FS2002/FS2004 Beechcraft G-17S "Staggerwing"
The Beechcraft Staggerwing was, in my view, one of the best looking General Aviation aircraft ever produced. The G-17S was the last of the line; it was introduced in 1945 and only 20 were built, mainly because it cost $29,000 and the B35 Bonanza was about to hit the market at about $8000. I had the opportunity to take a short ride in a G-17S back in 1948. It was a real thrill for a kid that was learning how to fly and all my experience was in Cessna 120's and 140's. What a powerful plane! I flew Tom Miller's great FS98 Staggerwing, later designed one of my own for FS2000 and most recently I have been flying Brian Gladden's Staggerwings. I decided to do a new one of my own just because I am nuts about the plane and it gave my a chance to further experiment with specular colors other than white. I used William Wylam's Master Plans as backgrounds for this project. The paint job was inspired by some 3d models I saw on the internet.
This plane was designed with FSDS2.24 and compiled directly into FS2004. I later copied it back into FS2002 and it works in both sims. It features the usual moving parts, transparent windows, a pilot figure, Nav lights and a deep red specular shine.
INSTALLATION: Unzip Stagv2.zip into a temporary file. Copy the folder Beech G-17 Staggerwing into the Aircraft folder of the simulator you choose. Copy the gauges folder into the Gauges folder of the same simulator. This plane will show in the Aircraft selection list under Beechcraft as 'Nustag".
PANEL and SOUND: I have included Roger Gilbert's excellent custom Beech Staggerwing panel. I did slightly modify the bitmap for a more circular compass which seems to be visible in every picture of the G-17S I've seen. I aliased the C182 sound to save file space. I recently downloaded Bill Lyon's freeware Waco. The sound file included in that download is one of the best early radial sounds around. I have aliased it to several of my vintage craft.
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.
