What do I do with your donations... and bonus screenshot!

(F-35 testing over Edwards... after all these years, sometimes FSX still surprises me)

First, I'd like to thank everybody who kindly donated money for my projects. My apologies for not having replied to each one of you - the fact is that the Paypal account is pointing to an old email account which has been receving tons of spam for years, and it is a web-based service that it has become full of ads and difficult to navigate - so I have almost abandoned it. Again, my apologies - each donation has been greatly appreciated.

It has been really helpful in several instances - and allowed me to do several things which greatly helped my Flight Simulator projects.

However, the fact is that I have a relatively secure job which is also relatively well paid - I don't have a wife and family nor a mortgage, so I can't say that I really do not have the money to support my projects. But they can get expensive, and, although I can't complain about my incomes, I still feel bad (for some reason) to invest hundreds (if not thousands!) of euros in what is basically a videogame. So, being able to spill some money from the Paypal account made some purchase decisions easier. It was thanks to your donations that I have been able to acquire the base mesh for the Tomcat and for the Viking - and it was a great help to achieve the current quality and progress of those projects. So a most sincere THANK YOU.

However, after the S-3 purchase, I do not foresee any imminent usage of the money in the Paypal account...so the money is sitting there basically giving interests to Paypal.
Therefore I have decided to start giving it away, at least partially, to selected charity and no-profit organizations. It is not a huge amount of money, but at least someone is getting a tangible value for the countless hours spent in having fun with my virtual toys.

Donations are still welcome - and I will continue using it also to fund my simulation projects if need be - I just wanted to let you guys know what I did with the money you have donated.

Avsim Reader's Choice Award (and project updates)!

The T-45C won the AVSIM PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD in the Freeware Aicraft category! Thanks to Avsim and thanks to all the people who voted for it, and thanks again to all the contributors, testers and user who helped to bring this project to the current quality level!

Here is a quick update to current projects:

T-45C Goshawk
I am quite happy with the current quality level of the T-45, and there are very few things I'd like to add or change. All changes have a very low priority, compared to my other projects. On my to do list:

• Addition of cockpit sounds
• Weight dependant models (and possibly droppable BDUs)
• New, custom built, MFD code - I've started creating some graphics - straight from the NATOPs..

F-14D Tomcat
There are a number of small changes coming in the F-14 update, most of which have been designed to support the Tacpack. The feature list is not complete yet, and wil partially depend on VRS schedule. Unfortunately full Tacpack integration is beyond my resources, so support will be limited (guns and visual SW for sure... everything else is "optional")... More news as the F-35 update is related.

F-35 Lightning II
As you probably know, I am rewriting the MFD code so that its interface and usage is MUCH closer to the real deal. It will be quite close to the Block 1 software - although many functions will be INOP.
The next update will also bring a number of other improvements - like weight dependant loadouts and several fixes to the models and the textures. I am confident this will be a significant improvement.
This update is almost done - most probably it will be out in a couple of weeks.

S-3B Viking
I am continuing to work on this, from time to time. Nose and tails are done... everything in between needs a lot of work. Do not expect anything before autumn. And by the way, should you have detailed, high res picture of the ejection seats would be much welcome.

That's it for the moment - all projects may be significantly slowed down due to the fact that summer is coming and I will spend most of my time at the beach....