Blackburn Buccaneer

[fishlips]

Rarely have I ever come across an airport scenery that is heavy on frames, absolutely zero in Voz 1.8.
It's not until you start adding AI does the counter start to wavier.

[timbob1]

G'day Mark how's it gong Mate Yeah absolutely It's a very busy area as well as all the Mil traffic the skies are filled with a lot of GA and commercial traffic as in real life , Set the traffic sliders down or off and see what happens.And to be fair I don't know how LODs and polys are for the UKMil aircraft there? The quality of these new AI aircraft coming out now far surpasses that of many flyable models.

[Delboy99]

Fantastic model John, your model really does look the part. I like the smoke effect in the first set of pictures. The Speys were real oil burners and you could see the smoke long after the aircraft had disappeared from sight. One very pedantic point from the first pictures, when the aircraft were parked they had 2 ladders on them not one. Anyways, regardless of the number of ladders, this is welcome addition to the retro AI scene.

[John Young]

I have seen pictures with only one ladder and although ladders are really good candidates for texture vertex welding (which helps performance) there are still 136 polygons (mesh triangles) in each ladder and I'm trying to keep the count down, particularly in the first couple of LODs.

John

[Delboy99]

Hi John

I can understand you keeping the frame rate down on your model. Sorry if it came across as I was criticizing your model, it wasn't meant that way.

I'm really looking forward to the model being released.

Derek

[John Young]

Buccaneers are done and documented. There are 11 models in total with a mix of wing fold and non-wing fold. I haven't produced the usual 10 individually numbered aircraft for specific squadrons (the serial numbers are so small in any case), but rather, I have concentrated on variety. Here's the test flightline in FSX:



I also did some of the testing at the high altitude Tonopah test range with 4 aircraft in the desert paint scheme:





The Royal Navy contingent is represented by an S2 with and without a recce pack in the belly and also the same choice of S1s:



Here's a flight of 5 including the SAAF S-50 with Nord AS30s, the Boscombe Down DERA Rasperry Ripple and the 208 Sqn Anniversary scheme:



I was hoping to be able to get somewhere near the classic Buccaneer take-off, with an immediate gear retraction and a shallow climb out, but after much experimenting and discussing it with Guru Mike M, we decided that the AI engine just won't cooperate. The bottom line in the screen shot below is roughly how it should be and the top line is the best I can do:



I am asking a few people to have a play with the aircraft for the next week and then hopefully I can get the packages out soon after.

John

[Chrisb]

Wow!

Chris

[lmgaylard]

John,
Your Buccs look great. Can't wait to see them sat on the apron at Yeovilton........

[delbydoo]

Speechless! Stewart's Laarbruch is going to lot hot with these in there....

[MIKE JG]

Love those Desert Storm versions!

[AndyG43]

S1s!!! John, you are truly & gentleman & a scholar. Can't tell you how grateful I am that you managed to include them.

[petebramley]

Congrats John they look great

[f4nutter]

cant wait for the release, great job as usual John

[Firebird]

Nobody else has mentioned it so I will. That SAAF S.50 looks the dog's b*ll*x!

Me thinks I am going to have to find out where they were based and then see if there is any scenery for the place.

*** EDIT ***
OK that didn't take long AFB Waterkloof and yes there is.

[John Young]

24 Squadron, Waterkloof South Africa circa 1966. 15 aircraft were delivered and the last one flew in March 1991. The later paint schemes were much more toned down from the version I made.

John

[Firebird]

Thanks, John. I was reading that one was lost on delivery flight.

[John Young]

Yes indeed and another 10 were lost during service, leaving just 4 when the aircraft was retired in 1991.

[Dinga69]

Wow!!! Not only am I impressed with how these look - incredible!! It's also the speed at which you make and paint these packages! Top stuff and well done!!!

[f4nutter]

John, i put 20 "BUCCS" at King Fahd Intl along with Tornados,jaguars,C-130,Tristar,Chinook,F-16's etc over 100 aircraft in all and there was no bouncing judering or anything, i take my hat of to you on another superb model. and it also fills a gap in my Gulf War package

climb out:

[raf_col]

Hey John, ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! I used to refuel 208 & 12 Sqn Buccs at Lossie in the early 90`s, these are so real looking I can`t wait to get my hands on them, the 208 Sqn anniversary is amazing, I was sadly on duty the morning the aircraft came down in the sea with the loss of the crew, they may be gone - but Not Forgotten.

My Hat is Off to you.