Freeware Fairchild FC-2W2

Welcome James

I had no problem putting it in GW3. when it did not give me a destination folder, I clicked Back and it had the destination folder shown with a Browse option, which I chose and directed the Fairchild install to a Temp folder I keep in My Documents. From there I could manually install The Fairchild to any or all FSs I have.

Thanks very much, it's a beautiful model. :applause:

Caz
 
wombat666 said:
James,
First things first, welcome to the 'Outhouse'.
As for the installer, some of us hate them with a passion and some love them.
Don't sweat it!
But we do like your Fairchild(s) and will happily keep on looking out for the next installment!
Click to expand...

Hello James,

I second the welcome! :ernae:

First, thank you for the Fairchild series! :applause:

I'm not the only one to have trouble with the faulty installer (apparently only in the first release.) Others did, and more would have if not for the warning and suggestions in this thread.

As it turns out, I was able to work around the issue and discover what gauges and effects were included. The original installation did in fact overwrite a couple of effects and gauges in my FS9. Hopefully no harm was done; probably not...

I have never understood why anyone would go to the trouble of setting up one of those installers when the majority of those who download the model will work around the installer by aiming it at a temporary folder. It just makes extra work for everyone, introduces the risk of problems, and offers no benefit. If someone doesn't care about the risk of overwriting existing files, they can just aim a regular zip file at their FS9 folder and have the same result as an installer.

Anyway, at least the second and apparently subsequent releases have the installer set up to offer the option of installing to a temporary folder.

Installer gripes aside, thanks again for the planes!
 
a tidbit of history...
"Much of the work to open up Canada᾿s north in the 1920s and 1930s was performed by Fairchild FC-2s, 2Ws, and 2W-2s. FC-2W-2s flew Canada’s first international passenger service between Montreal and New York. In 1928, two Canadian FC-2W-2s were the first to reach the Junkers W.33 Bremen, which had crashed in the Strait of Belle Isle after the first east-to-west trans-Atlantic flight. The Fairchild’s wings fold back for convenient storage, which meant that in the Arctic the airplane could be put undercover with a small snowfence and a tarpaulin."
http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/artifacts/aircraft/FairchildFC-2W-2/

Rob
 
srgalahad said:
a tidbit of history...
"Much of the work to open up Canada᾿s north in the 1920s and 1930s was performed by Fairchild FC-2s, 2Ws, and 2W-2s. FC-2W-2s flew Canada’s first international passenger service between Montreal and New York. In 1928, two Canadian FC-2W-2s were the first to reach the Junkers W.33 Bremen, which had crashed in the Strait of Belle Isle after the first east-to-west trans-Atlantic flight. The Fairchild’s wings fold back for convenient storage, which meant that in the Arctic the airplane could be put undercover with a small snowfence and a tarpaulin."
http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/artifacts/aircraft/FairchildFC-2W-2/

Rob
Click to expand...

Nice piece of history Rob. :medals:

Now that James is over here, perhaps we can entice him in doing a Paint Kit? Lots of those airplanes used in the US too. :d:applause:

Caz
 
Cazzie said:
Nice piece of history Rob. :medals:

Now that James is over here, perhaps we can entice him in doing a Paint Kit? Lots of those airplanes used in the US too. :d:applause:

Caz
Click to expand...

Caz; aside from a few simple models, this is my first major FS project. So, I need to learn how to make a paint kit. :jump:

I delibrately tried to make the texturing as simple and basic as possible. The only decal I use is for the n-number; and there are only two texture files for the exterior; named byrd.bmp and byrd wings.bmp. (Parts that they do not have in common, such as the floats, are in a seperate texture file.)

In addition, these two files are the same throughout the entire project. So, these two textures file can be used with all four FC-2W2 models (camera (byrd) plane on wheels, camera plane on skis, passenger, and floatplane), the Fairchild 71, the FC-2, and the modernized Fairchild 71. So, you can create a texture file, then experiment and see which of the Fairchild models you think it works best with. (There is quite a bit of variation among individual planes; probably as some were rebuilt over the years. I have yet to see two instrument panels that are alike.)

The top and right wings have seperate textures, so you can add the Canadian registration numbers that span the top of the wings. I tried to label some areas that were not obvious; but the meantime, I think it will be straightfoward to figure the texture files out and retexture.

I know there are some great texture artists out there; the ones I am including are just there to inspire them. :mixedsmi:
 
Well, if that is your fist, I certainly hope it is not your last, because it is terrific. :applause:

That's one reason I like Ted Cook's aircraft so much, all of the texture features are in the model and the textures are so easy to paint.

I shall transfer the existing textures over to Photoshop via Martin Wright's DXTBitmap, save them in a Photoshop .psd format for layers and have a go.:d:ernae:

Caz
 
jhefner said:
Greetings;
My name is James Hefner. I am the creator of the "Early Fairchild Series."
Click to expand...

James, I can't tell you how long I have wanted the FC-2/F-51/F-71 series for FS2004 (I almost considered getting into model design myself just to make it happen). This pioneering bush plane seemed a logical step in celebration of "A Century of Flight", and you have filled this void.

I can't wait to try out each model. Thank you to you and your team.
 
One of the many airlines who bought Fairchilds as their first plane to carry mail and passengers was LAN of Chile. They first bought 8 Fairchild FC-2s in 1929, and numbered them 1-8. Later, they purchased a FC-2W2, and numbered it 9; it was lost in accident in 1933, and the FC-2s were either written off in accidents or retired by then as well.

Looking for a replacement for the FC-2s with their underpowered Wright engines in 1933; LAN could not afford in the Great Depression era to purchase new aircraft from Fairchild or Ford. So, they decided to build what amounted to a Fairchild "clone":

Wing Span: 13.40 meters (44 feet)
Length: 9.55 meters (31 feet)
Height: 2.70 meters (9 feet)
Passenger: 5 seats, including pilot
Engine: P & W WASP C, 420 hp at 2,000 rpm
Propeller: Hamilton, by the way adjustable
Max. permissible: 2105 kg
Empty Weight: 1.380 kg, including water
Full weight of fuel and oil ponds: 280 Kg

They had slightly larger cabins than the Fairchilds, non-folding wings, and a cowl ring on the engine. A total of 5 were built; they were numbered 15-19.

On February 24, 1939, #18 was on a flight from Iquique to Arica with the pilot, Luis Carmona Lopehandía; a passenger, and cargo. About a half hour into the flight, the engine began to lose power. The pilot managed to regain a little altitude by adjusting the mixture; only to die out a few minutes later. Lopehandia decided to deviate east, and crash landed on the Pampa de Chiza. Both survived the wreck; a plane dropped a bag of food the next day, and they were rescued the following day.

The wreckage of the plane was then forgotton until it was rediscovered in 2006. An army helicopter then airlifted out the remains; which are now on display in the National Air Museum in Chile.

There is webpage about all of this; it is in Spanish; the following link is a translation:

http://74.125.93.104/translate_c?hl...e.html&usg=ALkJrhjSVHQ_7ds5ne4f2lt5mbGkM09dOw

I went searching for it with Goggle Earth; while I am not at all certain this is it; it sure looks like it:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...746&spn=0.002488,0.003433&t=h&z=18&iwloc=addr

The FC-2 model will probably be ready this evening. It will include a texture for LAN #6 as well as the American Airways plane on display in the EAA Airventures museum in Oshkosh. The picture I shared earlier shows LAN #6, flying over the Pampa de Chiza where LAN #18 was lost.



Now that I know where it might have been; I think it would be fun to compile a "busted up" Fairchild as scenery, and place it at this location.

-James
 
Anybody else having this problem? After flying for a couple of minutes, the fuel and oil temperature gauges drop to minimum, and I lose all lights on the aircraft. In addition, I lose all capability to contact ATC. I have checked over the configuration files, but have not seen anything out of place that would cause this. Other than that, this is a super model!
 
Call the Energizer Bunny!! those Duracells just won't hold up.!

Without installing the model ( those dang 24 hour days are just too short) I'd guess that you're generator isn't on or there's a loose wire. Has it got a Gen. switch?

Rob
 
srgalahad said:
Call the Energizer Bunny!! those Duracells just won't hold up.!

Without installing the model ( those dang 24 hour days are just too short) I'd guess that you're generator isn't on or there's a loose wire. Has it got a Gen. switch?

Rob
Click to expand...

No, there's no generator switch that I can see, but I took your idea one step further. It seems when the model is loaded up, it automatically detects an electrical system failure (set from 0 to 5 minutes). Unchecking that box does nothing for it, it still fails. If I change to a different model, unchecking it still reproduces the failure. If I arm the failure for a time that is longer than my planned flight time, then it seems to work ok...

I'm ok with this workaround, but it seems that there is a conflict going on somewhere and I'm guessing it has something to do with my set-up.

James
 
Just wanted to mention that Fairchild 71 has been up at many download sites; the FC-2 was uploaded to flightsim.com last night, and will be uploaded to the others as soon as Hunter finishes the install setup.

For those of you who dislike install packages; the Fairchild 71 and FC-2 uploads on flightsim.com are plain old .zip files with no install. The uploads at the other sites have the install program.

There will be more coming in the Early Fairchild Series in the near future; it will just take a little longer to get the next parts out. Thank you all for your kind words and your support. Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Flying! :wavey:

-James Hefner
 
bull494 said:
No, there's no generator switch that I can see, but I took your idea one step further. It seems when the model is loaded up, it automatically detects an electrical system failure (set from 0 to 5 minutes). Unchecking that box does nothing for it, it still fails. If I change to a different model, unchecking it still reproduces the failure. If I arm the failure for a time that is longer than my planned flight time, then it seems to work ok...

I'm ok with this workaround, but it seems that there is a conflict going on somewhere and I'm guessing it has something to do with my set-up.

James
Click to expand...

James, I don't know what is causing this. During the development of the project; there was one point where if I flew long enough, the plane would suddenly lose it's trim settings and start diving. That problem disappeared as Jim continued to refine the flight dynamics.

A user has reported that it flies tail high in his sim. The plane was built with the datum line and CG intersecting at 0,0,0 in gmax, and at the correct attitude. So once again, I am at loss to explain it.

These all do seem to be related the plane's loading. But that is the only common thread I can see. There are no "failure modes" built into any of these planes; in real life, they were quite rugged and flew with a minimum of fuss.

-James Hefner
 
James, thanks again for the fine models.

Now that I've looked them over I can definitely say they were worth the hassle I had with the installer in the first release.

Still, another thank you for releasing the latest plane in a non-installer version!
 
Has nobody else noticed this? Or have I just missed seeing it mentioned...?

The panel background shared by all the versions released so far seems to show the engine cylinders and exhaust manifold encased in snow and ice. This is probably not very realistic. Even the Byrd plane, which probably was encased in snow and ice, must have melted them off as soon as the engine was started.

I can paint airplanes but I'm not any good at creating panel backgrounds. Do we have a panel artist who might be willing to melt the snow and ice off the powerplants of these fine airplanes?
 
would if I could, but snow and ice don't last long enough down here in Mexico for me to paint over them :costumes:
If it ain't beat by mid Dec when I get home I'll take a crack... until then, James, thanks for a true classic!

Rob
 
Hey James, thanks for the input! I am going to try a few new ideas I've come up with. I'm still assuming that it is my set-up, so I am confident that I will find the cause and get it corrected. I look forward to the rest of your series; what you have so far is VERY NICE.

James
 
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