This Flight Simulator 2004 aircraft was produced with Abacus FS Design Studio 3.5.1, FS Panel Studio, and Paint Shop Pro 10.
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Installation FS2004:
-Extract the contents of the main zip file VS44AAB.zip into FS2004's Aircraft folder. This should create a structure something like the following:
- c:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9
--- Aircraft
----- Sikorsky VS-44 AAB
-------- model
-------- panel
-------- sound
-------- texture.aab
-------- texture.aat

-Once these files are extracted, Flight Simulator 2004 should exhibit two new entries under Aircraft/Select Aircraft on the menu bar:
--Sikorsky / VS-44A "Excambian" Antilles Air Boats
--Sikorsky / VS-44A "Excambian" Avalon Air Transport

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SIKORSKY VS-44 'EXCAMBIAN' IS RESTORED AND ON DISPLAY AT NEW ENGLAND AIR MUSEUM, WINDSOR LOCKS, CONNECTICUT.
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Flying the VS-44:
The VS-44 is a flying boat. It lands and takes off from water. You can fly from seaplane runways like PR34 San Juan PR, PR03 Fajardo Harbor PR, X44 Miami FL, NK30 Brooklyn NY, or 22CA Sausalito CA. It does not have true landing gear, but it does have beaching gear, which allows it to be positioned on land at an airport at flight startup. MAKE SURE YOU GET RID OF THE GEAR WHEN STARTING A FLIGHT FROM WATER. Use the G key to attach or detach the beaching gear. If you want, you can take off and land on the beaching gear, but this is not realistic behavior. The beaching gear was NOT RETRACTABLE, but was floated out to the plane and attached in the water before towing the plane up on shore for maintenance. Once back in the water, the beaching gear was detached and floated away before takeoff.

There are small icons in the 2D panel for displaying the electrical panel (including engine starters), engine instruments, ADF radio, overhead panel (also with engine starters*), overhead throttle levers, checklists, ATC window, map window, and GPS.

See the kneeboard checklist for manual engine starting procedures. You can start the engines with the Magneto/starter switches in the Virtual Cockpit, on the overhead panel above the pilot, or on the flight engineer's electrical panel.

Engine instruments for the pilot show engine 1 on the left, engine 4 on the right. Flight engineer's engine instruments in 2D popup are reversed: engine 4 on the left, engine 1 on the right.
Fuel flow is in 100s of pounds per hour.
Oil temp is Fahrenheit, carb temp and cylinder temp are Celsius.
Fuel quantity is in inches. Use the mouse tooltips to see fuel percent.

For assistance with the Sperry Autopilot, see the Microsoft Flight Simulator Learning Center, Index (letter D), Douglas DC-3, Flight Notes, Using the Autopilot.

ADF radio (only 1) affects the radio compass with the red needle. It picks up NDB signals.
Nav radio (1 or 2) affects the radio compass with the green needle. It picks up VOR signals.

Avalon Air Transport used VS-44 as a short-hop air taxi, so much less fuel was carried, and max gross weight was only 51,500 pounds. FOR SHORT RANGE FLIGHT, REDUCE FUEL TO KEEP GROSS WEIGHT UNDER 51,500.

The VS-44 was originally used on long-range (3000 mile) flights which could last 20 hours or more. With 23000 pounds of fuel, max gross weight was 59,500 pounds. FOR LONG RANGE FLIGHT, REDUCE PASSENGER LOAD TO 32 OR FEWER. CHANGE CENTER TANK CAPACITY TO 1300 GALS IN AIRCRAFT.CFG.

Virtual Cockpit How To:
-Move from pilot to copilot seat --- Ctrl-Shift-Enter to move right
-Move from copilot to pilot seat --- Ctrl-Shift-Backspace to move left
-Move from pilot to radio operator panel --- Ctrl-Enter and then Ctrl-Shift-Enter
to move aft and right
-See passenger compartments --- Shift-Backspace to move down
-Return from the lower deck --- Shift-Enter to move up

Engine How To:
-Adjust Prop Pitch --- Overhead panel or flight engineer panel, use 4 "toggle"
switches by the green lights.
Click and drag up to increase prop RPM, down to decrease.
When you are at min or max RPM, the green light goes on.
-Feather Props --- Flight engineer panel, use 4 red buttons in lower left corner.
-Check Prop Synch --- Synchronizer gauge is on 2D Engine instruments panel. Engine 1 is the master.
Select another engine and the needle indicate whether it is faster or slower than engine 1.
-Adjust Cowl Flaps --- 2D Engine instruments panel, use yellow levers at top right.
Click slightly to the right (+) of each lever to open
incrementally, slightly to left (-) to close.
-Adjust Mixture --- 2D Engine instruments panel, use red levers at top left.
Click and drag to set.
-Adjust Carb Heat --- 2D Engine instruments panel, use green levers at top.
Click to toggle on/off.
-Adjust Throttle --- 2D Engine instruments panel, use black levers at top.
Click and drag to set.
--- 2D Overhead throttles panel, click and drag to set.

Radio How To:
-Select ADF Radio Frequency: --- Select the frequency band using the upper 4-position switch on the ADF radio. Select the frequency by clicking to the right or left of the crank in the middle of the radio. Left to decrease, right to increase. The ADF radio is at the top of the radio operator's panel (2D and 3D panels), and on the center console between the pilot and copilot (3D only). Both controls affect the same radio.

-Select Nav Radio Frequency: --- Click outside the image of the tuning knob to change the frequency unit values (110, 111, 112, etc.). Left of center to decrease, right of center to increase. Click within the image of the tuning knob to change the fractional frequency (110.100, 110.150, 110.200, etc.). Left of center to decrease, right of center to increase.

-Select Nav1 or Nav2: --- Look for the RMI2 selector knob in the gray area in the middle of the radio operator's panel. On the 2D or 3D panel it is just to the right of the ADF radio. Click on the knob to toggle between Nav1 and Nav2 as the source for the radio compass with the green needle.

-Hear the Morse Code signals from the radios: --- Click the round Audio knob on the ADF radio to toggle sound off and on. Click the toggle switch on the far right of each Nav radio to toggle sound off and on.

Use the Exit command (Shift-E) to open and close the passenger and cargo hatches.

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Known issues:
-Performance. This model takes off at about 120 mph. The real VS-44 took off at about 110.

-Panel. I only had a few photos of the Avalon Air Transport cockpit, so much of the instrumentation is guesswork. The cockpit was significantly changed from the original AEA layout. To permit the plane to be flown by a crew of 2, the flight engineer and navigator stations were removed and the controls consolidated in the pilot/copilot area. I tried to indicate this in the main instrument panel and the 3D cockpit. But I left the 2D popup windows pretty much in the AEA configuration.
--Center Console: AAT owner Dick Probert moved mixture, carb heat and oil cooler shutoff to the center console. My center console has mixture, carb heat (non-functioning) and cowl flaps.
--Prop Pitch: On the actual plane, you pushed switches up repeatedly to increase, down to decrease. On this model, you click and drag to set. When you hit max or min RPM, the green light comes on realistically.
--Cowl Flaps: Were not really the yellow levers on top of flight engineer panel, as I show them. They were on the back wall of the flight deck. Those levers on the real plane controlled the oil cooler shutters.
--Fuel Selector: My fuel selector switch is fictitious. On the real plane, there were a group of valves on the back wall of the flight deck opposite the flight engineer.
--Reserve tank: If you select all tanks, it empties after the main center tank.
--Flaps: You can select flaps to 30 degrees, but on the real plane they were limited to 20 degrees after the first VS-44 crashed on takeoff.

-Sound. To save space, this model comes with a sound.cfg file that points to a default sound package, the DC-3.

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Authorship:
The visual model is completely original. It is based on drawings in Harry Pember's book, and photographs taken at the New England Air Museum.

Flight dynamics are primarily by Brian Horsey. Any flaws or failings are my own responsibility, however.

The textures are original. The 2D panel bitmap is adapted from a photo in Pember's book.

Most of the gauges are modified from XML gauges supplied in FS2004. Most of the engine gauge images were adapted from photographs taken at the New England Air Museum.

I consulted many tutorials in building this model. David Eckert provides tutorials on almost every facet of FSDS development at www.daviator.com. Jerry Beckwith explains .air file parameters at the 714th flight test center. Tom Goodrick explains flight dynamics at http://www.flightsimdownloads.com/pub/FlightDynamics.pdf. Marcelo Canovas Vera and Felix J Rodriguez explain how to make a prop disk at http://www.freeflightdesign.com. Arne Bartels provided much reference material for creating XML gauges. I am grateful to the many people who give so much of their time to provide tools and guidance for us.

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Special Thanks:
New England Air Museum Personnel:
-Michael Speciale, Executive Director, for permission to photograph the VS-44 interior
-Russ Magnuson and John Craggs, volunteers, for assistance in photo session
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Background:
The Sikorsky VS-44 NC41881 (c/n 4403) 'Excambian' was the second of three VS-44s produced by Sikorsky. Construction of the three planes occurred from 1940 to 1942. The VS-44 was the last fixed-wing plane built by Sikorsky. It held the speed record for crossing the Atlantic by flying boats, in both directions.

The VS-44 was originally designed to carry 32 passengers on daytime transatlantic flights, or 16 passengers overnight. When Dick Probert bought the VS-44 for Avalon Air Transport, he removed the galley equipment and bench seats from 2 cabins, and increased seating to 47 by installing higher-density airline seats.
Avalon Air Transport used the VS-44 for the 26-mile taxi service between Long Beach CA and Catalina Island. Maximum gross weight was reduced to 51,500 pounds and flights were restricted to daytime hours.
Charles Blair bought the VS-44 for Antilles Air Boats in 1967. It flew two round trips a day between St. Thomas and St. Croix under the name "Super Goose." Round trip fare was $15.00. The plane's useful life came to an end January 1969 in a taxiing accident in St. Thomas.

The VS-44 originally carried a crew of 5, but Dick Probert modified the flight deck so the plane could be flown by 3, and eventually 2.

=Other VS-44 facts:
.The 'Excambian' is restored and polished like a jewel at the New England Air Museum just behind Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT. It was restored over an 11-year period, with about a million dollars of assistance from Sikorsky, and almost 200,000 hours of volunteer labor.
.Famed actress Maureen O'Hara was married to Charles Blair, and after his death became CEO of Antilles Air Boats. She owned the inoperable 'Excambian,' eventually transferring it to first the Naval Aviation Museum in 1976 and then the New England Air Museum in 1983, where it was to be restored. She attended the dedication ceremony in 1987 at the beginning of restoration, and again at completion in 1998.

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References:
New England Air Museum, Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, CT
-lots of history at the Museum's website, http://www.neam.org/vs44.htm
Harry Pember, 'Sikorsky VS-44 Flying Boat', Flying Machines Press, Stratford, CT 1998
Joseph Juptner, 'US Civil Aircraft Vol. 8', McGraw-Hill 1997
John W. R. Taylor, 'Sikorsky', Tempus Publishing, 1998
'The Queen of the Sky' VHS video, New England Air Museum, for sale at the museum
Charles Blair, 'Red Ball in the Sky', Random House 1969
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This model is freeware.

All comments and suggestions welcome.
E-mail: george_diemer@msn.com

George Diemer
Marlborough, Massachusetts