FS2002/FS9 Unreal Aviation "Atlas" ball-shaped Airship inspired by the work of Hokan Colting. Little more than a balloon that can be steered, this is probably the simplest airship design imaginable. The ball shape makes it very easy for a ground crew of just one to dock the ship with its mooring pad, a heavy truck and the machine is no more difficult to handle than a tethered balloon.
Controlled entirely by its vectored ducted fans, there are no aerodynamic control surfaces at all and a computer takes care of stability. In light airs, it is possible to position the aircraft with great accuracy making it perfect for holding station over a fixed point or flying tight patterns in a confined area.

The downside to the ball shape is the terrible cruise performance and complete lack of dynamic stability. It is also fairly useless in any kind of wind.

However, for advertising, surveying and filming it is perfect.


Installing:

Unzip to a spare folder and drop the Atlas folder into your main Aircraft folder. FS9 Users must use the AIR file in the FS9 folder just replace the existing file. This corrects a strong nose-down attitude with full flap that FS2004 insists is correct for all aircraft. Also in the FS9 folder is an alternative canopy_t.bmp file that looks better in FS9. Drop this into the Texture folder replacing the FS2002 original.


Flying:

Start the engines with CTRL E and apply full flap for takeoff.

Flaps vector the thrust and you can hover in a light breeze (FS2002 is vastly superior in this department).

Max cruise is 25 KIAS and she is comfortable at around 15-20.

You can use Auto rudder if you wish but rudder control at low speeds/hover is much better if Auto rudder is off.

Add flaps for landing as required.

The aircraft lights up at night and looks quite spectacular. The envelope (Envelope_t.bmp) can be repainted. Remember to paint the night map too (Envelope_l.bmp). You will need a tool like DXTBMP for this. These textures are a cylindrical map so bear that in mind.

The world map was adapted from a free file from www.graphicmaps.com. Please be sure to give them a mention should you use any of their fine maps and flags in your own projects.

I look forward to seeing some imaginative repaints.


That's it, have fun.
Kevin Bryan
Unreal Aviation
whirlybug@cix.co.uk