Ken Wood (Simulator photos)
Fly! II flight simulator's Seawind rendering
From: Kenneth E Wood Jr
To: [ISPA]
Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 3:12 PM
Subject: Fly! II Seawind Project
I've attached a zip file for you containing a couple photos of the "factory" plane and panel, and if you wish to use, a photo and bio of myself. I've made a Windows Media Movie file of the Seawind as well, and its a little over 3 mb in size, if you are interested in seeing it / using it on ISPA.
I wish to thank you again for your kind permission to utilize shots from the ISPA site, and have received kind permission from Mr. Art Culver to release his livery paint scheme (N666AC) as well. We've several paint schemes designed for release via AVSIM (www.avsim.com), and currently are hoping for an initial release just before Christmas for the freeware project.
Ken Wood, in association with F2FDesign, proudly announces the near completion of the Seawind freeware project for the Fly! II Flight Simulator - a product of Terminal Reality, Inc.(TRI) (www.iflytri.com) and produced by TRI and Take 2 Interactive.
The plane 3D model was created by Mr. Jarno Deken of F2FDesign - a group of Fly! enthusiasts who create freeware aircraft. The artwork for the Factory livery was completed by Mr. Steve Brown from Wales, England, courtesy of artwork provided by Seawind, Inc. The panel work has been done / inspired by pictures from Mr. George Osborne's own cockpit from N184WL.
The Seawind freeware project is quite proud to be sanctioned by Mr. Richard Silva of Seawind, Inc., and a large part of this project's success has been from the helpful assistance and kind permissions of ISPA members. My heartfelt thanks to ISPA, its members and to Seawind, Inc. for making this project possible! may all of you have a wonderful and joyous Holiday Season!
Sincerely,
Kenneth E. Wood Jr.
Meteorologist
Fly! II Seawind Project
This is one of the early renderings of Art Culver's seawind (see below). (Note that the exact location of the nav lights is still being determined in this version.)
Ken's biography:
Ken Wood is a meteorologist, trained by the U.S. Navy, and formerly a founding team member of Cable News Network's International Weather Department, where for ten years he produced weather segments that aired world-wide. His Navy stint took him to places such as Antarctica, Hawaii, Iceland, Okinawa, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Japan and the Philippines, not mention various places throughout the United States. Ken Wood, CNN World Weather deskHis interest in flying came from working an air show in Oklahoma City while in high school Key Club (a junior Kiwanis Club) as an attendant loading people onto private aircraft for charity monies. His first GA aircraft flown in was a Piper Seneca II twin engine, and from that he was hooked. An avid flight simulator buff - Ken started with his first flight simulator program on a Timex Sinclair touch pad computer and cassette tape. It was black and white wire frame with the most basic instruments, but that really hooked him again.
From there, he graduated to subLogic's Flight Simulator II for the Amiga computer, then moved to the PC version of subLogic's Flight Simulator II and their highly touted Flight Assignment ATP program.Buying all he could, and discovering and eventually running a BBS, and co-founding a virtual Airline for ATP, Ken moved over to Microsoft's Flight Simulator 4, staying with the MSFS products through A Century of Flight: Flight Simulator 2004. In the interim, he has been known to use MicroProse's F-117A, Gunship 2000, U.S. Navy Pilots F-18, Virgin Software's Shuttle Space Flight Simulator, Microsoft's Space Simulator, BAO's Tower, plus Interplay's STARFLEET ACADEMY and STARFLEET COMMAND series. Ken has used Sierra Pro-Pilot - which intrigued him for the near realistic use of panels, as well as the Flight Unlimited series. Then came Fly! by Terminal reality, Inc. which offered even more realism than Pro-Pilot for aircraft systems, followed by Fly! II, and it is this simulation that he cherishes the most. The Seawind freeware project is Ken's first *major* attempt at giving back to the Fly! community, having shared his Montana and Oklahoma City scenery creations for the original Fly! in the past.
In his other leisure pursuits, Ken enjoys golf (Access Software/Microsoft Links on the computer now - sadly, back injury prevents playing the real thing) bowling, horseback riding, and most everything STAR TREK, STAR WARS or at the very least "Space" themed. He does enjoy good comedies, musicals and occasional theatrical productions. Ken has also done work as a volunteer disc jockey for the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service, with his main musical interest being Oldies, Top Pop and Easy Listening. His personal favorites in music is Instrumental soundtracks - with The Man From Snowy River and Return to Snowy River being his top soundtracks (and movies!). Ken has two Schipperkes (Skipper-keys) and currently calls St. Marys, Georgia home.
The photo above, of ISPA member Art Culver's N666AC, is the photo used for the Fly-II flight simulator renderings.
Fly! flight simulator's text about the Seawind and the simulator:
The Seawind was originally conceived by the Creelman brothers (Roger, Len and Kirk) in the mid-1970's. It first made its appearance in the early 1980's at an air expo in Canada as a kit-plane for aspiring aircraft builders. The Seawind's futuristic design lends itself well to the 21st century. Stylish and versatile, the Seawind has great potential for the private pilot as well as commercial interests. Upgrades can include such things as a turbo-charged engine and advanced avionics. Building upon the success of the kit version, Seawind, Inc. has sought, and is currently undergoing certification trials. Deliveries [of the certificated version] are expected to begin around summer 2004.
The Fly! II model is based upon the "kit" version, and was modeled by Jarno Deken. The Factory livery as provided by Seawind, Inc. was done by Steve Brown. The panel background was created by Giorgio Gnesda, and the panel layout was conceived and executed by Ken Wood.
Seawind, Seawind 3000 and Seawind 300C are copyright Seawind, Inc., and used by permission.
