{{WIP}}
{{stub}}

There are many things required to develop an [[aircraft]] for [[FlightGear]]. We encourage new developers to start their 'career' by enhancing existing aircraft. It is much easier to do and gives you a giant advantage by the time you create an aircraft completely by yourself.

The content in this article is treated with codes and can be found in most planes. So, for examples on how it's used, you can take a look at some random planes.

==Before you start==
An aircraft in FlightGear exists of two main development areas:
* the '''[[Flight Dynamics Model]]''', which specifies how the aircraft reacts on facts as wind, terrain and control inputs.
** subarea of the FDM are interal systems like the [[autopilot]] and fuel systems.
* the '''appearence''' of the aircraft, which can be split in two ares:
** all its visual aspects as animations, [[Howto: Add aircraft lights|lighting]] and textures.
** auditory (sounds).

All images in FlightGear should be sized to powers of two (eg. 64*64, 128*256 or 16*1024). Since FlightGear 1.9, images no longer have to be saved in the .rgb format. Right now .png is most common used among FlightGear developers.

Please note that we use spaces in our codes, some developers use rather tabs, to make our code easy(er) to read. Every line that starts a new tag, we press the space key once, so you get a kind of stairs. It does not really matter what method you use, as long as you use it consistent throughout all of your files.

==Directories and files==
The data created during development results in many files, which are stored in several directories per aircraft. Each aircraft has its own directory in the <tt>$FG_ROOT/Aircraft/</tt> directory. The first thing to do when you start working on a new aircraft is to make a directory for it. A short version of the aircraft name (eg. harrier), or its serial number (eg. 747-400) is prefered. More directories might be needed further on, but we will create them when we need them. For now we create one directory, namely:

* <tt>Models/</tt> all files related to the appearence of the model are saved in this directory.

All paths are relative to [[$FG_ROOT]], with the exception of some that are explicit noted.

===The .xml file (FDM)===
This file contains the entire (or partial) [[Flight Dynamics Model]] of the aircraft. We have three different systems; they all have their up- and downsides.
* [[YASim]], needed for: helicopters, towing over a [[Howto: Multiplayer|multiplay network]]
* [[JSBSim]], needed for: [[Howto: Implent pushback|pushback]]
* [[UIUC]] (rarely used)
When you have acces to real windtunnel data, JSBSim might be a better choice.

===The -set.xml file===
This is the most important file of a FlightGear aircraft. This is the only file that is read directly by FlightGear. Actually it can be compared with an airport hub (from where flights of a certain airline to all other airports departure and arrive). The -set.xml file leads FlightGear to all files that are needed to simulate the aircraft. The -set.xml file should be stored in the aircrafts root directory (eg. <tt>$FG_ROOT/Aircraft/747-400/</tt>)

Always begin the -set.xml file with:

<PropertyList>
<sim>

and close the file with:

</sim>
</PropertyList>

The following tags are to be placed between the <sim> and </sim> tags.

====<description></description>====
The text that have to be showed in the Aircraft selection dialog of FlightGear.

====<aircraft-version>====
Commonly shows the latest update date.

====<status></status>====
The status of the development of your plane.

====<author></author>====
Place your name(s) here. If multiple people worked on the same aircraft, you can place the specific development area for each person between ( ).

====<flight-model></flight-model>====
What FDM system is the aircraft using. Set to 'yasim' for [[YASim]] and to 'jsb' for [[JSBSim]].

====<aero></aero>====
The filename of the FDM file, without .xml. You have created this file earlier on at: [[#The .xml file (FDM)]]

====<splash-texture></splash-texture>====
Place the location of an image you would like to show during loading of the aircraft.

====<model><path></path></model>====
Where to find the model. Could be an .ac file or .xml if you want to have extras like animations etc.

====<sound><path></path></sound>====
The path to your aircrafts sound file, do not include if you don't have one.

====<panel><path></path></panel>====
Where to find the (2D) panel. We prefer 3D cockpits, which are linked in the model .xml file.

====<autopilot><path></path></autopilot>====
Where to find the [[autopilot]] system.

==Extra codes==
We can place information in our files, that will not be read by FlightGear. Such as summaries of the codes to follow, last update dates or explenations of codes.

<pre> </pre>

==Related content==
*[[Howto: Request new aircraft]]
*[[Howto: Make a helicopter]]

[[Category:Aircraft enhancement|Make an aircraft]]
[[Category:Howto|Make an aircraft]]

Howto:Make an aircraft

2009-05-05T19:12:23Z

Christopher2222:

{{WIP}}
{{stub}}

There are many things required to develop an [[aircraft]] for [[FlightGear]]. We encourage new developers to start their 'career' by enhancing existing aircraft. It is much easier to do and gives you a giant advantage by the time you create an aircraft completely by yourself.

The content in this article is treated with codes and can be found in most planes. So, for examples of the usage, you can take a look at some random planes.

==Before you start==
An aircraft in FlightGear exists of two main development areas:
* the '''[[Flight Dynamics Model]]''', which specifies how the aircraft reacts on facts as wind, terrain and control inputs.
** subarea of the FDM are interal systems like the [[autopilot]] and fuel systems.
* the '''appearence''' of the aircraft, which can be split in two ares:
** all its visual aspects as animations, [[Howto: Add aircraft lights|lighting]] and textures.
** auditory (sounds).

All images in FlightGear should be sized to powers of two (eg. 64*64, 128*256 or 16*1024). Since FlightGear 1.9, images no longer have to be saved in the .rgb format. Right now .png is most common used among FlightGear developers.

Please note that we use spaces in our codes, some developers use rather tabs, to make our code easy(er) to read. Every line that starts a new tag, we press the space key once, so you get a kind of stairs. It does not really matter what method you use, as long as you use it consistent throughout all of your files.

==Directories and files==
The data created during development results in many files, which are stored in several directories per aircraft. Each aircraft has its own directory in the <tt>$FG_ROOT/Aircraft/</tt> directory. The first thing to do when you start working on a new aircraft is to make a directory for it. A short version of the aircraft name (eg. harrier), or its serial number (eg. 747-400) is prefered. More directories might be needed further on, but we will create them when we need them. For now we create one directory, namely:

* <tt>Models/</tt> all files related to the appearence of the model are saved in this directory.

All paths are relative to [[$FG_ROOT]], with the exception of some that are explicit noted.

===The .xml file (FDM)===
This file contains the entire (or partial) [[Flight Dynamics Model]] of the aircraft. We have three different systems; they all have their up- and downsides.
* [[YASim]], needed for: helicopters, towing over a [[Howto: Multiplayer|multiplay network]]
* [[JSBSim]], needed for: [[Howto: Implent pushback|pushback]]
* [[UIUC]] (rarely used)
When you have acces to real windtunnel data, JSBSim might be a better choice.

===The -set.xml file===
This is the most important file of a FlightGear aircraft. This is the only file that is read directly by FlightGear. Actually it can be compared with an airport hub (from where flights of a certain airline to all other airports departure and arrive). The -set.xml file leads FlightGear to all files that are needed to simulate the aircraft. The -set.xml file should be stored in the aircrafts root directory (eg. <tt>$FG_ROOT/Aircraft/747-400/</tt>)

Always begin the -set.xml file with:

<PropertyList>
<sim>

and close the file with:

</sim>
</PropertyList>

The following tags are to be placed between the <sim> and </sim> tags.

====<description></description>====
The text that have to be showed in the Aircraft selection dialog of FlightGear.

====<aircraft-version>====
Commonly shows the latest update date.

====<status></status>====
The status of the development of your plane.

====<author></author>====
Place your name(s) here. If multiple people worked on the same aircraft, you can place the specific development area for each person between ( ).

====<flight-model></flight-model>====
What FDM system is the aircraft using. Set to 'yasim' for [[YASim]] and to 'jsb' for [[JSBSim]].

====<aero></aero>====
The filename of the FDM file, without .xml. You have created this file earlier on at: [[#The .xml file (FDM)]]

====<splash-texture></splash-texture>====
Place the location of an image you would like to show during loading of the aircraft.

====<model><path></path></model>====
Where to find the model. Could be an .ac file or .xml if you want to have extras like animations etc.

====<sound><path></path></sound>====
The path to your aircrafts sound file, do not include if you don't have one.

====<panel><path></path></panel>====
Where to find the (2D) panel. We prefer 3D cockpits, which are linked in the model .xml file.

====<autopilot><path></path></autopilot>====
Where to find the [[autopilot]] system.

==Extra codes==
We can place information in our files, that will not be read by FlightGear. Such as summaries of the codes to follow, last update dates or explenations of codes.

<pre> </pre>

==Related content==
*[[Howto: Request new aircraft]]
*[[Howto: Make a helicopter]]

[[Category:Aircraft enhancement|Make an aircraft]]
[[Category:Howto|Make an aircraft]]

Howto:Make an aircraft

2009-05-05T19:11:34Z

Christopher2222:

{{WIP}}
{{stub}}

There are many things required to develop an [[aircraft]] for [[FlightGear]]. We encourage new developers to start their 'career' by enhancing existing aircraft. It is much easier to do and gives you a giant advantage by the time you create an aircraft completely by yourself.

The content in this article are treated with codes and can be found in most planes. So, for examples of the usage, you take a look at some random planes.

==Before you start==
An aircraft in FlightGear exists of two main development areas:
* the '''[[Flight Dynamics Model]]''', which specifies how the aircraft reacts on facts as wind, terrain and control inputs.
** subarea of the FDM are interal systems like the [[autopilot]] and fuel systems.
* the '''appearence''' of the aircraft, which can be split in two ares:
** all its visual aspects as animations, [[Howto: Add aircraft lights|lighting]] and textures.
** auditory (sounds).

All images in FlightGear should be sized to powers of two (eg. 64*64, 128*256 or 16*1024). Since FlightGear 1.9, images no longer have to be saved in the .rgb format. Right now .png is most common used among FlightGear developers.

Please note that we use spaces in our codes, some developers use rather tabs, to make our code easy(er) to read. Every line that starts a new tag, we press the space key once, so you get a kind of stairs. It does not really matter what method you use, as long as you use it consistent throughout all of your files.

==Directories and files==
The data created during development results in many files, which are stored in several directories per aircraft. Each aircraft has its own directory in the <tt>$FG_ROOT/Aircraft/</tt> directory. The first thing to do when you start working on a new aircraft is to make a directory for it. A short version of the aircraft name (eg. harrier), or its serial number (eg. 747-400) is prefered. More directories might be needed further on, but we will create them when we need them. For now we create one directory, namely:

* <tt>Models/</tt> all files related to the appearence of the model are saved in this directory.

All paths are relative to [[$FG_ROOT]], with the exception of some that are explicit noted.

===The .xml file (FDM)===
This file contains the entire (or partial) [[Flight Dynamics Model]] of the aircraft. We have three different systems; they all have their up- and downsides.
* [[YASim]], needed for: helicopters, towing over a [[Howto: Multiplayer|multiplay network]]
* [[JSBSim]], needed for: [[Howto: Implent pushback|pushback]]
* [[UIUC]] (rarely used)
When you have acces to real windtunnel data, JSBSim might be a better choice.

===The -set.xml file===
This is the most important file of a FlightGear aircraft. This is the only file that is read directly by FlightGear. Actually it can be compared with an airport hub (from where flights of a certain airline to all other airports departure and arrive). The -set.xml file leads FlightGear to all files that are needed to simulate the aircraft. The -set.xml file should be stored in the aircrafts root directory (eg. <tt>$FG_ROOT/Aircraft/747-400/</tt>)

Always begin the -set.xml file with:

<PropertyList>
<sim>

and close the file with:

</sim>
</PropertyList>

The following tags are to be placed between the <sim> and </sim> tags.

====<description></description>====
The text that have to be showed in the Aircraft selection dialog of FlightGear.

====<aircraft-version>====
Commonly shows the latest update date.

====<status></status>====
The status of the development of your plane.

====<author></author>====
Place your name(s) here. If multiple people worked on the same aircraft, you can place the specific development area for each person between ( ).

====<flight-model></flight-model>====
What FDM system is the aircraft using. Set to 'yasim' for [[YASim]] and to 'jsb' for [[JSBSim]].

====<aero></aero>====
The filename of the FDM file, without .xml. You have created this file earlier on at: [[#The .xml file (FDM)]]

====<splash-texture></splash-texture>====
Place the location of an image you would like to show during loading of the aircraft.

====<model><path></path></model>====
Where to find the model. Could be an .ac file or .xml if you want to have extras like animations etc.

====<sound><path></path></sound>====
The path to your aircrafts sound file, do not include if you don't have one.

====<panel><path></path></panel>====
Where to find the (2D) panel. We prefer 3D cockpits, which are linked in the model .xml file.

====<autopilot><path></path></autopilot>====
Where to find the [[autopilot]] system.

==Extra codes==
We can place information in our files, that will not be read by FlightGear. Such as summaries of the codes to follow, last update dates or explenations of codes.

<pre> </pre>

==Related content==
*[[Howto: Request new aircraft]]
*[[Howto: Make a helicopter]]

[[Category:Aircraft enhancement|Make an aircraft]]
[[Category:Howto|Make an aircraft]]