Requesting an aircraft be developed

[rgp1942]

I am willing to pay for the development of an Aeronca 7A Champ (in factory colors) for MSFS 2020. I have had postings to this affect on the MSFS forum for a few years now, with no results. I am wondering if there is a way to contact the developers of this kind of aircraft (classic civilian SEL) directly, one by one. My question is this. Do you think this would be effective? If so, what would be the best way to go about it? Is there a list of MSFS aircraft developers somewhere -- perhaps with the genre they specialize in?

Based on feedback I've gotten on the MSFS forum, there a lots of others who would also like to have this model.

I attempted to convert an existing Aeronca Champ from FSX to MSFS with no luck (too many obstacles to overcome). It needs to be developed for MSFS.

Thanks for whatever information/suggestions you can provide.

P.S. Here is why I would like this model for MSFS. I solo'd a Champ in 1962 in 6.5 hours. After getting my pilot's license on the GI bill in 1970 I used to take my future wife of 52 years on dates in a Champ. I create flying adventure videos for YouTube using MSFS. I would like to create one using a Champ. Also, at the age of 81 and no longer flying full scale, I would just like to fly it in MSFS for fun and memories.
My videos

 

[ronh]

I've found an FS2004 version that I could work as a freeware project (Just not right away). Can the original author of the project be contacted.

originators:
Kevin Lechmanski
Dan Hufford
liclassics@yahoo.com

Long Island classics - site is no longer available - this is from 2007

 

[rgp1942]

This sounds good. I have sent an email to liclassics to see if they still exist. The email address did not bounce. If I hear back from them I will let you know so you can request their permission to use their model.

 

[rgp1942]

Ron,

So are we a go on this project? Do you have any kind of ETA on it? I have access to a full scale Champ and can provide any images, inside or out, that you might want. I would like the livery on the one in the WAAAM museum. It belonged to my good friend, who offered to sell it to me before he passed away two weeks ago. I would like to create a video in his honor, flying out of the Hood River airport where it resides. Here are picture of it, with my 1/4 scale Champ underneath.

 

[=rk=]

You know there's a version of 4S2 with a reproduction of the WAAM at flightsim.to? I added the Hood River Marina, an animated Tidewater barge that runs from Bonneville to The Dalles Dam, Bridge of the Gods, all three Bonneville dams, Multnomah Falls Lodge, Crown Point and some kiteboarders by the White Salmon River. It's also at flightsim.to as Columbia Gorge scenery. The 4S2 also includes the Hood River Bridge and the two packages together add a lot of Gorge local landmarks as backdrop for your video.

 

[ronh]

I have not heard back on any licensing issue. So nothing has been done, and I have other projects in the works. So this may take some time.

 

[rgp1942]

You know there's a version of 4S2 with a reproduction of the WAAM at flightsim.to? I added the Hood River Marina, an animated Tidewater barge that runs from Bonneville to The Dalles Dam, Bridge of the Gods, all three Bonneville dams, Multnomah Falls Lodge, Crown Point and some kiteboarders by the White Salmon River. It's also at flightsim.to as Columbia Gorge scenery. The 4S2 also includes the Hood River Bridge and the two packages together add a lot of Gorge local landmarks as backdrop for your video.

Yes, I worked with the developer of that 4S2 scenery to flesh it out. He is "D17" and lives in Japan and doesn't speak English -- an email translator allows us to communicate. He has actually become a family friend. I provided him with the detail to add WAAAM, the HR bridge, Twin Peaks restaurant, the FBO side of the field, a nearby RC field, and other things. Here is how I used the RC field (I have been an RC'er for 50 years). Another person created the Cascade Locks bridge for me. He didn't publish it, he just sent it to me. I would like to add your package. Do I just add it to the Community folder? It is compatible with D17's 4S2? Thanks for letting me know about it.

 

[rgp1942]

I have not heard back on any licensing issue. So nothing has been done, and I have other projects in the works. So this may take some time.

OK. I didn't realize you needed permission for a model that is basically in the public domain. Do you have any suggestions as to another developer who might be able to produce an Aeronca Champ? Alternately, somebody who could convert the CR-1 Champ from FSX to MSFS. We don't need permission if we don't publish it. If I could convert the FSX version and only use it in a video of my own making, and not make it available to others, there would not be a legal issue. Since I own it I can do what I want with it for my use only as long is it is not distributed to others. If some developer would develop a true MSFS Champ I know it would sell well.

 

[=rk=]

It is compatible with D17's 4S2? Thanks for letting me know about it.

I've communicated with D17. I had intended to create my own 4S2, I have photographs of all the old school hangars, not much of the new addition, but there's nothing really remarkable about those buildings until WAAM. When I found his version and the story he related about a local giving him details, I knew it was someone like you so I switched my 4S2 goal to more of all the Gorge sights he'd missed. I even went so far as to add EF-18G Growlers to do practice runs bombing HR bridge from Whidbey, but I don't know if the flight plans actually work.

As to "Cascade Locks Bridge," if you mean the Bridge of the Gods running from the Best Western or whatever it is in Cascade Locks, over to near Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, that is already in my package.

If you wanted to use my package with your own version of the Bridge of the Gods, you could make your own package very similar to mine, place an exclusion where my bridge is and put your bridge in its place. I am pretty sure I found the one I am using online long ago. I also have a decent HR Bridge but D17's is much nicer - except for the floating streetlights! He did not like my addon, because the changes I made to HR Marina to get it to look reasonably close to reality apparently made some Highway 84 traffic float in the air. I didn't notice, because cars are floating all over Hood River, try the 12th St grade or coming down Highway 35. IMO, VFR details are great, but it is a flight sim and we should develop appropriately.

 

[rgp1942]

Can you give me instructions for how to remove the Bridge of the Gods from your community folder package? I would like to use your scenery, without the bridge you have in it. What do I delete/change? Thanks!

 

[ZenMusic]

I have flown 100+ hours in the Aeronca 7A Champ ! My uncle worked at Aeronca and my father worked at a nearby tooling company and did some contract work for Aeronca.
I look forward to seeing this project completed. I am a pilot , commerical and CFI-G and professional programmer.

 

[=rk=]

I tried to make a tutorial video about excluding scenery objects but the bridge refused to vanish so I rewrote the placement file and uploaded the new one here, just overwrite when prompted.

 

[rgp1942]

Thanks! Very nice of you! Do you want me to provide the actual bridge that somebody made for me? If so I can put it in dropbox.

You seem to know a lot about the Gorge. I live in Hood River. You even know about the Navy planes "bombing" the bridge!

I am going to make some more videos that take place in the Gorge. One of them will be a flight to Dallesport airport. Is the Dalles dam in your scenery package for a flyover?

p.s. For some reason I don't always get an email notification of a response here. I need to check out why.

 

[rgp1942]

I have flown 100+ hours in the Aeronca 7A Champ ! My uncle worked at Aeronca and my father worked at a nearby tooling company and did some contract work for Aeronca.
I look forward to seeing this project completed. I am a pilot , commerical and CFI-G and professional programmer.

 

[=rk=]

No problem, I live in White Salmon. My son was born at Providence in 2000, so ya, I know HR pretty well. I'm sure we have common associates, I knew Bob Carnahan for years, worked at the castle and I knew he was associated with 4S2/WAAM. I "inherited" a bunch of Blood Chit T shirts from his estate that I have always been intending to hock at the Fly In. Fun fact: I'm pretty sure I saw a Top Gun film jet in the Gorge once, around the time they were filming in the PNW. If you have completed the "Top Gun Challenge," you know the training area is just north and west of Mt Adams, bordering on the Columbia and we already know about the Growlers that come down from Whidbey. This say was different, I was on Hwy 14 heading to Stevenson and somewhere around the Wind River, an F-18 popped out the the canyon and did a kind of slide turn into the Gorge and flew over my head. For the longest time I'd thought this was just some extra wild pass on the Hood River Bridge, but then I actually flew the Top Gun Challenge and after successfully completing that, finally, I could see that a little dip down into the Columbia River Gorge would be fairly routine, as well as potentially spectacular for any onboard cameras.

The Dalles Dam is on the list, pretty far down, for the eventual if ever remake of KDLS. This past summer I walked all around the tarmac recording images of what makes The Dalles Airport so special which is to put it mildly, "elusive." It's a nice sunny airport with plenty of space but not at all crammed with character like Ken Jernstedt or even KTTD, which isn't to say it can't be done, but in fact it could be made quite accurately with almost entirely default library objects, so that's kind of a plus.

As to your videos, I don't know if it suits your needs, but I placed a wood cabin at the east end of Lost Lake and also a campfire ring and stone fireplace at Packwood Lake near Randle North of Mt Adams, as destinations to visit from HR.

 

[rgp1942]

OK! Thanks for the information. Maybe we can have coffee together sometime.