FlightGear Newsletter September 2009

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Revision as of 21:28, 23 September 2009 by Stuart (talk | contribs) (→‎New shaders)
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Welcome to the third edition of the FlightGear Newsletter. This edition is still being written, so feel free to contribute,

The newsletter is still a bit thin on contributions, so if you'd like to contribute, please feel free to log onto the wiki and start editing the next edition here. We're still looking for a permanent (or even a temporary) newsletter editor, so if you'd like to get involved, have a look on the Forums.

What's new in CVS

New shaders

Image:SnowAtAltitude1.jpg Image:SnowAtAltitude2.jpg

Scenery around LFLJ with the snow effect disabled (left) and enabled (right).

Recently new shaders have upgraded the visual realism of FlightGear. Thanks to the hard work of Till Busch and Tim Moore, we now see snow on high peaks, rocky steep slopes and reflections in the water.

The new effects can be enabled through the View > Rendering Options dialog.

New wiki articles

In the hangar

Scenery Corner

Image:Maui03.jpg Image:Maui10.jpg
Screenshots from the beta build of the new, still unreleased Maui scenery.

The official FlightGear scenery land cover database now has new custom Hawai'i data. Generated from NOAA land cover data, FlightGear now has high quality coverage for six of the eight islands of Hawai'i (Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and Kahoolawe). The south coast of Oahu, including Honolulu, also features incredibly accurate coastline and land cover data created Unfortunately, with the exception of Maui, the data has not yet been turned into scenery, but Maui has produced some stunning visuals so far! Hawai'i soon will be a popular scenery area for fans of both civil and military aircraft.

New landmarks are always being added to the scenery object repository. New recent landmarks include the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum in Vietnam to Carrow Road in Norfolk England, the stadium for Norwich City Football Club. Lighthouses from around the UK continue to pop up. Modelers continue to focus on airports, and there are new buildings at EDDP Leipzig, Germany; KNUQ Moffatt Field (in the default scenery!); and KJAN Jackson, Mississippi. Next time you're looking for a place to fly, keep these places in mind!

A living community

TransGear Airways

TransGear Airways is a new group of people from the FlightGear community, gathering once a month. At coordinated times, each pilot will depart from his/her respective home base on the "spokes" of TransGears airway network, and convene together at its "hub", before exchanging passengers and flying back to their home base. While realism is one of the aims of the gatherings, everyone is welcome, as long as one is trying to follow more or less realistic procedures.

The first upcoming gathering will take place at September 12th at KBWI. Check the forum for more information and registration.

Useful links

And finally...