freeware old planes advice

[Delta Tango Nine Two]

well... I have a difficult choice... and I need some advice...
for my category of "pre-ww2 freeware plane (and ww2 or close)" being "low performance trainer plane" (no powerful fighters, just slow planes) (not required, but essential) and having "GREAT visual quality and of internal systems" (of which you have to read manuals to fly it)... I have the following contestants:

(remember...ONLY freewares)

ants T-28A TROJAN
ants TIGER MOTH
AVRO 621 TUTOR by simouthouse
T-6 Texan by Warwick Cater
P-38L LIGHTNING by MILVIZ (civilian "redbull" modernized version)
GLOSTER GLADIATOR by Francois
FAIREY SWORDFISH by Flying Stations

MINI ANALYSIS - REVIEW of each of them:
The contest is just beginning... and I must say that some have already lost

The T-6 TEXAN, although beautiful and complete...it caused me strange power problems, really strange...the plane barely reached flight speed.
the ants T-28A TROJAN...we are talking about one of the best planes available for fsx in terms of "trainer", "complex plane" is excellent, a real beauty of model and systems...but having such a detailed model It is problematic for me in fps, and its systems use maintenance panels (engine wear...etc), it is not a model for "initiates" in fsx. trojan A, only has a few repaints, most are for the payware sister version
milviz's P-38L (civilian version only...ww2 version discarded), very detailed, complex ignition system, with current modernized VC, built-in gps, no weapons (only for exhibitions),...although beautiful, almost discarded...it's too powerful to concentrate on learning. (is waiting to see the next planes)

remain as a finalist to be chosen
the ANTS TIGER MOTH (the free version)... is simply a delight to fly, complex and simple at the same time... it is more focused on enjoying the wind in your face than on flight systems.
the AVRO 621 TUTOR (it's in simouthouse... and yes, there is its FSX NATIVE version), extremely beautiful (exquisite modelling), there are 5 packages of different versions and variations of the TUTOR!!! (621, 621 TRAINER, 621 TUTOR, 646 SEA TUTOR, POLISH TUTOR (PWS-18))

I still have to try:
GLOSTER GLADIATOR by Francois
https://fssupport.com/fsblog/shop/
I have searched, and only found this very detailed model of the gladiator (clearly not a trainer, but not a high-powered fighter either)

FAIREY SWORDFISH by Flying Stations
https://bravozulu.blog/2019/12/18/flyin ... -freeware/
THE SURPRISE!!!!... I really just found out that this model exists... it's really impressive... it's direct competition from the gladiator.

(owner of simviation...if you are reading this...a lot of people when they talk about this model redirect to an old link http://flyingstations.com/swordfish.html...now they are on "bravozulu.blog". I explain it because there are textures of this model here in simviation that redirect to that old link)

If anyone knows them, I would like to know your opinion on the GLADIATOR AND SWORDFISH models

[Daube]

The Sordfish was very nice and its flight model was realistic, from what I remember. However, it was quite basic in terms of system realism, meaning that it wasn't more complex than any default planes, if I remember correctly. I liked it and flew it quite a lot nevertheless.

The Tutor is not complex either, but it flies well and it provides the highest graphic quality, so that might be the best choice.

Concerning the T-6 by Warwick Carter, I'm not sure but I think it required FSX-Acceleration, not just FSX. That might be the reason why you can't get proper performance... But again, that was a very long time ago so I don't really remember.

One thing is sure: these planes are not new, so you can probably find the dedicated topics that were created on various forums back when these planes were released, and read the comments in there

[Daube]

About the Texan again:
I found an old conversation about it, and it seems there were some updates made for the plane and its flight model.
You need to look for the following files:
FSDS_T-6UPDATE.ZIP (update to the plane in general)
jt_woz_t6_fdeup.zip (update to the flight model)
T6TEXMOD.ZIP (update for the textures)

For the repaints, look for the ones made by John Terrell.
Here is an old screenshot of mine, with one of his repaints:

[Delta Tango Nine Two]

well... as I said in the milviz freebies thread
https://forums.simviation.com/phpBB3/vi ... 7&start=30

I was able to recover a lost piece of FREEWARE software that is no longer on the internet...the P-38L LIGHTNING from MILVIZ..."civilized" version
(it was a package that contained ONE model and ONE redbull paint, and it brought a COMPLETELY MODERNIZED VC)

with the deleted file recovery software you can recover from my pc ALSO...
-2 MODIFIED TEXTURES (if you don't like the redbull texture)
-AND SOME VC TEXTURES MODIFIED BY ME (that I had deleted many years ago)
(I think many of you know this... I like to paint the VC cockpit gray, or something less "colorful" (see my photos of the VC of the t-6a texan II, fully modified)

MINI REVIEW P-38 "CIVIL":
as I said in the other thread, you must read the manual to be able to do a complete ignition of this model...but even so, it is MUCH more accessible than the WW2 version...everything here is more "ergonomic", you don't have to worry for ammunition, and related things... this plane is polished and flies like a rocket!!!!
I FORGOT SOMETHING IMPORTANT:
THE FPS, I have fps problems, due to the polished metal and its complex vc. but I suppose someone with a decent PC will have no problem.

I want to emphasize and remark... that this is a FREEWARE... but since MILVIZ deleted it from its official content on their page (I don't know the reasons)... I mean, they intentionally decided not to publish it anymore, even though it is freeware.
I respect that. that's why I'm not posting it (yet)...I just recovered it from my erased hard drive. nothing else.
I was here and here
https://blackbirdsims.com/flight/PG.php?id=30#
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjQKkhkjJUM

I want to add that as it was a rare model... there were few or no external textures...someone published a "polished metal" version in simouthouse without the redbull logo, (it is the one that appears in the last photos). today 2023...I guess it must be the same...very few textures available.
enough talk...here are the photos
(the "CLEAR" VC is the original one in the package... and the DARK GRAY VC is mine (that I recovered from my erased hard drive)

[Delta Tango Nine Two]

About the Texan again:
I found an old conversation about it, and it seems there were some updates made for the plane and its flight model.
You need to look for the following files:
FSDS_T-6UPDATE.ZIP (update to the plane in general)
jt_woz_t6_fdeup.zip (update to the flight model)
T6TEXMOD.ZIP (update for the textures)

For the repaints, look for the ones made by John Terrell.
Here is an old screenshot of mine, with one of his repaints:

thanks for your help...i remember there are endless amounts of custom textures for the FSDS T6...if i remember the problem of lack of power...still...thanks....
It seems to me that I am opting for the tiger moth, or one of those mentioned as "finalists". (moth, guardian, gladiator...)

[Delta Tango Nine Two]

FREEWARE gloster gladiator mini review

(here)
https://fssupport.com/fsblog/shop/
beautiful plane, you have to read the manual to have a correct ignition of the plane... (although you can also do ctrl + e), its cockpit has many levers and systems that really work. It has animations on the ground (people carrying ammunition, etc, you can also remove side panels from the cannons... etc)
I have fps problems (my pc is a dead potato), I guess it works great for you guys.

this model surpasses (my opinion) the swordfish... and fights directly with the p-38, the moth, and the tutor...
the moth and the tutor don't cause me fps problems... (the p-38 and gladiator do...unfortunately)

[zswobbie1]

I would love to get the Gladiator.. The fsaddon site is no longer active.

[Delta Tango Nine Two]

I would love to get the Gladiator.. The fsaddon site is no longer active.

You saw... one day it is a very well-known freeware... and the next day the page closes... and no one else can obtain it. unfortunately... after taking the photos of the gloster gladiator... I deleted the file from my pc... (I had decided to keep the ants tiger moth, and the avro tutor) (I'll see if I can "rescue" it from my hard disc...but I don't think I can publish it here on simviation)

[zswobbie1]

I would love to get the Gladiator.. The fsaddon site is no longer active.

You saw... one day it is a very well-known freeware... and the next day the page closes... and no one else can obtain it. unfortunately... after taking the photos of the gloster gladiator... I deleted the file from my pc... (I had decided to keep the ants tiger moth, and the avro tutor) (I'll see if I can "rescue" it from my hard disc...but I don't think I can publish it here on simviation)

If you can find it...... maybe PM me?

[Delta Tango Nine Two]

I would love to get the Gladiator.. The fsaddon site is no longer active.

You saw... one day it is a very well-known freeware... and the next day the page closes... and no one else can obtain it. unfortunately... after taking the photos of the gloster gladiator... I deleted the file from my pc... (I had decided to keep the ants tiger moth, and the avro tutor) (I'll see if I can "rescue" it from my hard disc...but I don't think I can publish it here on simviation)

If you can find it...... maybe PM me?

good morning mate...
All day yesterday and all morning I have reviewed my entire PC (my files... including the deleted ones (I use a program to recover deleted files... that's how I found the p-38 redbull)...
unfortunately can't find anything...apparently it was deleted and overwritten with other files. "we lost it".

Apparently in some forums they are doing a "complete international search" for that gloster gladiator... (simhouthouse, avsim) (assuming you are not the same user there). I hope it works out, that someone has it on a hard drive and publishes it... according to the owner... he simply couldn't maintain the page anymore and that's why it closed... (so there were no problems with the freeware models) (of In fact, you can still download the paintkit but only that.)
You might be interested to know that there is another gloster gladiator here in simviation "reworked"
https://simviation.com/1/search?submit= ... ip&x=0&y=0
Greetings and good luck with the search.

[zswobbie1]

Thanks, I do have that Gladiator from Simviation, and it great. But the one from Fsaddons looks and seems to be very good..
I'm just hoping that someone still has it.