AH F9F...any mods for it lurking about?

O

OBIO

Retired SOH Admin
I took the AH F9F-5 up for a spin out of Key West NAS....and was stunned to find that the plane handles like a bloated hog. My first take off run resulted in me bellying in shortly after going wheels up...the plane just did not want to fly. Has anyone done a flight dynamics tweak for the plane? Any skins? I will be working on the panel and effects for the plane...and working on that nearly invisible canopy glass....for some reason I feel like I did that already....must have lost it along the way.

OBIO
 
Rich Murray (Real Old Salt) did a bunch of upgrades for the AH Panther with the blessing of Aeroplane Heaven. It's been a long while since I installed them, but I believe a new FDE was part of it as well as a new panel. I've got a bunch of repaints for it as well, but couldn't say for sure who did them.

Hopefully, Rich's updates are still in the archives here.

ETA: Just checked, found it and verified that it's still there. Panel and flight model.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/page.php?lloc=downloads&loc=downloads&page=info&FileID=6714
 
Thanks Willy. The F9F is my fave early Navy jet..actually it's my favorite early US jet.

Tim
 
Thanks goodness for my external HD and the back ups I do every other week. I did tweak the canopy glass on the AH Panthers....though after just looking at it, I think I need to see if I can improve it some more. It's a bit milky looking. Someplace in the back of my brain there is a little voice telling me that there was some reason I left it like that...will have to go back into the MDL files and see what is what.

The new panel and flight dynamics by Real Old Salt....spot on! The plane is so much nice to fly and the VC panel is much more usable. Will be tweaking ROS's files a bit to add some nice effects to the plane and a GPS (my navigational skills are as non-existant as my millions of dollars).

OBIO
 
Got to thinking about it and decide to take the F9F up for a spin (some carrier launches and traps) at the default carrier off of San Francisco.

Don't know who did the paint, but "The Blue Tail Fly" is about my favorite paint scheme for the Panther. A real paint scheme, BTF came about when the original tail was damaged on metal finish Panther that was being tested in the fleet and they stuck the blue painted tail on from another damaged F9F and proceeded to fly combat missions like that. Supposedly the aircraft was redone in a standard paint scheme at the end of the cruise. But for a while it was unique in the fleet.

Externally, about all that I've done with it is to add a flame effect up the jet pipe. ROS used to work on F9Fs in the Navy and he told me once that it wasn't very realistic, but I liked it, so it stayed. If you look close on pic 3, you can see it.

On the 2d panel (pic 1), I've got a few obvious tweaks. I use the old carrier ops gauge set for catapult launches and arrested landings and they're on the 2d panel. They work great and I've seen no reason to go to anything else for carrier ops.

The VC is pretty much like ROS set it up. I only use the VC for landings so there wasn't much need in messing with it.

The only thing with the F9F with the ROS/Fliger 747 flight model that I've found is that when flown full speed, the nose shakes from side to side pretty bad. Which is why I didn't fly it for our PacRim '50s Jet race a while back. Other than that, it's great airplane to fly with added bonus of being carrier capable with right add ons.
 
The first paint I have planned for the Panther is the BTF...also my favorite Panther scheme.

I have tweaked the canopy materials on the standard Panther....not much improvement over what I had...the canopy glass is modeled weird or something...just can't get it dialed in like I can the glass on other planes. I added the IRIS heat effect, a light engine smoke effect and some nice wingtip vortex thingies when pulling more than 2 Gs.

ROS VC panel is sharp....the rest of the VC however...is far too shiny. Will tone it way way done as I do the restoration on this bird...won't be for a while..got to finish off the FSD T-38....have about 4 or 6 or 8 more skins to do for that project.

OBIO
 
OBIO

OBIO ,you made the canopy glass for the F9F visible because I asked if you could help with that. I installed the updates but lost the photo recon version ,so after I installed the updates in both the recon and standerd F9F's I lost the photorecon version so I deleted both ,reinstalled them ,then restored the standard version.
So now the standard version has the visable canopy glass and the recon version has the invisable canopy glass. What files do I replace in the recon version to make the canopy glass visable?
I should have saved the file but can't find it yet .
I know this sounds a bit complicated but it seems the update was for only the standard version and not the recon version. Thanks
 
Willy said:
Got to thinking about it and decide to take the F9F up for a spin (some carrier launches and traps) at the default carrier off of San Francisco.

Don't know who did the paint, but "The Blue Tail Fly" is about my favorite paint scheme for the Panther. A real paint scheme, BTF came about when the original tail was damaged on metal finish Panther that was being tested in the fleet and they stuck the blue painted tail on from another damaged F9F and proceeded to fly combat missions like that. Supposedly the aircraft was redone in a standard paint scheme at the end of the cruise. But for a while it was unique in the fleet.

Externally, about all that I've done with it is to add a flame effect up the jet pipe. ROS used to work on F9Fs in the Navy and he told me once that it wasn't very realistic, but I liked it, so it stayed. If you look close on pic 3, you can see it.

On the 2d panel (pic 1), I've got a few obvious tweaks. I use the old carrier ops gauge set for catapult launches and arrested landings and they're on the 2d panel. They work great and I've seen no reason to go to anything else for carrier ops.

The VC is pretty much like ROS set it up. I only use the VC for landings so there wasn't much need in messing with it.

The only thing with the F9F with the ROS/Fliger 747 flight model that I've found is that when flown full speed, the nose shakes from side to side pretty bad. Which is why I didn't fly it for our PacRim '50s Jet race a while back. Other than that, it's great airplane to fly with added bonus of being carrier capable with right add ons.
Click to expand...

Willy, didn't Yankee do that paint (Blue Tail Fly)?
 
Sorry OBIO

I'am sorry Obio ,I should have looked harder through my hundreds of backup CD's I found the canopy fix ,although the update makes the photo recon version disappear. I tried flying it with out the update and it seems to fly ok ,although I didn't have my joystick and throttle hooked up,I just used the keypads.Sorry for the inconvience.
 
Hurricane

I will be gone most of the afternoon...got to get new tires put on the van....so, this evening I will re-tweak the canopy glass in the MDL file of the Recon F9F and will send you both tweaked MDL files. When yoiu get the package, simply replace your current MODEL folders with the ones I send you and all will be set.

OBIO
 
Shades of William Holden and Mickey Rooney with his green scarf and top hat!

Like Willy, I haven't flown it in too Loooong a while. Sexy looking early jet.

I must have missed the thread about your updates OBIO. Are they for public consumption or do I need to request a private audience? :icon_lol:
 
Duckie

The mods will be public...once the total restoration is done. I can send you the tweaked MDL files as well. Right now I need to hop in the mini-van and head WAY out in the country to get some nice affordable tires put on it. Not Goodyears, but a brand that is owned by Goodyear. $65 a tire...that is tax, mounting, balancing, out the door. 50 thousand mile all-season tires. Best price going in this area.

Once I get thte FSD T-38 restoration completed, I will roll the AH F9Fs into the hangar and give it a good going over. Real Old Salt will be contacted about the use of this panel and FDE package, I will be adding nice effects, and giving the plane new paints and sharpening up the VC textures.

Tim
 
I posted a while ago asking whether Panthers really did launch and land on with the canopy open, as in "Bridges", and apparently they did in case a quick exit was called for.
 
dhasdell said:
I posted a while ago asking whether Panthers really did launch and land on with the canopy open, as in "Bridges", and apparently they did in case a quick exit was called for.
Click to expand...

This was customary throughout the history of Navy (and Marine) aviation, whether land or carrier-borne, one lands with the canopy open. Exemptions are to be noted, the Navy preferred fighter aircraft with canopies that slid back to open and close, the F-4s were not of this nature. Ditto the larger aircraft, i.e. E-2C and the vacuum jets.

Caz
 
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