FSX North American A36 Apache/Invader On September 9, 1940, only 102 days after the contract had been signed, the NA-73X prototype was rolled out though still waiting for its engine. The new fighter was named Mustang by the British, and the first British version was designated Mustang I. As soon as it was available, the 1,120hp Allison V-171 0-39 power plant was installed, and engine and taxi tests began. On 26 October, Vance Breese lifted the aircraft off the runway for a maiden flight. Testing continued until Paul Balfour was forced to make a deadstick landing. The NA73X flipped over on its back, and it took six weeks to make repairs and get the aircraft ready to fly again. The first production Mustang I soon joined the repaired prototype in the test program, and shortly other Mustangs were heading for England. As expected, the evaluation of the flight test aircraft showed that the NA-73 was indeed superior to the P-40 Warhawk which was considered to be the best single-engine fighter in the U.S. Army Air Corps inventory at the time. The Army contract for Mustangs consisted of an order on August 24, 1942 for 1200 NA-99 versions with the USAAF designation of P-51A. Unlike the A-36A, these aircraft from the start were meant to be fighters, not bombers. Unofficially named the "Invader," the A-36 Apache dive bomber was the first U.S. Army Air Forces version of the Mustang (the Mustang was officially developed for Britain in 1940). The first A-36 flew in September 1942, and North American completed production of 500 A-36As in March 1943. Assigned to the 27th and 86th Bombardment Groups (Dive), the A-36A first saw action against the the island of Pantelleria in June 1943. During the Italian campaign, A-36A pilots flew bomber escort and strafing missions as well as ground support bombing attacks. A-36As also served with the 311th Fighter Bomber Group in India. In 1944 bomb rack equipped P-51s and P-47s replaced the A-36A when experience showed that these high-altitude fighters were more suitable for low-level missions than the A-36As. Specifications ========== Manufacturer North American Aircraft Inglewood California Number Built 7,956 Wing Span 37 ft. 0 in. Overall Length 32 ft. 3 in. Overall Height 13 ft. 8 in. Speed (Maximum) 409 mph. Range (Maximum) 1,000 miles 2,125 miles Altitude (Maximum) 31,350ft. Armament ; Six .50-cal. machine guns and ten 5 in. rockets or 2,000 lbs. of bombs. Power plant ; Allison V-1710-81 (F20R) engine rated at 1200 hp for takeoff and 1125 hp at 18,000 feet Installation: ======== -Unzip " A36_Apache_Invader" into a temporary file and move the " A36_Apache_Invader"folder into the main Aircraft directory. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -Read instructions carefully when installing the gauges , say YES...when asked if the gauges sources should be trusted. If you say no....most of the gauges are not going to work ! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -Leave all gauges in the " A36_Apache_Invader" panel folder (You can also paste them into your flightsim/gauges folder.) -Copy the effects into the Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator ...\effects folder and the 20can.wav into the Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator ...\sound folder. -landing light is triggered by CTRL+L. -exhaust effects use wing/taxi/logo -guns use strobe . (better move the "O" strobe key to the joystick trigger) -Spoiler key activates dive brakes. CREDITS ======= Special thanks to : -GMAX for the drawing program and Microsoft for their makmdls.mdk. -Sopwith C for the panel bmp. -To War Thunder for some of the textures. LEGAL: ====== The project is released as freeware. You may modify it and repaint it. You may upload this file to another website as long as it is not for profit. You need the written permission of the original authors to use any of these files for commercial purposes, otherwise a simple credit would be nice. Non commercial repaints-remakes are welcome but I would appreciate very much receiving a copy of your model. This file should not cause any problems with your computer, but I accept no responsibility if you think it does Happy Landings!! A.F.Scrub, July 2015. af_scrubbypc@hotmail.com