FSX 78th Anniversary - Dambusters

78th Anniversary - Dambusters. Five DB Lancasters after breaching the Moehne Dam flew at tree top level to the Eder Dam in moonlight 17 May 1943. After breaching the Eder Dam the surviving crews flew back to Scampton via the Moehne dam at low level. This celebration allows you to witness the terrain over which they flew at tree top level in moonlight but without having to low fly the Lancaster. The Lancaster used is the previously uploaded FS2004 Plane-Design AJG (December 2009), but retuned to fly as an AI. Once activated AJG flys the route in both directions at the same time. The two AJG's cross over, head to head, along the way. You can simply watch and ponder the terrain they flew over OR you can load up your favorite German fighter (109, 190 or maybe a 262) and go find this intruder. Come up alongside AJG and acknowledge with a wave of the wings the skills these crews had to succeed. The package contains the AI Lancaster and two FSX airfield updates with coded parking spots and taxiways added to allow the AI to fly. Menden EDLA is provided in two forms - for use in the FSX default scenery and for use in the German West photo scenery. The other Airfield is Fritzlar Army. A small German fighter display is included at each airfield to remind us all that we are flying in WW2 Germany. Operating details in the readme. The concept was used to film the four bombers in the RAF Station History of Linton-on-Ouse video. A FSX package by Ross McLennan.

Thankyou for downloading the Dambuster celebration for the 78th Anniversary 17 May 2011.

The flight between the Moehne and Eder Dams and return was carried out in 1943 at tree top level in moonlight. No German fighters would attack the low flying Lancasters at tree top level. At the altitude of this presentation, 2300 feet, they no doubt would have.

The Plane-Design Lancaster AJG (ex my FS2004 upload for FS2004 in Dec 2009) has been re tuned as an Ai and will fly the straightline route at about 2300 feet passing to the south of the Moehne (Sorpe on your right) and over the Eder for a landing at the Fritzlar AB which was floaded in 1943 and prevented any Bf 109's from taking off.

YOU DO NOT FLY THE LANCASTER, its a great Ai.

Because the Lancaster is programed in Ai Flight Planner to take off from both Menden (EDLA) and Fritzlar (ETHF) at the same time they will cross over each other along the way. OPTION 1: just watch the flight unfold and ponder the terrain they flew over at tree top level in 1943. Perhaps ever acknowledge how well AJG flys and lands.

OPTION 2: requires some skill, take off from either airfield in a suitable fighter and find the intruder ahead. Fly with it for as long as you can. Even to escort it for landing, then land yourself.

OPTION 3: After setup use it as a "screen saver".

The chosen airfields had no detail at all in FSX. The updated "airfields" are not intended to be anything more than a starting point and have coded parks and taxiways added using AFX to allow the Ai's to complete the flight and park. A small static display of German ww2 aircraft, built using SAMM and positioned with Instant Scenery, is provided at each as a reminder we are in WW2 Germany.

All aircraft used in this presentation are FS2004 and readily available from the sim download sites.

SPECIFIC DETAILS:

Each airfield has coded parks - the park intended for YOU to activate the celebration is:

Parking 0 -- Ramp GA Medium
Parking 1 -- Ramp GA Small is only available if a Chopper pad is provided (a good way to witness a takeoff)

Other parks start at 2 and are for use by the Lancaster or other aircraft, if provided, and should not be used by YOU.

The flight cycle is 2 hourly beginning on even hours 12:00, 14:00 etc etc. TIME IS GMT. Because of the distance the flight time is about 30 minutes. Using other starting times will of course result in different outcomes. You can of course start at GMT 0:00 or 02:00 for a moonlight run without default FSX showing so.

You can increase the speed of the simulation to 2x or 4x which may affect the autogen display. Take off and landing should be at 1x.

The Lancaster is specifically coded to appear in the Air Traffic list of YOUR aircraft as 101 Lancaster DB - 101. This ensures it appears at the top of the list and makes it easier to locate quickly. Two will appear, the first one starts outward bound from Menden. The second starts from Fritzlar heading for Menden. It is the same aircraft.

The aircraft flys with its landing lights on so head to head will be easily recognizable.

INSTALLATION:
The exe file should be extracted to a temp file. It contains 3 addon scenery folders and one aircraft folder #.

The Menden update has two folders. You will need to choose only the one for your system. The German West scenery repositions the Menden runway in its correct position and cannot be used in the default and vice versa.

Place the Fritzlar and chosen Menden scenery folders in your addon scenery folder and activate these in the normal way.

The aircraft folder, preceded with a #, is to be placed in the normal FSX Airplanes folder.

ACTIVATION:

The experience maybe enhanced if you set a high level of autogen.

(1) From freeflight select the aircraft you are going use for activation OR chase flying.

(2) Select the airfield as EDLA (Menden) and select Parking 0 -- Ramp GA Medium.
... Or Parking 1 -- GA Smnall if using a chopper.

(3) for first time use, select the time as 12:00 GMT.

(4) Fly Now.

Your chosen aircraft will appear on Park 0 at Menden and will face the taxiway to the runway.

(5) right click on the screen to activate the drop down menu and select the Air Traffic option.

(6) The two Lancasters will appear at the top of the list, select the top one (at Menden for this GMT) and use your "hat" to get a suitable view. The aircraft will begin to move at approx 12:03. It will back backwards and then taxi for take off. You can of course use tower view to view the first part of the startup.

(7) you can look to see where the other Lancaster is by selecting the other one from the Air Traffic list.

(8) Enjoy the views

(9) If flying a chase fighter, allow the Lancaster to taxi towards the runway, YOU request clearance and follow it. Once the Lancaster departs, take off and go find that intruder.

The Lancaster will turn onto a heading of about 120 for the flight to the Eder Dam at 2300ft. Altitude will increase to about 2800 feet over the high country. Good luck in finding her. Would you have found these dams in moonlight at the end of almost 3 hours of low flying?

NOTE: The cruising speed is set to 170knts so as to reduce the flight time. The value is higher than used by the real Dambusters but is actually the speed at which one fully loaded lancaster flew to the Sorpe (just south of the Moehne).

KNOWN ISSUES:

(a) the Lancaster will not always use the center of the runway when landing and may run off center when taking off.

(b) at the runway hold position the aircraft may kick slightly off center.

(c) Sound is not of a Merlin.

(d) The Lancaster, once landed and during slowing down may kick to the right, off center, and then continue on.

(e) The Lanc will move backwards from its parked position then will start engines and move forward. If forward is towards the taxiway it will continue, otherwise it will rotate and then taxi to the taxiway. Guess all of these issues are Ai logic for us all to see in closeup.

(f) if you do look at the flights in an editor, they contain errors as I have closed up the arrival - departure times to shorten the "at airfield" between return flights.

Cheers, hopefully have fun.

Ross McLennan,
Adelaide, South Australia,
14 May 2011.

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This package is freeware and the usual boiler plate conditions apply.
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PS: This concept was used to film the 4 bombers in my Station RAF Linton-on-Ouse film.

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