My fellow "Charles F. Adams Class" shipmates,
For the past 14 months I have been working on a project that is near and dear to my heart. A virtual recreation of DDG-17 for use in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. Well, she's done. Or at least far enough along that she can be made available to the public. As a matter of fact, she is available for download free of charge at www.avsim.com, www.fs-shipyards.org, and flightsim.com. For those who are familiar with Microsoft Flight Simulator and the various websites that deal with flight simulation, a search on the sites I just mentioned will bring up the file for download. Installation instructions are easy to follow.
I don't know how many of you have "Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004" installed on their home computers or not. But if you do, you are in for a real treat!! For those who are not familier with this program, it literally recreates the entire world, continents, lakes, rivers, and OCEANS. And USS CONYNGHAM DDG-17 can be piloted by the user on any ocean in this virtual world.
It's a real trip let me tell you, cruising along in the daytime or at night. Remember how it was, steaming along on a clear night, with calm seas, and thousands of stars in the night sky? Well you will be able to do just that with this ship model on your computer. There's the sound of the engines, gentle rocking of the ship, and the sound of the sea as she plows through the water. And the running lights are visible. You can put yourself on the bridge. Or position yourself out away from the ship at a distance, and watch her go. Man it gives me goose bumps every time I sail her.
I have already received feedback from several people who have tried her out. Here's one comment:
"Great job on the Conyngham!
I took my first cruise from Charlotte Amalie harbor to Roosevelt Roads (R.I.P.) in just over 2 hours.
I sailed all the way in spotters' view, about 1,000 yards aft of the Port quarter, just above the wake.
The sounds and the blue-green wake are very realistic."
Animations included with this model are: ships wake, bow waves, smoke from both stacks, the National Ensign flying from the mast, ships horn, and bell sounds. There is a pilot house (Bridge) with some working components. This area of the model is being updated, and will reflect the changes in a future version.
Although I have in the past dabbled in creating some static sceneries for Flight Simulator, this was my first attempt at producing a movable object. The whole process has been a labor of love. I mentioned earlier that the ship is far enough along in construction to be made available to the public. And she is. There is still some refinement to be made to the model. And items that I want to add. But as she stands right now, she's ready to go!! I have spent literally hundreds of hours pouring over photographs, and ship's plans in an effort to as faithfully as possible reproduce this ship. Given the limitations of the software I am using, it's a challenge sometimes to be exact. I'm sure that I have missed some things. As she is right now, the model is maybe 90% accurate. If someone notices something amiss, I would gladly accept any recommendations for change in a future version.
My intentions are to try and get the word out to everyone who ever served aboard the "Gus Boat", and other Adams Class Destroyers, that even though we can no longer reach out and physically touch her, we can by the magic of technology bring her back to life.
As a parting note, I have dedicated this model to the Officer who lost his life, and to those who were injured in the fire. God bless them all.
By request, I also constructed USS LAWRENCE DDG-4 and posted that ship model to www.flightsim.com, and to www.fs-shipyard.org.
Sincerely,
Earl
For the past 14 months I have been working on a project that is near and dear to my heart. A virtual recreation of DDG-17 for use in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. Well, she's done. Or at least far enough along that she can be made available to the public. As a matter of fact, she is available for download free of charge at www.avsim.com, www.fs-shipyards.org, and flightsim.com. For those who are familiar with Microsoft Flight Simulator and the various websites that deal with flight simulation, a search on the sites I just mentioned will bring up the file for download. Installation instructions are easy to follow.
I don't know how many of you have "Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004" installed on their home computers or not. But if you do, you are in for a real treat!! For those who are not familier with this program, it literally recreates the entire world, continents, lakes, rivers, and OCEANS. And USS CONYNGHAM DDG-17 can be piloted by the user on any ocean in this virtual world.
It's a real trip let me tell you, cruising along in the daytime or at night. Remember how it was, steaming along on a clear night, with calm seas, and thousands of stars in the night sky? Well you will be able to do just that with this ship model on your computer. There's the sound of the engines, gentle rocking of the ship, and the sound of the sea as she plows through the water. And the running lights are visible. You can put yourself on the bridge. Or position yourself out away from the ship at a distance, and watch her go. Man it gives me goose bumps every time I sail her.
I have already received feedback from several people who have tried her out. Here's one comment:
"Great job on the Conyngham!
I took my first cruise from Charlotte Amalie harbor to Roosevelt Roads (R.I.P.) in just over 2 hours.
I sailed all the way in spotters' view, about 1,000 yards aft of the Port quarter, just above the wake.
The sounds and the blue-green wake are very realistic."
Animations included with this model are: ships wake, bow waves, smoke from both stacks, the National Ensign flying from the mast, ships horn, and bell sounds. There is a pilot house (Bridge) with some working components. This area of the model is being updated, and will reflect the changes in a future version.
Although I have in the past dabbled in creating some static sceneries for Flight Simulator, this was my first attempt at producing a movable object. The whole process has been a labor of love. I mentioned earlier that the ship is far enough along in construction to be made available to the public. And she is. There is still some refinement to be made to the model. And items that I want to add. But as she stands right now, she's ready to go!! I have spent literally hundreds of hours pouring over photographs, and ship's plans in an effort to as faithfully as possible reproduce this ship. Given the limitations of the software I am using, it's a challenge sometimes to be exact. I'm sure that I have missed some things. As she is right now, the model is maybe 90% accurate. If someone notices something amiss, I would gladly accept any recommendations for change in a future version.
My intentions are to try and get the word out to everyone who ever served aboard the "Gus Boat", and other Adams Class Destroyers, that even though we can no longer reach out and physically touch her, we can by the magic of technology bring her back to life.
As a parting note, I have dedicated this model to the Officer who lost his life, and to those who were injured in the fire. God bless them all.
By request, I also constructed USS LAWRENCE DDG-4 and posted that ship model to www.flightsim.com, and to www.fs-shipyard.org.
Sincerely,
Earl
