Learjet 45 Simulator Project » Miscellaneous

Happy Holidays! Santa Simulator will be back next year!

Captain — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:55:46 +0000

Happy Holidays from Santa Simulator and nine point eight one Studios

Santa Simulator is taking a year off. Research is in-process for a better development platform. Download a demo of what we have in store…(Testing was very limited and this demo requires a newer computer. Your mileage may vary and I apologize for any technical issues.)

Happy Holidays for WIndows

Happy Holidays for Macintosh (Intel only)

Waiting…

Captain — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:53:36 +0000

Shapeways is backed up with orders. I had expected to have my mini Learjet shell by now. I won’t have any pictures until it arrives and I can complete the test platform.

3D Modeling (Booleans are Bad Mmmkay)

Captain — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:24:17 +0000

I’m working on a 3D model of the Learjet 45 that I will eventually be 3D printing for my miniature motion base test setup. My last serious run at modeling was back n the mid ’90s, so I’m kind of rusty. I apparently forgot that Boolean Operations can wreak havoc on meshes, so my idea of cutting the windows out of this thing with Booleans, is a wash. I’ll need to take a few steps back to see if there’s another way without starting over. Good thing I saved all those iterative versions.

Learjet 45 3D Model

Another Quick Update

Captain — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 03:28:11 +0000

Hi all,

I’ve been doing quite a bit of reorganizing and finishing up projects around the house. I’m contemplating a move, for several reasons, but one of them is to give me more room to play with my airplane. That said, I have actually finished cutting out the windscreen templates, but that’s about it for the sim right now. The basement is finally uncluttered enough now for the process of glassing the shell. I want to finish that mess before taking it apart for the move.

If you’re interested in panels for the Learjet 45, Hangar 45 has some great forum posts on progress with this. I have a set of Reversion panels on the way as I write. After what turned out to be quite the drama with my first attempt to get panels for the sim, I am extremely happy and grateful that progress is being made. While I would love to jump in and get a CNC and laser engraver of my own, I don’t have the time or patience right now to walk that road.

On another note, I’ve been bitten by the RC helicopter bug as of late. I bought a E-Flite CX3 last year and have been having some fun with that. I even purchased a software RC simulator to practice when the weather is bad.

Happy Holidays! SantaSim 2010 is here!

Captain — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:03:31 +0000

Santa Simulator 2010

Unfriendly Skies

Captain — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:35:27 +0000

Sorry for the lack of updates. I’m finishing up a few house projects before old man winter arrives and also cutting my teeth on some new development software. Work on the pit is continuing, however. I’ve hardened the foam on the port side and have started the process on the starboard side. The light at the end of the tunnel is visible, at least for the shell exterior.

I’ve been flying low and slow in a Beaver float plane for a change of pace. My last flight was quite the adventure as you can see below. Apparently I wandered into restricted airspace or something…

Shell pictures soon!

Flight Safety Learjet 45 Simulator Install Photos

Captain — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:49:41 +0000

Here is a Learjet 45 simulator being assembled at a Flight Safety training facility. This is the “real” deal that likely cost more than the airplane itself.

Learjet 45 Simulator Install Photos

Twitter Testing

Captain — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:54:42 +0000

Testing Twitter integration with the blog.

In the Tower

Captain — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:18:45 +0000

Sometimes I like to crank up the air traffic to 100 percent and sit in the tower and watch it all happen around me. If you have FSX Deluxe, there’s a way you can get yourself into the control tower. It’s not a fully functional ATC simulation, like some of the stand-alone software available, but it’s just enough for me to have some fun without getting stressed -I get enough of that working on my ‘pit. There’s a great article about how to do this here on the FS Insider site.

Have fun!

In the Tower at KMSP Watching 30 Left

Still Working Away on the Repaint

Captain — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:19:58 +0000

I’m making progress with the Learjet 45 Red Protoype repaint. Moving the textures from my PC laptop to my Macintosh graphics workstation and then back again is kind of a pain. The most difficult part (and what I’m leaving for last) of the painting will be those sleek pinstripes that run down the fuselage. I have to remove the existing ones and make new ones in a different place. The quality of this screenshot leaves something to be desired, but I submit to you, another teaser.

Learjet 45 Prototype Repaint