FS2004 Air Zimbabwe Vickers Viscount 748D

Bring a touch of southern African aviation heritage to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 with this freeware texture set: an authentic Air Zimbabwe (originally Air Rhodesia) scheme for the Vickers Viscount 748D. Created by veteran painter Norman Davies and intended for Rick Piper’s highly regarded FSDS Viscount 700 base model, the repaint accurately reflects the carrier’s late?1970s markings while retaining the subtle weathering you would expect on a hard?working turboprop.

Reproducing a Rare Transitional Livery

The aircraft depicted belonged to VP?YTE, delivered while the airline still carried the “Air Rhodesia” title and later transitioning to the newly formed Air Zimbabwe. Period?correct cheatlines, the stylised Zimbabwe Bird tail logo, and the unique registration font have all been meticulously layered onto the 32?bit textures, allowing Dart engine nacelles, cabin windows, and rivet lines to remain sharply defined even at close zoom levels.

Package Inventory

• High?resolution .bmp files (diffuse, night, and specular maps) compiled for the FS9 material system.
• Thumbnail preview for the aircraft selection menu.
• Detailed installation notes and a ready?to?paste [fltsim.x] block.

Required Components Before Installation

This download supplies textures only. You must already have the freeware FSDS Vickers Viscount 700 package by Rick Piper installed, obtainable from the Fly Away Simulation library. Verify that the \Aircraft\Vickers Viscount 700 directory is present and that the base model loads correctly in the sim before proceeding.

Integrating the Livery into FS2004

1. Create (or locate) a folder named texture.rhodesia2 inside the Viscount aircraft directory.
2. Extract every .bmp file from this archive into that folder, allowing any overwrite prompts to proceed where applicable.
3. Edit aircraft.cfg. Scroll to the last existing [fltsim.n] entry and add the following block, incrementing the index number sequentially:

[fltsim.x]
title=Vickers Viscount 700 Air Zimbabwe
sim=FSDS Vickers Viscount 700 - Late 1970's
model=700d
panel=
sound=
texture=rhodesia2
checklists=
description=Air Zimbabwe (ex?Air Rhodesia) Vickers Viscount 748D VP-YTE
ui_manufacturer=Vickers
ui_type=Viscount 748D
ui_variation=Air Zimbabwe – late 1970s
visual_damage=1
atc_heavy=0
atc_id=VP-YTE
atc_airline=ZimbAir
atc_flight_number=348

Save the file, launch the simulator, and select “Vickers Viscount 748D – Air Zimbabwe” from the aircraft menu.

Painstaking Detail from Nose to Tail

• Accurate window spacing and fuselage panel lines aligned to Rick Piper’s 700D model mapping.
• Dart intake lip shading reproduces the heat?blurred metal typical of Rolls?Royce Dart Mk 525 engines.
• Correct cabin door outlines including the rarely modelled forward service door used at Salisbury (now Harare) Airport.
• Nose gear bay stencil markings reflecting maintenance codes used by the airline’s engineering division.

The Vickers Viscount in Context

First flown in 1948, the Viscount became the world’s earliest successful turboprop airliner, renowned for its quiet Rolls?Royce Dart engines and oval windows that offered passengers unusually generous views. The 748D sub?variant represented a late?production stretch, seating up to 65 travellers and boasting improved range—ideal for regional routes between Harare, Johannesburg, and Lusaka. Its reliable performance in hot?and?high African conditions made it a backbone of Air Rhodesia’s fleet before Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980, whereupon the same airframes continued service emblazoned with fresh national colours.