Contents
P-38L-5-LO S/N 44-25419 on a factory test flight just after rolling off the assembly line.
Contents |
P-38L-5-LO S/N 44-25419 on a factory test flight just after rolling off the assembly line. |
1) Unzip the file P38L_Lightning.zip in FS2002's Aircraft folder. A new folder called P-38L_Lightning will be created. Several sub-folders will also be created.
2) From P-38L_Lightning's gauges sub-folder, copy the file xp-38n_diveflaps.gau to FS2002's gauges folder.
If you want to use the dive recovery flaps, DO NOT FORGET STEP TWO.
Notes:
- This model is intended for Flight Simulator 2002 only.
- Within FS2002, select "Lockheed," and "P-38L Lightning." Three P-38Ls varations are available the "Variations" menu: P-38L Lightning, P-38L "Bong's 42" and P-38L "Jane."
Be sure to visit www.kazoku.org/xp-38n for the latest updates, etc.
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was one of the most prominent fighters throughout WWII in
both theaters of operation. P-38s scored the first kills in the Pacific Theater as they
served in the arctic cold of Aleutian Islands. In Europe, they often provided
high-altitude long range escorts for bombers.
The P-38 was originally developed in response to the US Army Air Corps' need for a high
altitude 'interceptor' in the late 1930s. The Air Corps' requirements specified a craft
that could reach an altitude of 20,000 ft in six minutes, attain a top speed of 360 mph
and fly at full throttle for one hour. In addition, it would carry more armament that any
previous fighter.
Lockheed's legendary aeronautical engineer, Kelly Johnson, drew on his past experience
with twin-tail craft such as the Electra and proposed a twin-engine, twin-boom arrangement
with turbo-supercharged engines. (Kelly Johnson went on to design the F-104, the U-2 and
the SR-71.)
The XP-38 was first flown in January 1939. After logging just 11 flight-test hours, it
embarked on a record-breaking cross-country flight that proved the capabilities of the
design, but also lead its demise when it plowed into a golf course just before landing.
The only fighter-craft to remain in production throughout the war, the P-38 proved to be a
very versatile platform for a wide range of operations including long-range escort, photo
reconnaissance, fighter/interceptor, ground attack, and even formation bombing. It evolved
through several variations, each iteration more successful than the last.
Perhaps its strongest asset was its concentrated fire power. Being a twin engine aircraft
allowed it to have four guns and one cannon mounted in the nose. This clustered
arrangement meant that the guns did not have to be sighted to converge at some optimum
target range. In the hands of skilled pilot, the Lightning was a formidable fighter. No
wonder America's top two fighter aces scored their victories in P-38s.
However, it was not without its faults. Early into the European war it gained a reputation
for poor high altitude performance. Even though this was eventually traced to the use of
lower-grade British fuels, the reputation remained. The two liquid-cooled Allison engines
required a lot of attention, and there was trouble with the turbo superchargers as well.
The P-38 was the first aircraft to seriously encounter a potentially fatal phenomenon:
compressibility. During a high-speed dive the wings would lose lift, resulting in loss of
control. The enemy soon began exploiting this weakness to elude the P-38s. The problem was
finally solved when, late in the J series production, dive recovery flaps were added which
gave pilots the freedom to enter into high speed dives with confidence. Early Lightnings
also had poor roll rate and required a lot of muscle to turn. When the dive recovery
flaps were added during the J-25 production block, hydraulically boosted ailerons were
also added. This welcome addition gave pilots "power steering," greatly
increasing the roll rate.
As the need for night fighters increased, Lockheed produced the two-seater M series. The
addition of a radar operator relieved the pilot from radar duties and allowed him to
concentrate on the mission objectives.
Nearly 10,000 P-38s were built, the bulk of which where J and L series. After the end of
the war, the Army Air Force surplused them for $1,200 a piece. Of course you had to
arrange for delivery, which was no trivial task since as many of them were in the south
Pacific. Today, only a handful remains. Only a few are in flying condition.
There are only a few differences between the P-38J-25 and the P-38L-5:
The L-5 has
- different engines (but same ratings, yet some sources say that the L's engines could run
WEP at 1725 HP, rather than 1600)
- landing light inset in leading edge of left wing rather than a retractable light under
wing as on the J
- improved fuel system
- tail warning radar
- improved turbosuperchargers
- hard points for Christmas tree rocket launchers (standard)
The L was the definitive Lightning, and met practically all the expectations originally conceived and exceeded others not originally conceived, such as photo-reconnaissance and formation bombing.
Here's a quote by Capt. Stan Richardson:
"The P-38J25-LO and P-38L's were terrific. Roll Rate? Ha! Nothing would roll
faster. The dive recovery flaps ameliorated the "compressibility" (Mach
limitation) of earlier Lightnings. An added benefit of the dive recovery
flaps was their ability to pitch the nose 10-20 degrees "up" momentarily
when trying to out turn the Luftwaffe's best, even when using the flap
combat position on the selector. Of course the nose "pitch-up" resulted in
increased aerodynamic drag, and must be used cautiously. High speed is
generally preferred over low speed in combat situations. Properly flown, the
Fowler flaps of the P-38 allowed very tight turning radius."
Project XP-38N is my on-going effort to model what might have been the next version of the P-38 had the war not ended. My first version was for FS98 and later versions subsequently supported CFS1 and FS2000 and now CFS2 and FS2002. This L is a spin off from XP-38N version 3.1. I also have a P-38M, P38J-15 and P-38J-15 Droop Snoot. Eventually I hope to make all P-38 variants, with XP-38N being my flagship model.
For any CFS2 model, there can be up to four aspects of the visual model: 1) external geometry, 2) textures (paint), 3) 2D panel and 4) virtual cockpit with 3D working panel. My design is intentionally a balance between computer performance, modeling time (that is, the time I can dedicate to this hobby), aesthetics, detail, etc.
FSDS 1.6 was used to build the model. In version 1.3 I've made a few minor enhancements to the landing gear doors, wings, wing fillets, lights and cockpit.
AA 1.3 was used to animate the parts. Animation features include:
- Asynchronous landing gear deployment
- moving control surfaces (ailerons, elevator, rudders, flaps, dive flaps)
- spinning propellers
- moving nose wheel (via rudder-control*)
- landing gear and gear doors
- shining landing light
- tail strobe lights, navigation and identification lights
*There was no control of the nose wheel on the real aircraft. Steering was accomplished with differential braking and differential thrust. The nose wheel was a caster, and simply moved like a shopping cart's front wheels. XP-38N has rudder-control steering, and I left this feature in the P-38L model because... well, because I wanted to. :-)
Three textures are included with this release.
- The first textures correspond to S/N 44-25419, shown in the photo above. Sometime during J-series production, Lockheed stopped painting P-38s and delivered them with their natural metal finished, though not polished. Thus, this late edition L bares its metal skin, with no embellishments or weather effects, as it looked when it was delivered for service.
- The texture named "Bong's 42" is of a P-38L that Major Richard Bong, America's top Ace, flew toward the end of his last tour of duty. Sources indicate he scored five of his total 40 victories in this plane. This texture has 36 victories, as commonly depicted in the references below.
- My inclusion of "Jane" is here to honor those unsung P-38 heroes who flew this great plane but whose tales of valor are not well known, or not known at all. "Jane" was a plane flown by Lt. John R. Johnson of the 67th FS, 347th FS, 13th AF. Jerry Lindell, John Johnson's son-in-law has recently made a web site dedicated to his father-in-law, covering his combat service in the South Pacific.
The basic textures were derived from scanned images obtained from several scale-modeling books on the P-38 (see References below). I then attempted to make them appear metallic with Paintshop Pro. I am not a graphic artist, but I did the best I could. For me, painting the model is the most difficult and tedious part of the entire project.
The textures are 512x512 8-bit (using old FS98 palette) bitmaps rather than one of the newer, 16-bit formats supported by CFS2 & FS2002. I chose this this format as a balance between detail and graphics performance. Plus, I wanted to make the textures as accessible to re-painters as possible.
The panel has been arranged to represent the rough layout of the P-38L panel. To do so, I made some coarse changes to CFS2's stock P-38F panel bitmap. I have included my XP-38N dive recovery flap gauge (which is really a repaint of a FS98 stock spoiler gauge). I've also added a few modern instruments, such as GPS, radios, VOR and autopilot. CAUTION: this is my first attempt to add an autopilot to a release of one of my P-38's. I experimented with autopilot in FS98 and FS2000 and experienced instability problems. So far, it seems much better in FS2002, but I have only tested it with holding altitude and heading. Use at your own risk!
Previous version have had a static panel in the virtual cockpit. This is my first attempt at putting working gauges into the virtual cockpit panel. I hope to refine it a bit over time, but it is doubtful I will ever produce a masterpiece.
I readily admit that I am not a pilot. Ironically, I actually hate real-life flying and avoid it whenever possible. But I can spend hours and hours flying my P-38!!! (I even flew it around the virtual world!) Of all the modeling elements, the flight model is the most important to me, and has thus been the focus of most of my effort.
This flight model was developed as part of my ongoing XP-38N project. The first versions of XP-38N's AIR file were based on FS98 AIR files. I spent hundreds of hours developing that AIR file and I didn't want to give it up. For version XP-38N 3.0, I successfully transferred many of the old parameters to a CFS2-based AIR file. To refine the flight characteristics even more I then began studying P-38 videos and printed references. I also had help from someone who actually flew the plane. I have had the privilege of corresponding with a former P-38 pilot, Lt. Col. (ret) William C. Sharpsteen II, who flew with the 339th FS/ 347th FG in the South Pacific. Mr. Sharpsteen has taught me much about the handling of the P-38, in the air and on the ground, and about the differences between the earlier G model, which he spent quite a bit of time in, and the late J-25/L, which he also flew.
For version XP-38N 3.1, I used FSEdit to transfer the primary flight model parameters to the aircraft.cfg file, as per FS2002's new approach. I also overcame one of the major limitations in previous versions: propeller torque effects. Not until CFS2 could counter-rotating propellers (and the resultant zero net torque) be modeled properly. This major improvement is now implemented in version 1.3 of P-38L.
The flight model was designed and tested in both CFS2 and FS2002, with the difficulty level set to "Hard," or 100%. During certain maneuvers above 410 mph the plane will buffet a bit. This is intentional. While the actual plane may not have buffeted exactly like this, I am trying to simulate the fact that it did have a tendency to buffet at high speeds as indicated in the actual flight manual. As stated in the manual, use the dive recovery flaps to stop the buffeting. You will also note that it rolls very well at high speeds and, at most speeds, it is very difficult to stall, which was apparently true of the actual airplane.
I do not claim this to be the best or the most accurate flight dynamics model for the P-38, as AIR file/flight dynamics modeling is still somewhat of an art. However, I do believe I have captured the essence of the late-model P-38.
714th Research Center - for their methods and AirEd.ini file. While I did not employ their "Assembly Line" process, I admire their methodical and scientific approach and have learned much from their work. I did borrow the propeller tables from their P-38J-25 AIR file.
Special thanks to Jerry Lindell, for assistance with the virtual cockpit panel with working gauges.
Thanks to Larry Vrooman for information on the 67th FS paint scheme.
Also, thanks to the many people who continue to express interest in my P-38 models. These models would not exisit without the encouragement of others.
- P-38 Lightning in Detail and Scale Part 1: XP-38 through P-38H, Bert Kinzey. Squadron/Signal Publications, 1998.
- P-38 Lightning in Detail and Scale Part 2: P-38J through P-38M, Bert Kinzey. Squadron/Signal Publications, 1998.
- P-38 Lightning in Action, Larry Davis, et. al. Squadron/Signal Publications, 1990
- P-38 Lightning in World War II Color, Jeffrey L. Ethell. Motorbooks International, 1994.
- Lockheed P-38 Lightning (Warbird Tech Series), Frederick A. Johnson. Specialty Press, 1996.
- Peter Three Eight The Pilots Story, John Stanaway. Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1986.
- P-38 Lightning Aces of the ETO/MTO, John Stanaway. Osprey Publishing, 1998.
- P-38 Lightning Aces of the Pacific and CBI, John Stanaway. Osprey Publishing, 1997.
- Lockheed P-38 Lightning (Production Line to Frontline Series), Michael O'Leary. Osprey Publishing, 1999.
- Pilots Manual for Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Lockheed/US Army circa 1944. republished by Aviation Publications sometime in the mid 1970s.
- Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Steve Pace. Motorbooks International, 1996.
- America's Hundred Thousand, Francis H. Dean, Shiffer Publishing, 1997.
- Fork Tailed Devil, Martin Caidin, iBooks, 2001 (original printing 1972).
- The P-38J-M Lockheed Lightning, Profile Publications no. 106 (1966)
- The P-38 Lightning, Pamela Reynolds and the P-38 National Convention, Turner Publishing Co., 1989.
- The Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Warren M. Bodie, Widewing Publications, 2001 (first printing 1991).
- Great Planes, Series 1, Volume 10 (P-38), Aeroco, Inc. 1989.
- Warbird Checkout No.1 "P-38 Flight Characteristics", (and other period films), Historic Aviation,
- Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Program Power Entertainment, 199.
This model is released as FREEWARE. If Freeware can be copyrighted, then I claim Copyright © 1998-2002 David C. Copley. This package, including each and every file, may NOT be included in a commercial package.
I grant permission to repaint the visual model and/or modify the flight dynamics so long as such derivative works are released only as FREEWARE and include proper credits for all respective authors.
As explained above, this model is really a spin-off of Project XP-38N. However the L has its own version history:
11 Mar 2002 - minor upgrade 1.3.0 (concurrency with XP-38N ver 3.1) (FS2002)
improved flight model with correct zero-net torque counter-rotating propellers
visual improvements to geometry model (MDL) brought up-to-date with XP-38N ver. 3.1
improved virtual cockpit with working gauges
(26 Jan 2002 - XP-38N ver. 3.1)
29 Oct 2001 - ver 1.2.2 FS2002 version
minor adjustments to visual model and configuration files for use in FS2002
29 Sep 2001 - maintenance release 1.2.1 (CFS2)
minor adjustments to AIR and DP files.
22 Sep 2001 - minor upgrade 1.2.0 (concurrency with XP-38N ver 3) (CFS2)
more visual improvements to geometry model (MDL) brought up-to-date with XP-38N ver. 3
exhaust coming out of exhaust ports (instead of engine cowling)
more minor improvements to flight dynamics
Maj. R.I. Bong's 42 and "Jane" textures
Applied "roll damage fix" to damage profile
(14 Jul 2001 - XP-38N ver. 3 (CFS2/FS2000))
21 April 2001 - minor upgrade 1.1.0 (CFS2)
visual improvements to geometry model (MDL)
minor improvements to flight dynamics
damage profile enhancements to prevent "cloning," new all-rocket loadout, etc.
"Marge" textures
Added text from P-38L manual to checklist
3 Mar 2001 - maintenance release 1.0.1 (CFS2)
added dive recovery flap gauge file, missing in the original release
fixed AIR file so if flown at 100%, it wouldn't spontaneously explode during high-g maneuvers
28 Feb 2001 - original version released 1.0.0 (CFS2)
(22 Apr 2000 - XP-38N ver. 2 for FS2000)
(17 Jan 2000 - XP-38N ver. 1.1 for FS98/CFS)
(20 July 1999 - XP-38N ver. 1.0 for FS98)
(Sep 1998 - began project XP-38N)
By day I am an acoustical engineer for a major industrial company. By night (when I'm not spending time with my family or engaged in other real-life activities) I am a P-38 nut. I am also a musician, so my 'free' time is split between flying/making P-38s and making music.
You may contact me at db@kazoku.org, or visit my web site www.kazoku.org/xp-38n.