FS2002/2004/FSX/CFS2 WW 1 Pfalz D XII
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The Pfalz D.XII was the successor to the Pfalz D.IIIa series fighter and entered service in the late summer of 1918. It was a sturdy, agile, and well designed fighter that nearly rivaled the famed Fokker D.VII in performance.
The D.XII was a very good aircraft, but it was not as maneuverable as the Fokker D.VII. However, when it was not handicapped by second rate engines, the Pfalz D.XII could out climb, out dive and was faster than the Fokker D.VII. The wings were relatively flat and thin like the French SPAD VII/XIII and the British SE.5. In fact it was the SPAD’s wing that influenced the Pfalz company to design the D.XII wings. The thicker Fokker wing allowed the Fokker to create more lift. But as you increase lift you increase drag. The trade off was that the Fokker was more maneuverable than the Pfalz. The Fokker fit the underlying German aviator’s philosophy of preferring maneuverability to speed. Since the Germans didn’t often cross the lines into Allied airspace as often as the Allied aviators crossed in to German airspace, the advantage of being able to break and run for your lines was not as important to the Germans. The Allies preferred speed over maneuverability. With speed you could accept or refuse battle at will and in the event things started to turn bad for you, you could break and run. Return to fight another day, so to say, when luck looked on you with less of a grimace.

Thanks to its sturdy wing and thin airfoil section, the D.XII maintained the excellent high-speed dive characteristics of the earlier Pfalz D.III. Like most scouts of the era, however, the D.XII had an abrupt stall and a pronounced tendency to spin. Furthermore, contemporary pilot consistently criticized the D.XII for its long takeoff run and "clumsy" handling qualities in the air. Rate of roll, in particular, appears to have been deficient. Landing were difficult because the D.XII tended to float above the ground, and the landing gear was weak. Ground crews disliked the extensive wire bracing that accompanied the two-bay wing.
The Pfalz D.XII was not produced in great numbers due to the amount of time needed to form the plywood fuselage.

Between 750 and 800 D.XII scouts had been completed by the Armistice. A substantial number, perhaps as many as 175, were surrendered to the Allies. Of these, a few were brought back to the United States and Canada for evaluation. Two D.XIIs were sold as war surplus to the Crawford Aeroplane & Supply Co. of Venice, California. These aircraft, which appeared in the films Hell's Angels and the first Dawn Patrol, are today preserved at the National Air and Space Museum and the Seattle Museum of Flight.

Performance:
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Manufacturer: Pfalz Flugzeug-Werke GmbH Speyer am Rhein.
Engine: 160/180 hp Mercedes D-IIIa 6 cylinder in-line water cooled
Weight: empty 1571, lbs; loaded: up to 1,973
Maximum speed: 106 mph
Climb rate: to 16,400 ft (5,000m) 29 min. 54 seconds.
Service ceiling: 18,540 feet (one source says 21,100 feet)
Fuel capacity: 18.75 gallons
Flight endurance: 2.5 hours.

Dimensions: Span 29ft, 6.4in; Length 20ft, 10in; Height: 8ft, 10.25in; Dihedral: 1.5 deg.
Areas: Wings 236.3 sq ft
Armament: twin Maxim machineguns synchronized to fire through the airscrew.
Typical ammo load: 500 rounds per gun typical; some down to 800 total rounds.

Effects
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-On startup there is automatic engine smoke.
-Then follow the exhaust flames with smoke.
-Continuous blue flames with smoke if engine is running .
-Guns with flash, smoke and falling cartridges can be triggered with the standard Strobe key (O).
It is much nicer however if you put the FS2004 standard Strobe key (O) to the trigger from your joystick.You can change this in the Key menu.
It is a good idea if you replace the standard (L) key for lights by the L+CTRL, (normaly activating the landing lights only). This avoids you having to have all lights on when pulling the trigger.

Installation:
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-Unzip " Pfalz_D12" into a temporary file and move the "Pfalz_D12" folder into the main Aircraft directory.
-Attention...the panel and Mdl files are different for FS2002/CFS2,FS2004 and FSX.
-For FS2002/CFS2,put the Sopwith.gau and Pfalz_D12.cab into your gauges folder. Rename the Pfalzfs8.mdl into Pfalz_D12.mdl and let it overwrite the first one. Delete the glass.bmp from both texture files.
-For FS2004 and FSX leave the Sopwith.gau and Pfalz_D12.cab in your panelfolder.
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-Read instructions carefully when installing the Sopwith.gau , say YES...when asked if the gauges sources should be trusted. If you say no....most of the gauges are not going to work !
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-Copy the effects into the Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\effects folder.
-Add the 20can.wav in your Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\sound folder.

Flying the plane:
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Remember...this is a WW1 plane ! It is a very good flyer but everything needs time. Manoeuvrability is good, it rolls fine and is responsive to rudder and elevator. Nice flying aerobatics close to the tower !
Gather as much speed as possible for a loop. On top of it, you'll be very close to the stall. Wing over, knife edge, segment rolls are all possible.
- Hold up elevator to start the engine, you have no brakes and the tailskid must firmly be on the ground to stop the plane.
- Take off at about 55, correct with left rudder. Take off run is a bit long.
- Climb at 70, level at altitude, speed slowly builds up to 125.
- Landing approach at 65, over the fence at 60, touchdown at 55. You need some up trim for a threepointer.
- Hold up elevator for the tailskid to brake the plane when taxying.


CREDITS
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Special thanks to :
-GMAX for the drawing program and Microsoft for their makmdls.mdk.
-To Corrado La Posta for his advice.
-To S.G. for the sounds.
-To Ivan Hsu for the mdlc program.

LEGAL:
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The project is released as freeware. You may modify it and repaint it. You may upload this file to another website as long as it is not for profit.
You need the written permission of the original authors to use any of these files for commercial purposes, otherwise a simple credit would be nice. Non commercial repaints-remakes from the original file are welcome but I would appreciate very much receiving a copy of your model.
This file should not cause any problems with your computer, but I accept no responsibility if you think it does.


Happy Landings!!

A.F.Scrub
June 2007
Email: af_scrubbypc@hotmail.com