Mystery Planes in FS

Mick

Mick

SOH-CM-2024
I have a little mystery that I'd like to figure out.

This evening I went to NAS Key West in FS9 for the first time, and what should I see parked on the ramp but five Grumman TBMs in mid-war (summer 1943) markings.

I have FREEflow Florida installed in "FS1954" so I thought maybe the FREEflow crew put them there.

But just to see, I booted up Golden Wings and went to NAS Key West, and there were the same five TBMs parked on the ramp. I don't have FREEflow Florida in GW, so it's the stock FS9 NAS Key West. And since it looked identical to what I saw in FS54, there don't seem to be any mods for NAS Key West in FREEflow Florida.

The TBMs can only be stock Microsoft FS9 items. (Either that, or they're Flight 19...)

Anyway, since they're there and I can't get rid of them, I thought I might at least repaint them with post-1947 insignia for FS1954 and pre-war insignia for GW.

In fact, I might even give them a coat of invisible paint, since TBMs are anachronistic for both Golden Wings and FlightSim 1954.

But I can't find the textures. I looked in both main FS9 texture folders and there's nothing there with a name anything like TBM or Navy Planes or anything like that.

Does anyone have any idea where to find the textures for these planes?

BTW, they are definitely static scenery, not AI aircraft.
 
Don't know where the textures are located at, but the Navy used TBMs for various duties up to the mid 50s.
 
Willy said:
Don't know where the textures are located at, but the Navy used TBMs for various duties up to the mid 50s.
Click to expand...

Yeah, for FS54 they wouldn't look too out of place with post-war stars and bars. But they'd still be wartime torpedo bombers, complete with ball turrets.

For Golden Wings I think I'd just paint 'em invisible.

It's not a big deal, but I tend to be a bit compulsive about stuff like this.
 
Okay, I did some quick searching and found them (pic 1). At first I was thinking this one of the easter eggs that are occasionally found in FS. Like the DC-3 planted nose first at Fantasy of Flight. It's a 1943 paint scheme by the way.

Then I went to going thru the AI to find the blimps I spotted (pic 2) which I thought I'd done as I've set up AI blimps at numerous other Naval Air Stations. While hitting Cntrl-w going thru the local AI, I also spotted this U-boat (pic 3) and this TBM flying (pic 4). The last two sealed it for me as I know that I haven't played with U-boats (and got them to work) and I use the CFS 2 TBM as AI.

I bet you've also got Bill Lyons Classic Goose package installed. They are out of that. Not only did he do the Maravellas, but he also had them in Key West as well. The U-boat and flying TBM are his for sure. I believe that Flt 19 and the some of the blimps are too.
 
What was wild was when I first spotted the U-boat, just the periscope was out of the water. It surfaced, I got the pic and then it submerged again.

The parked TBMs I believe to be static. Mrs Willy took one look at them and asked if I was at the Bermuda Triangle as there was Flight 19 :d.
 
The files that control Bill's mystery planes are Traffic_KW.bgl, Traffic_TOGM.bgl, Traffic_WC.bgl, located in scenery/world/scenery if you would like to tinker around with it.
 
Thanks Willy & Terry!

Hmmm, I don't have the Goose package in FS54, just in GW.

But I had it in '54 before GW came out. I deleted it when I set up GW, but I guess there were some remnants that remained behind.

Well, we don't want TBMs in post-war stars & bars lurking around the Marivellas, and I don't think I can remove static planes, so I guess I'll leave them alone in GW. But I will check to see if they might be in one of those AI traffic files.

In 54 they could be deleted, or maybe just updated with post-war insignia.

I guess now I have something to do on this rainy day.
 
Here is another of Bill's mysterys.

Flight 19 parks at Ocean Reef Club 07FA, it's there at 10am, then it overflys Castaway Cay MYXB. When it does the planes are semi transparent giving them a ghostly look.
 
At first I was thinking this one of the easter eggs that are occasionally found in FS. Like the DC-3 planted nose first at Fantasy of Flight.
Click to expand...

You mean this one? :)

fof.jpg
 
....They're probably the lost Flight 19 TBM Avengers of Bermuda Triangle fame taking a wee noon time break....:kilroy:
 
Well, I have the stock NAS Key West in both sims, and completely different trafic files in the two sims, and the TBMS are there in both sims.

Since I have different traffic files in both sims (and nothing like the stock traffic in either sim) I conclude that they're static objects and not AI planes.

I believe that their being present in the stock NAS Key West in both sims indicates that Microsoft put them there.

Despite the inapropriate mid-1943 insignia, my guess is that they are an "easter egg" intended to represent Flight 19.

I still can't figure out how to update or predate those insignia. I guess I'll just let it be and move on to the next mystery.
 
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