FS2002 America West A319-100 V1.0!!
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ALOHA SIMMERS!!!
Welcome to my 16th aircraft project for FS2002!!
First off, I would like to sincerely thank IADG and Holger Ellerbrock from providing an excellent A319 model to work on, and Zachary Palmese for the original aircraft which I have repainted and improved for this package.
Unfortunately, I was unable to get ahold of any of the above developers to request permission to release this work. After much talk with other simmers on whether to go ahead and release this package or not, I decided to go ahead and upload it. I hope the above parties will see this message and know that I am sincerely thankful for their original models and wish I could have contacted them before releasing this package.
So, without further delay, let's get on with the details of this aircraft:
This aircraft is a "lean package", which means that it uses the default 737 panel, and default sounds. As of this time I have not created a full package for this aircraft due to the impending release of 2004. Sound packages and panels are available from many sources online, especially SurClaro, which has a great selection of panels to choose from. :)
I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO READ THIS README IN FULL, IT WILL ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS!!!
WHAT MADE THIS AIRCRAFT A REALITY?
About a month or more ago I was planning a trip to Southern California and contemplating a flight on America West. Being an FS nut I like to fly my trips in Fs before I actually take them. It actually helps me decide which side of the plane to sit on to see the most during my flight. ;)
So I came online to get a good A319, and stumbled across Zachary Palmese's repaint of IADG's original plane. After downloading it and testing it out, I found the controls a little sluggish and noticed a few things missing in the paint scheme. The aircraft developer inside me took hold and I found myself tweaking this and that with the plane until I had it just the way I liked it. It flew like a dream and looked amazing.
Now, as anyone who has downloaded my work would know, I haven't really been "active" in aircraft developing for a while, and these days I usually stick to 757s. However, over time my urge to release this plane for others to enjoy grew and grew. I attempted to contact the original authors but none of their email addresses are currently active. There I sat again wondering what to do with this very nice A319. I discussed it with some fellow simmers, and at their urging, decided to go ahead with the release. And here we are! My first aircraft to be released in an unbelievable 10 MONTHS. (Last release was July 25th 2002)
So, with that said, I really hope you enjoy this aircraft. I'm very happy to be providing a new aircraft for the flightsim community again after all this time. Thanks for downloading it! :D
Here is a description of the improvements I have made to this aircraft:
THE AIRCRAFT ITSELF:
About the livery:
The original textures by Zach Palmese looked great, but they were missing a few elements. Most notably, the black stripe that lies just below the red stripe that runs the length of the plane in AWA's paint scheme. So, I have added this black line in. I have also changed many of the colours on the original textures. The underside of the plane is now painted truer to the actual colour of the real paint scheme, and the red stripe has been made more noticable and bright. I have made numerous improvements to the zig-zag lines at the rear of the plane, making them look more like the real thing. I adjusted some textures that didn't seem to line up correctly, producing what looked like "seams" in the paint scheme. There was one seam at the top of the aircraft that I was unable to get rid of, unfortunately. The biggest improvements, however, were to the engine nacelles. I made the greens darker, gave the America West logo more contrast, and used the same techniques in colouring the logo as I did in my original America West 757 Full Pack V3.0. The results are amazing. The aircraft is very pleasing to the eye, as you may notice in the screenshot I've provided!
Night lighting:
I haven't really made any improvements to the night lighting. Limitations of the original textures don't allow for those large bright fuselage splashes you see on my 757s when the landing lights are turned on. however, I did apply the changes I made to the day textures to the night textures as well, i.e. the changes made to the rear textures of the plane and the seam edits, so that textures from day to night flow together more accurately.
FLIGHT DYNAMICS:
The original flight dynamics made by IADG were nice, but sluggish. What I've done is improved the way the aircraft feels and responds both on the ground and in the air. I've greatly improved braking power, and increased reverse thrust power as well. It's powerful enough now that at full reverse thrust, you can back away from the terminal gate after the engines spool up fully in reverse.
On takeoff, the aircraft will hesitate, like the real thing, and then gently float off the ground. The rudder, elevator, and ailerons respond much better than the original, but they aren't too sensitive either. (A problem some of my 757s had). The aircraft is rock solid at cruise altitude and does not bob up and down, and autopilot wing leveler is turned off, as always. Aircraft response to spoilers, flaps, and touchdown on runway have been improved. In the old model, engaging the spoilers would drop your altitude very quickly above the runway, so that many times you crashed on landing. This is unrealistic, so I changed it to a much more realistic and safe pitch and altitude reaction when spoilers are extended.
Drag on the aircraft in the original version was also a bit off. I've improved this but it was a bit of trial and error. What you have is a moderate amount of drag on the plane, but with gear up, drag will very pretty low. The problem I faced was that if I increased the overall drag, there would be too much drag at slow speeds during approach, making a safe landing very hard. On the other hand, if I lowered the amount of drag, you'd fly unrealistically fast with engines spooled down during the descent.
The result is a sort of "meet in the middle" solution. A good amount of drag on landing, a fair amount at cruise altitude. It was the best I could do. :)
INSTRUMENT PANEL:
This aircraft uses the default 737-400 panel. Because there are so many A320 panels out there, good sounds, and of course the upcoming release of 2004, I decided not to make this plane a full pack.
SOUNDS:
This aircraft uses the default 737-400 sounds, for the same reason stated above.
OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:
That's pretty much all that's been improved. The end result is an aircraft that flies much more realistically, looks beautiul, and is alot of fun to fly for the novice simmer and the professional alike. I'm sure you'll love this plane as I do and spend houts flying it around. A319s are a joy to fly from what I've heard and this aircraft simulates that. I love flying this plane, I hope you will too!
REPAINTS OF THIS AIRCRAFT:
I'm not entirely sure about the policy towards repaints of this aircraft. The enclosed IADG readme file says that no repaints are allowed without permission. However, IADG no longer exists. And the addresses of it's former members, are no longer active. Zachary Palmese's address also seems to be inactive. I've repainted this aircraft, and based on what other simmers have told me and feel in regards to repaints of this plane....it should be okay for you to paint it too.
I'd suggest putting a note at the top of your readme file crediting the original authors for the aircraft model, and things should be fine.
OK, now that you know what you have, how about some installation instructions!
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
It's easy, just follow these instructions:
Extract this ZIP file into your MAIN FS2002/Aircraft directory, all files will go where they need to go. Make sure you have "Use folder names" checked in the Winzip dialog box.
That's it! Now, go into FS2002, find your aircraft, and have fun!
If you have any comments or questions, you can email me at:
Alohacooldude@hotmail.com
Due to recent problems with my email address, I have an alternate address that you can also write to:
Alohacooldude1@hotmail.com
NOTE: IF you encounter a problem, first check this readme for a solution. If it's not here, then go ahead and write me.
LEGAL: ****READ CAREFULLY, IMPORTANT LEGAL DOCUMENTATION!!!****
This file and the aircraft it belongs to are created as freeware, and as such MAY NOT be bundled and sold for profit. Doing so is in violation of international copyright law. Author(s) reserve all rights, claims, and copyrights to this file and all parts within and/or relating to it.
The original model of this aircraft is copyrighted to IADG group. I take no claim on their original work, but only on the repainting of this model.
If author finds that any illegal use of this file has been made (i.e. uploaded to payware site, bundled and sold, or stolen copyright) then author will request removal of file from said location/bundle and destruction of all copies of the software. IF end user fails to comply, legal action may result.
Have fun flying!! :D
Brandon A. Williams- Scenery/Aircraft/Sound developer, SurClaro
Be sure to visit Virtual National Airlines' website at http://www.vn7network.com, become a part of our team! :D
