After having the TA-4k flight manual for a while now I *finally* got the pilot checklist printed! A5 clear pockets, some rings to bind them together and I have my light reading sorted! 🙂
Hook Lever for the Skyhawk
Fusion 360 is a fantastic CAD/CAM package…  I designed this up in about 10 minutes, sliced it in Simplify3D and printed it.  The result is pretty good, apart from one part which moved while it was printing.  I’ll repair the fault, paint it and mount it to a 90º rotary switch.  The wiring is already in place, and so is the clever code to make the hook work properly.
The mounting and switch setup is the same as I’ll use on the Gear Lever which I already have, so I’ll make both at the same time. Â It will be nice to do away with the temporary Gear switch which has been in the sim now for about 10 years!
Flight Data Recorder
Well, more of a track recorder, but you get the idea. Each flight in the TA-4k sim records a kml file, which is viewable in Google Earth.
This is a 2d sample of one of the recordings:
Each flight captures position and altitude data, and takes a screenshot every time the trigger is pulled…
Link to the post about this flight
RNZAF_AI Sioux near release
After starting off as a pure “static” model, the Sioux has turned into an AI model in it’s own right.
As part of the Hobsonville project, the Sioux should be released soon. Hobsonville will be the first “Complete Package” release under the RNZAF_AI banner.
New throttle arrived
After years (literally years!) of searching I finally found, and bought a Suncom Throttle for my sim. This is a dual throttle modelled on the F-15E, but the two levers can be locked together to work for a single engined aircraft. The cool thing is that the design is so close to the Kahu it will work without too much modification. The throttle features all the buttons and switches as you could imagine, but also a good, functional friction control.
Coming soon to a 737 sim….
Hopefully this will make its way into the sim in the near future
Sim Visit: Ken’s King Air
Ken has a really nice King Air 200 sim, with full G1000 glass cockpit.
I spent the evening helping Ken with a couple of problems, then finished with a nice flight around Christchurch. King Air’s are great fun to fly; fast enough to go places, but still able to land at small airfields!
In the air tonight…..
Fantastic flight from Kaitaia down to Whenuapai in the Arrow tonight. Â Dusk arrival was spectacular! 
RNZAF AI Hino Bus
This was a first for me: Painting a bus for Flightsim!
I wanted to add a few period AI vehicles to my scenery, and the Hino bus was the one I thought of first. After a quick internet search I had a couple of reasonable photos, and even the rego numbers of the ones in RNZAF service in the late 80’s and early 90’s (Yes.. there are bus-fan websites….)
Expect to see these around the various RNZAF bases I’m building 🙂
Fleet Update
It’s been a while, but very soon the TA-4, Arrow and Canterbury will all be in the same geographic location….
After almost 3 months Canterbury is almost home, and will be meeting both of my sims in my virtual world. Canterbury is due at Devonport tomorrow evening, while the Skyhawk is already at Whenuapai. I hope to fly the Arrow down to meet them both tomorrow evening, bringing them together for the first time this year!