Blackbird686
SOH-CM-2025
That guy didn't buy that boxcar load of Allison V-3420 engines, Magoo... he STOLE them (for that price)!
BB686
BB686
Vultee XP-54 - Texture Artist Needed
- Thread starter Milton Shupe
- Start date
magoo
SOH-CM-2013
About twenty years ago I was having coffee and a sandwich with a fellow who was chief pilot of an aerial water-tanker concern. He told me a story of how the consortium sent one of their purchasing agents down to a USN auction in California to bid on a decommissioned navy plane. Four planes were on the block, and his task was to win bidding on the best one, and arrange it's return to British Columbia for conversion to a water bomber.
Well....the competition was light, and he won the bid in a great anti-climax, at a much lower price than expected. As he was walking around the plane contemplating the next set of logistics, he was approached by some navy officers. They informed him that there was a tightly knit schedule to remove the planes before the next auction inventory could be arranged for viewing.
....Planes..??
He had mistakenly believed that he was bidding on one aircraft, when in fact, the bid was for all four, plus a warehouse of parts. Pricing based on the value of scrap metal by the ton.
A flurry of inquiries quickly produced a crew for each aircraft, each of which was loaded to the gunwales with spare parts before taking off en route to their new home in Canada.
What sort of plane would take only four of, to empty a warehouse in 1959?
That would be the Martin Mars.....purchased price based on the value of scrap metals by the ton.
Well....the competition was light, and he won the bid in a great anti-climax, at a much lower price than expected. As he was walking around the plane contemplating the next set of logistics, he was approached by some navy officers. They informed him that there was a tightly knit schedule to remove the planes before the next auction inventory could be arranged for viewing.
....Planes..??
He had mistakenly believed that he was bidding on one aircraft, when in fact, the bid was for all four, plus a warehouse of parts. Pricing based on the value of scrap metal by the ton.
A flurry of inquiries quickly produced a crew for each aircraft, each of which was loaded to the gunwales with spare parts before taking off en route to their new home in Canada.
What sort of plane would take only four of, to empty a warehouse in 1959?
That would be the Martin Mars.....purchased price based on the value of scrap metals by the ton.
Blackbird686
SOH-CM-2025
THAT was a GOOD story! What a deal...! 
Thanks for sharing that...
BB686
Thanks for sharing that...BB686
magoo
SOH-CM-2013
The fictional premise of the "last XP-54" comes down to the idea that after the war, number two Swoose was bought by a friendly sub-contractor to Consolidated-Vultee just as she was signed off for scrap.
The goal was Reno. The missing nose was re-fabricated, about 5000 lbs of military weight was removed, and she ran in the first year, with P-38s, P-39s, what-all.
Without the weight, the plane's performance picked up noticeably, but not enough to place high in the pack. Beyond the sheer size of the craft, the Lycoming engine was a real real problem. It was an underdeveloped prototype mill with a host of issues, no spare parts, and no replacements.
Looking for alternative power, history shows us that between 100 & 150 Allison V-3420 were built. (I believe 100 were standardized, and 20 to 50 were variation for different applications and specs. Accounts vary widely.)
An odd engine that would fit nothing, but had a lot of components interchangeable with the regular Allison V-12. In this fictional account, we'll imagine that some V-3420s were intercepted from the recycling industry, and thus, create a fictional premise for a postwar life of a ghostly and little known warbird prototype.
Some racing in the forties, perhaps some aerial surveying in the fifties, errr....a little clandestine work in Central America in the late sixties....and a return to Reno in the seventies for a full blown run at the track.
Currently polishing off flight models that deal with the Swoose's post war configurations, plus two sound packs that will feature Lycoming H-2470 and Allison V-3420. ( Very different sounding!!)
Most work for FSX Acceleration is done, particularly the audio which really take advantage of sound cones. The main task in the next week is to thin out all this stuff to work FS9, before handing back to the master creator for inspection.
Two questions I'm dealing with:
1- Is anybody running a non-acceleration version of FSX. If so, does the Control Options show a keyboard entry for War Emergency Power (WEP)?
2- I'm about to start casting about for a crafts-person who has the time and skill to convert Milton's Swoose Goose into an FSX dedicated model. Certainly the FS9 model will port over (as usual) with a few tweaks.....but the idea of native shadows in the cockpit, (among other benefits) is intriguing.
This last part I'm quite pragmatic about. I know very little about fabricating mesh, and can only assume that an FSX conversion would be a complex and time consuming task. For that part, I can make no promises, and hope for the best. Once I've got the presentation together, I'll start making calls....
The goal was Reno. The missing nose was re-fabricated, about 5000 lbs of military weight was removed, and she ran in the first year, with P-38s, P-39s, what-all.
Without the weight, the plane's performance picked up noticeably, but not enough to place high in the pack. Beyond the sheer size of the craft, the Lycoming engine was a real real problem. It was an underdeveloped prototype mill with a host of issues, no spare parts, and no replacements.
Looking for alternative power, history shows us that between 100 & 150 Allison V-3420 were built. (I believe 100 were standardized, and 20 to 50 were variation for different applications and specs. Accounts vary widely.)
An odd engine that would fit nothing, but had a lot of components interchangeable with the regular Allison V-12. In this fictional account, we'll imagine that some V-3420s were intercepted from the recycling industry, and thus, create a fictional premise for a postwar life of a ghostly and little known warbird prototype.
Some racing in the forties, perhaps some aerial surveying in the fifties, errr....a little clandestine work in Central America in the late sixties....and a return to Reno in the seventies for a full blown run at the track.
Currently polishing off flight models that deal with the Swoose's post war configurations, plus two sound packs that will feature Lycoming H-2470 and Allison V-3420. ( Very different sounding!!)
Most work for FSX Acceleration is done, particularly the audio which really take advantage of sound cones. The main task in the next week is to thin out all this stuff to work FS9, before handing back to the master creator for inspection.
Two questions I'm dealing with:
1- Is anybody running a non-acceleration version of FSX. If so, does the Control Options show a keyboard entry for War Emergency Power (WEP)?
2- I'm about to start casting about for a crafts-person who has the time and skill to convert Milton's Swoose Goose into an FSX dedicated model. Certainly the FS9 model will port over (as usual) with a few tweaks.....but the idea of native shadows in the cockpit, (among other benefits) is intriguing.
This last part I'm quite pragmatic about. I know very little about fabricating mesh, and can only assume that an FSX conversion would be a complex and time consuming task. For that part, I can make no promises, and hope for the best. Once I've got the presentation together, I'll start making calls....
Blackbird686
SOH-CM-2025
Great News! I was getting ready to give this thread a 
... Looking superb at this stage of the game.
BB686
... Looking superb at this stage of the game.BB686
Hi Kevin,
Mike Kelley is near wrapping up the paint kit portion of his work and has two liveries in progress.
He sent these three pics yesterday as he was taking a break from the paint work.
No date as to when things will be available.
Attachments
Don't spend a lot of time over here any more (actually none except for some recent Marauder interest) so I completely missed this beauty. I did find the basic design of the Vultee similar in many aspects to the "Akita" that Kazunori Ito released recently:
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php/104599-NEW-(Apparently)-from-Kazunori-Ito
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php/104599-NEW-(Apparently)-from-Kazunori-Ito
This aircraft would have been a screamer had the USAAF not changed the role for which it was originally designed. 
But, maybe Magoo will address that; have not heard from him lately.
But, maybe Magoo will address that; have not heard from him lately.
Mike sent this over this morning in classic Richard Petty style
wow!!! beautiful paint style!!
Thank you Jeremy. It is a pleasure to bring this one to life, especially in short order.
Mike Kelly's texture work is just awesome IMO, and Tom Falley (Fliger) has helped make the flight model a pleasure to fly.
You will also be impressed with Magoo's work on the stripped down, hyped up Racing version; you should see more of that soon.
Looks like its time to assemble a beta package for this project as Mike Kelley is putting final touches on the paints.
I'll focus on this one the next few days to get something out.
Meanwhile, Magoo has sent his Racing package to me to look over. Whoa! That is some exciting stuff he's put together. This will be an exciting aircraft to tangle with the Mustangs, Bearcats, and Furies at Reno.
I'll focus on this one the next few days to get something out.
Meanwhile, Magoo has sent his Racing package to me to look over. Whoa! That is some exciting stuff he's put together. This will be an exciting aircraft to tangle with the Mustangs, Bearcats, and Furies at Reno.
magoo
SOH-CM-2013
Test Pilots Req'
It's a call out to any who are test flying or developing the XP-54. I'm looking for some basic feedback in FSX. It's a matter of simply dropping the FS9 XP-54 into FSX, adding the files attached.
Two things to do:
There's a panel config with Mike Wagner's WEP switch from the F7F tigercat (FS9). This switch was used with the Swoose in FS9, but has been found to also work in FSX Accelleration. (Huh!) Up until that moment, I was simply using an assigned keyboard command to activate power boost, as is native in that version of FS.
The panel config is straight out of the XP-72 panel without any other mods. I understand there may be some modified gauges out there. If you're running an (already) modified panel, don't use my config. Instead, refer to 2D panel and VC sections in my file, and copy the WEP gauge entry at the bottom of those sections to the corresponding location in your config. Ensure the entry numbering is sequential. Throw the gauge into the panel folder and go fly.
The WEP switch will show-up on either panel format next to the starter button.
Basic unAccelerated FSX does not have any power boost command, but then, either does FS9. The question is whether Mike's gauge will have an effect in non-Accelleration FSX...ie: Vanilla/SP1/SP2.
Also....simply fly the plane. I'd like to know how it's running on different systems, different controllers. Look for any odd things, weird behavior, etc.
You'll need a copy of Milton's XP-54 Swoose Goose beta to make a go of it.
Thanks!
It's a call out to any who are test flying or developing the XP-54. I'm looking for some basic feedback in FSX. It's a matter of simply dropping the FS9 XP-54 into FSX, adding the files attached.
Two things to do:
There's a panel config with Mike Wagner's WEP switch from the F7F tigercat (FS9). This switch was used with the Swoose in FS9, but has been found to also work in FSX Accelleration. (Huh!) Up until that moment, I was simply using an assigned keyboard command to activate power boost, as is native in that version of FS.
The panel config is straight out of the XP-72 panel without any other mods. I understand there may be some modified gauges out there. If you're running an (already) modified panel, don't use my config. Instead, refer to 2D panel and VC sections in my file, and copy the WEP gauge entry at the bottom of those sections to the corresponding location in your config. Ensure the entry numbering is sequential. Throw the gauge into the panel folder and go fly.
The WEP switch will show-up on either panel format next to the starter button.
Basic unAccelerated FSX does not have any power boost command, but then, either does FS9. The question is whether Mike's gauge will have an effect in non-Accelleration FSX...ie: Vanilla/SP1/SP2.
Also....simply fly the plane. I'd like to know how it's running on different systems, different controllers. Look for any odd things, weird behavior, etc.
You'll need a copy of Milton's XP-54 Swoose Goose beta to make a go of it.
Thanks!
LOL Okay, I am scrambling. Haven't put out a beta test package just yet (was held up with some FM issues).
I'll put together a quickie basic package and upload it shortly.
My apologies.
I'll put together a quickie basic package and upload it shortly.
My apologies.
