| The Model 44 is a hand-build monoplane design with wood and tube construction. The wings and empenage are fabric covered while the forward fuselage is an aluminum skin. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. radial engine rated for 500 horsepower. The model that is simulated would have been built and flown between 1931 and 1934.
While this is a recreation of historical aircraft, there are many details that I do not have historical records for. Also, being hand-built and actively raced, each of the known model 44s underwent many modifications and each was unique in their own ways. Because of this, I opted to create a simulated version that is mostly consistent with the known history. This is especially true for the cockpit details. Only NR61Y remains today and it appears to have undergone many modifications since 1933.
Liveries
There were four model 44s built by the Wedell-Williams company but one was destroyed in a crash and never raced. The other ships, scarlet and black Miss Patterson #44, white and black Miss New Orleans #92, and Roscoe Turner's Gilmore Red Lion, #121, raced in the Thompson Trophy and Bendix Trophy.
I have also included an unpainted livery for you to customize and make your own paint scheme.
SU9 Compatible, VR Compatible
Installation
Simply unzip and copy the folder into your Community folder
Version 1.10 Release - May 4, 2022
I would like to thank everyone that has downloaded this and especially those who took the time to leave a comment with constructive feedback. I have found the problem with the engine sounds and you should now be able to hear the radial Wasp engine as it was intended. The sound levels do not change when opening the canopy but I hope to solve this in a future release.
A new propeller blur texture has been added which now shows the hub and a bit of the blades and looks better from the side. If you prefer a different look, I have included some alternate textures.
Early Access
This aircraft is "medium detail". I focused my time on the flight model and systems to try and create a fun and hopefully educational experience. This initial release is the vintage version with period-appropriate instruments. If this gets enough interest, I will work on a version that is equipped with more modern instrumentation, avionics and lighting.
Parking Brakes
There are no parking brakes and the engine is powerful enough at idle to pull you forward. So press the wheel brakes when you click Fly on the runway. If you are stopped, you can engage wheel chocks from the card in the cockpit or with the standard parking brake key (default "B").
Trimming
I recommend that you have buttons assigned to elevator, ailerion and rudder trim because this plane does require trimming all surfaces for a stable flight.
Startup Procedure
The vintage Model 44 does not feature an electric starter, it can only be started via hand pulling the prop. This is simulated by an invisible "ground crew" that can be signaled via the Ground Crew Instructions card in the cockpit. The pilot needs to switch on both magneto switches and then click the spot on the instruction card. Prior to starting, the pilot should apply the wheel brakes or set the wheel chocks.
Taxi Procedure
Due to the steep ground angle and large engine cowl, forward visibility during taxi is severely limited. It is recommended to proceed slowly and use "S-turns" to maintain visibility.
Takeoff Procedure
After lining up on the runway centerline, glance to each side to establish a view of the runway edges. You will use this to gauge your position down the center of the runway.
Due to the high thrust and torque of the engine, you must increase the throttle slowly or risk an unintended turn. 15-17 inches of manifold pressure is adequate to start the takeoff roll. Once sufficient speed for the rudder to begin to have effect, you can advance the throttle to above 20 inches of manifold pressure. Liftoff should occur before 100 knots indicated.
Landing Procedure
Due to the limited forward visibility, you should adopt a modified approach. You can crab the ship and use side slip to keep the runway visible during approach. Alternatively, you could fly a close pattern where the base and final turns are rounded off. This allows you to maintain sight of the runway until crossing the threshold.
In both cases, the last moments prior to touchdown will have you with zero forward visibility. Look out the sides to maintain equal distance between the sides of the runway.
Maintain a high angle of attack to bleed off speed. The braking is intentionally weak, so engage the brakes early and apply increasing backpressure to the stick to avoid nose-over.
As the speed decreases, the tail skid will contact the ground. This will provide additional braking force.
Pylon Racing
The Model 44s were very competitive at the National Air races during the 1931-1934 timeframe, setting world speed records.
Transcontinental Races
The Wedell-Williams Model 44 participated in several transcontinental races, setting the world speed records.
Due to the range of the 180 gallon main fuel tank, you can fly at speeds over 200 knots for more than 1,800 miles without refueling. Navigation during the 1930s would have been only by compass and visual landmarks.
Fuel Gauge
There is one 180 gallon fuel tank. You can read the level with the sight gauge tube mounted to the tank just behind the compass. The level line will begin to appear around 70 gallons remaining. The line disappears behind the tubing frame at around 27 gallons remaining. Fuel burn in cruise is around 30 gallons per hour.
Chronograph
By default, the chronograph will show the local time. Clicking on the face of the chronograph will toggle between time mode and stopwatch mode. In Stopwatch mode, clicking the top stem will start and stop the timer. When stopped, click the reset button to reset the stopwatch back to zero. The large dial is seconds, the smaller upper dial displays minutes and the smaller lower dial displays hours.
Grid Compass
The large compass at the lower section of the panel is a grid compass. The outer ring can be rotated my the pilot after the locking mechanism has been released. The "spider" inside the compass will always point toward magnetic North with the arm that has a cross at the end. The other arms indicate East and West.
To use this instrument for navigation, rotate the outer ring until your desired course is lined up with the lubber line at the top of the dial. When the pointers are within the white painted grid lines, the aircraft heading is on the selected course.
bigrican5270
IT HAS NO WORKING RADIO IT SAYS TURN POWER ON TO USE RDIOM. UM YOU CAN"T!!!!! hOW DO YOU TALK TO ATC??
dgio 20 day(s) ago
Why shouting.... 😞
USER1000
I love it!
Fredshifty
Thanks! This is a terrific gift to the community. So much fun to fly and a handful to land. This is payware quality.
billythebassman
Absolutely beautiful! Flies well and is a great experience in VR. Better than a lot of payware. Thanks for all the time and effort that went into this and for sharing it with the community.
Solinus
I thought this plane was cool. I was wrong! It is Awesome! https://youtu.be/sUJCr9LEEmU
Parorng
Nicely done!
A couple of things, the rudder pedal animation seems to be reversed. Left pedal should go in for left rudder (unless this one has something unique to it).
When shutting down the engine the sound seems 'abrupt', with a bit of a silent pause before playing the shutdown sound.
But this is quite a fun machine. We warned everyone, it doesn't like to recover from a spin!
Solinus
Awesome plane! Real joy to fly! I am looking forward to future development on this one. I like it the way it is already, can't wait to see the improvements! Did a review and I hope it gets you more downloads! Thanks for developing this one!! https://youtu.be/onLLVb7Dl58
sal1800 4 month(s) ago
Cool video. It's nice to see other pilots flying it.
The chronograph starts in local time mode. Clicking the face switches to stopwatch mode. It's useful if you want to try cross country navigation by pilotage!
A new variant, the modern replica, is in progress. I don't have a release date yet, but I'll finish it up soon.
Ginete
Great! TY!
mfblues
I was pleasantly surprised to see this plane, I had started modelling this myself but just don't have the time at the moment to work on anything so it was really nice to see this release. I will be downloading this one soon, can't wait to try it out, looks great.
Scooty
Nice job, thanks a lot!
vjojts
Exellent job man
fsnews24
Very nice!
You can find a short review here:
https://flightnews24.de/2022/05/05/wedell-williams-44-flotter-flitzer-for-free/
FurtherAM
loving this airplane
mjoliver
A tip for those of you who would like a temporary fix for the engine sounds: There are a couple of Vega 5 and 8 freeware models for FSX/P3D if you search for them. I believe they use the 'Wasp'. Just take those sounds, including the sound.cfg, and paste them into the 'sound' folder. Then drop the layout.json on to 'MSFSLayout Generator' and then fly with a nice vintage radial sound.
sal1800 5 month(s) ago
Thanks for that workaround.
I found the problem with the engine sound and will have a fix very soon. What you hear now is the default Cap-10 sounds. I have a nice radial sound file and the xml needed a bit more work.
Hasmodai
Excelente flight model and plane. More tamed than most race planes.
A little work and it will surpass many payware planes.
Voodoo41
The aircraft is beautiful and very fun to fly! 😊
For those who wish to use it in situations that it has really been through, don't hesitate to join the Virtual Air Racing Association discord, which is currently proposing to relive the Bendix race of 1932 in which it participated =)!
https://discord.gg/wgnTQg6XSp
Vershkaukas
exceeded my expectations. very fun to fly. maybe default the cockpit camera a tad farter so that a little more of the bottom row if instruments are in view. thank you.
LCMoore
Beyond my expectations...well done and thank you.
The_Fly
Awesome plane, just the motor seems to be a bit quiet inside the cockpit and behind the plane when in outside view
mjoliver
Great start. Excellent for a freeware model. Two things to mention: as rotornut44 says, the sound.cfg is missing, so those wave sounds you link in the sound.xml don't get picked up. Also, totally minor, but the elevator trim handle is not mapped to an axis yet. The exterior is absolutely outstanding! Thank You.