FlightGear Newsletter April 2011: Difference between revisions

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Vinura has started work on developing a Doctor Who TARDIS for FlightGear. The exterior model is almost complete in SketchUp.
Vinura has started work on developing a Doctor Who TARDIS for FlightGear. The exterior model is almost complete in SketchUp.


[[File:TARDIS.png|thumb]]
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Image:TARDIS.png
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== Nasal for newbies ==
== Nasal for newbies ==

Revision as of 01:27, 15 April 2011

Magagazine.png
Welcome to the FlightGear Newsletter!
Please help us write the next edition!
Enjoy reading the latest edition!


We would like to emphasize that the monthly newsletter can not live without the contributions of FlightGear users and developers. Everyone with a wiki account (free to register) can edit the newsletter and every contribution is welcome. So if you know about any FlightGear related projects such as for example updated scenery or aircraft, please do feel invited to add such news to the newsletter.

Development news

Doctor Who Fans

Vinura has started work on developing a Doctor Who TARDIS for FlightGear. The exterior model is almost complete in SketchUp.

Nasal for newbies

New software tools and projects

FlightGear addons and mods

In the hangar

New instruments

The Boeing 777-200ER's chronometer has been moved to the generic instruments directory (Aircraft/Instruments-3d/chronometer). This allows aircraft developers to easily implement this clock in their aircraft. All related Nasal code was included in the model xml file, so there's really just one file to be linked to! Some aircraft already make use of this clock, including the Boeing 747-400 and 757-200.

There are several advantages in moving instruments to the generic directoy, some of which are:

  • Easy to be re-used in other aircraft, all you need to do is link to (and position) the model and on some instruments link to a Nasal file.
  • If someone extents the functionality of a generic instrument, it will be automatically extended in all the aircraft that use it.

New aircraft

Updated aircraft

Liveries

Some SriLankan Airlines Liveries have been made by Vinura for the Boeing 767, Airbus A320 and Airbus A340.

For the A320:

For the Boeing 767:

For the A340:

The A340 Livery has yet to be uploaded to the FlightGear Livery Database. Also, because the A340 is only slightly flyable, the livery might not be of any use. But the A340 SriLankan Airlines Livery still looks spectacular and is probably the best of all the 3 liveries.

EDIT: The A340-600 Livery can regrettably not be uploaded due to the wrong aircraft type. SriLankan does fly A340's but not the A340-600. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Scenery corner

New scenery

New third-party scenery for the USA's Pacific Northwest (Seattle and Portland, OR) and Rio de Janeiro is now available for download at http://www.stattosoftware.com/flightgear

New Buildings

Once again, there are new Eastern Asian buildings !

  • Saigon Center - Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam
  • Mode Gakuen Coccoon Tower - Tokyo - Japan
  • Trade Tower - Seoul - South Korea
  • The Center - Hong Kong - China

Airports

The generic Concourse C at KDEN was recently replaced with a much better, realistic working model featuring animated jetways. Please enjoy.

Aircraft of the month

Airport of the month

Screenshot of the month

Fgfs-screen-085.png

SriLankan Airlines Livery on an Airbus A320 taken at Dusk.

Spectacular Screenshot...

Your eyes will be amazed!

Suggested flights

Departing from Brisbane International Airport and heading towards Sydney International Airport at a heading of about 203, you will come across some beautiful scenery;

In the above picture, you can see a road or rails or something. Imagine if a Bus or a train was going along those rails. That would be magnificent! :D

Aircraft reviews

The Good old Cessna Citation X

Cessna Citation X - Screenshot 1.png

I hope to do a monthly review of a specific aircraft. I can't guarantee that I will get to do it every month though because I do have other stuff to attend to.

This is by far one of my favourite little planes! Its reaction time is quite quick. The rudder control is very responsive, even the slightest move of your rudder pedals or the mouse and the rudder on the plane moves.

The acceleration and the animations for the Cessna Citation X is very good. It accelerates quite fast down the runway, building up momentum and then, you lift your joystick up slightly and the nose lifts up just like you want it to.

Regarding the animations, they are extraordinary, they function quite well like for example the flaps or the Wind Brakes or the Landing Gears. The Cockpit is quite well designed and has a lot of instruments just like a real Citation should.

This was the first jet plane that I could actually land properly in.

Cessna Citation X - Screenshot 3.png

It has a tutorial system built in for people wanting to fly one. It also has several good built-in camera views including views from the passenger seats.

The Cockpit:

(Click on the image for a larger view.)

The Passengers' Seats:

(Click on the images for a larger view.)

The Citation X included in the latest FlightGear 2.2 Devlopement Snapshot release is probably the best.

As always, there is always some that goes wrong or fails, for me, that was this;

(Click on the image for a larger view.)

If anyone can help me out, send me a message through the FlightGear Wiki.

Click here to send me a message regarding this error.

Recommendation:

I would recommend this plane to people who have already flown planes like the Cessna C172P or the Piper J3 Cub and want to progress into Jet aviation. This is a GREAT little starter plane to get you going.

Nevertheless, with all the errors aside, this has to be one of the best planes that I have ever used in FlightGear!

Thanks for reading! :D

Review By: Vinura

Cessna Citation X - Screenshot 2.png

Wiki updates

New articles

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New aircraft articles

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Most popular newsletters

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Community news

FlightGear on youtube

New tutorials and screencasts

How to use and implement animated jetways!

NOTE: IS IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU REFER TO SKYOP'S TUTORIAL ON HOW TO USE ANIMATED JETWAYS FIRST. Howto: Animated jetways

Only use this tutorial of you are completely stuck!

Yes, I know it is long but it is very helpful.

ENJOY!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Forum news

Multiplayer

Virtual airlines

FlightGear events

FlyingClub Mayday 1

The FGFC "Mayday 1: Manitoba Rescue" operation was held April 2nd, 2011 at CYAV, Winnipeg/St.Andrews, with seven pilots participating. The scenario stated two of Manitoba's major rivers were flooding, and people were stranded along both, so STOL and helicopter pilots were mustered at CYAV, received assignments from ATC, planned their flights, and notified ATC when they were ready to proceed. A total of twenty missions were assigned, sixteen of which were successfully completed in the space of three hours.

The scenario was based around the idea that pilots should have basic skills in addition to merely flying with an autopilot, and was designed to test both their actual flying ability by not having airports at their destinations, and providing no actual navigational data beyond a map or two. They were required to map their routes in territory unknown to them, then fly those routes in their chosen aircraft, land, report in, then return to CYAV to complete a "cycle." Points were awarded for cycle completion, and points deducted for aircraft crashes. FG Seg faults were not penalized.

Comments back about the operation from pilots have so far been positive. Watch the Multiplayer Forums for the next one; there will be one, but at this writing, it has not yet been decided.

Useful links

And finally ...

Contributing

One of the regular thoughts expressed on the FlightGear forums is "I'd like to contribute but I don't know how to program, and I don't have the time". Unfortunately, there is a common mis-conception that contributing requires programming and lots of free time. In fact, there are a huge range of ways to contribute to the project without needing to write code or spending days working on something.

For ideas on starting to contribute to FlightGear, you may want to check out: Volunteer.

Call for volunteers

  • The OpenRadar project is looking for a new maintainer.
  • The FGFSPM (FlightGear Package Manager) is looking for a new maintainer.

Did you know

...That you can fly backwards in a UFO? While holding the brake button down on your joystick, increase engine throttle and you should start to fly backwards...