FlightGear Newsletter November 2015
| This newsletter is a draft.
Please feel free to add content you think will be of interest to the FlightGear community. You can read the latest newsletter at FlightGear Newsletter October 2015. |
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Development news |
Community news |
Contributing |
Development news
AeromatiC++ 3.0 released
Most JSBSim aircraft developers probably know about Aeromatic, a web-based configuration file generator for JSBSim. In the past month, AeromatiC++ was created using the PHP code from Aeromatic2. AeromatiC++ is a flexible command line utility which, like Aeromatic2, can create JSBSim configuration files based an a minimal set of input variables. But AeromatiC++ is much more flexible by design which allows it to create appropriate subdirectories, engines and thruster files but also systems files.
Engines now have code to reasonably guess the fuel consumption based on a minimal number of inputs. The turboprop engine is now transformed from a turbine simulated turboprop configuration to a true JSBSim turboprop engine with propeller. Support has also been added for the electric engine.
The number of systems has been extended considerably. New systems supported include:
- Conventional controls (with or without yaw damper)
- Flaps
- Landing gear
- Arrestor hook
- Spoilers and speedbrakes
- Thrust reverse
- Drag chute and rescue chute
- Catapult system
Every system adds its own lift, drag and/or side force and pitch, roll and/or yaw moments if selected.
Early HLA Experiments
| Note In its current form, this section/article is largely based on quotes collected from various related discussions/channels (devel list, forum etc) using the Instant-Cquotes script. Wiki users and other contributors are encouraged to help rewrite/edit contents accordingly to help get rid of unnecessary quoting (i.e. while the wiki is not intended to be a collection of quotes, quotes are sometimes the best/easiest way to bootstrap new articles, while also providing a good way to link back to related discussions in the archives).
While rewriting usually only entails changing first person speech to 3rd person. However, please try to retain references/links to the original discussion whenever possible. |
Stuart Buchanan has started looking at the HLA (High-Level Architecture) integration for FG, after some very useful discussion with Mathias Froehlich. This is just a note to say what he's looking at and how he's thinking of developing it. Any comments/advice is welcome.
As background, we currently have a partial HLA implementation in SimGear which has a dependency on OpenRTI. As the name suggests, OpenRTI is an open-source RTI, which is developed by Mathias himself.
This is all very well, but the HLA world has moved on since this code was written, and the code doesn't support some of the modern constructs.
Mathias has been working on a toolkit that provides a lot of the "plumbing" required for a HLA client, in a much nicer package. This toolkit doesn't yet have a name, but would allow us to ditch most/all of the SimGear HLA code. (Note that like the current HLA dependency, this is completely optional and only required if one is compiling with the ENABLE_RTI boolean cmake option.)
As a first use-case Stuart expects to start looking at a very basic AI integration so other aircraft in the federation are displayed within FG (see Decoupling the AI Traffic System). That doesn't really leverage the power of HLA, but should at least allow us to get to grips with the problems and architecture before moving onto more ambitious plans, including the Holy Grail of separating the viewer from the FDM.
A lot of the challenge is likely to be in designing the data to be shared across the RTI, which will require a lot more thought than one might naively assume. [1].
Stuart has now successfully replaced the HLA implemented in SimGear with SimKit (the name of Mathias' abstracting layer). This has allowed Stuart to replace ~ 17000 lines of code in simgear/flightgear with 500 in flightgear alone. Stuart also has successfully joined an OpenRTI HLA federation, and received updates from an external source, which are displayed as an MP aircraft in the property tree[2].
Stuart has now got an external HLA Federate being displayed in FlightGear. The implementation right now is very basic: a KC-135 circling above LOWI at 10kts and 500ft AGL - but it's enough to build on.
The next steps Stuart is planning are as follows: - Flesh out the Viewer Federate implementation, possibly to include mapping of HLA data to properties. - Publish the FlightGear aircraft instance position to the RTI so it can be picked up by other viewers. - Create a Multiplayer Proxy as a Federate that proxies between the MP network and the RTI. This will run in a separate thread or as a separate executable. - Split out the traffic Manager in a similar way. This is obviously focussing on the viewer aspect, and doesn't address splitting out the FDM or control elements.[3]
About dragons, pterosaurs, a BirdFDM and goats
| This article is a stub. You can help the wiki by expanding it. |
In the hangar
Scenery corner
Project3000
Project3000 adds scenery objects to more than 2000 airports. It can be installed like any other custom scenery package.
Red Bull Air Race
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as some of you are probably aware of, the Red Bull Air Race is using FlightGear for various tasks during planing and preparation of their races. Our Zivko Edge 540 in fgaddon is often used to virtually test-fly a track and to create introduction videos for the racing teams.
We have already received some valuable feedback from the Air Race team. For example the EFIS and the g-load led strip indicator included in the Edge has been modeled after the real thing after being able to visit the team in Gdynia, Poland last summer. Over the last years we have developed a very friendly relationship to the team, this year at FSweekend we had one of their members at our booth. Check the video at 2:44. I think, none of us was able to complete the track, I usually crashed no later than the second gate while Alvaro, our pro always completed realistically in less than a minute while still looking relaxed. For the next season they are evaluating several new locations, one of them is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. To make their evaluation as realistic as possible, they need good scenery. Unfortunately, we don't have anything there and they are looking into FSX (insert some sound of disgust here). Here comes my challenge for our 3d and texture artists: Would some of you like to create a virtual motor speedway with all its buildings, signs etc and check them in into our scenemodels database? There are many photos available on the net, the racetracks itself are in OSM. The terrain generation tool is already working, but we need objects! Be sure, some of the best pilots of world will see and like your work!— Torsten (Nov 16th, 2015). Red Bull Air Race: Request for help with 3d models.
(powered by Instant-Cquotes) |
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Community news
New scenemodels and TerraSync hosting needed
By the end of this year (2015), the FlightGear Project's hosting for the scenemodels database and website and the TerraSync repository will no longer be available. As a result, the FlightGear Project is searching for a replacement, even just a temporary one. The technical requirements are roughly these:
- A PostgreSQL database (with the PostGIS extension) of approximately 40 GB, with capacity to expand (this is for the scenemodels database).
- An Apache webserver, PHP, access to the database and the usual toolkit for hosting the scenemodels website
- An SVN server with 140+ GB for the TerraSync repository.
- Enough bandwith to serve the data.
- One or more reverse proxies serving TerraSync requests (not much storage required, just bandwidth).
If you can provide the above, are able to provide help, or have any serious ideas for a replacement, please get in touch via the forum topic or the mailing list topic
— Torsten (Nov 9th, 2015). Scenemodels and terrasync are going down.
New contest: FlightGear photography and art contest
For any of you out there who love post-editing photos and screenshots, this is for you! A new contest focused on creating the most artistic and compelling pictures made with FlightGear. Post-editing is allowed and encouraged. Find out more here
Other
Online Flight Planner now supports FlightGear
OnlineFlightPlanner.org can now output routes to a format compatible with Flightgear's route manager. The planner produces a PDF containing the flight plan (RouteFinder) with estimated fuel quantity calculation (Fuelplanner.com). The flight plan can be loaded to the route manager for immediate use in FlightGear.
Contributing
Translators required
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The FlightGear Wiki still needs help for translating it into various languages. If you are interested in making the FlightGear Wiki multilingual, start at Help:Translate. |
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Le wiki de FlightGear a toujours besoin d'aide pour être traduit en différentes langues. Si vous êtes intéressé par le rendre multilingue, commencez par lire Help:Traduire. |
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Das FlightGear Wiki benötigt immer noch Hilfe bei der Übersetzung in verschiedene Sprachen. Wenn Du Interesse daran hast, das FlightGear Wiki Mehrsprachig zu machen, dann fang doch mit Help:Übersetzen an. |
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De FlightGear Wiki kan nog steed hulp gebruiken bij het vertalen van artikelen. Als je interesse hebt om de wiki meertalig te maken, raden we je aan om een kijkje te nemen bij Help:Vertalen. |
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La wiki de FlightGear todavía necesita ayuda para traducirla a varios lenguajes. Si estás interesado en hacer la FlightGear wiki multilingüe, entonces comienza en Help:Traducir. |
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La wiki de FlightGear encara necessita ajuda per traduir-la a diverses llengües. Si esteu interessat en fer la wiki de FlightGear multilingüe, llavors comenceu a Help:Traduir. |
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A wiki de FlightGear ainda necessita de ajuda para traduzi-la em vários idiomas. Se estás interessado em tornar a wiki de FlightGear multi-lingual, por favor começa em Help: Traduzir. |
FlightGear logos
If you want some graphic elements for your FlightGear-related site (such as a hangar or YouTube channel), please feel free to visit FlightGear logos for a repository of logos. And if you have some art skills, please don't hesitate to contribute with your own design creations.
Screenshots
The FlightGear project always needs screenshots, which show features that were added since the last release. These should be of good quality, especially in content and technical image properties. It is therefore recommended to use the best viable filter settings (anti-aliasing, texture sharpening, etc.). More info at Howto:Make nice screenshots.
Screenshot of the Month
Entries for this month's best screenshot can be submitted to this forum topic. Be sure to see the first post for participation rules. For purposes of convenience and organization, after all the entries have been submitted, a new forum topic will be started containing all shots in an easy-to-view layout. The voting will then take place there. Once the voting has finished, the best screenshot will be presented on this page.