The USS Saratoga (CV-3) proudly served from her launch in 1925 through 1946. She was a sister ship to the USS Lexington CV-2. The only real difference I could find in my references was the lettering on the fantail and an additional stripe on the funnel of CV-3.
I wanted to create a carrier in the FS2004 scenery object format because it is relatively easy to relocate with BGLCOMP.exe and you don't need knowledge of the source design programs. I took the .fsc (FSDSv2.24) file of my earlier Lexington and converted it to a .dxf file with the CVA converter available at FFDS and other sources. I then imported it into into Gmax (v1.2) I redid the texturing in Gmax and added a hard deck with Attachtool which is a Maxscript that is a ride- along with the latest makemdl program. This is neat because the hard deck is part of the .mdl file and goes with the boat when you move it without an extra XML file and another .bgl file. I need to keep things simple at my age! I then exported it as a FS scenery .mdl and XML file. I then compiled it in BGLcomp.exe with the coordinates N21 17.00 and W157 56.26 and a heading of 270 which puts it just outside Pearl Harbor.
INSTALLATION: Unzip Sarav2.zip into a temporary folder. Next copy the folder Saratoga into the Add On scenery folder of FS2004. Close and open FS2004, when you see the set up screen click on settings then click on scenery library, click on add area, then look at the drop down and click on Add On scenery then click on the folder Saratoga. Click on it, don't open it. Now click on OK and close FS2004. The carrier shows in the Honolulu airport list as USS Saratoga. I have several of my vintage Navy flyers set up with the XML carrier catapult and arrestor gear gauges available at the major sites. I don't have Flight Deck 3 so I can't make the .dat files for that addon.
MOVING INSTRUCTIONS: I am assuming you already have Bglcomp.exe installed and know how to write the command line. First fly or slew to the new location you desire and note the coordinates and heading. Open the folder "Moving Stuff" and copy the 2 files into the folder where you have bglcomp.exe located. Open the file Sara.xml with Notepad (nothing else, please) and scroll down to where you see the coordinates and heading. Please note you must change these values at 4 different entries. Also, if you are relocating away from Hawaii, you should change the airport city, state and region entries to where you want it to show. Change the values to the new location and heading. Please use the format as shown above. Close and save the new XML file. Run Bglcomp.exe and it will generate a new .bgl file. Copy the new .bgl file into FS9>Addon Scenery>Saratoga>Scenery and replace or overwrite the existing .bgl file and Viola! the boat is moved.
LEGAL: This project is released as freeware. You may modify it, repaint it, etc., upload to another website as long as it is not for profit. You need my written permission to use any of these files for commercial purposes; otherwise just give me credit for the original design. This airplane should not hurt your computer but I am not responsible if it causes problems.
