Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.
I'd like to keep this discussion focused on what X-Planes are available - payware, freeware or donationware, whatever. I don't see the need to discuss motivation or incentives. Frankly, I don't wish to second guess any developer on what they choose to create.There's a surprising lot of payware developers left for such a statement.
As for the rest:
Sorry Pam, I don't buy it. Especially not as a "community service".
For freeware, there has to be a personal interest in the aircraft to invest hundreds of hours into a rendition of it, otherwise it's wasted time. For payware, it has to be a mix of interest and market potential. If that's not the case, there'll be no flight simulator rendition.
And, frankly, I am and probably always will be at a loss why the "community" constantly fails to understand this.

I'd like to keep this discussion focused on what X-Planes are available - payware, freeware or donationware, whatever. I don't see the need to discuss motivation or incentives. Frankly, I don't wish to second guess any developer on what they choose to create.![]()
3. Bristol 188 (Bristol B-188) , Stainless Steel designed for flight to Mach 3 , did 51 flights reached M 1.88 . ( File fsx_bristol_b188_updated.zip )
Unfortunately , as with many British projects was cancelled prematurely due to bureaucratic incompetance / sabotage by MOD .
Not true. The Wiki article on the aircraft highlights some substantial drawbacks (first and foremost the engines) that made attaining the original goal of Mach 3 very difficult, time consuming and expensive.
Despite that, the program did yield some results that were incoporated into the Concorde.
Concorde Wing data derived from the Fairey Delta aircraft , it's engine was a derivative of that being developed for the 188 .
The 188 was a bomber precurser or test vehicle .
The engine development problem was known all along , the engine nacelles were designed with an allowance for differing sized engines .
The engine development situation was known and that it would require time to have sufficient power to get to the required test regime .
Essentially the whole exercise was a waste of time , effort , and money due to it being killed off prematurely , the high speed heat area
requires speeds of M 2.5 or greater , and that speed to be maintained for a reasonable amount of time to heat soak the airframe .
The heat soak is what necessitated the Stainless Steel , ordinary aluminium can tolerate up to about M 2.2 to M 2.5 .
The 188 was designed to conduct speed and heat data for a future bomber , not the Concorde , that research was never achieved due to
it's premature cancellation .
While the recent concensus was that speeds of M 2.5 were impractical due to turn radius at those speeds , it has now dawned on the military
that the only way to get through to target areas in the near future is with hypersonic speeds ie; M 5.0 + , and consequently there is a massive
scramble currently being undertaken by both sides to develop and field such vehicles .
Would love to see someone tackle the Thunderscreech....![]()