|
Part 2 Interviews:
Recently I was able to ask the designer of this
aircraft, Kotaro Akikawa, the project "test
pilot," Clayton Dopke, and the "crew
chief," Jason Peters a few questions about
this B-52; here is what they had to say.
Kotaro Akikawa (the designer)
Richie: First, could you tell us a little
about yourself (age, where your from, ect.)?
Kotaro: I'm a 9th grade student living
in Yokohama, Japan, 15 years old. I had been living
closer to downtown Tokyo before I moved to Halifax
N.S, Canada when I was 3. I lived in Halifax for
5 1/2 years, and then came back to Japan.
Richie: What add-ons have you created
for CFS/FS?
Kotaro: The first ever aircraft I created
and released was the F-22 Version 1.0, which is
still available at a corner of my site. Next came
an update to the F-22, Version 1.5. After that
the F-15s, C and E models came out. These were
pretty successful, but are already outdated. The
B-52H is my 5th aircraft build and released, and
it sure has all the bells and whistles I could
think of. Other non-aircraft add-ons include a
US Modern Weapons Pack for CFS2 freaks, and a
few FS Design Studio source files of the few aircraft
that quite didn't make it out.
Richie: When did you start working on
your B-52H and long did it take you?
Kotaro: Work started at around July 2001,
but the decision was made more like in March 2001.
The current B-52 was completed in February, so
I guess I can say I worked on it for 8 months
on and off.
Richie: When you first started the B-52,
what were your project goals? Did you succeed?
Kotaro: My first goal was, above all,
to create a B-52H Stratofortress for all the FS2000
users crying that they WANTED the BUFF. My initial
goals were to just create it, and get everyone
happy. As time went on and I studied the B-52H
further, I started to understand the technical
miracles this aircraft has worked through, and
I felt like I needed to design this aircraft as
accurate as possible. Then I met Clayton Dopke
and Jason Peters, who helped me understand even
more about the daily life of a BUFF. Believe me,
I wasn't sure if all what the B-52H is right now
was even possible at first, but as time went on
and new (important) discoveries were made in the
FS world, some of the things deemed impossible
became reality. And yes, I do believe I ultimately
succeeded in my original goals of satisfying all
of the FS users who wanted a BUFF.
Richie: What part of the B-52 are you
most proud of?
Kotaro: I'm proud I was able to put it
together! The B-52H was my first "heavy"
aircraft, my earlier aircraft being much smaller
fighter jets, so every component was an obstacle.
I had to relearn modeling. Getting the shape right
while keeping in mind the FS users with low-end
PCs.
Richie: Did you win any awards or receive
special recognition for this plane?
Kotaro: The B-52H received the March 2002
"Developers Award" from Flightsim.com,
and "avsim Freeware approved" award
and "Bear Approved" award from avsim.com.
But none of these awards would mean nothing, if
it weren't for the constant bombardment of "Thank
you" and "Great job" mails from
the FS users who liked the B-52 of my mailbox.
I received 60+ mails each day for a full week
full of some very kind words.
Richie: How positive was the feedback
after the B-52 had been released?
Kotaro: I have gotten extremely positive
feedback, and I also got a few mails from B-1B
"Bone" drivers who wanted their mount
modeled to the same degree :)
Richie: What caused you the most problems
when creating the plane?
Kotaro: This is probably the gear assembly,
where I had trouble understanding how the whole
thing worked. Clay and Jason cleared it out for
me. I'm still not too satisfied with the gear
assembly, so it will be completely redone in the
next version.
Also, the air file has caused us massive headaches,
and still is. Due to the huge difference between
empty and full combat weight, the landing gears
could not be set properly. The B-52 is still suffering
from this problem.
Richie: Are there any personal comments
you would like to make about this aircraft or
the project?
Kotaro: I'd like to say this aircraft
is by the Beta testers as much as it is mine.
Lots of days of frustrating work, lots of problem
pointing, and lots of encouragement from them.
They are all a really nice bunch :) I am looking
forward to working with them once again, on the
Gmax B-52H.
Richie: Finally, are you willing to share
with us your future designing plans?
Kotaro: Future plans call for a complete
remake of the B-52H in GMAX!!!! Watch this space
;) I don't have any solid info yet, but work is
progressing bit by bit. It will take full advantage
of the new features Gmax has brought upon us :)
Clayton Dopke (Test Pilot)
Richie: How are you associated with the
real USAF B-52?
Clayton: I was an Air Force command pilot
of several B52's, (read that D and G models) during
the Vietnam conflict. I flew 202 missions from
Anderson AFB in Guam to Vietnam during that time.
My total flight time in a 52 was in excess of
six thousand hours in the B52- and over 15K total
flying time in about any type of aircraft you
can think about.
Richie: What was your role in the creation
of Kotaro Akikawa's B-52H?
Clayton: I found out from a friend that
Kotaro was doing this outrageous 'Buff', and he
gave me a link to get in touch with K. I wrote
him an email, stated my experience with the real
aircraft and offered help if he needed some. To
be honest, he already had a wonderful BETA team
which included Jason Peters, a present day, crew
chief of a B52 down at Barksdale. I was welcomed
with open arms, and thus began the testing of
the aircraft so that we could make it fly like
a real B-52.
Richie: How accurate is the flight characteristics
of this B-52 (compared to real B-52s which you
have flown)?
Clayton: Considering that flight simming
is lacking the element of 'feel'; meaning the
'seat of the pants' sensation of flying, and you
have to relate that to all aircraft, I think Kotaro's
aircraft is very close to the real thing. Obviously,
some of the nastier faults of the B52 are missing,
but to include them, the aircraft would have to
be more complex than Dreamfleet's 737, and you
would need 6 months of training to fly the MS
simulation. That is all fine and dandy in a FMS,
(full motion simulator), but for a PC based simulation,
you can only input so much information without
tedious training.
Richie: What single element of this plane
makes it a flight simming "gem?"
Clayton: I don't think it is a single
element, it is a combination of items. The exactingness
of the builder, Kotaro . . . it had to be right,
from weight, to angles, dimensions, configuration
. . . jet engine cowl vents . . . I could go on
longer than most readers would wish to read. Having
been on the BETA team, I can attest to how many
times the landing gear had been redesigned . .
. or the angle of the wing changes, or the number
of bumps, humps and such which were painstakingly
inserted. It was quite an effort.
Richie: In your expert opinion, how accurate
is this plane overall (can you give me a percent)?
Clayton: Remembering what I said about
feel in the beginning, overall this aircraft is
90% and to give you a ruler or scale of what I
feel is pretty close, the Dreamfleet 737 is only
a 91% to me. (I'm giving you a pilots perspective)
If I had my wishes, I would put the Buff that
Kotaro is NOW building, (don't get too excited,
he is working on a GMAX version of the 52 but
that is a long way off), with an expert panel
designer, such as the people who did DF's panel,
and perhaps Steve Small for some of his work,
and we would make the aircraft more complicated
and user 'ugly' to make it more realistic. In
other words, we would end up building something
that only a few flight simulator nuts would want
to fly, because you would have to take 6 weeks
to learn how to fly it. Unfortunately, you can't
do that in flightsimming, because most of us have
only limited time to do our simming, and if we
had that kind of time, well, we would out flying
the real thing . . .(leaving the cost option to
another argument.)
Richie: Are there any comments you would
like to make about this aircraft?
Clayton: I said some of it above . . .
but the aircraft flies, (handles) very well. I
have seen a few modifications on the .air file
by a few individuals who knew more about .air
files than we did, and who modified things such
as top speed, altitude and such. They did not
tangle with the actual handling of the aircraft,
because we have that right. The fact that Kotaro,
Jason and myself wanted the aircraft to behave
like the real thing is why we took the time to
make sure the model did take off, tail first,
just as a real 52 does. Some immediately said
that was wrong . . . .no, they were wrong . .
. trust me!
Kotaro's effort, and that of all of the BETA
team was an labor of love . . . each of us bathed
in the light of the frustration of this aircraft
. . . each of us wanting it to be perfect. Now,
understand, if we had continued on the perfect
idea, until it was really perfect, well, you guys
would still be waiting for it . . . you have to
release it sometime so someone can fly it. <G>
Thanks for your interest . . . Kotaro is a most
talented young man and it was an honor and pleasure
to work with him and such dedicated BETA team.
Jason Peters (Crew Chief)
Richie: How are you associated with the
real USAF B-52?
Jason: For the past 4 1/2 years I have
been a B-52H Crew Chief in the 11th Bomb Squadron
USAF, Stationed at Barksdale AFB. This Squadron
trains all B-52 Pilots as well as maintains combat
ready for real world events. I am the Assistant
Crew Chief of Serial# 61-011 "Dressed to
Kill'
Richie: What was your role in the creation
of Kotaro Akikawa's B-52H?
Jason: Mainly technical advisor. Due do
my unique technical insight to the aircraft I
am able to provide highly detailed information
about any system on the airplane. When I was able
to (For security reasons), I got him this information
straight out of the USAF Technical Manuals I use
everyday to work on the Airplane. I also Helped
with the Flight model verification. Being a Crew
Chief has its perks, and one of them is flying
with my airplane when it goes places. Hey its
my airplane! So I'm lucky enough to have quite
a few hours real seat time in her. Along with
some sim time.
Richie: How accurately is Kotaro Akikawa's
aircraft modeled compared to real B-52s?
Jason: Well, its not leaking Hydraulic
fluid everywhere, Or occasionally
dripping engine oil, and you sure don't see me
spending 8 hours doing a
Pre-Flight on this one.. hehe But as far as the
virtual world goes, the
model is by far the most accurate ever produced
for flight sim! Both myself and Kotaro are really
proud of this! However there is still some things
we are working on to up the realism ante even
more. We are currently working on a new GMax version
for FS2002 which I hope will up the detail even
more. Flexing Wings, Accurate Spoiler animations,
More Detailed Landing Gear, these are all on the
list for improvement. And that's really only a
small piece of the list! Were not done yet, and
I'm sure to keep nagging Kotaro until we've got
this thing out to the limits of FS design.
Richie: How accurate are the static loads
featured in this B-52?
Jason: The Static weapons loads are highly
accurate as far as which
squadron is carrying what. However it's not even
close to representing
everything the B-52 can carry. We have a saying
in the B-52 world... "If you can strap it
to the wing.... we can drop it" (Including
Other airplanes.. hehe) The B-52 is the only plane
in the US inventory capable of carrying every
Air to Ground weapon in the US arsenal.
Richie: What is the best part of Kotaro
Akikawa's aircraft?
Jason: Kotaro does a brilliant job in
designing really tough aircraft.
Military hardware in my opinion, are some of the
hardest aircraft to model due to lack of widely
available technical information. Kotaro really
does his homework, he's put together a great team
for this one and really pays attention when we
tell him what's up. He's done a gorgeous job on
this B-52 and it can only get better!
Richie: In your expert opinion, how accurate
is this plane overall (can you give me a percent)?
Jason: I think we are at about 70% or
better. We need more FDE work and a custom panel
with fuel management to really get us to that
90% or better range were looking for. Fuel management
in FS2002 just isn't up to the BUFF's 12 fuel
tanks and 312,000 lbs of gas. Hence the CG problems
some of you have noticed I am Sure Any Panel designers
out there looking for a challenge?
Richie: Are there any comments you would
like to make about this aircraft?
Jason: Bear with us.. She's a work in
progress! But amazing never the less! Thanks for
taking the time to interview me. I hope you and
the rest of the FS community have as much fun
with this airplane as we have. I am very proud
to have been involved in this project and with
the BUFF in the real world. She's an amazing aircraft
and a true testament to the Boeing engineers who
designed her over 50 years ago.
And a wanted ad: Need talented panel designer
to make custom panel.
All pertinent info will be provided. LOL Any volunteers?
Special Thanks: I would just like to thank
Kotaro Akikawa, Clayton Dopke, and Jason Peters
for doing this interview. It really helped me
when reviewing this plane. Thanks guys!
Note: Kotaro Akikawa took the pictures showing
the nuclear weapon.
Also, if you want to see all the add-ons Kotaro
Akikawa has made check out his website "The
Wireframe" located here: http://www.simviation.com/bonzonie/index.htm
|
