User manual

Bronco X
Aerosoft GmbH 2012
80 81
Appendix B: The Making Of
Perhaps you would like to get some
idea about how a project like this
starts and evolves to what you see
now. It started actually years ago,
when I flew the Bronco in FS98 and
immediately liked the aircraft. Ever
since I had the aircraft on the list of
’projects to do’. In 2010 we actually
decided to start on it and as always
we needed good access to the real
aircraft. There was one obvious
choice for that as there are not that
many flying Bronco’s in Western
Europe, the OV-10 Bronco Associati-
on, German Wing. When we
contacted them they were immedia-
tely interested and very helpful.
Quickly a date was set for a photo
shoot and a sound recording session.
To capture all the details of an aircraft like this on photo is a lengthy process
and requires a keen eye for detail. It is best if the 3d artist does the photo’s
as he knows what matters most. He always has a ruler in the picture so he
knows what size the objects are. Even the flight suit that the pilots wears is
photographed from all sides! The sound recording is more fun as the guy
who does the sounds gets to sit in the cockpit and operate all the controls
to get the sounds of all the switches etc. We normally do this with a video
camera with a good microphone so we know what sound is what.
Then comes a period when the 3d artist starts to work. The system
designer starts a bit later and tries to get a good idea of all the
systems. We talk to the real pilot a lot in this stage to understand what
the most important systems are, what is possible and what is just too
complex for FSX and/or the intended customer. The flight mechanics
people start last. They create a base file that is then test flown and
compared to real data (taken from manuals and documents).