PhrogPhlyer

John, Thanks for the clarification on how FS functions. One of the challenges of FS is working to make it as real as we the uses want it to be.

To me, in reviewing the ADE information and the actual approach plates for URSS, none of this makes any sense. If FS was basing any of the arrivals on real world charts, there would be NO fixed wing landings on 20 or 24. All the instrument approaches are for 04 or 06, with no circling weather depicted, meaning, no circling to land on 20 or 24. This is due to multiple terrain obstructions NE of the field. And the missed approaches are for a climbing turn ( away from those obstacles). Also there are no approach lighting systems nor VASI/PAPI for 20 or 24. And the extensive airport remark data pages make no reference to VFR or IFR landing on 20 or 24, only take offs. So, the landings on 20 may be an FS default coding (airport or traffic) with no bearing on real world operations and possibly non-adjustable with ADE. You even stated that " By default, ATC use 02 for landings and take-offs." which is not what apparently happens at the actual airfield. This is just a guess on what is happening. I do hope you find a way to make this work appropriately, i.e. TO/Dpt = 20/24, Aprch/Lnd = 04/06. Ref: https://opennav.com/airport/URSS

The joys of "new and improved." Glad it sorted itself out.

There are two sides to this, yes one is that there are people that wealthy, but without their interest the space program would be DOA in the US. I also believe that it took several other counties launching their own space initiatives to "almost" get the US program off of the coroners table.

I miss the days when schools would either let you stay home to watch a launch or they would project the TV in the auditorium for all to watch (yes TV, no computers or internet at that time). I watched every launch from Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the early shuttles. Unfortunately the Columbia incident, the over televised shots of the explosion and the shocked families at Canaveral, accelerated the already decreasing public support for these missions. That was seen by many as the same type of event as the Hindenburg and the Concord crashes. I hope that the the new budding interest in space continues to grow and people can share the joy and wonder I did during those early years.

Frank, During this trying time for Boeing, it was a welcomed relief to relive some of the glory days. What made this such a good review of the 747 was that you covered not only the highlights but also tragic incidents. And you exposed the viewer to the amazing scenery that can be found in MSFS. As always, well done!

Nicely done. "Felt" like the real deal.

Lighter than air history is a story of great advances interspersed with epic tragedies. After decades of casual LTA research and collecting, please allow me to suggest a few websites to get your interest going. Luftschiffbau Zeppelin https://www.zeppelin-lz.com/ Airship Heritage Trust https://www.airshipsonline.com/airships/index.html Lighter Than Air Society https://www.blimpinfo.com/ Naval Airship Association https://www.naval-airships.org/ Excellent series on current considerations and status of airships. https://lynceans.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Part-1_Intro-text-and-tables_Rev-3_26Aug2021-converted-compressed_1.pdf And of course YouTube and Archive.og.

Absolutely have enjoyed sharing the adventure with you.

Thanks, I'll look there. No, I'm working on the Piasecki/Vertol facility in Morton PA.

Would anyone know if a helicopter rotor whirl tower/stand or just a set of rotor blades exist as a scenery object for FSX or FS9? I'm adding a rotor whirl tower into a scene, it now has the tower, but no rotor. Thanks

FS2002 has a flat earth, FSX a round earth. So no. "Maybe" some of the scenery objects "might" be usable, but nor the scenery itself.

This tool is a must for anyone getting into retexturing your aircraft. For detailed explanation of all this texturing lexicon see https://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Texturing There is a lot of trial and error involved when first saving textures and seeing them work, or not, on an aircraft. For anyone starting to retexture, I recommend that you write down the textures/alphas you use for a given aircraft, so you don't have to relearn these saved formats each time. I found that doing several repaints of a given aircraft helped me learn the steps and I feel I improved with each one. Also, I exclusively us paint.net for my repainting needs. It's free and does everything I've wanted to do. And it opens PaintShop psd files. Here is the simplest tutorial I've found. https://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php/Repainting_an_Aircraft Good luck to those who haven't started yet.

Nicely done.

Referred to as "vultures row."

And if able to fly yourself there, the experience is definitly enhanced.

On the links listing I've added any appropriate scenery regardless of the sim version. So there are some FS2004 links to be found there.

Concerning hovering and pedal turns. Never rush these actions. When I lift into a hover it can take 30 or more seconds to obtain the stable 5ft hover. Power (collective) application is as slow as I can possibly make it happen. I'm constantly scanning for, and correcting, the slightest undesired movement. Also, with any pedal turn, again, don't rush. A 360deg turn may take one or two minutes. Speed is never the goal in helicopter flying, it is smoothness and precision. You may even find that your airplane flying improves due to your new skill of strong scan and smooth corrective control application.

FLIGHT TRAINING MANEUVERS - LOW WORK Let’s start with basic maneuvers. These maneuvers form the foundation skills required of a helicopter pilot. Follow-on stages of the syllabus will build on these skills and require greater precision. It is imperative you develop a keen knowledge of the procedures and an almost effortless ability to execute the maneuvers contained in this section. The first maneuvers discussed will become second nature as a helicopter pilot. You will maneuver the helicopter in close proximity to the ground. Remain ever vigilant when you are at the controls at or near the ground. VERTICAL TAKEOFF Figure 1 Vertical Takeoff A vertical takeoff enables the pilot to transition from the ground to a 5-foot hover in ground effect. The vertical takeoff is the most common type of takeoff and should be used whenever possible. A vertical takeoff can be accomplished whenever the helicopter is capable of hovering with the skids three to ten feet above the ground. The helicopter is lifted from the ground, without drift, to a height of approximately five feet from the skids to the ground. Procedures 1. Controls in the neutral position. a. Neutralize the controls, collective full down 2. Conduct Takeoff Check before lifting. Establish the hover scan. a. The pilot shall check the caution panel and instruments prior to every vertical takeoff: b. “Nf and Nr are 100%” = check Nf and Nr are 100%. c. “Gauges are green” = take the time to ensure all gauges are in the normal operation range. d. “Caution panel is clean” = check for caution lights. e. “Fuel is _____ gallons” = check fuel load. f. “Clear, left, right and above” = clear the aircraft before lifting. g. Before takeoff to a hover, check carefully for any nearby obstructions forward, rearward, and to the sides. 3. Smoothly apply upward pressure to the collective until light on the skids. a. When aircraft starts to tilt, or yaw it is light in the skids. 4. Stabilize momentarily. a. Anticipate right yaw right due to increased torque effect. b. Anticipate right drift due to increased translating tendency from added tail rotor pitch. c. Hold the collective constant at this point. d. Maintain your position over the ground with cyclic, and a “down” scan. e. Maintain heading with pedals and an “out” scan. 5. Smoothly raise the collective to leave the ground. a. Eliminate drift with cyclic and a “down” scan. b. Maintain a constant heading with a slight adjustment on the pedals and an “out scan.” c. Line up an object near the helicopter and one farther away and direct attention to the front of the aircraft to maintain a constant heading when departing the ground. 6. Continue to raise the collective to reach hover altitude. a. A small collective reduction will be just prior to hover altitude to slow rate of climb. b. Approaching hover altitude, prioritize attitude, using light cyclic pressures and the “out” scan. Think of the whole windshield as a large attitude indicator. Scanning “down” too much degrades fine control of attitude. Peripheral vision offers depth perception and detects small movements of the aircraft. 7. Reaching an altitude of five feet, Stabilize and Trim out control pressures. a. Use the hover scan to obtain the hover attitude and maintain it. b. Maintain position of the controls to hold a stable hover. c. Make small, precise applications of pressures and movements as necessary. Position over the ground is accomplished by making fine attitude changes, not by gross movements. NOTES 1. In a no-wind hover, it will be necessary to set a left skid down attitude to overcome the translating tendency of the tail rotor. Because of this, the helicopter will take off back right skid first and land front left skid first. 2. In a transition to flight, lift is roughly equal to weight and the helicopter is very susceptible to wind gusts. Common Errors 1. Failure to maintain heading. This is usually caused by task-saturation or neglecting “out” scan. 2. Erratic ascent due to improper collective control applications. Possibly caused by: a. Over controlling b. Neglecting down scan c. Improper collective friction setting d. Not anticipating level off 3. Allowing helicopter to drift. Possibly caused by: a. Over controlling b. Neglecting down scan 4. Allowing excessive roll during liftoff. Lateral cyclic inputs that do not counter drift can lead to dynamic rollover. HOVER Hovering is a maneuver in which the helicopter is maintained in nearly motionless flight over a reference point with constant heading and altitude. Hovering is the unique flight characteristic giving the helicopter its versatility and capability, and the maneuver used to perform the majority of helicopter missions. Figure 2 Hover Scan Procedures 1. Use pedals “Out” scan to maintain attitude and heading. a. Use an object or tree in the distance as a focal point but soften your gaze to allow peripheral vision to collect as wide a field as possible. 2. Use collective and “Down” scan to maintain altitude (five feet). 3. Use cyclic and “Down” scan to maintain a position over a reference point. a. Looking too close or down for too long degrades attitude and generates overcontrolling. b. To remain over a certain point, you should know where the point is, but attention should not be focused on that point for an extended period. 4. Scan “In” for Nr, and engine instruments. Amplification and Technique 1. When first learning to hover, stress the “Out and Down” scan, vice “Out, Down, and In”. 2. All control corrections should be small pressure changes rather than abrupt movements. a. The most common fault is over controlling. Abrupt and erratic cyclic movements will make a stable hover impossible. A relatively constant collective (power) setting will enable smoother yaw and cyclic corrections. 3. A hover altitude of five feet (skid height above the ground) is utilized to provide approximately six feet of tail stinger to ground clearance and ample tail rotor clearance for maneuvering at hovering and taxiing altitude. 4. To maintain a hover over a point, look for small changes in the helicopter's attitude and altitude by scanning some distance from the aircraft, using various points on the helicopter or the tip-path plane as a reference. Make timely, small control inputs before the helicopter starts to move from the point. Common Errors and Safety Notes 1. Over controlling, (i.e., larger inputs than necessary). 2. Allowing excessive nose high attitudes at low altitude. Which may cause the tail rotor to impact the ground. 3. Fixating through the chin bubble or staring rather than driving “out, down, and in” scan. 4. Failure to maintain: a. Altitude. b. Position over a reference point. c. Heading. 5. Too tense on controls. VERTICAL LANDING A vertical landing enables the pilot to land from a hover. Land the helicopter by maintaining the hover attitude and smoothly lowering the collective until the skids come into contact with the ground and the weight is smoothly transferred from the rotor to the skids. Procedures 1. Apply slight downward pressure on the collective to begin a slow rate of descent. a. Begin stabilized in a five-foot hover and heading into the wind. 2. Use pedals to maintain heading and cyclic to eliminate drift. a. If you have the correct attitude, the helicopter will not drift, so constantly correct to the proper level attitude. 3. The rate of descent may slow or stop as the helicopter nears the ground. Continue the descent with slight collective pressure until ground contact is made. a. This tendency is due to the increased influence of ground effect with the decrease in distance between the rotor system and the ground. b. Do not over control the cyclic at this point. c. Maintain the “out” portion of your scan. Continue the descent with slight downward collective pressure. 4. When on the ground, smoothly lower the collective to the full down position. a. Adjust cyclic as necessary to prevent any tendency to drift as the skid gear conforms to the ground plane. b. Apply anti-torque pedal as necessary to maintain heading. c. Do not attempt to lower the collective rapidly after the skids are on the ground. The landing is not complete until the collective is fully down. NOTE In a no-wind condition, it will be necessary to displace the cyclic to the left to overcome the anti-torque thrust from the tail rotor and prevent the aircraft from drifting right. Because of this, the helo will take off right skid first and land left skid first. Amplification and Technique 1. The pilot should stay as relaxed as possible. Make smooth and timely corrections. 2. Constantly cross check all visual reference points. Hover the helicopter by maintaining a constant attitude. Fly by pressures on the controls and not a movement of the controls. A series of small corrections are better than one large correction. Common Errors 1. Over controlling collective pitch control. Do not immediately pull up on the collective after lowering. 2. Improper use of cyclic control, allowing aircraft to slide over the ground after contact. 3. Improper use of anti-torque pedals, allowing the nose of the aircraft to yaw. 4. Avoid landing the helicopter with any drift. Lateral drift on touchdown can lead to dynamic rollover. Rearward drift can result in tail rotor strike. Forward drift is not desired. 5. Failure to maintain the hover scan (i.e., allowing scan to come in too close to the aircraft and staring through the chin bubble). 6. “Feeling” for the ground with collective. Remember, every landing should be a surprise. 7. Anticipating ground contact and lowering collective too quickly, resulting in a firm landing. Remember, if you have done it right, you will barely feel it. TURN ON THE SPOT/CLEARING TURN Maneuver Description. A turn on the spot is a maneuver in which the helicopter is rotated about its vertical axis while maintaining a position over a reference point. Application. Turns on the spot and clearing turns enable the pilot to clear the area prior to each takeoff, to change the direction of taxi, and to improve their control coordination. Figure 4-3 Pedal Turn Procedures 1. From a hover, begin a slow turn by displacing the appropriate pedal. 2. As the helicopter turns, adjust the cyclic as necessary to remain over the reference point and pedals as necessary to control the rate of turn. a. Pitch the cyclic into the wind. The turn is accomplished with pedals, however, the cyclic needs to be coordinated. 3. Stop the turn on the desired new heading. Right 90 degrees Right 180 degrees Right 270 degrees Right 360 degrees You can see using down scan that the ground painted circle remained nearly constant relative to chip bubble and door reference points. Amplification and Technique 1. Wind, gusts, and turbulence require consideration. With wind 15 KTS off the nose, to remain over a selected spot, you must tilt the rotor disc into the wind enough to counter the drag; the aircraft is flying forward at 15 KTS through the air mass, but stationary over the ground. a. Setting the tail into the wind, the aircraft must fly backwards at 15 KTS through the air mass to remain at 0KTS groundspeed over your selected spot. 2. The cyclic roughly parallels the lift vector of the rotor. Consider the resultant lift of the main rotor an extension of the cyclic grip. As the aircraft turns, the tilt of the cyclic must trace a small circle at the same rate the aircraft turns, but in the opposite direction. 3. Compared to the tip path plane, the fuselage will not tilt nearly as much. The horizon may cut through the windshield at roughly the same level all the way around in a hovering turn, on a no wind day. The fuselage will tip nose down appreciably when wind comes from the tail. 4. Direction of turn and rate of turn are controlled directly by the pedals. A good technique is to clear the area visually for your turn, then look ahead toward the horizon before you start the turn. Accomplish the turn by applying pedal pressure in the direction desired, lightly and smoothly, with both feet on the pedals to prevent over controlling. Constant, small changes in pressures regulate the rate of turn, which is affected by the wind. 0 Figure 4-4 Effect of Wind on Rate of Turn 5. Remember to look “out” toward the horizon to control attitude and rate of turn. Make small corrections in rotor attitude, as necessary, to hold position over the ground. Do not rush the maneuver. NOTE As the tail of the helicopter passes through the wind line, the rate of turn will increase and the nose will tend to tuck. Utilize pedals and cyclic as necessary to control the rate of turn and prevent drift. 6. When the wind exceeds 15 KTS avoid turning more than 90º from the wind line if possible. 7. The more thought and planning put into it, the better you will understand the forces at work on the helicopter, and the smoother and more controlled your performance will be. 8. To make a 45º clearing turn, stabilize the helicopter completely after finishing a 45º turn on the spot left and right of course-line. Clear yourself of other traffic. A full 360º clearing turn is performed in the same manner as the 45º turn, with additional emphasis placed on maintaining a constant five-foot hover and consistent rate of turn. Utilize the normal hover scan. Common Errors 1. Allowing altitude to change. 2. Drifting. 3. Excessive rate of turn. 4. Maximum winds for 360º turns on the spot are 15 KTS from any quadrant. However, high density altitude significantly influences demand on the tail rotor as a result of increased demand on the main rotor. 5. A common error is to rotate about the pilot’s seat instead of rotating about the aircraft's vertical axis. Note on reference materials: This section is modeled after and uses explanation found in the CNATRA training publications for the TH-57 helicopter, edited for Flight Sim flying.

We're waiting!

I was unable to locate this package or any other for FS9 that have oil rigs. There are several currently available for FSX. Within the intent of this thread, primarily aimed at learning to fly a helicopter, I offer a word of caution. Helicopter flying requires much more utilization of outside references than flying an airplane. I would ensure that one is quite competent at picking up subtle cues for position and speed in translational flight before attempting oil rig flying. This is very similar to attempting to land on a carrier, something most do not attempt while learning to fly sim airplanes. Eventually, oil rigs, mountain pinnacles, roof tops and other small locations, are what set helicopter flying apart from airplane.

With this thread I am trying to bring attention to the numerous add-on scenery for missing airports. or enhancements to existing airports of historical interest. Are you aware of add-on scenery for Lowndes County? I could not locate any for any sim version. Thanks.

For those more knowledgeable on the importance or historical significance of UK airfields, I've attached a list of the disused airfields from chris_eve's extensive FS2004 download for UK Private Strips. If anyone would like specific airfields to be added to the my links list, please just let me know which field, along with its Country and City. I'll ensure that Chris and his download link and pertinent link to http://woodair.net/UK_Airfield_Catalogue/uk.htm are associated with these on that listing. Thank you.