Today we remember "The Few"

[bazzar]

It's September 15th in Australia so what better day...available at our site and other vendors as soon as they are ready.

And here's a small video from Steve Walton. Steve has been testing the new Spitfire controls from Authentikit, with the Spitfire Mk1A. We are delighted to have been working with Phil at Authentikit on these fantastic kits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndbufeG2KVM


Mod Edit: Purchase page - https://www.aeroplaneheaven.com/product_spitmk1a.php

[keithb77]

Brilliant news, the one I've been waiting for...just have to wait a little longer

[spatialpro]

Which developer is this from please? Is it another release from FlyingIron? Many thanks.

[Naki1]

Which developer is this from please? Is it another release from FlyingIron? Many thanks.

It's a Aeroplane Heaven release

[noddy]

What a fantastic model, lovely details.

Well done a great release.

[noddy]

[jmig]

Just bought it. While I am not a fan of the Spitfire, I am a fan of Aeroplane Heaven and Bazzar.

[Tom Clayton]

Can anyone get a shot of the "modern" avionics? There's a request over at the official board...

[bazzar]

This is from the manual which is a free download from our site.

[Tom Clayton]

Thanks! I'll pass this along over there.

[K5083]

This looks really nice. I feel like up to now we have had passable warbirds for MSFS, this could be the first truly good one.

One favor to ask, Baz. When you release the paint kit, do you think you could include layers for the default skins? For those who want to make a few corrections, it would save having to redo them from scratch.

Best of luck with sales of this release.

August

[bazzar]

Yes, the paintkit will have pre-layered "A" and "B" scheme camouflage so all you need to add will be serials.

[K5083]

Great, but I meant the full suite of markings for the default planes, e.g., N3200 "QV" and so forth.

August

[jankees]

Great, but I meant the full suite of markings for the default planes, e.g., N3200 "QV" and so forth.

August

can't you just copy them from the original download?

[K5083]

can't you just copy them from the original download?

Sure, but then they're not layered, so to edit the colors and markings you have to work around the weathering, etc., and there's not much point even using the paint kit. I'll do it if I have to, it's just a convenience to be able to correct and then reassemble the default skins as one would with a new texture.

August

[jankees]

first flight, and it looks and flies really nice! Well done Baz!

However, I do have a 'few' (if you pardon the pun) questions:
I should imagine that a real Spitfire pilot that saw this many scratches on his canopy would ask for a replacement immediately:
jk7494 by JanKees Blom, on Flickr
Aren't these scratches a bit too much?

I have the feeling the dark paint on the nose is a bit too low. On all the pics I have seen of (Mk.1) Spitfires, the demarcation more or less follows the panellines?
jk7500 by JanKees Blom, on Flickr

like this:


and speaking of color, as some of you may know, I am very much colorblind, which sometimes interferes with my paintwork ( I remember one paint with one brown and one green wing..not my finest moment) but so far I have always been able to tell the difference between Dark Earth and Dark Green on RAF aircraft. Not with this Spitfire though, at first I thought it was just one color on top, but with a bit of playing with the angles, I managed to spot the demarcation between the two colors...I think. Is this just me, or do more people have this problem?

jk7496 by JanKees Blom, on Flickr

So, I'm looking forward to the paintkit!

[K5083]

I don't have the plane yet, and want to get it to fully evaluate, but from the pics and videos I've seen, you are right, Jan. They picked a not-great color for the RAF Dark Green, more of a medium green that is tonally very similar to the Dark Earth.

The most common demarcation on the nose was along the lower edge of the cowling access panel, as you say. On some of the specific planes they represented, including N3200, it was lower than that, but still not quite where they put it.

I think I see issues with other dubious color choices, roundel and serial placement and size, etc., but want to have the plane to be sure, since the lighting/exposure of videos and screen shots can make it difficult to tell.

To be clear, I'm not demanding that devs get all of these details right or slagging them for not doing so, but it would be great if they could make them easier for us to fix.

August

[jetstreamsky]

Want to ask if the markings on the wing of QV-K are correct, the WALK INBOARD faces the same way rather than either towards the fuselage or to the wingtips? There's also a black line difference.

Differential braking is reversed too, apply right brake command and it turns left and vice-versa.

Agree about the canopy scratches, they're very muddy under some lighting conditions.

Stall is very benign, no idea how it should be but it mushes like a Piper Warrior than a fighter.

Some sound oddities with gaps or just missing like the primer stroke.

Having said all that, it's a lovely plane to fly, spritely and fun with best in class taildragger behaviour against Asobo's messed up ground handling.



I flew the QV Restored afterwards and the differential braking behaviour is different.

[bazzar]

You need to be careful about colour comparisons. Everybody's monitor is differently calibrated to start with. We use the EXACT same colours we used for the Dunkirk Spitifre release for P3D. As for other colours like roundels and codes, we use the digital colour codes and chips from all the "better" modelling sources. Quite a few examples had the underside colour following a curve rather than the straight panel joint. We have references showing both styles painted at different times on the same aircraft, presumably following service or repairs. That said, if there are discrepancies in the liveries we will correct in the following upgrades.

[K5083]

I agree, color comparisons are difficult when using different monitors. I don't have the Dunkirk Spitfire. I have the Hurricane for P3D, and the camo colors look different, and better, to me on that. But with all the differences between P3D and MSFS in rendering, shading, etc., I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you used the same colors, and yet they could still be different as rendered in the two sims. But I'll wait till I have the new plane to decide.

In general, I find it a better use of my time to just fix textures rather than discuss/debate what fixes are needed. Once there's a paint kit, that will be feasible. The one thing I hope that you did was to color the undersides of N3200's fuselage and horizontal stabilizer in the correct Aluminum, rather than some incorrect color such as white or Sky. I haven't got the hang of metallics in MSFS yet, so that would be harder for me to correct.

August

[YoYo]

I agree, color comparisons are difficult when using different monitors. I don't have the Dunkirk Spitfire. I have the Hurricane for P3D, and the camo colors look different, and better, to me on that. But with all the differences between P3D and MSFS in rendering, shading, etc., I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you used the same colors, and yet they could still be different as rendered in the two sims. But I'll wait till I have the new plane to decide.

In general, I find it a better use of my time to just fix textures rather than discuss/debate what fixes are needed. Once there's a paint kit, that will be feasible. The one thing I hope that you did was to color the undersides of N3200's fuselage and horizontal stabilizer in the correct Aluminum, rather than some incorrect color such as white or Sky. I haven't got the hang of metallics in MSFS yet, so that would be harder for me to correct.

August

You have right with this, 100%. These two environments have different lighting and in fact the repaints should be more adapted to what they look like in a particular simulator, not the other way around. The same texture in P3D or MSFS should not be used until after some fixes (the best way I suppose) but colors in general here are not bad! Looks and I'm sure the model and his features are nice however I always wonder who is doing these repaintings and why he does not try to reflect the historical truth of such a well-documented plane. Unfortunately, they are partly fiction, direction of some stencils is incorrect, symbols, placement or colors, and also the wrong font on codes, although I probably belong to the 1% who pay attention to such things. That's why I believe that paint kit from developer is the basis if someone likes a realistic-looking paint job, then he can always do it his own way and finally be satisfied with the model but as we know the paint kit will here too.

Edit: About skins of Mk.I-II, I always liked historical approach of the team of IL-2 CoD Blitz (especially if we notice that it is a small group of enthusiasts). They did awsome job here and it could be an benchmark for us according me.

[jmig]

I am disappointed. I have yet to get this airplane to fly correctly. The first two times the engine would not develop full power then slowly loses all power. I had started once on the runway, with engine running and the second time in the air. After reading the manual and online threads, I determined that the starting on the runway and in the air did not configure the aircraft correctly for flight, because the fuel settings are off. Supposedly, so are the mags, but the engine is running so I don't know if they are really needed.

Now, when I try to set the fuel system, I can't turn the fuel valve, using left click then right click while holding the left button down. In fact sometimes if I click in that area the screen locks the computer and my G2 headset goes black. The only way out is to reboot, because the MSFS screen hides the Task manager screen. This has happed numerous times, most frustrating.

She is parked in hanger awaiting software upgrades. Hopefully one day I will actually get to fly and enjoy the Spitfire.

[YoYo]

Now, when I try to set the fuel system, I can't turn the fuel valve, using left click then right click while holding the left button down. In fact sometimes if I click in that area the screen locks the computer and my G2 headset goes black. The only way out is to reboot, because the MSFS screen hides the Task manager screen. This has happed numerous times, most frustrating.

John, this is option in MSFS, few knobs (especially) has this - click on it by left mouse button and next (holding left) click right button. It takes a bit of coordination but it's not bad and its not issue in this model. However, if your screen turns black in VR mode, it's hard for me to tell where the problem is. Maybe you are clicking outside the MSFS screen (or the zoom is behind the element what you see)? Right click in VR its a ZOOM (in VC for gauges), so for example for me it looks like (when I holding left button and click right) gives me next click and zoom in the same time , but it's MSFS issue too (double key mapping, although this can also be configured in controlls options I suppose).

[K5083]

Edit: About skins of Mk.I-II, I always liked historical approach of the team of IL-2 CoD Blitz (especially if we notice that it is a small group of enthusiasts). They did awsome job here and it could be an benchmark for us according me.

I very much agree with you here. There are some very good skins for COD Blitz, even some of the older ones are a little low in resolution these days. I am a fan of that game generally, and would say that it currently provides the best Spitfire I/II experience available in any sim, considering appearance, cockpit, flight handling, and systems depth. It is not the best Spit out there on ALL of these, but it is the best balance overall - and that's just as a simulator, not even counting that you get to shoot stuff. If the new AH Spitfire is just as good as that, but in the MSFS environment, it will be a winner.

August

[jmig]

John, this is option in MSFS, few knobs (especially) has this - click on it by left mouse button and next (holding left) click right button. It takes a bit of coordination but it's not bad and its not issue in this model. However, if your screen turns black in VR mode, it's hard for me to tell where the problem is. Maybe you are clicking outside the MSFS screen (or the zoom is behind the element what you see)? Right click in VR its a ZOOM (in VC for gauges), so for example for me it looks like (when I holding left button and click right) gives me next click and zoom in the same time , but it's MSFS issue too (double key mapping, although this can also be configured in controlls options I suppose).

Hi YoYo, I am left clicking, holding, and right clicking. It worked the first time I tried, but the sim froze. The next time, it didn't work??? The sim is locking up, so I don't think it is clicking outside and losing screen focus. I "think", but I have slept at least twice since, this has happened on one other aircraft? So, it could be something on my end?