Popular Post Cliffhanger31 Posted May 2 Popular Post Posted May 2 Hey everyone I've been working on a full-fidelity Piper Cub mod, specifically the WWII L-4A variant, for quite some time. Now that it's getting close to completion, I figured it was time to share it with you all. I started this project because I wanted to learn about aircraft physics and flight modeling, so I chose the simplest aircraft that came to mind, thinking I would just write the EFM and use a free 3D model as a stand-in. Eventually, I got tired of looking at ugly models and decided I wanted to take a stab at 3D art, so I ended up creating a 3D model, textures, and animations to go along with the EFM. Currently, the Cub mod features a fully custom EFM that uses a blade-element theory approach to model aerodynamics. This method divides the aircraft's wings, tail, fuselage, propellers, and other surfaces into multiple components and calculates the lift and drag forces acting on each aerodynamic component. These forces are then summed up to produce the total force acting on the aircraft every frame. This approach is really cool because of its simplicity and how it naturally captures complex flight dynamics that occur at high angles of attack, such as spins or snap rolls, without relying on large datasets stored in lookup tables. The EFM also includes a realistic simulation of the Continental A-65 engine and propeller, including effects like p-factor, gyroscopic precession, and propwash. While my primary focus has been on the flight model, I've also taken some time to make sure the model looks decent and is realistic to the L-4A. I chose this particular variant so it can be used in various WWII scenarios, whether early or late in the war, and it will have skins appropriate for the ETO, PTO, and MTO. Additionally, I've included some M1A1 Bazookas, so it has at least a bit of firepower, and we can recreate the exploits of Bazooka Charlie. Some parts of the 3D model are still WIP, but here are some pics of the current state of the Cub. 42 10
Stratos Posted May 4 Posted May 4 Great work mate! 1 I don't understand anything in russian except Davai Davai!
Tonker Posted May 5 Posted May 5 Well that's awesome, well done! Looking forward to this one. 1 Nah, I've only just met 'er...:pilotfly:
EnriquePBArt Posted May 5 Posted May 5 It’s very beautiful and well made, I look forward to being able to have it. 1 1
KH0000 Posted May 6 Posted May 6 love it, great work buddy 1 FL KH0000 Block.II SQN FL:VF-0 of Fly to A&E
Cliffhanger31 Posted May 6 Author Posted May 6 Thanks everybody for the kind words! Here is a clip of the rockets in action. Apologies for the low res, my laptop can't handle any higher graphics settings. rockets.mp4 12
Cliffhanger31 Posted May 6 Author Posted May 6 Here's a stall, the green boxes are all of the aerodynamic components of the flight model. stall.mp4 7
Cliffhanger31 Posted May 6 Author Posted May 6 And here's a stall and spin from the cockpit spin.mp4 9
Slippa Posted May 6 Posted May 6 How far along is the project? I see one of these quite regularly during the summer, be a laugh trying one out. Keep up the good work .
Tonker Posted May 7 Posted May 7 4 hours ago, Cliffhanger31 said: And here's a stall and spin from the cockpit Bravo! 1 Nah, I've only just met 'er...:pilotfly:
Cliffhanger31 Posted May 7 Author Posted May 7 1 hour ago, Slippa said: How far along is the project? I see one of these quite regularly during the summer, be a laugh trying one out. Keep up the good work . It's functionally complete. I'm pretty much just finishing some textures, playing with the sounds, and fixing bugs that have cropped up over time. Right now, the biggest barrier to release is that I decided to re-architect my flight model codebase for the third time. It won't have any effect on the aircraft itself other than hopefully making the code run a little faster, but it should make it much easier to create other aircraft in the future. 2 1
Slippa Posted May 7 Posted May 7 Great stuff. Wish I had the know how and the money for the software. Look forward to more props knocking about the place.
evanf117 Posted May 7 Posted May 7 14 hours ago, Cliffhanger31 said: Thanks everybody for the kind words! Here is a clip of the rockets in action. Apologies for the low res, my laptop can't handle any higher graphics settings. rockets.mp4 i may be wrong but i believe the rockets could be fired individually from one another, also smoke rockets would be great for marking targets this is brilliant, ive been wanting more FAC aircraft in DCS for some time 1
Cliffhanger31 Posted May 7 Author Posted May 7 3 hours ago, evanf117 said: i may be wrong but i believe the rockets could be fired individually from one another, also smoke rockets would be great for marking targets this is brilliant, ive been wanting more FAC aircraft in DCS for some time You are correct. There’s a switch panel in the cockpit for for arming each tube, which is fully implemented. I just fired all 6 at once in the video so I would actually hit something 2
Stratos Posted May 7 Posted May 7 Smoke rockets would be nice. 2 I don't understand anything in russian except Davai Davai!
evanf117 Posted May 10 Posted May 10 On 5/8/2025 at 12:56 AM, Cliffhanger31 said: You are correct. There’s a switch panel in the cockpit for for arming each tube, which is fully implemented. I just fired all 6 at once in the video so I would actually hit something ah yes i see, if you could implement smoke rockets that would be awesome 1
Stratos Posted May 24 Posted May 24 Hi @Cliffhanger31, any update? will you release a paint kit? 3 I don't understand anything in russian except Davai Davai!
Petard Posted June 26 Posted June 26 On 6/24/2025 at 10:32 PM, Jarda said: Any news? Not that I've heard - super hyped to use this mod on marianas ww2. I would assume transferring the flight model codebase is a pretty big task though
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