|
Secrets of Flight II in the Twilight Zone
May want to see all the pictures before
proceeding.
So what's the secret?
It's a bug..
First, start out in one of the FBOs. Create a flight, start flying.
Then, while flying, press the "m" key 3 times in a row very quickly.
Normally "m" takes you to the map. Well, in this case, the map flashes up and
then a
second later, it dumps you into the logbook, or directly back to the FBO
as though you had quit. (close the logbook if you make it there and
you'll find yourself back in the FBO)
If it doesn't work the first time, try it several times, always starting
from the normal flight screen. Sometimes the map will actually become
visible, and then it'll drop out to the FBO a second later. Keep at it.
(My config: Patch 1.03.. P200MMX, SII S220, 640x480/800x600, sliders to the right)
Now that you're sitting in the FBO, select a different plane, and then
click on the doorway. Instead of taking off again, you'll find yourself
back in your current flight. Except that now it's with the new plane
but there's something amiss. The new plane now has all the performance
characteristics of the old one, and appears to have the prop configuration
of the old one, and sometimes the gear is different too.
New info
It looks like it can be done during a quick flight too. Instead of
returning to the FBO after "mmm", it'll go back to the quick flight options
screen. Can change the plane there. I had a problem here losing
the engine sounds though. May be more reliable the other way.
For most of these pictures, I started with the P-51, then switched
to the trainer, or piper, or arrow, or barron.. etc..
Any interaction with the barron is unstable, because of the prop
configuration. And the trainer may run the prop into the ground
with the Mustang's prop on the front.
The first picture is off the piper
converted to a trainer with the the gear retracted. I can put the
gear up or down at will and the configuration changes.
The second picture is off the trainer
with the P-51's prop. The third is
the same thing paused so you can see how big the prop is. The
fourth is the same plane demonstrating
the Mustang's performance characteristics. This speed would
rip the wings off the normal trainer.
This one was a shock. This is the piper
or the P-51 converted to a barron with the gear up. The sounds
are all whacked too. It's in obvious distress. Imagine my
surprise when I lowered the gear and
the plane continued to fly in this new configuration. It was making
all the right sounds to indicate that at least one of the
engines was missing.
Ok, here's the Beaver with the Mustang's prop.
Note that it is
dragging in the water. I made my second big discovery here. The first time
I tried to land the Beaver in the water, it came in at about 90-100
knots, just like the P-51. I set it down at probably 85-90 knots
and it promptly crashed. I'm not sure if it thought it was landing
with the P-51's gear in the water, or if the speed was too
high, or if the prop in the water did it in. But here's the trick.
When I hit miracle up, the plane popped up into the air, and now it
was back to flying like a Beaver. For all intents and purposes it was back
to being a normal Beaver.. except for the prop which was still huge.
The picture you see is actually after this transition, which is
the only way I could land it.
Now things get a bit weird. I now switched it directly
to the Piper and got the Mustang's prop
which looks so huge on this plane, I just had to try to land it.
Problem is, the gear didn't look like it was working. As you
can see, only 2 of the wheels are down, but the cockpit
indicated all green so I took it in.
And this is the result. I landed,
coasted to a stop, cut the engine and snapped the picture just
before the prop stopped spinning. Note that the plane is hovering
a good 2 feet off the ground, and it's still missing the right
wheel. I also discovered that it taxis like the P-51. That is to say
poorly. It won't turn without differential braking, a lot of power
and a lot of rudder. It's stable on takeoff though.
And this one really shows what's going on.
This is the piper on water. It's perfectly
happy here, as it began life as a Beaver.
I'm sure there's more weird stuff in here. You go find it. Have fun.
Back to FlightII oddities for more pictures
related to this bug.
I can be reached at frechett@rmii.com
If you've got a new picture related to this bug, I've got room for
a few more.. Please send as jpegs, or compressed tifs only. I don't
want any 1 meg bitmaps. Crop them if you want.
|