3 Cobras and a Yak ...
I've continued to tinker around with XAR on occasion, and after the air races this year I tried some different ways to attempt to import some new airplanes into the game. I discovered that when I took some existing models in the game (like the Super Corsair) and shrunk every part of the model except the prop down to an infinitesimal size, that I could add an outside model to the file and the prop would still spin properly in XAR.
I've really enjoyed watching Graeme Frew and the work that he and his team have done in bringing their Yak all the way to Reno from New Zealand to compete, so I thought I would give them a try first. Starting with a Yak-3 model from the open source flight simulator "Flight Gear" I converted it, edited the skin, and connected it to an XAR prop. It worked pretty well but it is not without issues ... I used one of the game's standard mustang cockpits as the cockpit for the Yak, but I had to shrink it and adjust it's location to get it to appear in the proper location on the Yak. After modifying it, not everything in the cockpit rendered as it should. Plus the only thing animated on the model is the prop, so there are no moving ailerons, flaps, or rudder. As such the airplane isn't all that flyable a part from a "chase" camera view, but at the very least it could be a possible good looking ai opponent in XAR.
I did the same things with a P-39 cobra model from "Flight Gear" and added 3 racing cobras to the mix. All of them had similar issues to the Yak-3 but turned out alright ...
Mira Slovak's Mr. Mennen.
"Tex" Johnston's Cobra II
Jack Woolams' Cobra I
Once again I realize this is an old game with a very dated engine and graphics, but I've had a lot of fun playing around with it. There are a few more things I would like to mess with and then maybe I'll compile an update to the mod with the cobras and the yak.
-Chris
