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T-45C Goshawk for Flight Simulator X: Acceleration - V1.51
By Dino Cattaneo (Released April 18th 2009)
Please visit my blog for updates:
indiafoxtecho.blogspot.com
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VERSION 1.51 - CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS RELEASE
Visual model:
- fixed animation bug (a small part of the landing gear was peeking through the wing)
Flight model:
- decreased Roll MOI and Coupled MOI (slightly better behaviour during barrell roll)
- changes to aircraft.cfg mirrored to alternate .cfg wth porper fonts.
VERSION 1.50 - CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS RELEASE
First, my apologies to Russel R. Smith for having misspelled his name in the previous release.
Visual model:
- Major rework of the fuselage, tail and stabilizers.
An accurate dimensional check revealed that some dimensions were inaccurate.
In particular, the plane was taller and longer than it should be, and the fuselage shape
was incorrect. Also, stabilizers were bigger than they should be and the shape was incorrect
(too rounded). In consequence of these changes, most of the geometry had to be revised/redone.
Now, dimensions are much more accuarate.
- Lower side of the wing now blends to the fuselage more smoothly.
- Removed optional model with additional gear door animation. I know that the "relaxed" gear doors
are a characteristic feature of the Goshawk, but I had not time to replicate the changes I did
the the "default" model. Sorry.
- Fixed USMC repaint showing "NAVY" below the wing
- Fixed miscellaneous materials shininess mismatch.
Interior model:
- Major rework to the canopy geometry. Added missing canopy controls.
- AoA indexer position reworked for better readability.
- Added "WHEELS" advisory lights next to the AoA indexer. The light turns on
when FULL FLAPS are out and the GEAR is up. This is not 100% correct, I guess, as AFAIK in real life
most of the times the "WHEELS" light is also linked to some sort of RPM pickup (i.e. low RPM and flaps down
-> light suggests to the pilot to extend the landing gear if the gear is up, as he/she is probably landing)
Still,while inaccuarte, should work as intended most of the times.
- HUD is now slightly more translucent. Sorry, this is not as good as some users wanted but
it is the best I could do with the time I had. Still, may not be good enough for night operation.
- Increased translucency of the instruments glass. Less dramatic, more readable (and realistic, I think).
Flight model:
- Further tuning to the yaw MOI.
- Further tuning to gear contact points. Now the catapult should not disengage unintentionally
anymore.
VERSION 1.25 - CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS RELEASE
Visual model:
- Air intake geometry now blends into the fuselage more smoothly
- Added repaints by Russell R.Smith
- Added configuration file for proper U.S.Navy font.
As you may have noticed, the aircraft number in my Goshawk model is variable
(i.e.the user can type his/her own number). However, the number will appear with
stock fonts. Should you have the "Long BeachUSN" font type installed, delete the aircraft.cfg and
rename the aircraft_properfont.cfg to aircraft.cfg.
Interior model:
- Revised some of the cockpit geometry (which looked slightly too "bulky")
- Desaturated / darkened / sharpened some textures.
- Fixed NAV1 KHz tuning bug (it was impossible to activate the KHz knob)
- Added Autopilot heading course select (via the HUD keypad + / - buttons);
I know this is not the way it is supposed to work...but at least the function
is there.
- Fixed "CLIMB/DIVE" words in the ADI (were mirrored)
- Reduced photoreal texture warp on right side console
- Minor optimizations
Flight model:
- Tuning to the gear contact points (provided by Richard Wisman).
While the aircraft sits slightly higher than it should, now the problem of the
nose "sinking" into the deck while landing on a carrier is almost gone.
- Minor tunings to yaw
VERSION 1.20 - CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS RELEASE
Visual model:
- The fuselage geometry is now more accurate with respect to the real plane.
- Approach light now working (as AoA indexer repeater)*
- wingtip formation lights now working (mapped to "wing lights switch")*
* NOTE: To enable these features, you must copy the fx_navorange_t45.fx file in
your FSX "Effects" folder. The file is included in this .zip in the Effects subfolder.
Also, some lights seem not work correctly with DX10 preview mode.
Interior model:
- Reworked AoA indexer (thanks to Phil Thompson)
- Reworked Rearview mirrors reflections
Flight model:
- tuned various control effectiveness parameters
Documentation:
- Added a 6Mb .pdf document by Phil Thompson containing a lot of interesting
informations about carrier operations.
VERSION 1.15 - CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS RELEASE
Visual model:
- all textures have now .dds extension.
Please note that they were already in dds "format", only the file
extension was incorrect. Still, no mipmaps (slower frame rate but
better clarity).
- slight improvement of reflections
- fixed minor misplacement on right trail edge flap
- fixed minor geometry issue on right air intake
- restored keypad on instructor seat
- gear door opening when engine is off is now an optional feature:
in the real Goshawk, as in many other planes, when you turn the
engine off the gear door open. I think it was nice to have it in
the model and implemented that as a "special" animation.
It now turns out that, in multiplayer, the gear doors of other T-45C
you might be playing with will appear open.
So, now the default model is without the additional gear door
animation.
An alternate model with the additional gear door animation is stored
in the "model_with_gear_door_anim" folder, should you prefer to have
the animation working, copy the t45c.mdl in that folder and paste it
in your FSX/Simobjects/Airplanes/Boeing_T45C/model and overwrite the
the existing one. A backup of the default model is stored in the
"model_with_gear_door_anim" folder.
Interior model:
- added a NAV/OBS knob (which was missing) nearby the NAV control.
I experienced some malfunctioning...so it may not work correctly.
- added scratchpad some more functionality.
As this is dependendent on the Hornet avionics code, it may not work
correctly.
Flight mode:
- Higher roll rate. This seems more accurate according to users' feedback
2D HUD:
- provided a 16:9 panel file for people who use the 2D HUD with a widescreen
panel (like me);the folder panel16_9 contains the widescreen panel, just grab
the panel.cfg in that folder and move it to your the panel folder in the Boeing_T45
airplane folder. Panel4_3 contains a backup of the 4:3 panel.
VERSION 1.1 - CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS RELEASE
Visual model:
-added two liveries: USN without sq.insignia, USN Training Wing 1
-added user-defined identification numbers (numbers can be changed in aircraft selection window)
-added pilot & instruction animations
-fixed instructor HUD shape
-fixed light poistion (some lights are now hardcoded in the mdl)
-fixed point of view position in spot views
-fixed minor flaw in flaps animation
-added few minor details
Interior model:
-Added MFD functionality:
Power/BRT/CNt controls work as well as all keys;
as the code is from Accelleration Hornet,incorrectly show 2 engines and working radar.
-Added some HUD functionality (altimeter mode; power/brt; azimut & elevation controls)
-Added functional radios (COM1/COM2/NAV1).Only active frequency selector work.
FSX stock radio and GPS can be brought to screen by pressing SHIFT+2 & SHIFT+3.
-Following controls/switches now working:
Flood/cabin light;
Fire test;
Warning test (only few lights work actually);
Formation light;
COM 1 / COM 2 / NAV1 audio selector
-Slightly moved AoA indexed for readability
Flight model:
- Slightly higher roll rate
Misc:
- Update checklist to include new functionality
Thanks for downloading mt T-45C Goshawk model for Flight Simulator X.
The scope of this project si to provide virtual naval aviators with
"state of the art" jet trainer.
I was also a test-bed for several opportunities given by FSX, like virtual
gauges (modeled in 3D and harcoded into the .mdl), bump and shadow mapping,
complex 3D models.
I've tried to make a compromise between realism, playability and development time and resources.
Hope you'll like it.
INSTALLATION & COMPATIBILITY
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Unzip the file (maintaining the proper folder structure) to your FSX Simobjects/Airplanes subfolder.
Move the fx_navorange_t45.fx from the Boeing_T45C/Effects folder to your main FSX Effects folder.
NOTE:
This aircraft requires Acceleration for full functionality.
It should be usable with FSX:SP2, but sound, MFDs, HUD and carrier functionality will not work.
It is NOT completely compatible with FSX:SP1 which may cause graphic glitches on some machines.
Tested on both XP (DX9.0c) and Vista (DX10.1).
VISUAL MODEL
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Visual model feature more than 80k polygons in order to model even the smallest detail like canopy open handle,
main gear brakes systems and rudder trim actuators. This means that there are tons of polygons (roughly 80.000)
and this means that you may get slightly slower frame rates than stock FSX planes.
On my system (64X2 6400, 4Gb, 8800GT) the impact was negligible.
Visual model known issues/opportunities for improvement:
- Main landing gear animation has glitches
- The gear doors in the free flight selection menu appear open (this is done to recreate a real
feature of the Goshawk - and other jets - when the engine is off, the hydraulics "relax" and make
the door open)
COCKPIT
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Like Acceleration F/A-18 Hornet the model is supplied WITHOUT A 2D cockpit and gauges.
Virtual cockpit is functional and you can power up and down the plane by the checklist.
However many systems switches are not operational, such as HUD/MFD keypads, IFF and TACAN.
I've tried to maintain the cockpit as close as possible to the real one, but some artistic licence have
been taken here and there.
Standard radio stack and GPS are provided as pop-up windows.
Main differences between real and FSX Goshawk cockpits:
- Real bird has a AoA indicator instead of the g-meter. Sorry, but I could not make a functional Aoa indexer.
- Real bird has a cockpit pressurization altitude instead of the backup altitude.
- Warning and caution lights have been moved/changed due to both missing information and playability reasons.
FLIGHT MODEL
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While may not be completely accurate, it seems a reasonable approximation of the real one.
The plane is stable and agile, and low-speed handling is good.
Carrier functionality has been tested in hundreds of traps and launches. Should work fine.
Approach speeds should be very close to the original.
KNOWN GLITCHES:
-If you keep full throttle with catapult engaged for too long - say 15secs, the bar may disengage.Also, the bar
will not be retracted automatically after launch (see below)
-If you start the sim "cold and dark", you may, in certain situations, not able to completely power up the engine.
I'm not sure what is the cause. If this happens start the engine with CTRL+E. If you have performed a manual shut-down
then no problem.
- some lights do not show properly in DX10 preview mode
NOTE ABOUT CARRIER OPERATIONS
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As the real thing, this model is designed for carrier training: I've tried to have both a realistic behaviour and a reasonable
approach speeds. It should be easier to land than the F/A-18, and most pilots should be able to operate from a carrier
without too many problems.
HOW TO FIND THE CARRIERS IN FSX:A
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If you want to operate the Goshawk from a carrier, and you probably will, there are two ways to find "operational" (i.e. with
working cats and spaghetti):
- Pick one of the carrier missions from the mission menu and check "Enable changes".
Start the mission (with the Hornet) and then you can switch to any other plane (inlcuding the Goshawk)
- Find one of the moving carriers around the world. They cruise on fixed weekly routes to and from several ports
(e.g.San Diego, Norfolk and Hawaii). Search with google and you will find few pages with exact coordinates of the
cruise
SUGGESTION FOR SCENERY AND MISSION DEVELOPERS:
- It would be great if someone would make a "carrier qualification mission" for the Goshawk.
I never designed a mission before...so I hope that someone out there will take on this challenge.
- Afaik FSX community is still looking for a visually detailed and working carrier...
WARNING:
-Launch bar needs to be retracted after cat launch, by using the "LAUNCH BAR RETRACT" switch in the VC (or SHIFT+U).
If the launch bar is down, you will not be able to retract the gear
-If you have collision detection enabled, you MUST pull the stick during cat launch, otherwise the plane may crash.
This glitch should be fixed in the present releas, but I had not time to test if the fix works 100%
SOUNDS
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Aliased from FSX:Acceleration Hornet.
TEXTURE AND REPAINT
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All the textures are original and have been kept to the highest possible resolution.
Textures are in DTX3 format, without MIPMAPs for maximum sharpness. This has a slight impact on load times, and some
users may experience a slight delay switching from exterior/interior views.
NOTE FOR REPAINTERS:
Please contact me if you want to publish a repaint (specify T-45 repaint in the email subject).
As you will see some textures are mirrored left to right side so you cannot make fuselage strips
like in the Eagles/Tigers/Salty Dog paint schemes.
Identification numbers have been moved to a dynamic texture. You can set the default numbers for a given paintscheme in
the aicraft configuration file
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
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This software is hereby declared FREEWARE.
All the original material is copyrighted and may not be used without permission.
Repacking or modifying this package and its contents is not allowed without permission.
Distribution of this file on the internet or other media is allowed, provided it is done for free and without modifying the original file.
Every kind of distribution that implies exchange of money is not allowed without permission.
This software is distributed without warranty of any kind either expressed or implied.
This software should should and will not create any damage to your system, still the author is not responsible
for any damage caused (or supposed to be caused) by this software.
I wish to thank all the people who supported this project, especially my friends and my collegues for not killing me while
I talked about Gohsawk carrier operations during coffee breaks.
A special thank you for the beta tester team, with special mention to Jim Dhaenens (look out for his Pensacola NAS scenery),
John "Ford" Martin and Evan Levesque who have been the most active testers.
Special thanks also to Rusel R.Smith for his repaints and Richard Wiseman for reworked gear contact points .cfg.
CONTACT INFORMATION
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Dino Cattaneo,
Genova, Italy, EU
email: dino_cattaneo@libero.it
Xbox Live tag: ScimmiaSpaziale (average Halo player...waiting for Gears of War 2!)
Please visit my FSX blog: indiafoxtecho.blogspot.com
