The new file, freeware Spartan, is a winner hands down.Unbelievable for a freeware in all aspects. Thanks Shupe and all.

I most certainly agree! Thanks to this team for yeat another outstanding project!-John

The Spartan Executive is absolutely beautiful and flies like a dream! How so much detail achieved without sacrificing FPS is nothing short of a technological breakthrough! A great tribute to a great plane of yesterday. It ain't bad, either! Thanks to Milton and crew - perfection is hard acheived and difficult to follow...What could possibly be next?Dave

...waiting for dash-7...;-)Francesco

I totaly agree if freeware continues like this payware companies are going to have lean times this year.Thanks again to all you freeware designers who keep the spirit of a hobby alive. John

Another superb aircraft from "The Team"! A great model with a super sound package. Add my thankyou's to the list of appreciative simmers.For the incessant tweakers, check this out.http://forums.avsim.net/dcboard.php?az=sho..._id=28725&page=

Another great aircraft from Milton Shupe and his associates. The aircraft seems to fly quite well, but I am having some difficulty on take off, it seems to want to head for the left side of the runway and I end up in "crab" trying to hold it on with rudder. Does it have a tail wheel lock? (I have CH pedals w/toe brakes) I don't think there is anything wrong with the flight model, just my technique - any suggestions are welcome.Also, I don't find any cowl flaps, which is unusual for a radial engine. From pictures of real Spartans, it appears they did not have conventional cowl flaps, so how did they control engine temp on the ground? (FS9 does not model this, so engine temp is not a problem)Absolutely love the panel - has the vintage look, but I can still fly ILS approaches and even use a gps.Dale

I agree, excellent package :) I'm in the process of making a few paints for her as a way of saying thanks.Thanks for the link to the tweak.. will have to try it out.

>Also, I don't find any cowl flaps, which is unusual for a>radial engine. From pictures of real Spartans, it appears they>did not have conventional cowl flaps, so how did they control>engine temp on the ground? (FS9 does not model this, so engine>temp is not a problem)Cowl flaps control is in the VC lower left side... Note: only mouse wheel seems to control. Use mouse 'tooltip' to see the percentage open/close.

Awesome, awesome a/c. I can't believe how smooth it is. I spent the better part of my flying day trying to find just the right way NOT to bounce this baby on arrival when flying from the vc. I finally got my technique down and now have no trouble making that nice chirp to announce myself to the airport. Super awesome job guys, another real winner!:-)

>>Also, I don't find any cowl flaps, which is unusual for a>>radial engine. From pictures of real Spartans, it appears>they>>did not have conventional cowl flaps, so how did they>control>>engine temp on the ground? (FS9 does not model this, so>engine>>temp is not a problem)>>Cowl flaps control is in the VC lower left side... Note: only>mouse wheel seems to control. Use mouse 'tooltip' to see the>percentage open/close.Hi Bill, Just wondering if maybe you were part of the early Spartan beta test team? I don't have a cowl flaps control in the VC, Beta4 version or the release version. The ST_Spartan.CAB has an xml file for the cowl flaps (HW_Cowl Flaps 1sw.xml), but none of the called for bitmaps (HW_Sw_Ctr.bmp, HW_Sw_off1.bmp, HW_Sw_on.bmp) are present. No call for the cowl flaps are present in the panel.cfg. Enquiring minds??

I don't like the term "freeware" applied to this kind of work. How about "Rareware" instead?A humongous thank you to: Urs Burkhardt Milton Shupe Scott ThomasIt's just neat to see these really unique creations...the Howard 500 and the Spartan 7W in particular...live on in the FS world. Like the real airplanes that inspired them, these add-ons are nothing short of works of art.We're not worthy!Here's to ya, one and all :-beerchugCheersBob ScottATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-V L-300Santiago de Chile

I too, can't find the cowl flaps switch. Not on my VC.Fun plane. Problem I'm having is there are so many available, and my hanger is full of ones I haven't even tried yet, but great ones like this keep coming. All I can say is "Keep it up!!!" Thanks guys.

Hello Everyone :-)Thanks for the nice comments.We could find no reference in pictures or text about cowl flaps on the Spartan.Here's a really nice site with great pictures that represents the Spartan well:http://www.spartan7w.com/

I must be the only one that didn't get nav lights. Just in case there are others!!!LIGHTS Put the square brackets here// types: 1=beacon, 2=strobe, 3=navigation, 4=cockpit, 5=landing// 6=Taxi, 7=Recognition, 8=Wing, 9=Logo, 10=Cabinlight.0 = 2, 0.78, -19.48, 0.30, fx_strobe ,light.1 = 2, 0.78, 19.48, 0.30, fx_strobe ,light.2 = 4, -2.65, 0.00, 0.60, fx_vclight,light.3 = 5, 9.3, -8.00, -3.90, Newll ,//wing lite reflectionslight.4 = 5, 9.3, 8.00, -3.90, Newll ,//winglight.5 = 10, 1.5, 0.00, 1.55, fx_vclight,light.6 = 3, 0.78, -19.48, 0.3,fx_navredm ,light.7 = 3, 0.78, 19.48, 0.3,fx_navgrem ,Thanks so much Milton. I've been enjoying your craft for long time. And it would be a real chore to say which is my favorite. I guess I really like all of them.John Bell