FlightGear Newsletter November 2023
We would like to emphasize that the monthly newsletter cannot live without the contributions of FlightGear users and developers. Everyone with a wiki account (free to register) is welcome to contribute to the newsletter. If you know about any FlightGear related news or projects such as for example updated scenery or aircraft, please do feel invited to add such news to the newsletter.
The new Visual Editor makes editing the wiki as simple as using a Word-processor, and even easier than using the forum as you don't even need to know the syntax for a url. Just hit the 'edit' link and start.
Development news
In the hangar
These are just some updates and new aircraft models that appeared during this month of November 2023
McDonnell Douglas MD-11
The detailed new McDonnell Douglas MD-11 has been uploaded to FGAddon
Aichi M6A1 K "Nanzan" ("Seiran Kai").
New version of the Aichi and revision of FDM (by helijah) download
The "K" version was a two-seat training variant of the Aichi M6A1 equipped with a conventional landing gear, unlike the original "M6A1 Seiran" version (with floats). The designation "K" stands for "Kosho," meaning "with wheels" in Japanese. Two units were built.
Douglas DC-5
New model (by helijah) download
The Douglas DC-5 was a twin-engine, propeller-driven aircraft developed by the American company Douglas Aircraft Company in the 1930s. It was designed as a smaller version of the DC-3 with a capacity for 16 passengers. The DC-5 was intended for use in both civilian and military applications. However, its commercial success was limited, with only 12 units built. The aircraft found greater success as a military transport during World War II, serving in various roles with different air forces. Despite its relatively short-lived commercial career, the DC-5 contributed to the evolution of aviation technology during its time.
Compass on a pivot pin
Recently the C172p and C182S/T got an upgrade to their magnetic compass. This was flanked by an interesting discussion on the dev-mailing list regarding an error caused by pitch of the disc. The code present looks like simulating the disc being fixed to a static axis which is pitched at 0°. As most aircraft do not show pitch=0 when on the taxiway (especially sloped ones), this results in a not obvious but errorneous reading, causing issues when calibrating the Directional Gyro at the hold short line.
The reason for that is that most modern compasses are not mounted on a fixed axis, but have a pin-bearing which allows the disc to free-float inside limits (usually +-9° pitch and -+25° bank). While free-floating, the disc can adjust to the pitch and bank of the plane and is unaffected, as long as the pitch does not change "fast". When limits are hit, the compass disc usually strikes the casing which makes it stuck.
This has been implemented in the development versions of the C172p and C182S/T, and as a result, the pitch error is only present at excess pitch, or if the pitch changes rapidly (like on accelerating/decelerating or pitching up/down fast). Also the compass can get stuck and the disc animates the movements of pitch and bank. Unrelated to the pitch topic, the compass now is also influenced by electrical current from the avionics.
Aircraft developers should see if their plane benefit from that code too, as its easy to port (its just a set of property-rule filters and adding defaults for the configuration properties to the -set.xml).
Also, it would be nice, if someone with hands on a real airplane compass can verify the implementation against real behavior.
AIRCRAFTS UPDATED in FGAddon during november:
- MD-11
- CH750STOL, CH650
- Cessna 208B, C150, C140
- N-2, Birdy, Arcus
- ASK21, ASW28, ASG29, ASK13
- Bergfalke
Scenery corner
SID/STAR data from the FAA
The FAA releases AIRAC data for aerodromes that they oversee, for free under the public domain. There is a project on GitHub that parses the ARINC 424 into Level-D XML which can be handled by FlightGear. This project uses GitHub actions to automatically update the repo at the start of a new AIRAC cycle.
Help wanted
Post LTS work
After the 2020.2 release, some work lies ahead to improve the LTS and to help us pave the way for migrating to the OpenGL Core profile - any help would be greatly appreciated.
This may for example include:
- Switching to the OpenGL Core profile:
- Checking that aircraft work with the LTS and documenting any major problems
- Include ffmpeg libraries in Windows and Mac builds, to enable built-in video encoding.
- Cppunit effort and FlightGear Headless (see Testing)
- Deboosting FlightGear
Please get in touch via the developers mailing list to learn more. See Post FlightGear 2020.2 LTS changes and 2022.X Release Plan for more details.
World Scenery 3.0
The FlightGear project is in the process of exploring how Virtual Planet Builder can be adopted. For details, see: World Scenery 3.0 roadmap
Aerial (drone) photos for Terrain textures
Wanted: good top-down aerial photos to create textures from to use with the procedural Regional Texturing system. Drones 
with cameras are ideal. People with access to drones are in a good position to take high-quality photographs.
A particular need as of 2020 is photos of agriculture (farm lands) from different parts of the world.
Good GPLv2 compatible photos suitable for textures are hard to find, and an easy way is for people to take photos of their region. Flightgear's procedural systems can do a lot with less art content, so photo contributions can strongly improve visuals.
See: How to: take photos of terrain for textures. For examples of final textures: see /data/Textures/Terrain. e.g. UK countryside.
You can get in touch via the Scenery forum or the flightgear-devel mailing list
Photos of trees for textures
Wanted: good quality photos of different trees and vegetation from various parts of the world. Flightgear's vegetation system can handle multiple layers of trees and bushes.
.jpg){kind=link}
Strong shadows should be avoided. Each tree should be against a background of a different colour: sky (preferably) , clouds , or buildings. This allows the tree to be separated from the background in a photo-editor like GIMP.
See: How to: take photos of vegetation. For examples of final textures: see /data/Textures/Trees. e.g. Coniferous.
You can get in touch via the Scenery forum or the flightgear-devel mailing list.
Submissions of labels for craft
Wanted: Submissions of labels (tags) giving a rough description of aircraft - Metadata tags. A quick read of a craft's Wikipedia page will normally be enough to set labels. This info will be searchable from the launcher GUI. For example, filtering craft by propulsion like single-propeller or 4-engine jet craft, or by a manufacturer like Airbus or Grumman, or by speed like supersonic craft, or craft by era like WW2. A list of tags is here - more can be added if needed. To add tags to craft yourself, the tags are stored in the set-xml file.
A list of FGAddon craft needing tags is here. See this forum thread to submit tags. The flightgear-devel mailing list or the craft's maintainer can also be contacted.
Windows Package Maintainer
The core team needs help from Windows users able to maintain a good working Windows build. This process already exists to support our Nightly and Release builds, but we are seeking additional help to keep it in good working order. The ability to compile FG from source and some Windows batch scripting is a required skill. If you are willing and able to take up this role, please reach out to James Turner (mailing list), or get in touch via the forum [1]
AI
The AI team makes FlightGear more realistic, colorful and lively every month. You can support the development of Interactive Traffic and contribute at the FlightGear AI subforum 
.
Community news
FlightGear on Facebook
Since early December 2010, FlightGear has an official Facebook page. If you have a Facebook account please feel free to join the page.
FlightGear on Instagram
In January 2018 the @flightgear_sim Instagram account was brought back to life. If you've got nice screenshots to be featured, feel free to contact the maintainer .
FlightGear on FlightSim.com
FlightGear has also a sub-forum on flightsim.com - just like the commercial flight sims. It is an opportunity to showcase what FG can do, get people curious and answer any questions they may have with regard to the software or the project.
Multiplayer events
Contributing
Translators needed
|
The FlightGear Wiki still needs help for translating it into various languages. If you are interested in making the FlightGear Wiki multilingual, you can start by looking at Help:Translate. |
|
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. |
|
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 mit dem Help:Übersetzen an. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
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 百科仍然需要志愿者将其翻译为各种语言。如果你有兴趣让FlightGear百科支持更多语言, 你可以查看 Help:Translate. |
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
If you want to participate in the screenshot contest, you can submit your candidate to the this subforum . Be sure to see the first post for participation rules. For purposes of convenience and organization, at the end of the month or after 20 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.
Thanks for reading FlightGear Newsletter November 2023!
| References
|