FlightGear wiki - User contributions [en]

New to FlightGear

2026-05-24T23:58:16Z

Celesta: /* Getting scenery */

'''Welcome to [[FlightGear]]!''' Here we will try to get you up in the virtual air in the shortest time possible. We will also introduce you to some of the features of this flight simulator and also a few information on its community.

== Installation and setup ==
=== Hardware requirements ===
For FlightGear to run smoothly, it requires a video card with OpenGL drivers 4.0 or higher. This is usually not a problem, but take a look at the [[hardware recommendations]] to have a better idea.

=== Getting FlightGear ===
You may download the latest files from the [https://www.flightgear.org/download/ FlightGear download] page. Choose the source or binary files appropriate for your particular system. {{Wikipedia|AppImage|AppImage}} binary files for Linux are also available with 2020.3 LTS and later. Most Linux users will find that most distributions have a packaged version of FlightGear (the package name could be <code>fgfs</code> or <code>flightgear</code>.)

Depending on your technical expertise you may choose the [[Git]] development version of FlightGear, which typically has more features and can be required by some of the latest developmental aircraft, but can be unstable and is more complicated to get for non-Windows users. In general, the development version is not advised to the average user, but if you are willing to do some testing there is a nightly build available for [https://www.flightgear.org/download/nightly/ download]. If you are using a Git version controlled copy of FlightGear, you may choose to synchronise your aircraft using the version controlled [[FGAddon|FGAddon aircraft development repository]].

=== Installing on Windows ===
After you downloaded the installer, run it and follow its instructions to install FlightGear.

Defender SmartScreen on Windows may block the installation simply because the binary file is not signed with a key that Microsoft respects. Of course, the key is paid. In this case, we need to click on the inconspicuous "More info" link. Only then will the "Run anyway" button appear. You can safely trust that this is not a dangerous application, as long as you have actually downloaded it from official sources.

If you're using third-party antivirus software for some reason, it may be blocking FlightGear from installing. This isn't something we can control, so it's entirely up to you how you want to handle it.

With the Windows installer, you may choose where to install FlightGear. The [[$FG_ROOT]] directory would be <code><your chosen directory>/data</code>.

=== Installing on macOS ===
Installing FlightGear on macOS is very simple. Just drag and drop the FlightGear icon to the <code>/Applications</code> folder. That is it.

The first time you launch FlightGear, its icon on the Dock bounces for several seconds while loading aircraft and airport info. When the GUI launcher appears, select the aircraft and airport, then click "Fly!" to launch the simulator. You can configure more options using the GUI launcher. See the [http://flightgear.sourceforge.net/manual/next/en/getstart-ench4.html#takeoff-how-to-start-the-program official manual] for more details.

If you would like to launch FlightGear using command-line, launch the Terminal app and type the following.

cd /Applications/FlightGear.app/Contents/MacOS
./fgfs --options.....

The [[$FG_ROOT]] and [[$FG_SCENERY]] are not set on macOS. If you want to specify these variables yourself for command-line use, run the followings on the Terminal app:

FG_ROOT=/Applications/FlightGear.app/Contents/Resources/data
FG_SCENERY=[[$FG_ROOT]]/Scenery

After launching the GUI launcher, you will have the alias to [[$FG_ROOT]] at <code>$HOME/Documents/FlightGear/<version></code> so you can browse the data folder using Finder.

Note: Once you have installed FlightGear, Mac users can locate their [[$FG_ROOT]] folder by opening their applications folder in Finder, right clicking on FlightGear, and clicking "Show Package Contents". This will take you inside the FlightGear folder. You are now able to access all files including Data/Aircraft to [[Howto: Install aircraft#Macintosh OS X|install new aircraft]].

=== Installing from source ===
Main article: [[Building FlightGear]]

=== Getting scenery ===
A limited set of [[scenery]] comes installed with FlightGear. For FlightGear 2024.1 this consists of
* The area surrounding the featured airport for the release which is [[Keflavik_Airport|Keflavik International Airport]] (BIKF)
* The tutorial airport for the [[Cessna_172P|Cessna 172P]] which is [[Hilo_International_Airport|Hilo International Airport]] (PHTO)

In FlightGear, scenery is generally stored in you [[$FG_ROOT]] directory, and is divided into three kinds of data:
* '''Airports''' holds airport data, like runway usage and parking spots.
* '''Objects''' and '''Models''' are the buildings, bridges and radio towers, etc. that represent three-dimensional structures.
* '''Terrain''' represents the contours, elevations and type of ground you fly/taxi over.

The current way of "installing" new scenery is enabling [[TerraSync]], which will automatically download and update any place you visit - even on the fly! If you have a slow Internet connection and/or computer you could instead use a scenery manager, for example [[TerraMaster]]. In addition you can also manually download and install new scenery parts, either the official [[World Scenery]] or custom scenery.

The scenery is also available on the [https://www.flightgear.org/download/mirrors/ mirrors page] of the FlightGear website, and can be installed following [[Howto: Install scenery]]. '''This is recommended for users with weak internet connections or weak computers!'''

Custom scenery is available in many places. For example, on the {{forum link|f=5|text=FlightGear forum}} or within repositories. An internet search should be able to find them. See [[Suggested_custom_scenery|suggested custom scenery]] page for a few recent releases.

FlightGear 2020.3.7 LTS and later added an experimental rollout of 3 dimensional buildings, roads, and objects based on OpenStreetMap data for the entire world to automatically downloaded TerraSync data - see [[OSM2City 1st Worldbuild|1st OSM2City world-build]] notes (March 2021). Some manual downloads of 3d structures for regions or entire countries is available on the [[Areas populated with osm2city scenery|osm2City downloads]] wiki page.

=== Getting aircraft ===
Additional [[aircraft]] can be downloaded and installed through the [[Qt-launcher|launcher]]. Alternatively, you can go to the FlightGear website and navigate to the [http://www.flightgear.org/download/ download page], then choose the aircraft download link that fits your FlightGear version. In addition there are many third party [[hangars]]. For the installation, see [[Howto: Install aircraft]].

== Running FlightGear ==
=== Starting FlightGear ===
The easiest way to start FlightGear is to use the desktop icon. This starts the graphical interface [[FlightGear Qt launcher]] where you can choose aircraft, start position etc. Remember the Qt launcher only has basic options to get you started. A lot of options for graphics, scenery, [[Weather|weather]], [https://www.flightgear.org/tours/simulating-the-ever-changing-scenery/ environment], [[Input_device|input devices]] etc. are available from the [[menu]] inside the simulator.

Many users choose however to start FlightGear directly from the command line. The executable name is <code>fgfs</code> and can be run without options. If it is "not found", it is likely not in your [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(variable) path]. The location depends on your particular system and choices you made during compile and installation. There is a list of [[Command Line Parameters]] which must be used to change many options, like the aircraft you want. The most important:

fgfs --launcher # opens the FlightGear Qt launcher
fgfs --show-aircraft # displays a list of installed aircraft
fgfs --aircraft=c172p # start FG with the aircraft "c172p" (from the list)

The Qt launcher also lets users add command line parameters for options that are normally changed from the menu inside the simulator, as well as quite advanced options that are only available from the command line (as of August 2020).

=== Configuring rendering and UI ===
[[File:Rendering options 2024.1.png|thumb|View > Rendering Options dialog.]]
If your render quality or framerate is too low, click "View > Rendering Options" to adjust the graphic settings. For newer hardware, it's recommended to set "graphics quality" to high and check "use disk space for faster loading", "animated jetways" and "satellite photoscenery".

If the menu text appears too small on high DPI or large screens, you can manually [[Menubar#How to Change the Default Menubar Font Size|change the menubar font size]] by editing the data file, or simply click "Debug > Cycle GUI Style".

=== Using the keyboard and/or mouse ===
Users with limited access to a [[joystick]] or other controllers sometimes use the keyboard or mouse to control their aircraft. Using the keyboard to fly can be difficult and the mouse is recommended over the keyboard for flying, yet even a cheap joystick would improve the experience so much.

To get help with keyboard commands, with FlightGear running, go to the ''Help'' menu, look under ''Basic Keys'' (for simulator related commands) and ''Common Aircraft Keys'' (for commands universal to all aircraft) and ''Aircraft Help'' (for key commands specific to your aircraft). If the main menu is hidden press {{key press|F10}}. If you come from other simulators, check [[key commands compared to other simulators]] for an overview of the difference between the key commands of that sim and FlightGear.

To use the mouse to fly the aircraft, press {{key press|Tab}} (the cursor should change to a cross) and move the mouse to direct the aircraft. Press {{key press|Tab}} again to look around (cursor should show a two sided arrow), and press {{key press|Tab}} again to return to normal mode, used to click stuff in the cockpit.

For most users lacking a rudder axis control, it’s difficult to manually coordinate [[aileron]] and [[rudder]] movements during a turn. To enable auto-coordination and make flight easier, you may click "Settings", then click the "Show more" button on the right of "General", and finally click "Enable auto-coordination" in the launcher.

=== First time in the cockpit ===
Finding your way around the cockpit can be daunting the first time.

Where is the "virtual cockpit"? Not all FlightGear aircraft come with an interior actually, some research projects may not even come with an exterior model. A 2D panel may display over the 3D cockpit if one exists. You may turn this off through ''Main Menu'' > ''View'' > ''View Options'' and deselecting ''Show 2D panel'' in the ''Display Options'' section, or by pressing {{key press|Shift|P}}. Otherwise, you should be sitting in the virtual cockpit when FlightGear starts, as long as the Cockpit View is selected (if not pressing {{key press|Ctrl|V}} should get you to the pilot view).

You may find it difficult to read some of the displays, dials and gauges on the instrument panel. You can use the ''view'' mode of the mouse (press {{key press|Tab}} until you get a cursor shaped like a double arrow) to pan and the mouse wheel to zoom, or pan with the joystick hat and zoom with {{key press|X}} and {{key press|Shift|X}}.

One of the first steps that many take on entering an unfamiliar cockpit is to press {{key press|Ctrl|C}} to highlight all the "hotspots", that is instrument controls, buttons, knobs, etc. Many aircraft also offer a specific help menu.

Some functions, such as starter or magneto, may be difficult to use or simply lack clickable "hotspots", especially in aircraft models which are in development. In most cases you can go for the equivalent controls on a 2D panel or resort to the keyboard. The keyboard always work according to the assignments listed on the ''Help'' menu, but sometimes these are reassigned by an aircraft or configuration. Again, remember to check all the help dialogs.

=== Starting the engine ===
You are eager to fly, but the engine is off. Well, turning on the engines is not always easy. Some aircraft have an ''autostart'' entry in their custom menu, but here is a general procedure that should work in many cases:

In general to start the engine on a piston-engine type aircraft, you need (after making sure the game is not paused {{key press|p}}):
# Fuel: Some aircraft start the simulation with no fuel. You can add it in ''Equipment'' > ''Fuel and Payload''.
# Correct fuel mixture: This is generally ''rich'', so push the red knob all the way in, or use the key {{key press|m}} to enrich ({{key press|Shift|m}} leans.)
# Magnetos set on ''both'': Turn the key or press {{key press|}}} ''three times'' to move through ''R'', ''L'', ''Both''.
# Throttle: Some engines start better with a little gas.
# Run the starter: Click the ''Start'' position of the key on the panel, or press {{key press|s}}. Hold the starter for sufficient time, even 10 seconds.

Starting all engines in a multi-engine aircraft is similar to the single engine - except you must follow the same start sequence for each and every engine. FlightGear provides a convenient way to do this for all engines at once: Press {{key press|~}} and all the procedure above will work for all the engines. Note though that the default 2D panel is connected to ''only one engine'' and the {{key press|~}} trick might not work. Also, give some gas to be sure that all the engines are on.

These instructions may not work for jet aircraft, helicopters, or other types of aircraft with complex start procedures. Check the instructions in the aircraft help menu (press {{key press|?}}) and/or look at [[Aircraft|the aircraft's article on this wiki]]. In general to start the engine on a jet engine type aircraft, you need to:
# Set cutoff ''ON''
# Engage the starter
# Once the engines spools up to approximately 5% N1, set cutoff ''OFF''
# Disengage the starter once the engine has reached operational speed

== Learning to fly ==
=== FlightGear's Manual ===
FlightGear has an official [https://www.flightgear.org/support/manual/ manual] that covers the basics of flight. As a beginner, you may want to start with [https://flightgear.gitlab.io/getstart/release-{{current release|cr}}/en/HTML/getstart-ench8.html Chapter 8: A Basic Flight Simulator Tutorial].

=== Tutorials ===
Many aircraft have their own interactive [[tutorials|tutorial]]. With tutorials, you can learn to operate particular aircraft but also learn to fly. You can access tutorials by going to ''Main menu'' > ''Help'' > ''Tutorial''. A great place to start is the tutorial for the [[Cessna 172P]] aircraft, commonly used in real life to learn to fly fixed-winged aircraft.

If the tutorial starts without a runway and surrounded by water, your setup of FlightGear is missing the scenery for the airport at which the tutorial was supposed to run. To get scenery see the [[#Getting scenery]] section above.

== Making your first flight ==
=== Realism ===
One of the most frequent questions novice pilots ask about any flight simulator, but more so to FlightGear, is "Why is my aircraft turning left all the time?" Although it could be due to wind gusts crossing the runway, it is more likely due to the [[Understanding Propeller Torque and P-Factor|propeller torque and p-factor]].

In certain other flight simulators, despite marketing slogans to the contrary, some settings are turned down to make the aircraft easier to fly. This reduces effects such as the above. The realism is always turned up in FlightGear.

Here are some of the FlightGear realism points, which may be confusing to first time pilots:
* "Left turning syndrome" for the previously mentioned reasons.
* Compass turning error: A compass, when subjected to the forces of flight, tends to turn in the opposite direction for a brief period before settling on the correct heading. This is not a malfunction (see also the Wikipedia article {{wikipedia|Aircraft compass turns}}).
* The Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI) is also subject to error.
* The [[Horizontal Situation Indicator]] (HSI) is driven by a gyroscope (that is why it is sometimes called a Directional Gyroscope), which is subject to ''gyro drift''. The indicator will drift from its current heading and must be periodically (every ~15 minutes) calibrated to agree with the magnetic compass heading.
* You cannot just cancel a turn or climb by centering the yoke or stick. You must turn or push the stick the other way to get to level and level flight. But even then, the plane will not maintain its altitude or heading by itself. A common mistake is trying to find a hands off yoke position. While with trimming one could leave the plane for a couple of seconds, one must use autopilot or constantly adjust the yoke.

Many forces act on an aircraft in flight as well as on the [[avionics and instruments]] used for control and navigation, and may be counter-intuitive. Pilots must learn to recognize these phenomena and compensate for their effects. ''FlightGear models instrument errors that exist in the real world''.

=== Airports and navigation aids ===
When you first start FlightGear, whether from the command line or the graphical interface of the launchers, you may wonder how to determine what airports are available. The launcher displays a list of airports, but you will not see details such as tower or [[ILS]] frequencies. You will not find a map showing [[VOR]]s and their frequencies. What can you do? See [[Getting aeronautical charts]].

In-sim, there is a map you can use in ''Main Menu'' > ''Equipment'' > ''Map'', which will allow you to see navigation data and the position of airports and aids. For more help with navigation see [[Understanding navigation]].

=== Flying using the autopilot ===
Some aircraft require you to use the [[autopilot]] available from the ''Autopilot'' menu, which is the original FlightGear autopilot. This is a ''generic'' autopilot and as such, many aircraft come with their own ''specific'' autopilot, frequently a model of the real life one.

For aircraft that provide their own autopilot, you should use the autopilot controls available in the virtual cockpit. This means clicking on the instrument panel in the virtual cockpit. The Autopilot menu will be grayed out and unavailable when the aircraft supplies its own autopilot in some aircraft, including the Airbuses and the [[Cessna 172P|C172P]].

The Cessna 172 comes with a [[Bendix/King KAP140 Autopilot]] in its virtual cockpit. You can use both the autopilot device in the cockpit and the [[Autopilot#Autopilot Settings|autopilot settings]] from the menu.

== Advanced ==
=== Flying ===
{{Main article|Aircraft}}

* If you continue to fly light civilian aircraft, [[Cessna 182S]] which is more complex than C172P and [[Piper PA28 Warrior II|PA28]] are good choices.
* If you are interested in flying airlines, [[Airbus A320 family]], Boeing [[Boeing 777|777]]/[[Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner|787]], [[MD-11]] and [[MD-80]] are suggested.
* If you are fascinated by fighter aircrafts, choose a highly rated military aircraft (such as [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]]/[[F-15]]) from [[Aircraft#Modern military aircraft|here]], and enable multiplayer damage or install [[Bombable]].
* If you switch to helicopters, it is recommended to fly [[Eurocopter EC130 B4]].

Besides common aircraft, there are also detailed [[Space Shuttle|space shuttles]] available.

=== Scenery ===
It is fascinating to explore the [[scenery]] (or just test the graphics/frame rate) with [[UFO]]. First of all, [[#Configuring rendering and UI|increase your graphics quality]]. If you don't see buildings initially, keep FG open and wait for a while for [[TerraSync]] to finish downloading and for the buildings to appear.
There are plenty of [[Suggested airports|well-developed airports]] and scenery areas. You can also explore the scenery objects on the [https://scenery.flightgear.org/map model map].

=== Multiplayer ===
FlightGear has some multiplayer servers that will let you fly in more lively skies, see [[Howto: Multiplayer]]. There are also [[OpenRadar]] and [[ATC-pie]], standalone programs that will let you be an [[Air traffic control|air traffic controller]].

There is also a [[MPMap|multiplayer map]] that lets you see who is online right now, and even what [[navaids]] are nearby.

=== Menu items ===
For a quick reference about the usage of each menu item in FlightGear, see [[menu]].

=== Addons ===
FlightGear has a lot of third-party [[Addon|addons]] containing enhancements. For beginners, [[Logbook Add-on|Logbook]] and [[Which Runway Add-on|Which Runway]] may be the most useful addons.

== The FlightGear community ==
=== Getting help ===
This page is designed to give the user the essential things they need to know about using FlightGear for the first time. Besides the [[Portal:User|User portal]] of this wiki, there are other pages you may want to read:
*[[Troubleshooting problems]] to help you with the most common issues;
*[[Frequently asked questions]];
...and communication channels that can be used to obtain information or request help:
*The [[FlightGear Manual]], a ''must read'' for beginners;
*{{forum link|text=FlightGear Forum}} and its subforums;
*[[Discord|FlightGear's Discord server]], the quickest way to get help;
*[[FlightGear IRC channel]];
*[[Mailing list|FlightGear users mailing list]], biggest chance to get in contact with core developers;
*Documents bundled with the release package.

=== Customizing FlightGear without compiling it ===
[https://www.flightgear.org/download/ Our website] offers precompiled binaries for download and install on Windows, macOS and Linux. In addition, most Linux distributions provide a packaged version in their repositories.

Although the install is binary, most of FlightGear's systems are open to configuration through [[XML]] files and [[NASAL scripting]]. You are free ''and encouraged'' to make changes to aircraft flight models, scenery, textures, OpenGL [[shader]]s and any other feature you wish to change for your personal satisfaction or to share with other FlightGear users. If this is what you intend to do, take a look at the [[Portal:Developer|Developer portal]].

=== How you can help ===
{{Main article|Volunteer}}
FlightGear is an open source, volunteer based project. That means that whatever you find here comes from passion, spare time and nothing else. This includes the simulator, the scenery, the aircraft, the wiki, the {{forum link|text=forum}} and everything else. Volunteers, in essence ''people that do things'', are fundamental to this project. Without them, it would not make a single step forward. So it is essential that contributors have fun in what they do.

If you plan to contribute to this project, you should take a look at some articles that will give you some hints:
*[[Howto:Understand the FlightGear development process]]
*[[Implementing new features for FlightGear]]
*[[How the FlightGear project works]]

There are never enough people contributing, and the fields where their help would be appreciated are many:
;Testing:
*[[Building FlightGear|Build]] the latest Git code
*[https://gitlab.com/flightgear/flightgear/-/issues File bug reports]
*Running FlightGear via valgrind to track down memory leaks

;Support:
*Help new users with downloading, compiling, installing and running FlightGear ({{forum link|text=on the forum}} or on [[Discord]])
*Provide ideas & suggestions, see: [[Feature Requests / Proposals / Ideas]]
*Help [[Portal:Wiki|clean up this wiki]]
*Help provide new contents for missing wiki pages

;Development:
*C/C++ Coding:
**Provide source code cleanups
**Provide [[Bugs|bug fixes]] or new features
**Get involved in any of the other FlightGear-affiliated projects
*Aircraft development (3D modeling, textures, FDMs, scripting)
*Scenery development (terrain, model, weather)

[[Category:FlightGear]]

[[ca:Nou a FlightGear]]
[[de:Neu bei FlightGear]]
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[[fr:Nouveau sur flightgear]]
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[[th:New to FlightGear]]

New to FlightGear

2026-05-24T23:56:51Z

Celesta:

'''Welcome to [[FlightGear]]!''' Here we will try to get you up in the virtual air in the shortest time possible. We will also introduce you to some of the features of this flight simulator and also a few information on its community.

== Installation and setup ==
=== Hardware requirements ===
For FlightGear to run smoothly, it requires a video card with OpenGL drivers 4.0 or higher. This is usually not a problem, but take a look at the [[hardware recommendations]] to have a better idea.

=== Getting FlightGear ===
You may download the latest files from the [https://www.flightgear.org/download/ FlightGear download] page. Choose the source or binary files appropriate for your particular system. {{Wikipedia|AppImage|AppImage}} binary files for Linux are also available with 2020.3 LTS and later. Most Linux users will find that most distributions have a packaged version of FlightGear (the package name could be <code>fgfs</code> or <code>flightgear</code>.)

Depending on your technical expertise you may choose the [[Git]] development version of FlightGear, which typically has more features and can be required by some of the latest developmental aircraft, but can be unstable and is more complicated to get for non-Windows users. In general, the development version is not advised to the average user, but if you are willing to do some testing there is a nightly build available for [https://www.flightgear.org/download/nightly/ download]. If you are using a Git version controlled copy of FlightGear, you may choose to synchronise your aircraft using the version controlled [[FGAddon|FGAddon aircraft development repository]].

=== Installing on Windows ===
After you downloaded the installer, run it and follow its instructions to install FlightGear.

Defender SmartScreen on Windows may block the installation simply because the binary file is not signed with a key that Microsoft respects. Of course, the key is paid. In this case, we need to click on the inconspicuous "More info" link. Only then will the "Run anyway" button appear. You can safely trust that this is not a dangerous application, as long as you have actually downloaded it from official sources.

If you're using third-party antivirus software for some reason, it may be blocking FlightGear from installing. This isn't something we can control, so it's entirely up to you how you want to handle it.

With the Windows installer, you may choose where to install FlightGear. The [[$FG_ROOT]] directory would be <code><your chosen directory>/data</code>.

=== Installing on macOS ===
Installing FlightGear on macOS is very simple. Just drag and drop the FlightGear icon to the <code>/Applications</code> folder. That is it.

The first time you launch FlightGear, its icon on the Dock bounces for several seconds while loading aircraft and airport info. When the GUI launcher appears, select the aircraft and airport, then click "Fly!" to launch the simulator. You can configure more options using the GUI launcher. See the [http://flightgear.sourceforge.net/manual/next/en/getstart-ench4.html#takeoff-how-to-start-the-program official manual] for more details.

If you would like to launch FlightGear using command-line, launch the Terminal app and type the following.

cd /Applications/FlightGear.app/Contents/MacOS
./fgfs --options.....

The [[$FG_ROOT]] and [[$FG_SCENERY]] are not set on macOS. If you want to specify these variables yourself for command-line use, run the followings on the Terminal app:

FG_ROOT=/Applications/FlightGear.app/Contents/Resources/data
FG_SCENERY=[[$FG_ROOT]]/Scenery

After launching the GUI launcher, you will have the alias to [[$FG_ROOT]] at <code>$HOME/Documents/FlightGear/<version></code> so you can browse the data folder using Finder.

Note: Once you have installed FlightGear, Mac users can locate their [[$FG_ROOT]] folder by opening their applications folder in Finder, right clicking on FlightGear, and clicking "Show Package Contents". This will take you inside the FlightGear folder. You are now able to access all files including Data/Aircraft to [[Howto: Install aircraft#Macintosh OS X|install new aircraft]].

=== Installing from source ===
Main article: [[Building FlightGear]]

=== Getting scenery ===
A limited set of [[scenery]] comes installed with FlightGear. For FlightGear 2024.1 this consists of
* The area surrounding the featured airport for the release which is [[Keflavik_Airport|Keflavik International Airport]] (BIKF)
* The tutorial airport for the [[Cessna_172P|Cessna 172P]] which is [[Hilo_International_Airport|Hilo International Airport]] (PHTO)

In FlightGear, scenery is generally stored in you [[$FG_ROOT]] directory, and is divided into three kinds of data:
* '''Airports''' holds airport data, like runway usage and parking spots.
* '''Objects''' and '''Models''' are the buildings, bridges and radio towers, etc. that represent three-dimensional structures.
* '''Terrain''' represents the contours, elevations and type of ground you fly/taxi over.

The current way of "installing" new scenery is enabling [[TerraSync]], which will automatically download and update any place you visit - even on the fly! If you have a slow Internet connection and/or computer you could instead use a scenery manager, for example [[TerraMaster]]. In addition you can also manually download and install new scenery parts, either the official [[World Scenery]] or custom scenery.

The official, although outdated, scenery is available on the [https://www.flightgear.org/download/mirrors/ mirrors page] of the FlightGear website, and can be installed following [[Howto: Install scenery]]. '''This is recommended for users with weak internet connections or weak computers!'''

Custom scenery is available in many places. For example, on the {{forum link|f=5|text=FlightGear forum}} or within repositories. An internet search should be able to find them. See [[Suggested_custom_scenery|suggested custom scenery]] page for a few recent releases.

FlightGear 2020.3.7 LTS and later added an experimental rollout of 3 dimensional buildings, roads, and objects based on OpenStreetMap data for the entire world to automatically downloaded TerraSync data - see [[OSM2City 1st Worldbuild|1st OSM2City world-build]] notes (March 2021). Some manual downloads of 3d structures for regions or entire countries is available on the [[Areas populated with osm2city scenery|osm2City downloads]] wiki page.

=== Getting aircraft ===
Additional [[aircraft]] can be downloaded and installed through the [[Qt-launcher|launcher]]. Alternatively, you can go to the FlightGear website and navigate to the [http://www.flightgear.org/download/ download page], then choose the aircraft download link that fits your FlightGear version. In addition there are many third party [[hangars]]. For the installation, see [[Howto: Install aircraft]].

== Running FlightGear ==
=== Starting FlightGear ===
The easiest way to start FlightGear is to use the desktop icon. This starts the graphical interface [[FlightGear Qt launcher]] where you can choose aircraft, start position etc. Remember the Qt launcher only has basic options to get you started. A lot of options for graphics, scenery, [[Weather|weather]], [https://www.flightgear.org/tours/simulating-the-ever-changing-scenery/ environment], [[Input_device|input devices]] etc. are available from the [[menu]] inside the simulator.

Many users choose however to start FlightGear directly from the command line. The executable name is <code>fgfs</code> and can be run without options. If it is "not found", it is likely not in your [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(variable) path]. The location depends on your particular system and choices you made during compile and installation. There is a list of [[Command Line Parameters]] which must be used to change many options, like the aircraft you want. The most important:

fgfs --launcher # opens the FlightGear Qt launcher
fgfs --show-aircraft # displays a list of installed aircraft
fgfs --aircraft=c172p # start FG with the aircraft "c172p" (from the list)

The Qt launcher also lets users add command line parameters for options that are normally changed from the menu inside the simulator, as well as quite advanced options that are only available from the command line (as of August 2020).

=== Configuring rendering and UI ===
[[File:Rendering options 2024.1.png|thumb|View > Rendering Options dialog.]]
If your render quality or framerate is too low, click "View > Rendering Options" to adjust the graphic settings. For newer hardware, it's recommended to set "graphics quality" to high and check "use disk space for faster loading", "animated jetways" and "satellite photoscenery".

If the menu text appears too small on high DPI or large screens, you can manually [[Menubar#How to Change the Default Menubar Font Size|change the menubar font size]] by editing the data file, or simply click "Debug > Cycle GUI Style".

=== Using the keyboard and/or mouse ===
Users with limited access to a [[joystick]] or other controllers sometimes use the keyboard or mouse to control their aircraft. Using the keyboard to fly can be difficult and the mouse is recommended over the keyboard for flying, yet even a cheap joystick would improve the experience so much.

To get help with keyboard commands, with FlightGear running, go to the ''Help'' menu, look under ''Basic Keys'' (for simulator related commands) and ''Common Aircraft Keys'' (for commands universal to all aircraft) and ''Aircraft Help'' (for key commands specific to your aircraft). If the main menu is hidden press {{key press|F10}}. If you come from other simulators, check [[key commands compared to other simulators]] for an overview of the difference between the key commands of that sim and FlightGear.

To use the mouse to fly the aircraft, press {{key press|Tab}} (the cursor should change to a cross) and move the mouse to direct the aircraft. Press {{key press|Tab}} again to look around (cursor should show a two sided arrow), and press {{key press|Tab}} again to return to normal mode, used to click stuff in the cockpit.

For most users lacking a rudder axis control, it’s difficult to manually coordinate [[aileron]] and [[rudder]] movements during a turn. To enable auto-coordination and make flight easier, you may click "Settings", then click the "Show more" button on the right of "General", and finally click "Enable auto-coordination" in the launcher.

=== First time in the cockpit ===
Finding your way around the cockpit can be daunting the first time.

Where is the "virtual cockpit"? Not all FlightGear aircraft come with an interior actually, some research projects may not even come with an exterior model. A 2D panel may display over the 3D cockpit if one exists. You may turn this off through ''Main Menu'' > ''View'' > ''View Options'' and deselecting ''Show 2D panel'' in the ''Display Options'' section, or by pressing {{key press|Shift|P}}. Otherwise, you should be sitting in the virtual cockpit when FlightGear starts, as long as the Cockpit View is selected (if not pressing {{key press|Ctrl|V}} should get you to the pilot view).

You may find it difficult to read some of the displays, dials and gauges on the instrument panel. You can use the ''view'' mode of the mouse (press {{key press|Tab}} until you get a cursor shaped like a double arrow) to pan and the mouse wheel to zoom, or pan with the joystick hat and zoom with {{key press|X}} and {{key press|Shift|X}}.

One of the first steps that many take on entering an unfamiliar cockpit is to press {{key press|Ctrl|C}} to highlight all the "hotspots", that is instrument controls, buttons, knobs, etc. Many aircraft also offer a specific help menu.

Some functions, such as starter or magneto, may be difficult to use or simply lack clickable "hotspots", especially in aircraft models which are in development. In most cases you can go for the equivalent controls on a 2D panel or resort to the keyboard. The keyboard always work according to the assignments listed on the ''Help'' menu, but sometimes these are reassigned by an aircraft or configuration. Again, remember to check all the help dialogs.

=== Starting the engine ===
You are eager to fly, but the engine is off. Well, turning on the engines is not always easy. Some aircraft have an ''autostart'' entry in their custom menu, but here is a general procedure that should work in many cases:

In general to start the engine on a piston-engine type aircraft, you need (after making sure the game is not paused {{key press|p}}):
# Fuel: Some aircraft start the simulation with no fuel. You can add it in ''Equipment'' > ''Fuel and Payload''.
# Correct fuel mixture: This is generally ''rich'', so push the red knob all the way in, or use the key {{key press|m}} to enrich ({{key press|Shift|m}} leans.)
# Magnetos set on ''both'': Turn the key or press {{key press|}}} ''three times'' to move through ''R'', ''L'', ''Both''.
# Throttle: Some engines start better with a little gas.
# Run the starter: Click the ''Start'' position of the key on the panel, or press {{key press|s}}. Hold the starter for sufficient time, even 10 seconds.

Starting all engines in a multi-engine aircraft is similar to the single engine - except you must follow the same start sequence for each and every engine. FlightGear provides a convenient way to do this for all engines at once: Press {{key press|~}} and all the procedure above will work for all the engines. Note though that the default 2D panel is connected to ''only one engine'' and the {{key press|~}} trick might not work. Also, give some gas to be sure that all the engines are on.

These instructions may not work for jet aircraft, helicopters, or other types of aircraft with complex start procedures. Check the instructions in the aircraft help menu (press {{key press|?}}) and/or look at [[Aircraft|the aircraft's article on this wiki]]. In general to start the engine on a jet engine type aircraft, you need to:
# Set cutoff ''ON''
# Engage the starter
# Once the engines spools up to approximately 5% N1, set cutoff ''OFF''
# Disengage the starter once the engine has reached operational speed

== Learning to fly ==
=== FlightGear's Manual ===
FlightGear has an official [https://www.flightgear.org/support/manual/ manual] that covers the basics of flight. As a beginner, you may want to start with [https://flightgear.gitlab.io/getstart/release-{{current release|cr}}/en/HTML/getstart-ench8.html Chapter 8: A Basic Flight Simulator Tutorial].

=== Tutorials ===
Many aircraft have their own interactive [[tutorials|tutorial]]. With tutorials, you can learn to operate particular aircraft but also learn to fly. You can access tutorials by going to ''Main menu'' > ''Help'' > ''Tutorial''. A great place to start is the tutorial for the [[Cessna 172P]] aircraft, commonly used in real life to learn to fly fixed-winged aircraft.

If the tutorial starts without a runway and surrounded by water, your setup of FlightGear is missing the scenery for the airport at which the tutorial was supposed to run. To get scenery see the [[#Getting scenery]] section above.

== Making your first flight ==
=== Realism ===
One of the most frequent questions novice pilots ask about any flight simulator, but more so to FlightGear, is "Why is my aircraft turning left all the time?" Although it could be due to wind gusts crossing the runway, it is more likely due to the [[Understanding Propeller Torque and P-Factor|propeller torque and p-factor]].

In certain other flight simulators, despite marketing slogans to the contrary, some settings are turned down to make the aircraft easier to fly. This reduces effects such as the above. The realism is always turned up in FlightGear.

Here are some of the FlightGear realism points, which may be confusing to first time pilots:
* "Left turning syndrome" for the previously mentioned reasons.
* Compass turning error: A compass, when subjected to the forces of flight, tends to turn in the opposite direction for a brief period before settling on the correct heading. This is not a malfunction (see also the Wikipedia article {{wikipedia|Aircraft compass turns}}).
* The Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI) is also subject to error.
* The [[Horizontal Situation Indicator]] (HSI) is driven by a gyroscope (that is why it is sometimes called a Directional Gyroscope), which is subject to ''gyro drift''. The indicator will drift from its current heading and must be periodically (every ~15 minutes) calibrated to agree with the magnetic compass heading.
* You cannot just cancel a turn or climb by centering the yoke or stick. You must turn or push the stick the other way to get to level and level flight. But even then, the plane will not maintain its altitude or heading by itself. A common mistake is trying to find a hands off yoke position. While with trimming one could leave the plane for a couple of seconds, one must use autopilot or constantly adjust the yoke.

Many forces act on an aircraft in flight as well as on the [[avionics and instruments]] used for control and navigation, and may be counter-intuitive. Pilots must learn to recognize these phenomena and compensate for their effects. ''FlightGear models instrument errors that exist in the real world''.

=== Airports and navigation aids ===
When you first start FlightGear, whether from the command line or the graphical interface of the launchers, you may wonder how to determine what airports are available. The launcher displays a list of airports, but you will not see details such as tower or [[ILS]] frequencies. You will not find a map showing [[VOR]]s and their frequencies. What can you do? See [[Getting aeronautical charts]].

In-sim, there is a map you can use in ''Main Menu'' > ''Equipment'' > ''Map'', which will allow you to see navigation data and the position of airports and aids. For more help with navigation see [[Understanding navigation]].

=== Flying using the autopilot ===
Some aircraft require you to use the [[autopilot]] available from the ''Autopilot'' menu, which is the original FlightGear autopilot. This is a ''generic'' autopilot and as such, many aircraft come with their own ''specific'' autopilot, frequently a model of the real life one.

For aircraft that provide their own autopilot, you should use the autopilot controls available in the virtual cockpit. This means clicking on the instrument panel in the virtual cockpit. The Autopilot menu will be grayed out and unavailable when the aircraft supplies its own autopilot in some aircraft, including the Airbuses and the [[Cessna 172P|C172P]].

The Cessna 172 comes with a [[Bendix/King KAP140 Autopilot]] in its virtual cockpit. You can use both the autopilot device in the cockpit and the [[Autopilot#Autopilot Settings|autopilot settings]] from the menu.

== Advanced ==
=== Flying ===
{{Main article|Aircraft}}

* If you continue to fly light civilian aircraft, [[Cessna 182S]] which is more complex than C172P and [[Piper PA28 Warrior II|PA28]] are good choices.
* If you are interested in flying airlines, [[Airbus A320 family]], Boeing [[Boeing 777|777]]/[[Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner|787]], [[MD-11]] and [[MD-80]] are suggested.
* If you are fascinated by fighter aircrafts, choose a highly rated military aircraft (such as [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]]/[[F-15]]) from [[Aircraft#Modern military aircraft|here]], and enable multiplayer damage or install [[Bombable]].
* If you switch to helicopters, it is recommended to fly [[Eurocopter EC130 B4]].

Besides common aircraft, there are also detailed [[Space Shuttle|space shuttles]] available.

=== Scenery ===
It is fascinating to explore the [[scenery]] (or just test the graphics/frame rate) with [[UFO]]. First of all, [[#Configuring rendering and UI|increase your graphics quality]]. If you don't see buildings initially, keep FG open and wait for a while for [[TerraSync]] to finish downloading and for the buildings to appear.
There are plenty of [[Suggested airports|well-developed airports]] and scenery areas. You can also explore the scenery objects on the [https://scenery.flightgear.org/map model map].

=== Multiplayer ===
FlightGear has some multiplayer servers that will let you fly in more lively skies, see [[Howto: Multiplayer]]. There are also [[OpenRadar]] and [[ATC-pie]], standalone programs that will let you be an [[Air traffic control|air traffic controller]].

There is also a [[MPMap|multiplayer map]] that lets you see who is online right now, and even what [[navaids]] are nearby.

=== Menu items ===
For a quick reference about the usage of each menu item in FlightGear, see [[menu]].

=== Addons ===
FlightGear has a lot of third-party [[Addon|addons]] containing enhancements. For beginners, [[Logbook Add-on|Logbook]] and [[Which Runway Add-on|Which Runway]] may be the most useful addons.

== The FlightGear community ==
=== Getting help ===
This page is designed to give the user the essential things they need to know about using FlightGear for the first time. Besides the [[Portal:User|User portal]] of this wiki, there are other pages you may want to read:
*[[Troubleshooting problems]] to help you with the most common issues;
*[[Frequently asked questions]];
...and communication channels that can be used to obtain information or request help:
*The [[FlightGear Manual]], a ''must read'' for beginners;
*{{forum link|text=FlightGear Forum}} and its subforums;
*[[Discord|FlightGear's Discord server]], the quickest way to get help;
*[[FlightGear IRC channel]];
*[[Mailing list|FlightGear users mailing list]], biggest chance to get in contact with core developers;
*Documents bundled with the release package.

=== Customizing FlightGear without compiling it ===
[https://www.flightgear.org/download/ Our website] offers precompiled binaries for download and install on Windows, macOS and Linux. In addition, most Linux distributions provide a packaged version in their repositories.

Although the install is binary, most of FlightGear's systems are open to configuration through [[XML]] files and [[NASAL scripting]]. You are free ''and encouraged'' to make changes to aircraft flight models, scenery, textures, OpenGL [[shader]]s and any other feature you wish to change for your personal satisfaction or to share with other FlightGear users. If this is what you intend to do, take a look at the [[Portal:Developer|Developer portal]].

=== How you can help ===
{{Main article|Volunteer}}
FlightGear is an open source, volunteer based project. That means that whatever you find here comes from passion, spare time and nothing else. This includes the simulator, the scenery, the aircraft, the wiki, the {{forum link|text=forum}} and everything else. Volunteers, in essence ''people that do things'', are fundamental to this project. Without them, it would not make a single step forward. So it is essential that contributors have fun in what they do.

If you plan to contribute to this project, you should take a look at some articles that will give you some hints:
*[[Howto:Understand the FlightGear development process]]
*[[Implementing new features for FlightGear]]
*[[How the FlightGear project works]]

There are never enough people contributing, and the fields where their help would be appreciated are many:
;Testing:
*[[Building FlightGear|Build]] the latest Git code
*[https://gitlab.com/flightgear/flightgear/-/issues File bug reports]
*Running FlightGear via valgrind to track down memory leaks

;Support:
*Help new users with downloading, compiling, installing and running FlightGear ({{forum link|text=on the forum}} or on [[Discord]])
*Provide ideas & suggestions, see: [[Feature Requests / Proposals / Ideas]]
*Help [[Portal:Wiki|clean up this wiki]]
*Help provide new contents for missing wiki pages

;Development:
*C/C++ Coding:
**Provide source code cleanups
**Provide [[Bugs|bug fixes]] or new features
**Get involved in any of the other FlightGear-affiliated projects
*Aircraft development (3D modeling, textures, FDMs, scripting)
*Scenery development (terrain, model, weather)

[[Category:FlightGear]]

[[ca:Nou a FlightGear]]
[[de:Neu bei FlightGear]]
[[es:Nuevo en FlightGear]]
[[fi:Uusi_käyttäjä]]
[[fr:Nouveau sur flightgear]]
[[it:Nuovo per FlightGear]]
[[ja:FlightGear入門]]
[[nl:Nieuw bij FlightGear]]
[[pl:Nowy w FlightGear]]
[[pt:Novo no FlightGear]]
[[sr:Novi u FlightGear-u]]
[[th:New to FlightGear]]

Fr/Manuel FlightGear

2026-05-24T23:27:44Z

Celesta: also add {{current release|cr}} template

[[FlightGear]] s'accompagne d'un ensemble de documentation illustrée, connue sous le nom de '''Le Manuel''', disponible sur [https://www.flightgear.org/support/manualLe site web de FlightGear le site web de FlightGear]. Ce manuel vise à être imprimé et servir de référence pendant que vous explorez FlightGear - ou simplement pris avec vous pour un long voyage.

==Contribuez !==
Si vous êtes un bon rédacteur et que vous connaissez LaTeX, veuillez prendre le temps d'explorer la version PDF ou HTML. Les instructions sur la manière de obtenir le code source sont ci-dessous. Cela relève de la nature du développement de FlightGear que '''Le Manuel''' reste toujours légèrement en retard par rapport au développement actuel. Nous vous invitons à choisir les informations dans :

* Votre expérience personnelle avec FlightGear :;
*Les README disponibles dans l'arbre source de FlightGear ou le Paquet de base ;
*ce Wiki.

et fusionnez-les en une forme attrayante pour '''Le Manue'''l. Abonnez-vous à la liste de diffusion des développeurs de FlightGear et vous trouverez quelqu'un pour parler de la manière d'améliorer '''Le Manuel'''.

==Code Source==
Vous trouverez le code source {{Getstart source|branch=next|text=ici}}, dans le dépôt [[Fr/FlightGear Git|Git de FlightGea]]<nowiki/>r. Notez que ce lien correspond à la branche ''next'', où se déroule l'essentiel du développement. D'autre part, le code source LaTeX de la manuel pour FlightGear {{current release|cr}} se trouve dans la {{getstart source
| branch = release/{{current release|cr}}
| text = branche release/{{current release|cr}}
}} de getstart.

[[Category:Documentation|Manual]]

[[en:FlightGear Manual]]
[[es:FlightGear Manual]]
[[pl:Podręcznik FlightGear]]

FlightGear manual

2026-05-24T23:22:59Z

Celesta:

[[FlightGear]] comes with a set of illustrated documentation, known as the '''manual''', which is available on [https://www.flightgear.org/support/manual the FlightGear website]. This piece of documentation aims at being printed onto paper and being read as a reference while you are exploring FlightGear - or simply taken with you on a long trip.

== Contributing ==
If you are a skilled writer and are familiar with LaTeX, please take the time to dig into the PDF or HTML version. Instructions on how to get the source code are below.

It lies in the nature of FlightGear development that The Manual is always a bit behind current development. We invite you to pick information from:
* Your personal experience with FlightGear
* The available README's in the FlightGear source tree or the Base Package
* The Wiki
and merge these into an appealing shape for The Manual. Turn your head to the FlightGear developers' [[mailing list]] and you will find someone to talk about how to improve The Manual.

You will find contacts of current maintainers in the Manual itself.

== Source code ==
You will find the source code {{getstart source
| branch = next
| text = here
}}, at the [[FlightGear Git]] repository. Note that this link is for the ''next'' branch, where most of the development happens. On the other hand, the LaTeX source code of the manual for FlightGear lives in the {{getstart source
| branch = release/{{current release|cr}}
| text = current branch (release/{{current release|cr}})
}} of getstart.

In general, contributions to the manual target ''next'' by default, but we also apply them to the current branch (''release/{{current release|cr}}'') if it makes sense.

== External links ==
* [https://flightgear.gitlab.io/getstart/release-{{current release|cr}}/en/HTML/getstart-en.html Current official manual page ({{current release|cr}})]
* [https://flightgear.gitlab.io/getstart/release-{{current release|cr}}/en/getstart-en.pdf Official PDF version]

[[Category:Documentation|Manual]]

[[es:FlightGear Manual]]
[[fr:FlightGear Manual]]
[[pl:Podręcznik FlightGear]]

FlightGear manual

2026-05-24T23:22:28Z

Celesta: add {{current release|cr}} template

[[FlightGear]] comes with a set of illustrated documentation, known as the '''manual''', which is available on [https://www.flightgear.org/support/manual the FlightGear website]. This piece of documentation aims at being printed onto paper and being read as a reference while you are exploring FlightGear - or simply taken with you on a long trip.

== Contributing ==
If you are a skilled writer and are familiar with LaTeX, please take the time to dig into the PDF or HTML version. Instructions on how to get the source code are below.

It lies in the nature of FlightGear development that The Manual is always a bit behind current development. We invite you to pick information from:
* Your personal experience with FlightGear
* The available README's in the FlightGear source tree or the Base Package
* The Wiki
and merge these into an appealing shape for The Manual. Turn your head to the FlightGear developers' [[mailing list]] and you will find someone to talk about how to improve The Manual.

You will find contacts of current maintainers in the Manual itself.

== Source code ==
You will find the source code {{getstart source
| branch = next
| text = here
}}, at the [[FlightGear Git]] repository. Note that this link is for the ''next'' branch, where most of the development happens. On the other hand, the LaTeX source code of the manual for FlightGear lives in the {{getstart source
| branch = release/{{current release|cr}}
| text = current (release/{{current release|cr}}) branch
}} of getstart.

In general, contributions to the manual target ''next'' by default, but we also apply them to the current (''release/{{current release|cr}}'') branch if it makes sense.

== External links ==
* [https://flightgear.gitlab.io/getstart/release-{{current release|cr}}/en/HTML/getstart-en.html Current official manual page ({{current release|cr}})]
* [https://flightgear.gitlab.io/getstart/release-{{current release|cr}}/en/getstart-en.pdf Official PDF version]

[[Category:Documentation|Manual]]

[[es:FlightGear Manual]]
[[fr:FlightGear Manual]]
[[pl:Podręcznik FlightGear]]

Rendering Options

2026-05-23T23:39:52Z

Celesta: /* Basic */

[[File:Rendering options 2024.1.png|thumb|The rendering options dialog]]
[[File:Advanced rendering options.png|thumb|Advanced settings that balance frame rate and rendering quality.]]

Here is an incomplete list of the '''rendering options''' dialog, with links to their descriptions.
== Basic ==

* ☐ Throttle frame rate
* ☐ Compensate field of view for wider screens
* ☐ Use disk space for faster loading (DDS Texture Cache)
* ☐ Use point sprites for runway lights
* ☐ Use triangles for directional lights
* ☐ [[Animated jetways]]
* ☐ [[Photoscenery|Satellite Photoscenery]]
* ☐ Wireframe

* Graphics Quality 🔽
* ☐ [[WS3.0]]

== Advanced settings ==
=== General ===
* ◯ [[Classic Pipeline|Low specifications]] ☑ Use [[shaders]]
* ◉ [[ALS|Atmospheric light scattering (ALS)]]

* Terrain quality 🔽
* Model effects 🔽
* Water effects 🔽
* Clouds detail 🔽
* Wind effects 🔽
* Overlay 🔽
* [[Anti-aliasing]] 🔽

=== Shadows and Lights ===
* [[Shadows|Shadow quality]] 🔽

=== Scenery Layers ===
* Pylons and power lines 🔽
* [[Road Traffic|Detailed roads and railways]] 🔽
* [[Buildings]] 🔽
* [[Random vegetation|Autogenerated vegetation]] 🔽
* OpenStreetMap trees 🔽
* vegetation shadows 🔽
* Scenery objects 🔽

=== Atmospheric Effects ===
* ☐ Particles
* ☐ Precipitation
* ☐ [[3D clouds]]

[[Category:FlightGear feature]]
[[Category:Lists]]
[[Category:Menubar]]

Rendering Options

2026-05-23T23:39:01Z

Celesta: Created page with "The rendering options dialog Advanced settings that balance frame rate and rendering quality. Here is an incomplete list of the '''rendering options''' dialog, with links to their descriptions. == Basic == * ☐ Throttle frame rate * ☐ Compensate field of view for wider screens * ☐ Use disk space for faster loading (DDS Texture Cache) * ☐ Use point sprites for runway lights..."

[[File:Rendering options 2024.1.png|thumb|The rendering options dialog]]
[[File:Advanced rendering options.png|thumb|Advanced settings that balance frame rate and rendering quality.]]

Here is an incomplete list of the '''rendering options''' dialog, with links to their descriptions.
== Basic ==

* ☐ Throttle frame rate
* ☐ Compensate field of view for wider screens
* ☐ Use disk space for faster loading (DDS Texture Cache)
* ☐ Use point sprites for runway lights
* ☐ Use triangles for directional lights
* ☐ [[Animated jetways]]
* ☐ [[Photoscenery|Satellite Photoscenery]]
* ☐ Wireframe

* Graphics Quality 🔽
* [[WS3.0]]

== Advanced settings ==
=== General ===
* ◯ [[Classic Pipeline|Low specifications]] ☑ Use [[shaders]]
* ◉ [[ALS|Atmospheric light scattering (ALS)]]

* Terrain quality 🔽
* Model effects 🔽
* Water effects 🔽
* Clouds detail 🔽
* Wind effects 🔽
* Overlay 🔽
* [[Anti-aliasing]] 🔽

=== Shadows and Lights ===
* [[Shadows|Shadow quality]] 🔽

=== Scenery Layers ===
* Pylons and power lines 🔽
* [[Road Traffic|Detailed roads and railways]] 🔽
* [[Buildings]] 🔽
* [[Random vegetation|Autogenerated vegetation]] 🔽
* OpenStreetMap trees 🔽
* vegetation shadows 🔽
* Scenery objects 🔽

=== Atmospheric Effects ===
* ☐ Particles
* ☐ Precipitation
* ☐ [[3D clouds]]

[[Category:FlightGear feature]]
[[Category:Lists]]
[[Category:Menubar]]

3D clouds

2026-05-23T23:08:16Z

Celesta: /* Billboarded Clouds (2024.X) */

[[File:Wiki PlaceTower.jpg|thumb|270px|3D clouds in [[OSG]] with shaders.]]
[[File:fgfs_prerelease_osg_clouds.png|thumb|270px|[[CVS|Development version]] 3D clouds in [[OSG]] with shaders.]]
[[File:3D_clouds.jpg|thumb|270px|3D clouds in [[OSG]] version as seen from a [[EC135]].]]
[[File:Clouds2 2006-06-23.jpg|thumb|270px|3D clouds in [[PLIB]] version]]
[[File:Clouds_2001.jpg|thumb|270px|Clouds back in 2001]]
[[FlightGear]]s [[weather]] system uses '''3D clouds''' for a realistic reproduction of the sky. 3D clouds have been present since version 0.9.1, and significantly updated in version 0.9.9.

FlightGear 2024.X uses "billboarded" clouds that can be defined in XML. Post 2024.X, FlightGear uses fully rendered voxel-based clouds.

== Voxel-based clouds (post 2024) ==

Voxels are 3D pixels. Imagine a rubix cube, then each of the 3x3x3 cubes is a voxel.

The voxel texture is a 3D texture of WxWxH voxels. It is stored as a PNG file. As PNG files are two dimensional, the file is chopped up to make the 3D texture. So a file of of height W and width WxH, is chopped into WxW slices to create the 3D texture.

Rather than describing the cloud colour, the RGBA channels of the texture are used as follows:

* R - Dimension. This is a positive gradient with 1.0 at the center of the cloud, and 0.0 at the edge.
* G - Type. From wispy (0.0) to billowy (1.0)
* B - Density. 0.0 is no cloud density, 1.0 is fully opaque density. Use this to determine if there is any cloud at this location.
* A - Signed Distance Field in UV space. The maximum radius sphere centered on this point that doesn't contain any cloud density. Used for adaptive ray marching. Negative values represent areas inside the cloud.

However, the PNG file should only set the G and B channels, as the R and A channels are calculated by FlightGear itself.

See examples in fgdata/Textures/Sky

== Billboarded Clouds (2024.1 and before) ==

Note: the cloud XML format in CVS is currently undergoing renovation to allow more control, and more natural looking clouds.

A 3D cloud layer is defined in the <layers> section. It contains of a number of randomly located <boxes>, containing a set of <clouds>.

Each cloud is generated with random size, based on the following tags:

<min-cloud-width-m>
<max-cloud-width-m>
<min-cloud-height-m>
<max-cloud-height-m>

The cloud consists of <num-sprites> individual sprites.
Each sprite is generated with random size, based on the following tags:

<min-sprite-width-m>
<max-sprite-width-m>
<min-sprite-height-m>
<max-sprite-height-m>

The <texture> defines the texture file to be used for the sprite. The texture file may contain more than one texture in a grid, by setting the <num-textures-x> and <num-textures-y> tags.

Clouds are darker towards the bottom. bottom-shade indicates the shading factor of the bottom of the cloud compared with the top.

Finally, note that the clouds are defined as a set of properties, so they can be modified within the simulator under /environment/cloud-layers. You can then see the effects of your changes by changing the clouds dialog, which reloads the clouds from properties.

== Cloud Textures ==

Advice for those editing cloud textures:

* Place a black layer behind the clouds you are editing. This makes it easier to see the white clouds, and in particular spot posterization. Note that GIMP appears to have a bug in that simply changing the transparency colour to black under Preferences->Display changes the background to black.
* Display a grid of the appropriate dimensions to ensure you don't draw clouds over the texture boundaries. Otherwise the clouds can bleed into each other and you can see nasty vertical and horizontal edges.
* Use a white airbrush and a smudge tool to make the cloud textures look random.

== External links ==
* [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2387 Forum Topic OSG Clouds]
* http://home.arcor.de/vollnhals-bremen/NewClouds/images.html
* http://gallery.flightgear.org.uk/

[[Category:FlightGear feature]]
[[fr:Nuages 3D]]

Buildings

2026-05-23T23:02:46Z

Celesta: disambiguation

Buildings can be either:
* [[OpenStreetMap buildings]]
* Legacy [[Random Buildings]]
{{disambiguation|page-title=Sound}}

Lightmap

2026-05-23T22:58:03Z

Celesta: Changed redirect target from Howto:Lightmap to Howto:Multi-channel lightmap

#REDIRECT [[Howto:Multi-channel lightmap]]

File:Advanced rendering options.png

2026-05-23T20:06:56Z

Celesta:

== Licensing ==
{{self|GFDL|cc-by-sa-4.0|migration=redundant}}

Runway

2026-05-20T16:23:20Z

Celesta: related content

A runway is a surface on an airport used for takeoffs and landings of [[aircraft]]. They are often made out of pavement, though other unpaved surfaces are used, such as dirt, sod, and gravel. They can be many different lengths, from 500m for STOL use to 11900m dirt runways at Edwards AFB.

== Parts of a Runway ==
=== Runway Safety Area ===
Around the runway, there is a runway safety area, which is flat and mostly clear of objects. This is to make sure that there are no loose items on the ground near the runway that could impede aircraft using the runway.

=== EMAS (Engineered Material Arresting Systems) ===
{{Main article|EMAS}}

=== Blast Pads ===
Often constructed at the beginnings and ends of runways are blast pads. These are to protect the runway and ground before it from jet blast produced by aircraft. If these blast pads are not there, terrain before the runway could degrade allowing the runway's surface to crumble towards it. When there are not areas at the ends of runways that are flat and smooth in case of overruns, such as at KMDW, these are often made into EMAS to help stop planes in overruns. They have yellow chevrons painted over them and are not suitable to land, take off, or taxi on unless emergency.
=== Threshold ===
This is the beginning of the runway, from the blast pad to blast pad. There are normally a series of white lines, with the identification after that, to identify the runway, one on each end, in normal circumstances. Extremely rarely, in the case of [[EDDF]], only one end is numbered, and because of this, this is the only used end. This threshold may be displaced from the start of the runway, see below.
=== Displaced Threshold ===
Displaced thresholds displace the normal threshold from the beginning of the runway. These are often constructed due to the fact that aircraft cannot land at the beginning of the runway due to noise restrictions or pavement strength. There are arrows pointing in the direction down the runway on them, leading up to the threshold. Aircraft may use them for takeoffs and to end landings, but in normal circumstances, they are not to be landed on.
=== Runway ===
This is the main operational part of the runway. There are many markings on it, starting at the threshold and continuing down to the other threshold. There is a striped white line continuing down the middle of the runway, as well as landing zone markings. Landing zone markings start with two sets of 3 white stripes, each on one side of the runway. Farther down, there are two sets of solid white boxes, similar in size to the groups of three stripes. In some countries such as Canada and Britain, these are replaced with a different design of stripes. Ahead are two sets of two white stripes, two sets of two white stripes again, two single white stripes, and two more single white stripes. If aircraft do not touch down within this region often a touch-and-go is performed. It should be noted that some or all of these markings do not appear on smaller-sized airports or unpaved runways.

== Runway Lighting ==
Almost all paved runways at major airports have lighting installed on them. This allows pilots to see the outline of the runway without actually seeing the runway, which helps for landing during night and low visibility situations. These lights use full-directional white lights to show the border and center line of the runway. Red lights point towards the middle of the runway and green lights point away from the runway from the threshold.

=== Approach Lighting ===
Approach lighting assists pilots with a higher-density array right before the threshold to assist in landings while the lights are on. Often on [[ILS]] enabled runways, there are two strips of lights continuing from the approach lights onto the runway through the the landing zone.

== Instrument Landing System ==
{{Main article|Instrument Landing System}}

Often there are many devices built in under the pavement on runways. One of these systems is Instrument Landing System, or ILS. It uses radio signals to guide in a pilot who cannot perform a visual approach or wants a more precise approach, for any reason. This feature is included in FlightGear and is in use at almost all commercial airports, plus many general aviation ones.

== Related content ==
* [[Which Runway Add-on]]

[[Category:Aviation]]

Howto:Fly a circuit pattern

2026-05-20T16:00:26Z

Celesta:

A '''circuit pattern''' (also: '''airfield traffic pattern''' or just '''pattern''') is a standardized procedure to regulate the air traffic around an airport, which guarantees a safe and smooth processing of the departing and arriving traffic and also minimises the noise pollution of populated areas around the airport.

This tutorial explains how to fly a pattern in [[FlightGear]] using the example of {{wikipedia|Siegerland Airport|Siegerland Airport (EDGS)}}, a medium-sized airport in the middle of Germany and you will fly the [[Cessna 172P]], the default aircraft for FlightGear and a very nice training aircraft.

== Basics of a circuit pattern ==
[[File:Traffic pattern.jpg|thumb|400px|Diagram of a typical airport traffic pattern]]
=== Sections ===
So what do you need to know in order to fly a pattern properly?
Basically a pattern is a rectangle with the runway on one of the long sides and you follow the flight path by turning left 90 degrees four times.<br/>The individual sections of the pattern are called:
# '''Upwind/Departure''': The first section after takeoff where you maintain runway heading and start climbing to the pattern altitude.
# '''Crosswind''': After a lift turn by 90° you fly the crosswind leg perpendicular to the runway heading while you reach pattern altitude.
# '''Downwind''': A long leg parallel to the runway where you fly level at pattern altitude. During the gliding training the trainee pilot will fly various maneuvers in this leg. When you are abeam the runway threshold you should start preparing the approach.
# '''Base''': The second but last section perpendicular to the runway where you fly right up to the extended centerline of the landing unwy.
# '''Final''': In the final approach you start a continuous descent above the extended centerline until touchdown. If necessary, you can do a go-around after touchdown and fly a second pattern.

=== Altitude ===
It's very important to know the elevation of your airfield in order to know at which altitude you have to fly the pattern. The elevation of Siegerland is 1965 ft MSL, or roughly 2000 ft (to make it easier). The pattern altitude is usually about 1000 ft AGL, so in this case you have to fly at 3000ft MSL.

=== Headings===
Which headings do you have to fly? Departure and final have of course the same heading (runway heading), ca. 130°. Crosswind has 90° less, so you have to fly at 40°. On downwind you have to fly directly the opposite direction to your runway, therefore you need to fly 310°. And finally, the base has a heading of 220°.

== Startup preparations ==
You need to start FlightGear with the following options:

=== Integrated launcher ===
{{note|For more information about the launcher, see this [[FlightGear Qt launcher|wiki page]]}}
* '''"Aircraft"-tab''': Select the ''Cessna 172P Skyhawk (1981 model, detailed)''
* '''"Settings"-tab''': Select ''Noon'' in the dropdown menu "Time of day". If you want, choose ''Enable Multi-sample anti-aliasing''. '''Important''': Choose the option ''Enable automatic scenery downloading (TerraSync)''. Uncheck the option ''Fetch real weather online''. If desired, choose ''Start full-screen''. In the text box under ''Additional options'' add the following:
--lon=8.077177
--lat=50.707672
--heading=70
* Click '''Run'''!

=== Command line ===
{{note|For more information about the command line and it's capabilities, see it's [[Command line options|wiki page]]}}

==== Windows ====
* Press {{Key press|Start|R}}.
* Enter the path to the FlightGear program in quotation marks (by default this should be <code>"C:\Program Files\FlightGear\bin\fgfs.exe"</code>)
* Behind that, type: <syntaxhighlight>--fg-scenery=PATH\TO\YOUR\SCENERY\FOLDER --terrasync-dir=PATH\TO\YOUR\DOWNLOAD\LOCATION --aircraft=c172p --lon=8.077177 --lat=50.707672 --heading=70 --timeofday=noon --enable-terrasync --disable-real-weather-fetch</syntaxhighlight> '''Important''': The paths to <code>--fg-scenery</code> and <code>terrasync-dir</code> should be identical! If you didn't mess anything up, the default is <code>C:\Users\{USERNAME}\Documents\FlightGear\TerraSync</code>
* Press {{Key press|Enter}} or click '''OK'''!

==== Linux ====
* Open a terminal window.
* Type <syntaxhighlight>fgfs --fg-scenery=PATH\TO\YOUR\SCENERY\FOLDER --terrasync-dir=PATH\TO\YOUR\DOWNLOAD\LOCATION --aircraft=c172p --lon=8.077177 --lat=50.707672 --heading=70 --timeofday=noon --enable-terrasync --disable-real-weather-fetch</syntaxhighlight> '''Important''': The paths to <code>--fg-scenery</code> and <code>terrasync-dir</code> should be identical! If you didn't mess anything up, the default is <code>/home/{USERNAME}/.fgfs/TerraSync</code>
* Press {{Key press|Enter}}!

==== For all operating systems ====
{{caution|The paths to the scenery and terrasync folders may '''not''' contain spaces!}}
If you want it to look better you can add, [[Command line options#Rendering Options|among others]], the following parameters:
--prop:/sim/rendering/multi-sample-buffers=1
--prop:/sim/rendering/multi-samples=4
--enable-clouds3d
--fog-nicest
--texture-filtering=16

So now, if you did everything correctly you should sit on the Siegerland Airport near the tower.

== Preparing the flight ==
For this flight there should be good weather, and in FlightGear you can choose your own weather conditions: In the menu bar go to '''Environment''' -> '''Weather''' (If the menu bar is not visible, hit {{Key press|F10}} once). Then select '''Detailed Weather''', choose '''Fair weather''' from the drop-down menu, and press '''OK'''.
[[File:Weathersetting EDGS.jpg|thumb|left|600px|Setting the weather scenario to "Fair weather"]]
{{-}}
The Fair weather model in FlightGear simulates wind coming from the south-east (150°). Since it is important to take off and land with headwind you have to choose that runway which points in the wind as much as possible. For our situation this is runway 13 with a direction of about 130°.

The next step is setting the [[Avionics and instruments#Altimeter|altimeter]]. The altimeter works with air pressure and as the air pressure changes depending on the weather, you have to adjust it accordingly. By turning the knob on the bottom left of the gauge you set the altimeter to about 1965 ft.
[[File:Altimeter EDGS.jpg|thumb|left|600px|Setting the altimeter]]
{{-}}
Now you can start the engine of the Cessna either by following the checklists under '''Help''' -> '''Aircraft Checklists''' (recommended) or by using Autostart (not recommended).

When the engine is running you have to set the radio to the frequency of Siegerland: 120.37. Then you transmit the message: '''"Siegerland Info, Four-Xray-Charlie-Hotel-Victor, Cessna one seven two, taxiing to holding point one-three!"''' Now you can taxi to the holding point of runway 13. When you have arrived on that point you execute the checlist "Before Takeoff" and after a radio message '''"Siegerland Info, Four-Xray-Charlie-Hotel-Victor entering the runway and taking off!"''', you take a look outside and make sure that no other aircraft is approaching your runway.
[[File:Holdingpoint-13 EDGS.jpg|thumb|left|600px|Waiting on holding point 13]]
{{-}}
Now you can enter the runway and take off!

== Fly the pattern ==
Give full throttle and rotate at about 55 KIAS. Accellerate to 70 KIAS and start climbing. Maintain runway heading (130°) for roughly 30 seconds. As long as you are below 85 KIAS, you should retract the flaps. Now make a left turn to 40° to fly the crosswind leg. Switch off the landing light. While flying crosswind you should reach the pattern altitude of 1000 ft AGL, which is 3000 ft on your altimeter. Level off at 3000 ft MSL and accelerate to 100-110 KIAS. You shouldn't fly much faster because then everything will get hectically.

Before you reach a small town in the north-east of EDGS make a left turn to 310° and fly downwind parallel to the runway. When you reach the position abeam the threshold you reduce the speed to 80 KIAS, set the flaps to the first step (10°), and switch the landing light on again. You also start a slow descending to 2500 ft MSL which is about 500 ft AGL.

From now on you fly 40 more seconds straight before you turn into base at 220°. You transmit the message: '''"Siegerland Info, Four-Xray-Charlie-Hotel-Victor turning to base, coming in to land at one-three!"''' Level off at 2500 ft MSL and set the flaps to step 2. Maintain that heading and altitude until you are in the extension of the runway centerline. Then turn into final (130°).

In the final you reduce speed to about 60 KIAS and start descending to the touchdown point. The [[PAPI]] to the left of the runway indicates if you are at the correct altitude: More red lights than white ones mean, you are too low. Two white and to red indicate a good glideslope and if there are more white lights, you are too high. Now you set the flaps to the third and last step. Shortly before touchdown you lift the nose to reduce the sink rate and bring the aircraft back to the ground smoothly.
[[File:Final approach EDGS.jpg|thumb|left|600px|Final approach: PAPI indicates the glideslope.]]
{{-}}
Now you have two options: A final landing or a touch-and-go.

# You did everything perfectly? Well, than apply brakes so that you can exit the runway via a taxiway. Switch on the taxi light and switch off the landing light and the strobes. Taxi to a parking position of your choice and secure the aircraft following the respective checklist.

# Not everything was perfect? Well, so apply full throttle take off again. Tell the tower: '''"Siegerland Info, Four-Xray-Charlie-Hotel-Victor going around!"''' When you have reached a safe altitude and at least 60 KIAS you can retract the flaps step by step and repeat the whole procedure! You can do this over and over again until your tanks are empty.

Have a nice flight!

[[Category:Howto]]
[[Category:Aviation]]

Radio beacons

2026-05-20T02:43:18Z

Celesta: /* Further reading */ list

[[File:Position ndb vor vor dme.jpg|frame|Position finding with NDB, VOR and VOR-DME]]
Standing blindfolded in the middle of a field. In a distance a friend is shouting "I am here!". You turn around till you hear your friend best and start walking towards the sound. When there are two friends (with distinctive voices) and a map telling you where they stand, you can even figure out about where you are on that map. This describes how a Non Directional Beacon ([[NDB]]) works.

If the friends do not like to shout all the time, they can lay down numbered ropes around them. Each rope leads directly towards a friend. The numbers on the rope are the same numbers as the degrees on a compass. So by comparing the numbers on the ropes that cross the place where you are standing, you know where you are. This describes how a VHF Omnidirectional Range ([[VOR]]) works.

But what if you want to know where you are and you have just one friend? Then the friend had to make knots in the ropes telling how far away you are. This describes how a VOR-Distance Measuring Equipment ([[VOR-DME]]) works.

A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio radio] is a generic term for the transmission of electromagnetic waves. In the above comparisons, a radio beacon is the one that is shouting or that is laying out the ropes. A beacon can include information, it can even send out music. Two-way communication is possible where the equipment on-board questions equipment on-ground or the beacon is used for ATIS or Tower communication.

Radio beacons enable [[Radio navigation]] and [[IFR]] taking away the need for visual landmarks. Navigation at night and at high altitude are possible.

==NDB==
[[File:Radio beacon NDB.png|frame|Equipment finds the direction of the strongest signal of the NDB and shows this on a compass rose.]]
[[File:Pictogram NDB.png|frame|NDB symbol]]
[[File:ADF Indicator.JPG|thumb|200px|The ADF display (MDI) in the [[Cessna 172P]]]]
[[File:ADF-RMI.jpg|thumb|A RMI as ADF display unit]]
A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-directional_beacon Non-Directional Beacon ('''NDB''')] is the most basic type of radio beacon. The equipment on board of our aircraft will have to figure out where it is. Any (music) radio station is also a NDB. The typical frequencies of a NDB can be found on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_wave AM Medium band] (530 kHz to 1700 kHz) but during flight planning we shall discover NDB's outside this range.

It ''is'' possible to calculate the distance towards a NDB station. For that a pilot flies on a 90 degree angle opposite the station (one wing-tip pointing towards the station). The pilot measures the time it takes to fly a number of degrees on the compass. From the time it takes, the number of degrees and the ground speed the pilot can calculate the distance towards the station.

Very modern receivers can estimate the distance towards a NDB station by the azimuth towards the station.

In the Americas the navigational NDB's operate 530 kHz to 1700 kHz with 10 kHz increments. The rest of the world uses 531 kHz to 1602 kHz with 9 kHz increments. NDB's outside these ranges most probably serve also other purposes, like music stations or DGPS stations.

The range of a typical NDB can be up to 75 NM. When using [[LFR]] the range can be bigger but less accurate. The higher the aircraft the longer the range.

A NDB is sensitive for weather and ground influences, it can get reflected and distorted making a bearing less reliable. As a distance measuring tool the NDB is not quite suited. But it is good enough to find fixes on a map and can be used for point-to-point navigation. It is cheap to operate.

===LFR===
The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_frequency_radio_range Low Frequency Radio Range ('''LFR''')] beacon is a directional beacon that operates at a frequency of 190 to 535 kHz, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_wave long wave] frequency and a bit above. Across the world there are plenty of [[NDB]] radio beacons in that range but they do not operate as LFR stations. The long wave frequency is known for it's long range due to sky layer reflections but reflected signals are very unreliable for navigation.

===RDF===
There are two ways to figure out where the [[NDB]] is relative to the aircraft. Rotating an antenna '''manually''' until finding the direction of the strongest signal (loudest transmission) or have this done '''automatically''' (or electronically). The equipment (or person) to do so is called a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_direction_finder Radio Direction Finder ('''RDF''')].

===ADF===
An ADF is ''not'' a radio station, its the the equipment on board of the aircraft to perform [[RDF]] automatically, the Automatic Direction Finder ('''ADF'''). A widely used unit (for example in our C172P) is the [[Bendix_King_KR_87_ADF_Receiver|Bendix/King KR-87]].

The display unit of an ADF is called '''MDI (Moving Dial Indicator)'''. Usage and functionality is pretty simple: the needle points to the direction of the NDB station. If the needle points directly upwards, this indicates the plane is pointing towards the station.
The compass disc does not rotate automatically and can be adjusted using the knob on the bottom left labelled "HD". If aligned to the magnetic compass, you can read the [[QDM]] (magnetic bearing to the sender) from the scale.

A more complex display unit is the ''' RMI (Radio Magnetic Indicator)'''. It has a roatable compass disc that is working like a directional gyro. It saves you from the need to readjust the compass disc in flight. In addition to that, the RMI can process the output of two navigation receiver units, for example 2 VORs or one NBD and one VOR. If the ADF is turned on, the needle for the ADF will point to the station like with the MDI. The obvious advantage of the RMI is, that you can directly read the QDM.

If the second RMI needle is active, it is perfectly suited to estimate your position by doing cross-bearing (see picture at the start of the page).

Often [[NDB]] stations are called ADF stations but that is technically incorrect.

==VOR==
[[File:Pictogram_VOR.png|frame|VOR symbol]]
A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHF_omnidirectional_range VHF Omnidirectional Range ('''VOR''')] is a radio beacon that sends out a special signal making it possible for the receiving equipment to figure out the radial of the beacon. The heading (-line) towards the beacon is called a radial.

If a [[NDB]] shouts "I am here!", the VOR shouts "To come to me you would have to fly *this* course!".

The VOR uses frequencies in the the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VHF Very High Frequency ('''VHF''')] range, it uses channels between 108.0 MHz and 117.95 MHz. It is spaced with 0.05 MHz intervals (so 115.00; 115.05; 115.10 etc). The range 108...112 is shared with ILS frequencies. To differentiate between them VOR has an even number on the 0.1 MHz frequency and the ILS has an uneven number on the 0,1 MHz frequency.

:So 108.0; 108.05; 108.20; 108.25; 108.40; 108.45 would be VOR stations.
:and 108.10; 108.15; 108.30; 108.35; 108.50; 108.55 would be ILS stations.

<gallery mode=packed heights=250px style="float:right;text-align:right">
Radio beacon VOR.png|The VOR beacon tells the equipment what course to fly to intercept the beacon.
VOR-OBS.png|Relation of OBS (selected course) and CDI (Course deflection Indicator) to position of the aircraft
</gallery>

A VOR station is most often also used for communication ([[ATC]]) with the airfield. ATIS, ground, tower etc. <tt>The omnidirectional signal is transmitted on a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modulated_continuous_wave modulated continues wave] containing the identifying Morse code. The signal contains a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amplitude_modulation AM] signal that can be used for voice or [[ATC]]. The signal is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_modulation FM] modulated and the lag (delay) between the AM and FM signal identifies the radial.</tt>

Typically the transmitted radial is oriented to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_north True North].

Very modern receivers can estimate the distance towards a VOR only station by the azimuth towards the station.

The range of the VOR signals depend on the type used.
*Terminal (T)
:1,000 up to and including 12,000 [[AGL]] out to 25NM.

*Low Altitude (L)
:1,000 up to and including 18,000 [[AGL]] out to 40NM.

*High Altitude (H)
:1) 1,000 up to and including 14,500 [[AGL]] out to 40NM.
:2) 14,500 up to and including 60,000 [[AGL]] out to 100 nm.
:3) 18,000 up to and including 45,000 [[AGL]] out to 130 nm.
*The higher the aircraft the longer the range.

<del>There has to be a clear line-of-sight with the beacon. If there are mountains or other obstructions the VOR signal can not be received.</del>
The beacon can be received mostly with a clear line of sight, but can also be received if obstructed, via various means: diffraction, trophosperic scatter, tropospheric ducting etc.
The range depicted above is only orientative. In real life situations, radio signal propagation characteristics can expand or reduce the range.

While it is more expensive to operate a VOR station compared with a [[NDB]] the benefits are obvious. The signal is less hindered by unwanted reflections and other interferences, when the signal is received it is accurate, it takes away confusion about North, since it's oriented True North, it can be used for automated flight and the receivers are more reliable.
===VOR-DME===
[[File:Pictogram_VOR-DME.png|frame|VOR-DME symbol]]
Distance Measuring Equipment ('''[[DME]]''') does '''not''' use the same frequencies as a [[VOR]]!. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_measuring_equipment | the wikipedia page] for a detailed description. A DME tells the equipment on board of the aircraft the distance towards the station. There is two-way communication between the equipment on-board and the DME station to calculate the result.

While a [[VOR]] can be a stand-alone beacon, a DME will be paired with a [[VOR]], a '''VOR-DME'''. Both senders will contain information about the other and tuning will be automatic. If the [[VOR]] station (of a VOR-DME) fails it defaults to a stand-alone [[DME]].

For position finding only one VOR-DME station is needed since it gives the radial towards the station and the distance. Knowing the position of the VOR-DME station on the map will give the position of the aircraft on that map.

===ILS===
An Instrument Landing System ('''[[ILS]]''') beacon ''can'' be used as a [[NDB]] beacon (with some receivers) but it's range is limited and depends very much on the position of the aircraft towards the station (and runway). The LOC signal of an ILS transmits only one radial, the heading towards the runway, in one direction. It should only be used as a system for landing and not for navigation.
The glideslope component transmits a signal in the 300 MHz band, while the localizer is sharing the lower VHF (108-117.95 MHz) with the VOR's.
The localizer can also be used on the backcourse, if approved by local authorities, especially when a go-around maneuver is performed.

===TACAN===
The military uses a slightly different system as the civilian version. The military uses something named '''[[TACAN]]''' that operates in the frequency band 960-1215 MHz overlapping the [[DME]] frequency range. It combines a [[VOR-DME]] and includes an azimuth feature that provides more accurate navigation.
[[File:Pictogram_VORTAC.png|frame|VORTAC symbol]]

===VORTAC===
Often the [[VOR-DME]] part of the [[TACAN]] is also made available for civilian navigation. If so, the beacon is called a '''VORTAC''', but the use is as a normal [[VOR-DME]], in the normal frequency range. The range of the beacon varies. Most have the same range as a [[VOR-DME]] but many will have different ranges. Sometimes the VORTAC defaults to a NDB-DME refusing to provide a radial.
*If possible plan a route without a VORTAC since they can be quite unpredictable.

==Fix==
Not a radio beacon, but a combination of them. On aeronautical maps there are '''fixes'''. Fixes are usually identified with a five letter code. Another word for a fix is '''Intersection'''. A fix is a place that is crossed by two or more ''easy'' radials from a [[VOR]] or bearings from a [[NDB]], some fixes are on a radial of a [[VOR-DME]] and a specific distance. Typically the ''easy'' bearings are 45 degrees intervals on a compass rose, but there are plenty of fixes that use other intervals. It is sometimes a bit of guessing what beacons should used for a fix, most often it's the two nearest ones.


==Marker beacons==
Runways used to have three vertical directed radio beacons in-line with the runway to aid landing, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marker_beacon marker beacons]. It was often combined with the [[ILS]]
# Outer marker - Typically placed at 4 NM from runway
# Middle marker - Typically placed at 3500 feet from the runway
# Inner marker - Typically placed at 1000 feet from runway. The aircraft should be at decision altitude/height and the pilot should perform the missed approach procedure if the runway is not visible.

Distance from runway varies a lot. On many airfields the markers have been replaced with an [[ILS]] and/or [[VOR-DME]]. The outer marker is sometimes combined with a [[NDB]].
==Airways==
An '''airway''' is a predefined flightpath. It is composed like a normal flightplan of legs between [[VOR]], [[NDB]] and [[fixes]]. Most airways are in [[controlled airspace]]. Airways have names and make the creation of a flightplan easier. For a flightplan only the legs towards and from the airway have to be defined.

==Further reading==
* [[Radio navigation]]

==External articles==
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_navigation
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_beacons
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differential_GPS
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_Area_Augmentation_System
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Area_Augmentation_System
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airway_%28aviation%29
*http://www.dxinfocentre.com/ Providing a collection of stations

[[de:Funkfeuer]]
[[es:Radio balizas]]
[[fr:Radiobalises]]
[[pt:Sinais_de_Radio]]

[[Category:Aviation]]

ATC tutorial

2026-05-20T02:42:56Z

Celesta:

{{ATC-navbar}}

[[Air traffic control|Air Traffic Control]] is an agreed procedure and process which keeps the [[aircraft]] separated to ensure that they don't crash into each other or are affected by turbulence when passing through the same air space. This article, probably more directly useful for pilots, will teach you that procedure and will hopefully help you to enjoy controlled areas and airports on the FlightGear multiplayer servers.

== Controller roles ==
The roles a controller can assume mirror the ones that a pilot can encounter in "real life" aviation:
{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col"| Position suffix
! scope="col"| Name
! scope="col"| Description
|-
| xxxx_DL
| Clearance Delivery
| Checks flight plans submitted by pilots (or creates them) to make sure no aircraft intersects the route of another one at the same time and that visibility conditions and cruise altitude are adequate. Revokes or amends the flight plans as necessary. Assigns squawk (transponder) codes. Gives aircraft clearances (authorizations to fly to a destination airport via a certain route).
|-
| xxxx_GN
| Ground
| Controls the movement of aircraft on the ground at an airport (stands, apron, taxiways). Issues taxi clearances, assisting pilots if needed. Controls the ''inactive'' runways, but does not control the ''active'' ones; thus, a pilot generally needs to contact Tower to enter or cross them (at some fields, Ground coordinates with Tower and is able to issue runway crossing clearances).
|-
| xxxx_TW
| Tower
| Controls the ''active'' runways and the airspace up to 10 NM (nautical miles) from the airport; chooses the runways to use; clears planes for takeoff and landing, making sure that they are at least 10 NM or three minutes apart.
|-
| xxxx_AP
| Approach
| Controls the airspace up to 30 NM away from the airport, up to 18,000 ft (usually). Handles all aircraft leaving or arriving at an airport, until they are established on the ILS/have the runway in sight (then gives the plane to TWR) or are leaving their airspace to continue their flight (then hands them off to CTR). Ensures that aircraft is adequately separated.
|-
| xxxx_DE
| Departure
| This position is rarely used, except at busy airports; it handles all the departures and hands them off to CTR, leaving the approach controller free to handle only arrivals. Coordinates closely with the approach controller to prevent collisions.
|-
| xxxx_CT
| Center
| Center (sector) controllers own all airspace not controlled by APP/DEP or TWR. They control the plane while en route, and get it from X to Y safely, until it can be instructed to descend and given to the approach controller.<ref>In some areas (e.g. France) Center controllers are supplemented by Flight Service Stations (FSS), which provide useful information (weather, frequencies...) to pilots and do ''not'' offer air traffic control.</ref>
|}

* The "xxxx" in the table replace a code used to identify the area that controller is using; these are known as ''ICAO codes'' and can be found on the [http://www.airport-technology.com/icao-codes/ Airport Codes list]. For example, London Gatwick is "EGKK" so a Gatwick Tower Controller would log-in as ''EGKK_TW''.
* Center controllers also have ICAO identifiers, but they are not for one airport, but for a larger area. For example, ''LFFF_CT'' is France Center, and ''LFFF_FS'' is the France Flight Service Station.
* At large airports, multiple controllers may man the same positions.

=== Controller roles in FlightGear ===
Since there are not many ATCs in FlightGear, often a single controller fills more than one position. Generally speaking:
* a controller filling a particular position also fills the positions below him/her (the one listed before in the table above) if no one else is covering it; for example, if ''EGKK_TW'' (a Gatwick Tower Controller) is online, but there is no ''EGKK_GN'', the Tower controller acts also as Ground controller;
* as an exception to the rule above, Tower controllers often act also as Approach controllers for the respective airports.

=== Handoffs ===
If more than one controller is manning an area, the first controller should tell the pilot to contact the second controller when the airplane is about to enter the airspace of the latter. This is usually done with the phrase: "callsign, ''contact'' station ''on'' frequency".

== IFR vs VFR flights ==
{{Main article|Flight rules}}

A distinction you should know for flying in controlled areas is the one between IFR and VFR flights, as flight planning and some phraseology are different.
* VFR (Visual Flight Rules) can apply when a pilot is able to orientate and recognize other aircraft and obstacles visually (that means, for example, the sky should be clear of clouds at low altitudes near the airport when taking off and landing, light must be sufficient, and there must be little or no fog at all); they are used mainly in general aviation;
* IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) apply in all other cases.

== Getting and reading charts ==
{{Main article|Getting aeronautical charts}}

You should [[Getting aeronautical charts|get aeronautical charts]] for the airports you intend to fly from/to, specifically:
{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col"| Chart type
! scope="col"| Description
|-
| Airport information
| Describes the characteristics of the airport and provides a list of radio frequencies.
|-
| Ground (aerodrome chart/airport diagram)
| Depicts the taxiways and runways of a specific airport; used while taxiing from and to the terminal.
|-
| SID/STAR
| Used for instrument departures and arrivals.
|-
| VFR
| Those charts are used for VFR flights and usually depict minimum safe altitudes for each area, as well as reporting points (you must report your position to ATC when flying over them).
|}

== Phraseology ==
{{main article|ATC phraseology}}

=== A sample IFR flight ===
We will teach the phraseology through an IFR sample flight from LEBL (Barcelona) to EDDF (Frankfurt am Main). For simplicity, we assume that all controller positions (delivery, ground, tower, approach/departure and center) are manned; also, we assume our callsign is ''BAW1542'' (to be read as ''Speedbird one five four two'').

==== Planning the flight ====
{{Main article|Flight planning}}
It's a good practice to file a flight plan on [http://flightgear-atc.alwaysdata.net/ Lenny's website] so that the controllers will be able to know your departure/destination airports, cruising altitude and route without asking you about that every time.

Follow the instructions on the [[Flight planning]] article to file a flightplan from LEBL to EDDF with a cruising altitude of FL250.

==== Getting the departure clearance ====
We start on the airport apron at terminal T1, stand 221.

The first thing we need to do is to check the current air pressure and which runway is being used; as a general rule, planes should be heading into the wind for takeoff and landing. To accomplish this, we need to listen to the ''ATIS'' (Automatic Terminal Information Service), a prerecorded message describing weather information, the runways in use and other important information for pilots; it's transmitted continuously on a dedicated radio channel. The frequency to use is written in the Airport information chart and can also be found by clicking on ''AI -> ATC Services in Range -> LEBL'': in our case, it's 121.970 MHz.

We open the Radio panel, set the COM1 frequency to 121.97 and listen to the ATIS message:
* '''LEBL ATIS:''' ''This is El Prat information Alpha. Landing runway two five right. Departure runway two five left. Transition level five zero. Wind two zero zero degrees, one zero knots. Visibility one zero km or more, few two thousand five hundred feet. Temperature two two, dewpoint one zero. QNH one zero one eight. No significant change. On initial contact advise controller you have information Alpha.''
This tells us that:
# We're going to depart from runway 25L.
# We need to set the altimeter to 1018 hPa<ref>European airports generally use hPa (hectopascals) for the QNH while American ones use inHg (inches of mercury). Some airplanes allow you to enter QNH values using both units; if that is not the case, you will need to use a converter.</ref> and set it back to standard pressure (STD) at the transition level (FL050, or 5000 feet).
# Every ATIS broadcast is identified by a progressive letter of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet NATO phonetic alphabet]; we'll need to tell the delivery controller that we have information "Alpha" so that (s)he can check whether we have the latest information or not.
Note also that numbers are spelled out for clarity - this will be done in all further communication.

We now get the clearance (authorization to fly to a destination airport) from the delivery controller. The process is as follows.
# We get the Delivery frequency from the Airport information chart or the ATC Services in Range window (in this case, the frequency is 121.800 MHz) and tune COM1 to it (or connect on Mumble and join the delivery channel, or just talk on the Multiplayer chat).<ref>Each controller is free to use FGCom, Mumble or just the text chat as (s)he wishes; generally speaking, everyone accepts ATC via chat and, if voice communication is offered, that is announced on initial contact. Prefer voice communication if possible as it enhances realism and because speaking is quicker than typing.</ref>
# We contact the controller and ask for the clearance. (It is the pilot who needs to initiate contact with ATC, not the opposite). ''Tip: note down the clearance on a piece of paper as it's difficult (and risky) to memorize it.''
# The Delivery controller gives us the clearance including:
#* our callsign;
#* whether we've got the latest ("current") ATIS information or not;
#* our destination airport;
#* the departure SID/waypoints;
#* the route we'll need to follow (if it is not mentioned, we'll follow the route we wrote in our flight plan);
#* the initial and cruising altitude;
#* the squawk ([[transponder]]) code we'll need to set.
# We read back (repeat) the clearance to confirm we understood it correctly.
# The controller corrects any mistakes we've made and then hands us off to the Ground controller.

* '''BAW1542:''' El Prat Delivery, this is Speedbird one five four two, requesting delivery to Frankfurt, flight level two five zero, we have information Alpha.
* '''El Prat Delivery:''' Speedbird one five four two, Alpha is current, cleared to Frankfurt via OKABI three Whiskey, initial altitude five hundred feet, expect flight level two five zero after ten minutes, squawk four zero zero zero.
* '''BAW1542:''' Cleared to Frankfurt via OKABI three Whiskey, initial altitude five hundred feet, expect flight level two five zero after ten minutes, squawk four zero zero zero, Speedbird one five four two.
* '''El Prat Delivery:''' Speedbird one five four two, readback correct, contact El Prat Ground on one two one decimal six five zero.
* '''BAW1542:''' Contact El Prat Ground on one two one decimal six five zero, Speedbird one five four two.

The controller asked us to follow the OKABI3W SID after departure - get the SID charts, find it and look at the chart or read the text route descriptions. In this case, the SID prescribes pilots to climb to 500 ft, turn left to intercept radial 199 PRA and be at least at 2500 ft at 8 NM from PRA; intercept radial 287 VNV and pass VNV at 5000 ft; turn right to KARDO, pass KARDO at FL120 and proceed direct OKABI. If you've got the Level-D files from [http://www.navigraph.com/ Navigraph], select the SID in the [[Route Manager]] dialog for the route to be automatically entered; otherwise, use the Route Manager to input the VORs and waypoints manually.

We also set the transponder code and switch the transponder to Ground mode (if the aircraft we're using supports this functionality).

==== Pushing back and starting up ====
Before pushing back (being pushed away from the stand with a tug) and starting up, we need to get appropriate clearances from the Ground controller. This ensures we won't block taxiways unnecessarily.

* '''BAW1542:''' El Prat Ground, Speedbird one five four two at stand two two one, request pushback.
* '''El Prat Ground:''' Speedbird one five four two, El Prat Ground, pushback approved, facing south.
* '''BAW1542:''' Pushback approved, facing south, Speedbird one five four two.

We then push back, making sure the aircraft is turned towards ("facing") south at the end of the maneuver, and ask for permission to start our engines.

[[File:LEBL-stand220-pushback.png|center|thumb|800px|Our aircraft's position after pushback (noon and night view). Note that the taxiway centerlines are not lit in proximity of stands.]]

* '''BAW1542:''' Speedbird one five four two, request startup.
* '''El Prat Ground:''' Speedbird one five four two, startup approved.
* '''BAW1542:''' Startup approved, Speedbird one five four two.

After that, we start our engines and complete our checklists as quickly as possible.

==== Taxiing to the runway ====
We ask for clearance to taxi to the departure runway.
* '''BAW1542:''' Speedbird one five four two is ready to taxi.
* '''El Prat Ground:''' Speedbird one five four two, taxi to holding point Echo two via Lima and Echo, QNH one zero one eight.
* '''BAW1542:''' Taxi to holding point Echo two via Lima and Echo, QNH one zero one eight, Speedbird one five four two.

The current QNH may be repeated by the ground controller, even if we have just heard it on the ATIS, as a reminder to set it to the correct value - so check it. After that, open the ground chart and check your taxi route before starting, as in some cases taxi signs will not be present at all intersections. You will notice that the controller cleared us only to holding point E2, so, once there, we'll need to report our position and await further instructions. The holding point is marked by a ''stop bar'' (a dotted/continuous yellow line: the dotted one faces the runway while the continuous line faces the taxiway, to remind you that you need a clearance to cross the runway, and it is lit at night by means of pulsing yellow lights).

Taxi to E2 as instructed at a maximum speed of 30 knots and ''hold short'' (stop) just before the stop bar. Remember that, while the controller may instruct you to ''hold position'' (stop) and ''give way'' to another plane, it's still your responsibility not to collide with buildings, vehicles or other aircraft; also, should you at any point become unsure of your position, stop at once and ask the ground controller.

<gallery widths=400px mode=packed>
File:LEBL-E3.png|Taxiing to intersection E3 - no ground signs are present, so you should use the ground chart as a reference.
File:LEBL-E2.png|Approaching holding point E2.
File:LEBL-E2-stopbar.png|Close up of the E2 stop bar.
</gallery>

We contact the ground controller to tell him/her we're at E2.
* '''BAW1542:''' Speedbird one five four two, we're holding short Echo two.
* '''El Prat Ground:''' Speedbird one five four two, cleared to cross runway zero two, taxi to holding point Golf one via Echo one and Kilo.
* '''BAW1542:''' Cleared to cross runway zero two and taxi to holding point Golf one via Echo one and Kilo, Speedbird one five four two.

We then cross the runway without delay and turn left on K. Near K2 you can notice a ''CAT II/III holding point'' (marked by an empty yellow rectangle with vertical lines, equipped with ''fixed'' lights) - that's where we would stop if visibility was reduced or if another aircraft was landing using ILS; since that's not the case and we were cleared to G1, just proceed.

<gallery widths=400px mode=packed>
File:LEBL-K2.png|The CAT II/III K2 stop bar.
File:LEBL-G1.png|Approaching the G1 stop bar.
</gallery>

We stop at G1 while the ground controller instructs us to contact the tower:
* '''El Prat Ground:''' Speedbird one five four two, contact El Prat Tower on one one eight decimal three two zero, goodbye!
* '''BAW1542:''' Contact El Prat Tower on one one eight decimal three two zero, Speedbird one five four two, bye!

==== Lining up and taking off ====
We contact Tower on text chat, FGCom or Mumble (depending on the tools the controller is using) to get our takeoff clearance. It will include, in that order:
# the wind direction and speed;
# wind gusts, if any;
# warnings (like wake turbulence, rain...), if any;
# the runway number;
# the words ''cleared for takeoff''.

* '''BAW1542:''' El Prat Tower, Speedbird one five four two, holding short Golf one.
* '''El Prat Tower:''' Speedbird one five four two, wind is two one zero at five, runway two five left, cleared for takeoff.
* '''BAW1542:''' Cleared for takeoff two five left, Speedbird one five four two.

{{note|If a tower controller clears an aircraft for takeoff while it is still on a taxiway, the pilot is also cleared to enter the runway – there is no need to issue a separate ''line up and wait'' instruction.}}

We set the transponder to ''On'' so that the controllers and other aircraft will be able to see us on radar screens and the [[Traffic alert and collision avoidance system|TCAS]], line up, take off and follow the SID. After the takeoff, the tower controller will hand us off to the departure controller:
* '''El Prat Tower:''' Speedbird one five four two, contact Departure on one two six decimal five zero zero, goodbye!
* '''BAW1542:''' Contact Departure on one two six decimal five zero zero, Speedbird one five four two.

We switch to the departure frequency and contact the controller:
* '''BAW1542:''' El Prat Departure, Speedbird one five four two passing ''current altitude'', OKABI three Whiskey departure.
* '''El Prat Departure:''' Speedbird one five four two, radar contact, climb and maintain flight level two five zero.
* '''BAW1542:''' Climb and maintain flight level two five zero, Speedbird one five four two.

We climb to FL250 and continue following the SID waypoints. When we're approaching the final fix (OKABI) the controller will tell us to follow our flightplan:
* '''El Prat Departure:''' Speedbird one five four two, resume your own navigation, frequency change approved, goodbye!
* '''BAW1542:''' Resuming our own navigation, frequency change approved, Speedbird one five four two, bye!

We're now free to follow our flightplan - it's a good practice to keep an eye on the multiplayer map to check for traffic and to announce altitude changes/turns on text chat if other pilots are nearby.<ref>In real world flying, we would be handed off to center controllers and we would report our position over special points, marked as black triangles in the charts. Since center controllers are not common in FlightGear, this is not usually done.</ref>

==== Approaching the destination airport ====
We start descending on our own so as to reach FL150 approximately 100 NM from the destination airport. When we're about 80 NM from EDDF we check the ATIS for the destination airport, just like we did at LEBL - in this case the frequency is 118.02. We tune in the COM1 radio to that frequency and listen:
* '''EDDF ATIS:''' ''This is Frankfurt information Echo. Landing runway zero seven right. Departure runway zero seven center. Transition level five zero. Wind zero two zero degrees, four knots. Visibility one zero km or more, few four thousand eight hundred feet. Temperature one niner<ref>"Niner" is used instead of "nine" to avoid confusion between the similarly sounding "nine" and "nein", the German word for "no".</ref>, dewpoint zero seven. QNH one zero one eight. No significant change. On initial contact advise controller you have information Echo.''

We then contact the approach controller (in this case Langen Radar, 118.45 MHz):
* '''BAW1542:''' Langen Radar, Speedbird one five four two at flight level one five zero, we have information Echo.
* '''Langen Radar:''' Speedbird one five four two, radar contact, Echo is current, descend and maintain five thousand feet, proceed direct UNOKO.
* '''BAW1542:''' Descend and maintain five thousand feet, proceed direct UNOKO, Speedbird one five four two.

We proceed to the UNOKO waypoint and descend to 5000 ft, as instructed. At 5000 ft we set the altimeter to the local QNH (1018 hPa).

When we're near UNOKO the approach controller will contact us and assign us a STAR (standard arrival route):
* '''Langen Radar:''' Speedbird one five four two, cleared UNOKO one Mike arrival.
* '''BAW1542:''' Cleared UNOKO one Mike arrival, Speedbird one five four two.
Now we follow the altitudes and route in the STAR – in this case, we fly over UNOKO, IBVIL, MANUV, RAMOB and proceed to TAU.

We hold (circle) over TAU until the controller instructs us to continue the approach:
* '''Langen Radar:''' Speedbird one five four two, turn right heading one four zero, descend and maintain three thousand feet, reduce speed to two five zero knots.
* '''BAW1542:''' Turn right heading one four zero, descend and maintain three thousand feet, reducing speed to two five zero knots, Speedbird one five four two.

We now engage the autopilot's heading select mode, fly the given heading, reduce our speed and continue our descent as cleared. After a couple of minutes, the controller calls us and instructs us to use the [[Instrument Landing System]] to get towards the runway:
* '''Langen Radar:''' Speedbird one five four two, cleared ILS approach runway zero seven right.
* '''BAW1542:''' Cleared ILS approach runway zero seven right, Speedbird one five four two.

As soon as the localizer is alive we engage the autopilot's localizer mode and, as soon as the glideslope is alive, we switch to approach mode and descend on the glide. The controller will call us one last time to hand us over to Frankfurt Tower:
* '''Langen Radar:''' Speedbird one five four two, contact Frankfurt Tower on one one niner decimal niner zero.
* '''BAW1542:''' Contact Frankfurt Tower on one one niner decimal niner zero, Speedbird one five four two.

==== Landing ====
We switch to 119.90 MHz and/or join the Frankfurt Tower channel on Mumble, then contact the tower controller to get the landing clearance. It will include:
# the wind direction and speed;
# wind gusts, if any;
# warnings (like wake turbulence, rain...), if any;
# the runway number;
# the words ''cleared to land''.

* '''BAW1542:''' Frankfurt Tower, Speedbird one five four two, ILS approach runway zero niner right.
* '''Frankfurt Tower:''' Speedbird one five four two, Frankfurt Tower, wind zero one zero degrees, five knots, runway zero seven right, cleared to land.
* '''BAW1542:''' Cleared to land, runway zero seven right, Speedbird one five four two.

<gallery widths=400px mode=packed>
File:EDDF-finalapproach.png|Short final to runway 07R.
File:EDDF-landing-07R.png|Landing on 07R.
</gallery>

We land on 07R and ''vacate'' (exit) the runway at the earliest opportunity, making sure not to block other aircraft and not to enter a taxiway marked with a ''NO ENTRY'' sign; in this case, we vacate on the left, since the terminal is on the left. (On occasion, the controller will ask us to vacate on a specific side or to use a specific exit). We are now asked to switch to Ground:
* '''Frankfurt Tower:''' Speedbird one five four two, contact Frankfurt Ground on one two one decimal eight zero.
* '''BAW1542:''' Contact Frankfurt Ground on one two one decimal eight zero, Speedbird one five four two.

==== Taxiing to the stand and shutting down ====
We switch the transponder to ground mode and check the ground chart to get the name of the taxiway we are on; in our case, we have vacated the runway on taxiway M15. We then contact the ground controller:
* '''BAW1542:''' Frankfurt Ground, Speedbird one five four two on Mike one five, runway zero seven right vacated.
* '''Frankfurt Ground:''' Speedbird one five four two, Frankfurt Ground, taxi to holding point Mike one four via Mike, hold short of Mike one four.
* '''BAW1542:''' Taxi to holding point Mike one four via Mike, hold short of Mike one four, Speedbird one five four two.

We taxi to holding point M14, stop and report our position to the controller, so that (s)he can coordinate with Tower and clear us to cross the active runway 07C.
* '''BAW1542:''' Speedbird one five four two, holding short Mike one four.
* '''Frankfurt Ground:''' Speedbird one five four two, standby. ''(The controller will ask Tower for crossing clearance – it might take a bit.)''
* '''Frankfurt Ground:''' Speedbird one five four two, cleared to cross zero seven center, taxi to Lima via Lima niner.
* '''BAW1542:''' Cleared to cross zero seven center, taxi to Lima via Lima niner, Speedbird one five four two.
At this point, we resume taxiing, making sure to cross the runway expeditiously.

Since the taxiways and the apron are managed by two different controllers, the ground controller will hand us off to the apron controller:
* '''Frankfurt Ground:''' Speedbird one five four two, contact Apron East on one two one decimal niner five.
* '''BAW1542:''' Contact Apron East on one two one decimal niner five, Speedbird one five four two.
We switch to the new frequency and report:
* '''BAW1542:''' Apron East, Speedbird one five four two on Lima nine, request taxi to the stand.
* '''Apron South:''' Speedbird one five four two, Apron East, taxi to stand Delta five via Lima and November one.
* '''BAW1542:''' Taxi to stand Delta five via Lima and November one, Speedbird one five four two.

<gallery widths=400px mode=packed>
File:EDDF-M15.png|Taxiing on M15.
File:EDDF-crossing-07C.png|Approaching holding point M14 and preparing to cross runway 07C. Note that the stop bar is not lit, only the ground sign tells you to hold short of the runway – so be careful.
File:EDDF-L.png|Taxiing on L.
</gallery>

We taxi to the stand and shut down, also switching the transponder off – there's no need to ask a clearance for that. Our flight is now finished.

==== This tutorial in video format ====
The departure and arrival presented in this tutorial have also been recorded. Some interactions were simplified, the result should however be more close to what you usually experience on the multiplayer network. Closed captions are available.

{{#ev:youtube|dA-UXATCHuI|400}}
{{#ev:youtube|E3yfeWjlyic|400}}

=== A sample VFR flight ===
* [http://forum.flightgear.org/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=12953 de profundis] has written a VFR tutorial that takes you for a sample flight from KRNO (Reno Tahoe) to KBIH (Eastern Sierra Regional) and covers VFR flight planning, phraseology and tips in great detail. You can get his ''Cross Country Tutorial'' from the [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=19600 dedicated forum thread].

== Tips ==
* This tutorial, for the sake of simplicity and brevity, assumed no other aircraft was present. On multiplayer servers you might be instructed to hold your position, give way to other aircraft or hold (make circles) over a point to remain separate from other aircraft; check the [[ATC phraseology]] page for the specific phraseology used in those situations.
* Follow the guidelines detailed in [[ATC best practices]] to make the experience enjoyable for everyone.
* When practicing controlled flying, make sure you know your aircraft well (you should be able to maintain an assigned speed, altitude and heading), go to a less trafficked airport and tell the controller it's your first time interacting via ATC.
* '''Remember to read back (repeat) the clearances; it is the only way for the controller to know whether you received them correctly or not.'''
* Execute the clearances while reading them back.

== Notes ==
<references />

[[Category:Air Traffic Control]]

Instrument Landing System Tutorial

2026-05-20T02:40:32Z

Celesta: remove fgrun

''See [[Instrument Landing System]] for the main article.''

In this tutorial we will land a jet (such as [[Boeing 737|B737]]) at London Heathrow Airport (EGLL). The principle is at every airport the same, only the numbers are different. In some planes you might have to set the ILS settings by using the 3D [[Cockpit]].

== Preflight ==
Use these settings under [[menu]] > Location > Position Aircraft in Air:

{| class="prettytable"
!
!
|-
| '''Longitude'''
| 0
|-
| '''Latitude'''
| 51.47759
|-
| '''Altitude'''
| 5000
|-
| '''Heading'''
| 270
|-
| '''Airspeed'''
| Depends on your aircraft (350kt for B737)
|}

[[File:mpmap_ILS.jpg|thumb|270px|The [[MP Map]] with [[Instrument Landing System|ILS]] information for EGLL 27R.]]

=== MP Map ===
With a few modifications the [[MPMap|MP Map]] is very useful for ILS landings. If we want to land at an airport we go to the 'nav'-tab and tick on the 'apt' button below 'show'. Now you'll see blue lines on the runways, a box with the name of the airport in red and a box at every end of a runway. To show the ILS info of a runway we press the square next to the runway name. Now a yellow triangle will appear. This is the area where the plane will pick up the ILS, so you need to get in this triangle to land.

== Approach ==
With this tutorial your flight will start 12 [[Nautical mile|nm]] out of EGLL. You're at 5000 ft and lined up with 27R. That's the runway we'll land on.

=== Long final ===
First thing to do is setting up the radio settings. We go to <tt>Equipment > Radio settings</tt> and fill our frequency (110.30) in the first NAV1 box. That's all we have to do to be sure our plane will find the ILS on 27R.

Now we need to slow down a bit and slowly descend to 2500 ft, this is the maximum height where our plane could find the ILS.

=== Final ===
Put your landing gear down at 7 miles out. Apply full flaps if you are within 4-5 nm of the airport. Try to maintain your height or descend a bit more to 2500 ft.

[[File:ILS_autopilot.jpg|thumb|270px|The [[autopilot]] settings for an ILS approach with the [[Boeing 737|B737]].]]

==== Autopilot ====
If you are with in the ILS range you could turn on the autopilot. To get your plane lined up with the runway and on the correct glideslope you have to use the settings shown on the picture on the right (the speed depends on your plane's landing speed!). Now change nothing and let the ILS do its work. Watch your plane lining up perfectly with the runway and see it descend slowly.

== Touch down ==
A few seconds before you touch down (let's say on a height of 150 ft) you should turn off the autopilot and manually land the plane. If not, your plane may crash. Use thrust reversers, airbrakes and brakes to slow your plane down. Vacate the runway as directed by the air traffic controller.

[[Category:Aviation]]

FlightGear hangars

2026-05-18T13:19:22Z

Celesta: /* Other FlightGear repositories/mirrors */ add a mirror

Aircraft in FlightGear are often distributed from a hangar. The official FlightGear hangar is called [[FGAddon]] and it contains hundreds of aircraft at different stages of development (including aircraft from up to 20 years ago). Many aircraft are also distributed via 3rd-party hangars.

== Licensing ==

The [[FGAddon]] hangar is distributed using the GPLv2+ licensing terms - see the official [http://www.flightgear.org/flightgear-policy-document/ FlightGear policy document]. Third party hangars are free to license their content as they wish.

{{caution|If licensing violations are found in a 3rd party hangar - including copying images, sounds, 3D objects or any other content that cannot be legally copied, or any non-legal licensing combinations - the FlightGear developers reserve the right to remove all mentions of that hangar from the official FlightGear web infrastructure (wiki, forum, mailing lists, etc.). The advertisement of illegal content via the official infrastructure could lead to legal problems for the FlightGear developers.}}

== Official FGAddon hangar ==
The [[FGAddon|FGAddon hangar]] is the official FlightGear hangar.

=== Aircraft downloads ===
[[File:FGAddon logo.png|270px|right|link=FGAddon]]

All official release aircraft can now be individually downloaded and updated with FlightGear itself. This is a nice way to browse new aircraft and make sure your favorites are always kept up to date.

=== Aircraft development ===
The [[FGAddon]] version controlled repository contains in-development aircraft as well as aircraft tagged for FlightGear 3.4 and higher stable releases.

* {{fgaddon aircraft source|text=FGAddon Hangar}} The Subversion version controlled repository for the official FlightGear aircraft on the SourceForge infrastructure, see [[FGAddon]] for details.
* {{gitorious source|proj=fg|repo=fgdata|path=Aircraft|view=tree|text=Old fgdata Hangar}} The Gitorious archive of the official aircraft, migrated to the [https://archive.org/ Internet Archive] for archival and history preservation purposes. Aircraft were migrated to [[FGAddon]] in September 2014. For further details see the [[FlightGear Newsletter September 2014#Aircraft moved to SVN|September 2014 newsletter announcement]] and the [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=24045 announcement topic on the forum]

=== Liveries ===
* [http://liveries.flightgear.org FlightGear Livery Database]

== Third party sites ==
=== Aircraft catalogues ===
If a hangar provides a [[hangar catalog|catalog URL]] file (catalog.xml), it can be added to the FlightGear QtLauncher to display all the aircraft of that hangar. You add the URL to the <code>catalog.xml</code> on the ''Add-ons'' page in the ''Aircraft hangars'' section.

For details on how to create your own <code>catalog.xml</code> file, see [[Hangar catalog]].

=== Aircraft hangars ===
These are links where you can download individual planes manually.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Hangar
! Category
! Description
! [[Hangar catalog|Catalog URL]]
|-
| [http://www.gidenstam.org/FlightGear/Airships/ Anders' Lighter-than-air Hangar]
|
| With U.S. Navy K-type, ''Nordstern'', Zeppelin NT, SSZero airships and ZF free balloon and additional craft at [http://github.com/andgi?tab=repositories Anders' aircraft repositories at GitHub].
|
|-
| [http://andinogonthaeler.wordpress.com/ Andino's Hangar]
|
| An-124, A340-600HGW, MD80's, Boeing 707-3J9C and 707-320C.
|
|-
| Bermuda Triangle
| [[:Category:Bermuda Triangle|Category]]
| A hypothetical hangar used to categorize temporarily or permanently lost aircraft.
|
|-
| [http://www.buckarooshangar.com/flightgear/ Buckaroo's Hangar]
| [[:Category:Buckaroo's hangar|Category]]
| Velocity XL RG, Edgley Optica, Lockheed 1049H Constellation, Grumman Goose, McDonnell Douglas MD-81 (& a YASim intro).
|
|-
| [http://www.daveshangar.org/ Dave's Hangar]
| [[:Category:Dave's hangar|Category]]
|
| [http://www.daveshangar.org/catalog.xml catalog.xml]
|-
| [http://www.fgpipistrel.org/ FG Pipistrel Hangar]
|
| Developing Pipistrel aircraft.
|
|-
| [https://sites.google.com/view/fgukhangar/flightgear-uk-home-page/hangar FlightGear UK - FGUK Hangar]
| [[:Category:FGUK hangar|Category]]
| UK based group improving, mainly European, aircraft and scenery for FG. Weekly MP FlightNights. A lot of helicopters are in the "[https://sites.google.com/view/fgukhangar/flightgear-uk-home-page/hangar/rotary-wing Rotary Wing]" section (November 2020). Over 60 Open Source aircraft so far. [https://forum.fguk.me/ Friendly community forum]
|
|-
| [http://charles.ingels.free.fr/flightgear/ French FlightGear Hangar]
|
| (FR) Aermacchi MB326, Dassault Mirage F1 Mikoyan Gurevitch Mig 31 Foxhound, and more.
|
|-
| [http://hcilab.uniud.it/pan/downloads.html HCI Lab - University of Udine]
|
| Aermacchi MB339 Frecce Tricolori.
|
|-
| [http://helijah.free.fr/flightgear/hangar.htm Helijah FlightGear Hangar]
| [[:Category:Helijah hangar|Category]]
| 275+ original aircraft, the majority of which are maintained in [[FGAddon]].
|
|-
| [http://hhfgfs.weebly.com/index.html Hellcat's FlightGear Hangar]
|
| Scenarios, skins, film inspired aerospace vehicles.
|
|-
| [https://github.com/HerbyW HerbyW Hanger]
| [[:Category:HerbyW's hangar|Category]]
| Antonov-MilMi-Iljushin-Followme all Rembrandt and Multiplayer support.
| [http://static.djgummikuh.de/Aircraft/catalog.xml catalog.xml]
|-
| [http://www.hoerbird.net/aircrafts.html Hoerbird Hangar]
|
| Misc. projects.
|
|-
| [http://www.grafikavirtual.com/fgfs/ Horacio's Hangar]
|
| Spanish site.
|
|-
| [http://horizonflightgearhangar.yolasite.com/ Horizon FlightGear Hangar]
|
| Dabolim Naval Air Station (VAGO), Goa, India; Murray Bridge/Pallama Airfield (YMBD), Australia; and ADFX-02 Morgan, a fictional aircraft.
|
|-
| [http://hsotfhangar.wordpress.com/ HSOTF Official Hangar]
|
|
|
|-
| [http://marc-kraus.de/ Lake of Constance Hangar]
| [[:Category:Lake of Constance hangar|Category]]
| Quality Signature Series Aircrafts by Marc Kraus from Friedrichshafen home of The Dornier Museum.
|
|-
| [http://longfly.square7.ch Longfly's Hangar]
|
|
|
|-
| [https://melbournemotorworks.wordpress.com/ Melbourne Motor Works]
|
|-
| [http://nickfg.blogspot.com/ Nick's FlightGear Hangar]
|
| Blog, CRJ-200.
|
|-
| [https://github.com/Octal450?tab=repositories Octal450 Hanger]
| [[:Category:Octal450 hangar|Category]]
| High Quality Airliners
| [http://static.djgummikuh.de/octal450/catalog.xml catalog.xml]
|-
| [http://opredflag.com/ Operation Red Flag Hangar]
|
| Flightgear Flight Sim Military Community
| [http://static.djgummikuh.de/OPRF/catalog.xml catalog.xml]
|-
| [http://equipe-flightgear.forumactif.com/t835-hangar-de-la-paf-paf-team-hangar#14330 PAF team Hangar]
| [[:Category:PAF hangar|Category]]
| [http://pattenflightgear.wifeo.com/cessna-citationx.php Cessna Citation X], [[Mudry Cap10b|Cap 10b]], [[Robin DR400 Dauphin|Robin DR400 JSBSim]], [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|Douglas DC-3 C47]], Tecnam P92 Echo...
|
|-
| [http://pattenflightgear.wifeo.com/avions.php Patten's hangar]
|
| Alouette-2, DHC6-300, Robin DR400 JSBsim, Tecnam P92 Echo, CAP 10 C, CAP 10 B, Douglas DC3 C47-JSBsim, Sceneries, Ground textures...
|
|-
| [http://presteshangar.wikidot.com/start Prestes Hangar]
| [[:Category:Prestes hangar|Category]]
| Many Brazilian aircraft articles.
|
|-
| [http://riktov.synthasite.com/ Riktov's FlightGear Hangar]
|
| BN-2 Islander, Giant Marshmallow Man.
|
|-
|[https://gitlab.com/fg_shfsn/hangar ShFsn's Hangar]
|
|Various Soviet and Russian aircrafts updated and/or maintained by ShFsn (Tu-144D, Tu-154B-2, An-24B, MiG-15bis, MiG-29, Su-27; as of 2023-11)
|[https://gitlab.com/fg_shfsn/hangar/-/raw/main/catalog.xml catalog.xml]
|-
|[http://seahorseCorral.org/flightgear_aircraft.html Stewart's SEA-horse Aircraft Hanger]
|
|Newest bluebird version.
|[http://www.seahorsecorral.org/FGMEMBERS/catalog.xml catalog.xml]
|-
|[http://macflightgear.sourceforge.net/home/aircraft Tat's Aircraft for FlightGear]
|
|A6M2 "Zero", J7W, Ki-84, T-4, HondaJet, OH-1, K5Y1, RV-6A, YS-11.
|
|-
|[http://vicmar.weebly.com/ VicMar]
|
|Yanagisawa Gen H-4, Stung Biker, Quad Bikes, SRN4, Water Skier, G2 Thunderpack, Martin Jetpack.
|
|-
|[http://www.treborlogic.com/fgfs/hangar/ Yourgod's Hangar]
|
|Douglas DC-8.
|
|}

===Old Hangars===
These are old or abandoned aircraft hangars.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Hangar
!Description
!Status
|-
| [https://web.archive.org/http://croo.murgl.org/fgfs/index.html A-10 and A-6 stuff (Web Archive link)]
| A-10, A-6
| Dead link as of unknown.
|-
|<s>[http://fg-acjza.wix.com/hangar/ ACJZA Hangar]</s>{{dead link|2017-01-02}}
|Land, Sea, Air.
|Dead link as of 2017-01-02.
|-
|<s>{{gitorious source|text=Airbus Aircraft Development Git}}</s>{{dead link|2018-08-05}}
|A320, A330, A340-300, A380 - various authors, see the projects under <code>airbus-aircraft</code>.
| Dead link as of 2018-08-05.
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20101202031445/http://www.sol2500.net:80/flightgear/aircraft.html DFaber Hangar (Web Archive link)]
|Eurofighter, PC-6, Bf 109, Beufighter, F4U, Ju 52, DH Mosquito, G. Albatross, F-86, and more.
|Dead link as of 2012-04.
|-
|<s>[http://thefancyflightgearhangar.blogspot.com The Fancy FlightGear Hangar]</s>
|A few well made aircraft.
|Dead download links as of 2020-06.
|-
| [https://gitlab.com/femboywings-fgfs/ Fboy Wings]
| [[Tupolev Tu-144|Tu-144D]].
| Outdated as of 2023-11.
|-
|<s>[http://flier95-flightgear.blogspot.com/ Flier95's Hangar]</s>{{dead link|2012-08}}
|Blog format.
|Seems to be replaced by advertisement blog (2020-06).
|-
|<s>[https://sites.google.com/site/grtuxhangar GRTux Hangar]</s>{{dead link|2024-10}}
|28+ aircraft and add-ons; you need to mail to GRTux for download.
| Dead link as of 2024-10.
|-
| <s>[https://sites.google.com/site/fghangar JOFH - Just Another Flightgear Hangar]</s>{{dead link|2024-10}}
| JA-37, scenario.
| Dead link as of 2024-10.
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeuyecs/ Kent Esbenshade's Boneyard Hangar (Web Archive link)]
|Classic aircraft.
|Dead link as of 2015-09.
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20160616195014/http://theomegahangar.flymerlion.org/ Omega Hangar (Web Archive link)]
|Embraer E-jet Family, A330-200, A320neo, CRJ-700 Full First Class, ATR-42-family, A321-series, Mobile Stairway.
|Dead link as of 2017-01-02.
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/http://pjedvaj.wordpress.com/ pjedvaj's Hangar (Web Archive link)]
|PC-9M, PC-21, MiG-21bis, T-50, Harrier GR.1, F-35B, RAH-66, Su-25, Yak-130.
|Dead link as of 2018-07-24.
|-
|[https://web.archive.org/web/20180201073847/http://digilander.libero.it/scighera_fg/index.html Scighera's Hangar (Web Archive link)]
|Models & liveries.
| Dead link as of 2020-06
|-
|<s>[https://sites.google.com/site/sydshangar/ Syd's Google Hangar]</s>{{dead link|2024-10}}
|"Newer 2.0 versions."
|Dead link as of 2024-10.
|-
|[https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/apasim/fgfs-models.html UIUC Hangar]
|For FGFS 0.7.8.
|Old aircraft FDMs with no 3D models.
|}

===Livery/Scenery hangars===
*<s>[http://AAliveries.yolasite.com/ AA Liveries]</s>{{dead link|2015-01}} Another livery site
*[http://berwickskins.yolasite.com/ Berwick-skins]
*<s>[http://dliveryhangar.synthasite.com/ Dodger4's Livery Hangar]</s> {{dead link|2017-02}}
*[http://hsotfhangar.wordpress.com/ HSOTF Official Hangar]
*[http://jchnd.blogspot.com/ JcHnd's Liveries for FlightGear]
*[http://lukashangar.jimdo.com/ Lukas' hangar] (Scenery projects, Liveries)
*<s>[http://mojos-hangar.webs.com/ MOJO's Flightgear Livery Hangar]</s>{{dead link|2020-06}}
*<s>[http://members.cox.net/scotsg8r/hangar/ N-SCOT's Hangar]</s>{{dead link|2012-04}} (5+ liveries & mods)
*<s>[https://planepainter.yolasite.com/ The Planepainter]</s>{{dead link|2012-04}} (Liveries, Scenery)
*<s>[http://simbabeathangar.webs.com/ Simbabeat's Livery Hangar]</s>{{dead link|2020-06}}
*[http://victorhangar.blogspot.com/ Victor Hangar] (in Portuguese - Brazilian; many download links broken (2020-06), but some are still working)
*[http://www.fgau.org/ FlightGear Australia/FGAU.org] Australian scenery development.

=== Other FlightGear repositories/mirrors===
*[http://hsotfhangar.wordpress.com/ HSOTF Official Hangar]
*[http://www.unitedfreeworld.com/flightgear-downloads-add-ons/ Unitedfreeworld] (scenery, plane models, and livery) - New owners of the Unitedfreeworld domain have reuploaded all prior work released by xsaint, as of September 2018.
*[https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/flightgear/ftp/ Tsinghua mirror] - available for downloading installation packages, aircraft and scenery

==Related content==
*[[Aircraft]] - [[Helicopter]] - [[Vehicle]]
*[[Hangar catalog]]
*[[Table of models]]

==References==
{{Appendix}}

[[Category:Lists]]
[[ca:Hangars de FlightGear]]
[[es:Hangares_Flightgear]]
[[fr:FlightGear hangars]]
[[pl:FlightGear hangars]]

FlightGear benchmark

2026-05-18T11:52:03Z

Celesta:

{{out of date}}
{{Template:Mentored Volunteer Effort
|mentors=[http://forum.flightgear.org/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=1092 Hooray] (get in touch to learn more)
|skills=[[PropertyList XML File]], [[Aircraft-set.xml]], [[Property Tree]], [[Nasal|Nasal scripting]], fgcommands, [[Howto:Making HTTP Requests from Nasal|Nasal/Web scripting]]}}

{{Portability Navbar}}

{{Note|Also see [[Testing]]}}

{{FGCquote
|1= a thing FlightGear developers could do to help developers of the free drivers, to help themselves, to help users and to help the Phoronix website would be to implement a benchmark mode. Phoronix is desperate to find more up to date and graphically challenging games for their benchmarks. The driver developers do read Phoronix and use the Phoronix benchmark suite to optimie the drivers. Users make buying decisions based on these benchmarks and general reports and last but not least, you know best how difficult performance optimization is for an application developer.
|2= {{cite web
| url = http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/31904511/
| title = <nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Graphics cards</nowiki>
| author = <nowiki>Stefan Seifert</nowiki>
| date = Jan 30th, 2014
| added = Jan 30th, 2014
| script_version = 0.25
}}
}}

{{FGCquote
|1= I played around with the existing capabilities last weekend and it looks like we're almost there anyway. Setting FG_HOME to a temporary directoy ought to be enough to prevent leaking settings from one run to another and allows using specific settings for the benchmark run (e.g. Rembrandt/ALS). Using generic file input allows replaying a full flight and the telnet interface allows reading FPS and frame distance numbers. The script at https://github.com/flighten/test attempts to do so anyway. Combined with some static weather input and fixed random seeds (probably supplied on the command line) we'd have all we need for reproducible benchmarks. If any developer finds some time to implement the missing pieces this could help tremendously. My personal situation will improve in about half a year, but if someone can pull this off before that, we'd not only get better support but also great marketing. FlightGear would very probably be featured in every Phoronix benchmarking article and those are very frequent.
|2= {{cite web
| url = http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/31904511/
| title = <nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Graphics cards</nowiki>
| author = <nowiki>Stefan Seifert</nowiki>
| date = Jan 30th, 2014
| added = Jan 30th, 2014
| script_version = 0.25
}}
}}

{{FGCquote
|3.2 switched the base-package scenery to the high-resolution (i.e. memory-intensive) version, with the result that FG on default settings hangs my system (4GB memory, Intel graphics, no swap).

It becomes usable after reducing the bare LOD range, but one needs to know to do that; I'd like to replace the fixed defaults by something <br/>
that automatically adjusts to the hardware, but haven't yet got around to this.
|{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/32784078/
|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Download size,
and hardware support (was .dds textures)</nowiki>
|author=<nowiki>Rebecca Palmer</nowiki>
|date=<nowiki>2014-09-01</nowiki>
}}
}}

{{FGCquote
|
* we appear to be single-thread-CPU bound (and if we are on my machine, we probably are on most)
* terrain mesh (bare LOD range) costs memory, instanced objects (random *s) and the first shader step cost frame rate, unique objects (complex airports/aircraft) cost both
* texture format makes little difference to either main memory use or frame rate (but note that global-png and global-dds are probably not a fully like-for-like comparison)
|{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/32792620/
|title=<nowiki>[Flightgear-devel] Performance tests</nowiki>
|author=<nowiki>Rebecca Palmer</nowiki>
|date=<nowiki>2014-09-03</nowiki>
}}
}}

{{FGCquote
|<nowiki>Except as stated: current 3.3 with my locked-listener patch (see earlier today), c172p stationary on KSFO 28R, --timeofday=noon --disable-real-weather-fetch --disable-ai-traffic (for consistency), Terrasync scenery, LOD range 1.5/9/12km, regional textures, random buildings/objects/vegetation and precipitation/3D clouds on, shader level 1, default (looks about 1024x730) window size.
Fresh run for each setting, Intel i5-3230M with integrated GPU, Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit, memory/CPU measured with System Monitor (may not include GPU memory, 25%=one core fully loaded)</nowiki>

* baseline: 19fps 1.3GB memory 24% CPU
* unlocked listener (the old, crash-prone way): 18.5fps 1.3GB 24%
* polling (current next): 12fps 1.3GB 24%
* global-png textures: 20fps 1.2GB 23%
* global-dds textures: 18.5fps 1.2GB 23%

|{{cite web |url=http://sourceforge.net/p/flightgear/mailman/message/32792620/
|title=<nowiki>[Flightgear-devel] Performance tests</nowiki>
|author=<nowiki>Rebecca Palmer</nowiki>
|date=<nowiki>2014-09-03</nowiki>
}}
}}

{{FGCquote
|On my Linux PC FlightGear has always been quite a slow program in comparison to other graphics intensive stuff (think Steam games and so on). So I've always been interested -- how does FlightGear compare to something like Team Fortress 2? Today I did a small investigation
|{{cite web |url=http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?p=243284#p243284
|title=<nowiki>FlightGear permanently damages the performance of computers.</nowiki>
|author=<nowiki>islandmonkey</nowiki>
|date=<nowiki>Mon May 18</nowiki>
}}
}}

[[File:Patching-fg-3.2-to-make-more-subsystems-optional.png|450px|thumb|Screen shot showing a the performance monitor in a patched version of FlightGear 3.2 where subsystem initialization is made better configurable and increasingly optional by allowing subsystems to be explicitly disabled/enabled during startup. Decoupling internal subsystem dependencies means that we can more easily provide support for [[FlightGear Benchmark|benchmarking]], but also [[FlightGear Headless|headless]] regression testing - and eventually, also a standalone [[FGCanvas]] startup mode.]]

== Objective ==
{{Note|Based on [[Understanding Rembrandt|recent experiments]] with benchmarking [[Rembrandt]], it would obviously make sense to have access to individual stages (cameras)}}
A long time ago, we once had a FG-specific benchmark suite called "FGBenchmark" over time this wasn't updated anylonger and got phased out- meanwhile, a number of end-users and long-term contributors have been talking about re-introducing a form of scriptable benchmark, directly as part of FlightGear itself, using [[Nasal]] scripting to recreate certain situations (location, aircraft, rendering settings etc) in order to gather runtime statistics, but also for better regression testing.

Obviously, FlightGear has drastically evolved since the early days of FGBenchmark, so lots of benchmarking metrics can now be gathered, even without touching the C++ source code and without using any external tools or introducing other platform-specific dependencies. Basically, a simple form of regression testing or benchmark (unit tests) can now be implemented directly through FlightGear and Nasal scripting. Technically, the main restrictions are currently:

* FlightGear expects an aircraft to be selected at startup, so that benchmarks could only be self-contained if they're are provided as a custom set of aircraft-set.xml files, simply because [[FlightGear Sessions|we cannot yet switch aircraft at runtime]]. Thus, the simplest option is simply creating benchmarks using certain aircraft and providing a "aircraft-benchmark-set.xml" file, the ufo should work well for starters.
* the fgfsrc, autosave.xml preferences.xml files are user-specific and cannot currently be overridden by a benchmark, however these files may contain tons of settings that might affect performance/benchmarks - which needs fixing, to ensure that a 100% correct setup can be replicated by a benchmark. Basically, we could simply add a new command-line switch to ignore these local files in $FG_HOME/$FG_ROOT and instead refer to a corresponding PropertyList-section embedded in the aircraft-set.xml file, so that user-specific settings are not loaded (well, except for obvious candidates like --fg-root= and some others)
* FlightGear always expects a fully interactive GUI session to be running, see [[FlightGear Headless]]
* Many settings are runtime-configurable and can be changed through the property tree (or fgcommands) while running FlightGear, some others still require a [[Reset & re-init|full simulator reset]] - this applies in particular to [[FlightGear Run Levels|non-optional subsystems]] but also a bunch of rendering related settings
* The Nasal scripting interpreter is initialized pretty late because it has some hard-coded assumptions regarding available subsystem, OTOH it could be doing useful work if a restricted interpreter was available earlier, i.e. to help with simulator-reinitialization, see [[Initializing Nasal early]]

Our hope is that we'll be able to come up with a simple benchmark suite to help users provide better troubleshooting reports, but also allow developers to do largely automated regression tests, i.e. through benchmarks or scripted flights. The recent advances in deferred rendering support ([[Rembrandt]]) also resulted in tons of GPU/GLSL related bug reports that are often hardware-specific and difficult to reproduce. Also see: [[Troubleshooting performance issues#A note from the developers]].

In the long run, the corresponding data could also help us to provide more reliable [[Hardware Recommendations]].

In its simplest form, a scripted benchmark merely traverses a list of input and output properties, i.e. properties that have an effect on performance and which can be modified at runtime (visibility, fog settings, shader settings) - which in turn, have an effect on certain output properties, such as frame rate or frame spacing. These could then even be tuned using a PID algorithm, i.e. the autopilot system controllers to implement feature-scaling support.
<syntaxhighlight lang="nasal">
##
#
#
</syntaxhighlight>

Benchmarking results could be shared by exchanging XML files or even by directly uploading them to a server using built-in [[Howto:Making HTTP Requests from Nasal|HTTP support]].

== Status ==
{{cquote|While working on performance issues reported by cppcheck, I wanted to compare performance to a known baseline and came up with this simple test bench.

It's:
* written in Python
* uses the telnet interface to FG
* doesn't have other dependencies and
* runs on Linux and Mac (tested) and run on Windows in its first incarnation

The script is called framerate.py and it replays a pre-recorded flight (test2.out.gz described here: http://wiki.flightgear.org/Suggested_Prerecorded_Flights) while collecting numbers on frame rate and maximum latency.

The repository for this is at : https://github.com/flighten/test<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40325.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=Tom P|date=Sat, 22 Jun 2013 14:27:35 -0700}}</ref>|Tom P}}

== Background ==
{{cquote|I'm interested in the capability of doing multiple builds with different versions, branches and options and in doing some kind of automated testing on the resulting builds<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40416.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] FG 2.12 RC Broken ?</nowiki>|author=Pat|date=Wed, 03 Jul 2013 17:24:19 -0700}}</ref>|Pat}}

{{cquote|Does flightgear have like a default benchmarking system?
I think the devs should define a set of standard settings and perhaps a flight recording to benchmark flightgear on, to help determine a computer's suitability to run flightgear. Obviously user submitted benchmarkings are pretty different due to different software and settings, so a set of standards like the benchmarking in arma2/just cause2 etc. would be awesome.
eg. low settings benchmark would be a 10 min flight on a low-polygon airplane and simple terrain, and a high settings benchmark would be everything "maxed out" in high res, in heavily complex scenery, in like a thunderstorm with 100 AI aircraft perofrming CPU intensive maneuvers in close proximity etc. (I obviously don't know how fg works and which things are most CPU/GPU intensive)

Obviously a flightgear specific benchmark could be much more suitable for flightgear than a generic gaming benchmark and much more helpful for people figuring out what settings are best for their systems, so what do you guys think of the idea?
I am totally new to flightgear and I haven't seen any indication that fg has a benchmarking system, so I thought that would be nice. I could provide/specify a list of settings and record some flights (if said feature exists), although I doubt I have the fg experience and authority to do so, so I hope you guys can sort this out- besides, a benchmark system should be pretty easy to implement compared to like say adding more realism/ better graphics/ revamping the engine, so I think that including a set of specific benchmarking tools and settings is plausible<ref>{{cite web |url=http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19202&hilit=benchmark|title=Flightgear-specific benchmark|author=Ericolon|date=Thu Feb 21, 2013 4:35 am}}</ref>|Ericolon}}

{{cquote|http://wiki.flightgear.org/Howto:Debugging_FlightGear_Crashes#Minimal_Startup_Profile
I remember using this to try and figure out why I was getting 10fps on a nvidia GTX470 with the lowest settings and default
renderer (I was accidently running a debug build).

I might come up with a dash script that tests things in different areas with different settings, But that will only be helpful on linux. I'll
probably just use the telnet server to pull the property tree frame rates/spacing I haven't used it yet but I imagine it would be quite easy).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40311.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=Christopher Andrews|date=Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:12:05 -0700}}</ref>|Christopher Andrews}}

{{cquote|to come up with a long line of tests, Eg something like the minimal startup profile in the middle of the ocean and then test
individual things like 3d clouds, the quality slider thing, random buildings/trees, advanced weather, different aircraft (compare ufo to concorde and you will see - but something in the default package), and then test it all again with rembrandt.

I might also come up with an "aircraft" tester to see how different planes affect frame rates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40315.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=Christopher Andrews|date=Fri, 21 Jun 2013 13:17:10 -0700}}</ref>|Christopher Andrews}}

{{cquote|what about performance with different views (pilot view vs chase view), and having the panel open vs. closed in pilot view?<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40316.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=Saikrishna Arcot|date=Fri, 21 Jun 2013 14:08:11 -0700}}</ref>|Saikrishna Arcot}}

{{cquote|I'm usually interested in very specific before/after questions. For instance, I can push some shader code into a conditional clause and benchmark this to run faster on my system. I'd like to know - does it generalize? I've learned that optimization seems to generalize across nvidia hardware, but I'd like to get feedback in a before/after situation from a Radeon user.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40318.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=Renk Thorsten|date=Sat, 22 Jun 2013 00:35:23 -0700}}</ref>|Renk Thorsten}}

{{cquote|Or, system dependent optimizations. Stuart has introduced a cloud LOD system and has some framerate gain from it in overcast layers. I've been playing with it and couldn't get much clear difference in performance, so I just switched it off completely. What I'd be interested in is - for what hardware do we see framerate gain, and what LOD distances would people typically select in order to get a good balance between visuals and framerate. Or would they prefer to vary cloud density, or cloud visibility radius? If we would know what most people select if given the choice, we could set reasonable defaults and structure the GUI accordingly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40318.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=Renk Thorsten|date=Sat, 22 Jun 2013 00:35:23 -0700}}</ref>|Renk Thorsten}}

A benchmark/regression testing suite could also be run through the [[FlightGear Build Server]]:
{{cquote|A standardized benchmark would be, if we get enough data, be more of a general warning system - suppose we regularly monitor performance on 50 different systems, and after some commit we see 20% performance drop on 35 of them - that's indicate that the commit might be in some way problematic. But for this, we would require a regular time history - basically the monitoring script should run and report after every update of either FG or the drivers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40318.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=Renk Thorsten|date=Sat, 22 Jun 2013 00:35:23 -0700}}</ref>|Renk Thorsten}}

== Brainstorming ==
{{Note|Beginning with FlightGear 3.1+, you can also toggle individual scenegraph traversal masks on/off (these can be changed at runtime using the [[Property browser]]:
* <nowiki>--prop:browser=/sim/rendering/draw-mask</nowiki>
* <nowiki>--prop:/sim/rendering/draw-mask/terrain=0</nowiki>
* <nowiki>--prop:/sim/rendering/draw-mask/aircraft=0</nowiki>
* <nowiki>--prop:/sim/rendering/draw-mask/models=0</nowiki>
* <nowiki>--prop:/sim/rendering/draw-mask/clouds=0</nowiki>
}}

=== Purpose ===
* maybe we really do need a benchmark .fgfsrc for proper comparison. [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16204&p=156440&hilit=benchmark#p156437]
* Even a very simple benchmark could be useful for feature-scaling and regression testing purposes, and if it's implemented in a non-interactive fashion, it could even help with regression testing. Ideally, a benchmark would start out with the bare minimum settings and then dynamically change settings on the fly to determine their effect on frame rate and frame spacing, to come up with a list configuration settings that work properly, while ensuring a satisfying simulator experience. We already have various building blocks in FG to do most of this, it's really just a matter of combining and integrating existing features to provide such a simple benchmark. From a troubleshooting perspective this could in fact also be useful, because we could ask users to open a certain dialog and run a certain benchmark and report the results here. [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19202&p=177778&hilit=benchmark#p177778]
* We actually talked about that benchmarking idea a while ago, and I even implemented a proof of concept [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19202&p=177741&hilit=benchmark#p177741]
* Several people mentioned that they would like to have some form of "benchmark" to run FlightGear on various different platforms to see how it performs.I think the idea is not that bad, and that this might actually help troubleshoot some issues. Also, I do think that such a benchmark could probably be implemented directly in FlightGear, just by using Nasal scripting and some custom XML files. This would be pretty much related to the idea of "feature scaling" which was discussed in the other thread. [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7806#p75962]
* having a number of benchmarks available could probably provide useful metrics to get FlightGear to run. For example, even the very simple file that I posted can already be used for troubleshooting: if a user is not able to run this with more than 100 fps, he is unlikely to be able to run FlightGear with default settings.

=== Regression Tests ===
Troubleshooting bug reports is often extremely tedious, because we need to replicate lots of settings:
* "What's the highest shader level, at which random buildings still work? Or the lowest at which they fail?" [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=18924&hilit=recorder#p175577]
* we should add a menu item to dump the current position and all rendering/environment settings to an XML file, so that we can more easily reproduce such things, just by loading a config from a file. [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=18924&hilit=recorder&start=15#p176017]
* hat's a super idea! It wouldn't surprise me if some of these glitches are peculiar to specific hardware configurations, either, so perhaps that might be part of the report as well. I'll paste XML into forum posts all day if it helps the devs fix bugs. [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=18924&hilit=recorder&start=15#p176023]
* even just knowing that certain issues only occur with some GPUs would be VERY good to know. But obviously we would need a sane way to easily reproduce a certain configuration, including all startup settings, but also the runtime rendering settings. [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=18924&hilit=recorder&start=30#p176025]
* After all, having an easy way to reproduce a certain configuration, could save us tons of time and question asking - so having such a feature would be really invaluable in my opinion. We could add a dialog so that people could even describe the problem - so that the XML files would become self-contained and could be easily checked by different people without having to ask tons of tedious questions... Thinking about it, the simplest option would seem to be using existing stuff. After all, this is just about recording and replaying properties. And that's exactly what the new flight recorder (replay tapes) system does. So we could simply abuse it a little to also provide a configuration to sample the various rendering properties (see rendering dialog), which should give us a way to reproduce settings fairly well. [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=18924&hilit=recorder&start=30#p176025]

=== Aircraft-set.xml based benchmarks ===
* The only problem is that FlightGear always makes the assumption that it is running some form of aircraft/vehicle, so any sort of "benchmark" needs to be provided as an aircraft. Also, one needs to override the global preferences.xml file because there is no way to use a different one.
* Well, while ago, we talked about creating benchmarks in the form of custom aircraft-set.xml files, which would already contain all startup settings (resolution, bpp, shaders etc) [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16204&p=156440&hilit=benchmark#p156440]
* This would allow us to share "benchmarks" in the form of aircraft, so that people could easily launch them using fgrun (or whatever GUI frontend they have) - still, it'd be possible to export benchmark results to XML.
* One would only need a way to create a default situation (i.e. like a custom preferences.xml file) and a way to dynamically toggle FlightGear features on/off and tweak them at runtime.
=== Approaches ===
* This should be pretty straightforward to do, at least for those features (configuration properties) that are already using listeners or that are read every frame. This applies to most of the recent graphics additions (i.e. shaders), because these can be dynamically enabled, disabled and configured.
* So a FlightGear benchmark would then only have to be run with common default settings (e.g. window resolution, color depth, startup airport, aircraft and environment settings) while a Nasal script could then be used to dynamically tune these settings. Reading internal counters (namely the framerate counter for the time being) would then give us an instrument to see how significant certain settings are.
* In the beginning, the easiest way to have something like a benchmark in FlightGear would be to simply use static "situations" that are loaded from XML files, these would then override all local custom settings so that users can reliably compare their frame rates when running such "situations" on different machines.
* imagine we would create a bunch of additional "benchmarks" like this, each of those testing individual features of FlightGear (shaders, effects, particles, shadows, AI aircraft and so on), all of these could be useful to allow users to see if their system (and configuration) is able to run FlightGear or if it needs to be modified (software/hardware configuration). [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7806]
=== Extending the replay/flight recorder subsystems ===
* We do have a so called "flight recorder/replay" system that can save flights. The whole system is property-driven, and it is possible to provide custom sets of properties that should be recorded. In other words, it would be possible to create a custom "flight recorder" configuration that doesn't just record aircraft settings, but also rendering related settings [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19202&p=177733&hilit=benchmark#p177741]
* Maybe we could use the flight recorder to record a flight, so that more people could try the same flight, recreating your settings ? That would basically be a simple benchmark [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=19738&p=181625&hilit=benchmark#p181625]
* Using a combination of prerecorded flights, the replay/flight recorder system and a Nasal script to change setting on the fly, it wouldn't necessarily be very difficult to create a simple benchmark framework. [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19202&p=177741&hilit=benchmark#p177741]
* having an easy way to reproduce a certain configuration, could save us tons of time and question asking - so having such a feature would be really invaluable in my opinion.[http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?p=176025#p176025]
* the simplest option would seem to be using existing stuff. After all, this is just about recording and replaying properties. And that's exactly what the new flight recorder (replay tapes) system does. So we could simply abuse it a little to also provide a configuration to sample the various rendering properties (see rendering dialog) and implement a benchmark, which should give us a way to reproduce settings fairly well. [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?p=176025#p176025]
* Still, the idea of creating a simple, easily recreatable benchmark flight, sounds good to me! What aircraft would be suitable? Is the UFO in the standard installation? I don't know, since I use the fgdata from git for years... Then I would make some flight over KSFO, which should be on every FG installation, and then? What would I do with the recorder tape? upload it somewhere? [http://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=19738&p=181625&hilit=benchmark#p181625]

== Community Feedback ==
{{cquote|could some thought be given to producing a benchmark suite for Flightgear. It would need to take in all of the, by now well known, variables - making it by no means a simple beast to manage.
If this could be automated in some way it would be much easier to capture, and then submit, consistent data. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40294.html|title=<nowiki>[Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=Alan Teeder|date=Thu, 20 Jun 2013 10:15:42 -0700}}</ref>|Alan Teeder}}

{{cquote|A scripted run would be an EXCELLENT tool.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40295.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=geneb|date=Thu, 20 Jun 2013 10:20:41 -0700}}</ref>|geneb}}

{{cquote|a scripted run can be set up to play all the tricks, even if it needs to run FG several times to e.g. reset the graphics, and it can be set up to finish the run by offering to upload the results automatically<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg40309.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] Benchmark matrix</nowiki>|author=Arnt Karlsen|date=Fri, 21 Jun 2013 04:27:19 -0700}}</ref>|Arnt Karlsen}}

{{cquote|Is there a benchmarking tool/setup for flightgear? For example a preconfigured/prerecorded flight with fixed variables (weather, time, fov,
etc), fixed nr of frames. Basically everything fixed except rendering options and that it measures how long it takes to render/run and calculate the average FPS? People would be able to compare this value, and one would not be comparing apples with pears. Everybody ran the same benchmark/flight. It would be very helpful in determining if some change brought improvement or made performance worse by a proper measuring instead of staring at the FPS counter in the bottom of the screen during gameplay and 'estimating' if things improved or not.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg37014.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] An empassioned plea</nowiki>|author=EViLSLT - Rob|date=Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:51:44 -0700}}</ref>|EViLSLT - Rob}}

{{cquote|A FGLive type ISO with programs that will benchmark the hardware only.... so what if it runs under *nix.... local optimisations are a matter of personal choice albeit open for public discussion.... you guys would know if this is do-able/worth-while though .... just an idea<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg04018.html|title=<nowiki>RE: [Flightgear-devel] FGBenachmark; Was: ..FGLiveCD boot workaround</nowiki>|author=dene maxwell|date=Sun, 21 May 2006 03:42:17 -0700}}</ref>|dene maxwell}}

{{cquote|The FGBenchmark package was meant to compare performance not only under different setups of the same operating system and architecture (say
Linux on x86) but to compare different arcitectures as well. So I put 'fgfs'binaries for different systems (Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris/sparc, Solaris/x86, IRIX) into a package and made a start script that determines which binary to run.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net/msg04022.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] FGBenachmark; Was: ..FGLiveCD boot workaround</nowiki>|author=Martin Spott|date=Sun, 21 May 2006 04:08:03 -0700}}</ref>|Martin Spott}}

{{cquote|I would be very interested to know how many polygons per second FGFS is rendering. Do you have a ballpark number?

It might be nice to have several sections of the benchmark and in one try to maximize poly count of the scene and minimize all else.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@flightgear.org/msg21533.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] FlightGear 'benchmark'</nowiki>|author=Wolfram Kuss|date=Wed, 25 Feb 2004 13:42:21 -0800}}</ref>|Wolfram Kuss}}

{{cquote|a subset of the FlightGear Open Source flight simulator, packaged together with the purpose to serve as a specific benchmarking tool among different Unix platforms. The idea arose after realizing, that real world performance numbers for FlightGear on Unix workstations, especially for SGI and Sun machines, are rare because most potential users apparently don't like to share their experiences. The package would also serve as a FlightGear 'Getting Started' kit, it consists of binaries for a few platforms and a base package with high resolution textures and some aircraft removed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@flightgear.org/msg22661.html|title=<nowiki>[Flightgear-devel] new FGBenchmark package</nowiki>|author=Martin Spott|date=Mon, 29 Mar 2004 12:27:40 -0800}}</ref>|Martin Spott}}

{{cquote|I've assembled a 'small' (40 MByte) FlightGear package and included a README:

This is a subset of the FlightGear Open Source flight simulator, packaged together with the purpose to serve as a specific benchmarking
tool among different Unix platforms. The idea arose after realizing, that real world performance numbers for Unix workstations, especially for
SGI and Sun machines, are rare because most potential users apparently don't like to share their experiences. The package would also serve
as a FlightGear 'Getting Started' kit.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@flightgear.org/msg21486.html|title=<nowiki>[Flightgear-devel] FlightGear 'benchmark'</nowiki>|author=Martin Spott|date=Mon, 23 Feb 2004 07:40:44 -0800}}</ref>|Martin Spott}}

{{cquote|How about a reproductible way to benchmark FlightGear ? Something like q1test or q2test in Quake. That is : an automated sequence of flight during, say 30s to 2mn, along a predetermined path from KSFO with different views. This could be presented has a demo and at the end, a summary on framerate and performance numbers will be displayed.

This could be controlled by command line options

Just a thought,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mail-archive.com/flightgear-devel@flightgear.org/msg05115.html|title=<nowiki>Re: [Flightgear-devel] FrameRate !!</nowiki>|author=Frederic Bouvier|date=Sun, 07 Apr 2002 09:59:28 -0700}}</ref>|Frederic Bouvier}}

<references/>

[[Category:Developer Plans]]

Aircraft information resources

2026-05-17T02:57:20Z

Celesta: head

Here is a list of external aircraft information resources. For information about specific aircraft models in FlightGear, see [[aircraft]].
{{TOC limit|3}}

== Aircraft resources ==
=== General ===
* [http://www.airlinercafe.com/list.php?c=walkarounds Airlinercafe] Detailed and high resolution pictures of major components on airliners. ('''Recommended''')
* [http://www.avialogs.com Avialogs.com] Huge amount of aircraft and engine manuals. ('''Recommended''')
* [http://booksite.elsevier.com/9780340741528/appendices/default.htm Civil Jet Aircraft Design]
* [http://simviation.com/designresources.htm Simviation- lots of 3-views]
* [http://www.smartcockpit.com/ Smart Cockpit]
* '''Cockpit Panels:''' Many aircraft, both military and civilian, use military standards for size and configuration of panels. Good resources for these dimensions are the military standards [http://everyspec.com/MIL-SPECS/MIL-SPECS-MIL-F/MIL-F-25173A_15077/ MIL-F-25173A] (for fasteners i.e. screws) and [http://everyspec.com/MS-Specs/MS2/MS25000-MS25999/MS25212C_42008/ MS25212C] for panel dimensions. A sample [[Blender]] file with all different panel sizes for these standards is available [https://github.com/D-ECHO/AircraftDevelopmentResources/blob/main/panel-spec.blend here].

=== Tire data ===
* [https://www.goodyearaviation.com/resources/tiredatabook.html Goodyear Aviation's Tire Databook]

=== Diagrams and 3-views ===
{{see also|Modeling Resources}}

* http://www.seawings.co.uk/reference.htm Diagrams and other data on seaplanes
* http://www.aircraftdesign.com/acpix.html Lots of 3-views on prototype and experimental
* http://www.aviastar.org/index.html only helicopters

=== Airbus ===
==== A320 ====
* http://www.airbusdriver.net
* http://www.e-flight.com/a320.htm

==== A340 ====
* http://www.a340.net/

==== A380 ====
* http://www.gillesvidal.com/blogpano/cockpit1.htm

=== Boeing ===
==== 737 ====
* http://www.b737.org.uk/
* http://www.boeing.com/commercial/737family/

==== 757 ====
* http://www.757.org.uk

=== Cessna ===
==== C152 ====
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/c152_checklist.pdf Checklist]
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/c152_emergency.pdf Emergency Checklist]
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/c152_complete.pdf Combined Checklist]

==== C172 ====
* [http://www.pacificcoastflyers.org/files/POH/C172N_POH.pdf C172N Pilot Operating Handbook]
* http://www.fortmeadeflyingactivity.org/docs/c172p180_n9871fm_combined_procedures_checklist.pdf
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/c172p180_poh_addendum.pdf C172p180 POH Addendum]
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/c172p180_n9871fm_standard_procedures_checklist.pdf Standard Procedures Checklist]
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/c172p180_n9871fm_emergency_procedures_checklist.pdf Emergency Procedures Checklist]
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/c172p180_n9871fm_combined_procedures_checklist.pdf Combined Checklist]

=== Grob ===
* http://freechecklists.net/Resources/Grob/G-115/

=== Mil ===
* Fantastic detail on most aspects of the Mi-2 and Mi-8 including detailed cockpit photos, system diagrams and descriptions from a former pilot (in German). Also excellent sections full of diagrams on aerodynamic theory for both fixed and rotary wing. http://nva-flieger.de/

=== Piper ===
==== Piper Arrow ====
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/pa28r_checklist.pdf pa28r Checklist]
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/pa28r_emergency.pdf Emergency Procedures]
* [http://www.fmfa.org/docs/pa28r_complete.pdf Combined Checklist]

=== Gas Turbine Data ===
==== General ====
* [http://www.jet-engine.net/civtfspec.html Civilian Turbojet/Turbofan Specifications]
* [http://www.jet-engine.net/miltfspec.html Military Turbojet/Turbofan Specifications]

=== Manuals ===
{{Main article|Aircraft manuals}}

[[Category:Aircraft resources]]
[[Category:Lists]]
[[Category:Resources]]

Tutorial Resources

2026-05-15T09:23:09Z

Celesta: /* FlightGear specific */

This is meant to become a directory of flight simulation or aviation-specific texts that may serve as inspiration or for orientation when writing tutorials for [[FlightGear]].

== FlightGear specific ==
* [https://www.flightgear.org/support/manual/ Official manual] or [[New to FlightGear]]
* [[YouTube channels]]
* [[wikibooks:FlightGear Flight Simulator|Wikibooks]] (not completed)

== Freely available flight simulator books ==
* http://www.flightsimbooks.com/ - a whole number of MSFS-based books teaching basics, such as i.e. flight maneuvers and radio navigation

== Freely available flying (pilot) books ==
* FAA Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA-H-8083-25C, 2023, https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak

== Aerodynamics ==
* http://www.goldsealflight.com/training/aerodynamics/player.html
* http://www.av8n.com/how/

== Radio navigation ==
* [[Radio navigation]]
* http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/index.htm
* http://www.luizmonteiro.com/Learning.htm
* http://flyawaysimulation.com/contentid-18.html
* http://virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov/navigation/tutorial/tutorial1.html
* http://www.stoenworks.com/Aviation%20home%20page.html
* http://www.campbells.org/Airplanes/VOR/vor.html
* http://www.wessmann.net/html/navigation.html [German]
* http://www.aviation4u.de/school.htm [German]
* http://fr.flightgear.tuxfamily.org/doku.php?id=school:tutoriel_vor [french]
* http://fr.flightgear.tuxfamily.org/doku.php?id=school:tutoriel_gps [french]

== Aircraft flying ==
* [http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aircraft/airplane_handbook/ FAA Airplane Flying Handbook]
* [http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/instrument_flying_handbook/ FAA Instrument Flying Handbook]
* [http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/instrument_procedures_handbook/ FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook]

== See also ==
* [[YouTube channels]]
* [[Modeling Resources]]
* [[Aircraft Information Resources]]

{{Understanding}}

[[Category:Lists]]
[[Category:Resources]]

[[fr:Tutorial Resources]]

Tutorial Resources

2026-05-15T09:22:42Z

Celesta: update FightGear specific

This is meant to become a directory of flight simulation or aviation-specific texts that may serve as inspiration or for orientation when writing tutorials for [[FlightGear]].

== FlightGear specific ==
* [https://www.flightgear.org/support/manual/ Official manual] or [[New to FlightGear]]
* [[Youtube channels]]
* [[wikibooks:FlightGear Flight Simulator|Wikibooks]] (not completed)

== Freely available flight simulator books ==
* http://www.flightsimbooks.com/ - a whole number of MSFS-based books teaching basics, such as i.e. flight maneuvers and radio navigation

== Freely available flying (pilot) books ==
* FAA Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA-H-8083-25C, 2023, https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak

== Aerodynamics ==
* http://www.goldsealflight.com/training/aerodynamics/player.html
* http://www.av8n.com/how/

== Radio navigation ==
* [[Radio navigation]]
* http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/index.htm
* http://www.luizmonteiro.com/Learning.htm
* http://flyawaysimulation.com/contentid-18.html
* http://virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov/navigation/tutorial/tutorial1.html
* http://www.stoenworks.com/Aviation%20home%20page.html
* http://www.campbells.org/Airplanes/VOR/vor.html
* http://www.wessmann.net/html/navigation.html [German]
* http://www.aviation4u.de/school.htm [German]
* http://fr.flightgear.tuxfamily.org/doku.php?id=school:tutoriel_vor [french]
* http://fr.flightgear.tuxfamily.org/doku.php?id=school:tutoriel_gps [french]

== Aircraft flying ==
* [http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aircraft/airplane_handbook/ FAA Airplane Flying Handbook]
* [http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/instrument_flying_handbook/ FAA Instrument Flying Handbook]
* [http://www.faa.gov/library/manuals/aviation/instrument_procedures_handbook/ FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook]

== See also ==
* [[YouTube channels]]
* [[Modeling Resources]]
* [[Aircraft Information Resources]]

{{Understanding}}

[[Category:Lists]]
[[Category:Resources]]

[[fr:Tutorial Resources]]

Video tutorials

2026-05-15T09:11:04Z

Celesta: out of date

{{Out of date}}

This article contains out-of-date information. '''Please refer to [[YouTube channels]] instead.'''

Quite a number of [[FlightGear Videos]] can be viewed online. Some of them introduce you to various aspects of FlightGear: From the installation of aircraft to very advanced features:

== Installation ==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tspzf26GSnE Download & install aircraft]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9YwXjcxmtU How to Download Additional Aircraft (Windows)]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFUri3QhQCQ Download & install scenery and airports]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hEVn2_JgfE Download & install liveries]

== Flying a plane ==
For more information, see the [[Portal:Pilot|Pilot portal]].
=== Preparations ===
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ihHgYSXLS4 How to use a pushback]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRDN9JRjQew How to pushback your plane]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVBs810W-Do How to taxi]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQfN4bmcAHA How to use the keyboard controls]

=== Take off ===

=== Navigation ===
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNzKZXQBdgo IFR Cross Country Flight Tutorial Part 1]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8WnxI0251k IFR Cross Country Flight Tutorial Part 2]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4R_bSNA7Rk IFR Cross Country Flight Tutorial Part 3]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj4Z3GP23os IFR Cross Country Flight Tutorial Part 4]

=== Landing ===
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nerWl53TEPU How to make a soft landing]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Lvk2UOUy8 How to brake after landing]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBIX5DffCos Boeing 777-200ER Landing]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64rxp2WMkW8 Another Boeing 777-200ER Landing]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7JYZUkvyMg How to land // perform a visual landing]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECpOWMAazrs Perform a crosswind landing]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeuBvERIrD0 ILS Landing!]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5J4t8UiZCU How to perform an ILS landing]

== Flying a helicopter ==
Also see the very informative and not-too-long [[Flying the helicopter]] manual.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlvhXY6uHUI Helicopter Take-Off Tutorial]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6LxYeK_e5M Fly a helicopter!]

== Aircraft carrier ==
FlightGear has several [[Aircraft carrier]] models, and offers an [[Howto: Carrier|AI scenario]] of the USS Nimitz or the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower just off the San Francisco Bay.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQeH2yTLxyU Starting up on Nimitz (Windows)]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFf5NDCRNr4 How to take off from an aircraft carrier]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a34_bo78MIQ How to land on an aircraft carrier]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taYzs9YQABQ Get To The Hangar On Nimitz]

== Multiplayer ==
With the [[multiplayer]] function of FlightGear you are able to see other pilots and vice-versa.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrSA0Ne_6iw How to fly online and enable AI traffic]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAD0XoEiyI0 How to get multiplayer]

== Atlas ==
The [[Atlas]] program lets FlightGear users display a real-time "moving-map" of their flight. Atlas is an independent software project, distributed under the same free (GPL) software license as FlightGear.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLgqFHtGd4I Using Atlas]

== Specific aircraft ==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS4cqa9CDVY 787 Startup]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsRmkz8rEAM Boeing 777-200ER Autopilot basics]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELlUgEnLKYo Concorde Tutorial part 1]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pauMD9yOpFM Concorde Tutorial part 2]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEixbJ1xkp4 CONCORDE in 2 minutes!]
* Tu154B: Part One - "The Cockpit" [http://vimeo.com/10248774 vimeo] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJqPhHqykRc youtube]
* Tu154B: Part Two - "Starting the Engines" [http://vimeo.com/10296079 vimeo] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHDfY65k_9I youtube]
* Tu154B: Part Three - "Preparing for Flight" [http://vimeo.com/10538255 vimeo] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUixO_7tEVU youtube]

== Advanced options ==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5pGDIUSLXU Replay Your Flights]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhwDmv-gLiA Overlaying Instrument Numbers]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttMwpp-4N0w Target-tracking]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74-UOoKjjAE Adjusting Current View]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnD2-IRcqGY Changing Multiplayer Chat Entry]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOiXF1lM1cY Flying using custom wind settings]

[[Category:Documentation]]