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Post by Dan on Apr 3, 2007 5:13:16 GMT -5
Well, I'm back in the seat and flying once again! ;D
I've been busy with business work and deadline after deadline! Seemed they would never end, but I did want to comment on everyone's comments during the Harry Levy flight - they were all very much appreciated and enjoyed as was the entire mission - I had a great time! I would've noted in that thread, but the closing comments by everyone were - well, just that. So . . . .
I've started another recreation of a mission similiar to Harry Levys', but this time it was actually flown by my Dad in 1944. While flying Harry's flight, I called him and asked if he could write up the flight plan that he took to Amendola AB, Foggia, Italy when he went to war as a B-17 Flight Engineer assigned to the 15th Air Force.
And, so he did and I've started that flight with the WOP B-17s beginning at Drew Field in Tampa, Florida (now Tampa International) and have since landed at what was Dow Air Force Base (now Bangor International) and from there I just landed at Goose Bay, Newfoundland, which in his day was Labrador - how time changes things!
The next leg will take me to Thule AB in Greenland and then on to Reykjavik, Iceland - then to Aberporth, South Wales, London, Lands End and then on to Amendola AB, Italy. The last flight will be one of his last flights before the war ended, in which, after a difficult mission, they lost 3 engines and had to ditch their B-17 in the Adriatic Sea. I will recreate the ditching in FS9 - should be interesting!
Also, since they were escorted many times by the Tuskegee Airmen, I will probably fly a couple of Redtail P-51's while I'm there. Without them, I may not have been or be here at all . . . Interestingly, he met one of them at the Dayton 100th Anniversary Air Show back in 2003 - they shock hands, took a few pictures, and cracked a couple of jokes - after nearly 60 years!!
Anyway, if I can ever figure out how to 'easily' take and load snap shots in FS9, I will post some here.
Dan
…it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D
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Post by robert4368 on Apr 3, 2007 22:34:26 GMT -5
Sounds like an interesting flight Dan. Got a few hours in the WOP B17 myself. You might want to check out an addon scenery called OPERATION BOLERO, the ferry flights of B17s to England. To make a screen shot, hit PrtScn button to save to clipboard, use a program like Windows Paint to save the shot, then upload to Photobucket and link the shot to these forums.
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Post by windrunner on Apr 4, 2007 0:25:22 GMT -5
Sounds an interesting project. I was thiniking about those ferry flights over the Atlantic, unfortunately, there is not enough info about those trips today at least in my old town (if you know of any good site...). I have Multigrab for screenies, it's really good (Hey, I won an screen competition with Mgrab!). get it here and follow instructions to install: www.mnwright.btinternet.co.uk/programs/mgrab.htm |
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Post by bhk on Apr 5, 2007 2:59:50 GMT -5
Dan, will you be publishing this?
It would certainly be of interest to others, I'm sure.
Bruce
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Post by Dan on Apr 6, 2007 1:15:08 GMT -5
Thanks Robert! I will check out the OPERATION BOLERO - sounds interesting! I haven't read anything on the ferry flights to England, but that's exactly what he did, as he mentioned that once they got to So Wales they dropped off the brand new B-17 and took a truck to London and a train to Lands End - then caught a 'ride' on a B-24 to Amendola (he didn't like the B-24). I have no intention of taking a truck or train to anywhere - will fly to London or Lands End.
Windrunner, I downloaded the MultiGrab files yesterday, but haven't had time to load and try out yet - probably this weekend. Will try both methods and see which works best.
Thanks for the site - looks promising!
Dan
…it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D
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Post by Dan on Apr 6, 2007 1:42:59 GMT -5
Dan, will you be publishing this? It would certainly be of interest to others, I'm sure. Bruce Bruce, I actually hadn't thought about it, but if it would be of interest and something that others would enjoy, then I wouldn't mind at all writing it up. Now, that being said, I have no idea where to start, what to do, or how to go about publishing it. I haven't uploaded anything, so I'm not sure what is required. The only flight/mission reference I've flown on this scale is the Harry Levy one you and others put together - which was excellent and included a lot of flight & mission detail that enhanced the overall experience, which in this case, would have to be gathered, put together, and formulated as a package. My Dad at '87 remembers most, but not all of the details - so other data would have to be gathered from other sources, improvised, etc. He does have FS9 - flys everyday - and replicated the flight a couple of years ago, so he could relate to it in a sim. Any suggestions and/or help would be great, if it is determined that this is something others would enjoy. Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D |
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Post by jimslost on Apr 6, 2007 10:31:14 GMT -5
My father spent the first two years flying for the Ferry Command and took several planes across the North Atlantic, including at least one B-17 and two Lockheed B-34s (for the RAF). He then spent the next 18 months flying the same route in C-54s. If it helps, I believe I still have his navigation and approach charts and should be able to make copies for you.
I think the best descripton of the route is in Ernest Gann's book Fate is the Hunter.
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Post by Dan on Apr 7, 2007 17:47:15 GMT -5
Jim, that would be great! Interesting about your father - especially with the C-54's - I'm sure he had plenty of stories! I did a couple of google searches last night on the north Atlantic ferry flights - not much out there, at least with the search parameters I was using. The Pacific flights came up more then the Atantic. The book you mentioned 'Fate is the Hunter', I read when I was a kid, so I don't remember much, except for the 'cup' of coffee - it was a great great story of how one little thing can lead to such a catastrophic event - and - all unnecessary. I think I'll buy another copy, a cup of coffee, and read it again. I haven't talked to my Dad about 'possibly' writing his flight up, but as I go along there seems to be a number of facts that do not seem right - like why the hell did they fly all the way (7+hrs) to Thule AB to get a radio fixed, when Reykjavik was also (7+hours) away from Goose Bay - long long trip for a radio repair!! You'd think they would have carried a spare radio or at least a satellite dish.  Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D |
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Post by bhk on Apr 7, 2007 18:10:22 GMT -5
Bruce, I actually hadn't thought about it, but if it would be of interest and something that others would enjoy, then I wouldn't mind at all writing it up. Now, that being said, I have no idea where to start, what to do, or how to go about publishing it. ..... No worries on that score, Dan....it's pretty straight-forward. Firstly, you just create the flight using the default FSim Flight Planner and save it as normal. Then, to share it with others, you simply provide the three files that go together to make that Flight.......the xxxx.FLT file, the yyyy.PLN file and the zzzz.WX file. These are normally to be found in your ....My Documents\Flight Simulator 2004...folder (or, in my case, my \Golden Wings Files folder). If you use FSNavigator then you can also include the .FSN file as a bonus. Any additional supporting documentation that you might wish to provide is entirely up to you; you can either do so or just create a simple "Read Me" text file to provide some basic info. Once you've assembled the three core files and whatever else you want to add then just use WinZip to zip it all up and give it a name using the 8.3 convention (xxxxxxxx.zip). Uploading to Avsim or Flightsim is pretty easy - if you have any concerns then let me know and I can do it for you if you prefer. Regards, Bruce |
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Post by Dan on Apr 7, 2007 18:28:30 GMT -5
Well, that seems easy enough!!
I will check out those files and see if they are saving correctly as I'm flying it. I don't have FSNavigator, so I've been fly by either the direct heading from the Flight Planner or GPS - GPS is easier, but realizing they didn't have that.
As noted earlier, I haven't talked to my Dad about it yet, but will and will also try and gather additional details. Once completed - could take another week or so, depending upon flight time in 'real-time' - I will update you and see what else or if there are any problems, etc. and then we can take it from there.
Thanks, Bruce. Much appreciated!
Dan
…it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D
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Post by bhk on Apr 8, 2007 7:51:51 GMT -5
....Thanks, Bruce. Much appreciated! Dan Delighted to help, Dan. Let me know how you go and don't hesitate to yell if you need a hand. Regards, Bruce |
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Post by Dan on Apr 27, 2007 3:22:31 GMT -5
As an update, I've finally landed in Amendola, Italy and it seems it took forever - and it did! Not so much due to the actual flying time, but all the research that has gone on and is still going on . . . Seems what my Dad remembers and what actually took place are, in some cases, two different things. He found the actual co-pilots log and that added/changed a number of stops/layovers and I'm still trying to figure out the route they took from Lands End, England, over France, to Italy. They had dropped off the new B-17 and caught a ride on a B-24 to Italy and apparently, the night before they left England, they spent the night in London and can't remember how they got to Amendola (Gin will do that, you know), other then it was October 1944, someone saw Paris off the left wing, and they didn't fly over water (except for the channel). Now go figure . . . Anyway, I've gathered a number of interesting documents, information, facts & figures, and stories of that time & place. I must say, that it is absolutely amazing the 'all' that was going on at that time. Here are a few screenshots I took of the B-24 (WOP) flight from England to Italy.  06:00 Takeoff from Lands End, England  The Other Side  Over the English Channel  Paris off the left wing - Effile Tower under #2 Prop  Over Italy Hopefully, I'll be able to finalize this and publish it soon. Dan …it’s great being a kid again – without the glue! ;D |
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Post by bhk on Apr 27, 2007 7:34:18 GMT -5
.....Seems what my Dad remembers and what actually took place are, in some cases, two different things. ... I've had the same experience and you would swear blind that your memory of an event was 100% accurate. Then someone presents a photograph or some written account and that's when you realise that memories are not infallible and that in many cases we "remember" things the way we should have liked them to be, not necessarily the way they actually were. Looking forward to seeing this project published, Dan.  Bruce |
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Post by jimslost on Apr 27, 2007 16:24:28 GMT -5
Memories are not infallible? Oh, Bruce, surely you jest!
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Post by bhk on Apr 27, 2007 17:08:29 GMT -5
Memories are not infallible? Oh, Bruce, surely you jest! Well, if my memory serves me correctly, I seem to recall that they aren't! ;D Bruce |
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