any places to use a float plane?

hinch · Post by **hinch** » 23 Oct 2006, 00:44

looking round the fs map i see absolutely no where to use my floating d18.

are there any add-on float plane bases in england (and maybe perhaps the rest of europe)?

avsim yeilds nothing outside of the american side of the globe :sad:

nigelb · Post by **nigelb** » 23 Oct 2006, 03:30

I did a similar search a while ago and also came up with very little. If you have AFCAD and know how to use that, it is fairly easy to create your own. Of course, if you want historical accuracy you will need to do some research. Lacking that, you can always go to an airport close to the water and then fly/slew from there into the water (not ideal if the plane is non-amphibious.)

Southampton makes a good starting point for exploring the Solent area, or try Inverness in Scotland. If I recall that airport is very close to Moray Firth and Loch Ness. If you find Nessie, I want first refusal on the TV rights!

Oh, I just remembered some historical bases available! Try http://billvons.com/imperial_airways - interesting stuff. Then look for the link to the scenery page. There are quitte a few available in the package (3mb) but these are mostly very simple bases - they show up in FS9 (and FSNAV) but there is little additional scenery. Some do have a dock if memory serves. Most of the bases do have a NDB to help you find them - you will need it because they are very hard to spot.

Also search for some flightplans from Bruce Kennewell on Avsim - he recently did a flight in a Short Solent Mk3 from Southampton to Johannesburg and he includes bases for all the stops for the flight, but these have no scenery. They do give you a starting point in the drink which avoids slewing about.

Reheat · Post by **Reheat** » 23 Oct 2006, 09:59

Hi there!

I'm a bit of a floatplane nut too and had a similar problem last year when trying to get some floatplane bases in.

Nothing freeware or payware out of the box will give you bases in the UK, in the end there are two really good options for getting them.

The first one is FSCargo, it allows you to put floatplane pontoons and other bits in to make a lake look a little bit more occupied.

The other option is EZ-Scenery, there are loads of water based add ons for it and you can create your own seaplane bases in minutes without and programming or coding experience (just slew and click)

Another thing I found throughout this is that the UK actually is pretty good for Flightsimmers wanting to fly on floats. A group I'm a member of put a Floatplane tour of the UK together where we covered the whole circumfrence of the UK. The longest leg was 60nm between lakes which makes for some nice hops in between those boring "real life" things!

The best of luck!

Alex

righthandseat · Post by **righthandseat** » 23 Oct 2006, 18:40

As well as the Solent, RAF Felixstowe (plenty of info on Google) was a major seaplane base during WWll and just after; with the Short Sunderlands and others using the River Orwell. I watched the activity from my school playground. A long time dead (the area is now the largest container port in the UK), I've been searching for pictures of the huge Titan crane which sat alongside the slip and have only found one Sunderland for FS9 although several other Shorts seem to have been modelled. How I wish I had the knowhow to put together what would be great addon!

TobyV · Post by **TobyV** » 28 Oct 2006, 13:30

Calshot by Barrie Semmens is vsp29_4.zip on flightsim.com

hinch · Post by **hinch** » 28 Oct 2006, 13:50

aaah looks good.

i actually went as far as to model my own. i made a dock and a building but then realised i have no idea how to make it into scenery...well, i know about the make mdl and stuff but...any tutorials on the net? i can only find photoscenery and landclass tut's.

Jon.M · Post by **Jon.M** » 28 Oct 2006, 16:29

And don't forget Poole Harbour. :tuttut:

Jon

Reheat · Post by **Reheat** » 28 Oct 2006, 16:56

And don't forget Poole Harbour.

Mention of Poole always reminds me of this!:

German war communique from Georing to Emperor Hirohito 1941:-

Congratulations on the succesful attack on Pearl Harbour two days ago. It demonstrated Courage,tenacity and the sheer bravery of the Japanese fighting man. The planning was meticulous and superbly carried out. You have our total respect as a nation.
However... May I remind you that in our original communique requesting your assistance the target in question was POOLE HARBOUR !!!!!

Sorry to go OT

Alex

Tom Clayton · Post by **Tom Clayton** » 28 Oct 2006, 20:41

I don't see "Poole Harhour" in my scenery list. If it's stock, what's the ICAO code, and if it's addon, can you point me in the right direction?

TobyV · Post by **TobyV** » 28 Oct 2006, 20:58

Tom,

It certainly isnt stock and I doubt it will have an ICAO code (well I know it has to have something in FS, but ICAO is a post war thing and this goes back a long way!).

Toby

EDIT - sorry, temporary brain failure... I dont think Poole Harbour exists in any form in FS yet. I think Jon.M was just pointing out that Poole Harbour used to be used for flying. What I said above refers to the addon Calshot!