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Glowing Heat B-58 Hustler for FSX on Flightsim Store!!!

Just got it and made a quick 3 circuit flight. First impressions: The exterior and texturing is nice and yes, a noticeable jump over the original FS9 model. The animations look very good and the afterburners seem to be a combination of both built in(3d textures) and a flame plume particle effect. The sound file is the same as the original as is the FDE. The sound file is acceptable and quite loud in FSX and seems without any anomalies but I use my SSW F-104S sound file which is extremely good in the B-58. The VC is well done and an obvious improvement over the original. Criticisms? I won't use the word "criticism" but rather what I think could be tweaked. First, the VC textures are a bit too clean & not "baked" so to speak and there are some slightly blurry parts around the seat cushion/escape pod interior and the interior of the egress hatch. This may not be a big deal to some and it's not glaring but certainly might stand either a later update or the touch of a texture artist baking/dirtying up the VC a bit while sharpening. The only other issue, the FDE is a bit antiquated by today's FDE standards. When I updated the old FS9 version to FSX, I edited the airfile with AAM to get a better ground effect setting so the B-58 would settle on the runway at touchdown without any floating characteristics or bouncing if the rate of descent is within proper numbers for landing. Second, added a flight tuning section mainly to do a quick adjust to the drag as with this FDE as the model seems to accelerate way too fast. Lastly, I noticed the afterburners kick in at a very low throttle setting so I changed the threshold to 90%(not sure if this is 100% accurate but it seems better now). As I said, tweaks are something this model can use but otherwise, it is one I highly recommend and it is priced very nicely!
 
Quick note, I just ran multiple tests with the minor FDE/Config tweaks, it worked perfectly! If the author is okay with it, I will gladly share it here.
 
StormILM said:
Just got it and made a quick 3 circuit flight. First impressions: The exterior and texturing is nice and yes, a noticeable jump over the original FS9 model. The animations look very good and the afterburners seem to be a combination of both built in(3d textures) and a flame plume particle effect. The sound file is the same as the original as is the FDE. The sound file is acceptable and quite loud in FSX and seems without any anomalies but I use my SSW F-104S sound file which is extremely good in the B-58. The VC is well done and an obvious improvement over the original. Criticisms? I won't use the word "criticism" but rather what I think could be tweaked. First, the VC textures are a bit too clean & not "baked" so to speak and there are some slightly blurry parts around the seat cushion/escape pod interior and the interior of the egress hatch. This may not be a big deal to some and it's not glaring but certainly might stand either a later update or the touch of a texture artist baking/dirtying up the VC a bit while sharpening. The only other issue, the FDE is a bit antiquated by today's FDE standards. When I updated the old FS9 version to FSX, I edited the airfile with AAM to get a better ground effect setting so the B-58 would settle on the runway at touchdown without any floating characteristics or bouncing if the rate of descent is within proper numbers for landing. Second, added a flight tuning section mainly to do a quick adjust to the drag as with this FDE as the model seems to accelerate way too fast. Lastly, I noticed the afterburners kick in at a very low throttle setting so I changed the threshold to 90%(not sure if this is 100% accurate but it seems better now). As I said, tweaks are something this model can use but otherwise, it is one I highly recommend and it is priced very nicely!
Click to expand...

Hi Storm ILN, Please count me in for any tweaks that you are using. I just love this bird and would love nothing better than to "get it right." I downloaded the new model this morning and have a similar review of the model as you. Skip
 
skipph said:
Hi Storm ILN, Please count me in for any tweaks that you are using. I just love this bird and would love nothing better than to "get it right." I downloaded the new model this morning and have a similar review of the model as you. Skip
Click to expand...

Hi Storm,

No problem with you sharing the tweaks in this thread so long as I can include them on my forum too?
 
B-58 tweaks

Okay, here is a zip of the B-58 Tweaks. Be sure to back up your original files first. be advised that for protecting certain copyright aspects of the config file, this zip includes just the FDE (which I modified) and the aircraft config file sections which were modified.

View attachment 5594
 
StormILM said:
Okay, here is a zip of the B-58 Tweaks. Be sure to back up your original files first. be advised that for protecting certain copyright aspects of the config file, this zip includes just the FDE (which I modified) and the aircraft config file sections which were modified.

View attachment 5594
Click to expand...

Thanks Storm! I made a few changes to the smoke and the AB effects. Went with the old AlphaSim F104 AB. And added CS 727 smoke effects. The AB now sparkles and looks more transparent in the exhaust nozzle. I think there may be some missing rivets on the outer nacelles, but don't accuse me of rivet counting! It's a lovely model and no purchase regrets. Good reflectivity on the metal. Worked in DX10, but no smoke effect in DX10 that I could see. The model actually looks better in DX9 to my eyes. Great set of versions. I like Snoopy and the trainers. Yes, indeed, it would be wonderful to create a virtual cockpit up to par with Razbam or Milviz.

d
 
Very nice bird! It´s a beast that goes to FL500 in seconds. And the J79 roar in my THX woofer almost managed to destroy my marriage. My wife still looks at me with an ugly face right now...
Watch out for the fuel. This guy drinks more than a V8 hotrod. I can confirm the "too early" AB effect here too.

dUo6j.jpg




@centuryseries: Thanks man. Nice work!
@StormILM: Thanks for the tweaks!
 
Storm ILM, For people like me who do not know how to open this file once downloaded, could you offer another version or maybe a clue on how to open. Sorry to be so numb. Skip


Edit;







got it !!! Thanks
 
skipph said:
Storm ILM, For people like me who do not know how to open this file once downloaded, could you offer another version or maybe a clue on how to open. Sorry to be so numb. Skip


Edit;
got it !!! Thanks
Click to expand...

In case any of you are wondering where the two component pod is, there is a pod selector switch on the right hand side of the cockpit level with the side of the seat which can be used to select:

Single Pod
Two Component Pod
Two Component Pod with bombs
And for the Prototype, it rotates once more for the Air Launched Ballistic missile model, and the ARDC J93 engine test bed model. Both are essentially extras thrown in.
 
Hello everyone, just wanted to make a quick clarification of the throttle settings modification(afterburner threshold) that I made & posted. Upon making my first flight, almost immediately I noticed that with my Saitek X52, the afterburners would engage at around 1/4 + forward throttle movement(or around the first soft detent in the throttle. For me the problem this presented was that the MIL Power and Idle Power range bands were so narrow that it was very hard to find and maintain a stable thrust condition for slower flight regimes. As mentioned before, in the aircraft config file, the Afterburner Threshold was set in all zero numbers and I changed that to 90%. Here is why: after studying some B-58 training videos including a B-58 pilot giving a virtual tour of the cockpit, the throttle quadrant is fairly complex and it has a fairly long movement range to engage/maintain different settings on the B-58's J-79 engines which includes the following range of adjustments to the engine state: Off(fuel cutoff), Idle, MIL(Military Power), Minimum/Maximum Afterburner(which are multiple afterburner zones), and Overspeed(106% Thrust). On the real B-58 throttle quadrant, there is an index line(see the below photo) at roughly the top of the first 1/3rd of the throttle movement arc. To set desired throttle/engine settings, the index marks on the quadrant correspond with the vertically aligned text placards on each of the 4 throttle lever slots giving visual indication of the throttle/engine settings. To make a point where there seems to be a problem(at least for my X52's calibration/movement range), the FSX manual lists the MIL power setting(100% thrust/non-afterburning) to be at 28% throttle setting but the image diagram in the FSX manual shows the throttle levers in this range(MIL power) to be below where the Index Mark should be(which isn't painted on the FSX model's throttle quadrant). On the real B-58, for MIL power setting, the throttle levers would be forward past the Index mark to where the Index Mark will align with the MIL markings in the lever slots below the throttle levers(the levers should be at roughly the halfway point in the throttle movement arc). For Afterburner/Overspeed range, the settings should correspond with the Index Mark in the same manner. My change to the Afterburner Threshold percentage gave me the ability get afterburner engagement within more realistic/expected ranges of throttle movement. This being said, you can adjust the threshold percentage to better match your FSX throttle hardware movement(example: 80%, 85%, 90%, etc). I think its important to note that with any given FSX throttle controller and any given FSX model, there may be some differences between the virtual/actual movement that perhaps may not realistically correspond with RW control/throttle movements. Anyhow, I hope this sheds light on why I made those adjustments.
View attachment 5627
 
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