Oscar Oscar Zulu Whisky Uniform

long time

2011-03-22T19:24:00.003+01:00

It seems it's been a very long time since I posted anything here.
Last post before this was made December 11th of last year.
Well, anyways, I do have some news.

Let's do the bad news first: flightsimulatorxworld.com, or FSXWorld for short, has closed down due to the owner/admin's real life obligations, and the fact it never got off the ground like we wanted it to.
I wrote my first review for that website, and have written many, many reviews, and made new friends, so I'm quite sad it has come to this, but that's the way of the world I guess.
Unfortunately, the reviews are no longer available anywhere...

As for the other news, when I was informed that FSXWorld was closing down, I started looking for another site to write reviews for, and found it.
Since then, I've written 4 reviews for simflight.com.

Captain Sim B52 Driver

Logitech Extreme 3D Pro

Orbx FTX Melbourne V2

A2A WOP3 Spitfire + Accusim

Ultra High Definition Textures!

2010-12-11T17:26:00.003+01:00

As you may know if you read previous posts on this blog, I'm a repainter for McPhat Studios.
McPhat is always very active, in the last couple of months releasing several HDT (High Definition Textures) packs for the PMDG MD-11, and some ND (normal definition) packs for the Wilco E-jets V2.
But personally, I have had more interest in the UHDT (Ultra High Definition Textures) project for the amazing Captain Sim 757-200 Captain.
Many months after the beginning of the project, I got involved, and I'm happy to say I did 2 repaints in total, one for the WA4 and one for the WA5.

Obviously, 2 repaints is nothing compared to the sheer amount of work the production of such UHDT packs requires, so a big congratulations to the entire McPhat team, not only for the CS757 UHDT, but also for the PMDG MD-11 HDT (which I have nothing to do with).

You can find all packs via the front page or the shop pages on the mcphat website,
but here are 2 direct links for the latest 2 CS757 UHDT packs:
CS757 UHDT World Airliners 4
CS757 UHDT World Airliners 5

reviews, reviews, reviews...

2010-12-11T17:20:00.003+01:00

Hey!
Seems I haven't posted here in a long time now!
But I have some news now, a couple of more reviews posted!

First of all, a Ground Environment X Europe review for simfly.eu.
GEX Europe is a replacement landclass for the default FSX European scenery, and brings Europe really to life!
Read the review here!

Second, Mike Cameron and I reviewed the Carenado F33A Bonanza for FSXWorld here
and we also did an Orbx FTX AU Blue and Green dual review which you can read here!

Enjoy!

2 more reviews

2010-09-19T02:37:00.002+02:00

2 more reviews uploaded:

The amazing (really, amazing!) A2A Simulations B-17G + Accusim for simfly.eu
B-17 Review

and another Orbx review for FSXWorld, this time the AU Red region:
AU Red Review

Ariane 737-900ER Review!

2010-09-06T19:50:00.002+02:00

Finally, after a long, long review process, I'm can finally say that Ole Andreasen and me have finished our review of the Ariane Design Boeing 737-900ER X2 Advanced for FSXWorld.
A long name, for a marvellous product!
Check out the review here:

Ariane 900ER Review

Hawaiian Airlines 767-300 repaint

2010-09-01T20:04:00.003+02:00

Finally another repaint ready!!
As requested on the Captain Sim forum, a Hawaiian Airlines livery for the CS 767-300.
It can be found on the CS server, avsim.com and flightsimulatorxworld.com,
the filename is CS_767_hawaiian.zip.

here are some screenshots!

VRS Superbug Review

2010-06-20T23:59:00.003+02:00

A couple of months ago, Vertical Reality Simulations released the eagerly awaited FSX version of their F/A-18E Superbug. I had the opportunity to review this amazing aircraft for simfly.eu.
You can read the result here: Superbug Review

Concorde Review

2010-05-21T15:34:00.005+02:00

A couple of months ago, Flightsim Labs released a first for FSX: the Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde.
Ole and me jumped to the chance to review this for FSXW, and we didn't regret it!!
Amazing aircraft, we gave it the full 4 out of 4 stars!
Read the review here: Concorde Review

Another McPhat Repaint

2010-05-16T21:44:00.005+02:00

An update on the repaint front:I just finished and uploaded my Belgian Air Component CH-07 Repaint for the CS C-130 X-Perience.
This is a repaint I wanted to do for a long time, and now it's finally finished. I really like the result myself!
It can be found on avsim, FSXW and the CS server, filename is CS_C-130_BAC07.zip

here are some screenshots:

Repaint and reviews, again

2010-04-26T10:45:00.003+02:00

Seems like a long time I posted something.Here's the news: 2 new reviews, and 2 new repaints, and one more Aerosoft WIP repaint.

I'll start with the reviews, both on FSXW:
First, the Captain Sim B-52 BUFF (exterior only):CS BUFF review FSXW
And second, the not unknown (I think) but very nice Majestic Software Dash-8 Q300 here:DASH 8 review FSXW

And now the repaints. I've published 2 new repaints under McPhat, both for the CS C-130 (back to basics!)
First a normal grey Belgian Air Component bird:
And second another Belgian Herc, but this time a special: CH-02 in 30 Years C-130 markings.

Both can be found on Avsim, FSXW, and the Captain Sim server.
Look for the filenames CS_C-130_BAC13.zip and CS_C-130_BAC02.zip respectivily.

and finally a preview shot of my latest repaint (WIP) for the upcoming Aerosoft Airbus:

Repaint and reviews

2010-03-29T01:02:00.004+02:00

3 more reviews published, 2 for FSXW and 1 on simfly.eu.

First of all, the very nice Captain Sim C-130 X-perience on FSXW: C-130 review FSXW

Second, also on FSXW, the Flight1 ATR 72-500: ATR 72-500 review FSXW

and finally, Discover Europe by First Class Simulations, on simfly.eu here: Discover Europe

And also a new repaint for McPhat Studios, again an F/A-18, but this time a 'C' repaint for the Acceleration Hornet.
The US Navy fighter attackes squadron VFA-332 Blue Diamonds' DCAG bird. more info on http://www.mcphatstudios.net

first McPhat release

2010-02-24T19:17:00.005+01:00

I don't have much time to repaint, as school and other personal stuff is interfering, but I do what I can.
I'm glad to announce that I finished my first repaint for McPhat Studios. It's an F/A-18D in the colours of VMFA(AW)-332 Moonlighters.
More info on http://mcphatstudios.net

here's a screenshot:

(click to see the entire screenshot)
On the review note:
Some time ago (forgot to post here) I wrote a review for the PMDG BAe Jetstream 4100. You can read it a simfly.eu here:PMDG J41

Also on simfly.eu, the very nice A2A Piper J3 Cub: J3 Cub

and on FSXW.com the very nice Coffs Harbour by ORBx: Coffs Harbour

repaints WIP

2010-02-07T21:33:00.006+01:00

Quite a lot repaint news here. I have been quite active the last 2 weeks.

First of all, I've been asked by McPhat Studios to do some repainting for them, on the Captain Sim freeware projects. Needless to say, I was honoured by the request, and accepted. I'm just hoping I can live up to the expectations. Stay tuned for news, as the first repaint I'm doing for McPhat is progressing rapidly...

Second, I'm also repainting Aerosofts upcoming Airbus A321. This currently is only a beta version (although very, very nice exterior) here are some screenshots (also mostly WIP) for that project:

ORBx Caloundra review

2010-02-07T21:28:00.002+01:00

A little update on posted reviews.
I say little, as only one was added, but it's a great one.
Or what I mean to say: it's about a great product!!!
ORBx FTX AU Caloundra, or a little readable: the amazing Caloundra airport and city, made by ORBx...
read it here: Caloundra

repaint: Air Canada - Star Alliance 767

2010-01-07T14:57:00.005+01:00

My first repaint for Captain Sim's amazing 767 is finished.
This one depicts the Star Alliance logojet flown by Air Canada.
It's available at flightsimulatorxworld.com, and will soon be available on the captain sim server.

3 new reviews online

2010-01-06T10:37:00.003+01:00

The first reviews of 2010 on FSXW:

First of all, the amazing Captain Sim 767: review Captain Sim

Second, the beautiful Orbx-FTX AU Gold scenery: review Orbx

and finally, Mega Airport Brussels X by Aerosoft: review Brussels

Ed Force One (Iron Maiden) repaint finished

2009-12-22T22:15:00.005+01:00

Finally, it's finished: the Ed Force One repaint. This Boeing 757 in Iron Maiden livery can now be flown in FSX :p
It's available from the CS server, and on flightsimulatorxworld.com.

repaints: one finished, one WIP

2009-12-20T13:22:00.006+01:00

Finally, some new repaints.
first of all, the newly finished Icarus Christmas special paint.
This one is available on the CS server, and on flightsimulatorxworld.com

Second, still a work in progress: Iron Maiden's Ed Force One:
This one is not yet available for download.

reviews, reviews, reviews...

2009-12-04T20:50:00.004+01:00

Again some very informative and well written reviews. (lol, a little ego can't hurt, now can it?) Or at least, I hope they are.

One on FSXW:
Carenado Piper Archer II

And on another site, I recently started writing for simfly.eu. Three of my reviews are already published:

FCS Hawker Heroes Review
RealAir Beech Duke Review
FCS Pole To Pole Review

I try to write a fair and nice to read review each and every time again, I hope it is working...

Evergreen N130EV repaint

2009-11-20T21:16:00.004+01:00

I finally did another repaint.
Again a C-130: N130EV as used by Evergreen internation Airlines.
As always, feel free to comment and send suggestions.

The livery is uploaded to the CS server, and to flightsimulatorxworld.com. (feel free to register here, it's free, and you can still join the contest!)
it should be online shortly.

screenshots:

FSXW fall contest

2009-11-11T19:13:00.001+01:00

Hey guys,

At Flight Simulator X world, a competition will be held, with prizes by Aerosoft. The reason for this is a name change, and the desire for more activity at the forums. The reason I'm psoting this here, is because I'd like to see this activity pick up too, because it's awfully quiet there. I'm not trying to advertise because I get money for it or any of that; this is an honest attempt at getting publicity for a contest with nice prizes. Here's the announcement:

Flight Simulator X World's Fall Contest

Flight Simulator X World.com is excited to announce it will be changing it's name to Flight Simulator World.com, and to stir up a little excitement, we are having a spectacular prize giveaway as well, when you simply become a very active member on the newly re-named site. First, here's the prizes:

The prizes are very generous! We'll be giving away downloadable (only) products from Aerosoft's vast shop of awesome stuff!
1st Place = 3 free download products of your choice.
2nd Place = 2 free download products of your choice.
3rd Place = 1 free download product of your choice.

So, you want in? Here's how it works:

If you're not a regular member already of Flight Simulator X World, sign-up. It's free!

Flight Simulator World is a community-driven website, and to add even more excitement, when you post a video, picture, comment on a blog posting - and many more actions (see this link) - you get a certain point value for each action. For example, uploading a photo gets you 3 points; creating a new blog entry gets you 4 points; and so on. There are also negative values - leaving a group, for example, subtracts 2 points from your user points. The more active you are, the more points you get. If you have the highest points at the end of the contest, you win first prize!

Posting in the forum also gets you points. Each post you add, or topic you create, is one point. Please note that quick filler posts such as "Me too" or "I agree" are not accepted - you have to post meaningful content, which is decided at our discretion.

It's easy to keep track of your points - you simply go into your user profile and you see them right at the very top - and, you can see other people's totals as well. "The Crew" of Flight Simulator World are not eligible; only current and new members.

So what's not to love? Come in, get registered, and start participating - it's as easy as that!

The total points you accrue will be calculated from 15th of november to 15th of december - 30 days. The more fun you have, the better your chance to win!

newest reviews

2009-11-03T17:29:00.002+01:00

2 new reviews written by me are posted on flightsimulatorxworld.com.
The first is a review for the Captain Sim 757:
Captain Sim 757

the second is an Aerosoft product close to my heart: their amazing Discus Glider:
Aerosoft Discus X

Besides reviewing, I have been doing a little repaint work lately, but none of it is anywhere ready yet.

and 2 more reviews

2009-10-03T22:04:00.013+02:00

Seems I've been neglecting this blog a little. This mostly due to the fact school started again, and it's very busy here. However, I did some review work.
2 new reviews written partly by me are online at flightsimulatorxworld.com:

first of all, the CLS DC-10. I and Benjamin also reviewed the CLS 747 together, so we decided to give this one a try. Unfortunately, we were both a little disappointed.
you can read the full review here:
DC-10 review

Another review I did was one of that new combat flight sim in town: Neoqb's Rise of Flight (distributed by Aerosoft). Unfortunately, however promising it may be, both Ole and me were very disappointed. Seems to me this sim needs a lot more work. The entire review can be found here:
Rise Of Flight Review

Captain Sim 757 Icarus repaint

2009-09-02T14:34:00.008+02:00

As I'm since recently a pilot for Icarus Airlines
I've repainted the 757 from Captain Sim to their colours.
The livery is available on the Captain Sim server, flightsimulatorxworld.com (here) and also on the Icarus website.

CLS 747 review

2009-08-31T15:23:00.004+02:00

Again a new review of my hand online, this time about the CLS 747-200/300.
We discussed both the FS9 and the FSX version,
the text about the FSX version is written by me.

CLS 747 review

Aerosoft Seahawk review

2009-08-13T20:22:00.004+02:00

My latest review is released on flightsimulatorxworld.com.
I wrote it a couple of days before going gliding, and now it's released.
You can find it here:

Seahawk Review

Gliding camp over...

2009-07-19T12:41:00.002+02:00

Unfortunately, the gliding camp is over. Last Friday was the last day.
I spend the weekend getting some much needed sleep, I was very tired.
This gliding camp was a success. We made a total of little over 950 starts, in 10 days.
Most of them with the winch, only 48 with an airtow, using a Robin DR400-180.
The first week, the weather wasn't helping us. It was raining a lot, but since we were flying with every possibility, we had to push the airplanes in and out of the hangar a lot! The second week was a lot better. There was a lot of sunshine, and lots of thermals! There were 2 factors that made it a little difficult: turbulence (no thermals without turbulence) and some days lots of wind, mostly crosswind.

Some personal data: I did 27 flights, 14 with ASK-13, 13 with Ka-8B.
My total is now 55 flights, for a flight time of 8,5 hours with instructor and 4,5 hours solo. Obviously (unfortunately) it were mostly short flights. The shortest was 2 minutes, but that was an exercise, simulating a breaking winch cable. The longest this year was 30 minutes. I could have stayed up longer, but others were waiting for the plane I was flying.

now flying Ka-8

2009-07-09T23:22:00.005+02:00

Today, at EBWE, I did 5 flights.
The first one was a simulated cable failure at 200m altitude.
The second was a checkflight, and the third one was my first solo of the year.
all these flights were on ASK-13.
After that, I didn't fly in the afternoon, but checked the Ka-8.
That aircraft, the OO-ZKU, didn't fly for a couple of weeks. The tire was deflated, and it needed a thorough check, both outside and cockpit. Also, it was very dirty, so we cleaned the most important parts: leading edge of the wings and control surfaces.
We flew again after eating at 6 PM.
I did 2 flights on the Ka-8. It's just so much better than the ASK-13.
It's not supposed to go as fast (although it does so without any problem) but it turns a lot faster, and it doesn't have an instructor seat!!
After flying, we cleaned it completely. I can hardly believe how dirty it was!
Had great fun today!!

in the picture: the Ka-8b I'm flying (OO-ZKU)
I just finished my flight when this picture was taken and I'm helping Jan putting on the parachute, getting ready for his first flight.

Gliding at EBWE, in progress (updated)

2009-07-06T23:10:00.004+02:00

Well, the fist day of gliding (a long day) is finished.
We started gliding today at about 9h30 AM, and stopped at 10 PM.
Of course, we had stops for meals.
I'm now flying another aircraft than 2 years ago, but the same type. An ASK-13, OO-YKA.
I did 4 flights, and considering it's been 2 years, all went very well!!
It was also my first time using a winch in stead of an airtow.
Will talk about it in more detail later!
Tomorrow will probably bring some less good weather, but I hope we can fly a lot.

UPDATE DAY 2
Day to was not good!! Only managed to get one flight, some people two. We couldn't fly in the afternoon due to rain.
Also too much rain in the evening.

Gliding at EBWE

2009-07-05T01:33:00.004+02:00

Well, I'm excited!!
Today (it's after midnight now lol) I'll be going to Weelde Airfield (EBWE) a non active NATO airfield. Basically, it's just a 3km long runway with a parallel taxiway and a lot of grass. Not very much more, but it's just what we need.
I'll be going there for 2 weeks of gliding. Just 2 weeks of doing nothing else (if weather permits) than flying those lovely engine-less aircraft.
We'll be flying at least Monday through Friday each week.
I'm really looking forward to this, since it's been 2 years since I flew a glider for the last time.
That was the same camp, at the same airfield, and at the same club: The Kempische Aeroclub Weelde, or KAC (www.kac.be).

I'm really curious about the type of plane I'm going to fly. It can be an ASK-13, the type I flew 2 years ago, or an ASK-21, it's successor. I'll now that in the evening. One night of sleep first...

I don't know if I'll be having internet there, if so, I'll post a piece regularly. If not, I'll post something at the end of the 2 weeks.
So I'm thrilled, I'm ready, let the planes come!!

Captain Sim 727 Review

2009-07-03T03:43:00.004+02:00

I recently wrote a review for flightsimulatorxworld.com about the Captain Sim 727 Captain Pro pack. This was my first review ever, but mostly due to the time it took to be edited by the site owner, it was released after my later Xload review.
you can find the review here:
http://flightsimulatorxworld.com/home-mainmenu-1/reviews/65-aircraft/333-review-capt-sims-727-captain

Captain Sim X-load review

2009-06-23T14:56:00.006+02:00

I recently wrote a review for flightsimulatorxworld.com about the Captain Sim X-load pack.
you can find the review here:
http://flightsimulatorxworld.com/review-capt-sims-x-load

Be sure to check out flightsimulatorxworld.com!
It's a new, but good site!

All my repaints can now also be found in the library on this site.

Throttle Quadrant Update

2009-06-21T22:06:00.008+02:00

I finally managed to get some work done on my throttle quadrant today!
Finally, the six rotary switches at the side are connected, and mapped to FSX commands using FSUIPC.
Everything is now connected to the encoder board. There is work still to be done, but everything after today's work is just for looks. The functional part is done!
At the moment, the TQ controls the following:

levers (8):

throttle (1 lever for each engine, 4 in total)
mixture
prop setting
elevator trim
spoilers

rotary switches (6 two way rotary switches):

NAV1 radio (1 for whole numbers, 1 for decimal numbers; turning right to increase, left to decrease)
NAV2 radio (same arrangement as with the NAV1 switches)
Autopilot heading setting
Autopilot altitude setting

The throttle quadrant with all the wiring attached, but not yet installed to the encoder board.
Trying to get some order in all these wires!!

A view of the (recently) wired rotary switches from the outside.
Of course, nothing has changed here... all changes were on the inside.
The wires are sticking out the top, as with the previous picture, the encoder board is hanging out the side with only the usb cable connected.

Two pictures of how the TQ looks at the moment.
It's now fully functional, but doesn't look to good yet.
That's work to be done in the summer holiday.

I have some stuff in mind to make the outside look better.
Something that has to be done, is paint it. Probably black, or dark grey.
Some colouring for the levers is also likely to be added at some point lol.
I'm also looking for good looking knobs to put on the rotary switches.
And the final thing I'm thinking about at the moment is to cover up the large holes for the levers some way, without compromising the functionality. If possible, I also have to find a way to increase the force needed to move the levers, this is too easy at the moment.
So I'll have some work this holiday, but time enough!

F-14D repaint finished

2009-06-05T14:35:00.006+02:00

I finished my first F-14D repaint last week.
The second was ready earlier, but this one I started first...
some screenshots:

Dino Cattaneo is now aiming at a release date around 10-15 june.

F-14D repaint

2009-05-26T02:04:00.005+02:00

Well, I finished my second repaint for Dino Cattaneos Tomcat.
I send it to him to find out what he thinks of it, and see if it needs more work.
I'll be releasing more info when I hear back from him.
some screenshots:

Test screen

2009-05-23T15:11:00.006+02:00

My second F-14D repaint is coming along nicely, although I didn't finish the first one yet.
I'll not yet release screenshots, since the whole nose section will probably be reworked entirely.
However, there's one screenshot I just can't hold back lol.
It's one from quite early in the repaint process, I call it (quite to the point) "testscreen".

Quite nice, don't you think. At least it's as eye catching as it can be!
The purpose of this livery was to find out where in the texture file which part of the aircraft was located.

F-14D beta repaint

2009-05-20T14:59:00.009+02:00

Since Dino Cattaneo managed to get his F-14D Super Tomcat in the beta stage,
I got a try at repainting it!!
It's just a beta, and so is my repaint.
I did it today in only about 1.5 hours. It's not very diffrent from the default livery, and it certainly could use some more work on a couple of details.
However, since I think it looks good, I'll up some screenshots! I have exams next week, so I have to study, but I'll certainly have time to finish the details of this repaint, and even start (and hopefully finish) a new one, or even more than one.
More info on the F-14D from Dino Cattaneo can be found here on his blog:
India India Alpha Foxtrot Echo

My livery is a low visibility paint used by VF-31 Tomcatters.

Avsim down

2009-05-13T14:58:00.004+02:00

The very popular FS community site avsim.com is down at the moment. The library was already offline for a while, because is was being imporved. The whole site is now down because it was hacked:

Tom Allensworth, CEO and Publisher of AVSIM, issued the following announcement:

"We regret to inform the flight simulation community that on Tuesday, May 12, AVSIM was hacked and effectively destroyed. The method of the hack makes recovery difficult, if not impossible, to recover from. Both servers, that is the library / email and web site / forum servers were attacked. AVSIM is totally offline at this time and we expect to be so for some time to come. We are not able to predict when we will be back online, if we can come back at all. We will post more news as we are able to in the coming days and weeks."

All I can do is keep wondering why someone would do this...
The best of luck to all the guys at avsim!!
I hope they're back soon!

Because of this sad news, my repaints will (at the moment) only be available through captainsim.com.

Lars 'Tyrion' Domen

Newest repaint: VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet

2009-05-05T01:21:00.005+02:00

My latest repaint is finished and uploaded to avsim.com and captainsim.com.
The livery depicted is the full colour livery of VFA-25 Fist of the Fleet.
I made one for both the acceleration Hornet (FA-18C) and for the Captain Sim Hornet (FA-18D).
Look for the files VFA-25a1.zip for the C version, or VFA-25a2.zip for the D version.

screenshots:F/A-18D

F/A-18C

Work in Progress: Throttle Quadrant

2009-04-26T12:38:00.013+02:00

Some time ago, I started work on a home-build throttle quadrant.
I was looking for one with as much levers as possible, as cheap as possible.
Being a student, I don't have the money to buy some high-end, professional throttles from Saitek, for example. Therefore, I started looking on the web on how to make one myself.
I ended up on desktop aviator (http://www.desktopaviator.com).
At first, I wanted to be sure it would work, since it would be quite some money to spend (although less than on a plug-and-play TQ), so I contacted their support with some questions regarding compatibility and shipping. Their reply was fast (well withing 48 hours) and very thorough and polite.
To build my throttle quadrant, I bought their 'Super Rotary Encoder Board' (http://www.desktopaviator.com/Products/Model_2090/index.htm), making it possible to build up to 8 levers and 6 two-way rotary switches.
With the Encoder board, I bought 6 rotary switches and 8 potentiometers (the maximum supported) and an USB-cable.
It took a while for it to arrive (2,5 weeks) since it had to be shipped from the United States to Belgium, on the way proving the 'tracking' service on the site of US Postal wasn't what they promised.
I had my package here on my desk, when they said it was still in Florida lol.

When I finally had all the parts in front of me, it was time to start building. The first step was to design and build a box in which everything would fit. To make it easier, I ended up cutting an old wooden box in pieces to the right size, and closing the open end. After that, I drilled holes in the box for the rotary switches and the cable, and designed L-shaped metal parts to hold the potentiometers. Then I cut out the levers, and mounted them and the potentiometers in the box. The way to mount the levers on the potentiometers proved to be a combination of a tight fit, and super glue lol. After that, I mounted the rotary switches on the box, with a aluminium plate to hold them. Finally, I build the top of the box, and cut out space for the levers to move in the top and sides. In this process, I had a lot of help from my grandfather, with knowledge, tools and materials.

Topside view of the TQ at this moment, with the top removed and next to it.

After doing the 'rough' work so to say, I had to connect everything to the Encoder board, using small electric cables. After soldering 48 connections (disregarding the ones I had to redo) for the potentiometers (6 per potm.: 3 on the potm. itself, 3 on the female connector to connect to the board) I was really tired of that work. Therefore, none of the rotary switches are connected at this point. Probably won't have time to finish that untill after the exams in may and june.

The 'Super Rotary Encoder Board, with the potm. connected

Connecting to the PC (or laptop in my case) proved to be very, very simple. Especially when only using potentiometers, as I do at the moment. When you plug the usb connector into the PC, it automaticaly installs it as a usb joystick, making it in fact plug-and-play. All there was to do then, was to calibrate, and assign functions in FSX to the TQ.
To correctly use the rotary switches, it isn't quite that simple, since they require a small program to be running when using (downloaded for free), and they also require some 'trial-and-error' tweaking of settings the first time used.

clear view of the rotary switches, and the USB cable

As seen in the photos, it's a work in progress. The rotary switches are still to be connected, and when that's done, I have to do some final work on the outside, to make it look better. (painting etc.)
But the levers work great, there's no noise (or very little) on the signal, something I feared for quite a lot, and they work quite accurate. (more accurate than the small throttle lever I have on my Logicech Extreme 3D Pro stick) At the moment, I have 4 levers assigned to throttle (one for each engine obvious), 1 for prop pitch, 1 for fuel mix, 1 for spoilers and the last one for elevator trim. I'm still looking for the best combination, but this one is quite nice.

The work done untill now was actually less than I expected.
It took me and my grandfather about 4 days (2 weekends) to make it,
and I did the soldering untill now in about 2 or 3 hours (I'm not that good in it lol)

The financial side of the story:
The material from Desktop Aviator cost me about $80. Shipping another $10 and the customs charge in Belgium a further €10. The total being something about €80.
All other material was stuff my grandfather had left lying around, so that was free for me...

So I'm a lot cheaper of than buying one 'off the shelf', and I had the fun of building it myself (and the satisfaction)

Jolly Rogers repaint released

2009-04-14T01:36:00.006+02:00

The repaints I created for the Xload F/A-18D are uploaded to Avsim and to the Captain Sim server.
Both repaints depict aircraft from VFA-103 Jolly Rogers. The first is the beautiful full colour variant, the second is the low visibility variant.
look for the file Jolly_Rogers.zip for the full color repaint, and the file Jolly_rogers_2.zip for the low vis version.
some of the changes made since the first screenshots uploaded:

moved markings on the nose and forward fuselage
redrawn arrowheads in the black band on the forward fuselage
resized skull 'n' bones on the tail
added ejection seat warning sings
some other small adjustments

First X-load repaint

2009-04-09T01:42:00.005+02:00

Today, I started and finished my first repaint for the Captain Sim X-load Package.
It's a repaint for the F/A-18D Hornet.
The repaint is that of VFA-103 Jolly Rogers, as requested on the CS forum.
It required some artistic licensing, since VFA-103 flies 'F' model Super Hornets in real life.
The repaint will now be tested by me and the person who requested it, it will be uploaded to avsim and CS after that.

CH-04 White finished

2009-04-06T14:05:00.009+02:00

I've finally taken some time to complete the white CH-04.
I used the CS 'E' model for this one, because it closer resembles the Belgian 'H' models than the 'H French' model in the CS package. The repaint will be uploaded to Avsim and to the CS website this afternoon.
look for the file: CH-04 White.zip

Back in business: De Witte van Melsbroek

2009-03-26T15:59:00.007+01:00

We're totally back in business!!
Everything works really great on my new laptop (much smoother than on the old one).
I've just finished my latest repaint: De Witte van Melsbroek.
It is now being tested for issues and errors, and will be uploaded as soon as it is confirmed to be OK, or the issues are resolved.
Some screenshots:

up and running again

2009-03-23T02:30:00.002+01:00

Finally everything I need to restart repainting for FSX is installed on my new laptop,
with Photoshop CS3 being the last part, installed yesterday. I've spend quite some time today to download a lot of pictures of belgian C-130's. The next project will probably be 'De Witte van Melsbroek', this is CH-04 of the Belgian Air Force in an all white livery for the international committee of the red cross. This just because it's quite simple to make. Further, I'm still looking for a picture of the left side of CH-01 in it's paris air show livery. By the way, about that livery, it was used in 1995, not in 2005 as I wrote earlier.

Lars 'Tyrion' Domen

Crashed and burned

2009-03-16T13:34:00.003+01:00

Unfortunately I can't continue working on my repaints,
because my laptop crashed last week.
I now have a new one (Acer Aspire 7730G) with a lot more muscles,
but it will take me a while to get up and running again.
I have to reinstall FSX and all updates and photoshop.
further, I hope I can recover the files from my other computer,
especially the psd's of the latest work that's has not been released yet.
and on top of that, I have to recover A LOT of school work to, and unfortunately,
that's a little more important than FSX.

Tyrion

CH-01 paris air show

2009-03-09T22:26:00.011+01:00

My third repaint is finished!!
This one depicts the Belgian C-130H CH-01 as seen at the Paris Air Show in 2005.
It marks the installation of updated avionics in the aircraft.
I will upload to avsim.com and to the captain sim server as soon as I've had some time to test it, and look for errors.
Together with this new one, I will upload my second repaint (CH-01 in UN colours) and an update of my first repaint (CH-07) since I've found numerous errors in that one.

some screenshots:My newest repaint: CH-01 in it's 2005 livery for the Paris Air Show

CH-01 in UN colours, with the same corrections as in CH-07

The second version of CH-07

the errors corrected in the second version of CH-07:
-added missing roundel on the underside of the right wing
-corrected font for registration numbers
-removed markings (yellow lines) on emergency exits
-added emergency exit (marking only) under the wing
-changed and moved indian to the crew door

all these liveries are uploaded and available on avsim.com and on captainsim.com

Captain Sim FA-18D textures to FA-18A

2009-03-08T20:42:00.005+01:00

I just figured out how to transfer a captain sim F/A-18D livery to the Acceleration F/A-18A hornet (also made by Captain Sim for Microsoft).
Since some people wonder how to do this, I will post instructions on the Captain Sim forum.

Here's a pic of the Tiger livery by CS on the Acceleration Hornet:

Second repaint

2009-03-08T20:13:00.001+01:00

I've finished my second repaint last week.
It's not much different from my first one, so it was little work editing.
This one depicts another Belgian C-130H, this time CH-01 in it's UNHAS (United Nations Humanitarian Air Service) colours.
I haven't uploaded it yet, since I didn't have the chance to test it and look for errors.
I will probably wait to upload for the following repaint to be ready and tested,
since they are the same plane, both CH-01.

The next repaint will be the livery CH-01 was seen in at the Paris Air Show in 2005, marking the installation of updated avionics.

Some screenshots of CH-01 in the UN livery:

First repaint

2009-03-08T19:56:00.000+01:00

I've released my very first repaint ever.
It depicts the Belgian Air Component C-130H CH-07 and is made for the C-130 X-perience product by Captain Sim. It's made with their repaint kit in Photoshop CS3.
It can be found on avsim.com and on the Captain Sim server, the file name is 'CH-07grey.zip'.
In the current released version, there are 2 small errors: the font used for the registration numbers is wrong (but looks not that bad imho) and the belgian nationality marking on the underside of the right wing is missing. Since I consider them only minor errors, I will not immediately release the updateted version. I will wait to see if I can find other errors.
Possibly, I will redo the indian next to the door, since I only today found a very detailed image of that part of the plane.

About this blog...

2009-03-08T19:16:00.001+01:00

Hey,

My name is Lars Domen.
I live in Waasmunster, Belgium, but most of the time I'm in Ostend (also Belgium) for my studies.
I study Luchtvaarttechnologie (aviation technology) at the KHBO in Ostend. I'm now in my first year here, after graduating in high school last year studying Industriële Wetenschappen (industrial sciences).
I've always been interested in almost anything that flies and during the summer holiday of 2007,
I followed a 2 week camp to learn to fly gliders at the airfield of Weelde (EBWE). I flew an ASK 13 and after 2 weeks I had 6 hours of instruction flights (for 25 flights) , an 1 hour solo (3 flights). The name of this blog comes from the plane I learned to fly in: OO-ZWU. Unfortunattely, I haven't flown (in real life) after that.However, that will change this summer, since I'm going back flying...
I started this blog to display my flight sim projects, which are at the moment only repaints for Captain Sim's C-130 X-perience. However, I intend to make repaints for other planes to, in particular Captain Sim's X-load and the acceleration F/A-18.

I've only recently started repainting, so it's not yet going very smooth, but It's coming...

The plane I learned to fly in, an ASK 13 OO-ZWU. I'm at the wing, ready to pick it up and level the plane, someone's at the nose, ready to connect the tow cable as soon as the towplane lands. There's another student in the front seat, some years older than me, and an instuctor in the back seat.