by Chris “BeachAV8R” Frishmuth We all know who the “heavy hitter” is in the computer flight simulation genre. Since 1982 Microsoft’s Flight Simulator series has dominated the flight simulation market but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for either improvement, or competition. Over the years I’ve come into brief contact with multiple versions of X-Plane, which […]
Back To Page 5 20mm: Makes sense and that’s very sound advice no matter what the job. It’s a tribute to your commitment to complete this project that you were able to do so and have the aircraft at the Fourth of July 2005 event you were aiming for. The results are just incredible. Phantom […]
Back To Page 4 The cockpits were pretty much bare, so I had to located and replace instrumentation. The ejection seats were still there, but stripped. The hardest thing I had to deal with is finding the real weapon control boxes. Only a few exist and are expensive when you do find them. I […]
Back To Page 3 20mm:. What do you intend to use the Phantom for when it’s done? Ben G: It’s a backdrop for my aviation photo business, so it will towed to various places and events and a lot of people will have an opportunity to see it, climb up on the side, look inside the […]
Back To Page 2 20mm: I want to go through the Phantom project with you in more detail in just a moment. But first, I understand you had an opportunity to meet a personal hero of yours and I’m sure a hero of military aviation fans, and Phantom enthusiasts everywhere, General Robin Olds. Tell us […]
Back To Page 1 20mm: Ben, welcome to SimHQ, we appreciate your taking the time to talk with us. You obviously love aviation, and especially military aviation. How did that interest get started? Ben G: Thanks, glad to be here. Well, it seems like I’ve always had the aircraft bug, from back when I was a […]
The Story of Phantom #63-7637 by Tom “20mm” Hayden The F-4 Phantom II first flew on May 27, 1958. The aircraft saw combat operations in the Viet Nam war and in Operation Desert Storm. During its life span, F-4’s were responsible for 280 air-to-air victories and over 200 antiaircraft sites destroyed. 5,195 Phantoms were produced until […]
Back To Page 6 For those that have mastered all things Earthly, you can change environments to experience flying in the Martian atmosphere of Mars. The differing pressure, density, temperature and gravity of Mars combine to give a truly bizarre flight experience. Another nice feature is that X-Plane keeps track of your flight times […]
Back To Page 5 The New York suburbs with maximum scenery density selected. The map view at the highest scenery density setting shows just how many roads are included, with each road containing buildings lining it. X-Plane is filled with obscure little features that provide interesting and unique departures from the norm. By selecting […]
Back To Page 4 The map views feature everything from weather, navigation data, airport information and even a 3D view. Here is the 3D view from high above the Grand Canyon. The terrain, scenery density, objects and drawing distance settings all greatly affect the performance of this sim. I’m generally running everything on medium-high […]
Back To Page 3 This Cessna 140 shows an example of a 3D cockpit. The C-140 is an extremely fun airplane to fly and it shows all the characteristics of a tail-wheel aircraft including a propensity to ground loop if you are careless on the rudders and brakes. (Cessna 140 by Tracy Walker and […]
Back To Page 2 Here is another of Heinz Dziurowitz’s creations, a B-17 bomber. Much of the fun in these aircraft can be in shutting down engines and struggling to make it back to a safe landing. The multi-engine flight dynamics of X-Plane make flying with engine failures a demanding task. Speaking of warbirds, […]
