FA08 - Polk City - Fantasy of Flight - Development update

[Bomber_12th]

Dimus, it is just getting more and more incredible by the moment! The work you're doing is just superb, and so highly appreciated! As I've mentioned to you before, I've been longing for something like this since the earliest days of FS2004, and I could have never imagined someone doing such an excellent job recreating this airfield/museum. I love all of the details you have added into the "backlot" areas, and it is awesome that the airfield will be complete with the water features! Thank you too for continuing to share images of the progress!

Also, great news regarding the use of Manfred's Connie! It is a superb model, and it already looks great as part of the scenery.

 

[Francois]

Haven't had time to visit the forums for a while..... and then upon return I find this !!

Awesome! I've visited FoF a few times and it is the source of our Fieseler Storch of course! Looks amazing ! I mostly made pictures of what's INSIDE, so cant help you. But by the looks of it, you don't need any help .... LOL !

Wonderful stuff... will make sure Kermit sees it too ! He'll love it !

 

[Dimus]

Thanks guys! I've learned a lot of things in the process and I enjoy it. It is a great subject, as all the objects that I model are so fun and beautiful in their art-deco style. My concern is the FPS hit due to all the details but I do my best to minimize it. It is good that a lot of textures are shared between the buildings.

Actually, Francois, I must say that I have been contacted by the company who handles the social media for FoF and Kermit Weeks. Its president has offered me valuable assistance in the way of providing pictures from angles I did not have and other information. I understand that Kermit might have already seen some of the initial pictures of it. I have not mentioned this so far to not create a fuss and great expectations. Now that it has progressed past the major hurdles, I am confident that I can finish it.

More to come soon...

 

[Francois]

Cool. If you need any 'inside' contacts to the PR people at FoF itself, let me know.

 

[Dimus]

Connie paint adjusted to resemble the FoF craft. Registration is also correct:

This is indeed a great model. Thanks again Manfred!

 

[TeiscoDelRay]

Great job on this! I would not worry about frame rates too much please keep it complex and interesting.

Mr. Weeks is one lucky guy to own and fly so many great airplanes and from such a cool and interesting location. I just saw a special on hd cable about him and his planes and he flew an old Soviet biplane and the Duck around. He says the Grumman Duck is still his favorite plane.

 

[Bomber_12th]

Great job on this! I would not worry about frame rates too much please keep it complex and interesting.

Mr. Weeks is one lucky guy to own and fly so many great airplanes and from such a cool and interesting location. I just saw a special on hd cable about him and his planes and he flew an old Soviet biplane and the Duck around. He says the Grumman Duck is still his favorite plane.

Yep, "Million Dollar Collections" is the name of the show for which one of the recent episodes (originally airing several weeks back, and then again this past week) covers Weeks' collection. If you have the Velocity channel, be sure to look for it. Another great one, when it comes up on Velocity, is called "Renaissance Man", with an episode in particular called "The Engine That Won the War", which is all about the development and use of the Rolls-Royce Merlin - absolutely some of the best TV-viewing you can find.

Also, be sure to check out all of the videos that continue to be uploaded at the Fantasy of Flight Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/FantasyOfFlight

And if you are on Facebook, you can follow Kermit Weeks and/or the Fantasy of Flight museum through their individual Facebook pages.

 

[Dimus]

Great job on this! I would not worry about frame rates too much please keep it complex and interesting.

OK, complex and interesting it is then:

These are going to be too many probably but I'm really proud of how this building turned out. It is good when you have good pictures to work out textures from.

Starting again from what one sees when entering the site:

Welcome to the Orlampa Conference Center, where east meets west:

The big white maintenance hangar details and as shown from across one of the water bodies:

Together with the Connie:

This building concludes the big structures. Now some more little details are left to model and then I will focus on the terrain. At the moment it is just landclass polygons, aprons and AFCAD. I'll try to see if a good photoreal background can be added.

 

[Bomber_12th]

WOW!!! This is just so cool! It's almost hard to believe that that hangar has now been modeled and in-place!

I like the various containers you've got positioned around the scenery - several aircraft have shown up to Fantasy of Flight in such containers - pulled out, and put together - shipped in from elsewhere, following restoration. There have been rumors over the years, of certain, complete aircraft, being stored at Fantasy of Flight in crates/containers, as future projects, such as a whole, complete, P-47, though I don't know about that for sure.

This is one of the aircraft that resides in the "big white hangar" (the collection's maintenance hangar): https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150702844156182.420970.62639881181&type=3

It used to be airworthy, and flown not too long ago (at least as of the 90's), but has been static for many years. Unfortunately it sounds like it will take quite a bit of work to get the aircraft flying again. It is amazingly complete throughout (and came from the Indian AF). Also currently in the white hangar (amongst many other projects) is the collection's Spitfire Mk.XVI and B-25, with both receiving attention to be brought back to flight status again. Unfortunately, despite how large the collection is, only a certain amount can be kept in flight-ready status at any given time - with aircraft which were airworthy at one time, being 'pickled' until their time to fly again is chosen. Here are some photos of the Spitfire, looking a bit tired after resting so many years since last flying: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150580863486182.404488.62639881181&type=3

 

[TeiscoDelRay]

Thanks, I think it will be much more fps friendly than some of those super complex and massive airports you can buy. But if you do slim it down please keep a complex version as well.

This is one grand job, amazing and beautiful. Thanks for the work.

 

[Dimus]

Added some more stuff tonight:

These are the areas where they have now erected those climbing and rope sliding structures. I don't thing I will be adding those. Too complicated and not so "aeronautical" imho.

The surrounding landclass is also complete. I only need to add a few more stuff and will soon start testing this for release of an initial version, using landclass and FSX textures for the ground, as is seen in the screenshots (Actually what you see in my screens for ground is GEX NA). Then I might look into adding a photoreal background, if a good one can be found.

 

[Bomber_12th]

Dimus, that is great news, and I love all of those details!

 

[Greenhouse357]

Dimus, your scenery is looking perfect! I'm glad you're not putting the climbing structures in. I understand Kermit wanting these, I just don't understand why he put them right up front...kind of takes away from the view. I took a pic of my new car (what else ) a few weeks ago there and you can see what I mean. Keep up the great work and thanks!

 

[Dimus]

Nice car there!

A short break from development due to work but expect to restart next week. Getting close now.

I am considering adding some custom traffic in this to make it more lively and the easiest that comes to mind seems to be a default DC-3/C-47 doing circuits. I would like to have one painted as the collection's C-47. I tried to find some normandy repaints for the default DC-3 but could not find any. Does anyone know if any exist, olive drab, invasion stripes and all? If not I would have to make one and include it in the package.

 

[Bomber_12th]

Dimus, besides the examples of possibilities I mentioned to you in my last e-mail (Ford Trimotor, Sikorsky S-39), Kermit will be starting to fly his Gee Bee Z very soon again (first time in about 10 years). There is a freeware FSX native Gee Bee Z by Wozza, available at Flightsim.com, that would look great doing circuits at Fantasy of Flight, filename geebeez4.zip

Here's the aircraft undergoing a recent engine run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ADpfLN3cDzQ

The collection's B-25, which I consider just as authentic as the Flying Heritage Collection's B-25 (for having everything in it, and the correct cowls/exhaust and intakes), is getting closer to flying again as well, having sat "pickled" for many years after only flying for a short time after being fully restored in the mid-late 90's (simply because there are too many aircraft in the collection, and not enough people to maintain them all at the same time, though that might be changing). There was a video recently posted to the FOF Facebook page of it having its engines run up. Also it seems that plans are being put together to get the collection's B-24 back in the air again in the future.

 

[Dimus]

Thank you John, the Gee-Bee sounds great. Perhaps I will have both buzzing around, a small one and a big one, they would make good contrast.

Any ideas about a default C-47 normady repaint? It seems I will have to make one from scratch. A repaint of the Stearman is also needed.

I am currently working on the static DC-3 that stands on the south end of the runway with the Fantasy of Flight logo under the wings.

 

[TeiscoDelRay]

How about the Duck? His favorite plane out of all of them. He flies it from a nearby lake that I think is very close to the grounds. There is a nice freeware one with a thread here.

 

[Dimus]

I thought of the Duck but it may be a bit complicated to have it take off from the lake. I'll look into it as I have Swingman's great freeware.

Meanwhile I installed the Gee Bee and buzzed the place. Art Deco overdose!!!:

Check out the signs and runway markers. I am also experimenting with some 3d grass lining on the edge of the ramp (not shown here).

It's great that Wozza includes the actual collection's paint.

 

[Bomber_12th]

I can't believe I forgot about his Duck! I think it would look just as great flying from the grass runways (which it does as well) as it would from the lake. One of the examples included by Swingman (and through Full's FSX native conversion) is the very same Duck that Kermit owns. (He also has another that has been under long-term restoration to flying condition, off-site)

With Full's conversion of the FS9 Ford Trimotor to FSX native, it too will look great (and proper) flying from Fantasy of Flight in this repaint: http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/content.php?106-Search-Results&cm=LISTFILES
which is of the very Trimotor that is in the collection and flown.

Amongst so much great work you've put into this scenery, Dimus, I love the little details of the signs (just as they really are), and having a static B-25 out on the maintenance hangar ramp, just like the collection's B-25 has been for about the last year (during the day), getting ready to fly again.

 

[Dimus]

I like the Trimotor idea! It will save me making a repaint. So I will add the Trimotor and the Bee for AI but the user will have to manually install these planes and the repaint. I will just include the flightplan bgl in my scenery folder. Thanks again John!

I finished with the DC-3, a low poly static object painted the best I could to represent the one on the south side by the fence shown in take off pose with fake spinning props and a mannequin crew member hanging on the door. At least it won't eat up your FPS: