Geezer

Today, made good progress on the D.IIIa fuselage.

Got a good start on mapping the Pfalz D.III this morning.

Also, the cockpit as nearly done. Click on shot for hi-res image.

VonS is establishing new standards of research and historical accuracy with his FM. Samples below: Here's the polished data ini for the Junkers J.I. Wing vibrations are now frequent enough to be noticeable , as historical. Also successful were the altitude table entry tweaks under the engine section - that took a lot of tweaking and different variables but I've managed to "fix" things in such a way that the 200hp Daimler engine is now over-compressed at lower altitudes, as reported (see included pics) - this also gives the AI a bit less work to do when taking off. Here are some basic stats for the engine now: - below about 1000m/3800feet alt, use 70% throttle to reduce wing vibration, top speed at low alt. this way is around 168kph - if run at 100% throttle below suggested height, wing vibrations are nearly constant with no great advantage in speed or climb (about 171kph, climb is around 3.5 m/s with the nice cantilever wing, nearly same climb rate as at 70% throttle at low alt) - above 3800 feet, open throttle freely to 100% for max climb of about 2 to 2.5m/s (in the 120s and 130s kph) - top speed around 1500m/4900 feet is about 157kph, drops off then with height; max theoretical ceiling is around 4000m/13000 feet but good luck getting there in this heavy steel crate, although the wings give nice lift, and vibration - listen to the AI's engine management and you will notice that he's also using about 60 to 70% throttle at altitudes below about 5000 - 6000 feet, the management kicks in about 10 seconds after take off for the AI, with it using full throttle only to "unglue" itself from the ground - also tweaked some of the manifold and oil pressure numbers under the engine section; and damage chances; now if there are too many vibrations while rolling out and gaining speed for take off, you might catch an engine fire; trick is to gently use throttle at first, get the tail up, and then accelerate smoothly before lifting off Von S P.S. Have scrapped the 220hp variant since the 200hp is an over-compressed job anyway, giving about 200hp at about 1400 rpm - I've limited the engine to 1600 rpm - this gives about 210-220hp from it, as historical, at full blast

Update of the cockpit model.

The cockpit is more difficult than usual because of the lack of data. Shots below show progress, plus only known photo of J.1 cockpit. As usual, click on shot for hi-res image.

Meanwhile, I have also worked on the Pfalz D.III (not D.IIIa) and improved the the upper wing ribs.

VonS is close to getting the Junkers to sit on the airfield correctly, while I have finished all four LODs and have made good progress on the cockpit. Click on shots for hi-res images.

VonS keeps tweaking his FM and it keeps getting better and better. For example, the model now experiences wing vibration in certain flight conditions, just like the real aircraft in 1918! Click shots below for hi-res images.

Just tested VonS's new FM - it does a beautiful job of capturing the slow but steady flight qualities of the Junkers. Click on shots for hi-res image.

VonS is already hard at work on the Junkers FM - I will start the cockpit soon. Got a little work done on the Pfalz D.III (not D.IIIa). As usual, click shot for hi-res image.

Got the Junkers working ingame, so I will now pass it on to VonS and Quack for further development. Click on shots for hi-res images.

Also been working on a new Pfalz D.III - a fav of VonS and myself. Click images for hi-res art.

You're welcome - this is a fun hobby, so everybody wins. This morning, I spent a little time on the Chinese Chirri. EDIT: Click on image below to view original hi-res image.

Got the gunner mapped and textured. I'll do some of the more challenging stuff, such as the crew, but leave the majority of the artwork for Quack to do.

On the subject of location, this is where I live. I put up with idiots for 20 years so I could retire 400 miles away from the closest big city (Denver).

That's experimental art in 3dsMax, sized to fit a First Eagles terrain tile. Comparing the buildings to trees in the entire image, the trees in the foreground are a little too big. The foreground imagery is from Google Earth of cattle/buffalo range land west of Custer, South Dakota - I live nearby in the Black Hills.

The Junkers J.1 is mapped and the baseline colors laid in. Pretty soon, I'll pass it on to Quack for him to finish.

Thanks! Two more shots showing progress this morning over coffee.

My sources for the 3D model are French Aircraft of the First World War and Windsock Data File #161. I don't know what sources VonS may have. Could you assist us with research in French language sources? Progress shot below.

I may also do a new Breguet 14. VonS said he would look into how to construct mixed formations so the Caudrons can escort the Breguets.

Some development work at the First Eagles forum may interest you. I frequently pass stuff like aircraft and ground objects to Buddy1998 for conversion to WOFF. Shot below shows stuff being developed in cooperation with VonS and Quack74 that may eventually find its way to WOFF.