guym-p Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 I have a de Havilland Comet 4C in development, as payware. Some of you will have read about it already; for those who haven't, it was inspired by my father who was at de Havilland from 1946-56 - exactly the Comet era. This is the first project I've done for X-Plane (or any other simulator, for that matter). Because I had to learn everything from scratch, it's taken a huge amount of time. No doubt I should have chosen something simple to start with, like a DHC-1 Chipmunk, but the Comet has been hugely rewarding.The Comet 4C was the very last iteration of the Series 4. The Series 4 was in Service from 1958 (BOAC) to 1980 (Dan Air), and the 4C was the longest, greatest capacity, most sophisticated version of all. The reason I chose to start with the last rather than the first was because the instrumentation was a better match for X-Plane, and more recent documentation was easier to find.I have just finished the interior, from the 3D cockpit, through the passenger compartment, to the loos and cargo bay in the tail. The latest progress is here, as well as more information on the history of the Comet:http://www.dh-aircraft.co.uk/news/files/2fca08a971937b0878c77f36169d8455-82.htmlMy next step is to refine the exterior model, especially the engine intakes and leading edges of the wings. More news will follow ...Guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Glad to see you've added a development thread here at X-Pilot too! You've done an amazing job, it looks great!Looking forward to flying it Oliver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaidenFan Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Sweet! This will be a masterpiece. I'm definately looking forward to flying this old bird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simmo W Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Great to see you here Guy, your Comet looks really special, great attention to detail! Bloody good for a first go. Wow, I never realised they were in service so recently, 1980 feels like only a decade or 2 ago :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karingka Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 That looks very impressive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simbabeat Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 I have been following your progess and I really can't wait to fly this bird! Great attention to detail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxime Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Nicee, i'll save a few pennies for this bird!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guym-p Posted June 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 Wow, I never realised they were in service so recentlyThanks for all your comments! The majority of Comets were retired on maximum hours by the mid-1970s, but RAF 216 Squadron Comet 4Cs had seen far less use than ones in commercial service, and were immaculately maintained. When the squadron was disbanded in 1975, the Comets were bought by Dan Air, who were therefore able to continue Comet operations until the late 1970s, albeit with very few remaining. The last Comet to fly was XS-235, which made its last working flight for DERA in 1997, and its last ever flight when it was delivered to Bruntingthorpe in 1999. I believe there are two Nimrod R1 reconnaissance aircraft over Libya, the Nimrod being adapted from the Comet 4C. So, in a sense, the Comet is still flying.As a measure of how well the RAF aircraft had been kept, Dan Air noted that they were considerably more efficient and economical than the rest of their fleet, which had been ex-BOAC, MEA, and so on.Guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guym-p Posted July 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 As an interim update, I attach some screenshots of work in progress on the leading edges of the wings, engine intakes, and all associated gubbins. I started with the aerofoil cross-section, which is NACA 63A011 modified with a leading edge droop of 12 deg./15% chord. It was relatively straight forward to apply this to the wing and wing tip, giving the correct concave section under the wing, just behind the leading edge.Also the winglet for the nacelle tank (the tanks were fitted to the Comet 4 and 4C, but not the 4B):This week, I've spent most of my time on the engine nacelle. It's slow. It's also one of those jobs where I find I've never taken enough pictures from enough angles to answer all the questions. The next day, I look at it again, think: "No, no; that's quite the wrong shape," and give it another tweak.One thing to note, looking into the engine intake, is that there is nothing to be seen turning. That's because the first set of blades behind the main bearing casting on a Rolls-Royce Avon RA.29 are not the first compressor stage, but a series of fixed guide-vanes. It's a pity, because animated fans are impressive, but it would be quite wrong on the Comet. Guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kesomir Posted July 2, 2011 Report Share Posted July 2, 2011 simply amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobofat Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 I've had your Comet dev website saved in my bookmarks for quite some time. I'm excited to see it coming along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamH Posted August 31, 2011 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 This looks very well done! Keep up the great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maniac12 Posted August 31, 2011 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 Cool i hope it will be cheap :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guym-p Posted September 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 I've posted some new screenshots, see:http://www.dh-aircraft.co.uk/news/files/ce816b2c1fb8a4ceac3e410ce785efb9-83.htmlThese complete the last changes I'd planned to do to the meshes themselves. The next job is to upgrade textures to this level, then (at last!) my work is done. There'll be another round of testing, of course, which is a perfect excuse to shoot some new video!Better crack on with it ...Guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobofat Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Love the wireframe pics, nice to see how the mesh looks under the textures that you'll be cracking on! Nice piece of work you've got going on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guym-p Posted October 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2011 I've been experimenting with baked reflections for a more convincingly metallic look, using Blender 2.5. Nothing is really going to do it justice to polished aluminium until X-Plane can render calculated reflections on the fly, and that's not worth looking at until computers and graphics cards are monstrously more powerful, but what I've done looks a lot better than my first attempt. Exterior textures and liveries are the last jobs on my build-list before final testing and release, so it's getting really, really close now.See: http://dh-aircraft.co.uk/news/files/5ca495e06e3bf46ca33f4b3aa58c9cca-85.htmlGuy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guym-p Posted November 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 I've just finished a large tranche of work that enabled me to put the Comet back together again and test it in the sim. I've posted new screen-shots here:http://dh-aircraft.co.uk/news/files/ade0041ca264168e6bbc76c29638672a-86.htmlAfter this, I'll add a few more liveries, but otherwise that's the end of the planned work. The next phase is the final test programme. The end really is in sight!Guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spacedust Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Oh yes, I'm looking forward for seeing and flying it in X-plane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hobofat Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Great news Guy! The new screenshots are fantastic, and I am really looking forward to seeing the project complete. I particularly liked the window shot from first class.Is it safe to assume that this product will be supported for version 10 of X-Plane since it is just on the horizon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RojanTrojan Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Absolutely incredible work Guy. Your Comet really is a labour of love. That new lick of paint, really makes a tremendous difference to the exterior. Thanks for the update.Rhydian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guym-p Posted November 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Is it safe to assume that this product will be supported for version 10 of X-Plane since it is just on the horizon?Supported, yes, absolutely. The Comet has to work in X-Plane 10, no two ways about it.Guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guym-p Posted December 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 On that subject, I had a go with the Comet in X-Plane 10 this morning. Screen shots are here:http://dh-aircraft.co.uk/news/files/ecabe5cbd89d4a2cf180e654abb817d7-87.htmlI think the rendering quality in X-Plane 10 is amazing. There is a refinement of lighting and detail that's in a different league compared with 9. I'm trying not to be distracted by 10 at the moment: by the time the Comet is finished, X-Plane 10 should have settled down nicely and I can start adapting the Comet then. Anyone who buys the Comet for v9 will get a free upgrade to an updated model for v10.Guy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orcair Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 Looks Amazing! X-Plane 10 and the Comet Thanks for the great work and effort put into the Comet. Orcair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guym-p Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 More updates: I've spent a considerable amount of time tuning the Comet's performance with a Rolls-Royce Avon engine plug-in by Smellybeard (UK X-Plane Development Team). Also in preparing a paint kit. This is as much for me as anyone else: the master PSD files with all the metal, shadow, seam and rivet details were several gigabytes each, which is simply not practical on a day-to-day basis. The first livery to trundle off the line, using the paint kit, is for Middle East Airlines. Screenshots here:http://www.dh-aircraft.co.uk/news/files/fba96854a61eabb80cd4413aa7cb53d1-90.htmlGuy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RojanTrojan Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 That's seriously impressive work Guy. I bet you have picked up a lot of new skills making your Comet. I tried my hand at Adobe Illustrator a while ago to make drawings for laser cutting my simpit panels. Steep learning curve but a superb piece of software. It's amazing when you start a project how many new skills you pick up on the way. Fantastic. Thanks for the update.Rhydian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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