Real Life

When did you first get interested in aviation and do you have any real world aviation experience or memorable experiences?

Well, I've been interested in planes and aviation since I was a kid. I remember trying to build a fighter plane out of my Lego bricks when I was 7 or 8 years old and failed...no suitable parts were available. Too bad I stopped playing with them just a few years before they started selling "Lego Airport" kits!

I was lucky enough to have fantastic parents that always supported me and my interests, and gave me the chance to earn a Private Pilot License, when I was about twenty - that is almost twenty years ago. I had the chance to fly a Socata TB.9 Tampico, a Piper PA-28, a SIAI-205 and an incredibly old but extremely funny Aviamilano P.19 (in a very rare tricycle configuration).

I will never forget the emotion of my first solo flight. I'd have few memorable stories to tell...but I don't want to waste too much of your time. Suffice to say that flying for real it is awesome, and even if I had to quit since it is a very expensive hobby, I feel privileged for having lived such experiences. It was one of the things I really wanted to do before I die - and I'll never regret the money spent flying.

Because of my pilot license, I could pick the Aeronautica Militare for my draft service (which was still mandatory for ten months in Italy at the time). I courageously defended the Italian skies checking IDs and filling paperwork at the 46ma Brigata Aerea in Pisa (which is the main tactical transport unit in Italy, and has C-130s and C-27s). Too far from the planes for my tastes...but that was my role. And my office was pretty close to the runway, so it could have been worse.

Tell us about some of your favorite real world aircraft and what it is you like about them?

Well, again, too many to mention! As you may know I have an obsession for the F-14 Tomcat - because I saw Top Gun when I was 12, and completely blew me away, and because it looks awesome.

Then, if you are an Italian aviation enthusiast you must be in love with the Aermacchi MB.339, the trainer flown by our beloved Frecce Tricolori, the awesome national aerobatic team.

The F-35 Lightning II is another incredible flying machine. It is an absolutely amazing piece of technology - which is receiving a lot of bad press, mostly unjustified. It is having its share of growing pains, sure, but it is an amazing project - and the STOVL version is impressive.

Would you like to share what you do in real life?

I am a mechanical engineer, working for a local subsidiary of a relatively large engineering corporation. My job involves the design and development of high reliability electrical connections - which are also employed in several military aircraft.

What other hobbies or things do you do for enjoyment?

I have many other hobbies and interests - which, unfortunately for the flight simulation community, tend to slow down the development of my projects. I am an avid video gamer and reader, and I like a lot going to the movies. I am also a martial arts enthusiast (although I am getting old!) and I am lucky enough to live pretty close to very nice beaches (where I spend most of my summer weekends swimming and reading) but most of all I like talking with people, especially my friends - very interesting folks!

Development

When did you start developing for flight simulators and what got you interested in it?

I started developing for Flight Simulator in 1999, and I started modifying an existing T-45C model - reason was simply that I thought that model was nice, but it could have had better textures and a better panel... and here we are, 14 years later...

Tell us about the nature of your designs and what you do?

I am a Flight Simulator aircraft model developer - mostly focused on 3D modeling (both external model and virtual cockpits), texturing and flight modeling, although I also do XML programming, if need be. Being a military aviation enthusiast, my models are military jets - and loving the sea as much as I do, they are mostly naval aviation models.

What do you consider your best or most popular work?

The T-45C Goshawk v2.40 for FSX is probably the most appreciated of my recent works, but I am very happy of quality of the latest versions of the F-14D and F-35. But my most popular work, by far, was an old F-14B Tomcat for FS2004. More than 85,000 downloadable at FlightSim.Com only, last time I checked.

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of a project?

Technically it is probably flight modeling. It is very hard to create good flight dynamics - and it is very easy to screw up if you are not careful. But the most difficult thing, for me, is finding the time to work on my projects. It is a VERY time consuming hobby. Detailing the cockpits, and programming their functionalities is a very time consuming job.

What are some of the more unique or special aspects of what you create?

None. I really believe there is nothing special in what I do.

What have been your favorite projects?

All of them. I honestly cannot pick one: the time required to develop a detailed model is so long that you have to love what you are doing to keep doing it.

Who would you consider to be your mentors or inspiration in the development world

There are too many to mention them all... for example in the FS98 era, I loved the works of Angelo Moneta. Nowadays, I really love the attention to detail that Vertical Reality Simulation put in their F/A-18E SuperHornet. I wish my planes were as good as their Superbug.

Do you only developer freeware and if so why?

Yes, with one exception. I put the initial release of the F-35 on sale to recover the development costs which were pretty high. The main reason why, at least for the moment, I am sticking to freeware is that, well, I can afford it. I have a full time job which provides the money I need for living and then some - so I can spend my spare time doing what I like, rather than what the market wants. I expect a certain level of quality from a payware project - and I simply do not have the time, or will, to bring my projects to that level. So, I can pick any project, bring it as far as I like and not be subject to customer expectations, market constraints or deadlines.

The Team

How many people work with you or your team and what do the various members of the team do?

I do not have a "proper" team, rather, during the development of my projects I often receive free contribution from various developers, many of them are experts in specific areas of flight simulation - I am very grateful to all of them, my projects would not be as good as they are without their help. To mention some of the most important in my recent projects, I'd like to thank Jivko "Neutrino" Rusev provided the excellent HUD for the T-45, F-14D and F-35, Serge Luzin for his realistic custom sound packages and Rob Barendregt, who convinced me that proper STOVL flight for the F-35B was possible and delivered an excellent module for that functionality. And then, Roberto Leonardo, Mario Motta, Scott Printz, and the list goes on and on... not to mention the beta testers and the supporters.

Future

How do you choose your next new design or project?

Well, there are many different factors. The main thing is that the subject should be an interesting and peculiar plane for my tastes. Something I'd like to see and fly in the real world, and for which there are no satisfactory renditions available in FSX. Then development time and resources (including the availability of documentation and flight manuals, commercial 3D models etc.) are taken in account - and balanced towards my schedule... Each new project is evaluated carefully since, at the moment, a full-scale FSX model may need 8-12 months to make.

What simulators do you design for now and what ones do you plan to develop for in the future?

For the moment I am sticking to Flight Simulator X, and I am adding Tacpack Support to all of my projects. Provided I can find the time to continue this hobby, Prepar3D 2.0 seems to be the most promising platform to develop for.

In what ways do you see development changing in the future?

This is a good question... to me, the main problem is time. The increasingly high level of detail makes it so that modeling a top-notch aircraft has become an extremely long and sometimes quite expensive process. Freeware developers are becoming a rarity, profitability of commercial products is not great, and, with Microsoft bailing out of the simulation scene after the Flight fiasco, the future of this hobby is hard to tell.

Your Thoughts

How do you feel about the future of flight simulation in general?

Another good question. Honestly, I do not have great feelings. I was deeply disappointed by Microsoft and their huge fiasco with Flight. There were some good ideas and some nice features in their product, along with incredibly dumb design choices. Realistic flight simulation has always been a niche, but the absence of a franchise as strong as Microsoft Flight Simulator is a major blow to the diffusion of this hobby. From what I can tell, Prepar3D 2.0 could be a step forward... let's see.

What would you like people to know about you or your team and work?

Well, there are some interesting updates almost ready to be released. First there is a major upgrade to the F-35, which will sport several improvements and working weapons (in Tacpack environment). Then the F-14D is being upgraded, too (and will also have working weapons). Then, I am working on an S-3 Viking project...which is far from being complete, but it is looking very good. You can follow the development of my projects on my blog: indiafoxtecho.blogspot.com or on my Facebook page - look for indiafoxtecho on Facebook.

Dino Cattaneo
indiafoxtecho.blogspot.com
Download Dino Cattaneo aircraft