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2020 LTS airport announcement and Iceland intro draft: Difference between revisions
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2020 LTS airport announcement and Iceland intro draft (view source)
Revision as of 07:44, 3 November 2020
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This is a draft for a [https://www.flightgear.org/tours/ tour] article announcing the 2020.2 LTS, BIKF default airport, and Iceland improvements, as well as focusing on settings to enjoy Iceland properly. | This is a draft for a [https://www.flightgear.org/tours/ tour] article announcing the 2020.2 LTS, BIKF default airport, and Iceland improvements, as well as focusing on settings to enjoy Iceland properly. | ||
What should be the title? " | What should be the title? "FlightGear 2020.3 LTS: Welcome to Keflavik and Iceland"? It may need "FlightGear 2020.3 LTS" bit to show up in google search results. | ||
[http://wiki.flightgear.org/File:Iceland_in_FlightGear_2020_01_Volcanic_plume_and_snow_(Aerospatiale_Alouette_III).jpg Volcanic plume and Alouette III screenshot by Thorsten] | [http://wiki.flightgear.org/File:Iceland_in_FlightGear_2020_01_Volcanic_plume_and_snow_(Aerospatiale_Alouette_III).jpg Volcanic plume and Alouette III screenshot by Thorsten] | ||
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===Welcome to Keflavik and Iceland=== | ===Welcome to Keflavik and Iceland=== | ||
FlightGear's 2020.3 Long Term Stable (LTS) release will move to the world's newest country, geologically speaking, Iceland. | |||
Iceland viewed from space, using | Iceland viewed from space, using FlightGear's orbital renderer Earthview: | ||
[ [[:File:Iceland_viewed_from_space_in_Earthview_(Flightgear_2020.x)_02.jpg|Screenshot of Iceland from space]] ] | [ [[:File:Iceland_viewed_from_space_in_Earthview_(Flightgear_2020.x)_02.jpg|Screenshot of Iceland from space]] ] | ||
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[ [[:File:Caldera_in_the_highlands_of_Iceland_(Flightgear_2020.x).jpg|Screenshot of caldera and lake]] ] | [ [[:File:Caldera_in_the_highlands_of_Iceland_(Flightgear_2020.x).jpg|Screenshot of caldera and lake]] ] | ||
FlightGear models several Icelandic volcanoes at multiple activity levels; Eyjafjallajökull, Surtsey, and Katla. Eyjafjallajökull and its cloud of volcanic ash caused severe disruption to aviation in 2010. Katla is a far bigger volcano located nearby. Past eruptions at Katla have ranged from a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 4 like Eyjafjallajökull, to a VEI of 6 like Mount Pinturbo (1991) or Krakatoa (1883). Scarily Katla is somewhat overdue for an eruption. Screenshots don't do justice to the boiling turbulence of a volcanic plume like Katla. We won't spoil it, so you can discover and appreciate the scale of the forces involved. FG's Advanced Weather engine now models the increased turbulence in wind-fields associated with volcanic activity, so beware!. To set the activity level of a volcano fly to the area, and look in Environment > Volcanoes to choose from the volcanoes in that area. | |||
====Re-creating the Icelandic setting in FG==== | ====Re-creating the Icelandic setting in FG==== | ||
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[ [[:File:Bell_412_in_Iceland_(Flightgear_2019.x).jpg|Screenshot of overlays with transparency AA turned up high]] ] | [ [[:File:Bell_412_in_Iceland_(Flightgear_2019.x).jpg|Screenshot of overlays with transparency AA turned up high]] ] | ||
A place needs 4 dimensions to describe it, 3 in space and 1 in time. Any default setting can only be a moment in time, and in | A place needs 4 dimensions to describe it, 3 in space and 1 in time. Any default setting can only be a moment in time, and in FlightGear the ever-changing cycles of nature are simulated from the Environment > Environment Settings menu. In FlightGear's environment sliders, Iceland is often suited being towards the autumn season with wet ground and moss. The more northern seas away from the south coast can ice up, so remember the ice cover control. | ||
[Screenshots of varying environment sliders. Probably needs to be | [Screenshots of varying environment sliders. Probably needs to be cropped or shown as smaller side by side images: [http://wiki.flightgear.org/File:Iceland_airport_keep_-_summer,_Keflavik_International_Airport_(BIKF)_in_Flightgear_2020_LTS_01.jpg summer] , [http://wiki.flightgear.org/File:Iceland_airport_keep_-_autumn,_Keflavik_International_Airport_(BIKF)_in_Flightgear_2020_LTS_02.jpg autumn] [http://wiki.flightgear.org/File:Iceland_airport_keep-later_in_autumn,_Keflavik_International_Airport_(BIKF)_in_Flightgear_2020_LTS_05.jpg later in autumn] , [http://wiki.flightgear.org/File:Iceland_airport_keep-_thin_snow,_Keflavik_International_Airport_(BIKF)_in_Flightgear_2020_LTS_06.jpg snow], [http://wiki.flightgear.org/File:Iceland_airport_keep_-_water_puddles,_Keflavik_International_Airport_(BIKF)_in_Flightgear_2020_LTS_04.jpg puddles lower right quadrant]] | ||
FlightGear's Advanced Weather (AW) engine simulates terrain-driven, continually evolving, weather on multiple scales - you can watch the lifecycle of a single cumulus cloud from the first wisps to eventual decay. Look under Environment > Detailed Weather > Advanced Weather settings for controls. To activate the weather simulation, choose weather scenarios in the list from "Core high pressure region", through to "Warm Sector" - these describe the air masses around your starting point. "Fair Weather" is fine, as it's just "Core high pressure region". Other types of scenarios will do things like tie weather to best guesses at vague METARs, and apply the same weather everywhere all the time. Using live METARs will additionally tie FG to weather conditions for the current time of day and season for that location - regardless of the time, date, and season you simulate. | |||
To recreate the turbulent windfields associated with the rugged mountainous terrain make sure terrain effects, terrain presampling, and thermal generation are enabled. The controls for detailed gust controls, cloud shadows, realistic visibility, ground haze and structure are also there. For shorter trips you may want to decrease the sizes of distinct air masses and scales of weather patterns, to see more change, more often. There are far more weather variables under the hood than are (and can be) exposed in the GUI. These weather variables are randomised each time the AW simulation is restarted - press 'Apply' to restart. What you see around your starting point, for each scenario very roughly describing airmasses around you like "Border of a high pressure region", is just one of a huge number of weather possibilities that can exist with those airmasses - for that terrain, at that lattitude, at that time. Remember that to recreate Iceland's cool temperatures, the temperature offset needs be lowered to adjust the weather scenarios used AW simulation - put in a negative value to lower temperatures like "-25". As temperatures decrease, rain will turn to snow or hail as appropriate. With lower temperatures you'll be rewarded more often with stunning halos and scattering by ice crystals in clouds. | To recreate the turbulent windfields associated with the rugged mountainous terrain make sure terrain effects, terrain presampling, and thermal generation are enabled. The controls for detailed gust controls, cloud shadows, realistic visibility, ground haze and structure are also there. For shorter trips you may want to decrease the sizes of distinct air masses and scales of weather patterns, to see more change, more often. There are far more weather variables under the hood than are (and can be) exposed in the GUI. These weather variables are randomised each time the AW simulation is restarted - press 'Apply' to restart. What you see around your starting point, for each scenario very roughly describing airmasses around you like "Border of a high pressure region", is just one of a huge number of weather possibilities that can exist with those airmasses - for that terrain, at that lattitude, at that time. Remember that to recreate Iceland's cool temperatures, the temperature offset needs be lowered to adjust the weather scenarios used AW simulation - put in a negative value to lower temperatures like "-25". As temperatures decrease, rain will turn to snow or hail as appropriate. With lower temperatures you'll be rewarded more often with stunning halos and scattering by ice crystals in clouds. | ||
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Closing line, if a further is needed e.g. Stay tuned for the 2020 LTS release in the next few days | Closing line, if a further is needed e.g. Stay tuned for the 2020 LTS release in the next few days | ||
Credits line? " | Credits line? "FlightGear contributors 2020" will do? | ||