Category: X-Plane - Original Aircraft
B25 Mitchell for X-Plane 6.40/6.51

File Description:
B25 Mitchell for X-Plane 6.40/6.51. Made famous by the Doolittle raid on Tokyo shortly after Pearl Harbour the B25 Mitchell bomber is the most famous medium bomber of WWII and perhaps of all time. The B25 was the most numerous twin engine aircraft built by the US during WWII; estimates of production vary from 9300 to 11000 built. On April 18, 1942 Doolittle led sixteen B-25 aircraft from the navy carrier, U.S.S. Hornet to bomb Japan in retaliation for that country's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Although little damage was done and all planes were lost the raid proved to be one of the most famous missions of the war. The B25 was powered by a pair of 1,700 hp Wright R-2600-29 "Cyclone" 14 cylinder, air-cooled engines. Maximum speed was 272 mph at 15,000 ft, with a ceiling of 24,000 ft and a range of 1350 miles with a full load of bombs. Armament varied considerably in the B25 depending on the type of mission the plane was designed for. Heavenly Body is a B25J designed as a bomber, so it carried eleven 0.50 caliber machine guns; two in the top turret, two in the tail, one in the nose, two in cheek packs on each side under the pilot and one in each waste window. The top, nose and cheek pack guns could also be used in strafing, if so desired. This version carried 3,000 lbs of bombs (usually six 500 pounders) in an interior bomb bay. The X-Plane version is a fairly faithful rendition of the B25. The body consists of two sections consisting of the fuselage and a fuel tank. The main engine nacelles actually consist of two nacelles, one is the 1700 HP engine, the rear section is a 5 lb thrust rocket. Engine nacelles are also used for the two rudders in order to get the correct shape. Vertical stabilizers with rudders are buried within the nacelles. Decoration of the plane is complicated by the use of multiple nacelles but the resulting compromise is acceptable though not an authentic replica. As usual my panel leaves a lot to be desired but version 2 will correct this.

Filename:	B25_Mitchell_for_XPlane_640651.zip
License:	Freeware, limited distribution
Added:	25th February 2003, 00:15:23
Downloads:	495
Author:	Robert App
Size:	1.85 MB

Category: Flight Simulator X - Aircraft Repaints, Textures and Modifications
Consolidated PBY-5A VB-126 #20

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File Description: A repaint for the Aerosoft PBY-5a Catalina in the colors of PBY-5a #20 (BuNo 7277) of VB-126 as it looked during a rescue operation on the Greenland ice cap in 1943. On 5 november 1942, a C-53 en route from Iceland to Greenland was reported missing off Greenland's east coast. Four days later, a B-17F, en route for England was aked to to keep a lookout for the missing plane, but it crashed on the ice cap. The crew of suffered only minor injuries, and they soon received food and other supplies that were dropped on the ice. Unfortunately, they had landed in a heavily crevassed part of the icecap, making an evacuation difficult. On 28 november, a USCG Grumman Duck, flown by Lt Pritchard, managed to make a wheels-up landing on the ice and brought out two of the crew. The next day, a ground rescue team arrived on the dite as well, and things looked good.... One crew member and a rescuer died when their sled disappeared in a crevasse, and later the same day, Lt. Pritchard's Duck disappeared as well, with a crew of three. On 6 december, an attempt was made to evacuate the B-17's navigator, Lt. O'Hara, who suffered from gangrene in his feet. One member is the rescue party fell into an crevasse, and the motorsled they were using broke down, so the men had to dig in and wait for help. The days continued until over christmas, but morale was kept high with airdrops whenever the weather permitted. A rescue by sled became impossible however due to bad conditions and heavy snows. Lt.Col Balchen, who had used a PBY the previous summer to rescue the members of the B-17 'My Gal Sal' (currently under restoration in Ohio) of the ice, and was now in charge of the rescue operation, proposed to try the same here. The last summer, the PBY landed on a melt water lake on the icecap however, this time he wanted to belly land the PBY, and nobody knew if the hull could withstand such a battering. In the meantime, a ski-equipped T8P1 aircraft tried the same, but dispappeared over the east coast. The crew members were found five days later in a rubber dinghy. The Navy finally gave permission to try an attempt with the PBY. and two PBY-5a"s were send to airfield BW-8, to wait for the right weather. On 5 febuary 1943, Lt Bernard Dunlop succesfully bellylanded BuNo 7277 / 20 (the above paintjob) at the motorsled camp, and the three survivors were taken on board. It has frozen solid in the ice, but after two hours of hard labor, the crew managed to free the PBY and it took off. Now only the three crew members still at the original site needed to be rescued. A ground rescue party was sent to the wreck to transport the survivors to a spot where the PBY could land, but bad weather prevented any flying until 17 march. On that day, Lt. Dunlop landed on the ice, dropping off Lt.Col Balchen and the rescue party, who reached the wreck the following day. The weather closed in again until finally, on april 5th, Lt Dunlop landed his PBY for the third time on the ice cap. All hands were taken on board, but after five attempts to take off, the starboard engine caught fire. The blaze was extinguished, but repairs were necessary. The next day, they managed to take off, but without the rescue party, to lighten the load. 149 days after their crash, the B-17 crew was finally clear of the ice. It wasn't until 18 may that the last member of the rescue party was finally evacuated, making this a six and a half month rescue operation... Repaint by Jan Kees Blom, based on the paintkit by Aerosoft

Filename:	Consolidated_PBY5A_VB126_20.zip
License:	Freeware
Added:	13th July 2018, 20:33:17
Downloads:	135
Author:	Jan Kees Blom
Size:	10.19 MB

Category: Flight Simulator X - Aircraft Repaints, Textures and Modifications
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX EN186 Bluebird

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File Description: Spitfire IXc EN186 was the personal aircraft of S/L L.C. Wade, an American flying with the RAF. Wade was born in the small farming community of Broaddus, Texas in 1915. He was the second son of Bill and Susan Wade, who named him L.C. (only after the RAF demanded a forename did he call himself Lance Cleo Wade). After the family moved to a farm near Reklaw, Texas in 1922 he worked on the family farm and attended the local school. He was unable to join the US Army Aviation Cadet Program due to a lack of a college education. He began flying at age 17, at Tucson, Arizona. In 1934 at age 19, Wade joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Arizona. He joined the RAF in Canada in December 1940 and trained with No. 52 Operational Training Unit (OTU). Wade was then sent to the British aircraft carrier Ark Royal and flew off her deck in Hawker Hurricane to reinforce the depleted ranks of aircraft on the island of Malta. He was then sent to Egypt as a Hawker Hurricane Mk I pilot in September 1941, and was posted to 33 Squadron. The squadron's mission was to provide close air support for Operation Crusader, the British assault launched on November 18, 1941, against the German Afrika Korps. His first kills were two Fiat CR.42s on 18 November. He attained the rank of "ace" on 24 November 1941. He began flying Hurricane Mk IIs in April 1942, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). He had 13 victories as of September 1942. He spent the next several months back in the US on various RAF projects including evaluating some American fighters at Wright Field. He returned to combat as a Flight Commander in 145 Squadron with a Bar to his DFC, flying Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vs. Promoted to squadron leader, he had a busy 60 days, as by the end of April his score was 21, by then flying Spitfire Mk IXs. His squadron moved to Italy, and as a Spitfire VIII pilot he claimed two Focke-Wulf Fw 190s of Schlachtgeschwader 4 on 2 October 1943. His last claims were three FW 190s (again of SG 4) damaged on 3 November. Wade became a wing commander and joined the staff of the Desert Air Force but was there only briefly, as he was killed in a flying accident on 12 January 1944 at Foggia, Italy. In 30 fights for which he made claims he was credited with 23 victories including two shared), one probable, and 13 damaged. He is also credited with one destroyed and five damaged on the ground. Wing Commander Wade is usually listed with 25 victories but official RAF records show that he had 22 solo victories and half each of two more for a total of 23, not counting one probable. Regardless of whether his score is 25, or 23 victories, he is still the leading American fighter ace to serve exclusively in any foreign air force. Since he never transferred to the USAAF, or any other American Air service, Wade never got the publicity that other American aces received and thus is more obscure than his peers. The aircraft depicted in this repaint, EN186, started its active career with 249 sqn on Malta, who used it for high flying reconaissance, and who were responsible for replacing the dark green with Mediterranean Blue. The aircraft was then transferred to Tunisia, where it was the personal aircraft of W/C Gleed of the 244 wing. After his death, it went to L.C. Wade, who scored 5 victories with it in april 1943. He did not apply any codes to it, and referred to it in his logbook as BB, for Blue Bird. He flew it till august 1943, when he changed to flying Spitfire MK VIII JF472 Repaint by Jan Kees Blom, based on the paintkit by RealAir.

Filename:	Supermarine_Spitfire_MkIX_EN186_Bluebird.zip
License:	Freeware
Added:	11th July 2018, 16:54:01
Downloads:	103
Author:	Jan Kees Blom
Size:	3.59 MB