What it was to be Ernest Gann

[Guest RonB49]

"I had a game from about 1991 or 92, that featured an all-black fantasy modded B-52 in it. It was a neat combat sim for the time. Can't remember the name of that sim though."I think it was called "Megafortress." I had the game for a Commodore Amiga. I got the game 'cause I had read the book. As I recall, the book was better than the game. R-

[Guest wcs33]

Owen,Just finished reading Gann's Valhalla chapter, getting oriented with a quick "Google tour" of the area (to approximate the movie Ernie and his crew watched), then flew your wonderful mission!Bravo, how cool is that mission...great work!I can't really get the DC-3 autopilot to work with my brain, so I hand flew at 200ft AGL from about 10 miles out from the NDB, then cranked in and had a blast, especially reading that last line!I then flew it again, and tried dropping from the soup without the NDB (all visual)...what a mess!Hope you can do more of these Gann missions..."Island in the Sky" would be fun to re-create as one of the rescuers...watch the movie, get some maps and go search.Thanks for your workBillKBDL

[Guest archtx]

Wow, Bill!I'm impressed!I had a hard time without the auto-pilot. I can make it 20-30-40 miles...but sooner or later I dip a wing tip! Hit an iceberg once. Anyway, glad you enjoyed it.Owen

[Mace 1,896]

>>>In regards to Dale Brown, has anyone done a EB-52>>>Megafortress for FS yet?>>>>What in the world is an "EB-52 Megafortress?" :)>>>>I had a game from about 1991 or 92, that featured an>all-black>>fantasy modded B-52 in it. It was a neat combat sim for the>>time. Can't remember the name of that sim though.>>>>Rhett>>>>AMD 3700+ (@2530 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS>>A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8, WD 250>gig>>7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian>>>Dale Brown in a former navigator-bombardier in B-52s who>retired and started writing futuristic hi-tech military>thrillers. The real star of his first book "Flight of the Old>Dog" is a completely updated and modernized, ultra-top-secret>B-52 with stealth capacity, increased air defense and massive>ground attack ability. The designation of this odd mix of old>and new is the EB-52 Megafortress.>>Here's a pretty complete look at the aircraft he made up and>the real world counterparts for some of them:>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictional_Air...le_Brown_Novels>>He gets a little crazy later on with plasma yield weapons and>stuff like that, but I love that BUFF.>>4 turbofans, SST style nose, split V tail.Yes, that's it. The game was "MegaFortress" and the plane did indeed have something like a split V tail and SST style nose. It was a stealth (painted black) modded buff and the game was pretty fun.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2530 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8, WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian

[Guest danzian]

I enjoyed this mission very much too. In-fact, we liked it so much, three of us (FSX 2 users and FS9 1 user) flew this mission together online connected to a FSHOST server via FSHOSTClient. http://www.stpaulairlines.com/albums/Mar04..._dec_15_014.jpghttp://www.stpaulairlines.com/albums/Mar04..._dec_15_016.jpgIt was a blast.Regards,Danzian

[Guest wcs33]

Danzian,How difficult is it to set up on FSHost, etc? I'd love to be able to fly missions with some of my friends...doesn't seem like you can do that on GameSpy (or share cockpits in missions)...ThanksBillKBDL

[Guest danzian]

Bill,All you need is the FSHOstclient found here:http://www.chocolatesoftware.com/fshost/?fshostclient.htmlAnd then connect to any FSHost session through the FSHoSTclient. Then fireup FSX and you will be able to see your friend if he is also connected.One good place to connect is to Westcoast ATC's fshost servers. They have free servers and teamspeak for voice chatting as well.You can get more info here:http://www.westcoastatc.com/activesessions.shtmlI am not sure if you can share cockpit in missions.Thanks. Please do not hesitate to pm me if you need more info.Danzian

[Guest wcs33]

Thanks! Maybe I'll see you online then! Always looking for folks to fly with.Bill

[Guest archtx]

I am currently working on another chapter of "Fate is the Hunter". It is Chapter 7, "Gypsies", and covers Gann's first encounter with the Andes and the Amazon, delivering a Lockheed Lodestar from the US to Rio de Janeiro. It will actually be four missions, each covering a different leg of the flight. Hopefully have the first one complete in the next day or two.

[Guest wcs33]

Owen,Sounds great...will you write it with the default DC-3 as the proxy for the Lockheed?Bill

[Geofa 108]

Wow! Sounds great. We going to see the bad guys putting the fuel in?http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

[Guest]

This book sounds awesome. I have never heard of this guy so I think I will pick the book up at lunch today if they have it in stock. I look forward to reading about the adventures of this pioneer.________________________________________________________________________________________________Intel D975XBX2 'Bad Axe 2' | Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.20Ghz | Super Talent DDR2 800 @ 893Mhz | Big Typhoon VX | eVGA 8800GTS @ 575/900 | Seagate 2x 320GB SATA RAID-0 | OCZ GameXStream 700W | Creative X-Fi | Silverstone TJ-09BW

[Guest archtx]

Bill:Yes, I used the default DC-3. But thanks for the reminder, I'll include instructions for editing the flt file for a Lockheed or whatever if someone has one they want to use. I did search around a bit, and found some Electras...but no recent Lodestar. Also am having trouble finding the Junkers 86. Probably make another substitution there.Geofa:That was actually a later flight. Gann wasn't too crazy about his experience with the Andes, so next trip (?) he came down through the West Indies, coast of Guayana on to Belem. Belem was where they monkeyed with the fuel, but Fate rescued him once again.Dave:If you don't find it at the bookstore, check your local library. They are sure to have it. It won't take long to read, because once you start, you won't want to put it down.

[terhi 0]

I just ordered "Fate is the Hunter" from Amazon. They have stock of both hardcover and softcover editions. The softcover edition is currently on special at $9,90 if I remember correctly. They also have second-hand editions for less than $5here's the link:http://amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_/102-3709717...=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

[Guest archtx]

Dave:I would be curious as to how many copies of this book have been sold. It was originally published in 1961.Gann Trivia:Later in life he lived at Friday Harbor, the same one in the default mission for FSX. Someone ought to do a mini scenery for his home and studio. Then we could land the beaver there and take him up for a ride. The chicken coop he converted to a writing studio was moved to the Oshkosh museum.