Dear Captain Sim,

I respectfully invite your attention to the state of the livery download area. Many, even most of the file links lead to dead ends. In the 727 library, for example, whole pages are filled with dead links. I realize that people move on. It would save time and frustration to cull the dead links out. That could be a job for a volunteer.

HAHAHAHAHA. Looks like you just got volunteered Tim!

Thank you Tim, whew

Ron, I have always been trying to name repaints the way they are named at AVSIM. But they have lost many files when AVSIM was hacked. You may send me the names of missing liveries, I'll try to do something.

I have quite a few of the Mcphat  liveries for CS 757 . It is payware , but they are good quality. I think I also have some freeware Mcphat  but don't know if they are still available.
Ron

P.S. A lot of people don't know this, but Captain Sim already has higher definition than most, if not all other developers. (McPhat recently collaborated on a classic airplane and that is the only other tubeliner in Captain Sim's class that I can think of.) The McPhat airline packs aren't expensive, and it really comes down to whether you can find a pack that has what you want and like to get up close and personal when having an out-of-airplane experience during cruise.

It would be nice to have a "pick five" option or something, but from a business standpoint, I suppose there's something to be said for "encouraging" people to buy two packs to get what they want. I got #5, which has United in the old colors and post-Continental merger, and a very nice-looking Northwest, but the U.S. Airways and Continental were both Star Alliance! So they're essentially identical, except for the small carrier name. I will probably not fly them; I just don't care for the generic Star Alliance livery. Still, I have three UHDT 757s I'm likely to fly in the U.S. or even cross the Atlantic.

Pretty easy. I jus took a screenshot of an airplane and edited it in a free "photoshop" program called paint.net. Nothing fancy. I think that picture is based on one I used as the title of my AVSIM review of the 757. But any picture that can be made into proper banner dimensions can be used. Putting text on -- including your name -- is easy. You just select the text tool and type! Whatever size, color you want. Captain Sim also has their own pre-made banners, but I prefer something that gives scope to my meager creativity.

If you would rather just send my your favorite screenshot, I could put whatever you wanted on it. Remember, though, it has to be able to be long, rather than square. (Although you can "extend" a uniform blue sky background by just copying and pasting the sky until you have enough for your text.) Graphics are handy, though, in case you want to post screenshots, or illustrate a support issue.

As for putting it at the bottom of the messages, there's a place in your control panel for options (look at your 'User CP.") That includes your signature. Your signature can be just text (like my recent flights) or an image, too. Once you have your image -- that conforms to the Captain Sim forum rules -- you need to post it on some hosting place like imageshack. Once it's up there, imageshack will give you the little code string for a direct link from your hosted image to your signature.

All this sounds a WHOLE lot more complicated than it really is. If you find an image you want to work with, we'll get you set up.





It's just that simple.

Tanya:

Here is a list of all 727 repaints linked to in the "Free Liveries" Section of the Support area. Not as many are missing as I thought, but some work does need to be done on the links. There are three categories of bad links:

(1) While liveries hosted through AVSIM are linked directly to the AVSIM library search page, the Flightsim links just lead to an error page. A little investigation revealed that the liveries are indeed available from the Flightsim library, however. My suggestion is that the links be updated to take folks to the Flightsim library search page, just like the AVSIM links work.

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/fslib.php?do=displaysearch �

According to the folks at Flightsim I talked with, you can even direct link to individual files, like so:

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/fslib.php?do=search&fname=<filename>;

http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/fslib.php?do=search&match=<text>&sortby=1

(2) Some links are just bad and there's probably nothing that can be done. These are ones uploaded to Rapidshare, for example. Unless you can contact the artist and see if he will provide the file for hosting by Captain Sim, they should just be removed. Fortunately, there are not many in this category.

(3) Nathan Phillips created a ton of liveries. It seems the earlier ones are hosted by Captain Sim, and they remain available. But later ones are linked to his own site. Although the files are all listed, all of the links are bad. If anyone knows Nathan, an inquiry might be made about hosting his files through Captain Sim. Nathan is (was?) a prolific artist and there are many desirable 727 liveries that aren't available now. But unless we can get good links to his files, the ones that are dead-ends should be taken down. (I did a quick check of AVSIM and Flightsim, and did not find any of his files in either place.)

I checked every single link, and searched every file to make sure they were available where not hosted by Captain Sim. That gave me the opportunity to see pictures of these artists' work, and I am in awe at the effort and talent put at the disposal of the Captain Sim community. Personally, I think the 727 is the nicest-looking airplane Captain Sim ever did. With its distinctive T-tail and broad vertical stabilizer, three engines in back and magnificent flaps, it is an unlikely beauty, but that's the way I see it. The repaints range from the conservative branding of the golden age of legacy airliners to much more colorful ones of more recent times. Every geographical region is covered. It really is worthwhile to take a look at the library if you haven't lately. It is like an art museum. That you can fly.

p. 1

Kelowna Flightcraft Boeing 727-200F C-GIKF by Francisco Rubino = GOOD from AVSIM
V-One Gauge for B727-100/F 727-200/F with Call-Outs by Paul Tally = GOOD from AVSIM
Piedmont Airlines Classic Boeing 727-100 (N68650) by Nic Brown = GOOD from AVSIM
Capital Cargo Boeing 727-200F two-pack by David Biggar = GOOD from Flightsim
***B727-100 TAP Air Portugal by Nuno Pinto = BAD LINK
Aerolineas Argentinas Boeing 727-200 LV-MIO by Kevin Keegan = GOOD from AVSIM
***Delta Airlines Boeing 727-200 by Michael Hogan = COULD NOT FIND in AVSIM BUT it IS available at Flightsim
American Airlines Boeing 727-200 by Mohsen = GOOD at Flightsim
Star Airways Boeing 727-200 Retro Livery by Kevin Keegan,J. D. Starseed = GOOD at Flightsim
Skytrek International Boeing 727-200 by John Detrick = GOOD at AVSIM

p. 2

727-200 Royal Air Maroc 1970s generic by Gouat Nicolas = GOOD from Captain Sim
727-200 Royal Air Maroc 1980s generic by Gouat Nicolas = GOOD from Captain Sim
727-200 Tunisair 1980s generic by Gouat Nicolas = GOOD from Captain Sim
Boeing 727 American Airlines Interior by Nick Bauer = GOOD from AVSIM
Schumy Boeing 727-100 by Joaquin Munoz = GOOD from Flightsim
Alaska Airlines "Seahawk One N297AS" by Eric McNett = GOOD from Captain Sim
Northern Air Cargo Modern by Gouat Nicolas = GOOD from Captain Sim
Ariana Afghan Boeing 727-200, registration YA-FAT by Richard Monnin = GOOD from Flightsim
Boeing 727-200 United Airlines Battleship Grey by David Hallyburton = GOOD from AVSIM
Capital Cargo International 2 Pack by Jeff Favignano = GOOD from AVSIM

p. 3

Rio Linhas Aereas Boeing 727-200F PR-IOA by Gustavo Aguiar = GOOD from AVSIM
Iran Aseman Airlines Boeing 727-200 by Mehran Mousavi = GOOD from AVSIM
Iceland TF-FIA by Edwin Boellaard = GOOD from Captain Sim
Iceland TF-FIE by Edwin Boellaard = GOOD from Captain Sim
Iran Air Boeing 727-200 by Mehran Mousavi = GOOD from AVSIM
Trans World Airlines Boeing 727-200 Livery #1 by Mark Aldridge = GOOD from AVSIM
Trans World Airlines Boeing 727-200 Livery #2 by Mark Aldridge = GOOD from AVSIM
Air Force One Boeing 727-100 by B. Lechner = GOOD from Flightsim
Aerolineas Argentinas Boeing 727-200F by Fernando Angel = GOOD from Flightsim
727-100 Tunisair by Gouat Nicolas = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 4

AeroMexico by Michael Mannschreck = GOOD from Captain Sim
727-100 Fictional Aviaco by Carlos B Zarzo = GOOD from Captain Sim
727-100 EVERGREEN AIR by Michael Mannschreck = GOOD from Captain Sim
727-200F EVERGREEN AIR CARGO by Michael Mannschreck = GOOD from Captain Sim
Air Force Boeing 727 C-22C by Shane Reilly = GOOD from AVSIM
Air Holland, Boeing 727 by Jan Kees Blom = GOOD from AVSIM
Trans Australia Airlines, Boeing 727 (VH-TBO) by Jan Kees Blom = GOOD from AVSIM
***Turkish Airlines 727-2F2 TC-JCE by Emrah Rasa = BAD LINK
NorthWest 80s Livery by Carlos B Zarzo = GOOD from Captain Sim
B727-200 LUXAIR by Edwin Boellaard = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 5

***TOTAL CARGO MMT 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***VARIG LOG 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***ITAPEMIRIM CARGO 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***RIO PR-IOB 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***TAF MTC 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***TAF MTL 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
Air Holland by Edwin Boellaard = GOOD from Captain Sim
Boeing 727-200 in JAT old colors by Vladimir Levkov = GOOD from AVSIM
Air Holland fictional by Edwin Boellaard = GOOD from Captain Sim
Boeing 727-200 Piedmont Airlines by Jan Kees Blom = GOOD from AVSIM

p. 6

Transafrik 727-100F by LEVASLOT Emeric = GOOD from Captain Sim
White Transafrik 727-100 livery by LEVASLOT Emeric = GOOD from Captain Sim
727-200 F - U.S.P.S. by LEVASLOT Emeric = GOOD from Captain Sim
Western Airlines 727-200 Bare Metal by Darren Foster = GOOD from AVSIM
Continental Airlines Boeing 727-200 by Jim Waters = GOOD from Flighsim
Fedex 727-100F by Jehl Xavier = GOOD from Captain Sim
***727-200 Fly PP-LBF by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***Braniff N408BN by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***Fictional Croata 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***TOTAL CARGO TTP 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD

p. 7

FUERZA AEREA MEXICANA 3507 727-200 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from AVSIM
***Western Pacific Airlines by Spencer Devino = BAD LINK
Continental N18479 727-100 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Continental N17773 727-200 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
***JAL (Japan Airlines) JA710J 727-200 by nathan p phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***JAL One World JA732J 727-200 by nathan p phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***Thomson fly 727-200 by nathan p phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
***ArkeFly 727-100 another company/RE by nathan p phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
KLM 727-200 another company by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Transafrik by LEVASLOT Emeric = GOOD at Captain Sim

p. 8

***727-100 Lloyd Aero Boliviano by Javier Cuellar = ERROR from Rapidshare
***727-200 Lloyd Aero Boliviano by Javier Cuellar = ERROR from Rapidshare
Imperial Air Cargo ZS-IAC 727-200F by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Air Canada JAZZ C-GKEZ by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Southwest Airlines N561PE 727-200 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Fictional Blue Southwest 727-200 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
***LAB 727-200 Classic by Javier Cuellar = ERROR from Rapidshare
Boeing 727-100 Prototype E1 by Mike Huang = GOOD from AVSIM
***LAB 727-100 Classic by Javier Cuellar = ERROR from Rapidshare
PSA N566PS 727-200 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 9

Saudi Arabia 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
ROC (Taiwan) Air Force Boeing 727-100 by Mike Huang = GOOD from AVSIM
RNZAF 727-100 Reg NZ7271 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
RNZAF 727-100F Reg NZ7272 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Air Gemini S9-BAH 727-100F by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Trans Brasil 727-100 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Air Florida 727-200 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Fictional Air Canada C-GGMX 727-100 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Fictional Air Canada U2 360 tour 727-200 by nathan p phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 10

Turkish Cargo 727-200f by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Dominicana HI-212 727-100 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
First Air C-GXFA 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Air Gemini 727-100f by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Safair ZS-OPT 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Air Jamaica 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
***Fictional Christmas Air Greenland 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = link to "Nath's Repaints" and link there is BAD
Air Greenland 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Frontier Horizon 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Saudia 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 11

Jet2 727-100 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
TNT OY-TNT 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Tame HC-BLE 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Ansett Boeing 727-200 (VH-ANA) by Jan Kees Blom = GOOD from AVSIM
Royal New Zealand Air Force NZ7271 by Jan Kees Blom = from Captain Sim
USAF C-22B 34610 by Jan Kees Blom = GOOD from Captain Sim
Aero Republica Colombia HK-3840X 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Hewa Bora 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim = GOOD from Captain Sim
Fictional Canadian North Airlines 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Mexicana XA-SEN 727-200 old paint scheme by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 12

Air Canada 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Iberia 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Varig 727-100 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
UPS 727-200F by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
American Airline 727-200 another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Australian DHL 727-200 another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
N7251U United Airlines 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Polynesian Airlines Boeing 727-200 (VH-RMN) by Jan Kees Blom = GOOD from AVSIM
Central Australian Boeing 727-200 (VH-TBK) by Jan Kees Blom = GOOD from AVSIM
Mexicana XA-MEI 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 13

Fictional RAF DZ413 727-200QW by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Fictional 2SQN RAF Regiment 727-200QW by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
AmreiJet N994AJ Zero-G 727-200/another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
C-GCJN Cargojet 727-200F/another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Fictional Western Pacific Cargo 727-200/another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Aer Lingus 727-200/another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Avensa YV-97C 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
AeroSur CP-2498 727-200 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
CGHI Air Canada 727-100 another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Iberia EC-GCL by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 14

727-200 another company Canadian Air Force 616 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
RYANAIR 727-200 another company/RE by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Virgin Blue VG-BIQ 727-200 another company/RE by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Heavy Lift Cargo C8016 727-200F another company/RE by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
West Can International Airlines LT Cargo 727-200F another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Zero-G 727-200F another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Zero-G N994AJ 727-200F another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Fictional Playboy 727-200QW by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 15

Avianca Colombia Boeing 727-200 by James Littler = GOOD from Flightsim
LAS Colombia Boeing 727-200 by James Littler = GOOD from Flightsim
SAM Colombia Boeing 727-200 by James Littler = GOOD from Flightsim
British Airways B-ABSY 727-100 by Nathan Phillips = GOOD Captain Sim
727-200 another company/RE British Airways B-ACWF by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
Old British Airways B-ACAA by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
727-100 another company/RE Red Tail British Airways B-AXVY by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
727-200 another company Trump Airlines by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
89th Air Lift Wing USAF 03356 727-200 another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim
USAF 7340 89th Air Lift Wing 727-200 another company by Nathan Phillips = GOOD from Captain Sim

p. 16

Olympic Airlines Boeing 727-200 New Colors by Georgios Cigritis = GOOD Captain Sim
Aerolineas Argentinas Boeing 727-200 ("Old repaint" 1978) by Martin Romero = GOOD Captain Sim
Korean Air Boeing 727-200 by Dennis Kim GOOD Captain Sim = GOOD AVSIM
Yellowbird Cargo Boeing 727-100 by Oliver Rademacher GOOD AVSIM
Istanbul Airlines Boeing 727-230/Adv by Johnny Lawrence (Bozo) = GOOD Captain Sim
***K-MILE Air Boeing 727-200 by Kittisak Rukkaew = apparently MISSING from AVSIM
ACES Boeing 727-200 by James Littler = GOOD from Flightsm
Aerorepublica Boeing 727-200 by James Littler = GOOD from Flightsim

p. 17

Continental (old COlors) by Jim Waters = GOOD from Flightsim
PAC Payette Air Cargo by Larry Hickerson = GOOD at AVSIM
Northern Air Cargo by David Lewis, Jr. = GOOD from Captain Sim
Eagle Valley Executive Jet by Larry "Pappy" Hickerson = GOOD from AVSIM
Braniff Ultra Mercury Blue by Gregory W. Hux = GOOD from AVSIM
Braniff Ultra Green by Gregory W. Hux = GOOD from AVSIM
Braniff Ultra Terra Cotta by Gregory W. Hux = GOOD from AVSIM

Yes, I wasn't surprised to see file hosting services featured among the MIAs. The good news is that many dead links from Flightsim can be fixed. I really hope Nathan Phillips is okay. His website has nothing but dead links and looks abandoned. Good thing Captain Sim had many of his repaints, but there are so many nice ones that just can't be found anywhere. 

Anyway, I did what Tanya told me to do. She'll probably have all the links fixed in a couple of hours.