New Gotha bombers series thread

[aleatorylamp]

Small plastic Gotha

Hello aeronca1,

It´s admirable that you could cope with something that small.
Shortly after I did my first AF99 FS98 Gotha models in 2002, I saw a white 1/48 scale plastic Gotha G.IV in a hobby
shop, and bought it. However, when I opened the box, it seemed tiny! It´s still sitting in its box, I´m afraid.
I remember the decals were already frial and cracked, so it will call for a decent paint job.
Anyway, I may give it a go someday! We´ll see...

Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

 

[aleatorylamp]

CFS2 Gotha G.Va Grossflugzeug Night Raider 1917.zip

A new entry has been added to Add-Ons Library, category CFS 2 Aircraft - World War I

Description: CFS2 Gotha G.Va Grossflugzeug night-raider, 1917.

Variant of the Gotha G.V built by the Gothaer Waggonfabrik A.G. The new twin-wheeled nose gear prevented nose-overs on difficult landings, and the new "Box-tail" allowed single-engined flight in a straight line, even making slow turns in the opposite direction possible. It was powered by 2 high-compression, throttle gated, 6-cyl Mercedes D.IVa engines, altitude rated at 267 Hp at 1300 metres.

Maximum speed was 140 kph,and it could carry a bomb load of 500 kg.

Textures are by Martin Klein, and two choices of Night-raider, dark and very dark irregular patch lozenge textures provided for Unit 723/17 "White Dragon".

Custom photo-realistic panel by Kdriver, with authentic custom Gotha G.V gauge set by Martin Klein, as well as other custom gauges by others. A bomb aimer´s panel is also included, with instructions in the Readme text and screenshots.

Dp files with 5 different flight plans with help from Ravenna.

Model by Stephan Scholz.

To check it out, rate it or add comments, visit CFS2 Gotha G.Va Grossflugzeug Night Raider 1917.zip
The comments you make there will appear in the posts below.

 

[aleatorylamp]

CFS2 Gotha G.Vb Grossflugzeug night-bomber, 1918.zip

A new entry has been added to Add-Ons Library, category CFS 2 Aircraft - World War I

Description: CFS2 Gotha G.Vb Grossflugzeug night-bomber, 1918.

The ultimate development Gotha G.V series built by the Gothaer Waggonfabrik A.G. The new "Stossfahgestell" twin-wheels fitted ahead of the main wheels prevented nose-overs on difficult landings, and the new biplane tail allowed single-engined flight in a straight line, even making slow turns in the opposite direction possible.

It was powered by 2 high-compression, throttle gated, 6-cyl Mercedes D.IVa engines, altitude rated at 267 Hp at 1300 metres. Maximum speed was 135 kph, with a payload of 500 kg, although its improved structure allowed overloads.

Textures are by Martin Klein, and five liveries are provided: Go.G.Vb unit 935/18 in dark irregular night-lozenge , as worn by the AEG at the Canadian Aircraft Museum.

Go.G.Vb unit 917/18 in dark irregular daytime-lozenge pattern, plus an alternative with grey under surfaces.

Go.G.Vb unit 733/17 in conspicuous irregular daytime irregular, plus an alternative with grey under surfaces.

Custom photo-realistic panel by Kdriver, authentic custom Gotha G.V gauge set by Martin Klein, as well as other custom gauges by others. A bomb aimer´s panel is also included, with instructions in the Readme text and screenshots. Dp files with 5 different flight plans with help from Ravenna.

Model by Stephan Scholz.

To check it out, rate it or add comments, visit CFS2 Gotha G.Vb Grossflugzeug night-bomber, 1918.zip
The comments you make there will appear in the posts below.

 

[Rami]

Reply...

Aleatorylamp,

Very nice bomber models, many thanks to all involved!

 

[aleatorylamp]

Hi Rami!
Glad you like them! Let´s see what´s next on the list...

 

[Ravenna]

 

[aleatorylamp]

Panel Update for the Gotha G.IV


Next I believe would come a with-bombsight-panel update for the G.IV.
Changing the viewing angle to 70 degrees, a 16700 ft height can be incorporated into the scale.
Note the close proximity of the 2 high-altitude crosshairs! They work very well, though.

For the lower night-raid heights, 90% throttle has to be used. This also applies to the G.V and G.Va.
(Not to the G.Vb, as this aircraft´s specified max. speed was 5 Kph lower).

Max. speed for these aircraft (except G.Vb) was 140 kph, but due to the small + 8 kph distortion in the
engine-power curve in the sim, there is a small unwanted power-peak at mid-altitudes, caused by the
way the sim handles superchargers.

Superchargers are ON in the flight model because of the Gotha´s high-compression Mercedes D.IVa engines.
Corrections for this unwanted mid-altitude power-peak would involve lowering power, but comes at the price
of a considerable loss in power at low and high altitudes.

This is out of the question, especially because as at low altitudes, these high-compression engines are limited
to only 70% of their power, which is emmulated in the.air file, and would thus cause an even greater loss power
loss that would make climbing unrealistically sluggish.

Anyway, the crosshairs (and also the engines, of course) seem to work very well!
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

 

[aleatorylamp]

New Gotha WD7 Wasserdoppeldecker.

Hello Folks,

There will be another Gotha, hopefully not the last, in this series of model upgrades for CFS2.

It is the Gotha WD7, the first twin-engined seaplane to be built in quantity (8 units) by Gothaer Waggonfabrik A.G., 1915, powered by 6-cyl 120 hp Mercedes D.II engines. It was used for marine reconnaissance and later mainly as trainer for the larger WD-14 torpedo bombers which operated in the North Sea and Baltic.

This one is actually scheduled next on the production line, as it ties in nicely with the upcoming Flanders Scenery currently being prepared by Kdriver and Ravenna.

I´ve just finished adapting the model for CFS2, with Dp files and a provisional huge scary-looking black English torpedo.

The .air file, aircraft.cfg, and panel all need to be done properly as yet, but for the moment it flies, sits on the water rocking slowly with the waves, but won´t take off!

Here is some eye-candy for the time being!

Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

 

[aleatorylamp]

Novelties on the WD7

Hello Folks,
Slowly I´m getting there...
This floatplane was used for marine reconnaissance and also for torpedo training, for which it carried a dummy torpedo to train pilots for the larger twin-engined torpedo bombers like the Gotha WD11 and WD14, which were used in the Baltic.

Real German aerial torpedos at the time weighed over 1500 lb, and the WD7 couldn´t handle the weight. The maximum it was able to carry was a 400 lb dummy. As this was not a weapon, I decided to keep out of the Dp files, and build it with the aircraft, to have it enabled and disabled (visible or invisible) with the spoiler key.

Using the spoiler parameter for carrying the torpedo also allowed convenient lift and drag alterations in the .air file for when the torpedo is "carried". I found it works very well: Without the torpedo, top speed is at the specified 137 kph / 85 mph, and with it, speed goes down to 127 kph / 79 mph, also lowering rate of climb. I had tested performance previously it by putting a black, lighter English torpedo in the DP files, to establish plausible changes in performance.

Ravenna also kindly supplied me with the water FX for some spectacular spray when taking off or touching down on water, which can be seen in the screenshots attached.

BUT: I´m still having a problem, which is delaying the upload. I want to adapt the sound.cfg of some convenient aircraft sounds, with water touch-down sounds. At first I took the water-sounds from one of my FS98 floatplanes, but they won´t sound in CFS2.
Then I tried to adapt some other CFS2 sounds changing the touchdown sounds for water-sounds in the general CFS2 Sounds library, but it isn´t working either...

I wonder if anyone could have a suggestion to this respect. Thanks in advance for any help!

Meanwhile, here are some screenshots as eye-candy!
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp.

 

[Roxane-21]

Thank you! More and more WW1 stuff for CFS2, that's amazing!

 

[aleatorylamp]

Water-sounds issue

Hello Roxanne-21,

Thanks for your post!
The only pending issue to upload this one is the water sounds, and I´m not getting anywhere.

Either my computer is water-sound-deaf or there´s something of a problem here.
Other floatplanes don´t seem to have any water sounds either, unless of course they do...

Then, apparently some older-sim-sounds don´t work on CFS2, but I can´t even get the
water-sounds in the general CFS2 sounds directory to sound either.

It has a few splash and water sounds to be that called from the sound.cfg, so I substituted
the landing roll and touchdown sounds called from there, but it doesn´t seem to work.

Note: I get the feeling that the CFS2 sound.cfg differentiates between land and water touchdowns
to activate corresponding sounds, so the headings for water-touchdowns or water-roll sections in
the Sound.cfg must be different. That must be why it´s not working.
However, I don´t know the syntax required, and any SDK I´ve been able to get my hands on
for CFS2 doesn´t mention the Sound.cfg.

I wonder if anyone knows the secrets of the CFS2 Sound.cfg...

Otherwise, rather than further delaying the upload, I should maybe just alias the A6m2 Zero sounds
and let simmers put in the ones they want.

What would you say?

Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

 

[aleatorylamp]

Sounds

Hello Folks,
It seems a difficult issue, this water-sound business.
I tracked down a Microsoft document related to the FS config files, and the sounds appear to have a flag parameter
for the kind of surface that CFS2 supposedly detects, to activate a certain sound.

For water it´s Flags=8, and I´ve put it into the Ground_Roll and Touchdown sections of the Sound.cfg, but it all still remains silent.
Well...
Cheers anyway,
Aleatorylamp

 

[aleatorylamp]

Water sounds

Hello Folks,
Thanks to input from Shessi and Kdriver I have had a certain degree of success for this seaplane.

It appears that neither Flags=18, nor Left/Right/Centre make Touchdown sounds on water audible in CFS2, even using Viewpoint=1 or Viewpoint=2 to "force" the sound to be heard from outside or inside. Even the Landing Roll section is not audible, whichever Flags or Viewpoints were to be defined.

The only thing that CFS2 seems to recognize is assigning values 7 and 8 for Aux1 and Aux2 scrape point sounds in Aircraft.cfg Contact-Point entry Nº 13, which allows CFS2 Sound.cfg to play selected water-sounds, albeit for interior sounds only.
No combination whatsoever could make water-sounds audible from outside.

Nevertheless, one could say this has been reasonably successful. There are more details on the Water-Sound specific thread.

Any further suggestions or ideas will of course be very welcome!

Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

 

[aleatorylamp]

Gotha WD-7 Wasserdoppeldecker recon/torpedo-trainer uploaded

Hello Folks,
After checking everything, I had uploaded the 1915 twin-engined Gotha WD-7 twin-engined marine reconnaissance and torpedo trainer.
I hope there´s nothing wrong... If there is, do let me know and I´ll put it right.
It will be available as soon as it is approved at the Warbirds library.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...d=124&id=25814

There are audibly working water-sounds from the 2D Instrument panel and Virtual Cockpit views. A How-to text is included for those who are interested how water-sounds can be made to work in CFS2.

As the torpedo is a dummy, it is not in the Dp files, but appears by pressing the Spoiler key or with the Torpedo (spoiler) lever on right of the 2D instrument panel. Carrying the dummy training torpedo noticeably alters aircraft behaviour, but it isn´t unpleasant.

I did some texturing improvements, and now the exhausts, radiators and tanks behind them are also textured.

I hope you like the model.
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

 

[Ravenna]

 

[rickyo]

A double thank you from me!! Not only for the great aircraft, but also after looking at your Aircraft cfg, I now have water effects for all float planes. So much better than what I had (nothing at all)!

Thanks again .... Rick

 

[aleatorylamp]

Hello Rickyo, hello Ravenna,

Thanks for your motivating posts!
Let´s see if we can discover some more niceties related to the subject...

If I find any more things like using the splash sounds that normally work for planes
crashing into the water as per Lastvika, or activating disaster sounds for slide-landings
as per Shessi, I´ll mention it on the watersounds thread:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php/116962-CFS2-Sound-cfg-Water-touchdown-sounds

The show must go on!
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

 

[aleatorylamp]

Two more Wasserdoppeldecker Torpedo Bombers

Hello Folks,
Dressed with Martin Klein´s wonderful textures, there will be two liveries of the Gotha WD-14 Water Biplane Torpedo bomber. The aircraft model is now finished, and I´ll be uploading it in a few days.

It was a large, heavy floatplane, slightly larger than the Gotha G.IV and G.V´s, and was powered by two Benz BZ.IV tractors, which gave the aircraft a top speed of 80 mph, and could carry a 1598 lb Whitehead torpedo. 69 units were built.

An attack run was conducted at 30 metres´height above the water and the torpedo was released at a distance of about 600 metres from the target. Success was only limited, because quite soon ship-board defensive artillery improved and the aircraft became very vulnerable, so it was used for long distance marine reconnaissance, the torpedo being bustituted for a long-range fuel tank.

Its predecessor, the Gotha WD-11 Torpedo bomber, of which about 12 units were built, was a slightly smaller pusher biplane, powered by two Mercedes D.III pushers. An upload of this model is also being prepared.

Four screenshots of the WD-14 are attached, showing the two liveries provided, as well as two screenshots of the WD-11, but the latter as yet with provisional textures.

Cheers,
Aleatorylamp

 

[Ravenna]

Nerves of Steel...

...would have been needed on a torpedo run, given that the torpedoes used needed a lower speed for effective release. I am looking for evidence of any successful torpedoing by a W-14. A very handsome member of the Zeebrugge flock.
Thanks Stephan!

 

[aleatorylamp]

Gotha WD-14 torpedo bomber uploaded

Hello Folks,
I´ve just uploaded the Gotha WD-14 torpedo bomber at the Warbirds library,
where it will be available as soon as it is approved:

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...d=124&id=25874

It is offered in two liveries - with wonderful textures by Martin Klein.
Let me know of any flaws, and I will put them right!

Good luck with torpedo launching!
Cheers,
Aleatorylamp.