FS2004 VARIG Convair CV-240 VBF CA-18

This repaint package offers a historically significant VARIG Convair CV-240 for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. It represents a conversion of a Convair CV-240-2, originally delivered to Pan American World Airways in 1948 and later purchased by VARIG in the mid-1950s. The texture set recreates the airline’s iconic Brazilian livery from that era, meticulously adapted for the freeware base model by Greg Pepper and Tom Gibson, with subsequent upgrades by Georg Hauzenberger (model) and Hans Hermann (textures) of Virtual Birds Factory. Although this download provides only the repaint and associated model file, it requires the separately available base pack, which can be sourced from the Fly Away Simulation library.

Historic Background and Texture Highlights

The Convair CV-240 emerged in the late 1940s as a short-to-medium range twin-engine airliner, aiming to succeed earlier propeller-driven designs. This particular variant, bearing construction number 24, began its operational life with Pan Am and was registered as N90658. VARIG (Viação Aérea Rio-Grandense), once Brazil’s leading carrier, acquired the aircraft in 1954 as PP-VCP. The airframe eventually left service in 1970 and was dismantled at São Paulo-Congonhas Airport. The developers have accurately captured both the exterior paint scheme and the subtle structural traits of this iconic aircraft in their visual model.

Key Components and Base Pack Requirements

This module bundles the crucial texture files and an associated model update only. As a prerequisite, users must have the correct freeware base pack (commonly CV240VBFca18, CV240VBFcb16, or CV240VBFmilitary) installed in order to integrate the new files properly. If your base pack is missing, install “CV240VBFCA18_BASEPACK_010.ZIP” from the Fly Away Simulation library. Confirm that your main multiplier folders (e.g., cv240VBFca18) and subfolders match those outlined in the user manual to prevent any mismatches during setup.

Installation Workflow

1. Decompress the included ZIP package into a temporary directory on your system.
2. Locate the setup executable, typically named similarly to cv240VBFca18_aal_N94200_01_setup.exe (note that file names will vary depending on the airline and registration). Execute it and allow the installer to place the repaint and corresponding model into the correct folder (cv240VBFca18, cv240VBFcb16, or cv240VBFmilitary).
3. Navigate to your “Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9\Aircraft\cv240VBFca18,” “Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9\Aircraft\cv240VBFcb16,” or “Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator 9\Aircraft\cv240VBFmilitary” directory—whichever you noted during installation. Within it, locate the file named (livery name)_add_to_aircraft_cfg.txt. This file includes the necessary [fltsim.xx] entry for your aircraft configuration.
4. Open (livery name)_add_to_aircraft_cfg.txt with any text editor and copy the [fltsim.xx] block. Then, edit the aircraft.cfg in the same folder, inserting the copied data underneath the latest [fltsim.yy] entry. Be sure to replace “xx” with the next sequential number, save the file, and close it.

Verification in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004

After these steps, your new VARIG Convair CV-240 repaint should become selectable in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004’s aircraft menu. In case it fails to appear, double-check that you have installed the correct base pack folders (referred to above) and that you specified the correct FS2004 root directory during setup. Ensuring identical folder names is critical for this repaint to function as intended.