Search the Community

FSX/P3D Freeware FocusBy Nirosan PragashIt's been a while since my lastfreeware article (studies getting in the way), and so I thought it washigh time I sat down and wrote another! This time around I will belooking at a magnificent ship modelled byErwin Welker,an international airport by Johan Peeters, and finally, a rather smallflyer by the talentedA.F. Scrub.All of the models can be used with FSX and P3D, with the added bonusthat Erwin's model can also be used with FS2004! So, without further ado, let's begin... FS2004/FSX/P3D v3 German Polar Research And Science VesselPolarstern (meaning pole star) is a German research icebreaker ofthe Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) inBremerhaven. Polarstern was commissioned in 1982 and is mainly usedfor research in the Arctic and Antarctica. /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Icebreaker-01.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Icebreaker-02.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Icebreaker-03.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Icebreaker-04.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Icebreaker-06.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Icebreaker-07.jpgThe ship has a length of 118 metres (387 feet) and is adouble-hulled icebreaker. She is operational at temperatures as low as-50°C (-58°F). Polarstern can break through ice 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)thick at a speed of 5 knots. Thicker ice up to 3 m (9.8 ft) thick canbe broken by ramming. This replica created by Erwin Welker is a wonderful recreation ofthe Polarstern. Not only does it incorporate an easy to use 2D panel,but it also includes a complete virtual navigation bridge! The modelalso includes a host of animations and sounds, and these can be viewedfrom the 25 cameras situated around the model. Animations include thebow breaking the ice (complete with broken ice at the stern), a BellJetranger helicopter, that can be pushed out of the hangar, animatedcranes lifting objects, plus, if that wasn't enough, you even get apolar bear and its cub for company! You can find this model in the file library: ICEBREAKER-POLARSTERN.ZIP Antwerp Int'l Airport FSX/P3D Scenery--Antwerp International AirportAntwerp International Airport is a small international airportserving Antwerp, Belgium. Located 2.9 nautical miles south of thecity, it is used for some scheduled and charter flights as well asbusiness and general aviation. /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-01.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-02.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-03.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-04.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-05.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-06.jpgDuring World War II the airport was used by the Luftwaffe, and alsoserved the nearby Erla aircraft factory. After the German retreat in1944, it saw brief use by Allied air forces, who called it AdvancedLanding Ground B-70. Today the airport consists of one small passenger terminal withbasic facilities including service desks and a restaurant. There is one runway, with a length of just over 1,500 m (4,900ft). Due to this, it is not possible to operate aircraft larger thanthe Boeing 737 at the airport. This model of Antwerp International Airport by Johan Peeters, isthe result of two years work, and over 2000 photographs! The realism /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-07.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-08.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-09.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-10.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-11.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-EBAW-12.jpgJohan has managed to achieve, is quite remarkable, as both thetextures of the buildings, and the scenery they are positioned on,look absolutely fantastic! So good are they, you'd be forgiven inthinking that it was a payware product. A couple of the buildings alsohave accurately modelled interiors, which is just simply superb! Aswell as the above, there is also custom AI traffic (Fokker 50), staticSV-4Bs, and animated windsocks. Johan has mentioned that this is'Phase 1' of the project, so expect to see more additions in thefuture. You can find this model in the file library: EBAW_JP2019.ZIP Stits Sky Baby FSX/P3D Stits SA-2A Sky Baby /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Stits-01.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Stits-02.jpgThe Stits SA-2A Sky Baby was a homebuilt aircraft designed for thechallenge of claiming the title of "The World's Smallest". The Sky Baby was designed by Ray Stits and built with Bob Starr asa follow-on to the Stits Junior midget racer. The aircraft is anenclosed single engine negative staggered cantilevered biplane withconventional landing gear. The fuselage is constructed of welded steeltubing with aircraft fabric covering. The upper wings have flaps, thelower wings have ailerons. The powerplant was a sourced from an ERCOErcoupe, modified with water injection to produce 112 hp (84 kW). /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Stits-03.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Stits-04.jpgThe aircraft was test flown by Bob Starr on 26 May 1952 at PalmSprings, California. The aircraft required a 170 lb (77 kg) pilot toremain within the center of gravity and was only flown by pilots Starrand Lester Cole that met the criteria. The aircraft was eventuallydonated to the National Air and Space Museum for display. The model presented here has been created by A.F. Scrub, one of myfavorite freeware aircraft designers. The Stits SA-2A Sky Baby iscompatible with FSX and P4D v4, except in the latter you have tomodify a few files (it is not compatible with FS2004). /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Stits-05.jpg /images/features/pragash/t/Niro-Pragash-Stits-07.jpgIt's fair to say that the Stits SA-2A Sky Baby isn't going to winany beauty awards, as it really is quite a stubby and unattractiveaircraft, but...this is where looks can be deceiving, because once inthe air this little aircraft comes into its own. It's light andnimble, and there is enough power to have quite a bit offun. Visibility is also good, as is the panel. Sounds are from thedefault Cessna 172, but work well. On startup there is engine smokeand exhaust flames, and go fast enough and you'll get vortex effects! All in all...one of the most enjoyable aircraft I have flown forquite some time! You can find this model in the file library: STITS_SKYBABY.ZIP I hope you enjoyed reading through what I consider to be threeexceptionally enjoyable add-ons. I had a great deal of fun using them(continue to do so), and I think you will too. Nirosan Pragash

Prepar3D Freeware Focus: A.F. Scrub By Nirosan Pragash /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-07.jpg In this freeware focus article, I willbe looking at three Prepar3D add-ons (also compatible with FSX),which I feel are well worth your time investigating. Before I talkabout each one specifically, I wanted to explain my reasons forwriting a freeware article based around Prepar3D, and not FSX. Unlike many of you reading this, I am a relatively new convert tothe world of flight simulations, having first experienced Microsoft'sFSX flight simulator about four years ago. Prior to that, I was aconsole only gamer (mostly Second World War first person shooters anddriving games), but after seeing a friend land at an airport I knowwell from vacations, I was hooked! FSX is a great simulator, and one which has served mewell. However, now that my computer hardware is up to scratch, I havefinally made the move to Prepar3D, and the changes (in places) isquite remarkable. For me personally, I think the biggest difference Ihave found between FSX and Prepar3D, is that Lockheed Martin'splatform seems to work a lot better from the off. Less tweaking meansI can enjoy my flying (and simulated training) more often. However,many of the aircraft I have purchased for FSX, are not compatible (orlicensed) for the latest release of the simulator (at present, version4), and so this has led me to look for freeware alternatives. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-05.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-06.jpg As my particular area of interest lies in military aviation, Idecided to look for aircraft that fell into this category. Modern jetsare okay, but I far prefer aircraft from World War 2, up to theVietnam war era if I'm honest. This was where aviation saw its biggesttechnological advances, so it provides a real interesting period for arelative newcomer like myself. Luckily for me, it didn't take too long at all to find what Iwanted, and so mentioned below are three military aircraft by thetalented A.F. Scrub which I feel represent some of the best militaryfreeware files available for Lockheed Martin's Prepar3D. Grumman F9F Panther /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-01.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-02.jpg Grumman F9F Panther The first aircraft on our list is the Grumman Panther. The Grumman F9F Panther is one of the United States Navy's firstsuccessful carrier-based jet fighters, as well as Grumman's first jetfighter. A single-engined, straight-winged day fighter, it was armedwith four 20 mm (0.79 in) cannons and could carry a wide assortment ofair-to-ground munitions. The Panther was used extensively by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corpsin the Korean War. It was also the first jet aircraft used by the BlueAngels aerobatics demonstration team, from 1949 through to late 1954. This excellent model for Prepar3D and FSX includes three detailedliveries, with each one representing a particular aircraft fromhistory. All three are extremely pleasing to look at and are bothsharp and detailed (without going overboard). /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-03.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-04.jpg The sounds for the Grumman Panther are provided by Martin Schwankeand are in fact from the Red Arrows display team. Even though they arenot an exact match, they work exceedingly well, and provide a greatdeal of character to the aircraft. A particular feature of this model I really liked, was the openingnose cone (water rudder key by default). Little details like this makeall the difference, so a big thank you to A.F. Scrub for includingthis. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-05.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-panther-06.jpg You can find this model in the file library:grumman_panther.zip Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-01.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-02.jpg Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger Our second model is the Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger, an aircraft nineyears younger than the Panther...but as you can see, significantlymore advanced! The Grumman F11F/F-11 Tiger is a supersonic, single-seatcarrier-based United States Navy fighter aircraft in operation duringthe 1950s and 1960s. Originally designated the F11F Tiger in April1955 under the pre-1962 Navy designation system, it was redesignatedas the F-11 Tiger under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraftdesignation system. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-03.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-04.jpg The F11F/F-11 was used by the Blue Angels flight team from1957-1969. Grumman Aircraft Corporation made 200 Tigers, with the lastaircraft being delivered to the U.S. Navy on 23 January 1959. As with the Grumman Panther, this is another well performing modelfrom A.F. Scrub, and one I enjoyed almost as much. It comes with twodistinct liveries: a US NAVY VF-21, and of course, the Blue Angelslivery as seen in the video above. Both are very nicely done andprovide a good likeness of their real-life counterparts. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-05.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-06.jpg The sounds for this particular model are from FS Sound Studio, anddo a fantastic job at bringing the roar of the engines to life! I useheadphones when flying as I tend to have the volume way up, and assuch, the engines sound incredible (I'll probably be deaf by the timeI reach 20)! /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-07.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-tiger-08.jpg You can find this model in the file library:grumman_f11_tiger.zip Ilyushin Il-4 /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-01.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-02.jpg Ilyushin Il-4 Our final aircraft is the Ilyushin Il-4, a twin engined Sovietbomber from the Second World War. Developed in 1936 from the IlyushinDB-3, over 5000 were built, with the aircraft seeing service with theSoviet Union, the Chinese Nationalist Air Force, Finnish Air Force,and Germany's Luftwaffe. Although the Ilyushin Il-4 was only a medium bomber, it had therange to be used on strategic missions and was used on severallong-range bombing raids against Berlin in 1941. Two liveries are included with this vintage model, and whilstseemingly dull at first sight, do a great job at showing off theutilitarian virtues of the aircraft. /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-03.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-04.jpg Another area of the model I enjoyed, were the sound samples used toportray the Ilyushin's twin engines. Now, I'm not sure if these are anexact match to those of the real aircraft, but they were mostconvincing, and so good enough for me! /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-09.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-10.jpg Even though this aircraft is the last model to be mentioned in thisarticle, it is without doubt my favorite. There's just somethingabout the styling which I find interesting, and suffice to say, it'sthe one with the most flying hours! /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-07.jpg /images/reviews/afscrub/t/af-scrub-il4-08.jpg You can find this model in the file library:ilyushin_il4.zip So there you have it, three incredibly enjoyable aircraft fromA.F. Scrub, a genuinely talented freeware developer! I can honestlysay that each one of the aircraft mentioned above is well worthinvesting time in, with the added bonus that each one performs wellwith both Prepar3D and FSX. True, none of the above models are study level, but it's also truethat they weren't designed to be (for that you have expensive paywaremodels available). What these aircraft do offer however, is some goodold fashioned fun; just right for when you want to put that studyingbook away! Nirosan Pragash Browse other A.F. Scrub aircraft Read our interview with A.F. Scrub