Consolidated PBY-6A Fire fighter/water bomber & civil PBYs

PBY Tanker Water drop

Good morning Shessi, Good Morning Mick,

woke uo at 01:30 instead 03:15 - I must be at work at 06:00.
This Tanker is hunting me
I will understand if Shessi is bored or tired with my demands,
I will also understand if mick isn' t interested by my panels as they are not in the right format
for him.
I' m a bit sad about that with this plane Shessi did a lot of work on not to come to really good solution with the systems to work.
I had a look in my hangars what I hae as fire fighters and there are the Canadair Cl 215, and the Cl 215Vo7 and the Grumman F7F tanker.
On the Cl 215V07 the authors have pushed so far that there are modelled scopes to scope water again hovering at low level over the sea. And so refilling the tanks
I tried to implement this system - it shuts my engines down! grrrr
Easier is the system on the Grumman F7F tanker: it uses the front and back door (shift+E+1 and shift+E+2), the doors open and droping instantly red fire retardant - and as ou will see looking at the fuel management empties the concerned fuel (water) tanks.
There is a gauge in the panel.cfg called "F7F!keys". I believe that instead front and rear door it might be possible to make the the rhings so that front and rear door will side by side instead one after the other. Before I try to explain perhaps it would be interesting to have a look on this plane
What is enraging me is that I do not have the knowledge nore the tools to make the needed changes on the model.
I have know six days of working on my job - and than two weeks of hollydays - where are my wife, my cats my son but no pc and no flightsim. hollydays pure !
I' m a bit sad not to be able to furnish a good and satisfying solution from my side.
Yours
Papi
 
The film Alays from Spielberg

Hi,

I can only recommand this film!
Beause the flying scenes are really well done and the stoy is as like a modern tale
I felt behind all that only some one as Spielberg who himself is a private pilots can do such a film.
realy very very nice
sadly I do not have the film
Yours
Papi
 
PBY Tanker texture problem

Hi Shessi, Mick,

just before toleave to go to work,
here a texture problem:
it seems that at the midbody section the left texture covers over the right side texture
seethe joined pic
Yours
Papi
 
michaelvader said:
Hi,
I can only recommand this film!
Beause the flying scenes are really well done and the stoy is as like a modern tale
I felt behind all that only some one as Spielberg who himself is a private pilots can do such a film.
realy very very nice
sadly I do not have the film
Yours
Papi
Click to expand...

"Always" is a remake of an old film called "A Guy Named Joe" that starred Spencer Tracy. It was made in 1943 and was set in a USAAF P-38 squadron. The writers of "Always" changed the P-38s to fire tankers and changed the war to modern forest fire fighting. And of course, they made Holly Hunter's character a woman. Spielberg didn't write "Always," but his direction certainly gave the film its flavor and impact. I haven't watched it for a long time, but it's one of my favorite aviation movies.

I saw "A Guy Named Joe" once, many years ago, and I wasn't impressed. I didn't like it enough to add it to my library. Spielberg told the tale much better!

"Always" is available on DVD and Blue-Ray, at least here in North America. But since I live in the US, when I look for it in Google Shopping, Mr. Google finds for me examples coded for Region 1. But since Spielberg and his films have international appeal, perhaps you might find it in Europe coded for Region 2. Or perhaps you have one of those DVD players like my friend has that doesn't read regional codes and will play anything...
 
PBY Tanker water drop system.

Hallo Mick,
Hallo Shessi,
I came home frome work at 15:30 (Time at munich)and directly sat down and started the PC.
Than I searched about the water drop effect to appear when I push the engines over 1500 rpm when on the ground or even water.
12 cigaretes later I' m very close to the solutions
At first I tried out the original ALPHASIM Catalina with their original panels just added in the aircraft.cfg the smokesystem= the effect did appear. Also with shessies 100% original ac.
hmmmm - so it seems to me that this phenomene did not come from my panel
Allright, But I want to drop water, or retardant.
So I used the old system from IRIS P-40's effect controller.
The retardant is now a light and controlled via the brakes trigger, but only when the aircraft is airborne.
allright that works
Now to control the system: you can hit the tail hook key or (for you Mick it works also on the VC, the gauge is tiny but you see the buttons) the left button to open the water drop doors. Than you hit the right button on the gauge, you drop the water and the water gauges fall down to empty. As often you will hit the right button of the gauge you get the retardant to drop.
If you use only the brakes trigger the tanks will not empty! you must almost click on the gauge to have the tanks to get empty.
One time you dropped your charge for the moment the system is tilted, Even if you refill the tanks it will not allow you second drop.
Tomorrow I will try if it might be possible to refill the tanks via the airport refueling systems and so to allow to fly another mission.
Now I feel like getting out the washing maschine - I must take a sleep - tomorrow morning the night ends for me at 03:15 h time frome here.
Yours
Papi
 
A Guy Named Joe

Hi Mick,
before going to bed I had a very fast look on you tube -
oh I do agree and understand why you prefer the tale as shown by Spielberg !!!
LOL
Yours
Papi doing zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz now
 
PBV Tanker, 2d panel and water drop systems

Good morning Mick,
Godd morning Shessi,

so yesterday after work I made a good step forward with the panel.
For the repaint - I hope that from the screenshot I posted you can see what happens and you can tell me
if there is a solution for the problem.
This evening I will have a bit more time to spend on the bird as tomorrow I have to work from 14:00 to 22:00,
so I gain some hours.
Now a two big Questions to Mick did you experiance problems when you installed the smokesysten into your Cat?
When not how did you? because I wonder if these problems I have do not come from a bug in my sim.
It does not appear on other planes.
Now the perhaps interesting Question for you Mick: are you interested that I try to male a 2D panel in 1024X768
resolution? If you want it I will try to do it but I cannot promise that it will work .
Also I will see to reduce the different gauge sources using more the original PBY gauges - I will see.
Greatest problem: time As my deadline will be monday as tues day I will be at home in brittany for two weeks and no pc no sime - hollydays pure with familly and miau miau cats
Yours
Papi
 
PBY evolutions

Hi zswobbie1,
of course I cannot speak for Shessi, nore for Mick,
but from my side it apears to make a suitable panel for the PBY is not so easy
as I thought when I had the idea to make it.
All the long its life the cockpits did a continious evolutions. Than as the Catalina was not build by one specific factory
and in different countries there came also differencies.
I was astonished when searching about photos or manuals how many variants with so different equipments were used.
So I try to find the best functional compromiss. Than comes different duties, as warfare bird dropping torpedoes or bombs or here in this case water and retardant. All should be operational as possible.
Shessi did a super work with the evolutions of the PBY he do them for us as freeware and he goes a lot further on as the commercial ones who released this bird. We should thank him a lot for that. Also Mick who spends a lot of time to
give these birds adequate paints.
And all that for FS2004 - that most "great creators" do completly ignore now.
Just about four and a half hour to work and I will return to the PBY - - -
Yours
Papi
 
michaelvader said:
...Now a two big Questions to Mick did you experiance problems when you installed the smokesysten into your Cat?
When not how did you? because I wonder if these problems I have do not come from a bug in my sim.
It does not appear on other planes.
Now the perhaps interesting Question for you Mick: are you interested that I try to male a 2D panel in 1024X768
resolution? If you want it I will try to do it but I cannot promise that it will work ...
Yours
Papi
Click to expand...

For the water drop, I just added the water drop effect to the [smokesystem] section like I would add a smoke effect, as it has been done in other fire bomber models. I use all zeroes for the coordinates since the water drop doors are close to the centerline, close to the model's center, and the vertical setting doesn't work in FS9 When I want to drop water I will use the tail hook command to open the drop doors and the smoke command to drop the water.

I'm using an effect that I don't really care for but it's the best I have. A better one has been suggested but I don't have that one. I hope better than what I have will be included when the water bomber is released. I have at least one slurry effect that works nicely, perhaps the one shown in your screen shot, but PBY tankers were water bombers and I don't think they ever carried slurry. They filled their tanks by skimming lakes, scooping up water, like in the opening sequence of Always, not by filling up with slurry from a truck at the airport.

Thank you for the offer, but there's no need to make a 1024x768 panel, especially since you don't have a monitor in that aspect ratio. I'm very content with the existing panel. It would be a lot of work for you and I'm happy with what I already have.
 
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PBY water drop

Hallo Mick,
So the problem with the water drop effect that appears must be somewhere on my pc
grrrrrrrrr !!!!!
The astonishing thing is that no other aircraft does have this behaviour.
With my modified gauge it not only opens the water release doors and drops the water,
it changes also the aircraft behaviour because it is lighter than - ot "heavier" befor the drop.
Mick if you are happy with the old panel -I will have a lot to implement this gauge into the original VC.
When you makes the changes I suggest you fire fighting will be a lot more interessant.
To fly the load heavy Cat over the Riviera mountains or over Croatia will be very interesting.
And just when she drops she is like making a little "hop" upwards..
I will try to send the panel to Shessi how he indicated me to do - If it doesnt go I will post it here
Yours
Papi
 
PBY-6A repaint "wrap effect"

Mick,
as you see I tried to repaint the Cat with the color of the SECURITE CIVILE.
This repaint is on my knowledge purely fictious as the SECURITE CIVILE never did use the Cat.
Only it's forecomer the Protection Civile and their Cats never has been in yellow dress.
Now the problem:
the left side is allright, but on the right side it is as the left texture side wraps over to the right side.
When I'm at home towards 23:00 I will send a screenshot to schow what I mean.
Yours
Papi
 
michaelvader said:
Mick,
as you see I tried to repaint the Cat with the color of the SECURITE CIVILE.
This repaint is on my knowledge purely fictious as the SECURITE CIVILE never did use the Cat.
Only it's forecomer the Protection Civile and their Cats never has been in yellow dress.
Now the problem:
the left side is allright, but on the right side it is as the left texture side wraps over to the right side.
When I'm at home towards 23:00 I will send a screenshot to schow what I mean.
Yours
Papi
Click to expand...

I saw your screenies in earlier posts so I know what you mean. I hadn't run into the problem myself because I haven't painted any skins that have markings on that part of the plane.

It's a mapping issue. Those old AlphaSims model have plenty of mapping issues! You'll see some when you look at the tail markings on any of my skins on the model in the sim, then look at the tail textures and see how different they look!

There's another one that you'll see if you look at the nose of the plane with your Calypso skin. If you look at the little cover over the bomb aimer's window, you'll see that it's different colors on the right and the left halves. It can't be fixed in the textures without making a more visible error elsewhere.

Maybe Mark can fix the fuselage sides, or maybe not. Some of these mapping issues have been fixable and some not. Mostly not, it seems. I would be very annoyed if I bought the plane, but since AlphaSims gave it away for free, I'm happy to have it.
 
PBY textures

Good evening Mick,
just came home from the job and hop to the pc and working on the Cat.
I hope also that Shessi can do something about the mapping.
I agree tataly with you - I' m also glad to have this good old Cat from Alpha.
Even its issues I clarly prefer it to Mike Stone's one. So far you know me I cannot
feel happy with this old "cartoon like" panel. Also it is a real gimmick their switch to change grom MAP to RPM
Womder how they came to this idea. In fact it was the first thing that pushed me to make a new panel.
I would like to know a pilot who did fly this bird to hae some infos about the flight dynamics.
I believe her not to feel "heavy" enough But all in all I love her and with the lot of work Shessi did put in her
she is a fine girl.
I will search if the french"pelikan" Cats has been -5A or -6A. I almost did that real repaint for the -5A but would it work for the -6A will ne another challenge.
Yours
Papi
 
PBY-6A California Water Bomber

Hallo Mick,

what do you think about,
certainly not perfect and a bit tricky to do
Yours
Papi
 
PBY-6A Tanker original panel mods and effects

Hallo Mick,
I will try to send you the panel modifications (of course for you in 1024X768) of the original panel
I did two very minor mods, just changed the engine gauges and added my waterdrop gauge - also you will have these mods
on the VC.
Also included the needed three four gauges, effects and the california Ater Bomber texture
Yours
Papi
 
Looking good... So, do I take a new install of the 6A & put in the 2 new panel & texture downloads?
Should I delete the sections of the aircraft.cfg that refer to the SC, white & silver paints?
 
michaelvader said:
Hallo Mick,

what do you think about,
certainly not perfect and a bit tricky to do
Yours
Papi
Click to expand...

Hi Papi,

Is that a PBY-6A dressed up as a -5A?

Except for the tanker number on the tail, 114 instead of 115, and a digit of the registration number, it looks like the skin that came with the original AlphaSims PBY-5a depicted Airborn Fire Attack's "California Water Bomber," which really was a -5A. That plane crashed in 1997 and was replaced by a -6A that wore the same tanker number and had a registration number that was different by only one digit, but none of the company titles or airplane name..

None of the photos I )or Mr. Google) could find of the -6A had the company titles of the "California Water Bomber" name. The only image Mr. Google could find for me of the -6A with the company name and plane name was a screen shot of a skin someone painted for an FSX model. The lack of photos pf a real -6A in those markings strongly implies that the FSX skin is fictional. I suspect that the painter just changed the tanker number to make it look like a different plane. I think the clincher is that (s)he didn't change the registration - the -6A skin has the same registration number as the real -5A, N322FA.

For myself, I will keep the -6A skin that matches all the photos. They show the real Airbprne Fire Attack -6A as it looked for at least some of the time when flown by Airborne Fire Attack and as it certainly has looked since then, in the fleet of the Commemorative Air Force. I'll keep the "California Water Bomber" livery on the -5A model, which is the only real PBY version that I believe wore those markings.
 
michaelvader said:
Hallo Mick,
I will try to send you the panel modifications (of course for you in 1024X768) of the original panel
I did two very minor mods, just changed the engine gauges and added my waterdrop gauge - also you will have these mods
on the VC.
Also included the needed three four gauges, effects and the california Ater Bomber texture
Yours
Papi
Click to expand...

Thanks Papi,

I'll check out your panel, although I'm quite happy with the existing one. I don't need the drop doors or water drop commands on the panel because I would be in Spot view when dropping water, so I would use the keyboard commands.

I don't need the California Water Bomber skin because I already have the California Water Bomber skin on the -5A, which is the version that really wore that livery. I'm pretty certain that those markings are fictional for a -6A, as explained in my other post. As I wrote there, the only image Google could find of a -6A in those markings was a screenshot of an FSX skin, none of a real -6A.
 
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