TA-4J Skyhawk Work-In-Progress

[Dino Cattaneo]

Just some WIP screenshots of my next project - TA-4J Skyhawk

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66395&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66396&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66397&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66398&stc=1

[Timmy74]

Excellent work Dino!

Can not wait for her.

[noddy]

That looks fantastic.

[ColoKent]

Incredible...a must buy for me.

K

[cortomalteseit]

Looks like another best buy!!!! Excellent!

[Matt Wynn]

awesome as always Dino! :encouragement:

[Sundog]

Looks great, which I'm not surprised about. This is going to be fun to fly.

[docjohnson]

Love the Skyhawk in any form! Looking forward to this one!

[Manschy]

Especially trainer versions of single seater jetfighters are so rare - this is such a great job, Dino! Looking forward to this project.

[SiR_RiPPER]

Good work Dino! Bring it on!

[Crusader]

Certainly a must have for me ! I remember I went TDY( AFRES ) to Roosevelt Roads NAS , PR in the early 90's . I saw one parked on the tarmac . I would loved to have taken a ride in it . Really looking forward to it . Thanks Dino !

Rich

[rsgunner]

Outstanding!

It will be added to my stable as soon as it becomes available.

Russ

[Navy Chief]

I worked on them at Pax River, with the Naval Air Test Pilot School Maintenance Division. 73-76. Pulled a lot of those ejection seats/canopies and fixed airconditioning systems. Great aircraft, and a LOT of fun to ride backseat in!!!!

NC

I am REALLY looking forward to this one, Dino!

[PhantomTweak]

Navy Chief
I worked on them at Pax River, with the Naval Air Test Pilot School Maintenance Division. 73-76. Pulled a lot of those ejection seats/canopies and fixed airconditioning systems.

And I worked on a bunch of them at MCAS Yuma. VMFAT-102 birds. I worked on their radar system, such as it wasn't, and the VTAS unit from under one of the seats. I don't know which. The line apes pulled them out. The VTAS was easy to diagnose. It was the white wire. The trick was figuring out which one or three of the few thousand white wires they packed into the bottom of the unit. :biggrin-new:
They were wrapped onto posts no soldered, and teensy, tiny, thin, wires, they were too. A real adventure to work on. Thank goodness we had an electric "gun" to do the wrapping for us! And that I still had good eyesight. In both eyes! :pirate:

But what I REALLY appreciate about the TA-4 was that I first saw my soon-to-be second wife on the nose forward of the windscreen. They had brought one back that had been in '102 before they decomissioned it, and sent them all over to Davis-Monthan. It needed to be de-cocooned and cleaned up so they could repaint it, and put it up on display at the front gate of the base. They got the A&P students at the local college branch on base to do the de-cocooning, and cleanup work. My wife, soon-to-be, anyway, was taking the class, and her father, a retired Senior Chief, was the instructor.
Anyway, she was assigned to clean the cocooning off the the nose area, and to get to it, she had to straddle the nose, facing aft. I must have driven one of the tugs we had at VMFAT-401, who I worked for at the time, past that A-4 a dozen times that day, admiring the "view" she gave us.
I didn't even realize that she was the girl I wound up married to until she mentioned the jerk that kept driving past when she was working on the bird. After we were married. I looked at her, and told her it was me, and she told me she was the girl on the nose. Neither of us had known it was the other until that minute...
We still laugh about it every time we talk about it. :loyal:

Sad thing was, when he class started on the cleanup, they realized there were a few left-overs from active duty still on-board it. The seat was still fully armed and ready to use, with the pins in, yes, but it should have been pulled entirely before it even left the base for the boneyard. The LOX converter, about 1/2 full was still in it, and they had shoved the two launch racks from the wings up the tailpipe, still with the pyrotechnics installed. All this was to have been dealt with by 102 before they sent the planes to the bone-yard. When the base CO was notified by my wife's father, he threw a fit. He spent a few hours on the phone, tracking down 102's CO, XO, SgtMaj, and any one else he could find. And yelling at them.
Understandable. Those items could easily have killed one of the students working on it for him. Deadly stuff. :pop4:
We lost an employee of 401 to a seat arming accident, so we knew how deadly the seat alone was. EVERYONE knew about LOX converters, too. Luckily, as soon as a student saw the seat was still installed, he immediately got everyone well way from the plane.

Really looking forward to adding these to my hangar. Maybe I'll park one out in front of the correct hangar at MCAS Yuma. Just for the memories.
Thanks Dino!
Pat☺

[thunderstreak]

Another must have from Dino for sure!

Thanks to all of you that share your experiences on SOH of working on and flying the real deal in the military. I very much enjoy reading all of them.
Thank you for service gentlemen, cheers!

[Navy Chief]

The ejection seat in the Skyhawks was a proven performer, and easy to work on. I can't remember if the canopy had to be removed to pull the A-4 seat, but the TA-4 canopy was removed to pull those seats. The ESCAPAC seats were lightweight; not backbreakers, like the Martin Baker seats in the F-8, F-11, F-4, F-14, etc...



http://www.ejectionsite.com/escapacfr.htm

NC

[PhantomTweak]

The ejection seat in the Skyhawks was a proven performer, and easy to work on. I can't remember if the canopy had to be removed to pull the A-4 seat, but the TA-4 canopy was removed to pull those seats. The ESCAPAC seats were lightweight; not backbreakers, like the Martin Baker seats in the F-8, F-11, F-4, F-14, etc...



http://www.ejectionsite.com/escapacfr.htm

NC
However heavy they might have been, seeing one still fully armed up and ready to go in a "mothballed" A-4 was a bit of a shock!
Thankfully, the man that opened the canopy for the first time, and my soon-to-be Father-in-Law, knew what they were seeing, and knew the incredible danger it put them all in. Thankfully, VMFA-513 was assigned to assist as needed, and they sent their entire seat shop over to deal with the situation. Same with the LOX converter, and the launch rails. They were properly dealt with by qualified, active duty personnel, not some civvie people with no experience in these fields, 1/2 way through their A&P certs.
I just hate to think what could have happened if a civilian A&P student had gone to hop into the cockpit, and leaned on the face-curtain handles...

Anywho, back to the thread. I apologize for taking off at an odd tangent, there, all!
Trigonometrically yours
Pat☺
:pirate:

[Dino Cattaneo]

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66556&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66557&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66558&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=66559&stc=1

PBR and liveries testing...

[blanston12]

Looking great! The Virtavia A4 was always one of my fav's but its getting a bit long in the tooth, this is looking like its going to be a very worthy replacement and a must have.

[Victory103]

Something about the "clown" jet colors of the TA-4, but that VA-127 camo is an instant fav. These were still around when I started my USN career in Pcola.

[PhantomTweak]

I was SO sad when the Blue Angels transitioned out of their F-4's into A-4's. It's a great plane, no question, but it's just not the big, loud, smokey, ugly, crowd pleaser the Phantom is, you know?

That VA-127 reminds me of the Top Gun A-4's for some reason...
"Break NOW, Jester!" :loyal: :encouragement:

Have fun, all!

Pat☺

[spatialpro]

This will be a dead certain day-one purchase for me!

It looks amazing in PBR. I love the Aggressor scheme.

[ejoiner]

I am more excited about this little scooter than any other airplane in development for 2019. I still fly the Virtavia A-4 regularly and love Dinos work. This is a great marriage! Cant wait.

[Dino Cattaneo]

Since I have not posted anything about this project here lately, I thought it was time to share some updated pictures... The modeling is almost finished, the flight model is in place and I am proceeding with systems programming (which is relatively simple...afterall this aircraft was designed to be simple also in real life)...

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69273&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69274&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69277&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69278&stc=1

[Navy Chief]

Whoo hoo! GO Dino, and GO NAVAIR! NC

[delta_lima]

Is there room for one more late FSXer? :running:

As the Flying Stations Sea Fury was the final straw to oush me from FS9 to FSX, so too, will this model pull me over to P3D.

Possibly this very weekend .... :biggrin-new: That will give me a few weeks (months?) to figure out the new platform.

Outstanding work, Dino, right up my alley, and after Dean's RF-8, will be the USN package I most look forward to. I love that you've done both VT- and VC- paints.

I hope to catch up with you guys more when I make the switch ... :)

dl

[Sundog]

Outstanding work Dino. Then again, your work always is. Thanks for the previews. :very_drunk:

[Dino Cattaneo]

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69572&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69573&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69575&stc=1
Trial repaints for export versions...

[dhazelgrove]

Is there room for one more late FSXer? :running:

As the Flying Stations Sea Fury was the final straw to oush me from FS9 to FSX, so too, will this model pull me over to P3D.

Possibly this very weekend .... :biggrin-new: That will give me a few weeks (months?) to figure out the new platform.

Outstanding work, Dino, right up my alley, and after Dean's RF-8, will be the USN package I most look forward to. I love that you've done both VT- and VC- paints.

I hope to catch up with you guys more when I make the switch ... :)

dl

Welcome to the dark side.....

Dave

[Sundog]

It's difficult for these old eyes to see the markings on the middle one; is that a Kiwi? They look great, but they're going to look better on my PC. ;)

[Dino Cattaneo]

It's difficult for these old eyes to see the markings on the middle one; is that a Kiwi? They look great, but they're going to look better on my PC. ;)

Correct...a Kiwi it is!
I have been a little lazy on this as New Zealand had much flashier repaints and this was the easiest one to make ;-)

[spatialpro]

I'm looking forward to the paint kit already Dino!

[delta_lima]

Welcome to the dark side.....

Dave

Thanks.

Installed it last night. On my old beater i5 machine with the GTX660. I was pleasantly surprised it even ran, with mid-ish settings. Getting a video card upgrade today.

Good times are a’rolling ... :-)

Dino - these shots look delightful. You’ll get my first P3DV4 add-on purchase, that’s without a doubt.

DL

[Dino Cattaneo]

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69789&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69790&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69791&stc=1
Carrier ops at dusk...

[jankees]

Beautiful!

[spatialpro]

All hail PBR!

[delta_lima]

Outstanding Dino.

No other words.

[YoYo]

It looks like soon: :wiggle:

http://i.imgur.com/o1EdVnJh.jpg (https://imgur.com/o1EdVnJ)

http://i.imgur.com/6Ni1Wmkh.jpg (https://imgur.com/6Ni1Wmk)

http://i.imgur.com/0IHfRPZh.jpg (https://imgur.com/0IHfRPZ)

From FB:


A color match review revealed a blatant mistake in the light sea-gull grey, which was way off in the color space... I don't understand how it was possible that I had not seen this before. Anyway I had to redo the base livery and all the related repaints. The current list of repaints for the TA-4 is now as follows:
VT-7
VT-22
VT-86
VA-127 Aggressor
VC-8 Aggressor
VX-4
VF-126 (As recently restored)
Skyhawk 518 (shown in the picture...still not finished)
Israeli Air Force
Royal Australian Navy (late scheme)
Royal New Zealand Air Force (later scheme)
...I'll probably add a couple before release.
Do not worry too much if your favourite scheme is not on the list, the package will have a decent paintkit available at launch (or very shortly after it).


Speaking of launch and releases... I have clearly missed the deadline of the end of June for the Beta. But it is not too far off, really. Basically some minor tweak to the radio and navigation system are needed, and the transponder cannot be operated from the cockpit yet. Everything else is in place and functional... not 100% feature complete but functional.

but my fingers are crossed for one seater also :wink:.

[delta_lima]

The awesomeness continues. I'm still starry-eyed like a little kid every time I start P3D, and contemplate one day seeing the TA-4J here. I've not flown one since I tried porting over the FS9 Razbam model in the early days of FSX, and could never get it to run properly in that sim, especially with DX10.

This is such good news, I'm tickled with excitement.

My only question / hope - is there a way to reduce the size of the effects for the navigation lights and beacons? I have the same issue with the F-14 and T-45. Again, not wanting to complain or be an ingrate - but hopefully it's a small fix now rather than monkeying around with MCX later after the fact.

Maybe it can't, or it's just your preference, which I respect. Not stopping me from buying, though, that's for sure. Christmas in the fall? How cool would that be?

:ernaehrung004:

dl

[expat]

FSX and I guess P3D default nav and beacon lights are WAY too large/bright. I periodically replace these (unless embedded in the model as is growing practice) with some smaller light effects.

The modeller that has really nailed the aircraft lights is Hiroshi Igami of POSKY/SkySpirit/TDS fame. He makes them pretty much invisible by day, and small pin points at night, which is how my eye sees aircraft lights in real life.

[PhantomTweak]

It looks amazing, Dino, and I'll wager it flies the same!

The only livery missing is VMFAT-102, MCAS Yuma. I'd wager almost every Marine A-4 driver went through that squadron during their introduction, up through advanced training, to the A-4. We had a lot of them on base, at least while I was there. Probably 20, or more.

I do know for a fact, though, that they were 1 less early 1980, late '79. Right around there. I had to go out to the Range to dig it's remains out of a smoking hole in the ground. He got "target fixation" during a strafing run. Got so low he shot himself down! Thank goodness the IP had the presence of mind to eject them both before it was too late. Wound up digging the wing guns out of 20' of sand, with the engine another 10' down. Thankfully, the debris field was relatively small, given his angle of descent.
We did have a very nice funeral for the several small creatures, lizards, snakes, and so on, that were killed by the burning fuel that fanned out from the impact. Little graves, nice crosses for each one, etc.
I did get in a bit of trouble, during, though. We had a very green Lieutenant in charge of the recovery, and he didn't keep his eyes open for poisonous reptiles. During the funeral, a rattle snake (sidewinder) decided to try and sneak up between the Lt's legs, so I shot it in the head. Sadly, he hadn't noticed that I was armed. Wearing the pistol under my cammies, I can see why...
He yelled at me for a good 20 minutes. Very silly, really. We WERE out in the desert, miles from any form of civilisation, so it was perfectly legal to go armed. And I'd really rather listen to him whine, than try to suck poison out of his leg...
I must mention that I was a rifle/pistol instructor just prior to this, and had qualed expert with the pistol. He was in no danger from me! :rocket:

Ahhhh, the memories of the "good ol' days".
Looking forward to the release of this wonderful plane!:encouragement:

Pat☺

[Dino Cattaneo]

A quick update... with no pictures.
The TA-4J has entered the Beta stage... it usually takes one month before the test and fixes are implemented... so I foresee a release date somwhere in September.

[wombat666]

One of my 'must have' aircraft and it is looking superb Dino.
The only caveat I would place on this would be the implementation of Tac-Bloody-Pac, I don't like it and I no longer have it.
I hangered the Eurofighter as I couldn't actually implement the loadouts I wanted, please try and give us no TacPac users an easier way of hanging things off wings.
:encouragement:

[ejoiner]

https://i.imgur.com/jXSplf6.jpg

She is a very lovely lady. Flies brilliantly too...

Eric

[Sundog]

My Paypal account is already giddy with excitement! Or maybe it's me? :very_drunk:

[ST0RM]

Day 1 buy for me. Love the Scooter and Dino's work is outstanding.

[jeansy]

Day 1 buy for me. Love the Scooter and Dino's work is outstanding.

+1, Ive been keeping track of his facebook posts on this, another day 1 purchase from me and im also hoping Dino does the single seat too.

[Manschy]

Dino, your work always gets better and better!
I have to bow before you because you are currently just one of few designers who create A WHOLE MODELL FAMILY. Means, you even design one AND two seater. That's unfortunately rare at a time like this. Thank you for your great work!

[rvn817j]

I can say that no one should be unhappy with the flying qualities of this aircraft. Dino's TA-4J flies smooth as silk and looks fantastic. It's clear that he is very talented. I've only got about 45 minutes in the aircraft so far and have only evaluated the handling characteristics (and looks). This aircraft fills a huge hole for P3D naval aviation and it does it in a spectacular fashion.

[dhazelgrove]

https://i.postimg.cc/3R55QgN7/2019-7-26-20-1-34-648.jpg
Getting stroppy.

https://i.postimg.cc/SKzFPZyD/2019-7-26-20-2-1-388.jpg
Wind her up.....

https://i.postimg.cc/x18SvfBr/2019-7-26-20-2-8-529.jpg
….and let her go.....

Dave

[YoYo]

Nice pictures Dave!

[FlyingsCool]

It looks amazing, Dino, and I'll wager it flies the same!

The only livery missing is VMFAT-102, MCAS Yuma. I'd wager almost every Marine A-4 driver went through that squadron during their introduction, up through advanced training, to the A-4. We had a lot of them on base, at least while I was there. Probably 20, or more.

I do know for a fact, though, that they were 1 less early 1980, late '79. Right around there. I had to go out to the Range to dig it's remains out of a smoking hole in the ground. He got "target fixation" during a strafing run. Got so low he shot himself down! Thank goodness the IP had the presence of mind to eject them both before it was too late. Wound up digging the wing guns out of 20' of sand, with the engine another 10' down. Thankfully, the debris field was relatively small, given his angle of descent.
We did have a very nice funeral for the several small creatures, lizards, snakes, and so on, that were killed by the burning fuel that fanned out from the impact. Little graves, nice crosses for each one, etc.
I did get in a bit of trouble, during, though. We had a very green Lieutenant in charge of the recovery, and he didn't keep his eyes open for poisonous reptiles. During the funeral, a rattle snake (sidewinder) decided to try and sneak up between the Lt's legs, so I shot it in the head. Sadly, he hadn't noticed that I was armed. Wearing the pistol under my cammies, I can see why...
He yelled at me for a good 20 minutes. Very silly, really. We WERE out in the desert, miles from any form of civilisation, so it was perfectly legal to go armed. And I'd really rather listen to him whine, than try to suck poison out of his leg...
I must mention that I was a rifle/pistol instructor just prior to this, and had qualed expert with the pistol. He was in no danger from me! :rocket:

Ahhhh, the memories of the "good ol' days".
Looking forward to the release of this wonderful plane!:encouragement:

Pat☺

Thanks for the story! :) Brightened my day :) Not that it needed any brightening, but now it's just that much brighter :)

[FlyingsCool]

My Paypal account is already giddy with excitement! Or maybe it's me? :very_drunk:

Oh, no, you were right, PayPal is giddy, too...

;)

[Dino Cattaneo]

....just a HU as we are approaching the release. Not sure why I cannot post pictures today, but (fingers crossed) the TA-4J project will be released during the next weekend.

[Dino Cattaneo]

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=71363&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=71364&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=71365&stc=1http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/attachment.php?attachmentid=71366&stc=1

Picture upload is back on my browser...so above are screenshots from the Release Candidate Build...

[Sundog]

Nice pictures. I might have to limit how many add on repaints I use for this one. Because, there are so many excellent schemes it will be difficult to choose which to fly. ;)

Looks great Dino. :very_drunk:

[Dino Cattaneo]

The Scooter had some of the best liveries of any jet ever! Deciding which ones I should do and which ones to leave out was not easy...

[Dino Cattaneo]

TA-4 Package is now available on SimMarket LINK:https://secure.simmarket.com/indiafoxtecho-visual-simulations-ta-4-skyhawk-pbr-edition-for-prepar3d-v4.4.phtml

[cavaricooper]

Tante bella cosa Dino!

C

[Sundog]

Thanks Dino and everyone else who contributed to this release! :very_drunk:

[YoYo]

TA-4 Package is now available on SimMarket LINK:https://secure.simmarket.com/indiafoxtecho-visual-simulations-ta-4-skyhawk-pbr-edition-for-prepar3d-v4.4.phtml

thanks ! :applause:

[rsgunner]

Does PBR technology automatically work when a designed aircraft is loaded or does there need to be a graphics setting.
I am aware it only works with P3D version 4.4 and 4.5.

Russ

[Mach3DS]

PBR is the rendering method. It's automatic.

[rsgunner]

PBR is the rendering method. It's automatic.

Thanks for the information.

[Dino Cattaneo]

Correct... HOWEVER I highly suggest to turn the Dynamic Reflections ON with PBR models... this enhances the effect (in a subtle way).

[jeansy]

its a beautiful package Dino, huge immersion with the model and PBR and night flying makes it a stunner, I have to say one of the best 2019 packages out there.

Please, i cant stress enough, finish off the single seater, if it will be anything like this, you are going to be the king of naval aviation at this rate with all your releases

[rsgunner]

Dino

This is an outstanding product.

Your contributions to USN flight sim cannot be matched.

I look forward to your releases.

Russ

[Victory103]

Patiently waiting on this one and weird how my September edition of Combat Aircraft Magazine had an article on the TA-4J! Thanks for all the hard work on your models Dino.

[docjohnson]

Wonderful work Dino, I purchased this and love it. I did find a problem with the aircraft.cfg in the weight and balance section that prevented selecting armament properly versus the wing tanks. One other thing that I keep seeing is that I get a fuel transfer light coming on intermittently and a fuel warning (pilot tips are turned on) and to remedy it with CNTRL > X. I do that but it keeps happening. Not able to fix that one. I couldn't find a place to report these so I posted here. Apologies in advance if this isn't the place to report this.

[Dino Cattaneo]

@docjohnsonThe TA-4J implements a quite realistic simulation of the real TA-4 fuel system, custom coded to reflect the flight manualThe FUEL TRANSFER light is not a problem... it will turn on whenever the transfer pump does not trasfer enough fuel from the main tank to the feed tank. It will turn on at low RPMs and in maneuvers with high acceleration. It is a problem only if it is continuously lit for some time (as the risk is to deplete the feed tank and cause an engine stop) -> that is whenever the FUEL LOW light comes on.You should disable pilot tips as they may report a false warning for the TA-4J. The FUEL LOW warning light in the cockpit is the one that you keep your eyes on. See the manual in the DOCS folder.

[Sundog]

I finally got a chance to fly it last night. I can tell I'm going to be spending a lot of time in this bird. The cockpit looks amazing and is easy on the frame rates. I flew it from Iwakuni MCAS to Futenma MCAS in Japan and the way the Radar works is awesome. BTW, I highly recommend the MAIW Matrix program for their military air base scenery and AI.

I did get the fuel light in the landing pattern and I knew it was because I just hopped in and went flying. I am going to read the manual about that before my next flight. I like all of Dino's birds and have been taking more time to figure out the systems in the Typhoon, but the TA-4J is just a lot of fun to fly. Once I learn it's systems I'll begin learning ordnance delivery in it. This is easily one of my favorites, so far. Great work Dino and team! :encouragement:

[docjohnson]

Dino, thanks for the info, already done. Great work again!