On December 17th, 1903 the two bicycle builder brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, took off from a hill at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in what was the first sustained and controlled flight of a powered aircraft. In just about a year from now, the 100th anniversary of that historic achievement will be celebrated worldwide and LAGO, in commemoration of this upcoming date, will be releasing a series of add-ons over the next year to reflect the individual achievements of the many individuals and groups during those hundred years—achievements that got us to where we are today in the world of aviation.
The first of these Century of Aviation releases by LAGO is their "Lucky Lindbergh" add-on; and considering the content of this add-on, this next year could very well be an exciting time for new add-ons from LAGO that will bring our past and those that formed it alive for all to study, enjoy, and to maybe experience—by way of simulation—a small piece of history as it was made.
Introduction
History is full of those moments in time when individuals or groups of individuals achieved their place in the history books by their dedication to reaching up or out, despite the odds against them. In the last 100 years, aviation has advanced to a level that most never dreamed—except by a very select few—and Charles Lindbergh was certainly one of those select few individual pioneers that understood the future possibilities of aviation. Since that day at Kitty Hawk in 1903, aviation is aplenty with one aviation historical event after another—there are many of us that can recite the date and time or the type of aircraft that was involved—but what of the individuals that accomplished these achievements? Who were they, and how can we, so many years later, fully understand the truly extraordinarily level of achievement these individuals reached?
More than just about any other technological achievement of man, the invention of the airplane has shaped our world in more ways than any of us can possibly imagine or comprehend, as aviation has brought people closer together, made the world smaller, wars have been fought in a completely different fashion and it was the airplane that most influenced the outcome of those wars, shaping and reshaping countries in the process. By making our perceived world smaller, people have had to learn how to understand one another more clearly and as too often proved out, this is not a simple matter; but once again it is the airplane that has forced this sociological situation of change upon mankind.
LAGO's first release of their series Century of Aviation is titled "Lucky Lindbergh" and right off I need to explain that this is not a simple add-on dedicated to the Ryan NYP Spirit of St Louis aircraft and his (Charles Lindbergh) flight across the Atlantic in 1927, but it is an add-on that is more about the man himself, Charles Lindbergh, and the overall historical significance of his life and overall contribution to aviation as well as to the world in general.
Installation
Currently this package is available as a 38MB downloadable file only, but a CD boxed version is planned for later, or so I was told. Once you've downloaded the file and have received your security code, installation is a simple matter of following the on-screen instructions. Be sure to have your security code written down and handy so that you can enter it when asked.
I did have a problem with my first attempts at installation, that really has little to do with LAGO, but others may encounter the same difficulty. A couple of weeks prior I had attempted to install Georender2 and Georender3 (two other LAGO titles), but neither would show up in my FS2002 menus; then when I first attempted to install Lucky Lindbergh, it was not to be found either. It was only during a reattempt at installation that I noticed the target folder for Lucky Lindbergh to be a folder called "RealAir_SF260." I had installed the RealAir SF.260 a few weeks ago so that I could do a review on it and now all LAGO auto-installs are for reasons unknown, creating a folder titled RealAir_SF260 and putting all necessary files into it. Unlike most auto-install programs, the auto-install program used with all LAGO downloads shows you the target location it uses, but does not provide for a browse function so that you can redirect the install if needed. Obviously there is a conflict between the RealAir program and the LAGO program and considering the popularity of the RealAir SF.260, its very likely that others may encounter the same problem I did.
I was able to get around the lack of a browse function by going into the folder created by the LAGO installer and then manually installing each folder into the FS2002 root directory. I also had to manually write the scenery locations into the scenery.cfg file (I could have also installed the scenery by using the new scenery install from the "World" menu in FS2002). Considering all the available add-ons for Flight Simulator, it was bound to happen that a conflict like this would occur, so I would think that LAGO may wish to modify their autoinstalls so that you can manually set your target folder by way of a browse function.
The Aircraft
Included with this package are three aircraft, the Curtiss JN-4D Jenny, the Ryan NYP Spirit of St Louis, and the Lockheed Sirius. Why did LAGO decide to include these three aircraft? Before his death, Charles Lindbergh once said that the three most important aircraft or the three aircraft that carried the most memories for him, were the Jenny, the Spirit, and his Lockheed Sirius. Being as this add-on is as much about the man as anything, it is then quite appropriate that these three aircraft would be included with this add-on.
Curtiss JN-4D Jenny
Well, the first aircraft that Charles purchased and flew was the Curtiss Jenny. It was with his Jenny that he first learned to fly, after which he spent a few years barnstorming across the Midwestern United States, all in the early 1920s. It was also with his Jenny (along with a de Havilland) that Charles flew the US Mail along the Midwestern states air routes, honing his flying skills and forming his life-long dedication to aviation.
LAGO's version of the Jenny is, from a visual point of view, very well done. Though not painted by use of photorealistic textures, LAGO's Jenny is finished in a dull texturing, which is more reminiscent of aircraft from this period. I admit that I was not being overly critical, but I generally could not find any fault in the shape or external appearance with this FS aircraft. The views from the virtual cockpit are quite realistic looking and it does create an excellent feeling of what it was like to fly the Jenny. I suspect that many that purchase this product will feel that the LAGO Jenny is the best of the three!
Ryan NYP Spirit of St Louis
First of all, I've noted a few ask the question (in the AVSIM forums) what does the NYP stand for whenever the Spirit is mentioned! The Ryan model designed for crossing the Atlantic ocean (*there were a total of 3 built by the way, but only the first one was flown extensively – see note below) were designated with the "NYP" markings, which stood for New York – Paris. To date there have been two FS versions of the Ryan NYP designed for FS2002 (both freeware), one designed by Alan Kaiser and the other by the fellows over at Flight One Software. LAGO's version of the Ryan NYP is, in my opinion, shaped closer to the real thing. Both the external texturing and general overall shape of this LAGO Ryan NYP is simply better than its two freeware counterparts, and considering that the two freeware versions are quite good, well you get my point. The original Ryan NYP, that Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic with, was flown on 175 different flights racking up a grand total of 489 hours of flight time (the Atlantic crossing in 1927 rolled up 33 1/3 hours of flight time). I am more than satisfied with LAGO's Ryan NYP and it will remain a permanent member of my FS2002 aircraft folder.
Lockheed Sirius
The original Lockheed Sirius was actually a wheeled aircraft, but Charles Lindbergh modified his Sirius by exchanging the landing gear for floats. Charles and his wife Anna Morrow-Lindbergh flew their Sirius around the world establishing many of the air routes that are still used today by many of airlines. Having an aircraft outfitted with floats was more appropriate in the late 1920s and early 1930s, due to the lack of landing fields for wheeled aircraft. LAGO's version of Charles and Anna Lindbergh's Sirius is generally more than acceptable for a payware FS aircraft, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more reflective qualities with the exterior texturing or maybe the application of photorealistic texturing. I would add though that this is the only FS version of the Lockheed Sirius I've come across, freeware payware or otherwise so I do not wish to sound critical of LAGO's version, quite the opposite actually, as I liked this aircraft the best of the 3 aircraft included with this package. Not only does this aircraft have a good cruise speed (180 knots), but being as Charles Lindbergh converted it to a float plane meant that your choices of places to land just increased by a factor of 100 or more. Besides, the Lockheed Sirius is a sexy aircraft that is as fast as it is good looking, but be careful, this sweetheart of an aircraft has its devilish side too and she can jump up and bite you just when you least expect it. Charles and Anna Lindbergh ran into the devilish side of their beloved Sirius more than once.
It was with the LAGO Lockheed Sirius that I encountered my first and only aircraft problems though, first there is a problem with the landing gear, as I found that if you start from a hard-surface runway, this FS aircraft will sit as if it is an amphibian, but if you taxi off into a body of water, it still sits as if it is on a hard-surface. You must retract the non-existent landing gear to get this aircraft to sit down into the water on its floats. Not particularly a big deal, but if you happen to have the imaginary gear extended (and there is no way to tell if the gear is retracted or extended) this aircraft will land on water as if you're landing on a hard-surface runway. The other problem I ran across involves the earth inductor compass, as your earth inductor needle gauge does not display when you call it up with the pop-up window, just a blank square appears. I managed to find the gauge from the panel.cfg for the NYP and then I installed it into the panel.cfg file for the Sirius, using WindowME's copy & paste function, but one shouldn't have to do this with a payware aircraft. My experience with LAGO has shown that they will in all likelihood release an update to correct this very minor oversight.
The Panels
Each of the three aircraft have both a 2D panel with popup windows (except for the Jenny 2D panel), and a dynamic virtual 3D panel. With the Jenny and NYP's 2D panel, LAGO has chosen to maintain authenticity by not including any of the modern avionics available in FS2002 and personally I feel this is correct policy to follow, as the purpose of this package is to be presented as a historically accurate add-on, designed to educate as well as entertain the user.
With the Jenny, you do have a choice of flying from either the forward cockpit or the rear cockpit, it's entirely up to you, but I found myself preferring the rear seat. Having a total of 10 gauges and no pop-up windows, the panel included with the Jenny is a nice combination of digital rendering and photorealistic realism, with simplicity being its greatest asset. The view from the virtual cockpit is easy to adjust for a clear view forward as well as a clear view of your key gauges, plus your side views are open and unrestricted from the wings (from the rear seat position) and the cockpit is fully rendered as well as the panel itself.
The panels for the Ryan NYP are quite authentic in their appearance—though not as extraordinarily realistic as the Tim Dickens' (Flight One Software) freeware NYP 2D panel—the LAGO 2D panel is still a very nice fully digital rendered panel that provides an authentically presented version. LAGO has also included a second 2D panel that allows you to view forward through the periscope that Lindbergh had on the original. LAGO's Spirit panel does lack the complicated fuel selectors that Charles had to deal with (and was included on the Flight One Software freeware panel), but they (LAGO) have managed to duplicate an accurately operational version of the Earth Inductor Compass quite well (the Flight One panel included a working EIC as well, but I found it way to sensitive to be of any use).
For those of you unfamiliar with an Earth Inductor Compass, you can think of it as sort of an INS or GPS of its day. With the EIC you would dial in your intended heading (dual adjustment rings allowed you to set the heading in increments of 1/10th of degree increments), then with a Left-Center-Right needle gauge, you would maintain your track line by keeping the EIC gauge needle centered. The reaction of the earth's magnetic field against the instrument's twin electrically charged brushes allowed for a compass of very high sensitivity, allowing the pilot to maintain a more constant and more accurate heading than what was attainable with a standard whiskey compass. (The EIC was powered by an externally mounted wind generator) An Earth Inductor Compass did not have the capacity to correct for natural wind drift nor could it automatically adjust for changes in your magnetic deviation as you crossed the earth's lines of longitude, so Lindbergh corrected for these variations by applying dead-reckoning techniques (watching ocean waves for estimating wind drift during daylight hours and observing the position of the North Star at night, after the EIC wind generator iced up).
The advantages of an EIC were two fold, one it split the compass heading into 10th degree increments, and second the gauge was not subject to compass swing. One more little point concerning the LAGO version of the EIC, it seems to me that the needle indicator gauge is programmed backwards. If the LAGO EIC needle swings to the right, it is natural to want to turn your nose toward the needle to bring it back on center, but with the LAGO gauge you have to swing your nose in the opposite direction as the needle to center your gauge. This doesn't feel natural and logic makes me suspect that the gauge was inadvertently programmed by LAGO in reverse.
The 3D virtual panel and cockpit in the LAGO Spirit is their best work, as the full cockpit has been rendered, right down to the wicker seat that Lucky Lindy sat in for up to 33 hours at a time. By moving your visual position to the left, you can get a pretty good view forward, out the side window, while still being able to swing your view to the right so that you can monitor the dynamic gauges. The EIC adjustment rings are available by way of a pop-up window, so you can fly for hours in the VC mode and still have the ability to adjust your EIC heading sets.
As for the panels with your 3rd included aircraft, the Lockheed Sirius, you get a photorealistic 2D panel and again a fully dynamic 3D virtual panel and cockpit, plus the Earth Inductor Compass from the Spirit. Please note the one small problem I mentioned earlier concerning the lack of an EIC needle gauge in its pop-up window with the Sirius panel; I'm sure that LAGO will correct this soon with an update file. Your forward view with the real Lockheed Sirius was somewhat restricted at best (it seems to me that Lindbergh had a thing about flying aircraft with restricted forward views?) and you'll find that the LAGO version is no different. Simply put though, I much preferred flying this aircraft from the virtual cockpit, because that allowed me to position the panel low enough that I got a fairly unrestricted forward view. Here LAGO did break from tradition and included a pop-up window that has your default autopilot, VOR heading gauges, and radios, but I feel that this is okay because this an aircraft that many will find themselves flying often and to best use this while flying in current times, radios and an autopilot would be an acceptable addition.
Sounds
The LAGO Lockheed Sirius included with this package uses the default sounds from the F4U Corsair, but both the Jenny and the Ryan NYP have had custom sounds from Mike Hambly installed. In either case (Jenny and NYP), the sounds are just terrific, especially the sounds included for the Ryan NYP. The original Wright Whirlwind engine did not have an exhaust collector, as each individual cylinder had a short exhaust stack attached. From personal experience and by comparing the sounds of the NYP from the film "Spirit of St Louis" starring Jimmy Stewart, it seems to me that Mike has done an excellent job of capturing the sound you would expect from a radial engine with this exhaust configuration. Now all you need is to have those dynamic FS2002 exhaust flames visible from the VC added.
FDE
The PDF documentation manual included with this package does spend a great deal of time dealing with the subject of flying each of these three aircraft. The LAGO manual explains that in the case of the Sirius and the NYP, getting firsthand information from pilots that have flown either of these aircraft is nothing short of impossible, but by comparing the available data, a reasonably accurate FDE can be and has been programmed. With the NYP, we have an aircraft that empty, weights just under 2,000 lbs, but when the fuel tanks are filled to capacity, this will add an additional 2,700 lbs to the overall take-off weight. You will need to refer to the LAGO manual to assist you as to the recommended techniques for take off when you have full tanks. By studying the available information (mostly from the books written by Charles Lindbergh himself), one can surmise that flying this aircraft when the tanks were full, was rather difficult and very uncomfortable, so maintaining a rate-of-climb of something less than 100 feet per minute is recommended until you've burned off at least 20% or more of your fuel load. For the first few hours you will also need to restrict your altitude to about 500 feet ASL or so. The LAGO version of the NYP seems to duplicate everything I've ever read about flying the original aircraft, so I would have to conclude that the airfile is reasonably accurate in my estimation. The same assumption can be made concerning the airfile for the Lockheed Sirius, as there is plenty of data available for it as well; but there are few, if any, pilots with real-world experience with this aircraft.
On the other hand, finding real-world pilots that have had experience at flying a Jenny is something else altogether, as there are a number of Jennys still in flying condition, so LAGO was able to have some outside consultation at tweaking its airfile. I personally have never seen a flyable Jenny, let alone having flown one myself, but I can say that considering its high lift (two wings) and its grossly under-powered engine (less than 95 hp), the LAGO Jenny flies just about as one would expect.
Overall I give LAGO a thumbs up for their airfiles and even though I have no real-world experience at flying any of these three aircraft to compare to (who does?), I found that all three fly as expected based on everything I have read or have experienced myself in flying similar real-world aircraft.
Scenery
Also included with the Lucky Lindbergh package are two scenery add-ons that include both Roosevelt Airfield (New York) and Le Bourget (Paris) as they appeared in 1927. Neither of the add-on sceneries are intended to be exact duplicates of the 1927 airfields they depict, but they are intended to be fairly accurate depictions of airfields of that era. The Roosevelt Airfield of course has been gone for many decades (that area is now a shopping center), but in 1927 it was quiet little grass-dirt airfield about 10 miles from where JFK is now located. On the other hand, Le Bourget is currently a major Paris area airport, so the installation of this scenery package will overwrite the Microsoft Le Bourget airport scenery. The manual for this package from LAGO includes instructions on how to remove the 1927 Le Bourget airfield add-on scenery, for when you wish to return to the current time!
These sceneries include period style hangers and buildings, with classic cars of the 1920s, and several period dressed on-lookers. At Roosevelt Field, LAGO's scenery includes the famous powerline that Lindy barely cleared after his take off for his Atlantic crossing and at Le Bourget, you have several 1920's automobiles using their headlights to light up the landing area there (visible at night in FS2002).
For those of you that intend on flying Lindbergh's original New York to Paris flight, LAGO's scenery add-on is a very nice addition adding a certain ambiance to the experience.
Documentation
The documentation for this add-on is in the PDF format and this manual is 34 pages in length, covering all aspects of the three included aircraft, operation of their panels, the sceneries included, a description of each of the included Adventure Flights, a multipage biography of Charles Lindbergh, and a copy of Lindy's flight log book for the Spirit! Surprisingly, Lindy logged nearly 490 hours in the Spirit on 175 individual flights, including the 33 hours spent flying nonstop from New York to Paris on May 20-21, 1927. Other flight records were set with this aircraft, including the fastest transcontinental flight (San Diego - New York) of just under 23 hours, which included a stop in St Louis for fuel. In addition there is a short video of a period newsreel showing the Spirit taking off for Paris from Roosevelt Field and an original radio broadcast of the Lucky Lindy song. Personally I liked the 14 website links to various sites that cover just about all of the life of Charles Lindbergh.
Though it is easy to assume that the FS aircraft included with this package from LAGO is the primary subject of this add-on, in truth it is the documentation and educational value that I found to be the most important part of what LAGO's Century of Aviation experience is all about. Charles Lindbergh was the first real worldwide celebrity of the 20th Century because of his famous solo flight across the Atlantic, but how many people know that it was Charles Lindbergh that completed the initial research and development of the artificial heart, or that it was Charles Lindbergh that performed the test flying for the Chance-Vought F4U Corsair and was a founder of the airline TWA? Besides receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor, Charles Lindbergh was America's first recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and he was also awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his book Spirit of St Louis! The website links provided by LAGO also detail the tragedies and controversies surrounding the Lindberghs in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as his later accomplishments and contributions to aviation.
The combination of the PDF format manual and the weblinks included in this package go well above and beyond what I expected.
Adventure Flights
Included with this package are 16 separate adventure flights, 14 of which are involved with Charles Lindbergh's 1927 solo trans-Atlantic crossing. LAGO's pre-set Atlantic flights numbers, 1 through 10, begin with Lindy's start at his 7:52 AM take-off from Roosevelt Field out to New Foundland. LAGO has divided the first third of Lindy's crossing into 10 segments, each flight's starting point is either 1 or 2 hours along Lindy's flight route as compared to an earlier flight. This allows you to fly Lindy's route an hour or two at a time, without having to save the flight yourself. The PDF manual covers each of these flights in detail and as you start each one, the correct time of day is applied as well has the correct reduction in your fuel load. Flight 11 picks up when Lindbergh was approaching the coast of Ireland at Dingo Bay (surprisingly, in 1927 Lindbergh was only 1 1/2 miles off course when he reached the Irish coastline on his historic flight), with Flight 14 being the final approach to Le Bourget Field in Paris after sunset. The manual covers, in detail, those hours in between when Charles Lindbergh was over the Atlantic Ocean and includes an accounting of what he experienced during those hours at night. The two remaining adventures are with the Jenny over Central Park in New York or with the Lockheed Sirius starting in the water, also in New York.
Summary
Earlier this year, Pilot's GesmbH released their outstanding Boeing 314 Clipper package and I provided the review of that product together with a historical account "The Romance of the Pan-American Clippers!" for AVSIM. At the time, I don't think I fully appreciated the true nature or value of that product as I should have and it would be easy to fall into the same trap with LAGO's new release, Lucky Lindbergh! Now that I've thoroughly confused all of you, let me explain!
When Microsoft first introduced Flight Simulator, back some 18+ years ago, I don't think the idea of Flight Simulator being used as an educational medium was the first thing that came to mind. Since the introduction of FS98 and later versions, a few forward thinking 3rd party groups have been busy providing very accurate sceneries or aircraft that are of some historical significance, but the idea of using Flight Simulator as an interactive history book is somewhat of an interesting concept. The study and understanding of history is important for those wishing to understand where we are today and where we are possibly going in the future, plus the study of history and those that made it can bring a strong sense of inspiration to many of us.
With LAGO's Lucky Lindbergh add-on package, you have the opportunity to study and learn about Charles Lindbergh the man, rather than just the statistical items concerning his Atlantic Crossing flight. Unlike being restricted to your imagination if you were to just read about Charles Lindbergh from a history book, here you also have the opportunity to fly, in simulation, the three aircraft that he enjoyed and used to make history. Plus you can fly these aircraft to many of the places that he did and just maybe gain a small sense of the thrill, excitement, and the danger that he experienced.
The cost of LAGO's Lucky Lindbergh package is $25.00 and at that price this package is a real bargain, as a single book can easily cost double that and here you not only get the advantages of the LAGO manual and website links, you also have the opportunity to fly the Jenny, the Spirit, and the Lockheed Sirius of Charles Lindbergh's, plus there is the 1927 era sceneries of Roosevelt Field and Le Bourget. I hope to see many more add-on packages of similar makeup in the future!
Ordering information is available at LAGO's A Century of Aviation - Lucky Lindbergh website.
Charles Lindbergh – 1927
* It has often been said that there was only one Ryan NYP built, though there have been several replicas assembled—but that is an incorrect statement. The Ryan Airline Company began construction on serial no. 2 of the NYP model almost before Lindbergh had completed his historic flight in 1927. The second NYP was only flown briefly in and around the San Diego area (Ryan Airline Company was located at what today is called Lindbergh Field, San Diego). Though intended to be sold to a Japanese customer, it was placed in what would become the Ryan Museum. In 1958 or 1959 a fire destroyed the Ryan museum and that fire consumed serial no. 2 of the NYP Ryan model. Most of the original engineers and aircraft constructors that assembled the original NYPs (in 1927) were still alive and living in the San Diego area, plus all of the original tooling and assembly jigs were stored in a local warehouse, so construction began immediately to replace the NYP lost in the fire. Serial no. 3 (the replacement aircraft for the one lost in the fire) of the Ryan NYPs is currently hanging over the lobby of the Aerospace Museum at Balboa Park in San Diego. Serial no. 1, the original Spirit of St Louis that Lindbergh flew, is at the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC. I personally have seen both.
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