If you liked the "Wings of Power" aircraft you will also like the B-36 from Alpha. I was a kid of 14 years old when they would fly around Shreveport La. and Barksdale AFB. They still have that "drone" sound that I remember. It's $14 (US), but it's worth a $100 because it has a automatic pilot gauge in the from of a small rectangle ( 1/4 " X 3 "} that you can change the auto pilot setting FROM THE SPOT or Chase view !!! For you pruist, I'm sorry to say, I fly 85% of the time from the spot/chase view and now I can change all of the required course/altitude etc setting WITHOUT having to go back inside the aircraft to the panel view. Jerrycwo4Here's where to buy the B-36WWW.ALPHASIM.CO.UK

I flw one of these in FS98 and had a ball with it. Can't wait to try this one in FS2004. Will fit in the hanger with my Lockheed Constellation.

How did Alphasim handle programming the engine controls? Since there are more than four are you able to start each engine individually? Which controls move in the VC when you move throttle 1-4?Sorry for all the questions but I am just curious about how they got around this incompatibility with FS9's engine count. Think it would be a neat aircraft, especially if some kind of engine trickery is in the works ;).Zane

Just downloaded it and started flying it around. Took off from Dobbins AFB in Atlanta. Quite a view from the cockpit, of the lights in Downtown Atlanta.

They are selling this for "only" $16. What am I missing? Can someone post a few close-up screenshots of the 2d and virtual cockpits?ricardo

"I'm sorry to say, I fly 85% of the time from the spot/chase view and now I can change all of the required course/altitude etc setting WITHOUT having to go back inside the aircraft to the panel view."You can in fact do this with any aircraft by setting up a "window" definition in the panel.cfg for the autopilot (I prefer the Lear Autopilot). By using shift+the window's "key" (i.e. shift+7), you can pop up the autopilot in spot view and adjust it as needed.IF I get time, I'll try to post an example here that you could paste into any panel.cfg.-John

The only thing I am disappointed in is the lack of a larger OBS/ILS indicator for instrument flying in the 2D cockpit. I normally never use the VC, but I see if you switch to the VC on this plane you can move your eyepoint and zoom in on the OBS and shoot the ILS with no problem.

Here's my example of the Autopilot "popup" window you can use for any aircraft.Steps:1. Add a "Window Title" entry for the Autopilot, as in this example:[Window Titles]Window00=Main PanelWindow01=GPSWindow02=Throttle QuadrantWindow03=Autopilot2. Add a section in the panel.cfg for the window, like this:[Window03]size_mm=401,101position=0BACKGROUND_COLOR=16,16,16VISIBLE=0ident=AUTOPILOTgauge00=LEAR_45!AUTOPILOT,0,0,400,100In this example, pressing shift+4 (it's the fourth window defined) will overlay the autopilot in ANY view, including the spot plane, tower, and VC views. I've pasted a small cropped screenshot to illustrate:

I've had issues with the accuracy of their models in the past. Granted the price is good, but getting the model right is a basic requirement for payware for me.Todd

Thanks to John Ci for the info on pulling that AP window out. I have since learned how to duplicate the B-36 "window" into any other aircraft and I like it's SMALL size. You hardly even are aware that it's sitting at the bottom of your monitor and of course you can turn it off and on at will.Alas, the 6 prop engines start in TWO differant banks ! The right side and the left side. You can HEAR the jet engines starting but that is all that they do. I was wondering, is it at all possible, if a person took the required time to program EACH of the 6 engines to where they could be started ONE AT A TIME ????? Or, does some type of restriction prevent this ?ALPHA has just come out with a new "patch" for the B-36 but I have yet to install it. Jerrycwo4

I posted on their web site Forum this morning about wanting a larger OBS gauge in the 2D cockpit. They very quickly responded with this procedure which I copied and pasted here : "Open your B-36H panel.cfg with Notepad, add the following *replacement* sections (ie. overwrite the original and sections -Window00=Main PanelWindow01=AutopilotWindow02=RadiosWindow03=GPSWindow04=ThrottlesWindow05=TRIVIEW_FORWARD_WINDOWS=MAIN_PANEL,1002,1001,1003, GPS_PANEL,THROTTLE_PANELVIEW_FORWARD_ZOOM=0.5VIEW_FORWARD_DIR=5.0, 0.0, 0.0VIEW_FORWARD_RIGHT_ZOOM=0.5VIEW_RIGHT_ZOOM=0.5VIEW_REAR_RIGHT_ZOOM=0.5VIEW_REAR_ZOOM=0.5VIEW_REAR_LEFT_ZOOM=0.5VIEW_LEFT_ZOOM=0.5VIEW_FORWARD_LEFT_ZOOM=0.5VIEW_UP_ZOOM=0.5basically, you are adding 'Window05=TRI' to the titles list and '1003' to the views list. Then add the following *new* section after -size_mm=300Background_color=0,0,0 windowsize_ratio=1position=7visible=0ident=1003gauge00=ALPHA_B-36!TRI, 0,0,200,200Save the cfg.This will give you a nice pop-up ILS gauge on SHIFT-6. The resolution is limited by the original gauge bitmaps, but it's usable.Phil PAlphaSim CEO "

MSFS is programmed for a maximum of four seperate engine controls. From your explanation I would guess that Alphasim has programmed engines 1 and 4 to each bank of 2 jet engines, engines 2 and 3 to each bank of 3 piston engines. A good work-around given MSFS's limitations. Curious if the VC interior has the tube that passes through the bomb bay to connect crew quarters with the flight deck, you would need active camera or an equivalent to use it but would be a neat design feature.Zane

Can anyone post a highres image of he 2D panel? The pictures at their site is way too small