The B-17

[HonorNecris]

but of course, flyable! :pilotfly:

 

Heh, even just to see it in 2014 is good enough for me :yay:

[tronchaser]

I agree with you guys, I can't wait to see this old girl in the game. All this talk of the Mighty Eighth game brought back some memories so I went looking for it and found it on www.gog.com for 6 bucks!

[HonorNecris]

I agree with you guys, I can't wait to see this old girl in the game. All this talk of the Mighty Eighth game brought back some memories so I went looking for it and found it on www.gog.com for 6 bucks!

 

Heh, I did the same thing when the kickstarter began. It's still as hard as I remember it - having to use a joystick for the M2s, but man the gameplay was way ahead of its time!

[20thBG_Blackwolf]

This was what made the B-17 such an iconic aircraft; among the heavy bombers of its era, it was the easiest to fly accurately and in a 'tight' formation for mutual protection. Even so, there was no hydraulic (or electrical) boost for the controls, which meant that for many basic maneuvers you had to have a second set of arms and legs working the yokes & rudder pedals, there were literally dozens of gauges that needed to be closely monitored and the workload for the two pilots was such that somebody else had to keep track of the course, another guy had to juggle the radio communications and intercom, and five more men had to be dedicated almost solely to manning the guns aft of the cockpit.

 

Modeling this aircraft's systems at the same level as the existing DCS P-51D should need a network of at least 2 or 3 people just to get it off the ground, fly around, and safely back down. Chances are that you would need 6 or 7 to operate at minimum combat efficiency, or the AI interface will need to be brilliant.

 

I'd look for a couple of extra levels of 'play' for those who can only fly the Fortress offline or solo, with role-specific training programs for pilots, navigators/radio officers and flight engineers at a minimum (I do not envy the person assigned to creating that aircraft's manuals...)

 

That is going to be an enormous project.

 

cheers

 

horseback

If they could get it to the DCS P-51 level but "simulate" the extra hands needed to get it in the air and fly. Like an AI co pilot that could get wounded or killed making it harder to control the aircraft until a real live pilot jumps in the seat to help. Yeah it would be a huge undertaking but oh so cool.

Like "Otto" :D

[SlipBall]

what a great comedy that was!! :megalol:

 

I wonder if in RL both the pilot and the co-pilot had their separate responsibilities. For example the different check list for pre-flight, landing etc., if the pilot does "A" and then the co-pilot would be as expected to do "B". If the team could design an co-pilot AI to do the expected response to what you the pilot just did, then B-17 SP could be possible and a lot of great fun. The AI would have to be patient and not just run down his own check list, but having to wait for the pilot to trigger his next move :)...AI calling out his action's would be awesome

Edited October 18, 2013 by GT 5.0

[AG-51_Razor]

Oddly enough, the FAA issued an STC to Aero Union to operate the B-17 single pilot as an air tanker during fire fighting operations.

[SlipBall]

They worry less about the pilot being shot up :P

[HonorNecris]

One of the best high resolution virtual tours I've found. 17 is the "Aluminum Overcast".

http://www.virtualnorthland.com/duluth/b17/#/b17c/

 

Bombardier/Navigator stations.

http://www.lassiter.com/vr/Liberty_Belle_Web/vr/Bombardier_FL.html

Edited October 18, 2013 by HonorNecris

[Sharpe]

They worry less about the pilot being shot up :P

 

I found a shot of that bird in an Emergency episode....

[tronchaser]

Looking at other threads and found one saying that the initial map is only going to be 100 x 160 km, not very big for bombers to stretch their legs. So with the release of our favorite bird we are going to need maps covering England to Berlin and maybe to Moscow. With the release of the map sdk to kickstarter backers....anyone here want to give it a try?

[Call911]

Hmmm....k

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=6740

[Stephen Higginbotham]

I do believe we should make effort with this plane, when you hear of WWII the first thing that comes to mind is the B-17 and the B-24 Liberator them two besides the B-29 were the biggest impact on world history. would be nice to put in another pitching pot.

[Stephen Higginbotham]

lets go for it!!

[Charly_Owl]

A2A did a very good B-17 for FSX. It's a shame there was nothing to shoot at though.

 

Edited October 20, 2013 by Charly_Owl

[msalama]

...the biggest impact on world history.

 

+ the Lanc ;)

[Darkwolf]

the biggest impact on world history

 

I was sure it was human stupidity :P

[SlipBall]

The second video in this thread is amazing to watch

[Barrett_g]

Not sure if this has been posted before... But it's a very good documentary with a lot of B-17 footage:

 

http://youtu.be/mD7l2mQYlYQ

[Orava]

Can someone use jedi mind tricks to get A2A sim.guys from FSX to DCS? They are doing great job but the platform...uh...B17 & other warbirds...in fsx....nooope thanks!

[Galactic Pancakes]

Not sure if it's helpful, but I have a highres B17G model I would contribute if it would help get this done. I understand the model and textures are easy compared to the coding...but it's a start.

[Call911]

http://military.discovery.com/battles-history/videos/memphis-belle-full.htm

[Mike Busutil]

Nose section http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_nose.swf

 

Flight deck http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_fd.swf

 

Radio room http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_radio.swf

 

Waist gunners http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_waist.swf

 

Tail gunner http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_tail.swf

Edited December 1, 2013 by Mike Busutil

[Merlin-27]

Nose section http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_nose.swf

 

Flight deck http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_fd.swf

 

Radio room http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_radio.swf

 

Waist gunners http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_waist.swf

 

Tail gunner http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_tail.swf

 

Very nice. Great detail.

[DB 605]

Nose section http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_nose.swf

 

Flight deck http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_fd.swf

 

Radio room http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_radio.swf

 

Waist gunners http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_waist.swf

 

Tail gunner http://www.azcaf.org/images/sj_flash/sj_tail.swf

 

Great links, thanks for sharing!

[Bounder]

Those intractable B17 shots are fantastic, thanks for posting them. Really hope they can build a B17 for DCS, would throw money at a kickstarter or separate pay to access.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Bounder