The "Lady Southern Cross"
for
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004

 

 

In August 2004, Australian Flight Simulator enthusiast, Eric Davis, approached model builder, Paul Clawson, to see if he would build the Altair "Lady Southern Cross" for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. Paul agreed and he and Eric spent four months researching the model and instrument panel. Tim Kalina, a regular contributor to these pages, assisted with photographs of various Lockheed instrument panels. The most suitable was found to be that of a Sirius and this became the basis of an instrument panel designed by Eric. This panel went through three versions before Eric was happy to release it. The resulting panel is a compromise between using the correct gauges and making a background that does not look out of place in the simulator.

 

 

Paul Clawson's Altair model can be downloaded from any of the following sites:

URL File Name Approx. File Size
www.flightsim.com ALTAIR.zip 231 kb
www.surclaro.com ALTAIR.zip 231 kb
www.simviation.com ALTAIR.zip 231 kb

 

Eric Davis' Altair instrument panel can be downloaded from any of the following sites:

URL File Name Approx. File Size
www.avsim.com EDALTPAN.zip 1.33 mb
www.surclaro.com EDALTPAN.zip 1.33 mb
www.flightsim.com EDALTPAN.zip 1.33 mb

 

 

Help for Beginners

 

www.flightsim.com

On the main page, scroll down until you see the green bar which says - "Go To Lockheed File", click this and on the menu page you will find -

Help For New Flightsimmers
FS2004 FAQ
FS2004 Forum

Before you can get to the main menu you will probably have to join, which is free as long as you do not want "Premium Membership". Avsim, Surclaro, and Simviation all have similar Forum, Help and Tutorial pages.

The Altair in FS2002

Although the Altair was designed for FS2004, it can be flown in FS2002 with limitations. Due to differences between the sims, it needs more power to begin to roll. Applying the brakes, unless done very carefully, causes it to nose over, resulting in a crash and reboot. There is no adjustment for brake pressure in this sim. However, it does fly OK, and if you land without using brakes it slows down fairly quickly, with flaps down. Paul Clawson's panel loads without any gauges as he referenced them to three aircraft which are not available in FS2002. Eric Davis' panel will work in FS2002, but needs to have the GPS changed as well as the landing gear lights. This is easy as the gauges are already in the sim. Due to the brake problem, most simmers will become frustrated and fly something else. However, it is possible to take off using another aircraft type and then swap to the Altair.

 


Special Thanks to:

Paul Clawson
Eric Davis
Tim Kalina


 

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