The painfully timeconsuming path to creating something new

[gray eagle]

More photos

Thanks Vitus for this creation.....

 

[Bruce66]

Well the kids have gone to bed and the wife is watching a romance so I took some time to watch the videos and read up a bit. And I see my friend Gray Eagle has purchased and recommended this plane as well!

I am impressed with the detail of the systems etc and it looks really nice! I take it the engine sounds have not been implemented yet? Also in the videos the wheel smoke etc seems to be in the early stages - I assume that has been sorted. I think you may need some recent videos - or perhaps you are waiting for the final version for that.

I am still struggling with the price (I know I'm mean) for a plane I never actually heard of until today. (The Electra now - that interests me!) Not that I think it is overpriced for what a person would be getting. Just on a budget a guy has to make choices somehow...

We will see.....

 

[gray eagle]

Well the kids have gone to bed and the wife is watching a romance so I took some time to watch the videos and read up a bit. And I see my friend Gray Eagle has purchased and recommended this plane as well!

I am impressed with the detail of the systems etc and it looks really nice! I take it the engine sounds have not been implemented yet? Also in the videos the wheel smoke etc seems to be in the early stages - I assume that has been sorted. I think you may need some recent videos - or perhaps you are waiting for the final version for that.

I am still struggling with the price (I know I'm mean) for a plane I never actually heard of until today. (The Electra now - that interests me!) Not that I think it is overpriced for what a person would be getting. Just on a budget a guy has to make choices somehow...

We will see.....

There are engine sounds....Not sure about what sounds were not implemented.

Here is video of real deal - the one in this video is included in the vega 5.

 

[Josh Patterson]

Just got this last night and got a flight in today. Engine kept backfiring then I saw the spark advance lever. Now I can make like Stan Laurel with his Model T and misuse this lever to make ear splitting bangs! Flies very well just have to get used to no flaps and plan my approaches better. Can't wait for the full version! I do have a hard time seeing under the instrument panel as it's very dark. I did find the starter though.

 

[Bruce66]

There are engine sounds....Not sure about what sounds were not implemented.

Here is video of real deal - the one in this video is included in the vega 5.

Cheers Gray Eagle, I just watched that video and was about to post it myself! Very cool!

Love those engine sounds near the end!

 

[gray eagle]

More pics

Here are some pics of the other liveries that are included

 

[gray eagle]

Just got this last night and got a flight in today. Engine kept backfiring then I saw the spark advance lever. Now I can make like Stan Laurel with his Model T and misuse this lever to make ear splitting bangs! Flies very well just have to get used to no flaps and plan my approaches better. Can't wait for the full version! I do have a hard time seeing under the instrument panel as it's very dark. I did find the starter though.

I found under electrical installation view where the light switches are (last one on right for the cockpit lights)

When I switched on the cockpit light switch this is result

 

[gray eagle]

P3D Review of Lockheed vega 5

This is an older video (Aug 2018) of WIng42 Vega 5 back then. Some updates were done since then I'm sure but back then, you can see and appreciate the awesome imagination and effort
that went into the development of this addon. The spark advance is now functional.

 

[Vitus]

Hi guys,

Sorry for chiming in so late. I was busy the whole day answering emails and wrapping a new installer to add support for Prepar3Dv3. Please note that the installer on the website is still only for FSX/SE and P3Dv4, but if you're also still flying P3Dv3, let me know and I can give you access to the modified download as well.


Thank you all for keeping the conversation going. I learn a lot reading through all your comments and suggestions and I am very grateful for your help!

Gray Eagle, thank you for your patience and being the "guinea pig" for the new installer. I also love your screenshots, it always brings a smile in my face when I see the Vega featured like this! Thank you!


Bruce, I think some of your questions have already been answered here. The Lockheed Vega was an amazing aircraft for the time, she was flown by Wiley Post (the "Winnie Mae") who twice took her around the world, the second time solo, beating his previous record. Amelia Earhart did her solo Atlantic crossing in a Vega 5B. Jimmy Doolittle flew set new intercontinental speed records. The Vega was flown on record flights by Ruth Nichols, Roscoe Turner, Jimmie Mattern and many others. Because she was by far the faster aircraft of her time!

Tom Harnish wrote a 70 page ebook for Wing42 in which he outlines the story of the Loughead brothers and their amazing aircraft. It's a really good read for anyone who's interested in the history behind the airplane.

A quick word on the engine sounds: the sounds included in the add-on are temporary and not very good. One of my milestones for version 0.90 is a replacement of those with a better sounding Wasp!

 

[dvj]

So far I received overwhelmingly positive feedback from my customers. I can't recall a single one who was unhappy with the product as it is right now. The feedback that I get from users is mostly suggestions of things they like to see in a future update, or a report of some feature that doesn't work just yet. Despite that, sales have been abysmal lately. I am under no illusion that by itself, this project would ever be able to recuperate the immense expenses that I sunk into this project. But my hope is that the technology that I created in the process of developing this aircraft can be transferred into future products as well and in that way transform Wing42 into a viable business. However, I am still a bit disheartened by the lack of interest by the community as a whole, therefore I'd like to end my ramblings with two questions for you:

1. What do you think is the reason for the disregard of the add-on in the wider flight sim community?
2. I welcome any suggestions how to boost the profile of Wing42 and the Lockheed Vega.

Lastly, I want to thank all of the supporters of my work and everyone who already purchased the Lockheed Vega already. I am certain you will be blown away with the release of the next update and I'll do my best to deliver as fast as possible.

Kind Regards,
Otmar
​

1. The simple answer just could be that the Vega is just not that popular or attractive enough of an aircraft to inspire interest except from a few niche customers. This is a wonderful simulation, but one aircraft does not make a portfolio of products from which to generate continued interest or income. You also vanished it seems for a few months between updates which may have left potential customers wondering if there would be on-going sales and product support. There is also a child's "new toy" syndrome that folks go through. It's new for a few months of flying, but many find themselves going back to flying old favorites. I am certain there are many virtual hangers filled with gigabytes of unflown aircraft sims.

2. Today, there are folks who act as "influencers" in social media who demonstrate and talk about products. This goes a long way to stimulate interest, discussion and maybe a few purchases.

 

[Moses03]

Hi Otmar,

Have to ask, in your avatar are you chording a B-E-G# triad?

Your Vega is really nice!

Kevin

 

[tgycgijoes]

A shame

Expand the experience to outside of the airplane to make it stick out from all the other add-ons. All the complexity of an old aircraft doesn't work if user are flying it in a 2005 environment.

A stretch of an air mail route, with lighted beacons, emergency (mud) fields, maybe even some Low Frequency Radio Range stations and backdated airports would be cool. Add some scenery objects like trains or cars from the period or something else. If you publish the assets you've used for that as a SDK, you might even get users interested in expanding on your original work. I figure a late 1930s FSX would generate quite a bit of interest.

Its a shame that the FS9 classics Golden Wings was never updated or Silver Wings both of which I used bacl then. Pre-WWII Hawaii scenery for the Clipper was so cool. Calclassics has a lot of good airports that can be used to at least get more of a look and feel of the time so that unless you actually want to be a restorer of a vintage Vega in 2019 and you have Airbus and Boeing 737s at Philadelphia or Cessna's and Beechcraft Kingairs at your regional airport...you get my drift. Tom Gibson and crew have a lot of really nice backdated airports over at CalClassics.

 

[FlyingsCool]

Speedy, I appreciate your enthusiasm I value the support you gave me tremendously! But to be honest, I am more than happy to hear flyingsCool's opinion, in part because I couldn't convince him of the product yet. I want to know why and I want to know what I can improve to convince him!

Every one of us has reasons why we decide to spend money on add-on A but not on add-on B, and from my point of view it's not the users fault if product B doesn't sell at the end of the day. My intention is be better at what I am doing, whether that is the product itself, the support or the marketing.

So no need to be upset at each other. We're all in different positions in life and I would love to continue an honest conversation both from people like you, who have the first hand experience already, but also from people that are still unconvinced.

You could give me a raise....
Like everything... About the only thing holding me back from buying everything I ever want is budget.... I've got a plan and your plane is in that plan. Sadly, I've also got a guitar addiction to support, as well as two boys in college.

And yes, the Lockheed Vega has always been an interesting plane to me. I love the Golden Age, and back in the FS9 days I was planning on developing a mission series around Amelia Earheart.

 

[Josh Patterson]

I found under electrical installation view where the light switches are (last one on right for the cockpit lights)

When I switched on the cockpit light switch this is result

Thanks Gray! I did fiddle with that box yesterday but mainly because I saw you could open it and check the fuses. (Just remember, a good pilot always keeps good quality .22 caliber bullets on hand in case a fuse blows.) Usually I don't read the manual instead choosing to sit in the cockpit and get familiar with things. (I also hunt for Easter eggs hidden around the cabin. I do wonder if the doors in the wing roots will ever open and what's inside of them!)I'll check the lights out in a bit. I do have to say in real life I would be very afraid of a mid air collision in a Vega. Clearing turns are tricky because you really have to crank up a wing to check your 3 or 9 o'clock through the sliver of a window Lockheed provided under the wing!

 

[Vitus]

Have to ask, in your avatar are you chording a B-E-G# triad?

Your Vega is really nice!

Hey Kevin,
Haha! The Avatar is as old as my account here on SOH itself, so let me just say.... yes.

Tom Gibson and crew have a lot of really nice backdated airports over at CalClassics.

I really need to set up an account at CalClassics...

In regards to scenery: to me this is currently the worst immersion breaker within the sim. But when I look for historic representations of airfields, I rarely come across ones that kept up with modern sim technology - i.e. complex models, good textures etc. Which is why I mostly stick with Orbx airfields.

I wonder how big the market is for a scenery of a 1930s representation of an iconic airfield in California.

Usually I don't read the manual instead choosing to sit in the cockpit and get familiar with things. (I also hunt for Easter eggs hidden around the cabin. I do wonder if the doors in the wing roots will ever open and what's inside of them!)

I'd highly recommend you flick through the manual anyway. There's a couple of things you probably wouldn't be aware of if you don't read about them. If you're having trouble starting your engine again after a previous flight, you probably forgot some important business of the startup procedure and broke some engine components as a result of it

 

[gray eagle]

Hi Otmar,

For the P3D V3 users, I'd like to know if the future updates will be posted on your wing42 page and labeled for P3D V3 users?
Also, wouldn't it of been easier to just combine the FSX/P3DV3 & V4 into one installer?

Using an animated logbook for the preflight and the chocks, tie downs and baggage cart is brilliant. It reminds me of what the A2A folks use.
Still trying to figure out what the moveable floorboard in front of the stick is for. I opened it but didn't see anything underneath it. I saw the sticky note
taped on the dash and took that to be a hint of what may be below that movable floorboard....

 

[Vitus]

Yes, the changes I made to the installer will be included in the next update. So there will only be one installer that works for FSX, FSXSE, P3Dv3 and P3Dv4.x! Btw: It'd be easy enough to include support for the previous P3D versions 1 and 2 as well, since the model and systems are identical to FSX. But I don't know if there's demand for that. If anyone is interested in this, please send me an email! The only reason why I haven't included it by default is the hassle of getting the licenses from LM and having to install those packages as well.

The animated floorboard doesn't serve any function, besides providing a view at the control cables for the rudder. There's a few of those type of "useless" animations in the model. For example you can fold up the seats, open the ashtrays or extend the two "steps" on the port side of the cockpit. It's there just to add flavor to the experience.

You can remove the note on the dash by clicking on it, if you're annoyed by the smugness of your mechanic

 

[Bruce66]

OK, time to tell you where I am at:

Would I buy your product? I am nearly there! In fact I almost coughed up the dough yesterday and then stopped myself when I remembered something.

Let me explain. You have to face a long, and checkered history of developers who have not delivered the goods - some a bit slack, some downright disreputable. I am not commenting on you or your product at all - in fact I had made my mind up to buy and then I remembered this. I bought a plane a while back by a developer who delivered precisely what they advertised, they only made the one plane and it is immaculate - a piece of art! But I never fly it! Hmmm, why. I deceided to go back to that plane before taking the plunge on yours to find out why I never fly the previous one.

I remembered fairly quickly the problem - they do not support the mapping of the switches and controls to a controller but the virtual pilot MUST click in the virtual cockpit with the mouse on all the switches etc except for the yoke and throttle quadrant. Now I have mobility issues which make this process downright painful! So I have never actually taken this plane for a proper fly since, like many sim pilots I assume, I also hate to use the auto-start key. I WANT to go through the start-up procedure and I NEED for that procedure to be, at least mostly, mapped to the switches in my real cockpit so I can make a variaty of movements (continued use of the mouse causes my hand and arm to lock ending the flight).

So now for the big question: Can the majority of the controls in the Vega cockpit be mapped to a controller or are they mouse only? Its a deal breaker for me! (I mean this in the best possible way )

As to the long history of developers - it makes us poor customers with limited budgets a bit skittish when it comes to buying anything new. I bought another plane recently which had rave reviews, all the comments were good etc etc. But when I use the procedure to start the engines only two of the engines start by following the book. Nothing online about the problem so I contact the seller - they say they just distribute but here is the contact details for support. Thanks say I and try to contact the developer - the contact details are defunct so I go back to the seller. They give me new contact details which I promptly use to try and solve my problem. Never a response from the developer! Now the plane WILL start with auto-start but remember I HATE using auto-start so now I am reluctant to buy from either that developer or the seller that sold me the dud product.

You see our problem as buyers...

All that said I feel you have gone a long way to build a good reputation and your plane looks FANTASTIC! I love all the detail and the plane is actually a very interesting one now that I have done a bit of research. I am hoping the controls can be mapped so I can jump on board!

 

[LouP]

While I purchased the Vega when it was in early access and am really enjoying her, something else just came to me tonight. My buying has really dropped off and I will continue to be very selective until more is known about the next gen simulator and what will run on it. Given the trend that a lot of developers are starting to charge for upgrades or make you re-purchase the product all over again, I'd rather not throw my money into an item that could be soon obsolete.

LouP

 

[gray eagle]

Inertia startup switch issues

I wanted to see if any one else having issues using the inertia startup switch on the Vega 5?
After trying to use the starter switch I always end up using the CTRL + E to start the engine.
I hear the flywheel spinning and after `30 seconds, pull the switch out and it is supposed to mesh
with the crankshaft ergo start the engine.

This start switch is a lofty idea however, for me, I'm not having much luck using it to start the engine.
When the flywheel is engaged with the crankshaft, I usually manage to briefly rotate the prop while
I hear the engine trying to turn over.

Not sure how long to push in the starter switch but if for too long, I will blow a fuse which has to be replaced.
By then, one has to check the fuel pressure switch, (It will bleed if engine not running) by pumping the pressure up.