Past, Present, & Future

**BillD22** · 12-05-2009, 12:03 AM

Along the lines of my previous "Airlifters Side by Side" thread here are some FSX comparison shots that show 3 generations of U.S. Navy patrol planes on the flight line at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego (KNZY).

"The Past" represented by the Lockheed P2V-7 "Neptune" (FSX model by Alpha Sim) was in service from the 1950's thru early 1970's; "The Present" in the form of the Lockheed P3 "Orion" entered service in the early 60's and the "C" model (FSX verson by Team FS KBT) remains the frontline airplane today in both the U.S. and a number of other countries; and "The Future" is the Boeing P8A "Poseidon" (FS2004 model by Project Opensky), a 737 derivative scheduled to begin replacing the P3 in 2013.

These shots give a good idea of the relative size and characteristics of these airplanes. Besides the jet engines one major visual difference between the P8 and the P2 and P3 is the absence of the distinctive magnetic anomoly detection tail "stinger" found on the earlier airplanes. To be 100% complete this series should also include the Martin P5M "Marlin" seaplane which served alongside the P2V-7 for roughly the same time period but I didn't see a handy one for FSX.

Hope these shots are of interest to some folks

Bill

**aris11b** · 12-05-2009, 01:43 AM

Very nice post, I also like the historical facts with the post, made for an informative read.

I like how the new P8 is designed, I noticed the wing tips are not of the winglet design, but have a gentler arch to them, and I really like it's got missiles....

I'd like to see this texture for a default FSX 737

Thanks for sharing Bill, good post, good pics

Cheers
Ari

**peer01** · 12-05-2009, 02:59 AM

Nice bunch here Bill

**weengo** · 12-05-2009, 03:10 AM

My favourite would be the pc3 orion, if i remember correct the second aircraft i ever liked (first was the f1-11

)

great read like always Bill

**BillD22** · 12-05-2009, 08:58 AM

Many thanks for the comments Ari, Dylan, & Jan - much appreciated guys.

One of my favorite things about FS is the level of detail on the models in the sim we're seeing these days that lets us make these kinds of comparisons with a couple of mouse clicks and key strokes. It would be really hard to get a P2, P3, and P8 together in the real world

Pretty cool technology stuff

Thanks again for looking