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/images/notams/notams20/wing0929/vega-1.jpgThe Glamour Girl is now on floats! She'll be included exclusivelyfor the upcoming MSFS add-on. There's still a lot of work to be done,so stay tuned! The Lockheed Vega is an American six-passenger high-wing monoplaneairliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It becamefamous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who wereattracted to the rugged and very long-range design. Amelia Earhartbecame the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in one,and Wiley Post used his to prove the existence of the jet stream afterhaving flown around the world twice. /images/notams/notams20/wing0929/vega-2.jpgSource Wing42 Bringing Two Vintage Planes To MSFS
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/images/notams/notams20/wing0825/wing0825.jpgIt's time for us to have a little chat about our plans for theupcoming Microsoft Flight Simulator. Initially, I was very skepticalwhen Microsoft announced their comeback to the flight simulator worldback in June 2019. This skepticism was based on the bad experience wehad with the failed Flight and Microsoft's subsequent and completewithdrawal from the market. As I am writing this, all of my initial negativity is utterly blownaway and before we get into the actual topic of this blog post, Iwould like to spend some time talking about the reasons for this andwhy I think this should matter to you too. When you fly Microsoft Flight Simulator for the first time, it willblow your socks off. The new visuals, the flight model, the sounds andthe modern UI are a leap forward that we haven't seen before in flightsimulation history and it will set a new standard for many, many yearsto come. To me, there's no doubt that this new flight simulator willnot only replace FSX, it will permanently draw a big portion of loyalcustomers from other platforms - like X-Plane, Prepar3D or Aerofly. Itis therefore a no-brainer for me to say that Wing42 will jump onto theopportunity of delivering add-ons for this new sim. For me as a 3rd party developer, this of course presents someincredible challenges! And as I eluded in the previous blog post, onereason for the extraordinary delay in delivering the Lockheed Vega isthat I spent a lot of time and money upgrading our workflow to thelatest technology; because, what's the point of creating add-ons forthe latest sim if you don't also use the new technologies that becomeavailable with it? Most of the prep-work is completed, however as longas there are still some holes in the SDK, there's still a lot ofunknowns. The biggest one for me is the question on how to port ourprop-o-tronic physics engine over to the new platform. And that brings me to our plans for the near future. /images/notams/notams20/wing0825/vega.jpgThe Lockheed VegaThe first Wing42 aircraft that will come for the new MicrosoftFlight Simulator is our good ol' Lockheed Vega. We are currently inthe process of upgrading her 3D models, the materials and flightmodel. The Vega will be released as a base pack, without theprop-o-tronic physics engine and thus without the complex systemsimulation. While this development is going on, we will finish up the laststrokes to get the FSX/P3D version of the Vega ready for full release,with all the bells and whistles we teased you for months. It will then take some time until I can ensure a reliable port ofour extensive simulation code base to the new technology, buteventually, there will be a prop-o-tronic addon for the MSFS LockheedVega that will bring her on par with the Prepar3D/FSX version of theiconic aircraft. /images/notams/notams20/wing0825/boeing.jpgThe Boeing 247DI originally started work on this extraordinary Boeing aircraft asa test-bed for the new technology that comes to use for the nextgeneration of flight simulators. Similarly to the Vega, this aircraftwill be released as a base-pack, with a state-of-the-art 3D model, topnotch and accurate flight dynamics and great sound. The prop-o-tronic module will follow as an additional add-on at alater date. There will not be a Boeing 247D for FSX. This is simply to do withthe fact that the technology took such a jump with the new simulator,that a backwards compatibility with this 2006 platform is simply notfeasible. Whether or not the Boeing will come to Prepar3D is not ensured atthis point. While the materials and textures can be ported betweenPrepar3D and MSFS, animations, sound and coding would require a lot oftime to convert. It will therefore depend on the market whether or notwe will spent resources in catering to that platform. Source
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/images/notams/notams19/wing0729/wing42-1.jpgWork on the update for the Wing42 Lockheed Vega is progressingslowly but steadily and we're coming very close to a release of thenext mind-blowing version of our "Glamour Girl". Read below whatawesome features are coming in this new version and how you canparticipate in testing the new features. New Feature - Wear, Tear And MaintenanceThe most work-intensive change is the introduction of wear and tearto our prop-o-tronic physics engine of the Vega. With it comes acomplete overhaul of the maintenance system. We already programmed over 100 malfunctions with more tocome. Those range from instrument failures to catastrophic enginemalfunctions. To fix any of the issues, encountering during your flights, you nowget access to your new mechanic Jack. Through our dialog system, youcan describe the symptoms you encountered and Jack will start to takethe appropriate actions. If he finds an issue, he'll report back to you and give you a quickbriefing of what went wrong and what actions were taken to fixit. He'll also indicate the failed component in the interactivemaintenance manual and makes a note in the engine log. More Features - New SoundsThere's new, roaring engine sounds as well as many other noisesthat add to the immersive experience of the Vega. Even MOAR FeaturesOther changes include: A new flight modelOverhaul of the payload managerA fully functional Winnie MaeCountless tweaks and changes to the model and the prop-o-tronic physics engineSource
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Review: Wing42 Lockheed VegaBy Michael Hayward /images/reviews/wing42ve/t2/20180607225316_1.jpgThe Vega is a high-wing monoplanedesigned and built by Lockheed in the late 1920s. Designed as along-distance passenger, cargo and recreational aircraft, it set manyrecords worldwide - Amelia Earhart flew one across the Atlantic forthe first time and Wiley Post used it to prove the existence of thejet stream. Wing42 are a new developer on the flight simulator scene, with thisbeing their first product released. In this review, I shall look indetail at this aircraft and the features that it brings to you. One thing that I will also mention is that at the time of writingthis review, the aircraft is very much in an 'early access'stage. This means that while the aircraft is functional, there arenumerous more features to come - This is something I'll go into detailwith throughout this review. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607230536_1.jpg /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607230412_1.jpgAircraft SpecificationCrew: 1Length: 28ft 6in (8.7m)Wingspan: 41ft (12.5m)Height: 6ft 5in (2.0m)Empty Weight: 2,565lbs (1,163kg)Maximum Takeoff Weight: 4,500lbs (2,041kg)Powerplant: 1 x Pratt & Whitney Wasp R1340CAircraft PerformanceRange: 725mi (1,165km)Rate of Climb: 1,300ft/min (6.6m/s)Service Ceiling: 25,000ft (9,570m)Max Cruising Speed: 185mph (298km/h) /images/reviews/wing42ve/t2/20180607231221_1.jpg Download And InstallInstallation of the Wing42 Lockheed Vega is simple and follows youraverage installer. After purchasing the aircraft on their web site,you can download an installer from your account. When you run it, allyou have to do is select your chosen simulator and the installation iscomplete. You also get a total of three different PDF documents, explainingas to how the aircraft works and what it includes. These however didtake a little bit of searching as they are located in the AppDatafolder of your system as opposed to a usual aircraft subfolder. Thesedocuments are clear and easy to read and explain each and every stepon starting up the aircraft and what each button and switch does. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t2/hkdanhkkidafnibi.jpgOn a side note, I have also seen a preview of some upcomingphysical printed checklists which do look quite cool indeed! These areto drop once the final design is complete and ready for sale. Exterior ModelThe Lockheed Vega 5 is a very beautiful plane. Sleek in design, with itsmassive bulky engine at the front. The modelling in this add-on does it proud. You get a lot of detailin this aircraft which ultimately makes it a fantastic plane tofly. When you look deep into the body, you can see where bump mappinghas been used to define the bolts and panels that held the aircrafttogether, while larger details such as the slot for the landing lightto sit in has been built into the model itself. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607225935_1.jpg /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607225408_1.jpgA passenger cabin has also been modelled, which is visible fromboth the internal and external views. Looking through the passengerwindows, you can see the simple bench-style seating that the aircrafthad back when it was in passenger service, namely with BraniffAirlines. The interior however is something I will speak about in moredetail later on in this article. One thing to also mention is the animations that you get with thisaircraft. When you look at the engine, the top cover does vibratealong with it. This is something that the real aircraft did, asaircraft engines at the time were not so efficient - instead, theywere majoritively loud and bulky. Wing42's rendition of this is verywell done and does suit the package well. You also get full flightsurface animations too, as well as the rear cabin door. Textures are split into their different components (for examplefuselage, rudder, wing, etc.) and differ in resolution depending onwhat they are covering. This is a good way to ensure that you havehigh-quality textures across the entire model while keeping the filesize down at the same time. The fuselage for example is done at 4Kresolution, while the rudder is only done at 1K. Within the simulatorhowever it all appears as really high quality, to the point that anyvisible writing is clear and easy to read. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t2/20180607225511_1.jpgYou get a total of six liveries with the aircraft. These are: Lockheed 'house' colorsWing42's custom liveryBraniff AirwaysShell corporate planeMilitaryJimmy Mattern's 'Eagle' Cockpit And InteriorThe cockpit of the Vega is also done to a very high standard andvery much looks the part. All of the gauges you expect to find arethere, all 3D and modelled to a high standard, adding a sense of depthto them. The compass is also particularly well done, being astand-alone model almost "floating" in its compartment in the center ofthe panel. The coloring and texture work of the aircraft also stands out andgives the aircraft a real feel for its age. Weathering has beenapplied throughout the cockpit and cabin, and for the most part, itlooks really good. The cockpit seat-back has also been animated, allowing for you toopen and close it, giving you full access to the cabin from thecockpit! As the pilot sat in front of and above the passengers in theLockheed, the pilot would have to open a small hatch and climb intotheir seat. This is something that has been added to this aircraft andshows the level of detail that the developer is trying to get intotheir package. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t2/20180607230823_1.jpgSpeaking of the cabin, this has been fully modelled with two cameraviewpoints set inside of it. The cabin is a simple bench-seated layoutwith large windows either side for passengers to look out of. The handgrips on the roof also move around and are dynamic to the way you areflying the aircraft, changing position in banks and during turbulence- think of doing loops and sharp turns? These will rather violentlyshake around the cab. Buttons, Gauges And FunctionalityWhen it comes to the operation of this aircraft, this is one of thebiggest features of this add-on when you look at the functionality itbrings. This was built long before automated startups, meaning you have togo through a very precise checklist in order to get the enginerunning. The aircraft however was years ahead of anything else at thetime, and when starting up compares to a modern-day PiperCherokee. The Vega is very much a hands-on aircraft, and this add-on aims toreplicate that to as close a study-level as possible. You also get a fancy UI system which goes through the checklist ofthe aircraft, but also a configuration panel too which allows you toset the payload and fuel on board, as well as ground items and wheelchocks while stationary. This is something I very much like about thisaircraft and is something that really makes it stand out by giving youtotal control not just of what you are doing while in the air, butalso while you are on the ground itself. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607230843_1.jpg /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607230911_1.jpgOne thing that I absolutely love about this aircraft is thefunctioning spark plugs and fuse box! If you want to disable a part ofthe aircraft, you can do so through with the switches on the box, orwhat you can do instead is unscrew the fuse box panel and mess withthe wires and fuses itself! While not 100% there yet, this willeventually become integrated into a full engine management system thatwe will see in the future. This I will talk about in the Early Accesssection of this article. SoundSpeaking to the developer of the aircraft, this is something weboth agree is lacking right now. The engine loops aren't the best inthe world and does take away from the experience. The soundsthemselves are also fairly basic, some using the default FSX setup; forexample tire squeal. They have however mentioned that they aim to introduce a fullexternal sound system in the future, and potentially have athird-party company create the loops instead. They have said that atthe end of the day, the aim of this aircraft is to be the mostimmersive aircraft possible, and so are willing to go anywhere inorder to get the best they possibly can out of this add-on. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t2/20180607225527_1.jpgFlight DynamicsFlight dynamics are 90% of the way there. You have an aircraft thatis very fun to fly, but it does need a few minor tweaks - something wewill see in engine simulation management once that is fullydeveloped. When it comes to your payload, this very much affects the weightand feel of the aircraft in the air. When carrying a full load with afull fuel tank, the Vega is a lot heavier and unstable whenflying. Stalling is also easy to achieve if you don't manage yourweight properly, something I've found out the hard way! While it stilluses tables and set numbers to define the flight characteristics(something that the simulator itself can be quite limiting in), thisadd-on does have a number of set variables, all dependent on how youfly and the setup of the aircraft itself. That gives you a much morerealistic feel over how the aircraft will fly. While a number of aircraft suffer from the fact that each flightfeels the same and you can predict exactly how the aircraft will flyin any weather preset, the Vega has its own character that changes howit flies each time you take off. As you burn fuel, the aircraft feelslighter to fly. Flying overweight? You will struggle to get off theground and climb. It's these characteristics that differentiates itfrom anything else I have flown on this platform. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607230420_1.jpg /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607230454_1.jpgEarly Access?Yes, this aircraft is very much in early access. At this time, the aircraft is flyable and works very much as itshould, but there is a lot more planned for the Vega in thefuture! The developer aims to eventually implement a full aircraftmanagement mode to the aircraft. Think what Just Flight do with theirengine management system on some of their more recently GA aircraft,but with a lot more depth to it. That means as well as your fullengine management, you will also need to maintain your aircraft andensure that everything is in tiptop condition, otherwise, it all goeswrong. You will also see improvements in the sounds and flight dynamicstoo so that both are as immersive as they can get within the flightsimulator. That and along with a conditions-based failures systemwhere depending on how well you fly and maintain the aircraft theworse it is to fly, I'm definitely expecting an add-on that redefinesthe way people fly within the sim. Effects on the aircraft are also set to be improved too. Right nowwe have the default smoke textures on hard landings and engine startupand a basic volumetric 3D landing light. Eventually, new effects willalso be added to the interior and exterior of the aircraft, giving youa full feel for immersion, even as far as what weather you arecurrently flying in. You can check out more of the upcoming features on theirweb site. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607231003_1.jpg /images/reviews/wing42ve/t/20180607231055_1.jpgOpinion And Closing RemarksWhat more is there to say about this add-on? I've had a lot of funflying the Vega 5. The aircraft itself is not one I'd expect to findmyself flying as for those that know me I like my 'heavy metal' whenit comes to flying. The Vega however is something different -something that I've definitely grown to love the more I flew it atdifferent times of the day with different payloads and weatherpresets. The lifelikeness of the aircraft is definitely something that makesit stand out. While not completely ready, you do see where a lot ofthe management features come into play. Flying the Vega also takessome practice as the flight dynamics have been worked to make theaircraft feel differently depending on its weight distribution andweather factors. The work put behind this aircraft so far is massive, something thatshows when you look closely at the amount of detail that is alreadythere in the model. The developer is also committed to putting a lotmore time into this project until it is everything they want from it,the most realistic and historic aircraft on any flight simulatorplatform. Pricing is also set at 45€, but while the aircraft is in earlyaccess, you can pick it up for a very honest 30€. This I feel isa very nice price for an aircraft with all the features it has, andthose that it will get in the future. All updates thereafter will befree meaning you won't miss out on anything to come. Likewise, you canalso use my discount code 'DRAWYAH20' when purchasing to also get afurther 20% off the total cost, which is a rather nice extra on top ofthat. /images/reviews/wing42ve/t2/20180607225925_1.jpgIf you're a fan of pre-war aircraft or would like to fly somethingvery hands-on as opposed to automated systems, then the Lockheed Vega5 by Wing42 is something that is definitely worth looking into! The Technical BitMinimum RequirementsMS Windows 7/8/10FSX/P3D v4Quad core CPU ~3GHzMemory min. 4GBGraphics Card min. 512 MB~350mb per installation (subject to change!)~300mb (subject to change!)Review PC SpecsMicrosoft Flight Simulator X: Steam EditionWindows 10 Professional6th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 6700K Processor16 GB RAMNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 745/images/reviews/wing42ve/lockheed-vega.jpg Michael Hayward Purchase Wing 42 - Lockheed Vega Note: You can use discount code 'DRAWYAY20' to get 20% off your purchase.
