Monday, December 21, 2009

F-35 Change to test plans


An unusually cold and snowy weather in Genoa forced me to stay at home for most of the weekend. "Unusually cold and snowy" means we are not used to see much snow, if any, and even a thin white layer is sufficient to paralyze the whole town.
On the good side, I've made some major steps foward with modeling of the cockpit. At present I'd say it is 60-70% done. Probably 15-20 work-hours away from the completion.

So, I've changed my mind for the testing... the test version will have the cockpit but no HMD and limited MFD functionality. This means that the Beta testers "draft" will not happen in the next few days as I planned.

Will post an update when the cockpit is about 90% complete.

P.S. My apologies to anyone who may have sent me e-mails in the past few days. I am having issues with the home internet connection and I cannot reply from my office. I always try to reply to each message - and will do it as soon as the home connection is restored.

10 comments:

Vigilius said...

In teoria qui a BG dovremmo essere più avezzi di voi alla neve, invece dopo i primi 5 cm. si è bloccato tutto ed hanno pure chiuso le scuole. Ora siamo a 20 cm. circa e non è ancora notte!
Buon lavoro e, nel caso, Buon Natale!

Anonymous said...

Here in UKDE we are knee-deep in snow at day +1*C, with soaking icicles from the rooftops,then temprature jumps to -13*C at night. Early morning we have a true Snow-Glass Cockpits in cars :-)

Enough lyrical digressions )
What type(kind) of benefit you are expecting from beta-tester's reports ? Is there any chances "to get in" to this group, or you are already have a list full of trusted people ?

Future CV(35C) fan, Andrew.

blackbird said...

"......and even a thin white layer is sufficient to paralyze the whole town."

Hahahaha, have a white winter holiday, it's good for a change. Throw some snowballs instead of polygons and xml code.

Enjoy the holidays, the aircraft can wait as all will be in holiday matters of one kind or another.

Anonymous said...

This is good news about the aircraft. Please tell me that the wiring down by the pedals will go away..?

Thanks,

Tony

ScimmiaSpaziale said...

Well... I have to confess I quite like them - even if they are should not be visible.
I'm building the 3d model out of some hi-res pictures that are circulating on the internet taken during the assembly of the AA-1 bird. Hence, in the pictures, there missing panels, void slots, unplugged connectors and wires aplenty.

Finished cockpits have two covers on the sides of pedals which hide the wiring... But, to be honest, I think the cockpit does not look that bad.
Chance is that I will put the cover on the AF-1 model but not on the AA-1 model...

ScimmiaSpaziale said...

@ Andrew

My experience with Beta testing feedback is that the feedback extremely valuable but is largely dependant on the tastes of the individual tester:

some are very focused on the flight performance (and may not look into graphic issues) others on cockpit functionality, while others will only take pictures and will notice if you misplace a rivet in the external model...

I have my thoughts on what would be the "ideal" Beta tester...but long story short, I have not selected the testers yet. I plan to pick 10-12 testers - I will give priority to trusted individuals but the group is open to anyone with the right requirements (which will be detailed in a post).

Maury said...

Ciao Compaesano sento che sei a casa...causa Galaverna...beh ti Auguro comunque di passare un Felice Natale ed altrettanto Inizio Anno...noi qui nell'Entroterra si spera bene se no sai che Casino..!!Maury

Andrew said...

Thank you for the reply.
Will wait for the detailed post, when "the bird" is ready.

Unknown said...

I like the slapdash cockpit assembly as well, the plane's still very much a W.I.P for the next couple of years. Besides, it isint designed for aesthetics. Look at the X-32.

shawn51 said...

please give us a beta! I am going to die before you release the full version due to the fact that you are taking so slooooowww