Mike Stone's 727's - Question to Bill, Avsim Ombudsman

[Guest]

Greetings Bill, . . . I've seen some fine work by Mike Stone, however, his 727's just do not look correct in proportion to the real thing. Am I the only one seeing this? Compare Mike's 727 with the real thing or Kevin Trinkle's works. Look at (1) cockpit / nose, . . . it looks too pointed to me; (2) #2 engine inlet is perfectly round vs. stretched oval in real thing; (3) landing gear design does not seem to match up with real thing; and (4) the texture design around the wheel wells seem more pronounced than the real thing. Kevin's aircraft seem to match up quite well with the real aircraft. Bill, I admire your candor and welcome your insight. Again, I think Mike is making a tremendous contribution to this hobby.Thanks.

[Guest Fabio Miguez]

Not starting any flame wars here, but I have to agree with Captain on the nose issue. It does look a little off. I am just writing to let Captain know he is not the only one that saw it.Also, Captain, am I seeing things or FlightCraft's A340 also has a deviation in the nose, when compared to the real thing? It is a great plane, and I love flying it, but at some angles I can't help but think it is a bit different.

[Guest]

Fabio, . . . I've not looked at the Airbus 340 that closely yet. It's on my radar screen to do so after completing my loadings of the various Boeings, Douglas, McDonnell-Douglas, etc. I think Dreamfleet is working on a 727 and suspect it will be one very awesome and authentic looking aircraft.Have a great day!

[Guest]

I noticed that the tail on Stone's 727 seems a little, what's the word, simplistic? Look at any good profile photo of a 727 and the top of the tail is almost sculpted looking, a subtle series of curves. Stone's 727 is just flat across the top. The entire tail assembly also seems to intersect the fuselage a little too low.And, I'm surprised no one's mentioned this, but has anyone watched the thrust reverser's in action? Instead of the big clam shells swiveling out over the exhaust cone that one would expect with these engines, there are some little black things that pop up out of the engine. (If I'm wrong about this and there's another type of thrust reverser used on the 727, please let me know...)I hesitate to say it, but let's be honest here, if this plane didn't have Mike Stone's name on it, this would just be another plane that entered the file library, got downloaded a few hundred times, then faded into flight sim obscurity...David Rawlins

[Guest]

>Bill, I admire your candor and welcome your insight. Again, >I think Mike is making a tremendous contribution to this >hobby. Hi, back at 'cha!After reading and rereading your message, in spite of the Subject line of "...Question...," I'll be darned if I can find one!A question, that is...As far as such minute details go, having seen the pitiful results of my own efforts at a/c modeling, I'm not about to throw stones (pun intended!) at anyone else's work (except possibly someone who's stuff looks even worse than mine!) :) But, even then I'd most likely not say anything to the author, who undoubtedly thinks that his stuff is the "cat's meow." Far be if from me to dissuade or otherwise discourage anyone from trying. No one can hit a home run everytime.I learned at a very early age not to "look gift horses in the mouth," and am not likely to begin now, in my declining, not-so-Golden Years.I mean, I slaved for hours yesterday attempting to model a rather simple fuselage, having had great success with wings, horizontal stabilizer and a spectacular vertical stabilizer!All I could think of when I exported the model to FS for a quick looksee was, "looks like the Playdough Express to me!"Either that, or a much battered Gumby after a few years on booze, amphetamines and steriods...I guess the bottom line for me is quite simple. These a/c are offered up freely, and ultimately I have the freedom to either use 'em and enjoy 'em, or not. It's not as if someone had a gun to my head, or had managed to coax a few bucks out of my wallet.After all, I do have my standards! If I don't like something, I delete it or keep it until something better comes along, or fix it myself to my own liking.I've been asked by several people to collaborate with them on one project or another, but after looking at some examples of their work decided to pass on the opportunity. But I do so in a manner, which will not hurt their feelings or cause any possible resentment. The simple truth that I already have far more to do that I will complete in one lifetime is an honest enough reason, I needn't indulge in full disclosure.If someone sends me their work, and solicits my opinion privately, I will - of course - be totally forthright with my criticism. After all, they asked for it! :)But, I am quite circumspect with such criticism publicly. I'm not a "rivet counter."I wrote a mini-review of the new Dash-8 last week, and rightly judged that it is destined to find a niche only with a few, hard core, simmers because of its immense complexity. But even so, for everything I found somewhat confusing or possibly problematic, I balanced my critique by offering a workable solution or work-around to overcome the obstacle.Best regards,

[Guest Fabio Miguez]

Hello Bill.Words of wisdom, the ones you layed out here. I have to agree completelly with you after reading your post. Although removing my opinions now will not affect the matter, I shall not do this again.Thank you for the enlightenment.

[Guest]

>Hello Bill. >>Words of wisdom, the ones you layed out here. I have to >agree completelly with you after reading your post. >Although removing my opinions now will not affect the >matter, I shall not do this again. >>Thank you for the enlightenment. You are most welcome. I read your introduction the other day, and let me welcome you to the flightsim hobby and community. I'm sure that you will eventually begin producing your own contributions, either in the form of a new a/c, panel or unique gauge.