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Post by Christian Page, RAI on May 13, 2006 15:55:41 GMT -5
I have the red/gold 727 parked at the gate at Mid-Continent, awaiting a 5:30 return to DFW, and I got to thinking about the state of FS right now. We have seen some very abrupt changes as of late, all of which are understandable - we do a lot of work for no more reward than satisfying other simmers as well as ourselves. In some respects, you could call it a largely thankless job - as much as we do, there's always someone demanding more. It gets frustrating sometimes, I've often wanted to jump on someone who is making demands about the slowness of site updates or why don't we have this airline or that airline. The answer is simple, we are at the mercy of the timetables - if you want Babaganush Air from 1971, don't expect it when you're one of only three living souls with a valid timetable and two of them live in the Andes and are a six-day llama ride from the nearest computer. Help us out - if there's an airline you'd like to see as AI and you have the timetable - scan it and send it to us! Somebody here will get to work on programming it and others will work up the planes.
While many of my peers are retiring, I' not anywhere close to even thinking about it. I took a break from 2000-2002 because of personal issues, but otherwise I have been here since 1998 and I'm not leaving. Retro AI will be around as long as I am, and if I ever do decide to retire, I will ensure there is someone to take over from me and keep things going. Braniff International is coming back, soon there will be a new site to download anything and everything Braniff. My committment to FS is solid and sincere, but I also ask for what help you can offer to keep it going - we are a community, after all.
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Post by jetstar on May 15, 2006 2:22:14 GMT -5
Hi Kris. I'm still here and have no plans to quit FS either. Just fed up with getting my FS back to the way it was  You can only install x amount of AI before it becomes a chore  Still, almost completed now. Paul |
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Post by Andy on May 17, 2006 11:35:22 GMT -5
Just a reminder that I have some old OAGs that I'd be happy to share. I do have a little trouble scanning them as the area near the binding cannot lay flat on the scanner bed and often ends up blurred. I have OAGs (or the forerunner of OAG) for the 1930's, 1940's, 1950's (2, including the first Comet jet service in 1952), 1960's (2), 1970's (2), and 1980's. The pre-1960's OAGs are arranged by airline. The more recent ones are arranged by cities so it would be an impossible task to systematically code those. However, even these more recent OAGs have some timetables by airline in the back that I could scan. Ebay is a good source of old individual airline timetables. I wouldn't mind shelling out a few bucks for some of these if I knew they would be coded. Unfortunately, I'm not into coding.  Does anybody know which airlines used to list the aircraft types for each flight in their ca. 1960s and 1970s era timetables? Obviously, that would be critical for coding. My recollection is that American always did. Delta I think did. I think Continental did. Anyone remember whether United, Eastern, or TWA did? Any others? I'd be very willing to buy a few timetables through eBay and provide them to someone who would code them. Then I'd probably try to re-sell them. You know, I used to have a big collection of those when I was a kid. I saved my baseball cards from my mother's housecleaning, but I wasn't in time to rescue my timetables! Would it be in order for me to ask what's coming "down the pike" in the near future? Andy |
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Post by rpm on May 17, 2006 12:09:37 GMT -5
Well, I'm currently working on repaints and flightplans for 1975 TWA. It will probably be a while though.
RPM.
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Post by Andy on May 17, 2006 12:17:44 GMT -5
Great! I'll be looking forward to it. The mid 1960s and mid 1970s are the eras I'm most interested in so this is perfect. Some 1970s TWA repaints are already around. TWA is difficult because they changed their livery, especially tail logo, so often during this time. |
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Post by jetstar on May 17, 2006 12:53:30 GMT -5
Hi aspall
I have TWA July 1965 programmed in.
Needs more work before its ready for beta testing and more repaints to complete as well.
As RPM has (or will) found out TWA is not an easy airline to do. ;D
Paul
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Post by Andy on May 17, 2006 14:00:22 GMT -5
Very good. I for one would urge that FPs not be held up while repaints are being completed. Sometimes I am content to use existing repaints that are not 100% accurate.
Here are a few timetables I just spotted on eBay:
Eastern 1978
Frontier 1974
Continental 1976
United 1976
BOAC 1969
Each of these is currently less than $5 plus shipping. If anyone is interested in coding, I am willing to buy and scan one or two of these. Again, I'm not sure which show aircraft type for each flight.
Andy
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Post by jetstar on May 17, 2006 16:50:53 GMT -5
Hi Andy. The TWA 1965 plans are not ready yet. I have the 727-100 sorted out but the rest are in various stages of being checked and corrected if needed. Back then there were so many bus-stop services that crossed so many time zones the only way that makes them work is to convert them to GMT. Its a long and grinding process which I will pick up again a few weeks time once the memory of installing FS and all the AI etc has faded. I have enough timetables to keep me going for years now. Spent a small (well rather large) fortune on lots of 1960's timetables so more of the oldies will arrive. Just keep watching this space. Paul |
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Post by Andy on May 17, 2006 22:14:47 GMT -5
I'll be waiting patiently. Meanwhile if anyone else wants to do some coding I'll be glad to provide what timetables I am able. Maybe I'll just have to bite the bullet and learn to code myself. I just don't have the patience for it. Andy |
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Post by fitch on May 18, 2006 0:23:35 GMT -5
Andy,
What timetables do you have that you'd be willing to provide??
If the Airline Interests me I'll be more then happy to take a crack at it......I'm for anything Eastern.....but will do just about anything thats not a major hurdle....
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Post by Andy on May 18, 2006 8:26:59 GMT -5
Jason,
See above in this thread for an idea of the OAG timetables in my collection. I'd be willing to spring a few bucks here and there for some individual old timetables. Time just ran out on an eBay auction for a 1978 Eastern timetable. It was going for like $2. I'd have been happy to buy it and scan it for you if I'd known. Trouble is, I am not sure which airlines show the aircraft type for each flight and that's critical for coding.
Andy
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jasonk
Ramp Rat
Same great taste, different bottle!!
Posts: 28
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Post by jasonk on May 18, 2006 15:24:42 GMT -5
Most of the older (actually ALL ) T.T.'s I have seen have symbols denoting which plane was used...sometimes genericaly..I.E: Convair, or one symbol for two different plane types...( a diamond for Cv340 and CV440 on National 1958)
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Post by Christian Page, RAI on May 18, 2006 22:25:31 GMT -5
Great! I'll be looking forward to it. The mid 1960s and mid 1970s are the eras I'm most interested in so this is perfect. Some 1970s TWA repaints are already around. TWA is difficult because they changed their livery, especially tail logo, so often during this time. In '75, you would mostly have had the "twin-globe" livery, as the "new" livery (the same one they used until 1995, but with outlined rather than solid titles) was introduced sometime in 1974. I've seen photos of "twin-globe" L-1011s dated as late as 1980, so it hung around all through the 1970's. The original jet livery is different from the "twin-globe" in only the logos and a few details here and there - not really a problem work those up. |
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Post by Andy on May 18, 2006 23:10:58 GMT -5
Most of the older (actually ALL ) T.T.'s I have seen have symbols denoting which plane was used...sometimes genericaly..I.E: Convair, or one symbol for two different plane types...( a diamond for Cv340 and CV440 on National 1958) Yes, for the older timetables that is true. But I remember that by the 1970s many airlines had stopped indicating what type of aircraft was used on each flight. I seem to recall that United dropped this and, I thought TWA. I do remember that American always listed the types and I think also Delta. The rest I'm fuzzy about. |
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Post by jetstar on May 19, 2006 1:59:29 GMT -5
Hi Guys. Up until about the middish 60's all the types were listed even if it was generic like DC-8 which covered the 20's, 50's and super 60's. By the time you get to 1968 some airlines had stopped listing the aircraft type. Continental for one. In the early 70's this was much more common. I have several Eastern timetables and all that is listed are the L1011 and later on the 757. TWA, and several others had the same practice. Others, like Braniff and Frontier listed no types at all. United still list the type, but its at the back with routing details etc. Frustrating!  Paul |
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Does anybody know which airlines used to list the aircraft types for each flight in their ca. 1960s and 1970s era timetables? Obviously, that would be critical for coding. My recollection is that American always did. Delta I think did. I think Continental did. Anyone remember whether United, Eastern, or TWA did? Any others? I'd be very willing to buy a few timetables through eBay and provide them to someone who would code them. Then I'd probably try to re-sell them. You know, I used to have a big collection of those when I was a kid. I saved my baseball cards from my mother's housecleaning, but I wasn't in time to rescue my timetables! 
