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Interview With Bruce Fitzgerald When did you start developing for flight simulators and what got you interested in it? My flight sim experience started way back with Combat Flight Simulator. I really enjoyed it a lot, not only the combat with my old squadron (the 303rd bomb group) and the bomb runs we used to sponsor, but also with folks just island hopping around. It was where I learned the basics about .air files, config files, paints and sounds. It started with repaints and then moved on to modding. The game was dead with rampant modders by that point and I just wanted to out-mod the modders! I soon gave it up and moved on to FS2000 where I did a few repaints for myself and tweaked a few FDE's but never uploaded anything. Then came FS2002 and Gmax. There were a lot of good freeware downloads at the time and I still think of it as the Golden Era of freeware. I finally got Gmax installed and did the P-38 tutorial, trying to make something that looked like an airplane. The next few years were spent learning what was involved in that. It was a lot of fun and by the time FS2004 came along I was getting fairly decent at it, but in my opinion, still wasn't great. I spent a lot of time tweaking. Back then it was all about speed for me and with speed came altitude. Unfortunately, the ceiling was a mere 100k but I really wanted to get into space, preferably in a spaceship. Then came FSX and it looked like the dream of spaceflight would come to fruition. Experimenting with fast FDE's and whipping out a few spaceship models I had managed to get from other gaming sites, I found that the best you could get was a fast cruise around 200k. While tweaking FDE's, I found all kinds of interesting side effects and that is where I began to build things just to see how far I could push the game engine. Tell us about the nature of your designs and what you do? I guess you can say I have made everything for flight sim that wasn't an airplane: helicopters, hot air balloons, skydivers, vehicles, ships and boats, submarines, hovercraft, lunar landers, flying aircraft carriers and of course... spaceships. I just love science fiction! I have also made a few sceneries out of these models and even posted a mission file or two, but my one true love has always been trying to get into space. Space has been achievable but only with a ballistic trajectory. What was needed was some sort of gauge to allow control above 400k... What do you consider your best or most popular work? That would have to be the Shuttle Atlantis. A lot of love went into that one, with the booster and tank animations, plus the flight dynamics. My vision was to make a movie using it in FSX so as to celebrate, and also mourn, the shuttle space program and its eventual passing due to budget cuts. My main upload site is actually Simviation, and I believe it has had over 70,000 downloads to date, just at that one site. What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of a project? I always have trouble with the virtual cockpits, as when I fly it's usually from the outside. Being in the VC doesn't matter too much to me when I make something I want. I must admit that I build primarily for myself and usually end up sharing my work, but if I'm honest, my VC's aren't really that good, just functional. What have been your favorite projects? My personal favorite is the HALO YSS-1000 Sabre Starfighter. It includes THE space gauge and represents the attainment of the space flight goal, it also hovers, cruises at mach 2 and, with boost, accelerates to FSX max speed of 2666 kts (mach 4.6). The HALO YSS-1000 will cruise at 350,000 ft and punch through into space, and keep going all the way to FSX's max ceiling of 10,000,000 feet. As well as all these features, it has a nice shiny paint job, plus custom effects and sounds...and it's cool. What software packages and tools do you use to develop? I use Gmax because it's free and I'm a big fan of free! I also use dxtBMP and Photoshop for textures and Audacity for sound, and I really mustn't forget Notepad. You can do a lot with just Notepad! Who would you consider to be your mentors or inspiration in the development world? Tim Conrad, "Piglet" - He, for me, is the Original, as he has done so many amazing and also peculiar planes. On top of all this, his work is free!! He was my inspiration, and I remember saying at the beginning..."I want to make cool stuff like Piglet." Rob Barendregt - Carrier gauges, hover gauges and I must save the best for last ... Spaceflight gauge! Rob is the wizard that made my flight sim spaceflight dream a reality. He really enjoys what he does and is meticulous in the execution of it. I approached Rob during the Sabre project regarding the possibility of a spaceflight gauge, and believe I gave him the spaceflight bug! He made a really nice gauge for the shuttle that will pose it for launch and then launch it into space on the launch profile of the real shuttle (this is of course all within the limitations of FSX). Rob then went on to make the generic gauge for practically anything else based on that development. I can't thank him enough for that gauge. Do you develop payware/freeware or both and why? I'm not "payware" good, especially in today's market, so I am exclusively freeware. Most of my projects are my "toys" and I like to share. With freeware there is no warranty and no refund, so my hobby can stay a hobby and not a business obligation. Do you have any experience in real aviation? I am a private pilot and former aircraft owner, and also an A&P mechanic working for the airlines. What started your interest in aviation? My dad was in the air force so I have always been around aircraft. I guess I am just a natural born wingnut! Any memorable flights in real life? The very first time I flew into Oshkosh was an amazing experience. I flew over Lake Michigan, and then from Michigan to Wisconsin. It's always funny for me, how the engine seems rough when you can't see land! Then there was the Fisk approach, in what was like rush hour traffic downtown; the simultaneous landings on perpendicular runways and then immediately off into the grass to taxi to a camping spot. Very intense and very cool. What other hobbies or things do you do for enjoyment? I'm a 'gamer' - play is important to your mental health or maybe I'm just an escapist. In what ways do you see development changing in the future? Dedicated individuals and small payware companies serving an ever demanding niche market, a sophisticated and demanding audience, more sim than gaming oriented. What can sites like FlightSim.Com do to support you and the hobby better? FlightSim.Com and other sites seem to be in it for the long haul, not just for the MSFS franchise, but for others like Prepar3D, X-Plane, Orbiter and others. Keep highlighting the advantages of each and provide a clearing house for vendors and enthusiasts alike. Keep on keepin' on. Bruce Fitzgerald fitzgeba@hotmail.com Download Bruce Fitzgerald's files -
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