STOL Aircraft

[Christopher Low 5,331]

These large airliners appear to be able to stop far more quickly than I had imagined in an emergency, although I don't think that I would like to be a passenger when one does :-) Still, when I'm filming at Manchester International airport, it looks (and sounds) more impressive when a 747 takes a considerable amount of time (and runway distance) to stop. The reverse thrust simply emphasises the sheer size and power of the plane...........and that's what filming airliners is all about.Chris Low,ENGLAND.

[Guest jonpoint]

Chris,I know what you mean. It's nice to pull up quick when you have to but I love the satisfaction of a good approach, threshold touchdown, on with the reversers and just let her roll down the strip, past the terminal. You can almost imagine the terminal windows rattling as you pass by. Then, shut the reversers and apply just enough brakes to comfortably turn onto the taxiway - very satisfying. At this point, I lose my taxi diagram, get lost and are abused by ground control :-)Or get run down by AI...Jon Point*************************(effyouthree@hotmail.com)*************************

[Christopher Low 5,331]

Jon,All this talk of thrust reversers has convinced me to finally take the plunge and download Ansgar's 747. I have seen several different liveries (Lufthansa, Qantas and United), but I would REALLY like to have a British Airways Union Flag colour scheme. Is this available, or should I verbally abuse another forum member until this is done ? :-)Chris Low,ENGLAND.PS. Any bets that I'll be able to fly the 747 by "feel" ? ;)

[Guest Rich Wren]

Hi Chris,Yes there is a BA 747 livery out there, it can be found at[http://www.geocities.com/alive.geo/rvgallery.html]. I downloaded it but I felt it wasn't as accurate as I'd like, perhaps I'll have a go myself. I've already done one repaint, that only took about 8 hours including finding good working images. All you need is Paint Shop Pro (or similar) and resviewer and you can quite easily produce your own.For those who haven't found it yet [http://www.airliners.net] is a fantastic image archive. Plenty of inspiration to be found in there.As for flying this beast by feel, it's possible. You just have to remember that it doesn't roll that fast.Cheers,Rich.

[Christopher Low 5,331]

Rich,Yes, Ansgar had already directed me to this livery, but it is the NEW Union Flag scheme that I am interested in.Chris Low,ENGLAND.

[Guest Rich Wren]

My mistake.Since I don't know of any of those, I might have to have a go at one myself. Don't let me stop you though, BA has plenty of tailfins to go around :-)Rich.

[Guest R_Driscoll]

Chris, by all means you have to download Ansgar's B747 and give it a go. The Sim was designed for small planes - we all know that. But it ain't too bad for the big'uns either - long distance flights over outerterrain are great at high altitudes - sky shading in the sim is excellent, you can extend clouds using the weather generator program (Markus Brunner again at http://www.geocities.com/in_04/ - he did a lot of outer terrain development). And the view on takeoff and climbout around Seattle is out of this world. And the feel of the plane is indescribable - you feel the momentum and the massive size of the plane. The cockpit is 7th heaven - a superb autopilot setup which is radically different to any other plane but once learnt, is the only way, etc etc. It surely is one of the triumphs of the FU3 addons.But (this is just a suggestion of course) don't try and land it onshort runways. Unless you're rich.Gotta go - I'm flying the SR71 into Ranger's Ck and I need to concentrate ...

[Christopher Low 5,331]

Robert,Be careful flying the SR-71 around Ranger Creek. If you crash it, then Bigfoot might get hold of the technology...........and we really don't want that :-lolChris Low,ENGLAND.

[adams 1]

Do I understand correctly ? Are you going to fly B 747, Chris ?B. Adamski

[Christopher Low 5,331]

Bogdan,You need to understand here that my rendition of "flying" the 747 won't involve much from a REAL 747 manual :-lol Once again, I'm going to attempt to fly the thing by "feel" alone.That scares you all, doesn't it :-)Chris Low,ENGLAND.

[Guest jonpoint]

Not at all, Chris :-)As much as I like the 'real' stuff, it's just waaaay too serious when I've got a spare 30 minutes and a hankering for a fly! So I get to fly 'by feel' a lot. I find 'draggier' planes more fun to fly than little 'uns or jet fighters - you can almost feel the lift under the wings.The 747 flies superbly (i.e. you can judge your velocity and attitude easily) and, with all those lovely flaps and airbrakes, you can stop on a dime! No wonder Rob tried landing at CVA:-lolI've landed at NRA a few times in the 747 and only juuust overshot the end. Mind you, from the north, at NRA you can touchdown about 1000ft BEFORE the runway :-eekJust remember one thing:- DELAY!!! (it's heavy) :-kewlPS Move the hangar at GRF before trying to use it with the 747! Otherwise you start with the tail inside the hangar which then causes the tail to be torn off when you hit full throttle to try and 'break away'. I do all my best crashes on taxiways :-beerchugAnd yeah... I'm also keen for a new BA livery for my 747 fleet :-hahJon Point*************************(effyouthree@hotmail.com)*************************

[Christopher Low 5,331]

Jon,Thanks for the tip regarding Gray AAF. I will probably move the player parking spot to a new location.I am well aware that the 747 will need to be handled more carefully than some of the other planes, but that's one of the reasons that the Beechjet is more fun to fly than some of the lighter planes. I suspect that I will need a great deal of extra room to haul the 747 around from "left downwind" to "final" ;)Chris Low,ENGLAND.

[Christopher Low 5,331]

Jon,I have moved the player parking spot at Gray AAF. You will now be able to use the 747 without ripping the tail off, so if you would like me to send you the revised version, then just let me know (and give me your e-mail address).Chris Low,ENGLAND.