The appetite for an F117?
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Hey all,
None of you probably know this but I’m an avid 3D modeller and I’ve been contemplating for a long time contributing something to BMS. Now that PBR is coming to BMS in the near future (3-4 weeks I heard! ) Its becoming harder and harder for me not to start modelling something for my favorite sim. The 4.38 screenshots have me drooling.
So what do I model?
Well, ever since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated by the F-117, I’ve built many a plastic kit of them and I’ve amassed a great deal of references and due to good luck and friends in high places I’ve been fortunate enough to chat to a couple of F-117 pilots and pick their brains about the jet as well.
So what I’m saying is that I’m contemplating starting a highly detailed exterior and cockpit model of the F-117. Now obviously the artwork is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to having a functional aircraft in a sim, so my long term goal would be to attract people to the project who could help with other aspects, like systems coding, FM, etc.
But before any of that I wanted to put a feeler out and see if this would even be a thing people would be interested in?
Personally I find the mission and the aircraft very interesting, but I understand it’s not everybody’s thing.
And I have some questions about BMS and its limitations.
Does stealth work well in BMS currently?
Would it be possible to have an RCS that can change during a mission? So the jet can be less stealthy with all its comms and iff antennas protruding and then can be switched into stealth mode and all the antennas retract and its RCS reduces to what it would be during the strike? Or would it have to be fixed the whole time?
I’m sure i’ll think of some other questions but I’d just like to hear peoples opinion on the project and whether its worth starting it?
Cheers
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@SOBO-87
If you build it, they will come.That is all.
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IMHO it is a very interesting plane and mission. Also BMS has the right tools for mission planning.
It will be niche for sure, but the key point is, if you wanna do it, do it.
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@SOBO-87 meh https://www.gog.com/game/f117a_nighthawk_stealth_fighter_20 is on sale for $1 right now
Think you can do better than that? And for lower price (free)? Ha! I’d like to see you try…
[sarcasm, obviously intended to encourage action on this :]
What are the biggest gaps… maybe rcs modeling as you say. Probably how to receive threat notifications passively, from awacs.
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In all honesty, as cool as the plane and its legacy are, I don’t think I have any interest in learning its systems and tactics.
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@airtex2019 RCS exist as a ratio from F-16 (being 1.0)
but it doesn’t take aspect into account for RCS… (at least I’m not aware it does)
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@MaxWaldorf - the other problem with “it’s systems” is that there is little to zero information available on the internal workings of the F-117…so just about everything to do with it would be a guess, most worse than others I’d think.
But if anyone is interested in flying an F-16 with no radar…
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@Stevie
thats not a reason to not make it -
This post is deleted! -
@SOBO-87 said in The appetite for an F117?:
Hey all,
None of you probably know this but I’m an avid 3D modeller and I’ve been contemplating for a long time contributing something to BMS. Now that PBR is coming to BMS in the near future (3-4 weeks I heard! ) Its becoming harder and harder for me not to start modelling something for my favorite sim. The 4.38 screenshots have me drooling.
So what do I model?
Well, ever since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated by the F-117, I’ve built many a plastic kit of them and I’ve amassed a great deal of references and due to good luck and friends in high places I’ve been fortunate enough to chat to a couple of F-117 pilots and pick their brains about the jet as well.
So what I’m saying is that I’m contemplating starting a highly detailed exterior and cockpit model of the F-117. Now obviously the artwork is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to having a functional aircraft in a sim, so my long term goal would be to attract people to the project who could help with other aspects, like systems coding, FM, etc.
But before any of that I wanted to put a feeler out and see if this would even be a thing people would be interested in?
Personally I find the mission and the aircraft very interesting, but I understand it’s not everybody’s thing.
And I have some questions about BMS and its limitations.
Does stealth work well in BMS currently?
Would it be possible to have an RCS that can change during a mission? So the jet can be less stealthy with all its comms and iff antennas protruding and then can be switched into stealth mode and all the antennas retract and its RCS reduces to what it would be during the strike? Or would it have to be fixed the whole time?
I’m sure i’ll think of some other questions but I’d just like to hear peoples opinion on the project and whether its worth starting it?
Cheers
The code also shall be able to handle that radio has to be blocked as long as the F-117 retracted all of its antennas.
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Conclusion…
Do a new 3D model if you want but avionics is a big no no…
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@MaxWaldorf I understand that it would most likely have to run on F-16 avionics initially, but if its a good enough cockpit and exterior then the possibility of custom avionics in future could happen?
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@Manos1981 - true, I’m just trying to make sure people understand what can actually be done, and what they’ll get.
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@SOBO-87 - I assure you, you’ll have to guess…at best.
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@SOBO-87 said in The appetite for an F117?:
@MaxWaldorf I understand that it would most likely have to run on F-16 avionics initially, but if its a good enough cockpit and exterior then the possibility of custom avionics in future could happen?
What part of classified don’t you understand?
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@MaxWaldorf oh perhaps you’re assuming it’s all still classified, that’s just not the case. The -1 and the -1A for the OSIP I jets was declassified years ago. All of the main aircraft systems are described in them, and all of the hud and mfd symbology is explained as well. If diagrams aren’t enough there is also plenty of footage of the MFD pages and the FLIR and DLIR screen at work.
it doesn’t have a radar or any other fancy features really. The only unique thing really is its ability to “stealth up” by retracting all its antennas.
So yes there while there would be some guessing involved, for the vast majority of the systems and the aircraft performance there is plenty of info available imho.
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The appetite is low from the team perspective but happy to take 3D assets…
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@SOBO-87 That “classified / declassified” thing makes cofusion always. I wonder how the team manage this. You can find manuals on the net freely, but said that those manuals still under US law and restricted to distribution or export from the US.
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Go for it @SOBO-87