Article
Here's a review/Article I wrote a while back...so some info dated, but most still valid, and I've removed the interview portion:
5/31/2012 – Updated 11/2012
Behind the Scenes at Warbirdsim
I have been flight simming since the good old days of Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat. I can’t even remember the year, but I think I started around 1994. I was 14 years old. Now, at age 32, 18 years later and holding an FAA Instrument rated Commercial Single Engine Land and Multi-Engine Land certificate and working for a large Aerospace company in the northwest USA, I have flown classic instruments, glass cockpit and twin turboprop. Through it all I am still flight simming. You could say I have a healthy obsession with aviation and flight simming in general. I tend to gravitate towards realism, so naturally I’m always on the lookout for the next big item that will help my flightsim experience get closer to reality. Warbirds have always been a passion and I had been searching unsuccessfully for a P-51 for FSX (which I thought would quench my thirst for this legendary aircraft), sadly I hadn’t found one.
In the summer of 2010, I was first introduced to the Warbirdsim line of products when I discovered their webpage almost by accident while doing an internet search for P-51 photos. I was blown away by the screenshots of the North American P-51B/C/D Mustang. The detail seemed incredible to me. However, at the time I didn’t take the plunge. It wasn’t until recently, with the release of the P-51D "Then and Now" series Cripes A’Mighty, that I finally succumbed.
If science and art came together in the dark days of WWII, then the Mustang was their offspring. When I first saw the Warbirdsim P-51D, I knew that this collaboration had happened again, only this time in FSX. I was so thoroughly impressed with the detail in the "Then and Now" Mustang, that I also purchased the "Little Friends I" package. Most recently I have also purchased the P-51K "Dogfight" series. The beauty of the iconic North American designs has been reborn in these elegant reproductions. The detail is enormous (far too much to mention in this article).
Virtually reconstructed from North American Aviation production plans, each assembly, bracket, or panel is meticulously reproduced. The cockpit elegantly touts authenticity. Paint chips, worn edges. A removable gun sight to which reveals a replica mounting bracket underneath. Extremely detailed and restored one-of-a-kind individual cockpits, which represent the individual Mustangs. This is truly a classic model builder's aircraft.
The artist-engineers at Warbirdsim (who deserve no less of a title) have continued in North American’s tradition of commitment to quality. In the latter years at North American Aviation, a sign could be read posted on the factory floor:
“Quality must be built into a product. It cannot be inspected into it.”
My experience with the Warbirdsim brand is that this fine tradition has carried forward into this modern virtual restoration of the Mustang.
Of course, the Packard Merlin engined P-51's are famous for their 2-speed, 2 stage supercharger, giving this Mustang what the early Mustangs lacked: power at altitude. Faithfully reproduced, watch for the change from low blower to high blower somewhere in the neighborhood of 17,500 feet (MSL).
Something I wanted to test right from the first flight was the legendary torque effect on a go around. I strapped on Big Beautiful Doll, and initiated a purposefully incorrect go around procedure on a circuit around KEDW and was thoroughly impressed as I jammed full throttle and initiated a climb attitude, I was rolling over into the runway as is expected from so much power and little to no control authority at low speed. What a thrill! Although I did scratch her up pretty badly…don’t try this in a real airplane…it will ruin your day!
Most recently Warbirdsim has released in collaboration with Flight Sim Replicas, the Dogfight series, featuring the Dallas produced P-51K from Warbirsim -- The major noticeable difference being the distinctive “Dallas” Canopy. It’s a more streamlined and tapered bubble teardrop canopy. According to the Warbirdsim team the following was the production run history of the P-51K models. Note the P-51D Inglewood California Equivilant:
200 P-51K-1-NT (P-51D-5-NA equivalent))
400 P-51K-5-NT (P-51D-10-NA equivalent)
600 P-51K-10-NT (P-51D-15-NA equivalent)
300 P-51K-15-NT (P-51D-20-NA, and later P-51D-25-NA equivalent).
Multiple Variants have been included. Including the rare Aeroproducts installe propeller types, which varied from the Hamilton Standard propeller. One noteworthy piece of Mustang trivia is that P-51K’s were only produced at the Dallas Plant, which is inaccurate. The Dallas plant also produced identical P-51D’s as well.
For those interested in some future projects keep reading. However, I will reveal (at the time of the writing of this article) that the gun sighting system, including the throttle twist/gun sight reticule action will be available in the future iterations of Warbirdsim Mustangs! This has been a long time goal which will be available for the first time in the near future.
Remember, each one of these Mustangs was developed from their real world counterpart. They flew with real pilots, who had real lives. Each one has a very real history. Each one has a unique story. We have a chance to experience it. I wanted to share this great experience with the flightsim community. I see too often in some forums comments along the lines of: "I don’t see why I should spend money on another model with only a different paint scheme?" Heresy! These Mustangs are truly collector's items. Each represents a real P-51. There are no "generic" Mustangs in this stable. This is my tribute to the Warbirdsim developers. To this outstanding FSX add-on which brings back the romance, beauty, art, sound, feel and variety of this North American Aviation classic, and aviation legend. My hope is that this interview gives the reader a small glimpse into the world of the developer; a small taste of the passion and hard work which goes into re-creating these virtual flying icons.
I would like to give a big thanks to John Terrell and Albert Patrick of Warbirdsim for pulling back the curtain and allowing us a small glimpse into their world. At the end of the day, it truly is the people who matter most. Without their talent and vision, The P-51 Mustang in all its forms would have ceased production long ago. Some examples which will yet be coming off the Warbirdsim production line have not seen the light of day since the originals disappeared.
YIP, buy them all 
..... problem fixed
