AI Spitfires, Mosquitos and Lancasters, RAF Ford 1944, with Present-Day Historic examples.

[John Young]

This package, for FSX and P3D, provides AI aircraft and flightplans for the upcoming scenery of RAF Ford 1944, by Thomas Grant. The airfield, on the south coast of England, was a major intruder asset supporting the D-Day landings. The project has been assisted by Tim Collins who has researched extensively to enable the content to be as realistic as far as we were able. The AI package features 4 aircraft types that were stationed at the airfield at that time:

• The Spitfire Mk IX

• The Avro Lancaster

• The DH Mosquito VI

• The DH Mosquito XVII/XVIII night-fighters

Present day examples of the first 3 types, for users who may wish to use them at their modern home bases, or at air show scenarios, are also in the package, but without flight plans.

SPITFIRE Mk IX

My previous Spitfire models were some of the first I built when I was learning the ropes 13 years ago. They did not include the Mk IX with the 4-bladed prop. I took the opportunity this time to build the aircraft from scratch with a greater polygon count and additional features. The Ford examples include 10 aircraft from each of 132, 453 and 602 squadrons:





This is the present-day Mk IX of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in 2023:



AVRO LANCASTER Mk1

This is a model that I also produced 13 years ago. I have not rebuilt it from scratch, but I have re-worked it considerably, including a new cockpit, frame work and a new crew. I have also added the H2S ground radar faring under the rear fuselage that was a feature of the Mk1 from mid-1943 onwards.





These are the present-day surviving examples of the Lancaster that are either flown regularly or are displayed in taxi-runs. They are:

• The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight PA474.

• Just Jane (NX611) (not yet air worthy).

• The Canadian “Vera” (KB726):



DH MOSQUITO Mk VI

This is probably the more familiar Mosquito version and the models include a choice of bomb bay doors open or closed when parked:



This is the present-day PZ474 belonging to Lewis Air Legends, based in San Antonio Texas in the USA:



KA114 also belongs to Lewis Air legends, but based at Virginia Beach, Virginia, in the USA:



DH MOSQUITO Mk XVII and XVIII

These two versions of the Mosquito feature the night fighter bull nose, the XVIII being differentiated from the XVII only by the radar within it:



Two squadrons of 10 aircraft each, are represented in the package – 96 Sqn RAF, flying the Mk XVIII and 456 Sqn RCAF, flying the XVII:



Both the scenery and the AI packages are all done and will be uploaded shortly.

John

[gsnde]

This is an stunning surprise, John. I love that you have revisited and enhanced these models - they look gorgeous. Many thanks!

[TimC340]

This project has been an enormous amount of work from Tom and John, which I’ve been privileged to observe as I contributed a bit of research, and I very much hope it gets the reception it deserves. It’s a really interesting diversion from the usual MAIW fare, and I think it’s great!

[bismarck]

Fantastic!

[Delboy99]

Lovely stuff. Big thank you to all involved.

[Firebird]

Just lovely.

[Jobza Guddun]

Great work!

[DaleRFU]

They look really beautiful John, great work as always

[tag21]

RAF Ford 1944 represents the culmination of several months of detailed work by John Young, Tim Collins and myself. The airfield is shown in the hectic period leading up to the D-Day landings in June 1944.
The screen shots below give you an idea of what the finished project now looks like and it will be uploaded to MAIW in the next few days.

Full Airfield View




North East Spitfire Parking Area




South East Apron





Bomber Parking Area




Recce Photo taken in April 1944




Tom Grant
Brisbane
Australia

[Manschy]

What great packages to come! Aircraft look wonderful as always, my favourite is the Mosquito definitely.

[Firebird]

Agreed. I have wanted Mossies for years.

[Jorgen]

I do not care one iota if my P3D is present-day - this scenery goes in there, period. I can always say it is a WW II re-enactment...

Jorgen

[gsnde]

I do not care one iota if my P3D is present-day - this scenery goes in there, period. I can always say it is a WW II re-enactment...

Jorgen

Exactly my words…. And that goes for all nice models we have….


Send from mobile hence short

[Jorgen]

And I can now say that this "WW II re-enactment" looks absolutely stunning in P3D v. 5!!!

Congratulations to everyone involved -

Jorgen

[John Young]

Thanks Jorgen and also for spotting the flight number problem in the 602 sqn Spitfires flightplan. They began with a "0" which is not permitted in the sim, although I haven't detected a problem while observing the aircraft at Ford. To be sure though I have changed them and included them in an update zip.

Also in the zip are aircraft only Mosquito B.IV and PR.IV models, with the glass nose and side windows, as requested by Steve, They are not related to Ford, but can be programmed and repainted as users wish. A paint kit for these examples is included in the zip.

The Mosquito B.IV and PR.IV share the same airframe:



This is the B.IV painted as AZ-S of 627 Sqn RAF Woodhall Spa, 1944. There are two model variations – one with open bomb bay doors when parked and the other with closed doors:





This is the PR.IV painted in PR Blue of 540 Squadron, RAF Leuchars, 1944. The illustrations that I have found of the PR variant do not seem to carry squadron codes, which makes it easier for users to duplicate the aircraft in flight plans





The update zip also contains an alternative texture that has the same PR.IV paint scheme, but without the invasion stripes. Users can assign this one instead in the aircraft.cfg file.

I will upload the Zip for inclusion in the Hangar next.

John

[Firebird]

They look superb!

[Jonjon]

Hello,

Many thanks for this new pack (and update)! They look great

Fred

[VulcanDriver]

I grew up near Ford, its now an open prison for bent businessmen and politicians. More of a holiday camp then a a punishment. Looking forward to flying from it. Nice Work.

[Firebird]

Just a note guys.

The original upload of the update 1 pack, containing the glazed nose Mosquito B/PR.IV, was missing the textures for these aircraft. The zip has been updated to include these so you should re-download to enjoy the schemes for these models.