Join In! Gibraltar Barn - Tempsford

[alan1965 0]

Hi All,

 

hope this is in the right place - apologies if not.

 

Many months back i read Joe's review on FS ADDONS Lysander special ops, and decided that as  WW2 planes are my interest (as you can see by the Mossie), i would purchase this for me to fly on FSX and my Dad to peruse as this brings back many memories for him as a child, flying over his home.

A recent visit to Old Warden ( via Tempsford) to see MA-B flying has only got me more interested (Fantastic day out - highly recommended)  , so i now have the need for Gibraltar Barn at N52 degs 9.51 mins lat & 0 degs 15.50 mins long. to carry out my special ops missions within "special ops".

My Ianps dark corner Tempsford is very good but like he says in his blog of the time "the Barn will come later".

 

Does anyone know if it has been done?

it is still work in progress ?

has a third party done it ?

 

i have trawled through lots of sim sites and google but the only ref i get is towards the real thing - which you need the farmers permission to access.

 

any clues would be great, have any of you produced anything like it?

 

have been reading up on Airport Design Editor out of curiosity but think that maybe beyond me !!  .

 

Alan.

 

 

[allardjd 1,853]

ADE won't help create it, but if you manage to find the object it could be used to place it where you want it to be.

 

John

[brett 2,283]

If you want to build an actual replica with a working door, you would probably have to make it using something like Instant Object Studio and place it yourself. All you would need is so pictures of the actual one to use as textures. 

 

If you want something that looks close to it, look through this default scenery list for whatever is closest to its look, like the gen_warehouseshackwood01(buildings, second page) or ag_barn(autogen, first page)or along that line. 

 

If you do not have the SDK or are unfamiliar with doing something like this I will be happy to help you out.

[alan1965 0]

Hi Brett, had a quick look at some of the buildings on default scenery list but will spend more time later trying to find the closest one. Have a couple of photos of "Gibraltar barn" but not all sides,though i think its the same on all 4 sides anyway.

i think i will have a go at recreating the barn with your help - totally unfamiliar. You don't know what you have let yourself in for

 

thanks for offer

 

will get back to you soon

 

Alan.

[brett 2,283]

Check out these shots, a shame it is not being maintained. There is also some good shots on Google images.

[allardjd 1,853]

Just what is the significance of this barn?

 

John

[brett 2,283]

It was one of the places used by the secret RAF "Moon" Squadrons for night flights over into Europe. Here is a snippet from this site.

 

"Gibraltar Farm Barn was a building on the airfield (adapted to continue looking like a normal farm barn, to fool German air-reconnaisance) where agents were supplied with their equipment...and their cyanide pills, in case of capture. Inside, there are moving memorials to individual R.A.F. aircrews and S.O.E. agents."

[brett 2,283]

ooops, my Granddaughter just sent the post before I was done. I have the Lysander package too, it comes with the airport but I think the Barn was a little off to the side of it. I never heard of it until Alan's post so I am doing some reading on it to see where it was and see if it is included in the scenery that came with the Lysander. The couple of times I tried out the missions, the airport was dark and I never really checked it out during the day time. 

[alan1965 0]

If you are interested i have just finished reading a book on this topic called " we landed by moonlight", by Hugh Verity. ISBN 978-0947 55475-0. Great reading if like WW2 SOE stories.

 

The barn has seen some restoration since those flickr photos. check these out:-

 

http://www.tempsford.20m.com/home.html

http://www.nsecontracts.co.uk/projects/conservation/gibraltar-barn,-tempsford-airfield,-bedfordshire

http://libertesoe.webs.com/rafspecialdutiessquadrons.htm

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2866552

[brett 2,283]

Thanks for the links Alan. Most of the picks were on Google images but the map on the last link will helped me out getting the correct location and heading. It was sad reading about all the loses of men and aircraft in that diary.

[alan1965 0]

Yes, there are some sad stories around this part of the war but i guess that goes for the whole of the war. a lot of very brave men and women who should NOT be forgotten.

 

i have looked at the default scenery list and think something like the ag-barn pg1 but the roof should only be a single apex, for shape the ag.eurohouse06 is similar. i have sketched myself a scaled drawing to get some approx. measurements.

Gable end is 20 feet wide, 12 feet to eaves (roof plate) and 22 feet to top of apex. looking at the front (entrance/opening) the barn is 60 feet long with a 10 foot wide entrance in the centre. that goes from the floor to the eaves. 

The walls have a horizontal wooden clading and the roof is red/terracotta tiles. a window in the gable end is 2 feet square as are the ones opposite the entrance.

I sat a plane on top of the barn at tempsford on the correct place with the wings "in the barn and the pilot looking thru the entrance" co-ordinates are N52 degs 9.51 mins LAT & W0 degs 15.50 mins LONG with a heading of 92 degrees magnetic.

i will try and  get the screenshot on here for you  .

 

i guess this means its started. hope you go steady with me - i feel some silly questions coming. if you find its too much, don't hesitate to say if you want to pull out. i take it you do this anyway?

 

i appreciate your time and interest.

[alan1965 0]

Some screen shots as promised.

 

http://i1328.photobucket.com/albums/w540/alanchamberlain1/2013-10-17_12-35-3-531_zpsa9937e5d.png

http://i1328.photobucket.com/albums/w540/alanchamberlain1/2013-10-17_12-37-24-296_zps1bf8be23.png

[alan1965 0]

whoops, try that. still getting the hang of photo bucket

 

http://i1328.photobucket.com/albums/w540/alanchamberlain1/2013-10-17_12-35-3-531_zpsa9937e5d.png

[brett 2,283]

Is that the airport scenery from the Lysander secret operations addon? Looks like a barn in the distance. 

[alan1965 0]

Hi Brett, the scenery you see is Ianps dark corner scenery. Its RAF tempsford but that building is not Gibraltar Barn. Its too big,the wrong size/texture and in the wrong place !. It is very good though other than being a barn short.

The scenery in the Lysander FSADDON is of Tangmere, i dont think there is any for tempsford as that flight goes from great gransden up the road from tempsford.

 

i had a look at the Instant Object Studio for FSX / FS2004 .

It looks very good. i may have a try with the demo. Is that what you would use. Joe's review (and others) seem favourable. Think i maybe able to do something with that. just need the £20 spare first.   Maybe i could do my own hanger like Joe's.

[brett 2,283]

Instant Object Studio is on my list for things to buy. I read Rob's review and it has a bit of a learning curve but it would probably make quick work of the barn once you got the hang of it.

 

I was going to try and make the barn in another program I bought a few years ago called Instant Scenery Maker, not as easy to use but it would work. I already saved a file full of images for the barn, these are need to make the scenery. You already gave me the heading and location. I can't get to it until next Tuesday but was going to give it a whorl and see what I could do.

[alan1965 0]

Ok Brett thats sounds great. I will leave it with you  . No hurry - don't get in to trouble doing it in front of any other chores!

 

thanks again.

[alan1965 0]

Over the past two weeks Brett and i have swapped notes,images and references and i can only say what a cracking job Brett has done with limited resources in such a short time. I think i gave him a headache but he has persevered and come up with Gibraltar Barn for me (and others) to use at RAF Tempsford. Below are a couple of images i have saved.

 

http://s1328.photobucket.com/user/alanchamberlain1/media/FSX%20Gibraltar%20Barn/fullmoonfortheLysander_zps9cbd16ec.png.html

http://s1328.photobucket.com/user/alanchamberlain1/media/FSX%20Gibraltar%20Barn/GibraltarBarn_zps661bd868.png.html

http://s1328.photobucket.com/user/alanchamberlain1/media/FSX%20Gibraltar%20Barn/2013-11-4_20-52-46-703_zps25429e10.png.html

http://s1328.photobucket.com/user/alanchamberlain1/media/FSX%20Gibraltar%20Barn/2013-11-4_20-49-17-796_zps9b4684e2.png.html

 

If anyone is interested Brett is quite happy to share his file, whether now or when it is tweaked a bit as i think it maybe ongoing for a bit with more library bits and pieces.

 

but for the time being all i can say is well done Brett - fantastic effort, top man!  huge thanks

[allardjd 1,853]

Attaboy, Brett.  You can add barnbuilder to your resume.

 

John