Dino Might

None of this matters until the only important things on the carrier are modelled: the reactors. Everything else isnjust drcoration. :)

Processor, RAM, and use of an SSD are all important factors in addition to the graphics card.

Mumbles, If you upload your cockpit .skp file, or at least the front/side panels in the pilot seat, I can start working on sizing plywood/MDF pieces and adding the associated instrument panels. I'm going to start making .skp files for each of the instrument panels. My intent is to play less Blue Flag and spend more time on the cockpit design over the next couple of weeks. *fingers crossed* ETA: Basic instrument panel files are in the dropbox. I've only included mounting holes. I may add some small amount of instrument detail (location of holes for switches, text, etc.) at a later time. I'd like to overlay these on the full cockpit build to see how things fit up, in case I don't have the panel sizes all correct. I did some gratuitous rounding in some cases.

Because the Stennis SWOs are just that good - they don't need no steering pole. Also, deck crew has been upgraded with Predator optical camouflage. They are there - you just can't see 'em. This was done as an improvement after the blue digital camouflage pattern proved to be ineffective in confusing enemy snipers firing from the rigging of enemy Galleons.

I added a new folder with a sketchup file and STL files for MFCD Frames. DropBox Link (repost): https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zcpwd0wslpyhz9n/AABB80XFxD_jBFxvEOXGpGTca?dl=0 It's 3 pieces, built to hold an 8" LCD monitor (found here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Heyman-HDMI-VGA-AV-Control-Driver-Board-8-inch-HE080IA-01D-1024-768-high-LCD-Display/32841256921.html) I had no problems ordering from that site, but I'm not trying to advertise for it. Just giving you the example of what I used. The main pieces are built to enclose the LCD, with a cutout for the ribbon cable below. I have not yet made pieces to hold the control boards on the backside, but will do those later. The 5.5" x 5.5" piece goes on top of the case sandwich and provides a mounting point for Cougar MFDs. I plan to drill the holes after, so I can accurately place them, but they seem to be about 5 3/32" apart from center to center. As of 14 OCT, I have NOT printed these out and tested them. I'm hoping to do so this week and provide an update on whether everything fits correctly. Once I have put it all together (if it fits), I will update the Sketchup and STL files and mark it finished, so you can download and print for a true plug-and-play solution.

Winter. No firm date. Many reasons for this. Best to just be patient. It will be well worth the wait.

Most of us have enjoyed the ability to change skins in the rearm window. What if there were a way to change the nametapes on the canopy in game? ED would have to code a skin template layer that was changeable on the fly, but it would be cool if I could, for instance, change out the RIO name on the F14 when I get a different back seater.

Hey everyone, sorry I've been much delayed in pushing this project forward. I haven't updated the files to incorporate joints yet, but will do so when I get some free time. That may be a while, though. New baby just arrived :) Thanks to all of you doing the major legwork and keeping the ball rolling. As a reminder, anyone needing write access to the Dropbox, shoot me a message with your email so I can add you.

Waiting is always tough, but good developers know, "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad."

The Prize and subsequent CVNs had substantial design differences and purposes, best explained by the following diagram:

It is stickied because it was a major update from the dev that people routinely go back to reference. I don't want to search all night for the video or post I remember about a particular aspect of the devs work. These stickied posts remain as good resources despite the conversations having ended. If you want a non-navigable, continuous stream of consciousness feed, I suggest Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I hear those are all the rage these days.

I just wish we'd get GBU-12 with minimal integration, working as they do on the F-5. Should be a relatively trivial adjustment to the WCS options, though probably something they'd have to undo later to put in full implementation. I would prefer the temporary inclusion, if possible.

I have had this issue multiple times

The way they are coded, mortars will only engage within LOS. JTAC won't help them.

I remember two years ago thinking, "oh great, cat will probably release right around when my kid is born...." Looks like my prediction will come true, just with a different kid :megalol: I figure there will be a couple of minutes to go downstairs and crash it into the fantail a few times in the early morning hours between bottle feeding and diaper changes, because I won't be sleeping either way. Thanks for the update. Looking forward to it!

Okay, someone better be doing a Turbo Kat skin, pronto!

Rebuild is in progress. I've decided to do a version in 3/4 inch with some joint features rather than just butt joints. Worried about overall strength, so we will see how this build looks. Will also try to keep track ofsheet layout to price it all from birch plywood. Edit: May try 1/2" MDF - kind of weak stuff, but the thickness will help out and it's much cheaper. Works for IKEA bookshelves, so why not?

Great idea on the 2x4s. I have some left over pieces from building my projector screen stand - might have enough length to make up the main seat pan support beams. I was looking up plywood today on Lowe's and Home Depot websites - more expensive than I thought, but I can probably get better deals online in bulk. One thing that was recommended was to use Baltic Birch - a bit harder and better for building structural pieces, but I wonder how good it would be at nominal 5mm thickness. I'm already wondering if 3/8" is too thin and will flex too much. I found some woodworking load tables and am going to look at a few back of the envelope calculations, but for now will stick with the 3/8" stuff and hopefully find some good hard pine or something. If any woodworkers are around that want to weigh in on plywood thickness for our project, now's the time! Would appreciate someone in the know for a general rule of thumb. Started the layout, but it's a bit more involved than I thought because angling everything back flat on the axes is a PITA. From a rough guess, five 4x8 sheets of plywood should do it, so less than $100 in material if the 3/8" is sturdy enough.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5qa5uwrvpdxw1a5/GRU-7A_FULL_Plywood.skb?dl=0 Okay, after a few adjustments and fixes, I think I've got the rough layout finished. This file has all the piece parts organized so you can see how it stacks up. Some of the parts are repeated in multiple exploded views, and others may be left out if they have symmetrical pieces on the other side (e.g., seat pan base - didn't finish all the exploded parts, but you have the ones needed there). Next step will be to take all exploded parts and lay them out on 8'x4'x3/8" plywood sheet templates and organize them for efficient cutting. I also want to generate a parts list for the whole build so I can be sure I have all the pieces in the cut plan. Probably another couple days to get that done, and then I'll post another link for anyone to download who wants it. Mumbles, hopefully the liberties I took with your design aren't too heinous - made some adjustments for ease of manufacturing, but there should be ample room for stylistic adjustments for you. The biggest change, and one that might be a deal-breaker is an overall adjustment of the main beam angle. The resulting angle between the seat pan and the cushion support is the same, but I made the rest of the main beam parallel for ease of manufacturing. Consequently, much of the structure is more rectangular, rather than having too many diverging angles.

Almost done with the main beam section. I've got one concern: Center of gravity - this thing is going to want to tip backwards. I don't want to add a bunch of ballast or weight to the bottom front end, because that will only increase the bending moment and eventually cause it to break. I'm thinking of doing some angle bracing with 2x4, similar to how K-shoring is set up. Any better ideas? I will need to be careful that I don't take up too much space that will eventually be used for the RIO console. I think there should be enough room in that console, though, to accommodate some extra support structure for the front seat. [removed picture - see full thumbnail and download link below] I realized that stiffness won't be much of a problem with the side panels taking up most of the seatback load. If I reinforce the seatback with a honeycomb or other internal structure to distribute the pilots load to the back panel of the seatback and then that will be supported primarily by the main beam side panels, there shouldn't be too much flexing; however, I am worried about bending moment on the angled corner of the main beam, so I'll probably put in some metal brackets bent to shape to help that area.

I built up the seatpan and base pieces today based on using 3/8" thick plywood. Might have gone a bit overboard on the internal supports, but I will adjust as necessary once I start seeing the price of material. I have done grouping as much as possible so that each piece can be moved around on its own and separated from the whole model. I plan on each file having the original from Mumbles, then the exploded 3/8" plywood component view, and then the stitch of the 3/8" build to check that the pieces fit together correctly. [removed picture - see full thumbnail and download link below] Next step is to take the individual component pieces and lay them all flat on a template for a standard plywood sheet so I can optimize the amount of pieces per plywood sheet and minimize waste. I've put files for the seat pan and the seat pan base in the dropbox. I will keep the files updated as I continue.

Update: As tempting as it is to start cutting right now, I haven't made a lot of progress on the construction plans as of yet. No access to a full-scale printer, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem to sketch it out on the wood itself with a protractor, tsquare, and tape measure. I'm going to spend the remainder of this weekend breaking out the model into parts that can be built individually and then pieced together. Not sure how many iterations it will take, because I have to give some thought to where I will put reinforcement pieces as well as connection brackets. My goal is to only glue the individual modules, and connect the modules with brackets and woodscrews, so it could be taken apart, moved, and reassembled. I also plan on the entire seat being set in a bracket on the base of the pit without any glue or fasteners, so the seat as a whole could be removed and put back in easily. [removed picture - see full thumbnail and download link below] Front is cutaway for now so I can play around with some reinforcing structure ideas for the seat pan. I think I'll start with a fully supported seat pan instead of being supported by the side panels, just for ease of building. I plan on cutting this apart into the actual seat pan and its base so I could eventually remove the base if I come up with some good reinforced side support ideas. For now, there's nothing new or creative - just all derivative disassembly of Mumbles' model - have I said how great it is yet? I've had maybe 20 minutes to mess around in it, and picking out pieces and seeing how he put it all together is really neat. It's got a great level of detail and still easy to pull apart. Hopefully I can help put together a set of build plans that will contribute something to the community project.

Thanks, Mumbles. I'm hoping to start cuts this weekend or next. I'll document build dimensions so we can see what worked and what didn't after (botched) attempt #1. ETA: Just got sketchup installed on my home PC and got the model downloaded. This is excellent! I think I can just use this to build out the whole thing. All I'm going to do is figure out pedal height and add a base to support the whole thing and then zip zip zip with the jigsaw. I can't promise it will be pretty, but should be more than serviceable if I can cut close enough to this model. Nice work!

I can't get anything but the thumbnails. I started a dropbox for us to dump files in that may be of use. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zcpwd0wslpyhz9n/AABB80XFxD_jBFxvEOXGpGTca?dl=0 Unfortunately, I can't just add everyone with the link to edit access. If you want edit permissions to put your own files in there, please PM me with your email address. Thanks

This is all I could find, so far: https://i.imgur.com/8ol0RhV.jpg Not even sure if this is representative of an actual aircraft, but it gives me a starting point for some possible dimensions at least. Really want that defined headrest on the GRU-7(A), though...