Nicola_M

In fact, a few minutes and a few waves of the rubber and we now have a B-17F. All I've got to do is figure out which bits of black are the guns, and just hope Khamsin and Arno didn't use one gun for the lot, else I may end up neutering it of all guns....

I see Khamsin's released the paintkit for the B-17 and either Chip or Simon's asking for the Memphis Belle livery. Anyone planning on doing it? I'm looking at it, but it's raised a few thoughts. The Memphis Belle from the 1980s film is/was not the original aircraft (the original sat in a museum collecting dust and vandalism until the mid 90s) and so I'd need to do a bit of trawling first to make sure we at least get the right livery. For instance, just a cursory google shows a number of photos showing the dress in red and one in blue, and also the hair colour being blonde and in some cases, red. This could be a crapshoot to get an authentic livery. Thought I'd use here to upload various pics and images from the net so we can see what may be right and what's wrong before putting anything into Photoshop. - - - The original Memphis Belle (and the one in the film) were B-17Fs, notable by the absence of the chin turret, so a MB livery on the B-17G can't be totally accurate. Taken from wikipedia: "Five real B-17s were acquired for the filming of Memphis Belle, out of eight that were airworthy in the late 1980s. Three were located in America, two were in France, and one (Sally was later used in England. Since the original Memphis Belle was a B-17F model, almost all of the B-17s used in the film were heavily modified to look like the F models, having chin turrets replaced and the planes painted olive green. During filming, two B-17s portrayed the Belle (one was the movie version of the Belle, the other was Sally B, which can be obvious because there is a plate where the chin turret used to be), the rest had nose art changed numerous times to make it seem like there were more bombers." Prime example. Below is the front of the real MB, below that is one of the movie MBs. Which are we having?

Nlo, it's just Objects set to Insane, and over New York.

noo yoik, sorry, Massachussetts

BK117 livery A-4 CN 7137 UMASS - EXCLUSIVE TO X-PILOT.COM Repaint for Nils Danielsson's excellent payware MBB BK-117. Simply unzip the file "CN 7137 UMASS" into your xplane/aircraft/helicopters/bk117/liveries folder. This is the livery of N118LF c/n 7137, the 137th machine off the Donauworth production line in 1987. It used to be the EMS ship for UMASS Memorial Hospital, as seen here. In 2009 it was replaced by an EC-145, and transferred to Germany where it is now D-HIMU in the DRF fleet. Use with the NON-Radome version, bear paws are switched off. File located in file library here: http://forums.x-pilot.com/index.php/files/category/20-helicopters/

No. Have patience. There's so much going on with new aircraft coming out, and guys like Cameron trying to do several things at once - last I read he was doing the Saab manual, now there's the Nimitz fracas, plus updating the website etc for the T38 coming out, etc etc. Only so much can happen at once. Be patient, these things are worth waiting for.

And, as a bonus, here's what it looked like before.... BK117 livery A-4 CN 7123 LifeAir 1 - EXCLUSIVE TO X-PILOT.COM Repaint for Nils Danielsson's excellent payware MBB BK-117. Simply unzip the file "CN 7123 LifeAir 1" into your xplane/aircraft/helicopters/bk117/liveries folder. This is the livery of N117SM c/n 7123, the 123rd machine off the Donauworth production line in 1987. It began life as Life Air One, based at Schumpert Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana from 1987-1993, in the livery represented here. In November 1993, Life Air Rescue was created by the merging of the Schumpert and Willis-Knighton air meds, and the aircraft was repainted as above. This aircraft was replaced by the now-familiar EC-135, and is now N117CH, the Atlanta Children's Healthcare helo. Use with the NON-Radome version, bear paws are switched off. File located in file library here: http://forums.x-pilot.com/index.php/files/category/20-helicopters/

BK117 livery A-4 CN 7123 LifeAir 2 - EXCLUSIVE TO X-PILOT.COM Repaint for Nils Danielsson's excellent payware MBB BK-117. Simply unzip the file "CN 7123 LifeAir 2" into your xplane/aircraft/helicopters/bk117/liveries folder. This is the livery of N399MA c/n 7123, the 123rd machine off the Donauworth production line in 1987. It began life as Life Air One, based at Schumpert Medical Center, Shreveport, Louisiana from 1987-1993 (see below). On November 15, 1993, Life Air Rescue was created by the merging of Schumpert's Life Air One, and Willis-Knighton's Air Rescue, and the old Life Air 1 got a repaint in the colours they still use today. This aircraft operated from 1993 until 1997 in the livery you see here, when it was replaced by the now-familiar EC-135, and is now N117CH, the Atlanta Children's Healthcare helo. Use with the NON-Radome version, bear paws are switched off. File located in file library here: http://forums.x-pilot.com/index.php/files/category/20-helicopters/

Most hobbies can be expensive, but it depends on what you get out of it. If I was to work out how many hours I've had out of xplane (plus payware items) cost, there isn't much in this life which can keep you occupied and entertained for so little. These days, what you spend on a night out would be enough to get you a decent sim plus a few add-ons.

Just as well the patient was strapped in....

I could be wrong here, but I think it's not just about the size of the companies, but who's in them. Most of the people making planes for xplane seem to start off doing it in their own time as one-man-bands as a labour of love and wanting a particular plane. When it comes to finding someone with the skills they lack, they have to be lucky and find someone who'll help. But PMDG would have just gone out and hired the team already. Two cases in point: Javier, whose CRJ almost was cancelled because he needed to find someone like Philipp with the relevant skills and time, and then R*v**** who can spit planes out at an astonishing rate, but who can't make cockpits for toffee. Both of these show why development of the level of planes we're getting now has been so slow, is because there are few people who can make planes of this complexity from start to finish without needing to rely on another for key areas. This is why there are a number of small teams - Javier & Philipp, Arno & Khamsin, Jack & Joe, Goran & Theo. I've noticed that in nearly all cases, each does one aspect of the build, while the other does another part. I think we have our own PMDG in these guys.

Fictional livery O1. File located in file library here: http://forums.x-pilot.com/index.php/files/category/20-helicopters/

Thanks for the video, Oliver. Quite moving, even for those of us not connected with the tragedy.

X-Pilot Tiger 2 Livery I've updated the Tiger livery, so that it now has the bear paws removed and has the updated seats. Note: This is for the Non-Radome version. File located in file library here: http://forums.x-pilot.com/index.php/files/category/20-helicopters/

BK117 B-1 CN 7057 D-HBNE This is the livery of D-HBNE c/n 7057, the 57th machine off the Donauworth production line in 1986. In November 1987 it was the project aircraft for the B-1 type certificate application from the German Aviation Authority (LBA) at Ottobrun. Afterwards it was yet another which became a factory demonstrator, exhibited at Farnborough on 4-11 September 1988 & 5-12 September 1990. For most of its life, HBNE has been an F1 Grand Prix VIP shuttle and corporate hospitality helicopter, operated by LGM Luftfahrt GmbH in Mannheim. It is currently the Arch 9 EMS ship, N990SL, for Litchfield, Illinois. Use with the Radome version, bear paws & cutters are switched off. Includes updated seats. File located in file library here: http://forums.x-pilot.com/index.php/files/category/20-helicopters/

Landing at LIRQ in the new D-HBNE LGM Mannheim livery.

Thanks for the compliment, UH. No rush to download, they'll still be here when you're sorted. Hope you're getting somewhere with your xplane problems.

BK117 Prototype "P-2" This is the livery of the BK117 prototype, P-2, which has now been updated with the removal of the landing gear step. P-2 was the only BK117 to not have this step. This can be used in either the radome or non-radome model. The original P-2 is now in the Helicopter Museum in Buckeburg, Germany. File located in file library here: http://forums.x-pilot.com/index.php/files/category/20-helicopters/

This is the latest in my series of BK117 liveries. Helitreck 225. I can't say with certainty very much about this aircraft, VH-FHB (c/n 1056, built 1990) and its twin, VH-FHF (c/n 1093, built 1991). Both are identically painted, with FHB numbered 225 on the tail, and FHF numbered 226. I've seen these two aircraft described as owned by Altitude Aviation, NSW Fire & Police, and also by Helitreck Aviation, so I'm guessing here. As they are both Kawasaki-built in Japan, I have no details of their history or heritage. However, there is a nice video of these two BK117s on Helitreck's website , but I don't know if they are still trading. http://www.heliservi...ircraft/bk-117/ This livery is designed for the radome version. The png file leaves the wire cutters displayed, but hides the radome and bear paws. Just extract it to your xplane/aircraft/helicopters/bk117/liveries folder. This is the first to have the correct door handle signs, fuel cap logos and a new interior. File located in file library here: http://forums.x-pilot.com/index.php/files/category/20-helicopters/

I've seen that too at some airports. The whole landing skid sinks into the ground.

They're those big wide feet things at the back of the skids on the BK to stop it sinking into snow.

Okay it's finished. You now have one livery for now, but with the choice of selecting any combination of Radome, wire cutters or bear paws on the BK117. Until now we were stuck with either everything on, or everything off. And some liveries look silly when they're only supposed to have the radome but not the cutters. Hunnas on the other site also wanted a BK117 without the bear paws. This now turns them off. Download from: http://nicola.x-aviation.com/CN%207007%20D-HXXL%201-7.zip This is really just to show what is now possible, but I don't think it's practical to make every livery weigh in at 40mb with 7 variations in it. If no one objects, I'll just use this new idea to make the livery look as close to the original aircraft as possible. For example, the livery above and in the pictures below. D-HXXL in reality has no radome, no cutters and no paws. By modifying the non-radome png, it is possible to delete the paws. Of course, if you loaded up the radome model, then you'd get the lot - radome, cutters and paws, whether you wanted them or not. 1. X-X-X Radome, cutters and paws all OFF 2. R-X-X Radome only. Cutters and paws OFF 3. R-C-X Radome and cutters only. Paws OFF. 4. R-C-P Radome, cutters and paws all ON 5. X-C-P Radome OFF, cutters and paws ON 6. R-X-P Radome ON, cutters OFF, paws ON 7. X-C-X Radome OFF, cutters ON, paws OFF

The only way I can find to do this is to put six livery files in as one livery, each one different for the desired part to be selected. You load up your radome version of the BK117, and then in xplane you just select from one of the six variants of the supplied livery to give you the desired equipment level. This is the best way I can think to do this, as I know a few people wanted to mix & match between radome, wire cutters and bear paws on the BK117. So, future liveries of mine will follow the idea in the table below. (The key part is R-C-P (Radome/Cutters/Paws). Whichever one is switched off will have an "X") Let me know guys, any interest in this among you heli pilots?

For those heli fans, I have found a way of getting more out of Nils' BK117. Now we can have the option of switching the bear paws on or off, and also the radome and wire cutters independently, all done through the paint kit. The items are still there, but totally invisible. This means you can now have the radome model without the wire cutters, or just the wire cutters but without the radome. Looks much cleaner without the bear paws. I've also found how to remove the landing gear step, but as the prototype was the only one without it, it'll only apply to me because I've done the prototype's livery. Just sorting out minor details, but hoping to have this finalised in a paintkit in the next day or two. Picture 1: Radome ON, wire cutters OFF, bear paws OFF Picture 2: Radome OFF, wire cutters ON, bear paws OFF Picture 3: New seats. You may also notice that the BK now has the correct door handle signs, fuel cap "Jet" logo, and fueling instructions on the rear flank.

Windows users & Devs - X Mouse Button Changer I found this fantastic gizmo called X-Mouse Button Changer, and a thread on Armchair Aviation prompted me to post it here too, as it may be of use to Windows users, and may also invoke some lateral thinking with you devs. What xmbc does is intercept what your mouse does, and swaps certain commands for certain programs you specify. It works for any program, and it's free. www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/XMouseButtonControl.htm For example, in xplane, Left Click is left alone (not intercepted). Right Click is intercepted and rerouted to Spot View. Scroll Wheel Press is intercepted and rerouted as Toggle 3D cockpit. Side buttons 1 & 2 are intercepted and rerouted as + and -, meaning I can move around the 3d cockpit, zoom in/out, click buttons, toggle into 3D cockpit and toggle outside spot view, all with one hand on the mouse. I know it's not a perfect thing for you, as it's not Mac/Linux etc, but may give you some ideas. I would never run xplane without it now. Here's its programming screen, showing how you can use it to manipulate inputs for various programs.