FS98 de Havilland Heron 1B F-OANS Union Aeromaratime de Transport (UAT)
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It seems remarkable today that any aircraft designed to carry just eleven people should be
equipped with FOUR engines, but nevertheless, in the 1950s that was the number of engines
required to give this aircraft any sort of performance at all. Things were different in those days!

As well as being operated by quite a number of airlines in Britain and overseas (even BEA),
The Heron was used by the Queen's Flight. Michael Burns' excellent book 'The Queen's Flight'
gives an interesting insight into what senior officers of that organisation thought of it.
Burns points out that, although it had four engines, these were small, unsupercharged, air-cooled
piston engines designed in the 1930s and had very limited power output. Performance was poor,
and with the lack of supercharging, the aircraft had to operate at relatively low altitudes,
which led to a'not-very-pleasant'ride in anything but the kindest weather.
With eight passengers aboard, it couldn't take a full fuel load, which reduced its already modest
range. In addition, there was lots of maintenance required - simple stuff like plug and filter
changes, but with four engines, this increased running costs as well as requiring long staff
hours to carry out the work.
Be that as it may, the Heron was a very nice looking aircraft, and was obviously well built since
there were still a few flying towards the end of the century. Later versions had retractable
gear and some were converted to use more powerful Lycoming engines, with Prinair of Puerto Rica
being a notable operator. Try David Henderson's FLYING COLORS website for examples of this version.

This aircraft is a repaint of Les Penridge's original Heron 1B of British European Airways.
I've repainted all the textures, adding quite a bit of detail (hatches, de-icing boots etc).
I also used the AIR. file from David Henderson's Prinair plane because he had improved the original. The
model now flies better, and is easier to handle. This is not a criticism of the original - all good
aircraft deserve to be worked on as part of the quest that we all should have to make the hobby
as realistic as possible. Perfection takes time, and naturally, later models will be better.
There's still plenty of room for improvement to my work. I wasn't able to texture the wings the
way I would have liked, and the tailplane doesn't have a texture file so I couldn't do anything
there. Perhaps someone else who has the ability to work with the model will try to address these
omissions in the future. If I ever get to master Chuck Dome's MDLVUE program, I should be able to
do something about the tailplane colour at least.
I also animated it - a second's work with Aircraft Animator. What a good programme that is!

Anyway, thanks to Les Penridge, Brian Horsey (original flight model) David Henderson, and Chuck
Dome(texbmp2) for their part in this aircraft too.

LEGAL NOTES

This aircraft model is an enhancement for Microsoft's Flight Simulator 98. It is
Freeware and must not be sold under any circumstances, either singly or as part of
any software package whatsoever. All the various elements of the model are the
copyright of the creator of that element, who has agreed to its free distribution
as part of this file only.
In particular the repaint is my copyright and I will not give permission for
my work to be sold.

NOTE: Nothing in this zip file will harm your computer; however, by installing the plane
you accept the risk.

INSTALLATION

Unzip the file (using Winzip or similar) into a temporary folder or, at your own
discretion, straight into the AIRCRAFT folder of FS98. I have tested it with Winzip v.7,
and it zipped staight in, but I tried Winzip 8 previously with another aircraft, and it
installed it in the 'aircraft' folder but still inside the folder which I use to zip it up.
If you are not confident that your unzipping software will keep the stored folders intact,
use a temporary folder, and create the aircraft file as follows:-
put all the .AF files in a new folder called 'texture'(without the inverted commas)
put all the mdl.files, PLUS the notepad or Word file called 'model' in a new folder
called 'model'
put the notepad or Word file called 'panel' in a new folder called 'panel'
put the notepad or Word file called 'sound'in a new folder called 'sound'
delete the file called FILE_ID - you dont need it any more
delete the image file for the same reason
make a new folder called 'Cambrian Airways DH Heron' and put everything inside it;
then put this folder into the AIRCRAFT folder of FS98. Start FS98 and the aircraft
should be there!

You can also download a panel for the Heron from WWW.Flightsim com. I couldn't get all the
gauges to appear when I did it, but that just adds to the fun. If you have the same problem
just go into the panel config. file and substitute instruments from another plane. Before you
know where you are, you will be an expert at making panels too!
I haven't investigated a sound file for the Heron 1 yet. There is a great file for Lycoming
engines called MULTIENG.ZIP, and to be honest I just use that. Maybe you will find something
better.
Incidentally, the colours used on this aircraft don't work properly in Hong Kong, Macau and Japan.
This is an FS98 fault apparently, caused by the fact that Hong Kong and Japan were added to the
program later, using non standard textures. It used to infuriate me, and I spent ages trying to
find out why it happened, then selecting another similar, but often not as good, colour which was
ok. However, I've now noticed that quite a few other people's aircraft also have the fault, so
I've decided to ignore it on aircraft which are never likely to fly in that area. So stay in
Europe when you fly your Heron, and dont try any long hauls.
Oh, by the way - the Heron 1B is a fixed gear aircraft.
Have fun flying!

Gerry McLaughlin

For more Herons, and other great planes, visit my site at:-
www.geocities.com/gerrys3dflyin