Ryan Navion Staff Pick
- March 08, 2013
- 331 Downloads
- 4 Likes
- Blender 2.6x
- Render: Blender Internal
- Creator: Helijah
- License: CC-0
Description:
An airplane with four seats, the 40s, it was the first aircraft modeled for FlightGear. the model was lost. I decided to do it again :)
Comments:
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Helijah
Written March 09, 2013Hi poifox
Sure FG supports many joystick. And those that are not supported are often simple to add. The configuration files are all xml, everything is open source easy to understand and modify :)
Yes rendering FG could be used to BlendSwap. This is what I did initially. But the result is still different (metallic effects, shader etc ...) This may be surprising not to have the same effect in Blender. So I decided to use Blender for rendering do not have a problem.
Regards Emmanuel
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poifox
Written March 12, 2013Heading out right now to get a joystick while my computer installs FG from a PPA. Can't wait! :D
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poifox
Written March 12, 2013Got my FlightGear setup going, will start using your planes as soon as I get the hang of the simulator
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BMF
Written March 09, 2013Helijah,
I believe that you said that you liked modeling older aircraft that have not yet been modeled for FG.
I earned my private pilot's license flying Grumman American AA-1 and AA-2. They were a nice little aircraft with great visibility. The canopy on both models slid back like the WWII fighters which was good on hot days while on the taxi and a different experience while flying.
Rockwell also used to make private aircraft. I used to fly the Rockwell 112. It was beautiful to fly--like a Mercedes Benz of the air. With the articulated landing gear, it was sometimes difficult to tell if the wheels had touched the runway. The only problem was that it could have used a bit more rudder. It could be difficult to land in a strong cross wind because you couldn't get it to slip enough so I'd end up approaching the runway at an angle while simultaneously slipping into the wind. At the last second you have to straighten it up about the same time the wheels touched and then you tended to skip a little with the wind until you could slow down. Other than that it was a dream to fly.
I haven't seen either one of those in flight simulators so you may want to give them a look.
Regards, BMF
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Helijah
Written March 09, 2013Hi BMF
Excelente proposal. I took both and puts them at the top of my todo list :)
Regards Emmanuel
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Helijah
Written March 10, 2013Hey BMF,
This morning I attacked the Grumman American AA1, I hope you enjoy it :) http://helijah.free.fr/blender/Grumman-American-AA1/aa1.png
Regards Emmanuel
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Helijah
Written March 10, 2013Hi again GMF,
1 hour later then :) http://helijah.free.fr/blender/Grumman-American-AA1/aa1-2.png
Regards Emmanuel
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Helijah
Written March 10, 2013Hi BMF (and not GMF :( sorry)
The work in progress on the AA 1 (in FlightGear) :) http://helijah.free.fr/blender/Grumman-American-AA1/aa1-3.png http://helijah.free.fr/blender/Grumman-American-AA1/aa1-4.png
Regards Emmanuel
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BMF
Written March 10, 2013Very nice. Again, I am impressed with the speed of your modeling.
My livery was Red, but the color is irrelevant.
Now, you need a pilot with the canopy pulled back. Sometimes while flying back to Honolulu on a Monday morning, I take off just before dawn so I could enjoy the sunrise on the flight back with the canopy open.
Regards, BMF
By the way, if you didn't secure your maps and other papers before sliding the canopy back, the wind would suck them out and you could be in serious trouble on a long flight.
Regards, BMF
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BMF
Written March 10, 2013What a surprise!
I envy your abilities. It's shaping up as a very good representation.
There are not too many aviation modelers and I can count on three fingers the number of tutorials on aviation modeling. But the tutorials are either too general and don't get into how to create the important details or they are on the opposite extreme in written tutorials that are tedious and specific to one type of aircraft.
You should consider doing a series of short tutorials on Blend Swap on the basics of modeling aircraft. No doubt those techniques could be used for many other kinds of models as well. If you don't want to do video tutorials, then consider short written ones each on a different aspect of your techniques.
I'm struggling to model that B-17F-90-B that I mentioned in an earlier exchange. I'd give you a work in progress link to its current state, but I don't have a website and Blend Swap discourages works in progress uploads.
Modeling the B-17F-90-B might not be as hard as I'm making it, but I'm not a skilled aircraft modeler and I'm interested in historical accuracy. The production block 90 of the B-17 had specific changes as well as those that were made at the B-17 depot in England after it arrived.
I won't bore you with all of the different challenges I've encounter as my first attempt to model an aircraft other than my V-1 model on Blend Swap. Maybe I should have attempted something less complex than a B-17 like a glider.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing the finished AA-1. I learned to fly in Hawaii out of Honolulu International Airport in 1977. Most of the time I few at night after work, so I had a lot of night hours. The strong Hawaiian cross winds forced you to become a good pilot in navigation and landings. I have many fond memories of those times and your AA-1 model will be a reminder of those memorable adventures.
Forgive my one flying story.
After I earned my commercial and instrument ratings in the Rockwell 112, the volcano on the Big Island (Hawaii) had its biggest eruption in over 100 years. VFR flights were prohibited between all islands due to the low visibility (volcanic dust). I filed an IFR flight plan in the 112 and flew to the eruption. When I arrived, I cancelled my IFR plan and went VFR and circled the exploding volcano. It was primordial. There really aren't words to describe the beauty and violence of it all. I landed in Hilo, refueled, and then filed IFR back to Oahu (Honolulu).
On the return flight to Honolulu, I was assigned an altitude that placed me a couple of feet above a perfectly flat cloud layer from horizon to horizon. It was late afternoon and the volcanic dust had turned the sky purple and the cloud layer a light pink. The proximity to the cloud layer made it seem as if I was flying at tremendous speed through and alien universe. I looked back to see that the vortex of the prop wash was throwing the pink clouds into huge spiraling swirls. It was a magical sight to behold and the most memorable of all of my more than 600 hours of flight time.
If you create the Rockwell 112, I'd like to use it, with your permission, to recreate either the volcano scene or flying though the "alien" universe. If I created them perfectly (which would be beyond my current skills) no one would believe either scene was real--that's how surreal that experience was. It likely will not be a popular download, but it will mean a lot to me to use your model and to try to recreate the magic of either moment.
Anyway, thanks; and I really do look forward to seeing the aircraft that I first flew recreated.
By the way, if you add it's flight characteristics for Flight Gear, it glided like a lead brick. If the engine quit, you had better have an emergency landing site picked out directly below or you would be in deep trouble. The glide ratio in the manual was not accurate, at least in Hawaii.
And so here are two more suggestions for you that I haven't seen in Flight Gear (though I don't think I've seen every FG model).
I completed advanced aerobatic training in an American Champion Citabria (airbatic spelled backwards). It look a bit like the Piper Cub but it had a powerful engine and could do basic and intermediate aerobatics. I loved doing Hammer Head Stalls in it as well as Cuban Eights.
I did more advance aerobatics in a Pitts Special. Flying the Pitts was an exhilarating experience. It took a couple of hours for the adrenaline rush to subside. The Pitts may have been modeled many times, but after flying it to its extremes, I came to the conclusion that you can never have too many Pitts models. What a magnificent flying machine!
Take care,
BMF
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Helijah
Written March 10, 2013I have a B17 in my hangar : http://helijah.free.fr/flightgear/images/grandes/b17.png
I also did this a few years ago : http://helijah.free.fr/flightgear/Creation/Creation-en.htm and http://helijah.free.fr/flightgear/Creation/UV-Map/uv-map-en.html
Sorry for my English, but I use google for translations (even as I write this sentence lol)
Regards Emmanuel
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BMF
Written March 11, 2013Helijah, I saw your B-17 in your hangar and down loaded it. I was particularly interested in the amount of detail in the engine, especially since it's not a part of the aircraft that is very visible.
And thank you for sharing your two tutorials with me and others who may be following this thread.
I noticed a number of good techniques that you use to model aircraft and I will begin using them.
Your technique for texturing the Dornier DO 335 is similar to mine, but you have more detail. Again, I'll begin to use some of your techniques for my textures. Also the Dornier DO 335 tutorial seems to end suddenly. Are some pages missing or was that the entire tutorial?
Anyway, it is all very good information. Thanks.
Regards, BMF
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Helijah
Written March 11, 2013Hi BMF,
I confess to not having the courage to continue my tutorials :( I prefer modeling :)
And in this regard here is a new picture taken with FlightGear in the small AA1 :) http://helijah.free.fr/blender/Grumman-American-AA1/aa1-5.png
Regards Emmanuel
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Helijah
Written March 11, 2013Hi BMF,
If you're interested, I think you can fly with AA1 tomorrow (in flightgear).
http://helijah.free.fr/blender/Grumman-American-AA1/aa1-6.png
Regards Emmanuel
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Helijah
Written March 12, 2013Hi BMF,
Well, as I said yesterday, a version is now available in my shed. On the flight model, I did what I could. I am not a pilot and aeronautical engineer even less :)
http://helijah.free.fr/flightgear/les-appareils/aa1/appareil.htm
I hope it will not be too ridiculous
Regards Emmanuel
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BMF
Written March 12, 2013Helijah, Thank you very much for modeling the type aircraft that I learned to fly and in which I did my first solo flight.
I'm very busy at the moment (I'm a self-employed consultant), but I will register with Flight Gear and give the Grumman AA-1 a spin.
The AA-2 doesn't differ much from the AA-1. It was slightly larger and had 4 seats instead of 2. It may have had a slightly larger engine as well, I don't recall now. But it flew exactly the same as the AA-1.
Both were good aircraft for learning how to fly and it had that canopy that could slide back in flight.
While I was actively flying, I flew a lot of different aircraft such as various models of Cessna's, Piper's (including the classic Piper Cub), the Citabria, Pitts, Lake 200 amphibian, the Beaver, and the Rockwell 112.
I enjoyed the tail draggers. In my opinion, they were a little more difficult to fly only because viability was restricted during taxi, and you had to be careful not to put too much forward stick on takeoff or you could cause the prop to make contact with the runway. On the other hand, landing was a little easier than a tricycle configuration.
Hands down, the Pitts was the most fun to fly.
Thanks again, BMF
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Helijah
Written March 12, 2013Hi BMF,
"Register with FlightGear" ? I'm not sure of my translation, but there is no need registration for to retrieve and use FlightGear. FlightGear is open source :). Totally free. Sources are available to all and everybody can use this simulator.
Regards Emmanuel
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Hey @helijah does FlightGear work well with joysticks? I've tried with mouse control but it's a real pain, maybe I can get a joystick and get a better experience out of it :)
Also I think posting in-game screenshots would work really well for your Blend Swap preview images ;)