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ABOUT BLUESTEEL: Otherwise known as Tutissima HOME
Born in the Highlands of Scotland towards the end of WW2, and having a family history that extends back some 1200 years, I have a tough time to live up to all that has past since our early records as Dumfries lowlanders fighting the Vikings. But that is not what this site is about.
I have for a long time been interested in flying, but it has always been too expensive to carry on in a frivolous way, to the extent that I have indulged in the fine art of flying using the simulators provided by Microsoft and many other software designers. Starting back in the days of the old Commodore and Apple Computers, Through the Chuck Yeager days and so on. But really, my real interest in flying dates back to around 1949 when I was able to visit my local airport in a small town in the back of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) called Gatooma. We had a small contingent of military planes based there for training exercises. These wonderful old Tiger Moth Biplanes were the thrill of a lifetime, to be able to walk around them and actually touch them or sit inside the front cockpit and move the control stick. Then modern aircraft began to come to the area. machines such as the Dragon Rapide, and the Vickers Viking. In 1953, we left that town and returned to England. It was not too long before the call of the wild overtook the huge city of London, and in 1954 we returned to the African bush, only there was little work there, so off we went again to the city of Salisbury (Harare). I was sent to boarding school in the town of Marandellas about 45 miles East of the city. There was a train station and several shops and about 300 people lived there. All modern hospital, and three main roads. The school was Sir Godfrey Huggins, named after one of the Governors General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. There I was introduced to a really up to date aircraft built in America. It was the Beechcraft A35 V-tail. A local pilot, who had flown in the Battle of Britain was the owner, and did the daily mail run to the farming community, to towns like Macheke, Rusape, Birchenough Bridge etc. then drop the mail in the city of Salisbury. Moving up to high school, I went to Churchill in Salisbury. The whole theme of the school was the Battle of Britain with a few extra special attachments, first being the annual visit and speech by the greatest pilot I have ever met, Sir Douglas Bader. At that time he was flying for a South African company, but would take time every year on Battle of Britain day to visit us and meet as many scholars as he could, and tell tales of glory that would make us sit with our mouths open, all agog. This was where I met John Gaunt, whose father worked as a civil technician to the Royal Rhodesian Air Force. I then had the opportunity to go in the cockpit of a then, modern Vampire Mk22. This was the era of the Bristol Britannia, and the Vickers Viscount which ended for me in 1962 when I took that major leap into the unknown, called leaving home and joined the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm where I spent many a good time working, learning and flying in the Aircraft. I spent 18 months on Aircraft Carriers in the Far East, and visited such places as Kobe, Hong Kong, Manila, Olongapo at Subic Bay and also Okinawa. Our home base was RAF Tengah in Singapore, and the Naval Station where I was based was WT Station Kranji, in Yew Tee Village, just near Bukit Panjang. After my time in the Navy, I returned to Rhodesia and took up employment with Airwork Services as a civil Technician to the Rhodesian Air Force. Later moved to South Africa and worked at Yesterplaat near Cape Town for the South African Air Force in the same capacity. Travel seemed necessary at that age, so I traveled to England to work for Hawker Siddeley, building the Harrier Jump jets in Kingston-on-Thames. Then decided to make my final settling ground in Canada. After trying several Aircraft related jobs here, I ended up doing what I was best trained for, and that was to work with Avionic Systems on the most advanced Executive Jet in the world for its class, The Global Express. Having spent some 200 hours flying around Canada in this aircraft at altitudes up to 51,000 feet, higher than some military aircraft can go, and realised the full potential and serenity of flight, seeing the Northern Lights from this Altitude is also something many would pay good money to see, but I was paid to be there. This was where I got the opportunity to test my flying skills in the CAE Real Time Flight Simulator worth about $20M. US. I discovered that the Microsoft Flight Simulator programs had adequately trained me to fly the real thing. I was not totally surprised, but I was pleased to know that after a life time 54 years since I first left the ground in a heavier than air machine (the Super Constellation) and 40 years in the industry "come May 1st 2002", they (Microsoft) had produced a game style program that really is AS REAL AS IT GETS. Thank you Microsoft.
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AUTHORS NOTE
It came to my notice after several downloads of aircraft from the various sites on the internet for Flight Simmers, that only a few designers out there were actually really interested in getting the Cockpit Panels as accurate as possible, and also tended to use any old gauge, as long as it did the job. Some brave people have ventured in to modified photos, which, while authentic, leave a lot to be desired.
Could you imagine a Wright Flyer with a full glass cockpit. It would work, but it's not authentic. So, I decided to go even deeper into the detail of the cockpits, taking in some cases up to 600 hours to produce the results I wanted. The detail speaks for itself.
I have endeavored to maintain the authenticity and integrity of the cockpits by adding things like Shareware add-on navigation systems, and providing more than one panel design to facilitate the people who like the features, but do not have the need or do not wish to lay out for add-ons. The sites for the add-ons are included in those specific files, and may be downloaded from other sources. I have provided links to some of the other sites where special tools and features are available.
If you have any special requests, comments etc., Please feel free to contact me at: info@bluesteelfs.com
The GMAX of the Global Express is the sole property of the designer, and may not be altered or distributed by any unauthorized party.
There is a third partner who shall remain silent for the time being, but you may direct questions in regards to Texture applications through either of us at the e-mail address above.
All reasonable request will be met.
Webmaster Bluesteel