B-36 Peacemaker
Posted: 18 Jan 2017, 10:18
Sorry this post is a little longer than usual, but I hope it will be of interest.
I know Martin (MAIW admin and Owls Nest) has long wanted an AI Boeing B-36. Unfortunately, I've stubbornly resisted it long enough. 3 reasons for that really:
-The ability to restrain the polygon count to realistic levels given the complexity of the nose and cockpit glass frameworks and the number of engines.
- The risk of having to use two texture sheets because of the sheer size of the airframe and the consequential risk of blurring.
- The tedium of having to apply 347 animation/visibility tags in the FSX version, each application requiring a high degree of concentration, a few dozen key strokes and scrolling to select from long menus for each tag.
You can see in the following Gmax screen shot the sheer size of the B-36 compared to a B-25 Mirchell at the same scale:
As the above screen shot suggests, I finally gave it a go. As it transpired, I managed to contain the polygon count to 10,000 in the first LOD and to fit the main texture to one sheet by splitting the fuselage into two large sections in order to retain the definition. The tagging in FSX was indeed a real pain. However, it all seems to have worked OK.
I was able to produce 4 base models and 4 squadron paint schemes, including reflective textures, for FS9 and FSX native. Here's a sample from my test airfield:
I built the “H” model first with the two pods of 2 jet engines. This model was then split into two variations:
- with animated retracting forward, aft and belly gun turrets.
–without the turrets visible.
The two variations can be seen in the foreground and background aircraft in the following screen shot:
For the aircraft with the animation, the covers slide down and the turrets raise when the aircraft is parked, simulating a maintenance scenario. They turrets retract and the covers close at departure and remain that way for flight. Because this model has a slightly higher polygon count, I have only allocated a sprinkling to the numbered aircraft in the aircraft.cfg file, but users can vary the number as they wish. Both the “H” models will also serve as “D” and “F” models. The “H” model without turrets will also serve as a “J” model that had the turrets removed to reduce weight and increase flight altitude.
This is the "B" model painted in the Arctic red scheme:
John Strinstrom's 1970's scenery of Loring AFB has provided a home for 30 Peacemakers of the 42nd Bombardment Wing. I had to thin the parking in the AFCAD a bit to accommodate the wing span, but I hope John would not have objecedt to that had I managed to contact him for permission:
This screen shot of the alert B-36's scrambling is an interesting feature, I found a nice sound pack in a flyable B-36 at Avsim and set it up as soundai in FSX. The walls were shaking as these 4 went out:
The cherry on the cake though, is a new version of Carswell AFB set in the 1950's that Brent Newman has kindly produced. The scenery houses 10 B-36's of the 11th Bombardment Wing:
Plus 10 B-36's of the 7th Bombardment Wing in Arctic livery:
and finally 24 brand new unallocated B-36's, fresh out of the Convair factory that is situated on the airfield:
The packaging and documentation is all done and Brent just needs a short while to finish off Carswell. Martin will then have his wish fulfilled - "6 turning and 4 burning" as they say.
John
I know Martin (MAIW admin and Owls Nest) has long wanted an AI Boeing B-36. Unfortunately, I've stubbornly resisted it long enough. 3 reasons for that really:
-The ability to restrain the polygon count to realistic levels given the complexity of the nose and cockpit glass frameworks and the number of engines.
- The risk of having to use two texture sheets because of the sheer size of the airframe and the consequential risk of blurring.
- The tedium of having to apply 347 animation/visibility tags in the FSX version, each application requiring a high degree of concentration, a few dozen key strokes and scrolling to select from long menus for each tag.
You can see in the following Gmax screen shot the sheer size of the B-36 compared to a B-25 Mirchell at the same scale:
As the above screen shot suggests, I finally gave it a go. As it transpired, I managed to contain the polygon count to 10,000 in the first LOD and to fit the main texture to one sheet by splitting the fuselage into two large sections in order to retain the definition. The tagging in FSX was indeed a real pain. However, it all seems to have worked OK.
I was able to produce 4 base models and 4 squadron paint schemes, including reflective textures, for FS9 and FSX native. Here's a sample from my test airfield:
I built the “H” model first with the two pods of 2 jet engines. This model was then split into two variations:
- with animated retracting forward, aft and belly gun turrets.
–without the turrets visible.
The two variations can be seen in the foreground and background aircraft in the following screen shot:
For the aircraft with the animation, the covers slide down and the turrets raise when the aircraft is parked, simulating a maintenance scenario. They turrets retract and the covers close at departure and remain that way for flight. Because this model has a slightly higher polygon count, I have only allocated a sprinkling to the numbered aircraft in the aircraft.cfg file, but users can vary the number as they wish. Both the “H” models will also serve as “D” and “F” models. The “H” model without turrets will also serve as a “J” model that had the turrets removed to reduce weight and increase flight altitude.
This is the "B" model painted in the Arctic red scheme:
John Strinstrom's 1970's scenery of Loring AFB has provided a home for 30 Peacemakers of the 42nd Bombardment Wing. I had to thin the parking in the AFCAD a bit to accommodate the wing span, but I hope John would not have objecedt to that had I managed to contact him for permission:
This screen shot of the alert B-36's scrambling is an interesting feature, I found a nice sound pack in a flyable B-36 at Avsim and set it up as soundai in FSX. The walls were shaking as these 4 went out:
The cherry on the cake though, is a new version of Carswell AFB set in the 1950's that Brent Newman has kindly produced. The scenery houses 10 B-36's of the 11th Bombardment Wing:
Plus 10 B-36's of the 7th Bombardment Wing in Arctic livery:
and finally 24 brand new unallocated B-36's, fresh out of the Convair factory that is situated on the airfield:
The packaging and documentation is all done and Brent just needs a short while to finish off Carswell. Martin will then have his wish fulfilled - "6 turning and 4 burning" as they say.
John
