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Interview With Colonel Billy Bargagliotti Conducted By Dominic Smith Development When did you start developing for flight simulators and what got you interested in it? I began my X-Plane adventure around 2001, and I remember having great fun (prior to September of that year) flying a C150 off the World Trader Center in New York. I also tried to land a Learjet at the base of the Statue of Liberty. You might say that sounds impossible, but in X-Plane you can easily set a 99 mph headwind and then attempt what would normally be impossible! In September 2007 I joined X-Plane.org; just one of many fantastic X-Plane sites now available on the internet. X-Plane wasn't as popular back then as it is today, so I found the Org the best place to find aircraft, which I quickly dissected so as to see their inner workings. I've always had fun flying in X-Plane, but in 2008 I came up with a rule (which some of you might find hard to do) where, if I happened to crash an aircraft (in the simulator), then I couldn't use the sim until the following day! Why did I do this? I wanted to add a degree of reality to my virtual flights. Being dead for a day isn't so bad when you look at the real life alternative, so it's a rule I adopted (for a year)! So the question was, when did I start developing for X-Plane? Well, I've always loved the B-52 Stratofortress, which, for those of you not familiar with this aircraft, is an eight engined (each with 8,000 lbs) American strategic bomber, which first flew in 1952. The total output of those eight engines amounts to 64,000 lbs, which got me thinking; would it be possible to swap those eight engines for two GE-90 series engines, which have a thrust range of between 75,000 to 135,000 lbs? On a trip to the USAF Museum in Dayton Ohio, I asked that very question to a retired GE engineer. He said yes, you could do it. He then continued, not only would it be easy, but it would weigh less and fly further, but he had found that in his experience, manufacturers would rather rebuild the original aircraft. As we continued to talk I asked him what caused the wrinkles normally found on the skin of B-52s. He said that it was caused by multiple pressurizations over the life of the aircraft. Just one of those things. It was great talking to him, and by the time I'd finished my trip, my head was buzzing with possible X-Plane ideas. To eliminate the wrinkles, why don't I just gut the cockpit, and make the B-52, one big UAV! A few weeks later I saw a report that a group of American soldiers in Afghanistan had come under attack by the Taliban. Unfortunately, all of the soldiers had been killed because they lacked close air support (which was needed quickly). And so it dawned on me, I could equip the B-52 UAV I had been working on, with suitable weaponry (GPS or laser designated controlled bombs), and with the added ability to loiter in its designated area for eight plus hours. And so the B52-2 UAV, which was a modification of the default X-Plane B-52 (adopted with permission), became my first X-Plane design. Tell us about the nature of your designs and what you do? My drawing skills are nowhere near what the great X-Plane designers are empowered with, but I am getting better, so each design is a learning curve for me. I do however have the following criteria for what I build: 1) The aircraft must never have been in X-Plane before. 2) It looks good but they cancelled it by a committee rule, but it looked like it was worthy of being completed. 3) It was built, then crashed on the first flight, killing the pilot, cancelled and never to be seen again. 4) What were they thinking when they built this one? And, could I make it fly anyway, with some modern improvements. If any of those conditions are met, then I go ahead and build. As with any prospective design, it's always useful if there is imagery (preferably three dimensional drawings) and technical specifications to go with it. On a good day, it's possible to get all that, but on a bad day, sometimes all I get is an old photograph with a man standing alongside the aircraft. If that is the case, all is not lost, as I can quickly find the average height of a man (of that particular year) and then get out my two needle divider and start revealing the dimensions of the aircraft. [page][/page] What do you consider your best or most popular work? Saying which of my designs is the most popular is a hard question to answer. I think the best way to answer it is like this: if after a week 10% of the views make up the total downloads, then I'm happy. I think I can say (with some degree of certainty) that many X-Plane users are more interested in familiarizing themselves with the systems on an airliner, rather than flying a submarine or a one hundred winged aircraft by Horatio Phillips. My best aircraft then, is actually from the book 'World's Worst Aircraft' and is the Caproni Ca60, an Italian flying boat. She looked like a flying motel, with curtains in the windows, and really was a sight to behold. Unfortunately, on her maiden flight the sandbags, which were used as a dummy load, came detached and slid towards the rear of the aircraft. This caused her to become tail heavy and she crashed back into the water. Although damaged, there were plans to recover and then rebuild her, but that night a mysterious fire totally destroyed her, so ending any dreams of a recovery. So, along with the B-52 (which still has merit in the real world) and the Caproni Ca60 (in attempt to save the honor of a fellow Italian designer), these two aircraft probably stand as my favorites. What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of a project? Not so much a challenge, but rather a goal, and that is I try to meet the published specifications (if available) within 5% of the original design. This includes, speed, altitude, ceiling and range. Once I have decided on an aircraft to build, it usually takes me around 90 minutes to have a rough design ready for flying. Yes, it flies, but the real challenge (as mentioned) is in meeting those all important performance specifications. Flight testing is done using the autopilot as I believe they make better pilots than your average 10,000 hour captain! For this reason, I tune the autopilot so as to takeoff by itself, cruise, navigate and then (the most challenging) land to full FAA CAT III standards. What have been your favorite projects? Any aircraft which looks odd is a favourite, as too are aircraft which have hardly been seen (and in some cases, never seen). I really do love my Caproni Ca60 Seaplane, even though she'd never have made it from Italy to the USA. What software packages and tools do you use to develop? I use AC3D for my modeling (nice interface) and for painting textures, etc. I use Adobe Elements, which you could say, is an affordable version of PhotoShop. Who would you consider to be your mentors or inspiration in the development world if you have any? For a mentor, I would have to mention Tarzana (X-Plane user-name) as he is a real world engineer on counterrotating props (50's and 60's). He's also an excellent animator and a very good internet friend. For inspiration, Jacques Brault and David Austin are the first that instantly come to mind, as their designs are known throughout the X-Plane community for their quality. There are many more talented designers within the X-Plane community (too many to make a complete list) who do equally good work, but Jacques and David are the ones that instantly come to mind. Occasionally a user will say that they worked on the 'real life' project I have modeled in X-Plane, and that it was great to see it again! That's a source of inspiration in itself. If I ever grow up (grins) I'd like to build 'real world' designs just like they do. Do you develop payware/freeware or both and why? Without a shadow of doubt, definitely freeware only. Sure, 200 sales of a $30 aircraft adds up, and a new computer or a pedigree dog would be a welcomed addition, but... If it were payware I'd have to use other software (expensive and also time consuming to learn) so as to make it beautiful and extremely detailed, which if I'm honest with you, is not what my designs are about. How would you describe your designs then, Bill? My designs are built solely around the principles of flight, and by using X-Plane as my virtual wind-tunnel (to test aerodynamic forces) I can make the sometimes impossible...possible! This is a testament to the credibility of X-Plane's scientific credentials. The Team How many people work with you or your team? Like many of the freeware developers you've interviewed, I'm a one man team. If something goes wrong then there's only one person to blame. Myself. As a designer I am constantly learning, so sometimes I consult with others (X-Plane forums) about certain technical problems which might arise whilst a project is in development. There are many things I still don't know so receiving help from others is a valuable resource, and one that I am most grateful for. Help comes in many forms, and one of these is in the form of beta testers. Having others test out my designs, again gives me valuable information on how a particular design performs. One example of how invaluable beta testers are was when I was creating an X-Plane variant of the Heinkel 162. On this occasion, an X-Plane user with real world gliding experience helped me nail down the flight dynamics. Without his help, it would have proven to be very difficult. Real Life Do you have any experience in real aviation? I have the following FAA credentials: Commercial Pilot, Instrument Rating, Single Engine Land, Multiengine Land and finally Single Engine Sea. I also have a dispatcher license for airlines. For those of you not familiar with what this involves, it is the person on the ground who keeps the flight on time, checks the weather, and assigns full loads. As a former member of the California National Guard, I was a combat photographer and aerial photographer. I've also had tactical nuclear training, which if I'm honest with you, is scary. What started your interest in aviation? It began when I was three years old. I told my parents I wanted to be an airplane when I grew up! Later on I wanted to be a farmer, but then I realized that it involved actual work! Any memorable flights in real life? Memorable flights? OH YES...how about three mid air events. I define a midair event as their engine being louder than mine. Two of these were on approaches, one clear weather VFR and the other being IFR, during landing. What other hobbies or things do you do for enjoyment? I drive to Oshkosh every year to see what is new and also to get ideas for my next project. As well as Oshkosh, I also drive to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the annual International Balloon Festival. Both of these events are great photographic opportunities as well as having the possibility of asking pilots detailed questions. In 2012, I became a Tennessee Master Gardner. This involves a lot of volunteer work, but is most rewarding. I often participate in 'Ask a Master Gardner' duties at the local farmers market, or help teach children about agriculture, seed starting, or bee keeping, etc. Again, very rewarding and enjoyable. Bill, whilst visiting the balloon festival, did you get the opportunity to go up in a balloon? Not at the balloon festival, but on my first Fathers Day I got the chance for my one and only balloon flight. For me, the beauty of a balloon flight is being 500 feet up in air and seeing the rural landscape float by below. This was exactly how it was on this particular flight, early one morning over the wine country of California. The most memorable part of that flight was hearing a horse in a corral passing gas (while we were 200-300 feet above). Now, I know that sounds silly, but this is an example of just how peaceful it is up there. A balloon ride at the festival would have been like driving in Los Angeles rush hour traffic! This is just not for me, as I prefer the solitary and quiet tranquility that many balloon flights offer. If that sounds romantic, well that's what I am trying to say. Have you ever considered doing flight simulator development full-time? I think doing 3 - 6 hours a day, already qualifies as full time, don't you? Future How do you choose your next new design or project? If I see a news clip with an aircraft that fits my criteria (as mentioned earlier) then that normally gets me going into starting a new project. A new project can also be started when I've failed to get the current project working within its 5% performance criteria. Funnily enough, I have a folder containing unfinished and aborted aircraft in various states of sad disrepair. Some were stopped because they were un-flyable and some because they just got too ugly! How would you like to see real aviation change in the future (designs, safety etc.)? Personally I think that current aircraft seriously lag behind what technology can offer, in regards to both safety and automation. For example; what is a Boeing 787? It is a 707 with a plastic body and minor improvements. In my opinion, we have too many crashes where 10,000 hour captains crash purely because they forget to do something. In my book, this is totally unacceptable and I seriously believe that if the software developers at Apple designed aircraft, we would all be a lot safer because of it. Microsoft...maybe not so much! A case in point could be the Asiana 214, which crashed at San Francisco Airport in 2013. How hard would it have been for the autopilot to have said 'YOU ARE 40 KNOTS TOO SLOW FOR THIS LANDING, CORRECT THIS IN FIVE SECONDS, OR PUSH THE IGNORE AUTOPILOT BUTTON...' This is well within the capabilities of a modern interface, such as an Apple iPhone or even X-Plane, so why hasn't it been incorporated into aircraft? This is not rocket science, it's common sense. Another example, engine fire warning lights should be located on the fire extinguisher handle (as I have implemented on several aircraft). Seconds can sometimes mean the difference between life and death. Preflight checklists need to be eliminated, and all items should instead be automatically corrected, or reported before takeoff. We still have stick shakers from the 50's. Why? They often scare the pilot into a state of confusion rather than helping. Maybe we can get the word out to manufacturers that a lot can be done better! What would you like people to know about you and your work? Maybe that I am a dreamer, not an engineer. Albert Einstein said, 'If you can dream, you can do the impossible'. Colonel Billy Bargagliotti (Tennessee Honorary Colonel, awarded April 1995) bargbill@comcast.net Memphis TN, USA Download Billy Bargagliotti's aircraft -
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