is slicker than snot on a door knob. Great job!!

[PhantomTweak]

I am sure glad that there are a lot more virtual Spartan Executives than were made IRL!
I enjoy this bird no end. I haven't stalled it yet, but that on the "menu" for whenever.
I did notice, and this is a very minor detail, that the brakes are more than adequate to drop it on it's nose, even when moving slowly on all 3 wheels. This is contrary to the great article you posted, but it's adjustable.
I am very grateful for the flaps info in the article. It gives me what I need to know to know how it should behave.
I did try some slow flight at 5000', and it was perfectly controllable down to 55 MPH, full flaps. Very enjoyable if I get a little slow on landing. I can keep it right where it needs to be with no more effort than at 180 MPH.
I can't think of all the little details of it's performance right now I noticed, but it sire was a joy to try out.
Thank you so much for including me in the beta testing, even if I didn't contribute all that much. It went faster through beta than I expected :)
Have fun, all!
Pat☺

[Willy]

Think I'll do a bare metal one first to get everything sorted out.

[txnetcop]

Looking forward to that one Willy I would also like to see an all aluminum with a red painted nose...saw one at Midland Muni in Texas.
Ted

[Willy]

I've ran into some issues with the fuselage textures not wanting to match up with the rest of it and I'm not sure why. Everything else is a nice aluminum color in the sim, but the fuselage is a whole lot brighter. Could be a while on getting anything out.

Right now, I'm doing what I always do when I'm about out of ideas and need to think about it for a bit. Painting a Gee Bee. LOL

[gaab]

http://i.imgur.com/MqBicDR.jpg




An optional VC:


I like it very much ........ will you be sharing it?:encouragement:

I would love to put it into that nice bird.

Gérard

[manfredc3]

O yeah,

Lovin' this bird. Now have to start searching for some repaints. Looking forward to some new paints from the repaint magicians like Willy

[Penzoil3]

Love this so much I just sold my (Flight Sim Economy) Piper Seneca, so I could buy a Spartan Executive for my Virtual fleet !
LOL
Sue

[Milton Shupe]

Love this so much I just sold my (Flight Sim Economy) Piper Seneca, so I could buy a Spartan Executive for my Virtual fleet !
LOL
Sue

Aw Shucks, Ma'am! That's great to hear and quite the compliment. :wiggle:

[vortex]

Just spent the day at an air show at Little Gransden in the UK where they had two Spartan Executives flying a formation display!