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  The Mars X-perience was created to fill a void in the X-Plane Mars component. The mission goal was to create 'mars-ports' enabling pilots to circumnavigate the planet, and to develop a flight model with agility and high performance. Prompted by necessity, and beginning with very little knowledge of flying, I struggled through BIG learning curves. Without the always helpful advice of my brother Corey (check out his scaled Voisin WW1 Bomber replica!), learning to fly would have taken much longer, and I would not be as far as I am in the project. After six months of literally sim flying around the world in a Raytheon Beech StarShip, exploring South America, and ringing the African continent in the left seat of a Boeing 737/200....my dream of creating a Martian environment capable of trans-planet travel has finally been realized.

  I have been a Mars enthusiast since a young age, and over the past 10 years have presented several lectures on everything MARS. From the enigmatic mysteries of the "Face" at Cydonia, to the probability of water, and perhaps life within the surface, to terra-forming the planet into an Earth-like 'habitable' zone...Mars has dominated my imagination, inspiring thoughts and ideas for future humans on the Red Planet.

  Only a few have created for the Mars X-Plane component, and I applaud their attempts, but gaining a broad understanding of the environment of Mars has not been a focus. Over 70 mars-ports are now available to the truly adventurous aviation sim pilot. Many were created as way-stations to accommodate trans-global flights, but not all were merely for convenience, several are for their beauty, or mysterious qualities. Actual landing sites for Viking 1 & 2, Pathfinder, and the MER rovers were attentively placed in their exact location according to actual NASA data and photographic evidence. At the Pathfinder landing site a second 'port' was constructed at the identified location of the Pathfinder lander. It can not be accessed by normal fixed-wing marscraft (SS1-MARS can launch with JATO, but can not land), only VTOL or land rovers can explore the eternal home of the little Sojourner...the original Mobile Robotic Extraterrestrial, or MORBET. I did not include the presumed resting places of the Mars Polar Lander (it's in the middle of water, below the 60th latitude), or the European contribution to Martian litter, the infamous Beagle 2. The Mars Express has been a wonderful addition to the 'working' robots currently residing in orbit, and we give our European friends gratis. But finding the two little machines is not a priority. Besides, the governments of the United States and the European Union will historically take control of the regions where the two probes crashed, and the airspace will likely be restricted.

  The original nine mars-ports are included with the apt.dat and nav.dat files, including ILS and GS configurations for Coprales Chasma and Olympus Mons. In addition to the original 9...the Mars X-perience offers ILS and GS service at all major robotic landing sites; Viking 1 & 2, Pathfinder, MER-A Spirit, and MER-B Opportunity. Other mars-ports supporting ILS and GS are the Southern Cydonia Station, Marvin International (yes, from LoonyTunes fame), and the Southern Gateway. Eventually all mars-ports will support ILS and GS configurations. My brother Corey made a good point recently. He stated, "In 2075 we won't be using VOR, NDB, or DME's...navigation will be entirely GPS." He is correct, the future Martian pilot will rely exclusively on satellite and digital guides to help skipper above the rugged, and sometimes unforgiving alien landscape.

  The goal to build, or modify an existing Earth-based aircraft for the Martian atmosphere proved to be a daunting crash-course in rocket science. I tried several rocket propelled craft, including three SpaceShipOne models, but only one surpassed all others. The winner was the SS1 developed and created for X-Plane 7.61 by Curtis Boyll in 2004. The primary concern flying on Mars was maneuverability. Several changes were made to the SS1 flight model to increase performance. Wing surface increased, rocket thrust increased, landing gear configuration increased, and fuel capacity increased. All achieved within the weight limits of the original SS1 model. The cockpit panel was also modified, to include fuel consumption, light switches, and a wider windscreen. There's also a little bit of home in the cockpit...for personal comforts. When a human is 40 million miles away from Earth...nothing is more comforting than those he loves, and a few tokens of terra firma. To stop SS1-MARS within runway distances, arresting gear is available, but I personally prefer using the chute at the moment of touchdown. A JATO is also installed, and utilized for vertical assist take off, or to gain low atmospheric entry after achieving a substantial altitude (+90k feet).

Enjoy the ride!

NOTICE REGARDING MARSSCOUT REMOVAL

I have decided to remove the MarsScout resource from the web. I will continue to fly with the Mars craft, and those who have downloaded the file may use it as well. The reasoning behind my decision relates to the difference of opinion between myself and Curt Boyll in regards to the development of X-Plane Mars. It is good to have differing views, but I do not feel using his work within the Mars X-Perience is appropriate given these differences. Therefore, I will no longer offer the modified SpaceShipOne design as a public resource. I apologize to Curt if my utilization of his flight model caused undo concern.

Stay tuned for a new aircraft resouce for flying on Mars.

 

To fully enjoy the Mars X-perience, the Global Mars Scenery CD is required. The CD is available for purchase at x-plane.com.

 

MarsX attends the 2005 Oshkosh AirVenture! White Knight, SpaceShipOne, and Global Flyer! Image Gallery

The Future of Private Space Flight

Mars-port Data Page A listing of current mars-ports... UPDATED 2/14/06

Global Airport/Nav-aid Data Page Maintained by Robin Peel UPDATED 2/3/06

Comments welcome: being@dreamsenses.com

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© Bryan Butcher, 2005