FSMPA Early Summer Event Part One .... NavAids over open waters?

[salt_air]

Part one of this training style event or tutorial is on ... to most all of us ... an unknown and unavailable radio system that will be referred to as the YE - ZB ... and it's use during WW II.

Just as important will be the gained knowledge of it's use will come into play in future events.




[SHORT HISTORY]

We've all had the opportunity to fly in events ... several ... at SOH and DC-3 Airways as well as right here ... that both exercise and test our skills of Dead Reckoning.

A lot of fun and just the right amount of challenge considering we had plenty of time to practice the route ... make some notes as to landmarks and the visual characteristics of the route to be able to tell ... at those points along the way ... that you were in fact where you needed to be ... or close.



Okay so you're making you run .... in the event now ... and the canal you made a note of in practice and are using as a landmark reference is on your left instead of your right ... whoops!

Wind calculations were a bit off or you were in fact staring at those gals by the pool you flew over for a bit longer than you should have ... yeah you, either way no real worries ... just cut back to port a little more and see how you fare out on your next visual checkpoint or landmark on your notepad.

As long as you stay a step ahead of a fairly intelligent flight plan and the visibility doesn't drop to a half mile or so you can expect to arrive at your intended destination .... cool!



How about taking off from an island way out in the middle of the "Big" water and trying to find a ship that's about one and a half times the size of a football field .... 300 miles away.

Good luck ... practice that one all you want your notepad won't have very much, if anything, on it at all ... that event is not going to be a lot of fun ... pointless much beyond what you are reading.

One would have to have some kind of NavAids to have a chance at all, but if you think about it .... given what we know of as the NavAids of the time ... none of those were out in the oceans, they were all installed on towers or at some land based station.



The twenties and thirties were a time in aviation history where ... among other issues ... the use of aircraft at sea was going through a push in their scope of operations.

With that came the need for aircraft flying over open water to have a suitable means of finding their way ... back to the ship from a land based station ... from a CAP mission or maybe just a simple SAR ... most especially from an attack on the enemy.



Now that it has been 70 years ... well over the time for any classified or secret information to be un-classified ... a lot of that information has become available to all that will search.

Fortunately for the FS community a recent release of previously classified (even to it's existence) information on what the US Navy used as a "Homing Device" for all of it's aircraft carrier based planes, has been made available and it has caught the eye of one of the communities best problem solvers and modelers ... Mr. Dave Bitzer.

Most of you will have run into his fine work along the way on such projects as the fabulous Radio Range scenery that we have used here in past events (and will in the future).

Dave has successfully modeled for us a fully operational set of radios .... transmitters on the ships and receivers on the planes ... referred to as the YE- ZB .... and that is what we will be using in this event.




[IMPORTANT NOTE]

As of this writing this will be an event hosted in FS9 only.

Sorry if you are a FSX only "player" you will need to wait until the differences in formats can be facilitated or another similar event can be hosted as FSX only ... or even better in the process it can be an event for both sims.

You will see this event very soon for FSX as a lot of the work has already been done.

As a matter of fact it would be a good idea to go ahead and download the file listed below for use later.

Basically there is a difference in the scenery structure of both sims that I haven't been able to bridge and I'm unable to run 2 events simultaneously.




[EVENT DETAILS]

Any and all who are interested in participating in this event will need to have downloaded and successfully installed all of the zip file found here : http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/conten...ght&fid=162240

ye-zb5_db.zip ...... this one for FS2004

yezb_fsx_db.zip ... this one for FSX

Completely install all of the contents of the zip file as per Dave's included instructions.

You may of course ask any questions pertinent to it's installation as they arise.

Have a working knowledge of Morse Code or at the very least a comprehensive Morse Code Table chart that is easily accessible ... hard copy or in a window that doesn't have to be toggled to see ... like on a second or third monitor or in a stand alone window on a single monitor setup.

Familiarize yourself between now and then with the flight characteristics of either or both of the included aircraft in the zip file ... each one has it's own "personality".


"Report" to TS3 server at : fsmpa.hopto.org on either Saturday or Sunday of next weekend (2nd or 3rd of June) at 1945 ZULU.



[CONCLUSION]

Even though this is a training or tutorial event you will need to have your "mess" together as described above.

Feel anxious and wonder what is next ... that's what is going to make this event work ... you will learn more like that and pick things up quicker.

First in first out ... will we be taking a flight to and from two undisclosed locations and learn how to use the YE-ZB and be comfortable using it as your only means of knowing where you are .... (in relation to your ship) ... you will take off in the order that you joined the TS3 server that day.

Upon joining the server you will be welcomed and brought into a briefing room where we will be informed of our starting and ending points for the flight.

Also at that time you will receive the codes (frequency) for that day's operation and may proceed to that airport finding position off of the active runway and the joining that session with it's issued password.




[END]

I had the pleasure to help with this gauge's development .... it was both fascinating and a lot of fun.

Since that time I have been "busting" to share this with all of you.

It is yet another terrific stage that has been provided and set for us to enjoy with no expense other than your own time and effort.

We all will want to give Dave a big round of praise and thanks by the time this event is complete.



Please post any questions as they come up.

Look forward to as many as can make it next weekend.





Cheers,

[teson1]

Hi Austin,
great event shaping up!
I have wondered how the navy pilots have found back to their ships after a mission indeed.
In particular using radio, but not allowing the enemy to home in.

I've wiped my disk and am currently reinstalling all programs from scratch, so I'm not sure I'll be ready till next week-end, but I'll do my best to be there.

Thanks!

[NikeHerk67]

Somehow, some way, I managed to fly the Cape to Cape adventure over at SOH.

When I got into Cape Town I heard there was a party going on and the drinks were on, none other than our own Salt_Air. What a party folks! I’m tellin ya!
Anything you wanted, and all the amenities. As I walked into the bar there was the Glenn Miller band playing “In the Mood.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJE-onnw2gM What an atmosphere!

So I started gabbin with Salt and he’s telling me that the Navy is recruiting pilots.

My immediate reaction was to say, you mean the Army Air Corps. They’ve been flying missions since they could fly over enemy territory and drop hand held bombs out of the open cockpit.

No, Salt corrected me immediately! "I definitely said the Navy", he reinterated.
They want us to do what??? I think my sarsaparilla was spiked! Take Off and Land on BOATS????
No Salt corrected me once again.…..they’re called ships, not boats! Not only that, these Navy ships are known as aircraft carriers!

What will they think of next? I suppose flying in outer space or something!

Now folks I’ve been crop dusting, flying mail, flying into and out of remote areas in the Alaskan bush, but I have to be honest with you, I’ve NEVER taken off and landed on a BOAT…..Oh, excuse mee SIR!!!......I mean SHIP! or Ah, AIRCRAFT CARRIER!
Ha! This should be good, I’m up for anything!

Ah, barkeep, excuse me, I’ll have another and give one to the lady over there in the jungle dress, on me! :eek

[salt_air]

Two very welcomed replies in as many days .... very good!



Gunter we will do anything we can to fit your timetable into this event.

Best of luck with a smoothest up ... do not rush or make any sacrifice to make this event ... there will be more.

Let me know if you require any assistance at all .... only suggest skipping any FSX related items until after the"show".



Fred good to see you "in" .... as usual if I can do anything to help you get ready just hollar .... that goes for everyone.

I would like to "employ" your assistance during both sessions .... nothing big to take away from participation.





Pertaining to the subject of this thread ....

I have outfitted 2 other period correct aircraft with all that is needed for use in this event ... Not to complicate, but to add a bit of variety.

In my research I have found that there were still a few Brewster F2A-3 Buffaloes in service ... in particular as a load out for the "Lex" (Lexington) ... CV-2 ... one of two carriers that will be included in a scenery download when we got to sea in part 2.

Also aboard both of the carriers we will be using ... the second being the "Sara" (Saratoga) .. CV-3 ... were compliments of Douglas TBF Devastator Torpedo Bombers.

I have successfully adapted ZB equipped panels to both aircraft as they are offered their CFS2 updates that will allow them to function in FS9.

These can be made available during the next two weeks as a download from our TS3 server by request .... should be available for uploaded by end of business tomorrow ... 29May2012 ...

A mix is always nice in any event but it is no good to anyone if you are flying aircraft that on one else has ... they won't see you as you are ... it is impossible for the simulator to display textures that it does not have resident.

Therefore, make requests here so that the rest of us will know to download the planes too ... even if we don't use them ... just so we can see you.

If no one uses them ... as the two included in the download are fine ... then no problem .. don't feel obligated .. C'est La Vie.

I plant ... after the event ... to "Hanger" these planes for future use by placing them in a folder inside of my aircraft folder titled 1942 .... you can title it anything you want that will take them off of Aircraft List .... they won't load every time your sim starts up.

When we need the again you would simply take them out of the "Hanger" for the event and put them back again when done ... just a suggestion for anyone else the has accumulated a bazillion aircraft and doesn't like waiting three days for the sim to start because it's loading all of those aircraft.



I'll say this now and will have reference made in the downloads ... I take NO credit in each instance for the product with the exception of each panel's layout and the compilation of the any and all of the various gauges ... to include Dave's ZB receiver.

These offerings will be whole aircraft ... just download and place in your aircraft folders ... they will populate your simulator's Aircraft List by the manufacturer's names.




The 2 aircraft carriers we will be using will be included in a scenery upload to TS the day of the second event.

Don't get excited ... or better yet DO get excited ... get used to feeling "lost" and uncomfortable.

Both of those carriers were made by Paul Clawson .... I will only be placing them and installing (or relocating) YE transmitters on each .... details later in the description of the Part 2 Event.





So .... for this event ... both parts we will be using the following aircraft only:


Included in download .... ye-zb5_db.zip


Grumman F4F4 Wildcat






Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless








Per request ................


Douglas TDB-1 Devastor







Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo








I have made panels for several other aircraft in and around this period should we need or be able to use them in future events, and can assist in the modifications to any others.

But for these two events it would be best to keep it simple ...




Cheers,

[PRB]

Oh this is cool. Downloading YE-ZBs now.

[PRB]

Ok, got it installed. The instructions say it takes "several minutes" for the ZB receiver to "warm up and start producing sounds". I'm wondering how long "several minutes" is... I'm seeing the signal strength meter move periodically, can even tell I'm getting a weak and strong signal. But no audio. Got volume knob turned all the way up. Double checked the cfg file and wav file are in the FS9 sounds folder. I'm sitting on the runway at KSFO for ten minutes, watching the needle twitch every now and then. No dits or dahs.

[PRB]

I figured it out. I didn't copy the dsd_361b.gau gauge to the gauges folder. It works now. Cool!

[salt_air]

Had confidence in ya Paul!








Reminder that this is a FS9 event.

A subsequent event may be hosted at a later date for those who no longer have FS9 installed.

This is a simple list of what will be needed for tomorrow and/or Sunday:



Have downloaded and installed everything in the ye-zb5_db.zip found here:

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/conten...ght&fid=162240

You will definitely need a hard copy of the "Wheel" or have it's image opened and handy in a window.








Have an easy to read Morse Code Chart within reach ... or preferably be somewhat fluent in Morse Code.

That's up to you ... it just makes things more realistic and smoother, but the chart, if easy to get to and read, will suffice.




If you have installed the receiver in any other aircraft, please post what aircraft that is so the rest of us can find textures for it and be able to see you in it.

If it's a payware aircraft then just make sure you join the session in one of the aircraft included in the zip ... then change planes after a successful connection ... that same procedure will need to be followed if for some reason connection is lost and you have to reconnect.




"Report to" :

TS3 at fsmpa.hopto.org on either day tomorrow or Sunday at 1945 ZULU ... I'll greet you in the default channel.

I'll be on a little early getting set up if you need any last minute help.


From the password protected briefing room we will proceed to Training at an undisclosed airport on a password protected session who's location is TBD.





Hope to see you there.

[RedGreen]

A Navy training flight successfully completed. Two Duantlesses and their Wildcat escorts...

[salt_air]