The Bamboo Bomber
In the late 1930's Cessna saw a growing need for an inexpensive, light twin. The popular twin of the day, the Twin Beech, was fairly expensive and was often oversized for roles with small businesses or occasionally, small charter airlines.
First flown in 1939 and reaching production in 1940, the T-50 Bobcat was of fabric-covered steel-tube construction featuring retractable main landing gear and electrically actuated trailing edge flaps. With the wing structure built up of laminated spruce spar beams and its fuselage faired with spruce stringers, it gained the nickname, "the Bamboo Bomber."
The Bobcat quickly found great success as a military multi-engine advanced trainer and utility transport; its wood construction was ideal since it didn't require diverting a lot of valuable aluminum from the war effort. Over 4600 airframes went into service with US forces, with another 640 flying with the RCAF and the BCATP. Not used for long in post-war service, remaining military Bobcats were declared obsolete by 1949.
The ready availability of surplus T-50's (available at the time for less than $3000) meant that quite a few made their way into civilian life, finding use in many areas of commercial and private aviation.
The Bobcat also found cinematic fame on the 50's television show Sky King, where a T-50, named Songbird, was flown by the lead character (one of which used on the show was the actor's own aircraft) until replaced later in the series by a Cessna 310B.
Introducing the Milviz T-50 BobcatWe are very pleased to introduce the newest aircraft to our line-up, the T-50 Bobcat.
Our goal at Milviz for the T-50 was to create a highly detailed and precise replica of this classic aircraft. This starts with an exquisitely rendered 3D model, both inside and out. Every switch, lever, crank, and control is in its place, allowing the virtual pilot full control. High resolution textures and smoothly animated gauges, along with high quality audio, add to the sense of immersion.
Once in the air, a carefully tested flight model combines by-the-book numbers with a smooth sense of proper flight response in order to carefully replicate the same experience that so many wartime pilots experienced on their way through the multi-engine training program. Our team has spent countless hours tuning, testing, checking, and reporting on how the aircraft performs so as to ensure an authentic recreation.
Radio Range SystemA first for a FSX/P3D commercial product, the T-50 Bobcat includes a detailed and fully functional simulation of the Low Frequency Radio Range system. This was the early radio navigational system used across North America (as well as a few other regions) beginning in the 1930's until replaced by VHF band VOR navigation in the 1950's.
The system allows you to tune a set radio signal and "follow the beam" by listening for the continuous tone while navigating from station to station. Off course information is given to the pilot through a quadrant system of Morse Code signals. A full description is far too lengthy to put into words here, but needless to say it's a fascinating (and slightly challenging) experience, one that perfectly fits within the era and role of the T-50 Bobcat.
MVAMS ConfigurationAs with our other recent releases, configuration for the Bobcat is though our included Milviz Aircraft Management System (MVAMS). This external application provides easy control over setting your preferred options when the Bobcat is loaded in the simulator.
From within the MVAMS application, you can choose pilot and passenger figures to display, your avionics options, and whether you prefer the T-50 to load cold and dark, or with the engines running and the aircraft ready for flight!
Selectable AvionicsWhile a T-50 Bobcat pilot from the 40's or 50's would have only dreamed of the extensive selection of avionics available in today's aircraft, we've allowed for a modern restoration which may have a more up-to-date cabin, featuring GPS and weather radar. An option is also provided for having no modern avionics at all, so as to allow for those who wish to immerse themselves in the era in which the Bobcat was flown in a military setting.
Built-in configuration support from within our MVAMS application is included for the following in various configurations:
- Flight1 GTN 650 (Dual)
- Flight1 GTN 750 (Single)
- Flight1 GTN 650 & 750 (Combo)
- Reality XP GNS 430/530W XP (Combo)
- MilViz GNS 430/530 (Combo)
- Mindstar GNS 530
- WX Advantage Radar
- No GPS Option
Please note that compatibility for the above gauge packages includes support for installation and setup of our product only; use of any of the offered options requires a functional existing installation of the appropriate gauge. The Bobcat comes with our MilViz 430/530 combo, but any other gauges we list compatibility for are not included.
Use of any 3rd party avionics package in any desired simulator is also of course restricted to the availability of the avionics package for that simulator. Please see the respective manufacturers' websites regarding platform compatibility for your avionics package.
Multi-Platform SupportYour MilViz T-50 Bobcat purchase supports installation into a full range of platforms, from one single installer:
- FSX: SP2
- FSX: Acceleration
- FSX: Steam Edition
- Prepar3D v2
- Prepar3D v3
- Prepar3D v4
System Requirements (Minimum)Operating System:
Windows 7
Windows 10
Use of this product in any other version of Windows is not supported at this time.
Processor:
2.6 Ghz or higher
Memory:
4 GB RAM
Graphics:
DirectX®11 compliant video card
1024 MB video RAM or higher
Hard Drive Space:
1 GB available space
Supported Platforms:
FSX with Service Pack 2
FSX Acceleration
FSX: Steam Edition
Prepar3d Version 2 (Latest release, with all hotfixes)
Prepar3d Version 3 (Latest release, with all hotfixes)
Prepar3d Version 4.3.29.25520
Use or installation of the products(s) referenced on this page in any other platform than that intended or shown above is not supported and may result in errors or a non-functioning product.
Special Features
- Realistic flight dynamics
- Realistic startup and shutdowns
- Realistic systems and avionics
- Authentic Radio Range system
- Support for 3rd Party Avionics (RealityXP, Mindstar, Flight1)
- 5 HD liveries included
- High quality external model using normal, bump and specular maps
- High quality internal model complete with custom 3D gauges
- Sophisticated cockpit lighting
- Model is highly configurable through our MVAMS application
- High resolution paint kit available for download
Warning: All Anti-Virus programs or software must be disabled before downloading and installing these products. Failure to do so may result in a faulty or non-functioning installation. False positives are very common and are not to be mistaken for actual viruses. We guarantee that there are no viruses present in our products.
Important: Please note that all of the current default analog and digital avionic equipment installed in Milviz's general aviation aircraft and helicopters is based on underlying simulator code and as such, is subject to various deficiencies which are not able to be addressed by their team. This includes our GNS 530 / 430 units, audio panel, transponder, ADF unit, and nav/com radios. Due to the inherent limitations present in the simulator, Milviz is therefore unable to provide fixes or support for any issues related to the operation or functionality of these items at this time.