FlyRudy

Great presentation! You are probably aware of the PILOT'S B-314 flying boat (payware) which is visually closer to the Short Solent. Both have 4 engines. There is a great book about the Coral Route by Gerry Barton: "Coral Route" (2015) which describes in great detail what you summarized in your video. Thanks for sharing. Rüdiger

Meanwhile the next update (v1.55) is out. One of the improvements is updating manual 2. And those of us who would like to enjoy a take off or flight from a passenger's view can book a window seat by punching "ctrl+8".

In contrast to planes with wheels, there is a particular noise which flying boats produce at take off and landing. Upon acceleration the noise of water rubbing the hull increases, then just before separating from the water, the wave heads slap the bottom in quick succession, then the noise is gone as the ship climbs into the air. When landing, the same happens in reverse order. The surf lapping at the hull is important for the pilot to know exactly how high above the water the ship is. The Hughes H-4 in MSFS attempts to simulate the water noise somewhat. My sound card does not produce anything similiar in PILOT’S B-314. Or am I missing something?

Looking at YT videos ( "Overnight to Hawaii"- upper 2 pics; "PanAm clippers at war" - lower 2 pics) one can see that the furniture had blue upholstery. The light grey wallpaper has a pattern of a world map. The same pattern can be seen in a b/w picture of FDR's birthday on the Dixie Clipper. However, I could not find pictures/movies with the green flooring and walls on the flight deck as currently used by PILOT'S. Neither did I see the red color of the wall behind the pilots. Artistic license? But the discussion about colors and furniture is secondary and should not distract the developers of first perfecting the flight parameters.

Let me start by saying that I greatly admire the work that went into the excellent historical manual made by dragonflightdesign. Better than most books about the B-314. However, I do not share the pessimistic view that a plausible interior cannot be done. There are color movies and verbal descriptions which give us hints of what it must have been. e.g. from Popular Mechanics 1938, page 670 ff: "Entering the passenger deck by a side door, you step down three steps into the dining saloon and recreation center, the largest room in the ship with the exception of the control room on the upper deck. The ten and one-half by twelve-foot dinning room has a gay color scheme, with a spirited blue pattern on furniture upholstery, rich carpeting and wall of silvery beige… There are five dining tables of polished black walnut and deeply upholstered chairs for fifteen persons to be served at a time… Going aft, you pass through three standard compartments, each with floor dimensions of seven and one-half by twelve feet and a height of seven and one-half feet. Seats are upholstered in beige wool tapestry, tailored with leather trimmings." I do believe that color schemes and seating layouts were different in different ships and times (civilian use vs. military use). I do agree with James that the cabin does matter in this particular flying boat because of the historic dimension. Hopefully someone will be able to improve on what is currently provided. Rüdiger

Brian, In my system with a Reverb G2 the startup sequence is slightly different: PC on (running Win10); start Reverb, WMR will launch automatically; start Steam VR; start P3D v4; select in upper menu bar under Virtual Reality:"SteamVR". Off you go! FlyRudy

"Fantasy of Flight" is definitely a great place to visit. I have been there twice. On one occasion we got access to the spare part hangar across the road. Amazing what Kermit Weeks has collected. Even saw a flight demonstration of the Fieseler Storch almost standing in the air against the wind. A great inspiration for everyone who enjoys heritage planes. The pics of the scenery freeware look pretty close to reality from what I remember.

In 1933 Lufthansa startet flights across the South Atlantic via Bathurst (today: Banjul, Gambia) to Natal (Brazil) with Dornier Wal Flying Boats. The distance was 3040 km. Flight time going west was 14 hours, going east 12,5 hours. Sometimes the start was supported by catapult on the deck of the vessel "Westfalen". This info with many more details are from the book "Flugbuch Atlantik"; German language. Good luck with your research. Rüdiger

Try any one of their 2 missions, and you are likely to be stopped from immediate take off by a herd of elephants crossing the runway. Around the Abu airstrip are at least 2 herds of elephants moving on, and one herd of giraffes. In other places I found groups of animals walking for a few hundred feet before magically being zipped back to where they had started off a few seconds ago. But your impression is not altogether wrong. Most of the 12 000 animals seem to be static, even if lots are animated. Some of the buffaloes to the extend that they are wagging 2 tails. Initially I was disappointed as you seem to be. But after doing some flying - especially in the helicopter - I found the scenery rewarding. Rüdiger

In this case animals contribute to the immersion. In both missions supplied with the Okavango Scenery, elephants walk across the dirt airstrip. I have seen this in real life as well. Thus it adds to the immersion.

Looks like an improved version of the freeware "Okavango" for XP11.

Thanks. It worked once I discovered the black buttons partly under the top menu and fps counter.

Have P3D v4.5 and no FSUIPC installed. Opening doors other than main exit + upper mail door not possible. Have linked door opening to a key on my Saitek X-55. Normally with key+(n) I can open all doors on planes, but not here. Manual part 2 mentions on page 6 a 2D panel for the doors but I cannot find it. How do I open it? Or will that be included in the next patch?

Bill Nash was a regular contributor to the Airways Magazine. In the January 2011 issue he presents more than a dozen of "Pan Am's Flying Boat Pilots" (pages 48-53), among them well known names such as Robert Ford (first around the world flight) and Marius Lodeesen (flying the uranium for the nuclear bomb from Africa to the USA).

Looks like you have Nav Aids on. Turn it off. Rüdiger